The Lazy Half S Ranch

There's No "I " In Teamster

2011-09-06T21:29:00.002-05:00

Song Lyrics from Nat.lampoon's "There's no "I" in Teamster"
Presented in honor of the Labor Day threat from Junior Hoffa:

There's no "I " in Teamster cause Teamsters are a team
There's no "I " in Teamster, it is a union dream
There's no "I " in Teamster, there is an "M"& "E"
'Cause Teamsters were made for you and me!

There's an "R" and "A" in Teamster, there also is a "T"
But there are no rats in Teamster, they disappear magically
We're a brotherhood of men who share a common line,
That's why Teamsters have no rats.

There's "S","A","M" in Teamster you can be sure of that,
I' ve known a lot of fine 'Sam' s , not one of them was a rat,
Except for Sam Gravada , who turned State's evidence
And Sammy The Rat they turned up dead.

There's no "I " in Teamster cause Teamsters are a team,
You're 'wid' us or 'agin' us, there is no in between,
It's better to be with us, you can just ask Sammy The Rat,
If you could make his headless body talk,
If you could make his headless body talk!
~~~Zune , Rhapsody, and Amazon have this avaliable, if you want the tune,
the rest of the album looks awful, though...

Captain America

2011-07-22T11:16:00.003-05:00

Saw it with my Wife, High School aged daughters at midnight last night.
My Wife liked the romance, the girls loved the movie,

I did too.

Honor.
Valor.
Duty.
Self-sacrifice.
All of these patriotic virtues are displayed by the 90 lb. Steve Rogers.

I got a little misty eyed at scenes in Camp Lehigh from that gutsy, determined underdog.

When he gets transmogrified into Captain America, the hero he has always been on the inside becomes visible to all.

Nice Stan Lee cameo. Nuff said.

Do stay all the way through the stirring music in the credits to see a preview of 'The Avengers'.

.MINOR SPOILER ALERT
.
.
.
.
The Girls weren't familiar with the story, and were a little confused by the ending in the modern day and ( as avid romance novel readers) were sad that Steve missed his dance.

Growthless recovery

2011-07-06T12:46:00.002-05:00

I'll take Bush's "Expanding Recession"
http://t.co/c00mnvG" over Obama's
"Growthless Recovery" http://t.co/S6XLoDN

Everybody say freedom !

2011-07-03T01:38:00.001-05:00

"Happy Happy Happy #4thofjuly"

I love to see the fresh patriotism of immigrants.
It gives me hope for the future of America.
It's a Beautiful country.

Limerick

2011-06-15T23:31:00.005-05:00

Obama was raised Indonesian,

As a young man lived quite Dionysian.

From Wright, Ayers, Dohrn,
Alinsky; he learned scorn

For governance not strictly Keynesian.

-Terry_Jim
www.thelazyhalfsranch.blogspot.com

Gratitude

2010-11-25T09:54:00.003-06:00

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.
It turns what we have into enough, and more.
It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.
It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.
Gratitude makes sense of our past,
brings peace for today,
and creats a vision for tomorrow.

-Melody Beattie

For the past 9 years, Bellevue,NE Wal-Mart associates design, plot, and till a mile-long message to the men and women flying in and out of Offutt AFB:

"Shotton said his message offers gratitude for the pilots and flight crews who take off and land from nearby Offutt Air Force Base. He said the people at the base have christened the area Freedom Fields.

"Thank you for freedom," he said. "Again, we take that for granted so many times, and thank God we live in a country we do, and thank God you all are doing what you do." "
Happy Thanksgiving Day!

My Review of Window Lift Motor

2010-10-10T10:49:00.001-05:00

Originally submitted at Advance Auto Parts

Product Features:

100% computer-tested at 3 points during the manufacturing process
Engineered for reliable performance
Assembled with precisely the correct amount of lubricant
Designed for quiet operation and a l...

Learn from my FAIL

By Terry_Jim from Council Bluffs,IA on 10/10/2010

Pros: Fits and functions

Cons: Reuse old bolts clips, Difficult to attach reg

Car & Truck: Auto Enthusiast, Casual Driver

A fine , fitting, functional motor, BUT: If you haven't done this job before, buy the entire regulator and motor for easy installation. Otherwise,first tape window closed, remove old motor-without removing regulator- install new motor on door, use 2 hands to release spring tension from regulator, and 2 hands to remove the plastic spool and whatchamacallit from the old unit and put on new.
I was 2 hands short, and the spool came unwound, resulting in an epic struggle that caused me to buy the entire unit- which comes with new bolts and door panel clips, neither of which come with this motor.

(legalese)

My Review of Window Regulator

2010-10-10T10:35:00.001-05:00

Originally submitted at Advance Auto Parts

Dorman Window Regulators are direct replacements that have been redesigned to improve known failure points.

Don't just buy motor, BUY THIS

By Terry_Jim from Council Bluffs, IA on 10/10/2010

Pros: Includes EVERYTHING, Easy To Use

Cons: Fragile Door panel clips

Car & Truck: Casual Driver

I bought just a motor, but the regulator came apart when I was installing it. after an epic 3 hour battle, I purchased this. Unlike the plain motor, this kit has everything you need- new bolts for the motor and regulator, new door panel clips, heck, even the bag it comes in can be used to replace torn up plastic lining the door. If you havent done this before, you wont save money by buying the barebones replacement motor. If it's time to replace the motor, replace the regulator too and save yourself some time and struggle.

(legalese)

YOU BLEW IT UP!! , Oh , never mind...

2010-08-15T22:59:00.008-05:00

You half expect to see Charlton Heston beating the sand here , don't you ?

"Oh my God. I'm back. I'm home. All the time it was... We finally, really, did it. YOU MANIACS!
YOU BLEW IT UP! AH DAMN YOU!..."
Around the bend from our place, on the new beautiful 24th Street bridge over Interstate 80
in Council Bluffs, the Iowa West Foundation (the philanthropic organization funded by casinos) has paid $3,000,000 to erect 4 pointy,twisted, partialy rusty structures.

When we saw the first rusty, jagged spires of "Odyssey" erected, the kids said that they looked like the Shards-O-Glass pops in the satiric anti-tobacco ad.

The bridge is at the first exit in Iowa on Eastbound I-80 from Omaha, Nebraska.
I thought those prickly things were like wrapping Council Bluffs' (and Iowa's) welcome mat with barbed wire.

Title: Paley’s “Odyssey” Creates a Destination in Council Bluffs, Iowa from Iowa West Public Art on Vimeo.

The artwork is complete, and NOW I see the important artistic statement in the completed structures. There is a message of warning here, and "Odyssey" is the perfect name.

As Circe warned Odysseus about the Sirens in Homer's "Odyssey" (Thanks, Yahoo search) Paley's "Odyssey" sculpture warns travelers what happens to those who follow the siren call.

They look like shipwrecks.

Consider the shipwrecked lives of gambling addicts- the folks casinos depend on for as 30%-50% of their revenue.
It took Tens of Millions of dollars lost at casinos for IowaWest Foundation to spend $3 Million to fund this display, making Paley's Odyssey fitting, and an ironic bite of the hand that fed him.

Art,It IS indeed.

BP Gulf Claims Money

2010-06-19T00:58:00.004-05:00

BP has pledged $20 Billion to help pay for the damage caused by the Deepwater Horizon accident.

President Obama has instructed that BP not be involved with the distribution of that money.

If you believe you have a claim which is

not being paid adequately,

or in a timely manner,

call the Gulf Repayment Hotline:
202-456-1414

-a tip of the hat to Rich Galen, http://www.mullings.com/

BP How to make a claim BP clean up fund BP reembursement money BP damages BP oil spill claims

Miss Teen Beauty Queen

2010-06-06T11:30:00.004-05:00

Making Dad Proud.

Note the "tan line" where her gloves were.

Go, go, goalie!

Worry ?

2010-03-10T23:47:00.006-06:00

To paraphrase LBJ,
When the latest MAD Magazine arrived in the Oval Office,
BHO said, "Well, that's it.
If we've lost Alfred E. Neuman,
we've lost the idiots."

The National Debt Road Trip

2010-02-01T19:40:00.002-06:00

The folks at Political Math likens the growth of government debt to a road trip.

For most of the first 150 years the car idled along at 5mph
Then in the depression and WWII FDR upped it to 40 mph.
Truman backed down the debt at -20 mph
Avg. was 3 mph till Reagan 50mph.
GHWB 63 mph
Clinton 18 MPH
GWB 64 mph the fastest in history.

Obama's own 8 year plan
shows that he plans to drive the debt car at 174 mph.

My brother said "Obama accelerates to 174,
puts his feet up on the dash and complains at how fast the last guy was speeding ! "
See the video here:
http://hotair.com/archives/2009/07/27/video-the-national-debt-road-trip/

Another great illustration:

http://dctrawler.dailycaller.com/2010/02/01/a-simple-five-step-process-for-understanding-the-deficit-and-peoples-reactions-to-it/comment-page-2/#comments

Misplaced obsession

2010-01-13T00:16:00.004-06:00

A CNN report: thousands of Avatar fans write in an internet fan forum that they are depressed, even suicidal when they find that real reality is not as fantastic as a fantasy CGI cartoon movie.

In related news, from the Night At The Museum forum:
"Why can't dinosaur bones and wax figures come to life after sunset?
I may end it all."

In related news, from the Princess and the Frog forum:
"Why can't I live as a frog in a swamp with an alligator who plays the trumpet like Louis Armstrong?
I could just die."

In related news, from the Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel forum:
"Why don't the chipmunks in my neighborhood sing and dance, instead of biting, clawing, and peeing all over my hands when I try to put them in the clothes I made for them?
I'm going to jump off a bridge."

Seriously, though, can I get a pair of Barcaloungers upholstered in Na'vi hide? Because if you can't live in a world with furniture covered in blue leather flecked with otherworldly bioluminesence, why would you want to live?

Generosity

2009-12-24T05:43:00.002-06:00

Police stop generous Ind. 5th-grader with $10,000
(AP) – 22 hours ago

SELMA, Ind. — Police say a fifth-grader handed out about $300 to others on the bus ride to his eastern Indiana school. Problem is, they say, the cash was among some $10,000 he took from his grandparents' safe.

Delaware County Sheriff George Sheridan says the boy was riding the bus to Selma Elementary School when he handed out the money on Friday, the last school day before Christmas vacation began.

Children who received the ones, fives and twenties told teachers and the principal, and the sheriff's department was called.

Officers found the boy carrying the rest of the cash, which was returned to his grandparents. Police weren't certain what he intended to do with the money or how he got it from the safe.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

The boy misses the point of generosity.
Is it a gift if it costs the giver nothing?

In a related story, the Senate votes this morning for a 'generous' health care take over that will cost them nothing, as they and their staff, and their families wont participate in it.
It builds a framework for the sort of liberty stifling, European styled, soft fascism that will cost my children, and their children, the American Dream- Freedom to succeed or fail .

You will hear the Senate majority call this a "Christmas gift" to Americans, a newsie already called Senate passage,"A Christmas gift to the President". They have that Selma,IN 5th grader's understanding of gifts. They are reaching into the pockets of unborn generations to give this. It cost them nothing except an extension of the usual 3 day work week of the Senate.

Generosity? Look at the Christmas story for true generosity.

The God who made us,
willingly gave of himself,

gave his Son.

We, the undeserving needy
can turn to Him ,
and receive his gift:

Redemption, Salvation, New Life.
Precious gifts
that cost Him the lifeblood of His Son.

Freely given, freely received.

Merry Christmas, friends.

Big 'Ol Box Of Rocks

2009-12-20T01:00:00.006-06:00

I'm sure I speak for big brothers everywhere when I say,
"Nuh Uh, Santa. She's lyin' !!!"
Presented in UltraTechnaVistaPana Lazy Half S Vision

Too cute, "Box Of Rocks" by the Song Trust.
-------------
Here is a beautiful song called "Bring Him Home, Santa".

You will cry,
it's O.K.

You're welcome,
Merry Christmas.

The Opposite of Depression

2009-11-26T08:02:00.002-06:00

A psychologist, noting the upswing in counseling appointments around the holidays said something profound-
"The opposite of depression isn’t ‘Yippee!’
The opposite of depression is gratitude."

Read this article.

Happy Thanksgiving Day !!

Hey, I got one ahead of the curve!!

2009-11-04T19:46:00.005-06:00

It isn't often you can visit here
and read something ahead of the curve
(or even a recent post)
and don't think it will happen again, but it happened September 14th.
read " O "- The Mini Series.
The only thing missing are styrofoam columns.

THIS WEEK catches up.

A platter of fresh Guinea pigs for them!

I Never knew they were getting $billions in my stimulus bill.

2009-09-20T23:16:00.002-05:00

"Knock, Knock."

Who's there?

"ACORN."

"ACORN who??"

"C'mon, Mr President, open the door!"

If you disagree with this post , you are a RACIST!!

2009-09-14T23:50:00.004-05:00

So many racists in the music world..

Kanye West tries to restore the MTV Female Video Award to its rightful owner, and he is met with a backlash that is obviously based in racism. People mag reports:

Stars watching the show and tweeting immediately posted their thoughts on the incident. "Kanye needs to learn how to wait his turn," Zac Hanson wrote. "I am sure he will get plenty of mic time to say something stupid later in the show."

Wait his TURN ! What do you mean by THAT? Kanye doesn't have to follow the MAN's clock , when he has something stupid to say, it IS Kanye's turn.

Country singer John Rich went even further with his tweet: “KanyeWest is a lowlife. He needs to have his @@@ kicked in the middle of the stage right now! What a piece of @@@@!!! Go TAYLOR SWIFT.”

See there, a 'Rich ' white man puts Kanye down and threatens to lynch him .

Pink, who was also nominated for best female video, tweeted: “Kanye west is
the biggest piece of s– on earth. Quote me.” And Katy Perry followed suit: “F– U
KANYE. IT'S LIKE U STEPPED 0N A KITTEN.”

Look girls, Kanye just thought it would be better to spread the award around to people who didn't win it, you know, like the President told that white plumber Joe that he wants to spread around Joe's stuff. If you are against THAT, you are an obvious racist.

Speaking of the President, Drudge reported an ABC reporter’s tweet quoting Obama as saying “Kanye is a jackass” . That's two Presidents in a row that 'hate black people' by Kanye's count.

"O" - This Fall on A B C

2009-08-08T23:54:00.006-05:00

It looks like the Obama worship will be parodied by none other than ABC this fall.

See this preview in which:

the world awakens to new overlords hovering above the populace like czars or commisars,

a charming face and soft demeanor disguise an agenda obvious to a few though invisible to most,

young people are enthralled by the 'coolness' of the leader who is worshiped for spreading "hope" and gifts,

the 'watchdog' press has its choke chain jerked,

those who won't bow the knee are not reasoned with but chided for refusing 'change',

false messiah topples a symbol of THE Messiah,

and the soft, cuddly hope and change army reveals a cold-blooded reptilian core.
　
Watch it here.

Looks like the only things left out are Styrofoam Greek columns

Pray for your President.

2009-06-12T23:49:00.005-05:00

...besides, class, decorum and propriety far beyond that of leftists,
this is the reason that assassination chic hasn't caught on with
the right in Obama's term like it did during George W. Bush's administration.

Long life to you , Mr. President.

Move On (to self destruction)

2009-04-22T23:50:00.004-05:00

Pinheads.

----- Original Message -----
From: Nita Chaudhary, MoveOn.org Political Action
To: TJ H
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2009 11:05 AM
Subject: Bush's torture

Dear MoveOn member,
On Thursday, President Obama released memos that describe,
in horrific detail, the torture techniques authorized by the Bush administration.
The memos make clear that top Bush officials didn't just condone torture—
they encouraged it.
So far there's been no accountability for the architects
of Bush's torture program—the top officials who justified
keeping detainees awake for 11 days straight,
waterboarding them repeatedly,
and forcing prisoners into coffin-like boxes with insects.1
We need real consequences for those responsible—
it's the only way to keep this from happening again.
Attorney General Holder can open an investigation into the
torture program—but he most likely won't unless people
everywhere speak up and demand it. Can you sign our
petition to Attorney General Eric Holder asking him
to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate
the torture program? If we can reach 200,000 signatures,
we'll deliver the petition to Holder by the end of the week.

The petition says: "No one is above the law.
It's time to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate
and prosecute the architects of the Bush-era torture program."
Calls for action, from the United Nations, the ACLU, Amnesty International,2
Senators Leahy and Feingold, and others, are gathering steam.
The New York Times made the case for accountability in an editorial:3
"...[Obama] has an obligation to pursue what is clear evidence of a government policy sanctioning the torture and abuse of prisoners—in violation of international law and the Constitution. " This isn't about retribution or politics. It's about accountability. If hundreds of thousands of us speak up, we can make sure Holder hears this loud and clear.

Thanks for all you do. –Nita, Kat, Peter, Ilyse, and the rest of the team

P.S. You can see all the Bush administration memos here. Sources: 1. "Interrogation Memos Detail Harsh Tactics by the C.I.A.," The New York Times, April 17, 2009. http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51338&id=15952-10409880-o0_9Itx&t=5 2. "Opposition Grows To Obama's Decision Not To Prosecute CIA Agents," The Huffington Post, April 19, 2009. http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51336&id=15952-10409880-o0_9Itx&t=6 3. "A Torturers' Manifesto," The New York Times, April 19, 2009. http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51334&id=15952-10409880-o0_9Itx&t=7 Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 5 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. This email was sent to TJ H on April 21, 2009.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Nita, Kat, Peter, Ilyse, and the rest of the team ,
You are stupid fools to be aghast
at locking a mass murderer up with a caterpillar.
(An interrogation method that WAS NEVER USED.
http://sweetness-light.com/archive/obama-released-cia-memos-to-please-aclu )

There are thousands of reasons to use agressive interrogation
techniques against these killers,
starting with the thousands killed in NYC on 9/11/01,
and including the thousands of people saved in L.A.
by the information gained by the LEGAL ,
judicious use of these tactics.
There was no torture, compared to the hundreds
who chose between burning to death in the World Trade Center,
or escaping the flames for a few seconds to fall to their deaths.
There was no torture, compared to the gleeful beheading of Daniel Pearl

Silly asses, those murderers would sooner slit your throats until your empty
heads left your lifeless bodies than give you the praise you think you
