Theodore's World

Campaign flyer offends Muslim community
ROCHESTER
There is a new debate in Monroe County related to Governor Spitzer’s plan to give driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. The debate has worked its way into the county legislature races. It has to do with a campaign mailing sent out by the Republican Party.
It is not so much what it says but what it shows that has members of the Islamic community upset. The flyer suggests that county legislature democrats want to license potential terrorists and the literature contains images intended to depict terrorists.

“Seeing these things are very wrong for me to see it in that way it means someone is profiling me that I’m a terrorist,” said Dr. Muhammad Shafiq.

Dr. Shafiq is the Imam at the Islamic Center on Westfall Road in Rochester. He says the images are offensive to Muslims and believes the Republican Party is using fear tactics to persuade voters.

“Especially as a Muslim, it looks very very wrong the way they portrayed the pictures as linking Arabs and terrorism, equalizing them to terrorism, is racial profiling,” said Dr. Shafiq.

County clerk Cheryl Dinolfo disagrees.

“I really do take issue with that way of thinking because, again, that piece is about not one particular nationality,” said Dinolfo.

Dinolfo says licensing illegal immigrants could jeopardize the security of the entire nation. She uses 9/11 as an example.

“The fact remains that there were terrorists who came into this country and harmed our country using licenses to do so,” said Dinolfo.

County Democrats say the Republicans are attacking them on the licensing issue that the county legislature has virtually no control over. Democrats accuse Republicans of using the topic to try and hold onto control of the county legislature.

“Frankly putting someone on the face of campaign literature with an Uzi in his hand and accusing Democrats of aiding and abetting terrorists is about the terrorists is the lowest form of discourse or communication I’ve ever seen in this community,” said Monroe County Democratic Chair, Assemblyman Joe Morelle.

Dr. Shafiq is calling on County Republicans to denounce the mailing. But Thursday night, the county clerk offered no apologies.
Dinolfo is not up for reelection next Tuesday. Nine county legislature seats are being contested. Republicans currently control the Monroe County legislature 17-12.

Wild Thing’s comment………
Ah the Muslims are outraged again. What else is new? Ask me if I care? NOT! Muslims are always angry about something, so we can discount that. On the broader point, issuing licenses to illegals does indeed compromise our security. Drivers’ licenses are used as de facto ID cards in our country. Those—Hillary, Obama, Edwards—who would issue these cards to illegals put pandering to foreign lawbreakers before the security of our people. No doubt about it.
Most of the 9/11 terrorists had American drivers licenses. Some of them, sad to say, had licenses from my sorry, leaky DMV state, North Carolina. Also, eight of them were registered to vote. Last but not least, ALL of them were Muslims.
Any Muslims who object to “profiling” can stick it up their … turbans.
I say ignore the complainers and continue to use the offensive images and you will win. Cower and remove them and you lose because you show that even if you are against the practice, you have no strength, will, or cojones to see it through and if you will cave to the enemy on a complaint how will you accomplish anything at all?

Hillary is for giving driver’s licences to illegal aliens and this is Fred Thompson’s response.
Click below to see video it is not a long one but I love the way Thompson does his video’s. I do like the way he isn’t a wind bag like Joe Biden and he just gets right to the point.
The media and the talking heads want to control the process by setting a frenetic and chaotic pace and make the candidates dance to the MSM’s tune. Fred seems to totally reject this.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video_log/2007/11/thompson_wrong_answer.html

