New Hampshire Senate Votes For Same Sex Marriage

he New Hampshire state Senate voted 13 to 11 in favor of a bill that would legalize same sex marriage in the state yesterday. The state House approved a similar version of the bill in March on a 186 to 179 vote, but will need to approve changes to the bill made by the Senate before the legislation can be sent to Governor John Lynch for his approval. According to the Boston Globe it is unclear whether Governor Lynch would veto the bill due to his past opposition to same sex marriage.

In a statement yesterday, Governor Lynch stated "I recognize that the issue of same-sex marriage is intensely passionate and personal, and raises strong emotions on all sides, [but] I still believe the fundamental issue is about providing the same rights and protections to same-sex couples as are available to heterosexual couples. This was accomplished through the passage of the civil unions law two years ago. To achieve further real progress, the federal government would need to take action to recognize New Hampshire civil unions."

New Hampshire became the seventh state to legalize civil unions in 2007. If the legislation is approved, New Hampshire would be the fifth state to permit same sex marriage in the United States after Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, and Vermont. Similar legislation is currently under consideration in New York and Maine.

Media Resources: The Boston Globe 4/30/09; Feminist Daily Newswire 3/27/09, 4/22/09; Statement of Governor Lynch 4/29/09

TROY - The Latest Strip

This a gay-themed comic



Click Above Then choose 'Current Strip'.

Troy #227 “Super Star” is out in the magazines and up online. Jorge has some reservations about Nick’s new “girl friend”

Keeping swine flu facts straight

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Just like the virus itself, talk of swine flu continues to spread, especially on the Internet. But what are good sources of information, in the day of Internet blogging and chatting? From blogs, to tweets, to status updates; There's a lot of talk about swine flu online. But the important thing for you to know is that there are several sources that you can rely on, for up to date information, leaving out the rumor mill. In a few key strokes and Internet browser windows, thousands of pages of information on swine flu can be at your finger tips.

But many can contain false information. Annette Skoczylas, UT Medical Center's Infection Control Specialist, says, "I feel like its good to be aware. I feel like it's good to be precautious, and just to stay on top of what is going on." The Internet can be that source, but Annette uses it to keep up with the recent outbreak of swine flu. Annette says, "Don't go on blogs, and take people's personal comments as the facts."**

Dr. Peter Gross, Director of UT's Journalism and Electronic Media Department, says, "Twitter and the other social networks are really not news organizations." But not everything on Twitter is wrong, for instance, the CDC has their own Twitter account, where they actually update it daily, along with their website. The Centers for Disease Control keep everyone, from health professionals, to media, to you, updated to the second, on the swine flu outbreak.

Annette says, "CDC has valid information, up to date information, they have a whole website dedicated to the swine flu right now." Dr. Peter Gross teaches future members of the media to choose their sources carefully, and you can do the same when you're online. Dr. Gross says, "Credible sources are always important, it doesn't matter what the subject of the news report might be." Mark Jones is the Director of the Knox Co. Health Department, and he says, "I think that's really the big issue today, is what's factual and what's not" Over the last few days, the Knox County Health Department has received a lot of questions from people about swine flu, and Mark says it's important for you to stay informed, and healthy.

Mark says, "Go back to the basics, and very frequent hand washing, making sure if you're sick you stay home." A good local source for swine flu information is the Knox County Health Department's hot-line. You can call 865/215-5555, during regular business hours with any questions and concerns over swine flu. And if swine flu continues to spread, they're prepared to expand their hot-line.

** - since you are reading this on 'OZ' - you are NOT following instructions! ;-)

Eric Lewis: Evanessence "Going Under" - AMAZING

Disney Trivia

The tiger in "The Jungle Book" is the fearsome Shere Khan — what does his name mean?

"Shere Khan" means "Lord Tiger" in Hindi, one of the languages of India.

From Disney's "The Jungle Book" (1967), with the voices of Sterling Holloway as Kaa and George Sanders as Shere Khan.

Tweet-Dropping

When a twitter user has a one-way conversation with a celebrity so that to the users followers, it seems like they are talking to a celebrity and thus are instantly über-cool in the eyes of their followers, when in fact they are a loser with nothing better to do than have a fake conversation with themselves.

Similar to name dropping IRL, but even more annoying and even less likely to be true.
Tweet-Dropper: @BritneySpears How did the barbecue go? I heard Justin Timberlake was there too >.< awkward?

