Delftsman

A Life Remembered

It's been enough time to try to begin to process some of the events of the day.

It was an emotional rollercoaster, and I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that, YES, I did break down at the end of the memorial service, and was blubbering like a little baby, something totally out of character for me.

It was a very moving service, with a touch of religion (which Rob wouldn't have particularly cared for), and testimonials from his friends about past events that had moved them,(which I believe that Rob would have found quite touching).

They had his cremains in a simple wooden box slightly larger than a cigar box, with Rob's name and a guitar burned into the lid. That was what got to me in the end. It was just the right container for him; but to think that it held the mortal remains of a man that so many people had come to come to hold as a friend...the finality of it all just hit me like a ton of cement blocks, and I just totally lost it. I went to the mens room to compose myself and try to prevent furthur embarrassing myself and then I heard Robs voice, as clear as the water in a Florida spring fed pool: "get your shit in one sock". Yeah, I know, I was just imagining it, "it was a stress reaction". But hey, it worked.

But to tell you the truth, I prefer to think of it as proof that Rob was wrong about death when he stated his belief that there was nothing after the final beat of the heart but darkness and oblivian; I look on it as proof that something of us lives on, even if only in the overactive imaginations of those we have left behind.

After the service, everyone proceded to go to Rob's mothers house to have a party to celebrate a life in a manner that befit the man. There was a lot of food, reminiscing, and picking. Oh yes, there was picking. Seven guitars, an electric base guitar, an accordian, and a mandolin, along with some bongo drums on the few of the numbers. And watching Dave play; it was almost as if Rob was there, just having a jam session with with his mates.

There were stories swapped of past antics and interactions with Rob, both RT and in the 'sphere; there were old friends meeting again and new friends meeting for the first time, and most of all, there was the healing balm of laughter. It was a fitting tribute to a man that was as complex as Rob was.

In conclusion all I can say is goodby, until we meet again ya old bastid, ya should be dragged out and shot for leaving us too soon...and I hope you have found the some peace on an eternal beach, drink near to hand, entertaining a bevy of nekkid women around you with the sweet strains of your guitar and voice.

Update from Savannah

Well, after two relatively reasonable flights, and a 48 minute drive into the hinterlands of Georgia, I made it safe and sound to Catfish Manor. The old grouch was in Savannah, trying to get one of his quacks to tell him how much longer he'd have to suffer the aftereffects of his last stint in the OR, and as usual, they put him off with generalizations and promises that it would get better "soon"...

I walked up to the front door, rang the doorbell, and Nancy called out, to "come in, it's open". We had a nice talk, interupted several times from far-flung Jawja Bloggers wanting updates on the Memorial service tomorrow. About an hour later, Catfish strode into the front door with his voice booming out "any calls?" and then came and shook my hand.

Just as when I met Rob for the first time in Austin; there was an instant feeling of having known him for all my life, but even more so. Sometimes you're hesitant to meet old blog friends in RT; there is always the chance that you might be disappointed with the reality that differs from the picture you have built up in your mind, but such was not the case with Catfish or Nancy. They are both even better than what I had hoped to find.

Look up Southern Hospitality in the dictionary, and I'm positive you'll find their pictures at the top of that entry. There are few people I have ever instantly felt more comfortable with than Catfish. With him, what you see is what you get; with no pretensions of being anything but what he is, just a good ole boy with his feet planted firmly in reality, rough edges and all, and no apologies made for that.
I can see why Rob and he were such good friends. Catfish may not be as eloquent in speech and mannerisms, but they were both cut from the same cloth.

We have had confirmations from around the country of those that want to attend the Memorial service tomorrow, including Zonker and Stevie. I can hardly wait to see Zonker again, and meet the indomitable Miss Stevie for the first time; it's just terrible that it had to be under such tragic circumstances.

I hope that the Memorial will be suitably solemn as befits such an occasion, with the get together afterward as equally raucious, just as Rob would have wanted it to be. I have I feeling that all expectations will be met in both instances.

Light/no Posting

I talked to Catfish, and he's graciously consented to put up with a "Damned Yankee" for a few days, so I've decided to go to Acidmans memorial service.

It's out of character for me to spend this much money in this way, but Rob helped me over some pretty rough spots, and I would never forgive myself if I didn't go, I owe it to his memory.

Hell, who am I fooling?, I NEED to do this for myself. It's the only way to get closure and start to go on to the healing process.

I don't have a lap top to take with me, so until I return on Sat., I'll have to hope that my archives will be enough to keep this place going.

Hopefully, I'll have some good stories to relate, and a fresh outlook on life, as well.

Al-Murtha Redux

Odyseus has crafted a great cartoon about what he feels is the general consensus of feelings among Marines about Jack Murtha(D-Pa) and his recent efforts "in support of the troops".

Just HAD to steal borrow it...

tributes

Here's a tribute post that Acidman would have really liked.

I can only hope that it ended up that way.

Chris Muir payed Rob the best complement he could as well:

There is an on-line obituary and guest book HERE, please leave some kind words for Dave,Samantha, Quinton, and Mommie in their hour of grief.

R.I.P. to one of the Greats

Rob "Acidman" Smith 1952-2006

One of my mentors has passed away.

Rob Smith, aka the Acidman was found dead at 0200 hrs. this morning.

I hope that he has finally found the peace that he so richly deserved. He had his demons, but he gave them the good fight. He was always there for his friends. No more can be asked of any man.

Samantha, your dad was one of a kind, and he will be sorely missed, by friend and foe alike. He never compromised, he never gave less than his all, and there will be tears for him from all across the blogosphere.

A Rant worthy of the Rottweiller Empire

MamaMontezz doesn't rant too often, but when she DOES, stand back!

