Shootings on the Las Vegas strip..

The miracle mile ain't too safe this summer.

Las Vegas likes to hide their dirty little secrets and have successfully, until this summer...

Three shootings have occurred this summer which made national headlines. The Las Vegas Police like to tell you the strip is pretty safe and this is the work of a Las Vegas street gang, which they have a handle on...

You don't see the reports about the tourists who jump from the casino parking garages or commit suicide inside the hotel rooms. Those aren't the kind of events that get noticed.

But these shootings-these aren't same-old-same-old. These are news-

One man walks into a casino on the strip and starts shooting at people randomly. Last night another shooting at a strip casino when two guys bumped into one another-and one at the beginning of the summer-when a man was beaten by a group of men in a parking garage.

Then there was also the car bombing in one of the casino garages on the strip this summer.

Money is tight. People get ugly when money gets tight and the casinos are pulling in the cash and not much is going out.

I'd give it a rest if I were a tourist coming out here any time soon.

It's not a pretty place to be.

Ahhh Magical Mermaids

My daughter, at age two, was convinced she was really a mermaid. More than once I had to walk down and take her out of the water when we lived in Florida.

She was convinced she had to go and find her "real family"

Today she is fifteen. She still believes she has some past life as a mermaid. She also believes she is a Paris Hilton clone, was once one of the Spice Girls and lately, she believes she is a kin to some 1940's pin up girl.

I love her imagination...

E-Harmony-is that the only six couples....??

Did you ever notice the ad for E-Harmony hasn't changed since it came out??

The same six couples ooze bliss and compatability!

Just makes me want to gush all over the tv.

All that money-and that's it?? Six couples..

I'm tired of their tired faces.. Tired tired tired

Bush staff and Jed Clampett Leave Washington..

I'm tellin ya-those Texans don't waste much time-told to stay until the end or leave now, they jus' packed up them vittles and high tailed it outta there...

Leavin no dust on them cowboy boots, they all said the honorable thing-"I'm a missin the family-ma wife is doin poorly and it's done time to head for them hills...

Only prollin is leavin their kin behind to face all them hootin-hollerin-mad as possum varmits-

all hot in the hat because they dang drub took them expensive hifalutin carpets and wall scones with them.. Ok, so y'all a little sore about that there oil-well, we texans know all bout oil-in our veins to tell ya-and that's where it will stay-we been pokin holes for that stuff longer 'n y'all been playin that wall street game-suckahs!!!

The ladies just love that flea market stuff...and hey-finders keeper-losers weepers in this ad-min-u-stra-t-u--a-n...

Bye, Now-

Y'all come back now , hear??

Quality- Just another Buzzword??

Historically, two words represented American enterprise-quality and service.

Remember "Look for the Union Label" -?

Do any of you wonder if much can be trusted anymore? I look at the space shuttle and the engineers telling the world it is safe, after the same problems repeatedly occur and deaths result and I ask myself, "If I were up there would I take their word that I was safe to bring the shuttle home?"

Baby toys? Bibs? As parents, in a culture that sells Baby Einstein products and upscale baby products, we trust that our most vulnerable are protected as we buy products and services.

Can we trust that assumption anymore?

I've already written about our infrastructure, water quality, legal system -political protections-Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts-

Don't you ask yourself, "What are we doing here?" With our abundance of technology, our breakthroughs and sophisticated studies, our country of wealth, opportunties and inventive spirits-have we made a decision to work to the lowest common factor rather than the highest ?

What happens when we begin to see our country's government, our businesses. our services as suspect?

When profit takes precedence over safety and effectiveness , dishonesty over disclosure-cynicism instead of faith-what happens for us?

What was the turning point in our nation -when we saw opportunism instead of opportunity as our desired goal?

I don't know how you see this but I can't stop this growing queasy feeling inside telling me that

human life is only a cost factor in the risk catagory of profit.

Once we become less than whatever else is out there-(one of the mainstream), (less than the rich) human beings, become anonymous, what becomes of us?

Karl Rove-On how a man learns to fight dirty...

I wondered about Mr. Rove's decision to leave the Bush Administration now-when there is little more than a year left?

I wouldn't be surprised to hear the next announcement.

"George Bush resigns...decides he "needs to spend more time with his family"

As if these are "just jobs"

After reading a number of on-line news sources about the life and times of Karl Rove I have a better understanding of how and why he chose to fight dirty in life. Interestingly-he not only chose to fight dirty-his pride and penchant for teaching others how to fight dirty is more significant.

I don't think I could say anything not already known about his past life-it is full of sadness, surprises and betrayals. He learned to be sneaky and dirty during his college political years and instead of winning on merit seemed to find an easier way-look for a way to destroy the opponent, whether it is procedurally or negative information. Kind of like the school bully. If you can't be liked for good things be feared for the bad.

His mother committed suicide, his father announced he was gay and left. He discovered he was adopted after his mother died and he was an adult. If ever a man won the trifecta in trauma, I think he would be able to claim it.

Since college(which he never finished) he has grown and matured in his abilities to fight dirty. A smart person can do that.

All those allegories pertaining to good and evil?

Karl Rove's life and decisions almost seem cliched and predictable.

I can understand his decision to take a road-a significant road. A smart man, he may have recognized and considered all avenues of gaining power. He found his most effective. We can't argue that it hasn't been. He has managed to aid in the dissection and reinterpretation of our most fundamental rights. He has taken a weak leader and made his imprint.

He has a reason to look for each "screw you" moment in politics.

He has reason to be pissed. He really does.

The universe, in perfect alignment, waited for Karl Rove to develop and grow.

We needed him to shake us up-to evaluate our own morals and laws.We are doing that now.

Karl Rove is just one little man. Amazing....

Let's hope we make the right decisions.

Space Shuttle woes...again...

Hidden in the back of my morning news on page 14A is an interesting story-in small type.
Foam insulation may have damaged the Space Shuttle on take-off .
Nine pieces of foam broke off on take-off and three struck the vehicle. Barbara Morgan-school teacher turned astronaut operated the mechanical arm searching for the damage outside the spaceshuttle.
Apparently one large piece of foam struck the right wing and the damage is unknown.
Put these courageous people in your prayers and thoughts.
You would think NASA worked this out after the last deaths.
We are so complacent about our space shuttles. Did we ask enough questions about the last failure or are we using the cost risk factor here again over quality?