Delftsman

The Tomato Factory

> An unemployed man is desperate to support his family
> of a wife and three kids. He applies for a janitor's job at
> a large firm and easily passes an aptitude test.

> The human resources manager tells him,
> "You will be hired at minimum wage of $5.15 an hour.
> Let me have your e-mail address so that we can get you in the computer. Our
> system will automatically e-mail you all the forms and advise
> you when to start and where to report on your first day."


> Taken back, the man protests that he is poor and has
> neither a computer nor an e-mail address. To this the manager
> replies, "You must understand that to a company like
> ours that means that you virtually do not exist. Without an e-mail address
> you can hardly expect to be employed by a high-tech firm.
> Good day."

> Stunned, the man leaves. Not knowing where to turn
> and having $10 in his wallet, he walks past a farmers' market
> and sees a stand selling 25 lb. crates of beautiful red tomatoes.

> He buys a crate, carries it to a busy corner and
> displays the tomatoes. In less than 2 hours he sells all the
> tomatoes and makes 100% profit.
> Repeating the process several times more
> that day, he ends up with almost $100 and arrives home
> that night with several bags of groceries for his family.

> During the night he decides to repeat the tomato
> business the next day. By the end of the week he is getting up
> early every day and working into the night. He multiplies his profits
> quickly.

> Early in the second week he acquires a cart to transport several boxes
> of tomatoes at a time, but before a month is up he sells the cart to
> buy a broken-down pickup truck.

> At the end of a year he owns three old trucks. His two sons have left their
> neighborhood gangs to help him with the tomato business, his wife is buying
> the tomatoes, and his daughter is taking night courses at the
> community college so she can keep books for him.

> By the end of the second year he has a dozen very nice used trucks and
> employs fifteen previously unemployed people, all selling tomatoes. He
> continues to work hard.

> Time passes and at the end of the fifth year he owns
> a fleet of nice trucks and a warehouse which his wife supervises,
> plus two tomato farms that the boys manage. The tomato company's payroll
> has put hundreds of homeless and jobless people to work. His daughter
> reports that the business grossed a million dollars.

> Planning for the future, he decides to buy some life insurance.
> Consulting with an insurance adviser, he picks an insurance plan
> to fit his new circumstances. Then the adviser askshim for his
> e-mail address in order to send the final documents electronically.

> When the man replies that he doesn't have time to mess with a
> computer and has no e-mail address, the insurance man
> is stunned, "What, you don't have e-mail? No computer?
> No Internet? Just think where you would be today if you'd had all of
> that five years ago!"

> "Ha!" snorts the man. "If I'd had e-mail five years ago I would
> be sweeping floors at Microsoft and making $5.15 an hour".


> Which brings us to the moral.........................


> Since you got this story by e-mail, you're probably
> closer to being a
> janitor than a millionaire.

> Sadly, I received it also.

LM-Bias Redux

Liberal bias in the media? What Liberal bias?.

Obviously the writer of this article is simply unable to grasp the importance of nuance /sarcasm.

Many on the left fail to see just what all the fuss is about in these kinds of stories, but the fact is that words DO have meaning, and the WAY you present the facts can alter the meaning of those facts in the mind of the viewer/reader.

Thats what the term "Nuance" is all about. That the Left can complain of the Rights lack of "grasp of nuance", and then deny it's emplyment in stories slanted in their POV within the same breath is simply astounding to me.

Spirit VS Nannyism

Dale, of Mostly Cajun, has a post demonstrating the difference between the true American spirit, and the nanny state culture all too many people have found themselves engulfed by in the aftermath of Katrina and Rita.

As a side note, Dale himself lost almost EVERY material possession he owned in the aftermath, including his four cats. He knows wherof he speaks. He's an embodiment of his contention.

Lefties Multiply....

There's a new "Progressive" group blog called Wingnut Watch, and I happened to catch it being born!

I have the distinct feeling that I probably won't agree with most of the views of the authors, but as they say "know your enemy", so I've added it to my roll in the Left side list.

Hopefully they may be new enough not to follow the DU pattern and just delete/ban any commenters that won't drink the Kool-Aid.

Vegan Moonbat Alert

THIS must be what the Left means when they say "It's about the liddle ch'illun".

Wonder if they'll be satisfied that they forced a company to diversify at their whim... All I know is, IF they DID pull any strong arm tactics on a day care center, they'd better watch out for the deadliest animal on earth, a parent that feels their offspring is being threatened..especially the female parents. You think PMS is bad, "you aint seen nuthin yet, bubba"!

Silly Pastime

Here's a little something different for when you get bored reading..It's a little sick on one level, but yet, strangely compelling.

Or am I the only sick puppy out here?!?

Response to Wanda

A couple days ago, I was commenting in my favorite Progressive blogger's site when she left me the following question in the thread. I knew my response would be far too long to put in the thread, so I've responded to it here.

LC/IB, I'm curious, exactly what is it that you 'believe' we are fighting for over there? Is it freedom and democracy? If so, then you should read A Fist in the Hornets Nest by Richard Engel. You'd see just how much 'democracy' has really been attained.

Yes Wanda, that's EXACTLY what I believe we are fighting for....Most importantly, our own. I certainly hope that Iraq will come through the other side of this conflict with a political system closer to our own than has previously existed, but thats just a part of the strategy. Iraq and Afghanistan themselves are just part of a larger strategy. Neither country will ever be a carbon clone of US style democracy, nor should they be, but it's a historical fact that democracies have never attacked each other. We are trying to affect change in the entire Middle East, and founding an Arab style democracy is just the start in that continuing policy. By showing that it CAN work, it puts pressure on the surrounding countries to force change within their own borders. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Syria,Egypt,Iran, et al. We can't fight all these countries on a military basis (without resorting to nuclear; which NO one wants), but by providing an example of change in Iraq and Afghanistan; we are attacking, and hopefully effecting change, in those regimes.

