To me tatoos are very tribal..A way of saying “I belong to this tribe” and seems to give youngsters a sense of belonging to something… I will never have a tatoo..the idea is unattractive to me, so I shall continue through life unwritten and undrawn upon.. But, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I myself have never seen a beautiful tatoo so my eye is most often averted when tatoos are encountered.

People from all over the world seem to want to come to the US and work and live. Many of them don’t have much ambition to be an American, just to benefit from being in America. It is my belief that if people come here to live and work and benefit from our culture, they have to obey the laws of this country and be peaceful, law abiding residents, or citizens if you will. If I am a cannibal, or a head hunter and come to America should I be expected to give up my tribal practices because they are against the law of the US? Or, If I say thats my religion, is it okey to go ahead with what I claim is my faith. We may come to the place in the world where we have to see if we can winkle out what is Truth in Freedom. Freedom to do what ever I damn well please is anarchy and ultimately results in no freedom for anyone. Freedom without responsibility for our actions is anarchy and chaos. Ditto for freedom of speech. If its okey to say it, you must take responsibility for having said it and what results from its being said and how it was said. Just my humble opinion of course.

Hopefully the paper will report the news without the “spin” that so many reporters and editors seem to think is necessary in what should be straight forward reporting of the facts without all the colorful adjectives. There is a place for opinion….on the Editorial page, not in the news items. We have had to leave off our local papers because of the political leanings they have allowed to color their entire paper and now are down to THE WALL STREET JOURNAL and THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR for good old fashioned reporting of truth. TV is no better..its heavily loaded with spin..”Entertainment” sems to be more important that reporting the facts. Gawd, the talking heads are like a babbling brook that never stops and its all speculation..and then pretty soon speculation is being treated as if it were fact.. This little dynamic can lead to a very schizophrenic view of the world and whats going on. I mean by that “split off from reality”… Anyone else notice this? Lets hope one of Americans oldest and best newspapers on the East coast, is benefited by this new direction.

This seems to be what happens when people from other cultures come to America but do not embody American values. In the US killing your daughter is murder, not an honorable thing required to uphold the family good name. In America murder is a criminal act more likely to bring disgrace upon the family than hornor. Perhaps in Pakistan this murder would have gone almost unnoticed because in Islam these things seem to have been incorporated as part of their religion. If one goes to live amongst the infidels, is one required to abide by their laws? Or do the laws of Sharia trump infidel law?? If people want to come to America and live should they be expected, requiired even, to follow our customs and obey our laws? This case is interesting because an item of “faith” that is part of the Muslim culture, is in direct conflict with Laws of the US and in this particular case, the laws of the State of Georgia.

My favorite sport to watch?? Horse shows!!!! My favorite sport to participate in? Horse shows!!! Of course you have to love horses to find this sport enchanting..but the beautiful part is, anyone of any age who has a sincere interest in this sport can participate..from the 3 year olds in the lead line class, to the over 65 crowd in the Pleasure riding classes. And these folks can participate in the US Nationals at the Arabian Horse Nationals. I love to drive fancy horses. Perhaps this method of transportation will be making a comeback if gas prices keep climbing.

When the coal industry is going to look more and more interesting too people is when the heating oil bills start to come in. Expect to have a chilly house this winter if you have a heating oil furnace because those bills are going to be outta sight. The power company here in this city where we live have put up solar panels in the big parking lot so that the entire lot is covered with solar panels. This creates solar energy as well as providing a shady place for people to park their cars..Thats an important factor when you live where 102 and 103 are normal summer temperatures. I notice a huge parking lot at Target and thought, if Target put up solar panels like our power company, they could run their store and then some just on the electricity produced in their parking lot. In addition it would provide lighting at night and could run security cameras as well, beneficial to late night shoppers. All Government buildings and facilities that have big parking lots should do this. Also would help create more jobs in producing solar panels..All this with technology we already have. If businesses everywhere did this it would greatly reduced the energy needed to produce electricity and would use much less oil and much less air pollutants as well. This is a very interesting time to be in the world. Its stimulating to creative people everywhere and provides an opportunity to those with wealth to invest in new innovative things..some of which will be like Google in the garage, and some won’t ever come to much. All of us can support creativity and so what we can to help. Drive at 50 mph and don’t go cruising around so much. During WW2 there was gasoline rationing and we all had gas stamps. You could only buy as much gas as you had stamps for. There were “A” stamps, they got a lot because of the nature of the critical kind of work they did..Then there were”B” stamps..They got less than A but also were considered to be vital industry to the war effort. Then all the rest got “C” stamps and when you had used up the gas you got for C type stamps, after that you stayed home, or found other modes of transportation to work and back or to shop. We all made that system work Think positive, act positive, support creativity where you can and how you can. Don’t play “aint it awful” and add to those big negative attitudes and thought forms, thus making a self fulfilling prophesy.

Happy Birthday and I wish you many more.

Wow! Ms Coulter sure knows how to get a lot of peoples goat… She can get people all stirred up into a foaming at the mouth rant just by wishing George Bush a Happy Birthday… If we are for free speech, lets let her say what ever she wants to say, just like everyone else. Many of you are spewing just as much anger and hateful energy as she is and you are free to say whats in your heart and mind. Should we stuff a sock in your mouths as well as Ms. Coulters? The personal attacks on Ms. Coulter are not any more enlightening than her oppinions on things.. What has happened to thoughtful, reason and compassionate discussion here? Some of you sound like the Ms. Coulters of the more liberal persuasion.

Okey, do any of you ladies have any tears for the people shot down in cold blooded murder on the streets of America by drug dealers and gang members? They outnumber in one year, all of the American deaths in Iraq in total and they are just as senseless.

Yes, because of his integrity and people skills.

I wear only Carons Bellodgia and have worn only that for years. In my youth I liked Chanel #5 and still like it but don’t wear it. Every Christmas my husband gives me, among other things, a new bottle of Bellodgia. Bellodgia to me is a fresh floral scent that is NEVER overpowering..very sexy, very feminine.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I do not find women with a body like a teenage boy except for enormous artificial looking breasts as especially a standard of beauty. But, whatever an individual finds beautiful, is so for that person. I also do not find tatoos and piercings especially lovely to look at, but some tribally inclined folks think its art. True beauty comes from within a person and shines from deep within out through their eyes, lighting up eveything around them. By this definition, men can be beautiful also but most do not care to think of it in those terms.

Well, as the old saying goes, “act in haste, repent in leisure”

Im with you Star. I just read a very long article about Cindy McCain and she is a very impressive woman, full of grace and charm and integrity. I wasn’t aware she is recovering from a stroke, which explains a lot and she has certainly done a lot of quiet and unpublicized charity work. Not just giving large sums of money, which she has also done, but going in person to see for herself what the situation is. I think she would make an excellent First Lady, in the same sort of way Jackie Kennedy did. This is not to say that Michele Obama is not a nice person too.

Nothing beats a wonderful early morning gallop across the meadows and through the woods, on a beautiful Arabian horse. Or a ride down a country lane in the light of a big full moon. There is a freedom from worries and problems on those rides that is unexcelled by anything else in my life. A good horse is also a good friend. The beautiful silver/white mare who looks like a horse out of a dream who can carry me lightly over rough ground..or the big bay gelding who is a powerhouse and so beautiful and smooth as silk to ride. Nothing beats this sort of experience for me. Also love gardening and if I can’t be riding, then its off to the garden!!