ITS A GIRL

Here’s an update on the latest little Panda born in the USA!

ATLANTA - The baby panda born earlier this month at Zoo Atlanta is a girl. In a statement posted Monday on the zoo's Web site, officials said the female cub appears to be healthy.
Zoo staff members had removed the tiny cub from its birthing den for the first time on Monday, 19 days after panda Lun Lun gave birth, and determined its gender during a 10-minute checkup.
With Lun Lun in an adjacent den, zoo veterinarian Maria Crane gently lifted the baby and began the examination. Because the newborn is so small and Lun Lun often held it close to her body, zoo officials have not known until now whether the newborn was male or female.
Crane also weighed the cub, listened to her heart and checked her pulse. She weighed nearly 1 1/2 pounds and was a little more than 12 inches long.
The 9-year-old Lun Lun gave birth Sept. 6 after a 35-hour labor. It's the fifth giant panda born at a U.S. zoo in the last six years.
The cub is being kept from the public until she turns 100 days old, when, according to tradition, there will be a naming ceremony. Until then, panda fans have been keeping up with the cub on the zoo's online panda cam.
After trying for seven years, the zoo successfully artificially inseminated Lun Lun at the end of March. The father, Yang Yang, and cub are being kept separate, which is normal in the wild.
Only three other U.S. zoos have pandas — San Diego, Memphis and the National Zoo in Washington. Both San Diego and the National Zoo have had successful panda births.

MUSLIM OUTRAGE AGAINST CHRISTIANS. WHY?

Help me understand why the Muslim community throughout the world is pursuing an angry and violent out pouring against the Pope, in particular, and Christianity, in general? Their outrageous display remind me of a three year old child who throws a tantrum in the super market because his mother wouldn't buy him a candy bar. Why is it that after the Pope said he regretted his remarks and that they were not representative of his view of Islam, they still persist in accusing him of what they have determined to be a heinous crime? It is as though their outrage is a paper tiger to substantiate their goal of creating a Muslim world. I hope not and I would hope that some Muslim who reads this would take the time to explain their position.

As an American who believes all religions should be respected and their freedom protected, I want to understand why followers of Islam think differently.

0 - 2 TITANS, 0 -3 VANDERBILT, FLORIDA OVER U. T.

As you can see, all the major Tennessee teams lost this weekend. The Titan game was a wash-out with not one mitigating factor in their favor. It was disgraceful for a supposedly "professional" team to play so badly. How's Kerry Collins working out for you now, Jeff and Floyd? And what's the prognosis for the second coming, Vince Young? How's that working out for you John McClain and Bud Adams?

It was absolutely stupid not to start Billy Volek who had trained with the Titans from mini-camp through Training Camp. They had their timing down and could have surely performed better than Collins et al did. Of course, our high testosterone coach who likes to really lower his voice when he thinks he is making a point, will say his mind is made up and he made the best decision and fans don't know anything. Oh, really?

Because I love football (grew up watching the Chicago Cardinals play in the 40's, lived in San Francisco and often went to the 49'er games, in Houston, the Oilers, in Denver, the Bronco's, in Cincinnati, the Bengals and finally the Titans) it's hard to forgive such poor effort. (Yes, I'm an old lady!) There is something very wrong with the management of the Titan organization. It would seem that if the majority of the people who watch the Titans from fans to professional sport's writers and broadcaster find this has become a disastrous situation with no apparent solution, the Owner would attempt to do something to right the ship. It would appear he has been disengaged from the team except for this year when he made them draft Young because of his ongoing vendetta against Houston.

What a shame that Nashville who has given up so much to satisfy his greed, would be the city to suffer. One might also trace the disintegration of the Titans to the year he failed to re-up Jeff Diamond as President. It's pretty much been down hill since then because he thought he would save a dime by getting rid of Diamond.

What think you?

At least Vanderbilt played their hearts out...coulda, woulda or shoulda won with just a few more calls in their favor. As far as U.T., I think their QB has overcome much of his weakness from last year and Florida only beat them by one point. Since I'm not a Coach Fulmer fan, I was happy Florida won.

JUST A SUGGESTION

This may not be original and I haven’t heard anyone in Washington discuss it, but doesn’t it seem to you that one of the best solutions to stop this sectarian violence and the spread of angry, fundamentalist Muslim teaching would be for those Muslims who reject these teachings to band together and make their truth heard?

I think the rest of us could do more to encourage this type of involvement by the majority of Muslims who believe in peace and particularly for those Muslims who live in the U.S., for them to explain the freedoms afforded by a Constitution and freely elected government. Unfortunately, I really don’t know any Muslims, but maybe individual "Letters to the Editor" calling on these Muslims to become active may be all that’s needed. It matters not how well you write, just make your point.

