Mamamontezz's Mental Rumpus Room

Presidential Debate Drinking Game!

It's time to announce the rules for the "Presidential Debate Drinking Game!"

I have expanded the potential shot-inducers, so make sure you have access to 911 on your speed dial.

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 to haul your drunken self to the hospital.

Originally, when doing the John Kerry Acceptance Speech Drinking Game, I made it so that it would be like most drinking games, with the object being to do shots on certain cues. However, after the original Kerry Game results came in, all indications are that full shots were definitely not be a good idea. Maybe 2oz beer shots? Hits from a spritzer? Smirnoff Twister shots? Hell, even Pepsi shots. Just have a good time, and remember the buddy system.

Cues for taking your beershot:

1. Every time either says "Viet Nam."

2. Every time either of them says "Purple Heart."

3. Every time Kerry says "Fair Share."

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

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

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

7. Every time either of them says "I know what it's like..."

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

9. Every time Bush says New-cue-ler.

10. Every time Bush references Texas.

11. Every time Bush says "It won't be easy."

12. Every time Kerry cuts off Bush's response.

13. Every time Bush just smiles and shakes his head at something Kerry has said.

14. Every time Bush references Reagan.

15. Every time either of them says "Supports our troops."

See what I mean about not doing actual shots? Even more opportunities for achieving alcohol induced immortality, so be careful. We need all your votes in November. And unlike the Dims, we don't vote from the grave.

If I were there with Misha...

Were I there with you, we would drive out on the state road into some small town and pick up a case of cold longnecks and a bag of ice.

We'd pick up a couple of steaks and some corn and some potatoes and a bag of charcoal and some foil and head out to some nice shady green spot by a stream, where the grass is high and the water is cool and bubbly.

I'll dig us a pit for the coals, and you can ice the beer and watch for the rest of the gang.

Everyone can add their beer to the ones icing in the truckbed, and when the coals are hot and red, we can bury our foil-wrapped potatoes and get ready to set on our corn.

Talking, laughing, cooking, sharing stories, swapping jokes, remembering and forgetting. Back-slapping and hugs. Watching the sun go down and warming by the coals. More stories, more laughs, even a few tears and oaths if it seems right.

Wood replaces coals, fire replaces embers, flames light the night and the faces of good friends encircling it.

That's what we would do today.

It's conclusive

The spousal unit was complaining about having to have two head CT's, one with contrast and one without.

"I don't know why Scott insists on this. They're not going to find anything up there."

It was too easy, one of those "fish in a barrel" moments. And it confirmed his belief, if you think about it.

He really ought to think about getting a better writer.

Update: Heard from the doctor's office at work yesterday. They confirmed my suspicions. According to Sherry, Nurse-Goddess, "They found nothing." Well, I guess poor old Spousal Unit was right.

Truth or Dare, anyone?

You see one of these every once in a while, where a blogger desperate for something to post reaches into the tired old meme bag that came attached to the "Welcome to (insert blog host here), have a good time blogging" email we all got when we started blogging.

Down, down, we reach into the bag and stir about at the bottom hoping to touch something we haven't pulled before, or haven't seen posted on another blog in a while... Down, stir, shake, and out comes:

Imagine you're single, unattached, unencumbered by social constraints. Imagine all of the blogosphere were equally unencumbered, recipients of some great cosmic event which rendered all relationships null and void. A Tower of Babel for Marital/Committed Relations.

We all came to build a tower together, paired up two by two like the livestock in a different book, and for our efforts we were all released in our sleep and allowed to pair up again with any of the persons there, to wander off and pick-up where we sort of left-off but not with the fellow/lady who's name escapes you now but you knew there was one there before, you have video.

Who do you think you'd pair or team up with, and why? And no, you can't wimp out and pick your current spouse/SO. Only cowards do that. Be adventurous.

Me? Who would I pair up with? Who's hand would I take in mine before leading him off and living my own "Midnight at the Oaisis"? Well, it depends on my mood, I guess. Being a woman and all, you know how fickle, indecisive, vapor-ridden, and mercenary we are. I'd have several, tattooed with the days of the week just to keep from being confused.

No, really, that's silly, but I can see that there are a few who make the cut Post-Cosmic Event.

You're not going to leave until I tell you, are you?

Ha. You first. And no, just because there's a website somewhere out there with the Swedish Bikini Team does not make them bloggers, so they're ineligible.

SlagleRock&Roll!

How did we come to a point in our history where it is the tofu farting fairies and tree-hugging hippies that get to decide that all we can see is mans negative side. I mean honestly, if this editorial were ever run in the mainstream media the onslaught of crybaby bullshit from the liberals would last for days and would clearly overshadow the real news of the day.

And I didn't even use the best quote!

The Blogson Extraordinaire has hit it squarely on the head yet again. He is so right, it's scary. Send yourself over there for this one. You're not going to want to miss it.

And Slagle? Where did you get that great little Bart? I'm still laughing and I really needed the laugh.

Rampaging Jeanne.

Jeanne looks to be a heartless bitch, doesn't she? I feel for all of you down there in her path. She looks like the kind of woman who takes no prisoners and gives no quarter.

Compared to this, we midwesterners have life pretty darned easy. Sure, we get an occasional tornado which takes out a swath about a mile wide in a really bad one, maybe a few miles long. But then it's over. They're a flash in the pan compared to the destruction that one of these can dish out over several hours.

You're in my thoughts, guys. BC, LTL, V-man, Acidman (you're not escaping this one, Sugar), Catfish (glad you're not on the saltmarsh yet), Dax, Eric, all of you, take care.

Update:

From BC in Tampa we get this: Mama, could you let all the LC's know that I'm w/o power and we have no idea when we'll get it back on? We made it through Jeanne with no real damage, but power went out at 9:20 a.m. I'm at my brother's house to shower and have dinner, then heading back to take care of the house.

Gotta run. Hugs from Soggy Florida.

a brief reprieve

It seems that even though our voice line is completely dead, they have either forgotten or neglected to disable the data line. For the day, I was able to go through my mail, set up a small private site, read a few people, and enjoy my lifeline. Tomorrow may hold a different situation.

Thank you for all of the wonderful kindness that you have extended since that last post yesterday. You did so much to break the deep blue funk that had covered me all day. Any woman would consider herself lucky to have such friends.