deserve for for taking up their cause against America.

You are useful idiots.

Happy Lenin's Birthday
You Bastards,

Terry

Thank God For Carbon Dioxide

2009-04-21T21:52:00.004-05:00

Earth Day 2009.

Thank God for CO2.

Almost planting time.

Happy 17th Birthday, Son

2009-04-20T22:31:00.005-05:00

It doesn't take very many years to go from being a proud Dad, to an idiot.
What parent isn't an idiot to teenaged eyes?

Hopefully, the reverse process will take less time.

When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly
stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at
how much the old man had learned in seven years. - Mark Twain

Earth Hour - Get Used To It!

2009-03-26T23:09:00.002-05:00

Like The Death Star , but run by Spaceballs.

2009-03-18T00:17:00.004-05:00

Saw this picture at Cookie's blog, with some other good ones.

The Debt Star photo is pretty good,
but I think a better picture of the triumvitrate of Pelosi, Reid, and Obama is in Spaceballs.

After all, the Spaceballs' inept troika of leaders weren't out to destroy the planet, just re-distribute oxygen.

The Congress and Administration aren't aiming to destroy the economy, but to own it.

Same difference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VptOUWC-Itc

Rules Kids Won't Learn in School

2009-01-22T21:34:00.004-06:00

I saw a poster at Jimmy John's Sandwich shop the other day.
The words were ascribed to "a wealthy software developer"(Bill Gates).

Snopes.com says otherwise.
But, the words are wise, regardless of their authorship
and I hope my kids learn these rules faster than I did.

Rules Kids Won't Learn in School

Rule No. 1: Life is not fair. Get used to it.
Rule No. 2: The real world won't care as much about your self-esteem as much as your school does. It'll expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself.
Rule No. 3: Sorry, you won't make $80,000 a year right out of high school. And you won't be a vice president or have a car phone either. You may even have to wear a uniform that doesn't have a Hollister label.
Rule No. 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait 'til you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure, so he tends to be a bit edgier. When you screw up, he's not going to ask you how you feel about it.
Rule No. 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping. They called it opportunity. They weren't embarrassed making minimum wage either. They would have been embarrassed to sit around talking about musicians all weekend.
Rule No. 6: It's not your parents' fault. If you screw up, you are responsible. This is the flip side of "It's my life," and "You're not the boss of me," and other eloquent proclamations of your generation. When you turn 18, it's on your dime. Don't whine about it, or you'll sound like a baby boomer.
Rule No. 7: Before you were born your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way paying your bills, cleaning up your room and listening to you tell them how idealistic you are. And by the way, before you save the rain forest from the blood-sucking parasites of your parents' generation, try delousing the closet in your bedroom.
Rule No. 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers. Life hasn't. In some schools, they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. Failing grades have been abolished and class valedictorians scrapped, lest anyone's feelings be hurt. Effort is as important as results. This, of course, bears no resemblance to anything in real life.
Rule No. 9: Life is not divided into semesters, and you don't get summers off. Not even Easter break. They expect you to show up every day. For eight hours. And you don't get a new life every 10 weeks. It just goes on and on.
Rule No. 10: Television is not real life. Your life is not a sitcom. Your problems will not all be solved in 30 minutes, minus time for commercials. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop to go to jobs.
Rule No. 11: Be nice to nerds. You may end up working for them. We all could.
Rule No. 12: Smoking does not make you look cool. It makes you look moronic. Next time you're out cruising, watch an 11-year-old with a butt in his mouth. That's what you look like to anyone over 20. Ditto for "expressing yourself" with purple hair and/or pierced body parts.
Rule No. 13: You are not immortal. If you are under the impression that living fast, dying young and leaving a beautiful corpse is romantic, you obviously haven't seen one of your peers at room temperature lately.
Rule No. 14: Enjoy this while you can. Sure parents are a pain, school's a bother, and life can be depressing. But someday you'll realize how wonderful it was to be a kid.
Maybe you should start now. You're welcome.

Adapted From www.snopes.com/language/document/liferule.asp

Premature adulation

2008-11-07T00:17:00.006-06:00

Premature adulation.

Some gentle humor from here.

I will :
1st- Protect and defend the Constitution
2nd- Honor the office of President of the USA
and 3rd- respect the man in office.

If President Obama does not do #1 & #2
it will make #3 more difficult,
but I will oppose his ideas
and not tumble into the Buck FusH, or BusHitler style of
derangement the DU and KosKids have pumped up for 8 years.

God, Bless America.
God, Bless President-Elect Obama.

I Timothy 2:1-4
1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them;
intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings
and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked
by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants
everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.

It was a Caesar, not an elected President that the Apostle was urging Timothy to pray for.

The good things about the Election

2008-11-04T22:13:00.005-06:00

-The world's longest election season is over.
-Congressman Steve King (IA-5th) wins-re election
-40+ GOP Senators.( 42? If Al Franken gets in,
I will not spend another dime in MN. )
-Sarah Palin, an articulate,bright,conservative voice
is on the scene.
-3 ballot measures to define marriage = one man + one woman, are passing.
-Nebraska's measure to end racial preferences passed.
-Michell Bachmann is winning her house seat.
-Increased security.

-Time to stand on principle, regroup, fight on!

The Hopeful Change, A Nationale ZivilSicherheitskraft

2008-11-01T22:34:00.007-05:00

Basil at www.IMAO.US writes:

"We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objective that we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."

What was that organization that Adolf Hitler had? Sturmabteilung? You know, the “Brown Shirts.”

Or maybe he wants to go straight to the Schutzstaffel, the “SS.”

Are those of us on the right the only ones that ever read books? Or that watched the Nazi shows on the History Channel instead of their “Search for Bigfoot” or “Roswell Uncovered” shows? Or that can think for ourselves?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well sure, there are downsides to having the streets clogged with a civilian national security force. Let’s look on the plus side- a civilian national security force equal to the bad, bad military would be able to nuke Yosemite and bring about world peace, ala the IMAO.US author's famous “Nuke the Moon” thesis.
A civilian national security force is necessary to bring about peace, as Karl Marx famously said,”The meaning of peace is the absence of opposition of socialism.”

That term ‘civilian national security force’ is a bit wordy though.
So let’s try this.Babelfish translates the English “civilian national security force”to the German “Nationale ZivilSicherheitskraft”

That is quite the tongue tangler for us,
the (current) English speakers who could only say, “merci bocoup” when Europeans ~~take over our country~~ come to chat.
So, I modestly propose we call the “civilian national security force”
or “Nationale ZivilSicherheitskraft”by the first two letters of
“NA tionale ZI vilSicherheitskraft”.

There!

That’s much more hopeful and changy sounding, isn’t it?

Get out and VOTE!

Two weeks

2008-10-23T20:27:00.006-05:00

Two weeks until Obama
becomes the next President...
.
.
. Dewey.

The cries of 'certain victory' from NBC and Pelosi, Schumer,
and Reid are too soon.

The Grant Park Victory Speech and Transition Team selection
is premature. The ACORN voter fraud, foriegn campaign contributions,
and the 'spread the wealth around' comment to Joe Wurzelbacher and
the media lynching of the man are just too much.

The media bias and cocky presumption is turning
voters away from Obama. Americans like fair play and humility,OK-
not all Americans, but the demographic groups that show up to vote do.

The IBD TIPP poll was the most accurate in 2004,
and it shows a tightening race with huge McCain gains
among voters in the $30,000 to $75,000 income range.

There are a lot of 'Joe' s in that group.

The Difference

2008-10-17T21:52:00.009-05:00

Q : What's the difference between
a live Republican and a dead Republican?

A: In Illinois, dead Republicans
vote for Democrats.

Hat tip : "Trish"

logobama

2008-10-08T19:18:00.000-05:00

www.Logobama.com invites you to create your own logo using the famous blue doughnut with peppermint stripes. have fun!

Communists for Che-nge

Paid for by "Orcs for Change" a Section 527 Organization; George Sauron, Treasurer

Next debate

2008-10-07T23:06:00.004-05:00

Next debate-
Have Dan Rather read insane
questions and accusations from KosKids.

It would sure beat watching Bob Schieffer
try to stay awake by sucking all the oxygen
out of the room a la Brokaw.

Obama would tiptoe through the mine field
of not alienating his moonbat base-
while trying not to sound like one of them.

And, McCain might look conservative.

Debate in the Age of Obama

2008-10-02T00:44:00.003-05:00

Vice Presidential debate “moderator” Gwen Ifill's book:
“Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.”
Will include a CD with this song sung by the author
and the 5th Dimension:

The Age Of Obama

Ban Ki-moon is worshiped in New York,
burn no more gas in our cars.
Barack will heal the planet,
with big buck$ raised by the stars!

This is the dawning of the Age of Obama,
Age of Obama,Obama!
O-Ba-ha-ma!!

Free from thought and understanding,
Touchy-feely rule abounding.
No more rich men or religions,
in our Leader’s Marxist visions.
Change us to a new direction,
ACORN running all elections.
Oba-ha-ma, Oba-ha-ma!!

The moon and space belongs to China ,
Middle East oil owned by the Tsar.
Barack will heal our planet,
with surrender near and far!

This is the dawning of the Age of Obama,
Age of Obama,Obama!
O-Ba-ha-ma!!

Let the One shine,
Let the One shine in
The One shine in…..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
McCain's -bias? I don't see no steenking bias-
comments about Ms.Ifill is just spin.

He knows Gov. Palin will mop the floor with Lunchbox Joe's plugged scalp,
and perhaps Ms.Ifill will write
Breakthrough: Politics and Gender in the Age Of Palin.

If she had written THAT book ,
she would not be moderating the debate.

Constitution Day

2008-09-17T22:03:00.003-05:00

The Constitution of The United States of America, MY community organizer.

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

Mark Alexander wrote: "A Living Constitution for a Dying Republic"

Our Constitution was written and ratified "in order secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity" as set forth in the Declaration of Independence "endowed by their Creator." It established a Republic intended to reflect the consent of the governed, a nation of laws, not men.

At the close of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin was asked if the delegates formed "a republic or a monarchy." He responded, "A republic if you can keep it."

We have all but lost it.

Democrats to America- "Not even at $10.00 per gallon"

2008-08-05T00:15:00.002-05:00

The media's Messiah returns to Jerusalem

2008-07-23T22:03:00.006-05:00

Drudge reports a 12 minute Obamessiah visit to the Western or Wailing Wall,
certainly only the photos he posed for will make the campaign commercials .
Not the shouting and ensuing chaos.

“SHOUTING MAN: ‘JERUSALEM IS NOT FOR SALE, OBAMA’… MOB SCENE… CHAOS… BOWING HIS
HEAD IN PRAYER… PLACES NOTE IN WALL… POSES FOR PHOTOS… LOTS OF SHOUTING…
LEAVES
5:20 AM… DEVELOPING…

What did the note say?

Perhaps-

- “Uuuummmmm, uuuhhhh.”
- “These pants inspected by number 19″
- “I’m Ba-a-ack !!”

http://michellemalkin.com/2008/07/23/obamas-latest-campaign-prop-jerusalems-western-wall/#comment-384650

A few things that I never thought 30 years ago

2008-07-18T22:49:00.003-05:00

Our 30 year reunion is this week.
Amazing how the years fly past.

My High School is one of only two in America
(probably anywhere else as well)
to have "Bunnies" as the mascot-
hence the eponymous 'Grey Hares' greeting.

A pre-reunion profile @ classmates.com.
Subject- "I never thought 30 years ago that..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello, Grey Hares! Hope you are well.

"Me? I've been a few places,Mostly here and there once or twice.Still sortin'
out life, but I'm doing alright."-Rascal Flatts :"These Days"

-A few things that I never thought 30 years ago-

I never thought I'd be a country music fan,but I am one.

Some other things I've done or been that I wouldn't have imagined in 1978 are: Salesman, Telemarketer, Soldier, Council Bluffs resident, Surgical Technologist, War Veteran, Mailman, Blogger.What a ride!

I married my Bride, Mary in April of 1989.She is from Henderson, NE.
We have a son , Steve who is 16, Daughters Rachel -13, and Libby, 11.
The kids are doing well in school, and are pretty good athletes, too.
Steve is a pitcher and first baseman,
(H.S baseball is a Summer sport in Iowa, so they are just gearing up for the season as I write this in May, 2008),
the girls are playing club soccer, both are brave,
tenacious goalies.
Most of our spare time is spent on the sidelines of one sport or another.

Looking forward to the reunion in July, hope you are , too.

There are lots of things about life that I never would have imagined thirty years ago.
I never would have imagined that I would find faith in God to be central to life. I thought faith was a crutch for the weak-minded, fact is, it's more of a stretcher than a crutch. Good thing, we all need to be carried, we can't 'clean up our act' enough to enter Heaven through our own striving, but through faith.

Blogging occasionally at w w w /TheLazyHalfSRanch/dot/ blogspot/ dot/ com

Saddle up at the computer, pour a cup of coffee, and drop by there anytime.

Regards, Terry

Atlas is getting ready to shrug.

2008-06-18T22:46:00.004-05:00

" Get Our Petroleum ."
About time, Mr. President.

This is an issue voters can grasp, and polls show that they are,
as 81% support using more American oil and coal,
and "69% of Americans support lowering energy prices by using
domestic energy sources, even if it means drilling off our coasts
and in Alaska, rather than suing OPEC."
I got a haircut today. The customers at the barber shop
strongly advocate drilling American oil, for American cars, factories and jobs.
They know that corn ethanol is not the answer,
increasing domestic oil, coal , natural gas and
nuclear energy production is.
They are angry. Look out, Senator Harkin.

Is America 'addicted to oil' ?
Are you 'addicted' to oxygen? food? water?
The greatest gains in prosperity , productivity, comfort,
and liberty in America and the world have come in the age of petroleum.
Someday, perhaps, we will have some kind of generators and autos
that run on rainbows and exhaust butterflies and lollipops but it isn't so today,
and Congress can neither legislate or litigate them into existence.

Do you think CO2 is a pollutant?
Plants, green plants , thrive on it.
Do you think CO2 is a pollutant?
Don't exhale.
Do you think CO2 is a man made pollutant?
Volcanoes belch out more CO2
than man's entire history of energy production.

In an IBD editorial cartoon , Michael Ramerez compares the
proposed ANWR drilling site in Alaska to a flea on a caribou.

I prefer to use this illustration.
If Speaker Nancy Pelosi was tattooed with
a map of the state of Alaska over her body,
the ANWR oil drilling area would be smaller
than her botox injection sites,
well,
as far as I can see.

Wham-O

2008-05-24T23:58:00.005-05:00

My brother, Chris, and I had blue Wham-o superballs , they were amazing.

Heavy and brick hard,

they are responsible for the familiar sentence,

"Don't play ball in the house!".

The ads said something about "50,000 pounds of kinetic energy!!!"

It was like holding a hand grenade, or a stick of dynamite.

FIFTY! THOUSAND! POUNDS!
of ENERGY!
...in the palm of my hand.

Wow.

I think I was 7 (would have been 1968) the Summer our street was being resurfaced. The crew was using a steam roller, and I wondered - as only a 7 year old could - what damage 50,000 lbs of energy would do to it.

The next morning, I non-chalantly sauntered up the hill, eyeing my chance,

then,

I struck.

I rolled the ball down the hill to the approaching steel roller,

unseen by the unsuspecting driver,

and stepped back to get out of the blast zone...

...Sadly my dreams of high explosive fun were turned to powder,

along with my blue SuperBall.

Thanks to Bolus, for the memories.

IRS Economic Stimulus Calculator Calendar and Estimator

2008-04-12T01:22:00.003-05:00

Thought you'd find this handy,
Here is the website for IRS information on the Schedule of Payments:

http://www.irs.gov/irs/article/0,,id=180250,00.html

Also you can answer some questions from your tax form
to get an estimate of the $ amount of your "Economic Stimulus" .

Our estimated check is higher than I thought 'twould be.
While we won't return the cash,
I have doubts about the effectiveness of redistribution tactics like this.

If a Government check for a few hundred dollars
to everyone is a cure for a slow economy,
wouldn't checks for several thousand dollars be better?

(Just for fun, I reran the estimator with 99 dependants,
it estimated my rebate at $30900 !!)

If a minimum wage of $7.50 is good, isn't a
minimum wage of $50 an hour better?

TANSTAAFL !

Michelle Malkin » Another addition to the Unhinged mugshot gallery

2008-02-25T22:11:00.003-06:00

Michelle Malkin » Another addition to the Unhinged mugshot gallery

By Michelle Malkin • February 25, 2008 07:41 PM

My Unhinged mugshot gallery just keeps growing!

Hope your family dinner doesn’t look like this (via JWF):

The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office is investigating a politically motivated stabbing that left one in-law hospitalized and another in prison.
Authorities said brother-in-laws Jose Ortiz and Sean Shurelds were involved in a verbal altercation over Democratic presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton when the argument escalated into a stabbing inside their family home on Honey Locust Court in Collegeville.
Authorities said Ortiz, a registered Republican and Clinton supporter, allegedly stabbed Shurelds, an Obama supporter, in the stomach. Ortiz told police Shurelds began to choke him, so he grabbed a knife and stabbed him.
“Their verbal argument turned physical, one began choking the other, and then the victim of the choking took a kitchen knife and stabbed his brother-in-law in the stomach,” Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Veti Ferman said.

Remind me to send a copy of Unhinged to the clueless D.A.:

“It is a very serious charge, we see people fight over many things; some of them very frivolous, some of them serious, the fact of the matter is that this is the kind of argument that takes place in households across the region, across the state, across the country, but it never turns violent like this,” Ferman said.

Reality check on aisle 9.
***

Hmmm: “…a registered Republican and Clinton supporter.”
That’s not adding up, eh?

