Why I Switched To Firefox

Once again, people who use Internet Explorer are getting hacked--this time, it's so bad some companies are telling people to switch browsers until the security breach has been fixed--despite Microsoft's protestations.

Over the years, I feel as though I have spent an inordinate amount of time and money getting rid of viruses and spyware on my computer--and almost every time, the problem has been linked to some security flaw in IE.

I finally got fed up with Internet Explorer about two weeks ago--despite the fact that I had a firewall and antivirus software installed on my computer, my machine still ended up getting infected with a nasty bug that included a keylogger and a number of "downloaders" that I could not seem to get rid of no matter what anti-spyware or antivirus software I tried--I finally ended up having to spend an entire day manually removing the malicious software and editing my registry in order to finally get some relief...and that's when I installed Firefox. I will probably never go back to IE.

It's not that I feel Microsoft is producing a shoddy product--it's just that since Internet Explorer is the most popular browser, it's the one that is most profitable for hackers to target.

I'm no computer expert, so I don't have an answer to all the technical problems associated with spyware and viruses--but I do feel government should pass laws that require greater privacy protections for internet users--and people in general.

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Hilarious! The Mean Kitty Song

Now, if we could just get this guy to do a video about throwing shoes at Bush!

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Iraqi Journalist Chucks Shoes At Bush

During a press conference Sunday in Baghdad, an Iraqi journalist threw shoes at President Bush, which the lame duck narrowly avoided being clobbered by:

The Iraqi journalist, Muntader al-Zaidi, 28, a correspondent for Al Baghdadia, an independent Iraqi television station, stood up about 12 feet from Mr. Bush and shouted in Arabic: “This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog!” He then threw a shoe at Mr. Bush, who ducked and narrowly avoided it.

As stunned security agents and guards, officials and journalists watched, Mr. Zaidi then threw his other shoe, shouting in Arabic, “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq!” That shoe also narrowly missed Mr. Bush as Prime Minister Maliki stuck a hand in front of the president’s face to help shield him.

Security agents then jumped the poor guy, beat the snot out of him, and dragged him out of the room as Bush looked on calmly. His employer called upon the Iraqi government to release him in the name of democracy and freedom of speech. In the Mideast, showing someone the bottom of your foot is considerd the lowest of insults, comparable to our practice of telling someone to "f*** themselves. "



By this morning, Muntader al-Zaidi was already being hailed as a hero, as thousands of protesters gathered in Iraq throwing shoes and groups around the world have worked to secure his release. Across the Mideast, his insult is being praised as a proper send-off for Bush.

Bush has done more to destroy our relations with the rest of the world than any president in history--not to mention all the damage he has done at home. He is truly going to be remembered as the worst president in history.

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Grandma's Porcupine Meatballs

Here's an old recipe from the Depression era my grandmother used to make--it's best served with mashed potatoes and some kind of green vegetable.

1 lb. hamburger
1/2 cup rice
1 egg
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup ketchup

Combine hamburger, egg, rice, and, onion. Form into meatballs and place in the bottom of a large kettle or deep frying pan. Combine ketchup with enough water to cover the meatballs and simmer on low heat until the meatballs are done and the liquid is thickened.

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Bush Attempting To Undermine Obama Administration

Talk about sour grapes...

President Bush is spending his last days in office pushing through an unprecedented number of "midnight regulations" by exploiting a loophole in the law which allows him to put regulations into the Code of Federal Regulations--which have the same force as laws passed by Congress. Most of these regulations primarily benefit industries and constituent groups that supported him during his two terms as President. It could take the Obama administration months or even years to overturn some of these rules, especially if the companies and special interest groups that will benefit decide to sue.

Here's a run-down on some of the regulations from The Guardian:

Bush's midnight regulations will:

• Make it easier for coal companies to dump waste from strip-mining into valleys and streams.

• Ease the building of coal-fired power stations nearer to national parks.

• Allow people to carry loaded and concealed weapons in national parks.

• Open up millions of acres to mining for oil shale.

• Allow healthcare workers to opt out of giving treatment for religious or moral reasons, thus weakening abortion rights.

• Hurt road safety by allowing truck drivers to stay at the wheel for 11 consecutive hours.

No doubt, Bush and his right-wing allies are furious with the American people for rejecting their fascist, theocratic vision for the nation's future--and this is a last ditch attempt at exacting a measure of revenge. Can't these guys give it a rest? They have already damaged this country so badly that we could well spend decades recovering--if we ever do.

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Upcoming Fed Vote Could Remake Credit Card Regulations

The Fed will vote Thursday on a proposal which will ban practices such as retroactively raising interest rates and not giving consumers a reasonable amount of time to make payments. It represents the biggest overhaul of the credit card industry to occur in decades.

