Tsunami Relief?

I read somewhere that Bush had put together a core group of nations to deliver relief to the Indian Ocean nations that are suffering (to put it mildly) from the Tsunami that devastasted the area last week. Now I read that that group is being dissolved and the funds are going to the UN. Bush caved in to UN pressure and I'm ashamed of him for doing so. I thought he had a backbone, but maybe he gave it to Miss Beazley as a welcome home gift.

This is the same UN that corrupted the Food for Oil program. The Food For Oil program was a $64 Billion program to get food to the starving women and children of Iraq in exchange for Iraqi oil. How many millions of dollars were siphoned off by UN officials and Kofi Anan's own son? How much of the nearly $1 billion pledged by various nations that Anan is demanding be turned over to the UN will actually get to the victims it was designated for? How many will die because money intended to help them will go into someone's pocket instead?

I've already made one donation through my tax dollars. Now I'm glad I waited to make a personal donation. I'll make my donations to the American Red Cross, Americares, or another organization that will see that the money is used to it's best advantage. My money will not ever knowlingly be given to a UN sponsored organization.

I know that things are "done differently" in other parts of the world. Palms must be greased in order to get things done. Wrong is wrong. Money or goods designated to help the poor and suffering should get to those people, minus reasonable handling costs. Bribery and extortion is not reasonable. It's greedy and it's wrong. Period.

Update: In case you're wondering, you can find out how much of your money actually goes to helping the people you want to help and how much goes to administrative costs at Give.org.

AMBER ALERT!

I don't usually post these but this is current. I just heard this on Fox News:

Two year old Jason Murdock-Steel was snatched from his mother's arms yesterday, apparently the victim of a parental custody situation. The father, Scott Eric Rodenfield (unsure of spelling) is a person of interest and is believed to be headed to Las Vegas. A vehicle used in the abduction was a white BMW with the personalized plate TRAVLR9. The vehicle is believed to belong to the father.

Jason is 2 years old, dark blonde hair with blue eyes. He was wearing blue jeans, a blue sweatshirt and a green coat.

If you have information contact the LAPD Pacific Division at 310-482-6313 or 877-529-3855 or call 911 wherever you are.

Here is a link to the Code Amber website

More information from Code Amber:

Police are looking for three suspects.

A white female, 30 to 35 years old, 5'7", 130 lbs. wearing a long blue coat.

A white male, 200 lbs, 30 to 35 years and heavy set.

An oriental male, 6'2", 30 to 35 years, large build with bushy eyebrows wearing a military jacket.

The suspect vehicle is a 2002 black Ford Pick Up with California tag 6W95060.

A second vehicle is described as a white 2002 station wagon 4 door with no further description.

UPDATE: One of the vehicles involved has been located in Comstock CA.

UPDATE: The LAPD and the California Highway Patrol canceled the Amber Alert on Sunday afternoon after the suspect turned himself in to the LAPD with his son. The child is safe but the other two suspects status is unknown a this time.

Inaugural Debate

I read in Michelle Malkin's blog that First Daughters Jenna and Barbara Bush will be hosting an Inauguration concert at the DC Armory. Apparently, Kid Rock is one of the entertainers, although the inaugural committee is saying he "isn't confirmed." Some groups are lobbying to get Kid Rock removed from the concert. And apparently the inaugural committee is reconsidering having Kid Rock appear.

Look, I'm middle-aged. I might not want to believe it most of the time, but I am. The music of Jenna and Barbara's generation doesn't appeal to me in the least. That's not to say that others of my generation don't like hip/hop, rap, funk, rock-rap or whatever it's called. I'm talking about me. I'm not too fond of most music written after the 1970's. Yes, there is some good music from the 80's and 90's. I just don't care for most of it and I don't get rap at all. Well, that's not entirely true. One of my favorites is Toby Keith's It's All About You which starts out with rap.

I wasn't too familiar with Kid Rock. I knew the name, apparently I had heard or read something that, while I didn't remember the specifics, left a negative impression. So, in the interest of fairness, I went on an Internet fact-finding mission to learn something about him. I found a site that gave the lyrics of his songs and thought this would be a good place to start. I came away very unimpressed. I didn't read the lyrics of every song, but the ones I did read were not geared to my tastes. The f-word is liberally applied, rape and oral sex are favorite themes. One song contained a stanza about pimping Barbara Bush, Jenna and Barbara's grandmother. Nice.

I found out that in 1999 Kid Rock was named the "Sluttiest Male Celebrity” at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards. He generated complaints to the FCC after his appearance at last year's Super Bowl half-time show where he appeared in a poncho made from a cut-up American flag and did a sexually suggestive dance. The American Family Association says that he has appeared in pornographic videos. One online bio says that Kid Rock "is noted for his use of adult film stars when he performs (nude when he can get away with it), as Kobe Tai and Jenna Jameson have danced on stage while Kid does his thing." While I found most of this at various sites, World Net Daily has articles here and here reporting the same.