~~~END EXCERPT~~~

I’m told they were actually fighting over which one
loved Hillary the most…
~
Ortiz: “YOU love her!”
Shurelds: “No, YOU do”
Ortiz:”Not as much as YOU!”
Shurelds grabs Ortiz’s throat.
Ortiz stabs Shurelds.
~
They told the police that they won the weekly family “Charades” game,

because no one guessed that they were pantomiming
“The 2008 Democrat Convention”

Source: Michelle Malkin » Another addition to the Unhinged mugshot gallery

A most ripping victory !!

2008-01-21T21:57:00.000-06:00

An ESPN columnist pointed out the amazing
prescience of Prince Hakeem of Burundi
--->

taking things into your own hands ?

2008-01-10T19:59:00.000-06:00

From Ray Comfort's Blog- Comfort Food

Back in 2006, wild life expert Steve Irwin tragically died when a stingray
“barb” shot through heart. His natural instinct was to pull it out, and experts
say that’s what killed him. Had he left it in and been rescued, there was a
possibility surgery could have saved his life. Dr Eugene Costantini, who
operated on 82-year-old American stingray victim James Bertakis, said that Irwin
might have been able to receive vital medical attention had he not ripped the
barb out of his chest. "The key was the removal that released the blood flow
from the inside of the heart and I think that was probably the final event for
Steve . . . If [the barb] had been left in place, he might have had the
opportunity to make it to a hospital.''
The following year (2007) was a
difficult one for me. Incident after incident took place to a point where I felt
stabbed through the heart. My natural instinct was to try and justify myself. I
wanted to take things into my own hands, but I didn’t. I instead committed
myself into the hands of the Chief Surgeon. I did so because I knew that that is
God’s way, and to do things His way is a life-saver indeed. Look at Jesus, our
great example in Scripture: “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his
mouth: who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he
threatened not; but committed himself to him that judges righteously . . . ” (1
Peter 2:22--23).

So if you are going through a tough time, and you feel like
taking things into your own hands, stop and think about it for a moment. It may
seem like the right thing to do, but the consequences may be tragic.

Speaks to me. What do you say?

Iowa State Law...

2008-01-03T22:11:00.000-06:00

... requires me to blog about the caucus, so...

We opened with the Pledge of Allegiance, and after some housekeeping details for the local committee, representatives of candidates were asked to speak on behalf of their candidates.

I met some college kids from AZ and CA in town to work for Ron Paul.
One of them gave a short , emotional sales pitch for the earnest Congressman. Another
Paul-iac tried to impress the middle aged crowd with the definitions of Neo-Liberal and Neo-Conservative he had learned at Granola State Community College, or where ever the hell the pony-tailed Poli-Sci major was from - it was less than motivational.

My next door neighbor - as Romney's precinct Captain - read a letter from Romney to the crowd, and the other candidates were promoted by their supporters in 1-2 minute speeches.

One old fella went on a tirade about the "Fair Tax" that was mentioned on a Huckabee
flier. He wanted everyone to "understand what that fair tax was ",
then misrepresented it for a minute or so.

The Huckabee poll worker asked for 15 seconds to straighten out the misconceptions that were raised, recieved the time and did so.

When everyone who wished to speak had spoken, ballots were passed out and a secret ballot was taken.
There was some confusion as one young man who was inelegible to vote had cast a ballot for Ron Paul.
The count of those registered and ballots cast was thus reconciled, and the results were official.

I voted for Fred Thompson.

Here's the results.
Romney-17
Huckabee-11
Fred Thompson-9
Paul-8
McCain-5
Rudy-2
Hunter-0

So, I finished tied with Rep. Hunter,
and only a percent or two behind him in the entire state!
Not bad!!

-On the dark side-
Of 220,000 Dems, 154,000 stood up to say
"Hell no, Hillary."
It's a start.
Though the boobs they voted FOR aren't much either.

What a lousy way to start a year here...

2008-01-01T23:03:00.000-06:00

...Geez, all three in the same day?

Politicians Plan New Year's Stops In Council Bluffs

Prodigal Christmas / Are You Ready??

2007-12-19T23:23:00.000-06:00

I've really enjoyed a new discovery this Christmas -
choreographed, syncronized Christmas lights.
We saw this one in Omaha, and others at http://www.christmasutah.com/

I've always liked quieter , more serious, contemplative Christmas observances;
so the loud, extravagant, practically garish light and sound
lawn extravaganzas like this one in Omaha feel like a bit of a guilty pleasure-

There is an Old English word that describes this kind of display perfectly:

Prodigal
prod·i·gal Date: 15th century
1 : characterized by profuse or wasteful expenditure : lavish

2 : recklessly spendthrift

3 : yielding abundantly : luxuriant —

It is a word most often associated with Jesus' parable of the "prodigal son" who burned through his inheritance with wild abandon, then returned to his awaiting father who forgave him, accepted him , and threw a huge party to celebrate his son's return.

Certainly the time and treasure spent creating these temporary Christmas light shows is lavish ,recklessly 'spend-y' , and yielded in abundance.

But, consider it in the Spirit in which it is given, the light show is free to all who will drive by,(and visible 3/4 mile away from the Interstate highway!) the music availiable to any who will tune their FM radio to his transmitter- what a kind, extravagant gift to all who will stop to enjoy it. A small picture of the Greatest Gift.

Malcolm Smith once taught about that parable as the" parable of the prodigal father"- who lavished his love , mercy, and acceptance upon his wayward ,foolish, wastrel son- a picture of the Love shown to us, the sinful and unworthy, through the great gift of God's Son, Jesus Christ.

Celebrate Christmas, celebrate Jesus, and the Holy 'lavish overspending' God the Prodigal Father poured out to purchase us from sin's bondage with the precious lifeblood of His Son.

