Delftsman

the A-10

Dusty has an interesting post over at Castle AAARRGGH on one of my favorite military aircraft, the A-10 "warthog. He writes it from personal experience with the ugly beauty. It was a joy to read about the Warthog from a man who loves her for her innate ability.

MSM Effects

A lot of blogs decrying the bias of the MSM against anything American. Right wing bloggers especially delight in pointing the bias out; left wing bloggers say that, for the most part, ONLY Fox News is biased, and thats in an "anti-progressive" way, hence it's the bias we should be concerned about. They also point out that the European press is "much better".

The left side of the aisle is fond of accusing President Bush of "going it alone" and "alienating our EU allies". Now we have this report via Davids Mediankritik that has a survey that shows the German media is more critical of US policy than Al Jazira. In fact, they have an anti-US stance about 80% of the time. The survey shows similar albeit lower results in the French, Italian,British,and Spanish press.

So is it any wonder that public opinion in the EU has turned against the US?

When Arab Media is more "fair and balanced" than the EU MSM, there is definately something to be concerned about.

All too many people form their personal opinions from what they read and hear in the MSM, if that media is biased, it can become a situation of Orwellian Newspeak that is far removed from reality. In a nuclear age, this is extremely dangerous. Polititians respond to constituant pressures (at least in an election year), if the public is misinformed and not based in reality, those pressurres can lead to poor decision making, making the world a more dangerous place than it already is.

Let Freedom Ring!

Here is a photo montage that shows true courage in the face of danger.

Just how many Americans would be going to the polls in the face of a very real possiblity of being shot or blown up? Even after the fact; remember that the insurgents Islamofacists threatened that the act of voting itself could invite retribution against the participant, not necessarily just at the polls, but at any time after. And dying a finger blue made them obvious targets, but millions of Iraqis, in effect, told the Islamofacists to "go to hell" and publicly showed their joy in their new found franchise. Literally dancing in the streets, waving their blue stained digits in the air.

"Let Freedom Blossom"

Envirowackos....

Patrick Moore was one of the founding members of Greenpeace, and he is still a dedicated environmentalist, but he has become disgusted with the mainstream environmental movement, saying "By the mid-1980s, the environmental movement had abandoned science and logic in favor of emotion and sensationalism." "The environmental movement has lost its way, favoring political correctness over factual accuracy, stooping to scare tactics to garner support."

If even a founding member of Greenpeace can be brought around to a "sustainable development" frame of mind, there may yet be hope that there can be a concensus developed that will bring about sane development with the minimum of environmental damage possible.

Read the article, and note the areas where he shows how damaging the main stream environmental movement truly is to the welfare to everyone, through their rejection of nuclear power,wind turbin power, and genetically engineered crops, among others.

Tribute to another Hero

Matt May writes a touching piece honoring his cousin, Spc Luke Frist,US Army,209 QM Corps. Spc Frist died on January 5, 2004, of wounds that he sustained in an IED attack on a convoy he was a part of several days earlier.

Why write such a tribute now, over a year later? Because of the events that occured yesterday. The first truly free election in Iraq. Those elections are a first step in what we are trying to accomplish in Iraq. Spc. Frist gave his life in that effort; these elections are testament that what he was trying to do was just and right.

Quote of the day

"The purpose of socialism is to spread an ever-increasing amount of misery among an ever-increasing number of people."
Sir Winston Churchill

The truth of this has been demonstrated again and again in the intervening years since Sir Churchill made that statement.

Sadly, it seems that the Left wing "Progressives" seem to not grasp the fact that it is reality, they continue to just say: "Yes THEY did it wrong, but WE can make it work".

Socialism is a seductive idiology, after all, who can be against "fairness" and "total equality for all"?

But it fails to consider human nature in it's social equations, and the fact that people are NOT equal in their abilities,desires,and biases. Socialism can NEVER work without the most capable, and even more importantly, ruthless people rising above the mass of the population. Once that happens, the masses become the tools of the elite.

Socialism has killed more people in a shorter time than in any period of human history, but it's apologists blame capitalism for that in a weird form of transferance: blame the opposition for the sins of the state.

Iraqi Election

Well, the first free election in Iraq in over 30 years is over. It's too soon yet to have any reliable numbers, but one thing is certain. Unlike the doom and gloom naysayers such as Senator Splash and the Senator Boxedhead, the Iraqi general populace excercised their new access to the ballot box in record numbers, despite the high threat of violence against them from Islamofacist groups. Some initial estimates indicate that the turnout was as high as 75%.

Too bad that our OWN populace doesn't have the same fortitude. In the last election, WE only managed to have a turnout of approximately 65-67% of all eligible voters casting their ballots, and THAT was a record that hasn't been seen in over 20 years! In most of our elections, we are fortunate to surpass the 50% level.

And despite what the Left may try to put out, the voters here certainly didn't face a threat to their lives in exercising their right to vote. Just how many voters here would brave bombs, sniper fire and terror threats to exercise their responsibility as a member of a free electorate?

This puts the lie to the meme that the new government would be a mere rubber stamp of US selected officials. There were over 11 parties vying in the contest, and the choices were diverse enough to ensure that it would be the PEOPLE'S choice that would determine who would attain office, and wide enough to assure that no one party or individual would overwhelmingly overcome any of the others. This means that the victors will be forced to form coallitions to be able to determine the Prime Minister and top council leaders ensuring (that) the widest possible popular voice WILL be heard in formulating the new Iraqi Constitution.

This was only the first step in the process of bringing Iraq into the circle of democratic nations, but it was a damned good first step.

Here are what some of the Iraqi bloggers have to say: Iraq,the model, Hammorabi, The Messopotamian, and finally, Sun of Iraq

How Government Works

Once upon a time the government had a vast scrap yard in the middle of a desert. Congress said, "someone may steal from it at night." So they created a night watchman position and hired a person for the job.

Then Congress said, "How does the watchman do his job without instruction?" So they created a planning department and hired two people, one person to write the instructions, and one person to do time studies.

Then Congress said, "How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks correctly?" So they created a Quality Control department and hired two people. One to do the studies and one to write the reports.

Then Congress said, "How are these people going to get paid?" So they created the following positions, a time keeper, and a payroll officer, then hired two people.

Then Congress said, "Who will be accountable for all of these people?" So they created an administrative section and hired three people, an Administrative Officer, Assistant Administrative Officer, and a Legal Secretary.

Then Congress said, "We have had this command in operation for one year and we are $18,000 over budget, we must cutback overall cost."

So they laid off the night watchman.

The *spit* UN *spit*

Diplomad has a great post up showing the Perfidy that is the *spit* UN *spit*, that august body that seems to specialize in gaining power/graft off of human misery all over the globe?

Tell me again just WHY we are still associated with this conglomeration of tin-pot dictators and self-serving bureaucrats?

Iraqi Election

Lt.Col. Mark Smith USMC 2/24, "the Mad Ghosts"/ Indiana State Police Trooper

A home town Marine brings a view contrary to what the MSM puts out.. If you listened to them, the Iraqis don't care if they vote or not, it's exchanging one set of "invaders" for a "US puppet government", Yada, Yada,Yada.

According to the Iraqi Sheik in this story though, the election means a great deal to the average Iraqi; thats why the insurgents Islamofacists are so determined to disrupt the process.
The Islamofacists know that if the Iraqi people know that the power to rule themselves is truly in their own hands; that their reign of terror is finished.

Be SURE to click on the "Extended Entry" and read LtCol. Smith's e-mail. He has layed out the reasons why we are in Iraq as well as anyone ever could.

