Today, American intelligence officials issued a report stating that “The government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki will become ‘more precarious’ over the next six months to a year, and while its security forces have improved they are not strong enough to operate without outside help.” Does anyone else get the feeling that the delicate balance between the security of Iraq and its people and the health of the country’s government will continue to teeter back and forth for the next, oh I don’t know, one thousand years as it has for the last one thousand?
On August 23, 2007,
in Uncategorized,
by Mary Mancini
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The Network
- The Innkeepers11 February 2012, 12:19 am
Holy shit! I skipped out of work early to catch The Innkeepers and I am now sitting on my couch with the lights on and the tv on but on mute so that I can both have plenty of light and write this post. Downsides: Sometimes the acting is a little too theatrical. The ghosts [...]...
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Okay, so, in the project I’m working on, there is a bad guy who shoots people. And, as you know, I know next to nothing about guns other than that you point them at things you want to shoot at, don’t point them at things you don’t want to shoot at, always treat them like [...]... - I Bring You Cool Things10 February 2012, 5:47 pm
1. A whole gallery of cursed gems. Man, I secretly want to own a cursed gem. Like the one that’s cool for girls to wear. 2. This is really cool and so many of the women look like my dear friend, B., that it’s kind of disconcerting, but hot damn, that’s a lot of white [...]... - One More Morose Midwestern Post10 February 2012, 2:13 pm
As I think I’ve made clear, I have very mixed feelings about small-town America. I kind of hate the little towns I grew up in. And yet, when I bought a house in Nashville, I moved to the Davidson County suburban equivalent of a small town–a couple of restaurants, two gas stations, a grocery store [...]... - The Gulf of America9 February 2012, 6:31 pm
People, “The Gulf of America.” I am all out of words. Like, I keep trying to come up with something funny to say about this, but I have nothing. And this is a Democrat. I weep for our country....
- Morning Coffee – Presenting Your New Republican Overlords – Pre-Legislative Session Edition28 December 2010, 3:53 pm
The upcoming session of the Tennessee General Assembly begins in just 15 days. Between now and then there will likely be a whole bunch of nothing news wise, except for the TNDP Chair election which is about as exciting as watching socks dry in the rain (no offense guys, but seriously). Considering the huge shift from a nearly 50-50 split house to the 64-34-1 Republican super-majority, there’s gonna be a lot of changes coming our way. As Jeff Woods reports in the Nashville City paper, they ... - Morning Coffee – Surrender? No Surrender? Edition20 December 2010, 3:39 pm
In this season of giving, I’ve decided that a current events version of “The Night Before Christmas” is in order. To that end, I offer the following… Twas the week before Christmas and all through the County, Leaders in the east were assessing their bounty, The Legislature won by the right wing with care, In hopes that a Special School District would be there. The schoolchildren enjoying their Christmas break, Awaiting decisions that deciders will make, And I at my comput... - Morning Coffee – Something in the Air Edition2 December 2010, 1:27 pm
I don’t really have a lot to say this morning. I think I said myself out yesterday. Speaking of yesterday, the “sense of the commission” resolution on consolidation passed 6-3-1. Two commissioners weren’t in attendance at the time of the vote. The matter comes up again on Monday. Send your Commissioner an email in support of the resolution. It’s been busy and that business isn’t gonna stop until after the 16th. Then it’s time for the “holiday busy&... - Morning Coffee – Sharpen Your Pitchforks Edition1 December 2010, 1:15 pm
Yeah, I know. You probably thought the pitchfork sharpening season ended with the November 2nd elections. I don’t think you could have been more wrong. We live in a 24/7/365 pitchfork readiness environment now and that’s not going to change until people start feeling more certain about their economic futures. The harsh reality is that, in times like this, people can get Balkanized, in ways that may or may not be in their best interests depending on a whole host of factors, but usuall... - Morning Coffee – Post-Turkey Day Edition29 November 2010, 2:16 pm
Now that the holiday that officially sanctions gluttony is over, we can get down to really important things, like buying stuff for Christmas. Retailers are licking their chops as we speak. Black Friday and Cyber Monday will ultimately give way to “Whoopsie Wednesday” (12/22) and “I can’t find anything I want Friday” (12/24). As someone who used to co-own a retail establishment, I can tell you this is the time of year that I most dreaded and looked forward to. When t...
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At first we started out real cool,(cool) Writing some good laws i ain’t never seen But now your getting comfortable Ain’t telling that truth that you did no more Your slowly makin me read your print Your Bills they all are captioning And now you ask me for my vote (vote) Call me all day [...]... - Five Shopping Days Until Slut-O-Ween27 October 2011, 1:24 am
As I tend to warn people a lot: I was raised Mormon. You might not realize it, but Mormons have a dress code. It’s based on the standard of modesty set by wearing temple garments (those “magic Mormon underwear”), although pre-garment wearing youth are also encouraged to follow it as preparation for being endowed in [...]... - Going Postal10 September 2011, 5:06 pm
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Why would rape victims not want to pursue prosecution? As I once heard the Assistant DA explain to victim after victim, justice takes years, and often even the victims and prosecutors who do everything right don’t get justice at all. The investigation and trial will be consuming. You’ll have to give up work, you’ll have [...]...