Nov. 3: Soldiers arrive in front of the administrative center of the capital Islamabad, Pakistan. President Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan on Saturday ahead of a crucial Supreme Court decision on whether to overturn his recent election win and amid rising Islamic militant violence.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan
Musharraf declares state of emergency
Faced with increasing violence and unrest, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency Saturday.
Musharraf issued an order proclaiming the emergency and suspending the nation’s constitution, according to a statement read on state television, and declaring martial law.
Musharraf is scheduled to address the nation at 1800 GMT (2 p.m. ET) Saturday.
The Supreme Court declared the state of emergency illegal, claiming Musharraf had no power to suspend the constitution, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry told CNN.
A senior Pakistani official told CNN that the emergency declaration will be “short-lived,” and will be followed by an interim government. Martial law is a way to restore law and order, he said.
Shortly afterward, Chaudhry was expelled as chief justice, his office told CNN. Troops came to Chaudhry’s office to tell him.
The government appointed Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar as the new chief justice, according to state television.
In Islamabad, troops entered the Supreme Court and were surrounding the judges’ homes, according to CNN’s Syed Mohsin Naqvi.
Supreme Court sources said some judges who were not in Islamabad were not at their homes, and it was not known whether they had been arrested.
Aitzaz Ahsan, a leading Pakistani attorney and president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, was arrested at his home. A former interior minister, Ahsan represented Chaudhry the first time he was forced to leave his post.
Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who left Pakistan last week to visit her family in Dubai, arrived in Karachi on Saturday, according to her husband, Asif Ali Zardari. She returned to Pakistan last month, despite death threats, after several years in exile.
On October 18, upon her return, at least 130 people were killed when a suicide attacker tried to assassinate her. Bhutto was lightly wounded, but escaped largely unharmed.
Bhutto has pledged to help her party succeed in January’s parliamentary elections. She hopes to gain a third term as prime minister, possibly under a power-sharing deal with Musharraf.

“The people of Pakistan will not accept it,” Bhutto spokesman Farhatullah Babar said of the emergency declaration. “We condemn this move.”

The declaration prompted a few hundred people to take to the streets in protest, but police and paramilitary groups blocked Islamabad’s main roads and dispersed the crowds.
Earlier, private networks had reported the declaration was imminent as top officials huddled at Musharraf’s residence in Rawalpindi. Shortly after that report, most media channels went off the air in an apparent blackout, although some flickered off and on.

Wild Thing’s comment…….
This is beginning to look real nasty and may drag us in a different direction. If Pakistan falls, every Islamist nutgroup in the ME will soon have nuclear weapons. This is just not good at all. Darn it anyway!

Activists to protest Lou Dobbs lecture at reading festival
CNN’s Lou Dobbs draws fire for immigration views
Herald Tribune
By CHRISTINA E. SANCHEZ
christina.sanchez@heraldtribune.com
SARASOTA — Immigration activists will protest today outside a lecture by Lou Dobbs to speak out against the news anchor’s strong opinions on illegal immigration.
Dobbs, the host of a news program on CNN, is scheduled to speak at 2 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church, as part of the Sarasota Reading Festival..
Protesters plan to gather outside the church at 1:30 p.m. and rally until about 3:30 p.m. They will hand out pamphlets promoting putting illegal immigrants on a path toward citizenship and giving them rights, and will carry banners and signs.
Festival organizers are prepared for protesters, and said they did not anticipate any problems. Police were notified to ensure that the rally does not get out of hand, said Betty Morris, the festival’s director.
“They have a right to oppose and stand outside with signs,” Morris said. “We think all voices should be heard, and that’s why we bring a variety of speakers to the festival.”
Morris said Dobbs was invited to speak and promote his new book, “Independent’s Day: Awakening the American Spirit,” which comes out Tuesday.
Dobbs’ lecture is co-sponsored by Forum Truth, a nonpartisan group of citizens who hold public meetings and discussions on hot topics.
The activists — including students from New College of Florida and members of the community — accuse Dobbs of “hate-mongering” against illegal immigrants, said Jose Godinez-Sampiero, a senior at New College and an organizer of the event.
“Just as he has a right to say the things he does, we have the right to say, ‘We don’t agree with you,'” Godinez-Sampiero said.
Dobbs is a strong supporter of tight borders and increased security. Over the years, he has repeated the same message on his show and Web site: “We cannot reform immigration law until we control immigration, and we cannot control immigration until we control our borders and our ports.”
PROTEST PLANNED
Area activists who favor rights for illegal immigrants plan to protest today outside a lecture by Lou Dobbs. He is scheduled to speak at 2 p.m. at the Sarasota Reading Festival..
When: Protesters rally from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Where: First United Methodist Church, 104 S. Pineapple Ave.

