Mystery Buzz

Police buzz in to solve vibrator mystery

• From correspondents in Berlin
• From: AFP
• March 08, 2010 12:10PM

A woman phoned police after hearing "suspicious noises" in her flat, but much to her embarrassment officers found the source was a vibrator, authorities say.
The noise was so loud and strange, even over the telephone, that police in Bochum in western Germany decided to send a patrol car around to the "scene of the crime", a statement said.

"Daringly, and with the occupier's permission, one of the officers opened the drawer of a wardrobe where the noise was coming from.

"Underneath some clothes he found a very personal, battery-operated object which had obviously switched itself on... The tenant's face abruptly changed colour."

Police then "wished her a nice evening and left"

Crash While Shaving

According to an Australian news source a woman here in the United States, in the grand old state of Florida , was at the wheel of a car that crashed.
Why did it crash? Because she gave her ex-husband the wheel while she shaved her girly bits. She crashed into the back of a truck.
This gives new meaning to the phrase " busy beaver".
The police came and the woman who must've had a super-case of "DUH" decided to switch seats with her ex-husband so it looked as if she wasn't driving.
To prove she was truly half-baked the woman was on 9 months probation for a DUI, and thus should not have been driving in the first place.
I guess the cop who pulled her over after she crashed into the truck could've arrested her for "Wreckless endangerment of wild life (beaver)."

http://www.news.com.au/weird-true-freaky/florida-woman-crashes-while-shaving-bikini-area/story-e6frflri-1225838500308

Doctor disciplined for removing wrong kidney

A urologist has been indefinitely barred from inpatient surgery for removing the wrong kidney of one patient and taking a biopsy from another's patient's pancreas instead of a kidney. Dr. Erol Uke has signed the disciplinary ruling from the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice, agreeing that his actions justify the board's discipline.
The ruling said Uke could regain surgical privileges if the board later determines he's competent to do so.

The Star Tribune reported the ruling did not say where the errors happened, just that Uke removed the wrong kidney in March 2008 and performed the erroneous biopsy about four months later.

Uke declined comment when reached at home by The Associated Press.

100 Weird Phobias

These phobias actually exist:

Social Phobias
These anxiety disorders are triggered by certain types of people, relationships, and social situations.

1. Venustraphobia: Also known as caligynephobia, this is the fear of beautiful women, and may be caused by low self-confidence or putting too much pressure on appearances.
2. Anthropophobia: This phobia literally refers to the fear of people but can also mean the fear of having company.
3. Aphephobia: This phobia causes people to feel afraid when touched.
4. Autodysomophobia: If you have a bad or "vile" odor, you may trigger someone who has autodysomophobia.
5. Deipnophobia: Dinner parties, dining and dinner conversation are all off limits for people who suffer from this phobia.
6. Nomophobia: This modern phobia affects people who are very afraid of losing cell phone contact.
7. Soteriophobia: Some seriously independent-minded individuals may have soteriophobia, or the fear of becoming dependent on someone else.
8. Sociophobia: Those who fear being judged by society suffer from sociophobia.
9. Gamophobia: It’s not just an excuse: some people actually have a valid fear of getting married.
10. Syngenesophobia: While there are certainly jokes about scary stepmothers or in-laws, this phobia refers to the fear of all relatives.
11. Ecclesiophobia: The fear of church and going to church is called ecclesiophobia.

Zoophobias
Many people are afraid of snakes, rats or bats, but these phobias represent the fear of more random animals.

12. Ornithophobia: The fear of birds — especially pigeons — is referred to as ornithophobia, and is actually a fairly common phobia.
13. Lutraphobia: While some people think they’re cute, others are afraid of otters.
14. Equinophobia: The fear of horses is also called equinophobia.
15. Zemmiphobia: It certainly sounds frightening: zemmiphobia is the fear of "the great mole rat."

Natural Environment Phobias
Wind, the Northern lights, and even flowers are just too stressful for people with the following phobias.

16. Aerophobia: Those with aerophobia — the fear of drafts, air swallowing and airborne diseases or germs — may wish to wear face masks, especially in public.
17. Pteridophobia: For some, being near ferns is too frightening.
18. Anthophobia: Most people are happy to receive flowers, but anthophobia refers to the fear of them.
19. Ancraophobia: The fear of wind is also called anemophobia.
20. Heliphobia: Nighttime hours come as a relief for those who are afraid of sunlight.
21. Auroraphobia: Those who are afraid of the Northern Aurora lights have auroraphobia.
22. Chionophobia: Instead of hoping for snow, those with chionophobia must dread it.

