“No mother would ever willingly sacrifice her sons for territorial gain, for economic advantage, for ideology.”
- Ronald Reagan

One would think that Reagan’s remarks left little room for a mother to tolerate the death of her son in a “war of choice”. Furthermore, based upon his words, one would think that he would wholeheartedly support the inquiries and protest of the mother of a soldier who died in a war based on malleable and questionable rationales.

One would think so… that is, if one chose to think.

For Reagan’s alleged “conservative” disciples, the opposite seems to be true. Because Cindy Sheehan has not accepted an illusory WMD threat, Bin Laden links, spreading freedom and an emancipation of women (Islamic fundamentalist style on both), or any of the other multiple reasons given her, and the country, for her son’s death in Iraq, they seem to feel that she has forfeited her right to speak and/or protest on the matter. It seems to be a clash of values between the “neo- cons” (new cons) and the old cons.

In support of their position, today’s “conservatives”, among other things, have said that she is/has:

“… hurting our troops and endangering our troops; an anti-Semite; hateful; in bed with the radical left; aligned herself with people who hate this country, hate this government; shamed her son by her comments; trying to pull a little bit of a swindle and been totally co-opted by the whole Michael Moore leftist mentality; exploiting death; engaging in Stalinist agitprop outside President Bush’s Crawford ranch; supported by hysterical paranoid ideologist[s] who have turned the “Camp Casey” protest into “Camp Fruitbat and Nutbag.”

And, as one of FOX’s Sans-A-Belt(way) Boys said, she’s “a crackpot”.

Such are the comments and “keen insight” offered by the most well-known and visible members of modern conservatism who believe in, among other things, “family values”, Christianity, Intelligent Design, Pat Robertson, the flag, prayer in schools, privatization of Social Security, Abu Ghraib style “hazing”, a $223 million “Bridge to Nowhere” in Alaska funded by the Transportation Bill, Supplemental (offline- therefore not counted in the budget) spending for an ongoing war, and are against, among other things, the obscenity that is a peek at Janet Jackson’s breast, the immorality of “Will and Grace”, and the “Communism/Socialism/Liberalism” of those that want to implement a living wage and Universal Health Care.

It seems, according to the media and highly paid pundits who know a thing or two about war (having successfully evaded it in their youth), that she’s the only mother truly questioning the war. Since they insist that her opinion has been proven worthless through the widely accepted methods of demonizing, guilt by association, and rumor, all of which were subsequently verified by relentless repetition, perhaps one should turn to the one mother painted with the “conservative” brush of all that is good about America- Barbara Bush.

She has not only raised one son who occupies the Oval Office, she is married to a man who once occupied the Oval Office himself. She also has another son who is Governor of a large state that helped get her son George into the position he currently occupies and from which the Iraq war was started. Just a “typical” mom. As such, surely her opinion on casualties is worth taking note of when discussing the war her son started and Cindy Sheehan’s son died in:

“But why should we hear about body bags, and deaths, and how many, what day it’s gonna happen, and how many this or what do you suppose? Or, I mean, it’s, it’s not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?”
- Barbara Bush, Good Morning America – March 18, 2003

So it’s the opinion of a “beautiful mind” that it should not be wasted on thoughts about body bags and deaths against the opinion of a tortured mind that answers are required for the body bags and deaths. “What… me worry?” versus “What is the reason?”

Since Cindy Sheehan’s voice is in direct competition with a phalanx of paid for professional barkers attempting to drown her out and consign her to irrelevancy, in the interests of fairness, one ahould take a look at what the sons say about the war and its casualties. George Bush’s own words on the subject are:

“…I think it’s also important for me to go on with my life, to keep a balanced life… I think the people want the president to be in a position to make good, crisp decisions and to stay healthy… and part of my being is to be outside exercising.”
- George Bush, vacationing in Crawford, Texas – August 13, 2005

Unfortunately, Casey Sheehan could not be reached for comment.

So it’s exercise and “getting on with life” against no exercise possible as there is no more life. “What.. me worry?” versus deathly silence.

