Go Watch

"Coexist" Bumpersticker

The intertubes are rather boring today, so I went looking for an essay to read, and I found one of Bill Whittle's old ones. I saw one of those Coexist bumper stickers about a month ago, and it pissed me off. Here is what Bill has to say:

You’ve probably seen this word spelled out with various religious symbols.


Who can argue with this? Not me, certainly.
What I CAN argue with is the idea that if only enough stupid, warlike Americans would just get on the Coexist train, then the world would be a happy and peaceful garden. Who else are the people with these bumper stickers preaching to, if not their ill-informed, knuckle-dragging neocon fellow commuters?
Unfortunately, here’s where reality inserts its ugly head. There is no more multi-cultural society on earth than the United States. The United States owns the patent on Coexisting religions and ethnicities. Drive half a mile though any major US urban area and you will see more ancient ethnic enemies living cheek by jowl in harmony than any other spot on the planet. Thursday morning water cooler conversations about Dancing with the Stars wallpaper over more ancient ethnic and religious murders than history has been able to record, and this despite Hollywood and the news media’s deepest efforts to remind you on a daily basis that the black or Hispanic or Asian or white friend in the next cube is secretly seething with racial hatred just beneath that placid veneer.
Americans are able to coexist because they have subjugated, if not abandoned, those ancient religious and ethnic hatreds to join a larger family, that larger family being America. And this is why, if you truly value the idea of coexistence, you should be dead set against multi-cultural grievance and identity politics, which do nothing but pit one ethnic group against the others and reinforce, rather than dilute, ancient resentments and grievances.
Now as it turns out, there is one member of the human family that seems to be having a little difficulty with the whole coexist thing. Muslims are at war with Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan, they are fighting Animists in Africa, Hindus in Kashmir, Buddhists in Southeast Asia…they are blowing up nightclubs and schools and police stations and trains and buses and skyscrapers and are under daily orders to kill Jews on sight anywhere in the world.
I don’t mind preaching so much as preaching to the choir. When I see Coexist bumper stickers in Islamabad and Cairo and especially Riyadh to the degree I see them in Venice, California, I will be a happy man. They will make a very welcome sight covering over the Death to the Infidel! stickers that seem to be somewhat outselling Coexist messages in that part of the world. Until then I think we should coexist and carry a big stick.

Christmas

DSC00757
Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

I'm not much of a Portrait Studio kind of gal. With the quality candid shot I am able to get, really, who needs 'em?

Deja Vu

This is kinda like what happened when I gave someone a mushroom log last year.

Except I don't remember there was the bit where they pretended to like it.

So, let's round it up. Favorite gift you received this year? Least favorite? Favorite gift you gave?

Oh, good Lord

Here are the lyrics to Akon's "Smack That", which is #8 on iTunes' top songs list:

> Shady
Convict
Up front
Akon
Slim Shady
I see the one
cuz she be that lady

I feel you creepin', I can see you from my shadow.
Wanna jump up in my Lamborghini Gallardo.
Maybe go to my place and just kick it, like Taebo.
And possibly bend you over.
Look back and watch me
smack that, all on the floor,
smack that, give me some more,
smack that, 'till you get sore
smack that, oooh.
smack that, all on the floor,
smack that, give me some more,
smack that, 'till you get sore,
smack that, oooh.

Up front style. Ready to attack now.
Pull in the parking lot slow with the lack down.
Convicts got the whole thing packed down.
Step in the club. The wardrobe intact now.
I feel it. Go on and crack now.
Ooh, I see it. Don't let back now.
Im'a call her. Then I put the mack down.
Money? No problem. Pocket full of that now.

I feel you creepin', I can see you from my shadow.
Wanna jump up in my Lamborghini Gallardo.
Maybe go to my place and just kick it, like Taebo.
And possibly bend you over.
Look back and watch me
smack that, all on the floor,
smack that, give me some more,
smack that, 'till you get sore
smack that, oooh.
smack that, all on the floor,
smack that, give me some more,
smack that, 'till you get sore,
smack that, oooh.

Ooh! Looks like another club banger.
They better hang on.
When I throw this thang on.
Get a little drink on. They goin' flip.
For this Akon shit. You can bank on it.
Pedicure, manicure, kitty cat claws.
The way she climbs up and down them poles.
Lookin' like one of them Pretty Cat Dolls.
Tryna hold my woody back through my drawers.
Steps off stage, didn't think I saw her.
Creeps up behind me and she's like, you're -
I'm like, yeah I know, let's cut to the chase.
No time to waste. Back to my place.
Plus from the club to the crib's like a mile away.
Or more like a palace, shall I say.
And plus I got a pal. Every gal is game.
In fact he's the one singing the song that's playing!
(Akon!)