Ladies,

Very good evening to all of you. It is my sincere hope that this letter continues to find you in high spirits, good health and filled with motivation for the challenges that lie ahead. I fully realize that with
over half of the deployment behind you, the stress grows even more intense as your longing for your loved one morphs into an intense desire. This is ultimately good, but also can bring with it side
effects that can be very challenging. Well, just for example, my email in-box was filled this week with hate mail for me on decisions that I had made, that several wives and girlfriends were in bitter opposition to.

Now, I have always shot straight with my beloved ladies of 2/24, and have always said to feel free to contact me with questions or concerns, but I do wish that when I receive hate mail that it be based on facts, and not on decisions I never made!

See, many people were spun out of control by a rumour concerning liberty in Germany. This rumour, and the emails that bombarded my wartop computer as a result are but a bug's flatulation in the grand scheme of life, but are symptomatic of a larger, and potentially more devastating effect. The effect of lack of understanding. You see ladies, I will be addressing redeployment and homecoming within the next week or two. And, I have no doubt that some of the decisions and RESTRICTIONS that will surround the Battalion's redeployment will not be welcome news for many of you. But, what I need all to understand, is that like all other decisions, the manner in which
we handle redeployment and reunion issues will be based on what is best for the Marines, and what is best for the families. Even if it does not appear that way, that is what it will be. It will be that way because, despite my boyish looks (HA!), I am forty years old. And, in that forty years, I have twenty three in the beloved Corps. I have mobilized three times and deployed to war twice. In that time, I have learned a few things from my master, the USMC. And folks, I have to tell you, my master is very good at what she does. And, one of the things she does is deployment and redeployment. We know what we are doing. AND AGAIN, we will do it in a manner most beneficial to the YOUR MARINE and to YOU! Even if it does not appear that way to you. However, the details of which will have to wait for a few days, because total focus right now, hate mail notwithstanding, is the elections.

Now, for the elections. Rest assured that your Mad Ghosts are working hard to shape for successful elections in our Area of Operations. They will bring to the people of the "triangle of death" there first chance at self-determination. With our brothers-in-arms at large, we will bring to the Arab world, for the first time in history, its chance at self-determination. Did you hear that? For the first time in its history, this region of the world will experience its FIRST CHANCE AT SELF-DETERMINATION! Imagine that. Very hard for you to do, isn't it? Very hard to imagine because we take for granted the RIGHT to determine our government. Very hard to imagine because we take for granted that the social contract MANDATES that people be governed by consent, not by decree and force. Very hard to imagine because as Americans we make assumptions about the rest of the world being just like us, when in reality they are worlds apart, literally and figuratively. Well, for the Iraqi people, it is very hard to imagine as well. It is very hard to imagine for them because they HAVE NEVER HAD THIS OPPORTUNITY! Their entire lives they have been governed not by rule of law, but by law of force. Brutal, unrelenting, unmerciful force! And, as they seek to break the chains of oppression, the vacuum of Sadam's henchman has been replaced by the maniacal and insane philosophy and violence of Osama Bin Nothing and Abu Musab Al Zarpunkery! They are faced with the hate and terror that brought you Sept 11 and a declared Jihad on everyone in the world who dares think like a rational, free human being. Why just today an IED detonated in our zone that killed two Iraqi citizens and critically wounded eight others. Posters were placed in one area that said that anyone that voted violated the laws of Allah and would be killed for it and to remember that "the Americans and Bush will not be here for long."

Yes, once again, this enemy shows his hand for what he is, an absolute COWARD whose only goal is to terrorize and break the will of the people. The Iraqi people and the American People. He is an enemy who fights 4th Generation Warfare, which has as its core belief that it accepts from the outset he cannot win militarily, so he targets the will of the people! Now, to be brutally honest, I could not for one milli-second question the Iraqi people if their wills were broken. They sustained thirty plus years of unspeakable brutality and oppression at the hands of Sadam and his EVIL empire. That has been followed by two years of occupation by foreign armies, and a relentless and deadly assault from radical and maniacal groups led by AMZ, his Wahabi bretheren, and a consortium of thugs, bandits and criminals. After that, saying "uncle" would be understandable. But, they are not. Now, we will see, but I believe on Sunday they will come out and they will vote. They will come out and vote despite all of this, because they have seen something they have never seen before. They have seen compassion. They have seen generosity. They have seen strangers risk, and lay down their lives for them. Why? They have asked this question of me. They have asked me as the "American Commander," why do your Marines protect us. They say we are told that the Americans are only here for the oil. Yet we see them. We see them living in our towns and
we see them living very hard lives. We see them out on patrol and raiding houses of what we know are "Ali Baba." We see them bandage our wounded, play with our children and try to help. We know that they have families that they love and miss, and yet they are here.

Why? Boy, that is the million dollar question, isn't it. Well, I think I know why. And, I know the attacks will come at me fast and furious. But the why is BECAUSE THIS CAUSE IS RIGHT, AND IT IS FRONT AND CENTER ON THE WAR ON TERROR! Simply said, if the Arab world tastes freedom, even so much as gets a whiff of what self-determination is all about, it will be the beginning of the end for the terror network. If for a fraction of a second they can break the chains of oppression and life by edict, those who have held sway over them for so long will be on the run. They will be on the run from a people who now have the most powerful weapon known to mankind, the weapon of freedom. For all men, regardless of religion, race, color or creed have an unqueachable thirst to live free, to choose their own destiny, to walk their own path. The Iraqi people have seen this. They have seen it in your Marines! They have seen men who do not worship as they do, who do not speak as they do, who do not eat what they do, but have bled, killed and died for them. They have realized that they do this for the Iraqi people, and not only for themselves. These Marines have done this to show the Iraqi people, and more importantly THE WORLD, that the only hope for humanity in the long run is free people seeking to live, not dominated people seeking to survive. There is no attempt by anyone to convert the Islamic world from their religion, just a sacred attempt to lift the saddle of tyranny from the backs of the Arab world so that they may seek peace. For in this, the War on Terror will ultimately be won.

This is a two front War. Violence against the combatant, liberty to the oppressed. We carry forward the Flag, and in the end, success will depend on two visions: for the people of the Arab world the Flag must represent the best of who we are; for the enemy, the Flag must represent the violence we can bring. Those two fronts are being fought simulatenously by your Mad Ghosts, and their success on both fronts will bring out the people, and they will vote. They will vote and they will choose essentially a "consitutional convention" that will lay the cornerstone for a free Iraq. It will be the first step, a milestone, in a long journey that will set this part of the world on an unstoppable move towards freedom, and with freedom will come tolerance and progress. But, they will choose more than a constitutional convention, they will choose a destiny. One where rights will mean more than religion in governance. One where law will mean more than Jihad!

In thinking about this and YOUR Marine's place in it, let me offer you two quotes. The first is from Abu Musab al Zarqawi (Zarpunkery) (AMZ):

January 24, 2005; Al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi has released an audio tape on the Internet, where he declares, "We have declared a bitter war against the principle of democracy and all those who seek to enact it." He declared that anyone who voted on January 30th would be seen as an infidel (non-Moslem).

The second is from Thomas Jefferson on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence:

"May it be to the world, what I believe it will be, (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all,) the signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition has persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government.....All eyes are opened or opening to the rights of man. The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few, booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately, by the grace of God. These are grounds of hope for others; for ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them."

On whom do you want the hope of the world to rest? AMZ or Thomas Jefferson? For me, this is a no-brainer! The Arab world must be shown freedom. This is their "signal of arousing men to burst the chains...and to assume the blessing and security of self-government..."

