A walk at Marina del Rey.........

Next time Mr and Mrs. Z go for a Saturday afternoon walk, you're all invited. Have a wonderful Sunday.

Dems in "the business" voting McCain??

My friend Susan, a mucky-muck at SONY FILM and a political centrist, just called and said:

"You can't believe how many really liberal Democrat friends of mine here are whispering to me they're going to have to vote for McCain!"

This is huge. I wish it was November 1

Another 'Priscilla's Post' You won't want to miss this

LETTER TO THE GOP

Are you still the Grand Old Party? Please explain why you deserve that title. You allow the opposition to set your agenda and did so even when you were the majority party. When it became clear to you that Americans do not want amnesty given to illegal aliens, we heard epithets like “bigot” and “xenophobe” from some Republican leaders. Did you rise up and decry such insults to those who simply want the rule of law to be honored and respect for citizens whose cities are overrun with numbers of illegal immigrants who cannot possibly be assimilated into American society so quickly? No, you blamed talk radio and law abiding Americans who simply want the law to be enforced and for our border to be truly secure.

When the comprehensive immigration bill failed because motivated Americans let you know, in no uncertain terms, we did not want it, you were angry. You continued your efforts to pass it on the sly. Still, it failed. Did you address America and say our voices were heard and that the will of the people would be earnestly honored? No, you did not. Now we know we must be vigilant because, to put it simply, ‘once burned, twice shy‘.

Where were you when Democrats were insulting the President and referring to our troops as “cold blooded killers?“ Where were the press conferences denouncing the politicians who told the world we were like “Nazis”, who called Guantanamo Bay “Bush’s torture chamber?“ Where was GOP outrage? There was silence, with the occasional exception of one or another Republican who uttered his disapproval of such self-defeating talk. Meanwhile, the Democrat drumbeat of name calling and undermining of our war effort continued and does to this day. Where are you, hiding under your desks? Do you care? We really don’t know.

Where were you when the Medicare Prescription program was proposed by the President? Did you forget we are supposed to be the Party of smaller government? Did you as the majority Party tell the President you would not support a huge new entitlement program which we can’t afford? No, you voted for it. ‘Who cares where the money is coming from?’ This, in a time of war, bigger government moving ever more closely toward socialized healthcare. No more the Party of smaller government and responsible leadership with respect for its citizens, you have allowed yourselves to become the Party with bridges to nowhere, and we, the people, will pay for them.

When you lost your majority, you deluded yourselves into blaming the war in Iraq or your own constituency for being hard headed, never looking in the mirror and seeing the answer to your failures. The answer is simple. Your own voters and contributors became disaffected and your hubris and lack of interest in the very people whom you rely on for votes and money to keep you in power cost you dearly. Your power means little when you use it to defy the very tenets the GOP is supposed to stand for. Your actions, or lack thereof, fly in the face of every conservative who still believes in individual freedom, the right to pursue happiness, and the sanctity of this nation’s sovereignty. Even today, the Republican standard bearer campaigns on immigration reform. He also campaigns for solutions addressing global warming, a theory being
called into question every day, whose regulations and laws will give the government more and more power over the people. You, however remain silent. Afraid to take a stand, playing a 'prevent defense' which is bound to fail.

The Grand Old Party, it seems, is not so grand anymore. It has become lazy, comfortable even in defeat. While millions of us have looked to you for leadership and continuity, we have found betrayal and disillusionment.

Today, the Democrats make plans, under the guise of energy independence, to limit our mobility and ability to enjoy a thriving economy. They plan to punish the oil companies with windfall profit taxes which will drive up the cost of fuel ever higher. It will also limit those companies in oil exploration and drilling. More refineries? I don’t think so. Nuclear power? Are you kidding? You see, the Democrats waste good emotion on hating a substance which comes out of the ground. They hate even more that it fuels our successful nation. The fact that they hate clean energy like nuclear power or hydro-electric power is just one symptom of their loathing of American prosperity. The fact that it’s irrational doesn’t seem to matter. What does the GOP have to say about this? Nothing. If you are consistent, you will soon come up with a Democrat Lite plan.

You, the GOP, being nothing if not the “me too” Party, is ever so quietly climbing onto the left’s global warming bandwagon. Some suggestions to ‘save our planet’ include limiting the size of homes, central control of our thermostats and air conditioning, banning SUVs, and somehow, they’re including our diets and obesity in the climate ‘crisis’. Must be gas producing foods

To some, Party affiliation is a religion. Not to me. A political Party is a vehicle, a power base from which to launch the activism required to represent a value system and political ideology. Now, for you, GOP, if you want us to stay on your train, perhaps you might bring forth a few conservative lions, up and comers with a gung-ho outlook and an irresistible message, young people with a forward looking, conservative American appeal to our fundamental desire to be free and independent.

Dare I suggest “CHANGE?” Yes, change from the tired old paternal message of ‘the people pay, the politicians decide.’ It’s time for bold strokes, not shrinking into the background. The Democrats are on a fast train to hell. I’m not willing to stay on a slower train to the same place.

Priscilla

GUESS WHOOOOOOO..............!!

By this time, we've all heard the Rev. Pfleger's rant......right?

But, LOOK WHO'S HERE! The Rev. Jesse Jackson. Say it ain't so!

Rev. Pfleger was one of those confidantes flown into Iowa for his support recently, but today Obama's saying he doesn't appreciate Pfleger's rhetoric because it doesn't unite us. Interestingly, during Obama's State Senator position, Obama appropriated $225,000 to Pfleger's St. Sabina Church and Pfleger himself donated $1,500 to that Obama campaign back then.

Die Welt, May 30, 2008 just in case our own mainstream media accidentally didn't mention this? ya, right.

GOT YOUR REBATE YET?

I'VE HATED THE REBATE WE'RE ALL GETTING SINCE I FIRST HEARD ABOUT IT. Though I could use it just as happily as the next person, I thought it was pandering and so wrong on so many levels. America doesn't give money to people for no reason. DOES IT?

Here's an article I found interesting and some 'highlights' (quoted below) from this very professional "business writer" with no agenda! By the way, throughout the article you're made to get the impression Mr. Bush thought everybody'd only be buying flatscreen TV's and other luxuries....as if he doesn't understand we might need necessities, too.... Well, it seems like he wasn't QUITE as stupid as our writer wanted to suggest. This article says this: "President Bush said tax rebates will start going out Monday, earlier than previously announced, and should help Americans cope with rising gasoline and food prices, as well as aid a slumping economy. " (the article also shows when YOU will get YOURS, by the way)

Oops! Mr. Carpenter, oh Mr. Business Writer? You didn't let your agenda get a little ahead of you, DID you? You aren't paying attention...!