Well, I get paid this week. Friday, I will again rob Peter to pay Paul, not to mention feed everyone and gas the car. Hopefully I will be able to satisfy SBC and get my phone back. Things are never as dark and hopeless as they seem. What's one week of no phone in the great scheme of things? Nothing. A paltry inconvenience and nothing more.

In the meantime, I will be posting from my parents' home or from a public computer at work, so do check back. I'm sure that by the time Friday gets here, I'd be at the bursting point if I didn't blog a bit in the interim.

Thank you again, kind souls. I'm truly blessed with you all.

Be patient.

Sometimes a person has to make decisions on which priority is the higher priority, which is the most important item, and when that happens, generally something is relegated to the "not at this time" stack.

At this time, the priorities are the mortgage, the power, the water, and the gas. The cable is already gone and has been for a few months. Haven't rented a movie in over a year. Any time we have eaten out, it has been Dollar Menu all the way. We usually eat at my parents' home. Still, there never seems to be enough. Someone needs socks, dogs need kibble, cats need kibble, child needs, husband needs, car needs, house needs, everyone needs.

Now SBC needs. And Yahoo needs.

So I won't be accessible for a while. I'll blog as I can from the library at work and from the antique laptop at my parents. At least I will still have that when I am there and when no one wants the phone.

Be patient. I will miss you far more than you will ever miss me, I assure you.

Nitewear

In honor of the impending Fall, I decided to go look around in the national chain store for fellow fat chicks, just to see what the fashionistas were intent on inflicting upon us this fall. Based on what was in the store, it certainly could be worse.

The clothes were actually relatively sedate compared to recent years. They were actually things that would look good on most of we chub-ettes. Slacks had re-introduced themselves to the waistline, tops extended below the Brittany-Christina line, and the color palate no longer looked like Psychodelic Nuggat.

The dimensionally enhanced can dress for work this year without looking like Chicago's Big Mama, and casually without looking like a pre-TrimSpa Anna Nicole. Both of these situations are a vast improvement over even last fall.

And then I entered the Forbidden Zone... I went into the lingerie section.

Oh.My.Goodness.

No woman, big, small or in between, should have no more options for sleepware than was displayed at this store. Basically, you had two choices: thin cotton jammiebottoms with little ribbon draw strings and a poorly cut knit top not made for any female body type known to human kind, or slut-wear in obnoxious colors that look terrible on very fair skinned women. Like me.

I was so disappointed at what I saw. My only option was an oversized t-shirt that was made to hang to my knees, which was NOT an option. No cute teddies, no cute cami and tap pant combinations, no little nighties, nothing even remotely "sweet."

Okay, okay, the slut-wear was probably more appropriate than I'm admitting, but not the hard and edgy stuff they had. It was like Industrial slut-wear, not feminine at all. And I may be a lot of things, but hard and industrial isn't one of them. I like sheer things, and soft colors. I like lace and full, sweeping, flowing things.

I really hate to have to make something like that, but I'm just not ever going to be happy with any of what I saw in the store last night. Looks like time for a trip to the fabric store.

No, I've not forgotten how to blog...

I've just been too incredibly angry at the MSM to write the last couple of days. I agree with Dr. Michael Savage on this point: The deaths of those two American men at the hands of Zarqawi and his thugs was NOT an execution.

The word execution implies that the deaths were legal, as the result of a trial or other action in a court of law. Nothing could be further from the truth.

These two men, in Iraq to aid the Iraqi people, were murdered by foreign mercenaries who's sole purpose is to disrupt the peace and rebuilding of Iraq by and for the Iraqi people and to deny them the freedoms they want so badly. They were murdered to show the Iraqi people that they are powerless to defend their defenders. Just as they murder Iraqi police and members of the Iraqi National Guard, these murders are intimidation and demoralization by blood.

Every time I tried to write about this over the last couple of days, I got so angry I couldn't. I'd logout, turn off the computer, and walk away. I was angry at the terrorists and angry at the nay-sayers here who pointed at these horrific deaths as further reasons for abandoning an entire people to the wolves who surround them.

My greatest hope is that on November 3rd, when the tallies are completed and the election has been determined beyond a shadow of a doubt, we see a massive increase in strikes against known terrorist areas and the sympathizers who enable them against the Iraqi people and against the coalition. I want to see grumblings in the foreign press about the size of the assault and the number of square miles now uninhabitible.

I want justice for Iraq and vengence for all of the murdered.

Cpl. Lonnie Young

Some men are just men. Some men are Military Men. And some Military Men are Marines.

This, by God, is a Marine.

Thanks, Slaglerock! Excellent post. And a huge Thank You to Marine Cpl. Lonnie Young. I sleep better in my bed at night knowing there are men like you keeping watch on us all.

Semper Fi!

The Letter Project.

You all remember how torqued-off I get when people disrespect military personnel? You remember how that inspired me to write an open letter to the troops that started out like a snowflake and snowballed and ended up starting a drive for letters at Slaglerock's Slaughterhouse? Remember?

Well, after collecting about 300 of these letters, Slagle and I built a site for them and he has been posting them all online. We thought that having a site where our men and women in uniform could go anytime they needed a pick-me-up or a warm message from home was a good idea. No politics, no advertisements, no pressure, just letters from appreciative people.

I want to direct you to The Letter Project, the outcome of our brainchild and of the gracious goodwill of the many many people who cared enough about our troops to take the time to send a letter for posting.

If you know anyone who is serving, whether they are deployed overseas or not, pass along this link. If you want to post a letter to the letter project, you can do so at any time by contacting me at mamamontezz(at)sbcglobal(dot)net. I will make sure it is posted.

Expect this site to evolve over time as we find better ways to get the letters up. And if you have any suggestions for sites to include in the gutter, support sites or humor sites, as long as they are not political, let us know.

Jack's Links

I just want to tell you that from now on, all of my "Jack's Links" will be literally that: links to Jack.

Welcome the newest member of the VRWC blogging community, Jack, at his lovely new abode, Conservative Insurgent. And no, he never saw it coming, and yes, he's posting great stuff there. All of the great links he used to send me, he now has a place for of his own.

Go check out his digs and his great posts, drop a comment or four, and add him to your blogrolls and bookmarks. Trust me, he's gonna be a "Tall Dog" in no time at all. Cream rises, you know.