The Bushes. Caring. Compassionate. “Real” Americans. Just “down home folks” (be it in Crawford, Kennebunkport, Camp David, or some Saudi King’s or Prince’s grand estate). The type of people worth having a beer with – after undergoing a thorough backgound check and subject to Secret Service approval.

As to the assault on Cindy Sheenan and her right to voice her opinion in any non-violent manner she chooses, the Administration and its backers seem to be attempting to prevail using their tired WWF-like verbal “smackdowns” in order to silence opposition and/or manufacture consent.

It is highly doubtful that either Casey Sheehan or the “Gipper” would stand for the silencing of anyone’s right to voice their opposition to this war. Especially the voice of a mother.

About the Author

A moderate to progressive look at politics in these radically regressive times.

With lots of developments taken place in technology almost every day, not many have proved to be more convenient and necessary than the launch of the netbook computer. The actual size of netbooks is the central reason that makes them so indispensable to the typical computer user or company. Where notebooks are rather bulky to go precisely on most people’s laps, netbooks provides the perfect size and portability. Perhaps the best instance to display this would be on either a train, or passenger jet whilst travelling to, or from your work. In this instance, a netbook computer is certainly the more suited hardware to get, repeatedly being more than half the size of the average laptop. Find a large assortment of technology products such as; netbooks, tomtom and lcd tvs from leading brands online.

However, the actual size of these netbooks highlights a number of worries when it comes to their screen resolution. With such a small size, comes a small display, so you will certainly want to ensure you obtain a particular netbook that has a high contrast ratio, & high resolution rate. This will save you from numerous headaches when trying to watch a presentation or a movie. Making sure you get the highest contrast ratio for your price bracket is particularly simple, and there are loads of websites that assess different netbook computer products against their opposition. This can give you valuable advice when buying a netbook computer.

This comparing of netbook models is also useful in maximizing the quality of the hardware in the computer, & the overall price that you want to pay. Internal storage space, wireless functionality and price are a few most important qualities that you will want to make sure you think about when procuring a netbook computer. With so many manufacturers selling netbooks this year, there are loads of good deals around that you can get simply by doing some research before purchasing. Making sure you get the very best hardware currently available for your budget is critical, particularly in this day and age. Take the first steps towards improving your mobile computing experience. Buy a netbook computer & enter into the magnificent world of convenience & portability that netbooks offer.

The total number of purchases of Digital Audio Broadcasting (normally known as DAB) radios have now surpassed the 10 million item milestone, meaning that they are a central choice to procure. A DAB or Digital Audio Broadcast radio comes with an assortment of benefits over conventional analogue radios. For beginners, digital transmissions are appreciably more “narrower” meaning more stations may be picked up in a similar broadcast range. In the majority of locations the array of radio shows is at any rate double. Secondly, being digital means the broadcast comes through with excellent clarity irrespective of the weather conditions or even your specific location, city centre or village. You definitely won’t miss the buzz and crackle of analogue radios that’s for sure! Buy a wide selection of technology products such as; DAB radios, Sony laptops and Plasma televisions from leading brands online.

The system in the DAB digital radio grabs the digital signal and in effect discards any other kind of signal or ways of distortion, for instance electronic gadgets being operated nearby. Instead of scrolling through the radio dial, DAB digital radios present a list of tuneable stations that can easily be listened to with one press of a button. The final benefit we’ll talk about is the ability to pause a radio broadcast, and listen to it later on, exactly what you would find with digital TV.

That’s a short overview of the DAB radio evolution. Now, let’s take a look at the various different sorts of machines on the market today. They vary a lot when it comes to features and in price; nevertheless we attempt to present you with guidance that will inform you and guide your decision.

Entry level DAB digital radios are little and enormously moveable. Frequently including only one speaker, they are particularly easy to carry and offer stereo sound when used in conjunction with the earphones. They also sport a three point five mm input to use with either your Apple iPod Classic or Tonium MP3 device.

Taking a step-up, a lot of reasonably priced DAB digital radios come with 2 speakers for better sound, excellent portability, and MP3 connectivity. LED screens also allow for simple scroll and selection of the radio stations you require. Push to play or lock it in as one of your pushbutton options. There are some DAB manufacturers selling products with these exact features included.