Tweet-Dropper (A few minutes later, without a reply from Britney): @BritneySpears Haha yes, I suppose after a while it got pretty normal for both of you, you must go to loads of the same things!

Tweet-Dropper (Again few minutes later, still without any replies from Britney): Yeah, it's been great! How do you squeeze so much into 140 chars lol? =P

Tweet-Dropper's Follower: Wow, this guy I'm following is having a conversation with THE Britney Spears!

Tweet-Dropper (To self): They are totally falling for my Tweet-Dropping!

WHO raises swine flu alert to 'pandemic level 5'

Global outbreak deemed imminent; vaccine efforts will be ramped up

MSNBC.com

The World Health Organization raised its pandemic alert for swine flu to the second highest level Wednesday, meaning that it believes a global outbreak of the disease is imminent.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan declared the phase 5 alert after consulting with flu experts from around the world. The decision could lead the global body to recommend additional measures to combat the outbreak, including for vaccine manufacturers to switch production from seasonal flu vaccines to a pandemic vaccine.

"All countries should immediately now activate their pandemic preparedness plans," Chan told reporters in Geneva. "It really is all of humanity that is under threat in a pandemic."

A phase 5 alert means there is sustained transmission among people in at least two countries. Once the virus shows effective transmission in two different regions of the world a full pandemic outbreak would be declared.

WHO has confirmed human cases of swine flu in Mexico, the United States, Canada, Britain, Israel, New Zealand and Spain. Mexico and the U.S. have reported deaths.

"It is important to take this very seriously," Chan told a press conference watched around the globe on Wednesday.

As fear and uncertainty about the disease ricocheted around the globe, nations took all sorts of precautions, some more useful than others.

Britain closed a school after a 12-year-old girl was found to have the disease. Egypt slaughtered all its pigs and the central African nation of Gabon became the latest nation to ban pork imports, despite assurances that swine flu was not related to eating pork.

Cuba eased its flight ban, deciding just to block flights coming in from Mexico. And Asian nations greeted returning airport travelers with teams of medical workers and carts of disinfectants, eager to keep swine flu from infecting their continent.

In Mexico City, the epicenter of the epidemic, the mayor said Wednesday the outbreak seemed to be stabilizing and he was considering easing the citywide shutdown that closed schools, restaurants, concert halls and sports arenas.

Swine flu is suspected of killing more than 150 people in Mexico and sickening over 2,400 there.

Nearly 100 cases have now been confirmed in the U.S. across 11 states, and health officials reported Wednesday that a 23-month-old Mexican boy had died in Texas.

Across Europe, Germany confirmed three swine flu cases and Austria one, while the number of confirmed cases rose to five in Britain and ten in Spain.

WHO conducted a scientific review Wednesday to determine exactly what is known about how the disease spreads, how it affects human health and how it can be treated.

The U.S., the European Union and other countries have discouraged nonessential travel to Mexico. Cuba suspended all regular and charter flights from Mexico to the island but was still allowing airlines to return travelers to Mexico.

In Australia, officials were testing more than 100 people with flu symptoms for the virus and the government gave health authorities wide powers to contain contagious diseases.

“(We can make) sure that people are isolated and perhaps detained if they don’t cooperate and are showing symptoms,” said Health Minister Nicola Roxon.

New Church Bulletins

They're back! Church Bulletins! Thank God for church ladies with typewriters. These sentences actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced at church services.




The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.








The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water." The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus."






Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.







Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.







The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.







Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say "Hell" to someone who doesn't care much about you.






Don't let worry kill you off -- let the Church help.






Miss Charlene Mason sang "I will not pass this way again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.







For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.






Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.







The Rector will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing: "Break Forth Into Joy."







Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.






A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.







At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What Is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.






Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.






Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.






Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.







The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.







Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow.







The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.







This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.






Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B. S. is done.





The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.






Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.







The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.







Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.







The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday: "I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours."

*Thanks, Gary


Posted on a MAC

6 Truths of Life

1. You cannot touch all your top teeth with your tongue.
























2. All idiots, after reading the first truth, will try it.































3. And discover that the first truth is a lie.



































4. You're smiling now because you're an idiot.



























5. You soon will forward this post to another idiot.



















6. There's still a stupid smile on your face.













I apologize about this.