Wild Thing’s comment……..
The news is supposed to give the news, what is happening, who, what, why etc.
IMO the NEWS should NOT be a part of promoting protests for either side of an issue.
Meaning, tell us Lou Dobbs will be speaking, give us the where, when etc. And as the article is titled “Activists to protest lecture at festival” fine, but what is this crap about the freaking invite to protest. This entire article is an ad for the protesters of Lou Dobbs and how to join in the protest rally.
Well this was in our paper this morning. Not on page 2 or 3 or 4 but right on the front page as big as life.
So what is a girl that is against illegal’s to do. Get on the computer, do a post about this and then email this Christina E. Sanchez the link to the post and let her know how I feel about illegal’s and her illegal loving article.
The media and their pro illegal stance is to blame for the illegal problem we have in this country just as much as the illegal’s themselves. So listen up Christina E. Sanchez, I am glad you have job,I am glad you have progressed in life to follow your dream if that is what it was to write for a newspaper. I am not glad you have chosen to be pro illegal’s and anti-American, anti- security, anti-LEGAL immigration and those that follow our laws of this land. You wrote the article babe and you must have had control of what was in the article.
Tell us the who, what, and where, but your little section box within the article promoting the protest Lou Dobbs rally was over the line. For those not getting the hard copy of the paper the section box promoting the protest was also in a different color background just to make it more noticeable and making the entire article one that might have been written by a full fledged member of LaRaza perhaps? One has to wonder! If it walks like a duck theory don’t ya know.
None of us that are against ILLEGAL immigration are against immigration. We are FOR doing things by the existing laws we already have for immigration. By promoting, heck an invite to protest YOU and your article are ignoring and slapping in the face all the thousands that are coming to America the legal way, obeying the laws and waiting in line so to speak for their proud day to be an American citizen. They do NOT burn our Flag, they do NOT turn our Flag upside down and stick it beneath the Mexican flag. They do NOT give America the finger in protests and demand with their signs and voices that where a Mexican is it is Mexico. They do NOT demand that we speak their language or else! They are NOT catered to with press two to speak ANY special language because they are too stupid to learn English and demand special treatment. These people come here speaking many languages and want to learn English, they want to be American more then anything.
Link to this post has been sent to the writer of this article, and to Lou Dobbs CNN Tonight show on CNN.

Masked militant supporters of Maulana Fazlullah, a hard line cleric, armed with AK-47 assault rifles stand guard in Charabagh near Mingora, the main town of Pakistan’s Swat district bordering Afghanistan, Friday, Nov. 2, 2007. Dozens of paramilitary troops defect in northwest Pakistan saying they do not want to fight their Muslim brothers, an embarrassment to President Gen. Pervez Musharraf as he struggles to regain control of an mountainous region from Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants. (AP Photo/Mohammad Iqbal) Email Photo Print Photo

Pakistani troops surrender
November 2, 2007
AP …for complete story
SWAT, Pakistan
Islamic militants paraded 48 men on Friday described as government troops who surrendered during fighting — an embarrassment to President Gen. Pervez Musharraf as he struggles to regain control of a mountainous region from Taliban and al-Qaida-linked extremists.
Islamic militants said Saturday they had taken control of a police station in the volatile northwest region, hoisting their flag over its roof.

Officers fled the police station in Swat late Friday, said Sirajuddin, a spokesman for a radical cleric who leads the militants. “Our flag is hoisted above Matta police station now,” said the spokesman, who only goes by one name.

No government official was immediately available to comment on Sirajuddin’s claim, which comes a day after Adm. William Fallon, the chief of the U.S. Central Command, met with Musharraf and other top generals to discuss the security situation. Washington backs Musharraf as a bulwark in its war on terrorism.
The rising violence and political turmoil have fueled fears that Musharraf might extend his military rule by imposing a state of emergency or martial law, jeopardizing a promised transition to democracy. The Bush administration and European allies have urged against such measures, according to a Western diplomat in Islamabad.

