tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437964542052755799.post1831701471266222549..comments2024-02-13T08:49:07.287-04:00Comments on 'Thought & Humor!': #HusbandWifeProfessor Howdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12189934292678757335noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437964542052755799.post-42942219194041297712007-11-13T23:59:00.000-04:002007-11-13T23:59:00.000-04:00SERENITY Just before the funeral services, the und...SERENITY <BR/><BR/><BR/>Just before the funeral services, the undertaker came up to the very elderly widow and asked, <BR/>"How old was your husband?" "98," she replied. <BR/>"Two years older than me" <BR/>"So you're 96," the undertaker commented. <BR/>She responded, "Hardly worth going home, is it? <BR/><BR/><BR/> <BR/> <BR/><BR/>Reporters interviewing a 104-year-old woman: <BR/>"And what do you think is the best thing <BR/>about being 104?" the reporter asked. <BR/>She simply replied, "No peer pressure." <BR/><BR/><BR/> <BR/> <BR/><BR/>The nice thing about being senile is <BR/>you can hide your own Easter eggs. <BR/><BR/><BR/> <BR/> <BR/><BR/>I've sure gotten old! <BR/>I've had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement, <BR/>new knees, fought prostate cancer and diabetes <BR/>I 'm half blind, <BR/>can't hear anything quieter than a jet engine, <BR/>take 40 different medications that <BR/>make me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts. <BR/>Have bouts with dementia. <BR/>Have poor circulation; <BR/>hardly feel my hand s and feet anymore. <BR/>Can't remember if I'm 85 or 92. <BR/>Have lost all my friends. But, thank the Lord, <BR/>I still have my driver's license.<BR/><BR/><BR/> <BR/> <BR/><BR/>I feel like my body has gotten totally out of shape, <BR/>so I got my doctor's permission to <BR/>join a fitness club and start exercising. <BR/>I decided to take an aerobics class for seniors. <BR/>I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down, and perspired for an hour. But, <BR/>by the time I got my leotards on, <BR/>the class was over.<BR/><BR/><BR/> <BR/> <BR/><BR/>An elderly woman decided to prepare her will and <BR/>told her preacher she had two final requests. <BR/>First, she wanted to be cremated, and second, <BR/>she wanted her ashes scattered over Wal-Mart. <BR/>"Wal-Mart?" the preacher exclaimed. <BR/>"Why Wal-Mart?" <BR/>"Then I'll be sure my daughters visit me twice a week" <BR/><BR/><BR/> <BR/> <BR/><BR/>My memory's not as sharp as it used to be. <BR/>Also, my memory's not as sharp as it used to be.<BR/><BR/><BR/> <BR/> <BR/><BR/>Know how to prevent sagging? <BR/>Just eat till the wrinkles fill out.<BR/><BR/><BR/> <BR/> <BR/><BR/>It's scary when you start making the same noises <BR/>as your coffee maker. <BR/> <BR/> <BR/><BR/>These days about half the stuff <BR/>in my shopping cart says, <BR/>"For fast relief."Professor Howdyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189934292678757335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437964542052755799.post-40502214174963126762007-11-13T14:50:00.000-04:002007-11-13T14:50:00.000-04:00Yahoo, Jailed Journalists Settle LawsuitTuesday No...Yahoo, Jailed Journalists Settle Lawsuit<BR/><BR/>Tuesday November 13, 12:38 PM EST<BR/><BR/>SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Yahoo Inc. on Tuesday settled a lawsuit with two Chinese journalists who were jailed after the company provided Chinese authorities with information about their online activities.<BR/><BR/>Terms of the deal were not disclosed.<BR/><BR/>The two journalists and a family member sued the Sunnyvale-based company earlier this year after Yahoo HK, Yahoo's wholly owned subsidiary based in Hong Kong, gave Chinese authorities e-mails containing pro-democracy literature. The jailed journalists alleged in the lawsuit that jailers have tortured them and that Yahoo was responsible.<BR/><BR/>The company has denied any responsibility and maintained it was complying with Chinese law when it turned over the e-mails.<BR/><BR/>The case has raised questions about whether Internet companies should cooperate with governments that deny freedom of speech and frequently crack down on journalists.<BR/><BR/>It also has been the subject of congressional hearings, where lawmakers accused the company of collaborating with an oppressive communist regime.<BR/><BR/>Neither side disclosed terms of the settlement other than to agree that Yahoo would pay the attorneys fees of the two journalists and the family member who sued. The three were represented by The World Organization for Human Rights in Washington.<BR/><BR/>Shi Tao, a former writer for the financial publication Contemporary Business News, was jailed under state secrecy laws for allegedly providing state secrets to foreigners.<BR/><BR/>According to the suit, the other journalist, Wang Xiaoning, was arrested in 2002 after Yahoo HK gave police information linking him to his anonymous e-mails and other political writings he posted online.<BR/><BR/>Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang and General Counsel Michael Callahan offered apologies to Shi's mother at a congressional hearing last week.<BR/><BR/>Yang and Callahan turned around from the witness table and bowed from their seats to the woman, Gao Qinsheng, who bowed in return and then began to weep.