Arkansas Blog

OK, dog lovers. Here's my gift to you. Click on Cato and get the kids.

I shared this the other night, but it really deserves a weekend audience.

Go ahead and set your beverage on the table for a minute.

Loved all the pooch pix today, and Cato's, thanx Max.
IMO that is what w/ends should be...leave the heavy lifting for monday morn.

Thanks for all the lovely pics, Max.

Cato--LOL!

I attempted to register as a volunteer for the Little Rock Free Medical Clinic (NAFC) next weekend and was unable to do so. Apparently they have a full complement of volunteers! I am a licensed mental health professional, but would have been willing to simply assist in any way needed. Isn't it encouraging that Arkansans have generously donated their time and services for this wonderful offer of free medical and dental care?

While there are plenty of things I can find to be critical about from time to time in our state, this time I'm very proud to be a citizen of Arkansas. I just hope there will be a full response from those needing free medical/dental services.

Drove thru Perryville today and there was a big ol' sign out front of the gas station that said it best for today:

Run, Bambi, Run!!

Baby Bear, are they offering dental services> I had not heard that.

I did read the other day BabyBear that they had over 800 volunteers and only about 200 of those were nurses and doctors. So they do seem do have the amount of non-medical volunteers that they needed--Iread they needed 500. I'm glad I registered early. I agree that it is very encouraging to see that so many people have offered to help.

Did anyone else notice that the ADG listed the Razorback game as starting at 6:30 am? Maybe they were talking about the time the tailgating began!

Enjoyed the dog pictures today too. Now we need a day for cat pictures. Max?

Kizzy, I seem to remember that they are offering dental services, but you know my poor memory. still, I think they are.

..........A Right to Have Loud Sex???

A British court refused to overturn the conviction of a woman banned from screaming during sex because she violated a noise ordinance. Caroline Cartwright, 48, said the authorities were denying her and her husband, Steve, their right to privacy. The judge said the noises - which an investigator said sounded like someone being "murdered" - were "very disturbing" to neighbors and people in the street, and the offense was compounded by "the frequency of the episode." Do human beings have an inalienable right to loud sex?

click

Thanks, tina, a friend of mine needs some serious dental work. I'll make a referral.

kizzy,
Here's the website of the group that's sponsoring the healthcare clinic next weekend. They do mention dentists being involved in the projects but you may want to call the 877 number just to double check if that's the case for LR.
I was under the impression they also offered vision services and eyeglasses, but I can't be completely sure of that. May want to ask about that too if you know someone in need of that service.

Here's a story (clicky) that I doubt will get more than a casual mention anywhere...because people only seem to get jacked up about the separation of church and state when it suits their anti-anything-religious sensibilities.

A judge in Phoenix, AZ rules that a church cannot feed the homeless, claiming that it is operating as a "charity dining hall" and breaks a zoning ordinance...the ruling would apply to all churches in the Phoenix area. No mention as to whether communion will still be allowed, or Sunday potlucks, or wedding receptions. Thanks 1st Amendment!

Lots of weird stuff coming out of AZ....isn't that where that crazy sheriff is??

Thanks, HardHeadedWoman. I don't know of anyone needing eyecare, but our friend sure needs some dental work - it might be out of the scope of what a one-day clinic can provide, but it's worth a shot.

Not sure about dental services or exams next weekend at the free clinic -- but they ARE provided by Harmony Health Clinic in Little Rock.

I AM sure about THIS (clicky)!

Cruising ranks high on so many wish-lists (on an ocean I'm talking about). The world's largest cruise ship ever built, the astounding "Oasis of the Seas," has reached its home port in Ft. Lauderdale to launch its first cruise Dec. 5.

I won't be on it YET -- but OOTS represents FIERCE floating fabulosity, which don't we need in these trying times?

OOTS is a soothing respite from wars and famines and economies and joblessness and America's eroding freedoms and stuff. It's your island paradise of parks, promenades, casinos, theatres, restaurants, malls - surrounded by 6,300 passengers who're pretty much white (or wealthy enough that even if they're not it doesn't matter) and 2,100 crew who come in all colors -- sharing a common desire to simply not give a shit about the rest of the world for the duration.

A potent captive mix your Norma cannot, must not, WILL not resist aghasting. (Strolling the decks in Spanx, Jimmy Choos and a life-jacket? Priceless!)

I'm in negotiations with the entertainment director for a scaled-down revival of my international one-woman illusionist smash tour, "Cheap Tricks." Or, failing that, an 8-hour daily stint as a Tarot reader.

Amazingly, YOU might well join me! Google "oasis of the seas" to find their incredibly affordable rates! (Of course, DOUBLE them if you plan to have any fun or buy a conch shell or score some ganja or something, but still. You're cruising on OOTS - the oceangoing engineering marvel of the world!)

