Delftsman

Father in Law Update

Well, we got good news and bad news today. The doctors have determined the root cause of his current distress and will be able to treat it. It seems that he has type A Influenza.
What, you say, we got all upset over a bad case of the Flue?!?

Well it's a VERY serious thing in Wesley's case, because it seems that he's also entered the end stage period of his COPD. The infection had caused his already overscarred lungs to fill with fluid and reduced his renal capabilities, leading to congestive heart failure. The doctors say that if he had waited another couple hours prior to coming to the hospital, he wouldn't have survived.

They have placed him in a "reverse (air) flow" isolation room and begun supportive treatment to ease the symptoms, with the thinking that it will take approximarely a week to get him well enough to spend another two or three days in an regular room for observation to ensure he can return home, along with a new regimen of pulmonary rehabilitation excercises to try to keep him stable as long as possible in the last progression of the COPD. He will survive this bout of illness, but it's doubtful that he will the next. Brings a whole new light on having a "Killer" Cold!...

Lila and I were aware of what the COPD diagnosis five years ago meant, but Lila's mother Hazel is still unaware that "End Stage" means that every hour is another small triump of life over death. Wesley and Hazel are supposed to celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversery in May. Lila and I only pray that the pulmonary excercises allow him to see that day. Wesley has always been one to buck the odds and overcome, so we will have to have faith that he will this time also.

Thank you all for your support and prayers, they are a great comfort to us both.

Ferris Hassan's Great Adventure

We all know teenagers have more enthusiasm than common sense. They are the bulletproof immortals that, hopefully, survive their missteps long enough to actually become real people that can be reasoned with.

There was a teenager that was really interested in journalism. His class was studying "immersion journalism" wherein the reporter "lives" the subject of his story.

So what does he do? Unlike his movie namesake, Ferris Bueler, who only took the day off, Ferris Hassan took off the entire week before Christmas break...

He took money he had saved from past birthdays and Christmases, ditched the last week of classes before the holiday break, and flew to the Middle East to experience Iraq for himself.

Thanks to plain dumb luck, a fortuitouse confluance of events that prevented his passing through the Kuwati/Iraqi border, and the 101 Airborne, Ferris is on his way home to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. ...hopefully a little less unsure of his own immortality and with a new propensity to consider ALL factors when he plans his vacations...

H/T to Jack for the link

Iraq Debate

This is the longest post I've ever put up. Get a cup of your favorite beverage, relax, and I hope you enjoy.

One of my best Blogging compatriots, RightWingRocker, has a friend identified as "ArmyBryan" who just returned from the MidEast Sandbox Tour™, otherwise known as the Iraqi war. RWR asked AB if he could interview him as a post for his blog, and AB graciously acceded to the request. This Left RWR in a bit of a quandry; WHAT to ask?

Well, he came across a mock debate contrived by Michael Smerconish, a Philadelphia talk radio host; asking several prominent people to comment on fourteen of his personal opinions regarding Iraq. Mr. Smerconish simply played each of their recorded answers one right after the other in a debate form. The questions are succinct, and cut right to the heart of the basic disagreements in the body politic, so he decided to use them as the basis of his interview.

Go here for ArmyBryans's responses.

I thought it might be good to get a greater sample to add to the debate, so
I asked two men that I greatly admire and respect to do the same. They are both midlevel officers that recently served in Iraq. They seldom agree on matters of politics, so I thought it might be interesting to compare what they had to say. Then I decided, why limit it to two? I decided to have the two "active" duty soldiers in this first installment; two "seasoned" veterans (Ret) in the second; and two civilians chipping in on the third. that way we would have 6 sets of opinions, coming from different political perspectives and different levels of personal involvement.

First up is StreetGang 6. He's a bit more to the left than I am, certainly, but I've always found him to be capable of debating in a well reasoned manner, so why I may not always agree with him, I have to respect his arguments.

ON WITH THE SHOW:

Do you agree or disagree; are you willing to admit or deny these statements?

1. 9/11 was the work of radical Islam.

Without a doubt! We've seen what a 15th century mind-set armed with 21st century technology can now do. On a personal note, I find the canard making the rounds in the umma that the Isrealis were responsible for the attacks and that the Jews that worked in the WTC were warned not to go to work that day viscerally and personally offensive. I say this as I lost a friend of over 10 years in the South Tower, and she was a Jew. A LOT of families I know sat shiva that week....

2. Post-9/11 there was a consensus in the country to be forward-leaning, meaning to be pre-emptive if necessary to protect against further attack.

Yep. If anyone disagrees, a quick archive search of pretty much every op-ed page in the nation, including most unlikeliest of all publications the Village Voice, will quickly tell you otherwise. At the time, I had queasy feeling that our quest for pay-back would take us down a rabbit hole. Unfortunately, I'm seeing some of my worst fears being realized.

3. Iraq played no role in the events of September 11.

Agreed. This was largely the work of a band of islamo-fascist fanatics that had little affiliation with any nation-state. What little affliation it did have was more with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, whom ironically we now claim as "allies" in the GWOT.

4. Iraq was nevertheless perceived by American and foreign military and intelligence operations to pose a threat, based principally upon the belief that Saddam Hussein possessed WMDs.

Agreed. EVERY credible intel service in the world had made that estimate. However, even then, there was considerable dispute within the intel communities to the full extent and nature of the threat posed by Sadadm Hussein's Iraq.

5. Saddam Hussein\'s perceived possession of WMDs was the primary reason advanced by the Bush administration in support of the invasion of Iraq.

Yes. And at the time I thought GWB was making the wrong argument. The correct argument for taking out Hussein was the same one that was, corectly, made against Serbia's Milosevic, i.e., he's a genocidial, meglomaniacal sociopath that the civilized world should eliminate. America has a noble history of going to war on behalf of freedom and individual dignity. Americans respond to those reasons best.

6. It is now apparent that Saddam had no WMDs, meaning the Administration\'s predicate for going to war was faulty.

Yes. Which is precisely why I wished GEB didn't use that as the reason for going to war. I've heard the counter-argument that he shipped his WMD's to Syria, as indicated by the huge amount of trucks moving overland to Syria before the war. From what Although that possibility cannot be 100% dismissed, the more likely explanation is that this traffic was the result of Iraqi citizens (largely Sunnis and Baathist) getting themselves and their stuff out before the hammer fell.

7. There can\'t be any disagreement about this. With or without WMDs, Saddam Hussein is nevertheless an SOB.

Absolutely. Good riddance!

8. The fact that the Administration was wrong about WMDs does not mean that the President lied on that subject.

No, he was merely "wrong." But still accountable. We've now had 3 intel failures (this, 9/11, and our post invasion Iraqi forecast) at the national decision making level in as many years. We need to know why and people need to be held accountable.

9. I know we\'ve got controversy on this one, the war in Iraq is going poorly.

Not poor, just tougher than it needed to be. It could have gone a lot better if SecDef had actually listened to his green suiters about stability and reconstruction ops. It would have gone a lot easier if the State Dept wasn't frozen out by the Pentagon immediately after the fall of Hussein. And it would have had a lot more "legitimacy," if the arrogance of the adminstration hadn't alienated our natural allies. I mean we even had the FRENCH on-board in late 2001 for pete's sake.

10. It\'s entirely possible that when all is said and done, we will have facilitated the replacement of Saddam Hussein with a leadership regime in Iraq that is beholden to Iran and unfriendly to the U.S., albeit one that does not equal the evil of Saddam nor the type of threat he could have become.

Possible, but not probable. Worse case, Iraq breaks down into Kurdish/Sunni/Shia geographical factions and we see a mid-level civil war akin to Lebanon. Most likely, we'll see some sort of federal system that comes into being that more or less addresses the core concerns of all factions. They will continue to look warily upon each other, but they won't descend into a fight-to-the-death struggle.

11. I hardly expect disagreement. Leaving Iraq now, meaning immediately, would embolden insurgents and terrorists.

It would be the worst thing we could do right now. Failure is not an option.

12. Our presence in Iraq provides a rallying point for the insurgency and the radical Islamists.

Absolutely. Large portions of the umma see us as Crusaders incarnate. I've always said the quickest way to piss off another nation is for us to ship over in large quantities our 19 yrs olds, either as soldiers armed with weapons, peace corps volunteers armed with good intentions, or spring-breakers armed with utterly unspeakable boorishness.

13. Leaving Iraq as soon as possible must be our goal.

Absolutely not. In fact I expect we'll have a sizable presence there for at least the next 2 generations. Think Germany, Japan, and South Korea.

14. Final statement, last but certainly not least, and I know we\'ve got disagreement about this one: It\'s time for the administration to set a timetable to leave Iraq.

LOL, um, no. We leave when the greater Mid-East region has achieved the stability of say France/Luxembourg/Belgium/Holland/Germany.

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Next up we have Odysseus. He tends to lean more toward my political viewpoint than SG6, although we do disagree on many social outlooks.(So much for the "Monolithic Neo-con Conspiracy" touted by the "Progressive" set!)

Do you agree or disagree; are you willing to admit or deny these statements?

1. 9/11 was the work of radical Islam.

It sure wasn’t the League of Women Voters. Osama claimed credit for the attacks. All 19 highjackers were affiliated with Al Qaeda. This is a slam dunk.

2. Post-9/11 there was a consensus in the country to be forward-leaning, meaning to be pre-emptive if necessary to protect against further attack.

Sort of. It’s not so much that there was a consensus to be forward leaning, it’s that there was a consensus to be tracking with the right poll numbers. The vast majority of Americans wanted to see the government take a more effective strategic stance toward terrorism, but many of the elites did not. Anyone who would have answered yes to question 1 realized that we could no longer count on geography, reciprocity or treaties to protect us. However, there were those who, even after 9/11, continued to act as though the calculus hadn’t changed. International A.N.S.W.E.R. held rallies against the invasion of Afghanistan even after it was obvious that they would continue to harbor the murderers of 3,000 Americans. Some took the attacks as an opportunity to blame America for others’ hatred of us, which had the effect of trying to impugn the military and intelligence roles for which 9/11 explicitly demonstrated the need. There were some who continued to see terrorism as a law-enforcement problem and had the same issue with military options.

3. Iraq played no role in the events of September 11.

Not entirely. The 9/11 Commission’s inexplicable refusal to examine the role of Ahmad Hikmat Shakir has left this individual’s actions out of the public eye, but they bear scrutiny. An Iraqi national, Shakir was involved in the 1993 WTC bombing and facilitated a 2000 meeting in Malaysia of Al Qaeda leaders which included several of the 9/11 highjackers. He was also implicated in the Bojinka plot, a previous Al Qaeda plan to use aircraft as flying bombs in Asia, which was never carried out. Shakir’s employment at the Kuala Lumpur airport prior to the meeting was arranged through the Iraqi embassy in Malaysia. In addition, there is the Czech intelligence agency’s assertion that Mohammed Atta met with an Iraqi agent in Prague just prior to 9/11. In addition, the Salman Pak training area provided Ansar Al Islam, the Iraqi branch of Al Qaeda, with a training site (which included a fuselage from a commercial airliner which was used in training highjackers). None of this proves that Iraq played a role, but it certainly implies Iraqi knowledge of Al Qaeda operations and provision of logistical support to the same.

4. Iraq was nevertheless perceived by American and foreign military and intelligence operations to pose a threat, based principally upon the belief that Saddam Hussein possessed WMDs.

Yes and no. Iraq was certainly perceived as a potential threat, but his WMD arsenal was not the sole reason. The AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF MILITARYFORCE AGAINST IRAQ RESOLUTION OF 2002 contained 26 causus belli for the Iraq war, including terrorism, material breaches of UN resolutions, violations of the Desert Storm cease fire terms, and of course, state sponsorship of terrorism. And there is no doubt that Iraq was a sponsor of terrorism throughout the world, providing safe haven for terrorists and training sites (remember that airplane fuselage at Salman Pak?). Then there are the terrorists to whom Saddam provided a safe haven. We captured Abu Abbas, the mastermind of the Achille Lauro highjacking, in Baghdad. Abu Nidal leader Sabri al-Banna enjoyed years of sanctuary in Iraq. Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, Al Qaeda’s chief operative in Iraq, was welcomed by Saddam, as were numerous other operatives when they were driven from Afghanistan. Throw in Saddam’s payments to the families of suicide bombers in Israel and his use of terrorists to attack Iraqi expatriates throughout the world, and terrorism becomes a compelling reason to eliminate him.

5. Saddam Hussein's perceived possession of WMDs was the primary reason advanced by the Bush administration in support of the invasion of Iraq.

See question 4.

6. It is now apparent that Saddam had no WMDs, meaning the Administration's predicate for going to war was faulty.

No. It’s apparent that he found a way to get rid of them, either through destruction or transfer. The recently retired Chief of Staff to the Israeli Defense Forces, Lieutenant General Moshe Yaalon, told the NY Sun that Saddam transported his WMDs out of Iraq, saying, "He transferred the chemical agents from Iraq to Syria. No one went to Syria to find it." This confirms my theory, which I based on the incredibly heavy convoy traffic between Baghdad and Damascus for the six months prior to the war, while we were trying to get the UN to enforce its own resolutions. It must also be pointed out that WMDs, by their very nature, are compact. Saddam’s entire anthrax arsenal, once estimated at 5,000 liters, would fit inside the average garage (imagine a stack of 2,500 2-liter Coke bottles and you get the idea of the volume, which isn’t much). 1 liter is the volume of a cube that is 10 cm on each side, so one cubic meter is 1,000 liters. That’s two truckloads, tops.

7. There can't be any disagreement about this. With or without WMDs, Saddam Hussein is nevertheless an SOB.

One would think not. However, the issue is not whether Saddam was an SOB. When people try to make the absurd claim that “George W. Bush is the real terrorist", they’re obscuring the monstrous records of Saddam, Bin Laden and Zarqawi in order to score cheap political points.