You might say "what gives us the right to try to foment these changes", and my response would simply be "Our right to survive as WE see fit". These countries have been fighting a clandestine war against us, using the radical groups as proxies for over 20 years; we either wake up, and fight back in the best way possible, or we might just as well start issuing out the prayer rugs and bow five times a day to our masters in Mecca.

I'm gratified that you didn't resort to the old tired meme of "it's a war for oil". The fact is that oil IS a part of it. We depend on it now, and for the foreseeable future, to drive our industrial society. BUT we didn't begin this to steal Iraqi oil, if that were the case, we wouldn't be paying over $3. a gallon for it now would we? Stabilizing the region will ensure that we can trade for it on the open market. The prices will remain high, I fear, due to the increased demand/usage in China and India, but that will be a war fought on the (hopefully)level playing field of international competition. I still have faith that new energy breakthroughs will originate here, moving that field to new areas.

I've not read the book, so I can't comment on Mr. Engel's thesis.

Iraq is a country populated by the Shiite's, the Kurds, and the Sunni's. The hatred between these tribes is so intense there will never be a bridge strong enough to bring them together. There will always be one tribe that will be at war with the other two. This is a fact of life. Read up on your Iraqi history. Iraq will never be a democratic country for at least one of those tribes. Never.

The tribal differences are a serious problem in bringing Iraq into the democratic fold, but I believe that it can be overcome...it might take a generation to come to full fruition, but just dismissing the problem as insurmountable seems to me to smack of the "racism against little brown people" that Progressives are so fond at hurling at my side of the aisle.
You might take note that in our own history, there were similar enmities among various factions of the American population, some of them almost as intense as that between the tribes. IF the (Iraqi)constitution is crafted in the right way, and all parties can agree to submit to the rule of law essential to a functioning democracy, who are you to say that they are any less capable of doing so than we were?

If you STILL believe there were WMD's or that Iraq was somehow connected to Al Qaida, or 9/11 then you should try reading and watching something OTHER than FOX cable news. In fact even several of their news journalist have admitted they no longer believe there were WMD's or a connection between Iraq and 9/11 or Al Qaida.

We've been over this ground countless times, Wanda. If you would take a closer look at what made it into the 9/11 report, you will note that even in that politically charged, watered down, mishmash of results in the report state that Saddam WAS a prime financer/enabler of terrorism. And with some of the Able Danger information coming out, I believe that evidence will be strengthened. Salmon Pak WAS a terrorist training camp.

It's true that there is no evidence that Saddam was directly involved in the planning or implemetation of 9/11, and I've never claimed such. There IS, however an abundance of evidence that he and his regime had close contacts with Al Quaida, and a number of high level A-Q operatives resided in Iraq both before 9/11, and after the fall of the Taliban. Did the two groups like each other? Hell NO, but unlike the average Progressive, they can set aside their differences to progress against a common perceived foe. Should they ever reach the point that their foe is vanquished in their eyes, I have no doubt that they would turn on each other like two packs of wolves, but at the time, they both provided each other something they both wanted and needed, A-Q the funds and training areas to foment terrorism, and in return Saddam got "plausible deniability" of being a terorist himself. They were both using the other for their own separate goals, they were both aware of this fact, and managed to make it work. Some have denied the possibility on the grounds that A-Q is bgased in religion, and Saddam was a secular leader, but this really isn't so. A-Q is a political movement that couches it's terms in a religious framework, and has oft been noted, "politics makes for strange bedfellows".

Just last month a large cache of chemical weapons was discovered in Iraq...I suppose that you believe the "Insurgents" developed and manufactured them? We've found artillery shells containing Sarin and VX...granted, they were old, but then again, according to the Saddam regime, supposedly they had been destroyed. An entire wing of aircraft was found buried in the sand... What else is hidden? Saddam had almost 16 months to transfer his illegal weapons to other countries, or hide them. Saddam's own NBC scientists stated that even the programs that had been "shut down" could have been restarted and going full tilt within a matter of months, should Saddam believe it safe to do so.
Personally, I'd rather not play that kind of Russian Roulette with a state sponsor of Terrorism.

If you think we're fighting over there so that we don't have to fight over here, your delusional. Incidents of terror are UP worldwide since we invaded Iraq. No, there hasn't been another attack here in the US, but there was a seven year lull between the first attack on the WTC in 1993 and 9/11.

And how many other incidents against American resources/facilities in that 7 year lull? The fact is that other than IED's and raids in Iraq and Afghanistan, no American assets have been beset since the start of hostilities.

It's true that Britain, Spain and Indonesia have been the victims of loathsome acts, and there have been reports of thwarted attempts in Australia. Which only goes to prove that we are dealing with an implacable enemy that we either defeat, or be defeated by.

BTW...just WHY did A-Q commit those acts in Indonesia!?, a country with a 99% Muslim population, and not involved in the hostilities? What the Left has failed to realize is that we have been at war with these groups for almost twenty years, it was only after 9/11 that it became an "open" war, indeed the first time the general population even became aware of it at all. Read the stated goals of A-Q, of creating a worldwide Caliphate, and you might come to realize that there is no negotiation that will stop them (at least for any longer than it takes for them to regroup and rearm)

Even the so called "moderate" groups such as C.A.I.R. talk among themselves of replacing the Constitution with Shar'ia Law. (They say in a "peaceful manner", once all us backward infidels see the light.) And time and again we've found that many of these "moderate" groups are channeling funds to Hamas, A-Q, and Islamic Jihad.

So for all we know the plans are in the making for another, even more deadlier attack right here at home. Then what will you say?

The question is not IF there will be another terrorist event in America, but rather WHEN. We could pull every soldier out of every other country in the world tomorrow, and that attack will still come. I only hope and pray that our covert intelligence agencies are up to the task of forstalling as many as possible, but sooner or later, it WILL occur, and then we can only hope that enough citizens have made whatever preparations they could to fend for themselves for the time it will take for authorities to be able to help the situation, and that the Local/State/Federal response will work better than the Katrina fiasco did.