I feel you creepin', I can see you from my shadow.
Wanna jump up in my Lamborghini Gallardo.
Maybe go to my place and just kick it, like Taebo.
And possibly bend you over.
Look back and watch me
smack that, all on the floor,
smack that, give me some more,
smack that, 'till you get sore
smack that, oooh.
smack that, all on the floor,
smack that, give me some more,
smack that, 'till you get sore,
smack that, oooh

Eminem's rollin', D an' them rollin'.
Boo an' Oh Marvelous an' them rollin'.
Women just hoin'.
Big booty rollin'.
Soon I be all in them an' throwin D.
Hittin' no less than 3.
Block will style like wee, wee.
Girl, I can tell you want me, 'cause lately.

I feel you creepin', I can see you from my shadow.
Wanna jump up in my Lamborghini Gallardo.
Maybe go to my place and just kick it, like Taebo.
And possibly bend you over.
Look back and watch me
smack that, all on the floor,
smack that, give me some more,
smack that, 'till you get sore
smack that, oooh.
smack that, all on the floor,
smack that, give me some more,
smack that, 'till you get sore,
smack that, oooh.

This is from his album "Konvicted." Lovery.

A first?

But, I have to give this post at Scribal Terror the NSFW tag

Craptastic Display

I saw a truly craptastic display last night on my walk. While I would love to bring you images of the plastic nativity scene I was assaulted with last night, my husband says I'm a big mean meanie, and that I should leave the tastefully-challenged alone.

Now, really, I don't think this is a matter of my having some sort of Martha Steward Living holiday-decorating ideal. Truth be told, I can't stand the woman, and given the opportunity might tell her exactly where she could stick those home-made, hand-rolled, beeswax candles.

Craptastic, to me, refers to either pathetic displays (mine is dangerously close to fitting into this category), or ones that (however tasteful) signal someone has devoted way too much money and time to a holiday display: when not just every tree is decorated, but the roof-line, the garage, the cars, the backyard, and the concrete duck standing beside the front door. The category can be fun to look at, even beautiful, but (honestly) I have to wonder if whoever put the stuff up doesn't have a touch of OCD going.

Yesterday's story

DSC00202
Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

I thought about it, and decided yesterday's tree falling over story was not complete without a picture. Unfortunately, I didn't actually take a picture of the event. So, using my mad photoshopping skills, I've recreated the event for you here.

My Tree Has Fallen

No link, my freakin tree has fallen over, and I can't get it back up.

I believe the failure lies in the stand.

Update: Tree is back up. For now.

"Bridging the Racial Divide"

Last night our local PBS station broadcast a locally produced, hour-long show entitled "Bridging the Racial Divide." The show featured local journalists, businessmen, activists, and at least one graduate student. The premise was to discuss issues of race, under the paradigm that Detroit is one of the most racially divided cities in the country. First, the group was divided racially, to have segregated "honest", blunt, discussions of race. Afterward, they analyzed the differences between the two conversations to, I guess, further the discussion.

Let me sum up for you how it mostly went. The topics were, "white privilege", Black rage, family values, and black political power in Detroit.

White group: We're white suburbanites who really have no clue, so we're gonna try not to say anything offensive.

Black group The white devils are to blame for everything, and EVERYTHING, absolutely EVERYTHING is about race

Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit.

But, the best moment, was when a guy (from the NAACP) said that the reason why some young black men don't show proper responsibility toward their children was because they couldn't find proper transportation to and from work. If you can figure out how this figures into marrying the mother of your child, let me know.

To Get You In the Holiday Mood

Maggie has found the most wonderful version of "O Holy Night" EVAR!

There were tears in my eyes as I listened. And, promise me you listen to it all the way through, because just when you think it cannot get any better, it does.

Dear Kwame, Detroit City Council, and other Concerned Parties,

I am officially done with Detroit. DONE. I've lived here almost all of my life. I was raised downtown in Lafayette Park. I walked to the old Hudson's to do my Christmas shopping (before that was torn down.) I skated on Belle Isle (before that became a gangster hangout and the skating hut was abandoned.) I waited with anticipated for you to change these things; you could have made a nominal charge for admittance to the Island to help cut down the cruising (and drinking and drugs.) But you refused. Now, families are afraid to go there. You could have done lots of things, but you didn't.