- Original Poetry30 March 2011, 7:59 pm
Inauguration Dayby maria BrewerStretching dreams Pop into realityand breathe deep. The air of now.Grunting, emerging, we blink.Anticipating beauty in the new expectation of fresh wisdom.Layers of caring, and percolating joy, anddeep strength surge and weRush forward to meet the calm:the sprout that pushes through the soil,the Beginning.... - Original Poetry30 March 2011, 1:30 am
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The American Dream is a noble ideal: equality and reward for hard work. Establishing values like fairness, independence, and empowerment, Americans have long sacrificed to better themselves. But in America, we have always dreamed of bringing along our communities: our palaces have been our public schools; our monuments not towering statues unless surrounded by broad public parks and playgrounds; our legacy is ensconced in public libraries, common thoroughfares, and rural electrification projects... - Take a Lunch with Democracy15 March 2011, 1:32 pm
Today is going to be Rally day on the steps of the Tennessee State House downtown. People are coming from all over Tennessee to be heard by their state legislators. And it's going to be live streamed at the website http://march15.info/What's the use of a rally? Well, haven't you heard? This is What Democracy Looks Like.... - Devastation comes in small packages as well...15 March 2011, 7:41 am
Since Friday's disaster in Japan began, we Americans have watched its unfolding. So far away, yet so close at hand; unimaginably vast disaster striking a society so much like our own. Many of the photos are of an unimaginable scale. The stuff of our civilization made wholly uncivil and unrecognizable.Unlike most of the pictures from Japan, this picture of baby and mother being checked for radiation holds a kind of devastation we can't see. I'm not a nuclear power fear-monger, but I am a realist....
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Wednesday was a busy day for education legislation that affects lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning students and their families in Tennessee in the State House Subcommittee on Education and the Senate Education Committee. The following anti-LGBT bills were rolled until next week:HB0229 ("Don't Say G_y" bill): Placed on s/c cal Education Subcommittee for 2/15/2012HB3266 ("Teacher, Don't Preach" bill) Placed on s/c cal Education Subcommittee for 2/15/2012SB0426 (Anti-GSA bill) Place... - Register for TEP's Mardi Gras Gumbo and Bread Pudding Competition in Memphis25 January 2012, 12:04 pm
Tennessee Equality Project is proud to host its 4th Annual Mardi Gras Party on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, which includes our second Gumbo Tasting Competition and a new Bread Pudding Contest. The ingredients of Gumbo are as diverse as the LGBT and allied community, and we celebrate this in Mardi Gras style! Participation was so enormous last year that we've moved the competition to a larger space at Spectrum Memphis. Funds raised from the competition will benefit TEP to advance and protect the equali... - I'm angry24 January 2012, 8:51 pm
I'm angry today.I'm agonizing over yet another suicide of a young gay teen in Tennessee. It's the second loss in as many months. Phillip died because he could not escape the endless bullying from his peers. He died because he lived in a world where being gay made him a target. He died scared, hopeless and alone. Will Batts is the Executive Director of the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center.I feel a rage building inside me. This is not the world we want for our kids. This is not... - TEP responds to tragedy in Gordonsville24 January 2012, 5:42 pm
As TEP leaders, members and supporters grieve the loss of Phillip Parker in Gordonsville, Tennessee Equality Project is taking steps to respond to the tragedy. Here's what we are doing:TEP joins the family and friends of Phillip Parker in grieving a senseless loss. TEP has contacted Smith County School Superintendent Roger Lewis and District Principals to advocate for more teacher training and revision of school anti-bullying policy. We are offering TEP Foundation's LGBT diversit... - Gordonsville student endured years of anti-gay bullying before ending his life23 January 2012, 1:27 pm
Late Friday night, Tennessee Equality Project began hearing reports that an 8th grader in Gordonsville in Smith County, Tennessee had completed suicide after enduring years of anti-gay bullying. Ironically, the news arrived as members of TEP's board attended the first Bully-Free Tennessee Conference in neighboring Putnam County with educators, parents and other safe school advocates.Local news confirmed on Saturday that Phillip Parker was the 8th grader who had ended his life.TEP Board members J...
