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I attempt to respect everyone. I fall short of it and sometimes beat myself up when I do not act respectfully to those who deserve it.



I am beginning to see that some on the rave do not respect anyone else, let alone staff. You do not have to kiss anyone's backside or bow down to them to have respect for their rights as a human being. You cannot do whatever you want to on the Rave. You knew that when you signed up. You knew that Cancer was the creator and the owner of this site. You cannot go around behaving as you please and then want to tell the staff off when they call you on it. See how fast you find yourself out of a house or coven for behaving like that. Tammy will have you out of La Rose Noir. Yes, images will kick you out of House Eternal. Do not expect to have anyone stand by you for acting like a total jerk just because you do not agree with a rule of this site.

This entry is directed to any teenager on the rave who thinks it is all about them and that their parents are there to cater to them. I have seen some wonderful people fall into the trap of doing whatever it takes to keep a teenager happy and stop living their own lives. I am not saying they should neglect their children at that age, but I am saying that teenagers must realize that their parents gave up many things to have them and raise them.



The teenagers that want to party and have fun may think that their parents were always responsible. That is not true. At one time, your parents may have been irresponsible or the type to party all the time. That was before you were born. You may be shocked to know some of the things you're parents did. You have not invented anything. That is why your parents know what you are up to most of the time. The same road you are traveling down, they have already traveled.



Expecting your parents to have no life and to make sure you do is wrong. You are older now. They had to stay at home and change your dirty diapers at one time. They did without so you would have the best clothes, the best toys and the best education. Many parents wanted to return to college, but put off finishing or getting a degree, so you would be able to get one. They do not want you to have to struggle like they did. Only selfish parents want their children to go through hell or not have enough to support themselves someday. Please do not think that your parents have to do anything besides provide you with a place to stay, food to eat, clothes to wear or medical care. If you think for one minute that they must buy you the most expensive luxury items out there, take you wherever you want to go when you want to, and stop their lives for you whenever it suits you, then you are highly mistaken. No state will intervene if they provide you the basics without abuse. You will not cause them to get in trouble for reporting them to the authorities just because you did not get your way.



I have seen teenagers whine until their parents changed their plans. I know parents with teenagers that cannot live their life. One lady is widowed that I know and it is a good thing she is planning on staying single. With her daughter, it would be impossible for her to find a mate. If she found one, he may go running for the hills, if he saw how her daughter leads her around. I have seen this lady lay down the law. But if this girl wants her mother to make a move, she will whine until she gets her way. Life does not work that way. This young lady needs to be grateful for her mother. Nobody else is going to put up with that.

Warning: Stop reading this entry now if you do not want spoilers about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. I do not want to ruin it for anyone else that has not read the book. You have been warned. If you continue reading and have not read the book, then that is on you.



JK Rowlings has done it again. I spent the weekend reading Harry Potter. I have to say I was not disappointed. I did shed tears when Mad-Eye died. Fred's death tore me up. I hated it that Tonks and Remus had to die. At least , she let them go together. They had married. I just hated it that their son had to grow up without his parents. I think it was cool as hell that JK had Remus make Harry his godfather, before he died.



The truth about Snape showed he had a heart. Many thought he was in love with Draco's mother. That was not the case. Who would have thought he harbored a love for Lily Evans Potter that never died? Snape was a better person than he allowed others to believe. It helped him spy for Dumbledore.



Albus Dumbledore was more complicated than the previous books would have lead one to believe. I like the fact that he could have and almost made the same choices in life that Tom Riddle did. That gave him an understanding of Lord Voldermort that lead to Dumbledore being able to help Harry defeat him in the end.



One thing I will say is the Deathly Hollows is not a place. I will not spoil that part. You will have to read the book to find out what is meant by Deathly Hollows. Or check a spoiler somewhere else.



Kreacher will suprise you. Harry makes a friend out of him. When he lead the elves at Hogwarts to help Harry and the Order, I know I was smiling from ear to ear as I read it. Neville does something at the end of the book that will forever dispel the image of him as a not too talented wizard who is also scared of his own shadow.



I almost thought my boy, Dean Thomas, would be a goner. I am glad his death was never mentioned. I think that makes it safe to assume he survives. The same can be said about his best friend Seamus.



Vincent Crabbe turns out to be a murdering moron who gets his in the end. I am sad that a child had to die. He was a product of his home environment. Pansy Parkinson is the witch with a captial B until the end. She wants to turn Harry over to the Dark Lord . I love it when every member of the other three houses block the Slytherins path to Harry. For six years, the students at Hogwarts have doubted Harry at times. It was good to see they stood by him when it counted the most.



Dobby dies and it is sad. He is one brave little elf in this book. He is the reason Luna , Ollivander and Dean escape their prison at Malfoy Manor. Wormtail dies because he shows Harry mercy. You will have to read the book to find out how. Bellatrix is killed. The person who gets her is not Neville, but it is classic. I know I could not have written that part as well as JK. Most writers would not have been able to.