I fully realize that this stands in stark contrast to other's opinions, and squarely calls out most of what is portrayed in the mainstream media, but YOUR Marines are not fighting and in some very unfortunate cases, dying, for anything less than this. Let this final story be the final truth. I know most of you probably saw many news stories about a week ago concerning a suicide car bomb dressed as an ambulance that detonated on a wedding party in our zone, near Yusufiyah. The bomb killed 18 Iraqi's and severely injured several more. This wedding was not unlike any wedding you would go to in the good ole' US of A. It was a feast. It was a celebration. It was a gathering of family and friends to toast the union of a man and a woman. There were men, women, boys and girls. They were outdoors eating and celebrating. Yup, not at all unlike a reception in the good ole' US of A, save an ambulance drove down the canal road in front of the house, turned into the drive and detonated a high explosive. Not at all unlike a reception in the good ole' US of A, except for those milli-seconds of violence when shrapnel flew through the air at thousands of feet per second, and accompanied by a shock wave that pounds anything in its lethal path with a ferocity you
cannot imagine.

Now, what you did not hear reported in the news was that it was YOUR Marines that responded to the scene. It was YOUR Marines that conducted the scene analysis. It was YOUR Marines that apprehended several terrorists STRONGLY believed to have been involved. No, that ain't
news. However, to the Sheikh of the tribe, who is a very powerful Sheikh, the Marines are a BIG part of the story. I, Maj Mann and CWO5 Roussell met with him days after the attack. What he told us would not square with the reasons the media told you the wedding was attacked. No, when I asked him why he thought his tribe was attacked, he looked at me with the look that let you know why he is the Sheikh, and said:

"Because I have prepared my tribe to vote. I have educated them. I have signs throughout all my villages telling them to vote. We do not want a Shia government, a Sunni government or a Kurdish government. We want a government of the people."

"A government of the people." Where have I heard that before?

Pray for the success of YOUR Marines and their historical mission! 30 Jan is the first step in a journey of a thousand paces, but it will chart the course of a ship destined for free waters, and will ensure your children and grandchildren never hear the words terror or terrorists. I don't know about you, but I see that as my sacred duty for my two Angels!

May God Bless and Keep the Magnificent Families of 2/24.

- Lt. Col. Mark Smith

Two New Additions

Well.....I wish someone could tell me just WHY an otherwise sensible woman should have a sudden fascination with rats? And I don't mean the invading Norway's sneaking into the basement, I mean held in a cage,being fed specially formulated mixtures of nuts,seeds,and alfalfa pellets, and requireing just the right kind of bedding for the bottom of said cage?

Two weeks ago, we went to the local Petsmart to get some dog food; the Pricess has been going on for about the last 6 months wanting to get a ferret as a pet, despite all our explainations on just why that wasn't a good idea with two cats already sharing our domicile. So what does Mama do? She buys two Hooded rats, of course! Notwithstanding my protestations that I preferred not to willingly invite vermin into my home.

I was almost resigned to the fact that we would have these critters for the next couple of years, when suddenly Mama developed a sudden creative urge to make a larger cage for our erstwhile pets, saying she thought she could make a larger one for not a great deal of money, and Dumpling and Cecily would like more room to move around in.

Now Mama definately has great talent in fabricating whatever she desires, and indeed, she built a three story domicile for about $10 worth of hardware cloth,plastic zip strips and a storage bin. I was proud of her for her ability....I SHOULD have realized that something was up when she didn't immediately transfer the aformentioned vermin with the cutesy names into their new enclosure.

Well, as it happened, we had to go to Petsmart tonight to get some dog food (damn those dogs can pack it away!) I went directly to the dog food aisle, not noticing that Mama WASN'T right behind me....Yeah, you guessed it. We now have FOUR vermin esconced in our home, living the life of Riley. The two new ones are male, though, so never shall the two pairs meet!

I don't know WHEN I lost control of the Citidel...now I wonder if I ever HAD control, but it's become obvious that I am just another fixture of the household, feeding the new aquisitions and cleaning up the resulting excrement laden litter.

I do have to admit that it's kind of intriguing to see my wife's long hair seem to be moving independently in a strange manner and then seeing a rodent face peering out from under it, but I still can't change my feeling that rats are vermin, only to be used as food for snakes. They may be tame and do seem to enjoy being petted and fussed over, but still,....I wonder when I can get my nephew to bring over his pet Boa for a huge feed.

UPDATE: Mama just asked me just how large I wanted MY cage to be... It's nice to know that she does read my blog on occasion!

Texas Bragging....

A Texan buys a round of drinks for all in the bar because, he announces,
his wife has just produced "a typical Texas" baby boy weighing 25 pounds.

Congratulations showered him from all around, and many exclamations of
"Wow!" was heard. A woman faints due to sympathy pains.

Two weeks later, he returns to the bar. The bartender says, "Say, you're
the father of the typical Texas baby that weighed 25 pounds at birth. How much
does he weigh now?" The proud father answers, "Seventeen pounds".

The bartender is! puzzled, concerned; "Why? What happened? He already
weighed 25 pounds at birth."

The Texas father takes a slow swig from his long-neck Lone Star beer,
wipes his lips on his shirt sleeve, leans into the bartender and proudly says,

"Had him circumcised".

(Must have some Dutch blood in the family!)

(hat tip to Jack)

Blaster"B" creator sentenced

Next to Spammers, those that deliberatly concoct and release viruses onto the internet are among the lowest form of life on Earth.

I'm happy to see that the courts are taking this issue seriously; I do believe that the Judge's reasoning was faulty though..young master Parson should have been given the maximum sentence; the argument that he had not had the "proper upbringing" and was not "properly supervised" is a load of feel-good, P.C. CRAP.

Mr. Parson knowingly and willfully commited an act that he couldn't help but know would hurt a lot of people, if that isn't a definition of a criminal intent, I don't know what is. Having given him a break on the prison term, I hope the Judge hits him with the largest restitution amount allowable by law. Only making the consequences far outweigh the benefits will stop this type of malicious crime.

Democrats; Party of ?

Fred Barnes hits it out of the ballpark with this commentary piece called "The Ruthless Party".

After watching Barbara Boxer trying to paint Condi Rice as a liar and then whine complain that SHE was attacked by Ms. Rice in a later interview, one just has to wonder how people could ever keep voting such an obvious moron mentally challenged person crybaby into the high office of Senator.

And then to listen to Senator Splash reiterating his inane comparison of Iraq to Viet Nam and calling for as hasty a retreat from Iraq as possible just makes one shake one's head in pity for his headlong dive into Altzheimers.

One has to wonder just why the Democratic side of the aisle just can't seem to realize that broadcasting timetables and rigid responses to situational hypotheticals can be invaluable information to terrorists in formulating their activities.

I just wish that, as Laura Ingraham suggested, Ms. Rice had responded to him with the quip: "well Senator, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it" if asked a hypothetical question that just couldn't be reasonably responded to by anyone who doesn't want to give suggestions to our enemies as to how they can prepare for her style of diplomacy.

At least ONE embed sees the forest for the trees.

Most telling about the MSM was this little snippet from his last report:

The radio show today was held in the chow hall and it was very difficult to describe the last days. I did the best I could and tried to give a complete story not only of the Marines casualties but the victories of the 10 KIA’s, top 2 bad guys out of action, additional high value target captured, and more intelligence taken in as well.

Why do the media not report that? I video taped the live ABC news report from the dam – no mention of the Marines victories – only the losses. (empasis mine)

Way TO GO!

Once a Marine, ALWAYS a Marine, and the Marine Corps just proved that by letting a 51 year old rejoin to fulfill his dream of an overseas deployment.

Now I wonder.....Maybe the Army could use a 50 year old Vet/ truck driver?

