Excellent Washington Post Article on the Senator's Hypocrisy conerning Gas Prices

I will post this in its entirety because it's so good.

Going a Short Way to Make a Point

By Dana MilbankThursday, April 27, 2006

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines.
Gas prices have gone above $3 a gallon again, and that means it's time for another round of congressional finger-pointing.

"Since George Bush and Dick Cheney took over as president and vice president, gas prices have doubled!" charged Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), standing at an Exxon station on Capitol Hill where regular unleaded hit $3.10. "They are too cozy with the oil industry."

She then hopped in a waiting Chrysler LHS (18 mpg) -- even though her Senate office was only a block away.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) used a Hyundai Elantra to take the one-block journey to and from the gas-station news conference. He posed in front of the fuel prices and gave them a thumbs-down. "Get tough on big oil!" he demanded of the Bush administration.

By comparison, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) was a model of conservation. She told a staffer idling in a Jetta to leave without her, then ducked into a sushi restaurant for lunch before making the journey back to work.

At about the same time, House Republicans were meeting in the Capitol for their weekly caucus (Topic A: gas).

The House driveway was jammed with cars, many idling, including eight Chevrolet Suburbans (14 mpg).

America may be addicted to oil, as President Bush puts it. But America is in the denial phase of this addiction -- as evidenced by the behavior of its lawmakers. They have proposed all kinds of solutions to high gas prices: taxes on oil companies, domestic oil drilling and releasing petroleum reserves. But they ignore the obvious: that Americans drive too much in too-big cars.

Senators were debating a war spending bill yesterday, but the subject invariably turned to gas prices.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) engaged his deputy, Dick Durbin (Ill.), in a riveting colloquy.

"Is the senator aware that the L.A. Times headline reads today, 'Bush's Proposals Viewed as a Drop in the Bucket'?"

"I'm aware of that," Durbin replied.

Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) responded with an economics lesson. "Oil is worth what people pay for it," he argued.

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) sounded the alarms. "We are one accident or one terrorist attack away from oil at $100 a barrel!"

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) made a plea for conservation. "We have to move quickly to increase our fuel efficiency," she urged.

But not too quickly. After lunchtime votes, senators emerged from the Capitol for the drive across the street to their offices.

Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) hopped in a GMC Yukon (14 mpg).
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) climbed aboard a Nissan Pathfinder (15).
Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) stepped into an eight-cylinder Ford Explorer (14).
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) disappeared into a Lincoln Town Car (17).
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) met up with an idling Chrysler minivan (18).

Next came Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), greeted by a Ford Explorer XLT.
On the Senate floor Tuesday, Menendez had complained that Bush "remains opposed to higher fuel-efficiency standards."

Also waiting:
three Suburbans,
a Nissan Armada V8,
two Cadillacs and a Lexus.

The greenest senator was Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), who was picked up by his hybrid Toyota Prius (60 mpg), at quadruple the fuel efficiency of his Indiana counterpart Evan Bayh (D), who was met by a Dodge Durango V8 (14).

As a political matter, Democrats clearly sense that they have the advantage on the high gas prices, judging from the number of speeches and news conferences.

"The cost of Republican corruption when it comes to energy is hitting home very clearly for America's middle class," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) exulted yesterday morning.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) introduced an amendment to repeal oil-company tax breaks and distribute $500 tax rebates to consumers. It was quickly ruled out of order.

But Republicans were clearly feeling defensive. "We passed an energy bill last year, last July," House Speaker Dennis Hastert (Ill.) pleaded at a morning news conference. "It changes CAFE [corporate average fuel economy] standards. It changes some of the things that we can do -- I'm sorry, changes not the CAFE standards, but changes some of the supply issues, boutique fuels, all these things."

Only Sen. Mark Dayton (D-Minn.), who can speak freely because he is retiring, was willing to note the disconnect between rhetoric and action. "People say, understandably, 'Solve our energy problems right now, but don't make us do anything differently,' " he said on the Senate floor.

If the politics of gasoline favor Democrats at the moment, the insincerity is universal. A surreptitious look at the cars in the senators-only spots inside and outside the Senate office buildings found an Escort and a Sentra (super-rich Wisconsin Democrat Herb Kohl's spot had a Chevy Lumina), but far more Jaguars, Cadillacs and Lexuses and a fleet of SUVs made by Ford, Honda, BMW and Lexus.

A sampling of senators' and staff cars parked along Delaware Avenue NE found that those displaying Democratic campaign bumper stickers had a somewhat higher average fuel economy (23 mpg) than those displaying GOP stickers (18 mpg).

A fuel-efficiency rating could not be found for the 1970s-era Volkswagen "Thing" owned by Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.).

Maybe, lawmakers are starting to learn. When GOP senators had a lunch Tuesday a couple of blocks from the Capitol, many took cars. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) emerged from the lunch looking for his ride when he spied The Washington Post's Shailagh Murray. Reconsidering, he set out on foot. "I need the exercise," he reasoned.

© 2006 The Washington Post Company

Mexico is Harsh on its "Undocumented Workers"

I suspected as much but this article shows it.

That crook, Vicente Fox should look at his own backyard instead.

By MARK STEVENSON Associated Press Writer

TULTITLAN, Mexico (AP) -- Considered felons by the government, these migrants fear detention, rape and robbery. Police and soldiers hunt them down at railroads, bus stations and fleabag hotels. Sometimes they are deported; more often officers simply take their money.
While migrants in the United States have held huge demonstrations in recent weeks, the hundreds of thousands of undocumented Central Americans in Mexico suffer mostly in silence.

The 9/11 Cellphone Tapes

We are seeing and hearing a lot of information about the last minutes of some people in 9/11. The whole thing is bringing up the bad feelings and sense of anger I felt on that day.

The cellphone recordings of people in the towers and in the planes are sometimes overwhelming. I can feel everything these people are going through, especially this one of Kevin Cosgrove.


He was stuck on the 105th floor. You can hear him talking for a long time with the 9/11 operator. He repeats, "I'm not ready to die" several times.

In the last two seconds, he yells, "Oh, My God!" as the tower falls.

Click the title to hear the tape.

"We do the jobs Americans won't do"

Is plain bullshit.

I gain a lot of insight while riding the MetroRail through downtown Houston everyday, (I also wish I had a gun permit but that's a different story).

This morning, I eavesdropped on a unique situation. Two white guys got on the train, and I noticed right away they were homeless. Nothing unique there except that 90 percent of the homeless appear to be black, very few hispanic and I don't remember when I have last saw an oriental or middle-eastern homeless person.

Anyway, one of these guys was reading a newspaper and talking constantly about finding temporary work to "pay off his traffic fines" so he could go back to driving a truck. I admired that he was at least actively trying to do something to get out of his situation.

Along the way, he mentioned that he had tried several times to get a job doing construction work. Houston is bustling with construction work and I thought that would be a great way to get a few bucks. He said everytime he applied, they would'nt hire him because he DIDN'T SPEAK SPANISH!

Imagine that...you have to know spanish to dig a ditch these days. He said he didn't want to talk to anyone, he just wanted to make a few bucks to get back on his feet.

This situation helped me to realize that this is a blaring example of the fact that these jobs are not being done by illegals because WE won't do them, they're being done by illegals because the greedy construction owners and foremen would lose money if they hired americans. Then they would have to pay higher wages and taxes. The construction owners and foreman are the ones that are undermining our system, not the illegals. The illegals will work for anyone...as long as the authorities don't know about it.

That is also a good message to what the illegals really want with our country. They don't want to be citizens. That would mean they would have to pay taxes and obey the laws.

They would have to be accountable for their actions.

This bill will not make any difference in the amount of illegals that trespass into our country. They will still come.

As long as there is a means to make money to send back to the Motherland, they will keep coming.

Ask any mexican-american, the ones who came here, or their parents or grandparents came here legally, if they want the illegals to get amnesty. You will find virtually all of them don't want it.

Gotta go back to work now. Millions on welfare depend on me.

Thinking....Again

I was thinking about the universe, and the fact that all those stars we see are really suns, and galaxies, and nebulas so far away that the light we see from them is at least four light years away. All these things are rotating around a mysterious center of a mysterious galaxy called the Milky Way. We are just one little, tiny dot in that galaxy.

I was thinking about the Milky Way being only one medium-sized galaxy, spinning among billions of other galaxies...everything traveling at the speed of light through the universe.

All the amazing suns and worlds spread over such a vast space.

Then I thought about a flower on a new flowering bush we bought yesterday. It brilliantly colored with purples and blues, and each flower was different. I realized that this place we call Earth contains billions of amazing things.

I picked up a handfull of sand and examined it....really examined each little pebble. Each one was different, different colors, different streaks, different sizes.

Then I just looked at the sky and the plants and trees around me.

We are surrounded by all these intricate, colorful, and constantly changing things and we don't realize it. We don't appreciate what we have. Is there another world like this one in the whole universe?

I don't normally consider all these things on a daily basis.

I plan to.

Beginning today.

Immigration: This picture angers me to no end

This picture angers me more than anything I have seen in years. I am so disgusted with these ungrateful students.

Illegal Immigration

This is perceived as quite a problem in the states that are strongly affected by it like Arizona, California and Texas.

I live in Texas and I can assure you, we have been invaded by Spanish-speaking people (about the nicest way I can put it). When I go into any convenience store, any time of day, I run into Spanish-speaking people, buying beer mostly.
There is a recent poll that says 88 percent of Americans say something needs to be done about this. The Senate is getting ready to introdue something to show they are acting on the wishes of the American people. But, what can/should the senate do? Is it already too late? Are the invaders here to stay?

