Saturday, December 04, 2004

Replace the asterisk with a tiny hypodermic needle

Barry Bonds is a fraud. Jason Giambi (who by the way hit two home runs in Game 7 of the Yankees-Red Sox series in 2003 -- should the Sox be celebrating their SECOND STRAIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP?) is a fraud. Gary Sheffield is a fraud. Jeff Bagwell is a fraud. Sammy Sosa is a fraud. They and all their steroid friends should be kicked out of the game.

The Baseball Encyclopedia should adopt a new asterisk for the current generation of law-breaking cheaters: a tiny hypodermic needle next to all of their statistics in the record book.

And if Shoeless Joe Jackson & Pete Rose can be banned from baseball & the Hall of Fame for betting on baseball games (the sin is cheating, right?), all these fakers should be barred from the game & the Hall for cheating to obtain their fraudulent individual stats.

It pains me to say it, but Marian Jones is a fraud. I watched the interview with Kelli White last night. The feds confiscated the same type of calendar for her illegal steroid use as for Marian. So we know that Marian was shooting up for her 2000 Olympics triumph. So sad. I watched her win the Women's Basketball Championship game with North Carolina in 1994 & always loved her. But she's a cheater, & I've lost all respect for her.

I used to be up on all the major professional sports in this country, but now I stick to women's college sports and international soccer.

Here's the best article on the steroid scandal, by the incomparable Tom Boswell in the Washington Post: The Truth Lies in the Numbers

Friday, December 03, 2004

Another Hacktacular Homeland Security Chief

Kerik Nomination is a Ticking Time Bomb

Click the link to read the whole article. Here's its sad beginning:

Campaign bodyguard to Rudy Giuliani.

Errand boy for the Saudi royal family.

Energetic exploiter of Sept. 11th tragedy.

Tough-talking publicity-hound vowing to bring law and order to Iraq - then hightailing it out of there after a disastrous 14 weeks, leaving the place far less safe than he found it.

Oh, the bullet points on Bernie Kerik's real-life resume just go on and on. But is this really the guy we want standing between us and the terrorists?

George W. Bush apparently thinks so.


Here's the story on Kerik covering up for his top aide Picciano after "Pitch" threatened his girlfriend with a gun: Kerik bailed out pal, sources say: Covered up '98 assault, they claim


Wednesday, December 01, 2004

I'll Have a Blue Christmas

The holidays are upon us. I've been getting blasted with Christmas music in stores for weeks now. Aisles are dangerously crowded with....stuff. All kinds of stuff.

I must say, I have a Grinch-like reaction to all of it. After 9/11 I didn't buy any gifts for adults, just contributed money to charity. But eventually I've been drawn back into the whole commercial thing.

This year I'm trying to do my Christmas shopping by buying locally. If I must shop at national chains, at least I try not to spend money at businesses that contribute heavily to the Republican party. This year I'm trying to Buy Blue!

I'm not the only person thinking about this issue. Here are some websites with information on national chains and their records of donating vast sums of money to the Republican party:

Choose the Blue

Project Blue Christmas

Boycott Bush

More thinking on this topic from Democratic Underground's Economic Activism and Progressive Living Group

Cranberry Relish

This year my Mom & I made the best Thanksgiving meal ever. We really loved our cranberry relish:

Cranberry relish

1 bag fresh cranberries, washed & picked over
1/2 cup apple cider
3 T. Splenda
4 T. elderberry jam
Zest of one orange; reserve 1 T. for garnish

Combine ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until about 2/3 of the cranberries have burst. Refrigerate & serve cold with reserved zest.

You may want more sweetening -- or even to substitute sugar for the Splenda. You could use any seedless jelly or jam, but the elderberry made for a mysterious flavor.

Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Tom Ridge Resigns

Today Tom Ridge resigned as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

Am I the only one who hears "Deutschland Uber Alles" in my head when I hear the word homeland?

Who will replace the man who advised Americans to duct tape themselves into a plastic-sheeting-covered room?

I think they should give the job to that old TV guy MacGuyver. He was great with a roll of duct tape.