Anyway, check the article out and ponder on these quotes from it! Enjoy:

By DAVE CARPENTER, AP Business Writer

CHICAGO - Many Americans allowed themselves to fantasize about large-screen TVs, European vacations and other luxuries when they learned of the federal rebates they'd be getting this spring and early summer. Or maybe — shh, don't tell the president — they'd pay off a credit card or set the rebate aside for a big purchase in the future, notwithstanding Washington's intentions that they pump it immediately into the flagging economy. (z; Anyone else see that as an insult? Isn't this usually how the president gets thanked every time he panders to the left and makes a decision like this?)

more:

"Vanessa Church, a 49-year-old Chicagoan with six children, was grateful for the rebate but found there wasn't much left over after big payments for utilities and other basic needs were taken care of. "Things are getting tighter and tighter," she said, adding jokingly: "I'm thinking they should do this twice a year." (z; Anybody surprised at that reaction? 'Give them an inch and they'll take a mile'?)

and a bit more:

"I thought it was a really cool thing. It made me see my president in a different light. I was like, 'Attaboy George!' I can be swayed, I can be bought!" (z; Geez, I WONDER who SHE'LL be voting for, huh?)

Beautiful, isn't it? This is the new America. How many of you supported this rebate in all its implications? I'd like to be dissuaded from hating it so much. I'm very curious....thanks.

Mull THIS one over!

SOME IMPORTANT INSIDE SCOOP:

Rich Galen nails it about Scott McClellan. I'm kind of pleased to say I said much the same thing without benefit of his insider Washington knowledge yesterday when I posted my piece down below on the subject of McClellan's new book. He adds some VERY interesting perspective.

I thought Rich's information in his column, MULLINGS.COM, was worth posting here; well worth reading.........First, he discusses a little about his going to work for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R,TX), so just scroll down a tad and you'll find his McClellan info.

Also, there's an article in which Ari Fleischer makes some sensible comments. It worth reading, too.

Let me just add something that sums this all up, I think: THIS SAYS A LOT MORE ABOUT MC CLELLAN THAN IT DOES ABOUT BUSH. AND IT WILL SAY A LOT ABOUT WHO HIRES MC CLELLAN NEXT. WATCH FOR IT.

From a Soldier's Wife.......

Steeling for Silence

In the last 18 years I don't think there've been

this many nights without hearing from him

And, just as the ocean--pulsed by constant repeats

of powerful, surging crests that pound and retreat--

would stagnate were the moon muted to compel tides,

the instruments of my ear stand, silent, they bide

to conduct that symphony arranging my life

as lover, as friend, as confidant, as wife:

Their moon being his intonation.

His voice was my first experience of him;

Waves that struck some chord, echoed some need within,

composed a new score, a new rhythm, a new theme

accompanied every subsequent act and scheme

Now, sudden silence stresses sensibilities

stifles, smothers, suggests the senses will seize

It's like trying to wean from dependence on air

Starving every cell, every fiber, its fare

Their oxygen his conversation.

This poem is by our friend, Norwegianwood, Pati, written a few days ago, only weeks after her Air Force husband, Scott, was deployed to Iraq for a year. I thought it was beautiful and it's important to hear from a wife. Thank you, Norwegianwood, for your sacrifice and the sacrifice of your kids. And, of course, thanks to your husband for what he's doing for our country. May it be an easier year than you all expected and may he come home safe and sound.

Please keep Scott, Pati and their children in your prayers.

OUCH!!!

Spotted at a parade in Germany.................... Well, they got THAT right!!

I never thought I'd miss Dee Dee Meyers

NEW AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION ...... Thanks, Heidianne

HERE IS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/01/AR2008060101922_pf.html
UPDATED JUNE 1, 2008

Does anybody see anything familiar in most of Scott McClellan's comments from his new book? It sounds like the typical information in any article out of the Huffington post, doesn't it? Karl Rove even said the comments he's made in his book are so unlike McClellan, sound so different than the man he knows so well, that it could almost be a liberal operative from a liberal blog who wrote it. "Almost be?" I couldn't help wondering if Rove actually knows who wrote it and what liberal blog he does come from.

McClellan worked as Ari Fleischer's assistant for 2 1/2 years and worked for Bush since 1999. Bush just SUDDENLY became this man he felt he needed to betray, or is there something about McClellan which made it impossible to resist?

As if McClellan, who bumbled so much he never could give us information without sounding like he had stage fright and confusion could write a book? Ari Fleischer's book is anything but scintillating, but it fills you in on some of the behind-the-scenes machinations at the White House so it's worth a glance. Funny, Ari never slammed the president and I'm thinking he could have, if he thought he warranted it and if he needed something snappy and provocative with which to sell more books.

I hope this makes McClellan a rich man, who would hire an employee like this who works for a boss, a president of the United States, and then insults him and his party's platform just before an election? Could he have quit when he felt something was wrong, if he really feels this way? Wouldn't that be more honorable? Is a 'tell all' kick in the face the 'good Christian' action he feels he needed for the 'contrition' he seeks?

And, does anyone know what gives him the expertise or knowledge to say "The Iraq war was not necessary," he concludes. "Waging an unnecessary war is a grave mistake."

He also says "In the permanent campaign era, it was all about manipulating sources of public opinion to the president's advantage." Don't look now, Scottie, but that's what all presidents do, it's their prerogative, it's your job to garner good publicity for him. NO worries, Scott, you weren't good at that, either.

I've often wondered how much better Bush's administration would have been served had they had people like Dee Dee Meyers and Mike McCurry. I'm sorry to sound so nasty about this thing but, as sour as I am on Bush right now for several reasons, something about a press secretary writing a book like this while the president is still in office, or at all for that matter, is disturbing on so many levels.

Homosexual Holocaust

5/29 UPDATE: LESBIANS in Germany are upset that they've been left out and it's now been decided that they will share a presentation of kissing scenes at regular intervals with that of the gay men. You can't make this stuff up, and I'm not. I guess they felt the little girl students who will be watching the peep show had to see them, too.

There is a new monument to homosexual holocaust victims in Berlin, Germany.


I was just wondering...Do you think there will be a monument to Catholic holocaust victims, or gypsy holocaust victims, or the enormous amount of German resistance fighters* who fell to the holocaust, too? (oh, that's right, we don't teach about the German resistance here...guess what, it was at least as big as the French resistance but there was never a CASABLANCA film celebrating it.)