8. The fact that the Administration was wrong about WMDs does not mean that the President lied on that subject.

I’m not so sure that the administration was wrong on the subject. Saddam had to have used something to gas the Kurds. And even if the administration was wrong, it was in great company. Bill Clinton did use Saddam’s threat of WMDs as the sole reason to launch missile attacks against Iraq in 1998 (as opposed to Lewinsky’s threat of headline-creating testimony on the same day) with extensive backing from Senate Democrats two whole years before George W. Bush took office, and even then, he wasn’t alone in this assessment. Every intelligence agency in the world had the same beliefs. Britain’s MI5 broke the story (which it continues to insist is accurate) of Saddam’s attempt to buy Nigerian uranium.

9. I know we've got controversy on this one, the war in Iraq is going poorly.

The only controversy on this one is between people who’ve been there or who’ve listened to us and people who haven’t and won’t. By any measure, things are improving dramatically. The number of terror attacks during the last election was one-tenth the number that Zarqawi’s organization pulled off during the previous election. This is partly a result of his loss of a large chunk of support from Sunnis who’ve abandoned terrorism to try to work within the political process, and partly his loss of so many operatives that he’s unable to sustain the same OP-tempo. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. Critics of the war like to scream about our casualty numbers (which would be more credible if they’d ever given a damn about living US troops), but they never look at terrorist casualties. In order for an insurgency to function, it has to kill ten conventional enemy soldiers for every one of its own losses. We’ve inverted that ratio. Zarqawi’s forces lost almost as many fighters in one battle, Fallujah, as we have during the entire war. Those casualties and his loss of support demonstrate that his operations are not sustainable at their current levels. We’re winning. You’d have to be blind not to see it, but there are those who remain deliberately blind to reality.

10. It's entirely possible that when all is said and done, we will have facilitated the replacement of Saddam Hussein with a leadership regime in Iraq that is beholden to Iran and unfriendly to the U.S., albeit one that does not equal the evil of Saddam nor the type of threat he could have become.

Possible, but not likely. The Iranian and Iraqi Shia had a schism at the time of the Khomeinist revolution which is instructive. There is a doctrine in Islam which allows a “learned” man to assume responsibility for someone who is incapable of taking care of themselves. This usually applies to widows, orphans, the infirm, etc. Khomeini applied this doctrine to an entire nation, in stark departure from centuries of Shia ideology, which asserts that until the return of the Twelfth Imam, no one is qualified to rule as Caliph, or successor to Mohammed. The Iraqi Shia don’t accept Khomeini’s apostasy and it is for this reason (among others) that Ali Al Sistani has opposed any alliances with Iran. Also, the Shia, while a majority, cannot govern without the Kurds, who are Sunnis. There are Kurds in Iran, as well, who are viciously oppressed by that government. The Iraqi Kurds would resist any alliance with Iran. Finally, the Iranian Shia detest their government. The mullahs have lost their legitimacy and the vast majority in Iran wants them out. It is far more likely to see a pro-US movement in Iran develop in close ties with Iraqi Shia than the reverse.

11. I hardly expect disagreement. Leaving Iraq now, meaning immediately, would embolden insurgents and terrorists.

D-uh. Not to mention collapsing the Iraqi state that we just spent the last three years building.

12. Our presence in Iraq provides a rallying point for the insurgency and the radical Islamists.

Only in the sense that it forces them to fight in what was previously their own territory. The Iraq war has placed the terrorists on the strategic defensive. They have no choice but to fight to destabilize Iraq because they know, as our media does not, that a US victory there will be devastating to them. First, just from a logistical point of view, Iraq separates Syria and Iran, making mutual support between the two remaining terror states far more difficult. Second, Iraqi political freedom is acting as a catalyst throughout the region. Iran’s mullahs know that they are extremely unpopular (a poll that they commissioned and then tried to suppress showed over 75% want them out, and antigovernment riots are now common, although oddly unreported in our objective media) and they know that their people see Iraqi Shia having free elections and want to emulate them. Zarqawi considers democracy a violation of Islamic law and every vote is an ink stained finger in his eye, a significant issue in a shame/honor culture where unanswered acts of defiance weaken him daily. Syria was forced out of Lebanon because the Lebanese were galvanized by the sight of free elections in Iraq. Dictators throughout the world have had to reassess their options in view of our commitment to democracy and our willingness to fight for it, for they know that it only took one crack in the Berlin Wall to force the collapse of the Soviet Union. If we succeed in Iraq, the terrorists and their sponsors fail, not just there, but throughout the world. Those who govern through fear can't continue to rule if they are seen as impotent.

13. Leaving Iraq as soon as possible must be our goal.

No. Stabilizing Iraq as soon as possible must be our goal. Then we can think about leaving.

14. Final statement, last but certainly not least, and I know we've got disagreement about this one: It's time for the administration to set a timetable to leave Iraq.

“Mr. Roosevelt, now that Germany has surrendered, what is your timetable for withdrawing from Europe?” Sounds stupid, doesn’t it? But that’s exactly what this question is asking. We were unable to withdraw from Europe for years after WWII, because of the need to rebuild the crushed infrastructure and to ensure that the weakened states did not fall prey to the new totalitarian threat of the Soviets after the defeat of the Nazis. The situation in Iraq is almost identical to this. We are rebuilding critical infrastructure and getting the Iraqi economy on its feet (a major accomplishment, since Ba’athism was a socialist doctrine, guaranteeing economic as well as political horrors on the people of Iraq) while standing up security forces which will be able, in the long run, to stand up to the hostile neighboring states which have a vested interest in the failure of democracy.

Besides, we’ve already had a timetable in place, although the same people who oppose the war refuse to see it. The National Transitional Assembly election, the Constitutional Referendum and the parliamentary election were all held on a schedule that was established during the first stage of the liberation of Iraq. Each of these went off on schedule, despite the clamor to postpone each one because they were sure that the security situation wouldn’t allow them to be held. This was simply wishful thinking from those who want to see us lose. Now, it’s true that we don’t know when the Iraqi government and security forces will be able to function without our aid, but we have stood up an army, from scratch, of over 200,000 soldiers in over eighty battalions, each with a functioning headquarters, in just over two years. That’s an amazing feat. We will continue to make tremendous progress and eventually, Iraq will be able to stand by itself, but until then, we cannot let our work be destroyed by an early withdrawal, whose only motivation is the desire by some of our political opportunists to see an American defeat blamed on this president.

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Prayer Request

I probably won't be blogging anything today, we just got a call from MamaMontezz's mother with the news that her father was in the CICU unit of the hospital. The initial diagonosis is congestive heart failure....bad enough in itself, but her father is a COPD patient that has been on O2 for at least the last 4 years, so CHF is a grim prognosis.

We're off to go lend our support to her mom. I would ask all of you to put in a special word with the Big Man upstairs. Wesley Albert is one of those special men that you just don't want to ever go, but if it is to be, I just hope that it will be an easy passing.

International Civil Rights Abuse!

While doing my Liege duty as a Loyal Citizen of the Empire in reading my Emperor's every missive to the Empire, I came across this excellant example of just WHY Darth Misha 1 IS the Emperor.

I hope someday when I grow up to be worthy of a seat at his table of Knights alongside Sir George and the other worthies ensconsed there.

Paleo-Swinians whining about those mean Israeli Pilots.......let me check the meter:

Nope! Nary a twitch....maybe I'm just too incensed at the moral equivilizing of loud noises to rocket/mortor attacks/suicide bombings to care whether or not poor Achmed or Shariza might have to put up with a little "boom" now and again?

Especially since, living on an Air Base, such "booms" were an everyday fact of life for Mamamontezz growing up? Heck! she MISSES them!
She yearns for the days of sonic booms over the playground during recess...
She waxes nostalgic over multiple sonic booms that would rattle the plates on the wall and the glass in the windows. Ahhh! THOSE were the days!
And other than her proclivities for unusual sexual practices, they don't seem to have affected her in the least.

Woo Women in Foreign Lands

Buck Sgt. Skip has some advice for those lovelorn soldiers serving in some foreign cities.

I was a little put off that he didn't include Amsterdam in his list...then I realized that with the Red Light District there, there was no NEED for advice, just a portion of your paycheck. LOL.

I've got to add this guy to the blogroll, as soon as I get over my trytophan induced lethergy...

H/T to JackArmy for the link.

Top Ten List

Top 10 Signs You're Sick of the Holidays

10. You've got red and green bags under your eyes

9. You're serving reindeer pot pie

8. When you hear, "Sleigh bells ring, are you listenin'?," you scream,
"No! I'm not listening!"

7. You climb on your roof and start shooting carolers in the ass with
your BB gun

6. You think you hear your Christmas tree taunting you.

5. Instead of spending time with family, you're watching some guy make
photo copies

4. You're busted for running through town wearing nothing but mistletoe.

3. You've got eggnog coming out of your ears

2. Your standard response, "And happy holidays to you too, you bastard"

1. Two words: tinsel rash

H/T to Nancy

Heroes Redux

Not to long ago I put up a post and a link to a query: Where are the Heroes?

In that post I mentioned a man that has been put up for the CMH(posthumous), and asked just how many of you had seen news stories about him...

Well, here is the story of another hero, and I doubt that you read much about him either. In the news, he'll be mentioned as "another soldier died in Iraq today, from wounds inflicted by an IED."

But the FACT is that the IED didn't inflict that grave a wound; this man literaly burned himself to the point where he didn't survive treatment by REPEATEDLY re-entering the Bradley that he and his team had been riding in to rescue teammates that had sustained shrapnel wounds from the blast and couldn't escape the burning vehicle unaided.

This man DIDN'T have to die, his initial wounds were minor, yet he went back repeatedly into a conflagration to save those men that had been entrusted into his care. And upon reaching the Aid Station, his only concern was for those men.
This man deserves, at the minimum, a Bronze Star....I would contend that he deserves the CMH. Yet even in the linked story, his name isn't mentioned, he's merely a memory of the Doctor that attempted to save his life...and as that doctor said: "I met the first of many heroes on the night of the Bradley incident. The courage and sacrifice of this soldier is not isolated. It is the norm here, a daily occurrence."(emph. mine)

The point is, our Media is lying to us by ommission...let John Murtha claim "our troops are broken down" and it's front page news...yet let a man sacrifice his life so that his teammates could live, and he is "another soldier died In Iraq today".

We are fast coming to a point where we have to make some hard decisions about our future in Iraq. EVERY soldier that I've talked to that has been there says "let us stay until the job is done", yet the Media and half of our political animals are clamoring for "timetables" and "benchmarks for withdrawel".

The fact is that we made the Iraqi people a promise to leave them with a stable government and a country with a good foothold on recovery back to a nation to be proud of; and the Iraqis have heard that promise and believed it, as evidenced by the burgeoning numbers of men volunteering to put, not only themselves, but their families, in danger by joining the military and police forces. If we leave before the job is accomplished, we will have made ourselves liars, and shamed all those that made a sacrifice of their body in the effort. We will have proven Al Quada correct when they said that the American people were too soft and had no stomach for a fight. You think the war is swelling the Terrorist ranks?!? Just wait until you see the increase in those ranks when the perception that the U.S. is a paper tiger as Bin Laden had claimed sinks in!

The blood of heroes cries out loud and strong to stay the course and make their sacrifices meaningful, but that cry is being muted by a Media that cares for naught but promoting the agenda of self-serving political animals that use populist meme's to try to weasel their way back into power, regardless of the harm that would be done to the nation.

It's all in how you look at it

What if Jesus had been born yesterday?

Kathy at Thoughts and Musings has the story under the headline as it might have been in this morning's newspaper:

INFANT DISCOVERED IN BARN, CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES LAUNCH PROBE

Funny? yes; but stop and consider....is it really too over the top to think that this is the story exactly as it would be reported today?

Christmas Celebrations

As a teacher, Ms. Jones, was very curious about how each of her students celebrated Christmas. She called on young Patrick Murphy. Tell me, Patrick, what do you do at Christmas time? she asked.

Patrick addressed the class, Well Ms. Jones, me and my twelve brothers and sisters go to the midnight Mass and we sing hymns, then we come home very late and we put mince pies by the back door and hang up our stockings. Then all excited we go to bed and wait for Father Christmas to come with all our toys.

Very nice Patrick, she said. Now Jimmy Brown what do you do at Christmas?

Well, Ms. Jones, me and my sister also go to Church with Mum and Dad and we sing carols and we get home ever so late. We put cookies and milk by the chimney and we hang up our stockings. We hardly sleep, waiting for Santa Claus to bring our presents.

Realizing there was a Jewish boy in the class and not wanting to leave him out of the discussion, she asked, Now, Isaac Cohen, what do you do at Christmas?

Isaac said, Well, it's the same thing every year. Dad comes home from the office. We all pile into the Rolls Royce, then we drive to his toy factory. When we get inside, we look at all the empty shelves and begin to sing What a Friend We Have in Jesus. Then we all go to the Bahamas.

H/T to Catfish

Just rambling..

So it's the day after Christmas. The presents have all been presented and admired; the leftovers have been distributed to help feed all the gluttons partcipants for the rest of the week, and the relatives have all gone home.

As every year, the warm glow of good cheer and fellowship with people you love lingers on, yet there is that creeping sense of "is that all there is"? starting to invade the idylle.

The anticipation is always better than the realization, and it's bitter human nature to dwell on what isn't rather on what was for some all too brief shining moments.

Friends, hold that shining dream for as long as you can, and realize that the best thing that can exist is a warm and caring circle of friends and family. The presents are meaningless except that they are physical reminders of that bond you share with some other human beings.

That said, I made out like a bandit! LOL I got two new shirts, a new pair of Dockers and a really beautiful sweater, and Mama and I share a brand new coffee brewer, that brews the coffee right into the cups. Erin and my Ex bought me a massage/heat pad that I'm certain will be worn out in short order due to overuse ;).

Mama and Anna bought me a full sized bull hide...a perfect Brindle, no less! I haven't quite figured out where I'm going to put it, but it is GORGEOUS! (damn, now they got me using Metrosexual terms; can a penchant for Starbucks Latte's be far behind?)

I "got" Mama the digital camera she's been wanting (she bought it before I knew WHAT she really wanted...at least I don't have to worry that she won't like her gift! LOL) an 8MP with Leica lenses...She also got a Zen Creative MP3 player (salesman said it was a better buy than the I-Pod) with a 4GB capacity.