“I think it would be quite obvious that the United States wouldn’t be supportive of extraconstitutional means,” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters in Ireland ahead of a diplomatic mission to Turkey and the Middle East.

The Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said elements in Pakistan’s ruling party were pushing for such a move in case the Supreme Court disqualifies Musharraf’s Oct. 6 presidential victory because he did not first give up his position as army chief.
A verdict is due before his current term expires Nov. 15, after which Pakistan is due to hold parliamentary elections by January.
The deteriorating security situation is adding to the sense of crisis. Pakistan has been rocked by a string of suicide bombings and clashes between soldiers and Islamic militants who have expanded their influence inland beyond existing strongholds in border regions.
The army said it killed up to 70 rebels Thursday when helicopter gunships pounded the once-popular tourist destination of Swat, where a hard-line cleric is trying to enforce Taliban-style rule. The militants said the toll was exaggerated, and pointed to their own successes.
Masked extremists armed with AK-47 assault rifles and long knives escorted journalists Friday to a two-story concrete building in the town of Charabagh to show off 48 men who surrendered after the battle. Most were described as paramilitary troops from the Frontier Corps. They were released after the display.

“We have surrendered to these mujahedeen,” said Barkat Ullah, 24, who, like other captives, was wearing civilian clothes, saying they had left their uniforms at their posts. “We had no ammunition. We had no other option.”

Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad, who announced the reported militant death toll on Thursday, declined to comment Friday on the surrenders.

A video shop owner shows a jihadi or holy war CD at his shop in Mingora, the main town of Pakistani district Swat bordering Afghanistan, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007. Muslim extremists are expanding their control of northern Pakistan, challenging the U.S.-backed government of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and adding to the geography where terrorists allied with Osama bin Laden can find refuge. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zubair)

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Wild Thing’s comment……..
Well this sure stinks! There has been a lot of fighting in this area recently, more then usual. The Pakistani government has failed to meaningfully address the terrorist threat. We have given Pakistan $11 billion I think it is,
F-16’s and other incentives ( military , and economic etc.) But even so the Pakistani government has not been able to do a a lot of what needs to be done.
Also, I have always been curious how this works, how does AP or Reuters get close enough to report and photograph things like this. I mean without being killed, or taken prisoner. Pay the terrorists money? Promise them great 8 X 10 glossies of themselves to send to put up in their caves? hahaha

Patriot Fest Lakeway, Texas

The Patriot Fest is on the 19th and 20th of October in Lakeway, TX.
What is the iBot : It is a special type of wheelchair that costs about $26,000.00 and gives handicapped people more mobility and feeling of worth than any other wheelchair made.
You can visit www.ibotnow.com if you want to learn more about the iBot and its capabilities.
This is so wonderfiul, I love learning about this kind of thing happening.
….Thank you SSGT Steve for sending this to me and thank you to both you SSGT Steve, USMC and TomR…the “75043 Boys”.

Cheney endorses simulated drowning
Says use of water boarding to get terrorist intelligence is ‘no brainer’
WASHINGTON
Dick Cheney, US vice-president, has endorsed the use of “water boarding” for terror suspects and confirmed that the controversial interrogation technique was used on Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, the senior al-Qaeda operative now being held at Guantánamo Bay.
Cheney was responding to a radio interviewer from North Dakota station WDAY who asked whether water boarding, which involves simulated drowning, was a “no-brainer” if the information it yielded would save American lives.
“It’s a no-brainer for me,” Cheney replied.
The comments by the vice-president, who has been one of the leading advocates of reducing limitations on what interrogation techniques can be used in the war on terror, are the first public confirmation that water boarding has been used on suspects held in US custody.

“For a while there, I was criticized as being the ‘vice-president for torture’,” Cheney added. “We don’t torture … We live up to our obligations in international treaties that we’re party to and so forth.

“But the fact is, you can have a fairly robust interrogation program without torture and we need to be able to do that.”

Cheney said recent legislation passed by Congress allowed the White House to continue its aggressive interrogation program.