Look at the crazy lights and sounds as if they were noise from the party, the prodigal son has come home, the prodigal Father has welcomed him. Those who are forgiven much, love much (and we all need much forgiveness). Recieve His great forgiveness, and celebrate with great jubilation !!

~~~Reposted from December 2006~~~
"Are you ready for Christmas?"

A common salutation in late December, so, "Are you?"

We prepare for long anticipated family gatherings with anticipation,

sometimes with anxiety, for some folks, with dread.

So much to buy, to plan, to do, to prepare. Are you ready?

As we age we recall at Christmastime lost family members

and lost relationships .

Are you ready to deal with those memories of Christmas past?

"Long past?" " Your past, Ebeneezer."

Are you Ready?

Get ready for Christmas.

Step back from the busyness and consider whose birth we celebrate.

Consider the wonder of the Creator stepping from his proper place on the throne of the Universe to enter His creation. As one author wrote, "it is a much greater step down than it would be for a man to become an ant, or an amoeba; because men and women, insects and amoebas are all created ."

The incarnation - literally "in the flesh", God becoming human-

is on the order of a Painter stepping into a two dimentional painting,

or an Author entering His books as character- setting aside , for a time,

His pen so that the two dimentional creations could know the three dimentional Creator. (Imagine that for a moment. It's a lot to wrap our little brains around.)

Similarly, Jesus Christ came so that finite beings could know the infinite God.

Not just know of Him, but know Him.

He came also to deal with the thing that separates the created from Creator - sin.

"Only an infinite God could bear the full penalty for all the sins of all the people" ***

The wise men didn't scurry about buying each other gifts, but they did bring gifts to the newborn King as an act of worship. What can we learn from the gifts of the Magi, the gold, frankinscense and myrrh?

Please click on this to read Peter marshall's commentary-

(Here is a hint : Surrender, Praise and Sacrifice)

Get ready.

Merry Christmas, Terry

Crazy Christmas Lights

2007-12-10T00:25:00.000-06:00

We saw the glow of this Omaha, Nebraska display from West bound I-80 between the
60th and 72nd St exits and had to investigate. The music was broadcast via low power FM, You might be able to pick it up on that stretch of interstate on 103.9

It's kitschy, commercialized, over the top , off the hook, a crazy chaos of noise and light, and completely addictive.

There are more of these syncronized displays on YouTube and at www.Lightorama.com
Here's a fun one, Boogie Woogie Santa.

Just shoot ME.

2007-11-29T14:37:00.000-06:00

I came home to hear the sounds of the season...
Kids crying, Mom yelling,must be time
for the Christmas Card photo shoot.

Each photo is worth a thousand words.
We are so proud of these kids,
though sometimes,
well,
not as much.
Merry Christmas.

Here's a keeper- 3 of them I'd say.

Vive la France!

2007-11-07T23:14:00.000-06:00

"For me, failure is not an option. Terrorism will not win because
democracies are not weak, because we are not afraid of this barbarism. America
can count on France."
Hallelulah.
Other than the obligatory global warming drivel, there is little to quibble with and much to praise here.
"I want to tell you that whenever an American soldier falls
somewhere in the world, I think of what the American army did for France. I think of them and I am sad, as one is sad to lose a member of one's family."
He expresses a better understanding of America than most Congressmen do.

"America did not tell the millions of men and women who came
from every country in the world and who — with their hands, their
intelligence and their heart — built the greatest nation in the world:
"Come, and everything will be given to you." She said: "Come, and the only
limits to what you'll be able to achieve will be your own courage and your
own talent." America embodies this extraordinary ability to grant each and
every person a second chance."
Beautiful.

Vive Sarkozy!
Dieu Bénissent La France!!

(Thanks to http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr for the hasty French translation)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From http://www.ibdeditorials.com/
Check out the site and the 2 week trial subscription to IBD.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Verbatim: 'America Can
Count On France'
By NICOLAS SARKOZY Posted Wednesday, November 07, 2007 4:30
PM PT

Following is the speech that French President Nicolas Sarkozy
delivered Wednesday in a rare address by a foreign dignitary to a joint session
of the Senate and House of Representatives. U.S. lawmakers gave the French
leader a three-minute standing ovation and his address was met bursts of warm
applause.

Madam Speaker, Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen of the
United States Congress, Ladies and Gentlemen, the state of our friendship and
our alliance is strong.

Friendship, first and foremost, means being true
to one's friends. Since the United States first appeared on the world scene, the
loyalty between the French and American people has never failed. And far from
being weakened by the vicissitudes of history, it has never ceased growing
stronger.

Friends may have differences; they may have disagreements;
they may have disputes. But in times of difficulty, in times of hardship,
friends stand together, side by side; they support each other; and help one
another. In times of difficulty, in times of hardship, America and France have
always stood side by side, supported one another, helped one another, fought for
each other's freedom.

The United States and France remain true to the
memory of their common history, true to the blood spilled by their children in
common battles. But they are not true merely to the memory of what they
accomplished together in the past. They remain true, first and foremost, to the
same ideal, the same principles, the same values that have always united them.

The deliberations of your Congress are conducted under the double gaze
of Washington and Lafayette. Lafayette, whose 250th birthday we are celebrating
this year and who was the first foreign dignitary, in 1824, to address a joint
session of Congress. What was it that brought these two men — so far apart in
age and background — together, if not their faith in common values, the heritage
of the Enlightenment, the same love for freedom and justice?

Upon first
meeting Washington, Lafayette told him: "I have come here to learn, not to
teach." It was this new spirit and youth of the Old World seeking out the wisdom
of the New World that opened a new era for all of humanity.

From the
very beginning, the American dream meant putting into practice the dreams of the
Old World. From the very beginning, the American dream meant proving to all
mankind that freedom, justice, human rights and democracy were no utopia but
were rather the most realistic policy there is and the most likely to improve
the fate of each and every person.

America did not tell the millions of
men and women who came from every country in the world and who — with their
hands, their intelligence and their heart — built the greatest nation in the
world: "Come, and everything will be given to you." She said: "Come, and the
only limits to what you'll be able to achieve will be your own courage and your
own talent." America embodies this extraordinary ability to grant each and every
person a second chance.

Here, both the humblest and most illustrious
citizens alike know that nothing is owed to them and that everything has to be
earned. That's what constitutes the moral value of America. America did not
teach men the idea of freedom; she taught them how to practice it. And she
fought for this freedom whenever she felt it to be threatened somewhere in the
world. It was by watching America grow that men and women understood that
freedom was possible.

What made America great was her ability to
transform her own dream into hope for all mankind.

Ladies and gentlemen,
the men and women of my generation heard their grandparents talk about how in
1917, America saved France at a time when it had reached the final limits of its
strength, which it had exhausted in the most absurd and bloodiest of wars. The
men and women of my generation heard their parents talk about how in 1944,
America returned to free Europe from the horrifying tyranny that threatened to
enslave it.

Fathers took their sons to see the vast cemeteries where,
under thousands of white crosses so far from home, thousands of young American
soldiers lay who had fallen not to defend their own freedom but the freedom of
all others, not to defend their own families, their own homeland, but to defend
humanity as a whole.

Fathers took their sons to the beaches where the
young men of America had so heroically landed. They read them the admirable
letters of farewell that those 20-year-old soldiers had written to their
families before the battle to tell them: "We don't consider ourselves heroes. We
want this war to be over. But however much dread we may feel, you can count on
us."

Before they landed, Eisenhower told them: "The eyes of the world
are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march
with you."

And as they listened to their fathers, watched movies, read
history books and the letters of soldiers who died on the beaches of Normandy
and Provence, as they visited the cemeteries where the star-spangled banner
flies, the children of my generation understood that these young Americans, 20
years old, were true heroes to whom they owed the fact that they were free
people and not slaves. France will never forget the sacrifice of your children.

To those 20-year-old heroes who gave us everything, to the families of
those who never returned, to the children who mourned fathers they barely got a
chance to know, I want to express France's eternal gratitude.

On behalf
of my generation, which did not experience war but knows how much it owes to
their courage and their sacrifice; on behalf of our children, who must never
forget; to all the veterans who are here today and, notably the seven I had the
honor to decorate yesterday evening, one of whom, Senator Inouye, belongs to
your Congress, I want to express the deep, sincere gratitude of the French
people.

I want to tell you that whenever an American soldier falls
somewhere in the world, I think of what the American army did for France. I
think of them and I am sad, as one is sad to lose a member of one's family.

Ladies and gentlemen, the men and women of my generation remember the
Marshall Plan that allowed their fathers to rebuild a devastated Europe. They
remember the Cold War, during which America again stood as the bulwark of the
Free World against the threat of new tyranny.

I remember the Berlin
crisis and Kennedy who unhesitatingly risked engaging the United States in the
most destructive of wars so that Europe could preserve the freedom for which the
American people had already sacrificed so much. No one has the right to forget.
Forgetting, for a person of my generation, would be tantamount to self-denial.

But my generation did not love America only because she had defended
freedom. We also loved her because for us, she embodied what was most audacious
about the human adventure; for us, she embodied the spirit of conquest. We loved
America because for us, America was a new frontier that was continuously pushed
back — a constantly renewed challenge to the inventiveness of the human spirit.

My generation shared all the American dreams. Our imaginations were
fueled by the winning of the West and Hollywood. By Elvis Presley, Duke
Ellington, Hemingway. By John Wayne, Charlton Heston, Marilyn Monroe, Rita
Hayworth. And by Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins, fulfilling mankind's oldest
dream.

What was so extraordinary for us was that through her literature,
her cinema and her music, America always seemed to emerge from adversity even
greater and stronger; that instead of causing America to doubt herself, such
ordeals only strengthened her belief in her values.

What makes America
strong is the strength of this ideal that is shared by all Americans and by all
those who love her because they love freedom.

America's strength is not
only a material strength, it is first and foremost a spiritual and moral
strength. No one expressed this better than a black pastor who asked just one
thing of America: that she be true to the ideal in whose name he — the grandson
of a slave — felt so deeply American. His name was Martin Luther King. He made
America a universal role model.

The world still remembers his words —
words of love, dignity and justice. America heard those words and America
changed. And the men and women who had doubted America because they no longer
recognized her began loving her again.

Fundamentally, what are those who
love America asking of her, if not to remain forever true to her founding
values?

Ladies and gentlemen, today as in the past, as we stand at the
beginning of the 21st century, it is together that we must fight to defend and
promote the values and ideals of freedom and democracy that men such as
Washington and Lafayette invented together.

Together we must fight
against terrorism. On September 11, 2001, all of France — petrified with horror
— rallied to the side of the American people. The front-page headline of one of
our major dailies read: "We are all American." And on that day, when you were
mourning for so many dead, never had America appeared to us as so great, so
dignified, so strong.

The terrorists had thought they would weaken you.
They made you greater. The entire world felt admiration for the courage of the
American people. And from day one, France decided to participate shoulder to
shoulder with you in the war in Afghanistan. Let me tell you solemnly today:
France will remain engaged in Afghanistan as long as it takes, because what's at
stake in that country is the future of our values and that of the Atlantic
Alliance.

For me, failure is not an option. Terrorism will not win
because democracies are not weak, because we are not afraid of this barbarism.
America can count on France.

Together we must fight against
proliferation. Success in Libya and progress under way in North Korea shows that
nuclear proliferation is not inevitable. Let me say it here before all of you:
The prospect of an Iran armed with nuclear weapons is unacceptable. The Iranian
people are a great people. (Iran) deserves better than the increased sanctions
and growing isolation to which its leaders condemn it. Iran must be convinced to
choose cooperation, dialogue and openness. No one must doubt our determination.

Together we must help the people of the Middle East find the path of
peace and security. To the Israeli and Palestinian leaders I say this: Don't
hesitate! Risk peace! And do it now!
The status quo hides even greater
dangers: that of delivering Palestinian society as a whole to the extremists
that contest Israel's existence; that of playing into the hands of radical
regimes that are exploiting the deadlock in the conflict to destabilize the
region; that of fueling the propaganda of terrorists who want to set Islam
against the West. France wants security for Israel and a state for the
Palestinians.

Together we must help the Lebanese people affirm their
independence, their sovereignty, their freedom, their democracy. What Lebanon
needs today is a broad-based president elected according to the established
schedule and in strict respect of the Constitution. France stands engaged
alongside all the Lebanese. It will not accept attempts to subjugate the
Lebanese people.

Ladies and gentlemen, America feels it has the vocation
to inspire the world. Because she is the most powerful country in the world.
Because, for more than two centuries, she has striven to uphold the ideals of
democracy and freedom. But this stated responsibility comes with duties, the
first of which is setting an example.

Those who love this nation which,
more than any other, has demonstrated the virtues of free enterprise expect
America to be the first to denounce the abuses and excesses of a financial
capitalism that sets too great a store on speculation. They expect her to commit
fully to the establishment of the necessary rules and safeguards. The America I
love is the one that encourages entrepreneurs, not speculators.

Those
who admire the nation that has built the world's greatest economy and has never
ceased trying to persuade the world of the advantages of free trade expect her
to be the first to promote fair exchange rates. The yuan is already everyone's
problem. The dollar cannot remain solely the problem of others. If we're not
careful, monetary disarray could morph into economic war. We would all be its
victims.

Those who love the country of wide-open spaces, national parks
and nature reserves expect America to stand alongside Europe in leading the
fight against global warming that threatens the destruction of our planet. I
know that each day, in their cities and states, the American people are more
aware of the stakes and determined to act. This essential fight for the future
of humanity must be all of America's fight.

Those who have not forgotten
that it was the United States that, at the end of the Second World War, raised
hopes for a new world order are asking America to take the lead in the necessary
reforms of the U.N., the IMF, the World Bank and the G8. Our globalized world
must be organized for the 21st century, not for the last century. The emerging
countries we need for global equilibrium must be given their rightful place.

Ladies and gentlemen, Allow me to express one last conviction: Trust
Europe.
In this unstable, dangerous world, the United States of America
needs a strong, determined Europe. With the simplified treaty I proposed to our
partners, the European Union is about to emerge from 10 years of discussions on
its institutions and 10 years of paralysis. Soon it will have a stable president
and a more powerful High Representative for foreign and security policy, and it
must now reactivate the construction of its military capacities.

The
ambition I am proposing to our partners is based on a simple observation: There
are more crises than there are capacities to face them. NATO cannot be
everywhere. The EU must be able to act, as it did in the Balkans and in the
Congo, and as it will tomorrow on the border of Sudan and Chad. For that the
Europeans must step up their efforts.

My approach is purely pragmatic.
Having learned from history, I want the Europeans, in the years to come, to have
the means to shoulder a growing share of their defense. Who could blame the
United States for ensuring its own security? No one. Who could blame me for
wanting Europe to ensure more of its own security? No one. All of our allies,
beginning with the United States, with whom we most often share the same
interests and the same adversaries, have a strategic interest in a Europe that
can assert itself as a strong, credible security partner.

At the same
time, I want to affirm my attachment to NATO. I say it here before this
Congress: The more successful we are in the establishment of a European Defense,
the more France will be resolved to resume its full role in NATO.

I
would like France, a founding member of our alliance and already one of its
largest contributors, to assume its full role in the effort to renew NATO's
instruments and means of action and, in this context, to allow its relations
with the Alliance to evolve.
This is no time for theological quarrels but
for pragmatic responses to make our security tools more effective and
operational in the face of crises. The EU and NATO must march hand in hand.

Ladies and gentlemen, I want to be your friend, your ally and your
partner. But a friend who stands on his own two feet. An independent ally. A
free partner.
France must be stronger. I am determined to carry through with
the reforms that my country has put off for all too long. I will not turn back,
because France has turned back for all too long. My country has enormous assets.
While respecting its unique identity, I want to put it into a position to win
all the battles of globalization. I passionately love France. I am lucid about
the work that remains to be accomplished.

It is this ambitious France
that I have come to present to you today. A France that comes out to meet
America to renew the pact of friendship and the alliance that Washington and
Lafayette sealed in Yorktown.

Together let us be worthy of their
example, let us be equal to their ambition, let us be true to their memories!

Long live the United States of America!

Vive la France!

Long live French-American friendship!

Haiku - Writers Guild Strike

2007-11-06T23:43:00.000-06:00

Proud Union Printers

in true Solidarity

give them blank posters.

To The Point News - A QUARTET OF MESSAGES

2007-09-07T16:04:00.001-05:00

It's time to stand for victory,

Inspite of President Bush's stirring words nearly 6 years ago, we have tired, we have faltered- not on the battlefield, but on the home front.

" We will not fail. " Who could have forseen the will to give up the battle among the Democrats?

The price of success is high, the cost of failure, inestimable.

Are you ready to surrender those in the last photo to Al-quaida thugs?

Say no to surrender.

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

To The Point News

A QUARTET OF MESSAGES

Written by To The Point, Inc.

Friday, 10 August 2007