Sunday, November 21, 2004

Why Did Kerry Lose?

Who Lost Ohio?

Here's the take of Matt Bai of the New York Times.

It Still Hurts

Mrs. Henry's Questionnaire

A soliloquy on the election in response to a silly livejournal questionnaire, starting with this:

I still am just stunned that by popular choice, my government is full of thieves and murderers.



via needlenose, via Electrolite....

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

Revel in Great Red Sox Writing

LONG VOYAGE HOME
by Roger Angell


His ode to Nomar:

Iconic players—the Kid and Johnny Pesky, Yaz, Jim Rice, and Nomar—have allowed the Red Sox to overlook some chronic problems, like speed and defense, down the years, but on July 31st, minutes before the trading deadline, and with the Sox in second in their division, eight and a half games behind the Yankees, the young general manager, Theo Epstein, completed a multi-club trade that sent away the once untouchable shortstop Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs, in return for the younger and quicker Orlando Cabrera, from the Expos; a Gold Glove first baseman, Doug Mientkiewicz, from the Twins; and a late-inning base-stealer, Dave Roberts, from the Dodgers. The shocker here was Garciaparra, who had been too easily injured of late, and had become a distant celebrity in the clubhouse (there was a red line on the floor, a figurative little looped maĆ®tre-d’ rope, in front of his locker, to discourage writers). Talk was that he’d been affronted by the news that the Sox planned to trade him away over the winter, as part of the aborted A-Rod deal, but I prefer to think that it was a damaged wrist, first injured in 1999, that took away his exuberant line-drive-spraying swings at the plate, and dimmed the gleam in his eyes. “Nomah!” no more.


Questions & Answers

Part of our Ithaca weekend was a writing circle with a wonderful writing teacher. Zee gave each of us a copy of Number 2 of her journal "Blue Moon". The topic of Number 2 was Questions and it is 14 pages of questions. Just questions.

Here's a brief sample: "What are the names of Snow White's little friends? Can I be trusted? Can you be trusted? How much longer can it rain? Do you ever wake up laughing? Can you love too much? Who discovered whistling? Is it ever going to be over? Are we there yet? Is there ever enough? Is there always enough? Are you listening? Could it get any hotter? Why does this look so familiar? Would you care to join me?"

I wrote this essay during our writing time:

Why do I have to have quiet when I write? Who's your daddy? (Gratuitous Red Sox reference.) What would my life be like if I turned off my television? How can I break old habits? Can a person really change? Why am I such a saver? Why can't I throw food away the day I know I've finished eating it? Why do I save every letter I've ever gotten? (Actually I know why I do that -- I like to read them years later and be reminded of (or realize I've completely forgotten) past events.) Why do I have 5 boxes of bubble wrap in my basement? Why do I have 3 boxes of used padded envelopes in my office? (Could be that ebay ceramics book tear I went on this year.) Why is the surface of every table in my house covered with paper? Why do I own 6 sets of nesting bowls? Why do I own 17 glass reamers? Why do I own 39 tabletalk pie tins? Why do I own an untold number of teapots?

Some of these things are preparation for the future I don't even know yet is in front of me. The bubblewrap has come in handy for transporting pots. Ditto with the envelopes. All the china and pottery I've collected gives me inspiration as I go into the studio to make my own pieces.

Why didn't I ever take pottery classes until I was 46? Why didn't I realize that a kid who loved to play in the mud would love wet dirty messy sensuous clay?

Questions from the popular culture of my past:

Why is there air?
Who are you?
Why don't you love me like you used to do?
Why do you treat me like a worn out shoe?
What is success?
Where are you going to?
Do you really care?
Why not call Roto-Rooter -- that's the name -- and away go troubles down the drain?
Cream and sugar?
Care to dance?
Dance with me?
Walk much?
Talk much?
Tell me -- tell me -- tell me -- do you love me?
Why not us? (Second gratuitous Red Sox reference.)
Would you?
Could you?
Where's the rest of me?
How many roads must a man walk down before he can see the sky?
Do you know the way to San Jose?
Have you been a good little girl this year?
Did you send Santa a letter?
Do you have to wear that?