Personal Phobias
People who have trouble dealing with certain aspects of their own character or appearance suffer from these phobias.

23. Spectrophobia: Those who are too afraid to look at their own reflection in a mirror have spectrophobia.
24. Athazagoraphobia: Athazagoraphobia is the fear of being forgotten, and also the name of this blog.
25. Gelotophobia: Those who fear being laughed at — and actually evaluate social situations for "signs of laughter and ridicule" — suffer from gelotophobia

Physical Objects
From red lights to knees, here are some weird phobias involving physical objects and body parts.

26. Selenophobia: Selenophobia is the term for the fear of the moon.
27. Asymmetriphobia: If you’re afraid of mismatched socks or asymmetrical objects, you have asymmetriphobia.
28. Aurophobia: Most people would be ecstatic to have the chance to find gold, but people who suffer from aurophobia are petrified of it.
29. Ereuthophobia: The fear of red lights is called ereuthophobia.
30. Genuphobia: Knees can cause great irritation and fear in people with genuphobia.
31. Automatonophobia: The fear of human-like figures, like dummies or wax figures, is called automatonophobia.
32. Atephobia: Visiting ancient Greek or Roman ruins would be a nightmare for those with atephobia, or the fear of ruins and old buildings.
33. Aulophobia: Aulophobia refers to the fear of flutes.
34. Dextrophobia: People with this phobia do not like having objects situated to their right.
35. Linonophobia: Though it’s useful, string is the cause of anxiety for people with linonophobia.
36. Papyrophobia: Paper is the cause of great anxiety and even fear in people who suffer from papyrophobia.
37. Domatophobia: One wonders where people with this phobia — the fear of houses and being inside houses — live.

Ideas and Concepts
Certain intangibles cause a lot of anxiety and irritation in some people, even seemingly harmless ideas like depth or newness.

38. Tachophobia: Anyone who suffers from tachophobia — the fear of speed — may be afraid of riding in cars or trains.
39. Xerophobia: The fear of dryness is also called xerophobia.
40. Arithmophobia: Arithmophobia means to the fear of numbers generally, but can also refer to the fear of math, numerals, certain numbers, calculations, and/or calculus.
41. Bathophobia: This obscure phobia refers to the fear of depth.
42. Cainophobia: Sometimes called cainotophobia, this is the fear of anything new.
43. Macrophobia: Doctor’s offices and holiday shopping trips must be nightmares for people who suffer from macrophobia, or the fear of long waits.
44. Hagiophobia: Holy figures and holy things or ideas are feared by people with hagiophobia.
45. Sophophobia: Those who are afraid of learning anything new have sophophobia.
46. Barophobia: While it’s common to have a fear of flying or a fear of heights, others have a fear of gravity, or barophobia.
47. Rhabdophobia: This anxiety disorder means several things: the fear of magic and a magic wand, being beaten by a rod, or being very harshly criticized.
48. Symbolophobia: Figurative and symbolic ideas can become a legitimate phobia for some.
49. Chronophobia: The fear of time is referred to as chronophobia.
50. Mnemophobia: The fear of memories is called mnemophobia.
51. Philosophobia: It can be a challenging subject, but for some individuals, philosophy is legitimately terrifying.

Activities
Sitting, standing and walking are sore spots for people who suffer from these and other phobias.

52. Ablutophobia: Ablutophobia is the fear of washing or bathing.
53. Amaxophobia: The fear of riding in cars is referred to as amaxophobia, and can cause problems especially for those living in suburban areas.
54. Agyrophobia: Even if there are no cars around, some people still suffer from the fear of crossing roads.
55. Chorophobia: Weddings, prom, and parties must pose lots of problems for those who suffer from the fear of dancing.
56. Ergophobia: If you miss a day at the office, you could try telling your boss that you’ve suddenly developed ergophobia, or the fear of work and/or functioning.
57. Kyphophobia: Being in the stooping position causes too much anxiety for people with kyphophobia.
58. Mageirocophobia: Cooking is a source of anxiety for people with mageirocophobia.
59. Scriptophobia: A common phobia is the fear of speaking in public, but scriptophobia is the fear of writing in public.
60. Sitophobia: The fear of eating is called sitophobia, and can become very serious.
61. Basiphobia: Those who are too afraid to walk or stand because of the possibility of falling have basiphobia.
62. Cathisophobia: Conversely, this is the fear of sitting down.