Narcissa Malfoy does something towards the end that you would not expect the sister of Bellatrix and the wife of Lucius to do. In fact, concern over their son seems to change both of the Malfoys. They will never be another Molly and Arthur Weasley, but at least they are smart enough and loving enough to see what a war with Voldermort and the rest of the wizarding world is doing to their son.



The epilogue lets you see what happens nineteen years later. I am not going to give that away or any more of the book. Things that we thought were one way turn out to be another. I think we all knew that would be the case. In the fictional world of Harry Potter, things are never what they seem.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Sunday he expects a former Bush aide to testify before Congress this week about the firings of federal prosecutors despite White House objections.



Sen. Patrick Leahy's committee has subpoenaed Sara Taylor, a former White House political director, as part of its investigation into whether the Bush administration improperly ordered the U.S. attorneys dismissed. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.



Taylor's lawyer said she is willing to talk but does not want to defy President Bush, who has rejected subpoenas for documents from Taylor and for her testimony. Lawyer W. Neil Eggleston said Taylor expects a letter from White House lawyer Fred Fielding directing her not to comply on the basis of executive privilege.



"In our view, it is unfair to Ms. Taylor that this constitutional struggle might be played out with her as the object of an unseemly tug of war," Eggleston wrote House and Senate Judiciary committee leaders and Fielding over the weekend.



He added, "Absent the direction from the White House, Ms. Taylor would testify without hesitation before the Senate Judiciary Committee. She has committed no wrongdoing."



Leahy noted that lawmakers recently learned Taylor was among several White House aides who used an e-mail account at the Republican National Committee for political communications. Leahy said some e-mails relate to the investigation into the fired prosecutors. "There's certainly no executive privilege with something like that," Leahy said.



"We'll ask Miss Taylor when she does come before the committee this week just where she feels on this. I haven't heard anything from Mr. Fielding or anybody else at the White House that would justify a claim of executive privilege," Leahy said.



Bush last month asserted executive privilege in rejecting subpoenas for documents from Taylor and his former counsel, Harriet Miers. Fielding argued that complying with such a request would damage the confidential nature of advice given the president. The White House also made clear -- citing the same rationale -- that Taylor and Miers would not testify before Congress as directed by the subpoenas.



White House spokesman Tony Fratto reiterated that stand on Sunday, despite Leahy's belief that Taylor would testify before his committee.



Bush has offered to make Miers, Taylor, political strategist Karl Rove and their aides available to be interviewed in private by the House and Senate committees, without transcripts and not under oath. Leahy and Democratic Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the House committee chairman, have said the offer is insufficient.



Fratto urged them to reconsider and accused them of seeking confrontation and headlines. "The president remains ready and willing to share facts with the committees, but not under the threat of subpoenas and a media spectacle," he said.



The Senate committee's top Republican, Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, recommended accepting the White House offer as a first step and issuing subpoenas later if needed. That led to an unusually candid exchange on live television in which Specter and Leahy negotiated how far they would bend in dealing with the Bush administration.



"One thing we haven't done is asked for a meeting with the president," Specter told Leahy. "Why don't you and John Conyers and I ask for a meeting with the president? We may be a little tired of dealing with his lawyer."



"Why don't you and I chat about this tomorrow when we're on the (Senate) floor," Leahy responded.



Lawmakers have given the White House until Monday morning to explain why the White House claimed executive privilege on subpoenaed documents related to the congressional investigation. Lawmakers also want an accounting of documents being withheld.



"I think it's time for the stonewalling to stop," Leahy said.



As Monday's deadline neared, Fratto said the White House will respond "in a manner consistent with the principle of the separation of powers." He declined to be more specific.



The Washington Post, citing unidentified sources, reported Sunday that Fielding was expected to tell lawmakers that he already has provided the legal basis for the executive privilege claims and does not intend to hand over the documentation sought.



Sen. Orrin Hatch, a senior Republican on Leahy's committee, defended the White House.



"There comes a point where the White House has to say, 'Hey, look there are certain confidential things in the White House that we're not going to share with Congress just like there are certain confidential things in Congress that we're not going to share with the White House,"' said Hatch, R-Utah.



The fight involves the investigation by Democratic lawmakers into the firings of several U.S. attorneys. The lawmakers want to know whether the White House improperly ordered the dismissals.



The investigation has expanded to include scrutiny of the administration's warrantless wiretapping program and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' stewardship of the Justice Department.



Without an agreement on the subpoenaed documents, the dispute appears to be heading toward contempt citations and, possibly, a constitutional showdown in federal court.



Asked in a broadcast interview if the defiance would mean holding the White House in contempt of Congress, Conyers said, "Well, yes. It means moving forward in the process that would require him to comply with the subpoenas like most other people."



Conyers said he would not hold Taylor in contempt and he hoped negotiations with the White House might break the impasse.

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"We keep getting stalled. They keep pressing us. We're seeking cooperation. This is not partisan in any way whatsoever. I would have the same attitude if it were a Democratic president," he said.



