Questioning Kwanzaa.....

While some think celebrating Kwanzaa is "cool" but like me, and others, have deep reservations about the so-called "holiday."

Frontpage Magazine has provided an article about the Kwanzaa celebration and its curious history, which is disturbing.

When once asked why he designed Kwanzaa to take place around Christmas, Karenga explained, “People think it’s African, but it’s not. I came up with Kwanzaa because black people wouldn’t celebrate it if they knew it was American. Also, I put it around Christmas because I knew that’s when a lot of bloods would be partying.”

Even among the some of the Deaf black community they celebrate Kwanzaa. They have every right to celebrate their cultural recognition. However, seeing how Kwanzaa represents can only cause me to question it further. I still remain open but reserve the right to see things differently, and rightly so.

However, Kwanzaa celebration consists of seven "principles." They are Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination – code for "buy black"), Ujima (collective work and responsibility – groupthink), Ujamaa (cooperative economics – socialism), Nia (purpose) Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith – in man, not God).

To provide a symbol of his seven "principles," Karenga used the menorah from Judaism with Kwanzaa’s colors (red, black, and green), and re-named it the "kinara."

One thing though, for December 25, I certainly won't be saying happy Kwanzaa but Merry Christmas. Even though I'm a "white dude" I certainly have an opinion in this. So do black ministers from all over the United States.

Rev. Peterson said: "Kwanzaa is an anti-God, anti-American, and anti-white holiday created by a black felon. Kwanzaa only serves to further separate blacks from God and America. Black Christians should stop celebrating this pagan holiday-instead, they should stand up for Christmas. "

But sadly some of them are incorporating Kwanzaa into their Christmas program noting that "Imani" and Faith in God are an oxymoron. You cannot have both and be celebatory. Reverend Peterson makes that clear.

You make the call with your conscious.

Day by Day cartoon

If you like political cartoons then check out the Day by Day cartoon by Chris Muir. Think of Doonesbury but reverse that political line of thinking. :)

BTW, don't bother whinning to me about political cartoons. Either you love 'em or hate 'em.

Deaf scuba diver survives tsunami

Tsunami survivor describes underwater horror
By Karen Kaufman

"Our boat was lucky. We saw a cruise liner stuck near the islands with three people dead," said Londoner Naomi Hayim from her boat off the coast of Phuket yesterday.

Hayim, who is deaf, and 13 other people (including another deaf person) were diving at Richelieu Rock, a collection of submerged pinnacles renowned for its visiting whale sharks north of the Surin Islands (about 60 kilometers off the west coast of Phang Nga province) when the tsunami hit. "We realized that the wave went right over us as we were diving," she said yesterday via SMS messaging on her cell phone.

She said the giant wave created a whirlpool with incredibly strong currents. The divers were swept under, completely losing each other and severely hampered by poor visibility. All 14 eventually surfaced and found each other, though an exhausted Hayim could not be certain yesterday how long they had actually been submerged. Luckily all 14 were unharmed.

Hayim, 26, was brought up in London's Maida Vale and is a divemaster and marine biologist. She also studied clown fish and sea anemones at the Institute of Marine Biology in Eilat in 2000. A battle with meningitis when she was just a baby left her deaf. She has never, however, let this stop her from doing anything she put her mind to and graduated from Queen Mary, University of London with a degree in marine and freshwater biology.

Hayim is part of Worldwide Dive and Sail, a company that offers seven-day sailing and diving trips aboard a 21-meter yacht. Her ability to lip-read and sign enables her to teach deaf and hard-of-hearing people how to dive. The yacht left Phuket on Friday for what was supposed to be a week-long underwater adventure for holiday-makers who joined from Britain, the Netherlands and Austria. There were no Israelis on board - as Naomi put it "I'm the only Jew here."

Yesterday afternoon, the boat and its passengers turned back toward Phuket, but by early evening they were instructed to stay out at sea for fear of aftershocks and because the port at Phuket had been ruined. Hayim said that they are now waiting to hear from the Thai authorities when they will be able to go back to land. As the trip was due to last a week, the boat still has enough food and equipment for several more days.Hayim's group was one of several diving excursions that were at sea when the tsunami struck. "We are very lucky that nothing terrible happened," she said last night.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/519302.html

Sticks and Stones....

"His mother should have abort him, though.
LOL. R-"

Actually, its "His mother should have aborted him, though." Kind of how I feel about Michael Moore. Though that would be unfair of me to say that since I know better. I shall keep this quote for posterity sake as a reminder of how people use their freedom of speech and expression. Thank God for the United States of America.

Reaching out to those who may need serious help.

Read below
=========

What's the matter? Don't you have a sense of humor?Were you ever bullied, humiliated, harassed, or treated with contempt? Were you ever called names, such as fatso, baldy, geek, retard, or ugly? When you tried to fit in at a new school, job, or neighborhood, did someone or some group make racial slurs, belittle your religion, make fun of your appearance, ridicule your opinions, mock your speech, or deride your beliefs? When you tried to express yourself, did they show appreciation or show disdain? When you arrived, did they cheer or jeer? Did they celebrate you or denigrate you?

If you spoke up after being taunted, did they try to blame you, the victim, by saying, "What's the matter? Don't you have a sense of humor? Don't be so sensitive, I was just kidding. Don't be a sissy!" When you complained to your boss, parents, or teachers, did they help? Instead of doing so, they may have compounded the problem by brushing it aside and saying something like, "Don't let it get to you. You've just got to learn how to get along with people!" I wonder which is worse, to be made the brunt of jokes or to have one's pain trivialized?

Intimidation of others takes many forms. It could be physical violence or verbal abuse. You may be prevented from doing what you want to do or forced to do what you don't want to. You may be shunned, ostracized, or given the silent treatment. The abusers may steal your property or your reputation. You may be criticized, insulted, or threatened. The result of it all is considerable emotional and physical pain.

What can we do about such abuse when it happens to us? First, we can learn to understand the causes. Once we do, that may be enough to, if not end the pain, at least lessen it. Understanding the causes will also point out options and possible solutions. So, why are some people so belligerent?

They ACT tough because they're WEAK. They have little or no confidence. They feel like losers. They feel unsuccessful and incompetent. They feel that they have no power over their lives and are desperately looking for a method of filling this vacuum. Then along comes you. If, somehow, they can make you feel bad; if they can control your emotions, they will have redeemed themselves, for now at last they will have some CONTROL and POWER. True, it is destructive rather than constructive power, but any power is better than none. Granted, it is control over the lives of others rather than over their own life, but, again, some control is better than no control.

Because of the complexity of life, there is not one explanation of hostility, but many. However, there is a commonality. In all cases the aggressor is weak. He or she may wear their belligerence as a shield. They may be afraid of being laughed at because of their own incompetence, so they lash out at others in a preemptive attack. Also, because of feelings of worthlessness, they seek ways of becoming the center of attention and ways of gaining popularity. After all, if Jay Leno can earn millions and win respect by insulting the President of the United States, why can't they become a local `hero' by making fun of you?

Other reasons for indulging in malicious behaviour include peer pressure, jealousy and envy, not knowing any better, and the glorification of violence on TV and in the movies and video games. The instigators themselves may also be victims. Perhaps they're being abused by a sibling, a parent, or a neighbor and are now striking out at others to release some of their pent up hostility. Politicians sometimes exemplify yet another reason for insulting others: manipulation. Candidates running for office with a weak platform will often slander their rivals to divert attention from their own lack of ideas.

It is also helpful to understand that the pain we feel when insults are slung our way, is not caused by the insults themselves, but our internal reaction to them. This important lesson, (that it is not outside events, but our reactions to them that causes our suffering), is a major tenet of modern psychology. Yet, this teaching is hardly new. Nearly 2,000 years ago, the Greek philosopher Epictetus taught,

"It is not he who gives abuse that affronts, but the view that we take of it as insulting; so that when one provokes you it is your own opinion which is provoking."

We may not be able to change the abuser, but we can change our mind. We can decide that the frail attempts of a weakling trying to hurt us can be ignored. What better revenge can you enact than to deprive the abuser of the satisfaction of seeing you get upset?

Another point to ponder is a harasser cannot change the truth. A shrill little man may call Luciano Pavarotti "fatso," but does that diminish in any way the quality of Pavarotti's voice or his magnificent accomplishments? Of course not. Here's how Samuel Johnson (1709 ~ 1784) advanced the same argument,

"A fly may sting a stately horse and make him wince; but one is but an insect, and the other is a horse still."

So, why let the pathetic attempts of an insecure person irritate you?