But his remarks appear to stand at odds with the views of three key Republican senators who helped draft the recently passed Military Commission Act, and who argue that water boarding is not permitted according to that law.

“It’s a direct affront to the primary authors of the Military Commission Act in the Senate — John McCain, Lindsey Graham and John Warner — all of whom have publicly stated that the legislation signed by the president last week makes water boarding a war crime,” said Jennifer Daskal, advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.

“This is Cheney ignoring the consensus of his own Pentagon,” she said, referring to comments by senior officials that harsh interrogation techniques do not produce reliable intelligence.

John Bellinger, the State Department legal adviser, last week declined to answer specific questions on water boarding, saying Congress would have to determine whether specific interrogation techniques were permissible under the Geneva conventions.

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Wild Thing’s comment……..
It’s a no-brainer for me too. What kind of people do the Dem/Libs think we’re dealing with anyhow? Our enemies would only put our heads under water AFTER they had sliced them from the rest of our bodies.
I heard Rep. Charles Rangel on FOX News the other day saying that “all the military experts” say torture used in interrogation doesn’t work. This is another liberal media/Democrat chant that like Goebbels’ “big lie” might be believed if publicly chanted enough times.

Beer after workout better than water
The Times of India
LONDON: When you reach for an ice cold mug of suds after playing a game of football, cricket or a long run, you’re not just quenching your thirst, you’re actually doing something healthy for your body — seriously!
Researchers in Europe have carried out a study and found that a glass of beer is far better at re-hydrating the body after exercise than water as the sugars, salts and bubbles in a pint help people absorb fluids more quickly.

“The carbon dioxide in beer helps quench the thirst more quickly, while beer’s carbohydrates replace calories lost during physical exertion,” the ‘Daily Mail’ reported on Friday, quoting lead researcher Prof Manuel Garzon as saying.

In fact, the researchers at the Granada University in Spain came to the conclusion after examining 25 students who were told to do strenuous exercise in temperatures of around 40C until they were close to getting exhausted.
Half of the students were given a pint of beer to drink, while the others received the same volume of water after the workout. Subsequently, the team measured their hydration levels, motor skills and concentrationability.
Prof Garzon said the re-hydration effect in the students who were given beer was “slightly better” than among those given only water. Based on the studies, the researchers have recommended moderate consumption of beer — 500 ml a day for men or 250 ml for women — as part of an athlete’s diet.
It may be mentioned that past studies have revealed that sensible drinking of one or two units of beer a day could help reduce the risk of heart disease, dementia, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.

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Wild Thing’s comment……..
I didn’t know which Beer you all would all like me to serve. hahahaha Hope this one is OK.
For some reason no matter which beer I have sampled I just don’t like the taste of beer. So I will have to stick with water after my workout I guess. Or maybe a nice Frappiccino.

Muslim woman claims discrimination at Union Bank in Lompoc
KSBY.com
A Lompoc resident says she’s the victim of discrimination.
The Muslim woman, wearing a traditional head scarf, says she wanted into Union Bank in Lompoc, trying to open a new account. But a bank representative and the manager said no.
Fatiha Harit was born and raised in Morocco but has lived in Lompoc for several years. Now, an incident that started about a week and a half ago has left her hurt, confused, and searching for the reason why.

“It makes me feel I want to go back to my country,” Harit said.

Anger and humiliation.
Fatiha Harit tried to open an account at Union Bank in Lompoc. Instead, she said an employee and a manager told her she can’t-her home country of Morocco is on a terror list, at high risk for money laundering.

“I told her that’s ridiculous, because that’s not true,” Harit said. “I know a friend of mine, she just opened an account two weeks ago with them. Why didn’t they say anything to her because I’m wearing a hejab? Maybe that’s why.”

Fatiha always wears the hejab as part of her Muslim religion.
The branch’s vice president later apologized saying it was a mistake.

“There’s several steps that a branch takes and the branch did not go through the necessary steps,” said Union Bank spokeswoman, Sharon Woodson-Bryant.

The two Lompoc employees were counseled about the incident, but Fatiha says it is not enough.

