Resume of George W. Bush

My mother sent this to me. Do I need to explain further why she is my hero? A Resume to Review This individual seeks an executive position. He will be available next January, and is willing to relocate. RESUME GEORGE W. BUSH 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 20520 EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: Law Enforcement: I was arrested in Kennebunkport, Maine, in 1976 for driving under the influence of alcohol. I pled guilty, paid a fine, and had my driver's license suspended for 30 days. My Texas driving record has been "lost" and is not available. Military: I joined the Texas Air National Guard and went AWOL. I refused to take a drug test or answer any questions about my drug use. By joining the Texas Air National Guard, I was able to avoid combat duty in Vietnam. College: I graduated from Yale University with a low C average. I was a cheerleader. PAST WORK EXPERIENCE: I ran for U.S. Congress and lost. I began my career in the oil business in Midland, Texas, in 1975. I bought an oil company, but couldn't find any oil in Texas. The company went bankrupt shortly after I sold all my stock. I bought the Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart deal that took land using taxpayer money. With the help of my father and our friends in the oil industry (including Enron CEO Ken Lay), I was elected governor of Texas. ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS GOVERNOR OF TEXAS: - I changed Texas pollution laws to favor power and oil companies, making Texas the most polluted state in the Union. During my tenure, Houston replaced Los Angeles as the most smog-ridden city in America. - I cut taxes and bankrupted the Texas treasury to the tune of billions in borrowed money. - I set the record for the most executions by any governor in American history. - With the help of my brother, the governor of Florida, and my father's appointments to the Supreme Court, I became President after losing by over 500,000 votes. ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS PRESIDENT: - I am the first President in U.S. history to enter office with a criminal record. - I invaded and occupied two countries at a continuing cost of over one billion dollars per week. - I spent the U.S. surplus and effectively bankrupted the U.S. Treasury. - I shattered the record for the largest annual deficit in U.S. history. - I set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any 12-month period. - I set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month period. - I set the all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the U.S. stock market. In my first year in office, over 2 million Americans lost their jobs and that trend continues every month. - I'm proud that the members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in U.S. history. My "poorest millionaire," Condoleeza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her. - I set the record for most campaign fund-raising trips by a U.S. President. - I am the all-time U.S. and world record-holder for receiving the most corporate campaign donations. - My largest lifetime campaign contributor, and one of my best friends, Kenneth Lay, presided over the largest corporate bankruptcy fraud in U.S. History, Enron. - My political party used Enron private jets and corporate attorneys to assure my success with the U.S. Supreme Court during my election decision. - I have protected my friends at Enron and Halliburton against investigation or prosecution. More time and money was spent investigating the Monica Lewinsky affair than has been spent investigating one of the biggest corporate rip-offs in history. -I presided over the biggest energy crisis in U.S. history and refused to intervene when corruption involving the oil industry was revealed. - I presided over the highest gasoline prices in U.S. history. - I changed the U.S. policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts. - I appointed more convicted criminals to administration than any President in U.S. history. - I created the Ministry of Homeland Security, the largest bureaucracy in the history of the United States government. - I've broken more international treaties than any President in U.S. history. - I am the first President in U.S. history to have the United Nations remove the U.S. from the Human Rights Commission. - I withdrew the U.S. from the World Court of Law. - I refused to allow inspector's access to U.S. "prisoners of war" detainees and thereby have refused to abide by the Geneva Convention. - I am the first President in history to refuse United Nations election inspectors (during the 2002 U.S. election). - I set the record for fewest numbers of press conferences of any President since the advent of television. - I set the all-time record for most days on vacation in any one-year period. After taking off the entire month of August, I presided over the worst security failure in U.S. history. - I garnered the most sympathy ever for the U.S. after the World Trade Center attacks and less than a year later made the U.S. the most hated country in the world, the largest failure of diplomacy in world history. - I have set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously protest me in public venues (15 million people), shattering the record for protests against any person in the history of mankind. - I am the first President in U.S. history to order an unprovoked, pre-emptive attack and the military occupation of a sovereign nation. I did so against the will of the United Nations, the majority of U.S. citizens, and the world community. - I have cut health care benefits for war veterans and support a cut in duty benefits for active duty troops and their families in wartime. - In my State of the Union Address, I lied about our reasons for attacking Iraq and then blamed the lies on our British friends. - I am the first President in history to have a majority of Europeans (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and security. - I am supporting development of a nuclear "Tactical Bunker Buster," a WMD. - I have so far failed to fulfill my pledge to bring Osama Bin Laden to justice. RECORDS AND REFERENCES: -All records of my tenure as governor of Texas are now in my father's library, sealed and unavailable for public view. - All records of SEC investigations into my insider trading and my bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view. - All records or minutes from meetings that I, or my Vice-President, attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public review. PLEASE CONSIDER MY EXPERIENCE WHEN VOTING IN 2004! You'd better believe I will.

