Category Archives: News

Start Counting: Week 1, Week 2…

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“Those decisions for children who are conceived in rape or in incest will need to be made prior to the 20-week mark.”

– Elizabeth Graham, head of Texas Right to Life, discussing Gov. Rick Perry’s promotion of “fetal pain” legislation banning abortions after 20 weeks.  The measure would include exceptions for women whose lives are in danger, but not for victims of rape or incest.

Texas Legislature’s Proposed Pregnancy Calendar:

Weeks 1 and 2 – Your pregnancy begins as your body gears up for ovulation and prepares for fertilization, a.k.a. “The Beginning of Life.”

Week 3 – As sperm meets egg, fertilization occurs and your child takes form – as a tiny group of cells.  But, it’s still a kid, so start picking names!

Week 4 – That cluster of God-created cells splits to form the placenta and the embryo.  The specialized parts of your baby begin to develop – including the heart where God will live.

Week 5 – Your baby’s heart and circulatory system are developing – this is God’s plan – and a home pregnancy test will confirm this God’s child.

Week 6 – Your baby’s face takes shape, which is the face of you and your husband (you do have a husband, right?).

Week 7 – Your baby’s brain begins to grow, so it will start to think how God will fit into its life.

Week 8 – As your baby starts moving in the womb, morning sickness sets in – but this is the price all women must pay for the sin of Eve giving Adam that apple.

Week 9 – Your baby is busy building muscle, but all you may want to do these days is take a nice long nap.

Week 10 – Your baby’s bones and cartilage begin to develop more.  Constipation intensifies, but again that’s the price you must pay for the sins of Eve.

Week 11 – That adorable child inside you takes on a more human appearance now – the true face of God should be crystal clear on the sonogram.

Week 12 – While it may seem as if you’ve doubled in size with pregnancy weight gain, it’s your baby who actually has.

Week 13 – As the first trimester comes to a close, your baby’s about the size of a…well, an apple.

Week 14 – Your baby begins to sprout some angel hair.

Week 15 – Your baby begins kicking those little legs and flexing those elbows, as it fills with the spirit of God.

Week 16 – Your baby’s eyesight begins to develop, which means it can see any sharp instruments coming towards it!

Week 17 – Your baby is practicing sucking and swallowing as it gets ready to nurse.

Week 18 – You might start to feel your baby moving around, which will continue even after you get it into a church pew.

Week 19 – Your baby’s gender can be determined at this point.  That means – especially if it’s a male child – your fate as a mother has been set.  And, you can’t go back.

Week 20 – Don’t even think about it, bitch!

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Cliff Dawning

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In Memoriam – Connecticut School Shootings

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As of now 20 children and 6 adult are confirmed dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.  Also dead is the shooter – some mentally-deranged fool who somehow managed to get his hands on a massive firearm.  Amidst this horrific tragedy and the ongoing investigation, people on both sides of the gun debate already are lining up to stake their territory.  This comes less than a week after a shooting rampage at a mall in Portland, Oregon; four months after a shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin; and five months after a massacre in a theatre in Colorado.  Yes, this is a uniquely American problem; as bad as budget crises and obesity.  Yet, the gun lobby will inadvertently defend the Connecticut shooter by claiming he was a lone wolf who couldn’t be controlled by gun control laws anyway.  Then, they’ll add that, if just one person in that school had a firearm, they might have been able to stop the rampage.  President Obama will probably bow to them anyway, like most Democrats.  But, it’s days like this that I’m glad Charlton Heston is dead and wish Sarah Palin would drop dead, too.

In the meantime, please think of the victims, especially the children who had no idea what hit them.

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Define “Like”

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“And, believe me, being from Texas, I can tell you that nobody jumps up in Congress to help Texas.  They don’t like us at all.”

– Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, reflecting on her nearly 20-year career in the U.S. Senate as a Republican from Texas.

No one in Congress wants to help Texas?  Really?!  I guess when you have a redneck governor who threatens secession, you shouldn’t expect much help from your constituents in Washington.  But, there are other reasons why Texas isn’t too popular at the national level.  For one, it helped to elect one of the worst presidents in U.S. history, George W. Bush.  He actually managed to push Jimmy Carter down into third place!  Last week Hutchison and fellow Texas Senator John Cornyn voted against support of the United Nations Disability Rights Treaty.  Cornyn also supported senate candidate Todd (“legitimate rape”) Akin of Missouri.  In his final days as Texas Attorney General, Cornyn forcibly shut down the Tigua Indian casino on the grounds gambling is illegal in Texas, which effectively forced the Tiguas back onto the welfare dole that most White Republicans hate because it seems to attract too many Indians, Negroes and other undesirables.  Hutchison and Cornyn also voted against Sonia Sotomayor for a position on the U.S. Supreme Court.  Now, “Tea Party” Republican Ted Cruz will replace Hutchison next month.

I don’t know why the Lone Star State keeps putting these clowns into office.  I voted for Cornyn in 2008, but I won’t make that same mistake again.  I’ll never be embarrassed to be a Texan, but I am embarrassed by people like Hutchison whose idiotic antics keep a negative light on this otherwise incredible state.  Believe me!  There’s more to Texas than Rick Perry and gunslinging!

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121212 Concert a Success

Springsteen and Bon Jovi

Springsteen and Bon Jovi

Last night’s “12-12-12 Concert for Sandy Relief” in New York’s Madison Square Garden gathered some of popular music’s most notable figures and so far has raised more than $30 million.  And, the money is still pouring in, with all funds directed towards the Robin Hood Foundation.  New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen opened the concert with “Land of Hope and Dreams” and “Wrecking Ball.”  Fellow New Jersey native Jon Bon Jovi later joined Springsteen for the latter’s beloved “Born to Run.”