Did you know that Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Tom Cruise, and Michelle Pfeiffer were all bullied in school? Who's laughing now? Doesn't this demonstrate that things change? Just because you're in an unpleasant circumstance today, doesn't mean that it will remain that way indefinitely. Also remember that bullies are not really attacking you, but attacking events that occurred in their lives.

Can anything positive be said about insults? At least it is far better to have someone hurl insults at you than to stone you to death! Which is why Sigmund Freud wrote, "The first human being who hurled an insult instead of a stone was the founder of civilization." Changing from physical abuse to verbal abuse may be a step in the right direction, but it offers little consolation to those suffering mental anguish. Aren't there other things that can be done to eliminate or lessen the impact of bullying? Yes, there are, but I'm afraid I ran out of space! So, tell you what, I'll share the second half of this article with you next week. - from the Personal Development website.

http://personal-development.com/chuck/index.html - lots of goodies to read.

Hey, I'm a pretty happy guy.

Sticks and stones......well, you know the old saying. But I do need a laugh once in a while. This one was a knee slapper. Really.

Oh, by the way, check out Ski Apache cam...the southern-most ski resort in the United States on Sierra Blanca (12,003 ft high). Can't wait to get my ski board and join my buddies for some cool shushing!

The "stinginess" bandwagon...a dangerous ride

It's incredible that people have the gall to call the U.S. initial contribution of $35 million as being "stingy" or not enough to help with the tsunami victims of Asia. First it was $15 million, beating out all other countries for their initial contributions and then later the amount went to $35 million as more information came in noting the gravity of the situation where over 100,000 were killed and millions displaced over 11 different countries. That alone is a logistical nightmare rather than one just one country affected by a disaster.

And since the disaster struck four days ago the initial $35 million will undoubtedly go into the billions of dollars from the U.S. Government support and help. Not only cash, but expertise and equipments such as C-130 cargo planes and Navy carriers.

"Moving a carrier strike force and a Marine expeditionary unit within 72 hours should not be considered dillydallying," State Department spokesman J. Adam Ereli said. "The planes are on the ground in Indonesia tonight." Rice and water-purification equipment have been unloaded in some stricken areas for distribution, U.S. officials noted.

Name a country who is sending out a Naval carrier, cargo planes, boats filled with supplies, food, medicine, tents, equipments and armed personnel to help with the disaster? Moving a Naval carrier is not cheap and would easily surpass Spain's contribution of $60 million dollars.

The United States is also assisting in ways not covered by the $35 million, including sending Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials to the region to help protect residents from diseases that some experts worry could double the number of victims.

The administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Andrew Natsios. Ambassador Natsios responded about Jan Egeland's "stingy" comment:

ANDREW NATSIOS: I have written books on this. I've been doing this work for 15 years. Jan Egeland is a friend of mine; we're the biggest donor to fund his office and his staff.

I called him and said, Jan, what are you talking about? He's talking about development assistance, not disaster relief. For disaster relief, it's simply nonsense. He doesn't know what the data shows.

If he did, he wouldn't have made that comment. He told me he was misquoted and he was speaking about development assistance.

What he did not know is that President Bush has arranged the largest increase in development assistance since Harry Truman.

The budget when Bill Clinton entered office for ODA, Official Development Assistance, which is an international formula used by 27 countries that are donor governments, was 10.6 billion dollars. In 2003, it was $24 billion.

You've had a 140 percent increase. We're well beyond what the president committed at Monterey and at Johannesburg. There is a huge effort to combat HIV/AIDS, the millennium challenge account. My food aid budget has been increased hugely.

GWEN IFILL: So you're saying even when talking about development assistance, that those numbers don't add up?

ANDREW NATSIOS: Those numbers don't add up. What they do is they use a European formula, which we've never used in the United States in 55 years, which is to use a percentage of our Gross National Product.

The reason that people quote that is because in Europe it's been used as a standard, but our economy grows so much faster than the Japanese or the European economy that we would never catch up.

No matter how much we do, we could never be... if we did, we would dominate the entire world and overwhelm everybody with the amount of money but a 140 percent increase in three years is a massive increase in development
assistance.

And in clarification of what Jan Egeland's "stingy" comment:

"I never said anybody had been stingy over the tsunami,'' Egeland said. "I understand very much the president's answer" because the United States is the biggest donor to humanitarian and disaster relief.

Egeland, who was a journalist for 10 years, said he realized "10 seconds'' after making the "stingy'' comment on Monday that it wasn't clear and was open to misinterpretation. "And I immediately then started to correct it ... I was not pressured by anybody. I took the initiative myself,'' he said.

How true. The United State spent $2.4 billion on disaster relief aid so far in 2004, far, far more than any other nation. U.S officials predicted the biggest-ever U.S. response to a natural disaster will be in the weeks ahead where the resulting cost that may last several months (and years in certain areas) to go over easily into the billions. Your tax dollars at work for DISASTER RELIEF. Don't bite the hands that feed you.

Bob Stenehjem - a Seattle native with a heart of gold.

Bob Stenehjem. He's a Seattle native in Washington state. A merchant seaman who was vacationing in Thailand when the tsunami hit there. Bob is an example of what one man can do to help ease the pain and misery of those who were injured or lost loved ones. The Seattle Times produced his email message describing what he did to help with the tsunami tragedy.

The lobby was chaos. I went up to a long table full of phones and people and asked what they needed. The people at the table looked majorly overwhelmed. The lady asked what languages I spoke, and I told her a little Spanish, fairly good American Sign Language and English. She said sit here and answer phones.

And that was just a start. Read the rest of his email and you'll see why Bob Stenehjem is a man whose heart is made of gold. He just want to help like everybody else. Who wouldn't?

A Digital Piano or a Laptop?

Decision, decision, decision. In a few months I am thinking of either getting a digital piano full length 88-keyboard wide with a hammer action weighted keys response so that it will feel just like that of a real piano. Or get myself a wide-screen laptop with all the bells and whistles, and set up a remote router for broadband connection.

But my real dream is to get a baby-grand piano...the real thing, but for now a digital piano will be a better move for me since it can replicate sound for sound the deep rich and rewarding sound of a baby grand, concert grand, upright piano (the old saloon type rinky dink sound), and even a Harpsichord. Nothing fancy. Just piano sounds and I'll be a happy camper. A good digital piano that looks like a regular, wood semi-upright piano. Not the cheapo kinds that stand alone where you can put it on a table. I wouldn't mind getting myself a mini-baby grand digital piano. Am willing to spend 3 or 4 thousands dollars for a nice digital piano.

Just to let you know I've been playing the piano since I was seven and I haven't stopped.

I am learning to play a piano piece by Jelly Roll Morton called "Fingerbuster." Click on the name to listen to it (require Realtime player). And there's a reason why the piece is called "Fingerbuster". It's a super fast music. Excellent early Jazz piece. You can listen to the piece if you can or get your friends to hear it and watch their faces (sorry for those who cannot hear but I'm trying to be gracious here and blogging for own peace of mind, I'm hard of hearing, y'know). And I'm also learning to play Morton's piece called "Perfect Ragtime" (Click to listen). Very nice, fast piece, but not fast like Fingerbuster. You can listen to many of Morton's pieces in the Jelly Roll Morton link above by scrolling past the bio of Jelly Roll Morton.

You see, I love playing ragtime and early jazz pieces. But the problem is that I have a piano and it is called a Melodigrand. Unfortunately it has only 64 keys (a mini-spinet piano, bleh). Woefully short of the needed 88 keys in a full keyboard length piano. A needed requisite when playing ragtime and early jazz pieces when I do my stride playing hitting the high and low octave notes. My Melodigrand is outrageously out of tune, and the damper peddle does not work while the sustain does. And it was given to me for free by a generous woman, who, incidentally, never played a piano in her life. Met her at church one time and she learned about my piano playing skills. This "piano" drives me nuts and has somewhat prevented me from practicing the thing I love. I want the rich sounds. The full length keyboard. The ability to play and do realtime recording for my own composition (maybe put it on the internet). And to play it anytime I want without disturbing anybody, even while my hearing kids are watching TV. All I have to do is wear a head phone and practice to my hearts content. My source of relaxation. And when I say practice it's usually about 2 hours. What relaxation to hear crisp, clean sound coming from my own fingers! How many deaf/hard of hearing pianist have you met in your life? I haven't met anyone yet.

