ShowMeBlog

Bush vetoes bill banning waterboarding

  I was wrong.  I said years ago that we should not impeach President Bush.  There was no way we could do it with the number of Republicans in congress but we should have attempted to impeach him.
 

"WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush said Saturday he vetoed legislation that would ban the CIA from using harsh interrogation methods such as waterboarding to break suspected terrorists because it would end practices that have prevented attacks.

"The bill Congress sent me would take away one of the most valuable tools in the war on terror," Bush said in his weekly radio address taped for broadcast Saturday. "So today I vetoed it," Bush said. The bill he rejected provides guidelines for intelligence activities for the year and has the interrogation requirement as one provision. It cleared the House in December and the Senate last month.

"This is no time for Congress to abandon practices that have a proven track record of keeping America safe," the president said.

Supporters of the legislation say it would preserve the United States' ability to collect critical intelligence while also providing a much-needed boost to country's moral standing abroad.

"Torture is a black mark against the United States," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California. "We will not stop until [the ban] becomes law."

The bill would limit CIA interrogators to the 19 techniques allowed for use by military questioners. The Army field manual in 2006 banned using methods such as waterboarding or sensory deprivation on uncooperative prisoners..."

  The bill would also ban beating, electrocuting, burning and using dogs.
  President Bush is a truly evil person.  President Bush has NO socially redeeming value.
No decent, God-Fearing person can condone his veto. 

  President Bush has by his veto committed a high crime and misdemeanor.
  President Bush has no moral or legal justification for his crime. 

  There is such a thing as Moral Law. 

  This nation was built on Moral Law and our founding fathers expressed the moral and legal standing of our new nation in the Declaration of Independence. 
  The United States of America does not torture people.  We do not torture prisoners because it is wrong and is a sin. 

  President Bush is putting at great risk all Americans but most of all the great Americans that service this nation in the armed forces.  He is making it policy that we torture prisoners.  What can our own service men and women expect now if they become prisoners?

  I guess now we will have to demand that congress overturn the veto of President Bush.
 
  I am waiting to hear Republican John McCain on this matter.  He was a prisoner for years and he was tortured.  I have said a lot of good things about John McCain here in Howard's Notebook in the past.  But on this issue there is only one legal moral and American position.  I pray to God that John McCain will stand with the Lord.

Doxazosin Mesylate (Cardura) vs Bananas

  I am back taking Cardura (Doxazosin Mesylate) and now when I piss it is not drops it is a stream and a stream is good when your pissing.
  I am back taking Cardura and today I ran out of bananas and my chest pain is back.  I told my heart doctor that when I eat bananas that the chest pain goes away and he looked at me like I was nuts.  (Maybe when I said bananas he pictured something like the photo above.)
  I mentioned to my main doctor about the bananas and he did not laugh in my face but I am not sure he believes me.
 

Re-Thinking Cholesterol

"Most of us grew up with a few indisputable truths: Smoking causes cancer, drugs can kill, and cholesterol is bad. We learned to avoid butter and eat margarine instead, despite the latter's own unhealthy processing and partially-hydrogenated oils. But new findings suggest that ever since the mid-20th Century, when the cholesterol scare began, the research has been a little off-the-mark.

Cholesterol, suggests Maggie Mahar in an extensive, two-part essay on HealthBeat, has simply gotten a bad rap. Why? Because as Americans, we tend to latch on to theories that seem plausible before all the facts are in..." 
  The above is from Awearnessblog.Com
  All my life I have attempted to stay away from doctors.  I was never a person to take pills or get flu shots.  If you're sick and need to see a doctor then see one and I believe in following their advice.
  I am going to be 67 on the 26th of March, 19 days, and now I take a handful of pills each day.  I got a flu and  pneumonia shot this year. 
  About two years ago I had a doctor tell me I needed to take a cholesterol medication.  I attempted to correct the high cholesterol with diet.  I could not do it.  So I let him put me on a cholesterol medication (Simvastatin 40 MG).  Soon I felt like someone had beat every inch of my body.  At first I did not know it was the medication. So for a month or two my entire body hurt and I was in pain.  Then I found out it was the Simvastatin and I stopped taking the medication. 
  Now my doctors want to put me on a different cholesterol medication.  Right now I am refusing to take any cholesterol medications.  My doctor understands and all is OK right now.

  I was writing this post at about 0600 hours and a small storm hit for about 10 minutes and we lost power for one second or less.  Thank God this program (Windows Live Writer) saves a copy of the text from time to time.
  I need to get a UPS unit for this computer.  I am not sure when I can afford it but need one.  This condo seems to lose power for a second or two during storms.

