*22 Ways To Be A "Good" Democrat

I got this as a forward...and thought it was funny....and yet sad at the same time! I thought this would be an interesting list for us to read...and for those of you who don't get why some of them are funny...maybe you should take a deeper look at Clinton.

22 Ways To Be A "Good" Democrat

THIS IS NOT SO HARD -- EVEN A CAVE MAN CAN DO IT....

1. You have to be against capital punishment, but support abortion
on demand.

2. You have to believe that businesses create oppression and
governments create prosperity.

3. You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding
Americans are more of a threat than U.S. Nuclear weapons technology
in the hands of Chinese and North Korean communists.

4. You have to believe that there was no art before
Federalfunding.

5. You have to believe that global temperatures are lessaffected
by cyclical documented changes in the earth'sclimate and more

affected by soccer moms driving SUV's.

6. You have to believe that gender roles are artificial but being
homosexual is natural.

7. You have to believe that the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of
federal funding.

8. You have to believe that the same teacher who can't teach
fourth graders how to read is somehow qualified to teach those same
kids about sex.

9. You have to believe that hunters don't care about nature, but
loony activists who have never been outside of San Francisco do.

10. You have to believe that self-esteem is more important than
actually doing something to earn it.

11. You have to believe that Mel Gibson spent $25 million of his

own money to make "The Passion of the Christ" forfinancial gain

only.

12. You have to believe the NRA is bad because it supportscertain

parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU isgood because it supports

certain parts of the Constitution.

13. You have to believe that taxes are too low, but ATM fees are
too high.

14. You have to believe that Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem
are more important to American history than Thomas Jefferson, Thomas
Edison, and A.G. Bell.

15. You have to believe that standardized tests are racist,but
racial quotas and set-asides are not.

16. You have to believe that Hillary Clinton is normal and is a
very nice person.

17. You have to believe that the only reason socialism hasn't
worked anywhere it's been tried is because the right people haven't
been in charge.

18. You have to believe conservatives telling the truth belong in
jail, but a liar and a sex offender belonged in the White House.

19. You have to believe that homosexual parades displaying drag,

transvestites, and bestiality should beconstitutionally protected,

and manger scenes at Christmas should be illegal.

20. You have to believe that illegal Democrat Party funding by the
Chinese Government is somehow in the best interest to the United
States

21. You have to believe that this message is a part of avast, right
wing conspiracy.

22. You have to believe that it's okay to give Federal workers the
day off on Christmas Day ..........but it's not okay to say "Merry
Christmas."

Ready to vote???

side-by-side comparisons of candidates

Below you can download side-by-side comparisons of where the GOP candidates stand on:

Family Values Issues

2nd Amendment Rights and Crime

Securing America's Borders

Fiscal Responsibility

Huckabee, Obama have huge night in Iowa

Barack Obama wins, with Edwards 2nd and Clinton 3rd in Democratic race, CNN projects

CNN projects Republican Mike Huckabee wins too, beating Mitt Romney into second place

Entrance polls indicated young Dems went for Obama; Huckabee favored by religious voters

Joe Biden and Chris Dodd withdraw from Democratic race after caucuses

what are your thoughts? are you glad?

I am soooooooo glad that Hillary Clinton did not win! I am scared for our nation if she becomes president! Are you?

*The violent unrest

Pakistan's electoral commission has delayed its decision on whether to put back elections planned for 8 January.The violent unrest which has followed the assassination of Benazir Bhutto has put the election date in doubt.

The violent unrest which has followed the assassination of Benazir Bhutto has put the election date in doubt. Her widower, Asif Ali Zardari, said her Pakistan People's Party would contest the poll. He and his son, Bilawal, will take over the leadership of the party.

Pakistan's stocks fell by 4.7% as they resumed trading after three days of mourning following Ms Bhutto's death.

from: "http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7165448.stm"

* Fastest growing cause of women dying in pregnancy

This is an article I found about how being overweight during pregnancy can increase the risk of death. Yes, we all should know that....and even if we do know it...we still don't exercise like we should! I know I don't! I am talking about the people who are capable...and don't have other health issues that may make losing weight more difficult. Maybe I will remember this article next time I want a cheeseburger! ....I am not close to being pregnant now...but I wouldn't want to be unhealthy when I do become pregnant!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maternal deaths linked to obesity
By Branwen Jeffreys
BBC News Health Correspondent


Maria Thornton

Pregnant and 19st

Obesity is the fastest growing cause of women dying in pregnancy or childbirth in the UK, a report shows.