What to do? A digital piano or a lap top computer? The answer? Well after thinking about it and since I already have a computer, I think I will get myself a digital piano (perhaps get myself a laptop later on in 2005, so much for decisions, eh?). Makes perfect sense. And in a few months, the time will be right to get myself something that I always wanted (aside from getting a real baby grand piano) and that is to get the next best thing to progress further into my piano playing hobby. I've played in a few gigs. My sister's wedding. Even did a demo at the theater of Gallaudet University for those who appreciated Ragtime or piano music (fyi, I played "Maple Leaf Rag" and the all-time favorite, "The Entertainer"). You can listen to Maple Leaf Rag here. Or "The Entertainer" here. But it's time to get serious and get my fingers all limbered up for "The Fingerbuster" piece. And maybe get back into these fun gigs I can do.

Let 'er rip!

So much for a start about my creativity. Some people have no idea on what creativity means, literally clueless, and even more so when it comes to appreciating music. Real music, to me. You can certainly see why I enjoy playing the piano, especially ragtime and early jazz pieces. Real foot stompin' music makes ya want to tap your foot and shake your head to and fro. And for those with Cochlear Implants or hearing aids, you'll love these Ragtime and early Jazz pieces. Now, classical music is good. Play it right, the sounds will carry you away. Some pieces if played right could even make you cry when they can emanate the reminiscing feelings of yore and regrets. Music is powerful stuff. I even played the violin when I was little. Taught myself to play the saxophone and was good enough to be in a Middle School symphony band. And played the drums for several years ending up in high school with the marching band and had fun going to those marching band competitions in Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida. Whether you can feel it or hear it, it can get you going in all the right places. Evelyn Glennie, is the world's best known fulltime professional deaf percussion soloist (i.e. drums, cymbals, bells etc) is a fine example of how deaf (and hard of hearing) people can use music to define themselves and enjoy.

Here's another deaf group called "Beethoven's Nightmare." I've never heard this group play but they are an example of what deaf and hard of hearing people can do when it comes to music. Certainly the group "Beethoven's Nightmare" (I love the name! So funny..and sooo right) has been gaining in popularity and are in demand.

“We love music. And we want to show America and the world that being deaf doesn’t exclude you from loving and performing music,” deaf-guitarist Steve Longo said on behalf of the all-deaf trio. “We want to dispel the mystery and myths about deafness and deliver our work of art that we’d like to believe Ludwig Van Beethoven would have found intriguing.” Beethoven’s birthday is Dec. 17.

For those who insist on looking down on deaf or hard of hearing people who enjoy listening and/or performing music need to rethink their positions on their ability to hear (or feel) music for their own personal enjoyment. After all, who gives a fig about what other people feel when it is the person him/herself that counts when it comes to enjoying and making music.

Where to go to help the tsunamis victims?

Instead of complaining like a lot of people would rather do, please stop by and contribute to one of your favorite charity(ies) or favorite organization(s) and help the tsunamis victims. Complaining are for hot air which waste time. Compassion is needed here.


Here's a great resource to start with.

http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com/

and a sister site,

http://tsunamihelpneeded.blogspot.com/

Thanks to GINDY who stopped by my blogsite.

My thoughts and prayers to the victims.

When Some Liberals Refuse to Think First about Aids to Tsunami Victims

There is a problem among some Liberals, Europeans, United Nation worshippers and people who insist on thinking with their foot in their mouth. Even among some Deaf militants, too, who want to lump the initial $15 million relief aid to the tsunami victims (which billions more dollars will come out of the United States government) as “a typical Republican administration” response. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Now, this is a natural disaster event that took place only but two days ago. The momentum will gather in giving more aid to the countries, mostly Muslims, affected by the 15 to 30 foot high tsunami killer waves. This has always been the case for the United States, even during the Clinton (gasp!), Carter, and JFK (no, not John F. Kerry, he lost, remember?) administrations to give aid and comfort to countries in times of need.

The chief of U.S. Agency for International Development, which distributes foreign aid, was quick to point out Tuesday that foreign assistance for development and emergency relief rose from $10 billion in President Clinton's last year ( in office) to $24 billion under President Bush in 2003. Secretary of State Colin Powell said assistance for this week's earthquake and tsunamis alone will eventually exceed $1 billion.

And yet, we will need permission to get more money and this will require more time to ask Congress to allocate monies for this emergency need. How ironic when some Liberals make the claim of "stinginess" when they should be looking at Clinton's administration. If some of the Democrats insist on putting their feet in their mouths, be my guest.

The “stingy” comment came from Jan Egeland, a Norwegian U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, who suggested that the United States and other Western nations were being "stingy" with relief funds, saying there would be more available if taxes were raised.

"The United States, at the president's direction, will be a leading partner in one of the most significant relief, rescue and recovery challenges that the world has ever known," said White House deputy press secretary Trent Duffy. But U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland suggested that the United States and other Western nations were being "stingy" with relief funds, saying there would be more available if taxes were raised.

"It is beyond me why are we so stingy, really," the Norwegian-born U.N. official told reporters. "Christmas time should remind many Western countries at least, [of] how rich we have become."

"There are several donors who are less generous than before in a growing world economy," he said, adding that politicians in the United States and Europe "believe that they are really burdening the taxpayers too much, and the taxpayers want to give less. It's not true. They want to give more."

But even now, Jan Egeland, is desperately back-peddling his prior comments:

Egeland said on Tuesday, however, that his remarks had been misinterpreted. "It has nothing to do with any particular country or any particular disaster," he told reporters.

How typical of some of these Euro-trash who like nothing better than to berate other countries on what they should or should not do with their monies when it comes to helping other countries in times of emergency need. And when they get caught in the cross-fire they back peddle saying they never meant it that way.

Even before the announcement of the $15 million dollar installment (which means more will come and has increased to $35 million to date, and growing) was made Colin Powell ordered a dozen C-130 planes from the Pacific Command which are now hauling in food, water, blankets, emergency shelter and other relief supplies. The Thailand government has offered the United States a base to use as a regional support center in the recovery effort for those planes. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is sending a 21-member disaster-relief team to the region to help organize relief efforts. Also, the Pentagon ordered the Navy aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which had been in port at Hong Kong, to sail for the stricken area to provide assistance. A five-ship fleet headed by the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard will skip a port call in Guam to sail for the region. So much for a “stingy” United States government, which is just beginning on their third day of humanitarian aid of epic proportion in the tsunami crisis.

As always, any initial emergency response will be a bit chaotic while relief organizations and government scramble to assess needs and deploy resources. If planning calls for significant food aid, the United States will need to scramble because of other prior crisis’s in Sudan, West Africa and other areas hit by drought and fighting. But the tsunami killer waves crisis will undoubtedly produce more deaths through diseases such as cholera, malaria, and diarrhea due to unsanitary waters, fecal matters, dead rodents, and rotting bodies.

In an interview on NBC's "Today," Powell said Tuesday:

"Clearly, the United States will be a major contributor to this international effort. And, yes, it will run into the billions of dollars."

Anyone who has enough brain power can figure out that by sending out aircraft carriers, large cargo planes and ships loaded with supplies, thousands of personnel help, armed military forces, expertise and the likes will go into the billions…easily. Lt. Col Bill Bigalow, a spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Command put it quite succinctly that

"It is still very much an emerging crisis, and the important aspect is to take the finite amount of resources we have and apply them where they can best be allocated."

It’s all about making efficient use of money, time and resources. Not about throwing money around haphazardly because time is of essence! It must be done with quick planning. Without proper planning more needless deaths can arise through carelessness and greed such as the United Nations’ Oil for Food scandal causing hundred of thousands of Iraqis deaths, most of them children, when medicine, food, and clean water could have saved them over several years time while under Saddam’s rule and while the United Nation looked the other way as they collected the kickbacks and bribes. If you want to condemn an organized body, be it that of the United Nations.

Not only will the U.S. Government contribute (per your tax dollars at work) also private and philanthropic organizations will gather their wills to collect monies, clothing, food, medicine, and even tents. Such important organizations jumping in are the Salvation Army, Network for Good, and Feed the Children responding to the biggest tsunami disaster in recent memory.


More of these types of organizations, many of them Christian organizations, will grow since the United States is a nation about giving and helping those who are in need. We want to give because that is our nature, unlike the United Nations and other countries. And yet the United States is the biggest contributor already! What happened to Saudi Arabia? Should not they be the biggest contributor? With all that profits from oil they ought to be the most overly concerned and most generous contributor as a Muslim country. Most of the victims are from Muslim countries. Saudi Arabia pledged $10 million cash and assistance. Talk about irony here.

What these other countries taking pride of their government foreign aid contribution, notably Norway at .92 percent of the GNP (being the higest of all countries while U.S. is near the bottom), do not consider other contributions such as philanthropic and private organizations in the United States as being one of the biggest (if not the biggest) in the world when it comes to dollars spent of foreign aids. The amount spent is stagering and the usual rule of thumb is more than three times what the U.S. government spends.