But, I soldiered on. I bought memberships to the cultural offerings about the city; the Zoo, and Greenfield Village. I bought a house, I met my neighbors. I tended my garden. I knew I could never send my children to the school (because, come on, how many of YOU send your children to the neighborhood schools? wink wink- I'm looking at you John Conyers and you Kwame.) I became a defender.

But you local "leaders" have so fucked things up, I have now completely lost hope that the city will ever recover, and I've decided that I'm completely DONE being a sacrificial lamb. Why good people would continue to live in this city that does absolutely NOTHING for them is a mystery to me now. Government policy is driven by pandering to the Unions (whose members don't even live in the city), and to the poor. Soon the city will be composed of nothing but the criminal element and those dependent on the Government.

Last month, my mother's house was broken into. And Saturday night, while my dad stopped over for a short visit, his car was stolen RIGHT out of my fraking driveway. My daughter cried in fear, accusing her father of lying when he said that we were safe in our home.

I am done. I am done of living near people who don't give a shit how their children turn out. My neighbors are not such people; they are pretty much mostly black middle-class "normal" people. Married. Jobs. Children. They tend to their yards. They have barbecues.

But, I'm not far (enough) from the hood. They find their way into my neighborhood. And I refuse to exist on the same plane as these people. My only purpose, in the city, is to pay taxes. My vote is irrelevant (racial politics is at a fever pitch in this city, where only a black person could EVER get elected. Black city council members, black police chiefs, black school administrators. If they can't find a black person in the city to fill a slot, they'll seek out of state, just as long as they are black, they are right for the job. Oh, correction- black and liberal, because those black conservatives are just uncle Tom's who are beholden to the white devil.

I am done. I'm going to start packing boxes after Christmas.

Because I'm a Giver

It distresses me to no end that some of my beloved readers are having problems with their Ipods. Or is the plural Ipie?

Anyway, from apple help:

iPod Issues?
These five steps (known as the five Rs) will conquer most iPod issues.

1. Reset your iPod.
2. Retry with a different USB port.
3. Restart your computer.
4. Reinstall iPod and iTunes software.
5. Restore your iPod.

If this doesn't help, I've found the apple discussion boards really helpful in the past, which can be found here.

MIA

I'm having three wisdom teeth pulled in a bit over an hour. I have no clue how I'll be feeling. Might be back, might not.

Uppdate: drugs good. yelling kids, not so much.

Maggie's Entry

Deserves to have it's own post.

Craptastic

Craptastic
Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

George is a contender.

Christmas on my IPod

Here's what I got:

River, Joni Mitchell
Baby, It's Cold Outside, Gabe Dixon
I'll Be Home for Christmas, Tift Merritt
The Christmas Song, Nat King Cole
A bunch of Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra and more Nat
Entire Vince Guaraldi Christmas album
Assorted Trans-Siberian Orchestra (only acoustic tunes)
A couple of Mannheim Steamroller tunes
Phil Spector's "A Christmas Gift For You"
Harry Connick, Jr's "When My Heart finds Christmas"
The Chieftains "The Bells of Dublin"
"A Winter's Night", Assorted Artists

OH- and Pogues and Kirsty MacColl doing "Fairytale of New York", one of my favorites.

Iranian Truthseeker

I haven't really heard how that Holocaust conference concluded, and a quick search just now didn't come up with anything. I had read that the hoped-for conclusion by Amajinadadinka would be consensus that the whole thing was just an exaggerated lie to garner sympathy for the JOOOOOOS. It was only about 500,000 Jews that died, not 4 to 7 million.

And, Baker and friends want us to "engage" these people.

My Children Are Driving Me Crazy.

Should I ship them all off to public school?

VOTE NOW!

And now for something completely different

Diana Damrau as Queen of the Night. Turn it up..The singing starts at about the two minute-mark. Really, you have to click this, it's amazing.


This was on HDNet over the weekend, and I've probably watched this part of the performance about 10 times already. The bad part is that I am now ruined; my copy of The Magic Flute on CD does not compare. Papageno is better in this other version too.

Poo.

While at Target...

