TaraWoF's blog

Health Care, Tea Parties and Government Control (Link to original)

Sorry y'all, I have the flu and this is easier than going through the differences in how to post between blogs.

http://womanoffeathers3.efx3.com/

Sacred Mound Destroyed for Sam's Club (mirrored)

Note from WoF:  Please follow all of the links for more information and pictures of what is happening.  I also want to say Thank You to Icy Star for bringing this to our attention

Icy Star' Twit Wall

The Big Box Store - It's like a flash in the dark - Our Mound is Forever #NativeAmerican

City leaders in Oxford, Ala. have approved the destruction of a 1,500-year-old Native American ceremonial mound and are using the dirt as fill for a new Sam’s Club, a retail warehouse store operated by Wal-Mart.

A University of Alabama archaeology report commissioned by the city found that the site was historically significant as the largest of several ancient stone and earthen mounds throughout the Choccolocco Valley. But Oxford Mayor Leon Smith—whose campaign has financial connections to firms involved in the $2.6 million no-bid project—insists the mound is not man-made and was used only to “send smoke signals.”

“The City of Oxford and its archaeological advisers have completed a review and evaluation of a stone mound that was identified near Boiling Springs, Calhoun County, Alabama, and have concluded that the mound is the result of natural phenomena and does not meet the eligibility criteria for the Natural [sic] Register of Historic Places,” according to a news release Smith issued last week.

In fact, the report does not conclude the mound is a result of “natural phenomena” but says very clearly it is of “cultural origin.” And while the University’s Office of Archaeological Research does not believe the site qualifies for the National Register of Historic Places, the Alabama Historical Commission disagrees, noting that the structure meets at least three criteria for inclusion: its “association with a broad pattern of history,” architecture “embodying distinctive characteristics,” and for the information it might yield to scholars.

The site is also significant to Native Americans. The Woodland and Mississippian cultures that inhabited the Southeast and Midwest before Europeans arrived constructed and used these mounds for various rituals, which may have included funerals. There are concerns that human remains may be present at the site, though none have been found yet.

United South and Eastern Tribes, a nonprofit coalition of 25 federally recognized tribes from Maine to Texas, passed a resolution in 2007 calling for the preservation of such structures, which it calls “prayer in stone.” Native Americans have held protests against the mound’s demolition, and last week someone altered a sign for the Leon Smith Parkway that runs past the development to read “Indian Mound Pkwy.”

A local resident named Johnny Rollins told the Anniston Star how his Native American grandmother taught him that when she died he could “go to that mountain” to talk to her:

“It seems like it’s taking part of you away,” he said of the demolition. “I always felt I had ties to that there.”

Since the media began reporting on the site’s demolition, city officials have revised their story and are now claiming that dirt from the mound is not being used as fill, despite earlier statements to the contrary. But eyewitnesses say they have seen workers hauling dirt from the mound to the Sam’s Club development.

“I mean really, I went there, saw the giant trucks deliver the earth straight from the mound to the construction site, and I still can’t believe what they are doing,” writes the seventh-generation Alabamian behind the blog Deep Fried Kudzu, where she shares photos from her visit to the site.

‘More prettier’ than an Indian mound

Deepening the development’s controversy is how the contracting has been handled. The force behind the project is Oxford’s Commercial Development Authority, a public board that uses taxpayer money to lure businesses to the area. The CDA owns the land where the mound is located.

Alabama law exempts CDAs from bid requirements, which means contracts can go to whomever the board chooses. A recent Anniston Star investigative series about the CDA  revealed among other things that the group has awarded nearly $9 million in contracts since 1994 but has taken bids for none of them.

The newspaper also detailed the financial ties between the CDA, firms it does business with, and Mayor Smith’s political campaign.

For example, the $2.6 million contract for preparing the Sam’s Club site went to Oxford-based Taylor Corp., with the money for that coming in part from the sale of city property to Georgia-based developers Abernathy and Timberlake. Taylor Corp. owner Tommy Taylor, who has received thousands of dollars in city contracts for non-CDA work, donated $1,000 to Smith in 2004 and $1,000 in 2008, while Abernathy and Timberlake donated $1,000 to Smith’s re-election campaign in 2004, the paper reports.

The Anniston Star also found that the CDA paid engineering firm Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood of Montgomery, Ala. $45,000 in engineering contracts for the Sam’s Club project, with part of that money paying for the archaeological study. The firm contributed $500 to Smith in 2004.

An Alabama Ethics Commission official said the relationships could violate state law “depending on facts,” but the mayor said he’s done nothing wrong.