"A video screen set into the monument shows a one-and-a-half minute film loop of two men kissing." One-and-a-half minutes? Oh, good..that'll be excellent for the school children who come and learn about the monument, huh?

How do you feel about the monument? You think this is necessary? I'm really curious. Look at it more from a point of view of singling out a particular group other than the Jews, obviously, who died in the camps. Should there be a gay holocaust memorial? Seriously, what do you think?

*I attended a book party for a book about the German resistance about 6 years ago in Berlin. The book is hundreds of pages long and has individual stories on each page. The author, who worked for Mr. Z in Paris, told me the stories he found were only the tip of the iceberg. This Wikipedia article underplays the numbers but is fairly honest about the situation. Imagine the guts it took for even the amount of resistance the Wikipedia piece talks about, in NAZI Germany, with the Gestapo everywhere?

Memorial Day and Affirmative Action?

Doesn't this soldier deserve better? He fights hard, he fights for our rights. He has rights, too. He has the right to be judged by his character and intelligence and not by his color. Certainly not by some liberal who thinks he's beneath being able to achieve, beneath feeling pride in his accomplishments. Our soldier here has the right to be respected and not treated as if he's a token ANYTHING.

Please read this...by Thomas Sowell

The VA Cemetery near UCLA

"From faraway lands, they were returned to cemeteries like this one where broken hearts received their broken bodies," Bush said. "They found peace beneath the white headstones in the land they fought to defend. It is a solemn reminder of the cost of freedom that the number of headstones in a place such as this grows with every new Memorial Day." George W. Bush

Thanks for the pictures, Mr. Z

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Memorial Day at Frank and Ellie's, 1998
Windermere, Florida


The lake bumped the sand
causing the water to wrinkle
at the end of the long grass slope
that started back up at the house

The slope was lime green and shadow leaves swayed across it in the breezy heat
The barbecue was smoky with hamburgers,
and the table was piled with bowls of cole slaw, potato salad,
pickles, catsup and mustard

We sat under towering oak trees
with black angled branches
and a white blue sky
that held the heat in like
the lid on a pot of corn on the cob

Bessie the dog ran through the trees and into the lake
while the four small boys splashed in the water
and Grandpa shouted advice about their plastic raft,
him being an old Navy man

The furniture in the house was American Primitive,
dark wood-spoked chairs on an intricate wood floor
and bright orange crate labels from the family business
hung framed against pine slat walls

A small American flag waved out of the large spoon pitcher on the stove next to Grandma’s three layer chocolate cake, and the childrens' popsicles were red, white and blue
and left their mouths patriotic with color

It was Memorial Day that warm Florida Monday
We didn't mention it, but it was there. Z

(Between the burgers and the ribs, the chance to have a day off in the sun with friends and family, stop a minute or two and remember who made all this possible. Memorial Day is for memories. Blessings to you who lost a loved one fighting for our freedom, and blessings to you who are missing someone now who’s still at it. We owe them a lot. No, we owe them everything.)

Thanks to Mustang for the wonderful Memorial Day Video!

A REMINDER FROM THE PROUD MOTHER OF A MARINE WHO RECENTLY CAME HOME: George Orwell once observed, "People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

Thanks, Joan.

SENSIBLE FOLKS will.............

5/27 TMW THROWS DOWN THE GAUNTLET AT
http://the-merry-widow.blogspot.com/

You all might want to check out what SHE has to say about the FLDS situation.

.........want to check SENSIBLE FOLKS out! It's brand spanking new and created to "help us all save time and money"..."tips and tricks... tested or used...by its contributers!"

It looks like a great blog and is run by some of our favorite bloggers.

I know...it looks like that piggy....... Well, couldn't we ALL use a piggy that does that!? Check out SENSIBLE FOLKS, folks!

OH! AND THERE'S SOME PRETTY DANDY CONVERSATION ABOUT THE MORMON POLYGAMY/KIDS SITUATION GOING ON IN THE COMMENTS...........COME JOIN IN! Z (but do NOT 'hog' the board........sorry, couldn't resist!!)

Rock? Classical? Nursery Rhymes? Just take the time....

I think we can learn a lot from kids, don't you?

Sometimes, you just have to get away from it all!

"....animosity against my mother's race"? WHAT, Obama?

In Obama's Own Words

from his own books....

This guy wants to be our President and control our government. He also talks about unifying everyone. Does this sound like one who really wants to unify? Pay close attention to the last comment.

From Dreams of My Father:

-'I ceased to advertise my mother's race at the age of 12 or 13, when I began to suspect that by doing so I was ingratiating myself to whites.'

-'I found a solace in nursing a pervasive sense of grievance and animosity against my mothers race.'
-'There was something about him that made me wary, a little too sure of himself, maybe. And white.'

-'It remained necessary to prove which side you were on, to show your loyalty to the black masses, to strike out and name names.'

-'I never emulate white men and brown men whose fates didn't speak to my own. It was into my father's image, the black man, son of Africa , that I'd packed all the attributes I sought in myself, the attributes of Martin and Malcolm, DuBois and Mandela.' (Z: Pardon me, but anybody seen what's happened to South Africa since Mandela originally came back on the scene? Oh, that's right, our media's not telling you it's following in Zimbabwe's steps. Got to see the European media for the truth. Our left doesn't want you to know that.)

From Audacity of Hope:

-'I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.'

As some see it, there only two types of people who would vote for someone who would adhere to this mental attitude.

#1 Total idiots
#2 Fools

And the Bible warns against calling anyone a Fool. So - - - - -- - You figure it out.

A May 21st update which will just MAKE YOUR DAY God help us all. And OH, is this going to be a loooooooooooooooooooooooong Summer and early Fall, huh?

Thanks, Imp!

IS THE POLITICAL TREND IN THE U.S. WORRISOME?

.....Not if you are a communist. If you aren’t, it should worry you.

There seems to be a feeling in America that Communism couldn’t happen in this country. When signs of it occur here and are commented on, those comments are ignored or downplayed with accusations of McCarthyism as if McCarthy was a not only a stain on our country’s past but had it all wrong. Except he didn’t.