Among the many provisions is a ban on raising interest rates on existing balances unless the customer was 30 days or more late in paying the minimum. Other circumstances in which a rate change would be allowed would be if the card had a variable rate or a promotional rate that was set to expire. Banks would also not be able to treat a payment as late if the customer had not been given a fair amount of time to make that payment.

The proposal would also dictate how credit card companies should apply customers' payments that exceed the minimum required each month. When different annual percentage rates apply to different balances on the same card, banks would be prohibited from applying the entire amount to the balance with the lowest rate. Many card issuers do that so that debts with the highest interest rates linger the longest, thereby costing the consumer more.

Of course, the credit card industry has lobbied against these changes, and claim that if they are implemented, they will have to jack up everybody's interest rates, not just those who get behind--an obvious attempt to punish consumers for daring to question their usurious practices.

While the measure, as written, won't ban all of the deceptive and dishonest practices of the credit card industry, at least it's a start.

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Meet The Senate Morons

Salon has an article on some of the GOP Senators opposed to the auto bail-out bill that is worth a read--according to the article, they are putting their states' interests above those of the nation as a whole. All of them have foreign car manufacturers in their states, who provide them with major campaign cash.

Are they really so stupid they think killing the US auto industry will help boost sales of foreign cars made in their home states? Are they so dense that they can't understand what a massive impact the loss of 3 million jobs could have on the overall economy--and that fewer good paying jobs means fewer dollars available to buy cars of any kind?

I have a feeling these guys may have just hung themselves. It is doubtful Democrats or union supporters across the country will ever let them live it down.

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UAW Workers Confront Shelby--Good For Them!

Via a diary posted on Daily Kos:

UAW workers took a little trip to Senator Shelby's office to talk to him about the auto bail-out plan--and confronted his staffers about the fact that he is willing to screw the American auto worker. (Shelby was conveniently out of his office...) Check out this video:



The rest of us could learn a lesson from the UAW workers who paid Shelby's office a visit--we need to start making our elected officials listen to us, even if it means staging sit-ins in their offices, massive public protests, strikes and boycotts--otherwise, the criminals who have nearly bankrupted us--along with their right-wing co-conspirators, will continue to run roughshod over us.

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Even Cats Like Obama

I've always heard it said that animals and little kids can tell whether a person is good or evil...this kitty can't seem to get enough of Barack Obama.

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Union Busting Rethugs Blame UAW For Defeat Of Bailout Legislation

First of all, get one thing straight--the Republican senators who refused to pass a bailout measure for the auto industry had no intention of reaching a compromise with the UAW. They wanted the negotiations to fail. They want to see US automakers go out of business. They want to see labor unions come to an end.

Nothing would please them more than seeing American workers stripped of their right to at least a minimum wage and reasonably safe working conditions. Apparently, the amount of wealth they have helped transfer out of the hands of the working class and into the hands of the top 1% isn't enough--they will settle for nothing less than the reduction of US workers to the slave status enjoyed by sweatshop workers in places like China and Pakistan. To many of the very rich, the "commoners" are nothing but "production units" whose sole useful purpose is to generate ever greater wealth for the already obscenely wealthy.

For decades, the labor unions--in spite of the problems they have had--have often been at the forefront of the battle to protect workers--union and nonunion alike--from the heartless greed and lack of respect for human rights displayed the elites. Destroying the unions would constitute a major victory on their part--and the UAW is one of the most powerful unions around. Taking them down would make it much easier to kill all the rest...

The problem for us is that the top 1% have already managed to purchase the legislative process--which is why the financial industry got a $700 billion dollar bailout with no strings attached--but the country's workers and homeowners were told to screw themselves. Until we demand that Congress serve the interests of the many instead of the greedy inclinations of a few, we can expect America's downward spiral to continue.

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Bottom Of The Barrel Tuna Casserole

Here's something really cheap you can make if you are in such bad shape you are digging change out of the couch in order to come up with grocery money:

1 box dry mac & cheese (the cheap store brand stuff you can buy for 50 cents a box), prepared
1 can store brand tuna

Just mix the can of tuna in with the mac & cheese--you can eat it just like this, or if you want, you can doctor it up by adding a can of cream of mushroom soup; some drained, canned veggies; a little chopped onions or some mushrooms. You can top it with dry bread crumbs or more cheese.

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White House To Step In And Help Auto Industry

Wow--for once, George Bush is stepping up to the plate and doing something right for a change:

After refusing for weeks to tap the $700 billion financial rescue fund, the administration suggested it would dip into the fund to at least permit the companies to continue their operations until the new Congress and new administration arrive next month.

“Because Congress failed to act, we will stand ready to prevent an imminent failure until Congress reconvenes and acts to address the long-term viability of the industry,” said Brookly McLaughlin, a Treasury spokeswoman.