Meanwhile, the controversy over the damaged mound’s fate rages on. After getting an earful from alarmed preservationists, Alabama Gov. Bob Riley (R) forwarded their concerns to the state Historical Commission—but said his office has no intention of getting involved. According to the National Institute on Money in State Politics, Tommy Taylor contributed $1,000 to Riley’s 2006 gubernatorial campaign, while Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood contributed $1,500.

For now, it appears Oxford officials are pressing ahead with the project. As Mayor Smith said in its defense, “What it’s going to be is more prettier than it is today.”

(A version of this story originally appeared at Facing South.)

Native American Men - Parts I & II

[CENTER][B][FONT="Book Antiqua"]Part I

Native American Men - Part I

Part II

Native American Men - Part II

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The Beat Goes On - Tribute to Leonard Peltier (mirrored)

The Beat Goes On - Tribute to Leonard Peltier

The Perfect Solution to Senior Health Care

(Mirrored) Posted By womanoffeathers on July 24, 2009

If you can't see the text below ... just highlight it.  Vox doesn't seem to like copy/paste O_o*

(Note from WoF - This is only a joke that was sent to me, but it’s so close to the truth that it’s scary  … but that’s just my opinion.)

While discussing the upcoming Universal Health Care Program with my friend the other day, I think we have found the solution. I am sure you have heard the ideas that if you ’re a senior you need to suck it up and give up the idea that you need any health care. A new hip? Unheard of. We simply can’t afford to take care of you anymore. You don’t need any medications for your high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems, etc. Let’s take care of the young people. After all, they will be ruling the world very soon.

So here is the solution. When you turn 70, you get a gun and 4 bullets. You are allowed to shoot 2 senators and 2 representatives. Of course, you will be sent to prison where you will get 3 meals a day, a roof over your head and all the health care you need! New teeth, great! Need glasses, no problem. New hip, knee, kidney, lung, heart? Well bring it on. And who will be paying for all of this. The same government that just told you that you are too old for health care. And, since you are a prisoner, you don’t have to pay any income tax.

And if we all do our part we can end up in the same prison and have one hell of a social life.

I really think we have found a Perfect Solution!

Swine Flu Survivor ...

SwineFluSurviver

Don't let this happen to you ...

Wash Your Hands ! ! !

Guess I Need to Explain ...

I guess I should explain where I have disappeared to for the last ... 7 months or so.  I did try to leave a note here or there, but that's not easy to do when your hard drive is in XP and your back-up PC has a motherboard made for Win-98!  And I thought dial-up internet was a pain in the ... well ... you know.  Everything was in slow-mo ... except for my brain.  It was like pitting a Cessna with Superman on a round-the-world trip.  Sometime I was so frustrated, I didn't go near the machine for a week. 

Eventually, I worked my way around EBAY and got myself a PayPal account.  Once I got enough money, I bought a new WinFast NF4UK8AA motherboard, which works great with the AMD K8 Anthon Processor and NVidia GeForce 6200 Vidio card I already had.  Eventually, I may try to upgrade them too, but I want to get a DVD Burner first.

While this was all good and I was ready to dig right in and get caught up with all my blogs (you guys aren't the only lucky ones who listens to my gibberish ... heehee) my mom decides she's going to get pneumonia (like she really wanted that) and has been in the hospital for the last 2 days.  She's doing much better now, but still weak and I still worry about her.  I'll be glad when they say she can come home.  To top it off, I had to do 2 breathing treatments today myself and couldn't go down to Tyler with my brother to see mom.  If I don't need them in the morning, I'll go see her tomorrow.

Ok ... I've rambled on enough ... time to run around cyberspace some more before my last treatment for the night.

I sure have missed you guys.

I'm Back ... With a gift for you ...

I couldn't resist sharing this precious jewel with you on my return journey to the blogdom world.

Toto's Africa by Perpetuum Jazzile

Nope ... Not Dead ...

However ... my motherboard is.  I am trying to work with a very antiquated E Systems (made for Win 98 ... says so on the tower O_o) while I'm waiting for the first of Feb to arrive ... but I also have to find one to replace the one I had.  In the meantime ... it takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r to open any page, so I don't expect to answer or comment on much ... but I will try to read (Nice to have the Neighborhood page here) ... sooooo ... if y'all want a good time to pick on me ... when I can't pick back ... this is it ... lol

I miss everyone.

Blast from the Past - JFK - Your Thoughts

I thought I would give you a message from the past ...
From President John F. Kennedy ...

JFK - Secret Societies

Then I would like to know what you think ...
What similarities his statements have to do with the present administration ...
And what similarities they have with the new one commencing on 20 January 2009.

Thoughts?