Group or Race Phobias
These prejudicial phobias are the result of the fear of random groups of people.

63. Bolshephobia: Some people are afraid of meeting or hearing about Bolsheviks, and their disorder is called Bolshephobia.
64. Apotemnophobia: People with amputations cause fear and anxiety in those who suffer from apotemnophobia.
65. Walloonphobia: This disorder refers to the fear of Walloons, a group of people of German and Celtic origin living in Belgium.
66. Parthenophobia: Those who are afraid of virgins and young girls suffer from parthenophobia.
67. Ephebiphobia: This term refers to the fear of teenagers.
68. Pedophobia: Children are actually frightening to people with pedophobia.
69. Dutchphobia: Some people believe that the Dutch are upsetting, perhaps because of their traditional costumes.
70. Heterophobia: Homophobia is a well-known, though controversial, phobia, but heterophobia refers to the fear of heterosexuals.
71. Transphobia: The fear of transsexual or transgender people is called transphobia.
72. Hoplophobia: The fear of people who own firearms is called hoplophobia.
73. Iatrophobia: Those who are afraid of or discriminate against doctors have iatrophobia.

Sickness and Injuries
The fear of particular diseases and injuries are outlined in this list.

74. Albuminurophobia: This very specific phobia refers to the fear of kidney disease.
75. Aeronausiphobia: Phobialist.com describes this phobia as the fear of vomiting due to airsickness.
76. Amychophobia: People who suffer from amychophobia — the fear of scratches — are probably very protective of themselves and their skin.
77. Anklyophobia: Some people are actually afraid that their joints will stop working, and this fear is called anklyophobia.
78. Blood-injection-injury type phobia: This odd phobia group includes trypanophobia (the fear of injections); hemophobia (the fear of blood) and the fear of invasive medical procedures.
79. Body dysmorphic disorder: Also referred to as BDD, this body image disorder causes people to imagine that they have or will develop physical deformities.
80. Ataxiophobia: The fear of not being able to use your muscles properly is called ataxiophobia.
81. Injury phobia: If you’re afraid of being injured, you have injury phobia.
82. Syphilophobia: One hopes that having a fear of syphilis would inspire more responsible romantic encounters.
83. Chemophobia: Those who get too carried away with organic diets or going green may be at risk for chemophobia, a condition that refers to the fear of all chemicals and preference for natural elements.
84. Rhypophobia: People who are afraid of defecation have rhypophobia, and are at risk for other health problems.

Truly Bizarre Phobias
In this list, you’ll find some of the weirdest phobias out there, from the fear of purple to the fear of constipation.

85. Allodoxaphobia: If you like to voice your thoughts on a particular subject, you may want to stay away from people with allodoxaphobia, or the fear of opinions.
86. Porphyrophobia: The color purple causes some people to be very afraid and develop this condition.
87. Arachibutyrophobia: If you’re desperately afraid of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth, you have arachibutyrophobia.
88. Blennophobia: Unless you’re in a science fiction movie, you probably won’t come into contact with slime, but some people are afraid of it anyway.
89. Cardiophobia: Although the heart is your lifeline, some people are afraid of it.
90. Coprastasophobia: Some people are actually terribly afraid of becoming constipated.
91. Didaskaleinophobia: If you’d rather skip class, just claim this phobia, which refers to the fear of going to school.
92. Nomatophobia: This phobia refers to the fear of names.
93. Lipophobia: The fear of fats in food may be blamed on the red meat scare of 1977.
94. Hormephobia: Hormephobia refers to a person’s fear of experiencing shock, which is probably made more likely after an anxiety attack.
95. Sesquipedalophobia: This term refers to the fear of long words, and seems like a cruel joke.
96. Phobophobia: This condition is described as a rare disorder and refers to the fear of having a phobia.
97. Hellenologophobia: Confusing, highly technical terminology — including Greek terms — make those with hellenologophobia anxious.
98. Cymophobia: It’s understandable that some people might be afraid of waves, but this phobia also refers to the fear of "wave-like motions."
99. Pteronophobia: The idea of being tickled with feathers is upsetting for those with pteronophobia.
100. Optophobia: Opening one’s eyes is just too stressful for some individuals.

