Mamamontezz's Mental Rumpus Room

Blogroll Update

I just love adding new blogs to my blogroll when I find them. I try to reciprocate as much as I can, and if I'm on yours but you don't see yourself on mine, please let me know. I'm old. I get brain-fade. Sometimes I just swear I've done something when in fact I never got around to it, and that makes me feel bad.

Anyway, take a look at these:

The Steiner Aid

Obnoxious Droppings

A Sailor in the Desert

My apologies, Devildog! I told you I'd probably forget someone, I usually do. Here you are:

Random Firings of Neurons

All good reads. Welcome, sirs. And don't give me that crap about "Sir" being just for officers. It denotes respect, irregardless of rank, and that you have from me. Just be gracious and accept it.

Kerry meets the Marines

Inspired by the captioning contest going on now at Greyhawk's Mudville Gazette. Damn, Greyhawk. They really pile on when you do one of these, don't they? In the few minutes it took to do this, you went from two comments to a huge string! I'm impressed.

And the rest of you? I suggest you get over there and submit a good one! I know you got one in you! And no, I didn't link straight into the specific post because you should read through to find it.

Zarqawi Captured!

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, head of the group suspected of beheading two Bulgarian hostages, has reportedly been arrested in Western Iraq.

Excellent news. Very good news. This is absolutely the best thing I've seen all day, and darned near all week. It's a wonderful thing when an accused murderer and terrorist is captured under any circumstances.

Al-Zarqawi has been arrested by Iraqi police and US military close to the border with Syria, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported, citing information posted on the Internet.

Zarqawi was dressed in a white T-shirt and blue jeans. Reports claim that he didn't oppose the arrest.

Damned right he didn't resist arrest. And it's a crying shame, too. Probably the biggest disappointment of the entire story for me. The thought that he could have made a sudden move or turned the wrong way and been turned into a red mist... Brings a tear to my eye.

Of couse, it's not much of a surprise that they'd finally flush that monster out. The military has been systematically destroying his network of safe houses, bombing them to rubble, one at a time. Another one was taken out today, with a loss of 13 persons. Folks in a (Not So)Safe House. Ha! One would think they would learn that there's no such thing as a "Safe House" when our troops are hunting their sorry hides like hogs in an over-loaded sty.

I don't know who caught this monster, only that they were wearing either Old Glory on their shoulders or Iraqi flags. All I know is that I want to yell out "Hooah!"

Oh, and by the way...

Dammit, why the hell did I have to google this for foreign news items just to get any information? Not a dog-gone thing on Drudge. Nothing on the AP Breaking news. Nothing domestic.

And another thing: We catch his top lieutenant a couple of days ago and it's announced yesterday. His arrest may have precipitated Al Zarqawi's arrest. And what DO we hear? We hear complaints from the DNC that the timing of these arrests is suspect because it stole a little bit of their "glory" last night and took attention off the honeymoon tour.

This is one of the many reasons I am not a Democrat.

It was a moment...

It was a scripted moment, a moment choreographed to bring the excitement of the Fleet Center to a frenzied pitch. The candidate and his wife, his running mate and his spouse, their families, all standing on the dias with hands high, further inciting the crowd.

The music builds! The signs wave! The balloons.... the balloons...

Eeet Wasss Hell!

Two french internees from Gitmo were released back to the French Government, and they exclaimed unanimously that "Eet Wass Hell!"

"Oh, eet wass uneeemaginable. Vee were not allowed zee Evian at all! And zhere wass not one scrap of Brie! Such eenhumaneetee wass almost unbearable! Vee shall nevarr be zhee same!"

Pu-lease.

A letter from Sassi said "bizarre" medicines had been given to inmates at night and that one caused some prisoners to break out in spots, Debray told reporters. He gave no other details.

Spots? Probably skeeter bites from living in the open air in a tropical area. Or sand lice. Probably brought them to Gitmo in their own bodyhair. And given the state of the health care system in France these days, I'm not surprised they didn't recognize Asprin when they saw one.

Debray said he would request a full medical examination for his clients when they were brought before anti-terrorism judges Saturday.

Good. Give them a full medical exam. Make the rectal part particularly thorough. Use an extremely excitable, un-neutered, Drug Sniffing Dog as an assistant. It's for their own good. Don't forget to get pix, as I hear Paris Match will probably snap them right up.

"Eet ees not Pornographique! Eet ees zee Art!"

Sure.

John Kerry Acceptance Speech Drinking Game

It's time to announce the rules for the "John Kerry Acceptance Speech Drinking Game!"

To play the game, you need a few things: a shot glass, a television, access to the Loyal Citizens chatroom (accessible via the Rottie), and a designated sober person for either making sure you don't miss a reference during the game or the toilet afterward.

Originally, I had thought it would be like most drinking games, in that the object was to do shots. However, indications are that shots might not be a good idea, because we'd have VRWC's all over the country in hospitals tonight with alcohol poisoning. Maybe 2oz beer shots? Heck, even Pepsi would good,if it were all you had.

Cues for taking your beershot:

1. Every time he says "when I served in Viet Nam."

2. Every time he says "Purple Heart."

3. Every time he says "Fair Share."

4. Every time he says "During my career."

5. Anytime he attempts a joke or takes a stab at humor, for which humor will probably file charges for attempted murder.

6. Every time he makes a reference to "Corporate Welfare" or "tax cuts for the rich."

7. Every time he says "I know what it's like..."

8. Every time he makes a reference to a Kennedy, dead or alive.

See what I mean about not doing actual shots? People could die, and we need all your votes in November. And unlike the Dims, we don't vote from the grave.

Wednesday Haiku

"Goodnight" is so hard.
Fingertips caress the keys
with furtive touches.

Yeah, it was leaked, alright.

Yes, we've all seen the photos of the man who would be president, Kerry clad in a green clean-suit, crawling from the depths of a tube, huge SEG on his face. We've seen the way he hammed it up for the camera, fully aware of it's presence, and probably familiar with the cameraman.

We've seen them all day. And they're a hoot. Hell, my 76 yr old Dad told me "you should put on that blog thing you do that he looks like he's trying to crawl out of the tight end of a used condom." (He's right, if you think about it.)

What else has he been compared to? Hmmm...

The newest Teletubbie.

A green sperm, a la Woody Allen.

An Oompah Loompah.

And now the leavings of sex trying to escape it's latex prison. Thanks, Dad. Great visual.

Well, it's all so embarassing to the DNC and the Kerry handlers that they've worked themselves into a right proper frenzy of Self Defense and Accusation. Cries of "They Were Leaked!" and "These were never intended for release" fill the airwaves and will doubtless also fill the column inches above the fold tomorrow.

Please, spare us. We know they were leaked. We knew that from the moment they hit Yahoo and the AP wire, Drudge Report and the local news. Of course they were leaked.

You can claim it was NASA. And they may have been the ones to send them initially. But I doubt for one moment that this collection of humorous photography was leaked without the implicit approval of, and was quite likely at the direction of some operative of the DNC or a sympathetic splinter group.

Leaked photographs never intended for release? Spare me.

24 Honorable Men say No.

You know, when a man or woman so selflessly does what these men have done, and by doing so saved the lives of their fellows, and did it not for glory but for honor, it would behoove us to pay attention when they talk.

You know by their actions that they do what's right because it's what's right. You know they are motivated by love of their country and duty to their fellow countrymen. You know that when they say something like this, it is not politics as usual for them. It's genuine, it's sincere, and it bears our attention.