What is it going to take for you to admit this has been an unnecessary, unmitigated war against a country that NEVER committed a single act of war or aggression against the United States?

I would say that firing on US patrol planes on an almost daily basis during the cessation of hostilities between GW 1 and 2 were all acts of war. Thats just me of course...I realize that Progressives may hold a more "nuanced" view of that...

And remember that there was never a peace treaty signed at the end of GW1, merely an agreement to suspend hostilities as long as Saddam complied with the terms laid out; he never did fully comply with those terms, OR the 16 UN resolutions in that period.

If Saddam was an evil bastard, then he was an evil man WE helped create.

If we created him, then it's our responsibilty to take him out as well, No? Can't have it both ways.

The soldiers in Iraq aren't fighting for freedom, democracy, or to protect Americans.

I obviously disagree with that statement for all the reasons I've outlined above.

They are fighting to stay alive.

Thats what ALL soldiers have done since the beginning of time, and will probably do untill the last trump calls.

One day at a time.

Redundant to the above, and same answer as above.

They are understaffed, overworked, underpaid, and forgotten.

Good work Wanda, you're three for three! I would contest the "forgotten", at least insofar as my circles go. Yours, I can't speak to.

Lip service doesn't count. If you REALLY care about THEM, then do something to help them come home.

I want them home as much as you do Wanda, I've lost far too many friends already, but I have this problem with bringing them home before the job is done. Soldiers know the job they have to do, and all the "Jakes" notwithstanding, I believe that the greatest number of them want to finish well too.

The war in my term of service was lost in the newsrooms and on the college campi; the soldiers won every battle they fought and died in despite the fact of being mis-micromanaged by polititians and not by the generals who should have been given the job, but the war was lost in the court of public opinion at home, making those sacrifices all the more painful.

I'd hate to see that repeated. That would spell, if not the end, the beginning of the end of this country, and I love her far too much to let that happen without doing whatever small things I can to prevent it. Even if all I can do is argue for what I believe in on my blog and in comments on other blogs.

HOOO-AH!!!

I was all set to esconce myself under my nice warm covers (with the door securely closed against the cat), when i saw this picture

and read the accompanying story at Beth's place.

All I can add is an echo to Beth's Semper Fi, Gunny... Carry on!

Lax Blogging Redux

The Virus is back, and needless to say stopping me from blogging to much; I just don't have the energy..

Acidman put up a good joke, even though it's an old one.

Sir George has one of the best fiskings of an Idiotarian over at the Rott that I've ever had the privilege to read, it's Whittlesque in it's length, but every phrase is pure gold.

Alli over at Fox Rants has a Gary Varvel cartoon up for those of us in the Hoosier state to mull over. This young lady recently joined the blogroll (#7 in the Empire list) and I find her to be quite a refreshing addition to the blogosphere.

The Lord and Tyrant (known as "Steve" to his friends)of Spatula City delivers a righteous clubatting™ to an Idiotarian columnist.

Got to go and tend to my aching/spinning/congested head....and the cat has some deviltry in mind for me too, I fear:

Apparently I haven't been seeing to her unvoiced needs in as promptly a manner as befits Her Majesty..... Last time I was remiss, I had to wash the sheets on my bed, as she pinedly left some reminders of my duty to her every whim.

Hope to resume REAL blogging soon. Take care and may whatever your conception of a higher deity is watch over you and bless you in all your actions.

Open letter to the Cat

Every cat owner wil be able to relate to at least portions of this exercise in inter-species communication by Mamamontezz:

Dear Cat,

We need to talk.

When I say to move, it means go someplace else, not switch positions
with each other so there are still two cats in the way. The dishes with
the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are
mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle
of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food
and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating
me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help, because I
fallfaster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king size bed. I am very sorry
about this. Do not think I will continue to sleep on the couch to ensure
your comfort. Look at videos of cats sleeping; they can actually curl
up in a ball. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other
stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking
tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to
maximize space used is nothing but feline sarcasm.

My compact discs are not toys for you and your friends to play with.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by
some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is
not necessary to claw, whine, and try to turn the knob, or get your paw
under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the
same door I entered. In addition, I have been using bathrooms for years
and I know that feline attendance is not mandatory.

The proper order is kiss me, and then go smell the other cat's butt. I
cannot stress this enough. It should be such a simple change for you.

Sincerely,

I just live here.

President Takes the Time

This is the kind of story that makes me believe that for all his many faults and missteps, President Bush is still the honorable man I believed him to be when I first voted for him. It was a security person's nightmare for the President to do what he did, but I believe that the sentiments he expressed made up for that in the good will it engendered.

I've been involved with the local security details for visits by four US Presidents during my tenure as a LEO, and I can tell you from experience that something like this is a really big deal. For a president to break security to personally thank one of the "little people" in the manner he did speaks volumes about the character of the man

I once had the opportunity to shake President Ronald Reagan's hand in the course of a detail, and I can tell you that it is an experience I'll never forget. And that was just a case of being in the right place in the right time, it wasn't a determined break in security protocall to express graditude to one of those that was just there to do his job.

The Hooker and the Koala

Wingless Angel sent me this today, it gave me a chuckle, hope you like it too.

A koala bear and a hooker go back to her place and they get
undressed.The koala bear goes down on the hooker for 3 hours
straight. She has multiple orgasms!!! After 3 hours he stops, gets
up and puts on his little koala clothes. The woman is hanging back
huffing and puffing from exhaustion. "Oh God that was great! Now I
need my money."

The koala bear just looks at her and shrugs.

Then the hooker says, "No, I need my money. I'm a hooker and this is how I make a living."

The koala bear just looks at her and continues to put on his
clothes. Then the hooker gets up and runs to the bookshelf, grabs a
dictionary and thumbs through it to "hooker." She hands it to the
koala bear and it reads:

HOOKER - person who has sex for money.

The koala bear turns the page to "koala bear" and walks out the
door. The hooker reads:

KOALA BEAR: Eats Bushes and Leaves."