The Princess Anna got a 1GB MP-3, a portable DVD player with a 7" screen, and a Gameboy Advance, along with enough clothes to last her a weeks worth of laundry. And she received the most fabulous present of all from our friend
Liz in Kansas City, an heirloom necklace that she had received from her mother when she was roughly Anna's age. The kindness, trust, and dare I say it, love, that was represented by that gift outshone all the others combined. It still brings tears to my eyes to think of it.

Yes, I made out like a bandit, I have people that truly care about me and each other, and what better Christmas gift can there be but that? It's the embodiment of Christ's message to care for one another. I hope I can keep that feeling close as the depths of winter brings it's cold and harsh winds to bear on the spirit of my soul. With that core to heat me, let Winter do her worst, for I have the strength to persevere until that joyous new spring.

The Widow

Catfish must be prescient....He sent me this joke last night, and it really hit home.....Maybe I'd better change that lock on the gun safe....

A woman goes to visit a fortune teller. In a dark and hazy room,
peering into a crystal ball, the mystic delivered grave news.

"There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just be blunt: Prepare
yourself to be a widow. Your husband will die a violent and
horrible death this year."

Visibly shaken, the woman stares at the fortune teller's lined
face, then at the single flickering candle, then down at her hands.

She took a few deep breaths to compose herself. She simply had
to know. She met the fortune teller's gaze, steadied her voice,
and asked her question. "Will I be found guilty?"

MERRY CHRISTMAS

What are you doing here? You should be celebrating this occassion with your family, not surfing the Net.

OK, consider me part of your Virtual on-line family. I wish you to have the Merriest Christmas ever, and a better New year than the last one has been.

Remember the true spirit of Christmas and try to hold it in your heart throughout the year.

Remember those that are putting everything on the line for YOU.

here is my gift to you (yeah, I know, it's regifting, but Wild Thing just is SO darned good at the keyboard! Her talent just NEEDS to be shared.)

"And let a little child lead them, for we must all become as a child to enter the kingdom of God"

Which Psychiactric Disorder are YOU?

While engaged in weighty discourse about the general state of the world with other members of the Empire last night, LC Darth Vader suddenly had one of his psychotic breaks and started wondering just how the members of the Psychiactric profession might be celebrating this festive season with their own versions of the old standard carols....

PSYCHIATRISTS' CHRISTMAS CAROLS FOR EVERY DIAGNOSIS:

Schizophrenia ~~ Do You Hear What I Hear?

Multiple Personality Disorder ~~ We Three Queens disoriented are

Dementia ~~ I Think I'll Be Home For Christmas

Narcissistic ~~ Hark The Herald Angels Sing About Me

Manic ~~ Deck The Hall and Walls and House and Lawn
and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees and Fire Hydrants and.....

Paranoid ~~ Santa Claus Is Coming To Get Me

Borderline Personality Disorder ~~ Thoughts Of
Roasting On An Open Fire

Bi-polar Personality Disorder ~~ You Better Watch Out, I'm
Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna
Pout, Maybe I'll Tell You Why; Joy to the World, the Doc has come,

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ~~ Jingle Bells,
Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells

ADHD ~~ Hark the herald angels sing
ba-rum-pa-pum-pum in the little town
of Bethlehem up on the housetop in a winter
wonderland one foggy
Christmas Eve hey how bout them Bears no I don't
want to switch to Sprint but thank you for shopping at K-Mart.

Wild Thang....You made MY heart Sing!

Wild Thing has a treat for anyone that loves the Christmas spirit. She may be WILD, but can that lady PLAY!! Just click on the holly and be regaled by a true artiste.

And when you're done being beguiled by the sweet tones of her piano, carry that spirit on to THIS POST, and do YOUR bit for Jack and kis fellow patriots.

Reading List for the New Year

Catfish, being the great friend he is, sent me a reading list for the New Year.

Now, Catfish isn't that much on reading,(he can, despite nasty gossip) so he naturally chose the THINNEST books he could find:

World's Thinnest Books . .

FRENCH WAR HEROES
by Jacques Chirac

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MY COUNTRY
by Jane Fonda & Cindy Sheehan. Illustrated by Michael Moore

MY BEAUTY SECRETS
by Janet Reno & Whoopi Goldberg

ALL THE WOMEN I HAVE LOVED BEFORE

by Barney Frank (D-Mass) & Boy George

MY CHRISTIAN ACCOMPLISHMENTS & HOW I HELPED AFTER KATRINA

by Rev Jesse Jackson & Rev Al Sharpton

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT BILL

by Hillary Clinton

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT HILLARY

By Bill CLinton

MY LITTLE BOOK OF PERSONAL HYGIENE
by Osama Bin Laden & Willie Nelson

THINGS I CANNOT AFFORD
by Bill Gates & The 'Donald '

THINGS I WOULD NOT DO FOR MONEY
by Dennis Rodman

THINGS I KNOW TO BE TRUE

by Al Gore & John Kerry

AMELIA EARHART'S GUIDE TO THE PACIFIC

Partial publication

AMERICA'S MOST POPULAR LAWYERS

anonymous for sure

A COLLECTION of MOTIVATIONAL SPEECHES
by Dr. J. Kevorkian

ALL THE MEN I HAVE LOVED BEFORE
by Ellen de Generes & Rosie O'Donnel

THE GUIDE TO DATING ETIQUETTE
by Mike Tyson

DELICIOUS SPOTTED OWL RECIPES
by PETA

THE AMISH PHONE DIRECTORY

MY PLAN TO FIND THE REAL KILLERS
by O.J. Simpson

HOW TO DRINK & DRIVE OVER BRIDGES

by Ted Kennedy

~###################################~

And the world's Number One Thinnest Book

MY BOOK OF MORALS
by Bill Clinton
with introduction
by The Rev. Jesse Jackson

THANK YOU

I got a christmas present today. It was unexpected, even though the sender had mentioned it in passing in an IM conversation.

All I can say is THANK YOU, DK. You made excellant choices.

Now where is that pancake mix....

Just for Fun

Although, I have to say that I like it even better when I use my full name:

"Luscious Adonis" Yeah....Thats me allright....well, a guy CAN dream, can't he?

H/T to Rachel for the link

The Old Gas Station

I'm a sucker for all the sappy Christmas "miracle" stories. I just wish we could all keep that spirit all through the year. I don't think Liz will mind that I reposted this one here.

Remember that He is always watching, and everything you do for good or ill is noted. Even if your not a person of faith, I think thats a good credo to live by.

Let "Him" be your conscience, even if He's only a constuct in your own mind; He will never steer you wrong.

Now go below the fold, and have a good cry from observing true faith in action.
I know I did, and I thank you for that Liz. It was a wonderful Christmas gift.

The old man sat in his gas station on a cold Christmas Eve. He hadn’t been anywhere in years since his wife had passed away. He
had no decorations, no tree, no lights. It was just another day to him.

He didn’t hate Christmas, just couldn’t find a reason to celebrate. There were no children in his life. His wife had gone.

He was sitting there looking at the snow that had been falling for the las hour and wondering what it was all about when the door opened and a homeless man stepped through.

Instead of throwing the man out, George, Old George as he was known by his customers, told the man to come and sit by the space heater and warm up.“Thank you, but I don’t mean to intrude,” said the stranger. “I see you’re busy. I’ll just go”

“Not without something hot in your belly,” George turned and opened a wide mouth Thermos and handed it to the stranger. “It
ain’t much, but it’s hot and tasty. Stew. Made it myself. When you’re done there’s coffee and it’s fresh.” Just at that moment he
heard the “ding” of the driveway bell.

“Excuse me be right back,” George said.

There in the driveway was an old 53 Chevy. Steam was rolling out of the front. The driver was panicked.

“Mister can you help me!” said the driver with a deep Spanish accent. “My wife is with child and my car is broken.”

George opened the hood. It was bad. The block looked cracked from the cold; the car was dead. “You ain’t going in this thing,” George said as he turned away.

“But mister. Please help….” The door of the office closed behind George as he went in. G eorge went to the office wall and got the keys to his old truck, and went back outside. He walked around the building and opened the garage, started the truck and drove it around to where the couple was waiting.

“Here, take my truck,” he said. “She ain’t the best thing you ever looked at, but she runs real good.” George helped put the woman in the truck and watched as it sped off into the night. George turned and walked back inside the office.

“Glad I gave em the truck. Their tires were shot too. That ‘ol truck has brand new….....”

George thought he was talking to the stranger, but the man had gone. The thermos was on the desk, empty with a used coffee cup beside it. “Well, at least he got something in his belly,” George thought. George went back outside to see if the old Chevy would start. It cranked slowly, but it started. He pulled it into the garage where the truck had been. He thought he would tinker with it for something to do. Christmas Eve meant no customers. He discovered the block hadn’t cracked, it was just the bottom
hose on the radiator.

“Well, shoot, I can fix this,” he said to himself. So he put a new one on.
“Those tires ain’t gonna get ‘em through the winter either.” He took the snow treads off of his wife’s old Lincoln. They were like new and he wasn’t going to drive the car.

As he was working he heard shots being fired. He ran outside and beside a police car an officer lay on the cold ground. Bleeding from the left shoulder, the officer moaned, “Help me.” George helped the officer inside as he remembered the training he had received in the Army as a medic. He knew the wound needed attention.

“Pressure to stop the bleeding,” he thought. The uniform company had been there that morning and had left clean shop towels. He used those and duct tape to bind the wound.

“Hey, they say duct tape can fix anythin’,” he said, trying to make the policem an feel at ease. “Something for pain,” George thought. All he had was the pills he used for his back. “These ought to work.” He put some water in a cup and gave the police man the pills.

“You hang in there. I’m going to get you an ambulance.” The phone was dead. “Maybe I can get one of your buddies on that there talk box out in your car.” He went out only to find that a bullet had gone into the dashboard
destroying the two way radio. He went back in to find the policeman sitting up. “Thanks,” said the officer. “You could have left me there. The guy that shot me is still in the area.”

George sat down beside him. “I would never leave an injured man in the Army and I ain’t gonna leave you.” George pulled back the bandage to check for bleeding. “Looks worse than what it is. Bullet passed right through ‘ya.

Good thing it missed the important stuff though. I think with time your gonna be right as rain.”

George got up and poured a cup of coffe e. “How do you take it?” he asked. “None for me,” said the officer.

“Oh, yer gonna drink this. Best in the city. Too bad I ain’t got no donuts.” The officer laughed and winced at the same time.

The front door of the office flew open. In burst a young man with a gun.

“Give me all your cash!

Do it now!” the young man yelled. His hand was shaking and George could tell that he had never done anything like this before.

“That’s the guy that shot me!” exclaimed the officer.

“Son, why are you doing this?” asked George. “You need to put the cannon away. Somebody else might get hurt.”

The young man was confused. “Shut up old man, or I’ll shoot you, too. Now give me the cash!” The cop was reaching for his gun.

“Put that thing away,” George said to the cop. “We got one too many in here now.” He turned his attention to the young man. “Son, it’s Christmas Eve. If you need the money, well then, here. It ain’t much but it’s all I got.

Now put that pee shooter away.” George pulled $150 out of his pocket and handed it to the young man, reaching for the barrel of the gun at the same time. The young man released his grip on the gun, fell to his knees and began to cry. “I’m not very good at this am I? All I wanted was to buy something for my wife and son,” he went on. “I’ve lost my job. My rent is due. My car got repossessed last week…”

George handed the gun to the cop. “Son, we all get in a bit of squeeze now and then. The road gets hard sometimes, but we make it through the best we can.” He got the young man to his feet, and sat him down on a chair across from the cop. “Sometimes we do stupid things.” George handed the young man a cup of coffee.

“Being stupid is one of the things that makes us human.

Comin’ in here with a gun ain’t the answer. Now sit there and get warm and we’ll sort this thing out.”

The young man had stopped crying. He looked over to the cop. “Sorry I shot you. It just went off. I’m sorry officer.”

“Shut up and drink your coffee.” the cop said.

George could hear the sounds of sirens outside.

A police car and an ambulance skidded to a halt. Two cops came through the door, guns drawn.

“Chuck! You ok?” one of the cops asked the wounded officer.

“Not bad for a guy who took a bullet. How did you find me?”

“GPS locator in the car. Best thing since sliced bread. Who did this?” the other cop asked as he approached the young man.

Chuck answered him, “I don’t know. The guy ran off into the dark. Just dropped his gun and ran.”

George and the young man both looked puzzled at each other. “That guy work here?,” the wounded cop continued. “Yep,” George said. “Just hired him this morning. Boy lost his job.”

The paramedics came in and loaded Chuck onto the stretcher. The young man leaned over the wounded cop and whispered,
“Why?” Chuck just said, “Merry Christmas boy. And you too, George, and thanks for everything.”

“Well, looks like you got one doozy of a break there. That ought to solve some of your problems.” George went into the back room and came out with a box. He pulled out a ring box. “Here you go. Something for the little woman. I don’t think Martha would mind. She said it would come in handy some day.”

The young man looked inside to see the biggest diamond ring he ever saw.

“I can’t take this,” said the young man. “It means something to you.”

“And now it means something to you,” replied George. “I got my memories. That’s all I need.” George reached into the box again. An airplane, a car and a truck appeared next. They were toys that the oil company had left for him to sell.

“Here’s something for that little man of yours.”

The young man began to cry again as he handed back the $150 that the old man had handed him earlier. “And what are you supposed to buy Christmas dinner with? You keep that too,” George said. “Now git home to your family.” The young man turned with tears streaming down his face. “I’ll be here in the morning for work, if that job offer is still good.”

“Nope . I’m closed Christmas day,” George said. “See ya the day after.”

George turned around to find that the stranger had returned. “Where’d you come from? I thought you left?”

“I have been here. I have always been here,” said the stranger. “You say you don’t celebrate Christmas. Why?”

“Well, after my wife passed away I just couldn’t see what all the bother was. Puttin’ up a tree and all seemed a waste of a good pine tree. Bakin’ cookies like I used to with Martha just wasn’t the same by myself and besides I was getting a little chubby.”