I believe that she almost matched Misha's best with this one.

All I can add is a hearty "AMEN" !

A good idea from an unexpected source

I never thought that I would agree with any official of the Clinton Admionistration on a foreign policy matter, but Ashton Carter and William Perry seem to have overcome BDS for long enough to come up with a really great idea on how to deal with the NoKo ICBM test dillemma.

Too bad that these two men couldn't have tried to inject some common sense into the equation when Clinton was giving the NoKo's the technology to be able to threaten us now....

Living Will

Now THIS is MY kind of living will!

I, __________________________,
being of sound mind and body, do not wish to be kept
alive indefinitely by artificial means.

Under no circumstances should my fate be put in the
hands of pinhead politicians who couldn't pass
ninth-grade biology if their lives depended on it.
Nor in the hands of doctors who are interested simply
in running up the bills.

If a reasonable amount of time passes and I fail to
ask for at least one of the following:

Bloody Mary,

Margarita,

Scotch and soda,

Martini,

Vodka and Tonic,

Steak,

Lobster or Crab legs,

the remote control,

bowl of ice cream,

the sports page,

chocolate,

or sex

...it should be presumed that I
won't ever get better.

When such a determination is reached, I hereby
instruct my appointed person and attending
physicians to pull the plug, reel in the tubes
and call it a day.

At this point, it is time to call a New Orleans
Jazz Funeral Band * to come do their thing at my
funeral, and ask all of my friends to raise
their glasses to toast the good times we have had.

Signature:
___________________________

Date: ____________________

(* I think I would prefer some Scotch Pipers, along with a bugler and a gun salute)

to GuyK

It's Magic!

You say that there is no such thing as Magic? Chris Angel begs to differ!

Truly amazing to observe his skill at what he does...

Priorities!

Catfish sent me this....and I must agree with him, where the HELL ARE our priorities?!?!

Priorities!

Five million of our older Americans have not signed up yet for their
Medicare, Part D, drug plan--they are old and confused. We are not going
to grant them an extension.

However, 12 million illegal aliens are in
our country and we are going to allow them to stay, protest, procreate,
receive support monies, attend schools, avoid paying income taxes, have
our teachers take 300 hours of ESOL (English as a second language)
training at our expense, etc.

WE MUST REALLY DISLIKE OUR OLD PEOPLE! OR, WE MUST REALLY LOVE TACOS!

A lynching in progress...

Steve Yuhas has an excellent article on the Hamdaniya 8.

The real shame is that these men have already been tarnished forever, no matter what the outcome of the Article 32 procedings.

That the Marine Corps has allowed the procedings to become a political football for partisian forces is a greater stain on the honor of the Corps than the incident itself, should it prove to be borne out as being actually true.

to Mamamontezz for the heads up.

Be afraid, be very afraid

To all that use SBC services...BEWARE.

"Your data belong to them".

I believe that data mining and some limited focusing on specific targets are legitimate national security activities; but this new policy far exceeds those parameters.

Some sad news...

It is with the saddest heart that I must pass on the following news. Please join me in remembering a great icon of the entertainment community.

The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71.

Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies and Captain Crunch. The grave site was piled high with flours.

Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy "as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded". Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times, h e was still a crusty old man and was considered a roll model for millions.

Doughboy is survived by his wife, Play Dough, two children, John Dough and Jane Dough, plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly dad, Pop Tart. The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.

to Catfish

Subject: a blonde's horseback riding adventure...

A blonde decides to try horseback riding, even though she has had no
lessons or prior experience. She mounts the horse, unassisted,
and the horse immediately springs into motion. It gallops along at a steady
and rhythmic pace, but the blonde begins to slip from the saddle.

In terror, she grabs for the horse's mane, but cannot seem to get a firm
grip. She tries to throw her arms around the horse's neck, but
she slides down the side of the horse anyway. The horse gallops along,
seemingly impervious to its slipping rider.

Finally, giving up her frail grip, the blonde attempts to leap away from the
horse and throw herself to safety. Unfortunately, her foot
has become entangled in the stirrup, and she is now at the mercy of the
horse's pounding hooves as her head is struck against the ground over
and over.

As her head is battered against the ground, she is mere moments away from
unconsciousness when to her great fortune . . .

Frank, the Wal-Mart greeter, sees her and unplugs the horse.

to Bob

Ann C., A REAL Stalwart of the Right

Ann Coulter throws down the gauntlet yet again in her latest post.

My favorite line is :

"Finally, a word to those of you out there who have yet to be offended by something I have written or said: Please be patient. I am working as fast as I can. "

You GO, Ann!

Murtha

Has Rep. Murtha overplayed his hand? Robert Novak seems to think so.

I personally hope that Murtha continues speaking out loudly and often. While it won't be long before the Democrats start to try to distance themselves from his senile rantings, the ugly truth is that he does represent the views of a large segment of the Left's base, and the more those views are exposed, the better. For the GOP.

On a similar note, Victor David Hanson outlines his reasoning why the Fall elections won't be as good for the Democrats as they are trying to project they will be. I HOPE that Mr. Hanson's reasoning hold true, but he is forgetting one wild card, and that is that he comes from a logical reasoning frame of view, and unfortunately, many of the electorate these days have eschewed that type of reasoning to one based on "feelings" and whatever the current meme of the left is in favor at the moment. Mr. Hanson view is dependent on an informed, reasoning, electorate; and it seems in recent times that there is a serious lack in those areas in a large segment of the electorate....

Fair Tax

Neil Boortz has a chance to give an overview of the Fair Tax proposal (HR25). I have been studying this proposal for almost a year now, and I have to say that I believe that this could be the most important legislation to come down the pike in a hundred years.

If you want to get a more in depth analysis, go HERE.