Morris and Esther

Morris and his wife Esther went to the state fair every year, and every year
Morris would say, "Esther, I'd like to ride in that helicopter."

Esther always replied, "I know Morris, but that helicopter ride is $50, and
$50 is $50."

One year Esther and Morris went to the fair, and Morris said, "Esther, I'm
85 years old. If I don't ride that helicopter, I might never get another
chance."

Esther replied, "Morris that helicopter ride is $50, and $50 is $50."

The pilot overheard the couple and said, "Folks, I'll make you a deal. I'll
take the both of you for a ride. If you can stay quiet for the entire ride
and not say a word I won't charge you! But if you say one word, it's $50."

Morris and Esther agreed and up they went. The pilot did all kinds of fancy
maneuvers, but not a word was heard. He did his daredevil tricks over and
over again, but still not a word.

When they landed, the pilot turned to Morris and said, "By golly, I did
everything I could to get you to yell out, but you didn't. I'm impressed!"

Morris replied, "Well, I was going to say something when Esther fell out,
but $50 is $50."

one picture is worth a thousand words

'Nuff Said

(Hat tip to Jack)

Connection Restored

AT LAST! DSL has been restored to the Citadel. I hope that regular (and BETTER) posting can now resume.

ER...anyone have a good cure for writers block?!?

One Iraqi's View

Naseer Flayih Hasan Is one Iraqi who spares no bones when he iterates his opinion of Leftist "peace activists".

The title tells the story in a nutshell:"How the Left Betrayed My Country - Iraq"

Here's a couple of teasers:

After those, and many other, experiences, we finally comprehended how little we had in common with these “peace activists” who constantly decried American crimes, and hated to listen to us talk about the terrible long nightmare that ended with the collapse of the regime. We came to understand how these “humanitarians” experienced a sort of pleasure when terrorists or former remnants of the regime created destruction in Iraq—just so they could feel that they were right, and the Americans wrong!

It’s worth noting, as well, that the general attitude of peace activists I met was tension and anger. They were impossible to reason with. This was because, on one hand, the sometimes considerable risks they took to oppose the war made them unable to accept the fact that their cause was not as noble as they believed. Then, too, their dogmatic anti-American attitudes naturally drew them to guides, translators, drivers and Iraqi acquaintances who were themselves supporters of the regime. These Iraqis, in turn, affected the peace activists until they came to share almost the same judgments and opinions as the terrorists and defenders of Saddam.

And Mr. Hasan is not a Pollyanna shill for the American shill:

We believed—and still believe--that America’s removal of the regime opened a new way for democracy. At the same time, we have no illusions that the U.S. came to Iraq on a white horse to save our people. We understand this war is all about national interests, and that America’s interests are mainly about defeating terrorism. At this moment, though, U.S. interests are doing more to bring about democracy and freedom in Iraq than, say, the policies of France and Russia—countries which also care little for the Iraqi people and, worse, did their best to save Saddam from destruction until the last moment.

Now go read the rest.

Liberals

I borrowed this list from a favorite blog of mine that, sadly, has fallen defunct.
It's just as valid as when it was first posted however.

You might be a liberal if …

You think that protestors outside nuclear power plants are dedicated activists, but protestors outside abortion clinics are dangerous zealots interfering with a legal activity.

You believe that more federal regulations will make your life better.

You believe that even though the top 20 percent of taxpayers pay 80 percent of income taxes, that the rich are not paying their “fair share.”

You think that Rush Limbaugh’s listeners are mindless “dittoheads,” but you have never doubted anything that you heard from Michael Moore.

You believe that the network news is a better indicator of what “real” news is than talk radio, Internet news sites, and blogs.

You believe that there was never, ever a problem with biased news coverage until Fox News went on the air.

You believe that Mikhail Gorbachev deserves more credit for losing the Cold War than Ronald Reagan deserves for winning it.

You mentally subtract 100 points from someone’s IQ if the person speaks with a Southern accent.

You think that Dan Rather got a raw deal.

You think that the phrase “separation of church and state” is in the Constitution.

You pride yourself on your global awareness, global sensitivity and global outlook, but can’t name your state legislator or school board representative.

You are dedicated to helping the poor, the downtrodden and the less fortunate, but you have never given blood.

You believe that a woman should make it on her own, without depending on her husband (except for Hillary Clinton).

You believe that professional, working women should never be judged on their appearance (except for Katherine Harris).

You believe that rich people should not be allowed to contribute so much money to candidates for office (except for George Soros).

You believe that government should make a special effort to hire members of traditionally oppressed groups, such as African-Americans (except for Clarence Thomas, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice).

You feel a deep sense of common cause with oppressed groups, such as Hispanic immigrants (except for Cuban Americans fleeing Castro).

You believe that a mother’s wishes for her child, especially a mother’s last, dying wish for her child, should outweigh the wishes of a father who had long before deserted his family (unless the child is named Elian Gonzalez).

You have no problem with Hollywood movie stars flying around in private jets to give speeches on the evils of SUVs.

You think that raising taxes will reduce the budget deficit.

You are more concerned, more often, with the rights of convicted felons than you are with the rights of small business owners.

You uphold a woman’s right to choose, unless a woman chooses adoption, chooses to be a stay-at-home mom, chooses to homeschool, or chooses to start a business.

You are more concerned with Vice President Cheney’s links to Halliburton than with Saddam Hussein’s links to international terrorism.

You have used the phrase, “in Europe, the government pays for health care and vacation,” without irony.

You are worried about how the French view Americans.

You believe that nativity scenes should be banned from public view, but that anyone objecting to pornography “only has to look the other way.

And finally, you are almost certainly a liberal if you refuse to admit that you’re a liberal, and accuse anyone of calling you a liberal of McCarthyism.

Press Release

(AP) Austin, Texas - Dr. Calvin Rickson, a scientist from Texas A&M University has invented a bra that keeps women's breasts from jiggling, and prevents the
Nipples from pushing through the fabric when cold weather sets in.

At a news conference announcing the invention, a large group of men took
Dr. Rickson outside and kicked the shit out of him.

Islamic Fundementalism

Many on the Left claim that Terrorism is a result of US policies in the Mideast, some going so far to claim that US policies are fronts for policies formulated by the Iraeli government, but when you listen to what terrorists such as Musab Al-Zarqawi and Osama bin Ladin himself, have to say about the conflict between radical Islam and the US:

Blockquote>"We have declared a fierce war on this evil principle of democracy and those who follow this wrong idiology" "Democracy is also based on the right to choose your religion, and that is against the rule of God"

and Osama bin Laden himself:

"Anyone who particpates in these (Iraqi) elections...has committed apostasy against Allah." "Those( that aid the elections) are apostates who should not be prayed over upon their deaths. They can not inherit, and they must not be inherited from after their deaths. Their wives are divorced from them, and they must not be buried in Muslim cemeteries".

The intellectual founder of the current radical Islamic movement, Sayyid Qutb, wrote in 1957:

In the world, there is ONLY ONE PARTY, THE PARTY OF ALLAH;ALL OF THE OTHERS ARE PARTIES OF SATAN AND REBELLION. Those who believe FIGHT IN THE CAUSE OF ALLAH;and those who disbelieve fight in the cause of (satan) the rebellion"

Check out Memri.org and you can find any number of statements from Islamic organizations declaring that democracy is an "atheist" heresy, and that anyone participating in it is, Ipso Facto, an "infidel" and/or a "heretic".

Read the Queran to see what is expected to be done by the Faithful to to anyone who is considered to be a member of those hated groups.

Still believe that this is a fight against policies? Or is it something more akin to a war between two totally incompatible idiologies? A war that was brought home to us on our own shore on 9/11?