Conyers appeared on "This Week" on ABC, Hatch was on "Face the Nation" on CBS and Leahy and Specter spoke on "Late Edition" on CNN. E-mail to a friend



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Well, Bush does not want anyone testifying under oath. That leads me to believe that if they lie, Bush is making damn sure no-one gets charged with lying under oath. You can not be charged legally for what you did not do.



During the Reagan administration, Iran Contra was a big scandal. People were testifying before Congress and no-one remembers Ronald Reagan asking that it be private or not under oath. Reagan had more sense than to act like he had something to hid whether he did or not. He did not raise people's suspicions by acting guilty of something. It seems that a reasonable person whose father was Reagan's vice-president would have learned something. Of course, we are taking about Georgie Boy. Makes me wonder what George was really doing during his father's stint as both vice-president and president.

ENID, Oklahoma (AP) -- Detectives arrested a 12-year-old girl and her 10-year-old sister for allegedly abducting their neighbor's 1-year-old son and demanding $200,000 for his return.



Brandon Wells was back at home Thursday night, hours after intruders broke into his family's residence and took him while his mother, Sheila Wells, slept, police said.



"I've been doing this 18 1/2 years, and this is the first time I know of when a 10- and a 12-year-old kidnapped a 1-year-old," said police Capt. Dean Grassino. "It definitely ranks up there with the unusual crimes."



The siblings, who were not identified because of their ages, are accused of sneaking into Wells' home at about 5:30 a.m., taking Brandon and leaving a ransom note.



"If you want to see your son again then you won't call police and report him missing and you will leave $200,000 on the sofa tonight and we will return your son back safe," the note read,



The plan began to unravel when the girls' mother saw them with the child, police said. They told their mother they had found the boy on the corner, police said.



As girls' mother tried to find Sheila Wells' telephone number, the 12-year-old returned to Wells' residence and told her it was the younger sister who was responsible for the abduction, Grassino said.



Wells immediately retrieved her child from the girls' home and police were called, Grassino said.



Wells said she knew the girls and had banned the 10-year-old girl from her home a few weeks ago, but did not say why.



The girls appeared in Garfield County District Court on Thursday afternoon and were taken to Community Intervention Center for juveniles. They have not been formally charged.



"I know they're so young, but they need to learn from their mistakes," Wells said.



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The fact that the ten year old was banned from this neighbor's house may explain a few things. Perhaps, the child and her sister were angry that this happened and wanted to strike back. Did they learn this behavior from their parents? Many times we as adults make verbal threats that we do not plan to carry out. Another adult may know we are just angry at that moment and will calm down. Cooler heads usually prevail once the head cools off. A child may not realize that it is just idle talk from an angry person. The ten year old may have exhibited some behavior that worried Ms. Wells. Mother's intution may have came into play.



At least the mother of the two girls is involved enough to have noticed her daughters with the boy. Some parents would have been caught up in their own mess ( drugs, drinking, running the streets, chasing a man, etc) and would not have seen the boy. At least, she did not believe them when they said they found him on a street corner.



I do not like the fact that the 12 year old blamed the younger one for everything. Even if it comes out that the ten year old is the mastermind behind the whole thing, the older one is accountable for her actions. If you go along with a crime, I am fairly sure the law does not care who the idea originated with. You are both guilty.



What did these girls watch on TV? Did they see the Mel Gibson movie that showed his son being kidnapped? Did they watch Court TV or Nancy Grace? I have nothing against any of the three things I mentioned. However, know your children. If they cannot handle watching something, change the channel.

For two hours, I was the happiest person alive today. Malcolm came for a visit. Malcolm is my son. He finally finished watching the fourth Harry Potter movie. He is not allowed to watch Harry Potter where he is currently living. The people due to religious reasons do not find that story appealing. I have taught Malcolm he has to respect that. He is allowed to read the books as long as he is mindful of the fact that he cannot discuss what he has read until he sees me. Malcolm seems to go along with that. He did start the movie Eragon. It also mentions magic, so that is another film for my house.



We looked up things together on the Internet. Malcolm has long been a fan of the WWE. He watched news coverage of the recent murders of Chris Benoit's family and his apparent suicide. Of course, conventional wisdom is saying he murdered his wife and young son. We got to talking about anabolic steroids and I informed him that if he could not play sports without taking them to just walk away. A sports career is not worth my son's life or his freedom if all he does is take another's life. I did not give birth to him for him to die from the excessive use of anabolic steroids or to be behind bars for killing someone due to roid rage. We ended up looking up things about the Beatles. He has the song Working Class Hero by John Lennon. He seems to like it. ( That is not hard to imagine. He is a big time Billy Joel fan and a ex-coworker of mine stated that Working Class Hero sounds like something Billy would sing. ) He did comment that is seemed that George Harrison lost his whole family. His parents and his brother died before he did in 2001.



Malcolm is intelligent for his age and I am glad. I just hope he also remembers to have fun too.