The stranger put his hand on George’s shoulder. “But you do celebrate the holiday, George. You gave me food and drink and warmed me when I was cold and hungry. The woman with child will bear a son and he will become a great doctor. The policeman you helped will go on to save 19 people from being killed by terrorists. The young man who tried to rob you will make you a
rich man and not take any for himself. That is the spirit of the season and you keep it as good as any man.”

George was taken aback by all this stranger had said. “And how do you know all this?” asked the old man. “Trust me, George. I have the inside track on this sort of thing. And when your days are done you will be with Martha again.” The stranger moved toward the door.

“If you will excuse me, George, I have to go now. I have to go home where there is a big celebration planned.”

George watched as the old leather jacket and the torn pants that the stranger was wearing turned into a white robe.

A golden light began to fill the room. “You see, George… it’s my birthday. Merry Christmas.”

George fell to his knees and replied, “Happy Birthday, Lord.”

Dogs will be dogs...

Blatently ripped off from GuyK's site...(HOW does he find them?)

How to Tell a Democrat from a Terrorist

Theodore's World has the scoop, with appropiate visuals, on how to tell a Democrat from a Terrorist in a side by side comparison.

Seems I have a new site to add as a "daily read"...

Just to remind all of you what is at stake here, I think the following quote covers it quite nicely:

"We stand here on the only island of
freedom that is left in the whole world.
There is no place left to flee to ...
no place to escape to. We defend
freedom here or it is gone. There is no
place for us to run, only to make a stand.
And if we fail, I think we face telling our
children, and our children's children, what
it was we found more precious than freedom.
Because I am sure someday --
if we fail in this --
there will be a generation that will ask."
~Ronald Reagan

Just how LONG will we continue to allow partisian political manuevering to overshadow our national security?

WAKE UP AMERICA!

H/T to Jack for the link

Katrina Interview

You can't make up humor like this!:

One of the local television stations in South Louisiana actually aired an interview with a woman of color from New Orleans. The interviewer was a woman from a Boston affiliate.

"So Miss "she asked the interviewee "How has such total and complete devastation of the CHURCHES in the area affected your lives? "

The woman replied," I don't know about all those other peoples but we gets our chicken from Popeye's".

The look on the interviewer's face was priceless.

H/T to Catfish

We all affect everyone around us

THIS IS A MUST READ.

Connie du Toit, in her own incomperable manner, weaves together the themes of how the actions we take have a ripple effect on the greater world around us; and how, if we have an adult form of self respect, we will take actions to protect ourselves, and the weaker around us. This is a post about courage, and compassion; of going that extra mile; of doing something NOT for recompense, but because it is the right thing to do, and of improving a life that was on a downward path.

If you you don't have at least a tear in your eye by the end of the post, I don't think you are someone I want to know

Born a Lutheran

Eino, a Finlander from Cook County in northern Minnesota- was an older, single gentleman who was born and raised a Lutheran.

Each Friday night after work, he would fire up his outdoor grill and cook a venison steak.

Now, all of Eino's neighbors were Catholic.....and since it was Lent, they were forbidden from eating meat on Fridays. The delicious aroma from the grilled venison steaks was causing such a problem for the Catholic faithful that they finally talked to their priest.

The priest came to visit Eino, and suggested that Eino convert to
Catholicism. After several classes and much study, Eino attended Mass..... and as the priest sprinkled holy water over Eino, he said, "You were born a
Lutheran and raised a Lutheran, but now you are Catholic."

Eino's neighbors were greatly relieved, until Friday night arrived, and the wonderful aroma of grilled venison filled the neighborhood.

The priest was called immediately by the neighbors and, as he rushed into Eino's yard, clutching a rosary and prepared to scold Eino, he stopped in amazement and watched......

There stood Eino, clutching a small bottle of water which he carefully
sprinkled over the grilling meat, and chanted: "You were born a deer, and raised a deer, but now you are a walleye. "

H/t to Catfish

O hits another one out of the park

Odysseus once again weilds the Cluebat of Logic and Rightous Anger™; this time the subject of his rant is the outrageous lack of substantive actions against Iran in the face of the public statements of it's elected President concerning Israel and the Holocaust, and it's open race to become a nuclear power.

As I've said before, NOBODY weilds the Cluebat™ more effectively than Odysseus does.

He should be considered a national asset.

Update: On the post above, I left a comment responding to another commenter that had asked, in essence, why we blame the democrats for the administrations seeming lack of a responce to events in Iran, when Republicans hold both chambers and the White House. I put forth the idea that the CONSTANT partisan screeds/memes aimed at every action President Bush has taken in the last 5 years may be one (large) part of the reason why the response has been lackluster. I furthur contended that the Democrats still hold the power with the MSM, and that the media is the single greatest influance on public opinion. I contend that, taking Iraq as an example, the media has either chosen not to report any story favorable to the administration, or has spun an adimitedly bad event in such a way as to make it even worse, with the blame being placed at President Bush's feet. Here is an example of non-reporting...ever hear of Paul Ray Smith?

He is the first, and so far ONLY winner of the CMH in the occupation of Iraq. The ONLY news entity to report on the presentation of the award ceremony was CBS, and even with them, it was only deemed worthy as a one time sound bite, and was only shown because the viewers chose it from among three options. (guess CBS miscalculated the public's interest when they provided the option..)

Every war needs it's heroes. War is a desperate, dirty business that requires the full support of the public at home, if it has a chance of being successful, and honoring heroes is a part of maintaining that public support at the levels needed, like it or not, thats a fact of life. By not allowing any heroes to be widely acknowledged, the MSM is helping to choke off that support when it is most critcally needed....and I believe that this is being conciously done in furthurance of a partisian (Democratic) agenda.

Santa Clause

The Lady of the Citidal, Mamamontezz, hasn't been posting too much in the last several months; and thats a real shame, because she has a rare talent for writing and/or finding really great subjects to post about (discounting when she is in her Domme mode).

She had a discussion with the Princess last night about Santa Clause. The Princess is one of those rare 11 year olds that still have a fervent belief in Santa Clause; MamaM tried to tell her how Santa is the ideal in all of us, and that we are each Santa to someone else.

The princess still isn't sure about all of this existential thinking, and still harbors a belief in a jolly old elf with an elven factory and reindeer housing facility in one of the colder regions of the world.

When Mamamontezz got to work, she found an e-mail in her inbox that demonstrates the reality of Santa from one of her friends, and promptly added it as a post on her blog. Please go there now and read it...just be sure to have a hankie ready.

Age is a State of Mind(lessness?)

Todays humor courtesy of the one and only Catfish:

A very elderly gentleman, (mid nineties) very well dressed,
hair well groomed, great looking suit, flower in his lapel smelling slightly of a good after shave,
presenting a well looked-after image, walks into an upscale cocktail lounge.

Seated at the bar is an elderly looking lady, (mid eighties). The gentleman walks over, sits alongside of her, orders a drink, takes a sip, turns to her and says, "So tell me, do I come here often?"

<><><><><><><>

An elderly gentleman had serious hearing problems for a number of years. He went to the doctor and the doctor was able to have him fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to hear 100%.

The elderly gentleman went back in a month to the
doctor and the doctor said, "Your hearing is perfect. Your family must be really pleased that you can hear again." The gentleman replied, "Oh, I haven't told my family yet. I just sit around and listen to their conversations. I've changed my will three times!"

<><><><><><><>

Two elderly gentlemen from a retirement center were sitting on a bench under a tree when one turns to the other and says:

"Slim, I'm 83 years old now and I'm just full of aches and pains. I know you're about my age. How do you feel?" Slim says,

"I feel just like a new-born baby." "Really!? Like a new-born baby!?"

"Yep No hair, no teeth, and I think I just wet my pants.

<><><><><><><>

An elderly couple had dinner at another couple's house, and after eating, the wives left the table and went into the kitchen. The two gentlemen were talking, and one said, "Last night we went out to a
new restaurant and it was really great. I would recommend it very highly. The other man said, "What is the name of the restaurant?"

The first man thought and thought and finally said, "What is the name of that flower you give to someone you love? You know... the one that's red and has thorns."

"Do you mean a rose?"

"Yes, that's the one," replied the man. He then turned towards the kitchen and yelled, "Rose, what's the name of that restaurant we went to last night?

<><><><><><><>

Hospital regulations require a wheelchair for patients being discharged.

However, while working as a student nurse, I found one elderly gentleman--already dressed and sitting on the bed with a suitcase at his feet who insisted he didn't need my help to leave the hospital. After a chat about rules being rules, he reluctantly let me wheel him to the elevator.

On the way down I asked him if his wife was meeting him. "I don't know," he said. "She's still upstairs in the bathroom changing out of her hospital gown."

A Candidate Emerges....

Seems that Catfish has already decided on his Presidential candidate for 2008:

Here we are already discussing the future President of the United
States in the Year 2008. Well, I have my own candidate and I'm sure
that once you know who I'm for, you will also agree.

For those of you who would like another choice for President, I have the best solution:
It is probably time we have a woman as President. My choice, and I hope
yours as well, is a very special Lady that has all the answers to our problems.
PLEASE give it a thought when you have a moment....

MAXINE FOR PRESIDENT!!!

Very eloquently put............don't you think?

Maxine on "Driver Safety"
"I can't use the cell phone in the car. I have to keep my hands free for making gestures.".......

Maxine on "Life"
"Life is like an oven. It burns my ass!"

Maxine on "Housework"
"I do my housework in the nude. It gives me an incentive to clean the mirrors as quickly as possible."

Maxine on "Lawn Care"
"The key to a nice-looking lawn is a good mower. I recommend one who is muscular and shirtless."

Maxine on "The Perfect Man"
"All I'm looking for is a guy who'll do what I want, when I want, for as long as I want, and then go away. Or wait nearby, like a Dust Buster, charged up and ready when needed."

Maxine on "Technology Revolution"
"My idea of rebooting is ickingsomebody in the butt twice."

Maxine on "Aging"
"Take every birthday with a grain of salt. This works much better if the salt accompanies a Margarita."

"I'm telling you .... she's the perfect candidate."

~~~~~

Never read the fine print. There ain't no way you're going to like it.

If you let a smile be your umbrella, then most likely your butt will get soaking wet.

The only two things we do with greater frequency after middle age are urinate and attend funerals.

The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket.

To err is human, to forgive - highly unlikely.

Do you realize that in about 40 years, we'll have millions of old ladies running around with tattoos?

Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche han a Kia

Drinking makes some husbands see double and feel single.

After a certain age, if you don't wake up aching somewhere, you may be dead.! (So true!)

~~~~~

If you don't forward this to ten of your friends within the next five minutes,
your belly button will fall off. Really... it's true! Have I ever lied to you?

So don't forget, November 2008: VOTE FOR MAXINE FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
There's no one better for the job!!!

Paid for by the Maxine for President Committee

Patriotic Balls

ONLY Catfish could come up with a link that proves that you can be patriotic by playing with your balls!

The Plan

Ny friend Catfish has led a hard life....and interesting life but a hard one nonetheless.

As with many such people, he has a talent to cutting through the BS and cutting to the coe of a problem.

He e-mailed me The Plan to solve a great many of our woes.....could it relly be so simple?

Okay, here's the plan:

"Back off and let men marry men, women marry women, and totally legalize abortion."

""In three generations, there will be no Democrats!!!"

""..... I love it when a plan comes together!"

The only problem I see is the turmoil the rest of us will have to endure for those three generations....could we survive it?

Posted by Delftsman3 at 07:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Iraqi's rebuild their government, one blue finger at a time!

Odysseus has a great post on the historic election that occurred in Iraq today, from the perspective of one who was there at the first election last year.

He explains just what it means to the Insurgents Islamofacists.

.....Just WHY can't the MSM get it right?

By all account's the turnout in Iraq is nothing short of amazing...apparently, at last count, 11 M out of an electorate of 14 M have voted....if only WE could get such a turnout!

(cartoon stolen borrowed from Lucianne) Drawn by Frank Galasso, one of the best around..(please don't sue me)

I HATE this guy!..Lucky SOB

Ever wonder what it would be like to expend 850 rounds of 7.62 Nato with ONE trigger pull? (M60/mark43)

Go here and watch a lucky bastard having the time of his life.....it took 1 min and 45 seconds to go through that many rounds btw...

When I was with the ---FD (unit withheld for protective reasons), USAR, I was a member of the small arms weapons certification team. It was our responsibility to provide a safe environment for every USAR unit in a three state area to have a safe place to go to requalify with their M16 rifles, .45 sidearms (officers) and the good old Ma Deuce M60 .50 MG. We provided the range, range personell, and ammunition.

As anyone familiar with government depts. may be aware, a dept's. budget for the next year is somewhat affected by what they spent in the current year. If you economize, in what would be a responsible manner for a private concern, you are actually penalized by a drop in the next years budget...in other words, what you don't use, you lose.

Well, it seemed that we were close to the end of the fiscal year, and due to a change in scheduling, our unit found itself with 5,000 rounds of .50 and 1,000 rounds of .223 ammunition that WOULD have been expended if this change had not occurred, and we would most likely be shorted by that amount in the next year, when we actually were looking for an increase in the TOE, due to an extra two units being added to our schedule then....The Major told the Capt. to "handle it", the Capt., being intelligent, asked the Top to look into what could be done to solve the problem. The Top asked the Primary range crew for suggestions....We told him we would solve the problem, just as long as he didn't ask any probing questions ;).

Seems that the very next day, we had an urgent request for a range requal for a unit that nobody had ever heard of...considered to be "hush-hush"; the unit was to be deployed and their Top wanted to make sure his people had the requisite range time to be "legal" on paper.

Upshot of it is, the the primary range crew expended all 6,000 rounds in what was the most enjoyable range experience I have ever had, before they deployed to their favorite adult beverage disbursement establishment.

The unit received a 10% increase in their next fiscal budget.

Too Old/Fat for Health Care?

I would ask all those advocating National health care to read this and get a glimpse of the inevitable future of such a program.