The situation today in the U.S. and in Europe, as a matter of comparison:

Europe has been, for various reasons which shall have to wait for further analysis, more “socialistic” than the U.S. While Germany, for instance, had to come together to help its people get through the aftermath of WW II, it went too far along those lines, while the U.S. developed as a blessed beacon of capitalism, becoming the envy of the world. Socialism in Europe has gone so far today that is has become financially insupportable. While the European socialistic parties, like the SPD in Germany, officially haven’t seemed to understood that socialism is killing them financially, the people have understood, and the conservatives are suddenly getting more and more votes in Europe. Several countries can be named as examples, such as France, Denmark, Holland, Italy, Portugal, and yes, even the UK with their recent local elections. Part of this phenomenon can be attributed to Islam and the realization by the European public that the conservatives are tougher against it, but the European news is full of articles showing that the people themselves are fed up with economies squeezed dry by big social programs nobody seems to be benifiting from. Except, possibly, the illegal immigrants which are sweeping across Europe.

The countries named above, and others like Germany where, unfortunately, Angela Merkel is forced to work in a coalition with the socialists, are trying to undo or scale back the costly social programs because of one or both of the following reasons:

(1) They have an overall negative effect on the willingness of people to take responsibility for themselves, and

(2) They're now financially insupportable.

And what does the U.S. seem to be doing today? It’s starting to embrace concepts regarding healthcare and free school and all kinds of programs which fly in the face of the capitalism which has kept it great for over two centuries, destroying with an unprecedented pace the very foundation on which this country was built. Our geniuses in politics today, in their zest to stay at the forefront of the failing worldwide trend, recognize the sweetness and kindness of socialism, completely ignoring the fact that it hasn’t worked anywhere in the world, and are trying to best the Europeans by introducing communism into the motherland of capitalism.

How is this possible, you might ask? Well, it works with the help of the U.S. media. They don’t report the news anymore, they make biased, agenda-driven comments on it. And since they disdain conservative ideas, and hate George Bush and the Republicans, they are playing the fifth column for the Democrats in a transparent attempt to help them win the elections this November. The Germans have been begging their people to buy private health insurance, for example, since the Schroeder administration! But, has the media mentioned that here? No. As the mainstream media supports the leftist health care programs here, the last thing they'd want is an informed American public to see that the German health insurance they think is 'so wonderful and free' isn't!

The above graphic clarifies the situation. Many European countries have become more conservative. At the same time, the U.S. trend is going down, with a big difference obviously between McCain with his more middle of the road opinions, and Obama on the other end with ideas which can only be characterized as pure communism. His social programs and give-aways propagate exactly the same ideas as the openly communist party “Die Linke” (The Left) in Germany. But, in Germany, at least that party doesn’t make any bones of their communist orientation (while our left suddenly wants to stop being called liberal and prefers the term 'progressive' in an attempt to appear less left-leaning), and the German press is honest enough and smart enough to call it for what it is. Here, the U.S. media is conspicuously absent from that discussion. They wouldn't label a liberal platform communist because they can't bring themselves to realize the truth or their professors have convinced them that's not really so bad after all.

Big mistake. The country is at stake. The truth must come out.

By Mr. Z

ARMED FORCES DAY and MATT MULLIGAN

A day to be proud, a day to remember the sacrifices of our soldiers and their families. Celebrate them today.

I WANTED TO ADD TO THIS POST SOME INFORMATION I FOUND OUT TODAY; A WONDERFUL YOUNG MAN I KNOW HAS JOINED THE MARINES THIS WEEK. IT WAS ANNOUNCED FROM THE PULPIT THIS MORNING.. PLEASE HONOR MATT MULLIGAN IN HIS COURAGE AND PATRIOTISM! VERY different feeling when someone you love has joined up. May God continue to bless him and his wonderful family.

HOOAH, MATT and SEMPER FI

Z's house

GAY MARRIAGE LEGAL IN CALIFORNIA

UPDATE: MAY 22nd THERE IS A CALIFORNIA BIGWIG SAYING HE SUGGESTS ALL COUNTY CLERKS NEED NOT MARRY GAY COUPLES IF THEY DO NOT AGREE WITH THE DECISION. HE SAID NOBODY WANTS A HOSTILE CLERK MARRYING THEM, ANYWAY, AND THAT WE MUST HONOR THE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OF OTHERS. Though, of course, there are also non-religious people who disagree with gay marriage.


please make sure you see Priscilla's comment...it's worth a look.

MOST IMPORTANT UPDATE

FRIDAY MORNING http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080516/ap_on_re_us/gay_marriage

Another FRIDAY MORNING UPDATE: Ellen DeGeneris is getting married.
Yet ANOTHER FRIDAY MORNING UPDATE: Mayor Villairagosa says he will officiate at as many gay marriages as possible.

(Anti-California jokes aren't helpful, so STICK TO THE POINT! "As goes California, so goes the country" God forbid, so don't be smug. that's a warning (smile)

But, seriously, folks...........any comments? And what the heck does a couple do when they move to a NON gay marriage State? I don't get how marriage can be a State issue, can you?

SAN FRANCISCO (Associated Press) -- In a monumental victory for the gay rights movement, the California Supreme Court overturned a voter-approved ban on gay marriage Thursday in a ruling that would allow same-sex couples in the nation's biggest state to tie the knot.
Domestic partnerships are not a good enough substitute for marriage, the justices ruled 4-3 in striking down the ban.
Outside the courthouse, gay marriage supporters cried and cheered as the news spread.
Jeanie Rizzo, one of the plaintiffs, called Pali Cooper, her partner of 19 years, and asked, "Pali, will you marry me?"
"This is a very historic day. This is just such freedom for us," Rizzo said. "This is a message that says all of us are entitled to human dignity."
In the Castro, historically a center of the gay community in San Francisco, Tim Oviatt started crying while watching the news on TV.
"I've been waiting for this all my life," he said. "This is a life-affirming moment."
The city of San Francisco, two dozen gay and lesbian couples and gay rights groups sued in March 2004 after the court halted the monthlong wedding march that took place when Mayor Gavin Newsom opened the doors of City Hall to same-sex marriages.
"Today the California Supreme Court took a giant leap to ensure that everybody _ not just in the state of California, but throughout the country _ will have equal treatment under the law," said City Attorney Dennis Herrera, who argued the case for San Francisco.
The challenge for gay rights advocates, however, is not over.
A coalition of religious and social conservative groups is attempting to put a measure on the November ballot that would enshrine laws banning gay marriage in the state constitution.
The Secretary of State is expected to rule by the end of June whether the sponsors gathered enough signatures to qualify the marriage amendment, similar to ones enacted in 26 other states.
If voters pass the measure in November, it would trump the court's decision.
California already offers same-sex couples who register as domestic partners the same legal rights and responsibilities as married spouses, including the right to divorce and to sue for child support.
But, "Our state now recognizes that an individual's capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual's sexual orientation," Chief Justice Ron George wrote for the court's majority, which also included Justices Joyce Kennard, Kathryn Werdegar and Carlos Moreno.
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Marvin Baxter agreed with many arguments of the majority but said the court overstepped its authority. Changes to marriage laws should be decided by the voters, Baxter wrote. Justices Ming Chin and Carol Corrigan also dissented.
The conservative Alliance Defense Fund says it plans to ask the justices for a stay of their decision until after the fall election, said Glen Lavey, senior counsel for the group.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has twice vetoed legislation that would've granted marriage rights to same-sex couples, said in a news release that he respected the court's decision and "will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling."
The last time California voters were asked to express their views on gay marriage at the ballot box was in 2000, the year after the Legislature enacted the first of a series of laws awarding spousal rights to domestic partners.
Proposition 22, which strengthened the state's 1978 one-man, one-woman marriage law with the words "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California," passed with 61 percent of the vote.
The Supreme Court struck down both statutes with its sweeping opinion Thursday.
Lawyers for the gay couples had asked the court to overturn the laws as an unconstitutional civil rights violation that domestic partnerships cannot repair. A trial court judge in San Francisco agreed with gay rights advocates and voided the state's marriage laws in April 2005. A midlevel appeals court overturned his decision in October 2006.