Living in Detroit, it's not the most unusual or unexpected thing to see a Moslem here and there. Head scarfs are rather common. I've seen Jilbab-clad women complete with head-scarfs at the beach (in 90 degree weather) watching their children and husband swim. But never had I seen a woman dressed with a niqab; the face veil that leaves just a slit for the eyes.
The woman I saw was with her husband and two children, walking through Target. Was it a coincidence that the woman walked behind her traditionally-styled bearded husband? The lady (although who can really be sure what was behind all that black fabric) tried to inspect a shirt for sale, and had to put her head close and turn her head this way and that to see it all. I imagine it's like trying to look out of a halloween mask.
Why do these people want to live here? I seriously want to know. I do question the motives of those who move here, yet are not in the smallest bit interested in assimilating. The Nigab is not just a piece of cloth. It represents, to me, the opposite of everything America stands for.

Another Worthy Entry from River Rat

PC090673
Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

Definitely craptastic.


Sayeth RR on his latest submission:

Ladies and gentlemen I do believe we have a winner. I submit to you,  Our Lady Of the Plastic Christmas, and directly to the right ( due to the fact we had serious wind last night) The Inflatable Wal-Mart  Christmas Decoration Grotto. All the same dwelling. I count 13 inflatables down. Oh the humanity.

Tasteful or Craptastic?

DSC00749
Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

Not the greatest shot, but I took while picking up Thai food, and ethnic take-out waits for no woman so I didn't have a ton of time. What you really can't make out are the humourgous angels on the roof.

Maggie's entry

DSCN1459
Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

Maggie would like you to focus your puzzlement on the two round orbs underneath the window.

What Media Bias? IV

You know, the media that doesn't headline every war dead, or suppress terrorist threats that exist in the US?

Call me crazy, but I could have sworn there was some super-huge story out of Chicago yesterday? I planned to read -up on it today, but I searched and searched my local paper and the only story I could find from Chicago was about four people being shot in an office building. Funny, I really thought I heard something (you know, on my right-wing wacko radio programs) about a Methodist youth planning some special fireworks for the Holiday shoppers around the 22nd at a mall.

I'm sure it was Fauxnews media distortion. Rovian plot. Nothing to see here folks. I am so relieved that there is no terrorist threat in this Country (I think that phrase has been trademarked to Michael Moore, I hope I don't owe him royalties.)


Now, I've got to go do some Christian do-good stuff, but I hope to have some pictures up later.

Our First Entry

PC080670
Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

River Rat, at great personal risk should his wife discover he submitted this photo, starts off our Craptastic Contest!

Well done, RR, well done.

And should we never hear from you again, we will know why.

Craptastic Holiday Displays

I'm going to try to take a photo of the most over-the-top display near me. I welcome submissions in search of the most Craptastic Holiday Display. I think Craptastic can be interpreted in many ways; from pitiful (my display is in danger of falling under that category) to marvelous. I say the only exclusion is that it should NOT be tasteful.

Christmas Eating Tips

I've seen this one before, but it's a goodie:

* Holiday Eating Tips*

 
1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

 2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy.

Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy . Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

 6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's.

You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

 8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

 9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

 10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Remember this motto to live by:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

 Have a great holiday season!

My husband will like this one.

I'm Outraged

TWO Muslim students have been expelled from an Islamic school in Melbourne for urinating and spitting on a Bible and setting it on fire.

Expelled? EXPELLED? I say we issue a fatwa on this two little boys. Beheading. Stoning. Something like that should do the trick. After all, they INSULTED my holy book. Pretending to pee on the Koran resulted in angry demonstrations. Actually peeing on the bible should count for something, right?

I'm taking to the streets right now- I'm going to march through Dearborn demanding apologies from everyone there. Who's with me?

Ironic endnote to the story? The "excuse" given for these two prankster's desecration is that it was a response to the "humiliation" they felt after the criticism of their spiritual leader mufti Taj Din Al-Hilali. You know, the guy who likened rape victims to uncovered meat. That is ironic, right? Or am I pulling an Alanis Morrissette here? I say it actually IS ironic, because their leader was criticized for being backward, intolerant, and idiotic, and then they ACTED in exactly such a manner in their form of protest.

h/t: Michelle Malkin

Silly String for Iraq

Marines working in Iraq have shown Army combat engineers how it can be used to detect trip wires. Before searching buildings, for example, soldiers spray doorways from at least 10 ft. away with streams of foam–and see if they’re snagged by barely visible wires, which are often affixed to bombs. The Army acknowledges the off-label use.

How cool is that?

Oh Goodie

Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick to be chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Is she still driving around that expensive Cadillac (leased for the bargain-basement price of $9792.00 a year) at taxpayer's expense? Kilpatrick represents one of the poorest and smallest districts in the nation. She ran unopposed in November, and got 90% of the vote.

Not my vote, though.