No Longer our allies

Note: I have been giving this topic a lot of thought as of late, generally every time I hear some Kerry apologist claiming that the war was illegal or ill-conceived or worse. Finally today I sat down and thrashed out my thoughts in MSWord so I could post them.

No, I have no Whittle-ian pretenses here. Sometimes it just takes 1,300 words to get my point across.
* * * * * * * *
Much has been said by the opposition before and during this election cycle about the apparent failure of the current administration to reach out to our international allies and seek their approval for and cooperation in the multilateral action against Saddam Hussain in Iraq.

Looking at the timeline leading up to the war, it is not difficult to see that this is false argument based more on rhetoric than on actual events. Members of the current administration endured months of meetings with the UN, fended off of numerous attempts at extortion by many UN members in exchange for their assistance or approval, and subsequently postponed the already much delayed enforcement of UN Resolution 1441. These points are not even arguable, except by persons who refuse for political reasons to acknowledge clearly documented facts as reported in media sources usually found to be acceptable to them.

Let us instead address the fallacy of the complaint involving the administration's unwillingness to gain the approval and subsequent involvement of our allies in the action in Iraq, and the apparent unilateralism of the action in Iraq.

In addressing the unilateral argument, one need only look at the list of nations, large and small, powerful or relatively weak, which participated in the actions. Small nations like Tonga sent a significant percentage of their armed forces to aid in the security and rebuilding of Iraq for the Iraqi people. It may only look like a handful of personnel, but when you look at the population of Tonga and the size of their military, their contribution is among the greatest of the coalition.

Poland has provided an elite team of personnel that has performed in an honorable and heroic manner, bringing both prestige and respect to their entire nation. Italian members of the coalition forces have also given exemplary service, and their government has supported us in the face of withering disapproval from other EU member nation-states and specific threats from Al Qaida and other terrorist organizations. One amazing member of the Salvadoran contingent has shown the world what a real hero is.

Yet there are those who refuse to acknowledge the contributions of these nations and of these brave men and women with the lock-step misrepresentation of the war as a unilateral exercise in self-enrichment and colonialism. This insistence by members of the opposition, both in this country and abroad, cheapens the contributions of all of the nations involved and denigrates the status of all of the brave personnel serving under savage conditions to nothing more than corporate mercenaries.

To espouse and then continuously engage in such rhetoric when its claims have been repeatedly disproved with facts is irresponsible at best, and dangerous in the long term. By devaluing the actions of our military personnel, this mindset devalues their very humanity. To see the effect of this, one need only put on a set of BDUs with appropriate boots and unit markings and walk across the commons area of most college campuses. Dress in this manner and go to a neighborhood or enclave where the more sensitive and artistic element of any city lives and watch the reactions of the residents.

But I digress.

It is painfully obvious to all who will avail themselves of recent historical evidence and documented facts that the current administration went to great pains to build a multilateral force for an action that was required by UN Resolution 1441 for Saddam’s and Iraq’s failure to comply with countless prior and subsequent resolutions with regard to weapon systems, human rights, and respect for the sovereignty of neighboring nations.

However people point out that our traditional allies, France, Germany and Russia not only withheld support from the multilateral coalition, they actively worked against the coalition for the purposes of preempting any actions against Saddam. We find through documents found after the beginning of action in Iraq that these three nations did not speak out against aggression for any other reason than the preservation of far reaching and immensely lucrative contracts with Saddam.

These “allies” had no interest in the suffering of civilians caught in the crossfire between factions of foreign Islamists intent on subverting any attempts by the Iraqi people in developing democracy. Nor did they have any interest in stopping the far reaching and blatant violations of basic human rights against huge segments of the Iraqi population for no other reasons than their particular denomination within Islam, their sex, or ethnicity. Their sole interest was in improving their place on the stage of rapidly evolving world politics, vainly attempting to become a “World Power” instead of the declining and decadent governments they had become.

It has become increasingly apparent that the same evolutionary process which is reshaping world politics is also realigning allegiances in very profound ways. Nations have realigned as many political differences have been resolved and others have been inflamed. Friendly alliances have degraded into antagonism, and former members of enemy blocs have developed into respectable and sought-after allies.

France, Germany, and Russia have developed one of these allegiances, and through which they have attempted to further subjugate an already oppressed nation for their false gods: Greed, Avarice, and Power. By doing so, they have effectively dissolved all or part of their former allegiance with the United States and the other members of the coalition. No longer can we count them as allies, as they have made their intentions to become a super-power quite obvious by their actions and their pronouncements. They have made it abundantly clear that the idea of a single large world power is a dangerous and unacceptable one, and that new allegiances must be developed to act as a foil against that power, even if doing so means crawling into bed with known despotic and evil nations.

France, Germany and Russia, by their actions and their rhetoric, have only proven what has been obvious to some people for a great many years: they are not our allies, now or since the cold war ended. In the case of France, their capacity as an ally was compromised during the 60’s and 70’s when they actively engaged in espionage against our businesses as they tried to do business in Europe. Diplomatic circles continued to woo them and entice them with ever increasing foreign aid, hoping this period of national petulance would end and all would be made right.

As long as the threat of the Soviet Union loomed over them, they at least made the appearance of wanting to be under the protective umbrellas of NATO and the United States. But now the neighborhood bully has been weakened, the sidewalk is safe to walk, and France and Germany have no further need of the Big Kid to fend him off. They choose instead to point at their former protector and accuse him of being the new bully for no other reason than that he is still the biggest kid on the block.

Still there are vast factions within the United States who insist on maintaining this false alliance, of deferring to former allies on matters where we are at cross-purposes. They seek the approval of these crumbling former powers with the same enthusiasm shown by dysfunctional women with drunken abusive husbands. No amount of logic will sway them from their belief that they love and are loved by these dissolute brutes, and they continue to swear their loyalty even in the face of evidence to the contrary. Eventually the abuse becomes so great that someone ends up in the emergency room or worse.

The problem of playing this household drama out on a world scale is that it isn’t just one person paying the price of misplaced loyalty. The price has been and will continue to be paid with the blood of thousands and potentially of millions of innocents.

Good Screw-up, Rather

*Sung to the tune of "Good Morning Starshine" from the musical, Hair.

Good screw-up, Rather.
The blogs say "you blow."
You passed off a doozie.
We caught you, you know.
Good screw-up, Rather,
You strung this along.
My friends and me as we post
our early morning Jammie-Blog.