I believe the latter, because I take the enemy at their word when they come right out and state their agenda; nothing less than the eradication of every priciple I hold dear and replacing it with a tyranical theocracy.

The battleground at present is Iraq, but if you look at the increasing frequency and escalating manner of terrorist actions in Europe, it's obvious that the Islamist's ultimate goal is a world-wide Islamic State.

The citizens of Iraq have a choice to make on Sunday; between starting a (admittedly) long, painfull process towards some form of democratic self rule and a total theocracy ruled by outside Mullahs that brook no dissent from their rigid form of rule.

To those that say that "the US is imposing our will on only two states (Iraq and Afghanistan) and ignoring other theocratic regimes", I would point out that Iraq and Afghanistan are only the first step in our stradegy, with the end goal, that if a democratic rule can be established in those two states, the citizens of the other tyranies in the area will take it upon themselves to gain the same freedom for themselves, and not be forced to it from outside at great cost and blood to us.

OUR ultimate goal is nothing less than the democratization of the whole Middle East. Democracy NOT necessarily in the same form as ours, but in the manner suited to the people and culture of the area. The reason we wish this? Because history shows us that democratic states are much less likely to engage in war/terrorism than dictatorships and theocracies. Boiled down to it's simplest, it's proactive self defense.

And to those that claim Israel is an "aparteid state"....just tell me how it is that those arab citizens of Israel enjoy all the same rights, INCLUDING holding elective office as any other Israeli if it WERE such a state? There are Arab Muslim's ,freely elected, in the Knesset.

The ONLY distinction between Arab and Jewish citizens in Israel is that Arabs are not required to serve in the IDF, while Jewish citizens are required to serve for at least two years.

It WOULD explain a lot....

Once upon a time, a Sheik was blessed with the birth of a son after years of hoping. The boy immediately became the apple of his father's eye.

Just before his son's sixth birthday, the Sheik said to him, Son, I
love you very much. Your birthday is coming soon. What would you
like?" His son replied, "Daddy, I would like to have my own airplane."

His Father bought him American Airlines.

Just before his son's seventh birthday, the Sheik said, "Son, you are my pride and joy. Ask what you want for your birthday. Whatever it is, it's yours."
His son replied, "Daddy, I would like a boat."

His father bought him the Princess Cruise Line.

Just before his son's eight birthday, the Sheik said, "Son, you
bring so much happiness into my life. Anything you want, I shall get for
you." His son replied, "Daddy, I would like to be able to watch
cartoons."

His father bought him Disney Studios.

Just before his son's ninth birthday, the Sheik said, "Son, you are
my life. Your birthday is coming soon. Ask what you wish. I will get it
for you." His son, who had grown to love Disney, replied, "Daddy, I
would like a Mickey Mouse outfit and a Goofy outfit".

His father bought him the Democratic Party and CBS news.

Test #...

Now THIS TEST got me more accurately! LOL

eXpressive: 5/10
Practical: 4/10
Physical: 5/10
Giver: 8/10

You are a RSYG--Reserved Sentimental Physical Giver. This makes you a Nice Guy/Nice Girl.

Oh, poor RSYG. You're the one all your friends of your target sex *should* be dating when you have to watch them go out with jerks. You're the sweet one that the lead in a romantic comedy ends up with after s/he learns a valuable lesson. You're the best friend, the chaperone and the shoulder to cry on when you should be the lover. Well, no one ever said people were smart.

You dislike conflict -- you prefer to express yourself through action, not discussion -- but you know it is necessary. This means you are more likely to tackle an issue before it grows, but you're also more likely to stop fighting before the issue is resolved to your satisfaction. This isn't necessarily a bad thing -- it's kind of a nice compromise between fighting about everything and fighting about nothing -- but you have to remember to look out for your own interests sometimes.

You have a strong sexual appetite, but it seems so out of place with the rest of your persona that people find it hard to believe. Often they try to shield you from sexual content -- it's ridiculous, but you can use it to your advantage: everybody wants someone clean in the kitchen and dirty in the bedroom. That's you.

You don't want to cheat, but you might. Especially since it's only when you're in a relationship that you start getting the attention from your target sex that you should have been getting all along. Your experiences could make you misanthropic if you weren't so tenderhearted.

A lot of RSITs think they're RSYGs. They're not.

You'll end up with someone who deserves you in the end.

Of the 183807 people who have taken this quiz, 3.4 % are this type.

Test #....

I took THIS TEST. You can see the results below. I disagree with the wackiness quotient, I think I'm a lot funnier than they would say I am. I also believe I'm a great deal more constructive than the test would indicate. I have no interest in leadership, so I'm not surprised by a low score in that area.

Wackiness: 40/100
Rationality: 80/100
Constructiveness: 40/100
Leadership: 44/100

You are a SRDF--Sober Rational Destructive Follower. This makes you a Fountain of Knowledge.

You are cool, analytical, intelligent and completely unfunny. Sometimes you slice through conversation with a cutting observation that causes silence and sidelong glances. You make a strong and lasting impression on everyone you meet, the quality of which depends more on their personality than yours.

You may feel persecuted, as you can become a target for fun. Still, you are focused enough on your work and secure enough in your abilities not to worry overly.

You are productive and invaluable to those you work for. You are loyal, steadfast, and conscientious. Your grooming is impeccable. You are in good shape.

You are kind of a tool, but you get things done. You are probably a week away from snapping

The EU Idiotarian disease is infective

I have always been proud of my Dutch heritage. The Dutch have long had a reputation for being the most tolerant society in europe, allowing for the most individual freedom possible, but then I saw this article via Acidman, and I can only conclude that the Idiocy that is the main product of the EU is infecting my beloved homeland.

Just by WHAT twisted logic could someone engaged in illegal activities take business deductions on the tools used in those activities?!?

I'm waiting for something similar to this happening in Kalifornia or Washington state. The way it's going, I may not have to wait long. In the meantime, I can only feel embarrassed for the country of my birth, I sincerly hope that Dutch common sense will reassert itself soon and put an end to lunacy such as this.

Deficit spending

A great many people are doing the chicken little dance in reference to the economy, citing a debt approaching the trillion dollar mark.

The deficit IS a cause for concern, but if you look over the economies of past years and adjust the present deficit as a percentage of GDP, you come to realize that the situation isn't as dire as the Tax and Spend, would be controllers of the economy, would have you believe.

The most important thing we could do to help the economy right now is to drastically cut federal spending; something that President Bush has shown himself to be woefully inept at. The President should lead the charge in cutting spending in real terms, instead he seems content to allow rises in almost every area, or at the most, a halt in raises without actually doing any cutting.

I think one step would be to get the federal government out of those areas that that the Constitution does not give over to the Federal level of government.

Education controlled by the NEA would be my choice for the first to go, not that I believe that will happen any time soon.

We need to return to a more self-reliant mode. The "progressives" would have you believe that more government intervention is the answer to every problem. "Let the government pay for it" is their central meme, forgetting that government in itself has no money, it is the money of the citizens, and the higher ratio of that money taken from those citizens, the greater the problems become; and the more dependant the citizens become on the public teat, the greater the control the government has over those citizens.

Freedom entails a certain amount of risk and personal responsiblity. As Benjamin Franklin once said: "Those that would give up a little freedom for a little security deserve neither."

Men, do we ever think before we speak?

A husband walks into Victoria's Secret to purchase some sheer
lingerie for his wife. He is shown several possibilities that range
from $250 to $500 in price, the more sheer, the higher the price. He
opts for the most sheer item, pays the $500 and take the lingerie
home.