There are only a finite resources availible from the public purse, and in the end, as we've seen in every place it's practiced, that financial fact leads to a rationing of services. It begins with long waits for what are now common procedures, and ends with refusal of treatment for those that the state deems unworthy of treatment, whether for age, weight, or other factors.

The sad fact is that, with a national heathcare system, there is no private system to fall back on, at least not to the average person that makes less than $1M a year. So if the public systems refuses to treat, you may as well resign your self to an early death, or even worse WISHING for an early death so as to escape the pain you have to endure.

Guess WHO will be the first ones complaining about the "unfairness"? Those that promoted such a system in the first place, of course!

Quote of the Day

"The bitterest tears shed over a grave are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone"
~Harriet Beecher Stowe

An Education in Cluebatting

Navywxman waxes poetic on communism, and furthur contends that there has never been a TRUE Communist state; that they were all run by Right wing governments.

Go read it to observe a true MOONBAT IDIOTARION in full voice.

Odysseus, true to form, gives the MI a righteous Cluebatting of Truth™ in the comments. And he did it with no hyperboly, just clear basic history, something that Navywxman seems to aquire only from the ISWP.

You need to go read it. Odysseus does it right. All too often, we on the right resort to outrageous hyperboly and labeling (G-d KNOWS I am guilty of that!), that while enjoyable, and serving as a safety valve against hypertension in the face of lunacy, doesn't really cause the opponent to have a chance to really learn from the exchange.

To know that such men of calm and studied reasoning as Odysseus are part of our military command structure really gives me a great feeling of peace, knowing that the troops are in good hands.

P.S. yes I KNOW I engaged in just such labeling as I decried in the above, I'M not as eridite, or calm, as Odysseus is. ;)

Recruiting...

I keep hearing that the Armed services are really hurting for recruits; that the unpopularity of the war in Iraq is being demonstrated by the lack of new people being willing to serve...funny thing is, I only read that at Left leaning sites/sources...

Go to the OFFICIAL figures, and it seems that that is just another false meme.

Lets see..Nov recruitment figures are out:

*The Army reached 105 percent of its recruiting goal with 5,856 recruits.
*The Navy reached 102 percent of its goal with 2,742 recruits.
*The Marine Corps reached 105 percent of its goal with 2,127 recruits.
*The Air Force reached 101 percent of its goal with 2,407 recruits.

These are NEW additions to the services, mind you.

More importantly, All of the services have met or exceeded their retention goals as well...in fact, in the Air Force, they have instituted a program giving bonuses to "mid-career" airmen with "superfluous" skills to end their terms early...Yep! sounds like a crisis to me!

Muslim against Muslim?

Hmm There may be a few pockets of sanity left in the Muslim world after all...We'll have to wait and see just how ardent these people are in being willing to risk themselves in protecting Christians from the more radical segments of their faith.

It's kind of like asking the fox to guard the hen house in one sense...but we can never build trust between religious communities without taking some risks, and if these people are sincere, it will be a good first step towards building that trust...

"Tookie" Williams Gets "needled"

I found this little ditty in the comments at the Rott. I took the liberty of reposting it here, as it describes my level of regard for what is about to transpire after midnight tonight perfectly.

Took, Took, Tookie goodbye!
Took, Took, Tookie won’t fry!
The needle that will graze ya,
Will stop yer heart in
San Quentin’s Euthanasia!

Took, Took, Tookie’s bombshell!
Took, Took, Tookie’s in hell!
Walk towards the light!
Don’t bother to fight!
Yer asshole will be glowing
Like it’s made of graphite!

(dum, dum, dum, dum)

Took, Took, Tookie good bye!
Took, Took, Tookie Banzai!

~Sig94

Another commenter also had what I thought what a pretty good suggestion:

"Those drugs go in order like this: Sleep, Stop Lungs, Stop Heart."

"They need to do a little shell game shuffle to:

Stop Lungs. Have smoke break. Stop Heart. Fuck the sleep he’s gone. My, my he apparently shit and pissed himself. What an undignified thing for such a tough guy to do."

"Can’t wait for the next Tookie Cookie™"

~ LC Ranger 6

Nuance? Context?

Odysseus has a great post demonstrating the paucity of thought in the Liberal arguement that we evil practioners of common sense just aren't nuanced enough to realize that their standard bearers are really supportive of the war effort and the MEN & WOMEN conducting it in Iraq when they say such things as :

"The idea we're going to win this war is an idea that unfortunately is just plain wrong."--Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean

or:

"And there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the--of--the historical customs, religious customs."--Sen. John Kerry

They say that WE take statements "out of context", when it seems to me that THEY have elevated that particular method of "discourse" to an high art form.
In fact, I would contend that a good 80% of what passes for criticism of their opponents methods are really projection of their own sordid methods. I know, how partisan of me. Perhaps....., but partisan or no, it still remains true.

It's funny, but one of the best arguments he made was in the comments:

"The problem with the Democrats is that they know that their base isn't enough to get them elected to anything, and that they alienate the middle."

"The fact is that most Americans want to see us win this war, regardless of how we got there, and anyone who advocates cutting and running will get their fourth point of contact kicked in a general election. By the same token, they have to keep their base mollified because in order to get to that general election, you have to win primaries, and Democratic primary voters are in favor of unilateral pullout, or as we like to call it, surrender."

" So, the Democratic leadership walks a tightrope, trying to mollify activists who would rather lose a war than let a Republican have any kind of victory, and moderates who understand the importance of the war and put their country ahead of their party."

Police Raids...

Kim du Toit, Imperial Firearms Advisor, has an excellant rant on "No Knock" police raids.

I believe that his suggestion that :

Any police department which raids an address not specifically listed on the search warrant should have to pay an immediate, no-appeal spot fine of $5 million to the homeowner, regardless of what transpired during the “raid” ($10 million to the householder’s estate if the householder is killed during the raid).

And if law enforcement doesn’t want to pay the fine, then they might not like my alternative: the LEO who fired the killing shot must be charged with premeditated murder, and the supervisor who authorized the raid charged as an accessory.

Would be an effective way to cut down on the number of "oops sorry, my bad" cases of police raiding the wrong house.

As Kim says,“Extreme measures also require extreme caution.” As a former LEO, I hearily agree with Kim's assesments. Wearing a badge doesn't confer omnipotence in judgement, and that wearer should be held to a higher standard.
We confer great power to that badge holder, and as always, with great power should come great responsibility.

"Hate" Crimes Legislation

I was reading the paper today when I came across a full page ad saying;

"We were worth more under the law as homosexuals than we are as EX-homosexuals" over a picture of four people that, I presume, were non-practicing gays.

It went on to show how the law has turned a blind eye to blatently illegal acts committed by homosexual activist groups, and prosecuted anti-homosexual protestors, even though the protesters had acted lawfully in their actions.

Leaving aside wether or not you can ever be an "ex-gay", (that's a WHOLE different conversation!) the fact remains that under the new proposed "hate crimes" legislation, IF it is promulgated, that there will be a tiered system of justice in this country assigning extra emphasis against those that commit crimes against certain minorities just on the basis of a victim being a member of a racial or sexual minority.

We have to ask ourselves, do we REALLY want this? Some states have already gont this route, but this legislation would elevate it to the federal level, and in effect make it so that all the states will have to conform to a tiered justice system.

My own opinion is that this is one of the most insidious, anti-American, "PC" pieces of crap that has come down the pike.

To my mode of thinking, ALL violent crimes are hate crimes; assigning an extra emphasis to some crimes just because the victim happens to belong to a different race or sexual preferrance from the attacker is the epitome of anthesis of the Constitutional ideal of equality under the law.

Yes, I am aware that in practical practice, the law has not and IS not always dealt equally with all defendants, but this legislation only serves to codify this inequity, not redress it. Past injustices are not an excuse to codify injustice into the law today. Under the Constitution, the law should be color/sexual preferenceblind; lets work to make that theory the true reality.

Contact your Senators NOW, and let them know that if they vote for this type of legislation, that they will be living under it as a private citizen after the next election.

Football as War..

Ever wonder what it would be like if the TCM covered sports the way they do the war in Iraq? Jon Ham wondered the same thing, so he did a report on the Colts - Steeler game using the TSM's war template for reporting.

Here's a quote to whet your appetite:

"That score was based on subterfuge and was patently unfair," said one critic, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation by league officials. "It amounted to abuse of opposing players to fool them like that."

The final score, by the way, was Colts 26, Steelers 7. (just to rub it in, TNS LOL)

Indy VS Harlem?

The Onion has a hysterical parody...a football game between the Indianapolis Colts VS the Harlem Globetrotters Football Team. I'm not that much of a sports fan...but that is one game I wouldn't miss!

Walter "Snazzy Wiggles" Malone demonstrating his prowess against the NY Jets.

Colts, THUNDER ON! they may be fancy, they may be glib, but they ain't faced NOTHING like the cut o' the Colts jib!

H/T to Kiril for the link.

A Blue Ribbon Joke

An oldie but a goodie via GuyK:

A kilted Scotsman was walking down a country path after finishing off a large amount of whisky at a local pub. He felt quite sleepy and decided to nap against a tree.

As he slept, two female tourists heard his loud snoring. When they found him, one said, "I've always wondered what a Scotsman wears under his kilt."

She boldly walked over to the sleeper, raised his kilt, and saw that he wore nothing at all. Her friend said, "Well, the mystery is solved! Let's thank him for sharing!"

She took off her pretty blue hair ribbon and gently tied it around the Scotsman's endowment. A while later, the Scotsman was awakened by the call of nature. He raised his kilt and was bewildered at the sight of the neatly tied blue ribbon. He stared for a minute, then said, "I don't know where y'been laddie... but it's nice ta see you won firrrst prrrize!"

Tactics

Ever wonder about some of the tactics used Iraq, especially the urban combat such as was engaged in in Fallujah?

Here is a short lesson that was published in Popular Mechanics:

STREET SWEEPING CREWS
Illustration by CRANEDIGITAL.COM

URBAN COMBAT IN IRAQ involves unprecedented coordination between air, armor and artillery. Here's a look at some of the typical interactions between Marine infantry units and their support teams.

GROUP A
Arms Patrol
An infantry fire team patrols the street alongside an M1A1 Abrams tank. Fire teams avoid hostile fire--and the main tank gun--by keeping to the sides of the street. Tanks and infantry provide mutual cover: The Abrams draws insurgent fire away from the infantry and provides the house-clearing power of the 120mm main gun. But tanks are designed to engage other tanks in open-field combat. Their imposing size makes them an easy target in a crowded, urban environment. For protection, armored units rely on the grunts walking beside the tank to spot threats in a tank's many blind spots, and to engage hostiles the tank can't eliminate, such as insurgents firing from rooftops at an angle that is too severe for the Abrams's turret.

GROUP B
Rooftop Support
A company commander (1) oversees as many as nine squads at one time (2). Fire Support Teams (FiST), with an artillery forward officer (FO), mortar FO and a Forward Air Controller (FAC) call in and coordinate artillery, mortar and aerial support for the infantry. Two-man sniper teams (3) provide "guardian angel" protection to infantry teams.

GROUP C
Breaking & Entering
If a rocket or tank round is unavailable, Marines on foot must clear a house of insurgents. For protection, infantry enters a house with at least a four-man fire team and preferably with a larger squad. Nobody enters alone, and a strict buddy system ensures mutual cover during room searches.

GROUP D
Aerial Assets
Dragon Eye (4) and Pioneer (5) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles provide real-time intel. Combat Air Support gives infantry aerial cover. Forward Air Controllers talk directly to pilots, guiding them by lighting up targets with a laser designator, or by "talking in" a plane by visually describing the target. Air assets include Cobra gunships (6) with Hellfire missiles and rockets, F/A-18 fighters (7) with precision munitions, and the AC-130 (8), a flying gun platform, armed with a field-artillery-size 105mm howitzer--a favorite with the Marines. "Some people need recordings of running water to go to sleep," Maj. Anthony Petrucci says. "In Fallujah, all I needed was an AC-130 overhead."

If you would like to get even more of a taste of combat in Iraq, go read the entire article: Part 0ne and Part Two on city tactics, and this article on road tactics.

Popular Mechanics can show our troops in a balanced light, WHY can't the "popular MSM?!?

H/T to commenter juandos for the links to the articles.

Poker in Politics?

Steve macklin of Hold the Mayo has a podcast where he outlines his thoughts on why the Adminstration has been slow to respond to Democratic criticism on the war in Iraq.

I don't know if what he posits is truly the Republican strategy, but it does sound like the type of manuvering that Karl Rove is so good at....and you have to admit, the Democrats have have manuvered themselves into a bit of a corner.

IF we can demonstrate great positive gains in Iraq in the near future, and even more importantly, inform the American public of those gains; the Democrats will have ensured their total irrelevence in the next election.

Clash of Cultures

With all the strife between the West and the Muslim East today, we hear
Muslims who complain about being misunderstood by the world. Islam is a religion of peace, they say, it can never condone violence and yet on account of a handful of bad people, the world labels all Muslims terrorists.

Generally, this leads to someone or other saying that the problem is that the jehadis have distorted the message of the Prophet of Islam and the world chooses to use this as an excuse to hate all Muslims. Why is this happening? Why should Islam be blamed for the activities of a handful of fanatics? Conclusion? It must be because of the ‘evil’ propaganda of Jews, Hindus and Christians.

The problem, alas, is more complicated. It is not just suicide bombers and mad mullahs who are giving Islam a bad name, it is the fact that in so many ways the religion seems out of touch with the world as it is today.

What most of us see as barbaric behaviour Muslims are ordered to accept as justice because that is how it was when the Prophet was still with us. It goes beyond criminal justice to culture, education, social behaviour and the attire of, and in the social status of, women. Islam is inextricably bound to the Arab culture of the 7th century. It has held itself to be the "pure" religion, and doesn't accept any form of adaptation to modern conditions or mores. "It should be done as it was in the days of the Prophet" is held as one of it's core belief system. Many Progressive will scoff at this and say that it is not so...but then ask them to explain the fact that a "modern" state such as Iran still imprisons women should they be so bold as to reveal too much of their anatomy, or in some cases, still stones women for adultery. Or that a woman in India could be forced to leave her husband and go to live with his father when the father raped her. Or when Muslim youths in France can set a woman ablaze with the justification " because she was traveling in public without benefit of a male companion".