A small number of specific items of DAB radios also have Wi-Fi capabilities, meaning that from any available hotspot you can listen to anything available across the entire World Wide Web. That’s impressive! Look for make that comes with DAB, DAB+, FM, and Wi-Fi features. Several of these also have a chip that makes them forward compatible, which can be handy as technology improves.

With this in mind, it is very important to take the time to review the terrific assortment of handheld DAB digital radios, as well as in car units, water-resistant DAB digital radios, digital alarm clocks and sound machines. And for the most recent DAB radio technology consider procuring a system that has record operations utilising Scan Disk cards to store the audio files you want.

With a lot of changes taken place in consumer electronics each and every day, only a handful have proved to be more convenient and useful than the introduction of the netbook. The size of netbooks is the central feature that makes them so needed to the common end user or enterprise. Where laptops are rather big to fit nicely on most laps, netbooks provides the ideal size and portability. Perhaps the best situation to show this would be on a train, or airplane, whilst going to, or from your destination. In these instances, a netbook computer is undoubtedly the more versatile hardware to purchase, normally being more than half the size of a normal laptop computer.

The actual size of these netbooks highlights worries when it comes to their screen resolution. With such a small size, comes a small screen, so you might want to ensure you find a model that has a high contrast ratio, & high resolution rate. This will save you from many headaches when trying to watch a presentation or a video. Making sure you get the highest contrast ratio for your price range is really easy, for the most part because there are loads of sites that look at different netbook computer models against their opposition. This can give you valuable information when looking for a netbook.

This reviewing of netbook computer products can be excellent in maximizing the quality of the hardware in the machine, as well as the sum of money that you are willing to pay. Hard drive space, wireless capability & unit price are a number of the major features that you will want to make sure you look at when picking a netbook. With such an assortment of different companies putting out netbooks currently this year, there are loads of different good deals around that you can find just by doing some research before you buy. Making sure you get the best hardware for your money is important, particularly in this difficult economic condition. Why not take the first steps towards upgrading your mobile computing experience. Purchase a netbook & enter into the world of convenience and portability that netbook computers provide. Find a large assortment of technology products such as; netbooks, acer laptops and sony laptops from leading brands online.

You’re eating lots of fruits and vegetables every day, but are you sure you’re getting the most nutritional value from them, and what can you do to improve how many nutrients you are getting. To understand we need to take a deeper look at the trip that fruits and vegetables make to get to your table.

Many different factors can affect the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables before they reach your table. The two most important are time and traveling conditions. The shorter the time frame that the fruit is packed until it reaches your table the better. If you are lucky enough to have a home garden try to pick your vegetables early in the morning for peak flavor and nutritional value. The next best choice is to use a local market stand. Generally the foods they are selling were picked within a few hours of being set out for sale. If there are no local markets in your area like most people you’ll be forced to shop at a supermarket.

Before any produce reaches your local supermarket it must first be picked, and packaged. If the food is coming to you from the same state or neighboring state chances are it was picked within 48 hours of reaching the stores shelves. If you’re produce is making it way from California to New York chances are it was picked 7 to 10 days ago. Why do you need to be concerned about when something was harvested? When any produce is picked off of the vine it is at its nutritional peak value. It starts to lose that value as time passes, the more time that passes, and the more value it loses.

The second biggest contributor is handling. If care is taken no to bruise or damage the exterior skin produce will last longer. Additionally storing a produce at the proper temperature will also help slow down the loss of nutrients. Here’s where it gets a little tricky, some fruits like temperatures as high as 60 degrees, and other prefer temperatures in the mid 30’s. So the longer your food is in transit, and the more care that it shown to handling it properly the more packed with nutrients it is likely to be when it hits the shelves of your local supermarket.

© Diet-Newsroom.com, All Rights Reserved.

This article was written by Kim Black of www.diet-newsroom.com a website specializing in diet, nutrition, health, fitness and exercise articles and information.