Quote of the Day

You should realize that the community with which you deal is not the one of 42nd Street and Broadway, or Hollywood and Vine. These are the crusts on the great American sandwich. The meat is in between.
~Fulton J. Sheen

Clinton, and the loss of Presidental Propriety

Powerline has a great post showing President Clinton to be a partisian hack devoid of common civility,tearing apart his latest public attack on the present Administration.

There's nothing wrong with standing up for an idiology you believe in, but of late, it seems the only idiology of the Left is that President Bush is evil incarnate, and when you have the record of inattention to terrorism (World Trade Center bombing in 1993, the attacks on American embassies in Africa in 1998, the USS Cole bombing in 2000 to cite just three examples) that President Clinton portrayed in his term of office, it's particularly disingenious.

In their partisian fervor, it seems that the DNC and it's leading members have forgotten that we are all Americans first, and members of a political party second. The Left has excoriated President Bush as a divisive leader, but any openminded person with two functioning brain cells left can readily discern that, in fact, it's the members of the far Left that have created that division on strictly partisian grounds; unfortunately, it's the radicals that seem to have the loudest voice and the firmest hand on the controls in the DNC at the moment.

They are so sure of their control that they don't even bother to TRY to ensure that their statements are in fact the truth. Don't think so? In Clinton's Bush bashing he said:

"(the)Bush administration had decided to invade Iraq "virtually alone and before UN inspections were completed, with no real urgency, no evidence that there were weapons of mass destruction." (that "alone" must come as a real slap in the face to the 40+ nations that have risked their personnel in Iraq!)

Yet in a presentation of a foreign policy paper made before Democrats on July 23, 2003, President Clinton stated:

"It is incontestable that on the day I left office, there were unaccounted for stocks of biological and chemical weapons."

So either Clinton lied then, or is lying now, either way, he's proven himself a liar with his own words.

That he is breaking the long held tradition of past Presidents not commenting publicly on a current President's policies only proves that he has no concept of the delicate balance of civility that has to be maintained for our system to work.
Instead, he stokes the partisan fires to an ever greater blaze; and to do it at a time when we have men in harms way furthur compounds the damage he is doing in furthurance of partisianship.

Pallywood

Welcome to Pallywood! Seems that a large portion of those "horrible examples" of Israeli perfidy against the Paleoswinians we see on the MSM are really a product of great productions teams of the aforementioned "oppressed Palstinian Arabs misplaced Jordanians".

Thanks for the heads up Misha!

GOP VS RNC Women

You know, if you want to be a shallow male sexist pig (and whats wrong with that?!?), You can always chose your political party by the beauty of the women of that party.

NICE!

ARRGHH MY EYES, MY EYES!

Compare and contrast, and I'm sure I'll see you at the next GOP committee meeting...Hail to thee, fellow pig!, now pardon me while I bathe my eyes to ease the burns from checking out those Democratic women.

General Blather

A commenter on this story at Lucianne.com made this observation:

The Left's "Great Society" managed to do to African-Americans what 200 years of slavery and 100 years of discrimination couldn't do -- destroy their pride and resourcefulness.

The awful truth is the left NEEDS to keep the base impoverished and reliant on hand-outs in order to maintain their power.

N.O. is a black city, governed by blacks. LA is a corrupt state, governed by an incompetent who knew the right people. At least one of the State Senators got in office the first time thanks to some questionable votes from N.O. She paid them back by threatening to punch out the president because he wouldn't break the Posse Comitatus Act (so the Dems could impeach him).

What percentage of blacks were impoverished at the beginning of the "Great Society"? What percentage is impoverished now? CLINTON was in office for EIGHT years. What improvement did the black dependent class have during those eight years? HOw many of them got out of poverty and moved into the lower class?

If we had a free and unbiased press, they'd be looking at these stats.

In his 1935 State of the Union Address, FDR spoke to a nation mired in the Depression, but still marinated in conservative values:

"Continued dependence" upon welfare, said FDR, "induces a spiritual disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fiber. To dole our relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit."

Behind FDR's statement was the conviction that, while the government must step in in an emergency, in normal times, men provide the food, clothing and shelter for their families.

Then in 1963, Lyndon Johnson had the chance to test the Liberal idea of making the Federal government the prime provider to the poor.

In the 43 years since, the "Great Society" group of aid programs have engendered a permanent poverty class with up to 3 generations still totally dependant on government to provide for their basic needs. Had the purpose of the programs been sucessful,under their own terms set out in the beginning, we would have no poor at all. Yet all we hear from the Left is how we are not spending enough to help the poor. We have spent billions of dollars every year on welfare/assistance related programs every year since 1964, yet the "poverty" rates are rising.

The commenter was right, we need to redesign these programs to become a true hand up rather than a hand out. Untill self pride and responsibity is stressed and inculcated, all the money we throw at the poor is nothing more than an ever growing dependancy cycle, and we can't afford it, either in terms of money, or in terms of citizens detracting,rather than contributing to the general good of the Republic.

Legacies..

Just the other day, I was informed that I was one of those that had my head in the sand concerning how evil and engaged in illegalities that President Bush is.
They furthur lauded President Clinton as one of the finest Presidents in history.

Ever one to be willing to concede that my personal biases just might color my opinions, I did some research and to my dismay discovered that President Clinton and his Administration did indeed set some high records for a Presidental term in office.