Americans privately give at least $34 billion overseas -- more than three times U.S. official foreign aid of $10 billion (2001 figure):

International giving by U.S. foundations totals $1.5 billion per year

Charitable giving by U.S. businesses now comes to at least $2.8 billion annually

American NGOs gave over $6.6 billion in grants, goods and volunteers.

Religious overseas ministries contribute $3.4 billion, including health care, literacy training, relief and development.

$1.3 billion by U.S. colleges are given in scholarships to foreign students

Personal remittances from the U.S. to developing countries came to $18 billion in 2000

But looking at the U.S. and Foreign Aid link you will note the irony of some of the figures (and remarks like Kofi Annan's) given out when you think about all what the United States has done over the years when it comes to international aid...private and government. And the biggest irony came from our former President Jimmy Carter who remarked:

“We are the stingiest nation of all,” former President Jimmy Carter said recently in an address at Principia College in Elsah, Ill. Dec 29, 1999.

There’s more to it than dumping monies on a nation in need. There are other resources that are much more valuable than just money alone. Money alone cannot take the place of human dignity and respect. We must remember that as a nation that cares we must help our neighbors in times of need. Sadly, there are those who want nothing more than to falsely accuse the United States just for the sake to make political (but worthless) points. A good example of this can be seen how an overly-zealous person bent on making political points so soon after a disaster which the United States government and other private groups are still organizing and planning:

They were quick enough to spend billions of dollars on the War on Iraq, terrorism but only $15 million for the devastated places?

Again, again and again -- what a typical Republican administration.

The United States will always be there to help countries in times of need, even if it means being back-stabbed by politically driven and jealous idiots here and abroad knowing that an emerging crisis takes time to organize, collect and dispatch the needed resources to the affected areas.

Please visit your favorite charity or philanthropic organization to help the tsunami victims by donating money, time or supplies. Time is of essence. My thoughts and prayers go to the tsunami victims.

A false hate crime reported...a real doozy

Here's one real stupid man, hoping the media will get a wind of this supposedly "hate crime" that took place recently:

Police said a 22-year-old man was charged with filing a false report about a hate crime. Floyd Elliott, of Independence, told police that on Dec. 14, two subjects attacked him in the parking lot of his apartment complex.

He said the attackers cut him in the stomach, branded him with a hot knife, and
attempted to carve the word "Fag" on his forehead.

Investigators were suspicious about the report because the head carving was backwards, as if done while looking into a mirror.

Later, Elliott admitted to police that the injuries were self-inflicted. He said he falsely reported the attack to increase the police presence in his neighborhood.

Now, the poor guy will have a scar with the carved name "FAG" spelled backward on his forehead from now on. Call it a badge of honor...in his ability to spell things backward while looking in the mirror. What people will do just to get attention by committing a crime. For whatever reason, people who do these sorts of things need to get their heads examined. I'm sure this strange story will come up in one of those "Stupid Crimes" books.

When religious intolerance exists one day out of 365 days of the year

Merry Christmas everybody. And on December 25 is the date to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior. Though we don't know the exact birthdate yet we celebrate it on December 25 every year. The Christmas holiday has become a marketing dream that stretches for a whole month with reminder of Christ in Christmas everywhere. Soon to be replaced with "Happy holidays" or "Merry Xmas" and the increasing lawsuits or bannings of anything related to Christmas may it be words, visuals, or songs. Even schools are banning anything Christmas on school buses where kids cannot express their good cheer by singing (iniatiated themselves) the songs of Christmas.

"(The kids) were very upset over the fact that she can no longer play Christmas carols or any Christmas music relating to religion, or (use) the word 'Christmas' on school buses," Hartough said.

When it comes to freedom of expression, those kids have a right to express their good holiday cheer with a hearty Christmas song on a school bus. Better than to sing a foul-mouthed, police-killing rap song. And yet, it is these Liberal weenies who are so afraid of offending anyone they're willing to start with religious group, notably the Christian group, by ignoring completely the freedom of expression given to everybody. We are eerily getting close to that of Saudi Arabia where they ban anything related to Christmas (any non-Muslim related theme) that smacks of religious intolerance. We are a nation becoming intolerant to Christian themes, notably the Christmas celebration.

Saudi Arabia has stated publicly that its policy is to protect the right of non-Muslims to worship privately. However, Defense Minister Prince Sulta also stressed that the kingdom would never allow churches to be built.

Earlier this year, Sheik Ibrahim al-Ghaith, chief of the powerful religious police, said Saudi Arabia would never allow public displays of non-Muslim faith.

The State Department said in 1993 that "non-Muslim worshippers risked arrest, lashing and deportation for engaging in overt religious activity that attracts official attention."

Religious police agents become very active in the days leading up to Christian and Western celebrations. A few weeks ago, a toy store owner was detained for promoting witchcraft because he carried such Halloween decorations as scary masks and witches' hats.

It is fascinating and funny (and sad) to watch people throw themselves into a fit over Christmas decorations, songs, Nativity scenes, and the Christmas holiday cheers that go with it. Seems like every Liberal is against Christmas Day (1 day out of 365 days of the year) who want to ban it and play the role of the Grinch. Maybe they are complaining that the celebration leading up to Christmas Day is too long? That's not us, that's a marketing ploy. We want to celebrate that one day, given to us, by Congress, as day of remembrance and thanks for Jesus Christ.

You cannot sing Christmas songs on a school bus. You cannot have a Christmas parade. You cannot do anything publicly in some places for fear of offending someone (Liberals, mostly) when they know they have advanced warning that Christmas is coming down the road once a year. Well, when they start banning anything related to Christmas, I'm offended! The majority of Americans become offended. The ACLU does not have A CLU!!

The ACLU is always finding new ways to outrage traditional America. This month, the ACLU’s biggest focus is censoring Christmas, a national holiday. The ACLU is clamping down on school districts, trying to deter them from promoting Christmas in any way. No Christmas tree, no carol singing, and by no means, any mention of the name of Jesus Christ.

The ACLU says that we cannot publicly celebrate our own national holiday unlike Halloween or Thanksgiving, which is celebrated in public schools without much prejudice.

The ACLU believes that Christmas offends the beliefs of non-Christians. Yet homosexuality doesn’t impose on other people’s values? How biased can one organization be? Not even Ramadan or Hanukah were discriminated against by the ACLU last year.

In the First Amendment, it says: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. "

If the leaders of the ACLU ever took the time to find out why this phrase was there, then maybe they would reform its views.

England, the country that the colonists came from, had only one church and it was the Anglican Church or the Church of England. All others were illegal. King Henry the Eighth had a falling out with the Catholic Church some years back over a divorce issue and outlawed the Catholic Church. He established the Anglican Church and allowed no others to exist.

Our forefathers saw this as religious tyranny, and some groups like the Quakers came to America to escape from religious persecution. One of the fundamental principles laid down by the founding fathers was the concept of religious freedom, without repercussions from the government.

Today, it has been bastardized into the popular notion that religion (especially Christianity) has no place in our society or in any public forum. It is ironic that the laws of this nation are based upon the laws laid down in the Ten Commandments.

Some Christians are fighting back. People in the "Public Advocate of the United States" will sing Christmas carols at noon on December 8 in front of the ACLU office building in Washington, D.C. But they are not alone in this fight. In Maplewood, New Jersey, parents of the Columbia High School brass ensemble, are fighting for their rights to sing Christmas carols at the school’s holiday concert. Since the ACLU will not defend the students' rights, Attorney Demetrios Stratis, affiliated with the conservative civil liberties group Alliance Defense Fund, will do so.

You have Liberals like Maureen Dowd whinning and complaining about Christmas. Gee, they must've had real bad experiences as kids, or really, really bad and "grinchy" parents. Maybe they did not get the train set they wanted as kids?

Maybe a solution can be found here. However much reasoning we try to impart, we are fighting back and will fight back against the insanity of those who claim to be a tolerant group (i.e. Liberals) when they are mostly intolerant when it comes to Christmas and Christians. Liberals are the wolves in sheep clothings looking out for your best interest. It is the Political Correctness they have at heart. Not freedom of expression or freedom of religion.

Let the Battle of Christmas begin so that we won't become like Saudi Arabia which is a model of intolerance. Is this what Liberals want? Somehow I seem to think so.

Oh, by the way, Merry Christmas!

Hate Crime Bill - a double standard.

Here's the definition of what constitute as a hate crime:

Hate-crimes" are defined as violent acts motivated by prejudice based on race, gender, disability or sexual orientation. A senate staffer told the Washington Times that one purpose of the bill was to place the weight of the federal government on the side of the homosexual lifestyle.