A quartet of informative and inspirational messages for Moslem terrorists and their friends in Congress:

Link to To The Point News - A QUARTET OF MESSAGES

-Why don't you go "Broadcast Yourself".

2007-07-29T00:03:00.001-05:00

I'm working on questions to submit to the GOP YouTube debate.

Any ideas?

The questions posted so far are mostly by dope smoking ,smug, pony tailed , twittering , useful idiots of the radical left; and hopeless, helpless, government dependants who would cry for help from Washington D.C. if they were stuck on a broken escalator.

I don't have much of a chance in getting a question through-

unless I can find a snowman suit...

Link to The Lazy Half S Ranch World Broadcast Headquarters.

Sendin' out an F.O.F.

2007-07-08T23:51:00.001-05:00

Live earth II 8/8/08

Glenn Beck's Picture of the Day

World's Easiest Quiz

2007-07-08T00:50:00.000-05:00

An oldie, but a goodie...
World's Easiest Quiz
You require only 4 correct answers to achieve a passing grade.

It is that easy!!!
1. How long did the 100 year war last?
2. Which country makes Panama hats?
3. From which animal do we get catgut?
4. In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?
5. What is a camel's hair brush made of?
6. The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal?
7. What was King George VI's first name?
8. What color is a purple finch?
9. Where are Chinese gooseberries from?
10. What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane?

All done? Remember, you need 4 correct answers to pass.
Post your answers in the comments.
Correct answers next week.

Steadfast

2007-06-29T23:45:00.000-05:00

If you look at a copy of the parchment Declaration of Independence,
The men who mutually pledged their Lives, Fortunes and sacred Honor
for the support of this Declaration,
with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence ,
signed the parchment with flourish.
Notable is the bold signature of John Hancock,
who signed it in large script -so the story is told-
King George III would be able to read it ,even with his weak eyes.

With strongly inked strokes signed Lewis Morris, Roger Sherman, and Robert Treat Paine.

Benjamin Franklin finished his signature with a flowery scribble, as , to a lesser extent did Abraham Clark and William Ellery. Looks like the finest calligraphy.

In the middle of the left column of signatures
is a quavering abbreviated signature:
Step.Hopkins
It's wrinkled, crooked appearance is the dandelion on the lawn
of the beautiful, stately signatures and perfectly penned Declaration.
However, it has always drawn my eyes to the bottom left corner
of that treasured document for another reason,
Stephen Hopkins, is my Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather.

"In 1764 Stephen Hopkins penned
The Rights of Colonies Examined
published first in the Providence Gazette,
and which in 1765 by the order of the
General Assembly was reprinted as a pamplet,
and reissued in London in 1766 as
The Grievances of the American Colonies
Candidly Examined. This famous work
criticized parliamentary taxation
(the Stamp Act) and recommended colonial
home rule, and established Hopkins as one
of the earliest of the patriot leaders.
In 1765 he was elected chairman of the
committee appointed by a town
meeting in Providence to draft instructions
to the General Assembly on The Stamp Act.
The resolutions that were adopted were
nearly identical to those Patrick Henry
introduced into the House of Burgesses of
Virginia." http://www.gaspee.org/StephenHopkins.htm

As Rhode Island's Chief Justice, he
contributed to America's 'First Blow for Freedom'® ,the sinking of the HMS Gaspee in 1772.
An abolitionist who freed his own slaves in 1773, he sponsored the bill that banned importation of slaves into Rhode Island the next year. Member of the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776 , he was a proud signer of the Declaration. He had cerebral palsy, which left his right hand weak, he signed with his left hand helping guide his right, saying,

"My hand trembles, my heart is steadfast."

So many steadfast hearts were in Philadelphia that Summer.
May we Americans, in our course of human events,
be as strong as they in the support of liberty,
even if our hands tremble on occasion.
God Bless America.

Happy Independence Day
From Terry_Jim and the
Lazy Half S Ranch

From Quahog.org:

Stephen Hopkins' gravestone inscriptions

at the Old North Burial Ground, Providence, RI:

West side
SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF
THE ILLUSTRIOUS

STEPHEN HOPKINS,

OF REVOLUTIONARY FAME,

ATTESTED BY HIS SIGNATURE

TO THE DECLARATION

OF OUR NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE.

GREAT IN COUNCIL,

FROM SAGACITY OF MIND;

MAGNANIMOUS IN SENTIMENT,

FIRM IN PURPOSE,

AND GOOD, AS GREAT,

FROM BENEVOLENCE OF HEART;

HE STOOD IN THE FRONT RANK OF

STATESMEN AND PATRIOTS.

SELF-EDUCATED,YET

AMONG THE MOST LEARNED OF MEN;

HIS VAST TREASURY OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE,

HIS GREAT RETENTIVE

AND REFLECTIVE POWERS,

COMBINED WITH HIS SOCIAL NATURE,

MADE HIM THE MOST INTERESTING

OF COMPANIONS IN PRIVATE LIFE.
South side
HIS NAME IS ENGRAVED

ON THE IMMORTAL RECORDS

OF THE REVOLUTION,

AND CAN NEVER DIE:

HIS TITLES TO THAT DISTINCTION

ARE ENGRAVED ON THIS MONUMENT,

REARED BY

THE GRATEFUL ADMIRATION

OF HIS NATIVE STATE,

IN HONOR OF HER FAVORITE SON.
East side
HOPKINS

BORN MARCH 7, 1707

DIED JULY 13, 1785
North side
HERE lies the man in fateful hour,

Who boldly stemm'd tyrannic pow'r.

And held his hand in that decree,

Which bade America BE FREE!

—Arnold's poems

Historical oddity:
Stephen Hopkins greatly contributed to the destruction by others of the burning of the hated British revenue schooner, HMS Gaspee, by advising Deputy Governor Darius Sessions in March of 1772 that the actions of the commander of the vessel were probably illegal.
the burning of the Gaspee is celebrated annually in Pawtuxet ,RI .
http://www.gaspee.com/ http://gaspee.com/BurningMediaFactsSheet.doc

HMS Gaspee was the first ship sunk by the American colonists in the Revolutionary War.
Stephen Hopkins is credited by historians (or considered an un - indicted co-conspirator, if you look at it from the other side of the Atlantic) in the burning of the Gaspee.
Here's the oddity:
The first US ship to sink a German ship in WW II?
The US Merchant Marine Ship SS Stephen Hopkins !!

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hopkins_(politician)
http://famousamericans.net/StephenHopkins.com/
http://www.gaspee.org/StephenHopkins.htm
http://www.gaspee.com/

If my nose was runnin' money

2007-06-22T23:09:00.000-05:00

Ah, they don't write songs like this very often...
Have a great weekend.

A tip of the hat to Dragon Lady's Den

The Latest Poll on Illegal Immigration

2007-06-20T21:39:00.000-05:00

The latest telephone poll taken by the California Governor's
office asked whether people who live in California
think illegal immigration is a serious problem.

29% of respondents answered:
"Yes, it is a serious problem."
71% of respondents answered:
"No es una problema seriosa."

-from Rick

Foggy Night at Rosenblatt.

2007-06-15T01:35:00.000-05:00

I recall going to a ballgame in Omaha at Rosenblatt Stadium
- where the College World Series begins tomorrow-
with my Dad and his Dad. Must have been in about 1967,
we were about 6, 26 and 76 years old,
sitting in the red seats in the upper section on the 3rd base side.

Grandpa said, "Boy , it sure is foggy tonight."
Dad said,"Yeah, it sure is foggy, Daddy."
(He always said "Daddy", instead of "Dad".
I did ,too, until a neighbor kid mocked me
about it. Said it sounded 'babyish.' ).

It was a warm, hazy summer night, and the nighthawks and barn swallows were swooping around, picking off moths in the translucent shafts of light that surrounded the field.

Hmmm, Grandpa said it was foggy,
Dad said it was foggy, they must know ...

I let my imagination run a bit, and saw the fog roll in from the nearby Missouri River. The Summer haze seemed to my little eyes a roiling, thickening mist as the shafts of light started to solidify. Excitement started to build as questions filled my head. Would it get too thick to play baseball ? How will the fielders be able to catch pop-ups traveling through the mist?
What weather wisdom Grandpa had!

That's how I remember it.

About 10 years ago Dad and I were there at a ball game with my son, sitting above the 3rd base line in similar Summer weather as that time with Grandpa, and I reminded Dad about that, about Grandpa and the foggy night we had at Rosenblatt.

Dad said, "Yeah, he really had a problem with those cataracts!"

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

Dad didn't tease Grandpa back then,
didn't correct his error of perception,
his faltering eyesight, the ravages of time.

He just said, "Yeah, Daddy, it sure is," with love and respect.

Happy Father's Day, Daddy.

Follow this
Link to Father's Day trackback at Angel's Blog
for some great quotes and thoughts on Father's day.

SIXTEEN WAYS TO BE A GOOD LIBERAL

2007-06-15T00:13:00.000-05:00

E Mailed from my brother, Rick...
SIXTEEN WAYS TO BE A GOOD LIBERAL

1. You have to be against capital punishment, but support abortion on demand.
2. You have to believe that business's create oppression and governments create prosperity.
3. You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens are more of a threat than nuclear weapons technology in the hands of Iran , China and North Korea .
4. You have to believe that there was no art before federal funding.
5. You have to believe that global temperatures are less affected by cyclical changes in the earth's climate and more affected by soccer moms driving SUV's.
6. You have to believe that the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of federal funding.
7. You have to believe that the same teacher who can't teach 4th-graders how to read is somehow qualified to teach those same kids about sex.
8. You have to believe that hunters don't care about nature, but PETA activists do.
9. You have to believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing something to earn it.
10. You have to believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of the Constitution.
11. You have to believe that taxes are too low, but ATM fees are too high.
12. You have to believe that Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem are more important to American history than Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, or Abraham Lincoln.
13. You have to believe that standardized tests are racist, but racial quotas and set-asides are not.
14. You have to believe that the only reason socialism hasn't worked anywhere it's been tried is because the right people haven't been in charge.
15. You have to believe that homosexual parades displaying drag queens and transvestites should be constitutionally protected, and manger scenes at Christmas should be illegal.
16. You have to believe that this message is a part of a vast, right-wing conspiracy.

GOD BLESS AMERICA

oops, can't do that either!

__________________________________________________-

How about these??

17. Clamor against conservatives for stifling democracy , then

a: worship at the feet of Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro, and

b: allow an unelected, unaccountable oligarchy of judges to block a vote of the people in Massachusetts on the sanctity of marriage.

18. Proclaim ,as the United States Senate Majority Leader, that the President of the United States is a 'loser', that the war is lost, and the men leading the fight are " incompetent"; while the only thing close to military experience your Viet-Nam-draft-eligible-student-deferred ass has was in a "political plum " Capitol Hill Police job guarding parking lots.

.... I was just going to blog about the Rodney Atkins concert, Navy Seal parachute drop, and fireworks at the College World Series opening ceremony tonight. Thanks a lot, Rick!

Must seem like having to fill a swimming pool with a thimble

2007-06-08T23:40:00.000-05:00

Common sense begins to reign over the passing scene ,
the
'give certain legalization - only promise security' bill fails,
and Paris Hilton returns to serve her sentence as the judge ordered.

---From the transcript of today's hearing ----
"At no time,Your Honor,
At. No. Time!
did my client,
Miss Hilton ,
give up her right to be
tried as a celebrity,

and therefore

I move for an immediate
installation of the Robert Blake jury
and Judge Lance Ito
to correct this oversight."

Seriously, though, I pray she gets the help she needs.

A couple weeks out of the insane vacuum she lives in
could do her some good.

The problem is, that vacuum is internal
and she will have nothing much else for in her solitude.

As Townhall blogger , Frog writes:

I understand Paris's plight
I understand why an empty jail cell is so
frightening to Paris.
She'd have to entertain herself for a month.
Must seem like having to fill a swimming
pool with a
thimble.
It's just cruel
to put Paris in there with herself.

It's sensory deprivation.

The Paris licence plate game.

You might be rich person if . . .

2007-06-05T23:43:00.000-05:00

John Edwards made a boatload of money.
Good for him, where he has made honest gain
and prayers sent for his family in the matter of Mrs.Edwards health.

He could have based his campaign on the limitless opportunities
there are in America to succeed.
Instead he rants about two Americas,and believes that massive taxation and welfare programs is the way to lift the poor.
What twaddle.
The hypocracy of his lifestyle makes him a laughing stock.

Clipped from the "Best of the Web" of June 6th.
Subscribe today here.

The Poor Little Rich Boy
Here is one of the funniest exchanges in Sunday's Democratic presidential debate;

Wolf Blitzer: What is a "rich person," Senator Edwards?

The Lovely and Talented John Edwards: I don't know if I know what a rich person is.

Reader Bart Harmon offers Edwards a little help

You might be rich person if . . .

You pay 400 bucks for a haircut, and that's with the ladies' day discount.
Your house has more square footage than most Central American counties.
You leave a larger carbon footprint than the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Your last three jobs were medical malpractice attorney, U.S. senator and hedge fund manager.
You can talk easily about two Americas because you own at least one of them.
You are paid $55,000 an hour to speak about poverty, and that's your college rate.

O Beautiful, for heroes proved in liberating strife

2007-05-26T06:48:00.000-05:00

I posted tributes to those who paid the price for freedom last May,
especially my Great Uncle, who died in The Great War.
Please find them here.

A photo of William Staley, my Grandfather' Brother: is here.
________________________________________________
What follows is part of The Patriot's Tribute to American Armed Forces.

The Fallen, the Lieutenant and the Saints
By LtCol Mark A. Smith

On Tuesday 16 Nov 04, I had the honor of taking my command element forward to Fox Company's position for the Field Memorial Service for Corporal Brian R. Prening, F Co, 2nd Bn, 24th Marines, killed in action against enemy forces Yusufiyah, Iraq. Now, I say honor, because as tragic as the situation was, and as painful as it was, what I witnessed that day is forever and indelibly etched into both my consciousness and my soul. So, if you will allow me, I will try my utmost to communicate to you the events as they unfolded that day.

Fox Company has been forward in FOB St. Joseph for over two months now, attempting to bring stability to an area that had not had a presence of Multi-National Forces. As I have communicated to you previously, it was an absolute bastion of Radical Islamists and Terrorists, who had brutalized the citizens in unspeakable terms. Well, the WARRIORS of Fox Company have put an end to that. And, for the terrorists, many of whom are believed to have been the leaders of the insurgency in Fallujah, have been attempting to come home. Sad fact for them, Fox Company now owns their permanent zip code. So, on the day of Cpl Prenning's unfortunate death, the enemy, for the first time, chose to actually stand and fight. They did, and at the end of the day, over forty of them lie dead on the battlefield. And, over the course of the last week, throughout our zone, but especially in Fox's, we have rounded up and arrested over 120 of them. That said, and for all the fantastic work of the Battalion elements, this day was no cause for celebration, it was our time to mourn our honored dead.

As the leadership of the Company, the Battalion and the Marines of Cpl Prening's platoon gathered for the memorial, the atmosphere was sheer solemnity. The Marines of Fox were layered with the Iraqi dust that they have called home for 60 days plus. The smell of sweat that eminates from them can only be described as the smell of freedom. That combination of sweat, dirt and emotion that combines to create an aroma that is not repugnant in the least, but serves to stimulate the Warrior gene that you are among "special knights of the warriored breed."
The ceremony began with the placing of the rifle, helmet boots and dog tags of the fallen Marine, and was followed by Scripture readings, Company Commander memorial and teammate remembrances. The Marines that knew Cpl Prening best, memorialized him, through their tears and emotions, in a manner that I know would have made his family swell with pride. They were eloquent beyond imagination, and their words were a lance to the soul in their beauty and truth.
Then came his Plt Cmdr, 1stLt Mayne. Now, before I continue, I must describe 1stLt Mayne. I have been in a few scraps in my day, and truth be known, kind of enjoy that. But, 1stLt Mayne is one of those physical figures that you see and immediately think, if I can avoid a scrap with this lad, that would most probably be the preferred course of action. Additionally, since the day we arrived, 1stLt Mayne's combat accomplishments have been EXTRAORDINARY! His actions have been right in the face of the enemy, and he has stared death squarely in the eye on several occassions, and has done nothing but lead his Marines is a calm and professional manner that has absolutely confounded the enemy each and every time, and more often than not, lead to many of the enemy achieving their goal of martrydom!

But, on this day, the Lt Mayne that I saw was not the Warrior. No, the Lt Mayne I saw on this day was the Man. And, it embarasses me not one bit to say I only hope to be one tenth the Man I saw in Lt Mayne on that day. He spoke of his admiration for Cpl Prening and Cpl Prening's actions in a manner that crushed your soul and made you want to scream that you were not worthy of sharing the same room as these Warriors. He spoke of the need to channel and contain the rage and always honor Cpl Prening by only killing in righteousness and in accordance with the rules. He spoke of the "decent people of Iraq" who we are here to liberate. He spoke of all these things in a manner and among those who must do it in a way that should shame every person who has ever ascribed any attribute to our Marines, other than hero.

Having done that, he then finished with a prayer. A prayer that he stated he prays every night, and in knowing this man and the quality of his character, I suspect he prays it one hundred times a day. As he prayed the prayer of St. Ignatius aloud, I can tell you, I have never felt such overwhelming pain and peace, all at the same time. I have never been so destroyed and fullfilled, all at the same time. I have never been so torn, and so complete, all at the same time. Upon relfection, I understood how I could have such dichotomous feelings all at once. Because in that thirty second prayer, prayed aloud by a man and Marine Officer who will forever have my undying respect and admiration, I realized in the prayer of St. Ignatius, the eternal reality of our temporal struggle: GOOD VS. EVIL. And, I was standing, humbled to the bone, among the agents of GOOD.

Maybe I am wrong, but I believe in my heart and soul that everything has a time and a purpose under God. And at that time and for this purpose, God used Cpl Prening and Lt Mayne, that we would know our struggle is right, and that our will be not shaken, and that for our children and the future of our Great Nation, we will see this through until there is nothing but peace for our future generations. And, that for that struggle, there is a price paid in death, in visible scars and in invisible ones.

So, for LCpl Daniel R. Wyatt, Cpl Nathaniel T. Hammond, LCpl Shane K. O'Donnell, LCpl Branden P. Ramey, Cpl Robert P. Warns II, Cpl Peter J. Giannopoulos, Cpl Brian R. Prening, the next time you see a US Veteran, you shake his hand and say thank you. You shake his hand with the ferocity of firmness that says I love you, and I thank you for my freedom. If you get the chance, you go to a US Veterans hospital and you gently stroke the head of our wounded and broken from all wars, in a manner that says, do not be afraid, for I am here with you friend, I love you and I thank you. You do all this if you can, because everything we have, everything we are, we have and are because of their unbelievable sacrifice! And for that my friends, you and I should be eternally grateful and eternally humbled, for we have walked with the Saints!

St Ignatius' Prayer:
Lord give me the strength to serve you as you deserve;
To give, and not to count the cost;
To fight, and not to heed the wounds;
To toil, and not to seek for rest;
To labor, and not to seek reward,
save that of knowing that I do your will.