Veering back to my own life I think, How did I ever get this old? When did I have to start learning slang from kids instead of my friends? When did the word "versus" replace "against"? When did random become a popular adjective (or adverb, and why don't I know the difference between the two? Why wasn't I taught grammar in grade school?) Why do kids have so much homework these days? How did I survive in school without an hour or two of homework every night? If kids' parents control their play when they're 13, how will kids decide what to do in their own lives when they're 26? Is SpongeBob SquarePants a better or worse cartoon than Heckle & Jeckle? Who was the first person to think, there should be a TV network just for kids? Did that person make a lot of money? Will that person burn in hell? Is there really a hell and do people really burn there? Purgatory: fact or legend? How many years do I have left in my life? Will I be judged in the afterlife? Will I be judged on my beliefs or my actions? Who's the official scorekeeper? Is God dead? Do you get to meet everyone you've ever known in the afterlife? Are departed family and friends looking down on us now? Do they know what happens next to us or is it like live theatre to them? Do they have odds on what we'll do next? What are the odds on me?


Do you have any questions? Post them in comments, below.





Frittata

I was responsible for a meal at our gathering of 12 in Ithaca. A frittata is a flat omelet. It is drier than an omelet. They're great hot or warm or cold the next day.

Carmelized Onion & Roasted Garlic Frittata

4 medium onions
3 heads garlic
3 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T butter
18 eggs
pinch nutmeg
salt & pepper
8 oz. monterey jack cheese, shredded
3 T romano cheese

Day before: Cut 1/2 inch from top of whole garlic heads. Arrange heads on foil sheet. Drizzle each head with 1 t. olive oil, add salt & pepper. Fold foil into sealed package. Roast in the oven for 40 minutes at high (450 degrees) heat. Meanwhile, halve onions & slice thinly. Melt 2 T butter in 2 T olive oil. Add onions, salt & pepper & cook over slow heat while the garlic is cooking. Cook until onions are soft & carmelized to a soft brown.

Put garlic heads -- foil package & all -- and onions in plastic storage containers.

45 minutes before serving: Squeeze garlic cloves out of papery head into a large bowl. Break 18 eggs into the same bowl & mix, using a whip, hand blender or beater. Add pinch nutmeg (fresh is great!) and salt & pepper.

In a large non-stick fry pan (preferably one with a metal handle as you will be putting frittata under the broiler) over low to medium heat, spread the cold carmelized onions evenly. (The butter & oil you used to carmelize the onions will be the fat that keeps the frittata from sticking.) Spread the shredded cheese evenly over the onions. Pour the egg/garlic mixture over the onions & cheese. Sprinkle the romano over the top.

Cook (moving the pan if need be to cook the bottom evenly) until the bottom is browned (use a spatula to check). Put pan under broiler & watch carefully until top is browned. Put a knife into the center. If interior eggs are still runny, place pan into a 350 degree oven for 10 or 15 minutes until frittata is cooked through.

Serve immediately, with good bread & fruit or green salad.

Monday, November 15, 2004

I'm BAAAAACK

From a weekend in lovely Ithaca, New York. Where the most popular lawn ornament was a sign saying "Bush Must Go". Did my heart good.

Back to regular posting on Wednesday.

Thursday, November 11, 2004

War Is Hell

Breaking Ranks

There are brave US soldiers who are speaking out against the war. How many more years, how many more deaths, before we wake up & hear their truth?

Staff Sergeant Jimmy Massey may be the most unlikely of the soldiers who have come out against the war. A Marine since 1992, he has been a recruiter, infantry instructor, and combat platoon leader. He went to Iraq primed to fight. “9/11 pissed me off,” he says. “I was ready to go kill a raghead.”

Shortly after Massey arrived in Iraq, his unit was ordered to man roadblocks. To stop cars, the Marines would raise their hands. If the drivers kept going, Massey says, “we would just light ’em up. I didn’t find out until later on, after talking to an Iraqi, that when you put your hand up in the air, it means ‘Hello.’” He estimates that his men killed 30 civilians in one 48-hour period.