For those of you who are making your very 1st iPod purchase, the variety of choices can definitely appear somewhat extensive. With this in mind, there are some points to mull over when getting an Apple iPod. However, the most crucial characteristic for many people is memory size. Like that of your Personal Computer or notebook, an iPod contains internal storage that controls the amount of info it can keep saved. From the littlest iPod Shuffle, to the largest iPod Classic, memory storage can be anywhere from one Giga Byte to a huge 160 Giga Bytes! With that size of storage space your iPod can keep anywhere from two hundred and forty to 300,000 songs and has up to one hundred & fifty hours of video storage. Furthermore, there is a large assortment of iPod Speakers to purchase in various sizes & features in order to suit your demands.

The iPod Classic, with memory space of up to 160GB, can keep virtually all of your favourite music & videos. Playlists can also be automatically selected based upon your listening preferences. The 2.5 inch display panel of the Apple iPod Classic will view your favourite video files in stunning colour. A short charge of the iPods internal battery provides as much as thirty six hours of music or six hours of video playback. Find a large range of technology products such as; iPod classic, netbooks and 32 LCD TVs from leading brands online.

The opposite number of the iPod Classic is the chic & minute iPod Nano. The Nano presents a mix of chic features generally found in the iPod Classic and the iPod Shuffle. The Nano includes flash memory like that of the shuffle, yet includes a colour display and controls like the iPod Classic. What’s more, the iPod Nano additionally has a shake to shuffle capability like the one found in the iPod Shuffle. Just shake your Nano to go to a randomly selected music song. With storage sizes of either 8 Giga Bytes or 16GB as well as a 2 inch wide screen display, the iPod Nano is a first-rate middle level MP3 music player. It’s also available in a set of nine separate colours.

By blending qualities from the iPod Classic & the Nano & including internet capability, Apple built the iPod touch. With memory space of 8GB to sixty-four GB along with internet surfing & an endless quantity of extra software programs, you certainly have the best of both products!

The tinniest music player of the iPod family is the simple yet astounding iPod Shuffle. Measuring only 1.8 inches by 0.03 inch, the shuffle is even smaller than a door key! The most recent model of the iPod shuffle incorporates functions that are incorporated into the ear piece cord. With flash memory of up to 4 Giga Bytes, this tiny powerhouse can hold up to 1,000 audio files and is a great purchase for use while walking or running. As you can see above there is definitely an iPod to match every specific requirement. The options that exist are therefore almost endless!

Great website! You have done your work, now how to get traffic flowing to your site. A stampede of visitors sounds very good doesn’t it? A beautiful site without traffic is dead. A little secret I have learnt on my journey is that some poorly developed sites get great traffic and you ask how they do it?

Traffic comes from various sources, the main one being the search engines. We can examine the ways to get traffic and the inherent drawback if it is not done properly.

1. Search engines

These are the major way to get traffic. By submitting your site to Google and yahoo, you have set the ball rolling to getting great traffic. But often times ( and this is the part the SEO fail to tell you) , submitting your site means just that submitting.

First, it make takes weeks and months to get your site indexed by the major engines. So in the meanwhile get busy submitting to all the other engines you can , you stand a greater chance of being indexed and listed.

When you do get indexed by the major engines unless you are a niche marketer and or your site is well optimized and able to keep up with the ever changing algorithmic rules of the engine, you will not rank too highly.

Not ranking highly affects how many traffic you get. After all, how many people search through results to #3,876,456, and trust me that is a real page rank number. So maybe its time to look at other options if the search engines fail you the first time around.

2. Linking

Who’s linking to you. Linking plays an important role in determining your page rank. How important is still the subject of debate. The fact is there are two types of link techniques considered by the engines. One way back links and reciprocal links. Now which one is better is also a hot topic, but it might just be that one way incoming links to your site has more weight. At least with the search engines current logarithms. That does not mean reciprocal linking does not work, and in fact since it is easier to get, might be your initial starting point with links.

Whichever method you choose, ensure that you link to reputable sites and avoid site with a lower pr value than yours. Make sure the content on the site is relevant to yours as it gives added boosts to your sites ratings.