First the Swiftboat Vets. Then the combined officers of the theatre. Now the Medal of Honor recipients.

What more do some people need?

Sometimes

Sometimes you eat the bear. Sometimes the bear eats you.

And sometimes the bear feeds you Microwave Kettle Corn one hot, sweet, puffy kernel at a time while watching old Zatoichi movies in bed on Saturday Morning.

Road Trip

One of the perils of being a military kid is that it tends to give one a bad case of chronic cyclical wanderlust. It gets terribly difficult to remain in one place, in any one situation for more than a few years without that stirring deep inside that begs to be released.

Maps and brochures and airline ads begin to cast their intended spell, and defenses weaken. The car is made more travel-worthy, and a selection of snacks mysteriously is secreted away, "just in case".

One day, on awakening and looking at the alarm clock with cheerfully goads you into wakefulness once again, that inner voice says it is time. A small bag is packed, sometimes no more than a fresh change of underwear and socks in a grocery bag, the car is gassed up, and the first road is taken.

Rarely does it matter which road. Almost any road is just fine most of the time. Other times, there's definite destination picked because it is either very frivolous, or very unexpected, but seldom both. It's as if the destination is as theraputic as the drive itself.

Rock City, Mammoth Cave, some obscure BBQ joint you saw on television... A person you know but haven't seen in years or one you simply want to meet and get to know...

So you drive. The radio voices change along the way every couple of hours, and the terrain grows flatter or more prominent. The look of the road signs change, and the flavors and sounds of the voices change too.

Hot coffee in the morning, a soft drink in the afternoon, and the destination looms closer. Check the wallet, fluff the hair, smooth the road-rumples from your clothes, and step into the moment. Chatting up the waitress at some truckstop. Sharing the counter space with the locals. Read the local paper and check the horoscope before starting the last leg of your journey.

Good food, good company, old friends and new friends.

It's time for a road trip.

Monday observations

1. I imagine that whenever Laura Bush has said "Shove it," there were no anatomical references involved.

2. Sunday's "Day by Day" is conclusive (and convulsive) proof that Chris Muir is a certifiable genus. Just arrow back to the July 25th cartoon.

3. The hormonal fluctuations of menopause can have an occasional very pleasant upside.

4. Listerine Breath Strips, Pop-rocks, and Halls cough drops can multi-task.

5. The school in my area is not on the traditional school schedule, and is instead a 12 month academy. I wouldn't have known this if I hadn't driven by the school on Friday and seen their sign. This means that instead of having until mid-August to prepare Anna for school, we have until 8am tomorrow. And I'm at work. Today and tomorrow.

6. Many of the problems in the world can be solved by a Furry Face.

7. I can't believe how very hard
Writing a sonnet has to be.
For not since nineteen seventy
have I once tried to ape the bard.
(or perhaps Bacon, such a card
as fooled the masses 'cross the sea)
From centuries past it torments me;
the sonnet serves as my petard.

Seems this is where the problem lay-
The rhyme scheme here demands a change
just when I seem to have it down.
A-B-B-A-A-B-B-A
I suddenly must re-arrange
blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

Blogging

In case you has wondered about the increased amount of poetry and the decrease in more logical thought around here, well there's an explanation for it.

I'm just sick to death of this election already, and find very little to write about at this time that holds any relevancy for me.

I know, as the election gets closer to the wire, and when people start to see the apologists for what they are, things will get a bit more exciting. The candidates and their minions haven't quite shown their asses yet, but have teased us a bit with some examples of what is to come. The people who tend to be more private about their politics are slowly consuming news and non-news and are only now beginning to formulate their opinions. But for excitement? None yet. Sadly.

So please bear with me. I'm sure something will pop up and smack me severely about the head and shoulders and demand to be blogged. In the meantime, things will just be a bit lighter in tone, a bit more personal perhaps.

But stick around. One never knows, does one?

Sunday

Mmmm... Sunday.
I've just emerged from the warm cocoon
of jersey sheets and cotton blanket
that sits in the middle of my darkened room.

It's Sunday,
and I lay there, languid and lazy,
for the longest time,
feeling the tease of the air conditioner across me.
I enjoy its cool caresses after
the warm pleasure of a bed,
or the warmer pleasure of a touch,
a feel,
a kiss that's delicate yet insistant,
even those that existed only to fill a dream
too intense for memory to contain.
I don't remember,
but the body does
with every nerve, every fiber,
and the cool fingers of the air conditioner
do their best to keep the sensations alive
for just a little longer,
just a moment more.
Dreams given like unexpected gifts
and filled with deep tones,
and quiet words.
Clandestine whispers,
jagged breathing,
quiet cries,
sweet and hard release,
but the dreams hide themselves for now
and tease with gauzy seconds
stopped in time,
luscious seconds of dark tenderness.

Did Holiday Inn sponsor this?

Beck and our friends at Incite bring this tidbit to our attention: California wants to prohibit the idling of trucks and busses for more than five minutes at a time.

Obviously these are people who have absolutely no clue as to why this is done, and is just one more attempt to force those big evil rigs off the highways. Yes, they wrap it all up in shiney Green paper, but that's not what these ludites want. Not realy.

Well, then its time to ban the use of huge diesel generators in government buildings. They kick on every time a blackout occurs, and can run for hours, even days. Not any More! Ban'em!

And those huge skyscrapers? They have them too, so there's enough power to keep a building operational and provide for elevators during an outage. They, too, can run for hours at a time. Ban them, too! Damned poluters.

Oh, what about the huge banks of these things that are on-site at every hospital, large or small, in California. Hell, according to the French, air condition isn't necessary and is quite probably unhealthy, so why do we need these generators at hospitals? If the power goes down, just open a window. The patients are all dying anyway. And we don't need to idle those generators for something as mundane as a neo-natal ICU or a trauma unit, or even a surgery. Ban those generators too. Pull them from their concrete pads and truck them into some less enlightened state in Fly-Over country.

But you can't, can you. No trucks left to haul them. They're all parked in huge lots in Arizona and Nevada with trailers full of rotting produce and decomposing meats because they can't idle in California to keep their loads fresh, and no one in California can get to them for the products they need.

But I digress. Never happen. Or will it?

Looks like a well thought out plan there, California Legislature.

Doggerel Apprentice

Well, I let the Imperial Poet Laureate know that I write, showed him a few examples, and now have a homework assignment.

I'm to write a dozen sonnets, 6 each of the Italian and Shakesperian styles. It's supposed to "work my muscle." And you know, the first one came pretty quickly, er, at least the first part of it did.

Anyway, you're going to be seeing a bit more of it here. Since if I'm going to be writing it, someone had better well be reading it. And I'll be putting it into its own catagory for all you masochists out there who just can't get enough of my poor rhymes and stumbling meter.

Oh, well, best get cracking... *sigh*

Carnival

You know, I've been horribly remiss in not welcoming the Carnival of the Vanities readers over here. I do hope you like what you find and read about a little. And come back soon.

Update: Well, that was a wasted effort. Yet another fun forum for writers appears to be biting the dust. Fun while it lasted, I guess. I can only hope the dismal turnout is more due to the summer than to a compelete lack of interest.

Good. Done. Over.

Gladly, some things do work out. The recent idiocy directed at a good man and his family is hopefully over and will remain over.