President Bush wants to set up some kind of program where a worker can come up and work for a certain amount of time on a visa, then go back. That program is already in affect and has been used by industry for years. It's called the L1B visa program, and lawyers all over are hustling to bring workers over from anywhere...very lucrative gig for them.

The L1B visa thing was originally intended to help companies find someone AFTER they have looked for a suitable candidate among the US citizenry. Unfortunately, that's not the way it works. The major companies are hiring thousands of engineers and technicians from smaller companies, mostly Venezuela, Argentina, Columbia, and India, for less than their American counterparts, working them here for up to seven years, then sending them back. And I'm sure there are loopholes around that. I know, I'm working next to someone like that right now.

Right...so much for keeping the US jobs in the US.

So, that's President Bush's proposal. Now, Senator Frist wants to push legislation to enforce punishment on those that hire illegals.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has said the Senate will take up his proposal to tighten borders and punish employers who hire illegal immigrants if the Judiciary Committee doesn't complete a broader bill by next week.

Hello? I thought it was already against the law to hire illegals...I guess the greedy business owners have gotten around that little law for years by paying them in cash and not paying taxes (both the business owner and the illegal). Now it's gotten to the point that construction companies HAVE to hire illegals to make any money. They have become an essential element in the construction, food service, and cleaning service industries (just to mention a few). We go out and eat a lot and most restaurant chains hire illegals as their "cooks." The wait staff complain that they can't get an order done because they have to have an interpreter to talk to the cooks. Watch the buss staff and cooks the next time you go out to eat. You'll see.

These ompanies have made themselves dependent on illegal workers...just to make a buck.

Now you have senators opposing any kind of action to punish these lawbreakers and essentially give them the keys to YOUR city. One of the biggest manipulators is Senator Clinton. She wants to block the proposal to change illegal immigration from a misdeameanor to a felony.

She also called for new enforcement laws, including penalties for employers who exploit illegal immigrants, as well as a system to allow the roughly 11 million illegal immigrants currently living in the United States to earn their citizenship.

Clinton expressed sympathy to representatives of communities along the U.S.-Mexico border that are frustrated by the stress of providing social services to large numbers of undocumented immigrants. But she also said she hoped to send a message that supporters of punitive immigration policy faced significant political risk for doing so.

"We want the outcome to be that they're on the wrong side of the politics as well as the wrong side of history and American values," she said.

Oh WAAH...she just sees the hispanic vote and wants to capitalize on it if/when she runs for president. You notice in the above quote that she wants penalties for those employers who EXPLOIT illegal immigrants? She doesn't say diddly about penalties for those employers who HIRE them.

That's illegal too, as I understand. And, that's the whole point of this rant. The illegals are taking over Tejas, Arizona, and California (among others). They are taking jobs, buying land and houses (one just moved in next to me in a house that I couldn't afford), paying cash for everything, and sending their money and support back to the Motherland to the tune of several billion dollars a year. In the meantime, we have to pay their medical bills, provide them an education (did you know that when they go to our schools, they don't even have to learn English? They usually have an interpreter. I saw that when I substituted a few years ago).
They are taking up our welfare and SSI payments and they STILL don't have to be American citizens.

This is not right.

I want my country back.

Just what WOULD happen if we left Iraq now?

I am a dedicated American. I gave twenty years of my life to the Air Force in a law enforcement/combat role.
I feel strongly for every troop that is in harm's way there in Iraq.
But after reading this blog and some others, I decided that yes, it is time to pull out now. What good are we doing there? I know we are rebuilding and helping set up an infrastructure but, can't the Iraqis do that?

Our presence there seems to be more of an irritant than an asset. We are accidently killing civilians, as show in this blog. We also seem to just be targets for the insurgents (terrorists) that come in from other countries. We are just an opportunity for these organizations to perfect their craft. At our expense.

Will Iraq fall into civil war? Will Iran or Syria move in and take it over?
The most important thing to me is that we do not let the Iraqis down. We cannot allow the terrorists that are just waiting in the wings to swoop in and take over. Those that were our friends might become victims (just look into the past at what Hussein did to those that rose against him in Desert Storm).

I just don't know what would be right.

Happy St. Patty's Day

Starkle, starkle, little twink,
Who the hell you are, you think?
I'm not under the alfluence of incohol,
Although some thinkle peep I are.
The drunker I sit here,
The longer I be.
I fool so feelish,
I don't know who is me.

You ever wonder what the hit song was on the day you were Born?

Just a bunch of useless information, but it's interesting.

Mine was, "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" by Vera Lynn

Probably the most Original Obituary I have Read

Obituaries are generally pretty dry and boring. Probably because they're only read by those that suffer the loss and people like me, who check it daily to make sure I'm not in it.

This one though, was posted by Mr. Drags in an It's Happening Forum at Wincoast.com.

This one was for Dorothy Gibson Cully, 86, mother of four, who had died peacefully June 3 while in the "loving care of her two favorite children." "All of her breath leaked out."

Here is the body of the obit:

On June 3, 2005 at 10:45 p.m. in Memphis, Tenn., Dorothy Gibson Cully, 86, died peacefully, while in the loving care of her two favorite children, Barbara and David. All of her breath leaked out. The mother of four children, grandmother to 11, great-grandmother to nine, devoted wife for 56 years to the late Ralph Chester Cully and a true friend to many, Dot had been active as a volunteer in the Catholic Church and other community charities for much of the past 25 years.

She was born the second child of six in 1919 as Frances Dorothy Gibson, daughter to Kathleen Heard Gibson and Calvin Hooper Gibson, an inventor best known as the first person since the Middle Ages to calculate the arcane lead-to-gold formula. Unable to actually prove this complex theory scientifically, and frustrated by the cruel conspiracy of the so-called "scientific community" working against his efforts, he ultimately stuck his head in a heated gas oven with a golden delicious apple propped in his mouth. Miraculously, the apple was saved for the evening dessert. Calvin was not.

Native Marylanders and longtime Baltimore, Kent Island and Ocean City residents, Ralph and Dot later resided in Lakeland, Fla., and Virginia Beach, Va.. Several years after Ralph's death, Dot moved to Raleigh in 2001, where she lived with her son David.

At the time of her death, Dot was visiting her daughter Carol in Memphis. Carol and her husband, Ron, away from home attending a "very important conference" at a posh Florida resort, rushed home 10 days later after learning of the death. Dot's other children, dutifully at their mother's side helping with the normal last-minute arrangements -- hospice notification, funeral parlor notice, revising the will, etc. -- happily picked up the considerable slack of the absent former heiress.

Dot is warmly remembered as a generous, spiritually strong, resourceful, tolerant and smart woman, who was always ready to help and never judged others or their shortcomings. Dot always found time to knit sweaters, sew quilts and send written notes to the family children, all while working a full-time job, volunteering as Girl Scout leader and donating considerable time to local charities and the neighborhood Catholic Church.

Dot graduated from Eastern High School at 15, worked in Baltimore full time from 1934 to 1979, beginning as a factory worker at Cross & Blackwell and retiring after 30 years as property manager and controller for a Baltimore conglomerate, Housing Engineering Company, all while raising four children, two of who are fairly normal.

An Irishwoman proud of and curious about her heritage, she was a voracious reader of historical novels, particularly those about the glories and trials of Ireland. Dot also loved to travel, her favorite destination being Eire's auld sod, where she dreamed of the magic, mystery and legend of the Emerald Isle.

Dot Cully is survived by her sisters, Ginny Torrico in Virginia, Marian Lee in Florida and Eileen Adams in Baltimore; her brother, Russell Gibson of Fallston, Md.; her children, Barbara Frost of Ocean City, Md., Carol Meroney of Memphis, Tenn., David Cully of Raleigh, N.C. and Stephen Cully of Baltimore, Md. Contributions to the Wake County (N.C.) Hospice Services are welcomed. Opinions about the details of this obit are not, since Mom would have liked it this way.

"Miraculously, the apple was saved for the evening dessert. Calvin was not."

So funny. Enjoy.

Country Dweller, City Worker

Well, it happened again.

I ride the MetroRail into downtown and about once or twice a week, I get the crazy ones. You know the ones that are having a great conversation on their cell phone, until you notice....they don't have a cell phone.

They always seem to sit near me.

This morning...black lady.

I noticed the smell first, then the vocalizations.

She seemed happy though...laughed a lot...then out of nowhere, she yelled, "Oh my God!" Startled everyone. When I looked at her, she looked back like she hadn't heard a thing.

Man, life is so strange.