One day, he recalls, “there was this red Kia Spectra. We told it to stop, and it didn’t. There were four occupants. We fatally wounded three of them. We started pulling out the bodies, but they were dying pretty fast. The guy that was driving was just frickin’ bawling, sitting on the highway. He looked at me and asked, ‘Why did you kill my brother? He wasn’t a terrorist. He didn’t do anything to you.’”

Massey searched the car. “It was completely clean. Nothing there. Meanwhile the driver just ran around saying, ‘Why? Why?’ That’s when I started to question.”

The doubts led to nightmares, depression, and a talk with his commanding officer. “I feel what we are doing here is wrong. We are committing genocide,” Massey told him. He was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and given a medical discharge.

Back in his hometown of Waynesville, North Carolina, Massey got a job as a furniture salesman, then lost it after speaking at an antiwar rally. Two or three times a week, he puts on his Marine uniform and takes a long walk around the nearby town of Asheville carrying a sign that reads: “I killed innocent civilians for our government.” The local police now keep an eye out for him, he says, because people have tried to run him over.

When asked what he would say to someone who thinks the way he did before the war, Massey falls uncharacteristically silent. “How do you wake them up?” he finally responds. “It’s a slow process. All you can do is tell people the horrible things you’ve seen, and let them make up their own minds. It’s kind of the pebble in the water: You throw in a pebble, and it makes ripples through the whole pond.”

Winter has arrived

Two days ago I woke up to find the world covered with a light dusting of snow. It melted quickly, but makes me face reality: It's winter. Last night I put my scraper/brush tool & windshield washer fluid bottle in the car. The porch furniture is all in the basement. Storm windows are down. The heat is on. The last leaves of fall are hanging on -- oaks, mostly, dark orange, yellow & brown -- but the maples are all bare. Dried leaves scuttle on the sidewalk.

On the plus side, I see so many more hawks in the trees -- their cover is gone. Hornet's nests swing high in the trees. The color palette of the world is more muted.

And hey -- the Red Sox won the World Series. Whoo-hoo! Life is good.

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

Tom Coburn is now a U.S. Senator

From contrapositive.blogspot.com, here are some quotes, by, and on, the newest U.S. Senator from Oklahoma:

GETTING TO KNOW THEM Let's all give a rousing welcome to Senator-elect Tom Coburn (R-OK):

On abortion:

"I favor the death penalty for abortionists and other people who take life." (KOKI-FOX 23)

On the threat posed by gays:

"The gay community has infiltrated the very centers of power in every area across this country, and they wield extreme power ... That agenda is the greatest threat to our freedom that we face today. Why do you think we see the rationalization for abortion and multiple sexual partners? That's a gay agenda." (Salon)

On the network television premiere of SCHINDLER'S LIST:

On Tuesday, Coburn said NBC had taken network television "to an all-time low, with full-frontal nudity, violence and profanity" by airing the movie. He said the broadcast should outrage parents and "decent-minded individuals everywhere." (CNN)

On fixing Social Security:

"I don't apologize for saying; we need to protect the unborn. Do you realize that if all those children had not been aborted, we wouldn't have any trouble with Medicare and Social Security today? That's another 41 million people." (Hugo Daily News)

On gun control:

"If I wanted to buy a bazooka to use in a very restricted way, to do something, I ought to be able to do that." (Mother Jones)

On the challenges facing schools:

You know, Josh Burkeen is our rep down here in the southeast area. He lives in Colgate and travels out of Atoka. He was telling me lesbianism is so rampant in some of the schools in southeast Oklahoma that they'll only let one girl go to the bathroom. Now think about it. Think about that issue. How is it that that's happened to us?" (Daily Kos)

OH AND BY THE WAY: Just in case you had any doubt.

