Fragments From Floyd

I am bookmarking that Republican thing - so I can send it to all my conservative friends.

My beautiful WV is being torn apart by mining. I will come back and read that article after breakfast.

I'm registered independent, but it's important to show balance: http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/jokes/bljokedemocrat.htm

Let's talk politics when you're ready.

several more things you believe if you are a republican: 1. lower taxes, and you shouldn't be penalized through taxes because you choose to take the traditional route of getting married. 2. that young couples, like my husband and i, should have some say in how to invest our hard-earned money for retirement, and not leave that up to the government, when there is no guarantee that it will even be there when we are of age to retire. 3. less government is better- people should have the right to choose which doctor to go to, which schools to put their children in, etc. 4. that the unborn child, the most helpless victims in society, who have no voice, should be given a chance at life. that once you have engaged in an act that leads to reproduction, your reproductive rights are over. you must then bow to the sanctity of the new life that has been created and take responsibility for your actions. that a baby is not a woman's body- it's a separate, unique person with it's own dna and genetic make-up, which gets nourishment from a woman's body. 5. that character and integrity ARE important in a leader. if you are not honest and trustworthy with those that are closest to you, i.e. you're spouse and child, and you lie to your spouse and lie under oath, i.e. clinton, then it's hard to trust that you are being honest and trustworthy with the millions of americans that you don't know.

and about iraq- it is a fact that the clinton administration also believed saddam had wmd's along with a lot of other countries. bush was making decisions based on intelligence that was gathered during that administration as well. it is a fact that sadaam had a nuclear program that was discovered after the '91 gulf war. that's why inspectors had been there for years. sadaam was given 12 years to comply with the inspectors and the u.n. resolutions. and it is also a fact that both the bipartisan senate intelligence committe and the bipartisan silberman-robb commission on intelligence came to the conclusion that bush accurately reported what intelligence agencies (not just ours, either) had reported. so i'm not sure where everyone is getting this information that bush lied.

hmm. fred, that image is *gorgeous* -- but the link is the same for "blue lagoon nebula" and "fantastic composite". is there another gorgeous image we're missing out on?

Re: the pictures. The moon composite is now my desktop wallpaper. Absolutely stunning.

Re: Republicans. **sigh** I find Jim's list to be funnier than Scot's...and more honest, in a way. What am I supposed to make of a guy who thinks Republicans hate homosexuals or that the President lied about the justification for the Iraq war? I know hyperbole and sarcasm when I see it, but I'm with Amy on this one.

Re: the coal industry. Like most Americans, I had no idea. It's probably indicative of what happens when a single industry dominates a geographical region...it's too easy to exploit both the environment and the people who live there. But once again, there is the underlying tendency to lay this mess at the feet of one political party in particular. KY/WV coal country is predominantly "blue state," and has been so for decades. Presumably their state and local governments have been as well. I think there's probably plenty of blame to go around.