One quick way to get links is from link partners wherein an automated system is set up to link subscribers. There are monthly fees, and be advised that to pay large amounts of money to persons who will just use a link farm to produce your links makes no sense. If you are going to use it make sure you keep your monthly cost down.

While this methods of garnering links works well, there is talk that the engines are not looking favourable on it. But then again there is always talk. The trick is to keep you eyes and ears open for new developments with the search engines.

At the end of it all, can you get traffic from the link method you will choose?. If so, then choose what works for you. If there was one magic and correct way, then there would not be so many self help books on SEO and search engine algorithms. They are many sites who do not rank high on the search algorithms but do quite well because they get their traffic from link partners.

3. Buy Traffic

When all else fails or like many in addition to, you can purchase traffic. Simply enter web traffic into Google and see the results. There are both free and paid traffic hosts.

The free ones are quite good if you have the time to view someone else’s’ site, and I have personally used some and have tracked the stats. But sometimes it takes viewing up to 5 sites to get one visitor to you. Another drawback can be that the person only want enough credits so that they can get their own visitors, so they do not really visit your site as so as to check your merchandise, they simply load your page. This does not help you sell.

Traffic sites sell traffic to you as country specific, global, targeted and untargeted. The more targeted the visitor the more likely your chance to convert into a purchasing customer. The cost of the traffic package will vary depending on the type of traffic bought. Do not spend unnecessarily high amounts on traffic that may very well be an automated system ‘visiting’ your site. Do your research of these sites carefully before buying plans. Keep the amount low and if necessary spend it around different traffic sites. it is less like that you will lose all your money that way, and if one is ripping you off, chances are(we hope!) not all of them will.

I have to be honest. So far, I have not really had any difficulty getting clients of ours to get their own domain. In fact, in many cases, they already had a domain. But I have heard of others having to describe the benefits of having your own domain.

First off, let’s start out with a question. What is a domain? When we’re talking about a domain, we’re actually talking about what is technically a top-level domain (TLD). In Google’s website, the TLD is google . com. In hometown.aol.com/catspawpress/Dzine.html, the TLD is aol.com.

So when I say that as a business or organization, you should have your own domain, I’m really saying you should have your own top-level domain.

Let’s go through some of the reasons now that you should have your own domain:

1. It demonstrates permanency. Regardless of the nature of your business, having a site hosted by AngelFire or AOL or any of the free hosts makes web surfers cringe. If you’re not willing to spring for the domain name, are you really going to be around that long?

It’s the same thing as having a permanent office. Whether it’s actually true or not, it causes people to attribute more permanency to your business.

2. It’s affordable. Really affordable. If you bought a website address in the late 90’s or so, you had to pay $75 or more per year for a domain. While this was still reasonable for many organizations, for smaller businesses, it simply wasn’t worth the money.

Now, however, domains can be purchased for much less. As little as $7 a year, in fact. Some places charge a little bit more for the convenience of having your domain name and hosting with the same company, but it’s still a fraction of what it used to be. (And I’ve found having the domain name and hosting with the same company is well worth the few extra dollars.)

3. You can use the domain for your email address. Let’s face it, webdesigner165768 @ yahoo.com (not a real address) does not look nearly as professional as tim @ tandswebdesign . com. And while free web based email is certainly useful for many things, it should not be used for businesses. To a certain degree, this goes back to the issue of perceived permanency.

In fact, there is more permanency in that your email address will never have to change. Even if you switch hosts, your domain name stays the same.

4. It’s easier to remember. www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/7116 is a lot harder to remember than something like www.google.com

5. It will rank a lot higher in search engines. A lot higher.

6. No one else can claim it. I’ve talked to a realtor who had this problem. Another realtor in her area actually had the same name as her, and purchased a domain with that name. The realtor I spoke with lost several clients who mistakenly went to the other realtor, then ended up just using her.

Even if you’re not quite ready to get a website, you should go ahead and buy a domain for your business. It’s really easy to do, and you can “park” your domain. This means a temporary page will be displayed that says something like “website coming soon.” Then, at least no one else can stake their claim on it.