But as Paul Craig Roberts elaborated further,

There is nothing new in politicians pandering to special interests. However, "hate-crimes" bills pander in ways that violate the 14th Amendment by creating unequal standing in law.

Hatch’s bill assumes that women need protection from men’s hatred, blacks need protections from the hatred of whites, the disabled require protection from being hated by the able-bodied, and homosexuals need protecting from heterosexuals.

The effect of Hatch’s bill is to divide the population into a victim class and a perpetrator class: White, heterosexual, able-bodied males (WHAMs) are the perpetrators, and everyone else their victims.

If a homosexual is assaulted, a hate-crime will have been committed in addition to the crime of assault. But if a heterosexual is assaulted, it will merely be an act of assault. Similarly, if a black is assaulted, robbed or murdered, a hate-crime charge will be added if the assailant is white. Rape itself can become a hate crime.

Hate does play a role in some murders, but usually it is hatred of a person, not of a race or gender or sexual orientation. Most cases of assault result from the workings of alcohol or from anger. Robbery results from a desire for money, and rape is driven by lust.

A Hate-Crimes bill would be problematic because once it is instituted then it will sooner or later it become a platform in the future to charge anybody who dare think outloud saying "I hate these deaf and dumb people." Or say "Fairies can go to hell" Or say "I hate Spics". The slurs are bad enough and even dumb to say them in first place but to be charged with a hate crime is going too far. Ridiculous even. But a police did arrest a person for saying a slur word but it was a private conversation to begin with. A Michigan housewife, Janice Barton, was jailed when a deputy sheriff overheard her using the word "spic" in a private conversation with her mother.

Mrs. Barton was arrested for using the word "spic” in a public place. Hearing some people talking Spanish in a restaurant, she said to her mother - not to the people
speaking Spanish - "I wish these damned 'spics' would learn to speak English."

One of the Spanish-speakers could understand her, though. She was an off-duty Sheriff's Deputy named Caroline Benitez. She followed Mrs. Barton outside, took down her license number, and complained to the local police.

Two weeks later, Mrs. Barton was arrested under a local ordinance forbidding "insulting conduct" in a public place. Judge Brent Danielson found Mrs. Barton guilty, and sentenced her to 45 days in jail, of which she actually served four. How reassuring that is when you relate similar jailing charge with Jack Kevorkian.

To give some perspective on this 45-day sentence, contrast it with the sentence in a contemporaneous Michigan case, in which mass killer Dr. Jack Kevorkian pled guilty to assaulting police and resisting arrest on the occasion of dropping off the body of his latest - at that time - victim, approximately his 120th, at the ER in Royal Oak.

The judge gave him a $900 dollar fine, and let him go, even though Kevorkian himself wanted to go to jail, and even though he was practically certain to kill again if he were released. (He did, of course, and by a strange coincidence, he’s now in a maximum-security facility near Manistee.)

What's next? Thought police cruising blog sites and whatnot looking for slurs or inflammatory articles where bloggers can be charged with a "hate crime"? A Hate-Crimes bill would lead nothing but more trouble. It is one-sided benefitting only to a certain group. A Hate-Crime bill is nothing but a license to practice a double-standard because it would be applied unequally to everybody. Had there been a fictional book detailing a story on ways to kill President Bill Clinton, (as it did with President Bush with a book called "CheckPoint") I'm sure Liberals would have gone ahead and instituted a nation-wide Hate-Crimes bill. But when Liberals do it, they say it's "Freedom of Speech." Even if it means joking about ways to kill the President over a radio station.

Simply put, these people are twisted.

UPDATE: This is where we're headed where by making gestures (not obscene) will be a crime:

Last week, Spain's Anti-Violence (reads..anti-hate crime) Commission fined two fans 6,000 euros ($9,860 Cdn) and banned them from entering sporting grounds for five months for making monkey chants against Barcelona's Cameroon star Samuel Eto'o during a league match. The fans of the club Albacete were identified by police after other spectators complained about their behavior.

Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle. Anybody who does that to me doesn't deserve a response from me. Just doing the monkey thing makes you look silly anyway that commensurate with your intelligence to that of, well, a monkey. Now, they're handing out kids gloves in the name of protecting people from being "offended" and who have no self-control over their emotional, tantrum outbursts. Thought police are next. Just watch.

LAURI, I Cannot Contact You in Email. Is your email inbox full?? :)

Hope you are reading this Lauri. Smile.

Ugandans Send a Message About Abstinence

After seeing the horrors and ravages of AIDS kill their family members and friends, many Ugandans are fervently in favor of abstinence until marriage.

Hundreds of virgins gathered in the Ugandan capital on Friday to meet the country's first lady and renew their pledges to abstain from premarital sex.

And they aren't blind to what went on and what worked and what did not work where the number of young adults has diminished greatly impacting their country and economy.

"You can sense the cynicism and animosity," he told Reuters. "We are promoting abstinence because Uganda is under attack from an agenda driven by homosexuals and Western experts who are out of touch with how the AIDS epidemic is driven in Africa."

If this keeps up, they may actually save their own country. And it doesn't have to be a religious-driven issue when it can be a morally-driven issue.

Democrats' Dominos Theory of Disaster

One car in the drink and a crane attempts to rescue it (the DNC (the crane) rescuing Kerry(the van)) but the crane, too, goes into the drink- (i.e. election results after November 2).
http://www.vertikal.net/en/stories.php?id=1190


Now, we know that Democrats can get a bit reckless now and then. Yet in their next attempt they'll try and rescue the DNC (using Howard Dean probably) in the hope to save their image and party all in one fell swoop . But this is what will happen to the Democrat Party if they aren't careful.


Will "Murphy's Law" continue.....? Stay tuned.

Sometimes an implosion is much more fun to watch than an explosion.


Clever last picture Amy!!
(http://deaflife.blogspot.com/) -please visit her site and get your daily helpings of brain food. Intelligent and tasty at the same time.

More U.S. Teens Delay Having Sex, Study Finds

American teenagers are waiting longer before first engaging in sexual intercourse, and an overwhelming majority of those who are sexually active report using contraception, according to a comprehensive, well-respected government survey released yesterday.

The report examining youth behavior found that more young men in particular have postponed sex -- 46 percent were sexually active in 2002, compared with 55 percent in 1995 -- and that 91 percent of those who had sex in the previous three months used contraception. Washington Post, December 11, 2004.

Interesting study. More younger people are abstaining sex until much longer. The report further states:

"The really good news is that kids are waiting. They are getting to maturity so they can make healthier choices," said Joneen Krauth-Mackenzie, executive director of the Denver-based Abstinence and Relationship Training Center. "Kids are seeing the cause and effect; they know they need to do something to reduce the risk."

The next step is to shift the focus from contraception to abstinence, she said. "When you engage in those kind of behaviors, you reduce your risk but you don't protect."

And yet the naysayers will come and denounce "abstinence" despite the study. With the correct information, the right message, the indefatigable support and understanding, and parental involvement can lives be shaped sparing young minds from the agony of mistakes.

Whether religious or completely irreligious, the moral imperitive is that people delay sexual activity at least until full adulthood, if not until marriage. So, when we teach abstinence we are not "imposing morality". It also does not mean that we are being blind to reality, either. That's the mistake many people assume when giving out first hand that abstinence ought to come first to these young minds. They have the ability to rationalize rather than the inability not to rationale and think between their legs. They are doing the right thing and working strictly within reality. Deaths, diseases, and pregnancies are the ultimate reality.

When Political Correctness Goes Too Far in Deaf Organizations Discriminating Against Hearing Aid and Cochlear Implant Users

“Athletes taking part in the Deaf World Championships shall be forbidden from using any hearing aids or cochlear implant aids during competitions.”

Lately it has come to my attention that certain Deaf sports organizations ban the use of hearing aids and cochlear implants in their deaf tournaments or games according to their rules and bylaws. The shock was revealed by one deaf woman who wanted to participate in the U.S Deaf Golf Championships in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Banning hearing aids and cochlear implants from golf tournaments (or any other sports for that matter as long as the hearing aid does not risk damage) does not make any sense at all. The only reason why I think they ban such assistive hearing devices is to "level" the playing field where one would not have an advantage over the other. Whether or not this is the case it still wouldn't make sense to ban hearing aids and cochlear implants use from Deaf sporting events sponsored by Deaf sports organizations. Although at the U.S. Deaf Golf Championship officials allowed her a temporary reprieve to compete while wearing her hearing aid. She placed in the top five but afterwards the USDG ruled later on to doubly enforce the rule to forbade hearing aid or cochlear implant during competitions according to the rules and regulations under the CISS/Deaflympics organization.