Rottie, Insta-Pundit,
Lileks, Captain's Quarters
and Patterico,
LGF and Rantblog,
Powerline, Mister Hog,
la la lo lo
Malkin and One Fine Jay,
Lucianne and Frank J,
Early morning Jammie-Blog.

Good screw up, Rather.
Had Bush in your sight,
Faxes in the moonlight,
Amarrillo.
Good screw-up, Rather.
You made our whole week.
My friends and me as we post
our early morning Jammie-blog.

Rottie, Insta-Pundit,
Lileks, Captain's Quarters,
and Patterico,
LGF and Rantblog,
Powerline, Mister Hog,
la la lo lo.
Malkin and One Fine Jay,
Lucianne and Frank J,
Early morning Jammie-Blog.

Won't you link me?
Writing a blog,
Reading a blog,
Writing a blog,
Linking a blog,
Comment a blog,
Writing a blog,
Early Moring
Jammie Blogging,
blog blog blog, dig dig dig dig blog
blog blog blog dig dig dig dig blog

Are you a member of the Pajamahadeen?

Much has been said lately by the Mainstream Media about being called to task by the great, unschooled masses who dare to question their integrity, the veracity of their reporting, and their motives as Journalists. The media and their minions have cast dispersions on those bloggers who dare to fact-check, source-check, or call "BullSh*t" when they deem it appropriate.

Now they have resorted to the old, fourth grade school-yard tactic of hurling insulting names at these intrepid Internet Warriors. They call them Pajamahadeen.

These simple clues will tell you if you are, in fact, a dreaded member of the Pajamahadeen, unabashed fact-checker and online militant on the side of fair and unbiased reporting:

-You an avowed member of a outlaw political sect, such as the Republicans or the Conservative Libertarians, and consider yourself a member of the VRWC.

-You not only know what a URL is, you actually have one.

-When Al Gore spoke of "Digital Brownshirts" you felt that he was talking about you. And to commemorate being noticed, you have one prominently displayed on your blog.

-You do your best work in either your sleepware, skivvies, or nekkid.

-Instapundit, Lucianne, IMAO, The Rottweiler, Blackfive, Michelle Malkin, INDC, Lileks, the Commissar, and Drudgereport are bookmarked as "Daily Reads" on both your browser and on your site.

-You have been trained in the building and proper deployment of Google-bombs.

-You are a member of one of the following web-rings or alliances: Milbloggers, Blogs for Bush, or Alliance of Free Bloggers.

-You know what a "Puppy Blender" is.

-The words "What is the frequency, Kenneth" are somewhere on your blog, either displayed in the gutter or in a recent post. Each "th" is in superscript for dramatic effect.

-When you check a news site, it tends to be Fox New, the Washington Times, Newsmax, World Net Daily, or the New York Post.

-You not only understand the difference between a fact and an opinion, you are able to explain it by use of the Cluebat without leaving lasting marks.

If you find that you are truly Pajamahadeen, wear the title proudly and remember, as the great Media Ice Age progresses, it is the little, adaptable creatures who survived the past Ice Ages. It was the behemoths that did not.

As always, Mama I was happy to post for you.

SlagleRock Out!

As always, Blogson Extraordinaire, you bring the heat! Thanks again, Handsome.

Jack and the UN

Lila,
Here's an interesting take on the UN, my personal belief is to get out of the UN, they never have been our ally and this article pretty much reiterates that fact. Taxpayers beware.
Jack

The U.N. should never forget that after World War II, the United States could have made the world its taxpayer, but instead... chose to tax its own citizens to help friends and former foes rebuild their cities...


The U.S. and The U.N.: The End of a BadRomance

Sept. 9, 2004
By Bruce Herschensohn

It should be understood that from the beginning she wasn’t faithful and had no intention of being faithful. After the United States of America and its World War II allies created the United Nations Organization, the United States fell in love with her. He thought the two of them had a lot in common. But the United Nations Organization, dressed in apparel given her by the United States and wearing jewelry given her by the United States, spent many New York nights of romance with enemies of the United States. And so it went for 59 years of hand-holding beneath the moonlight and stars on the East River near the magnificent home that John D. Rockefeller of the United States had given her.

She was having exactly the style of life she wanted. She was having fun, and at the same time she wanted enough affection retained between her and the United States so that the United States would give her what she wanted. Her long-range plan was to eventually make the United States a "fair and equal" Third World Country while current Third World Countries would then inherit a world leadership position. There would be no rich and poor countries. They would all be poor.

That gleam in her eye called for an outrageous percent of the U.N.’s budget paid by the United States which the United States had already agreed to pay, plus the grandest scheme of all: a "global tax" to go to the U.N. from citizens of the United States and other industrial countries. That tax, collected each year by the U.N. would then be redistributed to less industrial countries of the world — with a nice administrative budget for her colleagues working in her 39 story mansion.

As absurd as all this may seem, there is more truth than fiction in the summary above.

The first I heard about such a U.N. tax was in the early 1960s when U Thant was the U.N.’s Secretary General. Like most others, I laughed it off because such a tax was so absurd that it seemed to be one of those subjects that was dead before it lived, advocated only by the most radical and anti-U.S. bureaucrats of the U.N.

The subject was not dead. The subject was just in hibernation. It kept waking up every September when there was a new session of the U.N. Each time it woke up, it seemed to gather more support.

The next Secretary General, Kurt Waldheim put the subject on the calendar. Early in his reign in 1972, both the U.N. Conference on the Human Environment and the Club of Rome advocated a tax on industrialized countries. (The Club of Rome is a global think tank that has had great influence on the U.N., often asked by the U.N. to supply studies and advice. It is composed of scientists, economists, former heads of state and others. In 1972, it warned that the world would run out of gold by 1981, mercury by 1985, tin by 1987, zinc by 1990, petroleum by 1992, and copper, lead and natural gas by 1993.)

The 1980’s saw Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar propose the establishment of a U.N. Peace Endowment Fund with an initial target of one billion dollars, not only from voluntary funds but from assessed contributions as well.