“I want them to fire those two people, this is what I want. It’s the only thing that can make me feel better,” Harit said.

A seven year resident of the Central Coast, Fatiha says she tired of the stereotypes.

“Please stop calling terrorism of the Muslim people. We are not bad people,” Harit said.

It is a negative experience that has changed her forever.
Fatiha is working to become a U.S. citizen. Despite the proper documents, the bank still refused.
She and her husband then went to a Santa Maria branch of Union Bank and opened an account without any problems.
Fatiha chose to stay with Union Bank because that is where her employer does their banking. A bank spokesperson says they deeply regret what happened.

Wild Thing’s comment……..
“an employee and a manager told her she can’t-her home country of Morocco is on a terror list, at high risk for money laundering”
In my opinion NO apology should have been made the bank was following the rules of what they were told to do.
The woman needs to learn something, we ARE at war with Islam and as she is a part of that and it WILL be difficult for her until more Muslims for one thing speak out with anger and outrage about what the terrorists have done, do and want to do.
The last I heard, no bank in existence is obligated to let me open an account. They don’t even have to give a reason!
“I want them to fire those two people”
Let me see if I get this right: She objects to Muslims being suspected of terrorism and demands people give Muslims the benefit of the doubt. Yet she has decided that failure to give her an account was definitely discrimination (instead of misunderstanding bank policies) and demands these employees be fired instead of given the benefit of the doubt. Isn’t that a tad hypocritical?
Those in banking know that there are new regulations amounting to about 16 ft of documents in tiny 8pt type having to do with Homeland Security and Patriot Act. There is great federal and state pressure to follow every rule when in some kind of regulated business…you err on the side of caution because one uncrossed “t” could get you shut down.
Branch #1 erred on the side of caution, Branch #2 might not know all the regs.
“I want them to fire those two people, this is what I want. It’s the only thing that can make me feel better,” Harit said
Oh really?
Fatiha is working to become a U.S. citizen “It makes me feel I want to go back to my country,” Harit said.
Fatiha Harit please leave the USA and don’t let the door hit you in your arse. WE don’t need Muslim women trying to boss American people around here either. You want to fire people who were ill informed about how to handle your account on the reason you are from a terrorist country?
Please stop calling terrorism of the Muslim people. We are not bad people,” Harit said. It is a negative experience that has changed her forever
Oh baloney, I think she is just rude and sees a chance for some media exposure. How on earth has it changed her forever? Where is her compassion for the bank employee’…….Isn’t she of the religion of Peace? NOT!

Oct. 31, 2007 – NASCAR racing legend Richard Petty takes a turn at the helm of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) under the instruction of the helmsman of the watch. Petty flew aboard Lincoln to meet Sailors, sign autographs and film segments for an upcoming movie project. Lincoln and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2 are underway off the coast of Southern California participating in Composite Training Unit Exercise, an exercise designed to enhance the interoperability between Lincoln and its strike group. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class James R. Evans

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Capt. Caroline Jensen connects the communications receiver to her helmet ensuring she is in contact with personnel on the ground before taking off in an F-16 Fighting Falcon from Balad Air Base, Iraq. Captain Jensen is assigned to the 4th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron and is deployed from Hill Air Force Base, Utah. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Joshua Garcia)

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Hawaii – Five-year-old Anthoney Kaites held a sign as he waited for his father, Marine Sgt. Santiago Kaites, to arrive at Marine Corps Base Hawai’i at Kane’ohe Bay after a seven-month deployment to Iraq.
Cpl. Jaymes Murphy, 20, from Arlington, Texas, was on his first deployment to Iraq after joining the Corps in 2005. “It was different. It was long, it was hot, and there was a lot of sand,” said Murphy, who was at Al Asad. “I’m glad I got to experience it during my first term (in the Corps). He was met by his wife, Danielle, who said the reunion was “borderline amazing.”

There will be a readjustment period for the Marines, but one family clearly hopes it’s quick. On the back window of a Nissan Pathfinder in the parking lot was written “Welcome Home Dad” in temporary paint. On the side window, the family added:
“There’s a load of dishes for you.”