If we accept the premise that Knowledge Is Power, it follows that the more education and/or enlightenment people have, the less they will be entrenched in teachings that will defeat their purpose here on earth. Of what value is a life with a fundamentalist teacher…none. How can there be any justification that Mohammed would want the sacrifice of even one life while killing others? And, right now, why would Muslims desire to kill other Muslims in the name of Allah? It doesn’t make sense!

TAKE FIVE, TITANS, PATH TO 9/11

TAKE FIVE!

One of my favorite jazz artists has always been Dave Brubeck. In the 50’s we used to go everywhere Dave’s group might play in Southern California and then when I lived in San Francisco in the 60’s, if the Trio was playing, we would be there.

The other day, I was listening to a Brubeck CD and “Take Five” began playing. It was probably one of his most upbeat songs and the distinctive 5/4 time makes it recognizable today as background for a movie or even a TV commercial. When I hear it, it always makes me smile and then a feeling of happiness kind of slides into my heart.

While it was playing the other day, it occurred to me there’s a lot we could profit by “taking five!” How many times do we overlook quiet contemplation when five minutes are available? How long does it take to “connect” with God in a small prayer? How much can we “hear” when we quiet the scattered thoughts racing through our brain?

What is it about our life today that almost finds doing nothing a shameful thing? What is “shameful” is not doing a “Take Five!” We’ve all earned a simple smile.

TITAN'S ON THE CLOCK (SOMEONE FORGOT TO SET THE ALARM!)

Well, the Titans played their first game at home Sunday against the Jets. Going in everyone felt it was critical that they win this game because the next 5 are going to be against teams that ended last year well above 500. Didn’t happen. Coach Fisher in his infinite wisdom elected to start Kerry Collins who had been with the team about 9 days rather than Billy Volek who had been the starter through Training Camp! This decision does NOT make sense. Granted Collins has been a starter for a couple of teams, but obviously there’s something missing or he wouldn’t be here. The only thing I can think is that the Titans want to be able to trade a healthy Volek and they didn’t want to take a chance on him being injured. I wouldn’t be surprised that after the Charger game this Sunday in San Diego that he will be traded or released. In any event, it is going to be a long season once again. When Adams starts getting pinched with the fan disappearing, maybe the old fart will do something.

PATH TO 9/11 - ABC'S COURAGE!


I was absolutely knocked out by the ABC presentation of the Path to 9/11! It was amazing that they would screen something that certainly wasn’t politically correct. We had that “PC” crap stuffed down our throat for 8 years under Clinton and to see how he and some of his icons were portrayed was an eye-opener. The old adage of “the Emperor has no clothes” rings true in this instance. If you missed it, try to get a copy. Well worth it! The culpability and negligence of the Clinton administration was nearly criminal.

PRESEASON IS OVER

FOOTBALL

Although we have a certain relief this afternoon because the Titans not only won the game (albeit against the poor Packers) but they played like they were a team. The past week, after a significant loss to the Falcons, management caused a bit of angst when they brought in Kerry Collins to “compete” for the QB job. We assume the power brokers think we are not only naïve but dumb, however, that’s has always been their assumption about the fans so no point in changing their mindset. Kind of like the coach that only gets excited on 3 yards and a cloud of dust. It’s embedded.

Anyway, I hope Volek and Bennett will break new records wherever they end up. It’s not a given that either will be cut or traded, but it would appear their Titan appearances are just about over and the curtain is slowly descending. One of the sportscasters said something interesting during the game today. He indicated someone on the Titan staff said that no matter what a player’s performance was during this game that “no one could earn their way on or buy their way off.” The cuts have to be done by tomorrow afternoon and evidently the decisions had already been made before the game. However, the players were certainly in a position to showcase their skills for other teams needing some help. I hope good teams will find a place for Jarred Payton (Walter’s son), Tyrone Calico, Andrew Woolfok and, of course, Drew and Billy if they’re cut.

Brett Favre played three downs, hit a touchdown and left the game. Very brief exposure, but he sure looked good even though his curtain has almost reached the stage. Seeing him in person has always been a thrill. Don’t you think he’ll make the Hall the first year he’s eligible? During my lifetime I have seen many legendary sports figures and they always emit some kind of “magic.” It can’t be defined, it just IS and I’m always in awe.

POLITICS

Well, it appears pre-season is also over in the world of politics. The President left his vacation home and visited Nashville to raise money for the election Bob Corker who is trying to get Bill Frists’s Senate seat. Now President Bush is another one of those guys who has “magic.” You may blast him and make fun of him, but if you would personally see him working a crowd or giving a speech to partisans, you would feel the stardust. When he’s in a comfortable group, he comes across so much more fluid and fluent in his language and speech patterns then he does on a televised or "canned" speech.

He is very passionate about the U.S. position in the world whether it is Iraq or Iran. It’s a dicey time right now and we hope the gain toward democracy in Iraq won’t dissolve in sectarian violence. If they can just get through a year or so of self-government, this may become the greatest legacy the U.S. could give any country. George Bush has this vision and we hope it’s on target. We shall see, won’t we?

Don’t count him out just yet.