I sincerely believe that this proposal will do more towards giving the power back to the people and away from the political elites than any other single step.

Update: Grin & Bear It uses the Fair Tax in a cartoon:

Gas, and the gasbags that make it cost more

Want to know the real reason that gasoline is topping out at over $3 a gallon?

Can you say overregulation boys and girls?

I was glad that Mr. Du Pont pointed out the Green's fallacy of ethonol as a substitute. It really isn't a cost efficient fuel in the long term. When the cost of production is only one barrel (of fuel) less than the end product produced, it certainly isn't the panacea that the tree hugers would have us think it is.

Saint? it's all relative....

This is out of date, but if the pundits are correct, it may come back as current in mid 08..

On a Saturday afternoon, in Washington, D. C., Senator John Kerry's campaign
manager visited the Cardinal of the Catholic cathedral. He told the Cardinal
that John Kerry would be attending the next day's sermon, and he asked if
the Cardinal would kindly point out Kerry to the congregation and say a few
words that would include calling Kerry a saint.

The Cardinal replied, "No, I don't really like the man, and there are issues
of conflict with the Catholic Church over certain of Kerry's views."

Kerry's manager then said, "Look, I'll write a check here and now for a
donation of $100,000 to your church if you'll just tell the congregation you

see Kerry as a saint"

The Cardinal thought about it and said, "Well, the church can use the money,
so I'll work your request into tomorrow's sermon."

As Kerry's manager promised, Senator Kerry appeared for the Sunday sermon
and seated himself prominently at the edge of the main aisle. And, during
the sermon, as promised, the Cardinal pointed out that Senator Kerry was
present.

Then the Cardinal went on to explain to the congregation, "While Senator
Kerry's presence is probably an honor to some, he is not my favorite person.
Some of his views are contrary to those of the church, and he tends to
flip-flop on many other views. John Kerry is a petty, self absorbed
hypocrite and a nit-wit. John Kerry is a liar, a cheat, and a thief. John
Kerry is the worst example of a Catholic I've ever personally witnessed. He
turned on his buddies in Viet Nam. He wrote a book and portrayed himself in
the best light when he was a traitor to his fellow servicemen. He has lied
about his military record and had the gall to put himself in for a medal. He
married for money and is using it to lie to the American people. He also has
a reputation for shirking his senatorial obligations both here, in
Washington and in Massachusetts. He simply isn't to be trusted."

The Cardinal completed his view of Kerry with, "But, when compared to
Senator Ted Kennedy, Senator Kerry is a saint."

H/T to Catfish

rambling thoughts

Sorry about the lack of substantive posts lately, but it seems that I'm suffering from a down cycle with my CHF. Kinda hard to get really interested in current events when you can't sleep because every time you lay down, you feel like your drowning.
And YES, HD, I AM doing everything I can to get through this and back to a higher level of health, it just takes time.

So meanwhile, just a few links....

Madeline Notsobright seems to think the current escalations of tensions in Iran and Nort Korea are a direct result of our activities in Iraq. Proving yet again that she really is a bit of a dim bulb.

Frank Gaffney is calling for an "Iraq war truth squad" so that the issues can be fully explored prior to the elections in November....Gee, that what I thought most of the Blogosphere has been doing for the last three years. But I think he's correct. A lot of people don't have computors, and even most of those that do don't read blogs; so a good public forum may be helpful in informing people, trouble is, just what format to use?

“We’re no better than bacteria!” University of Texas biologist Eric Pianka recently announced. Eco-nihalism at it's moonbat finest.

And finally, just WHAT are you ON Connie?!? Singing just ISN'T your forte...

Time for Meds, see ya'll later.

More Murtha

Uncle Jimbo says it all.

It can be summed up in a nutshell: "Mr Murtha, YOU have BECOME the enemy."

Budding Speilburgs...

Here's a great video for all you Star Wars fans...

Iran....

Well, the other day, we had the Iranian Foreign Minister make a fruedian slip? of the tongue when he said that "our nuclear weapons are only for peaceful uses".

He then corrected himself to say "nuclear power generating stations".

NOW we have Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar saying that his country would "use nuclear defense as a potential" if "threatened by any power."

Of course, the Iranian President still claims that Iran is "only seeking to use nuclear energy for peaceful civilian use"....and it seems that our Left is perfectly willing to give Iran the benefit of the doubt. THEY say that we should assist Iran as we did with North Korea during the Clinton administration, so as to prevent giving the Iranians the excuse to build nuclear weapons.....Say, isn't amazing just how fast NoKo managed to build and test nuclear weapons with that help?!?
Seems that Michael Savage, for all his blustery bombastic style, is correct when he states that Liberalism is a mental disease. After all, isn't one definition of insanity doing something over and over again and expecting a different result each time?

Lets see, the Iranian President says that Iran only wants nuclear power for electrical generation..yet they are feverishly engaged in refining their nuclear fuel to weapons grade... they are engaged in R & D to possess missiles of ever increasing range and payload capacity....and now, rwo times within one week, two officials high in the government heirarchy have let slip the true intentions of the Irani government.

The Left is content with giving Iran "stern warnings", or even assistance to forestall any possible conflict. Seems that they haven't learned the lessons of history, that appeasment of enemies only serve to make those enemies bolder and stronger when the time for direct conflict inevitably comes.

Democrats point to the EU's attempts at diplomacy and wonder why "we can't just do the same?" Well the only response I have to that is, just WHAT has those attempt accomplished? It's true that diplomacy should always be the first course of action, but diplomacy from a position of weakness is useless, especially with a culture that sees weakness as something to be exploited to gain as much ground as possible before entering the next stage, active war.

