February 27, 2006

Stress Relief In Five Minutes (Or Less)
By Gwenn Bonnell

A while ago my husband came home shaking and shivering uncontrollably, claiming he had the stomach flu. Although it was a warm evening, he was very cold. He put on fleece gloves and thick socks and buried himself under layers of blankets and comforters, still shivering intensely and breathing shallowly. I tried not to let my own fear show, but was ready to call 911 or visit the emergency room — it almost seemed like he was having convulsions.

Then I remembered a simple technique that quickly re-programs the body's autonomic nervous system and reduces stress. I laid next to my husband and placed the palm of my hand on his forehead. And just kept it there. Within a minute or two, his shivering and shaking became less intense. His breathing pattern slowed and began to deepen. Within five minutes, he had stopped shivering completely and his breathing returned to normal. He was calmed and relaxed, and so was I! (Read the rest here) (With introduction by the Editor)

If I Ruled the World
By Lady Liberty

All of us live under certain sets of rules, regulations, and laws. Some of these rules make sense; many of them do not. People sometimes disregard the rules that make sense. Contrarily, they also sometimes assidulously obey and enforce those that don't. This might actually be funny if the end results were not frequently less than amusing.

I don't believe that there are too many absolutes in this world where "acceptable" behavior is concerned. The one rule that I do consider sacrosanct is one that should be much simpler to follow than many have made it out to be, and that is this: You should do whatever you like as long as it doesn't infringe the rights of others. This, of course, covers everything from the most heinous of crimes to the merely annoying. (Read the rest here)

Bumper Stickers - Fact and Fiction
By Nathan A. Barton (TM and © 2006)

I received the following e-mail from a very “progressive” friend (did you know that the word “liberal” is no longer politically correct, by the way), and thought that I should see what sort of sense I make out of them from the point of view of a lover of liberty. Obviously, many of these are targeted at the current administration, and at “fundamentalist” Christians, and “ conservatives.”

1. WE TRIED OUR BEST -- HALF OF AMERICA
Hmm. You don’t suppose that there might be SOMETHING else one could do besides just vote for who gets to be “massa” this next four years?

2. BLIND FAITH IN BAD LEADERSHIP IS NOT PATRIOTISM
This one isn’t bad at all – unfortunately, most people don’t realize it applies to BOTH of the old parties. (Read the rest here)

Feminine Mystique, Or Feminine Mistake?
By Carey Roberts

Noticed how Hillary's been looking so, well, angry?

During his recent State of the Union address, president Bush made a light-hearted remark about Bill Clinton. The camera turned to Hillary for a cameo shot, and all she had to do was smile politely. But no, she shot back her trademark "isn't-this-guy-an-idiot" expression.

Hillary, I'm afraid you were set up -- right in front of a national television audience.

Somehow, Hillary's ire is emblematic of everything that has gone wrong with the feminist movement since Betty Friedan released her celebrated book, The Feminine Mystique, in 1963. (Read the rest here) (See Editor's note)

The Conservative Reform Game
by Jacob G. Hornberger

Here we go again. The reform game. In the wake of the federal government's disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is unveiling "reforms" that will ensure that such federal disasters never happen again.

This is par-for-the-course conservatism. Engage in the never-ending game of criticizing federal paternalistic programs for being "inefficient" or for having "waste, fraud, and abuse" and then calling for "reform," always in the perpetual but futile quest to make such programs succeed. (Read the rest here)

A Tradition of Shutting Down the Opposition
By Jeff Adams

A Legacy of the Republicans (and Democrats for that matter)

As most internet news surfers know by now, Al Gore once again demonstrated why he is the court jester of the Democrat Party (as opposed to Howard Dean, who is the king-dunce of the Democrat Party). Forget Gore’s reiteration of his idiotic, uninformed position on global warming. I’m talking about Gore going over seas and speaking at the Jiddah Economic Forum.

One has to ask, ‘Is Al Gore so stupid and partisan as to go over seas into the heart of a people group that despise us, and offer them ammunition with which to attack us?” The answer, obviously, is, “Yes.” Al Gore’s actions are no different than the men who used to go into Indian territory and sell Indians liquor and guns. At least the men who sold the guns and liquor to the Indians were pure capitalists, not interested in the fallout from their moneymaking activities. Al Gore no doubt took money for his appearance, but he clearly had a political motive for his actions, which was to attempt to bring down the Republican Party. However, it’s not his motives that concern me, but his actions themselves. The end doesn’t justify the means. (Read the rest here)

Dubai Ports World: Commercial Racial Profiling
By Ivan Eland

Some members of Congress, exhibiting post-9/11 jingoism and paranoia, are pressuring the Bush administration to reconsider its decision to allow Dubai Ports World, an Arab company, to take over operations at six U.S. ports. The approval should stand.

Congressman Peter T. King (R-NY), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee and, more importantly, a Congressman from an area near two of the ports that will be operated by Dubai Ports World, expressed this xenophobic view about Dubai’s acquisition of the British company that is currently operating the ports: “In the post-9/11 world, there should have been a presumption against this company.” (Read the rest here)

Viewpoint: Judicial abuse stirs grassroots movement
By Joe Baker, Senior Editor, The Rock River Times

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
-The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"In a government by the people and for the people, it is to the people that accountability must be enforced." So says JAIL4Judges, a national grassroots organization seeking to restore accountability by the judiciary.

It is no secret to anyone who has had contact with them that the courts of this country and their officers are saturated with corruption. Anyone expecting to get justice there is destined for a galling disappointment. (Read the rest here)

Broke & Stalling - Now We're At The Debt Limit
By Ed Henry

As of February 16th the United States of America has reached its statutory debt limit. We are now holding at a mere $25 million below the current ceiling. Normally, the U.S. runs up the national debt more than that every fifteen minutes 24/7.

In the first three months of the 2006 fiscal year, the government averaged $2.4 billion per day in new debt for a total of $238 billion. In January, the borrowholics started holding back and only added another $26 billion. But now, four and a half months into the fiscal year, we’ve added a grand total of $316 billion to the tab. The nation’s debt stands at $8.248 trillion including “debt not subject to the limit.” (Read the rest here)

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