Here's the short list of Firsts/malfeasance records set in that time:

RECORDS SET:

- The only president ever impeached on grounds of personal malfeasance
- Most number of convictions and guilty pleas by friends and associates*
- Most number of cabinet officials to come under criminal investigation
- Most number of witnesses to flee country or refuse to testify
- Most number of witnesses to die suddenly
- First president sued for sexual harassment.
- First president accused of rape.
- First first lady to come under criminal investigation
- Largest criminal plea agreement in an illegal campaign contribution case
- First president to establish a legal defense fund.
- First president to be held in contempt of court
- Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions
- Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions from abroad

* According to the best information, 40 government officials were indicted or convicted in the wake of Watergate. A read of teh records imputes that there was a total of 31 Reagan era convictions, including 14 because of Iran-Contra and 16 in the Department of Housing & Urban Development scandal. 47 individuals and businesses associated with the Clinton machine were convicted of or pleaded guilty to crimes with 33 of these occurring during the Clinton administration itself. There were in addition 61 indictments or misdemeanor charges. 14 persons were imprisoned. A key difference between the Clinton story and earlier ones was the number of criminals with whom he was associated before entering the White House.

Now the Progressive will claim that this record is due to Republican "witch hunts" in their hatred of Bubba and Shillery, but the sheer range and magnitude of the charges/indictments/convictions would lead a reasonable person to at least start to question the true legacy that President Clinton will come to bear.

There is an old adage that "where there is smoke there is fire", and it's usually been proven true with the hindsight of history. This next Presidential cycle may prove to be really interesting. Hillery may have more trouble than she's counting on. If nothing else her past record of her stands taken during her husbands administration belie her current attempt to move more to the center.

Kerry found to his chagrin that the American people respect a person for maintaining his core beliefs more than one who conveniently changes positions as the public mood does. They may not like the position, but they respect the person who stands firm for one.

Sheehan VS Clinton?

"Mother" Sheehan has finally taken that "step too far" for the MSM, and I predict that soon she'll be lucky to have a reporter interview her if she was hanging out of the window of a burning building.

Her crime? She's challenged Hillery Clinton to go public with opposition to the war in Iraq, and demanded that she be granted a meeting with her.

The Moonbats are eating their own, which is a godsend for the Stupid party, since it seems that the President seems to be doing everything he can to alienate his base over federal spending and the border security issue.

It will be interesting to see how the Queen 'Rat handles the situation....in the meantime I hope that Ms. Sheehan doesn't take any walks in Ft. Marcy Park, we all remember what happened to Vince Foster there when he presented a political danger to the Queen...

Wild Thing

An old man was sitting on a bench at the mall. A teenager walked up
to the bench and sat down. He had spiked hair in all different colors:
green, red, orange, blue and yellow.

The old man just stared. Every time the teenager looked, the old man was staring.

The teenager finally said, sarcastically, "What's the matter old
timer, never done anything wild in your life?

Without batting an eye, the old man replied. "Got drunk once and had
sex with a peacock. I was wondering if you were my son."

Arctic computer

Dammit, I was writing a post on the election in Deutchland, and my computor froze up... AGAIN. can't clear the screen and can't access the story I was trying to get a link to. I'm getting sick of this. Any suggestions?

Steyn hits another home run

Mark Steyn hits another one far over the ballpark wall with this humorous look at the Robertson confirmation hearings.

MY favorite line:
"But, if you're going to twitter about the fullness of somebody's heart, why get Chuck Schumer to play Senator Oprah? He has the shifty air of a mob accountant, even with every intern on his staff holding onions under his eyes."

A Chenious he is, I tellya!

Dog Shoots Man

THIS story is just too easy for punch lines...my favorite so far is "guns don't kill people, DOGS with guns kill people"

I'd say this Fido would make a great recruit for the Marines...wonder how he'd do with a full auto weapon?
Fido continued the hunt and bagged his own bird, said "Hell NO" when he was asked to give it to the Fish and Wildlife officer, on the basis that his license didn't cover actually doing the shooting...."ask the last guy what happened when he asked for my dinner, now get out of my face!"

All joking aside though, this story demonstrates the total lack of knowledge of the average journaljismer....#1, who the hell hunts birds with buckshot?!?, and #2...I've never seen a rifle yet that could fire either bird shot or buckshot. Yet we're supposed to give credence to a sloppy reporter like this when he writes a story about our 2nd Amendment rights?!?

Remedial Civics 101

I dunno, I think these characters may be too old and socialist indoctrinated for remedial education to be effective, Gary.

Alcohol Quotes

Wingless Angel sent me these....now if he'd only send me a fifth of Jack or Couvasier, I could test Clavin's Buffalo Theory....

"Sometimes when I reflect back on all the wine I drink
I feel shame Then I look into the glass and think
about the workers in the vineyards and all of their hopes
and dreams . If I didn't drink this wine, they might be out
of work and their dreams would be shattered.
Then I say to myself, "It is better that I drink this wine and let
their
dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver."
~ Jack Handy

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may leave you wondering what the
hell
happened to your bra and panties.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they
wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're
going to feel all day. "
~Frank Sinatra

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may create the illusion that you
are tougher, smarter, faster and better looking than most people.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading."
~ Henny Youngman

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may lead you to think people are
laughing WITH you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence?
I think not."
~ Stephen Wright

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause you to think you can
sing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk,
we fall asleep. When we fall asleep, we commit no sin.
When we commit no sin, we go to heaven. So, let's all
get drunk and go to heaven!"
~ Brian O'Rourke

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause pregnancy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants
us to be happy."
~ Benjamin Franklin

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol is a major factor in dancing like
a retard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Without question, the greatest invention in the
history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the
wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does
not go nearly as well with pizza."
~ Dave Barry
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause you to tell your
friends over and over again that you love them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To some it's a six-pack, to me it's a Support Group. Salvation in a
can!
~ Dave Howell
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may make you think you can
logically converse with members of the opposite sex without spitting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And saving the best for last, as explained by Cliff Clavin,
of Cheers. One afternoon at Cheers, Cliff Clavin was explaining the
Buffalo Theory to his buddy Norm.
Here's how it went:

"Well ya see, Norm, it's like this... A herd of buffalo
can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when
the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones
at the back that are killed first This natural selection is
good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of
the whole group keeps improving by the
regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the
human brain can only operate as fast as the
slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we
know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and
weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer
eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more
efficient machine. That's why you always feel smarter after a few
beers."
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may make you think you are
whispering when you are not.