Following Javier Perez de Cuellar as Secretary General in 1992 was Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who made the subject of a tax more prominent than ever before. He proposed a tax on arms sales throughout the world, a tax on international travel, and a general tax exemption for contributions made to the U.N. by foundations, businesses and individuals. He said, "The question of assuring financial security to the Organization over the long term is of such importance and complexity that public awareness and support must be heightened."

Although Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali spoke and wrote highly of the sovereignty of the State, he added in his article, "An Agenda for Peace," that "The time of absolute and exclusive sovereignty, however, has passed; its theory was never matched by reality. It is the task of leaders of States today to understand this and to find a balance between the needs of good internal governance and the requirements of an ever more interdependent world." At the time, there was such enthusiasm for a tax that there was serious argument over whether industrialized nations such as the United States should simply be taxed as nations or citizens of the selected nations should be taxed directly by the United Nations Organization.

The first years of the 21st Century have seen the most serious threat of what is now called a "global tax" to be administered by the United Nations Organization. Secretary General Kofi Annan wrote a paper in which he itemized proposals for global taxation, including a "bit tax" on the volume of data transmitted through the Internet. Secretary General Annan noted that at one U.S. cent on every 1,000 kilobytes of data, that tax "would have generated $70 billion U.S. dollars."

Expanding on a Bhoutros Bhoutros-Ghali idea, Kofi Annan argued for an international air transport tax since "experts recognize air transport of passengers and cargo as a key source of environmental pollution due to emissions and noise."

Other proposals of the Secretary General duplicated old proposals of Bhoutros Bhoutros-Ghali and some new ones: taxation of arms exports from one country to another, a carbon tax which could "contribute to a global public good, namely the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions." Kofi Annan noted that "a gallon of gasoline or a ton of coal cannot be readily disguised." Another proposal is for a currency transaction fee calling for taxation of foreign exchange markets "probably collected at the point of payment or settlement in the banking systems."

The Global Policy Forum, a tax-exempt organization that has consultative status and advises on financial matters for the United Nations, added other proposals for "the changing role of states and sovereignty." It stated, "The international community cannot allow the United States government to hold the world hostage and block vitally important progress. Like-minded governments and citizen groups must advance together towards the goal of global taxes." Proposals noted by the Global Policy Forum include a fee for the use of radio/television/mobile phones and other items within the electronic spectrum, a tax on the profits of transnational corporations, a tax on international advertising, and a "parking fee" for earth-orbiting satellites (although Kofi Annan said "the satellite use of outer space would not generate significant revenue at any reasonable tax rate.")

In 2002, Secretary General Kofi Annan appointed a "U.N. High Level Panel on Financing for Development." Its Executive Summary stated that "the Panel proposes that the international community should consider the potential benefits of an International Tax Organization."

Throughout all the proposals are three consistent objectives: to redistribute wealth from rich to poor countries, to influence policy by increasing the cost to consumers of products and services the U.N. opposes, and to inaugurate a new avenue for income to the United Nations Organization.

The implications are, of course, tremendous to the United States, There is the obvious damage to U.S. sovereignty and its place in the world, and there is something else: even if the tax is well-spent by the U.N., (which the U.N.’s history tells us is outrageously unlikely) such taxation would take away the ability to do those things the United States has done through voluntary actions and turn them into mandatory obedience. The U.N. should never forget that after World War II, the United States could have made the world its taxpayer, but instead the United States chose to tax its own citizens to help friends and former foes rebuild their cities, as well as finance governments that fought against us to construct the foundations of democracy. Foreign aid from the United States has never stopped in the years since then through the U.S. Government and through considerable private charitable contributions.

No one should assume a global tax is far-fetched. Unsurprisingly, French President Jacques Chirac said, "We cannot avoid setting up a system of international taxation."

The Global Policy Forum wrote, "As recently as the 1990s, global taxes seemed a distant hope — bedeviled by technical concerns, opposed by powerful interests and blocked by an intractable United States government. But today the political balance has shifted."

Some moonlit night near the end of 2004, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., John Danforth, should go to the great mansion on the East River with the mission of telling her, "Sorry, Sweetheart. I just came by to tell you to gather your things."

I know, I know. Ending a bad relationship is tough.

Jack's Link

Great job all.
Bloggers have made a dent in the biased Main Stream Media and they're aware of it.
they'll be on the attack now.

Posted on Sun, Sep. 12, 2004

EDITORIAL: New century finds a new journalism

If you're a media buff - and who isn't, in America in 2004? - then circle Thursday, Sept. 9, on your mental calendar. Because that's the day weblogs came into their own.

And politics and journalism never will be the same.

What happened Thursday is that webloggers or "bloggers" latched on to a controversial "60 Minutes"/CBS News story - and then worked the thing, with a stubbornness and tenacity that would have done credit to a pack of bulldogs or a turn of snapping turtles - or, yes, an army of investigative reporters.

As a result, CBS was forced to respond within a single news cycle. And although the network eventually stood by its story, more holes are showing up in the thing almost by the hour, and there's a fair chance the network will have to retract.

This may have been the first time a TV network was forced to respond so quickly to an Internet critique. But it won't be the last time for America's networks, newspapers or other institutions, because bloggers now are responding to events not as opinion writers but as fact-checkers and skilled reporters.

Here's the short form of what happened. Wednesday night: CBS's "60 Minutes" program broadcast a powerful and damaging report about President Bush. A young George W. Bush pulled strings not only to get into the Texas Air National Guard but also to be eased out without fulfilling his obligations, the report claimed.

And among other things, it cited a handful of newly uncovered documents as proof.

That's when the bloggers - especially conservative bloggers - chomped down. CBS posted copies of the incriminating documents online. But within hours, a poster named Buckhead at www.freerepublic.com saw that the documents looked more like the product of 2004 word processing than a 1972 typewriter.

Power Line, a Twin Cities-based weblog - it's at www.powerlineblog.com and is well worth reading, especially if you're new to the weblog phenomenon - posted Buckhead's comments. Then, in a clattering crescendo of keystrokes, the issue exploded in cyberspace. Soon www.indcjournal.com had interviewed a "forensic document" specialist who agreed the documents likely were fakes. Then www.littlegreenfootballs.com retyped the memos using Microsoft Word and showed them to be a perfect typographic match. Then retired Air National Guard officers and enlisted clerks weighed in, noting that the memos broke many 1970s-era rules of military style.

And that was only a hundredth of it.