Lot of things to learn from this situation. You find out quickly who you are, who your friends are, and who (sadly) your friends are not. Hopefully that column on life's spreadsheet remains relatively empty, with contents not missed.

I can only hope that we are all as surrounded in difficult times by good people as this family has been over the last several days. I know that I have been, and these same people numbered among them.

We are all the luckier for having met each other, and for counting each other among our own.

WooHoo, Trollage!

As a public service, we now present a new habitat for all things troll.

Carnival of the Moonbats up and running. It's still in its infancy, so any and all troll submissions will be gladly considered.

For a friend.

There never seems to be an end to it sometimes.
The ones you trust betray that trust,
the ones you love take yours but send theirs elsewhere,
Home slowly reverts to House.

Family means less and less to some,
While others struggle to preserve it.
Where there was once casual dating,
we then found casual sex.
We have increasingly casual marriage,
and now see the suffering of casual parenthood.

Loyalty is discouraged.
Honesty is ridiculed.
Honor is maligned and character belittled.
Sweetness and tenderness have become quaint archaic notions.
Fidelity is left to the Marines.
Sadly, sometimes it seems best left to them.

People insist on sharing their pain
but refuse to share their joy,
insisting instead of robbing you of yours
to pass along to others less worthy.

True, there are exceptions,
gleaming like the rare jewels that they are.
With each passing day they become more precious and dear.

We yearn to be the exception,
to be a part of the exception,
to possess such an exception and preserve it as our own.
But we can't, any more than we can own the sun or the moon
or the oceans or the seas.

It all hurts, and the pain seems without parallel,
for our hearts are fragile, tender things.
But do not forget that as wounded as they may be,
as damaged as we imagine them,
there is still no greater forge for love,
no greater flame for melting away the steeled resistance,
as warms the human heart.

So keep open your heart,
as insane as that may seem, as difficult as it may be.
Keep it open so that innocent little hearts
can find their way in easily,
and angels' wings can fan the embers there.

Keep open your heart,
although the thought of being that vulnerable may frighten you.
How else will your answer come to you,
whether it's one you want to hear or not,
one you need to hear?

Slow posting

It was a long, difficult weekend of late night hours followed by an early morning, and I'm just exhausted, so please forgive the lack of posting today. I encourage you to take in some posts at these Quality Blogs:

*Emperor Misha has a partiuclarly disturbing post on selective in utero abortions.

*Blackfive has the best posts on people you should know. They're all so good, I'm not going to cherrypick one for you. Go read a selection.

*Jeff Goldstein is trying new software or templates or something over at Protein Wisdom. Go cheer him up. Some jealous nobodies called him a bad name. Probably the same ninnies and malcontents that ignored me completely when nominating blogs for Underblog. Oh, and *.

*William Webb has updated his series on WMD and terror attempts, as well as a great post on tracking extreme Islamist websites. Great stuff.

*And don't forget to wend and wind your way through the Blog Family. The Spousal Unit is pouty becaue his traffic is actually less than mine, and that's saying something. Go pop his numbers up a bit and give him a cheap thrill.

*Oh, and everyone here drop over to read George Turner, Michelle Malkin, Aaron's Rantblog, OneFineJay and LaShawn Barber. You owe it to yourself.

Linda Ronstadt

As Laura Ingraham stated in the title to her book, Shut Up and Sing, perhaps it's time for some faded old singers to rethink using the stage as their forum. Perhaps it would have been different if she had been paying for the stage, and not merely an employee of a casino in Las Vegas.

Linda, don't even try to say they infringed on your right to free speech. Any place I've ever earned a paycheck had the right to can me if I had spoken out to the customers they way you did.

So George Turner, wielder of the Imperial Bastard Sword, it is in your honor that I attempt that which you do so well. Just sing along to the tune of Desperado:

Linda Ronstadt, why don't you come to your senses?
You've been praising offenses for so long now
You're not a smart one
Sounds like you're hitting the squeezin's
that just must be the reason you
have lost your mind now.

Don't care about your politics, girl
Cause you're voting for a fable.
You really should believe those swift-boat vets.

It seems to me prosperity
has been laid upon your table
but you always want to take the sucker-bet.

Linda Ronstadt, you ain't getting no younger.
Your childish delusions are growning quite old
And freedom? You're freedom was bought by brave men and women
not the chattering masses, or sheep in the fold.

Don't the stage get cold when you start to whine?
the crowds won't clap, and the lights don't shine
It's hard to turn around and walk away.
You're loosing your old audience
Ain't it sad to see careers just fade away?

Linda Ronstadt, why don't you come to your senses?
Your half-assed defenses are just second rate.
There are no mind-beams, but there's a tin-hat above you
You'd better shut-up, just sing your songs,
before it's too late

Quiet nite, Giant Leap

In July 1969 I was a 12 year old former Air Force Brat, just starting my second year in a civilian environment. We lived about 20 minutes outside of Ft. Benjamin Harrison in a neighborhood off of Arlington Avenue in Indianapolis.

The house was a small rental. The furniture had survived several cross-country moves; some of it had crossed halfway across the Pacific and back intact. We had a yard, a real yard, fenced for our pleasure alone if so desired, not just a corner of some greater community green space between buildings in base housing. We even had a cat, a luxury we had never before been permitted by parents or those in charge of housing.

July 1969 was a time of rapid change, both in our home and in our country: new president, a long running war half a world away, school integration, suburban flight, hippies, Black Panthers, four seasons, schools with no programs for students after school or during the summer months. There wasn't even a lunch program. It would have been pointless, since the schools had no cafeterias for hot lunch or for eating one's sack lunch. You walked home and you walked back in 45 minutes. This was the case in the first two schools I attended in Indianapolis, and this was a big city in 1969, albeit a provincial one.

On that night in July of 1969 the house was small, air conditioning was for stores and restaurants, and the television was black and white and seemed made of cast iron when we tried to move it. The room was dark except for the flickering un-natural electric blue glow cast by the snowy screen. It filtered through the air and through the drapes of our front window as it did through countless other windows on our street and on streets all over the world that late, late night.

We sat in our nightclothes, pyjamas for me and my 10 yr old semi-awake brother, gown and duster for Mom, boxers and a white t-shirt for Dad. We sat there together and watched images sent to us from further than images had ever been sent before, of men who had traveled further than any man had traveled before. We watched and listened for what seemed hours to the excited, static-filled narration from Houston, and the calm narration of Walter Cronkite.

And we watched as a man took a lonely trip down a ladder to a surface that no man had touched before. Would he sink into the cosmic dust, the accumulation of millions of years of star-birth and galactic demise? What if it supported him but ultimately compromised that delicate womb of fiber and membrane that kept his entire environment with him? What if?

In July 1969, on that muggy warm night, in that dark livingroom, we watched history as that one vulnerable man lowered himself one rung at a time until there were no more rungs, then dropped ever so lightly onto the scarred and virgin surface of a place many thousands of miles from home. And more amazing still, that man's voice came to us through the tiny speaker on our television set with words forever etched into our national memory, even into the memory of this entire planet:

"One small step for man. One giant leap for Mankind."

To the men and women who made that night possible for us all, that memorable night a mere thirty five years ago, I give my heartfelt thanks. For those who sacrificed their lives to the Apollo Program just scant years before, I give my prayers. And to those men who risked their lives reaching further into the unknown than any man ever had, my gratitude.

Happiest of Anniversaries to the many people who made the accomplishments of Apollo 11 possible.

Just be careful.