TACKY

The Wall Street Week in Review show has a feature they term the "Tony" and "Tacky" of the week wherin the telejournalists put up their pick of what was best and worst in the past week. I thought I might try my hand at this, and my first effort is one huge TACKY on the part of the German SPD Party.

I found this via Davids Medienkritik:"We didn't think German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's SPD (or any other major Germany political party) would fall this low during the election campaign. We have learned that one of Gerhard Schroeder's senior ministers and a top SPD man in eastern Germany, Rolf Schwanitz, is using the following poster in an attempt to win votes":

SPD Campaign Poster, caption reads: "She (Merkel) Would Have Sent Soldiers"

As David says:"This is truly sick. How could anyone exploit the images of fallen American soldiers in flag-draped coffins for political gain. Haven't those soldiers earned the right not to be exploited by some European politician?"

I have to say that while I'm repulsed by this, I have to admit that our own Left has sunk to almost the same low state, when you consider the credence they give to such as "Mother" Sheehan; if we allow our own to get away unopposed, can we really be surprised when a foreign polititian thinks it is fair game? Yes, I know that the storm against "Mother" is pretty intense in the blogosphere, but how much of that opposition is ever demonstrated in the MSM?

This is part and parcel of what the Left just "doesn't get" when we on the center right contend that you can't "support the troops" and loudly bash Bush on the war at the same time without providing aid and comfort to the enemy, inevitably, that (at least perceived) aid is evident even to those that are nominally our allies. Too bad it never comes to recognition by those that foment it.

Rednecks

You know, the second most used term of derision used by "progressives" towards "Conservatives is "Redneck" (close second to "Nazi").

We have enjoyed the redneck jokes for years. It's time to take a reflective
look at the core beliefs of a culture that values home, family, country and
God.

Ya'll know who ya' are...

You might be a Redneck if:

1. It never occurred to you to be offended by the
phrase, "One nation, under God."

2. You've never protested about seeing the 10
Commandments posted in public places.

3. You still say "Christmas" instead of "Winter Festival."

4. You remove your hat and bow your head when anyone prays.

5. You stand and place your hand over your heart when they play our
National Anthem.

6. You treat Viet Nam vets with great respect, and always have.

7. You've never burned an American flag, but would kick someone's A_ _
that did.

8. You know what you believe and you aren't afraid to say so, no matter
who is listening.

9. You respect your elders and expect your kids to do the same.

10. You'd give your last dollar to a friend.

Yep, sounds like the kind of people I would like to be associated with!
If I had to stand before a dozen terrorists who threaten my life, I'd
choose a half dozen or so rednecks to back me up.
Tire irons, squirrel guns, and grit -- that's what rednecks are made of.
I hope I am one of those.

Random Observations

I seem to be feeling somewhat better today, the headaches have diminished to mere dull throbs, and the spinning has reduced to a mere one revoulution per minute. Still don't feel up to really posting today though.

I thought that I'd see what was going on in the hood and post a pic or two...
I have told you that I live in a really tough neighborhood, haven't I?

We don't feed the squirrels around here, we just try to keep an eye on our smokes when their around.

They're always reaching out to take anything they can get their grubby little paws on.

Yeah, we have gangsta squirrels...hell, even the cats are afraid of them. One of the cats was in heat last year and got out and was accosted by a group of squirrels....leading to a strange synthesis:

Her mate was understandably upset and took matters into his own hands

He managed to clear out a large group of them before his thirst for vengence was slaked.

He was so tuckered out after his mayhem, he OD'd on catnip flavored Kibble.

Unfortunately for him, the squirrels had a photographer as an eyewitness.

And the minions of Homeland Security were soon at the door.
He roused enough to try to make a run for it, but he got caught at the back door.

The last time I saw him he was on his way to serve a life sentence for Rodent Terrorism. Guess the Polititians take care of their own genus...

You KNOW how ill I must be if I've resorted to cat blogging....I'm going back to bed. In a way it's kinda of fun to have a rotating bed, might as well try to enjoy the sensation, since there's nothing I can do but ride it out anyway.

UPDATE:I KNEW poor Fluffy just wasn't cut out for prison life...seems he got shanked by a member of the Squirrel Liberation Front. The guard first on the scene tried to sustain him with mouth to mouth support, but alas, it was the end of Fluffy's ninth life..

Crook Returns

Michael Crook, that UBER-Scum of the earth, is back at it.

His new site is called Oppose the Troops, and it's even more virulent than his old site.

"Mr". Crook's contention is that the Military as a whole, and at the individual level, consists of nothing but leeches living high off the hog on our tax dollars. He furthur contends that the concept of an organized Military structure in itself is untenable in a free society and that we would be better served by an "everyman for himself" structure of defense.

Seems that Mr. Crook is unaware of history, or just what the average person gives up in joining the Military in terms of earning potential. He decries that Service personnell are given housing, medical treatment, and salaries, and WORST of all, they receive a pension after having served their country for a minimum of 20 years! All on the "Public's dime". THE HORROR!

He attempts to show that money is the prime motivator in inducing young men and woman into military service...after all, they receive a base salary of $22,525.20 a year, after having reached the rank of E-5, with more than two years on the job. Sounds like a great deal of money doesn't it? He doesn't take into cinsideration that it would take the average soldier almost 9 years to attain that rank, and that a civilian position that encompasses anywhere near the same amount of responsibility would pay at least twice that amount. YES there are the factors that housing and food are included "free" (assuming a single person living in base housing), but consider this, that "free housing" consists for a large part of sharing one large room with four to six other men, or at BEST one small room with one other man, and the food consists of a school cafeteria style service, where your choices are limited to what is being served for that meal. AND you are not allowed to leave a prescribed area without permission and instant contact means with your superiors.