thanks for the info, Priscilla!

For Farmer John aka "Just Some Guy".....

ICARUS LIVES! And these are not photo shopped! ….. this Swiss man is pictured in his “wings only” private plane, with turbines which are normally found in large model aircraft or UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles). This thing flies about 300 km/h, and its first “real” flight happened today in Switzerland, accompanied by a helicopter. This man was a military pilot, and then First Officer and Captain at Swiss Air. Thanks, Mr. Z

Peace, calm..........no politics

I'm taking a day off. See you Thursday!

FIRST, it was HAMAS FOR OBAMA...

It's the only YouTube page that has an Al Jazeera ad to the right side of it, too. Must be just a coincidence, huh?

Now it's GAZANS FOR OBAMA?

Is there a Jew in this country who'd vote for him NOW? This should be a gift to Conservatives, but we all know there ARE Jews who'll admire this. (not many, I hope)
Arab Jew-hating Obama-loving Muslims making campaign calls to Americans? The kids interviewed say Obama is "capable of change inside America"..REALLY? He's also "capable of bringing peace to the Middle East." You've got to ask yourself how they know that. I do.

Shouldn't this be a deal breaker for ANY American presidential candidate? You won't believe this video!

The PIN is BACK! Imagine that?

yaaa..JUST in time for the votes of those gun-totin', Christian nuts in West Virginie, by cracky!

Obama sporting flag pin as he campaigns in W. Virginia

(Just in time for the W Virginia primaries...WHAT a coincidence! Here's the article)

Margaret Talev McClatchy Newspapers
last updated: May 12, 2008 02:42:54 PM

WASHINGTON — Barack Obama, who labeled discussion of whether he wears a flag pin in his lapel a false issue in a debate with Hillary Clinton, was wearing one Monday as he campaigned in West Virginia ahead of Tuesday's primary vote there.

Obama made no reference to the pin, which could be clearly seen in television images and through telephoto lenses as he spoke in Charleston, W. Va., about veterans issue. There was no public comment from his campaign.

Monday morning, pollster and former Bill Clinton adviser Douglas Schoen wrote in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal that Obama needs to better define his values heading into the general election. “First, and obviously symbolically, he must start wearing the flag lapel pin,” Schoen wrote. “He simply cannot afford to raise doubts about his patriotism.”

Although Obama sometimes wears the pin, more often he doesn’t. And he’s long insisted on being a different kind of politician who doesn’t resort to gimmicks or give in to pressure to conform to the status quo.

The issue came to the fore during the Pennsylvania primary campaign when ABC News tracked down a voter, Nash McCabe, to ask a question during the Clinton-Obama debate April 16. McCabe noted that Obama doesn't usually wear a flag pin and asked, "I want to know if you believe in the American flag."

Z: I'd have LOVED to have heard THAT answer. And, really, wearing a flag pin doesn't show your patriotism...wearing one and then stopping wearing one while you're running for president is what gives me pause.........

Do they look ALIKE, or WHAT?!!

Stanley Ann Dunham:

Barack's Momma*

(Stanley??)


Stanley Ann Dunham, Mercer Island High School
Stanley Ann Dunham Obana Soetoro (November 29, 1942 - November 7, 1995), known as Ann Dunham and Stanley Ann Dunham, was an American anthropologist, left-wing social activist, and the mother of Senator Barack Obama. She was born in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to Stanleyand Madelyn Dunham. Her father (who gave his only child his name) was a furniture salesman in downtown Seattle, Washington, and her mother worked for a bank. After a year living in Seattle, her family moved to Mercer Island, Washington, in 1956 so that 13-year old Ann could attend theMercer Island High School that had just opened. At the school she was on the debate team and graduated in 1960. Her family moved to Hawaii and Ann attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she studied anthropology. When Ann Dunham arrived in Hawaii, she was a full fledged radical leftist and practitioner of “critical theory. She also began to engage in miscegenation (inter-racial relationships) as part of her attack on society. Susan Blake, one of her friends has stated she never dated crew-cut white boys. She had a world view, even as a young girl. It was embracing the different, rather than that ethnocentric thing of shunning the different. That was where her mind took her.

In Hawaii she met Barack Obama, Sr. from Kenya in her Russian language class. Barack Obama, Jr. was born August 4, 1961.
Barack Obama, Sr. left Ann and their son in 1963 to attend Harvard in Boston. Press reports claim Ann Dunham and Barack Obama Sr. were divorced around this time; however, no evidence has yet been presented to show they were ever married. The senior Obama obtained a masters degree in economics at Harvard and returned to Kenya in 1965 where he obtained a position in the Kenyan government. He was killed in an automobile accident in 1982. Two years later, when her son was five, Dunham married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian oil manager and practicing Muslim whom she meet at the university. In 1967 they moved to Jakarta, Indonesia. While in Indonesia Ann got a job at the American embassy teaching English.
Barack's half-sister, Maya Soetoro was born in Indonesia. Ann, Obama and his sister Maya moved back to Hawaii. Ann Dunham soon returned toIndonesia with Maya but divorced Soetoro in the late 1970s.