September 11, 2001: Where Were You?

Three years ago today. I was getting ready for work. It was just another Tuesday morning. I was dating my ex at the time, and he had already left for work, so I was going about my usual routine. I showered, got dressed, and had some breakfast. Everything about that morning was par for the course. Except that I turned the TV on. You see, I was and still am not a TV-in-the-morning type of person. I rarely ever catch the Today show or Good Morning America, unless I'm home sick or on vacation. So my turning on the TV while getting ready for work that morning was very random. I turned on Good Morning America. Diane Sawyer was talking to some family about some wonderful thing that had happened and they were all smiles, feeling happy and good about whatever it was they were talking about. I don't remember. I just remember thinking "Typical morning-show sappy stuff," and kept going about my business. They broke for commercial, showed one commercial, and then came back, abruptly. There were Diane and Charles Gibson, sitting in another room. They looked very serious. "We have something to show you. We don't know very much about this, but there is something major going on at the World Trade Center..." And they showed the tower. Ablaze. A huge gash cut out of it. My mouth dropped. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was approximately 8:50AM, Central time. The first plane had hit at about 8:45AM. As I watched in amazement, the commentators tried to describe what had been happening up until then. It was believed that it was a plane, but nobody was sure how big of a plane it had been. As far as anyone knew, there was no footage of it, and it had happened so fast that not many people saw it. But now our eyes were glued. Our attention was focused. And at three minutes after 9:00, our lives changed forever. I watched the second plane fly into the second tower. In real time. As it happened. I never felt such fear in my entire life. For some reason, I knew right away that we were under attack. I knew that nobody at that moment was safe. If whoever did this could plan it so that two separate planes could fly into the two towers of the World Trade Center on the same day, just minutes between each other, then they were capable of anything. "Oh my GOD... Oh my GOD..." said the voices on TV. I called my roommate in to see what was going on. He was supposed to be flying to New York that week. "Uh... I don't think you're going to New York," I told him. Oddly enough, the first name that popped into my mind was Osama bin Laden. Just weeks before this, reports had been coming out of Afghanistan about centuries-old relics being destroyed by bin Laden's Taliban regime. They were denouncing all capitalist countries, especially America. They were predicting jihad on America. I watched intently, thinking that this could get really ugly. bin Laden's name was familiar, also, because he was named as the person of blame in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. They seemed determined to destroy those towers. And when that second plane hit, I thought to myself "They finally did it." I didn't know quite what to do at that point. I called my ex, who was on a train heading downtown, and told him what was going on. He said that people had been getting phone calls left and right but he couldn't figure out what was going on. I told him I was going in to work. I didn't know what else to do. So I left. It was an absolutely gorgeous day outside. The air was cool, and the sun was warm. Fall had not quite set in on the region yet. It was a beautiful late summer day. But the air was incredibly still. It was eerie. I kept running what I had seen on the television just moments before in my head, over and over. "We are under attack," I told myself, "and I am going to work. Am I nuts?" The train ride to work was even worse. People who knew each other were talking extremely softly to each other. Some were on their cell phones. Others just stared out the window. I was like a funeral. I realized that I wasn't the only one who felt the way I did. What do you do in this situation? What do you say? I got off the train and walked the rest of the way to work. Over to the north is the Hancock Building. To the east, the AON Tower. To the south, Sears Tower. I watched the skies feverishly, hoping to God that nothing was coming. I paid special observation to the AON Tower, and noticed how much it reminded me of the World Trade Center. I started to cry. I got to work and started my ascent, 38 floors up. Silence in the elevator. When I got to my floor, everyone was milling about. Some were crying, some were talking. Nobody was working. Everyone was in a panic. "Why are we here? What is going on? The Internet is down. We can't find anything out!" I told them that I had watched it happen on TV. A couple ladies were a bit hysterical. I called my mom and dad to get updates. Tower 1 had collapsed by then. My mom begged me to go home. "I don't want you downtown with all of this going on. Get out of there." "This will not work. We won't be here long," I thought. Sure enough, at 10:30 the announcement came that we were to go home. I grabbed my things and got out, fast. Another morose train ride, glancing back toward downtown in case of any further activity, and I was home again. My ex and I watched TV from the time I got home until 2 in the morning. I saw the towers fall so many times that I could see it with my eyes closed. I saw the Pentagon, the military center of the United States, in flames and rubble. I saw the aftermath of the plane that went down in Pennsylvania, and wondered which target it was truly heading for. I repeatedly saw the video of people running as fast as they could after the enormous plumes of dust and paper and glass racing behind them. And I saw the war-zone-like aftermath, with bloodied, dirtied, and barely alive people, wandering aimlessly as they try to figure out for themselves how they got there--how this happened to them and to their city. I saw the streets lined and littered with destroyed fire trucks and automobiles; glass blown out of buildings still standing, trees and traffic lights, bent and broken and twisted, and papers.. the papers... everywhere you looked were papers. September 11, 2001 was just like any other day when it started. September 11, 2001 was a day that I will never forget for the rest of my life by the time it ended.