Of course, self interest is at the heart of their decision, as Dick Cheney warned Republicans that they would be "remembered as the party of Herbert Hoover if the auto industry fails." Too bad George and Dick weren't concerned a little sooner...like 8 years ago.

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More Crookedness From Drug Makers

According to an article in the NYT, Wyeth paid ghostwriters to produce medical journal articles favorable to Prempro, a hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women--despite the fact that the drug was found to raise the risk of breast cancer.

It is truly sad that we, the ordinary citizens in this country, really have no way of knowing whether or not the drugs prescribed to us by our doctors are safe or if they even work--the profit motive seems to trump every other concern within the drug research field.

I think Congress should enact stricter controls on the ways drug companies can market pharmaceuticals--to both doctors and the public at large.

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Sarah Palin's Church Burns

Oh, great, just what we need--something that will give right-wing nutjobs fodder for conspiracy theories for the next twenty years:

A "suspicious" fire devastated the church attended by Alaska Gov. and former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on Friday night in her hometown of Wasilla, the church's minister said.

--snip--

The newspaper said Palin released a statement after the fire in which she said she stopped by the church Saturday morning and offered an apology to the assistant pastor "if the incident is in any way connected to the undeserved negative attention the church has received since she became a vice presidential candidate."(emphasis mine)

The right-wing religious wackos will interpret her statement as laying the blame for the fire on Democrats. Expect them to start crowing about the way they are "under attack" and are "being persecuted" by those evil liberals--even if the fire turns out to be due to some mundane cause or if it was caused by some stupid kids messing around.

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Making Cornbread

Cornbread is one of the cheapest, easiest breads you can make. When paired with beans, it forms a complete protein, making this combo an excellent meat substitute.

Basic Cornbread Recipe:

2 cups self-rising cornmeal
1 egg
Enough water, milk, condensed milk, or buttermilk to make a thick batter

Stir all the ingredients together in a medium bowl. For best results, you'll want to use a cast iron skillet--use enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan and heat on top of the stove until it just begins to smoke before pouring the batter in. If you don't have a cast iron skillet, a heavily greased baking pan will do, although the crust won't be as crunchy. Bake the cornbread at about 400 degrees F until the top is golden brown.

If you like sweet cornbread, add a tablespoon of sugar, or enough to suit your personal tastes. For a softer texture, substitute 1/2 cup of the cornmeal with 1/2 cup of self-rising flour.

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Senate Republicans Give Workers The Finger

In a move that displays an almost shocking display of disregard for Americans workers, Republican senators refused to support a bill aimed at bailing out American automakers. It is simply amazing that the neocons are so short-sighted and self-serving that they would sacrifice 3 million jobs on the altar of an ideology has all but destroyed this country's future.

Pelosi got it right when she stated:

“Senate Republicans’ refusal to support the bipartisan legislation passed by the House and negotiated in good faith with the White House, the Senate and the automakers is irresponsible, especially at a time of economic hardship,” Ms. Pelosi said in a statement.

“The consequences of the Senate Republican’ failure to act could be devastating to our economy, detrimental to workers, and destructive to the American automobile industry unless the President immediately directs Secretary Paulson to explore other short-term financial assistance options."

We can only hope the Federal Reserve steps in and does something to help the Big Three--otherwise, it is very likely we will be plunged into another Great Depression, as millions more people lose their jobs and homes. You have to wonder how many children will end up sleeping in cars and going hungry if nothing is done.

Too many right-wingers still don't get the fact that we are all in this economy together, and that the ripple effect from the loss of the American auto industry will have effects that will ripple far and wide--note that many of the senators who voted against the bailout live in southern states that have foreign auto plants. If they think killing GM, Ford, and Chrysler will help their own states, they had best think again--if too many people end up losing their jobs, they won't be selling any cars, either--and so Toyota and all the other foreign auto plants will soon share the Big Three's fate.

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Children Resued From Pornographers

According to an article on CNN.com, 170 people have been arrested as a result of a major international operation targeting child pornographers:

So far, Operation Joint Hammer has rescued 11 girls in the United States, ages 3 to 13, who were sexually abused by child pornography producers, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey and representatives of the European Union said at the Justice Department Friday.

Dozens more were located in Europe, including several young female victims in Ukraine.

Authorities found connections between producers, distributors and customers in nearly 30 countries as a single investigation grew to a global inquiry into the dark corners of brutality and child abuse.

I hope the people involved in this get thrown under the jail, and the key gets thrown away. One can only imagine how deeply scarred these little children will be for the rest of their lives.