The most amazing thing is that these developments could be followed in real time by anyone owning a computer. CBS issued periodic statements throughout the day Thursday, but by Friday, the cyberweight of the bloggers' (and, by then, talk-radio, TV and newspaper) reports couldn't be ignored. So Dan Rather on "CBS Evening News" defended the original report.

But a Saturday cybertour found more experts frowning at the documents, more newspapers publishing their own critical reports and even a CBS source or two walking away from the original story.

If CBS winds up retracting, the credit will have to go to the "blogosphere," a new and powerful force in journalism. Twin Cities blogger James Lileks of www.lileks.com said it best: "The Internet smells blood and leaps, and that has turned the game around, for better or worse."
Tom Dennis for the Herald

Steal this button! Steal this Bumpersticker!

No, I sure didn't have anything to do with the Great CBS-Blogophere Scrimage of 2004, but I sure did have a good time commemorating it.

Steal this button. Display it proudly in YOUR gutters, because you've earned it!

And if you have a good printer and would like a bumpersticker commemorating it too, feel free! Or even better Cruise on over to the shop and buy one. There are also cool shirts, a hat, and a lovely unmentionable that will certainly mention your involvement as a member of the Blogosphere Truth Squad.

Thanks to John of Aarrgghhh! for the inspiration. Go read him. Gaze in wonder at his armory. I want to vacation at his house next summer so I can play with his toys.

Exceptional Pieces.

American Warmonger reposts an excellent piece.

Blogs for Bush has several items posted by guest bloggers.

Bittersweet has a beautiful photo essay, and a remembrance of Barbara Olsen.

The Briar Patch also has a photo essay.

We find Intemperate Thoughts at Intemperate Thoughts.

Sir George says it all at the Rottie.

Cox and Forkum. 'Nuff said.

Pardon my English had two Good Posts.

Azygos posts this letter to his son.

Doc Russia discusses the third anniversary.

Update: In an ever continuing search, I find and would like to add some more excellent pieces to the list.

Red Falcon at The Steiner Aid discusses it as his tipping point.

Thanks to Jeremy at American Warmonger, we now have Radiocyborg Simplex who gives us his perspective from his duty assignment and the USS Ramage. And Brodie? You are like so linked.

Bonfire? Well, this is one of the most damning things I've read in a long time.

One needs only enter Castle Aarrgghhh to get a good understanding of the links.

Weaselteeth gives us a veteran's perspective.

Memory

I was sitting at work, taking calls, paging doctors, drinking my first coffee of the morning, and wondering about when breaks would start.

The door opened, and the director of the department came in, flushed and out of breath. "Turn on the TV. There's been an accident in New York."

We turned on the television and watched in horror as moments later the second plane hit.

"We're at war." I remember saying that, and seeing everyone's face turn to me like I was out of my mind. Everyone but the director, who nodded in agreement.

We watched. The cameras were far enough away from the towers on the network we watched that we never saw the many who jumped rather than burn. We only saw the smoke and the flames.

We watched as they broke in and showed within an inserted feed the smoke rising from the Pentagon.

I remember wondering why the civil defense radio had not gone off. All of that Cold War training as a child was oozing to the surface, and the instinct was to hide, to find cover, but the images on the screen were so compelling in their horror that I was powerless to do anything but watch, and cry, and answer phone calls and page doctors and to do so while desparately trying to keep the panic and fear and overwhelming anger out of my voice.

"Thank you for calling St. [blank] Hospital." Oh, no, what's happening?
"And what is the name of the patient?" What happened to the building? Oh, my God, it's gone!
"Thank you, he is in Room [blank], would you like that number?" All of those police! All of those firemen! All of the ambulances in the street! No, this isn't real, this isn't real.
"One moment while I connect you to that room. Thank you." Please, God, no..."

Every few seconds, another call, another person, most of them completely unaware of what was happening only 4 states away in a city, 2 states away in a field, 3 states away in our capital. Take a call, do what was asked of me, release the call, look at the television. Pray for the dying and the dead. Mutter curses under my breath at the unknown party who did this. Cry for mercy for the suffering both within the battle zone and sitting in their homes watching and wondering about their spouses, children, parents in the line of fire.

I remember thinking about Pearl Harbor and the way my parents described that day, decades ago, in another century. I remember thinking about the Maine, for some odd reason, and of that war.

The disembodied voices of the ABC anchors droned on. 40,000 potential victims in the towers. Thousands more on the streets. A leg found on a building a block away. Papers flying like oversized confetti at an macabre and obscene ticker tape parade celebrating a successful act of aggression against us, against our country and our home and our way of life.

We never turned the television off for over a week in the office. We came in, sat quietly, took our calls and paged our doctors and found our patients for the moms and dads and cousins and neighbors who sought them. We kept he panic and terror and tears and anger out of our voices, never letting them affect our work.

The tears have dried. The panic has faded. The terror had been transfigured into purpose.

The anger smoulders just beneath the surface. It has been the hardest to control, but I have no intention of extinguishing its hot, red embers.

Always remember. Never forget. Prepare, be vigilant, be mindful, be decisive, be ready.

Trolls, Aren't they...cute?

Norman, the gutless wonder who didn't have the gonadal fortitude or testicular appendages to post a legit email link, has decided to enlighten me to my physical shortcomings and give me some seriously needed counseling in a comment to the Stolen Honor, Redux post:

Yikes! I saw your picture. Is that really you? You don't need no fucking waffles bitch. You need a diet! And a makeover.

Give up the internet shit and get some work done.

Fast.

Well, "Norman" this is your lucky day. You get to be moderately famous. Of course, I'm relatively sure you followed me from Gutrumbles where I have been commenting a lot lately. So I'm going to let Rob have your IP too. I've already banned it here, and being the gentleman he is, I'm sure he will at least consider banning your sorry ass there too.

And on the outside chance you followed me from Nice Doggie, I'll be doing the same there. Emperor Misha might deny my request, but he may not. Either way, it will be satisfying to turn it over to them.

So "Norman," you have given me a little hobby for the day. Thanks.

Stolen Honor, Redux

Sir George, Knight of the Rottie Realm, has posted an update at the Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler containing a link to clips from the upcoming documentary Stolen Honor.

Four more interview brings the total to seven, and they are deeply touching and extremely powerful.

Go, take the time, and watch. Hear their words.