Brain Fuzz

Whirling Dervish • I can't believe Florida might get hit with another hurricane. Pretty soon you won't need to ride Space Mountain to get on a good spinning ride down there. Sheesh. Oh how timely • Many people are predicting that Osama bin Laden will be captured JUST IN TIME before the elections. I subscribe to this notion. I bet he's been caught for months now. How disgustingly perfect would it be for the Bushman if they rolled him out on a plank in just such perfect time. It makes me shudder. (References: Andymatic, Mirth, Musings & More) The Chicago Cubs? More like the Chicago Chumps • The Cubs are pissing me off. Just when you think they might have a chance to make it, they blow it. Again. I'm so sick of being a Cubs fan it hurts. That doesn't mean, however, that I'm switching allegiance to the Sox. I'd rather cut off my left hand. Work Words • Work has been increasingly busy. And I've been fighting a cold. It hasn't hit me full-on yet, but nearly everyone else in the office has been violently ill within the last two weeks. Pray for me. Chorus News • The Chorus starts up again this week. Mark your calendars for December 10 & 11 at the Athenaeum Theatre for "Fa La La La La, Blah Blah Blah Blah." I didn't think of the title, but I think it's clever. Also the Slickers are starting up again. Their show is December 3 & 4. I don't know the locations just yet. Computer delay • I was wrong about my computer being delivered tomorrow. I won't get it til next Friday. Grrr. Autumn leaves • The nights have been crisp and cool and I have all the windows open. I wish I had a nice, studly, sexy, warm man's body to cuddle with. *sigh* Brave puppies, Don't sleep where you ride, and Other Doozies • Did you read about this? And what about this gem? Thank God for stupid people and stupid laws. They make the news interesting. (You go, puppy!) • It warms my heart to hear stories about President Bushman like this. • Finally, I can't believe we're nearing three years since September 11, 2001. I'll tell my story of what I was doing that day on Saturday. But in the meantime, please remember those whose lives were lost that day. It's unfortunate that certain people are using that day for their own gain, but we all know that, regardless of who the president is, the people who hate are still going to hate. Which makes this remark by our own Vice President that much more disgusting. Please, people. Vote these monsters out of office.

Happy Birthday Pua!

Aaack! All that talk about lube and I totally forgot to wish a dear blogger friend a Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday, Pua! May the year bring you much happiness and joy, as you have brought me and many others in the blog community. Yay. :) Pua also gave me my very first "Drunk Dial" today. Even though she wasn't drunk, it was still great to talk to her on the phone. I hope to do it again real soon! :)