Enjoy your onboard video tour, Razorbabies!

At 49-20 for the 'Backs...is anyone else losing interest?

Does this help ensure a bowl game?

.

Thanks, Norma!

Oh, wow, I just read some threads from last night and noticed that Largeass thinks I am jealous of Michele Bachman (at least I think that's what he/she said) and maybe Palin, too.
That's too funny. But DBI's response was one of his best. Go back and read it, blog pals.

Norma, you boat video reminds me of what Warren Buffet said last night about our current economy:

"The new rising tide raises all yachts."

In the event of a financial collapse will Royal Caribbean get a "bail out?"

Arkansas 56 - troy 20.
Maybe the Cotton Bowl?

Well, the_floyd --

I rarely address trolls, but why do you lie so obviously and stupidly?

Here's your statement from above:

"A judge in Phoenix, AZ rules that a church cannot feed the homeless."

No, he didn't. Nor does the ruling have a god-damned thing to do with churches holding communion or Sunday potlucks or weddings . . . or the First Amendment, as you falsely claim.

Do you REALLY think we're as stupid here, and equally prone to incitement over right-wing religionists' lies, as you?

Are you completely ignorant of your right-wing religionist propaganda source: AZFamily.com? Or do you think WE ARE?

Any way you slice it, sweetbreads, your parroting AZFamily.com's lie, then extending it to communion, etc., is -- how shall I put this in a nice way? -- bullshit.

The judge's ruling simply upholds existing law that says charity dining halls are businesses and cannot be operated in residential districts.

The church cited in the article is doing exactly that -- flouting the law then claiming "religious persecution."

The neighbors are complaining they don't want the influx of homeless. They live in a residential zone. Get it?

Rather than follow the law and relocate their charity dining hall to a non-residential neighborhood, that church falsely claims, "We can't fill their bellies with warm food. We might as well just go to the street corners and start handing out money, in hopes they will make their way to some food, because you are not allowed to do it at church!"

That's a flat lie in the name of religion, the_floyd. The church is breaking the law. Like you, it's desperate for victimy attention -- the last bastion of losers.

Rather than reporting the simple facts, both the article and you try to inflame the notion of anti-Christian persecution where none exists. You're both liars, in other words, using the name of Christ.

Honey, I KNOW you yearn for love and acceptance and respect from your human colleagues here and in real life.

Parroting insulting stupid bigoted lies works against you, darling.

Really it does.

I'm not old enough to be your mother. But if I were, I'd lock you in a basement fruit cellar until fully ripened.

With love I say that.

Why does Norma stay away from England?
Click on Cato

P.S. the-floyd --

I WANT you to win my "Huckabee Haiku" contest (clicky)! If only to award you my magnificent celebrity dartboard IN YOUR OWN NAME (and MINE) in brass to work out your angst. (Darts not included.)

You've just over two weeks left to show your creative magic and post your entry (or entries! As many as you like!).

Cato --

I am not joking. As soon as I mop up and blow-dry my keyboard from the refreshing beverage you made me spew, and ring for Conchita to come in here and take care of this mess I made on the carpet beneath my work-station, and stop laughing . . . well, I don't know exactly WHAT I'm going to do.

Still, as Carrie Prejean said to Larry King, "That's extremely inappropriate."

Magnet school children and Laurie Masterson read this blog, Cato.

What a crop of cuties (the dogs) but I'll take Sam, our old one eyed cat would not approve
but I'm sure I could work out a truce.
Lovely blog today, Max, do it again.
Off to bed to listen to the wingnuts whine and moan about losing their country...BOO HOO
goodnight, bon nuit, hope you all have a restful night and help me get the Saints to the
Super Bowl tomorrow.

Never Vote Republican said,

I don't know what the breakdown is on volunteer professional skills. The website for registering as a volunteer didn't offer the opportunity to specify specialty or licensure. It simply said that all of the volunteer positions needed for the Little Rock event were filled. I'm glad this response gives me another chance to say, I'm proud of the generosity and kindness of my fellow Arkansans.

(BTW, I have heard some snarky remarks by some republican acquaintances about this being a "political event, staged by 'liberals' to bolster support for health care reform legislation". Indeed. If offering free health care services to those who need them and cannot afford them is what being a liberal is all about, I've also never been more proud to be a liberal....)

eLwood -

The Leonids are coming! The Leonids are coming!

This year is expected to be better than average. The "traditional," most reliable part of the meteor shower should peak around 4 a.m. EST (3 a.m. in AR) on the morning of Tuesday, November 17th.

[KNOCK, KNOCK] "God? Last call! Stage left! Showtime!"