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“Fox News can confirm the President of the United States is a citizen of the United States”. Shep Smith (click for video) So, Trump, stick that info up there in your hair nest. Filed under: Uncategorized... - Palin’s SPED Plan25 April 2011, 6:24 pm
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Random comment seen on the internets. ... read more...... - TN Politifact Seems to Play Favorites10 February 2012, 1:21 pm
Politifact labels the TNGOP assertion that the current redistricting process was "the most open in history" as "false", even though it was d... read more...... - Blueprint America9 February 2012, 10:44 pm
Looks like an interesting series from PBS on building America. All the videos look to be online. They choose three cities looking at past, ... read more...... - Kodak shuts down camera business9 February 2012, 9:55 pm
Kodak is shutting down their digital camera and video business. They will focus on printers and photo finishing. Reuters... ... read more...... - South Knoxville cash mob will be at Emery's 5 & 109 February 2012, 9:20 pm
Press release... Cash Mob to visit Emery’s 5 & 10 in South Knoxville Knoxville, Tenn. - After more than a week of anticipation, Knox C... read more......
- Hate That For Ya11 February 2012, 1:34 am
While its difficult for me to feign a large amount of sympathy for Rep. Susan Lynn, I find her story detailing the underhanded and spiteful nature of Mae Beavers' campaign tactics to be thoroughly enjoyable and so may you. Its quite lengthy, so I'll just give you the gist. Basically, Mae Beavers "loaned" 50,000 to a newspaper editor during the same time said newspaper editor began lambasting her opponent over an ethics issue...an ethics issue that resulted from the filing of a complaint by... - Is That a Republican Under That Robe, Or Are You Just Happy To Be Running8 February 2012, 12:09 am
Michael Cass done drummed him up a story on Nashville defense lawyer Jack Byrd's voting history as a Republican. Byrd is one of two challengers, along with Rachel Bell, hoping to debench the recently appointed Judge Mike Jameson. Byrd is running as a Democrat in the Democratic primary. His records show he's voted in four GOP primaries and two county primaries (of which Republicans rarely ever post candidates), but he's telling Cass that he is in fact of the Democratic persuasion. N... - The Catholic Vote7 February 2012, 6:34 pm
I've had MSNBC on this morning in the background and they keep coming back to the Obama Administration's decision to say that employees of religious affiliated are accorded the same health care protections as those in the secular workforce. The assumption is that, somehow, people who might normally vote for a pro-choice Democrat, a prospect which some in the Catholic leadership say will put your immortal soul in peril, will now rally around a Republican all because some Catholic affiliated... - If You Leave It, They Will Come7 February 2012, 6:33 pm
The decision by Sen. Joe Haynes not to seek re-election has resulted in many politicians both current and past to jut their fingers up skyward to get a sense of where the political winds may be blowing. On the Republican side, it appears that Dickerson will have a challenger, either in the form of David Hall, who defeated the establishment backed Jeff Hartline in the 2010 Republican Congressional primary. Or Eric Crafton, our xenophobic former Councilman from Bellevue who seems to have ru... - Its Halftime America6 February 2012, 7:47 pm
"I've seen a lot of tough eras, a lot of downturns in my life, times where we didn't understand each other...it seems that we've lost our heart at times. The fog of division, discord and blame made it hard to see what lies ahead. But after those trials, we all rallied around what was right, and acted as one." -Clint Eastwood Whether intended or not, this is an implicit endorsement of President Obama who took a chance on America's industry when it needed it, while Republicans like Mitt R...
- I Am Donating A Blog Post To Steve Ross8 February 2012, 2:01 pm
The word blogger is an interesting one. People writing on platforms about what they want, be it about knitting, kittens with their heads stuck in bread or politics, the blogging world has changed the way media works to a certain degree. And unfortunately, we forget the countless unpaid hours that people with passion put in [...]... - The Clint Eastwood Commercial7 February 2012, 7:24 pm
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Well, as expected, our general assembly has gone into session and it’s back to Guns, Gods and Gays. The key is that there are some pretty decent bills out there but they are being drowned out in the infernal noise of the GOP throwing molotov cocktails into the media mainstream and owning the headlines. For [...]... - John ‘Glad’ Castellaw In The 8th?1 February 2012, 3:05 pm
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Last night information went viral very quickly about a restaurant in Knoxville that asked Sen. Stacey Campfield to leave their establishment. Owner Martha Boggs who owns the Bistro at the Bijou asked the controversial politician to leave to make the point that any discrimination of anyone is painful and she went as far as to [...]...
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Last night the state House voted to commend Arizona on its upcoming centennial (in 2012) as well as for passing controversial legislation which many argue encourages racial profiling. Here’s the breakdown of how your state Democrats voted. …... - Liberal Blogger Afternoon on the Hill12 May 2010, 4:55 am
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Oh I don’t know…the more I know about American intelligence officials, the more I think they’re probably more interested in being official than in actually having any intelligence.
[...] Mary Mancini on political stability in Iraq: Does anyone else get the feeling that the delicate balance between the security of Iraq and its people and the health of the country’s government will continue to teeter back and forth for the next, oh I don’t know, one thousand years as it has for the last one thousand? Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]