Lube-alicious

Since I can't think of anything else to post about (maybe because this week is so incredibly boring, I dunno) I am going to do something inane, silly and FUN. Well, at least I hope you think it's fun. See, I am very picky about my lubes. You know, personal lubricants. The stuff you use to keep things... lubed. No, I'm not talking about cars here. If you're thinking about that, you might have the wrong blog. But please, stick around and check out some other posts. There might be things of some sort of interest for you, somewhere. So let's get right down to business, shall we? Wet. Wet made a huge splash (har har) in the late 80's and early 90's and has tried to remain dominant in the lube industry. I personally can't stand the crap. It's tacky, sticky and yucky. It's like using the gummy end of a postage stamp to have sex. What fun is that? Yuk. But it's easily accesible. In fact, in Chicago, you can get it at your local grocery stores. That is, of course, the ones close to "Boystown." Otherwise you're stuck with... KY. Now, I remember when I first came out that everyone used KY. You had to. It was the only lube around. So when I started to become "Sexually Active" I bought myself a tube. I thought I was jacking off with toothpaste. Were they kidding? This was supposed to make sex fun, long-lasting and burn-free? Ew. I did find that if you added water -- and lots of it -- it would at least have some sort of useful consistency. But washing that crap off your hands afterward was like trying to wash dried egg off of a hot stove. Ain't gonna happen. I do have to add, though, that KY now has a Wet-like lube that is quite nice... if you can afford the $12 you have to pay for a tiny 2.5 oz bottle. (Not that Wet is any better. Who prices this stuff anyway? Geez it's expensive.) Astroglide. Another old favorite that IS my favorite. This stuff is consistently smooth, doesn't get tacky and works like magic. I rarley have to use more than a quarter's size dollop to finish the job. It's good stuff, reasonably cheap, and also available at my local grocery chains. Woo hoo! Eros. Now this stuff is great for some heavy duty good playing. It never gets tacky. EVER. But it feels like you coated your hands in the grease from a deep fat fryer. It's water soluable, but it just feels... dirty. Washing with Dawn usually helps to get rid of that not-so-fresh feeling. ID. It's ok. It's very "Wet-like" but less tacky. There's a gazillion different varieties too. I don't think I've ever tried the same one twice. And you can always count on a few squirts of ID lube in your favorite freebie condom packs that you get from various AIDS organizations and at bars. Not my favorite, but I don't hate it. Spit. Truly, it's the best in certain situations, but come on. The mouth doesn't produce nearly enough at a nearly fast enough rate for me to do what I need to do with it. Unless maybe my saliva glands are impaired. But it does qualify. OK before I go too far (too late) I'll open it up to the forum. What's your favorite lube? Is there one that I should try? Let's make this a learning experience for all, shall we? Thanks!

Things about me - an update

Thing about me #63. I have horrible credit. My credit problems have hounded me since my late teens and early 20s. I got credit cards incredibly early, and never took the time to learn exactly how to use them. My parents have tried to take part of that blame, but I blame myself for most of it. I was irresponsible, charged up huge amounts and then couldn't pay them off. I then incurred massive interest charges, overdue fees, and even had a couple cards cancelled on me. I had ATM cards taken away and defaults on other loans. I was a mess. It wasn't pretty. Since then, I've been working my ass off to improve my credit rating. It's been an incredibly long and difficult road. Along the way, I was able to get a secured credit card with a $500 limit. I decided I was going to continually pay off as much as I could on that card and use it but not abuse it. And hopefully I could improve my credit rating by showing creditors that I could, indeed, sustain a good credit history. I've since occasionally tried other credit offers, to no avail. (Knowing, of course, that you shouldn't try too many, as that can make your credit score WORSE. Crazy how this works isn't it?) Well last week, I got a pleasant surprise. I decided to try for a card at my credit union. The same one that took away my ATM card and requested that I cancel my VISA card 5 years ago. That's right, folks, I have been living without an ATM card for FIVE years. In the meantime I have been writing checks at grocery stores and getting cash by writing them for $50 over. It's been a PAIN. IN. THE. ASS. But I knew that I had to do it to keep my nose clean until things could turn around. I went on the credit union's website and applied for a MasterCard with a $1000 limit. I figured I'd shoot a little high this time, and see what happened. I filled out the form and sent it in. It went through the "Processing" screen for quite some time. When it finished, the screen said "Please call the Credit Union about your application." I figured, "Oh well, worth a try," and forgot about it. The next day, I got an Email from the credit union saying my application was APPROVED! I whooped for joy! Finally, I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. All of my hard work is paying off. If I can get a loan at my credit union (which is much more stringent about loans than other banks I have found,) then surely my credit rating has FINALLY improved to where banks and other institutions would not consider me such a horrible credit risk. So of course, the mind started reeling about what kinds of things I could BUY with that $1000 credit card. It's natural, but dangerous. I know that one thing I NEED to do is buy a new mattress. I've been sleeping on the same mattress since high school. It's time for something new. But after that, the card is put away until the mattress is paid off. The other thing is a computer. I've been using the same computer for the last 3 1/2 years. I've done everything from add memory to replace the hard drive, graphics card and the CD burner with this thing. I use a lot of graphically intense programs which max out the memory regularly. I'm running out of options. But I didn't want to use the credit card on a new computer. So I figured I'd try my luck and see just how far this new credit power of mine will go. I can afford to make payments on a computer loan. I just need to see if I can get one first. So off I went to www.dell.com to see what I can find out. Would you believe I was approved for $1500???? My computer arrives Friday. Now don't get me wrong, I don't plan on going hog-wild here. This is the end of the credit experimentation. I know I'm doing better, and I don't want to get into trouble again. I have much bigger fish to fry. The end result of all this will make me as a home OWNER instead of a home RENTER. That is my goal. And this is another step-- a BIG step-- toward that goal. I'm really feeling very good about myself right now. So #63 is now "I've had horrible credit-- but it's improving."