On Coburn:

"It's important for us to have him in the Senate. We need his medical skills, his business skills and his very thoughtful approach to tackling issues important to our nation." --Sen Elizabeth Dole (R-NC)

On Coburn:

[Former President George H. W.] Bush said Tuesday at an Oklahoma City fund-raiser that it is of “great importance to the nation” and the current president to elect Tom Coburn to the U.S. Senate to help Republicans keep control there...“It would be a wonderful thing for this country." (Daily Oklahoman)

On Coburn:

"We need him in Washington...It's absolutely essential that Tom Coburn be the next United States senator from Oklahoma." --Vice President Dick Cheney



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Tuesday, November 09, 2004

Praise Jesus, Throw Off the Blue Cloak

Attorney General John Witchcroft has resigned.

Why Does the Right Wing Hate Us So?

Declaration of Expulsion: A Modest Proposal
It's Time to Reconfigure the United States


OK, so this was published in "Human Events", which calls itself "The National Conservative Weekly". It's all so Third-Reichian. Creepy.

The truth is, America is not just broken--it is becoming irreparable. If you believe that recent years of uncivil behavior are burdensome, imagine the likelihood of a future in which all bizarre acts are the norm, and a government-booted foot stands permanently on your face.

That is why the unthinkable must become thinkable. If the so-called "Red States" (those that voted for George W. Bush) cannot be respected or at least tolerated by the "Blue States" (those that voted for Al Gore and John Kerry), then the most disparate of them must live apart--not by secession of the former (a majority), but by expulsion of the latter. Here is how to do it.

Having been amended only 17 times since 10 vital amendments (the Bill of Rights) were added at the republic's inception, the U.S. Constitution is not easily changed, primarily because so many states (75%, now 38 of 50) must agree. Yet, there are 38 states today that may be inclined to adopt, let us call it, a "Declaration of Expulsion," that is, a specific constitutional amendment to kick out the systemically troublesome states and those trending rapidly toward anti-American, if not outright subversive, behavior. The 12 states that must go: California, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maryland, and Delaware. Only the remaining 38 states would retain the name, "United States of America." The 12 expelled mobs could call themselves the "Dirty Dozen," or individually keep their identity and go their separate ways, probably straight to Hell.


**********************

BUSH USA is predominantly white; devoutly Christian (mostly Protestant); openly, vigorously heterosexual; an open land of single-family homes and ranches; economically sound (except for a few farms), but not drunk with cyberworld business development, and mainly English-speaking, with a predilection for respectfully uttering "yes, ma'am" and "yes, sir."

GORE/KERRY USA is ethnically diverse; multi-religious, irreligious or nastily antireligious; more sexually liberated (if not in actual practice, certainly in attitude); awash with condo canyons and other high-end real estate bordered by sprawling, squalid public housing or neglected private homes, decidedly short of middle-class neighborhoods; both high tech and oddly primitive in its commerce; very artsy, and Babelesque, with abnormally loud speakers.

Sex Discrimination Alive & Well in West Virginia/A Red State, Of Course

School Board Backs 'Juicy' Skirt Ban

BECKLEY, W.Va. -- A West Virginia school board is backing a decision to ban an honor student from wearing a skirt with the words "It's all about Juicy" printed on the backside.

The principal of the high school had told the girl the slogan was sexually suggestive and forbidden under school policy.

The sophomore protested, saying the words referred to the clothing manufacturer, Juicy Couture.

Nichoel Hawks said the school has a double standard.

During her appeal, she showed pictures of male students wearing shirts featuring Hooters, "Big Kahunas" and "Big Johnson."

Got that straight? "Juicy" is sexual. "Big Johnson" is not.

Reminds of several years ago when 8th grader Erin Rollenhagen, protested boys being allowed to wear "Hooters" t-shirts in her school. (Hooters t-shirts also say "More Than a Mouthful" on the back.) When they turned down her protest, she had a shirt made up that said "Cocks: Nothing to Crow About". Predictably, SHE was suspended from school.

Did W Hack the Vote?

Surprising Pattern of Florida's Election Results

I just can't believe that Jacksonville, a city with 46% registered Democrats and 37% registered Republicans, went for Bush 58% to 42%.

