Truth Out Loud

December 05, 2006

It's not that I don't care, it's that it's not worth caring about

I want to care, I try to care but for some reason I just can't make myself care.

Most of the leading websites around the world are failing to provide the most basic accessibility standards for people with disabilities.
Ninety seven percent of websites did not provide even minimum levels of accessibility, a new survey has found.

But this is my favorite line.

The BBC's website was not included in the survey.

I think the lack of handicapped accommodations on the space shuttle, fighter jets and combat tanks is the bigger travesty. The percentage lack of handicapped access does make a certain sense though when you consider how much of it is porn.

Posted by Sid at 05:09 AM | Comments (891) | Other | TrackBack

August 12, 2006

Homeschooling as a criminal offense

Did you ever wonder what would happen if the whole world got to decide how you were allowed to raise your children? What would happen if laws based on politically correct diplomatic doublespeak became the law of the land?

Yesterday my husband Paul Belien, the editor of this website, was summoned to the police station and interrogated. He was told that the Belgian authorities are of the opinion that, as a homeschooler, he has not adequately educated his children and, hence, is neglecting his duty as a parent, which is a criminal offence. The Ministry of Education has asked the judiciary to press charges and the judiciary told the police to investigate and take down his statement.

Three years ago a new school bill was introduced. The new bill refers to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and it obliges homeschooling parents to fill out a questionaire and sign an official “declaration of homeschooling” in which they agree to school their children “respecting the respect [sic] for the fundamental human rights and the cultural values of the child itself and of others.”

The declaration does not specify what “respecting the respect for the fundamental human rights and the cultural values of the child itself and of others” means. It states, however, that government inspectors decide about this and adds – and here is the crux of the matter – that if the parents receive two negative reports from the inspectors they will have to send their child to an official government recognized school.

Things like this should chill freedom minded people to the bone. Imagine having some faceless, nameless, self important bureaucrats walk into your home and tell you that your obviously well educated children are not being acceptably schooled because they were not indoctrinated with the government approved political and cultural beliefs.

Posted by Sid at 12:48 PM | Comments (0) | Other

February 25, 2006

Don Knotts dies at 81

Don Knotts movies and television were a mainstay of my growing up well into my 20's. Who could not enjoy the antics of Barney Fife on the "Andy Griffin Show". One of my favorite movies was "Shakiest Gun in the West" where he played a dentist bring proper tooth care to the wild west.

Don Knotts, the saucer-eyed, scarecrow-thin comic actor best known for his roles as the high-strung small-town deputy Barney Fife on the 1960s CBS series "The Andy Griffith Show" and the leisure-suit-clad landlord Ralph Furley on ABC's '70s sitcom "Three's Company," has died. He was 81.

Knotts, who lived in West Los Angeles, died Friday night of lung cancer at UCLA Medical Center, according to Sherwin Bash, his longtime manager.

Don you did well and left us with smiles. Rest in peace.

Posted by Sid at 10:39 PM | Comments (0) | Other

October 20, 2005

Astros on to the World Series

Being from the Houston area I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the Astros beat the St. Louis Cardinals to advance to the World Series. While I will not pretend to have followed the team closely I congratulate them on an impressive comeback from a horrible first half of the season to make it.

GO ASTROS!!!

Posted by Sid at 12:11 AM | Comments (0) | Other

October 10, 2005

Internet Outage

I hate it when my internet connection goes down. Makes me feel like I went blind. Hopefully it will be back today. Some cable appears to have been knocked to the ground where it was run over by a lawn mower in the neighbors yard.

Posted by Sid at 12:20 AM | Comments (0) | Other

September 26, 2005

Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) Dead at 82

First Gilligan and now Maxwell Smart. Another childhood favorite gone.

Don Adams, the wry-voiced comedian who starred as the fumbling secret agent Maxwell Smart in the 1960s television spoof of James Bond movies, "Get Smart," has died. He was 82.

Adams died of a lung infection late Sunday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (search), his friend and former agent Bruce Tufeld said Monday, adding the actor broke his hip a year ago and had been in ill health since.

Posted by Sid at 05:08 PM | Comments (0) | Other

September 06, 2005

Gilligan Dies

As a child I watched this show religiously. Bob Denver and his antics as Gilligan will live on in some of my fondest memories.

Bob Denver, whose portrayal of goofy first mate Gilligan on the 1960s television show "Gilligan's Island" made him an iconic figure to generations of TV viewers, has died, his agent confirmed Tuesday. He was 70.