Overheard at the Gym

I couldn't hear it all, but let me sum it up for you with the following keywords:

Bush. Stupid. Cheney, Oil. Halliburton. Friends. Payback. Offshore accounts. War. Gas prices.

I was awfully close to going off on the guy, but instead turned the iPod up, and double-timed on the stairmaster. Matter of fact, I considered asking him to loudly spout crap next to me again on Thursday.

I am a model of self-restraint.

Not Forty

I have one more year until I have to face that demon.

I have decided to skip skoul for the kids, and devote the day to arts and crafts

Update: First project almost done! We took old CDs, DVD, computer disks, sprayed them with glue and then decorated them with glitter. They are going to go on the tree outside for Christmas decorations. Quick poll:

Should I use a layer of some sort of sealant? The glue I used is supposedly waterproof, and if I can avoid another step that would be a good thing.

Next project: I have two Christmas decoration kits for the kids; little snowmen and trees. I even got a kit (of clothespin reindeer) for my Catechism class.

Interesting, and I'd like to believe it ...

But, then maybe it's the optimist in me.

The incredible alliance has now taken place; Bush’s dire vision of the Middle East is truer today than it was before the invasion of Iraq. However, a coalition between Iraq and Iran is not the cause for alarm it might once have been. It is unlikely that Iraq will be militarily and logistically prepared to pose a combined threat, with Iran, to Israel or western states at any point in the near future. In the meantime, Iran may very well have a stabilizing effect on post-Ba’ath Iraq; an ally with religious legitimacy could prove vital in resolving sectarian conflicts. Furthermore, Iran’s positive involvement (and more importantly, investment) in Iraq significantly diminishes the possibility that the two nations will slip back into conflict and reignite regional tension. And as long as the new Iraqi government works in cooperation with the US, Iran would be forced to tone down its anti-American rhetoric in order to create a sustainable alliance with its neighbor.

Best "O Holy Night"

Given that it isn't a "Holiday Season" but Christmas, I certainly enjoy me some of teh religious holiday musak. So, this leads me to raise the question of the best version of "O Holy Night." I'm rather partial to Ricky Lee Jones's version with The Cheiftains. Simple. Clean. Emotive. None of those annoying note tripping additions that you hear in the pop versions - I'm looking at you Christina Aguilera.

One that note, I would say that my issue with most Christmas music is that it is overproduced. I likes my Christmas arrangements simple; I prefer a singer supported by a violin and a piano, not the London Symphony. I can forgive the classics their full orchestral accompaniment. Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole get grandfathered-in. But if it's been made after 1975, I prefer the more understated music.

The exception, of course, is instrumental versions of songs.

Maggie is discussing Christmas music as well. Her choices are a tad more eclectic than mine.

Shame On You

Detroit's blood donation rate is 1.1%. That means, for those of us who went to public school, that only one out of ONE HUNDRED residents of Detroit donate blood.

What it [ed] also means, is that the community that lives in the city is at danger because type O is the most common blood type among it's residents (the 85% of the population that is black), in addition to being the type which is always in the shortest supply. Metro Detroit has a donation rate of 4%, dragged down from the national average of 5% by Detroit, most likely.

You know what? No amount of federal money, social programs, or racial preferences are going to change this. The brothers and sisters are just going to have to step up and open a vein.

It's free, it takes about an hour of your time, and is often offered at churches, hospitals, and businesses. There is no excuse for the pitiful levels of donation in Detroit. Shame.

Addendum: Detroit opened a blood donation center with the hope that easier access would increase donation levels. Well, it's open now only two days a week due to inactivity, and is in danger of closing.

Christmas for the iPod

I've been hunting iTunes for new Christmas muzak, and for some reason it's refusing to download the Trans-Siberian Orhestra's "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)"- grrr. Anyway, now I'm offering you an opportunity to pimp your favorite Christmas tune. You may soon be able to brag that I downloaded a tune at YOUR recommendation!

Just think of it as an early Christmas present from me to you.

Now, who's going to be the first to have me insult your choice of holiday music?

Wanna know what a dork I am?

Last night, I was at a very small gathering hosted by an old friend. By "gathering" I mean a sales speal for Arbonne. And, by "old", I mean someone who I haven't seen in 10 years. So, I was catching up with my friend, when a man walks up and gives her a "hello" kiss. He looked so familiar, and I was wracking my brain trying to figure out why. Church? Old acquaintance?

Then, I realize; it's Paul W. Smith. The man subbing for Rush Limbaugh today. Did I even say "hello" to the man?

What do you think.