Dunham traveled around the world, pursuing a career in rural development that took her to Ghana, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal andBangladesh. In 1986 Ann Dunham worked on a developmental project in Pakistan. Later that year Ann and her daughter traveled the Silk Road inChina. In 1992 she earned a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Hawaii. Her dissertation, "Peasant blacksmithing in Indonesia: Surviving and Thriving Against All Odds," was 1067 pages long. She worked for the Ford Foundation and promoted Microlending. During Obama's campaign for the 2008 presidential election he portrayed his mother as a conservative girl from Kansas; however in reality she was a radical leftist and cutural Marxist. She lived in the Seattle area; spending her teenage years in Seattle coffee shops with other young radical leftist. Obama claims his mother's family were conserevative Methodists or Baptists from Kansas. However, his mother's parents were members of a left-wing Unitarian church near Seattle. The church located in Bellevue, Washington was knicknamed "the little red church," because of its communist leanings.

The school Ann attended, Mercer Island High School, was a hotbed of pro-Marxist radical teachers. John Stenhouse, board member, told the House Un-American Activities Subcommittee that he had been a member of the Communist Party USA and this school has a number of Marxists on it's staff. Two teachers at this school, Val Foubert and Jim Wichterman, both Frankfurt School style Marxists, taught a critical theory curriculum to students which include d; rejection of societal norms, attacks on Christianity, the traditional family, and assigned readings by Karl Marx. The hallway between Foubert’s and Wichterman classrooms was sometimes called "anarchy ally."

Dunham has been described by her friends as "a fellow traveler..." meaning a communist sympathizer.

In an interview, Barack Obama referred to his mother as "the dominant figure in my formative years... The values she taught me continue to be my touchstone when it comes to how I go about the world of politics."
Before she died Ann Dunham wanted to adopt a mixed-race Korean baby fathered by a Black American stationed in South Korea. Ann Dunham died in Hawaii in 1995 of ovarian cancer and uterine cancer.

*Z: I have NO idea who wrote this, but couldn't resist publishing it. And I couldn't resist posting the two faces side by side. He sure is like her.........in more ways than one, huh?

On another note..................what would YOU do?

Now here is a strange story about recycling, and one which I think warrants discussion on many levels.

It seems that there is a church in Hamburg, Germany, St. Katherine's Church, which had an old organ parts of which originated in the exact same organ on which Johann Sebastian Bach played in and around 1720.

This church in Hamburg decided they didn't want to repair it. They then sold this organ to a Polish church near Danzig for about 25,00 Euros.

This Polish church gave their existing, older organ to a church in the Ukraine free of cost. The Polish church will now spend about 350,000 Euros for renovation of this Bach organ.

St. Katherine's Church in Hamburg is trying to raise funds with which to buy a 3.5 million Euro organ and they'll have a wonderful, brand spanking new organ on which to play music!

What would you have done were you the church leaders? Keep the Bach organ and repaired it or do what St. Katherine's did?

Who knew JOAN COLLINS could get it so right?

Seems that almost three years ago, Ms. Joan Collins wrote this article for the Daily Mail in England. With the 'hate America first' attitude our teachers are indoctrinating our kids with, and the media piling it on, and politicos telling us we're racist, bigoted, xenophobic, war mongering, gas guzzling, capitalist pigs, how can we expect our kids to love America, or themselves? How can we be upset when they play their radio so loud in their car and send you the one-fingered salute if you aren't whistling along?

See what she says.........I think she's, as they say in England, "spot on", and I hope the West wakes up soon.

BRITAIN DESTROYING ITSELF FROM WITHIN
BY JOAN COLLINS
UK DAILY MAIL
THUS AUG 04, 2005

A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within, said the American historian Will Durrant about ancient Rome. This self-destruction of values is exactly what is happening in England today.
Yes, I still call the country of my birth England, in spite of the peculiar political correctness that insists that it be called 'the UK' and that we, its denizens, must be 'Britons'.
Even though the Welsh are proud to call themselves Welsh, as are the Irish and certainly the Scots, woe betide the Briton who calls himself 'English' -- a much-frowned-upon no-no.
I believe that when a country loses so much respect for itself that it can no longer even be identified by its historically correct name, insecurity and lack of respect filter down to its inhabitants.
Recently, I have concluded that London is no longer the 'seat of civilised society' that the world once considered it to be, and is certainly not the safe city I grew up in.
A particular incident demonstrated the lack of respect and manners that is but a small example of the horrible, encroaching decay of the country that I love dearly.
My husband Percy and I were at a ball at the Grosvenor House Hotel -- a black-tie event attended by the socalled 'elite' of the city.
As Percy held the door open to let me through, a 6ft tall, middle-aged, horse-faced male pushed past me, trod on the hem of my dress and rushed outside to climb into the taxi that the doorman had waiting for us.
This was a person who should, or at least looked like he should, have known better. The cause of his behaviour? The awful pervasive disregard that we have for civility today.
Bump accidentally into someone in the street these days and you are soundly cursed. Look at a poor derelict collapsed in a doorway for more than a second and they'll spit at you. Surely everyone has experienced the barely suppressed rage lurking behind the faces of a vast number of car drivers.
We've become the 'Whatcha lookin' at?' culture. Why do young people consider it cool to be arrogant, swaggering and rude? Why do so many people in England seem so cynical and self-centred?
I witnessed young, drunken yobs roaming the streets kicking cars, screaming insults, pushing people and even pushchairs out of their way, attacking each other viciously and then turning on the police when they tried to maintain order.
THE WHOLE scene evoked the image of hordes of inebriated Vikings sacking devastated towns. Even during the day, feral mobs roamed the cities with absolute disregard for anyone else's property or well-being. Traditional virtues of male chivalry and female propriety were very far from view.
After all, a lack of manners and politeness in a society can only be a reflection of what the society thinks of itself.
It's frightful how being told that you are no good makes you hate yourself, and hate others. And it's frightful how quickly a whole country of self-loathers can be bred.

z: Don't you think she has a point?

Thanks, Priscilla

"Goin' to the chapel and I'm gonna get maaaarried*..."

Yes, I AM a BIG sucker for weddings. Please, God, let them live happily ever after...and follow in your steps.... Congratulations, Bush and Hager families.
*Dixie Cups, 1964

This isn't from bygone eras...........

This photo was taken the other day, in Germany. Don't you ever just want to get in a buggy and drive through fields of flowers.....................and keep riding.................... take deep breaths, calmness, the sound of the horses........... And, yes....most of you who know me know this is SO not my personality. But, you know? Lately............ maybe I just need a break. I'm TIRED OF POLITICS, I'm TIRED of worrying about Islam, I'm TIRED of LEFTISTS, I'm TIRED of......

ya...easy, girl....clip clop, clip clop......... (now I sound like Monty Python and the Holy Grail). Are we ALL TIRED? or is it just MEEEE?