Momamontezz,
A terrorist alert from World Net Daily,
Jack

July 16, 2004

Muslims warned: Avoid 'Christian' companies

An al-Qaida-affiliated Internet site is cautioning Muslims to avoid being near planned targets of the terrorist group, reports Geostrategy-Direct, the global intelligence news service.

The Al-Battar Camp online magazine, stated in a June 29 posting that the measure was for Muslims' safety.

By providing the warning, the group is revealing its plans for attacks against "Christian companies, airlines and oil companies," according to a translation of the report.

The report, "A Warning to Muslims With Regard to Getting Close to Infidels and Oppressors," was written by Sheikh Amir Ibn-Abdullah al-Amir.

It advises Muslims, "If you are working with our infidel enemies, beware. Leave their quarters to save your religion, first, as well as for your own safety, should the mujahadeen target these infidel companies that hold enmity toward the Muslims and play a role in the war against Muslim nations. Beware of being with these infidels in this situation, lest you become afflicted by what will befall them. Al-Qaida has already warned and explained that it will be targeting these
companies, especially the airlines, the oil companies and others run by the Christians."

U.S. intelligence officials said last week that terrorists are targeting transportation systems, including trains, ships and airlines as part of preparations for a major attack.

Likely methods include truck bombs or hijacked airliners.

We're going to be seeing a lot more of these over the next several weeks, and may actually witness an attempt during the conventions. All we can do is be as vigilant as possible and report what is unusual or out of place. Don't be like those people who set themselves to be victims by not looking around on their way to the car, or stand and dawdle in secluded places with their heads in their purses or newspapers.

We owe it to our personal safety, as well as the safety of our families, neighborhoods, towns, and country to keep our heads out of our asses and our eyes open. We can depend on no one but ourselves.

Rumble in the Parking Garage.

Damn, I wish I could have seen this happening! My sides still hurt from reading this.

Get thee to the blogson's and read that!

Evolution

This has been fascinating to watch from the perspective of another blogger. I suggest that you go to Michelle Malkin's blog and scroll down to July 15th posts and start reading back to the top. Of particular interest is the way the Terror in the Skies story has evolved over the course of the last two days.

It is an excellent example of the differences between responsible bloggers and irresponsible ones. I've seen plenty of new bloggers and even some battle scared old veteran bloggers who would have jumped on this in an entirely irrational manner. You won't see that here. Every post is well supported, thoughtful, and intelligent. Overall, you would never know she had been blogging for such a short time.

And don't say that her being a columnist and in the public eye for a long time is what made the difference. I will only counter with Rabid Rall as the prime example of contrary.

If you're not reading her at least once a week you're cheating yourself, people.

From Jack, with my reaction

Some follow-up:

Booed on Bainbridge: Untold story of the story
Steven Gardner.

This is interesting in a lot of ways. I read this, Jack, and questioned the motives of the writer. Was he upset that they had passed up on a story that went national so quickly? Had they been caught with their pants down by another paper and ultimately the internet?

Sorry, Bainbridge Island. The egg is on your faces, the tar was applied with your own brush on this one. Facts can bring a stinging truth, can't they? And a lot of folks are embarrased enough by the event they witnessed to deny they heard anything. Consider that, Stephen Gardner, staff reporter for Bainbridge Island. You've seen this before. I'll guarantee the Sun crime reporter, Derek Sheppard has.

Mayor apologizes to veteran for parade incident.

And Mayor, this was a day late and a dollar short. The greater question is, What are you going to do to discourage this sort of thing in the future?

And don't try to say for a minute that I'm advocating that you impose some sort of Celebratory Martial Law during the sorts of events that tend to draw malcontents and morons who fling insults at servicemen or their supporters. But your police force knows that while it's much more relaxing and pleasant to stand with a bunch of happy, civic minded, easygoing flagwavers, they belong with the bunch that looks like they might cause a problem.

Good links, Jack. The apologist for an inappropriate display by the crowd at a patriotic event started my day out nicely. I never doubted for a minute that there would be at least one.

Oh, by the way...

Happy Bastille Day. Nothing like celebrating the bloody beginnings of a murderous revolt that resulted in the executions of entire families for nothing more than their bloodline or income level.

Sound familiar? No wonder the French are so loved by the Democrats.

This should scare the crap out of you

From William at Political Blog for the Politically Incorrect we find an excellent series of articles. If you want to know what we are up against for what will quite likely be our lifetimes, I think this is a pretty darned good place to start.

It's a long read, and a valuable read. It will make you look at folks with a bit more scrutiny over the next several weeks. And it should.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

And William, you are like so linked.

Put your Emails where your Mouth is.

Several bloggers wrote about this sickening incident after it happened on Indepence Day, the Spousal Unit among them. For a Vietnam era kid, this brought back all manner of horrible memories and unresolved anger. No, I didn't serve. I was a kid. But I certainly remember what I saw, what I heard, what my older cousins and uncles and friends experienced, whether they were ever In Country or not.

Matt "The Coolest Milblogger in the Midwest" Blackfive has a way for you to lend your support to this young warrior, and I suggest you do so. It's only right.

See what I sent in the extended entry.

Update: Slaglerock weighs in too. And he's not as nice about it as I am.

Jason,

It is difficult for me to understand the mindset of people like those you encountered during what should have been a celebration of everything given to us all by sacrifices like yours.

I know that rationally, intellectually, you know these people and what they espouse are an aberration and not representative of most of this country. Sure, they're more vocal, and certainly more obnoxious in their caterwauls, but they certainly don't represent me or mine.

Let not these fools deter you. Let not their bitter words hurt you. For when this is done and you look back upon your service and your gifts to all of us, you have reason for nothing but pride.

I thank you, my family thinks you, and your country thanks you. Let these words replace their stinging insults in your heart.

Lila Meyer,
"Mamamontezz"
http://mamamontezz.mu.nu

Moore is Fat

For all you Moore is Fat fans, there's a pseudo-MooreIsFat post up at Sithmonkey. Pretty damned funny, especially if you get the Empire references. And we're not talking just StarWars here, either.

(Personal Aside: Darth, I had to add a Z to get around a pre-existing AIM account. Try that. I hadn't forgotten. Just had no way to tell you.)

(Additional Personal Aside: Go Read Blogs for Bush today. It's Wednesday, after all. B4BWW and such. Don't argue, just go.)

A What? $34 Burger?

Once upon a time, in the time of my stint in local community theatre in downtown Indianapolis, there was a little burger joint on Meridian Street next door to Tomorrows, my favorite alternative lifestyle neighborhood pub.

Henry's Gourmet Hamburgers was an itty bitty place where you could design your own burger, crunch your way though waffle-fries with malt vinegar, and drink a tall, cool, carbonated beverage for less than $10 any day of the week. Big, thick, hand-formed halfpound burgers, rare to well done, a multitude of different rolls or buns, and a huge list of things you could add to your burger.

This place only lasted a couple of years, but I and my friends were there all the time, especially when in rehersal for one show or another, legit or "drag", at the theatre or at Talbot Street. And the feisty old broad who ran the place was cool with everyone who came in.

But a $34 burger? Insane. And in Canada no less? Trendy Vancouver, I see.

And what do you get for a $34 burger? House-made cheese bun, five ounces of ground flank steak, two ounces of foie gras, two ounces of a mixture of short-rib meat and portobello and oyster mushrooms, truffle aioli, tomato and shallot fondue, along with gaufrette potatoes (waffle-cut) and tempura Cipollini onion rings.