This is the level of hypocrisy set by the few Deaf militants, zealots and their culture under the guise of "equality" in Deaf games and tournaments. This is nothing more than pure discrimination where wearing a hearing aid or cochlear implant has no bearing or real tactical advantage over other deaf/Deaf opponents who do not wear such a device in deaf games. Golf is certainly one of them.


Read below the excerpt:
===================

I am a serious and very good golfer. My handicap is 10. I love competition and I love to win. Last year for the first time I entered the U.S. Deaf Golf Championships. I was told that I could not wear hearing aids during the tournament. I was shocked. I immediately felt discriminated against. Here is my story.

My name is Lauri and I live in Michigan. I am profoundly deaf, 90% dB loss, and have been since birth. I wear only one hearing aid, on my right ear, due to a disorder called recruitment. I have worn a hearing aid on this ear since early childhood but because of the severity of my hearing loss I still have to read lips to understand what people are saying.

In July of 2003 I went to the U.S. Deaf Golf Championships in Pinehurst, North Carolina. It was my first time entering the tournament. On the first day of the tournament, one of the committee told me that I could not wear hearing aids. I was shocked and upset. I was trying to focus my mind on getting ready to play golf instead of being upset. I asked her, “Why?” She said, “Because we now come under The Committee International Sports for the Deaf (CISS) rules and regulations.” I flew all the way to North Carolina and paid to rent a Condo along with a couple of deaf friends, and now you are telling me that I cannot wear hearing aids. Her reply was “It’s in the entry form”. I never found this regulation in the entry. She knew I was quite upset so she went to talk to the officers. When she returned I was told that they will allow me to wear hearing aids this time, but next time I would not be able to.

Fortunately I made the top five and therefore qualified to represent the U.S. Women’s team at the Deaf World Golf Championships, to be played in Stockholm Sweden in July of this year. I was quite upset when I was informed that we were not allowed to wear hearing aids during the Deaf World Golf Championships, also because they now come under CISS rules and regulations. I had to drop out the U.S. Women team. I accessed the CISS now renamed to CISS/Deaflympics – Regulations on the Internet and found the regulations under General Information, item J, (for championship regulations - Kokonut Pundits) which reads…

“Athletes taking part in the Deaf World Championships shall be forbidden from using any hearing aids or cochlear implant aids during competitions.”

I do not understand this rule. If a Deaf person chooses not to use hearing aids for their entire life, then they participate in activities without hearing the associated sounds. They play golf without hearing the sound of hitting the ball. Their learned skills are developed by using other sensory perceptions. On the other hand, a Deaf person who chooses to wear hearing aids uses the sounds of hitting the ball to help orient themselves. In a tournament played under the above regulations, who would have an advantage? A person playing under their normal circumstances or a person made to play under unfamiliar ones? The same regulations also state that deaf would be defined as a hearing loss of ‘at least 55dB’. That means a person without a hearing aid and a 55db hearing loss could actually have better hearing than a profoundly deaf person with a hearing aid. If a person has a 55dB loss, they can hear something without hearing aids. It’s still an advantage over someone with a 90bB loss. I feel that this rule is unfair because it gives an advantage to one player over another and is discriminatory. Would you not permit a person to wear glasses? Would you not permit a person with prosthesis to play in the game?

Because of this outdated and unfair rule I felt compelled to relinquish my place on the U.S. Women’s golf team. Again, I am a Deaf person who has chosen the OPTION to wear hearing aids. I should not be discriminated against for that choice. The sad and unfortunate fact is that this discrimination is being levied by an organization that certainly should know better and be more understanding about new technology and its impact on options for deaf people. Children are learning to listen and speak using hearing aids and cochlear implants all over this country.

Until the United States and World Deaf Golf Championship are included in the CISS/Deaflympics I believe its rules and regulations should be kept separate. I believe that it is time for us to move forward and not dwell in the traditions of the past. After all this is the 21st Century and we have made great progress in minimizing acts of discrimination.

I corresponded with the President of CISS/Deaflympics about this situation last September. She replied back and recommended that if I wished for this rule to change I would have to ask the U.S. Deaf Golf Foundation to submit a proposal to World Deaf Golf Federation (WDGF) who would then submit it to her. She would then put it on the agenda for discussion at the January 2005 Congress in Melbourne. I complied with these directions and contacted the President of the U.S. Deaf Golf Foundation, his reply was as follows:

During its annual meeting on October 9, the U.S. Deaf Golf Foundation(USDGF) Board of Directors discussed the issue of not allowing competing deaf and hard of hearing golfers to wear hearing aids nor cochlear implants at the U.S. Deaf Golf Championships and the World Deaf Golf Championships.

This rule has been in effect for many years with the USA Deaf Sports Federation (USADSF), of which USDGF is a national sports organization, and Comité International des Sports des Sourds, CISS (The International Committee of Sports for the Deaf). The USADSF is affiliated with CISS. Also, USADSF is affiliated with the World Deaf Golf Federation (WDGF).

The USDGF Board has decided not to take further action on this issue. We intend to fully enforce this requirement for those who participate in future U.S. Deaf Golf Championships, as well as the World Deaf Golf Championships. However, we encourage you to express your views directly with USADSF, WDGF, and CISS.

I was surprised and very disappointed at his response. I spoke to a lawyer who works for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and civil rights about rejecting hearing aids/cochlear implant during U.S. Deaf Golf Championships. I believe that they broke ADA law because we are playing in the United States. He said, “They are non-profit organizational, which means they can make whatever rules they want to.”

I am not giving up my rights. I can’t live without my hearing aids. It is a part of my life. They should not be allowed remove a part of me. The next United States Deaf Golf Championships will be held in July of 2005. The top five scorers will qualify for the World Deaf Golf Championship in Edmonton, Canada in 2006. I need your support so please contact these organizations. You can reach the President of United States Deaf Golf Foundation and the President of CISS/Deaflympics. Please feel free to submit any questions or comments; you can reach me at supporthrngaids@aol.com.

PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION TO CONFIRM YOUR SUPPORT TO THE USE OF HEARING AIDS/COCHLEAR IMPLANTS DURING U.S. AND WORLD DEAF GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS. Please pass the word. Thank you!

==================

Although through this action by discriminating against golf tournment participants from wearing a hearing aid or cochlear implant the United States Deaf Golf Foundation have violated their own bylaws in Article 13.

Non-Discrimination Policy

The USDGF makes every effort to conduct its official business regarding USA representation in world competition play, Board service, athletes, members, officials, and any other related issue on the basis of skill, training, ability, attitude and character without discrimination with regard to age, gender, sexual orientation, color, race, creed, national origin, religious persuasion, marital status, political belief and disability.

What they have violated was the political belief of Lauri's believing she has a right to wear her hearing aid in a Deaf sports tournament, specifically golf. That's politics in of itself. The whole thing is a sham reeking with with Deaf political correctness influenced by a Deaf International Sports body that have no business telling Deaf/deaf organizations in the United States on what they can or cannot do when it comes to allowing the use of hearing assistive devices during Deaf/deaf games or tournaments. Looking at the other extreme end it would be just as unfair to require participating athletes that they must wear hearing aids or cochlear implants on in order to qualify in a deaf game or tournament. Harmony and understanding are what is needed. Not discrimination and elitism.

Send in your support for Lauri and see that this monkey business stop.


Update: If you go to the Deaflympics website on Deaflympics Games regulation (not championships) under DG2. GENRAL INFORMATION section H, subsection C, it states also as well that:

Participation in the Deaflympic Games is restricted to persons who are:
not using hearing aids or cochlear implant aids during any Deaflympic Games event. (Final Draft of Amended Regulations (March 2003))

They have one mission and that is the promotion of the CISS principles throughout the world thereby creating global goodwill in the Deaf community. By saying "Deaf" they exclude those who do not consider themselves as Deaf but deaf or hard of hearing and know little or no sign language but yet fulfills all of the hearing loss requirements under Section DG2. GENRAL INFORMATION. In their magnality, they, however, have not explained why a deaf or hard of hearing competitor cannot wear a hearing aid or a cochlear implant during a Deafylmpic game or championship in their attempt to skirt the issue. By their virtue of doing this they upset that "global goodwill" by using their foreign imposition by denying legitimate deaf athletes here in the United States (and elsewhere) who wear cochlear implants or hearing aids from competing because of the so-called perceived advantages over those who do not wear such devices. By this very act of denying these talented athletes for being who they are the Deaflympics organization indeed does NOT promote the ideal "global goodwill" among all types of people with hearing loss greater than 55 dB. This is a recipe courting disaster and invite disharmony among fellow brothers and sisters who share the same deafness struggle. What the world does not need is elitism and grandeur but harmony and understanding for all.