Observations about our life on this Planet

1. Save The Whales. Collect The Whole Set.
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2. A Day Without Sunshine Is Like, Night.
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3. On The Other Hand, You Have Different Fingers.
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4. I Just Got Lost In Thought. It Wasn't Familiar Territory .
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5. 42.7 Percent Of All Statistics Are Made Up On The Spot.
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6. Light Travels Faster Than Sound, Which Is Why Some People Appear Bright Until You Hear them Speak.
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7. I Feel Like I'm Diagonally Parked In A Parallel Universe.
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8. Honk If You Love Peace And Quiet.
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9. Remember, Half The People You Know Are Below Average.
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10. He Who Laughs Last, Thinks Slowest.
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11. Depression Is Merely Anger Without Enthusiasm.
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12. The Early Bird May Get The Worm, But The Second Mouse Gets
The Cheese.
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13. I Drive Way Too Fast To Worry About Cholesterol.
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14. Support Bacteria. They're The Only Culture Some People Have.
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15. Monday Is An Awful Way To Spend 1/7 Of Your Week.
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16. A Clear Conscience Is Usually The Sign Of A Bad Memory.
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17. Change Is Inevitable, Except From Vending Machines.
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18. Get A New Car For Your Spouse. It'll Be A Great Trade!
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19. Plan To Be Spontaneous Tomorrow.
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20. Always Try To Be Modest, And Be Proud Of It!
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21. If You Think Nobody Cares, Try Missing A Couple Of Payments.
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22. How Many Of You Believe In Psycho-Kinesis? Raise My Hand.
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23 . Ok, So What's The Speed Of Dark?
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24. How Do You Tell When You're Out Of Invisible Ink?
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25. If Everything Seems To Be Going Well, You Have Obviously Overlooked Something.
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26. When Everything Is Coming Your Way, You're In The Wrong Lane.
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27. Hard Work Pays Off In The Future. Laziness Pays Off Now.
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28. Everyone Has A Photographic Memory. Some Just Do Not Have Film.
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29. If Barbie Is So Popular, Why Do You Have To Buy Her Friends?
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30. How Much Deeper Would The Ocean Be Without Sponges?
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31. Eagles May Soar, But Weasels Do Not Get Sucked Into Jet Engines.
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32. What Happens If You Get Scared Half To Death Twice?
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33. I Used To Have An Open Mind But My Brains Kept Falling Out.
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34. I Couldn't Repair Your Brakes, So I Made Your Horn Louder.
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35. Why Do Psychics Have To Ask You For Your Name?
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36. Inside Every Older Person Is A Younger Person Wondering What Happened.
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37. Just Remember - If The World Did Not Suck, We Would All Fall Off.

What are you Thinking?

The sale of six US ports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and our president backing this transaction has me just totally....totally bewildered.

I have tried and tried to back this administration. I'm slowly falling away. Not to the dark side for sure. I guess somewhere in the middle.

The president asks why it is alright for us to back a British-run port authority and not a middle-eastern one?
Here's one:



There are questions:

Didn't the president say we would not cooperate with countries that support terrorism?
Wasn't the UAE one of the few countries that fully recognized the Taliban as a government?
Wasn't two of the 9/11 terrorists from the UAE?
Didn't some money fot 9/11 go through the UAE?

Somthing just ain't right here....

Who has the Saddam Tapes?

The so-called "Saddam Tapes" that allegedly revealed so much about the pre-Iraq war were very interesting. But, in the "ABC News Exclusive," they said,

Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, says the tapes are authentic and show that "Saddam had a fixation on weapons of mass destruction and he had a fixation on hiding what he was doing from the U.N. inspectors." Hoeckstra says there are more than 35,000 boxes of such tapes and documents that the U.S. government has not analyzed nor made public that should also be translated and studied on an urgent basis.

My first and still most pressing question is, which U.S. government agency has these 35,000 boxes of tapes and who is translating and analyzing them?

What's the deal?

Was this just another act of yellow journalism by ABC News? Is the whole Saddam Tapes thing just going to be dropped and never taken up again?
Who is minding the store?
Who is making sure this will be done?

I've got a bad Feeling about This

Islam is the only religion that thinks about Jihad, and expansion of their religion through violent means.
Muslims are the only group that believes their god has given them the mission to kill those who reject him.
Muslims are the only group that imposes the antiquated laws of their “holy” book.
And, Muslims are the only group that has not apologized for the crimes of their past and keeps committing those crimes even today. (paraphrase from an excellent blog by Truthseeker, a former Muslim.

I know the Muslims are not the only ones that have killed millions in the name of religion. The US was partially founded on something called "manifest destiny." It was the "destiny" of the "civilized" peoples of Europe to convert the "savages" to christianity and a "civilized" way of life. The "savages" did not know any better. They were no better than animals that needed to be trained. Those "savages" that they couldn't convert to their religion were killed.

I could go back further and mention the Crusades that lasted 250 years and killed millions but I don't want to write a book here. You can find an excellent history of the Crusades on several sites if you care to read.

In our times, violence and controversy initiated by Muslims seems to be exploding all over the world. Almost every country in the world seems to have Muslims. All of those Muslims seem to be involved in something controversial that brings attention to their cause. Western Muslims publicly condemn acts of violence but they seem torn between standing up to theses acts of violence and standing behind them, in the name of Islam.

Everyday, we see more and more demonstrations, bombings, kidnapping, and senseless killing by so-called Muslims, not just in Iraq.

This is what is concerning me; this explosion of Muslim demonstrations, assasinations, kidnapping, all of it. Do you think this is just a bunch of angry Muslims rainsing hell about some cartoons in a small newspaper or do you think, like me, that there is a consorted effort worldwide to impose Islam on the entire world?

Is this a planned thing? Is it something that has been planned for a long time that is just now coming to fruition?

I hope I'm just paranoid but it seems like there is something spreading around the world, growing and growing until it covers the entire earth. Afterall, the Koran does say that the goal of Islam is to make sure the whole world is Muslim. Of course, our own Bible tells us to spread the faith around the world as well so Muslims aren't alone in that message either.

I just don't know.

Support the War, but not the Troops. Support the Troops but not the War. Can you support both?

The war does suck, that's for sure. I don't think there was ever a "good" war. I think it was gonna happen despite the administration that was in power. Clinton was headed that way, with the attacks on Iraq and constantly asking the UN to do something about Hussein. Hussein was violating all the rules set by Desert Storm, thumbing his nose at the UN and the weapons inspectors.

Then 9/11 happened. We were blindsided and we were looking for a fight. We went into Afghanistan and took out the Taliban.

We and the allies took care of them. Now, where to next? Right there is where the problems started. We still wanted to kick some terrorist's ass. We needed to get rid of these terrorists once and for all.

Al-Qaeda was training in Iraq (it's a fact and don't say it's not). Hussein was given 16 chances to comply with the UN sanctions and was not showing any signs of stopping his shit. So....here we came.

Now, you agree we are in an insane situation. We have troops that believe we are making a difference by stopping terrorists in Iraq. All the terrorists are coming to Iraq to perfect their craft.

We won't leave until they stop killing everyone. They won't stop until we leave (so they say).

We have troops we support and admire for their courage, yet we are in a war with an immoral enemy that doesn't play by the rules. Our troops are getting killed and that is not supposed to happen.
We support our troops and believe along with them that they are doing good over there. The Iraqis are better off.
After all, they are humans like everyone else. All they want is to provide for the family and live a happy life. They don't want to fear losing their Father to killers that come in the night and take him away, never to return. The troops are helping that come about. At least that's their goal.

If the troops leave now, the country will drop into chaos and will be lost to another facist regime.

Who'se to say that won't happen anyway? But, who'se to say the new government will not be strong and will want to create a democracy in the midst of this chaos?

We must support our troops and let them complete their mission. If the new Iraqi government takes hold and starts showing signs of being a stable entity that is good for the people, the troops will have accomplished their mission and can come home.

So, we have to support both to the final end. I hope it ends well and God bless those troops in harm's way.

Come home soon.

It's gonna be a Gay Day at the Oscars

Well, it seems they ignored The Passion of the Christ last year, and this year, Narnia, in favor of the gay-themed movies. There's Brokeback Mountain, Capote (gay), and another one featuring a main character that receives a sex change. I can't remember it's name but it got four nods. Another one of those movies that no one in the rest of the world has heard of until just before the oscars. That happens every year too doesn't it? No one heard of Chicago until just before the oscars, same for Million Dollar Baby....but that's another topic altogether.

They just don't seem to get it that these themes don't appeal to mainstream America.

I'm not homophobic but I don't really get off on seeing two men enjoying each others hairy butts and I really don't want to pay to see it. I will have to go however, because I have free passes and a gay member of my family wants to see it. I told him I would go but if they start swapping spit and playing ring around the flagpole, I'll have to go get some popcorn.

It just seems that the entertainment community just doesn't get it that most of America doesn't care to see that. Maybe they think they know what's best and what's trendy and if they like it, we should as well.

I don't think so.

I used to love the oscars, all the trailers and the spontaneously stupid remarks by the participants but...I don't know...even with Jon Stewart as the MC, I can't see watching it this year.

I want to hear CAIR'S response to this

LOS ANGELES RADIO STATION SQUARES-OFF WITH MUSLIM GROUP
Mon Jan 30 2006 10:10:49 ET

Los Angeles's top talkradio station is under fire from a Muslim group because of comments made earlier this month by morning man Bill Handel. The Council on American-Islamic Relations has demanded an apology from Handel for making fun of a stampede that killed hundreds of Muslims during an annual pilgrimage.

But Handel is set to fire back, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

Handel will apologize IF the Council on American-Islamic Relations:


1) Decries all acts of terror (described specifically, not generally)


2) Agrees that Israel is a sovereign nation with the right to defensible borders


3) CAIR has no ties of any sort, financially or otherwise, to any terror orgs or individiuals.


MANAGEMENT STATEMENT

KFI-AM does not condone making light of the deaths of people engaged in religious observances. We regret that listeners found the comments of one of our on-air hosts to be insensitive. KFI does not censor its hosts, nor does it tell them what to say or not to say. KFI is a strong and passionate believer in 1st amendment rights and that is at the very core of this radio station.

Developing...