Coming from a strong, principled, position, with acknowledged power of greater force to back that position up is the only way to try to conduct effective diplomacy. To think otherwise is not to have your feet firmly gounded in reality.

something I'd love to see...

A Marine was attending a college course between missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. The professor, an avowed atheist, shocked the Class one day when he walked in, looked toward the ceiling, and said loudly,

"God, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform. I'll give you exactly 15 minutes."

The lecture room fell silent and the professor began his lecture. Ten minutes went by and the professor proclaimed,

"Here I am God - still waiting."

It got down to the last minute when the Marine stood up, walked toward the professor and threw his best punch knocking him off the platform and out cold. The Marine went back to his seat and sat down. The other students were shocked and stunned and sat there looking on in silence.

The professor came to, noticeably shaken, looked at the Marine and asked,

"What the hell is the matter with you? Why did you do that?"

The Marine calmly replied,

"God is busy today protecting America's soldiers who are protecting your right to behave like an idiot and say stupid stuff. So He sent me."

to Wild Thing

International Kelo?

What do the places on this list have in common?

* Mesa Verde (1978)
* Yellowstone (1978)
* Everglades National Park (1979)
* Grand Canyon National Park (1979)
* Independence Hall (1979)
* Kluane / Wrangell-St Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek (1979, 1992, 1994) * 32
* Redwood National Park (1980)
* Mammoth Cave National Park (1981)
* Olympic National Park (1981)
* Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site (1982)
* Great Smoky Mountains National Park (1983)
* La Fortaleza and San Juan Historic Site in Puerto Rico (1983)
* Statue of Liberty (1984)
* Yosemite National Park (1984)
* Chaco Culture National Historical Park (1987)
* Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (1987)
* Monticello and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville (1987)
* Pueblo de Taos (1992)
* Carlsbad Caverns National Park (1995)
* Waterton Glacier International Peace Park (1995) *

They are all "World Heritage" sites..... in other words under a UN treaty signed onto and ratified by the US in 1973, these sites, in the words of the treaty:

"World Heritage sites belong to all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located."

That means that sovereignty over these sites is technically ceded to the UN.
Practically speaking, there has been no change over control and use of these areas....YET. But should the UN ever decide to exert authority over them; under international law, they would have that right.

Anyone else find this disturbing?

A forgotten day

Today is holiday that most Americans have forgotten. We have Memorial day, where we honor those that have died defending our freedom, Veterans day to honor those that serve, Labor day to honor those that keep our country the most economically successful in the history of the worls by the sweat of their brow and the strength of their backs.

Today is the day set aside to remember the birth of the symbol of all those and more. That symbol is 229 years old today, and to our shame, as a people we really don't pay attention to this day.

Wild Thing hasn't forgotten though, and she's made a better post about it than I ever could.

Most importantly, remember these words.

The flag represents these eternal principles: liberty, justice, and humanity.
The flag embodies American freedom: freedom of speech, religion, assembly, the press, and the sanctity of the home.

The flag symbolizes every Americans's birthright, A heritage of liberty, purchased with blood and sorrow. It is every Americans's RESPONSIBILITY to maintain Eternal vigilance as the price of that freedom, and to be willing to defend that freedom with every means at their disposal; with their very lives, if need be.

To those that would disparage her, I let Penn say it for me:

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American G.I.
One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.
Thank them both today.

Subject: Why our Country is in trouble

I got this in an e-mail from one of my most loyal readers, Jack. As it says, WE elected these people, so I guess we deserve what we get from them.

Why our Country is in trouble? Perhaps this will help explain it. A Washington, DC airport ticket agent offers some examples of why our country is in trouble!

1. I had a New Hampshire Congresswoman ask for an aisle seat so that her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window.

2. I got a call from a candidate's staffer, who wanted to go to Capetown. I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information, then she interrupted me with, "I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Capetown is in Massachusetts," Without trying to make her look stupid, I calmly explained, "Cape Cod is in Massachusetts, Capetown is in Africa,"
Her response - click.

3. A senior Vermont Congressman called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that's not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, "Don't lie to me, I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state!"

4. I got a call from a lawmaker's wife who asked, "Is it possible to see England from Canada?" I said, "No." She said, "But they look so close on the map."

5. An aide for a cabinet member once called and asked if he could rent a car in Dallas. When I pulled up the reservation, I noticed he had only a 1-hour layover in Dallas. When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said, "I heard Dallas was a big airport, and we will need a car to drive between gates to save time."

6. An Illinois Congresswoman called last week She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:30 am and got to Chicago at
8:33 am. I explained that Michigan was an hour ahead of Illinois, but she couldn't understand the concept of time zones. Finally, I told her the plane went fast, and she bought that.

7. A New York lawmaker called and asked, "Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to whom?" I said, "No, why do you ask?" She replied, "Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said (FAT), and I'm overweight. I think that's very rude!" After putting her on hold for a minute while I looked into it (I was laughing) I came back and explained the city code for Fresno, CA is (FAT),and the airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage.

8. A Senator's aide called to inquire about a trip package to Hawaii. After going over all the cost info, she asked, "Would it be cheaper to fly to California, and then take the train to Hawaii?"

9. I just got off the phone with a freshman Congressman who asked, "How do I know which plane to get on?" I asked him what exactly he meant, to which he replied, "I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these planes have numbers on them."

10. A lady Senator called and said, "I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola, Florida. Do I have to get on one of those little computer planes?" I asked if she meant fly to Pensacola, Fl. on a commuter plane. She said, "Yeah, whatever, smarty!"

11. A Senior Senator called and had a question about the documents he needed in order to fly to China. After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded him that he needed a visa. "Oh, no I don't. I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those." I double checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I told him this he said, "Look, I've been to China four times and every time they have accepted my American Express!"