If You Want Me ...

I'll be outside painting.

Things I Learned This Weekend, Even Though I Didn't Go To My 20th High School Reunion

That the man who has been stalking Sandra Bullock was a member of my graduating class.

Kinda sad actually. I remember him as a rather happy-go-lucky kinda guy.

Who Wants to Hear?

A retelling of my firstborn's birth story; and event that occurred 12 years ago today?

Of course, the highlight of the tale was when my water broke in the kitchen (all over the floor) and my dog, Moe, cleaned it up while I tried to figure out what to do.

Once you've heard that part, you've really know the meat of the story.

Those Mean Conservatives

New book coming out by Syracuse University professor, Arthur C. Brooks. The "money" quotes, so to speak:

The book's basic findings are that conservatives who practice religion, live in traditional nuclear families and reject the notion that the government should engage in income redistribution are the most generous Americans, by any measure.

Conversely, secular liberals who believe fervently in government entitlement programs give far less to charity. They want everyone's tax dollars to support charitable causes and are reluctant to write checks to those causes, even when governments don't provide them with enough money/

I found the next quote interesting as well:

>Still, he says it forcefully, pointing out that liberals give less than conservatives in every way imaginable, including volunteer hours and donated blood.

Orson Scott Card, on the election

This election proves only that the monolithically leftwing mainstream media can make the public believe we are losing a war that we are winning. As long as we're getting a two-party Congress, how about getting a two-party press?

If they're really serious about becoming the majority party, what rich Republicans need to do is stop paying for thousand-dollar-a-plate fundraising dinners and start buying up newspapers and networks. The Democrats already own almost all of them, and we have seen in this election how a prosperous economy can be concealed and a successful war can be turned into a "disaster" when you own the public's primary sources of information.

My hope is that the Democratic Party does not really mean the stupid, self-destructive things it has been advocating for our policy in Iraq and that they don't cut our soldiers off at the knees by underfunding the continuation of the War on Terror – including the campaign in Iraq.

Orson Scott Card, author of the masterwork, "Ender's Game." Democrat

H/T: hotair

Imagine

Imagine for a moment that you are in your home, asleep in bed, and you hear a sound. Someone is breaking into your house. He's inside, downstairs, rummaging through your things. So, you do what most people in our country would do; you call the police. An intruder in your house; certainly that ranks up there on the 911 hierarchy. Everything will be fine, the police will be here in minutes.

And you wait.


And you wait.


And you wait.


The police don't show up for hours.


That is what it is like in Detroit.


Your only option is to get a gun.

Tsotsi

This Netflix rental sat atop of my television for almost two months before I finally watched it. But, I'm glad I finally did watch it. Tsotsi is a very compelling movie, that is not so much about race, or Africa, but redemption.

Also, utterly fascinating about the movie, is the dialogue. Apparently in the theater release, they used voice-overs. What a mistake. I had to go searching for exactly WHAT language they were speaking (the "F" word is very clearly understandable, as are some complete phrases)l, and I found this:

Tsotsi is mostly spoken in a South African street patois. It's fascinating to listen to, as you can recognise a lot of English words, there's a bit of French in there too, and, presumably, Dutch. It's not an especially pretty language on the ear, but deal with it.

So, get the movie, and don't let sit there for a few months. Or, am I the only who does that?

8

That magic number, is the number of cavities my son has. They lie between each of his 8 molars. If you will remember, he had his front FOUR teeth crowned earlier this year.

Now, the dentist has given me a florid treatment-rinse to be used every night. Why didn't she give it to me when she saw that he had a "problem" with this stuff?

ARRGGG. 8 cavities. My husband is going to plotz.

RTO, from comments.

I hate to have this buried from a few days back (or yesterday), in regards to "mistakes" that have been made in Iraq :

No. A new direction can also mean that people making decisions haven't got either the requisite patience or the requisite understanding to grasp the situation and something has to be done to keep the busybodies and the uninformed from revolting.

I'm happy to entertain any actual examples of "mistake" however, but I have an idea this is one of those questions that just never gets answered.

Let me start the ball rolling, RTO. Our first mistake was that in an effort to win the hearts and minds of Iraq, we pussyfooted around, trying to minimize civilian casualties. Soldiers were asked to fight with one hand tied behind their backs.

We weren't ruthless enough. We obviously didn't kill enough of them.

Continuing My Little Game

Understanding the enemy:

Hudna is the Islamic term for a temporary peace.  It is a ruse that fools the enemy into believing that there is a genuine cease-fire in place rather than a temporary suspension of hostilities.  As the duped party lets their guard down, Muslims build up the military capability to destroy them (and do). 