The problem with Islam is that it has remained unchanged for centuries and continues to try and impose an Arab idea of religion, social behaviour and culture on the world. This causes alienation, and the strife we are now experiencing between Islam and the other major belief systems of the world.
Respecting others that hold a different belief is just not a part of the Muslim belief system, indeed, it is antithetical to the core of Islamic beliefs.

Those that refuse to conform to the precepts of Mohammed are Infidel and are not to be treated with as equals. This is esconced within the Holy texts of Islam, and really cannot be gone around without a serious amount of reform of the religion, and as I noted above, Islam is profoundly resistant to any form of reform.

V.S. Naipaul described it this way. ‘‘Islam is in its origins an Arab religion. Everyone not an Arab who is a Muslim is a convert. Islam is not simply a matter of conscience or private belief. It makes imperial demands. A convert’s world view alters. His holy places are in Arab lands; his sacred language is Arabic. His idea of history alters. He rejects his own; he becomes, whether he likes it or not, a part of the Arab story.’’

In Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and in India you see signs of Muslims becoming part of the ‘Arab story’ in recent years in a way that they were not before and therein lies the problem. In times past, there has been an uneasy truce that allowed members of all religions to, at the least, co-exist by tactful ignorance of each other. It seems that in the present however, there has reached a critical mass point of Muslim holy fervor where this is no longer possible, and the inevitable conflicts between belief systems has boiled up into a seething cauldron of terrorism and open war.

This is not to say that all the other belief systems have been innocent in the past either, there are horrific account of Christian perfidity almost as bad, the difference is that those are all in the past, and Christianity has reformed itself to make such actions unthinkable. There are elements of almost every religion that could be considered barbaric by todays standards, the practice of Sutee and the cast sytrem in Hinduism, and the "inactive" stance against injustice in Buddism as examples. (and no, I'm NOT saying that Buddists condoned injustice, it was just that they accepted it far more readily as "cosmic Karma" and didn't fight against it as most Western religions do.) These belief systems have changed with more enlightened approachs in modern times, something that Islam has failed to do, for the most part, as of yet. These barbarities were more a product of culture rather than the religious systems themselves; the systems didn't enforce these barbarities with the force of religious belief as Islam does.

The most recent example of this came last week when a court in Saudi Arabia ordered that the eye of an Indian worker, Abdul Lateef Naushad, be gouged out in the interests of justice because in a physical fight with a Saudi he caused him to lose the vision in one of his eyes. This was three years ago and Naushad has been in prison ever since, which would be punishment enough (for a fight) in most countries, but not in Saudi Arabia which, as the crucible of the Islamic faith, believes that justice means ‘an eye for an eye’ just as it did in the days of the Prophet.

Islamic justice also ordains that thieves pay by having their hands chopped off and adulterous couples be stoned to death. These may have been progressive measures 1,400 years ago but in today’s world they are acts of barbarism and this is where the disconnect begins between Islam and the rest of us.

Unless and until Islam can reform itself from this outmoded view of thought, there will be strife between our peoples.

Defeatism from the Left

We hear the defeatist blathering of the "Progressive" party from the likes of political hacks such as "YEEEAAARGH!" Dean and Nancy Pelosi (D-Idiotaria), and we can dismiss them out of hand as ultra-partisians furthuring the Progressive agenda.

More troubleing are those that did serve...one with honor, Rep. John Murtha(D-PA), and one who, although he spent less time in service than President Bush did in training, and spent most of his frontline experiences writing himself up for paper-cut purple hearts, so as to shorten that time, is stil held up as a "war hero". The progressives point to their medals as proof that they "know what their talking about".

When John Murtha (34 year Marine Corp. veteran, bronze star/V recepient) says "it's time to pull them out", he is a voice that you should listen to....except for the fact that his appraisal of the situation and his considering the morale/condition of our troops as "broken" despite all evidence to the contrary shows him to be totally non-conversant with the reality of the condions in Iraq.

When Sen. John Kerry (4month VN vet, 3PH's) says "we should not have our soldiers terrorizing Iraqi kids and children, and , uh, women, in their homes", we should just consider the source and ignore it...except that he has used his "war record" (but STILL won't release his personell records) to such great effect that the Progressives still maintain his "hero" status affords his words weight.

Even according these people all the respect due to their prior service, that service was in a distant time and under diffferent conditions....

If the Left is so enamored of the weight of words of a bemedaled combat veteran as to what course we should take in Iraq, GO HERE for the opinion of a recently separated Sgt., with two combat tours in Iraq;who holds a Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and Conspicuous Service Cross (New York states highest combat valor award), and who has been nominated for the Medal of Honor by his leadership, and has been nominated for the Distinguished Service Cross.
A man who's actions in Fallujah, Iraq were documented in the November 22, 2004 cover story “Into the Hot Zone” by award winning journalist Michael Ware. Think he's qualified to make an opinion as a war hero? (rhetorical question...since his opinion runs counter to the Progressive agenda, no doubt they will dismiss him out of hand as yet another "brainwashed robot" of the mighty forces of HaliburtonBushCheneyCO.)

Here's just a taste (and as our Emperor, the Mighty Darth Misha 1 has stated, this is more than just a MUST read, it is a REQUIRED (upon pain of going to the Imperial Dungeon Game Room for disregardal) read.:

"As an infantryman whose boots are still caked with blood and dust from Iraq, I am at a loss to understand what Representative John Murtha (D-PA) was thinking when he recently delivered his defeatist comments about our military efforts.".......

"Rather than acknowledging the vital mission being carried out by the troops, the Democratic leadership prefers to disparage our efforts. My fellow soldiers are not appreciative of Senators Kennedy and Kerry’s daily attempts to uncover mistakes made by this administration as we come under fire thousands of miles from our homes. In the era of the digital satellite, these senators never consider the bigger picture, and have put us on trial for executing a war as it unfolds."

"Former administrations ignored the present danger in this region for years before 9/11, and today we in the trenches pay the price for our past inability to confront our enemies. Each day, the enemy hopes that one more ten-plus death toll inflicted against coalition forces will be the last straw of the American collective will. The actions of Kerry, Kennedy, Dean, et al.—voting against the immediate pullout of the troops and then supporting Murtha’s ignorant remarks on every television program that offers an invitation—constitute a political attack on the troops, an attack that is aiding our enemy."

("an attack that is aiding our enemy" WHAT was that definition of treason again??) (I do recall that aiding the enemy in time of war seems to be in there somewhere...)
Go read the rest.....NOW.

Progressive Heroes

I was reading Odysseus, when I came upon this post concerning the Left's adoration for Che and other murdurers. So, naturally, I stole borrowed the accompanying poster:

The poster pretty much says it all. I'm tempted to apply the Rottweiler Crotch Kick™ to the next "useful idiotarian" I see wearing a Che or Mao T-shirt..I know, it's not very tolerant of me, but the more I think about it, the angrier I get...I think I would have added Stalin and Mao to the poster, but hey, there's only so much space to play with, ya-know?

Dems: Retreat & Defeat

Thanks to Michell Malkin, here's the link to the "Retreat and Defeat" video that will be playing in selected races in the next election cycle. I think it should be run country wide.

You can't simultaniously advocate policies negating everything they've accomplished in the last three years and still claim to "support the troops".

I do hope that the Democrats persist on this tact though, I can't think of a better way to assure a continued Republican majority....

Innocent Man to Die?

This case is one reason that the death penalty is , jusifiably, controversial.

If the facts are as presented in the story, this is a miscarriage of justice on an unbelievable scale.

If the events transpired as presented, Cory Maye was correct in taking the actions he did, I would have done exactly the same thing. I think that the OIC of the raid should have been the one facing charges, not Mr. Maye.

Mr. Maye acted within his rights of self defense as a citizen. I believe that racism and cronyism played a part in this conviction...Maye is black and the officer he shot was white, and the son of the police chief of the town where the incident occurred; the jury was all white. I'm not one that has much patience with the "race card" in most instances, but I feel in my bones that race was a deciding factor in this case.

The OIC of the raid is guilty of neglegence leading to a death at the very least.
As a former LEO with over twelve years on the street, I believe that I am qualified in making this opinion. The officers conducting the raid were not properly tacticly informed of the situation of the site prior to the raid, and allowing a non-team member to accompany them, even if he was a LEO, is against every procedure I've ever been taught. Another thing that really bothered me was that Officer Jones entered the premises as part of a drug raid and WASN'T ARMED. This is a breakdown of procedure that is totally inexcusable. It was a situation where the police were almost asking for one of their own to get injured.

Officer Jones is a victom of what we used to call "tombstone courage"; using improper procedure and overreaching his capablities in a deadly situation. The OIC should have insured that this could not have happened as it did. As it stands, Mr. Maye is going to pay the price for that series of misjudgements.

What I really want to know is, WHERE are all the Hollyweird celebs? They sure seem capable in coming out in droves in defense of a TRUE criminal, but they seem to have a total silence in this case, where it is OBVIOUS that a miscarriage of justice is occurring. Maybe because Mr. Maye hasn't the celebrety cachet of a true gangster, as in Mr. Williams case.

After all, Mr. Maye was just exersizing his 2nd Amendment rights in the defense of his 18mo old daughter, and we all know how the folks in Tinsletown regard that "outmoded" concept.

Thats probably why the ACLU hasn't gotten involved either...don't want to encourage those gun nuts ya know....SELF DEFENSE?!? Don't want the plebian masses to know that they can do that!

Ohh-kay...

There is a new study just released by the American
Psychiatric Association about women and how they feel
about their asses. The results are pretty interesting:

1. 85% of women surveyed feel their ass is too big.
2. 10% of women surveyed feel their ass is too small.
3. The remaining 5% say they don't care; they love him; he's a good man and they would have married him anyway.

HT to GuyK

Christian = Hypocrite?

One of my vigilent corrosponders sent me this link as "proof that the rank and file Democrats are in full approval of the antics of their leaders."

Seems the members of the Washington State Democrats were selling an offensive anti-Christian symbol on their official website. They have since pulled that particular product from the page, as apparently they had a large backlash against it. The irony here is that they didn't even consider that there would be a backlash against it. For a party that extolls the virtues of "diversity" and "tolerance", they sure do make a habit of displaying the exact opposite in regards to the Christian faith.

As i've stated before, I do not consider myself to be a Christian, altough I do have a Catholic background, with a heavy dose of Protestanism thrown in for good measure. I consider myself a Deist/Agnostic. But even though it didn't affect me, I could see the offensive nature of what they were trying to sell:

I don't know about you, but when I look at that, all I see is a blanket statement of intolerance and disdain towards Christians...I don't consider myself ultrasensative towards insults directed at me, but even I, as a deist found this beyond the pale, I can imagine what a devout Christian would feel.

I fear for our Republic; we have lost sight of one of the basic founding principles of that Republic: that every individual is accorded respect in his beliefs in an atmosphere of tolerance, if not agreement in those beliefs.
We have never totally achieved that goal, nor do I believe we ever shall, but the important thing was that we strove for it as the ideal.

Many democrats today excoriate Christian Republicans as hypocrites, saying that they espouse high ideals in running for office and then tend to fall short of those ideals in office.
They forget the corollary of that position..if you don't have an ideal to strive to reach, you have no real base at all. Situational ethics is sometimes an evil necessity to achieve a greater good, but as a base position, it inevitably leads to tryanny.

In a related matter, Michael Medved has a great editorial on The Lion, The Witch, And the Wardrobe as it concerns the display of faith in a public setting. I think he reiterated my point above, albeit in a much better manner.

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Redneck Humor

Three Hillbillies are sitting on a porch shootin' the bull.

1st Hillbilly: "My wife sure is stupid!...
She bought an air conditioner."

2nd Hillbilly: "why is that stupid?"

1st Hillbilly: "We ain't got no 'lectric!"

-
2nd Hillbilly: "That's nothin'!
My wife is so stupid, she bought one of them
new fangled warshin' machines!"

1st Hillbilly: "why is that so stupid?"

2nd Hillbilly: "cause we ain't got no plummin'!"
-
3rd Hillbilly : "that ain't nuthin'!
My wife is dumber than both yer wifes put
together!
I was going through her purse the other day
lookin' fer some
change, and I found 6 condoms in there."
-
1st and 2nd Hillbillies:
"well what's so dumb about that?"
-
3rd Hillbilly: "She ain't got no pecker!!!"

New Member of the HBA

I've been remiss and missed the entry of a new member to the Hoosier Blog Alliance, I've tried to rectify my oversight, so please welcome Tip Jar to the party.

Welcome MTS, hope you enjoy the group.

"Tookie" Williams

I've been reading a lot of editorials pro and con on the upcoming execution of Stanly "Tookie" Williams on Dec.13....I must admit that a couple of them did touch me in that they didn't try to excuse Mr. Williams of his crimes, but pointed out the possibility of his being granted clemency might prevent someone else from suffering as did his victoms....That is the only argument that might sway me in my opinion that his date with the needle is far overdue.

Several editorials have tried the "redemption" tack, and I don't find those too convincing....I HOPE that Mr. Williams may have found some sense of peace with his past and felt himself forgiven in penitance by his activities in trying to warn children from following his example. BUT redemption is a personal thing, between a person and their concept of whatever higher power they may believe in, and doesn't mitigate the societal need for punishment.

In the end, I found that the cartoon below sums up my feelings best:

While executing Mr. Williams won't bring back these victoms, it will bring some sense of justice to their families.

It must also be remenbered that Mr. Williams is not only guilty of the deaths he was convicted of, but by his being the founding member of one of the most vicious gangs ever to victomize society, the Crips, I believe that he has a responsibility for every bit of misery that has ensued from that group.

And that misery will continue to build long after Mr. Williams has met his end. He may be remorseful about his part in that misery, I hope so anyway, but that doesn't negate his responsibility for it. His actions subsequent to incarceration may prevent a few for falling into that trap, but how many more will? He bears a responsibility in the misery of every one of those that do, and the misery they inflict on the society at large.