He presents it to his wife and asks her to go upstairs, put it on and
model it for him. Up stairs, the wife thinks, "I have an idea. It's
so sheer that it might as well be nothing. I won't put it on, do the
modeling naked, return it tomorrow and keep the $500 refund for
myself."

So she appears naked on the balcony and strikes a pose. The husband
says, "Good Lord! You'd think that for $500, they'd at least iron
it!".

He never heard the shot.

Funeral services pending.

That A.C.L.U., What Jokers!

What's wrong with this picture?

If you look closely at the picture above, you will note that all the Marines pictured are bowing their heads. That's because they're praying.

This incident took place at a recent ceremony honoring the birthday of the corps, and it has the ACLU up in arms. "These are federal employees," says Lucius Traveler, a spokesman for the ACLU, "on federal property and on federal time. For them to pray is clearly an establishment of religion, and we must nip this in the bud immediately."

When asked about the ACLU's charges, Colonel Jack Fessender, speaking for the Commandant of the Corps said (cleaned up a bit), "Screw the ACLU." GOD Bless Our Warriors, Send the ACLU to France.

Please send this to people you know so everyone will know how stupid the ACLU is Getting in trying ! to remove GOD from everything and every place in America. May God Bless America, One Nation Under GOD!

What's wrong with the picture? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING

GOD BLESS AMERICA,

GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS!

EU BS

I was going to post about the EU and their latest example of munificence in the Airbus/Indonesia affair, but found that the Emperor had already done it better than I ever could.

It really makes me want to cry when the Moonbats on our shores hold out the EU as the model we should emulate. Lets see:
A. A community that uses coercion to force a tragedy ridden country to help support a state supported industry.
B. A community that makes it illegal to use force to defend one's home.
C. A community that makes it "hate speech" for a minister to preach from the pulpet according to the precepts of his religion.
D. A community that micromanages it's resident populations down to standardized regulations on it's playground equipment.

Yep! THATS the model I want to follow! (that was sarcasm btw, for any moonbats that might have strayed into here off from the "true path").

Tsunami relief

I keep hearing the Leftist's crying about how we need to bow down to the "superior wisdom" and greater international relief abilities of the UN in providing for the betterment of victoms of every stripe in the world.

Then I read a report from a "BOOT ON THE GROUND" in Indonesia and had, as Kim du Toit would say, a "RCOB" moment.

I have asked this question a number of times of a Leftist bent reader when they happen to come on here, maybe this time, one will deign to provide an answer?; the question is simply this: Provide me the details of just ONE case where the UN was able to provide adequate and true relief to victoms of any sort in the world, whether victoms of a natural disaster,like Indonesia, or the victoms of a tyrannical regime, such as the genocide occuring in the Sudan, without the US being the major driving force, in terms of supplies,manpower, payor of the bills, etc.

The Left is constantly citing MSM sources as the basis for their opposition to the war in Iraq, but they never consider the biases of that media. Whenever someone speaks against the flow that that the MSM, it's obviously because that person is a "tool of the administration". Never mind that because of the nature of the internet we can get information directly from those that are involved in day to day operations in Iraq; If The Old Grey Lady says it, it must be true regardless of what the "boots on the ground" have to say.

Here is another "boot on the ground" telling it like he sees it. LTC. Ryan points out that what you read in the MSM ain't necessarily the way it really is. Why is it that the Left decries the media as a "tool of the Fascists" when it doesn't match their preconceived ideas, but jump anyone on the other side that points out the obvious biases against the US actions/policies as being anti-truth?

Moonbattery, Higher Education Style

As most of my old readers know, I became a citizen of this country in 1972. It was not an easy process. There was an extensive testing of my knowledge of American history and the American form of government. I truly believe that most immigrants do know more about their adopted country and the truly unique form of government it posseses than the majority of it's native residents.

It seems that some so-called professors in higher education contribute to this dearth of knowledge with their hate filled personal idiologies.

Yes, many of the fast held beliefs about our founding fathers are myths. These were normal men,with all the flaws and foibles of normal men; with one great exception: they were willing to risk everything on a dream, a dream that every man has the God given right to try to be the best that he could be, free of onerous governmental interference.

Was the original concepts of government envisioned by the founding fathers perfect? NO. have there been some improvements over time? Undoubtedly. I would contend that, in fact, that we are in a period of regression at the moment. And its people like the good professor responsible for this regression. In their zeal to point out the flaws in the early days of the Republic, they ignore the truly great concept that was put forward in 1776: that the individual man had rights that devolved just from being a man, that these rights were granted by God, and the state had no power to abridge these rights except insofar as the individual would allow, in order to form a workable society.

Individuals empowered the State, not the other way around; the rule of law ensured that all men and government was judged by the same standards, with no one held above the law. This was a truly revolutionary concept.

We haven't always lived up to the ideal, but we have come closer than any other society, and we still strive to meet the ideal. For a person charged with educating the next generation to tell a student that he is, in essence, mentally disturbed if he holds to the ideal, demonstrates the decline in the general state of education.

A free society requires an educated populace to survive, and if the perveyors(sic) of knowledge start considering the espousal of individual rights and freedoms as a mental illness, we will not survive for long.

Islam in Action

THIS is why we are fighting a war on terror. Islamic Fundementalists are not wanting to co-exist, no matter WHAT feel good bilge C.A.I.R. might try to put out.

Gun Control

Here's yet another story demonstrating that the GFW's are wrong in touting their gun control Jihad on our Second Amendment rights.

E.T> May be here?

seems that some in the scientific community are revamping their attitudes towards possible visitations by extraterrestials. Some good food for thought....

Religion of Peace?

I found this article on Barbara Stock's Republican and Proud site. It really puts it all in perspective.

a warning to the free world from an ex-Muslim

Important to read and share.

I was born and raised as Muslim. My whole family is still Muslim. I know every genetic code of Muslim. I know Islamic brain. I live and breath with them. I am an insider.

I left Islam when I understood that Islam is a sick and evil religion. Following are the Islamic message to the West.

To the infidels of the West:

Constitution for the new Islamic Republic of EU and USA is under construction.

We will fight the infidel to death.

Meanwhile American laws will protect us.

Democrats and Leftist will support us.

UNO will legitimize us.

CAIR will incubate us.

ACLU will empower us.

Western Universities will educate us.

Mosques will shelter us

OPEC will finance us

Hollywood will love us.

Koffi Annan will pass politically correct sympathetic statement for Jihadists.

Our children will immigrate from Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Indonesia and even from India to the US and to the other Western countries. They will go to the West for education in full scholarship. America is paying and will continue to pay for our children’s educations and their upbringing in state funded Islamic schools.

We will use your welfare system. Our children will also send money home while they are preparing for Jihad.