NOTE: I'm at home recovering from an operation so if anyone hears about a response to this, please let me know.

Goodbye Doobie

My old dog, Doobie, died this morning.
He was my inheritance from Mom when she died.
He was about 17...been blind for six months.
He made some unhappy noises last night and this morning, when I carried him out to pee, he couldn't stand up even worse than before.
I put him in his little room (carrier) to eat and when I checked later, he was gone.
He's with Mom now, I'm sure.

"And now,to all the good dogs...
the special ones
you loved best,
those of ours we still miss...

Goodbye,

until on some brighter day,
in some fairer place,
They run out again
to greet us."

George Papashvily

Global Warming is going to Target Blacks Only Now?

I guess the next natural disaster will be looking just for 'dem po' ole black folks?

Give me a freekin' break!

And this statement:

Relatively, Blacks are environmental Good Samaritans. Per capita, we emit approximately 20 percent less carbon dioxide than Whites – well below 2020 targets set by the U.S. Climate Stewardship Act. Not only do we use more energy-conserving public transportation, we spend considerably less per capita on energy-intensive material goods.

Yet Blacks are exposed to worse air pollution than Whites in every major metropolitan area. Some charge that the Bush administration has made matters worse by creating new policies, like the Clear Skies Act and the Healthy Forest Initiative, that allow utilities and industries to pollute more. President Bush enraged environmentalists when he opted out of the Kyoto protocol global warming treaty, saying it would harm the U.S. economy.

WTF???

Blacks emit less carbon dioxide than whites?

And finally...let's get on the old Blame Bush bandwagon....it's all his fault.

GEEZ....I need some coffee....this is just too much.

Duece Four Returns from Mosul

If you have followed Michael Yon and his adventures in Iraq, you will be familiar with Duece Four, the unit Michael Yon has been with this last year.
They have just returned from a year of fighting in Mosul.
The link is to a video compilation by someone at Duece Four.

The guys have been through a lot. They have also done a lot to make us and the world safer.

Welcome Home

Democrats

This is good! Dear Friends:

Many years ago in Seattle, two wonderful neighbors, Elliott and Patty Roosevelt came to my home to swim on a regular basis. They were a great couple full of laughter and stories that today I continue to marvel at.
Both are now deceased, but their stories remain. During the years of our friendship we had many, many discussions about his parents (President Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt) and how his father and mother never intended for the Social Security and Welfare programs to turn out the way they are today. Elliott used to say that if his mother returned to earth and saw what the politicians had done to their programs she would have burned all of them in hell.

Here is a story I received today regarding the Social Security Program and I immediately thought of Elliott's comments. Hope you will read this and think about it. Margaret Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social Security (FICA)

Program. He promised:

1.) That participation in the Program would be completely voluntary,
2.) That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual incomes into the Program,
3.) That the money the participants elected to put into the Program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year,
4.) That the money the participants put into the independent "Trust Fund" rather than into the General operating fund, and therefore, would only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement Program, and no other Government program, and,
5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income.

Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are now receiving a Social Security check every month -- and then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of the money we paid to the Federal government to "put away," you may be interested in the following:

--------------------

Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the independent "Trust" fund and put it into the General fund so that Congress could spend it?

A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the democratically controlled House and Senate.

Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding?

A: The Democratic Party.

Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social Security annuities?

A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the "tie-breaking" deciding vote as President of the Senate, while he was Vice President of the U.S.

------------------- AND MY FAVORITE:

Q: Which Political Party decided to start giving annuity payments to immigrants?

A: That's right! Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party. Immigrants moved into this country, and at age 65, began to receive Social Security payments! The Democratic Party gave these payments to them, even though they never paid a dime into it!
-------------------
Then, after doing all this lying and thieving and violation of the original contract (FICA), the Democrats turn around and tell you that the Republicans want to take your Social Security away!

And the worst part about it is, uninformed citizens believe it!

If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of awareness will be planted and maybe good changes will evolve. Maybe not, some Democrats are awfully sure of what isn't so.

Demand? Demand? Who are these people to demand anything?

Mexican and Central American diplomats are DEMANDING that we allow more immigrants! They are DEMANDING a guest worker program and the legalization of "undocumented workers."
Who the hell do these people think they are to DEMAND ANYTHING of us?

Here in Texas, we're invaded by illegals and legals alike. I can't go into a convenience store without running into 5 or 6 of them rattling off in spanish and piling eight to a pickup. On the way home, it's the same thing only they're loading up on beer.
My new "neighbor" is Mexican. He tried to take more land than the survey allowed and when I confronted him on it, he suddenly "couldn't speak English," when two weeks ago, he spoke it perfectly. He's also moved a double-wide on his property and now it looks like a perfect little "barrio." Don't get me started on the loud Chicano music I have to endure every weekend.
Every restaurant we go into, I can be assured the food is cooked by a mexican or central american. I have a friend who is a waitress at a local restaurant. She can't train to a manager position because the cooking staff doesn't speak English! She will probably have to give up that dream to someone who is bi-lingual.
I know these crooked bastards are DEMANDING this from us because the "immigrants" provide over 16 billion dollars in revenue but dammit...why in the hell can't they fix up their own nations and take care of their own? I wonder how they treat other "immigrants" that try to come into their countries from the South.

Man, I have to go calm down...this is getting me angrier and angrier the more I think about it....GEEZ!

The Liberal Constitution

Here's an excerpt:

We the People of the United States progressive-minded citizens of the North American Province of the United Nations, in Order to form a more perfect Union obtain a far groovier chakra, establish Social Justice, get righteous with Mother Earth, insure domestic Tranquility partnerships of any nature, provide for the common defence promotion of peace, free love and a total lack of responsibility, promote the general creation of the Welfare State, and secure the Blessings of Liberty some boss doobage to for ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America North American Province of the United Nations.

Hilarious...go here to read the rest.

The Liberal Constitution

Here's an excerpt:

We the People of the United States progressive-minded citizens of the North American Province of the United Nations, in Order to form a more perfect Union obtain a far groovier chakra, establish Social Justice, get righteous with Mother Earth, insure domestic Tranquility partnerships of any nature, provide for the common defence promotion of peace, free love and a total lack of responsibility, promote the general creation of the Welfare State, and secure the Blessings of Liberty some boss doobage to for ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America North American Province of the United Nations.

Hilarious...go here to read the rest.

Patriotism or Propaganda?

When reading Michael Yon's blog, I was surprised to see there was so much difference between his slideshow and that of MSNBC. Take a look at both and vote. Unfortunately, MSNBC didn't select Michael's pic as one to vote on, although it does appear in the Editor's Choice.
There is also nowhere you can tell them that they aren't showing all the pics to vote on. Anyway, take a look as BOTH slideshows, and let the music play in both.




Which one do you think is more upbeat?

Finally, a Judge shows some Cajones

After seeing the American Communist Liberals Union walk all over the common man in the interest of their anti-american agenda, it's refreshing to see a judge finally tell it like it is and throw these idiots out of court.

They don't and never will, speak for me.

A U.S. appeals court today upheld the decision of a lower court in allowing the inclusion of the Ten Commandments in a courthouse display, hammering the American Civil Liberties Union and declaring, "The First Amendment does not demand a wall of separation between church and state."

Attorneys from the American Center for Law and Justice successfully argued the case on behalf of Mercer County, Ky., and a display of historical documents placed in the county courthouse. The panel voted 3-0 to reject the ACLU's contention the display violated the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.

The county display the ACLU sued over included the Ten Commandments, the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Magna Charta, the Star Spangled Banner, the National Motto, the Preamble to the Kentucky Constitution, the Bill of Rights to the U. S. Constitution and a picture of Lady Justice.

And...

Writing for the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Richard Suhrheinrich said the ACLU's "repeated reference 'to the separation of church and state' ... has grown tiresome. The First Amendment does not demand a wall of separation between church and state."

Suhrheinrich wrote: "The ACLU, an organization whose mission is 'to ensure that ... the government [is kept] out of the religion business,' does not embody the reasonable person."

Nancy Pelosi just doesn't "Get It"

Nancy's response to President Bushs' speech:

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 /U.S. Newswire/ — House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement tonight in response to President Bush’s speech on Iraq:

“Tonight the President acknowledged more of the mistakes he has made in Iraq, but he still does not get it. Iraq did not present an imminent threat to the security of the United States before he began his war of choice. The President’s speech tonight was further evidence that after almost three years, he still does not understand that crucial fact.

”President Bush persists in pursuing a flawed policy that has not made the American people safer nor made the Middle East more secure. It is time for a new direction in Iraq — not more of the same."

Her direction would be the direction of "retreat."

I bet she didn't even listen to the speech. If she did, she didn't "listen." Bush said to leave now would hurt the image if the US as a strong ally and create mistrust all over the world. It would also hurt all the troops that gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Man, I cannot believe such self-involved egotists live and breath in the white house.

Thanks be to Little Green Footballs.

Tookie Williams

They should not call what they did an "execution."
They should call it a "Post-Birth Abortion."

Day in the Life of Al-Zarqawi

One of my favorites, Iowahawk, has posted another day in the life of Al-Zarqawi. His stuff is hilarious. Here's the whole article.

Here's an excerpt:

Shit, I though I was gonna spray some Mecca-Cola through my nose when I saw Khalid behind them, doing that throat-slash thingy with his hook, but I kept it together. "Sure! Sounds like a plan, guys! Umm, why don't you go with Khalid. He'll take you out back and have you fill out the transfer forms." Long story short, they're back in Paris. Torsos, at least.