<BR/><BR/>After the hearing, the Yahoo officials met with Gao Qinsheng for the first time to hear her concerns.<BR/><BR/>Callahan was summoned before the House Foreign Affairs Committee last week to explain testimony he gave to Congress last year. He said then that Yahoo had no information about the nature of China's investigation when the company handed over details that ended up being used to convict Shi.<BR/><BR/>Callahan subsequently has acknowledged that Yahoo officials had received a subpoena-like document that made reference to suspected "illegal provision of state secrets" — a common charge against political dissidents.<BR/><BR/>He reiterated last week that he regretted his failure to inform the committee of this new information once he learned of it months after his congressional testimony.Professor Howdyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189934292678757335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437964542052755799.post-32786807989667279952007-11-13T14:48:00.000-04:002007-11-13T14:48:00.000-04:00Of Pigs and PeopleSpeciesism and Rights for Animal...Of Pigs and People<BR/>Speciesism and Rights for Animals<BR/><BR/>November 13, 2007<BR/><BR/>Five years ago, Florida voters amended their state constitution to guarantee the rights of a previously unprotected class: pregnant pigs. Specifically, the ballot initiative guaranteed pregnant sows "enough space within which to turn around."<BR/><BR/>Now, treating animals humanely is a moral imperative, especially for Christians; treating them as if they somehow were equivalent to humans is not. And, increasingly, that is what we are doing.<BR/><BR/>At the time of the initiative, bioethicist Wesley J. Smith noted that at, any given time, there are only 300 pregnant sows in the entire state. Of these, only a handful were not being provided the space required by the amendment.<BR/><BR/>So, the initiative was not being sponsored to eliminate animal cruelty. Instead, its goal was to establish a legal and political precedent that would help redefine the relationship between people and animals—and, in this case, bestow constitutional rights on animals.<BR/><BR/>The next big test for this campaign to turn animals into rights-bearing creatures is in California. There, animal-rights supporters are trying to get an initiative on the September 2008 ballot.<BR/><BR/>This initiative would extend the "rights" granted to Florida sows to the rest of the barnyard. It would, in effect, give animals a right to stand up, lie down, turn around, and fully extend their limbs.<BR/><BR/>Again, Christians ought to oppose cruelty toward animals and ensure that animals, including those we eat, are treated humanely.<BR/><BR/>But initiatives like this one and in Florida are not really about the humane treatment of animals—they are about blurring and eventually erasing the distinction between people and animals. They are about eradicating what animal-rights advocates call "speciesism."<BR/><BR/>Princeton ethicist Peter Singer defines "speciesism" as "a prejudice" that favors "the interests of members of one's own species . . . against those members of other species." Singer regards "speciesism" as being the moral equivalent of racism.<BR/><BR/>For Singer and company, the offense is not only that we treat animals badly—it is that we think that people are human and, thus, different than animals.<BR/><BR/>Christians need to beware, as well. A letter from a friend told me of a group in his church praying for the healing of pets, even laying on hands. Some Christians, who rightly love their animals, begin to think of them as humans, members of the family.<BR/><BR/>How far will the animal-rights movement go? Can you imagine pigs enjoying the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Don't laugh. Social changes in postmodern America happen very quickly—especially when couched in the language of rights. How quickly, for example, did abortion go from being a crime to a right? Or the demand by gays for marriage?<BR/><BR/>Worldviews matter. If you believe there is no God, then you believe there are no God-given rights. And to you, humans are indeed just one of many living accidents roaming the planet.<BR/><BR/>But we know better. And we know better than to cast human rights before swine.<BR/><BR/><BR/>For printer-friendly version, simply visit www.breakpoint.org and click on Today's Commentary. The printer-friendly link is on the left-hand column.Professor Howdyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189934292678757335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437964542052755799.post-75525302414035806892007-11-13T12:13:00.000-04:002007-11-13T12:13:00.000-04:00Contrary to popular belief, most UNC grads do inde...Contrary to popular belief, most UNC grads do indeed<BR/>know the value of a dollar. The other day a UNC grad<BR/>had her car break down. The tow truck driver charged her<BR/>$95.00 to take the car to the garage less than 3 miles away.<BR/><BR/>When she told her husband that evening, he said that the<BR/>driver had taken advantage of her.<BR/><BR/>She said, "I thought so. But I made him earn it. I kept<BR/>the brakes on all the way."Professor Howdyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189934292678757335noreply@blogger.com