It's not even a half pound burger. And it's in Canada. Isn't that the place where that serial killer was grinding his victims into the sausage he was selling? Just curious.

Anyway, just for persepctive, my Henry burger on its own was less than $5. It was a half-pound. I always had mine on a bun covered with little sweet onion shreds baked into the crust. Medium Rare. Topped with either tahini or peanut butter (don't knock it till you've tried it) and a thick slice of provolone cheese. Add a mix of hot stone-ground mustard and real mayo to the bottom bun. Top the burger with fresh mushroom slices, wafer-thin fresh cucumber slices, shaved red onion, a drizzle of balsmic vinegrette, and a handful of really fresh alfalfa sprouts. Maybe a couple of tender fresh spinach leaves if you felt like it. It's not like she didn't have them there, waiting for your order.

No Fois gras. Too fatty, too strong, don't like it. And no truffle, either. But I bet if I had asked, she would probably have added Truffle Oil to her list of available condiments. "Mrs. Henry" was that way. You wanted something all you had to do was ask and she'd likely as not have it the next time you came in. And she'd let you know she had it the minute you walked in the door, too.

Did I say she made her own cole slaw too? Toss some of that on a burger, too, if you liked that sort of thing.

Damned awesome burger. And back in the Regan era when I was going there, that burger was only about $5. Even today, I don't imagine she'd charge much more than $8 or $10 for it, if her place were still around.

So a $34 status burger? It could never measure up to the pure Burger-Nirvana I experienced in a tiny inner-city burger joint 20 years ago when nobody was even thinking beyond fast food.

Thanks, Jack, for that link. Made me all nostalgic for Henry's Gourmet Burgers. Hadn't thought about them in years. Still miss that old broad and those amazing burgers.

Bulgarian Killed

A Bulgarian truck driver, Mr. Giorgi Lazov, a young man of only 30 years, has been murdered by those Islamic militants who had taken him and fellow truck driver Ivaylo Kepov hostage.

Operation Backpack

Looking for a project to get involved in? Something for your family or church group or chat room buddies? Want to make a difference in the lives of guys who took the hit for you?

The Wounded Warrior Project is an organization which provides support and resources for returning wounded vets as they go through the healing process and return to their homes and families. One of the things they sponsor is Operation Backpack. I suggest you take a look and see what you can do to help out.

I heard a spokesman for this group on Sean Hannity this afternoon. He had taken a large group of men from Walter Reed Army Hospital to the Freedom Concert last week, and had called to thank Sean for the wonderful time each of them had while at the concert. After listening to him talk about these guys, I decided to look at the site, and I recommend you all look. Then donate a backpack if you can.

Trial Lawyers on the Hill

Momamontezz,
As if Kerry and Edwards aren't enough to be concerned about with their trial lawyer backgrounds, this should bother every consumer out there. Both are about the same bill in the senate.

Best wishes,
Jack

Induce alarm

Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act

WooHoo!

I am a very happy woman. I feel like dancing. The dance of relief, and of happiness. Someone fire up the CD player! Leo Sayer, "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing." I always liked that one.

To the Fringe.

Obviously, with yesterday's post as an indication, I am currently posting under the influence of a massive hormonal disturbance. Please bear this in mind as you read this.

Pith and Vinegar, the blogson and actual husband of Elizabeth of Poisoning Pigeons, has already posted on this, and I recommend you go read it. Not exactly my favorite way to start a Saturday, but definitely one that will get your blood up.

What sort of coward participates in this sort of low, filthy act? My guess is that this is no more political than any other act of vandalism. More likely, it is the childish behavior of an intellectually bankrupt and emotionally impotent sociopath who wants desparately to validate his behaviors by wrapping them in what he believe will be looked at as valid political discourse.

Sorry, you did not succeed, nor shall you ever succeed.

You did not succeed because within the Democrat party are fiercely patriotic men and women who's only difference from Republicans is that they may believe in Union Representation or follow a different denominational semantic, or who live in areas where the traditional Democrat party so firmly holds the position of power that they choose to work within the party to affect the changes they want incrementally.

Within the Democratic Party are men and women who fought for this country, who shed their blood, who's children shed their blood, and who still look as their time in uniform proudly and honorably. These people look at your with as much disdain and disgust as you hold for those of the Right.

You, with your thuggish vandalism no more speak for these people than you do your perceived foes, whatever label you happen to be slapping on them at this time: Zionists, Neocons, Religious Bigots, Traditionalists, Rednecks, Whites, Men, Wealth, Patriots, Chickenhawks, Provincials, Murderers, Babykillers.

Some would say that by such criminal cowardice you lower discourse. That would be true if this were discourse. It is not, it never will be. This is nothing more or less than some twisted perversion of the already perverse concept of Ideological Vigilanteism. It's the burning cross, the spraypainted swastika, the lynched effigy of an entire nation and her entire struggle to overcome the likes of you.

It is acts like this that will turn even the party behind who's skirts you scamper for protection against you. You will simply go too far, your anti-social behaviors will manifest in such a way that only your fellow criminals will not be disgusted or enraged by them. Essentially, eventually, you will cut your own throats and no one will avail themselves to staunch the flow, not even your perceived allies of the ACLU or the mindless cattle in Hollywood who allow their publicists to determine their politics based on some media rating or demographic.

You will take that proverbial slow twist in the wind. And we will do noting but watch, shake our heads, and walk away.

Another Banishment

To the moronic troll who left the vulgar comment in the performance art post, I have but a few things to say.

I really don't have a problem with opinions that differ from mine as long as they are presented in a civil manner, with some modicum of decorum, and in language you would use in front of a room full of kindergarten students... Okay, that's not realistic, more like 6th graders. At a parochial school.

Once you step over the line, either with obscenity or profanity, or by abusing me or my other commenters, you are gone. Your IP is banned, you are no longer welcome, you are "Troll non grata."

CB, or whomever you are or think you are, you are now troll non grata. Misha may allow you to hang about and stink-up his comment threads, but I am not Misha. Show up again, and whatever IP you use then will also be deleted and banned.

You no more value liberty than you value your own vomit, merely using its name as a rallying cry for your insane rantings and unsupported allegations.

I suggest that when your sophomore English teacher explains the subtleties of the Thesis, you pay attention instead of reproducing gang tags on the cover of your TrapperKeeper like you did last year in Freshman Redux. Yes, yes, you claim to be some anointed keeper of the Printed Word. I have yet to see any indication of the amount of scholarship which should be necessary for receiving such status in any comment attributed to you at this point.

Truth be told, I believe you to be nothing more than a minimum-wage part time employee in some ill-equipt and poorly maintained local library, allowed to do naught by return the pre-sorted tomes to their rightful places in the stacks by an overwrought and apathetic Librarian who wonders daily why you were ever hired and what it will take to have your position terminated.

And when you begin to complain about your free-speech rights being violated by this action, might I remind you that I am not an agent of the government and thereby not bound by the first ammendment on this blog, nor am I obligated to provide you with the bandwidth necessary for voicing whatever opinion you were instructed to espouse by whatever overly dramatic and self-serving groups in which you fancy yourself a member.

Yes, I left your "comment" where you excreted it, as an example to sane and civil individuals of just how vile a person can be when Ego spins out of control in the name of Ideology.

Grant Application Needed

Yes, I need to whip-off a quick grant application to the National Endowment for the Arts for a performance art project I'd like to have done at the DNC Convention in a couple of weeks.