Ilicit

I want to feel your breath upon me,
Feel your hands so firm and gentle
Pulling me close to you.
I want to feel your breath upon me,
Feel your body, hard and heavy
Long after we are through
Making love,
Learning all the little secrets
Two people have inside,
Lying in the darkness,
So much we want to hide.

Bodies melt together,
Perfectly aligned.
Caressing in the moonglow
Bathed in light so fine.
Sometimes rough and tumble,
Or sweet as apple wine.
Boundaries fall like raindrops
Space is redefined.

We twine together in the darkness,
Bidding our innocence farewell
And sharing kisses deep.
We twine together in the darkness,
Tangled up in sweet, musky sheets
And wish that we could keep
Making love.
Your tears fall down upon my face
For lovers we betray,
And I look at you, tender eyed,
Wishing the pain away.

Faces brush each other,
in the growing light.
Another sun is rising
vanquishing the night
that covered us in velvet,
jeweled with stars aflight
within your dark sleepy eyes,
hot embers crimson-bright.

Velociman

First, I killed the comment thread on his post, Frances, and Deformities with my story.

Now it appears I have killed his entire blog. After he posted the comment as Truss Me, he has posted nothing else. Nothing. It's as though, as though... Aaaarrrgghh!

Man, I really feel bad. I'm a Blog-Murderess! Please, say it isn't so!

Outrage

Where is the outrage from the Peacemakers over the senseless and violent deaths of over 350 children at the hands of Al Quaida trained murderers? Where are the political statements from both the amateur and professional Social Consciences?

I have looked all over Lucianne.com, checked the Drudgereport, and listened to both local and national news, and I have heard little from the Champions of Peace.

George Soros has written no substantial check from the monies he acquired by raping and pillaging the economies of nations who now lash out at each other in genocidal wars.

Michael Moore has not announced that his next "dramatic documentary" will be filmed in and around the school and feature unauthorized footage of the families of victims of the masacre.

Jimmy Carter has not organized his observers to watch for further masacres.

Robert Redford has not recorded the narration of a PBS documentary about the masacre.

Alec Baldwin has not threatened to move.

Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins have not taken time from their busy shooting schedules to organize a rally against the murderers.

Martin Sheen has not taped himself up in duct tape and paraded about with crucifix in hand to protest the masacre.

Moveon.org has organized no Call for Submissions for 30 second spots decrying the masacre or the Al Quaida persons responsible.

Students at Evergreen College have not organized into cells to act as human shields in Russian Schools.

Arianna Huffington has not borrowed a plane already on it's way to Russia to go and give support to the families affected by the masacre.

I have seen not one "Bin Laden=Hitler" sign in the hands of a protesting marcher. I have seen no protests at all.

There has been no condemnation of the masacre by either of the large mosques in Indianapolis. In fact, other than one item in the Arab Times that was carried in a few other outlets, I've seen no outrage from the Muslim press.

Yes, a few of us have cried out in horror. A few of us have prayed for the families, cried out for justice, or demanded vengence. But we are merely small, anonymous voices in a vast electronic land, invisible but for a few readers. Our voices are lost in the wind, but still we speak out.

The large voices, however, the voices with power and audience and authority, remain eeriliy silent.

Their silence is deafening.

Beslan Update

For the last several days, news outlets such as the BBC and some domestic networks and papers have downplayed any outside involvement in the recent masacre in Beslan. Even though initial reports clearly stated that 10 of the homicide terrorists involved were Arab nationals of one nationality or another, the Beeb insisted that witness could not remember ever seeing an Arab murderer-rapist in with the rest of the captors.

As far as these sources were concerned, this was an entirely domestic problem, entirely the fault of Putin and Russia.

Of course, not only was this a simplistic view of the masacre, it was completely inaccurate.

Russian officials said authorities have determined that 10 of the 32 suicide attackers who took over a high school in Beslan in North Ossetia last week were nationals from several Arab countries. Most of the attackers were Chechens and Ingush who had been trained at Al Qaida camps in Afghanistan.

According to the World Tribune, the head of the Chechen "insurgency", Shamil Basayev received funding from the Sauds for years, and utilized these funds for the employment of hundreds of homicide bombers and other terrorists for use within Chechnya and other former Soviet republics.

But no. Not according to the Beeb. No Arabs here. Move along, nothing to see here.

On one "happy" note:

All of the captors were said to have been killed, but three accomplices were arrested, Middle East Newsline reported.

And those accomplices? From the photo I saw of one of them on the Reuters/AP photowire, he's scared shitless. He should be. Russia has no Gitmo, no high-priced and unscrupulous lawyers bidding for the opportunity to make names for themselves by falling all over each other in an attempt to represent terrorists, no 9th Circuit protecting the rights of murderers over innocents.

He should be terrified. Better yet, he should be dead.

Update: You need to avail yourselves of these photos before they disappear into the cyber abyss. This is what awaited those parents in the aftermath. Thank you, Darth Monkeybone, for that link.

Jack's Link

Jack sent this one with no additional comment, so I will add my own to this one.

Mark Styne, columnist for the Chicago Sun Times and for Britains Telegraph Group, has a piece in today's Australian about the masacre of 350 (at this time) children in a school in Beslan.

No Word For It But Slaughter says in plain and brutal language what must be said. Mr. Styne says it so well, there is nothing I can add, nor can I cherry-pick a quote that adequately sums up the item. It bears reading in it's entirety. It also bears being posted in as many places as possible.

Jack, this is an amazing piece. Thank you for sending me this link. And the rest of you? Get reading.

toesies.

I decided to do something today that I have never done in my entire 47 years: I got a pedicure. Sat in the vibrating chair, feet in the steaming hot whirlpool bath, head leaned back enjoying the sensations...

Oh. My. Goodness. I feel like a new woman. I can see how a woman can get addicted to this sort of thing. It was darned near a religious experience. The idea that I can walk into a place and an attractive young man will bathe, trim, pamper, lotion, and massage my feet while I sit like a queen is amazing.

He just put a white polish on this time. Next time, I'll get a pretty color. Pink, perhaps. Maybe red. I'll have to give it some thought.

It just seems such an extravagance, such a waste of money. But I decided that I have gone without buying myself any new clothes for over 2 years, I never go out "with the girls" and spend money in bars, I do all the errand running, hold down a stressful job... One little pamper?