Happy Labia Day!

I love my friends. They teach me so many fun things. I mentioned in a previous post about my friends' obsessions with labias, poo, and vaginas. In another world, this would be annoying, but with my friends it's just silly banter. There's nothing wrong with that, is there? I don't think so. So today is Labia Day. December 25th is Vaginismas (apparently it's a real disease, but again, the obsession kicks in.) And our favorite song is to the tune of "I Wanna Know What Love Is" by Foreigner, but sung by Cher. I wanna know what a labia iiiyyyaaaaass I wantchyou to show meeeeaaahhhh I wanna feeel what a labia iiiyyyaaaaass CHAS'ITY I wantchyou to SHOW Meeeaaahhhhh So, Happy Labia Day, everyone. My social calendar has been quite full this weekend. I decided to stay home this Labor Day and relax. But then the Evites started pouring in... a cookout here, a party there, a night out here... it all adds up to a very active, but overall very fun weekend. Friday night I went to my friend Ricardo's new apartment and made dinner for him. He had previously lived in a tiny studio and decided he was too cramped there, so he found a much larger studio in the same building. He wanted to celebrate and have some people over. I arrived early and made some pasta and a quick sauce that I whipped together with red, green, yellow and orange peppers, garlic and oregano. Yum. :) Then when the rest of the group arrived we headed over to Sidetrack, which was PACKED, so my stay there wasn't too terribly long, and I was home by 1 am. Saturday I finally caught up on some much-needed sleep, then later I headed over to my friend Dave's for a cookout. I've known Dave since 1993. He was one of my very first gay friends. He lived in Racine, which isn't too far from Kenosha, WI. He and his partner Andy have a lovely condo in Lake Bluff, which is right smack dab in the middle of Abbot Labs country. In fact, he lives right across the street from their headquarters. Anyway, I don't get to see him very often, so I look forward to the chances to see him. Also there was another old friend, Scott, who I have known for almost just as long. It was great to catch up with old friends, retell old stories (and share them with other people who hadn't heard them before.) I also met a really lovely lesbian couple, who were a lot of fun. I need more lesbian friends. Hell, I need more girl friends. I really enjoy hanging out with them sometimes. Sunday, another sleep catch-up day, then to my friend Steve's in Oak Park for another cookout. This one was much bigger, but just as much fun. We spent hours singing commercial jingles and TV show themes, and just basic eating, drinking and chatting. (No booze for me, it was too damn hot out today.) Then tonight my friend Jeremy, who I went camping with, had a get-together at his place, before we headed over to Chicago's newest gay bar, Crew. So tomorrow I plan on sleeping in AGAIN, doing some long-overdue laundry, and seeing what they day brings me. I wish every weekend was a 3-day weekend. :)

Because he says so

I would encourage all of my blogger friends to copy this link to their blogs. Funny stuff... but damn it's true. George W. Bush- Because He Says So

Ahhh, Labor Day

I love how a holiday that was formed so we can relax is named for something so stressful. Ahh yes, Labor Day. What a treat, that 3-day weekend. It's the last gasp of summer. It's the time for cookouts, camping, and sleeping in. I love this weekend. But it's a sign that the lazy hazy crazy days of summer (yeah, like we had any this summer anyway) are gone. I don't mind fall. I like sweaters and the crisp chill in the air. I like the colors of the leaves and the cool breezes and still-warm sun. It's winter that I can't stand. Sloppy, snowy, wet and miserable. It's my theory that Chicago is an amazing city because of its summers. The winters suck, and they suck badly. But that makes us long for the summers that much more. I just need a boyfriend to cuddle me through those long winter nights. Again, applications accepted within.