How many civilians work, or WOULD work, under such restrictions? Not to mention that even your personal life is bound by rules and regulations that no civilian company could impose on their workforce.....how would YOU like to be faced with possible loss in pay,loss of rank, and even incarceration because YOU happened to stay out on the lounger in the backyard too long and had received a bad sunburn? Outrageous? It CAN happen in the Military, and I speak from personal experience.

When you sign on that dotted line, not even your own body ,strictly speaking, belongs to you. Where do you make that type of sacrifice in the civilian world? The closest thing would be the "physical ability to preform" clauses in a pro-athlete's contract....care to compare their pay rates to the military's?

If you factor in the amount of experience/education that a soldier requires to effectively do his job in the new high-tech Service; and the amount of responsibility that that soldier is expected to assume, the pay is not even a half fraction of what he could obtain under the same circumstances in the civilian world.

I think we should respond as we did on the last occasion of this perverted moron's last surfacing in the public forum; loud derision and pointing out to his service providers that his rhetoric exceeds the bounds of legitimate public discourse and falls into the area of hate-mongoring and sedition.

Light Posting

Sorry about the light posting yesterday, but I seem to have fallen under the sway of some sort of virus. Went to bed early and didn't get up untill 7:30 PM, and then just to get a drink of water.

Really weird symptoms....had a cluster headache pounding in the center of my head and everything seemed to be revolving around it; the room was spinning as if I'd gone on a super bender. My temperture was rising and falling like a seesaw, and yet, I felt the opposite, freezing with a high temp and sweating hot when it droppped. Thirsty as hell, but just the thought of drinking anything was enough to send me racing to embrace the porceline goddess.

Got Chris to make me some oatmeal, and I managed to keep it down, so I'm sure I'm on the tail end of whatever this is.

See you guys later, I'm going back to bed and hope the spinning stops soon.

Bill of NON Rights

The following has been attributed to State Representative Mitchell Kaye from GA....

" We the sensible people of the United States, in an attempt to help everyone get along, restore some semblance of justice, avoid more riots, keep our nation safe, promote positive behavior, and secure the blessings of debt free liberty to ourselves and our great-great-great-grandchildren, hereby try one more time to ordain and establish some common sense guidelines for the terminally whiny, guilt ridden, delusional, and others."

"We hold these truths to be self evident: that a whole lot of people are confused
by the Bill of Rights and are so dim they require a Bill of NON-Rights."

ARTICLE I: You do not have the right to a new car, big screen TV, or any other form of wealth. More power to you if you can legally acquire them, but no one is guaranteeing anything.

ARTICLE II: You do not have the right to never be offended. This country is based on freedom, and that means freedom for everyone -- not just you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc.; but the world is full of idiots, and probably always will be.

ARTICLE VI: You do not have the right to physically harm other people. If you kidnap, rape, intentionally maim, or kill someone, don't be surprised if the rest of us want to see you fry in the electric chair.

ARTICLE VII: You do not have the right to the possessions of others. If you rob, cheat, or coerce away the goods or services of other citizens, don't be surprised if the rest of us get together and lock you away in a place where you still won't have the right to a big screen color TV or a life of leisure.

ARTICLE VIII: You do not have the right to a job. All of us sure want you to have a job, and will gladly help you along in hard times, but we expect you to take advantage of the opportunities of education and vocational training laid before you to make yourself useful.

ARTICLE IX: You do not have the right to happiness. Being an American means that you have the right to PURSUE happiness, which by the way, is a lot easier if you are unencumbered by an over abundance of idiotic laws created by those of you who were
confused by the Bill of Rights.

ARTICLE X: This is an English speaking country. We don't care where you are from, English is our language. Learn it or go back to wherever you came from!

(lastly...)

ARTICLE XI: You do not have the right to change our country's history or heritage. This country was founded on the belief in one true God. And yet, you are given the freedom to believe in any religion, any faith, or no faith at all; with no fear of persecution. The phrase IN GOD WE TRUST is part of our heritage and history, and if you are
uncomfortable with it, TOUGH!!!!

MAN OF THE HOUSE. . . . .

A man had just finished reading the book "Man Of The
House" while making his train commute home from work.

By the time he reached home,he stormed into the house
and walked directly up to hiswife, pointing his finger in her face,
he said, "From now on I want you to know that I am the man of this house
and my word is law! You are to prepare me a gourmet meal tonight,
and when I'm finished eating my meal, I expect a scrumptious dessert afterward.

Then, after dinner, you're going to draw my bath so I can relax.

And when I'm finished with my bath, guess who's going to dress me
and comb my hair?"
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
"The Funeral Director would be my guess," said his wife.

Conservative = Nazi?

Right Wing Rocker (it's blogspot...so you'll have to scroll to "the 25 points,Wed, Sept 14)has taken on the task of comparing the stated party platform of the Nazi Party (comprised of 25 main points) and compared it to both the general Liberal and Conservative positions.

You might want to put this one in your personal files the next time a Liberal accuses you of being a Nazi.

Here's his general conclusion:

"American liberal philosophy matches 17 out of the 25 Points of the Nazi platform. American conservative philosophy matches only 3. Two of these were "double-matches", where both sides would have agreed with the Nazis. There were seven points that were so loony even the Donks wouldn't have agreed."(emp. mine)

He makes no accusations, nor do I...but if it waddles like a duck, quacks like a duck, and swims like a duck, might there be some justification in calling it a duck?

I'm positive that there is not a Liberal out there that would consider themselves as being Nazi-like, but they fail to consider the natural ramifications of the policies that they espouse, and when the end results are the same, the conclusion, logically speaking, is obvious. A dung heap by any other name will still smell as foul.

"Splash" Kennedy Volunteers!

Senator Kennedy Offers to Plug at Least One Big Hole in the New Orleans Levee

Shocked by the widespread suffering of those displaced from their homes by the flooding in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) offered to plug one of the holes in the Lake Pontchartrain levee with his own ample body.

"The Bush Administration has failed to stem the tide of this cataclysm," said Kennedy. "I have had some experience with aquatic mishaps. This experience will bolster me in this hour of desperation as I plug one of the leaks myself."