Two Current Photos

I moved my computer again today.  The above photo was taken with my Casio Exilim EX-Z1080.  It is a nice camera.

The above photo was taken with the Logitech Quickcam 9000 Pro.

Both these photos were taken just a few minutes ago.

Bush: "Economy has slowed"

  President Bush  says the "economy has slowed" but that the long-term outlook is good.  President Bush should know slow.  He is the slowest president we have had since President Hoover. (OK OK.  I am just trying to make a point.  President Hoover was a very smart president.  He just could not re-act to the depression because of his Republican politics.)
  Job losses are the worst in five years. Bush's hand holding buddies have got the price of oil at over $100 a barrel.  It is going to put us into a recession. 
  Our slow president says everything is going to be OK.   He is an expert in slow.
  But I am worrying. 

Doxazosin Mesylate

  I am starting to have problems again.  I will not give you all the details but I have just started back on the Doxazosin Mesylate.  I took one just now.  I will take one more tonight with my meds and for the next two days.  Then I am going to break each of them and start taking 2 MG and not the 4 MG.
 
  I am back at 210 pounds.  My left foot and leg are swollen again.
  I been eating foods with salt again. 
 

  I have two lottery tickets in the Missouri Power Ball on Saturday.  The jackpot is worth $200 million.  Now a person could do a lot of good with that much money.

  Update:  03/07/2008 1300 hours
                I am better after taking the pill.  I am having some chest pain.
                It looks like I am correct and that the Doxazosin Mesylate causes chest pains.  The  medication does work to let me go to the bathroom.  Right now I will live with the chest pain.  I will soon start to take half of the medication and see if I can get to a point where I can go to the bathroom and not have chest pains.

Frank Woodruff Buckles

    I was looking on the Internet for information about cremation.  I found one place  FuneralDepot.Com and they have a simple cremation for $795.00 and plans that run up to $2795.00 for everything.
    I looked around on the Internet and that seems to be about the price range right now for cremation. 

    I need to buy a plan or put some money into a savings account so if something happens to me that my family does not have to come up with cremation money.
    When my mother died she had a total funeral plan and everything was paid for and taken care of and it sure made things much more simple and easy on the family.

   I have no idea how long I am going to live or what the price will be when I do die.
   Did you see on TV that the last known U.S. born WWI vet visited President Bush?  Frank Woodruff Buckles is 107 years old.  President Bush said "Mr. Buckles' mind is sharp" of course I wonder how President Bush could tell a sharp mind.  (Smile)
   Mr. Buckles was in a wheelchair and President Bush said before reporters came into the room that Mr. Buckles had recalled chatting with Gen. John J. Pershing.
   Mr. Buckles is the last of nearly 5 million doughboys.

My Vote Does Not Count

(CNN) -- "Florida and Michigan could go from having no say in the Democratic nominating process to deciding the nominee if their states' political leaders succeed in getting their delegates seated..."

There is a lot of talk about what to do about the vote we had in Florida.  Right now my vote does not count.  One plan is for the 8 million or so that voted here to get to vote again by mail.  It would still cost millions of dollars. 

 

   Right now Florida and Michigan have enough delegates to put Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton over the top. 

   John McCain was down here in Florida and people are wondering if maybe Florida Gov. Charlie Crist might be on the vice president list. 

   I guess Hillary Clinton has said that our Democratic race could result in a ticket with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama teaming up.  We call that a "dream ticket."
   Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh said Wednesday that a presidential ticket with a "woman and a black" doesn't "have a prayer." 
   I would love to see Hillary Clinton at the top of the ticket and as I have said before agree that she will serve one term.  The problem if they won would be her keeping her "first husband" under control.  It would be a hard position for Barack Obama.  He would have to support Hillary Clinton and he would get little or no credit but if anything went wrong he would get the blame after four years when he ran for president.
  But just think if we had the election and for the first time a woman and a black man won.
 
  It is all very interesting. 

Over the air digital TV

  We are now getting over the air digital TV.  We do not have a HD TV set.  The video is much better than the old TV except on those channels that are weak.  I am just using rabbit ears on top of the TV set.
  We cannot get cable TV here.  If we want all the TV stations we would have to go with a dish.  We just happen to live in a little corner of this condo lot that does not have cable.
 
  I get almost 3000 visitor to Howard's Notebook right now.  Those numbers can change fast.
Many of those hits are from Google and people are looking for "Britney Spears Bare." 