We Need Spokesmen, Not Statesmen

This guy is exactly right. We need to be running candidates who can talk the talk.

Will Towle: 'We have to evolve or perish'

This one really smarts. At least in 2000 we understood what happened. Ultimately, that was an election decided by good old electoral fraud. We could get our head around that. Maybe Al Gore hadn't put together the best campaign, but millions more voted for Al and Ralph than "W." We may had lost courtesy of a crooked Supreme Court, but it was the type of loss that left you enraged and energized. Just like the Olde Towne Team, you thought "just wait 'til next time."

No such excuses this time. And assuming the whispers about Diebold rigging the election to not come to fruition, this one has left us demoralized and in despair.

Why is this one so hard? As leftists and specifically as Democrats, we believe the country shares our values. More people are registered as Democrats than Republicans. Poll after poll show that people share our values and issues far more than with the Republicans.

Here's his key argument:

We Must Start Running Spokesmen Not Statesmen.

What do Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger all have in common? They are all successful Republican candidates who came to power despite having no discernable legislative or executive accomplishments. Each had a resume that was either thin (Reagan, Bush) or non-existent (Schwarzenegger). However, each one of them successfully portrayed an image of the values that he hoped to promote. Significantly, two of the three are professional actors. All were personally well received by your "average American" (the important which candidate would you like to have a beer with quotient). Each used this resonance with the voters to portray simplistic themes. Each dodged difficult answers to complex problems. Each became an executive controlled in large part by his handlers. But all achieved electoral success.

To call this a victory of style over substance is to under-estimate what the Republicans are doing. The foray into Iraq is part of a well thought out plan to annex the oil fields of the Middle East and to use the might of the US military to influence the world. Although all of this is explained in detail in the position papers of right wing think tanks, not a word of that analysis is expressed by their candidate to the press. Instead we got "this is the guy who tried to kill my dad" and "he has connections with terrorists." Again, vague statements by a popular spokesman that displayed the essence of the agenda without any of the details.

As Democrats, we adopt the polar opposite approach. We run candidates with long resumes. We explain our reasoning with detailed bullet points. We think facts demonstrate the policies we promote. John Kerry had a twenty year in the US Senate and a decorated combat career. These facts were supposed to project the image of well reasoned domestic and international policy tempered by the personal experience of combat.

It didn't. Instead, W pranced around in a military flight suit and projected the image of someone who supported the military during this time of war. The fact that W went AWOL and then deserted from his military unit during the Vietnam war went largely ignored. The fact of John Kerry's lifetime support of the military got lost in the shuffle of his statements on the Iraq war and the Swift Boat for Truth attacks. Arguably, Kerry blew the best visual of his campaign when he appeared with his Swift Boat comrades at the DNC convention looking out of place in his Senatorial blue suit. He should have donned combat fatigues and his old naval hat.

John Kerry's nuanced and thoughtful comments (which we Democrats loved so much) became so much background white noise to the important parts of the electorate that we needed to support us.

As Democrats we need to recognize the Presidency is a position that is more symbolic than substantive. The electorate does not want substantive candidates. They want candidates who demonstrate the imagery and symbolism that gives them comfort. In 2004, Kerry failed to demonstrate a strong image of being strong on defense. Bush, who factually does not support the troops, convinced most Americans that he symbolically embraced the troops. He therefore won this important part of the vote.

Republicans rely on the candidate's handlers to deliver on the substance of the image that candidate has promoted. In large part, even Reagan and Bush supporters admit to this. Did Reagan or does Bush understand the details of the policies he promotes? No, he doesn't. But he can recite the "talking points" and get the sound bite on the nightly news. Karl Rove then does the rest.

Does this mean we need to run Martin Sheen? Maybe it does. The fact that this seems crazy to you means that you, as a Democrat, have not absorbed what Reagan and Schwarzenegger have done. There are many image friendly Democrats who have the intelligence and fortitude to be good candidates. Many are already in politics but some will not be. I will leave that to the media savvy to tell me who projects the image we need. How about the Springsteen/Sheen ticket? Or the Obama/Oprah ticket? Let you imagination run wild here! To everyone who says I am crazy, I say one thing: AHN-ALD! AHN-ALD! A dopey Austrian born body builder turned action hero is governor of California. And you said it would never happen.