Kennedy has arranged to have the Air Force transport him by helicopter and lower him into the easternmost breach in the levee. The hope is that the senator's doughy frame will be pliable enough to conform to the hole's dimensions and halt or, at least slow, the flow of water from the lake into the city.

President Bush praised Senator Kennedy's decision. "I think it's mighty big of him to offer so much for the good of the country," said Bush. "There aren't many who could fill such a large role in this disaster."

Not everyone favors restoring the levee. Both Disney and Turner Communications expressed interest in turning New Orleans into a giant theme park. Disney has drawn up preliminary plans for an attraction it has tentatively labeled "Disaster Land." Tourists could purchase helicopter rides to view the carnage, loot stores and fish souvenirs out of the muck. Turner plans similar tourist activities, but calls its attraction "Underwater World." Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco is reportedly considering these proposals.

In other news, Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro has also offered aid. "The Cuban people know how to build boats out of any scrap material," said Castro. "There are already more than a million volunteers .

H/T to Wingless Angel

A little military humor..

This has got to be the all-time classic comeback. Note: This is an exact replication of National Public Radio(NPR)interview between a female broadcaster, and US Army General Reinwald who was about to sponsor a Boy Scout Troop visiting his military installation.

INTERVIEWER: " So, General Reinwald, what things are you going to teach these young boys when they visit your base?"

GENERAL REINWALD: 'We're going to teach them climbing, canoeing, archery, and shooting."

INTERVIEWER: "Shooting! That's a bit irresponsible, isn't it?"

GENERAL REINWALD: "I don't see why, they'll be properly supervised on the rifle range."

INTERVIEWER: "Don't you admit that this is a terribly dangerous activity to be teaching children?"

GENERAL REINWALD: "I don't see how, ....we will be teaching them proper rifle range discipline before they even touch a firearm."

INTERVIEWER: " But you're equipping them to become violent killers."

GENERAL REINWALD: "Well, you're equipped to be a prostitute, but you're not one, are you?"

The radio went silent and the interview ended!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Murphy's Laws Of Combat Operations

Friendly fire - isn't.

Recoilless rifles - aren't.

Suppressive fires - won't.

You are not Superman; Marines and fighter pilots take note.

A sucking chest wound is Nature's way of telling you to slow down.

If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid.

Try to look unimportant; the enemy may be low on ammo and not want to waste a bullet on you.

If at first you don't succeed, call in an airstrike.

If you are forward of your position, your artillery will fall short.

Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than yourself.

Never go to bed with anyone crazier than yourself.

Never forget that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.

If your attack is going really well, it's an ambush.

The enemy diversion you're ignoring is their main attack.

The enemy invariably attacks on two occasions: when they're ready. & when you're not.

No OPLAN ever survives initial contact.

There is no such thing as a perfect plan.

Five second fuzes always burn three seconds.

There is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole.

A retreating enemy is probably just falling back and regrouping.

The important things are always simple; the simple are always hard.

The easy way is always mined.

Teamwork is essential; it gives the enemy other people to shoot at.

Don't look conspicuous; it draws fire. For this reason, it is not at all uncommon for aircraft carriers to be known as bomb magnets.

Never draw fire; it irritates everyone around you.

If you are short of everything but the enemy, you are in the combat zone.

When you have secured the area, make sure the enemy knows it too.

Incoming fire has the right of way.

No combat ready unit has ever passed inspection.

No inspection ready unit has ever passed combat.

If the enemy is within range, so are you.

The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire.

Things which must be shipped together as a set, aren't.

Things that must work together, can't be carried to the field that way.

Radios will fail as soon as you need fire support.

Radar tends to fail at night and in bad weather, and especially during both.

Anything you do can get you killed, including nothing.

Make it too tough for the enemy to get in, and you won't be able to get out.

Tracers work both ways.

If you take more than your fair share of objectives, you will get more than your fair share of objectives to take.

When both sides are convinced they're about to lose, they're both right.

Professional soldiers are predictable; the world is full of dangerous amateurs.

Military Intelligence is a contradiction.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Diagnosis

"You've got a touch of pneumonia," said the medical officer after examining the new enlistee.

"Are you sure, sir?" queried one worried man. "I have known people in civvy street to be told they have pneumonia but then to die of something quite different."

"You are not in civil life, Samson. You're in the Army!" thundered the medical officer. "And if you get treated in the Army for pneumonia, you die of pneumonia."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Canada Aids the US Against Iraq

It was announced today that Canada is now prepared to help the United States in its war against terrorism. They have promised to commit 2 of their largest battleships, 6,000 armed troops, and 60 fighter jets.

However, after the exchange rate, that comes down to a canoe, 2 Mounties, and a flying squirrel.

#################################################

10 Reasons to be Dutch

1. You can get arrested for growing plants, but not for smoking them.

2. You can make jokes about the Belgians and still drink their beer.

3. You can legally kill yourself

4. You're exactly like the Germans, except that nobody hates you.

5. You think you are a world power, but everyone else thinks Copenhagen is your capital.....

6. You get to insult people and defend yourself by saying it's a national tradition.

7. You can put your finger in a dyke and it will save your country

8. You live in the most densely populated country in Europe, and still you've never seen your neighbours.

9. If the economy is bad, blame the Germans. If a war is started, blame the Germans. If you lose your keys, blame the Germans.

10. Bikes are public property. Locks are a challenge.

Some Adult Humor

Everyone hates a show-off...My Nephew sent me this, and yes, as with all males I might have felt a very slight touch of envy...If I were prone to such....

It's adult, so I put it beneath the fold.

Wait for it....it's coming...

Terror, Attitudes, and Play

Oh, how our attitudes on Terrorism have changed!

We've even begun the indoctrination to coping with it young these days...

"Daddy,I want to join the TSA when I grow up!"

We've begun to be a childish society....we can't even have a fire extinguisher LOOK like a fire extinguisher any more:

JUST DAMN!

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