May God continue to bless you and bless you abundantly,
as he does me everyday that I share this earth with your beloved.
And may he grant strength, peace and serenity to the families of our fallen heroes.

Mark A. Smith LtCol, USMCR
Commanding Officer TF 2/24

Limp Ninja Time

2007-05-17T22:21:00.000-05:00

Havent' made time to blog this month.
Crazy days.
Birthdays, Track Meet days, Mother's Days, Soccer Daze.

The futbol season is winding down with back to back weekend tournaments for the girls, while the boy is headlong into baseball practice- the Iowa High Schools baseball season doesn't start till track is done, and goes deep into July.

I Needed something silly to laugh at, and found a couple of funnies.
Barats and Baretta are a couple of Gonzaga kids who did some stand-up comedy, and put a few things on You Tube.
Last year, their Mother's Day video was featured there and made them very popular- NBC even gave them a contract to develop a series pilot or two.

Some of their stuff is over the edge, but these are clean.
The following is priceless, and so familiar to parents of more than one child.

Happy Mother's Day - Have patience, Mom.

This next one looks like it could be Kipling Dynamite's daydream;
"I'm training to be a cage fighter."
Limp Ninja Time!
The Ninja Rap..

FOXNews.com - Endangered Rabbits Returned to Wild, Quickly Eaten - Science News | Current Articles

2007-04-12T15:06:00.001-05:00

What a total waste of taxpayer dollars, saving rabbits.They will probably find them nesting in a K Mart sign, as they did Spotted Owls after costly preservation methods.

Stay tuned for the next article from Ephrata,WA , in which Fish and Wildlife staff are amazed at the increase in the coyote, hawk, and owl population in the Sagebrush Flat Wildlife Area, as they enjoy the million dollar rabbit feast.

Perhaps they should introduce them to Australia?

"Throw another shrimpy rabbit on the barbie!" :-)

EPHRATA, Wash. —
Most of a group of 20 endangered rabbits that were reintroduced to the wild with great fanfare last month have been killed by predators, state officials said.
Only four of the rabbits released on March 13 remained at the Sagebrush Flat Wildlife Area as of Tuesday, said David Hays, pygmy rabbit coordinator for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Hays said two males were removed earlier this month and will be returned at the end of April. The other 14 rabbits are believed to have fallen victim to predators, mainly coyotes, but also hawks and owls, Hays said.
• Click here to visit FOXNews.com's Natural Science Center.
The rabbits, small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, eat sagebrush and are the only rabbits in the United States that dig their own burrows.
The Sagebrush Flat Wildlife Area, about 10 miles north of Ephrata, is considered the last native home of the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit. The rabbit was listed as a state endangered species in 1993 and federally protected in 2003.
The 3,700-acre release site has been watched daily by Fish and Wildlife staff. Several of the rabbits were fitted with GPS monitors. Of the four rabbits remaining at the site, three are females who could be pregnant, officials said.
Hays said the rapid decline in population does not doom the multimillion-dollar project to return the near-extinct rabbit to its natural environment. More rabbits will be released in the area, and experts are looking for ways to reduce predation.
"We're taking it week by week. This is valuable learning time," he said.

Source: FOXNews.com - Endangered Rabbits Returned to Wild, Quickly Eaten - Science News Current Articles

He Is Alive

2007-04-08T22:47:00.000-05:00

It is said that Christianity is a crutch for the weak.
In reality, all of us are spiritual paralytics,
and need so much more than a crutch,
we need a stretcher.
Without Jesus Christ, we can do nothing.
With God, all things are possible.

This video of Team Hoyt is a symbol of the role of our own strength and ability to get us across Heaven's finish line.
Zero. Nada. Zip.
Our role is to trust Him.

He will never let you down.
He Is Alive.
Happy Easter,
Terry

Good Friday, Indeed.

2007-04-06T17:31:00.000-05:00

A Favorite song of mine:

lyrics - bill and gloria ga ...

It is Finished - by Leonard Ravenhill

2007-04-06T17:27:00.001-05:00

... Just three words - IT IS FINISHED.
The Greatest Words Ever Uttered
By the Greatest Man That Ever Lived.
In these three words I see the consummation of all the Old Testament truth and the germination of all New Testament truth.

Source: It is Finished - Leonard Ravenhill

Range war: At the Tin Star Ranch

2007-03-29T22:40:00.000-05:00

Not really as dramatic as all that,
"J. Noble Daggett" is on the case...

Things are coming to a head with our neighbor
and a boundary dispute we have had since shortly after we purchased the place in 1999.

In 1986 or so the prior owner fenced the entire alley
that seperated the properties.
In mid 1999, The city gave up the alley half to us, half to the neighbor.
We still have the whole alley fenced into our yard, and our garage is on a couple feet of it as well.
The realtor and mortgage lender smiled and nodded that all was in order at closing.

'Twern't so.

A handshake could have settled this 8 years ago, in fact it had, I thought.

The neighbor's boyfriend- now husband - told me about the boundary trouble and said they would trade title to the 8 foot strip for a new fence, as the old one might be a hazard to their toddler. We bought the fencing- $400 dollars worth on clearance. She blew up the deal, it was "MY LAND , NOT HIS!!!" , she exclaimed. The fencing sits , unused, a monument to the quality of unwritten agreements-they are only worth the paper they are written on..

"Lawyer Daggett" said the realtor and mortgage man did a sloppy job, but a mess like that was usually settled for a couple of hundred dollars, and that his office could arrange the paperwork when an agreement was reached.
"City Planner" told me the permit is proper for the garage- they won't order its demolition.
He further told me that boundary problems like this were commonly settled for a couple hundred dollars,

but our friend is thinking in the thousands.
Think again, friend.

Fence has been up for 20+ years, we have lived here 8+ years.

Had to involve the lawyer this week, now it may get expensive for us both.

This week she left a phone mail threat to move the fence,
don't know what she will do to the garage .
Well, I do know- she will do nothing,
or face tresspass charges according to our "Lawyer Daggett's" letter to her.

The prior owners of these properties should have cleaned this issue up.
We are stuck with their mess.
I am not entirely unsympathetic to her point of view,
but each of us bought our properties thinking
that the fence was the true boundary.
After all these years- it is,
and will soon be codified hopefully by sale-by
court order if necessary.

Hopefully we can reach an out of court settlement to make it so.
Prayers appreciated.
Thanks.

It looks like. . . like something out of Star Wars.

2007-03-22T18:11:00.001-05:00

There was a plain old blue collection box stolen last week in our town.

These R2D2 boxes must be under armed guard.

They look pretty cool.

I'm such a geek.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

March 22, 2007
R2 Did Too
USPS/Star Wars promotion hits light speed

Jedi Knights, Imperial Storm Troopers and Princess Leia gather round their favorite droid.

Baltimore, MD, customer Joanne Covington knew there was something familiar about the R2-D2 wrap. "This mailbox is different. It looks like a computer . . . like something out of Star Wars," she said.

Alexis Gilbert joins two Storm Troopers at an R2-D2 collection box in San Diego. The Gilbert family heard about the collection boxes on the radio and, as huge fans, stopped by to take a photo and mail a letter — the first letter mailed the morning of the installation.

In Salt Lake City, the R2-D2 box is an eye-popping, customer-stopping experience.

Pointing, pausing and posing is how they get noisy in Boise.

Columbus District Acting Human Resources Specialist Kirby Leathers portrayed Lord Darth Vader outside the Columbus Statehouse during a promotion of the R2-D2 collection boxes.

Source: USPS News Link

Behind The Green Door

2007-03-21T23:39:00.000-05:00

Ahhh, Spring.
Time to ponder the season's planting,
in the Lazy Half S Ranch's spacious 15 x 35 foot garden .

Still too wet here to till, too cold for most seeds,
too early to plant , but not too soon to plan.

Tomatoes, Basil, Lettuce, of course.
Perhaps Green Beans - been 2 years without them.

At least the weeds are planted.

I came across an article about gardening in war time:
Planting Hope
Gardening in times of war. BY JANE GARMEY

It's about gardens and landscaping done by warriors and affected civilians
from WW1 onward. read the book:
Defiant Gardens by Kenneth Helpland

"Kenneth Helphand's fascination with what he now calls "defiant gardens" began with this undated World War I photograph of soldiers in the French trenches flanked by their planting beds. Notice the use of twigs as ornamental borders delineating each soldier's plot. Helphand had this picture on his bookshelf for several years before deciding to pursue the meaning of gardens in such extreme circumstances, beyond their obvious use for food."

An article with great pictures is here .
~~my wartime 'garden' ~~
During Desert Storm, we had an area between the hospital sections behind the OR where sink wastewater runoff caused grass to sprout.
An unintentional garden, yet the little patch of grass was the only green in the nearby landscape, and a welcome sight- so much so that we made a way to access the area from our OR section, sort of a 'Green Room'.
The seeds of our thread bare lawn were there,
they just needed the coaxing of our liquid largesse to come alive.

A foretaste of what we referred to as 'greenout' - the overwhelming greenscape of home when we came home in late June of 1991.

Sure, and ye know why the Irish ne'er took over the world...

2007-03-16T22:37:00.000-05:00

From To The Point News -
A recommended news and commentary source
_______________________________________________________
"The Irish Genie"

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Which calls for sharing with you once again
To The Point's favorite Irish joke.
~
An Irishman was walking along a beach in County Cork one
day and noticed an encrusted bottle washed up on the sand.
Wondering what might be inside he broke it off at the neck
and out popped an Irish Genie.

"Oh, me man, I hah been in tha bottle for a hundred years,
and you be settin' me free!" he exclaimed.
"For that, I'll be givin' you two wishes!"

"Two wishes? Anything I want?" the man asked incredulously.

"Anythin' - just name it," the genie replied.

"Well, what I'll be wantin'," said the man, "is a glass of good Irish ale
- but a very special glass, so that no matter how much I drink
it will always be full of good Irish ale."

Poof! There it was in his hand. The Irishman drank and drank and drank,
and twenty minutes later, he hadn't made a dent.
The glass was still overflowing with wonderful Irish ale.

But by now the genie was getting impatient.

"Listen me man" he announced. "I'm grateful for you settin' me free,
but I was in that bottle for a long time and I've things to do.
So you'll be makin' your second wish now."

The Irishman thought for a moment, looked at the glass in his hand,
and declared, "You know, I think I'll have another one of these!"
_____________________________________________

...Sure, and now ye know why the Irish
ne'er took over the world...
Also ,
Check out my reminiscences from
St Patrick's Day in Saudi Arabia .

Yahoo! St. Patrick's Day Greetings

2007-03-15T20:00:00.001-05:00

This just looks WRONG.....

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Off Off Off Off Off Off

2007-03-14T23:59:00.000-05:00

Need a remote like this ?

What do you call the kid positioned
near the TV to change channels??
---Amish remote control. :-)

If you grew up in the 60's and '70s
you probably WERE that kid.

I like the gadgets, but I don't carry a cell phone, yet.
My wife does, and that's enough expense.
The cell phone, broadband internet, and Cable TV
costs about $150 a month.
Cheaper than a lot of folks spend on them , I suppose.

Necessities?
They are increasingly seen as necessary these days.
Long past delighting in the utility and convenience of cell phones,
many of their owners rely on them as status symbols.
I was talking to a young 20-something guy at the Cricket cell phone store Sunday. Even he shakes his head at the money people drop on ringtones and screensaver pix for their phones.

I don't need Fergielicious , photography, or Family Guy wallpaper.
Just want to make a phone call occasionally.

There are still a few pay phones around for me.

I wonder if the kids think I'm Amish??

Some day I'll figure out how to blog trackbacks, until then,
Hat tip to Angel at : http://www.womanhonorthyself.com/?p=2769
Always fine reading there.

Green Meat??

2007-03-07T23:02:00.000-06:00

Brit Hume:

"Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Diet Change Beats Car Switch

The folks at PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, are calling out Al Gore, saying if he really wants to fight global warming, he should become a vegetarian.

PETA has sent Gore a letter saying giving up meat is the quickest and most effective way to combat climate change because the meat industry is one of the most significant sources of environmental damage.

PETA claims, "raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined." And, it says, researchers have determined that switching to a vegan diet is more effective against global warming than switching from a standard American car to a Toyota Prius hybrid.

Glenn Beck had a blast with this story today.
If you believe so strongly in man made global warming that you advocate an end to internal combustion engines (well , not YOURS, of course, just other peoples cars and SUV's). Then you must skip the Sierra Club's BBQ , and subsist on soy to lower your "Carbon Footprint"
Glenn is looking for photos of self-righteous "green" celebrities eating meat.

Found one!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cnn Archives MUST have video of this: Al Gore grilling burgers !
photo at: http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9807/02/barbeque/
July 2, 1998

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Al Gore came well prepared for this "grilling" before reporters. He carried a spatula and meat thermometer. Then he flipped a few burgers Thursday while reminding people to cook meat carefully at their Independence Day barbecues.

"Don't let avoidable foodborne illness endanger life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," Gore said, paraphrasing the Declaration of Independence.....

.......Guided by Bessie Berry, head of the toll-free Meat and Poultry Hotline, Gore and Glickman used a pair of thermometers to check the "doneness" of thick burgers, bulging sausages, chicken breasts and pork chops. Afterward, they served platters of burgers in buns to four tables of diners.
The meat-rich meal was served two hours after the government released an update of its Healthy Eating Index that showed only 12 percent of Americans had a diet that could be considered good. Most Americans need to eat more fruits, vegetables and milk and to consume less meat and sodium.

Aware of the frequent recommendations to eat less meat, Gore replied to a question about nutrition:

"You didn't see the asterisk. The Fourth of July being a time to grill out."

"Grill out and chill out," he concluded to whoops from the hand-selected audience of government and meat industry officials. Safe Summer Grilling
Also:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/topics/gb.htm
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Image%20Directory/gore2.jpg
Caption: (L to R) Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman, Meat and Poultry Hotline Manager Bessie Berry, and Vice President Al Gore presented tips to promote safe handling and grilling of meat and poultry during the summer.

Well, I'm not as dumb as I look...

2007-03-07T00:18:00.000-06:00

... but then , who is?
Try this little test:

You Are a Smart American

You know a lot about US history, and you're opinions are probably well informed.
Congratulations on bucking stereotypes. Now go show some foreigners how smart Americans can be.

Are You a Dumb American?

A True American Hero By Joseph L. Galloway

2007-03-06T23:04:00.000-06:00

I came across this story read it at the link below,
and check out the great reporting at Michael Yon Online Magazine
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A True American Hero
By Joseph L. Galloway

McClatchy Newspapers

In a few days - 41 years after the events of a long-ago November - a white-haired retired guy named Bruce Crandall will receive the nation’s highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, from President George W. Bush.

He’s always been a hero to the men of the 1st Battalion 7th U.S. Cavalry who counted on Crandall and his wingman, Ed (Too Tall to Fly) Freeman, when the chips were down in a fire-swept clearing called Landing Zone X-Ray in the remote Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam’s Central Highlands....

Do read the rest of this at: Michael Yon Online Magazine:

Let the veepstakes begin By Herman Cain

2007-02-28T01:43:00.001-06:00

Clipped from:

Let the veepstakes begin
By Herman Cain
Monday, February 26, 2007

Since the race for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination began, roughly, on Inauguration Day 2005, it is not too early to speculate on who might be the leading candidates for the eventual nominees’ vice presidential pick.
The media’s attention is focused for now on the three-way dust-up between Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY), liberal Hollywood mogul and former Clinton supporter David Geffen and Senator Barack Obama (D-IL). The media cannot avoid a story filled with Hollywood drama and the politics of sex and race. Geffen, who hosted a megastar fundraiser for Obama, told the New York Times, “Everybody in politics lies, but (the Clintons) do it with such ease, it’s troubling.”
By comparison, the Republican nomination race is as exciting as MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Like Olbermann’s show, no one is watching. ...
...One thing is for sure. If Hillary wins her party’s nomination, her vice president won’t be David Geffen.

Copyright © 2006 Salem Web Network. All Rights Reserved.
Read the entire column HERE

My Guess? Here goes

..Throwing darts here, but if one of these are correct, then I knew it all along !
Here are some good GOP picks.

Giuliani- V. Hillary / VP John Ashcroft

Giuliani V. Obama/ VP J.C. Watts
, Michael Steele, or Herman Cain.
Romney / Gingrich

McCain/ Romney or Cain

McCain / Cain has a nice ring to it.
Or at least an echo.
Geographically, and politically balanced.

Them Dems: You wrote : "If Clinton or Obama eventually becomes president, their vice-president will serve his term in a virtual witness protection program." Absolutly right.

Obama / Gov. Granholm of MI- a Cal-Berkley / Harvard Lawyer, a pretty, young Hillary
- with political accomplishments
- without an impeached husband.
Could be problematic when the press notices that she is prettier than Barak.

Hillary / Obama - Could REALLY need his help to win if she hasn't destroyed him completely but she would return the Veep's power and influence to John Nance Garner levels!

Too soon to tell with Hillary, her choice will be sooooo poll and focus group driven that it will be decided at the convention. By Bill.

Bolton To Baghdad

2007-02-25T00:29:00.000-06:00

I met Jeff Bolton when he was a talk show newbie on Omaha's KFAB. He is a terrific guy, a strong supporter of our troops, Jeff has gone all over the world to tell their stories. His KLIF morning show is going to Baghdad for the next two weeks- beginning Monday.

Please join me and pray for Jeff , his team, and their families as they bring the story back to us.

Catch the show on streaming audio here M-F 5am - 9am Central, and pass this along.

KLIF wrote:

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

Our very own Mayor of Commonsenseville, Jeff Bolton, will broadcast his show live from Iraq for two weeks beginning this Monday, February 26th. In 2003, Jeff was the first talk show host in America to do his show from Iraq and Afghanistan and he returns to Iraq now as more than 20,000 brave American soldiers begin a final surge to bring stability to the embattled country. Don’t miss a minute starting Monday morning, February 26th, from 5:00am till 9:00am only on Stimulating Talk 570 KLIF. Interact with Jeff while he is there: Email him and the team here.

Trackposted to Woman Honor Thyself, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Shhhh... The Surge is Working - Townhall.com

2007-02-25T00:21:00.000-06:00

Shhhh... The Surge is Working
By Patrick Ruffini
Saturday, February 24, 2007

A gloomy haze has settled over the nation's prosecution of the War on Terror as of late. It seems like we can only watch helplessly as Nancy Pelosi and Jack Murtha size up new angles of attack for undermining the war effort. The media is chomping at the bit the tell the story of an America, bruised and humbled and exhausted, heading for the exits in Iraq.