Roy Returns

Steve H of Hog on Ice has a new podcast to share with the world, where Roy, the donkey peep show midget, reveals that he has a new seasonal job this month.

Just be sure to remove all liquids from the area before listening!

DHS

OH NO!! Seems one of the jackbooted Air Marshals of DHS has shot and killed a passenger of an aitliner that claimed to have a bomb in his carry on bag, and the man was a US citizen....HORRORS! Shouldn't he have tried to reason with the man? The Marshal totally ignored this mans right of free expression! (/sarcasm)

As far as I'm concerned, as a commenter at Lucianne's said:
"Good aim, big holes, what's the problem?"

There are those that will note that the decident was a Bi-polar that had missed a couple doses of his meds as an excuse for excoriating the Air Marshal.
Having been in similar situations where a life or death decision has to be made in less than two seconds, I can catagorically state that I think that the Marshal did exactly the right thing.

It is a tragedy that a man died because he failed to properly manage his illness, but it would have been a far greater tragedy if the Marshal had erred on the side of PC caution and the man had been serious about setting off a bomb next to an airliner filled with passengers, parked next to a teminal and other planes.

sKerry

On last Sunday's Face the Nation Kerry had this to say about the actions of American troops in Iraq: " ..... there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women ...."

Now we have the last Democratic Presidential candidate, John Kerry, applying the "T" word to our own troops in Iraq. Our men and women in uniform are "terrorizing kids and children, you know, women ...."

Tuesday, on the Neil Boortz show a caller reminded me of a time when American "troops" did, in fact, knock down a door in the middle of the night and terrorized a child.

It happened almost six years ago. Does anybody remember? A Democrat was in the White House, and the "Officer in Charge" of these particular "troops" was a female Democrat. The date was April 22, 2000. The terrorized child was Elian Gonzalez.

Seems to be yet another example of "projection"....

Democrats just don't seem to "get" that disparaging our troops ISN'T "protesting the war but supporting the troops".

When a Leading member of the Democratic party equates our troops with being terrorists, just WHAT message does he believe he is sending our enemy?

In my mind the only message he is sending me is that he is a partisan hack that is willing to utter treasonous remarks in the furthurence of his own agenda...and that agenda seems to consist mainly of "Hate George Bush".
That the Left hails these remarks as "brave" and "patriotic dissent" only proves that they are in full accord with that agenda. Indeed, when the Chairman of the party, Howard Dean says:

"the idea that we're going to win the war in Iraq is an idea which is just plain wrong."

Just what else is there to say? As many missteps as the Bush administration has made, the Democrats seem eager to show themselves as even worse.

I'm still waiting for any concrete proposals from the Left, but so far, all I've seen is that "we need to run away (in Iraq), and it's all Bush's fault".

A LOYAL opposition has concrete proposals to put forth, and is willing to negotiate a compremise, I'm still waiting for the Democrats to do that.

The few that HAVE attempted to do so have been turned upon by their own...Zell Miller and Joe Lieberman to cite two examples.
As much as I dislike some Republican policies, the Democrats are forcing me to support them by their lack of a reasonable alternative being put forward.

No Comment....

A day in the Life of an Army transport driver....

Been there, done that..... can you believe I miss it? I don't know why either, but I do...

Warning: language may not be suitable for Grandma

H/T to AGT

64 Years and Counting...

December 7th, 1941....the day that will "live in infamy". Today is the 64th Anniversary of that dark day that launched the US into the hardest fought war that has ever occurred.

Take a moment out of your busy like to remember all those that died, both on that day, and the in the ensuing four years, as the world fought to determine the course it would take....

The brave men and woman of the generation that endured those bleak days are quickly passing on into the Great Unknown, and we must endeavor to remember the sacrifices they made to ensure that we would continue to live free. Only by remembering can we ensure that their sacrifices were not made in vain.

Two New Finds

Please welcome two new additions to the Blogroll in the LC catagory:
Appalachian Gun Trash, and A Room With A view

The Room with a view belongs to the mother of one of the best LC's I have had the privilage to meet, the Humble Devildog, known to his friends as "AJ". AJ credits his (CONSIDERABLE)debating abilities to his mother, and now she's bringing her views to the blogosphere; I'm certain that she will make a fine addition to the conversation. Just be sure to be polite when you visit...AJ doesn't take kindly to those that cause trouble to his familiy or friends, and as an inactive Marine, he's MORE than capable of exhibiting his displeasure in a manner that you would be certain to find HIGHLY uncomfortable.

As for "Appalachian Gun Trash", it was a serendipitous find by Mamamontezz, who passed it along to me...you HAVE to like a guy who quotes Luke 11:21 on his side bar: "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his palace, his possessions are safe.” ~Jesus Christ~

And a retired AF veteran....

That is a man that I'm sure I can respect, and reading some of his posts only confirms me in that opinion. He lives in eastern Kentucky, so who knows, perhaps some day I'll have the pleasure of meeting him in person.

TIS the Season

With all the arguements over the comercialization of Christmas and wether or not public reference to religion should be allowed, I got the following card from some very old and dear friends/mentors, and it made me stop and try to recoup what the true meaning of the holiday really is. Thank you Bob and Gerry, I needed that.

Right ON, Charlie!

Charley Daniels has an open letter to the troops that really should be read....read, absorbed, and the advice at the end followed: "I believe if we could take the politics and hostile media coverage out of this war for one year, you guys would “get er done” and everybody could come home and vote against these backstabbers." (emph. mine)

I wish more celebraties would follow Mr. Daniels lead and actually SUPPORT our troops instead of being schills for the Moonbat Left and their policies of appeasment and surrender.

OUTRAGEOUS!!

I'm sure, by now, you've all read about the soldier recovering from wounds at Walter Reed receiving only one "holiday" card...from a piece of "Progressive" slime posing as a human being that wished him a quick death.

I can't imagine the pain that such a missive caused Spc. Sparling. Emperor Misha addressed the slime that committed the deed, to which I can only add a hearty "AMEN !"

I think we all need to show this soldier how MOST of us really feel, to counteract the despicable actions of one of the retarded fringe moonbat minority.

Please send your feelings of support and best wishes to:

Joshua Sparling
Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20307-5001

Please, Don't let the actions of one "rider of the short bus of life" color this man's holiday season unanswered!

While running through the web, I found this movie that I think really expresses at least the wayI feel. It's a large file, but well worth the download.
I've Got Your Back"

Citizenship Quiz

FINALLY! A quiz that actually has some real meaning!

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 10 out of 10 correct!

If an immigrant can pass !00%, it was a little too easy, but it still poses a good bechmark of basic knowledge.

They don't give the answers, and in the spirit of not learning unless you can know where you made a mistake, I have posted the answers under the fold.

1. No limit A senator can be reelected as many times as he/she can convince the electorate that they are the person that represents them the best.

2 January The president elect assumes office on January 1.

3. George Washington There was great debate about this at the time, as many felt that it gave the Executive branch too much power, but as in a family, there can be only ONE head, so it was passed.

4. The Preamble The Declaration of Independence is really nothing more than the first notice of asserting independence from the founding country, but has no real force of law in any respect. The Bill of Rights were added to the Constitution to ensure the rights of the individual would be held paramount.

5 1787 Most people seem to assume that the Constitution sprang fully formed at the cessation of hostilities, in fact, it was a bitterly debated work that many felt was imperfect at the time. Thats one reason that the Bill of Rights was added, as a bulwark against Federal power.

6. Congress As noted in question #3, it was felt that War should be the decision of the People, as represented by the Congress. This was a safeguard to limit the power of the President., so that no one man could embroil us in conflict.

7. Thomas Jefferson He had the input of many other great thinkers of the time in committee debates, but he wrote the basic framework of the document; it was slightly altered and passed out of the committee in the form as it is now known. The single greatest statement of Freedom ever made.

8. Germany, Italy, and Japan The so called "Axis Powers".

9. Vermont Vermont became the 14th State in the Union on the 4 March 1791

10. England You'd think that this was the easiest question on the test, but it's amazing how many high school students get this wrong! Seems that current events has them thinking France...

Kerry Redux

Swiped from Lucianne:

The 4,723rd Reason To Be Thankful Bush Won:
"And there is no reason that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the--of--the historical customs, religious customs. Whether you like it or not--Iraqis should be doing that."
- John Kerry - Face the Nation - December 4, 2005

Putin & Gore Yeah, THEY want the best for the U.S.!

Ah, how the past can come back to bite us in the ass! The Progressives are still angry on how they perceive that President Bush "stole" the 2000 election from ALgore...yet the more we find coming out from under the cover of secrecy, we can see how the Clinton-Gore years have formed the present situation.

Right now, we are haveing an increase in tensions in the M.E. over and above the war in Iraq, namely, the perseption that Iran is, by some accounts, a mere 6 months or so away from becoming a nuclear power. Given the recent strident rhetoric against Israel by Iran's newly elected President; the aquisition of a nuclear capability by Iran is certainly unacceptable by anyone NOT wishing to see that part of the world become a green glass bowl, glowing for the next thousand years or so..

Now it's coming out that Putin is selling the Irani's a ground to air missile defense system to protect their nuclear facilities, making their completing their nuclears weapons program much less vunerable to interdiction before they achieve success; at least withoiut triggering a war that makes the excursions into Afghanistan and Iraq seem like a stroll in the park.

And guess who Putin uses as a justification for the legality os such arms sales to a state such as Iran? Why, none other than Al Gore, that paragon of Progressive hopes.

Seems that in 1995, VP Gore negotiated a secret pact with the Soviet govt., wherein :"Gore assured Russia that, under the provisions of the agreement, the U.S. would not sanction the Kremlin for Russian arm sales to Iran – through 1999." This, from the sponsor of the
Iran-Iraq Non-proliferation Act (by then Sen. Gore), that required the imposition of sanctions against countries that made destabilizing arms sales to either Iran or Iraq. Can you say "product of situational ethics?"

If this is not proof that the Progresive agenda doesn't pose a danger to the security of the United States, as it is conducted behind the scenes, out of the public eye, then I don't know what is.

Subject: Holiday Rules

Holiday Rules

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet
table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see
carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt
scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch.
You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who
cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're
going to turn into an eggnog-aholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy
it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's
Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of
gravy. Gravy does not stand- alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out
of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano.
Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or
whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a
sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control
your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat
other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New
Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do.
This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the
buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of
eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like
frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position
yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before
becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of
shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them
again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or,
if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always
have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the
mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean,
have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party
or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread
tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.


Remember this motto to live by:

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving
safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in
sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used
up, totally worn out and screaming WOO HOO !
what a ride!

H/T to Jack for reminding me whats important in this season of joy and merry-making.

Class Project

An elementary school class started a class project to make
planters to take home to their parents.

They wanted to have a plant in it that was easy to take care of,
so they decided to use cactus plants.

The students were given green-ware pottery planters in the shape of
clowns which they painted with glaze.

The clown planters were professionally fired at a class outing
so they could see the process.

It was great fun!

They planted cactus seeds in the finished planters and they grew
nicely, but unfortunately, the children were not allowed to take
them home.

The cactus plants were removed and small ivy replaced them and
the children were then allowed to take them home instead.

The teacher said cactus seemed like a good idea at the time!

What Else? another stupid Quiz

ELROND A stern yet benevolent organizer who often knows best, your wits are keenly fixed on aiding efforts you deem worthy.

"Now at this last we must take a hard road, a road unforseen. There lies our hope, if hope it be. To walk into peril to Mordor."

Random Thoughts

I read this piece by Donald Myers, and found all I could say was "AMEN"!.

Ever notice that all the naysaying, gloom and doom members of the "Progressive" Left only have negatives to espouse? Never do we hear a positive proposal for a solution, just excoriation of the status quo.

Don't like the causelty rates in Iraq? "Pull out, NOW!" is their only response; ignoring the fact that it would lead to only greater conflict. Rep. Murtha says that it's now "time for a political solution, rather than a military one"....Tell me Mr. Murtha, with all due respect for your past service, just HOW do you use diplomacy with a group who's ONLY desire is the total destruction of everything the West represents?

I honestly believe that a great deal of the discontent that is being exhibited by the general population can be directly laid at the feet of a partisian press dedicated to the goal of running President Bush out of office in whatever manner possible. Read the news, and all you'll find are body counts of Alliance soldiers and threats of even great mayhem relayed through Al Jazeera from the "Arab street"...yet talk to the soldiers coming home on rotation and you'll hear about how they have given the Iraqi people a chance at a better life by building schools, power plants, and water treatment plants....You'll hear how on an indivudual basis, they have been befriended and encouraged by Iraqis on the street.

Yes, the Iraqi people do want the soldiers to leave; what patriot would want to have foreign troops on their soil?, but they don't want them to leave untill their job is done, and the Iraqis know they are capable of standing on their own.

Another example of media partisianship is how they give wall to wall coverage to Rep. Murtha, yet almost totally ignore Sen. Lieberman when he stated that it would be the height of folly to precipitously withdraw troops at this time.

Try to find a pro-administration article, and your pretty much limited to the WSJ, if you want to find the Progressive stance, all you need do is open just about any other paper. The media has great power to influence opinion, but we must always ask: does a particular paper or station have an agenda? Are they telling the whole truth, or only that part of the truth that serves that agenda? What AREN'T they reporting? What they DON'T say can be more important than what they do say.

This is not to say that we have to march in lock-step with the Administration, they are just as guilty of spin as the Left...excessive spending rates, ignoring the border security problems, trying to sugarcoat the hard realities of war, the Administration is guilty of all these, and they should be held accoutable for these and other issues. But the American people have to wake up and demand that issues be debated in an open and honest debate of ideas, not a constant barrage of spin and partisian sniper attacks.

Special Prosecutions: Help or Harm?

Clarice Feldman has a good article exploring just how partisian based special prosecutions are harming the security of the United States.

Sunday Humor

Just a few Sunday cartoons...

Ever wonder what it would have been like if Noah had had to deal with a phone?

Hmmmm wonder if you really CAN take it with you?

And finally, the ultimate fate of a lawyer...