We will use your welfare system. Our children will also send money home while they are preparing for Jihad. We will take the advantage of American kindness, gullibility, and compassion. When time comes, we will stab them in the back. We will say one thing on the camera and teach another thing to our children at home. We will give subliminal messages to our children to uphold Islam at any cost. Our children in America will always care more about Islamic Country’s interest than US interest. We will teach our children Islamic supremacy from the very childhood. We will teach them not to compromise with Infidel. Once we do that from the very early age our children won’t hesitate to be martyr. We will take over the Europe first and then US will be the next. We already have a solid ground in the UK, Holland, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Germany, and now in the US. Our children will marry Caucasian in Europe and in America. We will mixed with intricate fabric of the Western society but still will remember to Jihad when time comes. Who are we?We are the “sleeper cells”. We will raise our children to be loyal to Islam and Mohammad only. Everything else is secondary. At the time of the real fight we will hold our own children as our armor. When American or Israeli troops shoot at us the world will be watching. Imagine,… Imagine the news in the world “Death of Muslim babies by infidels”. We know CNN, ABC, CBS are broadcasting live. Al-Jazeera will pour gasoline on the fire. The news will spread like wildfire. “Americans killed 6 babies, 10 babies”. “Jews killed two women”, Keep your Nukes in your curio cabinets. Keep your aircraft carrier or hightech weaponery in the showcase. You can't use them against us because of your own higher moral standard. We will take the advantage of your higher moral standard and use it against you. We won’t hesitate to use our children as suicide bomber against you. Visualize the news flash all over the world, …Moslem mother is sobbing, ….crying. ….Her babies are killed by Jews and Americans, the whole world is watching live. Hundreds of millions of Muslims all around the world are boiling. They will march through Europe. We will use our women to produce more babies who will in turn be used as armor/shield. Our babies are the gift from Allah for Jihad. West manufactures their tanks in the factory. We will manufacture our military force by natural means, by producing more babies. That is the way it is cheaper. You infidels at this site cannot defeat us. We are 1.2 billion. We will double again. Do you have enough bullets to kill us? On the camera: We will always say, “Islam is the religion of Peace.” We will say, “Jihad is actually inner Jihad.” Moderate Muslim will say there is no link between Islam and Terrorism and the West will believe it because the West is so gullible.Moderate Muslim all over the world will incubate Jihadist by their talk by defending Islam.Using Western Legal system we will assert our Sharia Laws, slowly but surely.We will increase in number. We will double again. You will be impressed when you meet a moderate Muslim personally. As your next-door neighbor, coworker, student, teacher, engineer, professionals you may even like us. You will find us well mannered, polite, humble that will make you say, “wow, Muslims are good and peaceful people”, But, we will stab you in your back when you are sleeping as we did on 911.There will be more 911 in Europe and in America. We will say, “We do not support terrorism but America got what it deserved.” Muslims, CAIR, ISNA, MPAC and other international Islamic Organization will unite. We will partner with Leftist, ACLU, with Koffi Annan, and the UN, and if we have to then even with France. Fasten your seatbelt. The war of civilizations has just begun. We will recite Quran and say Allah-Hu-Akbar before beheading infidels, as we have been doing it. We will video tape those and send it to all infidels to watch. They will surrender - ISLAM means surrender. We will use your own values of kindness against you. You are destined to loose. Must be very depressing for you. Isn’t it? Allah-Hu-Akbar as we say just before beheading.
21st Century Islamic WarfareLet's see the effectiveness of Islamic warfare.
Muslims Vs. the West.

THE RULE HAS CHANGED. There is new game in town.

Bill Clinton ordered 50 Tomahawks Cruise missiles costing $100,000,000 each to destroy $50 mud houses that belonged to Osama's family. What a stupidity? What a poor ROI (Return On Investment)

In return Osama's attack on the US.
Cost: 19 martyrs and less than $500,000.
Cost to the West: over 3,000 dead.At least $1,000,000,000,000 (one trillion) dollars economical loss in one year. This includes the ripple effect.

Osama's ROI with respect to: life = 3,000/19 = 158 fold.
Dollar = $1 tr./500K = 2,000,000 fold

That is modern warfare. The West will loose.

Allah-Hu-Akbar.
Islam will rule the world. There is nothing you can do. Even if the per capita GDP of the world drops to half of its present level as a consequence of Islamic laws in place all over the world but still Islam will rule the word. From your point of view we bring to the world to the dark ages, so be it. But still Islam wins, West looses.Are you sure you want to play this game?

Jihad, ..Jihad...Jeeehaaad...

You are destined to loose.

Allah-hu-Akbar SOTT[Sight of the Truth] Saudi Arabia's $100 billion investment over the last 3 decades on over 60 thousands Madrassas and school all over the Islamic world is finally paying off. While the West was busy inventing medicine, increasing life expectancy, elevating human suffering, decoding human gene to find cure for Cancer, heart disease etc, launching space shuttle, inventing internet, working on new laws/theory for human rights, developing better economical models for a more prosperous world, while ACLU was gaining control over common sense, while American ingenuity was benefiting the rest of the world, we Muslims were busy producing over 200 million out of 1.4 billion, Walking, Talking, Non-Thinking, West-Hating, Pre-Programmed, Suicidal, Parasitic, Terrorist Robots. You can't win. The Genie is out of the bottle. We will use American’s kindness, fairness, compassion, freedom of speech and non-discriminatory policy against them. We will stab them in the back. What are you going to do? You are doomed. SOTT[Sight of the Truth] Tim--ex-Muslim

SBC Yahoo DSL

As all the regulars know, Mamamontezz and I lost phone service and our DSL connection due to an unfortunate paucity of funds...we managed to get the bill paid and the phone was back on line the next day, and we were informed that it would be approximately a week untill the DSL connection would be back up and running. That week ends tomorrow...We called to see if it would be up and running as promised and were informed that it would be at least another two weeks.

You may have noticed the paucity of posts on both our blogs, and I'm afraid that that situation will continue for at least another two weeks...the dial-up connection only works on the old boat anchor back-up computer without rewiring the good fast E-Machine we usually use, and posting is just too frustrating with a connection speed of only 3200Baud.

I.T. types, just tell me WHY it takes so long to turn on an established account? A new account they get up and running in two days or less, and now it's going to take almost a month to get an account back on line after only a 6 day interuption? The phone line was disconnected a week before the DSL was, and it was up and running the day after the requisite funds were tendered, the two services are payed in one statement, so just WHY does it take so long?

Seems that service is second in todays business world....Billing is #1.

"Bear Removers."

A man wakes up one morning to find a bear on his roof. So he looks in the yellow pages and sure enough, there's an ad for "Bear Removers." He calls the number, and the bear remover says he'll be over in 30 minutes.

The bear remover arrives, and gets out of his van. He's got a ladder, a baseball bat, a shotgun and a mean old pit bull. "What are you going to do," the homeowner asks?

"I'm going to put this ladder up against the roof, then I'm going to go up there and knock the bear off the roof with this baseball bat. When the bear falls off the roof, the pit bull is trained to grab his testicles and not let go. The bear will then be subdued enough for me to put him in the cage in the back of the van." He then hands the shotgun to the homeowner.

"What's the shotgun for?" asks the homeowner.

"If the bear knocks me off the roof, shoot the dog," he answers.

Hat tip to Catfish

Economic News

It's a constant Democratic meme that the economy is "the worst in 20 years", but the newest information from the Treasury Dept. belies this. Even before President Bush has been sworn in for his second term, the latest budget figures reveal that there has already been a $11Billion drop in the deficit from this same time last year.

It seems that the Democrats don't mind the gradual increase in fiscal warmth of increasing deficits under a Democratic Administration, but expecting a total and instant turnaround of an economy when the opposition party has the reins. A lot of good news is coming out of the government agencies, but you won't hear about it from the MSM.

Read the agency stats and you get a different picture of the economy than you get from the Old Grey Lady and her co-horts in propaganda.

In Honor of the Peoples Choice Awards

"To Proctor & Gamble went Moore
Where he fell in machinery obscure
Oils, soaps, and detergent...
Eight products divergent
Were rendered, plus nine bags manure."

Hat Tip to Doggeral Pundit

Super Mario Brothers

Everyone remembers the original Nintendo (Hell I had an Atari and before that Pong). The game that started it all... Super Mario Bros. Mario was a huge character and the spin offs from the Mario Brother series is practically endless.

Well thanks to a friend I have a link to the original ending....

Super Mario Brothers

If you ever wondered how it really ended now you'll know.

**Snicker**

Enjoy!

SlagleRock Out!

Around The Sphere

Take a jog around the Blogoshpere and you will find some interesting things.