Posted by Sid at 11:55 AM | Comments (0) | Other

August 27, 2005

Foxfire Users

I was recently advised that my blog was not displaying properly in Foxfire. I think I have corrected all the coding errors so it should work properly. I am still a bit of a novice at this so feel free to let me know if I missed anything.

Posted by Sid at 12:32 AM | Comments (1) | Other

August 23, 2005

Inside 9/11 on the History Channel

Wow.

"We love death. The U.S. loves life. That is the big difference between us." - Osama Bin Laden.

Rightwing Nuthouse has an excellent review here. I could not say it better.

Posted by Sid at 12:58 AM | Comments (1) | Other

August 08, 2005

Peter Jennings dead at 67

ABC News Anchor Peter Jennings died today at his home in New York City. He was 67. On April 5, Jennings announced he had been diagnosed with lung cancer.

He is survived by his wife, Kayce Freed, his two children, Elizabeth, 25, and Christopher, 23, and his sister, Sarah Jennings.

Posted by Sid at 12:05 AM | Comments (0) | Other

August 05, 2005

At Least Aruba Authorities Are on Top of Turtle Murders

The Aruba authorities have displayed a flurry of incompetence on finding Natalee Holloway or her killer but at least they are able to aggressively pursue turtle murders.

"Our rangers checked the coast that morning (before EquuSearch arrived) and everything was OK," Franken said. "The next day we found everything destroyed."

Franken said the rangers didn't witness the eggs being damaged. But he said they believe EquuSearch was responsible because nobody else was seen on the rocky and isolated beach that day.

If they took the same attitude with the last ones to see Natalee there might actually be evidence to Natalee's fate.

Posted by Sid at 11:02 AM | Comments (0) | Other

July 20, 2005

Scotty from Star Trek dies at 85

James Doohan, the burly chief engineer of the Starship Enterprise in the original “Star Trek” TV series and motion pictures who responded to the command “Beam me up, Scotty,” died early Wednesday. He was 85.

Doohan died at 5:30 a.m. at his Redmond, Wash., home with his wife of 28 years, Wende, at his side, Los Angeles agent and longtime friend Steve Stevens said. The cause of death was pneumonia and Alzheimer’s disease, he said.

More here.

Posted by Sid at 11:02 AM | Comments (0) | Other

June 18, 2005

GONE FISHING - BE BACK JUNE 26

Enjoy the cartoon from Day by Day. It will change every day so feel free to come back tomorrow for the latest. If you want to stay up to date on other events I have a list of links on the sidebar I highly recommend.




Day By Day© by Chris Muir.

Posted by Sid at 02:11 PM | Comments (0) | Other

MICHAEL SCHIAVO IS SEEKING A BOOK DEAL

We all knew poor caring Michael Schiavo was going to do this sooner or later. I particularly like this quote.

Less than three months after his instructions to starve his wife to death were carried out by court order, Michael Schiavo is seeking a book deal.

Schiavo is in Manhattan, reports the New York Post - "shopping his book proposal among publishers."

"The timing couldn't be better," the Post notes, with news of his wife's autopsy on the front page of every newspaper this week.
Schiavo's book agent, David Vigliano, told the paper: "I think this is a seminal right to die with dignity story."

Nothing like a good autopsy to wet the appetite of prospective book publishers.

Posted by Sid at 08:03 AM | Comments (0) | Other

June 16, 2005

TORTURE SADDAM STYLE

Just in case people forget what real torture is all about.

Saddam Hussein’s Regime’s Methods of Torture
The following methods of torture have all been reported to international human rights groups, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, by the victims of torture or their families.

Eye gouging - Amnesty International reported the case of a Kurdish businessman in Baghdad who was executed in 1997. When his family retrieved his body, the eyes had been gouged out and the empty eye
sockets stuffed with paper.

Piercing of hands with electric drill - A common method of torture for political detainees. Amnesty International reported one victim who then had acid poured into his open wounds.

Suspension from the ceiling - Victims are blindfolded, stripped and suspended for hours by their wrists, often with their hands tied behind their backs. This causes dislocation of shoulders and tearing of muscles and ligaments.

Electric shock - A common torture method. Shocks are applied to various parts of the body, including the genitals, ears, tongue and fingers.

Sexual abuse - Victims, particularly women, have been raped and sexually abused, including reports of broken bottles being forced into the victim’s anus.

"Falaqa" - Victims are forced to lie face down and are then beaten on the soles of their feet with a cable, often losing consciousness.

Other physical torture
Extinguishing cigarettes on various parts of the body, extraction of fingernails and toenails and beatings with canes, whips, hose pipes and metal rods are common.