Now, in Kid Rock's defence, he is a Bush supporter, rare for someone in the entertainment industry. He has entertained the troops at home and overseas. He refused to see Michael Moore's Farenheit 911 saying that it was all propaganda. He's been known to attend Republican events. And we have to remember that his music is not geared toward the mainstream, conservative Republican.

If the idea behind inviting him to perform at the concert is to try to get the younger generation to join the Republican party, I have to think it's a foolish idea. One performance isn't going to sway anyone to the conservative side. And if it does, wouldn't they be as likely to sway the other way at a concert produced for the DNC?

I don't like vulgarity. Call me a prude if you like. I don't care. I explained in a previous post that, in my opinion, if you have to lace what you have to say with vulgarity, you either don't have the vocabulary explain your opinion or your opinion isn't very sound to begin with.

I have to agree with those who say that having Kid Rock entertain at this concert is not in keeping with the pro-family values that were part of the President's campaign platform. This is not someone I would consider a role model and if I were in the position of inviting performers to entertain, I'm sure there is someone out there who shows more character in their professional life than Kid Rock. And like it or not, entertainer's professional lives are part of their persona. It's what we see, so, it's what they are.

And, as I've said before, it's all about character.

Changes

You might notice that I've changed the sidebar...again. I had changed "Hurricane Relief" to "Disaster Relief" after hurricane season had ended. I've now changed "Disaster Relief" to "Tsunami/Disaster Relief" and moved it to the top of the sidebar. It will go back to "Disaster Relief" after relief is not as desparetly needed in the Indian Ocean as it is now. Or, when the next disaster occurs (weak laughter).

Some Words Hear "You're Fired!"

ABC News has declared bloggers People of the Year, and Merriam-Webster declared "blog" Word of the Year, but a committee at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie has declared "blog" to be among the 22 expressions on the List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness. From among 2000 words submitted, only 22 made the cut. Among the expressions on the list are "blog,""sale event,""body wash" and "zero percent APR financing."

"We're uber-serious about this list," said committee organizer Tom Pink, referring to the German prefix meaning "over" or "super" that increasingly finds its way into English.

John Shibley, co-compiler of the list said, "People talk back to their TVs, radios, computers, etc., when words and phrases make them angry or frustrated," he said. "Diminishing 'word-rage' makes the world a more peaceful place." Shibley said the Lake Superior State group compiles the list in the spirit of fun, and going through old lists can be "like coming across a lost script from an Austin Powers movie."

Well, that explains it. Bloggers are not PC because we make people angry or frustrated. If I've made anyone angry or frustrated by what they've read here, I consider that I've done my job. I've made them think about something instead of going along with what "everyone" else thinks. Think for yourself!

"Language changes, and you cannot stop it. It's just like any other part of human culture," said Wayne Glowka, an English professor at Georgia College & State University who heads the American Dialect Society's new word committee. ADS has also chosen a list of words, which will not be published until after their meeting on January 7th. You can view past lists here.

Here is the Sault Ste Marie list (clicking on the link will take you to the reasons behind the inclusion):

Blue States/Red States
Flip Flop/Flip Flopper/ Flip Flopping
Battleground State
"... And I approve this message"
Pockets of Resistance
Improvised Explosive Device
Enemy Combatant
Carbs
You're Fired!
"Izzle" speak
Wardrobe Malfunction
Blog - in all it's forms
Webinar
Zero Percent APR financing
Safe and Effective
Erectile Dysfunction
Journey
Body Wash
Sale Event
All New
And More!

I say here! here! on the Red State/Blue State thing. It's divisive when constantly used. If you look at a county map of the election, you'll see that not a single state was solidly red or blue. In the case of blue states, it was larger metropolitan areas such as New York City that made New York a blue state. Why can't we all get along?

"...And I approve this message." I understand why it came about. So that someone can't put out a negative or completely false ad and the candidate claim no responsibility to it. It lends some credence when the candidate's voice is heard to approve the ad. Ads can't be published or aired without the disclaimer, but can't there be another way of approving it without this annoying line?

Safe and Effective? I suppose something can be effective but not safe, a bullet, for example.

Body Wash? Is that like a car wash? ewwwwwww! I can see the line at the local body wash location - bodies of all shapes and sizes waiting in line. Do they supply their own towels and soap or can they purchase soap when they get there? And it gives new meaning to a "wax job."

Enemy Combatant? If I'm fighting someone to the death, it's probably not a friend, so it would be an enemy, I would think.

I'd like to hear "Hell---lo!" removed removed from public speech except when used as a greeting. When it's used to question why someone said or thought such a stupid thing, is, in my humble opinion demeaning. There are better ways of telling someone they are an idiot than making them look foolish or stupid. No, I'm not being PC, I just don't like making someone mad at me by making them look stupid. When someone is mad at me, they are not receptive to hearing the truth about what they've said.

Another is "undocumented alien." I've gone over this before, in length. They are undocumented because they are here illegally. It makes no difference whether they are from Mexico, Canada, Haiti, Cuba, Iraq, or Mars. If they don't have the proper paperwork, they are here illegally.

What words or phrases would you like to see banished from the English language?