Tilly & Lee Lee the night B4 my Birthday

Wishing you the happiest of holidaze!

From us

I am awake
My mind is free
I am creative
I love myself
My willpower is strong
I am brave
I practice patience
I don’t judge folks
I give, not to receive
I don’t expect
I accept
I listen more than I talk
I know I’ll change
I know you’ll change
I’ll hold on one more day
I start over when necessary
I create my own situations
I am cosmic
I do not have the answers
I desire to learn
I am the plan
I am strong
I am weak
I want to grow
I know I will
I take on responsibility
I hide myself from no one
I’m on my path
Warriors walk alone
I won’t let my focus change
Taking out the demons in my range

Humankind — despite its artistic pretensions, its sophistication,
and its many accomplishments — owes its existence to
a six-inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains.

2005 Ampula Music recommendations

Lots of chatter about the 'Grammy' noms, Mariah, Kanye....., yes those names & faces we see so much of these days.

Here's a list of music from 2005 that is about connecting with something deeper than commerce:

Me' Shell N'degeocello - Dance of the Infidel (Bashir once again expands her already diverse range)

Floetry - Flo 'Ology (Perfect combination of amazing singer & floetress)

Jazzzanova - Blue Note Trip V.4: Jazzanova Lookin Back Movin on (These German boys know how to remix a Blue Note tune or 2)

MIA - Arular (Multiculturally influenced Sri Lankan diva who delivers one of THE most original works this year)

Brazilian Girls - Brazilian Girls (Don't let the name/title fool you; danceable, cool, ecletic & original)

Lina - The Inner Beauty Movement (Get with it!)

Why oppose Alito:

What President Bush's Supreme Court nomination of Samuel Alito means for the country:


BACKGROUND on ALITO:As a lawyer in the Reagan administration and as a federal judge, Alito has taken positions that are far out of the mainstream on the issues people care about:

o He has expressed deeply troubling views about reapportionment -- a basic democratic tenet that guarantees equal representation in voting, including the "One Person, One Vote" principle.

o He would have upheld the strip search of a mother and her ten-year old daughter, even though the warrant allowing the search did not name either of them.

o He has issued decisions making it harder for victims of race and sex discrimination to seek justice, and more difficult for victims of disability discrimination to prove their case.

o He has expressed troubling views on the right to privacy, specifically saying that 'the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion,' and forcefully advocating a legal strategy designed to restrict and eventually overturn Roe v. Wade.

o He ruled against part of the Family and Medical Leave Act--a law that guarantees most working people up to twelve weeks' leave to recover from a serious illness or help care for a family member.

o He has singled out his work to restrict affirmative action and limit remedies in racial discrimination cases as areas that he was "particularly proud of."

o He has offered excessively narrow readings of the Commerce Clause and excessively broad readings of "states' rights," voting to strike down a federal law restricting the possession and transfer of machine guns.

o He sided with corporate polluters in a ruling that made it much harder for victims of pollution to sue, even when the polluters were guilty of breaking the law. The Supreme Court eventually rejected Alito's position.