But something interesting is happening on the way to the "new direction." Early indications are that the troop surge into Baghdad is working. It hasn't been reported on widely, but murders in Baghdad are down 70%, attacks are down 80%, Mahdi Army chief Moqtada al-Sadr has reportedly made off for Iran, and many Baghdadis who had fled the violence now feel it's safe enough to return. The strategy that Congress is busy denouncing is proving to be our best hope for victory.
In Iraq, there's a sense that change is in the air -- literally. Omar of Iraq the Model spots a B-1 Bomber in the skies of Baghdad for the first time since the end of the major combat. On the ground, Omar writes that the signs that Iraqis are getting serious about security are more palbable. With the help of Compstat-like technology, security forces are cracking down at checkpoints (even ambulances are getting stopped) and getting nimbler about locating them strategically so the terrorists don't know what to expect.
This turnaround in Baghdad is confirmed at home by the media's near-deafening silence. If it seems like you've heard less about how Iraq is spiraling into civil war in the weeks since the surge was announced, this is why. Even some discordant voices in the media are starting to wonder what's happening. Time magazine worries that it's "Quiet in Baghdad. Too quiet." That's right -- a dramatic reduction in violence is actually bad news.
It's too early to claim victory just yet; the operation is just two weeks old. But U.S. troops have been able to accomplish all of this with just one more brigade in-country, with four more on the way by May. These encouraging early returns show the potential for success when we apply concentrated military force to the security problem. When the Army and Marine Corps are on offense, carrying out combat operations and clearing out insurgent strongholds, we win. When we lay back, carrying out routine patrols and playing Baghdad beat cop, we lose.
The key to success is staying power. The always incisive Daffyd ab-Hugh has a good read on this dynamic. Counterinsurgency in Iraq has often been compared to a game of whack-a-mole -- secure an area, only to have the insurgents pop up somewhere else. But if we slammed a mallet into the hole, and kept it there, then picked up a new one... and did the same?
This is a new game called Seal-a-Hole , and it has a very different dynamic from Whack-a-Mole: the normal game is one of futility; the game continues until the player gets tired and quits or he runs out of money. But Seal-a-Hole actually has a victory point: when all the holes are sealed, the game is over -- and the player, America, has won.
Even though Seal-a-Hole is not futile, it nevertheless requires a great deal of patience; there are many, many holes, and each hole has a mole who must be whacked. Some of the holes, such as Sadr City, are very big and will require many mallets to properly seal. But if we have the courage and fortitude of our American forebears, we will seal those holes... and we will win.
On the political front, the White House also seems to have dislodged a major roadblock to victory: Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's reluctance to allow U.S. troops to take the fight to Sadr and his militias. Returning American troops have expressed their frustration at having to walk on eggshells when it came to came to entering Shi'ite areas, a backbone of support for the government. Thankfully, the rules of engagement are changing. American troops are now freer to take on all comers, and the results are clear in both Sunni and Shi'ite areas.
In the coming days and weeks, these rules of engagement will face their ultimate test with the decision to enter Sadr City, the Mahdi Army's key stronghold. And enter we must. Those intent on turning Iraq into a breeding ground for al-Qaeda won't be convinced of our seriousness until we confront the key sources of violence on both sides of the sectarian divide.
When things don't go well in Iraq, we see the endless B-roll of chaos and carnage. When things are on the upswing, we tend to hear more about Anna Nicole Smith. The media will never acknowledge victories in Iraq, so we'll have to settle for an absence of bad coverage. But even in this relative lull in Iraq, it's important to understand and appreciate the short-term victories so we can create more of them. And finish the job.
Patrick Ruffini is an online strategist dedicated to helping Republicans and conservatives achieve dominance in a networked era. He has seen American politics from every vantagepoint — as a campaign staffer, activist, and analyst.

Source: Townhall.com - Printer Friendly

A New Direction... Away From Victory...

2007-02-24T00:34:00.000-06:00

Arrgh...
I had written an elegant post to go with this- until Windows Explorer burped.
Oh well. Here it is in a nutshell:

Please read Wartime 'Agitation' . Here's a clip:

"As Mr. Waller observed, there clearly is a distinction to be drawn between constructive disagreement about the conflict in Iraq and giving aid and comfort to the enemy. The former can be compatible with a genuine commitment to the troops and to their success, as well as their safety. It would, however, require the dissenters to propose other strategies for victory -- not simply the use of code-words for defeat, like "redeployment" and "regional diplomacy."

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

Let's remember why we fight . Let's fight to win.

Set aside the stories of Anna Nicole Smith's boobs* for a while and remember our troops, write your Congressman , ask him to oppose the terrorists mission for a change .

*(not her mammaries, the fawning, enabling, money grubbing vultures gathered over her corpse to fight for her $ millions- they are the real boobs here.)

White Flag Democrats

2007-02-19T23:50:00.000-06:00

Congress took a brave stand with a non-binding, non-enforcable, non-sensicle resolution.
The Peoples Cube captures the foolishness of the twits like few can:

"We don't support the terrorists
- but we support their mission!"

Such a despicable bunch .

Oh, I'm Very Supportive...

2007-02-13T22:25:00.000-06:00

I think it's time to turn a phrase back at the
anti-victory crowd in Washington.

I support the House Democrats...
...but I don't support their mission.

I support Hillary...
...but I don't support her mission.

I support Obama...
...but I don't support his mission.

The hollow sentiment: "I support the troops,
but not their mission." is ridiculous.

Let's ridicule it.

What Does A Hero Look Like? - homeof heros.com

2007-02-12T22:50:00.000-06:00

Or: How to tell a hero from a celebrity.

Follow the link below to the Home Of Heros, and follow the links on each page to read of some of America's famous names, and some you should meet- like Audie Murphy, Alvin York, and the man they named an airport in Chicago after.

-er, no , not 'Midway Airport' .

It will only take you a few minutes.

What Does A Hero Look Like?

Muscles bulging, the All-American hero takes on the bad guys. Bullets bounce harmlessly off him, explosions are mere nuisances, and nobody but the bad guys ever get hurt. He has x-ray vision, can hear through walls, flies through the air, and is impervious to pain. We watch their likes in cartoons, read about them in our comic books...then dream and wonder what it would be like to be LIKE THEM. Alas, we realize in time, such heroes are only in cartoons....or are they?

Fortunately, Hollywood has given us real, live heroes to watch and admire. Muscles bulging, they take on the bad guys. Bullets may hurt them, but they do no real damage. Like the fictional Rambo, a Green Beret who has earned the Medal of Honor, these heroes whether male or female, are all tall, strong, and almost super- human. Such heroes can stitch up their wounds with a sewing kit, battle successfully against incredible odds, and emerge almost unscathed from burning fires and horrendous explosions.
Americans need heroes, men and women who by their incredible acts of courage can inspire us to follow in their example. Unfortunately, when we look to the heroes of television and the big screen, we come away feeling inadequate. In reality we quickly realize that we will always be too short, too skinny, too weak, or some other "too" to be like them. Sadly, we have defined heroism as a quality posessed only by the strong, the powerful, the rich, or the famous. In short, we have confused the word CELEBRITY with the word HERO.

Celebrity
Dennis Rodman
A talented athlete, Dennis Rodman makes millions of dollars each year doing what he loves...playing basketball. He stays in the finest hotels, has dated some of the most beautiful women in the world, and lives his life the way he wants to live regardless of who he offends. He is best known for his multi-million dollar contracts, outlandish hair colors, strange clothing, body piercings, and of course, playing basketball.

Hero
Terry Kawamura

Born in Hawaii, Corporal Kawamura was a combat engineer in Vietnam when his unit was attacked. He saw an explosive charge stun two other soldiers, followed by a second charge that was thrown near them. Realizing they were helplessly at the mercy of the second charge, Cpl. Kawamura threw his body on the explosive to save the lives of his two helpless comrades. Cpl. Kawamura is buried in Hawaii. He died at the age of 19.

What Does a Hero Look Like?

Click on Superman To Find out

Source: What Does A Hero Look Like - Entry Page

They're watching, Dad.

2007-02-09T11:27:00.000-06:00

A great link came in the fathers.com weekly eMail today. Check out the video !

A song by country music performer Rodney Atkins has been number 1 for four weeks now, and it carries a powerful message for dads. Atkins, 37, wrote it after a sobering experience when his son, Elijah, repeated some behavior he’d seen in his dad. See how Atkins told the story in the video for his song, “Watching You.”
To Think About ...
What does it mean that this song has been #1 for four weeks? It’s well-crafted and has a catchy tune, but clearly it has struck a chord, so to speak, that runs deeper with those who hear it.
Who among us hasn’t been caught by surprise when one of our children repeats our behavior—the good and the bad? Sometimes we need these reminders that we are important influences on our children’s values, and those values are often caught more than they are taught. We have to be good models. We have to be intentional about demonstrating what a responsible, calm, caring, self-sacrificing, character-filled father is like.
We suggest that fathers focus on three key areas when it comes to being models for their kids: emotional maturity, respect for women, and integrity. Read more on each of these—and get more action points—in the article on our website here. Or see this week’s resource specials for more on being intentional about teaching and modeling values for your children.
Link to FATHERS.COM ~ Watching You video
Track back to Angel's open track back weekend

Groupthink :: One Man's Reuters Is Another Man's Al-Jazeera

2007-02-02T00:19:00.000-06:00

Play the 'Truth by Association' game at The Peoples Cube.

Construct wisdom or it's parody thusly:

One man's ___________ is another man's __________.

ThePeoplescube.com claims that:

Additional five minutes of this exercise will give you enough experience to call radio talk shows and prevail in any debate. After ten minutes you will be ready to have your own talk show with Air America affiliates. Exercise for fifteen minutes, and you can work as a White House correspondent for the New York Times, ready to interview President of the United States.

Have fun with this one.

Here's what I posted:

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

One man's drudgery
is another man's delight.

One man's propaganda
is another man's 'trusted news source'.

One man's savvy punditry
is another man's annoying screed.

One man's 'slave-state Senator'
is another man's village idiot.

One man's 'News that's fit to print'
is another man's source of USA defense
secrets and strategy delivered daily to his cave.

One man's mahketing is anothah man's terrah threat.
(For non-Bostonians - One man's marketing is another man's terror threat.)

One man's minimum wage hike
is another man's pink slip.

One man's Global Warming Horror
is another man's nice day in January to wash the car.

One man's diminishing liberty
is another man's refreshing freedom from choice.

One man's insomniac rambling
is another man's reading.
One man's mediocre blog
is another man's www.thelazyhalfsranch.blogspot.com

Got to go , Air America is calling to offer me a show...
One man's <i>Vox liberali</i> is another man's bankrupt batch of twits. ;-)

Link to Groupthink :: One Man's Reuters Is Another Man's Al-Jazeera

From Woman Honor Thyself » Can we Question their PatriotisM Yet?

2007-02-01T01:58:00.000-06:00

"Army Staff Sgt. Hector Leija, 27, was an honor student at Raymondville High School."

His death in Iraq is now a tool to sell newspapers.

The NY Times- who wouldn't publish the infamous Muslim cartoons, or photos of victims of terrorists leaping from the World Trade Center, or print the word terrorist without wrapping it in quotation marks for fear of causing offense feels 'compelled' to publish photos and present the video of the death of SSG Leija .

Can we question their patriotism?

Is it patriotic to promote the killing of American soldiers?

Please read: Can we Question their PatriotisM Yet?

The Bird Who Would Be King...

2007-01-30T23:58:00.000-06:00

Not sure why this caught my eye, but it is a strange story of Arctic avarice gone amok...

Eagle causes power outage - Juneau

About 10,000 Juneau residents lost power Sunday after a bald eagle lugging a deer head crashed into an Alaska Electric Light & Power transmission system in Lemon Creek.

"You have to live in Alaska to have this kind of outage scenario," said Gayle Wood, an AEL&P spokeswoman. "This is the story of the overly ambitious eagle who evidently found a deer head in the landfill."
The meal was apparently too heavy. The eagle failed to clear transmission lines as it flew from the landfill toward the Lemon Creek Operation Center, she said. When a repair crew arrived, they found the eagle carcass with the deer head nearby.
The outage started about 9:45 a.m. and affected customers in Salmon Creek, Lemon Creek, the Mendenhall Valley and Out the Road, Wood said. It was completely fixed by 10:28 a.m.
"It was a speedy recovery because a crew was already mobilized, and because a customer managed to hear the explosion," Wood said. "So we were able to narrow it in pretty quickly."
The landfill has a program in place to discourage eagles, ravens and other birds from feeding, she said. But this eagle "got a hold of a little bit more than he could handle."
"This would have been a major score," Wood said. "That eagle would have been the king eagle of the Lemon Creek group."

• Ken Lewis can be reached at ken.lewis@juneauempire.com.
Click here to return to story:
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/012907/loc_20070129013.shtml

Further info- Eagles can lift about 5 lbs. When fishing they often use their wings as paddles to get to shore. Eagles have been known to drown when they try to catch a large fish.

Why don't they let go? They can't. Their muscles freeze when they get a hold of their prey, and don't relax until they have carried it back to the nest , or wherever they feed.

Source: Get Lost Magazine - Swimming Eagle

"Share Your Thoughts", said they.

2007-01-23T00:04:00.000-06:00

"Share Your Thoughts", said they. So say I.
http://www.gop.com/YourIdeas
The form letter from the GOP's new leaders ;Senator Mel Martinez,
General Chairman of the Republican Party and Mike Duncan, Chairman, Republican National Committee ,asked for my ideas, saying:

"We can’t afford to wait another day. We must return to our roots as the party of freedom and reform, of lower taxes, limited government, individual responsibility, freedom here and abroad, and the power of faith.

As we begin this new chapter, share with us your ideas on how we can make our Party stronger, now and in 2008."

So I did. No original thought here, but if the GOP IS the party of freedom,lower taxes, etc. we need to stand up and boldly say so.The alternative is to lie down and be mere contrarians as the Dems and their media allies are allowed to set an agenda of defeat, taxation and government intrusion that dims the light of Liberty.

My shared thoughts were these:

"Hugh Hewitt said it best.
Win the war. Confirm the judges. Cut the taxes. Control the spending.

Add to that: SECURE THE BORDER, and we can win it back.
Don't expect to win without a succinct message.

Tell Americans how we will do these, WHY they are important, why they MUST be done, tell them again, and tell them that you told them.

You are fighting a media whose template is: "Which one of the Dems is going to retake the White House?"
Deal with it. Fight like men, don't be pushed off your main points by every wave of bad press.
That is, DON'T BACK DOWN, THINKING THAT YOU WILL MAKE FRIENDS OF THE NY TIMES AND THEIR ILK. YOU WON'T.

These issues are more than political footballs, do them. Don't think that you will win by being merely the contrarians . Republicans must have a conservative message to win. Win the war. Confirm the judges. Cut the taxes. Control the spending. SECURE THE BORDER.

PS
Dump Hagel."

Your thoughts?

Regards, Terry

Quotes From STEPHEN WRIGHT :

2007-01-21T09:31:00.000-06:00

The World According to Steven Wright

I used to work in a fire hydrant factory. You couldn't park anywhere near the place.
Last week, I went to a furniture store to look for a decaffeinated coffee table. They couldn't help me.
What's another word for "thesaurus"?
When I get real bored, I like to drive downtown and get a great parking spot, then sit in my car and count how many people ask if I'm leaving.
When I was a kid, we had a quicksand box in the backyard. I was an only child . . . eventually.
I bought some batteries, but they weren't included. So I had to buy them again.
For my birthday I got a humidifier and a dehumidifier. I put them in the same room and let them fight it out.
I have a switch in my apartment that doesn't do anything. Every once in a while I turn it on and off. One day I got a call from a guy in France who said, "Cut it out!"
I replaced the headlights on my car with strobe lights. Now it looks like I'm the only one moving.
I wrote a song, but I can't read music. Every time I hear a new song on the radio, I think "Hey, maybe I wrote that."
I got my driver's license photo taken out of focus on purpose. Now when I get pulled over the cop looks at it (moving it nearer and farther, trying to see it clearly)... and says, "Here, you can go."
I went to a general store, but they wouldn't let me buy anything specific.
I turned my air conditioner the other way around, and it got cold out. The weatherman said, "I don't understand it. It was supposed to be 80 degrees out today." I said "Oops . . ."
I put contact lenses in my dog's eyes. They had little pictures of cats on them. Then I took one out and he ran around in circles.
I spilled Spot remover on my dog. Now he's gone.
My neighbor has a circular driveway. He can't get out.
I bought some powdered water, but I didn't know what to add.
I put instant coffee in a microwave and almost went back in time.
I have an answering machine in my car. It says, "I'm home now, but leave a message and I'll call when I'm out."
I bought a house on a one-way dead-end road. I don't know how I got there.
I have a hobby. I have the world's largest collection of sea shells. I keep it scattered on beaches all over the world. Maybe you've seen some of it.
I Xeroxed a mirror. Now I have an extra Xerox machine.
Last week I forgot how to ride a bicycle.
My school colors were clear.
I stayed in a really old hotel last night. They sent me a wakeup letter.
I'm taking La maze classes. I'm not having a baby, I'm just having trouble breathing.
When I was in high school, I got in trouble with my girlfriend's Dad. He said, "I want my daughter back by 8:15." I said, "The middle of August? Cool!"
My girlfriend's weird. One day she asked me, "If you could know how and when you were going to die, would you want to know?" I said, "No." She said, "Okay, forget it."
I went for a walk last night and she asked me how long I was going to be gone. I said, "The whole time."
My buddy got busted for counterfeiting. He was making pennies. They caught him because he was putting the heads and tails on the wrong sides.
He's in a minimum security prison now; he's on a whiffle-ball and chain.
Hermits have no peer pressure.
Whenever I think of the past, it brings back so many memories .
There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.
How much deeper would the ocean be if sponges didn't live there?
Did Washington just flash a quarter for his ID?
I just got skylights put in my place. The people who live above me are furious.
Imagine if birds were tickled by feathers.
I remember when the candle shop burned down. Everyone stood around singing "Happy Birthday".
I accidentally installed the deer whistles on my car backwards. Now everywhere I go, I'm chased by a herd of deer.
I got stopped by a cop the other day. He said, "Why'd you run that stop sign?" I said, "Because I don't believe everything I read."
It doesn't matter what temperature a room is, it's always room temperature.
Yesterday, my eyeglass prescription ran out.
I'm a peripheral visionary.
I make my own water - two glasses of H, one glass of O.
Ballerinas are always on their toes. Why don't they just get taller ballerinas?
The other day, I went to a tourist information booth and asked, "Tell me about some of the people who were here last year."