*Thanks, Gary


Posted on a MAC

This is totally UNACCEPTABLE

Sorry about ruining your morning...

Westboro Baptist Church: Santa Claus Will Take You to Hell



The really sad part of this is that they believe this
and are teaching the kids this!

*Thanks for finding this for me, Daryn


Below - a rebuttal from Michael Moore:

The past tense of "tweeting" on Twitter.

Meridith Vieira: "Oh, do you Twitter? Tweet?"

Stephen Colbert: "I have twatted."

Meridith Vieira: "Actually, so have I."

*Thanks, Darcene


Posted on a MAC

The True Story of Rudy the Undead Hound

Click above

The Wiz On The Street

After acquiring it for $4.6 billion in 1999, Yahoo! is pulling the plug on free website host GeoCities. So the Wizard hit the streets again, asking, "What do you think?"

Dave Fowlks,
Systems Analyst
"And to think, it seems like only yesterday that everyone stopped using GeoCities."

Melissa Brandon,
Unemployed
“Can they give us a few more months? ’Cause my web page hit counter is tantalizingly close to reaching triple digits.”

Matt Burtz,
Mechanic
"At least we still have Angelfire. Flame on, you wingèd messenger of God."

*American Voices, The Onion

G-175 Nations Convene To Discuss How Things Can't Possibly Be Any Worse

HARARE, ZIMBABWE—In a hotel ballroom eight miles outside Zimbabwe's capital city, representatives from the world's 175 least powerful nations met this week to discuss how everything—from political unrest, to insurmountable debt, to bloody social strife—can't get any worse.

The annual summit, held in a different embattled and deeply troubled country each year, is aimed at addressing a wide range of issues currently facing the world's most helpless leaders. According to organizers, this year's G-175 will focus primarily on the challenges of global inequality, most notably how much of it there is, and how almost nothing can be done about it.

"We have gathered here this evening to address the utter hopelessness we all face," said Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who presided over the four-day conference. "Whether stricken by crippling inflation, devastating war, or horrific spells of famine, it is time for us to come together as one and agree that pretty much everything is in the toilet."

Added Hasina, "Now then, all those in favor of sighing loudly and looking around in desperation for some kind of answer, please say aye."

--more--

*The Onion

Memories of Monty Python...

Ok, it's not the same bunny - but it invokes the memory just the same.

I never knew "Taps" was such a beatuiful song...

... it just has to be played by someone with heart..

*Thanks, Darwin

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1940's, 50's, 60's , 70's and 80's!!

"Kick the Can" - to the EXTREME!

To Those of You Born 1927-1979 :


First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-base paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps not helmets on our heads.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter and bacon.

We drank Kool-aid made with real white sugar. And, we weren't overweight. WHY?

Because we were always outside, playing...that ' s why!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And, we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's and X-boxes.

There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or 20 DVD's,
no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms.

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.

Imagine that!!


The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility,

and we learned how to deal with it all.

If YOU are one of them?

CONGRATULATIONS!

*Thanks, Pam

A man and his Grizzly.

Click below for the fabulous pictures:



*Thanks, Calvin

TRUE OR FALSE? YOU DECIDE!

Biologically Appropriate Raw Food (or BARF) is referring to a diet for pets.




U-BETCHA! Biologically Appropriate Raw Food, or Bones And Raw Food. The BARF diet avoids commercially processed and home-cooked foods. It consists of uncooked meaty bones, animal offal, raw vegetables and fruit, and other natural foods.

The photos of Brigitte Bardot and Rita Hayworth were tacked to the walls of John Lennon’s bedroom in his childhood home in Liverpool, England.




Yup. There also were pictures of Elvis Presley. The house, where Lennon lived from 1945 to 1963, was bought by Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, in 2001, and donated to the National Trust. It has since been restored and opened to the public.

The British gunboats Mimi and Toutou, in World War II, played the role of protecting the Monarch.




Un-uh. The British hauled the two 40-foot-long mahogany boats 2,000 miles overland through the African bush to Lake Tanganyika to take on the German navy. Their story inspired the book, and later the movie classic, The African Queen.

The Top Ten Things That Almost Rhyme With Peas was the topic of the very first Top Ten List on The Late Show with David Letterman.



You bet! The list, presented on September 18, 1985, from ten to one, was: heats, rice, moss, ties, needs, lens, ice, nurse, leaks, and meats.