Lake monster

Monster' prowling B.C. lake - Canoe.ca

Brigette Horvath knew she saw something strange in Cameron Lake on Vancouver Island two years ago. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Brigette Horvath-HO)

VICTORIA, B.C. - Brigette Horvath knew she saw something strange in Cameron Lake on Vancouver Island two years ago and a team of researchers say she might be right.

Was it a fish, an eel or some kind of serpent-like creature? She says she didn't know. But Horvath grabbed her camera and managed to fire off one shot before the batteries failed.

The researchers who specialize in looking for so-called cryptozoological creatures - in other words, monsters - spent Saturday on the lake probing the depths with a sonar-like fish finder.

At first, they picked up a couple of large contacts at the bottom of the lake, about 45 metres deep, then something more pronounced on a second pass.

"Something just went 'ping' on the alarm on the fish finder and we saw this absolutely massive object in the midst of various fish," said John Kirk, president of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club.

They made four more passes and the contact held stable, making it unlikely that it was a school of fish, which tend to scatter eventually, Kirk said.


"We were quite stunned that there was something that big in the lake and it was in about 60 feet of water, less than 30 yards from shore, it was quite amazing," he said.

Horvath, who lives in Nanaimo, said she was driving along Highway 4 on July 30, 2007, when she saw a strange semi-circle in the lake.

"You could see like a serpent shape," said Horvath, who isn't the only person to report something strange in Cameron Lake.

"It wasn't logs," she said. "It wasn't waves. There were no boats in the area. It was, like, right there. You could actually see a large fish, (an) object, no, not an object, something alive."

Kirk, who admits his trip to Cameron Lake is being sponsored by the local Oceanside Tourism Association, said the team accidentally lost its underwater camera and was unable to explore further.

Because the weather will deteriorate in the fall and winter, another search will have to wait until next year, Kirk said.

But the team has narrowed the possibilities.

"Maybe it's a sturgeon, maybe it's a giant sterile eel....it could be a massive type of salamander," Kirk said. "Or it could be something that we're completely unaware of at this point."

However, it's unlikely the small lake is the home of a mysterious sea monster, Kirk said.

"I'm not going to the extent to say there's anything exotic down there, there's just something big."

Kirk has searched for the Ogopogo in Okanagan Lake in the B.C. interior, looked in coastal B.C. for the Sasquatch, tried to find the sea creature Cadborosaurus off Vancouver Island and has hunted for giant salamanders in swamps.

He's been to Scotland and the republics of Congo and Cameroon in search of strange dinosaur-like beasts.

But it's British Columbia waters that provide a fertile hunting ground for animal tales, he said.

Kirk said there are 41 different lakes in British Columbia where strange animal sightings have been reported.

"In B.C., we just seem to have a ton of these lakes where these things have been seen," he said.

Sawmill workers at Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island reported seeing a large lake creature during the 1960s and a local fisherman said he hooked something that pulled him and his boat around the lake for an hour, Kirk said.

He said the Cadborosaurus, which has been adopted as an unofficial tourism mascot in the Victoria area, is real because fishermen found one inside the belly of a sperm whale in 1937 and sent it to the Royal B.C. Museum for identification.

"We've had what you might say in scientific terms is the type-specimen there," said Kirk. "Most people describe this thing as an elongated serpent-like creature. It has a camel-like head. That description comes up over and over."

A former clerk of the B.C. legislature, Henry William Langley and provincial archivist Fred Kemp, issued a joint statement in 1922 saying they'd seen a sea creature off Chatham Island near Victoria.

"These are not nut-case people. These are very serious people," said Kirk.

In 1951, Langley was crushed to death under the wheels of a Nanaimo-bound train as it was pulling out of the Victoria station.

Kirk said Cadborosaurus' range is not confined to the Victoria area. Reports of a similar animal have come from the Gulf of Alaska to the Sea of Cortez in Mexico.

In Oregon, the animal goes by the name Colossal Claude.

But Kirk believes British Columbia is in a class by itself for what he calls cryptozoological encounters.

People have actually started to embrace the strange animals to the point where they are showing up in tourism brochures, he said.

"Like Moberly Lake up in the (northeast) area, the First Nations there got in touch with me and told me about the creature that they had been seeing with a horse's head swimming around in the lake, and now they've given it a name," Kirk said.

"They call it Moberly Dick.

Socialists

Dolce Miami: Who Were the Real Socialists?

Who Were the Real Socialists?
[This entry was cross-posted on Facebook. It's rather informal.]

I made a comment recently in one of my classes recently saying that, yes, I believe the tax rate for the highest earners should be 40% in order to pay for social services and other government services. This elicited surprise from some, but is it really so surprising?