Yes, my artistic juices are flowing fast and furious. I envision a piece so edgy, so avant-garde, so In-Your-Face that the NEA would jump at the chance to sponsor it! It should be easy to do with about $20,000. Chump-change for the NEA.

Imagine, if you will, Emperor Misha, trussed in a straight jacket made of desert camo canvas. Afix him to a 2-wheeled hand truck, the kind appliance delivery people use with the thick straps. The handtruck must be painted glossy black with no distinguishing markings. Stealthy. Sexy. Discreet. Terribly Hannibal Lector.

Attached to the handtruck is a platform for his laptop with WiFi, microphone, and voice recognition program for blogging in real time. Also, into this laptop is a video feed.

Pushing this handtruck is none other than Natasha, G.L.O.R. and I.P.P.W. She will be dressed in a pair of extremely short shorts and an IDF t-shirt, over which she will be covered by a burqa. She will both push Misha about on the handcart and uulate at will. She will also verbally abuse anyone with feathers hanging from their ears, multi-colored hairwraps, white women with dreadlocks, and anyone vaguely smelling of patchouli.

Completing the cast will be Delftsman, the Spousal Unit. He will wear a fat-suit and a Michael Moore mask with a ballcap which bears the word "Noodle" on the front, and carry a video camera. In this costume, he will film/broadcast the performance via the laptop.

Misha, Natasha, and Delfts will perform from the floor of the DNC convention in Boston.

I think the NEA will love this. If this doesn't meet some criteria, such as an absence of urine or fecal matter, I'm sure we could work some in. Natasha could scare some out of the kool-aid drinkers who come up to harass them. I'm pretty sure that would count.

Anyone know how we can get this grant in time? Because if we can't, we can always send them to Kerry's election night concession party. That would almost be as good but would probably cost much more. Say, $100,000 because we'll need a black tie and tuxeod straight jacket. It could work. Doncha think?

Welcome!

A few Warm Welcomes are in order today.

First, Murdock the Crazy, a good person well met in the Loyal Citizens chat, has tentatively spread his wings and is joining us in Blog-Land. Things are still under construction at Blogging at 20,000 Feet, but go on over and lend some encouragement to a good man.

Also, I found a little gem at the hatching point while cruising my linkage at Technorati. The Cluebat is a welcome addition to the blogroll, if his initial post is any indication of good things to come.

Click the links. Spread some love. Feel the love. Support your fellow bloggers.

Excuse me?

I know this is a fluke that won't last, but take a look over there in the gutter... right over there on the right. Underneath the MilBlogs button and the link to Redhead Blogs. See it? See what that says?

I'm a Large Mammal. I mean, other than in real life. I've always been a the very least a Large Mammal. Currently more like a 2XL Mammal. But Blogospherically speaking? No way!

I'd say I feel like a Big Dog, but that would be giving up more about myself than I probably should.

Makes me feel like dressing up and celebrating! Perhaps I shall!

Looks nice over there, though, doesn't it. Too bad it will go away after TLB updates tonight.

*sigh*

Watch out, foreign terrorists

Well, it's true. They've signed the law into effect allowing Alawi to declare Martial Law in Iraq.

Let's hope they make the most of it. Let's hope the civilian population continues to point out the foreign thugs who stop at nothing to return Iraq to the dictatorial state from which she struggles to emerge.

I wish I could remember who it was that said this in observation of Saddam Hussain's court apperance the other day. To paraphrase, he said that Saddam is something the Arab world has never seen before: A living Ex-Dictator. They've seen dead ones, their bullet ridden corpses all that remains after having been ousted by coup or in wars. But they've never seen one alive and in shackles, brought into a courtroom, full of impotent rage, powerless to change their state.

Just his existance challenges the status quo of the middle east and causes the sort of imported insurgency we see now. But on the converse, by seeing his impotence, his existance also seems to be encouraging the Iraqi population to take up arms against the foreign terrorists to take back their streets.

And so we now find them under the equivelent of Martial Law. Let's allow them to take back the their streets. They will. And the first thing they'll sweep from the gutters will be the Jordanians, the Syrians, the Yemenis, the Saudis, and the Iranians who falsely believed they could chase us out and re-enslave the Iraqis to protect their own dictatorships.

Parties to Allow Bloggers to Cover Conventions for First Time

Both parties will be awarding credentials to bloggers for their respective conventions, which could make for some extremely interesting reading over the next several weeks.

The article doesn't mention how many slots each party will award, but that the chosen few will be treated much like the journalists who cover the event for their outlets.

Wonder who will get the nod? So do I, and I've jotted down a little list of bloggers I'd like to see at the GOP convention.

Matt Margolis, of Blogs for Bush would of course be my first pick. B4B is an impressive site with a huge following and a widespread base of supporters. It would be safe to say he has earned a set of credentials.

Another Matt, of Blackfive, would bring a distinctly different perspective to convention reporting, one that we need to see represented.

Frank J., the reigning Master of IMAO would find endless fodder for his irreverant and stick-in-the-eye blog. Not to mention, it would be great if he could actually be there to see the GOP Ninjas.

Steve, the evil mind behind HogOnIce and MooreIsFat would be my next choice. For lots of reasons. He's perhaps the funniest serious blogger I've encountered. And he just might get Lauri Dhue's phone number out of it.

And to give Steve someone to buddy about with after Lauri rejects his amorous advances, I'd send Aaron the Rantblogger, a known accomplice and school chum. Not to mention an amazing political writer and all around great photoshopper. Imagine the trouble the two of them could instigate.

Too many guys? Well, personally, I think Lashawn Barber balances out most of them and would bring a clear and moral perspective. One of the best reads around, not to mention a woman of strong beliefs and convictions, Lashawn would certainly receive credentials were I the one passing them out.

Of course Glenn Reynolds PuppieBlender will be there. That goes without saying. He most likely already has his reservations booked.

To balance him out, I'd have to send The Commissar. Would that be great? Satire, Hard News, and Wonkette reports.

And no, I'd not give Wonkette credentials. Perhaps a subway pass so she has a reason for loitering in the stations, but not credentials.

How about you? Who would you give credentials to for the GOP convention? Even more fun, which conservative blogger would you sneak into the DNC convention? Misha would top that list, bar none. Put him in a vintage tie-dye and turn him loose.

Think of any more? Sure you have.

Mooreisfat Scoop

It was just too big for my modest blog to hold. Bigger fish to fry than I was able to here, so the good folks at Mooreisfat have posted it for me.

The word just had to get out. And while you're there, buy yourself a copy of the subversive VRWC cookbook that may just put Michael Moore into complete and total Mr. Creosote mode.

Consider Eat What You Want & Die Like A Man one man's contribution to the war on terror within our own borders. Be a patriot. Buy the book.

Convoy? Seriously?

2000 lawyers with gosh knows how many supporting staff, packed onto buses in a convoy into Baghdad to defend Saddam Hussain.

Even in Hollywood it doesn't get much better than this.

Maybe CW McCall will do a remake of his old Convoy/Rubber Duckie song for the soundtrack.

Or we could put Bert Reynolds and Sally Fields in souped up HumVee with a screaming chicken on the hood and do it Smokey and the Bandit style. They block for a column of Marines in transports, run from Sheriff Bin Ladin T. Justice, and call in airstrikes from units along the highway. Only this time, Toby Keith will do the theme song. Just update the old one, strap some balls onto it, and let it rip.