12. A New Mexico Congresswoman called to make reservations, "I want to go from Chicago to Rhino, New York." I was at a loss for words. Finally, I said, "Are you sure that's the name of the town?" Yes, what flights do you have?" replied the lady. After some searching, I came back with, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I've looked up every airport code in the country and can't find a Rhino anywhere." The lady retorted, "Oh, don't be silly! Everyone knows where it is.Check your map!"
So I scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, "You don't mean Buffalo, do you?" The reply? "Whatever! I knew it was a big animal".

Now you know why Government is in the shape that it is.

The Yon- HFN affair

Michael Yon is in legal fight with a large multi-national magizine conglomerate over the misuse of one of his copyrighted photos.

The misuse? HFN used a very poignent photo taken by Mr. Yon of an Iraqi child being held in the arms of a Marine. The girl had been shot by insurgents Islamofasist Pigs, but the way the photo was presented, it was made to seem that the Marine was gloating over his latest kill.

Mr. Yon is a man of honor and one that supports our soldiers in their assigned task.
He requested that HFN remove the picture; HFN agreed, but later misused the picture again in another of of the parent companies magazines.

HFN seems to believe that they are in no danger from any legal action that Mr. Yon might be capable of mounting; after all, just what resources can a freelance photographer bring to bear against a multibillion dopllar corporation?

Well, a number of bloggers, not least among them Blackfive, have decided to flex a little Blogosphere muscle by asking everyone that reads them to boycott any magazines that belong top the HFN stable untill such time as HFN not only makes a fair agreement with Mr. Yon, but STICKS TO IT as well.

Contact HFN and let them know that we will no longer allow the media to misuse and abuse another's work in their political agenda, and that if they do, there will be an economic price to pay.

Philippe Guelton
Executive Vice President & COO
tel : 1-212-767-6000
fax : 1-212-767-4895
email : pguelton@hfmus.com

Yes, me cancelling my subcription to Car & Driver is nothing to them; a mere grain of sand in a vast desert, but people, if I can get every one of my readers to do the same, and get THEIR friends to do the same and pass the word on; and it becomes a geometric progression. It may start slow and weak, but as long as the progression continues, HFN will soon find itself buried under a mighty dune.

Go to Michaels site for full contact information, and please, leave him a word of encouragement. He may lead the fight, but let's all help him by joining our voices, and pocketbooks, to his.

Boycott these magazines:

American Photo
Boating
Car and Driver
Cycle World
Elle
Elle Décor
Flying
Metropolitan Home
Mobile Entertainment
Popular Photography and Imaging
Premiere
Road and Track
Invalid
Sound and Vision
Woman's Day

Let's show the "Big Guys" that we are no longer a silent majority, let our pocketbooks shout out the message loud and clear.

Stickers I'd like to see

Nick blogged these from His Front Porch, and they were so good, I just HAD to steal borrow them:

* If you can't feed 'em, don't breed 'em!
* If you're gonna burn our flag, wrap yourself in it first!
* You can't get on your feet till you get off your ass!
* I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!
* If money is the root of all evil, why do churches beg for it?
* I tried seeing your point of view, but I couldn't get my head
that far up my ass!
* Are you drunk, or just on your cellphone?
* I'm not going slow, the clown in front of me is!
* Work harder, millions on welfare depend on it!
* Jesus loves you. Everyone else thinks you're an asshole!
* I'd smack you, but SHIT splatters!
* Can you hear my middle finger over your blaring speakers?

WHAT is in the water in Austin?!?

From Statesman.com:

COMMENTARY: JOHN KELSO
Shut up and walk your lobster
Tuesday, June 13, 2006

No wonder people think this town is goofy. The Whole Foods Market chain headquartered here in Austin is thinking about stopping the sale of live lobsters because it could be cruel to the lobsters.

"We're reviewing the entire process literally from boat to plate to see if we can make some significant improvement in that whole supply process," Whole Foods spokeswoman Kate Lowery said.

One way Whole Foods could make some significant improvement would be to release all the lobsters into Town Lake. That way I could collect them and eat them.

Still, on Thursday the Whole Foods leadership will discuss whether to discontinue marketing live lobsters because the lobsters may not be getting humane treatment. At issue here is what people do with the lobsters when they take them home — that is, boil them and dip them in drawn butter. "It's ultimately how they're handled by the consumer after they go home that's a concern," Lowery said.

What are we supposed to do? Give them names like Larry the Lobster and take them for a walk?

Then there's the problem of the lobster's in-store living conditions. Whole Foods would like the lobsters to have an environment similar to their natural habitat.

"They like dark areas, and they like solitary," Lowery said. "You can imagine how they would go and kind of burrow into rocks, creating their own space." I think I went drinking once in a place like that in the Warehouse District.

Lowery added that at some point Whole Foods will also address the ticklish issue of selling live clams.

Are you concerned about clams' feelings? Have you ever had a conversation with a clam? Wait. Let me rephrase that. Have you ever had a conversation with a clam when you weren't on acid?

If the answer is yes, get a job at Whole Foods.

Another concern is the way children bother the lobsters by tapping on the lobster tank glass. I don't care about that. But I wish science could figure a way to put children on mute and vibrate, like with a cell phone. Now there's a concept that would sell.

Anyway, I went over to the Whole Foods store to see if the live lobsters are getting a bum deal in the seafood section. Actually, the lobsters are getting off easy. They're still kickin'. It's the tilapia and salmon that are getting screwed. The tilapia have been hacked to pieces, and the wild salmon have been mushed up with spinach and feta cheese and turned into burgers.

Ain't a vet in town could bring these salmon back. And you're telling me the lobsters have a bum deal?

