Spring in Tennessee

We never tire of the beauty in the change of seasons...eat your heart
out Californians!

Since I'm not a great photographer, I can only hope you can enjoy the
gorgeous flowering trees.

"POLITICS" & THE MEDIA ARE JUST CRAP!

For the last couple of months, I find myself trying to escape any, and I mean ANY, news broadcast. I used to be such a news junkie and was hooked on MSNBC as well as FOX, but now I find much of my time is watching HGTV or listening to the local sports radio show, 104.5!

What's going on? Why am I running as fast as I can via my trusty remote to NOT hear the news? Well, it all does boil down to the miserable sensitivity I've developed to the ugly partisan politics that surrounds nearly all news broadcasts. It is so patently distorted to jibe, jab and mislead the public. Take a second look at Gore's "Inconvenient Truth." The truth is Gore has been up to his eyeballs in his own personal environmental destruction with a zinc mine here in Tennessee. Furthermore, just because he's been given press by those liberals who still contend he won in 2000, doesn't mean "global warning" is a fact that will destroy us. Too many acknowledged scientists have disputed what he is alleging, but do you see headlines on their position? NO! Do you ever tire of David Letterman's nightly
monologue denigrating the President? YES!

Right now, the Lefties are peeing all over themselves about the firing of some Federal attorneys. WHY? Because Chuck Schumer and Pat Lahey are gleefully attempting some political coup against Gonzalez to discredit Bush. Please know that these firings are not illegal and the A.G. had every right to initiate them.

Lastly, this Scooter Libby trial which should never have gone forward when Armistead volunteered that HE was the one who had disclosed the self-absorbed Valerie Plume's name! But, no, the politico's wanted another venue to rip Bush, Cheney, etc. That was downright shameful!

Where's this going to end? The media and Internet are vital to a democracy, but there has to be some personal limitation by these reporters to evaluate what their purpose is in pursuing a vendetta against the administration. Is it any wonder that broadcast news is losing listeners and so many are searching out other kinds of cable programs including repeats and repeats of "Law & Order." We can only wish the media would have some kind of satori and figure out a way to have a positive effect.

Pro Football Gangsta's a la "Pacman"

1. The difference between the "hi hop" and the "gangsta" culture would appear that in the later, there is absolutely no respect for authority or law. "Gangsta's" probably relate to "hip hop", but just because you enjoy "hip hop" doesn't mean you would relate to "gangsta" protocol.

However, the one thread that runs between these two is their denigration of women, i.e., the lyrics on hip hop songs and actions by gangsta's are against women. If one accepts this kind of music into their life, there will be some accommodation to the philosophy no matter how subtle it may be.

2. Everyone talks about cutting Adam Jones, but the fear is the Titans won't find anyone to replicate his field performance if he goes to another team in the AFC, it could hurt the Titans in game winning situations.

My thought is, particularly if the alleged gambling with bookies is proven, the NFL should ban him from football. No suspension, fines, etc., just ban him from football forever. And, furthermore, the Titans should be relieved of any further expense because of breach of contract. (Of course that's assuming the contracts in the NFL have a clause forbidding known contact with gamblers. We know the trouble with "assumption.")

3. Call me cynical maybe because I was raised in the Chicago area, but with the dismissal of all charges against Adam Smith in nine arrests, why wouldn't you think the "fix" was in? How can one person who frequently finds himself in deep doo-doo always walk away free of charge. Cha-Ching, someone's getting a pay off.

Panda Needs Help!

Here's an interesting story on line today. It's kind of sad, but if it reaches just one scientist or inventor, the quality of this little panda's life could be improved:

HELPING LEGLESS PANDA IMPROVE ITS SEX LIFE

Rescuers appeal for artifical limb for young, female ‘Niu Niu’

CHINA DAILY via Reuters
Niu Niu, a panda who lost its left limb, rests at a wild animal research center in Xi'an, northwest Shaanxi province March 7, 2007.

BEIJING - An animal research center in northern China has appealed to the world for help to fashion an artificial leg for a panda that lost a limb -- along with its sex life -- in a fight, local media reported on Thursday.
In December, a resident of Dajiangou village in Shaanxi province stumbled upon a group of pandas fighting, the Beijing News said.
One seriously injured panda, a two or three-year-old female that rescuers named "Niu Niu" (girl), was taken to an animal rescue center and saved, but lost two-thirds of its front left leg.

"Niu Niu's spirits have lifted, the wound has healed and her appetite has basically recovered. But without her left paw, her loss of balance has directly affected her love life," the paper said.
"The rescue center's staff suddenly had a bold idea. If they could give Niu Niu an artificial limb, not only would that solve her walking and foraging for food, it would also enable her to mate."
Staff were appealing to the world's experts for suggestions and hoped to receive a plan for a "meticulously scientific" fake limb as soon as possible, the paper said.

China goes to great lengths to protect the giant panda, which is regarded a national treasure and found only in nature reserves in the country's Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces.
Last July, Chinese vets and dentists were planning an operation to implant three false teeth in a panda injured after a fall in the wild in the same province,%2