"A man calumniated is doubly injured - first by him who utters the calumny, and then by him who believes it." - Herodotus

"Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny." - William Shakespeare

"Calumny is only the noise of madmen." - Diogenes of Sinope

"It is harder to kill a whisper than even a shouted calumny." - Mary Stewart

Gail's sick with a cold or such. Neither of us sleeping well.

Weather, etc... rain here off and on... snow just up the hill in Georgetown, CA on Wednesday when I drove to a lesson at church. Then fair and blue skies Sunday-Monday. I managed a walk of about 3-miles on Tuesday, just short of 6-miles on Thursday, and a walk to my ride to church of just less than 1-mile on Sunday.

PRESIDENTIAL RACE: Four years ago, nearly, I, a registered Republican, voted for Al Gore to take America into the future... a seemingly bright future without an inkling of what to come on September 11, 2001. That future, though naive, may still come to pass once those who are hungry are fed... those who live in fear, fear no more... those that are hurt or sick have health care...
I find Kerry too 'smarmy'... too patronizing. Given, now, that I would prefer a more conservative Supreme Court, and lean more toward religious and family values... I cannot vote for a ticket, a party, that panders to extremism and taxes. Granted, I would like to see universal health care for all the citizens of our fair country, but given the irresponsible spending of the norm and then adding an extra tax burden on same, I see nothing but future family difficulties and possible failure. Taxes are not the answer... responsibility is.
For those who rail that Roe v. Wade might be stricken down I honestly do not see this eventuality in the near future... that would indeed be political suicide. Enough is promised by the Bush administration that all women will be protected in the case of incest, rape, or when the life of a woman may be in danger. Lax attitudes toward promiscuity should have taken a down-turn in the '80's... but haven't. Family values must become a priority. Responsibility must become a reality. With all the billions our government subsidizes in education... the dollars spent on health and sex education appear to go for not.
Those that may worry about the Iraq quagmire... that was a slippery road that the entire political machine of both parties started down, not Bush alone, il-advisedly. All felt that action must be taken... after all, the opposition probably felt they could always point their fingers if things went bad... especially with a political cycle coming up soon... their accountability soon forgotten. I see more miring in Iraq's future... more death... more finger pointing. The Bush administration has taken the Responsibility to see things through... to rid Iraq of its extremist enemies. A strong Iraq free from fear benefits the world. Would our country accept help from our allies who have since backed off or never committed support... of course !!! But they, our erstwhile allies, do not want to take the responsibility of the burden... whether because of political sways in their country, fear of terrorist retaliation, out and out apathy, or otherwise. But who will become the carpetbaggers of the future in Iraq come what may ? My guess is those same fair-weather allies of ours.
I, therefore, must vote for the Bush candidacy.

Continued earthquakes ( see previous post ) 10/27/2004 01:40 M 6.0* WEST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN Z= 15km 37.27N 138.82E ( * revised from initial 5.7 Richter )
See also World Earthquakes

I read an SF short story recently by none other than The Steve Allen titled "The Public Hating"... the link is an interesting treatise to the power of hatred, though I do not ascribe to all of the author's conclusions.

Red Sox win the world series as the moon turns to blood (during a full lunar eclipse). I don't believe in signs of portent, but hey... it's not as if the Cubbies won.
I was quite taken by an interview by Sox ace Pedro Martinez when asked about the Yankee fans railing him at Yankee Stadium yelling "Who's your daddy" shortly after his famous "...I guess the Yankee's are my daddy" quote on why he had difficulty pitching against the Yankees. His humility and grace in the face of such derision was quite an about face to the norm. He stated his humble background when he didn't have money for bus fare in the Dominican Republic ( Dominican Dominators Sammy Sosa and Pedro Martinez )... and now he was on center stage, the object of attention of all the Yankee fans... and being grateful for the opportunity.
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