One of the problems, said the guy working at the Whole Foods fish counter, is that they can't feed the lobsters in the tank. "When you eat, you then poop, and this creates a dirty tank," he said. Yeah, I've noticed that connection. Maybe Whole Foods could hand the lobsters some bum wad.

Another problem, the seafood counter guy said, is the way lobsters are transported to the store. "They're put in a box and wrapped tightly with wet newspaper over the lobster," he said.

So Whole Foods could pick up the lobster in a limo. At the prices they charge, they could afford it.
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They are "concerned with what the customers buying lobsters do with them at home"?!?! I don't know just WHAT is in the water consumed in Austin, but I pray that it isn't spreading to other towns.....

Libs and their memes....

As the Devils Advocate(June 13,Kos post, it's Blogspot) point's out, Liberals never let a "good" meme go, it just gets slightly reworded and reused....

I highly question that 75% Liberal rating in the Ethics department.....and the 50% Liberal rating in the Personal responsibility Department....but the overall rating is pretty right on the money....

to Willow Tree

Riiiggght...

Manouchehr Mottaki: "We emphasize the peaceful nature of our nuclear weapons… I mean… of our nuclear power plant, and nuclear energy and activities. We have no need for nuclear weapons, as we’ve often said. Nuclear weapons are not part of our defense doctrine".

Watch the excerpt and decide for yourself.

Seems like Iran may be getting a new Foreign Minister soon...the powers that be in Iran don't like it when honesty slips out in public.

Where can I get one?

You've got to love our Veterans....

C0-inky-dink?

I'm beginning to wonder if my stance on the monitering of telephones was incorrect....

We had taken the plunge and dropped our land line service with AT&T(may bees PISS upon them!) and gone to a service that uses the net (like Vonage) to give us an alternative to the lousy cell phone we get here. Always pays to have a plan B...

So I called my dad to let him know our new phone number, and try to catch up on how things are going for him and my mother.

As usual, we had a rambleing discussion in search of that one topic that could get us going at each other like a pit bull going for an intruder.
This time, it was call monitering...I believe that it is a necessary to security program, dangerous to privacy, yes, but with proper oversight, the best of a couple bad choices.

I thought my dad would have similar ideas....but no, he was enraged by the whole idea.

Then I discovered why. Seems that yesterday he had had a very long discussion with his sister still residing in the old Homeland of the Netherlands. She is very ill, and she was wanting to talk, and my dad was more than willing to humor her, so it ended up being roughly almost a two hour call (I HATE to think of his next phone bill!!). About ten minutes after hanging up, he got a strange call, just asking for "Mr. Meyer?"; he thought it was a phone solicitation and promptly hung up. Another minute, and the phone rings again.."Mr. Meyer?"...he told the voice "I'm not interested in anything you're selling" and slammed the phone down. THIRD time the phone rings..voice says, "Mr. Meyer, this is Agent so&so of the FBI, please don't hang up on me again, or we will be forced to come to your home in person"

My dad told him, "why didn't you identify who you were on the FIRST call?" Agent so&so just stated that it wasn't important, but that he had a few questions for my dad; he could answer now over the phone, or "agents could be sent to bring him in to the office and the questions asked there".

Seems that he had just gotten off of what was a very long phone call to a foreign country that was well known to have a large immigrant Muslim population, he was speaking in a language (Dutch) that no one in the office was
capable of translating, and could he please divulge what the conversation was about?

Dad just said, "it's none of your damned business, but I was talking to my sister about her illness and a number of other contemperary things. That "strange language" is Dutch, and I'm sure you can fine someone to translate it for you easily; you want to know anything else, get a warrant and come get me". Then slammed down the phone.

I don't know yet if they will go to such lengths or not, but the thing that concerns me is; my dad was the first person I called on the new phone line (Lila had placed a couple prior to mine), and within half an hour after I hung up with him, we have been unable to place or receive a call on that line....we get dial tone, but nothing else. We have two calls in to the help center, but haven't gotten any reply from them as yet.

I know it's probably paranoia to believe the the FBI really has anything to do with the loss of service, but still, in the back of my mind, I wonder. It hadn't been up long enough to really develop a glitch, and the three calls total we had made on the line prior to the call to my dad were trouble free....maybe it has had to be rerouted to moniter?

Just makes me go Hmmmm.

I Don't CARE

This is a bit dated, (Zarqawi certainly isn't going to be apologizing on this plane of existance anymore ;) ) but the points Ms. Foster made are still as valid as the day she wrote the letter.

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

The lady who wrote this letter is Pam Foster of Pamela Foster and Associates in Atlanta. She's been in business since 1980 doing Interior design and home planning. She recently wrote the following Letter to a family member serving in Iraq ....... Check it out!

WHAT'S ALL OF THE FUSS?

Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we?
Was it or was it not Started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001?

Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans, not brutally Murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan, across the Potomac from Our nation's capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania? Did nearly three Thousand men, women and children die a horrible, burning or crushing Death that day, or didn't they?

And I'm supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was "desecrated" When an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it wet? Well, I don't. I don't care at all.

I'll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns himself in and repents For incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11.

I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East start Caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a crime In Saudi Arabia.

I'll care when Abu Musab al-Zarqawi tells the world he is sorry for Hacking off Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed through his Gurgling, slashed throat.

I'll care when the cowardly so-called "insurgents" in Iraq come out And fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by Hiding in mosques.

I'll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in Search of nirvana care about the innocent children within range Of their suicide bombs.

I'll care when the American media stops pretending that their First Amendment liberties are somehow derived from international law Instead of the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights.

In the meantime, when I hear a story about a brave Marine Roughing up an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I don't care.

When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners who Have been humiliated in what amounts to a college hazing incident, Rest assured that I don't care.

When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is Told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can Take it to the bank that I don't care.