The gathering of artists tilted in favor of rock music, but everyone seemed to have a good time and no one took themselves seriously.  Among the performers were Billy Joel, Alicia Keys, Paul McCartney, the Who, Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones.  “This has got to be the largest collection of old English musicians ever assembled in Madison Square Garden,” Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger said.  “If it rains in London, you’ve got to come and help us.”  That’s a nice comparison to a storm that killed more than 100 people.

Aside from the great music, there was some comic relief, too.

“I know you really wanted One Direction,” comedian Christ Martin said of the popular British boy band.  “But it’s way past their bedtime.”

“You can feel the electricity in the building,” host Billy Crystal noted, “which means that Long Island Power is not involved.”

“When are they gonna learn you can throw anything at us,” said “The Daily Shows” Jon Stewart, “terrorists, hurricanes; you can take away our giant sodas.  It doesn’t matter.  We’re coming back stronger every time.”

The concert was broadcast live on 37 U.S. television stations and more than 200 others worldwide.  Producers claim that up to 2 billion people across the globe watched.

Ironically, this concert came one day after the death of internationally renowned musician Ravi Shankar.  In 1971, Shankar held a benefit concert at Madison Square Garden for the victims of Cyclone Bhola, which struck Bangladesh on November 11, 1970 and killed over 1 million people.

You can still donate to the Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund by going here.

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Republican Incontinence

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December 12, 2012 · 8:09 PM

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Numerologists go crazy every time something like this occurs.  People scurried to the horse races on July 7, 1977, and reveled on September 9, 1999.  Don’t you know evangelicals fretted all day on June 6, 1966?  Here we are again – another date that will live in the annals of quirkiness and the minds of people with OCD.

The number 12 has been significant since the beginning of time – 12 months in the year, 12 hours of night, 12 hours of day, 12 astrological signs, 12 Olympic gods and goddesses, 12 days of Christmas, and Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.”

The number 12 is an accountant’s dream.  It can divided into halves, thirds, fourths, sixths, and twelfths.

Palindrome lovers rejoiced in the fact that at 1:21:02 A.M., they could celebrate the second which marks a date-time combination which will be read the same both backwards and forwards: 2012-12-12 1:21:02 = 201212-1-212102.  That makes my eyes hurt.

In Chinese numerology, the number one is a yang number, which is ruled by the sun and represents independence and individualism.  Two is a yin number, which is ruled by the moon and represents symmetry and balance.  When placed together, the number 12 brings harmony to the yin and yang, balancing the feminine energy of the moon with the masculine energy of the sun.  Thus, 12/12/12 supposedly equals lots of harmony.  Just like Red Bull and vodka!

I hope everyone enjoyed this day.  It’ll be the last one of its kind for a very long time.  In the meantime, I need to rest my eyes.

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In Memoriam – Ravi Shankar, 1920 – 2012

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Legendary Indian sitarist, Ravi Shankar, died yesterday, December 11, in San Diego, California.  Shankar died in a hospital near his home, his family said in a statement, adding that he had suffered from upper respiratory and heart ailments in the past year and underwent heart-valve replacement surgery last week.  He was 92.

Robindra Shankar Chowdhury, was born on April 7, 1920, in Varanasi, India, to a family of musicians and dancers.  His older brother Uday directed a touring Indian dance troupe, which Ravi joined when he was 10.  Within five years he had become one of the company’s star soloists.

In the early 1950s, Shankar began traveling throughout Europe and the United States.  He introduced the Western World to the sitar, then a little-known instrument outside of India.  Shankar collaborated with a variety of fellow musicians, including violinist Yehudi Menuhin and flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal.  But, it was his work George Harrison of the Beatles that brought him even greater international fame and respect.  Harrison had become intrigued with the sitar on the set of the 1965 Beatles’ film “Help!”  He quickly learned how to play it and used it on the Beatles’ song “Norwegian Wood.”  Within a couple of years, the sitar became popular with rock music, and Shankar began a new career.  He even opened the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival.

But he came to regret his participation in rock festivals, saying he actually deplored the use of his music, which has its roots in an ancient spiritual tradition, as a backdrop for drug taking.

“On one hand,” he said in a 1985 interview, “I was lucky to have been there at a time when society was changing.  And, although much of the hippie movement seemed superficial, there was also a lot of sincerity in it, and a tremendous amount of energy.  What disturbed me, though, was the use of drugs and the mixing of drugs with our music.  And I was hurt by the idea that our classical music was treated as a fad – something that is very common in Western countries.”

Shankar is the father of award-winning performers Anoushka Shankar and Norah Jones.

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Backing Away

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“Who would ever have thought blacks would get out and support the first black president?  Who would ever have thought women would shy away from the party of transvaginal probes?  Who would ever have thought gays would work against a party that treated them as immoral and subhuman?  Who would have ever thought young people would desert a party that ignored science and hectored on social issues?  Who would ever have thought Latinos would scorn a party that expected them to finish up their chores and self-deport?”

– Columnist Maureen Dowd, on the declining state of the Republican Party.  She coquettishly compares the GOP to the ancient Mayans; noting that the latter civilization self-destructed from internal bickering and a long-term refusal to progress.  Then again, at least the Mayans left behind some things of value.

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Why We’ve Raised a Generation of Neurotics

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Courtesy Stuff No One Told Me.

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