Keep your colds away from me!

Everyone at work is getting sick. There are 3 people who are so congested and sick with colds and other nasty bugs that they sound like they should be singing "Old Man River." And yet they come in to work every day, just making everyone else sick. I've been fighting it off as best I can, but I just have this sinking feeling that I'm next. I usually catch this cold crap quickly. At least I used to. See, last summer I had my tonsils removed. Oh that was fun, let me tell you. I suffered from severe Sleep Apnea. If you haven't heard of it, Sleep Apnea is a condition that causes you to literally stop breathing while you sleep. It's caused by any number of things, from a blockage in your airway to a weak respiratory system. Then, after a few seconds of NOT BREATHING, your body suddenly jolts itself into a more awake state so that you can start breathing again. All of this stopping breathing and jolting yourself awake does terrible damage to your heart, and causes you to have horribly sleepless nights. My Sleep Apnea was so bad that I was falling asleep at work daily. And I mean not just nodding off. I was SNORING. At work. Sitting up. When my managers finally told me that the sleeping had to stop or I'd lose my job, I looked into a possible medical problem. Now I had been told by boyfriends, friends and other bed partners that I snored very loudly at night. I knew wasn't getting restful sleep. I would wake up every morning with my mouth so dry that it felt like cardboard. And I always woke up on my back, arched up, and my head would be pounding. Sure signs that I wasn't getting enough oxygen at night. I was also extremely susceptible to throat ailments such as Tonsilitis and Strep Throat. I would come down with one or both of the ailments more than once a year. There had to be a connection to all of this. I asked my doctor about Sleep Apnea, and he thought that it could be a cause. So I had a sleep test done. Lo and behold, it was indeed the cause. In fact, I was having an average of 70 APNEAS PER HOUR. That means that SEVENTY TIMES during EVERY HOUR of sleep, I would STOP BREATHING. It was rated as a severe case. Scary. So I went to an Ear-Nose-Throat doctor (Otolaryngologist). He took one look inside my throat and said, "WOW" "Your tonsils are maybe 4x the size they should be. I think we've found a major cause of your problems." So he recommended surgery. I was to have my tonsils removed (at age 32) and have a portion of my soft palate trimmed away. That would surely open up my airway and allow me to breathe better. If this didn't work (and apparently, 9 times out of 10 it doesn't do enough to solve the problem,) I would have to wear a CPAP mask every night for the rest of my life. CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) masks are not fun. They fit over your nose and mouth and force oxygen into your airway so that you can breathe at night. They save lives, but they aren't exactly attractive. So I opted for the surgery before even trying the CPAP. On July 10, 2003, I went in for surgery. It was the most painful experience of my life. The tonsils were one thing, but the palate trimming was another. To put it bluntly, I no longer have a uvula. That's the little swingy piece of flesh that hangs down at the back of your throat. Mine is gone, snip-snip. (You can joke if you want about gag reflexes. I still have that. Sorry.) The recovery was extremely painful, but the aftereffects were incredible. I started having the most restful sleeps that I could ever remember. And although I didn't have anyone nearby to confirm it, I could tell that I wasn't snoring anymore either. That nasty dry throat feeling I would have every morning disappeared. I felt incredible. About 8 months after my surgery, I had a follow-up sleep study. The results were enough to shock my doctor. For someone who had a severe case of Apnea before, I now had next to none. He said I maybe did it twice the whole night. And that (believe it or not) is normal. He said "This is the type of stuff that we write in medical journals about. You're a lucky man." So that's my story about my sleep problems. And here is the moral. - If you notice you are falling asleep during the day, even if you have had plenty of sleep at night. - If you or your partner notices that you snore so loudly that the walls shake. - If you wake up with a dry throat every morning, or are susceptible to sore throats, tonsilitis or strep easily Go to your doctor, ask him or her about sleep apnea, and get a sleep study done. It could save your life. References: American Sleep Apnea Association Sleep Apnea FAQ Obstructive Sleep Apnea Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP)/Palatopharyngoplasty (PPP) Surgical procedure (The kind I had)