It's Like Staring at a Car Wreck

You know it's wrong but you just can't stop staring.

That seems to be the mindset of USA Today and the Associated Press. They just can't bring themselves to report anything positive about Iraq. Oh they did recently, but not until they reported the negative first.

Posted by Noel Sheppard on December 12, 2005 - 12:49.
As reported yesterday by NewsBusters, a brand new ABC News/TIME poll depicted Iraqis as being very optimistic about themselves and the future of their country. The Associated Press via USA Today is sharing this information with its readers by focusing attention on the negatives first. The article, entitled “Most Iraqis Oppose U.S. Troops, Poll Says,” began:

“Most Iraqis disapprove of the presence of U.S. forces in their country, yet they are optimistic about Iraq's future and their own personal lives, according to a new poll.

“More than two-thirds of those surveyed oppose the presence of troops from the United States and its coalition partners and less than half, 44%, say their country is better off now than it was before the war, according to an ABC News poll conducted with Time magazine and other media partners.”

Then the article addressed the positives:

Two Reasons I'm Glad Bush Won in 2004

John Kerry:

"And there is no reason that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the--of--the historical customs, religious customs. Whether you like it or not--Iraqis should be doing that."

Howard Dean:

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

Thanks whatdoyamean Dean...our troops over there standing in harm's way everyday just so you can say something assinine like that, really appreciate you setting the effort back by about a year.

Add to these, most any public statement by Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, and/or Barbara Boxer (to name a few) and you know why I'm glad Bush won in 2004.

Now, on to life.

You Best Source of Information on the War

Most people of the "left" persuasion read a story from the Main Stream Media (MSM) that says the war has gone wrong, Bush lies, and the Hildebeast is ready to take over as President, and they immediately form an opinion, fire up their computers and start the Bush bashing.
What they don't know is there is a large reservoir of people in the thick of it all in Iraq and Afghanistan that have their own blogs. Their blogs are called Milblogs" or "Military Blogs" and they are the best source of the truth you are gonna get.
BlackFive today talks about the 2005 Weblog awards that is going on. It also lists the best military blogs in one spot.

Go there, and vote if you want, but the main thing...read these blogs...then you can show your "knowledge" in a more informed way.

Am I just getting old or what?

I have been watching Saturday Nite Live and I have not seen one thing funny yet.
It used to be funny but I just can't relate. Every rare once in awhile, I hear or see something fleetingly funny, then it's gone.

It was good once. At least it's finally in High Definition.

Cream Reunion

Man, it has been a long time since I wished I was stoned. I'm watching the Cream reunion on PBS.
...closing my eyes....
remembering those times....
funny how some songs just plant you right back in a forgotten time.

Cool

Fighting for Their Cause

I heard Michael Savage say something yesterday that was profound (imagine that).
He said,
"If they are willing to die for their cause and we are not willing to kill for our survival, then we are doomed to fail (paraphrased)."

Makes sense

Look into the faces of these Children

and tell me we aren't doing any good in Iraq:

Thank you to Michael Yon.

A Joke so Stupid, It's Funny....Maybe Not

Once upon a time, there was a goodly king. He ruled over a vast land filled with happy subjects and life in abundance. But not everyone was happy. The count was jealous and wanted to be king. Everytime he mentioned it, the king would just tell him to go away.
One night, the king did his usual routine, took a bath, brushed his teeth, placed his crown on the nightstand, and read his favorite Stephen King novel until he fell asleep.
The next morning, his crown was gone!
He immediately knew that the count had taken his crown. He called the count into his chambers and told him to return the crown. Being the kind, benevolent king that we was, he offered the count the chance to fess up and return the crown and nothing would happen.
The count refused.
So, the king said, "You give me no choice, I must call the tribunal." The count just shrugged.
The tribunal met the next day and the king once again offered the count the chance to return the crown and nothing would happen.
The count once again refused.
The King had no other choice but to bring the count in front of the kingdom's subjects and administer justice. The next day, the king and the count stood before the entire kingdom. The king, being the kind king that we was, once again asked the count to return his crown, no questions asked.
The count refused.
So, the king had no other choice but to condemn the count to death.
The next morning, the subjects gathered in the square while the count was marched up to the execution platform. The executioner stood silently, waiting for orders.
The kind king, once again told the count, "Now look count, I know you took my crown. We don't have to do this. Just return the crown and we can forget all this nonsense."
The count refused.
So, with a heavy heart, the king ordered the executioner to proceed. The executioner slowly raised his huge axe in the air, and started his downward thrust just as the count yelled, "Wait, I will give the...."
Too late.

So, what's the moral of this story?













Don't hatchet the count before he chickens.

Now I know why Casinos will not be in Texas anytime soon

I like to play slot machines and video poker. I don't let it get away from me and I'm not homeless because of it. I do enjoy it as a fun outlet for stress. I do not however, enjoy having to drive fouir hours one way just to play.
Since a lot of states have started building casinos all around, I often wondered why Texas hasn't built any. I mean c'mon, we have bingo, lotto, megamillions, horse and dog tracks, and eight-liners in some places, what's the deal with not having casinos?
I now know it's because of Lousiana lobbyists and probably the Lousiana Gaming Commision. Ther're lining the pockets of our members of congress, to keep it out of Texas.
Every time I have been able to go to Lousiana for a day of fun, I can't help but notice the license plates in the parking lots of those casinos. I am not kidding, I bet 90 percent of the cars have Texas plates. And, whenever I ask anyone where they are from, it's usually Houston.
So, can you imagine what would happen to those great casinos if we opened some up here in Texas? They would fold in about a year.

Here is a recent example of members of Congress getting caught red-handed with their hands if the cookie jar.

Lawmakers Acted on Heels of Abramoff Gifts
Nov 17, 9:20 AM (ET)

By JOHN SOLOMON and SHARON THEIMER

(AP) U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton speaks to the Juneau and Alaska Chamber of Commerce, Monday,...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Nearly three dozen members of Congress, including leaders from both parties, pressed the government to block a Louisiana Indian tribe from opening a casino while the lawmakers collected large donations from rival tribes and their lobbyist, Jack Abramoff.

Many intervened with letters to Interior Secretary Gale Norton within days of receiving money from tribes represented by Abramoff or using the lobbyist's restaurant for fundraising, an Associated Press review of campaign records, IRS records and congressional correspondence found.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid sent a letter to Norton on March 5, 2002, also signed by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev. The next day, the Coushattas issued a $5,000 check to Reid's tax-exempt political group, the Searchlight Leadership Fund. A second Abramoff tribe sent another $5,000 to Reid's group. Reid ultimately received more than $66,000 in Abramoff-related donations between 2001 and 2004.

In the midst of the congressional letter-writing campaign, the Bush administration rejected the Jena's casino on technical grounds. The tribe persisted, eventually winning Interior approval but the casino now is tied up in a court dispute.

Congressional ethics rules require lawmakers to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest in performing their official duties and accepting political money.

So, can you truthfully say our so-called "leaders" have our security and well-being in mind? Sorry, ain't happening.

Here is the source of this story.

Protect the Afghan Kids this Winter

There is a request from a soldier for us to send children's winter clothes to his address in Afghanistan. The original request was through Soldier's Angels but I picked it up at BlackFive.

Here is a excerpt:

What I really need is children's winter clothing...jackets, gloves and boots (boys and girls). The winters in Afghanistan are so incredibly brutal on the kids that are in the outlining areas. We want to try to help as many of the kids here as humanly possible. If you could...send them to my military address below, that would be the best way. The nights are already getting down into the thirtys and when the first rain and snow hits, it will be very difficult to reach some of the villages.

Thanks so much and God Bless You!

MAJ DOUGLAS ALAN MCKEWAN
TF GUN DEVIL
TF 3-319th AFAR/CAT-A Team Leader
Kandahar, Afghanistan

Mailing Address:
MCKEWAN, DOUGLAS A.
TF 3-319 AFAR
APO, AE. 09355

Not Posting Lately

Haven't been posting lately 'cause my wife has been battling Chron's disease and has undergone another operation. That's two since I have known her these last ten years. She doesn't deserve this but she will get through it. I'll be posting again soon.

Man Claims he has Seen Noah's Ark

Some believe this 2003 satellite image shows Noah's Ark (courtesy: DigitalGlobe)

The Tulsa, Okla., man says his faith in God led him to believe in the biblical story of Noah's Ark, but his trip to a remote area in eastern Turkey led him to accept the historic vessel was genuine.

Val Smith says he traveled to Mt. Ararat recently to see what a 1960 Life magazine article suggested was the final resting place for the Ark, though the journey was an attempt to solidify, not validate, his faith.


"If God's word is true, then these remains are out there somewhere," he told KTUL-TV in Tulsa. "There's some of this actually happening."

When he arrived, he found a number of artifacts – iron rivets, petrified wood and ancient tar – he says are all a part of the Ark.

The Office of the President

It seems nowadays that the image I have of the presidency has been distorted.

Before, the president could enjoy doing a second term and getting a lot ot things accomplished.
But, from Nixon on, it seems in the first four years, the President has to do al lot of things to get re-elected. He then spends the other four years fighting off the indictments and accusations. The respect for the presidency and the president's image is damaged because of this.