Why in a country of free speech, are there phone bills?

Link to Quotes From STEPHEN WRIGHT :

Brrr cold Brrr

2007-01-19T18:06:00.000-06:00

Beneath this photo , on Drudge today is the ironic link to :

Pelosi Announces 'Global Warming' Panel

More 'global warming' like this, and polar bears will feel at home in the orange orchards.

Elliot Abrams blogged about the cold before it clobberred LA. Interesting reading.

More snow coming here, the long stretch of mild weather is a distant memory.

Link to DRUDGE REPORT 2007®

704 Houser Street: The Latest List of Vincent Van Gogh Relatives

2007-01-15T22:34:00.000-06:00

These are really awful puns. Hope you enjoy them as much as I .

I am testing the 'blog thiis' feature of IE 7.

This is only a test....

Terry

___________________________________________________

The Latest List of Vincent Van Gogh Relatives

After much careful research it has been discovered that the artist Vincent Van Gogh had many relatives. Among them were:

His obnoxious brother, Please Gogh.
His dizzy aunt, Verti Gogh.
The brother who ate prunes, Gotta Gogh.
The brother who worked at a convenience store, Stop n' Gogh.
The grandfather from Yugoslavia, U Gogh.
The brother who bleached his clothes white, Hue Gogh.
The cousin from Illinois, Chica Gogh.
His magician uncle, Wherediddy Gogh.
His Mexican cousin, Amee Gogh.
The Mexican cousin's American half brother, Grin Gogh.
The nephew who drove a stage coach, Wellsfar Gogh.
The constipated uncle, Cant Gogh.
The ballroom dancing aunt, Tan Gogh.
The bird lover uncle, Flamin Gogh.
His nephew psychoanalyst, E Gogh.
The fruit loving cousin, Man Gogh.
An aunt who taught positive thinking, Wayto Gogh.
The little bouncy nephew, Poe Gogh.
A sister who loved disco, Go Gogh.
His Italian uncle, Day Gogh.
And his niece who travels the country in a van, Winnie Bay Gogh.

Link to 704 Houser Street: The Latest List of Vincent Van Gogh Relatives

Bush Critics Call for More Troops in Iraq

2007-01-10T00:09:00.000-06:00

hat tip to The Bulwinkle Blog

Headline: "Bush Critics Call for More Troops in Iraq" !
Of course, that was an AP story from Thursday, June 30, 2005.

Sen. John Kerry, Bush's Democratic opponent in last year's presidential election, told NBC's "Today" show that the borders of Iraq "are porous" and said "we don't have enough troops" there.
Sen. Joseph Biden Jr., appearing on ABC's "Good Morning America," disputed Bush's notion that sufficient troops are in place.
"I'm going to send him the phone numbers of the very generals and flag officers that I met on Memorial Day when I was in Iraq," the Delaware Democrat said. "There's not enough force on the ground now to mount a real counterinsurgency."
Biden argued, "The course that we are on now is not a course of success. He (Bush) has to get more folks involved. He has to stand up that army more quickly."

I heard a Pelosi quote from Meet the Press in which she called for more troops also.

What will we hear from the critics tomorrow?

We need victory in Iraq, something Bush's critics will continue to thwart.
I don't know if more troops is the answer, Mike Reagan says we out number the insurgents 20-1 now. We may just need to rework rules of engagement that prevent our troops from doing what they are trained to do.

I've seen a sign in a nearby window- "Support our troops, bring them home." Bull.
Let's support our troops, and their mission. Let's resolve to settle for nothing less than victory. It will take military and diplomatic action, and moral and political resolve to win.
We must win in Iraq. The veiled threats of withholding funding for the "Surge" by Sen."Bulge" Kennedy are trial baloons for defeat in Iraq, which would embolden terrorists.

Here's some good news : 50 terrorists killed, 20 captured in Baghdad Tuesday!

A highlight- "At one point, insurgents fired machine guns and RPGs from a mosque, prompting U.S. forces to return fire, Damon said." A good sign, if the forces (500 Iraqi, and 400 US in this battle) are willing to shoot back -even if the enemy hides in a mosque.

A lowlight- At story's end, CNN. com lists the running tally of US and UK "fatalities in Iraq".
At the risk of seeming morbid in this 'Age of Sensitivity', I'd like to know how many terrorists we are capturing or killing.

Sic Semper Tyrannis

2006-12-29T23:47:00.000-06:00

He said, "I’m from Al-Dujaile".
”This is what peace looked like in Iraq at Saddam’s time."
Get a clue, read about the crime that Saddam paid for tonight, right here .

Read one victim's account.

Why was Saddam hanged tonight?

Was it to silence him before he embarasses Rumsfeld, Cheney, or Bush?
Was it the vengance of a kangaroo court influenced by revenge for the attempted murder of George H.W. Bush?
Was it a grave injustice to hang Saddam while " Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Blair and others are free"?
Get a clue, read on...
Saddam was tried on his butchery of men, women, and children of Al-Dujaile after an assassination attempt there.
I would think that the name of the town
where 143 were executed would be more widely known,
even to someone with only a casual acquaintance with the news, like me.

President Bush - after the death sentence was given to Saddam Hussein-
"Iraq has a lot of work ahead as it builds its society that delivers equal
justice and protects all its citizens. Yet history will record today's judgment
as an important achievement on the path to a free and just and unified society.
The United States is proud to stand with the Iraqi people. We will continue
to support Iraq's unity government as it works to bring peace to its great
country."

Please point anyone who expresses any
sympathy for the devil to this article.

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

He said, "I’m from Al-Dujaile"
I understood what he meant.

In Saddam's time we used to whisper about Al-Dujaile, we all knew that a massacre happened there, but we didn't dare to ask about the details and I never met any one from there. Now I can know all about it from my new friend and here it is, in his own words:-"Al-Dujaile is my home town, I always looked at it as god's heaven on earth, it's about 60 kilometers to the north of Baghdad, on the bank of al Ishaki river (a branch of Tigris), inhabited by few thousands, most of whom are farmers, our village is well known by its date palms and grapes, a fascinating nature that takes your breath away, its people are related by strong tribal relations that keep them as one large family.

- Date: 7/8/1982, Saddam decides to visit the village, the Ba’ath party in the region prepared the people to make a big reception, they took us out of the schools(I was 7 years old). They made us line in a row on both sides of the road to wave for him and cheer his name. It never occurred to me that it would be my last day in the childhood world. I was forced to skip that period of my life with such cruelty that I can not explain.

-17 of the finest young men in the village had decided to put an end to the tyrant's life at that day, they had the courage to face him, we didn't know about their intention.The brave men set an ambush among the palm trees, they couldn't tell which car was his, there were dozens of cars, all identical in model and color.

-The attack starts, the brave young men open fire from their simple weapons, some of the body guards get killed, others wounded, the tyrant get panicked, imagine that (Saddam is afraid) the man who enjoyed terrorizing people lives a moment of fear with all its details, he was so close to death this time.8 of the attackers were killed, the rest fled out of the country.(Woe to the sinners) who dared to make him scared, you should fear his revenge, you should learn the lesson so that it won't happen again, you should bow more and more and fear more and more, you should be scared to death so that you don't dare even to think of harming him; the shadow of god on earth.

-The answer was fast, one hour after the escape of the tyrant, we had to face his anger, I heard the sound of helicopters over our heads wreaking their vengeance upon our small village, backed later with shovels that leveled the trees with the ground, the order was clear(the terror should be great) so that the others would learn.I ran away to my home into my mothers' lap, my younger brother and sisters gathered around me, I realized something huge has happened and anticipated the eminent evil. it didn't take long for the security to get to our house, we were taken to the unknown, me, my mother(who was 4 months pregnant), my sisters Einas(5 years), Zeina(3 years)and my brother Mohammed(1 year).

-The first station in our long journey was Al-Hakimiyah prison that belongs to the intelligence, I found hundreds of my village people, old, young, men, women and children, we were 480 there. Out of whom 80 were relatives of mine.It was enough to say the word Hakimiyah for any Iraqi to be completely paralyzed(the one who gets in is a missing-the one who gets out is reborn

-this was what we used to say about this prison, the walls of which tell thousands of horror stories that you refuse to believe.I was too young to know why we were treated like that, but I sure knew the meaning of being scared to death. The sound of foot steps that stops by the door was enough for every one to freeze, as after that the door would be opened, a name of one of the men would be announced and he would be dragged to the interrogation room to return few hours later unconscious, covered by blood, wrapped in a blanket, and would be thrown on us.

The women and children had their share, and this is what saw: extraction of nails and teeth, electric shocks, whipping with lashes, using razors to tear the skin into shreds, my aunt was left hanging from the roof after her clothes had been wrapped of her in front of her brothers to force them to talk.
Do you know how much pain we suffered?
Can you imagine?
I doubt it.
We stayed at Al-Hakimiyah for one month, the space was too small for all of us to sleep, some of us had to stay on their feet so that the others could sleep.-After that we were transferred to Abu-Ghraib prison, where we met the men for the last time, after that, the 143 men separated from us and then transferred to another place, as for the rest of us, we were kept in Abu-Ghraib prison for six months, during that time, the day for my mother to deliver her baby came, she had complications and they didn't take her to the hospital until it was too late, the baby died.
my mother never if it was a boy or a girl.
In the prison, 4 people died, my grandfather(Yousif Ya'koob), my uncles wife(Noofa Hasan), the old man(Abdul Wahab Ja'far) and his wife (Sabreya), after that we were transferred to a camp in the desert, near the Iraqi-Saudi borders, 400 kilometers south-west to Baghdad(Leeah camp).

We spent four years there.
Four years in hell, we were isolated from the world, all we could do is stay alive and pray for the men whom their destiny was unknown to us.We were released in 1986, only for another journey of pain and suffering. We had to start a new life as all our properties were confiscated and we still don’t know anything about the men.The other good people in our village helped us, offered us jobs in their lands and a place to stay in. I had to work -with my little brother and sisters- to earn our living and to continue with our study. Farming is too hard a job for children of our age, but we had already passed that stage.It’s hard to explain what life is when you're a suspect with the eyes of security agents following you, stifling your breath, making your life even harder and harder, we had to give them all the pennies we could save to get some information about the missing ones, and they always promised us good news, and that our beloved ones were alive and being treated well.
we didn't believe that, but what is life without hope!?
-Sixteen years later...October/2002. I finished medical school and started to practice my job as a doctor in Baghdad. The same year, Saddam suffers a hard time, the USA and the allies tighten the circle around him, he decides to set all prisoners free, including the political. That was what he said, the fact; he released only the murderers and the thieves.Our cries lost their way trying to find our relatives among the thousands of faces, each time they reassure us that there would be another group to be released the next day, but all our efforts were in vain, we had no one but god to pray to and seek his help to show us the way.
Date: 4/9/2003, I can’t believe it, the tyrant falls, is it a dream?Does it mean no more fear, no more terror, and no more death? We jumped into the streets wreaking our vengeance on his pictures and statues that surrounded the village he raped in a dark night.The towns and villages expelled him and expelled his name……..WE WERE SAVED.
I took a deep breath, the air had the scent of freedom, nothing can be more beautiful, it’s difficult to describe, but we were overwhelmed by happiness, with only one distress: where had our beloved ones gone?
We started to search the security departments in Baghdad,
- like thousands of Iraqis- looking for a trace,
I didn’t take a long time, we found what we were looking for.
The documents of the crime, I read with tears in my eyes;
the presidency order dated: 7 /23 /1985,
signed by the tyrant, ordering the execution of 143 men from Al-Dujaile, the youngest one (Najeeb Abd Kadim) 11 years old.
Among these, 35 were relatives of mine.
God bless your souls martyrs, may you have peace in heaven,
if it wasn’t your courage and blood we wouldn’t be proud.
This is the story behind these photos, my friend.
It’s time they have a decent funeral.
We haven’t found their remains yet, but they will always remain in our hearts”

My friend surprised me saying” we don’t regret what happened, and yesterday, when the nine remaining heroes returned to Iraq, we met them with flowers, as the heroes of all the Iraqis, and we will never blame them, as they’re the ones who kept our chins up

”This is what peace looked like in Iraq at Saddam’s time.

The battle is not over yet, the evil and cruel criminals are every where,
and they will not rest until they kidnap our dreams, but this time we’re stronger, as we are not alone.
The whole good and brave people on earth took it upon themselves to fight with us, we hate wars and all the bloodshed that comes with them, but we have no other choice.Let us all dream of a world of love and real peace.N.B.

All the copies of the documents could be found with Dr. Firas M. Yaqub firasyaqub@hotmail.com

As you prepare for 2007

2006-12-28T23:30:00.000-06:00

Forwarded from a favorite newsletter of mine:

It is unusually delightful, challenging,
and thought provoking - usually all three.

There are 53 Mondays in 2007, 53!

Here is a reason to look forward to each one: Subscribe to The MondayMorningMemo© of Roy H. Williams, the Wizard of Ads®

Happy New Year, Terry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How are things with you? Are you ready to begin a new year?

This is the time when millions of us pause to look back with regret and forward with hope. As you prepare for 2007, here are some thoughts I hope you'll ponder:

It's Always Okay To Begin Again
"The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul." – G.K. Chesterton

Pay Attention to the Little Things
"It is often said that before you die your life passes before your eyes. It is in fact true. It's called living." – Terry Pratchett

"No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently." – Agnes De Mille

Know What You Want
"I can teach anybody how to get what they want out of life. The problem is that I can't find anybody who can tell me what they want." – Mark Twain

Don't Think You Know It All
"The more we live by our intellect, the less we understand the meaning of life." – Leo Tolstoy

"And he goes through life, his mouth open, and his mind closed." – Oscar Wilde

Don't Be A Couch Potato
"Literacy is a very hard skill to acquire, and once acquired it brings endless heartache – for the more you read, the more you learn of life's intimidating complexity of confusion. But anyone who can learn to grunt is bright enough to watch TV… which teaches that life is simple, and happy endings come to those whose hearts are in the right place." – Spider Robinson

"If I show up at your house 10 years from now, and find nothing in your living room but Reader's Digests, nothing in your bedroom but the latest Dan Brown novel… I will chase you down to the end of your driveway and back shouting 'Where are the damn books?… Why are you living the mental equivalent of a Kraft Macaroni & Cheese life?'" - Stephen King, to the 2005 graduating class of the University of Maine

You're Going To Have Some Bad Days
"Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful." – Annette Funicello

"Life is like a train. It's bearing down on you and guess what? It's going to hit you. So you can either start running when it's far off in the distance, or you can pull up a chair, crack open a beer, and just watch it come." – Eric Forman, on That 70s Show

"My life has been filled with terrible misfortune; most of which never happened." – Montaigne

Have Courage
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure." – Helen Keller

"Those of us who refuse to risk and grow get swallowed up by life." – Patty Hansen

Love Your Job
"Work is about a search for daily meaning as well as daily bread, for recognition as well as cash, for astonishment rather than torpor; in short, for a sort of life rather than a Monday through Friday sort of dying." – Studs Terkel

Don't Forget to Have Fun
"Do not take life too seriously – you will never get out of it alive." – Elbert Hubbard

"Life is truly a ride. We're all strapped in and no one can stop it…. I think that the most you can hope for at the end of life is that your hair's messed, you're out of breath, and you didn't throw up." – Jerry Seinfeld

"Humanity has advanced, when it has advanced, not because it has been sober, responsible, and cautious, but because it has been playful, rebellious, and immature." – Tom Robbins, Still Life With Woodpecker

"Don't be afraid your life will end; be afraid that it will never begin." – Grace Hansen

Remember the People Who Are Important to You
"There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved." – George Sand

"When you grow up, you have to give yourself away. Sometimes you give your life all in a moment, but mostly you have to give yourself away laboring one minute at a time." – Gaborn Val Orden

"I was fourteen years old the night my daddy died. He had holes in his shoes and a vision that he was able to convey to me even lying in an ambulance, dying, that I as a black girl could do and be anything, that race and gender are shadows, and that character, determination, attitude are the substances of life." – Marian Wright Edelman

Today Is The First Day of The Rest of Your Life
"Life is a journey, and with every step we reach a point of no return." – Gaborn Val Orden

"Many adventures await you upon the road of life. Enter these doors, and take your first step…" – from a placard above The Horn and Hound Pub

Happy New Year,

Roy H. Williams

"What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset." - Crowfoot, (1811-1890) a Native American warrior of the Blackfoot tribe.

Last Minute Christmas Gift

2006-12-22T23:48:00.000-06:00

It probably wouldn't be as artistically done as the original art work, but you could make your own artwork with a little practice.

If Ron Popeil had thought of this there would be one at every yard sale.

Are you ready?

2006-12-21T22:55:00.000-06:00

"Are you ready for Christmas?"

A common salutation in late December,
so, "Are you?"

We prepare for long anticipated family gatherings
with anticipation, sometimes with anxiety,
for some folks, with dread.
So much to buy, to plan, to do, to prepare.

Are you ready?

As we age we recall at Christmastime
lost family members and lost relationships .
Are you ready to deal with those memories
of Christmas past?

"Long past?"
" Your past, Ebeneezer."

Are you Ready?

Get ready for Christmas.
Step back from the busyness and consider whose birth we celebrate.

Consider the wonder of the Creator stepping from his proper place on the throne of the Universe to enter His creation. As one Author wrote, it is a much greater step down than it would be for a man to become an ant, or an amoeba; because men and women, insects and amoebas are all created .

The incarnation - literally "in the flesh", God becoming human-
is on the order of a Painter stepping into a two dimentional painting, or an Author entering His books as character- setting aside , for a time, His pen so that the two dimentional creations could know the three dimentional Creator.

(Imagine that for a moment.
It's a lot to wrap our little brains around.)

Similarly, Jesus Christ came so that finite beings could know the infinite God. Not just know of Him, but know Him. He came also to deal with the thing that separates the created from Creator - sin.
"Only an infinite God could bear the full penalty for all the sins of all the people"*

The wise men didn't scurry about buying each other gifts,
but they did bring gifts to the newborn King as an act of worship.
What can we learn from the gifts of the Magi,
the gold, frankinscense and myrrh?
Please click on this to read Peter marshall's commentary-
Get ready.

Merry Christmas,
Terry

Click over to Angel's blog
for a Holidays and Calories open track back:
http://www.womanhonorthyself.com/?p=2103

Peace in our time

2006-12-21T17:34:00.000-06:00