  Many of those hits are from teenage boys wanting to know how big should should their penis be if they are xx number of years old.  Sometimes boys 10 or 11 will do a Google search and end up here.  Most are in the 13 to 16 year old range.
  A few of the searches ask is there a way to make a penis bigger (the answer is NO).  A few of the searches ask is it OK to masterbate (they call it "wanking") and often they want to know will "wanking" make their penis bigger or smaller (it will have zero effect on the size).

  After years and years (5 years) I still get a lot of hits each day wanting to see Colin Farrell's penis.  I posted something about Colin Farrell in 2004 and I still get a lot of hits each day because of that post.

  Now there are other searches that bring people here, Thank God, but in fewer numbers;

  Haulover Beach,  gun death rate,  Harry Potter nude,  Universal Health Care and other subjects. 

  Yesterday we had 2381 visitors to Howard's Notebook. 
  Why do you read Howard's Notebook? 

Sharper Image Files for Bankruptcy

  I liked the sort of things that the Sharper Image stores sell.  It was rare for me to buy something from them.  I must not have been the only person that liked to look at their stuff and not buy because they have filed for bankruptcy.
  If you got a gift card for Christmas your out of luck.  They will not honor the card.

  Look for problems from Brookstone.  They sell the same sort of thing.

WiFi Internet Radio

   Phil Ryan has been reading Howard's Notebook and sending corrections. 
I make fewer errors that I was expecting.  But some of the errors I make are a surprise me. 
  One common one is my using "your" and it should be "You're" and there are others.
Maybe with Phil's help I will get better at blogging.

Phil has a question about WiFi Internet radio.  He is interested in listening to stations from all over the country very clear at night without an antenna. 
He says the WiFi radios seem to run $200.00 or $300.00 each.
He would like to get some information from some of you using them. 
  Do you recommend WiFi Internet radio?
  Do you know if they work well on a router?
  What about the ones sold by C. Crane company?
  You can leave a comment here or send me an email:  jhoward@hnbbs.net and I will forward to Phil.

  I used to be a shortwave listener for years and years.  My guess is that you can get radio stations from around the world on WiFi Internet radio?

Ann Coulter is for Hillary Clinton

Living to 100 Years of Age!

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Living to 100 is easier than you might think.

"Surprising new research suggests that even people who develop heart disease or diabetes late in life have a decent shot at reaching the century mark.

"It has been generally assumed that living to 100 years of age was limited to those who had not developed chronic illness," said Dr. William Hall of the University of Rochester.

Hall has a theory for how these people could live to that age. In an editorial in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine, where the study was published, he writes that it might be thanks to doctors who aggressively treat these elderly folks' health problems, rather than taking an "ageist" approach that assumes they wouldn't benefit..."

  Would you want to live to age 100? 
  I was born in 1941 so if I lived until I was 100 then I would live until 2041. 
  I would like to see what happens with space, technology and other things.
  But I do not want to out live my family.  I also would not want to live to that age if I made it by ending up in the hospital many times.  I would not want to be old, I know I am old now, and have parts of my body taken out and new parts put in me.  I would not want to have to recover from a broken hip.
   I also would not want to be poor and wondering every day if I had money to get food. 
   I would not want to live if my family had to take care of me. 
   Right now I can see living a few more years.  I would like to see 100 years of age but the quality of life would matter.  I have some hearing lost now.  I would not want to live if I could not hear or see. 
    A few months ago I would have said that there was no way that I would make it to 100 years of age.  Now it could happen.
    Now if I hit a lottery jackpot I would love to live and spent the money.
    It would be sad to win a lottery jackpot and then die.

Convicted Molester Leaps to his Death

SANTA ANA, California (AP) -- "A 52-year-old man jumped to his death from a Southern California courthouse balcony hours after being convicted of child molestation, authorities said.

Carlos Edward Tello was facing more than 20 years in prison when he jumped from a ninth-floor balcony of the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana Tuesday afternoon..."

  I wonder if there any stats on how many child molesters are assaulted and killed in jail.
I have heard some ER doctors talk about some of the guys they have seen that have been assaulted in jail.
   It should not happen in prison but it seems to be pretty much accepted by people.
   I suspect the number of people that decided to end it all is pretty high. 
   If you're a child molester you do not want to go to prison.
   I was looking on line for some stats on the above subject but could not find any stats.
   I did notice some interesting links.  One on a Republican mayor that got 275 days in jail for molesting two boys that were 10 and 12 years old.  This guy that leaped to his death got 20 years for molesting two girls.