The hudna was first practiced by Muhammad against the Quraish tribe, which paid for its gullibility with utter defeat (the enslavement of women and children, who watched as their husbands and fathers were taken prisoner and beheaded).  It has been integral to Islam’s military success down through the centuries.  The deception works because peace is the preference of human nature.  People tire of war and want to believe that Muslims tire of it as well, not realizing that there is an Islamic mandate to conquer and rule over all others. 

An excellent example of the modern hudna is what Hezbollah, Syria and Iran are currently doing to Israel.  After being attacked by the terrorist group in July, Israel pursued Hezbollah into Lebanon, pounding their infrastructure and exhausting ( by gritty absorption) the supply of missiles that were being fired into Israeli cities.  A peace deal was then imposed by the international community, by which Israel was obliged to return to its borders, Iran and Syria were to stop supplying Hezbollah with weapons, Hezbollah was to return its Israeli hostages and disarm, and the UN and Lebanon were to enforce all of this. 
The only party that honored the agreement was Israel… and they have gotten absolutely nothing for it.  Hezbollah is now fully rearmed (thanks to Iran and Syria) and the hostages remain in captivity – all this while the Lebanese and the UN have stood idly by.  After getting the peace agreement that it wanted, the international community did not do a single thing to earn Israel’s confidence. 
The hudna is not a game.  Lebanese and Israeli citizens will die in the near future when Hezbollah provokes another war, because the international community allowed the hudna.  But the next time around, there will be no excuse for Israel’s leaders to heed anything but the interests of its own people by doing whatever it takes to crush the threat once and for all.

You cannot take peace agreements at face value with Muslims.

Where Am I Going With this?

There were 16,885 alcohol related fatalities in 2005 *.

There were 43,443 traffic related fatalities in 2005 (1,129 in my state alone.)*

There were 31,384 deaths by suicide in 2003.*

19,475 died in 2003 of unintentional poisoning (same source as above.)

How Dare Anyone Suggest the Left Hates the Military

I seem to remember a kerfuffle a few weeks back about Kerry suggesting the military was the future of those who lack academic skills.

Outrage and rightous indignation followed, when Kerry and liberals explain he had simply flubbed a joke, and he had only meant to insult Mr. Bush. How DARE we not believe them?

And then there was last night's Simpsons episode. On the day AFTER Veteran's Day.

To steal the joke of one of Hot Air's commenters, it's time we saw a timetable for withdrawal of that show from Fox's lineup. You know, that Rightwing network that brings us Fox News?

Happy Birthday!

It's George's Birthday today! Let's all wish her a happy one.

In lieu of a gift, I offer you this. In case you missed it, Ace had a fantabulous post-election contest last week.

Remember, it's a brave New Age!

Offered without comment

The news [of the Muslim Ellison's election] garnered a rich variety of comments from Arab readers on the Web site of Al Arabiya, a satellite news channel based in Dubai. “God willing in the next election, half of Congress will be from the rational Muslims,” wrote one reader, while another said, “May God make this the beginning of victory for Muslims on the very ground of the despots.”

What's Up With William Jefferson?

Somewhere else, I asked the question regarding liberals and scandals on their side of the isle; do they not know about the scandals, or do they simply not care? These days, it seems that at the first whiff of Republican impropriety, he (or she) is resigning. Tom Delay - who is most likely innocent, resigned. Mark Foley, whose guilt might not be as it was made out in the media, resigned as well. But, what about old William Jefferson?

- Hoping to salvage his political future amid allegations that he hid bribe money in his freezer, U.S. Rep. William Jefferson was forced into a runoff in Tuesday's election and will likely face a fellow Democrat on Dec. 9.

With 90 percent of precincts reporting in the 2nd Congressional District, Jefferson was leading with 29 percent. State Rep. Karen Carter, D-New Orleans, was close behind with 22 percent. Carter's closest rival, state Sen. Derrick Shepherd, D-New Orleans, had 19 percent.

"I can look you in the eye and tell you that I am innocent of any allegation, any unproven allegations, and that's all they are unproven allegations," Jefferson told supporters at his election night rally as it became clear he would face a runoff.

Not only did he not resign, but it appears he still appears to be in good (enough) favor with the voters. But, really, what do they have to be unhappy about?

The FBI says it has video footage of Rep. Bill Jefferson (D-LA) accepting $100,000 from a FBI informant. Jefferson, who has not been charged with anything, insists that he has committed no crime.