Happy Mother's Day...and here's the history of it, too!

Couldn't resist a little humor on this special day. I hope all you mothers enjoy yourselves this weekend!

(and thanks, to whoever came up with these!)

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.

2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.

3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.

2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?

3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. We're related.

2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.

2. Mostly to clean the house.

3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

Here is the history of Mother's Day, which just reached it's 100th Anniversary!:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080510/ap_on_re_us/mother_s_day_centennial

Just in case gas prices get higher.............

Problems for AL SHARPTON? Say it ain't so......

Is this what we're coming to with people like Al Sharpton? He breaks the laws and it's about the government out to get him? Could he get off with this defense?

Ya, it's mean spirited of me to post this, I don't rejoice in ANYBODY'S tax problems, but seeing that I can't STAND the man, I can't help it.........I'm unapologetic. I think he's done so much to keep this country divided that it's about time he woke up to the fact he's not immune to his own problems.

I particularly like this point mentioned in the link: "Donors have included beer giant Anheuser-Busch, which gave more than $100,000 last year, and Forest City Ratner, a real estate development company that courted black leaders for support of a plan to build an NBA arena in Brooklyn. PepsiCo, for several years, gave Sharpton a compensated position on one of its advisory boards."

Right. It was explained to me about 10 years ago, that Jesse Jackson makes his living this way, too. They get paid big time for playing ball, for getting their people to stop striking, for convincing unions to go along with management, etc. Cute, huh?

And, does he have a RIGHT to do this? Talk about elitist, talk about pandering, talk about a grossly overinflated ego which allows himself to assume an empowerment even the Black community should find utterly disgusting. I'm sure many do.

The best video I've seen in months.........

I'm sorry I can't embed this video, but please click on this link and treat yourself to a guy who's even better than Sheriff Arpaio in AZ! THIS San Francisco Police Captain needs to be CLONED and put in every city police department in America AND abroad!!

http://mfile.akamai.com/12948/wmv/vod.ibsys.com/2006/0728/9591734.300k.asx

Watch till the end, you've not seen as much NON PC as this!
It's REFRESHING! (thanks, Dick!)

Hamas likes Obama. ssshhhh...

If any of you think the fact that a muslim terrorist group endorses a particular American presidential candidate should be ignored, raise your hand.

Nobody, huh? I thought so. Obama thinks we're all nuts... it's just 'offensive' for McCain to mention that fact a few times. Count how many paragraphs the writer of the linked article goes before mentioning Hamas' leader DID say they'd prefer Obama. Obama says McCain repeated this information to detract from his advancing years. Now count how many paragraphs the writer took to mention McCain's age. But, no bias, RIGHT?

"As California goes, so goes the union.............."

Here's an excerpt from my buddy Clark's thought provoking piece ("When Bigots Accuse") at his blog:

"For more than three decades, Jeremiah Wright screamed FIRE in his crowded theater. But when America’s magical Negro introduced us to his spiritual advisor, even liberal Democrats choked on the hypocrisy. Wright backtracked a little at the National Press Club, blunting his government-AIDS fable with a vaguer US Government “is capable of anything.”"

Check it out: http://exlibhollywood.blogspot.com/

For a beautiful Spring day.......

NATURE rarer uses yellow
Than another hue;
Saves she all of that for sunsets,
Prodigal of blue,

Spending scarlet like a woman,
Yellow she affords
Only scantly and selectly,
Like a lover’s words.

............Emily Dickinson

But, oh, Emily...when nature uses yellow, how she uses yellow!

(in Germany, fields of "raps" or rapeseed....near the Baltic Sea)

Will our Left finally GET IT??

I guess it just couldn't be that the guy who did this would have done it before being detained at Gitmo, right? What do you want to bet the liberals will blame us? Couldn't be that they were terrorists already and THAT'S why they WERE detained, not that their detainment made them so angry they couldn't help but become terrorists!?? You think the truth shown by an attack like this, by a guy like this, might make some impact on the war-hating left?

Funny, there are plenty of people who think we've created terrorists because of having gone into Iraq. Couldn't be that the USS Cole, and the African embassies and even 9/11 happened BEFORE we went into Iraq, COULD it? (oops..)

So, is the cart before the horse, or..............?

How's HILLARY going to get OUT of this thing?

I'd love to see how Hillary gracefully gets out of running for the presidency; How's she going to give the nomination to Obama, as only SHE can do right now?

Will Bill play a part? Will she blame Howard Dean? Will she take the high road? Will it be a Right Wing Conspiracy which she feels pushed her into getting out of the race? Can she take the risk of ticking voters off by being the one picked by the delegates at the risk of appearing like the majority lost? (not when they blamed Gore's losing on that, right..or wrong?)

HOW DOES HILLARY GET OUT BEFORE THE CONVENTION TELLS HER SHE'S OUT?

Obama "Boogie Woogie, Bugle Man..." You're it...oh, man

He was a famous trumpet man from out Chicago way
He had a boogie style that no one else could play
He was the top man at his craft
But then his number came up and he was gone with the draft
He's in the army now, blowing reveille
He's the boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B

They made him blow a bugle for his Uncle Sam
It really brought him down because he could not jam
The captain seemed to understand
Because the next day the cap' went out and drafted a band
And now the company jumps when he plays reveille
He's the boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B

A-toot, a-toot, a-toot-diddelyada-toot
He blows it eight-to-the-bar, in boogie rhythm
He can't blow a note unless the bass and guitar is playing with him
He makes the company jump when he plays reveille
He's the boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B

He was our boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B
And when he plays boogie woogie bugle he was buzy as a "bzzz" bee
And when he plays he makes the company jump eight-to-the-bar
He's the boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B

Toot-toot-toot, toot-diddelyada, toot-diddelyada
Toot, toot, he blows it eight-to-the-bar
He can't blow a note if the bass and guitar isn't with him
And the company jumps when he plays reveille
He's the boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B

He puts the boys asleep with boogie every night
And wakes 'em up the same way in the early bright
They clap their hands and stomp their feet
Because they know how he plays when someone gives him a beat
He really breaks it up when he plays reveille
He's the boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B

Da-doo-da da-doo-da-da da
Da-doo-da da-doo-da-da da
Da-doo-da da-doo-da-da da
Da-doo-da da-doo-da-da
And the company jumps when he plays reveille
He's the boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B!