When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a Prayer mat, and fed "special" food that is paid for by my tax Dollars, is complaining that his holy book is being "mishandled," You can absolutely believe in your heart of hearts that I don't care.

And oh, by the way, I've noticed that sometimes it's spelled "Koran" and other times "Quran." Well, Jimmy Crack Corn and ---- you got it, I DON'T CARE!

Chris

One man gets it...

Finally, a Muslim that "Get's It" Wonder how long before the Fatwah for his "betrayal of Muslim solidarity" comes out?

After all, any Muslim that says: "We Muslims are the source of our own misery, and we are not misunderstood by others who see in our conduct a threat to their peace. " is surely anathema to the Imams.

Duty, Honor, Country: BoooYah!

This story of how soldiers that are wounded, by and large, argue to try to stay in the battle zone puts the lie to the "Reality Based" Libtards that our troops have "low morale", and want nothing more than to "get back home at any cost".

Useless Nitwits

If you ever had doubts about the efficacy of U.N, "peacekeeping forces", this story should turn those doubts to certainties.

Seems the Afghani government sertainly doesn't want a U.S. presence terminated anytime soon....of course, unlike our "reality based" Leftards, they DO operate in reality as it is, not as they wish it to be...

Language Barrier

Industrial accidents happen all the time, and in 9 out of ten cases, it's because the worker did something stupid. Such was the case in this story.

BUT there was something that truly angered me about this incident, and that was: "The worker, who had been on the job for two months, said his supervisor trained him by pointing and showing him tasks because the worker spoke only English and the supervisor spoke only Spanish."

Tell me, what company in it's right mind would allow a Spanish only speaker work as a supervisor in an American company?!? Bilingual, yes, but speaking ONLY a foreign language?!? The company got off light with the fine, it should have been MUCH higher, IMHO.

BURN THEM, BURN them ALL

Here's some Good News. Some states are finally taking the proper attitude to the lowest dregs of the pervert element.

I'm sure that the ACLU will fight against this tooth and nail, after all, they are part of their core constituantcy....

My only quibble with the new law is, why TWICE convicted? Seems to me that this is a crime that should be a "no pass, go straight to Hell" thing on the FIRST conviction. After the first incident, there should be NO possibility of a second.

Paradise Sucks

Ever wondered what Paradise was really like for those Jihadis that consider martyrdom the highest path to that end goal?

Seems that The Z-man got a cross-plane pass at the Paradise Internet Cafe and sent some of his first impressions to IowaHawk.

Go, read it if you dare, but be advised, your taking our own rish with moniter and keyboard if you don't put the liquids away first!

Damn cats.....

Sorry, but I have

a little problem!

It is going to take me

a little longer to answer

my E-mails now.

Acidman is right,cats are the bane of existance!

YEEEEEE HAAAAA!

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most wanted terrorist in Iraq, has gone (hopefully) to Hell, courtesy of the USAF. I'm not going to link any sources, you will no doubt have seen at least ten of them or more by now anyway.

The operation was clinical and precise. Two 500lb precision guided weapons and it was over. there were another 16 raids conducted simultaniously, hopefully yielding a good amount of intelligence for future operations, along with elimination of Jihadi operatives.

I'm just waiting to see what the reaction will be from the Moonbat Left, after all, it seems that HORRORS!, there was at least one woman and one child killed in the air strike, and I'm sure that fact will overshadow the elimination of one of the most evil human beings slime walking on two feet in the world.
"Bush should have made sure that no "innocents" were harmed" will be part of the grief expressed by the Moontards in the loss of one of their "freedom fighter" heroes.

UPDATE: It didn't take long:From the DU

It's almost an "open joke" among the military and civilians who know how PsyOps operate, and the History, that Zarqowi is merely a "Pentagon creation."

And oh, don't we need some good news now? It's so predictable I could write the OP Orders.

It's all bullshit LIES paraded around for PR exploitation.

We almost need wings to rise above it.

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

You don't get it ... this man, real or not, will NOT bring our troops home

any sooner. If you share a real bent for retribution, then, be happy he's dead. However, since this was another *precision* air strike, you must also wonder HOW MANY innocents died with him.

This means NOTHING. If you buy into the hype, you either are too young to remember Vietnam, or you're deluded by the PROPAGANDA.

*The Truth* is always the first sacrifice during war ... that's a FACT! ;)

(Yeah, and notice that "truth" seems to be absent from this poster's rants/ also note the "innocents killed" cry of anguish~ DM)

Wild Thing for the Uncle Sam, and one of the LC's at the Rott. for the "sucker" pic

Holland, I cry for thee, Pt.2

Alvino-Mario Fantini, a grduate student currently studying in Holland, has what I believe to be the best diagnosis of what has been going wrong there for at least the last twenty years or so.

I think that he hits the nail square on the head when he says:

The national identity has been hollowed out over the years; traditional Dutch beliefs have been forsaken; and the past has been extirpated. Nihilism of this sort, regardless of the number of tulips that garland it, is an insufficient foundation on which to base liberal, democratic values or a vibrant, civil society.

Holland used to have a culture of devout religious belief, a belief that was almost unique in that it allowed a great deal of tolerance to varying creeds while maintaining it's central core. As Fantini point out in his article, that was not to say that the various groups, say Catholics and Protestants for the sake of the argument, walked hand in hand singing Kum-Ba-Yah and all was Tulips and Bier.

The groups relied on their fellows within their group for their support, not interacting with other groups except in the most general terms. BUT all of the groups allowed the others the freedom to practice as they pleased without interference or prejudice.

Once that core belief base is stripped away, there is nothing left to guide a society. Add in overwrought PC codes and the rewriting of a society's history, and you have a recipe for disaster.