Have you seen that too?
I think it all comes from whatever party that is not in power at the time.
The Democans did it to Nixon,to Reagan. They would have gutted the senior Bush if he had been re-elected. They're doing it to Bush Jr. now.
The Republicrats have done it to Carter and Clinton (remember Kenneth Starr?) It seems whoever is elected, the other party spends all its effort demeaning and undermining the president. They have been successful.

There have been only two presidents to which this doesn't apply; Ford and Johnson (LBJ). They did only one term and weren't re-elected or refused to run again (LBJ).

This is not good for our country.

It seems all we see and hear from the media in a president's second term is who is indicted, who is accused, and who is expected to resign. The president seems to have to spend the rest of his second term fighting to stay above water while the alligators pull him from below.
It's ineffective and distracts the administration from doing its job. And when things get missed, the snowball affect kicks in. Everything snowballs, and the president assumes lame duck status.
C'mon, knock it off...quit whining...and let the president do his job.

From the WTF? File

OK, it's lunchtime and I just lost my appetite.

A Dallas cab driver is in big trouble for getting caught on tape sprinkling dried feces on pastries.

49-year-old Behrouz Nahidmobarekeh is on trial for allegedly throwing fecal matter on pastries at a Fiesta grocery store.

Police said they found a pile of human feces by his bed.

He would dry it, either by microwave or just letting it sit out and grate it up with a cheese grater and then sprinkle it at the store, officials said.

Neither attorneys in the case is clear about a motive or why the defendant would resort to something so repulsive.

Prosecutors will show a surveillance videotape of the defendant, which shows him sprinkling a substance on the food.

The FBI arrested Nahidmobarekeh but turned the case over to local prosecutors after they determined it was not a national security issue.

Journalist Jailed for Criticizing Islam

Women’s Magazine Editor Convicted of “Blasphemy”
Douglas J. Hagmann, Director

24 October 2005; Kabul, Afghanistan: On Saturday, a women’s magazine editor was sentenced to two years in jail after being convicted of blasphemy by Kabul’s Primary Court for publishing anti-Islamic articles, including one that challenged the belief that Muslims who convert to other religions should be stoned to death..

Ali Mohaqiq Nasab was arrested on October 1 after his magazine Haqooq-i-Zan (translation: Women’s Rights) argued that converting from Islam is not a crime that should be punished by death, as called for under Islamic Shariah law.

Presiding judge Ansarullah Malawizada stated that “the Ulama Council (Afghanistan’s clergy) sent us a letter saying that he should be punished, so I sentenced him to two years [in] jail.

Other articles identified as blasphemous included the criticism of the harsh punishment of 100 lashes for adultery, and calling for women to be equal to men under Islamic law According to Islamic law, for example, the value of a female witness is only considered to have half the value of a male. Mohaqiq has three weeks to appeal the verdict.

A Jurassic Tree Grows in Australia

United Press International


The Wollemi pine, a 200 million-year-old tree from the Jurassic period long thought to be extinct, has reportedly been found growing in Australia.

The exact location is being kept secret -- even scientists are blindfolded before being flown to the site. A park ranger discovered a small grove of the trees in Australia, the London Mirror reported. Specimens are now to be sold by auction to make sure the species survives.

But the Mirror noted buyers will need a large garden, since the Wollemi pine tree can grow as high as 120 feet, with a three-foot-wide trunk.

Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens told the newspaper the discovery is the equivalent of finding a small dinosaur still alive.

One Down, For Now

"They didn't shut us down. They took all our equipment, which had the effect of shutting us down." - E-Mail Spammer

Uuh...what? Shut down, but not shut down?

Oct 16, 9:17 PM (ET)


WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (AP) - A man described as one of the nation's leading senders of spam says an FBI raid on his home office has halted his e-mail operation.

Warrants unsealed last week show that a September raid on Alan M. Ralsky's home in a Detroit suburb included the seizure of financial records, computers and disks.

"We're out of business at this point in time," Ralsky said. "They didn't shut us down. They took all our equipment, which had the effect of shutting us down."

Terry Berg, the top deputy in the Detroit U.S. attorney's office, declined to comment.

Ralsky, 60, has said that he has 150 million or more e-mail addresses, and he has been a target of anti-spam efforts for years.

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) sued him in 2001, saying he shut down its networks with millions of e-mail solicitations. He settled, promising not to send spam on its networks.

A federal law that took effect last year bans use of misleading subject lines and the sending of commercial e-mail messages that appear to be from friends. It also bans use of multiple e-mail addresses or domain names to hide senders' identities.

Four Religious Truths

1. Muslims do not recognize Jews as God's chosen people.

2. Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah.

3. Protestants do not recognize the Pope as the leader of the Christian World.

4. Baptists do not recognize each other at Hooters.

The Best Commentary on Bush and Katrina

The best commentary I have seen on the whole Katrina fiasco does not come from an American, but from a Canadian. David Warren, from the Ottawa Citizen wrote an excellent summation of the mess in Louisiana. Here it is in its entirety. It's called, "Blame Throwing."

There's plenty wrong with America, since you asked. (Everybody's asking.) I'm tempted to say, the only difference from Canada, is that they have a few things right. That would be unfair, of course -- I am often pleased to discover things we still get right.

But one of them would not be disaster preparation. If something happened up here, on the scale of Katrina, we wouldn't even have the resources to arrive late. We would be waiting for the Americans to come save us, the same way the government in Louisiana just waved and pointed at Washington, D.C. The theory being, that when you're in real trouble, that's where the adults live.

And that isn't an exaggeration. Almost everything that has worked in the recovery operation along the U.S. Gulf Coast has been military and National Guard. Within a few days, under several commands, finally consolidated under the remarkable Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, it was once again the U.S. military, efficiently cobbling together a recovery operation on a scale beyond the capacity of any other earthly institution.

We hardly have a military up here. We have elected one feckless government after another, who have cut corners until there is nothing substantial left. We don't have the ability even to transport and equip our few soldiers. Should disaster strike at home, on a big scale, we become a Third World country. At which point, our national smugness is of no avail.

From Democrats and the American Left -- the U.S. equivalent to the people who run Canada -- we are still hearing that the disaster in New Orleans showed a heartless, white Republican America had abandoned its underclass.

This is garbage. The great majority of those not evacuated lived in assisted housing, receive food stamps and prescription medicine and government support through many other programmes. Many have, all their lives, expected someone to lift them to safety, sans input from themselves. And the demagogic mayor they elected left, quite literally, hundreds of transit and school buses parked in rows to be lost in the flood, that could have driven them out of town.

Yes, that was insensitive. But it is also the truth; and sooner or later we must acknowledge that welfare dependency creates exactly the sort of haplessness and social degeneration we saw on display, as the floodwaters rose. Many suffered terribly, and many died, and one's heart goes out. But already the survivors are being put up in new accommodations, and their various entitlements have been directed to new locations.

The scale of private charity has also been unprecedented. There are yet no statistics, but I'll wager the most generous state in the union will prove to have been arch-Republican Texas, and that nationally, contributions in cash and kind are coming disproportionately from people who vote Republican. For the world divides into "the mouths" and "the wallets".

The Bush-bashing, both down there and up here, has so far lost touch with reality, as to raise questions about the bashers' state of mind.

Consult any authoritative source on how government works in the United States, and you will learn that the U.S. federal government's legal, constitutional, and institutional responsibility for first response to Katrina, as to any natural disaster, was zero.

Notwithstanding, President Bush took the prescient step of declaring a disaster, in order to begin deploying FEMA and other federal assets, two full days in advance of the stormfall. In the little time since, he has managed to coordinate an immense recovery operation -- the largest in human history -- without invoking martial powers. He has been sufficiently Presidential to respond, not even once, to the extraordinarily mendacious and childish blame-throwing.

One thinks of Kipling's "If --" poem, which I learned to recite as a lad, and mention now in the full knowledge that it drives postmodern leftoids and gliberals to apoplexy -- as anything that is good, beautiful, or true:

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise...

Unlike his critics, Bush is a man, in the full sense presented by these verses. A fallible man, like all the rest, but a man.


David Warren

N'uff Said

Moral poverty cost blacks in New Orleans

By Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson
Guest Commentary » September 30, 2005
Say a hurricane is about to destroy the city you live in. Two questions:

What would you do?
What would you do if you were black?
Sadly, the two questions don’t have the same answer.
To the first: Most of us would take our families out of that city quickly to protect them from danger. Then, able-bodied men would return to help others in need, as wives and others cared for children, elderly, infirm and the like.

For better or worse, Hurricane Katrina has told us the answer to the second question. If you’re black and a hurricane is about to destroy your city, then you’ll probably wait for the government to save you.

This was not always the case. Prior to 40 years ago, such a pathetic performance by the black community in a time of crisis would have been inconceivable. The first response would have come from black men. They would take care of their families, bring them to safety, and then help the rest of the community. Then local government would come in.

No longer. When 75 percent of New Orleans residents had left the city, it was primarily immoral, welfare-pampered blacks that stayed behind and waited for the government to bail them out. This, as we know, did not turn out good results.

Enter Jesse Jackson and Louis Farrakhan. Jackson and Farrakhan laid blame on “racist” President Bush. Farrakhan actually proposed the idea that the government blew up a levee so as to kill blacks and save whites. The two demanded massive governmental spending to rebuild New Orleans, above and beyond the federal government’s proposed $60 billion. Not only that, these two were positioning themselves as the gatekeepers to supervise the dispersion of funds. Perfect: Two of the most dishonest elite blacks in America, “overseeing” billions of dollars. I wonder where that money will end up.