Z: I'm sacrificing this song I love so much because it just seemed fitting....the words just seem so fitting. How the HECK are so many Americans jumping to his BEAT, folks? And, in the meantime, McCain's cozying up to a group who wants to take my State back for Mexico. Some difficult choice we've got this coming November, huh, folks?

I dedicate this post to Just Some Guy, who likes mermaids.

Happy Birthday, The Merry Widow

BIG BLESSINGS and wishes for a wonderful birthday and fantastic year! Love, Z

The Same Pink Shell

The sun on the morning shoreline shines as silver as the combs in my Juana's hair. I breathe in the smells of the sea and blow out slowly, watching the gulls which will soar on my breath, free to fly where they choose, while I stay, a fisherman, ready for another day. I walk to the sea hoping it will be more generous than yesterday.
Behind me, like spider webs, my nets wait on the dry sand. The birds dance around me, in and out of the water, to the music of the sea, loud, soft, then loud again, like metal brushes on a drum.
Jose is late again. He will come down the high sandy hill where the sun flames behind the palm trees, wave his hat high in the air and shrug his arms in apology that he is late again. I will not see his face for the glaring sun behind him, but he will be laughing. He laughs often because this life is right for him. He had no use for school and has no wife he must send to work. He fishes hard then joins friends at the cantina after dark. It is always the same. A day of no fish to sell is a night when a friend will buy Jose his cerveza.
On the way down the hill, he will pick up a shell and throw it far into the ocean, the same pink shell which will wash back onto the beach, a little more worn by the sand, only to be thrown again tomorrow.
"Hola, mi Amigo!" he will laugh and slap me on my back. "I am late again! Lo siento!" He will be sorry but he will have helped a neighbor, or stopped for huevos and chorizo at the little hotel because he had extra pesos in his pocket. He will tell me how the chorizo was especially delicious this morning because fat Sra. Hidalgo gave him one sausage for free.
"And, you know, her fingers, they themselves are like chorizo!"
When Jose comes we talk of things I will not remember when Juana asks me in the evening, but it is his stories that lighten the weight of the nets. After hours of pulling and lifting, both hands must support our backs as we stand straight again. Jose's talk of old Manuel's wooden teeth or his stories about his red haired Carmelita make me smile, but are not enough to soothe the ache in my back or the pain above my brows.

This morning, my Juana washes the clothes of Señora Vega, who stays in her room and listens to Salsa. A tiny yellow bird in a golden cage hangs above La Senora's bed and she blows smoke to it, through the bars, from her thin, filtered cigarettes. She kisses the beak of the little bird and calls it "Cara". Together, surrounded by scarves of grey smoke, they listen to the music. Sometimes my Juana hears La Señora cry.
She wonders if La Señora cries for her husband because she could not give him a son or for herself because she is so often alone. It is the music and the little bird that help her forget her sorrows, or the red wine that was in the bottles that Juana throws away each morning. When there is a little bit of wine left, Juana pours it into a fancy glass, sits in the courtyard of green orchids and is, for a few moments, a grand señora with nothing to do. But only for a few moments.

My Juana is like a warm towel against my tired body. Her whisper wakes me late in the night and, later, I hold her and listen to her breath. It is Juana who makes me feel like the Don of a grand hacienda. It is her enchiladas and rellenos I smell when I come home to our little house. Sometimes it is the thick, sweet scent of corn and pork fried with peppers which welcome me even before our sons run out through the open door. Each one I hug, grateful that the youngest is not yet too big to swing in the air. The laughter of the children eases the pain in my eyes and the tightness in my jaw. Their laughter is like a prayer for the future. I hug them to my body and pray that God will listen.
My Juana too wants our boys to have more. It is in the morning that she dreams out loud what her tired sleep did not allow.
"They cannot, will not, be fisherman," she says. I tell her it is not such a bad thing. I remind her of the fishermen of Galilee.
"Our Theodore will be a doctor," Juana braids her hair like she is playing an instrument, her fingers work swiftly and, like sticks on a drum, they fly as she tells me her plans for our children.
"Maximillian will be the mayor...and Alessandro will be the lawyer."
"Why not Emperor?" I laugh.
She has heard this before. I do not have to remind her again of my childhood and how I wanted to go away. She knows how my mother wanted me to be a businessman, not a man who came home with calloused hands, smelling of fish. It took money to leave the village, to go to a good school in a place far away. I had to learn to be happy to work with Papa, and to be proud when I pulled as much fish as he. After Papa died, when I did not see Mama's smile again, I knew my dreams of leaving would forever be dreams.
"Our boys will be different." Juana echoes the faded words of my mother. "And they will be good men because you are their father."
The boys rise and Juana prepares them for school. Then she goes to La Señora's, where she will water the red geraniums, cook the meals, and clean the golden cage.

Finally, squinting through the flames on the hill, I can see someone coming. But it is not Jose. It is Carmelita.
Her long, loose hair is the color of old tangerines. She is running and dry sand flies like the ocean spray around her feet. I see she wears no red lipstick or her golden earrings as big as Juana's silver bracelet. She is crying. I can hear her now above the surf. She uses the back of her hand to wipe tears from her face.
"Jose is gone! Last night! His brother came and Jose has gone with him!"
We stand six paces apart as the shallow tide pulls at our feet. I watch the birds run away down the beach. "I will not see my Jose again!" She stares into my eyes, angry at me as she is at Jose.
"Carmelita, he would not leave for good. You will see. Jose is happy here."
"You are wrong! He has always wanted to leave this nothing place. 'This is my chance! My brother has plans,' he told me last night. He said I should come to you this morning, to tell you he is sorry, and that you were a good friend."
"He will be back, Carmelita."
"He said he hopes you wish him luck!" She drags the back of her arm against her wet face. "I don't wish him luck!"
She turns and runs away from the beach. Her body gets smaller as she climbs up the hill, and I can see her beat away the palm leaves that hang in her way. Then she is gone, like Jose.
It is the quietest it has ever been.
When Carmelita has been gone a very long time, the birds run close to my legs again. They have forgotten I am here.
"He cannot be gone!" I hear myself scream. My hands are fists with nothing to hit.
The weight of the sand and water pull me down. My shoulders feel hot from the sun rising higher in the sky, and a seagull soars over my head, turns, then flies far up the coast until I cannot see it.
Pulling my feet out of the heavy sand, I let the water wash them clean, and walk, trapped with my sons in the nets of our fathers, trying not to drown.

Z