I think this could be a great movie. Great entertainment AND get rid of 2000 lawyers just lined up to defend a mass murderer. What could be better?

Cover that Tit, you cow.

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Chanting "Got milk," 50 mothers staged a protest "nurse-in" at a Houston shopping mall after one of them said security guards asked her to cover herself or move on while breast-feeding her 4-month-old son.

Women, we are our own worst enemy. We scream about perceived slights and insults, and we react in such ways that we cause reasonable people to discount us when we truly do have a legitimate point.

What, What, What in the world was that woman thinking? What is the big issue surrounding being a little discrete? What was so out of line about being asked to put a towel or a thin receiving blanket over your shoulder to cover your crusty, swollen, lactating tit in the middle of a shopping mall populated with people who not only don't want to see it, but see no reason why they should be forced to see it?

Instigator of the action was Julie Doyle-Madrid, who said that a few days before a female security guard admonished her to cover up while she was feeding son Will and another said the mall preferred that nursing be done in more private places like the rest room.

All you "Kids" who hang your breasts out for the world to see don't have a clue about what it was like for mothers who chose to breast feed back when you were children. They arrested women for breastfeeding. Period. It took strong women with the common sense to breastfeed discretely to change both public opinion and the laws at the time. And what they accomplished was a good thing.

If people do not want to see women nursing their children, "Don't look," Doyle-Madrid told the Chronicle.

No, don't hang out your tit! Most women have a modicum of modesty and either pump and bottle for the mall, or sit in the lounge/sitting area most large department stores provide for woman shoppers. But by demanding your perceived right to be exhibitionists, you do nothing but show yourselves as spoiled children and dishonor those who have given you the right to breastfeed, and you should be ashamed.

And all you LaLeche Leaguers who back this shit, get real. This nonsense might work on your communes or in your little ladies group meetings, but this doesn't play in the real world.

Beware! It's a blog.

Ah, another journalist/pundit/commentator has decided to write on the phenomenum that is Blogging. And, as usual, the headline hints deliciously at the outlaw aspect of both bloggers and their sites.

Why this interest in the 21st century equivalent of the Thomas Payne pamphlets or the 1960's mimeographed underground press? Surely there is no perceived threat to such bastions of credibility and veracity as the traditional print outlets?

The outbreak and acceptance of the 24/7 cable news outlets has sounded the death knell of a lot of traditional newspapers, with their immediacy and the "flash-bang" of instant, controversial, visceral videos. Outlets like the NYTimes, Chicago Tribune, LATimes have steadily lost both readership and advertisers over the last several years, and a greal of those have shot straight over to CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News. And in some small portion to the newsier blogs.

And there are as many reasons for people using the blogs as their news sources as there are people doing it.

People tired of hearing nothing but the media take on the WoT have begun to read people like Dr. Glen Reynolds' Instapundit, or the far reaching posters at Lucianne.com. Accessing Lucianne is like having hundreds of researchers at your beck and call, pouring over newspapers the world over for stories on every topic, from every viewpoint, 24 hours a day.

But it is the little bloggers that seem to attract the attention of the media the most. People who express opinions on everything from thong vs. total nudity, to the selection of the next president. Honestly, I haven't figured out why.

But every time they deign to cast their glance this way, we all see an increase in hits, and sometimes even find a few new regular readers. I guess this proves the old theatrical adage, that even a bad review is a good review. And so I must thank Regis Behe for whatever hits I may glean from his Entertainment section "piece" in today's Pittsburg.Live.

And Regis. If you're going to write copy on blogs or any other internet issues that references websites, have your editors place links where you reference sites. It's rude to do otherwise, and an inconvenience to your online readers.

Links from Jack!

Mamamontezz,
Here are a few articles from Islamo-fascist countries,
Regards,

Jack

The Arabs are getting nervous, personally I want them to know that I hate them. A tiny bit of insight into how they percieve us:

Arabia:
Bush Pressured to Oppose Saudi WTO Admission

Arabia:
America’s Growing Culture of Hate

Arabia:
US Airstrike Kills 15 in Fallujah

Indonesia:
Arabs Angry At Coverage Of U.S. Marine 'Beheading'

Lebanon:
Decoding the Supreme Court's decisions

India:
PASTOR BRUTALLY ATTACKED IN INDIAN VILLAGE
(This site has much more)

Yemen:
A tyranny’s end (commentary)
And this.

Oh, for crying out loud.

The Minnesota Twins organization wants to have a give-away for the kids that has the collective panties of the area's Peaceniks in a bunch.

Seems these ardent activists feel that giving away GI Joe dolls at the game is sending the wrong message to these young, impressionable, potential followers of Appeasement.

"It's not a credible way to honor those who've suffered the inhumanity of war," said Phil Steger, executive director of Friends for a Non-Violent World, a St. Paul-based group with about 4,000 members in Minnesota.

No, it's not right to give little soldiers to little kids to remind them of the brave men and women who unjustly liberated several million people who had suffered the inhumanity of a thirty year dictatorship. Lord only knows we don't want the kids to know anything about that!

"We're sorry that a small number of Minnesotans are offended by the doll and don't see it as the tribute that it really is," said Col. Denny Shields, a spokesman for the Guard.

Well, we're sorry too, Col. Shields. I am just tickled pink that the Twins organization is going to stand up to these people.

Blues Cats.

And now for something completely different.

If you have Musicmatch Jukebox, take a listen. Good original blues, friends of the Mama, pick up a copy if you like what you hear.

Cpl Hassoun Released???

Quit Jerking our Collective Chains!

Enough is enough! Is there no end to the cruelty of these moronic reporters and media outlets?

First he's Captured.
Then he's a Deserter.
Then he's not a Deserter.
Then he's Decapitated.
Then his throat is Cut.
Then he's Alive.
Now he's Released???

All in all, you pigs, media pigs and terrorist pigs, this means nothing. You made a bad call when you messed with the Marines. Alive or not, captured or freed, I suggest you get your sorry estates in order.

Your days are numbered, and they are few.

Sometimes it's not censorship

When Misha nails it, Misha nails it.

Completely, no questions asked, no prisoners taken, nailed to the wall.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a firm and ardant supporter of the 1st Ammendment, and Misha is as well, but neither do I support the flagrant abuse of this freedom by persons and organizations bent on the destruction of this nation, her people, and her freedoms.

Go read, and read it well. Discuss it amongst yourselves.

Man Without a Country

I was able to procure a beautiful 1886 edition of Man Without a Country recently. Because of it being Independence day, I thought there was no better day for the reading of such a bit of history so I packed it up and carried it to work.

I was deep into it when this passage leapt from the page and seared itself into my consciousness. I share it with you now.

"Youngster, let that show you what it is to be without a family, without a home, and without a country. And if you are ever tempted to say a word or to do a thing that shall put a bar between you and your family, your home, and your country, pray God in his mercy to take you that instant home to his own heaven. Stick by your family, boy; forget you have a self, while you do everything for them. Think ofyour home, boy; write and send, and talk about it. Let it be nearer and nearer to your thought, the farther you have to travel from it; and rush back to it, when you are free, as that poor black slave is doing now. And for your courntry, boy," and the words rattled in his throat, "and for that flag," and he pointed to the ship, "never dream a dream but of serving her as she bids you, though the service carry you through a thousand hells. No matter what happens to you, no matter who flatters you or who abuses you, never look at another flag, never let a night pass but you pray God to bless that flag. Remember, boy, that behind all these men you have to do with, behind officers and government, and people even, there is the Country Herself, your Country, and that you belong to Her as you belong to your own mother. Stand by Her, boy, as you would send by your mother, if those devils there had got hold of her to-day!"