UPDATE 2: Not only has Lauri's political belief's been violated according to Article 13 of the U.S. Deaf Golf Association regarding non-discrimination practice against politic beliefs, but also violated her ADA (American with Disabilities Act) by refusing her the needed assistive hearing device (hearing aid or cochlear implant) allowing her the ability to communicate along with her signing ability. However, there are people with hearing aids or cochlear implants who rely on them for vocal and listening communications. Not everybody who is deaf or hard of hearing knows sign language. That would be an unfair stigma and stereotypical response thinking all deaf people know sign language.

A few years ago the PGA violated Pro golfer Casey Martin's use of a cart to go between holes simply because of the perceived "unfair advantage" over the other but still relatively young and agile pro-golfers, who must walk a distance of four miles during the course of an 18-hole golf tournament. These pro-golfers must overcome "fatigue" in order to win. Laughable but it was not funny in Martin's case. For those who do not know Martin, he suffers from Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber Syndrome, a rare circulatory disease, in his right leg. Such a condition that makes it nearly impossible for him to walk an 18-hole golf course and in attempting to do so would make him the most fatigued tourney golfer at every hole! The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a federal disability law allowed him to use a cart between shots during tournaments.

Now, what makes the U.S. Deaf Golf Association think that they have not violated the American with Disability Act? Justice John Paul Stevens commented :

Under the ADA's basic requirement that the need of a disabled person be evaluated on an individual basis, we have no doubt that allowing Martin to use a golf cart would not fundamentally alter the nature of PGA tournaments.

In Lauri's case, allowing her the use of the hearing aid (or a cochlear implant) would not fundamentally alter the nature of Deaf golf games or championships. The Deaflympics never produced nor provided reasonable proof or examples of how a deaf or hard of hearing golfer use of the hearing aid will alter dramatically in the game of golf against other deaf or Deaf golfers who do not wear such assistive listening devices. This all boils down to that Deaflympics failed to offer a reasonable explaination of why a deaf or hard of hearing golfer cannot wear such a device. They must provide the evidence, not Lauri, on how her wearing a hearing aid will fundamentally alter the nature of the golf game. Anybody who believes that wearing a hearing aid in a golf game provides an unfair advantage over Deaf/deaf non-hearing aid golfers (or cochlear implant) simply does not hold water. It is simply an elitist attitude, at worst, or a badly misplaced intention, at best, within those Deaf sport organizations who have simply gone too far in their attempt to forbade hearing aids and cochlear implants in their Deaf sport games.

When students of Gallaudet University get harassed because of cell phone use on campus

If you're a Gallaudet University student, hard of hearing or hearing, carries a cell phone (with or without texting ability) and uses it constantly to verbally talk and listen, please be aware of the possibility that some Deaf/deaf/hh students of Gallaudet University may not like seeing you talk on the cell phone. The disdain and hate may become more extreme if you're in Gallaudet cafeteria or other known gathering places on campus.

Gallaudet University is a campus known for its diversity, including those who can hear quite well; hence, hard of hearing students. Gallaudet University advertise their university as "leading the world in undergraduate and graduate programs for deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing students." Diversity is key to Gallaudet University's success.

Hard of hearing, deaf (ie cochlear implant users) and hearing Gallaudet University students should be free from any form of retaliation, physical threat, harassment, bullying, and intimidation on the campus of Gallaudet University. If you are a student at Gallaudet University and have experienced these types of behaviors where you have felt threatened because you used a cell phone on the campus of Gallaudet University, please contact the Gallaudet University Department of Public Safety on campus. It is important that you make a note of your experience noting the time of day, people involved and the circumstances surrounding the harassment or threat because you used your cell phone on the campus of Gallaudet University. This is for your record, protection, and information for the police which can used as valuable evidence against the perpetrators involved. Your life may depend on it.

You may contact the DPS at:

Department of Public Safety
Carlin Hall, First Floor
Jennifer Turner, Manager
Jennifer.Turner@gallaudet.edu

Emergency Lines:
202 652 5444 (TTY)
202 651 5555 (Voice)

Non-Emergency Line: 202 651 5445 (TTY or Voice)
Hours of Operation: 24 hours each day, 7 days per week

Be sure to add the emergency line phone numbers into your speed dial function in your cell phone.

If you are threatened or feel that you might become threatened because you used a cell phone on the campus of Gallaudet University, please check out the Department of Public Safety important safety tips when you are alone on the campus of Gallaudet University.


If you need more information please contact me. Or you can be a part of a forum on this issue please visit Deafreedom.

Now, since you have read this blogpiece, you can go ahead and make those cell phone (or Sidekicks) calls on the campus of Gallaudet University. It's your right. Show people what "deaf people" can really do. And if they bug you about using your cell phone tell them to dial this number for a change if you are ever in the cafeteria at Gallaudet University. Only this time, you might want to record the incident afterwards. Word of warning, take everything here with a grain of salt of the implications here. Is it a parody or not? You decide.

BTW, let me know when Gallaudet University starts instituting rules regarding cell phone use in public areas on campus. :-P

The Cure on Hearing Loss

No doubt are we hurtling toward a day when hearing loss can be treated and restored to its normal functioning capacity. Here's a quote from a recent July issue Trends in Molecular Medicine:

One of the greatest challenges in the treatment of inner-ear disorders is to find a cure for the hearing loss that is caused by the loss of cochlear hair cells or spiral ganglion neurons. The recent discovery of stem cells in the adult inner ear that are capable of differentiating into hair cells....can be converted into hair cells, raise hope for the future development of stem-cell-based treatment regimens.

In this issue it talks about how in the future such procedures using stem cell could very much help repair the damaged cochlea as a result of cochlear implant. What they are faced is the emplacement of hair cells inside the cochlea "mimicking the tonotopic organization of sound along the longitudinal axis of the cochlea. Replacing lost hair cells with stem-cell-derived hair cells along the tonotopic map of the cochlea might also suffice to restore basic cochlear functions even without matching the hair-cell phenotype to its location."

Quite exciting knowing that in the future cochlear implant recipents will be able to have their damaged cochlea caused by cochlear implants, therby continuing toward the goal of restored hearing. Ok, I'll say it. Therby continuing toward the goal in the cure on hearing loss.

The issue continues with various possible avenues in the restoration of hearing loss. And concludes about the future of stem cell on hearing loss:

The recent discovery of adult inner-ear stem cells and the generation of hair cells from ES cells have opened an exciting new avenue for the development of strategies to restore hearing. One of the obvious next steps toward this goal is to transfer the findings that were obtained with murine cells to human stem cells. Before stem cells can be considered for therapeutic applications in humans, their suitability to functionally restore hearing, at least in part, must be shown in mice or in other animal models. Finally, it is conceivable that stem-cell-based therapy alone will not be the ultimate solution for the treatment of hearing loss, and that distant future therapy might be a combination of stem cell, gene therapy and drug treatment in conjunction with technical devices, such as microprocessor- controlled cochlear-interface implants. Such a combination therapy will be customized to the particular cellular ailment of the individual patient.

In short, we have a very good prospect in the near future on seeing that most types of hearing loss can be cured or restored. Secondly, with the recent discovery that we carry adult stem cells in our inner ear is a very good sign. It all takes on the new meaning "heal thyself."

A time will come when parents of a deaf baby will have the comfort knowing that such a hearing loss will only be temporary using the best available medical technique to restore and cure the baby's hearing loss. Or for those who grew up wearing cochlear implants will have the comfort knowing that a cochlear implant is temporary and that the damaged cochlea can be repaired and restored.

How soon will this happen? With the current speed on the advancements of stem cells application to that of hearing loss, I would safely say such a time would come within my lifetime, easily. Perhaps within 20 years from now the restoration on hearing loss would be commonplace. With 250 million people around the world with hearing loss represents a huge market and an incentive for researchers to become the first in the race to cure hearing loss. Kudos and godspeed!

Parents of deaf children have the right to decide on how to approach their child's hearing loss. This includes getting a cochlear implant or not. And in the future, the decision will be made much easier using adult stem cells (or other medical techniques) to help restore and cure the child's hearing loss. For those who decide against the restoration of hearing loss for their deaf child have every right as a Deaf parent to allow their deaf child remain deaf. But probably by that time in the near future when a cure is already possible, denying such a procedure for their deaf child/baby would probably constitute as "child abuse." By denying the basic right of a child the ability to hear normally would give a stronger case of "child abuse" in the future. A complete 180 degree shift when at one time Deaf communities were vehemently decrying that outfitting cochlear implants on young deaf children constituted as "child abuse."That was nearly 10 years ago and such inferences on "child abuse" have waned considerably. But the bottom line ought to be that parents have the right to decide for their children's welfare in the proper frame of thinking when it comes to hearing loss.