Of course, if these two were really serious about laying blame on government, they should blame the local one. Responsibility to perform – legally and practically – fell first on the mayor of New Orleans. We are now all familiar with Mayor Ray Nagin – the black Democrat who likes to yell at President Bush for failing to do Nagin’s job. The facts, unfortunately, do not support Nagin’s wailing. As the Washington Times puts it, “recent reports show [Nagin] failed to follow through on his own city’s emergency-response plan, which acknowledged that thousands of the city’s poorest residents would have no way to evacuate the city.”

One wonders how there was “no way” for these people to evacuate the city. We have photographic evidence telling us otherwise. You’ve probably seen it by now – the photo showing 200 parked school buses, unused and underwater. How much planning does it require to put people on a bus and leave town, Mayor Nagin?

Instead of doing the obvious, Mayor Nagin (with no positive contribution from Democratic Gov. Kathleen Blanco, the other major leader vested with responsibility to address the hurricane disaster) loaded remaining New Orleans residents into the Superdome and the city’s convention center. We know how that plan turned out.

About five years ago, in a debate before the National Association of Black Journalists, I stated that if whites were to just leave the United States and let blacks run the country, they would turn America into a ghetto within 10 years. The audience, shall we say, disagreed with me strongly. Now I have to disagree with me. I gave blacks too much credit. It took a mere three days for blacks to turn the Superdome and the convention center into ghettos, rampant with theft, rape and murder.

President Bush is not to blame for the rampant immorality of blacks. Had New Orleans’ black community taken action, most would have been out of harm’s way. But most were too lazy, immoral and trifling to do anything productive for themselves.

All Americans must tell blacks this truth. It was blacks’ moral poverty – not their material poverty – that cost them dearly in New Orleans. Farrakhan, Jackson, and other race hustlers are to be repudiated – they will only perpetuate this problem by stirring up hatred and applauding moral corruption. New Orleans, to the extent it is to be rebuilt, should be remade into a dependency-free, morally strong city where corruption is opposed and success is applauded. Blacks are obligated to help themselves and not depend on the government to care for them. We are all obligated to tell them so.

The Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson is founder and president of BOND, the Brotherhood Organization of A New Destiny, and author of “Scam: How the Black Leadership Exploits Black America.”

More Prisoner Abuse Pics on the way, Thanks to the ACLU and a Judge

So, U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein has ordered the Government to release more pictures is the poor prisoners being embarassed by some juvenile guards. All at the prodding of the ACLU.
What purpose will this serve? Who will suffer when the pics are sent around the world?
The troops in the middle east will suffer. They will be targeted more so than they already are.
Also,some innocent people in those barbaric countries will be killed just like they were when the first pics came out and when the stories circulated about their precious Koran (or however the hell you spell it) being flushed down a toilet. The government tried to stop it because of this.
The misguided judge chose otherwise:
U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein said that terrorists "do not need pretexts for their barbarism" and that suppressing the pictures would amount to submitting to blackmail.

"Our nation does not surrender to blackmail, and fear of blackmail is not a legally sufficient argument to prevent us from performing a statutory command. Indeed, the freedoms that we champion are as important to our success in Iraq and Afghanistan as the guns and missiles with which our troops are armed," he said.

Is he saying the US Government is trying to commit blackmail by suppressing the pics? How INSANE is that?

The ACLU has been trying to get them out all along, which is no surprise. Anytime the ACLU can embarrass this government, they will do so. Just watch. Whenever you see a protest, a legal action against our government, or an outrageous claim against our government, you can bet the ACLU will be somewhere back there, prodding.

The American Civil Liberties Union sought release of the photographs and videotapes as part of an October 2003 lawsuit demanding information on the treatment of detainees in U.S. custody and the transfer of prisoners to countries known to use torture. The ACLU contends that prisoner abuse is systemic.

"It's a historic ruling, said ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero. "While no one wants to see what's on the photos or videos, they will play an essential role in holding our government leaders accountable for the torture that's happened on their watch."

Just a sec....had to get the duct tape...Fine I will be watching and I want to see just how "accountable" the ACLU and this insane judge will be when people get killed. I want to see how they'll squirm out of it.

Nailing It

Subject: Mc Comb aftermath of Katrina To my friends and family: From a Mc Comb Resident

WHAT I HAVE SEEN SINCE KATRINA AND RITA:

The poor and the wealthy hurt by the storm.

Black, white, Hispanic, Oriental and Indian all hurt by the storm.

Christian people giving, giving, giving.

Churches going all out to minister in Jesus' name.

Neighbors going door to door helping one another.

Thugs and hoodlums going door to door looking for someone vulnerable.

Ice and water being fought over as police tried to keep the peace.

People coming up from New Orleans taking over empty houses because shelters are full.

Out of town volunteers coming with food and staying for now a week still serving it.

The Churches all over this part of the country doing what Christians do in a crisis.

The Red Cross doing a great job in the shelters.

The Salvation Army doing a great job in the community.

Four Hundred crewman from everywhere bring back the power to our homes, churches and businesses.

Lines at service stations a block to a mile long.

National Guardsman patrolling the streets of Mc Comb along with Kentucky policemen protecting us from the hoodlums and thugs of Mc Comb, Pike County and New Orleans (the most dangerous city in the world before Katrina.)

Drug dealers working outside shelters.

Doctors, nurses and other hospital personnel working tirelessly, even sleeping in the hospital to do the job God called them to do.

WHAT I HAVE NOT SEEN:

The ACLU setting up a feeding line.

People for the American Way helping in the shelters.

The NAACP doing any work whatsoever.

The American Atheist organization serving meals in the shelters.

Jesse Jackson directing traffic at the gas stations.

People from Move On .Org doing anything constructive.

I could go on but you get my message. Its the Christian people with love and compassion who do the work.

The gripers in Congress should come on down and get in line to pass the water and the ice. Are you listening Hillary, Chuck, Teddy and all the sorry loafers we call Senators and Congressmen. They don't have a clue as to what this life is all about here on the Gulf Coast.

Boy I feel better now.

Teddy will never volunteer to help in any mess like this one, remember, Teddy doesn't help anyone in deep water.

Lovely Rita Passes On

Well, kinda anticlimatic ending I guess. Rita decided to go East instead and all we got was a warm breeze. I'm recuperating from putting up all the boards. So, three days and 560 dollars later...all is back to normal. How can I tell?
Because Wal-Mart is open again.

Rita Update

Folks...thank you very much for your concern.
We will be completing the boarding up and will be in place by tomorrow. I will try to stay online off and on until the power goes out. As soon as the power returns, I'll send a message. We are out of the storm surge area and I'm only concerned about the wind...and the horses.
I understand this is a huge storm and we are taking every precaution. I will try to take some pics and post if and when I can.

Not so Lovely Rita Heading my Way

I live about 30 miles inland from the Texas Gulf Coast and the eye of the storm is projected to make landfall about 20 miles South. I plan to stay here because we have a lot of animals and we can't get them out.
I'm not concerned with flooding as much as I am with the wind and the tornadoes. My wife is in line at a hardware store now trying to get more wood for the windows.
I have two horses I'm very worried about since the barn is not strong enough to handle the winds. Everyone tells me to let them out and they will do fine in the open field. I'm no too sure about that.

Anyway, I will try to contiue updates at least until Friday when the full effects will be felt.

See you on the other side.

John Kerry, New Orleans Hero

This guy just seems to hang around like a recurring hemorrhoid doesn't he?

Kerry Requests Silver Star After Piloting Swift Boat Through New Orleans


WASHINGTON, DC --- John Kerry contacted the Pentagon today to request a Silver Star for a recent swift boat mission he ran through the streets of New Orleans. While the Pentagon claims the mission was unauthorized, Kerry claims it was a secret mission approved by the highest levels of the government.

"I clearly remember listening to the radio and hearing President Bush deny that swift boats were in New Orleans," said Kerry. "And there I was on a swift boat in New Orleans. Dodging bullets. Scanning the shore for enemy fire and mortar attack. The band aid on my hand covers a wound I received while moving too quickly on deck for a photo op and scraping against the railing."

Sean Penn tried to join Kerry on his own swift boat, but it sank before leaving dock. Penn forgot to put the plug in the bottom of the boat and refused to stuff his Communist flag in the hole to prevent flooding.

THIS JUST IN!

The president of the United States uses the bathroom just like you and me!

GEEZ, last I saw there was real news happening in the World. Did the news agencies just run out of stories or what?

Man, the president went to the bathroom at the U.N. What a news flash! I hope he sent a subterranean message to Reuters.

Get back to the world people. Nothing to see here.

Move Along

Show's over...nothing to see here...too busy to post anything right now.

Finally, Words of Reason Concerning Katrina

A few truths, for those who have ears and eyes and care to know the truth:

1.) The hurricane that hit New Orleans and Mississippi and Alabama was an astonishing tragedy. The suffering and loss of life and peace of mind of the residents of those areas is acutely horrifying.

2.) George Bush did not cause the hurricane. Hurricanes have been happening for eons. George Bush did not create them or unleash this one.

3.) George Bush did not make this one worse than others. There have been far worse hurricanes than this before George Bush was born.

4.) There is no overwhelming evidence that global warming exists as a man-made phenomenon. There is no clear-cut evidence that global warming even exists. There is no clear evidence that if it does exist it makes hurricanes more powerful or makes them aim at cities with large numbers of poor people. If global warming is a real phenomenon, which it may well be, it started long before George Bush was inaugurated, and would not have been affected at all by the Kyoto treaty, considering that Kyoto does not cover the world’s worst polluters — China, India, and Brazil. In a word, George Bush had zero to do with causing this hurricane. To speculate otherwise is belief in sorcery.