People, Holland is acting as the canary in the mine, and judging by the canary's condition, the mine is filled with methane, and I fear that the effects may soon prove fatal.

The U.S. Left is following in the footsteps of that canary, and the results will be the same. There is still time to turn on the exhaust fans in the U.S. mine and clear the air, but we have to wake up to the fact that the air is polluted, and we'd best do it soon.

Sexist Humor

Two guys, one old and one young, are pushing their carts around Home Depot when they collide.

The old guy says to the young guy, "Sorry about that. I'm looking for my wife, and I guess I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

The young guy says, "That's OK. It's a coincidence. I'm looking for my wife, too. I can't find her and I'm getting a little desperate."

The old guy says, "Well, maybe we can help each other. What does your wife look like?

The young guy says, "Well, she is 27 yrs old, tall, with long blond hair, blue eyes, long legs, big boobs, and she's wearing tight white shorts. What does your wife look like?"

The old guy says,

"Doesn't matter --- let's look for yours."

H/T to Catfish

It's a plane, it's a bird.. it's SAS?

Holy Bat Wings Batman ! Someone has invaded the Bat Cave and stolen our super secret technology!

Aint progress grand?

H/T to Jimmy for the heads up

COWARDS/Traitors and other scum

LC Jaybear gave me this link, and it almost gave me a stroke.

Seems that Lt. Ehren Watada has been convinced by Not In Our Name to refuse to accept deployment when his unit is sent at the end of this month.

Lt. Watada claims not to be a contientious objector, and that he's not anti-all war, just THIS one.

“I refuse to be silent any longer. I refuse to watch families torn apart, while the President tells us to “stay the course.” … I refuse to be party to an illegal and immoral war against people who did nothing to deserve our aggression. I wanted to be there for my fellow troops. But the best way was not to help drop artillery and cause more death and destruction. It is to help oppose this war and end it so that all soldiers can come home.” - LT Watada

The article claims that he attempted to resign his commission in protest of an "illegal and immoral war", but was refused.

I call BS. I consider Lt. Watada to be, at best, a brainwashed tool of a radical Left group (NION), and a spineless coward at worst.

They claim that the war is "illegal"...apparently they forgot the Senate vote authorizing the President to deploy troops. They claim that our soldiers "are targeting civilians"..no PROOF, mind you, but for the Left, the acccusation is considered fact.

They claim that we are using "illegal wapons in contravention of the Geneva Convention", again, NO evidence, but "accusations are fact".

They accuse us of "using torture"....the worst they can show is Abu Ghraib, and I saw much WORSE "torture" occuring in the course of a Fraternity initiation during my time as a LEO in a University district; and they conviently FORGET that the Army was investigation the matter 6 MONTHS before the press got a hold of it, and the participants are currently SERVING THEIR (DESERVED) sentences. The list of fallicies, half-truths and outright lies goes on and on; my B/P can't take any furthur reading of the tripe they spew, read it yourself, form your own opinion, and please, comment and let me know what YOU think.

Update: As Jaybear commented at the Rott; the fact that they announced this action on D-Day, of all days, only serves to make it even MORE heinious. It's a slap in the face of those 6,000 American heroes that died on that day.

2nd Update: Here is a list of just SOME possible charges that Lt. Watada may be facing:

# Article 88: Contempt towards official

# Article 87: Missing Movement

# Article 86: AWOL

# Article 133: Conduct unbecoming an Officer

I hope that you enjoy your stay in Leavanworth, Lt.

D-Day

I was going to do a D-Day remembrence post, but I found that Jimmy did it better than I could already.

Go give him some linky love, you won't be disappointed.

Mystery Revealed!

Everyone seems to be wondering why Muslim terrorists are so quick to commit suicide. Let's see now. . . . .

No Jesus

No Christmas

No television

No cheerleaders

No baseball

No football

No hockey

No golf

No tailgate parties

No Wal-Mart

No Home Depot

No pork BBQ

No hot dogs

No burgers

No chocolate chip cookies

No lobster

No shellfish, or even frozen fish sticks

No gumbo

No jambalaya

No Beer

Rags for clothes and towels for hats.

Constant wailing from the guy next-door because he's sick and there are no doctors.

Constant wailing from the guy in the tower.

More than one wife.

You can't shave.

Your wives can't shave.

You can't shower to wash off the smell of donkey cooked over burning camel dung.

The women have to wear baggy dresses and veils at all times.

Your bride is picked by someone else.

She smells just like your donkey.

But your donkey has a better disposition.

Then they tell you that when you die it all gets better!

I mean, really, is there a mystery here?

Thanks Jack! put's it all into perspective, doesn't it?

An Oldie, but still pertinent

Why Is It That We Have To Speak English?

A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a Naval conference that included
admirals from the U.S., English, Canadian, Australian and French
Navies.
At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a group of
half dozen or so officers that included personnel from most of the
countries.

Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but
a French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many
languages, Americans learn only English. He then asked: "Why is it
that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than
speaking French?"

Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied: "Maybe it's because
the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't
have to speak German."

Suddenly the group became very quiet.

H/T to Jack

Iraqulations

Michelle Malkin vents on the LSM's Iraqulations over the Haditha incident, this is a truly MUST SEE.

6 6 6

Well today is that day that occurs only once every century, the dreaded 6-6-6. There are a lot of nuts out there trying to lend special significance to this day because of that number being the "mark of the Beast" in Revelations.

I think it sounds cool (just say 6-6-06 fast three times!), but other than that it's just another day.

Just to be on the safe side, I keep one of these around to fend off any intruding demons:

wait I hear someone at the door, BRB folks!
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Hello? AAAAAARRRRRGGGHHH!!!!!!>

Sorry folks, Delftsman will be a little....busy for awhile

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