Obama's "tax increase" isn't so much of one as it is rolling back a tax break for the rich instituted by Bush immediately after the Clinton Administration, which had the tax rate for the highest earners at 39.6%.

Let's take a look at some facts from history.

-IRS information regarding tax rates is available from 1913 to 2009, a span of 95/96 years.
-Since 1913, we have had 17 presidents: 8 Democrats, 9 Republicans.

All eight of the Democrats had tax rates of 39.6% or more as did seven of the nine Republicans.

The highest tax rate, of 92%, belongs to Democrat Harry Truman. However, this tax rate also carried over into Republican Dwight Eisenhower's term. Oh, sorry, no...like a true conservative, Eisenhower lowered taxes.

To 91%.

GOP President Hoover, after years with a tax rate of 25%, decided, "Hey, what the hell, let's tax people 63%" right before leaving office. That's an increase of 38 percentage points. The increase by the Republican is higher than the actual tax rate now (35%).

The United Socialist States of America? Perhaps. (Credit: Bill St. Clair)

Since the post-World War II period, the maximum tax rate has trended downwards, but remained high even amongst the staunchest conservatives:

Eisenhower: 91%
Nixon: 70%
Ford: 70
Reagan: 50%

Taxes for the highest-earners hit a 77-year low with Bush Senior at 28% and was then increased to 31% and subsequently 39.6% by Bill Clinton. Bush Junior then immediately enacted the tax break that set it at 35%.

So compared to historic levels of taxation, by both Democrats and Republicans, of levels beyond 60, 70, 80, even 90%, why is Obama the socialist?

In fact, "socialist" Sweden's maximum tax rate right now is 59.09%, while Denmark's is 63%. By that logic, those states being considered "socialist", Woodrow Wilson, Herbert Hoover, FDR, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, JFK, LBJ, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter were also socialist presidents. Oh no, that means 10 of our last 17 presidents have been pinko Commies!

It must be all part of a vast left-wing conspiracy to infiltrate America and bring the United States under strict authoritarian rule, right?

Those damn lefties, they'll ruin us with their taxes, just like they caused the downfall of the United States all those other times. Better start moving to Monaco, people.


Sources:
US Presidents/Terms
US Tax Rates
World Tax Rates

Celeb Children's Names

Star’s New Baby - Another "Original" Celebrity Baby Name

The daughter of singing star Lionel Richie, Nicole Richie, 27, rose to fame thanks to her high-profile position as the (ex) best friend of Paris Hilton. Richie was once engaged to DJ AM, the celebrity DJ found dead of an apparent drug overdose in August, a year after miraculously surviving a plane crash that killed four others.

In 2008 Richie welcomed her first, daughter Harlow Winter Kate, with boyfriend Joel Madden, 30, lead singer of the pop-punk band Good Charlotte. Hilton briefly dated Madden’s twin brother, Benji.

On the celebrated date 09/09/09 the couple welcomed a second child with a bird-inspired name. It’s a boy, but the couple named the new baby Sparrow, which seems kinda girly.

The baby’s full name is Sparrow James Midnight Madden, so at least he can call himself James if he grows up and decides he’d like to be, well, normal.

Richie and Madden founded a charity, the Richie Madden Children’s Fund, but the website hasn’t been updated since before Obama was elected. Guess they’ve been too busy with their own family.

1,224-pound cupcake sets record as world's largest : NPR

1,224-pound cupcake sets record as world's largest

by The Associated Press
Colossal Cupcake
Associated Press

From left, Merengue Bakery and Cafe chef Jacquelyne Garcia, owner George Algarin and chef Christina Gonzalez frost a Guinness World Record-breaking cupcake that weighed in at 1,224 lbs at the annual Woodward Dream Cruise in Royal Oak, Mich. on Aug. 15, 2009.
2_Colossal_Cupcake.sff.jpg
Enlarge Associated Press

Those involved in making the Guinness World Record-breaking cupcake cheer as they take the record with a whopping 1,224 pounds at the annual Woodward Dream Cruise in Royal Oak, Mich. on Aug. 15, 2009.
2_Colossal_Cupcake.sff.jpg
Associated Press

Those involved in making the Guinness World Record-breaking cupcake cheer as they take the record with a whopping 1,224 pounds at the annual Woodward Dream Cruise in Royal Oak, Mich. on Aug. 15, 2009.
1_Colossal_Cupcake.sff.jpg
Enlarge Associated Press

