War in Iraq - Clock

1902 Days since the start of the War in Iraq

U.S. Military Casualties since the start of the War in Iraq

(Includes casualties from fighting in Afghanistan)

Deaths - 4606

Wounded - 30333

Rev. Ralph Parsley - "We Get Off On Warfare"

Really Mr. Parsley? Sorry, I have difficulty calling anyone "Reverend" who claims that followers of Jesus "get off on warfare." Firstly, "get off" - as anyone who has lived in American society for more than a year would know - refers to experiencing a sexual climax, usually by masturbation. So, Mr. Parsley, you masturbate over warfare? Over the idea of people being murdered? Over the thought of innocent children being maimed and killed? And this is in your mind, "Christ-like"? You're a sick individual, Mr. Parsley, and need psychological help.

War in Iraq - Clock

1901 Days since the start of the War in Iraq

U.S. Military Casualties since the start of the War in Iraq

(Includes casualties from fighting in Afghanistan)

Deaths - 4605

Wounded - 30333

War in Iraq - Clock

1895 Days since the start of the War in Iraq

U.S. Military Casualties since the start of the War in Iraq

(Includes casualties from fighting in Afghanistan)

Deaths - 4594

Wounded - 30331

War in Iraq - Clock

1894 Days since the start of the War in Iraq

U.S. Military Casualties since the start of the War in Iraq

(Includes casualties from fighting in Afghanistan)

Deaths - 4594

Wounded - 30329

War in Iraq - Clock

1892 Days since the start of the War in Iraq

U.S. Military Casualties since the start of the War in Iraq

(Includes casualties from fighting in Afghanistan)

Deaths - 4591

Wounded - 30329

CNN Analysis of D.C. Madam Death Completely Flawed

CNN did a supposed analysis of theories on the death of D.C. Madam, Deborah Jeane Palfrey. However, the said analysis was severely flawed. Here are some of the gaping holes in their "analysis."

1. CNN used C.D.C. statistics for suicide by "suffocation" to show that men and women use "hanging" as the method of suicide at almost the same rate. This is completely inaccurate. Although death by hanging does certainly cause suffocation, there are many other methods of suffocation used to commit suicide other than hanging. In fact, women choose the hanging method at a much lower rate than men.

2. CNN said that there is no dependable way to analyze handwriting. This is absolutely false and in fact, the FBI uses handwriting analysis when investigating crimes.

3. CNN uses hearsay from a supposed reporter who says that Ms. Palfrey told him that she would rather die than go to prison despite the fact that there are recordings of her stating that she would definitely not commit suicide so that she could defend herself in court and expose the government.

CNN has not done its job in uncovering the facts in this case. They have only parroted the information provided to them by the authorities.

Google - the new Microsoft?

What is it with companies that when they reach a certain size, they become almost completely unresponsive to their customers? From my experience, this is exactly what is happening with Google. I recently purchased a license for Google Earth Plus to replace a license that had expired under an old email address. To make the transition to the new subscription easier (or so I thought), I uninstalled the old version of Google Earth and installed the newest version so that I could enter my new license information within the new version. Sounds simple, right? It has been anything but simple. Upon starting the new version of Google Earth, the program attempts to log in using my OLD email address? Why is this happening? I removed the old version. However, there is something within the Windows registry or elsewhere that has maintained a record of my old license and email address. Ok, so I need help in registering the new license in the new program; I, therefore, contact the Google Earth Help Center (anything but "helpful") to find a solution to my problem. I try all of the recommendations within the help files and a couple that I found on the Google Earth Community forums. Nothing is resolved. Next step - try to reach a real person. In most corporations today, this is a daunting process. At Google, it's all but impossible. It took me 15 minutes of searching to finally be led to a form that will supposedly have my problem reviewed by a real person. My prediction - I will be referred to the exact "solutions" within the "Help Files" that I have already tried.

Note to Google - When I purchase a product, and it does not work as expected, I should not have to jump through five hoops simply to contact a real person for assistance. I cannot even begin to express how aggravating this has been for me.

Jason Scheuerman Victim of Army Negligence

Jason Scheuerman was a soldier who was suffering with severe depression and was caught with his rifle in his mouth, about to commit suicide while serving in Iraq. What did the United States Army brass do? They punished him and threatened him with Court Marshal, imprisonment and the possibility of being sodomized. What did Jason Scheuerman do in response to this punishment? He successfully committed suicide. In my opinion, his U.S. Army superiors are completely to blame. They could have made sure that Jason received the help recommended for him by the doctors who had evaluated him. They chose instead to deprive him of this help and to punish him physically and mentally. Have his superiors received any demotions or other punishment because of their actions toward Jason? Of course not.

If you serve below officer level in the U.S. Armed Forces, you are considered to be an expendable piece of machinery by your superiors, and if you have a physical or mental illness or injury, your superiors consider you to be defective. It's time to take this "defective" thought process out of the military and begin nailing some butts to the wall for causing the deaths of people like Jason Scheuerman.

Someone Needs to Reign In Phil McGraw

The so-called "Dr. Phil" needs to get a clue. Giving advice on a show as if he has the training of a psychologist or psychiatrist (which he does not) and making judgements about people without complete information or having a person completely evaluated by medical professionals should get this guy kicked off the air.

Recently, there was a "Dr. Phil" show about couples and husbands who are supposedly not pulling their weight. On that show, one of the men said that he had not been able to hold down a job because he could not wake up in the morning. Of course, Mr. McGraw jumped all over him. Trouble is, he never had the guy evaluated. Mr. "Know-it-all McGraw" doesn't know that what the guy was describing are typical symptoms of certain neurological conditions. I have one of them. It's called hydrocephalus. Before I received my shunt, I could not wake up in the morning without someone shaking me or my bed and calling my name loudly many times. Even then, the person waking me had to check on me to be certain that I had actually sat up and begun to get myself dressed. Disgracing a person with a possible neurological condition is probably the worst thing he could do. In my opinion, Mr. McGraw is a charlatan and a quack. He makes "off the cuff" remarks that are uninformed and damaging.

Now, I have read that his "team" has bailed out one of the teenagers accused of beating another girl who was invited to her "friend's" house. How intelligent is this? Information could come out on the show that could make evidence in the case inadmissible in court and cause these teens to never have to suffer the consequences of their actions. This would be a great injustice to the girl who was beaten.

If you care about restoring responsibility and sanity to the media, I urge you to boycott the "Dr. Phil" show and its advertisers. If people want "sensational" TV, that's fine. Let them watch something like Survivor or Big Brother. But a show that touts its host as being a "doctor" and giving helpful advice but does just the opposite should not be on the air at all.