I could justify it. I'm glad I did. They don't even look like my own feet, all pink and smooth and almost pretty.

I almost feel pretty and not just like an old drudge, a filly instead of an old plow horse.

Jack's Link

Lila,

Heartbreaking events in Russia, that could as easily have been here at home.
Remember Richard Reid ? The MSM didn't cover this well enough, especially the sentencing. We need to ferret out the scum in this nation too, while I'd prefer the Russian method of retribution, we have to rely on those jelly types whose political correctness lets these animals roam about freely. What this nation needs is more judges like Judge William Young, the only thing I disagree with is his sentence of life instead of death. In the meantime we as a nation can vote some of these pacifist judges out of their positions.

Jack

You can find and read the transcript below in the extended post, or take the link above to the transcript as presented by CNN. --Mamamontezz

Judge William Young

Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you.
" we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties".
-- Judge William Young


On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General. On counts 2, 3, 4 and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutive one with the other. That's 80 years.

On Count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years consecutive to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes upon you on each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 for the aggregate fine of $2 million.

The Court accepts the government's recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines.

The Court imposes upon you the $800 special assessment.

The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need not go any further.

This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair and a just sentence. It is a righteous sentence. Let me explain this to you.

We are not afraid of any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is all too much war talk here. And I say that to everyone with the utmost respect.

Here in this court where we deal with individuals as individuals, and care for individuals as individuals, as human beings we reach out for justice.

You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier gives you far too much stature. Whether it is the officers of government who do it or your attorney who does it, or that happens to be your view, you are a terrorist.

And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not treat with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists.

We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.

So war talk is way out of line in this court. You're a big fellow. But you're not that big. You're no warrior. I know warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal guilty of multiple attempted murders.

In a very real sense Trooper Santiago had it right when first you were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and where the TV crews were and you said you're no big deal. You're no big deal.

What your counsel, what your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led you here to this courtroom today? I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing.

And I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you. But as I search this entire record it comes as close to understanding as I know.

It seems to me you hate the one thing that to us is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose.

Here, in this society, the very winds carry freedom. They carry it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom. So that everyone can see, truly see that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely.

It is for freedom's seek that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf and have filed appeals, will go on in their, their representation of you before other judges. We care about it. Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties.

Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bear any burden; pay any price, to preserve our freedoms.

Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. Day after tomorrow it will be forgotten. But this, however, will long endure. Here, in this courtroom, and courtrooms all across America, the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual justice is in fact being done.

The very President of the United States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged, and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of justice.

See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America. That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That flag still stands for freedom. You know it always will. Custody, Mr. Officer. Stand him down.

YOUNG: We'll recess. All rise.

Aftermath

When the ambulance pulled into the schoolyard to retrieve the bodies of the dead, some children saw the opportunity and seized it.

They broke windows, crawled out through the broken glass and ran.

They ran for lives. They ran from the insanity and hate that had taken over their school. They ran for safety and freedom and their parents. They ran even as bullets rained down on them from snipers positioned above. They ran as Russian commandos began their attack on the building.

They ran.

Then the attack was over.

Over 150 bodies were found piled in the gymnasium after the attack. Children's bodies. Small bodies. Explosions brought the gymnasium roof down on them, covering them with debris.

Children's bodies littered the area surrounding the school. Bullet holes pocked their backs.

Mothers and fathers now file by the bodies covered with sheets, looking for the fragile, broken children whom they must now return to the earth even as their souls have been returned to heaven. Other parents search the hospitals, hoping against hope that the injuries are minor, short-lived.. Others wonder how long the scars on hearts and minds will last.

150 bodies. Many hundred more scattered, fearful, terrified, changed.

10 terrorists dead, their bodies betraying their motives and their origin. 10 Arab bodies. Not 10 Chechens. Not 10 local citizens.

10 Arab insurgents in a country not their own, there to commit acts of terror
and murder against a people with whom they have no other quarrel than ethnicity and religion. 10 outsiders insinuating themselves into a conflict as a means of exploiting it for their own agenda.

Local citizens went to their homes, retreived their weapons, and hunted down the insurgents. Hunted them down and killed them like mad dogs. Hanged one. Beat one to death.

Three "Brave Freedom Fighters" cowered in the basement like cornered rats until the commandos retreived them.

May they all rot, naked and unburied with no prayers for the obscene darkness of their souls. May they wander for eternity in a hell of their own making, forever haunted by the screams of the innocents murdered at their hands. May the vultures grow fat on their putrid carcasses.

Navy Reviewing Kerry's Medals?

Sometimes a blogger hits it so completely, so righteously, that there is nothing more to add. This is one of those times.

Obnoxious Droppings nails this one, as he usually does. I, for one, will be watching as this one either develops or is ignored by Great Big Annointed Media.

Sic'em, Squids!

The Russian Mothers

I can barely imagine the panic and terror and heartbreaking grief of the Russian parents, trapped outside of their children's school, powerless to save them, unable to hold and comfort them, victims all of a group of Islamofascist Murderers.

This is not the act of "Freedom Fighters" driving a group of invaders from a disputed occupied land. These foul vermin crossed the border from their state, entered into Russia, selected a school full of children on the first day of the school year, and shot their way in, killing eight people as they did. Differing reports state between 150 and 200 little children now languish in fear within the school, dangled from windows in a blatent attempt to terrorize the mothers and fathers, already near hysteria with their own impotence to stop this insanity.

There is no bravery here. There is no threat, real or imagined, from Kindergartners and little first graders. A group of 7yr olds isn't going to rise up and cause them harm. The fragile little children are no match for guns and bombs. This is the most extreme sort of cowardice, the most satanic sort of cruelty, a psychotic act against innocence in the name of God.

Gone are the days of Baal and the blood sacrifices required to sate him. Gone are the days of Pele and her need for burnt offerings. Civilization moved on, left the superstitions and evil which demaned life for life, left it in all of the major religious cultures existing today except for one.

I cannot honestly say what I would do in the place of one of the mothers standing outside of that school, perhaps her only child pressed against the window in a sadistic display, thinking that perhaps this will be the only, the last time you will see this child alive. I cannot say what I would do at that time.

I do know that my child's death would also cause the death of something within me, something extremely important. It would cause the death of my humanity and a great deal of my morality, and that would be very bad news for anyone I believed was like those who killed my child.