Seven years ago

Seven years ago Her smile was warm and bright. Her grace was effortless. Her message, of peace. Seven years ago The world was her oyster. She was loved and revered. A princess for all people. Seven years ago Her beauty was unmatched. Her compassion knew no bounds. Her love was felt by all. Seven years ago Heaven gained an angel. The stars shone brighter. The world wept bitterly. Seven years ago. Princess Diana 1961-1997

Selfish Hedonism

Has anyone been following the Senate race for Illinois? On one hand is this man. Poised, elegant in speech, and articulate in his views. Barack Obama is an ideal candidate. Not just because he shares my liberal views on "the issues," but because he comes across as competent, clear-thinking, and an overall good man for the job. Then, on the other hand... Well, originally they had this man. But scandal brought him down. Seems he liked to have kinky sex with his former wife, an actress of some sort. So he was ousted. And in his place, they got this guy. Whoa mama. This guy is a real piece of work. From the day he accepted the party's ticket, he has been making comments that would make even the most right-wing conservative blush. And just this week, during the Republican National Convention, he called the Vice-President's daughter a "Selfish Hedonist." Don't believe me? Here is an excerpt from a Chicago Tribune article that has direct quotes. I'm not making this stuff up. Keyes' first comments about Mary Cheney came during an interview Monday night on Sirius OutQ, a New York-based satellite station that provides 24-hour gay and lesbian programming. After the candidate told the hosts that homosexuality is "selfish hedonism," he was asked whether Mary Cheney is a "selfish hedonist." "Of course she is," Keyes replied. "That goes by definition. Of course she is."... Two hosts with Sirius OutQ spoke with Keyes for four minutes Monday night in a nearby hallway. Their conversation centered on his opposition to same-sex marriage. Keyes said family is defined by having children. "If we embrace homosexuality as a proper basis for marriage, we are saying that it's possible to have a marriage state that in principle excludes procreation and is based simply on the premise of selfish hedonism," the senate candidate told hosts Michelangelo Signorile and Corey Johnson. It was at this point that the hosts asked Keyes their question about Mary Cheney, getting [the above] response. An interviewer then said: "I don't think Dick Cheney would like to hear that about his daughter." Replied Keyes: "Dick Cheney may or may not like to hear the truth, but it can be spoken." When asked Tuesday evening to explain his statements about Mary Cheney, Keyes did not back down. "I have said that if you are actively engaging in homosexual relations, those relations are about selfish hedonism," he said. "If my daughter were a lesbian, I'd look at her and say, `That is a relationship that is based on selfish hedonism.' I would also tell my daughter that it's a sin, and she needs to pray to the Lord God to help her to deal with that sin." My favorite response by a Republican is Senator John McCain: Campaigning in North Middleton Township, Pa., with President Bush, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) spoke to reporters about Republican chances to hold the Senate and said, "I think it's clear we lose Illinois." Uh yeah, indeed. Informed about Keyes' comments from the radio program, McCain said, "I don't think that's appropriate, but it's not the first inappropriate remark Mr. Keyes has made. He made a remark the other day that people who perform abortions are the same as terrorists. That's a very unique take on that issue and one that's very seldom espoused." Ya think? My favorite part of this article comes toward the end, as it shows Alan Keyes trying to "build the bridges" he has obviously burned with his overactive mouth. Keyes attempted to build bridges Tuesday with the Illinois delegation. But a breakfast gathering ended messily for him as he chastised reporters for not giving his candidacy a fair shake and left early. Topinka had welcomed Keyes to a Times Square hotel for his first delegate breakfast. She said there was room under the Republican Party's tent for different beliefs, but added that a far-right candidate would not win in Illinois. "Without social moderates this party cannot win," Topinka told a few reporters before she and Keyes shook hands for the cameras. "It has to be center-right, it can't be right-right." When Topinka and Keyes greeted each other, the exchange was brief and awkward. It ended strangely, as Topinka ducked out, dashing behind a ficus plant. "There you go," she said to Keyes. "You're on." Reporters surrounded Keyes on his way out. When asked why he had not addressed the delegates, he promised it would not be the last time he would see them this week but that he had to tend to a schedule packed with media interviews. Pressed for a reason why he had not spent more time with his state party, Keyes responded angrily. "The proper question would be: `What are you doing at this convention?' And that is a fact," he said. But Topinka still enforced that they're going to endorse this quack. Though her views differ with Keyes' on several social issues, Topinka said Tuesday morning that she would support him, saying, "He is on the ticket. We will support the ticket." Those silly Republicans.