More than half the 295 women who died during or after pregnancy between 2003 and 2005 were overweight or obese.

Experts say the number of deaths - from a total of two million pregnancies - is low - but the trend is very worrying.

The Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths (CEMACH) report calls for more support and advice for obese women before and during pregnancy.


Obese pregnant women are probably at four or five times greater risk of suffering maternal death than a woman of normal weight - and the same for their babies dying
Dr Gwyneth Lewis
Maternity tsar

Calculate your BMI

Gwyneth Lewis, CEMACH director and the government's maternity tsar, said the figures showed that childbirth was very safe in the UK.

But she said the growing evidence of a link to obesity was a cause for concern.

Significant problem

The figures suggest that a modest amount of extra weight in pregnancy carries little extra risk, but obesity poses a significant problem.

Fifteen per cent of the mothers who died were morbid or super-morbidly obese.

Dr Lewis said: "Obese pregnant women are probably at four or five times greater risk of suffering maternal death than a woman of normal weight - and the same for their babies dying."


Catherine Collins

Nutrition advice

She is concerned many women are not aware of the risk associated with obesity.

Overall, the UK has one of the lowest rates of maternal death in the world, at seven per 100,000 pregnancies.

In comparison, the rate in the US is 14 deaths per 100,000 pregnancies, and in France it is 18.

However, the death rate in the UK has stopped falling. With obesity levels predicted to soar experts say it is vital that women are fully aware they should try to get to a healthy weight before trying to conceive.

The report says excess weight not only puts a woman at risk of medical complications, it can mask symptoms and cause logistical problems.

In one case, there was a delay in spotting that a woman was at risk of seizures, because a blood pressure cuff could not fit around her arm.

http://freerice.com/


It's a simple word game.

One right answer is 10 grains of rice for someone without food.
If everyone answers just a few questions a day, it will add up.

Make it your home page.
Invite your friends.

Feed the hungry.
Improve your vocabulary.

Here's how it works:
They're not sitting on a pile of rice, waiting to decide how much to give...
Nor are they manipulating poor farmers to donate rice.
The ads at the bottom of the website fund the purchace of the rice, which is distributed through the United Nations World Food Program.

What is driving oil prices so high?

Oil prices have surged to record highs above $97 a barrel.

Prices have more than quadrupled since 2002 and are currently 40% higher than at the start of the year.

What factors are causing this unremitting increase and what are the likely consequences for consumers and the global economy?

---

What is causing the latest price spike?

This was triggered by simmering tensions between Turkey and Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq and fears of possible incursions by Turkish troops into Iraq.

Prices have remained above $70 a barrel for most of the year

The amount of oil produced in northern Iraq is actually very small while the major pipeline linking the Iraqi town of Kirkuk, just south of the Kurdish region, with Turkey has been shut for long periods since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

But it is fears that the dispute may escalate and threaten oil output in the wider region - Iraq, Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia between them account for 20% of global supplies - which have fanned the price rises.

In particular, there are concerns about potential Kurdish reprisals on an important pipeline in Turkey, which delivers 700,000 barrels a day from Azerbaijan to the port of Ceyhan.

The situation in northern Iraq is just one of a number of geopolitical factors which are causing uncertainty in the market and helping to push prices up.

Iran's push to acquire nuclear power and, many believe, nuclear weapons has sparked concerns it could use its own oil supplies as a bargaining chip in any future showdown.

Barely-veiled threats from the US, suggesting that military action remains a live option, have further accentuated fears.

Militant violence in Nigeria's largest oil-producing region and recent violence in Afghanistan and the Yemen has also served to inflate prices.

The weak dollar, which makes it cheaper for importers to buy dollar-denominated oil supplies, is also a major factor.

Is demand for oil continuing to soar?

Yes. The biggest catalyst for oil's seemingly remorseless rise has been the simplest economic driver there is: the balance between demand and supply.

Demand is at an all-time high, fuelled by the continued breakneck economic expansion of the Indian and Chinese economies.

With more than a billion people in each country, and both economies growing fast, manufacturers and consumers are sucking in energy at an ever-increasing rate.

China's booming economy is sucking in a huge amount of oil

China overtook Japan as the world's second-largest consumer of oil in 2003 and is closing in on the US, with demand for oil growing at about 15% a year.

Analysts worry global demand for oil is so intense that supplies may not keep pace.

Demand will rise by an average of 2.2 million barrels a day next year, the International Energy Agency says, compared with the 1.5 million-barrel rise seen in 2007.

It says annual demand will rise 2% up to 2012, while other projections suggest demand could soar from about 90 million barrels a day to as much as 140 million over 25 years.