Cloning is the process of creating an exact copy of the original, and recently, “cloning” refers to the replication of living humans and animals. Somatic cell nuclear transfer, as the process is called, involves removing the nucleus from an egg cell and replacing it with the nucleus from a cell of the organism to be cloned. In the past few years, advances have been made in both human and animal cloning. Scottish scientists famously cloned a sheep, and British scientists reportedly cloned a human embryo that survived for five days. Cloning is an extremely controversial subject that forces society to examine the proper limits of man’s control over life.

In 1997, Scottish scientists famously produced a female sheep, “Dolly,” using the process of reproductive cloning. Since that time, other scientists have cloned other species, including cows and rabbits. Most recently, scientists are attempting to reproduce humans through cloning. President Bush and the Republican party are strongly in opposition to human cloning. Conservatively tend to believe that life is a creation, “not a commodity,” and that human cloning would have a disastrous impact on the American moral fabric. In 2002, Congress introduced a bill that would ban human cloning in all forms, imposing a prison sentence and multi-million dollar fine on anyone who attempted human cloning. (The Ban on Human Cloning Act has yet to be passed.)

There are practical considerations to the cloning debate, as well. Most medical experts believe that reproductive human cloning would not produce a health newborn. Indeed, many scientists predict that cloning would produce harmful abnormalities in a baby’s genes. Many scientists and medical practitioners welcome the advance of cloning for individual human cells. This process, called therapeutic cloning, adopts the concept of cloning on a micro scale, to help regenerate broken or diseased body parts. Some politicians, such as Republican Senator Arlen Spector of Pennsylvania, support the idea of therapeutic cloning.

Critics of therapeutic cloning argue that the process should be prohibited, no matter how beneficial the practical applications may turn out to be. The most vocal critics of therapeutic cloning, mainly from religious communities, argue that the destruction of human life, even on cellular level, is a moral offense. These cells form the beginning of human life, and humans do not have the right to destroy life in order to create life. The creation of life, they argue, should be left to God.

The cloning debate lends itself to larger questions, including: Is it immoral to recreate life artificially? Does human life really begin at the cellular level? Should the government interfere with scientific advances that could benefit millions of people?

About the author:

OpineTree is a blog website that encourages debate on today’s most controversial political topics, including abortion, affirmative action, cloning, the death penalty, euthanasia, gay marriage, gun control, health care, social security, stem cells, as well as other debate topics. Visit http://www.opinetree.com/cloning.htmlto join the cloning debate.

Sometimes the best inspiration comes from hearing about the deconstruction of other company’s names. For you, I am happy to share how I came up with”Slice A Day :: your slice on marketing”…

1. First the purpose and vision of my site was to have people volunteer some marketing stories…true case studies of business owners and how they promote business.
   
   
2. Then gathered the supplies for brainstorming. I had a sheet of paper, pencil and a dictionary/thesaurus.
   
   
3. Let the brainstorming begin!
   
   I love really clever, catchy and visual names. It comes from having a web design and creative background. The AIGA.org hosts a local networking event called “Brew” with the tagline “where ideas perculate”. I loved it! And to mimic it’s genius, here is where that spark of inspiration took me.
   
   ::: Start List :::
   
   • “grill – where ideas sizzle”
   
   • “water cooler”
   …sidenote: i thought that’s where people really talk openly
   
   • “feedbag – serving up ideas”
   
   • “your market draw”
   …sidenote: i don’t know how i got here
   
   • “evoke”
   …sidenote: now i’m just writing words, synonyms
   
   • “persuade”
   …sidenote: this is where the dictionary & thesaurus come in
   
   • “convince”
   
   • “share”
   
   … a few minutes pass by
   … a few more minutes pass by
   
   • “Slice-A-Day.com”
   …sidenote: visual images of pie and cake
   …sidenote: slice is a portion of a bigger piece…hmm
   
   • “Share Your Slice On Marketing”
   …sidenote: tagline that explains and supports vision
   
   ::: End Brainstorming List :::

I like “slice” because you just get quick and small chunks to read… just enough to evoke a thought, to make you think, or to leave you wanting more.

———————————————–
Maya Sunpongco
Slice-A-Day.com
your slice on marketing