Damned Fwench pronunciations...

Yet another one ripped off borrowed from GuyK:

A man goes into a restaurant where all the
waitresses are gorgeous.
A particularly voluptuous waitress wearing a
very short skirt comes to his table and asks,
"What would you like, sir?"

He looks at the menu, scans her beautiful frame
top to bottom, and then answers, "A quickie." The
waitress turns and walks away in disgust.
After she regains her composure she returns and
asks again, "What would you like, sir?"

Again the man thoroughly checks her out and again
answers, "A quickie, please."

This time her anger takes over, she reaches over
and slaps him across the face with a resounding
SMACK! and storms away.

A man sitting at the next table then leans over and
whispers, "Um, I think it's pronounced'quiche.'

Yet ANOTHER Test

take the WHAT BAD BOOK ARE YOU test.


and go to mewing.net. not as good as reading a good book, but way better than a bad one.

H/T to Techivampire

And:

You scored as Maximus. After his family was murdered by the evil emperor Commodus, the great Roman general Maximus went into hiding to avoid Commodus's assassins. He became a gladiator, hoping to dominate the colosseum in order to one day get the chance of killing Commodus. Maximus is valiant, courageous, and dedicated. He wants nothing more than the chance to avenge his family, but his temper often gets the better of him. Maximus 75% William Wallace 75% The Amazing Spider-Man 63% Batman, the Dark Knight 58% Captain Jack Sparrow 50% Lara Croft 50% Indiana Jones 50% James Bond, Agent 007 50% Neo, the "One" 42% The Terminator 38% El Zorro 38% Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0 created with QuizFarm.com

H/T to Red-neck Hippy

Tech Support

Dear Tech Support:

Last year I upgraded from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0. I soon noticed
that the new program began unexpected child processing that took up a
lot of space and valuable resources. In addition, Wife 1.0 installed
itself into all other programs and now monitors all other system
activity. Applications such as Poker Night 10.3, Football 5.0, Hunting
and Fishing 7.5, and Racing 3.6 I can't seem to keep Wife 1.0 in the background while attempting to run my favorite applications. I'm thinking about going back to Girlfriend 7.0, but the uninstall doesn't work on Wife 1.0. Please help!

Thanks,

A Troubled User.

______________________________________

REPLY:
Dear Troubled User:

This is a very common problem that men complain about.

Many people upgrade from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0, thinking that it
is just a Utilities and Entertainment program. Wife 1.0 is an OPERATING SYSTEM and is designed by its Creator to run EVERYTHING!!! It is also impossible to delete Wife 1.0 and to return to Girlfriend 7.0. It is impossible to uninstall, or purge the program files from the system once installed.

You cannot go back to Girlfriend 7.0 because Wife 1.0 is designed to
not allow this. Look in your Wife 1.0 manual under Warnings-Alimony-Child Support. I recommend that you keep Wife 1.0 and work on improving the situation. I suggest installing the background application "Yes Dear" to alleviate software augmentation.

The best course of action is to enter the command C:\APOLOGIZE because ultimately you will have to give the APOLOGIZE command before the system will return to normal anyway.

Wife 1.0 is a great program, but it tends to be very high maintenance.
Wife 1.0 comes with several support programs, such as Clean and Sweep
3.0, Cook It 1.5 and Do Bills 4.2. However, be very careful how you use these programs. Improper use will cause the system to launch the program Nag Nag 9.5. Once this happens, the only way to improve the performance of Wife 1.0 is to purchase additional software. I recommend Flowers 2.1 and Diamonds 5.0 !

WARNING!!! DO NOT, under any circumstances, install Secretary With Short Skirt 3.3. This application is not supported by Wife 1.0 and will cause irreversible damage to the operating system.

Best of luck,
Tech Support

Just a little Reminder

H/T to LindaSoG

Holiday Music

Go HERE for a rather unusual Christmas video.

MY THANKS

Christmas is the4 time of year that we're supposed to reflect on the events of the last year and give thanks for out many blessings. Here's just a few thanks for some people that E-mail me from time to time:

I must send my thanks to whoever sent me the one about rat droppings in the
glue on envelopes cause I now have to get a wet towel with every
envelope that needs sealing.

Also, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same
reason. I want to thank you who have taken the time and trouble to send
me your chain letters over the past 12 months. Thank you for making me
feel safe, secure, blessed, and wealthy.

Because of your concern I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can
remove toilet stains.
I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr Pepper since the people who make these
products are atheists who refuse to put "Under God" on their cans.

I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.
And thanks for letting me know I can't boil a cup water in the
microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face...disfiguring me
for life.

I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could
be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.

I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a
water buffalo on a hot day.
I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a
perfume sample and rob me.
I no longer receive packages from UPS or FedEx since they are actually
Al Qaeda in disguise.

I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don't support our
American troops or the Salvation Army.

I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a
number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda,
Singapore, and Uzbekistan.

I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant
freaks with no eyes or feathers.

I no longer have any sneakers -- but that will change once I receive my
free replacement pair from Nike.

I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now have
their recipe.

I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking
out for me and St. Theresa's novena has granted my every wish.

I no longer can buy gasoline without taking passenger along to watch the
car so a serial killer won't crawl in my back seat when I'm pumping
gas.

Thanks to you, I have learned that God only answers my prayers if I
forward an email to seven of my friends and make a wish within five
minutes.

I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny
Brown) who is about to die in the hospital (for the 1,387,258th time).

I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive
the $15,000 that Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in
their special e-mail program.

Yes, I want to thank you so much for looking out for me that I will now
return the favor!

Thanks to you, I can't use anyone's toilet but mine because a big
brown African spider is lurking under the seat to cause me instant
death when it bites my butt.

Thank you too for all the endless advice Andy Rooney has given us. I
can live a better life now because he's told us how to fix everything.

And thanks for always correcting me with "gotchas" from "Snopes" who
knows it all. Thanks to you, I am totally in the know.

And thanks to your great advice, I can't ever pick up $5.00 I dropped
in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a sex
molester waiting underneath my car to grab my leg.

If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next
70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00
PM this afternoon and the fleas from 12 camels will infest your back,
causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually
happened to a friend of my next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's beautician...
Have a wonderful day....IF YOU CAN !

WOW!

All for one and one for all. Major nerve control here! WOW!

Tell ME that we don't have the best of the best!

Just a little Humor

Religious Golfing

Moses, Jesus, and an old man are golfing. Moses steps up to the tee and hits the ball. It goes sailing over the fairway and lands in the water trap. Moses parts the water and chips the ball onto the green.

Jesus steps up to the tee and hits the ball. It goes sailing over the fairway and lands in the water trap. Jesus just walks on the water and chips the ball onto the green.

The old man steps up to the tee and hits the ball. It goes sailing over the fairway and heads for the water trap. But just before it falls into the water, a fish jumps up and grabs the ball in its mouth. As the fish is falling back down into the water, an eagle swoops down and grabs the fish in its claws. The eagle flies off over the green, where a lighting bolt shoots from the sky and barely misses it. Startled, the eagle drops the fish. When the fish hits the ground, the ball pops out of its mouth and rolls into the hole for a hole-in-one.

Jesus then turns to the old man and says, "Dad, if you don't stop fooling around, we won't bring you next time."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Man Who Loved Baked Beans

Once upon a time, there lived a man who had a terrible passion
for baked beans. He loved them, but they always had an
embarrassing and somewhat lively reaction on him. One day he met
a girl and fell in love. When it became apparent that they would
marry, he thought to himself, she'll never go through with the
marriage with me carrying on like this, so he made the supreme
sacrifice and gave up beans.

Shortly after that they were married. A few months later, on his
birthday and on the way home from work, his car broke down.
Since they lived in the country, he called his wife and told her
that he would be late because he had to walk home. On his way
home, he passed a small cafe and the wonderful aroma of baked
beans overwhelmed him. Since he still had several miles to walk
he figured he could walk off any ill affects before he got home.
It was, after all, his birthday. So he went in and ordered, and
before leaving had 3 extra large helpings of baked beans.

All the way home he putt-putted. By the time he arrived home he
felt reasonably safe. His wife met him at the door and seemed
somewhat excited. She exclaimed, "Darling, I have the most
wonderful surprise for you for dinner tonight!" She put a
blindfold on him, and led him to his chair at the head of the
table and made him promise not to peak. At this point he was
beginning to feel another one coming on. Just as his wife was
about to remove the blindfold, the telephone rang. She again
made him promise not to peek until she returned, and away she
went to answer the phone. While she was gone, he seized the
opportunity. He shifted his weight to one leg and let go. It was
not only loud, but ripe as a rotten egg. He had a hard time
breathing, so he felt for his napkin and fanned the air about
him. He had just started to feel better, when another urge came
on. He raised his leg and RRIIPPP !!! It sounded like a diesel
engine revving, and smelled worse. To keep from gagging, he
tried fanning his arms a while, hoping the smell would
dissipate. He got another urge. This was a real blue ribbon
winner, the windows shook, the dishes on the table rattled and a
minute later the flowers on the table were dead.

With his blindfold still on, when he heard the phone farewells
he neatly laid his napkin on his lap and folded his hands on top
of it. Smiling contentedly, he was the picture of innocence when
his wife walked in. Apologizing for taking so long, she asked if
he had peeked at the dinner table. After assuring her he had not
peeked, she removed the blindfold and yelled, "SURPRISE!!!"

To his shock and horror, there were twelve dinner guests seated
around the table for his surprise birthday party.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Doctor's Orders

A distraught patient phoned her doctor's office. "Is it true,"
the woman wanted to know, "that the medication you prescribed
has to be taken for the rest of my life"?

"Yes, I'm afraid so," the doctor told her.

There was a moment of silence before the woman continued, "I'm
wondering, then, just how serious is my condition. This
prescription is marked 'NO REFILLS.'"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Attorney: Doctor, as a result of your examination of the plaintiff, is the young lady pregnant?

Witness: The young lady is pregnant — but not as a result of my examination.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A man lay sprawled across three entire seats in the posh theater.

When the usher came by and noticed this, he whispered to the man, "Sorry, sir, but you're only allowed one seat."

The man groaned but didn't budge.

The usher became impatient. "Sir, if you don't get up from there I'm going to have to call the manager."

Again, the man just groaned, which infuriated the usher who turned and marched briskly back up the aisle in search of his manager.

In a few moments, both the usher and the manager returned and stood over the man. Together the two of them tried repeatedly to move him, but with no success.

Finally, they summoned the police.

The cop surveyed the situation briefly then asked, "All right buddy, what's your name?"

"Sam," the man moaned.

"Where ya from, Sam?"

With pain in his voice Sam replied "... the balcony."

BA DA BUMP!

It's a start...

A lawyer runs a stop sign and gets pulled over
by a Sheriffs Deputy.

He thinks that he is smarter than the Deputy
because he is sure that he has a better education.
He decides to prove this to himself and have
some fun at the deputy's expense...

Deputy says, "License and registration, please."

Lawyer says, "What for?"

Deputy says, "You didn't come to a complete stop
at the stop sign "

Lawyer says, "I slowed down, and no one was coming."

Deputy says, "You still didn't come to a complete stop.
License and registration, please."

Lawyer says, "What's the difference?"

Deputy says, "The difference is, you have to come to a
complete stop, that's the law. License and registration,
please!"

Lawyer says, "If you can show me the legal difference
between slow down and stop, I'll give you my license and
registration and you give me the ticket, if not you let me
go and no ticket."

Deputy says, "Exit your vehicle, sir."

At this point, the deputy takes out his nightstick and starts
beating the ever-loving crap out of the lawyer and says:

"Do you want me to stop or just slow down?"

H/T GuyK

Take THAT, GFW's !

GuyK put up an interesting statistic:

If you consider that there have been an average
of 160,000 troops in the Iraq theater of operations
during the last 22 months, and a total of 2112
deaths, that gives a firearm death rate of 60 per
100,000.

The rate in Washington D.C. is 80.6 firearm deaths per 100,000.
That means that you are about 25% more likely to be shot and
killed in our nation's capitol, which has some of the strictest gun
control laws in the nation, than you are in Iraq.

Conclusion: We should immediately pull out of Washington D.C.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kinda puts the damper on the anti-war protesters laments about how deadly Iraq is doesn't it?.....Maybe, in next session, the Pols will try to award themselves battle pay?

Liberal Hyprocrasy

Here's a link to a new book by Peter Schweizer called "Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy". Something I am going to put on MY Christmas Wish List.

The book is a researched documentary of the hypocritic actions of 11 of the foremost Liberal icons and their private actions.

Just a few little teasers :

Claim: Noam Chomsky calls the U.S. military the most evil force on the face of the earth.

Fact: The Pentagon has provided him with a comfortable living for many years through Defense Department grants.

Claim: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi proclaims her support for unions and environmentalism.

Fact: The luxury resort, the vineyard and the restaurants she partly owns are strictly non-union and the exclusive country club she partly owns failed to comply with existing environmental regulations for the past eight years – including a failure to protect endangered species.

Claim: Barbra Streisand denounced global warming and the rape of the environment.

Fact: She drives an SUV, lives in a mansion and has a $22,000 annual water bill. In the past, she has driven to appointments in Beverly Hills in a motor home because of her aversion to using public bathrooms.

As Joseph Farrah says: "If they can't live within those rules, or choose not to, doesn't that strongly suggest their ideas are not worth the hot air that comes out of their mouths?"

DSL? Maybe.

Well, we have a new DSL connection....I have to say, so far, I not impressed with Earthlink. The speeds is faster than the dial-up, but not as fast as the SBC DSL was, and I've had to retype this twice, as a pop-up wiped out my first effort...hopefully it's just due to some bugs in the system that can be worked out....

It took Mamamontezz about twelve hours to get a completely stable connection that would take her to the net every time; she still needs to get my account to the same point.

I know it sounds like sour grapes bitching, and it probably is, but is it really too much to ask that when you pay a sum of money to a service that you get...well, SERVICE?!?

It remains to be seen how fast and stable the connection will be but I AM delighted that at least we now have the odds of a great connection on our side, so that I can actually start posting again.