What is Opec doing about the situation?

As the leading oil supplier in the world, producers' cartel Opec is under constant pressure to do something about the price bubble.

It recently bowed to pressure to pump more oil, agreeing to raise its production quotas by 500,000 barrels a day from 1 November.

Reports suggest the move was forced through by Saudi Arabia and that few other Opec members either have much stomach for increasing output or much capacity to spare.

Opec has said the market is "very well supplied" with crude and will continue to be so in the immediate future.

It has blamed speculation by market traders - who can make money by betting on the future direction of prices - for the continuing price rises.

Critics of Opec say it must act more aggressively to bring prices down.

"The response from Opec has been pretty poor so far," says John Roberts, an energy security analyst with commodities research firm Platt's.

"The sentiment in the market is that it is time for Opec to increase production again."

Who are the winners and losers from costly oil?

Taking inflation into account, prices are still below levels seen in late 1980, when a barrel of oil - in today's prices - was worth more than $101.

Back then, costly oil helped contribute to a recession in the US and similar fears are resurfacing now.

The Bush administration has said it is "very concerned" about current price levels, at a time when the economy is already expected to slow significantly next year.

High energy prices make life more expensive for consumers and businesses, having an knock-on effect on their spending in other areas.

Gasoline prices are hovering not far below the $3-a-gallon mark in the US, while UK petrol retailers have warned prices could soon rise above £1 a litre.

But on the other side of the fence, oil giants such as ExxonMobil and BP are having a wonderful time, while oil-rich countries are also smiling.

Oil wealth has underpinned President Hugo Chavez's efforts to reshape Venezuela, allowing him to fund extensive social programmes and reject US criticism of his policies.

Russia's oil and gas bonanza has underwritten efforts by President Vladimir Putin to exert state control over the country's energy sector.

Where will prices head next?

Many people scoffed when analysts from investment bank Goldman Sachs said in 2005 that prices could eventually top $100 a barrel.

This now seems a real possibility, although analysts caution that the market remains volatile.

"There is every reason to suppose the price could hit $100," says Platt's John Roberts.

"At the same time, one good thing goes right and the price goes tumbling back down to $70 or $60."

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7048600.stm

*Birth control for 11 year olds?

Below is a blog from "http://momblog.gainesville.com/default.asp?item=689868" and this is a mothers prospective on this issue. I do not agree with the schools move to give students as young as 11 birth control! For so many reasons! A child at the age of 11 should not be worried about if they will get pregnant...and if they are...then i think the school has other issues to worry about before they start handing out birth control! Also, the health issues that could result in a childs life if they started birth control at 11 and continued until marriage...this could be 10 years in most cases...this could cause a child to not be able to become pregnant when they finally want to....those are two of my main reasons....now lets hear from a mothers side:


"Birth control for 11 year olds?








Okay, how can we not discuss this one?

School officials at King Middle School in Portland, Maine, have passed a policy that will allow children as young as 11 to obtain birth-control pills at a middle-school health center without their parents knowing about it, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Parents are required to sign a waiver allowing their children to receive medical care at the school. However, now that medical care -- in the area of birth control -- is kept secret from the parents.

The school defended its decision by saying that the new policy is aimed at a tiny number of sexually active students. It also said that birth control would be given out only after extensive counseling, and no prepubescent children would get it.

The school will become the first middle school in Maine, and apparently one of only a few in the nation, to make available a full range of contraception, including birth-control pills and the patch.

I understand what this school is trying to do -- they are trying to protect sexually active children, who maybe cannot talk to their parents, from getting pregnant. But I think they are missing it. So, here are the big issues I have with this:

1. Birth Control is a medication: Like all medications, there are a slew of side effects that the pill can cause, not to mention the danger of drug interactions. If a kid who is on another medication takes the pill, there could be severe consequences.

2. STDs: I think that simply handing out the pill could give a young girl a false sense of protection. While she may not get pregnant (assuming that she could responsibly take a daily pill that most adults even forget,) what about the risk for STDs?

3. Parents' right to know: This is a big one for me, as a mom. So, you are telling me that you -- the school -- could give my child prescribed medication and I am not allowed to know about it? The thought of that simply makes my blood boil. In trying to protect a small number of students, you are trampling over my rights as a parent.

Okay, so let's hear it. I know there are people on both sides of the fence. Honestly, how do you feel about this? Parents across the country are furious, especially in Portland, Maine. If it were your kid's school, what would you do?"

Go ahead and tackle her questions here!