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Surviving Tough Times

A quick perusal of the blogosphere reveals that a lot of people are looking for ways to cut down on their living expenses--recipes and grocery shopping tips seem to be in high demand. As a native of eastern Kentucky, I can say that I have seen a lot of people endure some mighty hard times over the years--you can say that thriftiness and frugal living are almost ingrained in our culture. From this point on, I'm going to share some of the recipes I grew up with--as well as some frugal dishes I have either invented or discovered since then.

Today, I will show you how to make soup beans--a staple food for many people from Appalachia:

2 cups dry pinto beans, picked over to remove any stones or other debris, rinsed
2 slices bacon, cut up
1 tsp. baking soda
Salt to taste

Soak the beans in cold water along with the baking soda over night. (This helps make them less "gassy.") The next morning, drain and rinse them. Place them in a large kettle along with the bacon slices and a little salt. Cover with about 3 inches of water. Cover and simmer on low heat several hours until the beans are tender, checking periodically to add water before they cook dry. If you like, you can add some chopped onions to the beans or you can substitute ham or salt pork for the bacon.

Tomorrow, I'll show you how to make cornbread to go along with the beans.

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Bush Comment Shocks Conservative Christians

It seems like Bush really can't do anything right. In a comment he made Monday, he stated that he doesn't believe the Bible is literally true--much to the dismay of some evangelical Christians. What's really amazing is that it has taken them 8 years to start figuring out that he is nothing but a fraud who played them like a fiddle in order to garner their support.

Too bad they didn't see it years ago--back when he unbiblically lied in order to take us to war with Iraq. Or the way his "screw the poor" policies contradicted the teachings of Jesus. Or the way he has helped the rich steal the wealth of the middle class.

Perhaps if they had dug in and actually read their Bibles--instead of swallowing the rot foisted upon the public as "Christianity" by the likes of Pat Robertson and his ilk, some of the troubles we are facing now could have been avoided.

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Cool Johnny Cash Song

I just found this over at Yallwire.com--every time I hear it, I can't help but think it was written for all the fat cats who have spent the last several years bleeding the world dry:
Johnny Cash - God's Gonna Cut You Down
Free Music Videos at www.yallwire.com

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Obama Tells People To Stop Stocking Up On Guns

According to an article published in the Chicago Sun-Times , gun sales have shot up by 49% during the week following Obama's election win in November. Despite the fact that he claims he favors common sense gun laws and belief in the second amendment, many gun owners are fearful he may attempt to make ownership of firearms illegal in the United States due to his past legislative record.

Gun owners--as well as those who don't own guns but are considering buying one--certainly have reasons to fear...but not for the reasons given by NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam...

First of all, during normal times--despite Obama's past record on gun control legislation--there is little chance he would be able to get bills passed that would strip Americans of the right to own firearms. He would have to get Congress to go along with it--and since supporting such measures has the tendency to severely impact one's re-electability in many districts, it is unlikely Obama could garner the kind of support he would need in order to pull it off.

But these are not normal times. We are facing the greatest economic downturn this country has suffered since the Great Depression--and unfortunately, many people living in the US today are not as well prepared to deal with great hardship as our ancestors were. During the 30's, a greater percentage of Americans lived in rural areas where they could at least keep some livestock and raise a garden every year in order to stave off starvation. But not so today--most people live in cities and metropolitan areas where it would be very difficult for most of them to grow a meaningful portion of their own food. In addition, the know-how many of our grandparents had in regard to gardening, canning, and other rural survival skills has been all but lost.

Most importantly, however, is the fact that we have lived during a time when many people have never experienced what it is like to have to do without, to have to wait in order to get the things they want--to work, save, and perhaps suffer a little in order to reach their goals. A lot of folks are in for a rude shock as the economy worsens and more people lose their homes and their jobs. Under the sort of economic conditions we are likely to face, it is entirely possible that we could see widespread social unrest, rioting, and an astronomical increase in the crime rate.

While it may not be possible--at this time--for Obama (if he actually wanted) to get legislation passed that would ban guns, it would be much easier for anti-gun supporters to accomplish if the country was experiencing widespread civil unrest--and this is what gun owners truly need to be worried about.

It would be a monumental mistake to assume that taking people's guns away under these sorts of conditions would do anything to protect the public--law abiding gun owners would end up being the ones who would surrender their weapons--not the desperate individuals who would be committing crimes with them--and it is doubtful the police would be able to protect us.

While I believe Obama truly wants to help America get through this crisis, it would be a mistake to take away our right to protect our homes and our families. I truly hope, for the sake of us all, that he manages to contain the economic crisis quickly.

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Boredom Blogging

There are a lot of people like me out there these days--people who have been laid off or have had their hours cut, who sit by the phone waiting for that phone call from their boss or a prospective employer.

After the initial shock, you find yourself alternating between worry and boredom--so this blog is a way for me to kill time and have a little fun.

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