It'll be interesting to see how this unfolds in the future.

The Murder of Maj. Gregory Stone

It was a shock when I heard about the murder of Major Gregory Stone who was my cousin. I never knew about him until I got the word about him. He was murdered in a grenade tent attack in Kuwait in 2003 by Sgt. Hasan Akbar. This low life and coward Akbar is charged with two counts of premeditated murder and three counts of attempted premeditated murder. He could get the death penalty if convicted, and I hope so when all evidences are presented in the court.

I received the news from mother who got the call from Betty Lenzi (Gregory Stone's mother). Both Betty and my mother are cousins who grew up in Oregon. Soon afterward I made a cell phone call to Frank Lenzi who works at KPAM radio station in Portland, Oregon, so I could express my condolences and introduce myself as a cousin of Gregory Stone. I wanted to contact his mother, Betty, and asked him to relay my permission to contact her by giving him my cell phone number. A few hours later, Betty called. We chatted for about 15-20 minutes. It was a nice chat. Voice of a strong and proud mother. We talked about how she remembered me when I was a toddler. That was the only time I ever "met" Gregory when he was little as well. My mother held him in her arms only a few times before we moved to Washington state. That was the last time my mother ever saw Gregory.

The Lenzi and Stone families have gone through a lot anguish but are extremely proud of their son who loved the Armed Forces life. What made it especially more troubling is Michael Moore's despicable act of filming Maj. Gregory Stone's funeral at Arlington Cemetery. Moore used the film clip of the funeral in his highly innacurate and tasteless Fahrenheit 9/11 movie. An outrage!

The Lenzi and Stone families were completely shocked and outraged when they were contacted by the press about the film clip of their funeral. Michael Moore is an unAmerican weasel who have no respect and neither the courage to even ask the Lenzi and Stone's family for permission to use the film clip. A typical M.O. of Michael Moore. A sure sign of a weasel.

July 12, 2004
Family of Major Stone Upset Over Michael Moore's Movie
The family of Idaho Air Guard, Major Gregory Stone said they're being exploited by filmaker Michael Moore.

Major Stone's family said a video clip from the funeral service last year at Arlington National Cemetery was included in Moore's controversial movie Farenheit 9-11.

While watching the movie, the family was shocked to see film clips of the burial.

"When he died, that was all Michael Moore gets from Greg," said Stone's aunt, Kandi Gallagher. "He doesn't get to throw Greg into his movie and profit off it."

Sgt Akbar will get his full due when the time comes when the court decides. What he deserve is the death penalty. No less and let the maggots eat his flesh for a change.

My Daughter Sleeps

Here's something I found while cleaning out my computer files. I won't throw this one away and it's one of my favorite picture of my youngest daughter. The picture was taken more than 2 years ago. This is one of the many things I enjoyed doing and that was holding all of my daughters when they were babies on my chest while they slept. I have three daughters. And this one is my youngest one. Babies grow up so fast.


Enjoy it while you can.

Gallaudet Student Attempted to Stop Hard of Hearing from Using Cell Phone in Cafeteria

Now, why would anybody complain about a hard of hearing (or for that matter, a hearing student/staff/whatever) Gallaudet student talk on his or her cell phone in the cafeteria of Gallaudet University? This is Gallaudet University we're talking about. All the hand waving, signing, grunting and laughing (and it’s quite loud in there believe it or not) and making a general mess of the cafeteria, as usual, should not be an issue. But, of course, silly me it is an issue among Deaf students that is. Saw a blog piece about one Deaf guy who got a little pissy when he saw one hard of hearing (?) student move his/her mouth next to the cell phone. Why would anybody feel "threatened" (for a lack of a better word) about a hard of hearing student using his or her own voice over a cell phone in the cafeteria of Gallaudet?

Now, if I ever visit Gallaudet again (graduated in 1991) and my cell phone rings while I'm in the cafeteria eating (is it worth my life?) I'd answer it right then and there among the masses of Deaf, deaf and hard of hearing students. Budging not one inch from my table, gabbing coherently away. And If I get a few mean stares or even, God forbid, get approached by a Deaf student(s) who tell me to stop talking on the phone, I'll show him my famous American bird. A patriotic duty of mine. But more likely I'll be a civil as I can be and tell them "Go away! Can't you see? I'm talking!"

Now, I got a similar treatment from a few Deaf students when I was in Gallaudet 17 years ago. I talked and listened to other hard of hearing or hearing people/students who ate with me rather than sign. I signed most of the time, sure, but when I talk, I talk. Not a problem for me. It wasn't a problem for them when they asked me to order a pizza for them over the phone. No problem. But they do have a problem with me talking in the cafeteria or elsewhere on campus. Real bright people. They wanted my help and the next thing I knew I get these glares whenever I use my voice instead of signing. Such incidents were relatively rare.

I've no problem talking. Neither do I have a problem signing. Neither would I have a problem if I talked on my cell phone, which I do carry, in the cafeteria at, oh say, Gallaudet where 75% of them can't even hear, much less understand, one whit of a spoken word (unless we're talking about hearing Grad students).

This whole thing is about my convenience and not yours. This has nothing to do about bragging. Phone rings… I answer, I talk. No problem. That has been my life. My convenience. You got a problem? Leave. Not me. And be courteous to those talking on the phone on the campus of Gallaudet University even if they are deaf (CI) or hard of hearing. That includes Ely Center, the bookstore, cafeteria, the library (remember, this is Gallaudet University we're talking about), and so on.

Deaf people, especially at Gallaudet University, need to accept the fact that there will be hard of hearing students (even CI users) who will use their cell phones on the campus of Gallaudet University to talk and listen, and, most importantly, actually communicate with other human beings on the other side of the cell phone. So, you better learn to live with it. Facts of life here. Move on. Grow up. Time's a changin.

And, oh, by the way people, please, spare me the "courtesy" thing when it comes to answering and using cell phones in public eating places. This is the Gallaudet cafeteria we’re talking about....not a 5 star restaurant. Hope Google picks up my subject heading.

No gagging please.

UPDATE: This is what I'm talking about. And you would think that Gallaudet University embraces diversity? Including those who wear hearing aids, CI, hard of hearing students who can talk or speak just as well as they can sign? Gallaudet University believes it. Sure they do. It is just some of the staff and students at Gallaudet don't believe in it. They are one of the may who rail (hint: whine) against students (hard of hearing) who have the ability to speak and listen, and, gasp!, even carry cell phones that they can use according to their own communication preferences (voice versus sidekick, or even use both!).

As for the cafeteria, heck, I've mingled with all kinds of people and friends who are Deaf, deaf, and hard of hearing (and hearing) anywhere from the center of the cafeteria down to the windows, and upstairs. Not a problem. That way, I'm able to meet all kinds of people..not just the "members only club" mentality group of people who want to sit in the middle of the cafeteria every single day. You see, I truly appreciate diversity and I see it as a challenge to meet a variety of people as much as possible from a variety of backgrounds, upbringings and communication abilities. Even met a CP guy named Jeff who was a challenge to even try and understand him. Deaf and blind. Oralists. PSE or SEE users. CUED speech users. ASL learners and so on. Delightful people they were. I find it truly interesting just to meet people going through New Signers Orientation at the cafeteria, for example.

It is just laughable how some Deaf/deaf/hh people still harbor their insecurity (deny it all you want folks) in such a fashion regarding those who can speak just as well as a hearing person (oh, yeah, they're out there). I've no resentment toward some Deaf people, just the incredulity whenever I see their attitudes toward those with different communication preferences or abilities. Many do have the preference to speak rather than sign but are willing to learn sign language.

Gallaudet University serve as a host to number of students of diverse skills and abilities and if any of them want to use the cell phone to talk on in the cafeteria or elsewhere on campus...more power to them. Their ability to hear and speak are not to be denied nor discouraged.

So, the next time you see students talking on a cell phone (or not) in Gallaudet cafeteria (or elsewhere), do him or her a favor by leaving the person alone to make the call (or talk) and mind your own business. It's a free country.

So much for some of these Deaf/deaf/hh "diversity" claims when it comes to acceptance. Until there's acceptance, there's no real diversity.

BTW, anybody who bugs me in a rude manner while I'm on the cell phone anywhere on campus (not classrooms/theaters/etc) will certainly get a rude reply from me....an American bird, as a last resort to clear up any misunderstanding. :)