Guinness World Records Adjudicator Carl Saville measures the girth of the 1,224 pound cupcake at the annual Woodward Dream Cruise in Royal Oak, Mich. on Aug. 15, 2009.
1_Colossal_Cupcake.sff.jpg
Associated Press

Guinness World Records Adjudicator Carl Saville measures the girth of the 1,224 pound cupcake at the annual Woodward Dream Cruise in Royal Oak, Mich. on Aug. 15, 2009.
text sizeAAA
MANCHESTER, N.H. August 16, 2009, 02:04 pm ET

A 1,224-pound triple vanilla cupcake with pink frosting has set a record as the world's largest.

The sugary behemoth was unveiled Saturday at the Woodward Dream Cruise classic cars event in Royal Oak, Mich.

A Guinness World Records adjudicator was on hand to certify the cupcake's girth. It was more than eight times the size of the previous record holder.

The colossal cupcake took 12 hours to bake and included 800 eggs and 200 pounds each of sugar and flour.

Slices of the cupcake were served in exchange for donations to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer organization.

Ryan Abood, owner of New Hampshire-based Gourmetgiftbaskets.com who made the cupcake, told the Detroit Free Press that it clocked in at an estimated 2 million calories.

Related articles by Zemanta

• The World's Largest Cupcake is Official GourmetGiftBaskets.com Declares End To The Cupcake Wars: At 1,224 Pounds, It's Eight Times Bigger Than Previous World Record Holder (prweb.com)

Horny Old Man

Yemen man's horny dream came true Saleh, a resident of Shabwa in the Yemen, dreamed so often that he was growing a horn on his head that he came to bel­ieve it would come to pass. It was only a quest­ion of when. Now aged 102, he recounts how a horn began to sprout on the left side of his head 25 years ago.

Since it did not bother him and there were no local medical facilities, he just ig­nored it. Event­ually, it grew into a horn 1ft 8in (50cm) long. His fell­ow vill­ag­ers were as­tound­ed and ass­umed it must be pain­ful, but Saleh said they came to real­ise it was simply “some­thing Allah wanted to happen to show the people that he can do as he de­sires”. As the horn grew, it became weaker and more diffi­cult for Saleh to man­age, espec­ially during sleep.

It finally fell off and a second one started grow­ing in its place. Hun­dreds of people from the Yemen and other Gulf states have come to see Saleh and touch his horn. “I have no idea why Allah chose me,” he said, “but I thank God for his mercy and show of great­ness. I only say al-hamdu lillah.”

Yemen Observ­er, 17 Feb

Anti-reform...

5 facts about the anti-reform mobs

1. These disruptions are being funded and organized by out-of-district special-interest groups and insurance companies who fear that health insurance reform could help Americans, but hurt their bottom line. A group run by the same folks who made the "Swiftboat" ads against John Kerry is compiling a list of congressional events in August to disrupt. An insurance company coalition has stationed employees in 30 states to track where local lawmakers hold town-hall meetings.

2. People are scared because they are being fed frightening lies. These crowds are being riled up by anti-reform lies being spread by industry front groups that invent smears to tarnish the President's plan and scare voters. But as the President has repeatedly said, health insurance reform will create more health care choices for the American people, not reduce them. If you like your insurance or your doctor, you can keep them, and there is no "government takeover" in any part of any plan supported by the President or Congress.

3. Their actions are getting more extreme. Texas protesters brought signs displaying a tombstone for Rep. Lloyd Doggett and using the "SS" symbol to compare President Obama's policies to Nazism. Maryland Rep. Frank Kratovil was hanged in effigy outside his district office. Rep. Tim Bishop of New York had to be escorted to his car by police after an angry few disrupted his town hall meeting -- and more examples like this come in every day. And they have gone beyond just trying to derail the President's health insurance reform plans, they are trying to "break" the President himself and ruin his Presidency.

4. Their goal is to disrupt and shut down legitimate conversation. Protesters have routinely shouted down representatives trying to engage in constructive dialogue with voters, and done everything they can to intimidate and silence regular people who just want more information. One attack group has even published a manual instructing protesters to "stand up and shout" and try to "rattle" lawmakers to prevent them from talking peacefully with their constituents.

5. Republican leadership is irresponsibly cheering on the thuggish crowds. Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner issued a statement applauding and promoting a video of the disruptions and looking forward to "a long, hot August for Democrats in Congress."