Skunk, John 3:16 says Curtis Lavell Vance can believeth, and that's enough to get him into a Heaven. Maybe his Heaven is 24/7/365 beating people to death. Maybe he only kills non-believers who no matter how good they were didn't pass the 3:16 test and are residents of Hell.

Wait, all the people in Heaven and Hell are already daid, so how can the faithful sinners kill the innocent non-believers?

BTW, isn't it kind of wrong of God to punish people for Eternity for not buying into any cult's horseshit? Foot warshing Babs and hardshell Babs believe each other are spending their afterlives in the Lake of Fire with non-consuming flames.

Anybody really believe that?

Which, Norma dear?

Appropriate photo. Click on Cato

Who let the dogs out?

eLwood, Blue America made a Blanche ad with your idea... with a nascar style jacket / patches of all her corporate sponsors on it.

Blue America demands Blanche Lincoln give us an Up or Down vote on Health care!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2IGko7ezhU

Guess you never know who's reading (and borrowing) good ideas on the AR Blog...)

Oh Norma...your wit and intelligence and class never cease to amaze me...

I don't know whether or not you're old enough to be my mother, but I do know that if you HAD been my mother, I would have spent my entire childhood wishing I'd been aborted. My real mother, however, (may she rest in peace) did teach me a thing or two about dealing with people...that I should treat people the way I would expect to be treated, to show them the amount of respect that I would like in kind; and when dealing with people like you, someone with zero amount of respect for anyone and not an ounce of civility in their behavior, that I should rise above it, let it slide. I'm usually pretty good about the first part, not so good with the rising above and letting it slide part, but I try.

I originally found the article on Huffington Post (is that source acceptable enough for you?), and it linked to a story on AZFamily.com. The judge ruled that the church, by operating their weekly pancake worship service (which catered to, not exclusively but significantly, the homeless) was considered a charity dining hall, which is considered a business, which is not allowed to operate in a residential zone. Looking over what I wrote as a synopsis of the article, I don't see where I lied.

The next to last sentence of my comment, regarding communion, potlucks and weddings was obviously (to anyone with a functioning brain capable of determining snark, sarcasm, etc.) not intended to imply or claim that the judge's ruling banned those things. If anything it was intended to point out the absurdity of ruling a church a "charity dining hall"...this is simply a half-assed and cold-hearted attempt to label a church as nothing more than a soup kitchen or homeless shelter so residents can keep the dirty, smelly hordes of homeless people out of their neighborhoods and force them back into the shitty parts of town (where many shelters and kitchens are located) where they belong. The issue the residents have with the church isn't that they are serving food...nearly every church has a kitchen, they have potlucks and wedding receptions and communion (which IS food, it's bread and wine or juice, it's a symbolic meal for us non-Catholics)...the issue the residents have is TO WHOM the food is being served, the people they would like to pretend don't exist. Arizona is notorious for its "anti-homeless" laws, and this is just another example of that.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington just this week threatened to discontinue social service programs is runs if the city doesn't change it's same-sex marriage laws, and there's been a lot of backlash about this threat and rightfully so...hell, I'm sure your head nearly exploded upon hearing that and you probably banged away at your keyboard until your fingers bled gleefully ranting about how un-Christian and hypocritical they are...and I agree, they are.

Yet here is a church (Methodists, who aren't particularly right-wing btw) that is trying, and has been doing, good work for people in need, but rather than credit them for it and acknowledge that the judge's ruling is boneheaded and a little too far-reaching in terms of the government involving itself in how the church conducts its mission (sorry, but the government has no business telling a church who they can or cannot feed on their property...so yeah, I think the 1st Amendment applies here), you would rather criticize them for "breaking the law" and whining about being victimized and persecuted. There's obviously nothing that any religion, or religious organization or individual can do that you would not have a problem with...if you were drowning and a Christian swam out to try and rescue you, you'd probably bitch and complain and scream that they were trying to baptize you. Give it a rest.

"Lies", "stupidity", "false claims", "bullshit", "loser", "bigoted"...all words that you used, some repeatedly, in your little tirade. I suggest you stop for a moment, take a deep breath, look in a mirror and point your poisonous little finger where it truly belongs...or just stick it up your sorry little hate-filled ass.

Honey.

Darling.

Sweetie.

BabyBear--I don't know what you were going to say that I said in your 11:18 post but I'll respond to what you wrote. When I registered, I came to a page that offered choices to register as a medical professional and check your licensure or to register as a non-medical volunteer in various capacities. The story in the paper the other day said they still needed about 50 more doctors and some nurses so they must have filled those as well.