When Bush Gets Tort Reform, Only the Rich Will Have Lawyers

From a friend. Here are some of the reasons we call it "tort deform":

Limit your right to Justice: Support Tort Reform

Limit your right to trial: Support Tort Reform

Vote Yes to Tort Reform: Make Insurance Companies Richer

Your Life isn't worth more than $250K: Support Tort Reform

Your dead child isn't worth $250K: Support Tort Reform

Let's limit Accountability: Support Tort Reform

Give Big Business a break: Support Tort Reform

Killed by a Drunk Driver? $250k is all your family needs. Vote yes for Tort Reform.

Defective Product take your life? You're not worth $250K. Vote yes for Tort Reform

Know anyone killed, crippled of injured by negligence? It will never happen to you: Support Tort Reform

Know anyone who ever served on a jury? They are stupid. Support Tort Reform.

Ever served on a jury? You can't be trusted to do what's right. Support Tort Reform.

Don't let a jury decide how to spend the insurance company's money, let the lobbyists and legislators decide. Support Tort Reform.

Let the government decide what your life is worth, not the people. Vote yes for Tort Reform.

Our Founding Fathers were idiots. Vote yes for Tort Reform.

Did someone accidentally kill your family? Don't file a lawsuit, just turn the other cheek. Vote yes for Tort Reform.

Maimed by a defective product? Turn to prayer for relief, not to a jury. Support Tort Reform.

Lose your ability to provide for your family in an accident? Don't worry, the government will take care of them. Support Tort Reform.

Your neighbors are too stupid to decide what your amputated leg is worth. Vote yes for Tort Reform.

Call your local State Representative and tell them you support Tort Reform. Your dead baby isn't worth $250,000 anyway.

Defective product take your eye? You still have another one. Support Tort Reform.

Every life is precious, but no life is worth more than $250K. Support Tort Reform.

If you believe that life begins at conception, then you know that life is only worth $250,000 when it ends. Support Tort Reform.

It doesn't matter how dangerous a product is because everyone will get the same amount of money no matter how bad they are hurt. Support Tort Reform.

It's wrong to sue somebody for making a mistake. We'll tell everyone at your funeral that you felt that way. Support Tort Reform.

I don't want to pay a few more dollars for a safe product. My health isn't worth that much anyway. Support Tort Reform.

Trade your leg for $250,000? Support Tort reform.

Were your parents killed by the nursing home? Thank them. They actually saved you money because they were going to die anyway. Support Tort Reform.

Just because a product I buy blows up takes both my legs doesn't mean that I should get more than $250,000 from those stupid people serving on a jury. Support Tort Reform.

Money doesn't mean anything to me or my family, especially if you hurt me so bad that I can't work anymore. Support Tort Reform.

A jury doesn't know how much my life is worth, but the government does. Support Tort Reform.

Ask anybody killed by negligence what their life is worth. If they could they would tell you it's not more than $250,000. Vote for Tort Reform.

Don't actually know anyone personally who has won a jackpot jury verdict? Support Tort Reform anyway.

It's okay for doctors and hospitals to kill people. We all make mistakes. Support Tort Reform.

Its okay to forgive the drunk driver that killed you instead of suing him. Your family would rather give forgive than receive money to live on anyway. Support Tort Reform.

Did you lose the person you love to negligence? You'd rather have the loved one back instead of the money anyway. Let the insurance company keep it. They know how to spend it better than you do. Support Tort Reform.

Trade your neighbor's arm for lower insurance premiums. It won't cost you anything will it? Support Tort Reform.

If you are stupid enough to pick a doctor that is negligent, then you don't deserve more than $250,000 if he kills you. Vote yes for Tort Reform.

Just because you burned alive doesn't mean that your landlord should pay you more than $250,000 for violating the building code. Support Tort Reform.