Richard Nolan,
Man Without a Country
by Edward E. Hale

Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies
In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Pith and vinegar

Elizabeth, the TechieVampire at Poisoning Pigeons has become a proud Blog-Mama to her equally opinionated and (we sincerely hope) extremely cool husband. From all the advance on him, I doubt I'll be disappointed.

Welcome to the blogsphere, Mr. Pigeon Poisoner. You have a big shadow to slide out of, so get cracking.

And the rest of you, click these links and say hello. Now.

Cagney and Lacy, step aside.

In a truly counter-culture move, women are signing up for and training to become members of the Iraqi Police.

I can hardly imagine what this is doing to the status quo in Iraq. I'm old enough to remember the controversy here in the late 1960's and early 1970's when women first started going to the academy and then started showing up on the street. These American women went through hell in some police forces, and this is considered a culturally enlightened nation.

This is going to be a long hard road for these brave women. Even the "friendlies" will be rooting for their failure. I, for one, will be rooting for their success.

Book'em, Batool!

Why hasn't she been censured?/Cpl. Hassoun death claimed

Oh My Lord, No! Say it isn't so! It was the Jooooos! Those Evil Jooooos are responsible for the dark sadism of Abu AssGrab! Someone fetch me a whiskey, I feel faint.

Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, who was suspended in May over allegations of prisoner abuse, said she met a man who told her he was Israeli during a visit to a Baghdad intelligence center with a senior coalition general.

If I had a quarter for every man who offered me a cocktail and then confided his involvment in some sort of covert group, intelligence agency, or special military unit, I'd be able to pay off my mortgage. But that's ancient history which was, at the time, quite humorous.

"I saw an individual there that I hadn't had the opportunity to meet before, and I asked him what did he do there, was he an interpreter - he was clearly from the Middle East," Karpinski told British Broadcasting Corp. radio in an interview broadcast Saturday. "He said, 'Well I do some of the interrogation here. I speak Arabic but I'm not an Arab; I'm from Israel.'

Oh, such subterfuge. Why, Traitorous Wench Who Hurt Our Military General Karpinski, didn't you do something about it right there and then? Why didn't you do your job and look into this? No, instead you left the inmates in charge of the asylum and turned a blind eye.

Traitorous Wench Who Hurt Our Military General Karpinski, you damaged this country by your inaction. You provided the mud and crap that the Anti-War crowd now uses against our efforts in a time of war, not just against the military in general but against the men and women who are there doing their jobs.

Doing their jobs? Yes, exactly, which is much more than any can say about your performance in the breach.

One would think that at this point you would have the decency to accept responsibility for your own actions and inactions, and slink off with the proscribed levels of shame and dishonor to some quiet place where woefully inadequate examples of the Peter Principle go when finally exposed by their own hand.

By further feeble attempts at career-saving (something which is both futile and pathetic to watch) you endanger those troops still there, doing what they were trained to do, and doing it honorably. You spit on every flag draped coffin that passes through Dover AFB, and into the faces of the mothers of these fallen.

It is time you looked into your mirror and saw your real enemy, and quit looking for them under yamukes or behind civilian ID badges.

Update: Traitorous Wench Who Hurt Our MilitaryGeneral Karpinski, I know, as a rational and intelligent human being, that while you did not murder this young man, you set in motion a series of events that, while not a direct cause, certainly did give the murderers an excuse that the bomb-throwing left around the globe most certainly could embrace and openly does.

I pray the reports are wrong, that this is not true. But given the track record of these perversions in the past, I have very little doubt but that they are stating a fact, that Cpl. Hassoun is dead at their hands.

You have the blood of Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun on your hands. You bear much of the responsibility for embolding those who are directly responsible. You may as well have taken him off-post and handed him over.

Nothing you can do will bring comfort to his mother, a woman who has been in mourning for days because she knew. Mothers know.

Nothing you can do can bring any resolution to this situation. Your impotence disgusts us all, those who have served, those who sacrificed as their parents and spouses served, those who's children now serve.

Just crawl away. We have a hero to mourn. A new hero among many who sacrificed themselves without wondering about the political expediency of their actions, or the publicity and sympathy they could garner by pitching mud on their fellows in uniform.

Just crawl away, please.

And for all of you blood-suckers and buzzards, circling the home of the family of Cpl. Hassoun, making claims and accusations backed by nothing more than a poorly written NYT item that was corrected days ago, back off and let these people mourn.

Jack's Links!

I just love it when Jack sends me links! They're always good ones. Read, people, read.

Seems we always have to watch our backs.

Mild Justice: (Not enough for this obstructionist)
Activist serving six-month sentence says she was `railroaded'. Apparently she wasn't prepared to pay the price of her exercise in Democracy. If the founding fathers and mothers had this woman's whiny, poor-me attitude, we'd all be driving on the wrong side of the road and eating food boiled into submission.

Sorry, Elena Sassower. You've made your bed, now lay in it. Even an activist such as yourself has to have the common sense to know when enough is enough and to pick your battles. Obviously this is intended as a learning experience for you and I hope you avail yourself of it.

Government Tyranny at work: (My states attorney general)
Washington's public records law under assault
Independent public records advocate needed

E-mail is not private, says US court. (Big brother unleashes the wolves)

Sorry, anyone who thought that e-correspondence was confidential was naive at best.

Best regards,

Jack

She's just a child.

If this doesn't sicken and repulse you, then perhaps it is time to seek professional help.

Adrian Gonzalez, 24, was arrested at his home at 4621 E. Hubbell St. and booked into Maricopa County’s Madison Street Jail in Phoenix on suspicion of two counts each of kidnapping and sexual misconduct with a minor, with a dangerous crimes against children classification, Force said.

Seems this sick vermin endeared himself to the child and her mom and her little sibblings, then talked her into the van where he molested raped her, threatened her and her family, and left her pregnant.

"This subject intimidated the girl into silence by telling her he would kill her siblings and kill her mother if she told," he said.

A nine year old. Pregnant. My daughter is that same age. Just the thought of that happening to her causes the bile to rise in my throat.

What a terrible shame that degenerate sack of crap didn't resist arrest. It would have warmed my heart.

If she were a horse, we'd put her down.

The New York Times has done it again. They have written a half truth about a man in harms way and published it as fact. And a retraction/correction just is not enough if this young man dies as a result of their politically driven idiocy.

You know what? I really am not in the least bit surprised about this. If you think about it, the "Old Grey Lady" of journalism is the victim of a bad and possibly irreversible case of Dementia that becomes more and more pronounced and apparent each day.

Gone are the days when you could trust what you read on her pages. She has become nothing more than a rag, and what has been done to the reputation of a young marine is just one more reprehensible example of how low she has sunk.

The sort of mis-quoting done in their paper, which has since been "corrected", is the same sort of yellow journalism that reinforces and actually legitimizes unfair stereotypes, no matter how false and malevolent they are. It is exactly situations like this that cause families of military personnel to call in the Marines to run interference with the press, as this family was forced to do just the other night.

Because of the irresponsible and inaccurate reporting of the New York Times, a community, a family, and a Marine have been smeared and endangered.