SlagleRock has a wild story about Marine Cpl Wassef Ali Hassoun who was charged with desertion in Iraq deserting a second time!

Delftsman has a couple of great jokes and anecdotes if you need a laugh.

Over at the Rott, Sir George, smacks around the UN, yet again and BC gives us a further update on Marine Deserter Hassoun

Blackfive has an amazing story about a sniper credited with the longest confirmed kill in Iraq, more than 1,000 yards.

Need more? There are tons of great bloggers in the gutter on the right, take your pick!

SlagleRock Out!

When Is F*ck Appropriate?

When is F*ck Acceptable?

There are only eleven times in history where the "F" word has been considered acceptable for use.

They are as follows:

11. "What the F*ck do you mean, we are sinking?"
-- Capt. E.J. Smith of RMS Titanic, 1912

10. "What the F*ck was that?"
-- Mayor Of Hiroshima, 1945

9. "Where did all those F*cking Indians come from?"
-- Custer, 1877

8. "Any F*cking idiot could understand that."
-- Albert Einstein, 1938

7. "It does so F*cking look like her!"
-- Picasso, 1926

6. "How the F*ck did you work that out?"
-- Pythagoras, 126 BC

5. "You want WHAT on the F*cking ceiling?"
-- Michelangelo, 1566

4. "Where the F*ck are we?"
-- Amelia Earhart, 1937

3. "Scattered F*cking showers, my ass!"
-- Noah, 4314 BC

2. "Aw c'mon. Who the F*ck is going to find out?"
-- Bill Clinton, 1998

and a drum roll please............!

1. "Geez, I didn't think they'd get this F*cking mad."
-- Saddam Hussein, 2003

Where's The Rake?

Here is a unique way to ask your significant other where your missing lawn tools may be. It is an even better response.

Where's the Rake?

Enjoy

SlagleRock Out! (Proudly Posting for my Uncle)

Please be patient

The DSL line is now down, and Delftsman is unable to post from home. Until I get paid on Friday and can pay the ransom demanded by SBC, posting will be thin to non-existant here, unless I can get a couple of guest bloggers to help out.

Until then, why not this?

Subject: GLOVES

A dentist noticed that his next patient, a little old lady, was nervous so
he decided to tell her a little joke as he put on his gloves.

"Do you know how they make these gloves?" he asked.

"No, I don't."

"Well," he spoofed, "there's a building in Mexico with a big tank of latex and workers of all hand sizes walk up to the tank, dip in their hands, let them dry, then peel off the gloves and throw them into boxes of the right size."

She didn't crack a smile. "Oh, well. I tried," he thought.

But five minutes later, during a delicate portion of the procedure, she burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"I was just envisioning how condoms are made!"

Gotta watch those little old ladies! Their minds are always working!

WMD"s Random thoughts

I keep hearing the same old tired meme from the Leftist Moonbat Brigades that there haven't been any WMD's found in Iraq, thus President Bush is a liar and probably Hitler incarnate.

The Moonbats keep throwing around numbers of upwards of 100,000+ Iraqis killed by the vicious American Armed Services, never mind that they can't cite any reliable sources for these numbers.

Some on the Left have gone so far as to equate the "insurgent's" in Iraq with the Minutemen of the Revolutionary War.

The Left claim that President Bush rushed to war without even trying to get the rest of the world on board, disregarding the facts that:

A:Saddam had violated the terms of the cease fire from the Trip to the Sandbox 1, and thus we were not starting a new war at all, but finishing the old one.

And B: we had obtained no less than 14 UN resolutions, none of which Saddam had acceded too.

AND C: It was shown at the time, and and has since been graphicly proven by the Oil for Food scandals that those countries that the Left think HAD to sign on to make the invasion "legal" (IE France, Germany, and Russia) were actually profiting by illicit oil deals with the Iraqi regime, as did some of the top leaders in the UN itself, ergo there would NEVER have been agreement to go into Iraq from that putrid body of self serving, dictator loving, misery abetting collection of waste of human protoplasm on the Hudson.

Ok... the left says "where are the WMD's?" First of all, Saddam had had enough time in the run-up to hostilities to hide/move everything he had five times over. There are those (unconfirmed) intelligence reports about convoys of trucks into Syria.

Not to mention the fact that we did find warehouse after warehouse that did contain conventional weapons of types that Saddam was not supposed to have possesed any longer.

Remember that 320 TONS of high explosives that we supposedly weren't guarding well enough to prevent their theft? The left says "No weapons" and then blames our soldiers because weapons materials were stolen? Can't have it both ways people. Those explosives were of a type that are only useful in high grade weapons systems and atomic research. And they were gone before we reached them. He moved this material, who's to say what else had been moved/hidden/exported?

In trying to do some research for this screed, I came across an article done in Newsmax on Oct. 8, 2004 where they had found a 500 TON stockpile of Uranium. This was the first time I'd heard of that. WHY wasn't it reported all over the MSM?

Remember that one of the reasons for the Cause Belli was to stop Saddam BEFORE he became too great a threat. I think that the Uranium stockpile in and of itself are prima facia eveidence that President Bush was correct in his assesment that Saddam was a threat that would only become more serious and dangerous to stop without action being taken as soon as feasible.

The Left would say, why Iraq, why not North Korea? I would say that if we had waited, Iraq would have had the same nuclear deterrant factor that precludes the same type of action in N.K. at the moment. As one expert put it:

"You have a warehouse containing 500 tons of natural uranium; you need 25 kilograms of U235 to build one weapon. How many nuclear weapons can you build? The answer is 142."

Saddam had at least some of the components to enable him to enrich that Uranium, and was working to complete the means to do so, according to Dr. Mahdi Obeidi, who ran Saddam's nuclear centrifuge program until 1997.

So tell me, would YOU trust a man of Saddams history the means/time to become a nuclear power if you could prevent it? Or would you tell your constituants "oh sorry, I thought it would be ok, and I didn't want to be seen as a warmonger" after a nuclear weapon went off in downtown Manhatten? Yes it would have been years before it happened, you'd be out of office by the time it did happen, but isn't it your sworn responsibility to prevent it if you can?

Oh, and there were no ties between Saddam and Bin Ladin? (don't forget Salmon Pak!) Tell me...would YOU put up $60 million for a gift to demonstrate unity with someone you weren't at least thinking of allying with?

I sure could use an enemy that would pay me only $1 M just to shut me up! (Any of you Moonbats interested in shutting down my blog? Send me a certified check and it's a done deal!)

So Saddam, left to work unopposed, would have become a nuclear power, he did have at least speaking ties with Al Qiada and certainly supported other terrorist organizations (remember, HE was paying $25,000 per family of suicide bombers for Hamas in Israel)

He could have provided nuclear weapons to terrorists.
Speculative? Yes, at the time we invaded, but given the stakes, would you bet YOUR childs life he wouldn't do so? Was the war preemptive? yes! But remember the rules of evidence used in law; if a person has the means, the motive and makes plausible threats to do so, it can be grounds to convict. When the stakes are so high, I prefer to err on the side of caution, the alternative if your wrong are just too great to bear.

As many problems as I do have with President Bush on many other issues, I'm grateful that he is a man with a clear understanding of the danger we face from Islamoterrorism, and the guts to actually do something about it other than just talking about it.

Medicine

A short history of medicine:

I have an earache.

2000 B.C. - Here, eat this root.

1000 A.D. - That root is heathen; say this chant.

1850 A.D. - That chant is superstition; drink this potion.

1940 A.D. - That potion is snake oil; swallow this pill.

1985 A.D. - That pill is ineffective; take this antibiotic.

2000 A.D. - That antibiotic has dangerous side effects. Here, eat this
root.