5.) George Bush had nothing to do with the hurricane contingency plans for New Orleans. Those are drawn up by New Orleans and Louisiana. In any event, the plans were perfectly good: mandatory evacuation. It is in no way at all George Bush’s fault that about 20 percent of New Orleans neglected to follow the plan. It is not his fault that many persons in New Orleans were too confused to realize how dangerous the hurricane would be. They were certainly warned. It’s not George Bush’s fault that there were sick people and old people and people without cars in New Orleans. His job description does not include making sure every adult in America has a car, is in good health, has good sense, and is mobile.

6.) George Bush did not cause gangsters to shoot at rescue helicopters taking people from rooftops, did not make gang bangers rape young girls in the Superdome, did not make looters steal hundreds of weapons, in short make New Orleans into a living hell.

7.) George Bush is the least racist President in mind and soul there has ever been and this is shown in his appointments over and over. To say otherwise is scandalously untrue.

8.) George Bush is rushing every bit of help he can to New Orleans and Mississippi and Alabama as soon as he can. He is not a magician. It takes time to organize huge convoys of food and now they are starting to arrive. That they get in at all considering the lawlessness of the city is a miracle of bravery and organization.

9.) There is not the slightest evidence at all that the war in Iraq has diminished the response of the government to the emergency. To say otherwise is pure slander.

10.) If the energy the news media puts into blaming Bush for an Act of God worsened by stupendous incompetence by the New Orleans city authorities and the malevolence of the criminals of the city were directed to helping the morale of the nation, we would all be a lot better off.

11.) New Orleans is a great city with many great people. It will recover and be greater than ever. Sticking pins into an effigy of George Bush that does not resemble him in the slightest will not speed the process by one day.

12.) The entire episode is a dramatic lesson in the breathtaking callousness of government officials at the ground level. Imagine if Hillary Clinton had gotten her way and they were in charge of your health care.

God bless all of those dear people who are suffering so much, and God bless those helping them, starting with George Bush.


Ben Stein, American Spectator

The State of the Survivors

Joshwa Coyette, 3, cries Saturday inside the Houston Astrodome, where he’s staying with his siblings. Their mother is still missing.


I have been ignoring this blog for the past few days to allow this Katrina disaster to sink in. I chose not to post anything on the disaster since I couldn't really add anything that wasn't already covered by someone, somewhere and why bother regurgitating the same stuff in different words?

I guess I can only relate my first-hand experience with the survivors I have met here in Houston.

I ride the MetroRail everyday and my first stop is at the Astrodome. Yesterday, I overhead a gentleman on the train mention that he was from New Orleans and was looking for work. I can't say he was lacking in confidence because he was holding a new plastic hard hat he had apparently just bought that was still in its packaging. I engaged him in conversation and soon heard a lot.

I heard how he had waded through chest-high water, passed several bodies (he said they just tied the body to a tree or other fixture so it wouldn't float away).

I heard how he, his fiancee, and daughter were here in Houston while his other daughter was taken to California.

I heard him say he probably would never go back to Louisiana and plans to stay here. He said he would probably go back and salvage what he could, then return here to start a new life. That is what I have heard from everyone I talked to; they don't want to go back...nothing there for them anymore.

I heard him say he worked construction for the City of New Orleans and he showed me his employee card.

I also heard him say all he wanted was a "hot" meal. They seemed to take good care of them in the dome but hot food was not a real priority. "You have to have hot food." He said.

I showed him the construction sites along the train route, the hospital district, and the downtown district.

We talked for awhile until my train stop came up. I took him with me to my office in downtown Houston to try and contact someone from the crew that is doing the remodeling here. When we reached the lobby, we ran into a guy that worked for the company installing automation lines. He too was from Louisiana.
He got some phone numbers from the guy and took off back to the train to get off at the hospital stop and check the construction sites around there.
I guess he found a job because he hasn't called back.

It also seems that the population in and around the astrodome area has dropped considerably. I heard it has gone from 25,000 to around 9,000 people.

That is good.

It's good to see the people getting back on their feet,back into life, and not sitting around waiting for a handout.

Things are getting better.

Death Toll in Lousiana Alone might Top 10,000

A US Senator from Lousiana predicted today the the death toll from hurricane Katrina will START at 10,000 and go up.

"My guess is that it will start at 10,000, but that is only a guess," Vitter said, adding that he was not basing his remarks on any official death toll or body count.

David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, also called for the immediate deployment of regular US combat troops in New Orleans, saying the build-up of National Guard troops was too slow to quickly restore order. I agree to that.

The Tsunami hit on day one...we were there on day two. What happened here? Those in charge have been too slow in fixing this problem. They should have had troops landing from helicoptors and securing the sensitive areas before the wind stopped. I hope this is not what we can expect if, for God's sake, we get hit with some massive, nationwide terrorist attack.

Where is Our Relief?

If I remember right, last year there was a huge tsunami that wiped out several towns and villages in certain places of the world. I also remember a certain Norwegian diplomat from the U.N. that bad-mouthed the U.S. saying we were "stingy" with our relief money to these poor victims of a natural disaster. There was a national uproar. Our congress immediately coughed up several million dollars...more than the U.N. by the way.

Now, yesterday there was a "catastrophic" hurricane that hit Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. This was a huge blow to the U.S. and state economies. New Orleans alone is facing environmental disaster.
Maybe I missed it, I don't think so since I stay abreast of news, but have you heard of any country or the U.N. announcing they were coming to the aid of the U.S.? Have you heard anyone from the U.N. denouncing the countries for being "stingy" with their funds?
I Didn't think so.

I believe I know why.

These countries aren't offering aid because they first, do not want to, and second, they know that we do not want or need their measely tokens of aid. They know we are the most powerful nation in the world and we are that way because we know how to take care of our own. They know we will jump to their aid the minute a catastrophe strikes them because that is the way we are. Despite all the america-haters out there that spend their worthless existence trying to find ways to discredit America, we will not hesitate to help another country or group of people.

We will survive this and anything else that comes our way and will be there tomorrow if need be to help another country in need because, that's the way we are.

N'uff Said.

Gates of Fire

Everyone has an opinion about the war in Iraq. Some don't give a rat's butt as long as it doesn't interfere with their lives.
I have a vested interest in this war because I spent 20 years in the military and can relate to what our people are going through over there. Just like in every war, political agendas, public opinion, and reasons for being there, fall to the wayside when someone is trying to kill you. The only thing that matters is taking care of your buddies and living through the ordeal. If you ever go through something like that, you remember who you were with and what happened for the rest of your life. Nothing you do for the rest of your life will ever compare to those minutes under fire.
There are a lot of good blogs from Iraq out there and I link to them to get the word on what is actually happening there. If you haven't done that and all you know about Iraq is from the media...you are definitely uninformed.
I think the best one is from Michael Yon. He's an independent journalist reporting directly from the action. His recent post was very moving and thought provoking. You must take time to read it. If it doesn't move you in one way or another, you have more things to worry about than the war.
He reports two things that were disturbing to me; The first one...In the firefight, there were two soldiers that apparently did nothing. Michael didn't mention what happened to them afterward. The second was the scumbag terrorist they apprehended was a recent release from guess were...Abu Gharib. That's right, he was released to be free to try to kill our troops. He got his though and is probably speaking in falsetto now.
Read the blog. It is the best and I wish Michael the best over there.

Ranch in Arizona Given to Illegals

OK, look, I need to get to work but since reading about this, I have been bouncing off the walls.
An Arizona judge has given a 7-acre ranch to two ILLEGAL ALIENS (a man and woman, both Salvadorians) that were roughed up by the owner of the ranch. The owner was put in jail for pistolwhipping one scumbag (a male) and I guess he looked at the female the wrong way or something. Anyway, they hired an ambulance-chasing lawyer, and found a sympathetic judge; there you go. Two people that came into American soil ILLEGALLY instead of doing it the legal way, get this ranch and the owner is put in jail.
How can a judge do this? What insanity do we live in these days?
I can understand the person being jailed for going overboard, but to lose his ranch because of it?? When I worked in law enforcement, someone was charged with assault, jailed or fined, then that was it. Now you risk losing your home and life? OOHH MAN...I can hardly type.
My first questions when reading this was; what are those two still doing in the US and why aren't they deported? Here is my answer:

Mancia, who lives in Los Angeles, and Leiva, who lives in the Dallas area, have applied for visas available to immigrants who are the victims of certain crimes, Bruner said. Until a decision is made on their applications, they can stay and work in the United States.

They claimed they suffered "post-traumatic stress" from the incident.
They won the lottery man...

Apparently, the evil ranch owner was convicted for gun possession and had priors. He gave the ranch to his sister who was scared out of her wits by the shyster lawyers at some socialist organization called the Southern Poverty Law Center, so she gave the ranch to the court.

Dees said Foote appeared to have no substantial assets, but Nethercott had the ranch. Shortly after the judgment, Nethercott gave the land to his sister, Robin Albitz of Prescott. The Southern Poverty Law Center sued the siblings, saying that the transfer was fraudulent and was meant to avoid the judgment. Albitz, a nursing assistant, signed over the land to the two immigrants last week.

"It scared the hell out of her," Margaret Pauline Nethercott, the mother of Nethercott and Albitz.