You also said -- "If offering free health care services to those who need them and cannot afford them is what being a liberal is all about, I've also never been more proud to be a liberal...." I totally agree. I was afraid that people might think my choice to volunteer was purely political. If you believe that everyone should have a right to health care, as I do, it only made sense to volunteer. My belief comes from the way I was brought up and from having personal experience with a family member who for various reasons did not have insurance and could not afford to visit a doctor. It is too late for him and many others like him, but we have an opportunity to help others in need before it is too late.

Too bad all those republican, so called "christians", can't see that health care should not be a privilege, but a right.

and for my haiku entry:

Damsel in Distress
Go fuck yourself, I mean it
No really, I do

i think it's a winner...

Where is comrade DBI tonight? Great goings on in Fort Baptist?

It's been a fun day here, sorta. My old Buddhist friend from Nepal was stressed at American
prices, needed a good offering plate upon which to offer blessings of food to the monk or guru or
whatever you call the spiritually enlightened who lead local groups, so

we visited some thrift shops in the area. Just with Hughman in mind I found a lettuce knife ($1) and my
friend found a 12" real silver serving tray ($5) which after polishing will be elegant enough to present
a hungry guru with food gifts.

I watched Pippin the Dog track an animal like a true Beagle (she's one half Beagle**) running full gait with nose to ground. I prevented her from making the kill which happened to be someone's house cat.

** Parsons Russel Terrier breed was derived using a rat terrier and a Beagle. Thus they dig well and track well and run very fast.

g'nite.

ES, thanks for Lincoln's new Sponsor's Jacket. I FB'ed it.

.

Real Men of Genius.

clik

Skunk, John 3:16 says Curtis Lavell Vance can believeth, and that's enough to get him into a Heaven. Maybe his Heaven is 24/7/365 beating people to death. Maybe he only kills non-believers who no matter how good they were didn't pass the 3:16 test and are residents of Hell.

I never can figure out if I copied a quote so it will show up or not.

Whoscrumdown: Skunk, John 3:16 says Curtis Lavell Vance can believeth, and that's enough to get him into a heaven. (what is "a heaven"? Ive never heard that, really) Maybe his Heaven is 24/7/365 beating people to death. Etc.

Whoscrumdown, I believe we only get into heaven through the grace of God. Not good works or good deeds (I don't remember the scripture but I personally am, uh, working) but simply by the grace of God.

And wishing to spend eternity beating people to death 24/7 will not, Im pretty sure, get you into Heaven by the grace of God. that's just..................disturbing.

PS = eLwood, what is a lettuce knife???

I am pretty much knifeless = I told my son, who was setting up housekeeping, that he could have half my good knives and ALL the big ones they wont let me use anyway. we divided the rest in 2 piles. You guessed it -- he accidentally took both piles.

$1 knives from the Family Dollar store are better knives than you would think. They are about to fall apart, after about one year's use, but that's probably because I put them in the dishwasher because..........why not.

after the Wonder Dog and his bride, of course, I am in love with Artie, the white doggie with the giant smile above Elvis there, and Dixie the floater. Dixie, honey, we may be related. I'm a championship floater/tanner. thanks, Max, for going to so much trouble (I guess, i dont know) to give us so many smiles. I sent in my dogs' picture but it was probably a shortcut or something - I cant see and I should just stomp these bifocals to bits and go back to my contacts, but I'll have to wait till Tuesday when the dr opens to go get my new ones.

all the dogs are smilinig and happy; you can tell they come from loving homes. Dixie, in particular, doesn't look like she spends too much time worrying. can't help but feel better about the world in general when you look at all those gorgeous dogs and see all the love and trust in their eyes, can you?

Life is good. Let's take a day off as someone waaaay up there already suggested and not worry -- Gpd says it's a sin to worry anyway, but in that case why did He make me so good at it? Motherhood side effect?????

>>eLwood, what is a lettuce knife???<<

A hard plastic knife, wide blade about 8" length that one uses to chop lettuce because metal blades
cause chopped or shredded lettuce to brown quickly.

To Never Vote Republican and Arkansas Blog Readers-

I apologize on two fronts: First, I'm not so familiar with the way that this thing handles quotes, so what I quoted from you yeserday got left out. But thanks for your information.

Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, it appears that I misunderstood that Saturday's Free Medical Clinic would include free dental services. Apparently some of the NAFC free clinics do offer dental services, but upon more investigation there is no mention of seeking dental volunteers or of dental services being offered. I hope I haven't confused or inconvenienced any readers with my misinformation.

Loud sex, huh? How about loud stress relief? Remember some advice waaay back there about how screaming could relieve stress? Well, the one time I tried it, somebody who shall remain nameless pulled into the driveway, then turned around and left quickly. Or so I surmise anyway. The guy called my husband who then called me to see what was wrong. I'm still not sure whether I should be embarrassed by the incident or ticked off that the visitor didn't establish that I wasn't really in physical pain.