Mock executions - Victims are told that they are to be executed by firing squad and a mock execution is staged. Victims are hooded and brought before a firing squad, who then fire blank rounds.

Acid baths - David Scheffer, US Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes, reported that photographic evidence showed that Iraq had used acid baths during the invasion of Kuwait. Victims were hung by their
wrists and gradually lowered into the acid.

And Saddam was an amataur compared to the Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or Pol Pot.

UPDATE: Now before we get too self righteous take this test.

There is a nuclear bomb set to go off in the major US city of your choice that is about to kill MILLIONS of people. Your family is visiting that city. You have a suspect in your custody that knows where the bomb is and can provide info to stop it but he will not give you that info. Is there anything in the above list you would not condone to get this information? Or would you stand on your principles and allow your family and millions of innocent people die? How many people have to be at risk of death before you would condone different levels of mistreatment?

Posted by Sid at 01:40 AM | Comments (0) | Other

June 15, 2005

I WANT THE PHOTOS YOU TOOK OF ME NAKED

COSBY: There is word tonight that Jackson's team, I guess, has indicated that they want you to immediately surrender these photos that were taken, that you have access to, of Michael Jackson's private parts. That they're fearful that they're going to be leaked out in the press somehow. Will you surrender those photos?

Please, if there is a merciful God in heaven, please dont let these leak out. Rest here.

Posted by Sid at 12:42 AM | Comments (0) | Other

June 13, 2005

MICHAEL JACKSON NOT GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS

It is so good to know that I can safely have my children sleep in Michael Jacksons bed. What a relief.

Posted by Sid at 04:20 PM | Comments (3) | Other

June 06, 2005

Could Michael Jackson please fall off the face of the planet

I am so sick of hearing about him and I am running out of barf bags.

Sorry, I had to get that off my chest to save my sanity.

Posted by Sid at 12:59 AM | Comments (0) | Other

May 30, 2005

We remember

Let us never forget the sacrifice of those that paid the ultimate price for our freedom.

Excellent tribute here.

Posted by Sid at 08:31 AM | Comments (0) | Other

May 17, 2005

Sooo....You want to be a blogger?

I saw this and was thinking. Hey I do that!! I have almost no traffic since I am boring and my blog is new, but otherwise it does a good job of describing a bloggers life.

How hard could blogging be? You roll out of bed, turn on your computer, scan the headlines, think up some clever analysis while brushing your teeth, type it onto your site and you're off. But as I discovered, blogging is no longer for amateurs or the faint of heart. Blogging - if it's done well - has evolved into an all-consuming art.

Luckily this is a labor of love for me now and I am enjoying it a lot. More here.

Posted by Sid at 06:30 AM | Comments (1) | Other

May 06, 2005

Open thread

So all my friends I direct here over the next few days can ridicule me.

Posted by Sid at 11:46 PM | Comments (6) | Other

May 04, 2005

FAQ

1. How do you select your links?

My links are mostly to places I visit regularly.

2. Are you a Republican or Democrat?

Usually Republican but they irritate me a lot as well.

3. Will you be fair and balanced?

No.

4. Do you have Democrat friends?

Yes, but I hope one day to get rid of them all by converting them to Republican friends once they wise up.

5. Have you ever voted for a Democratic president?

HAHAHAHA!!

6. Do your friends think your close minded?

Absolutely!

7. Why don't you post your full name, address and phone number? Are you hiding something?

What? You want me to do all your work for you? You a Democrat or something?

8. Do you read your e-mail?

Probably not, but you might get lucky.

9. Do you censor comments?

If they are so vulgar they make my eyes bleed, yes.

More to come . . .

Posted by Sid at 05:46 AM | Comments (0) | Other

About me

Hello all,

Not really much to say. I am in my 40's, balding, my pants are too tight, my left big toe is gross and my grass needs to be mowed. I have a wife with the patience of Job, two kids (probably causing the balding), amazing parents and a spectacular extended family that haven't had me assassinated yet. Life is good.

Why start a blog? Fun. I love reading and discussing the issues of the day.

More to come . . .

Posted by Sid at 05:46 AM | Comments (0) | Other

April 30, 2005

Welcome ...

Welcome to Truthoutloud.com

I hope you enjoy what you see here and will come back and visit. Please keep the comments interesting, civil and obscenity free is all I really ask. Given time you will likely understand the tone I am trying to acheive by my posts.

Posted by Sid at 11:01 PM | Comments (0) | Other