The FBI says it taped Rep. Jefferson putting a suitcase containing the bribe money into the trunk of his car. A search of Jefferson's Washington, D.C., residence revealed that Jefferson hid the money in his freezer, officials say. The agency also conducted a weekend raid of Jefferson's Capitol Hill office

But, Jefferson says he's innocent. Really, what do they have on him? A video tape? What's a little video tape compared to a man's word that he is innocent? But then there is this:

A Louisville man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to bribing Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.) with more than $400,000 in payments, company stock and a share of the profits to promote the Kentucky firm's high-tech business ventures in Africa.

Oops. Well, that's just one guy. What's one man's word against another? But then there is this:

A former aide to Rep. William Jefferson pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal bribery charges and said a former employer demanded kickbacks and other bribes from an American company that wanted a multimillion-dollar deal with the Nigerian government.
Brett M. Pfeffer, 37, told federal prosecutors that "Representative A," whom he worked for from 1995-1998, insisted his wife should perform all the legal work for a $45 million deal that involved the sale of a Kentucky company’s technology to Nigeria. Pfeffer worked as an aid to Jefferson, D-New Orleans, from 1995-1998.

I’ll give one guess to who is "Representative A."

IGate Corp, the Kentucky company, worked to provide broadband services to Nigerians. I suppose we have THEM to thank for all that scam-spam. The deals were negotiated several years after Pfeffer left Jefferson to work for an investment company that represented iGate. The plot thickens:

Pfeffer also said that "Representative A" told a member of the investment firm that he wanted a member of his family put on the payroll, receiving between $2,500 and $5,000 a month. "Representative A" also told the member of the investment firm, who became a cooperating witness and is identified in court papers as "CW," that he wanted 5% to 7% of the newly formed Nigerian company to be given to his family, according to documents.

In exchange, "Representative A" agreed to help win government approval of the Nigerian deal.

So, I return to my question. Do those who vote for men such as Jefferson (I'm looking at YOU, Democrats) unaware of the scandal, or do they simply not care?

Today's Profile: Alcee Hastings

Alcee Hastings is poised to become the chairman of the House Intelligence Comittee. The Black Caucus is going to really pressure Pelosi to come through for them on this issue. But who is this Alcee Hasting? Well, he is a Representative from Florida, a Democrat, first elected in 1993. Before that, though he was a lawyer and judge of the circuit court. What might have motivated him to go into politics? Why did he leave his law career for politics? To search for answers wee turn to Wikipedia:

In 1989, Hastings was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives for bribery and perjury. The Democratic-controlled Senate convicted Judge Hastings of accepting a $150,000 bribe in 1981 in exchange for a lenient sentence and of perjury in his testimony about the case. He became only the sixth Judge in the history of impeachment in the United States to be removed from office by the United States Senate.



His impeachment was remanded back to the Senate by Judge Stanley Sporkin after Hastings filed suit claiming that his impeachment trial was invalid because he was tried by a Senate committee, not in front of the full Senate, and that he had been acquitted in a criminal trial. But the Supreme Court ruled in a similar case, regarding Judge Walter Nixon, who had also been impeached and removed, that the courts had no jurisdiction to review Senate impeachment procedures. A lower court found crucial distinctions between the two cases, since Nixon had been convicted in a criminal trial, and a certified record of his conviction was available to submit to the full Senate as probative evidence of his conduct. Hastings, on the other hand, had been found not guilty in a criminal trial, so Sporkin ruled he had a right to trial by the full Senate and not just by a committee. Sporkin stayed his ruling pending Supreme Court review. The jurisdictional issue prevailed on appeal, and Hastings' impeachment and removal were reinstated.

Interesting! Well, that's it for another installment of my new series "Profiles of Your New Majority Party!"

See ya next time.

Reading up on this Nancy Pelosi/Update

Doing a bit of research this morning. *.

Consider the case of Nancy Pelosi, the ultimate San Francisco big-government liberal, and leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives. She is the daughter of Big Tommy D'Alesandro, boss of the Baltimore Democrat political machine. She grew up in a household built around the use of political power for personal gain, under the banner of compassion. In her career in Congress, she has garnered the highest praise from the AFL-CIO, the Americans for Democratic Action, and the League of Conservation Voters. She is grotesquely pro-union and pro-regulation, and a fierce "environmentalist," of course. Her favorite pastime is attacking people on her political right — which is everyone to the right of, say, Mao Zedong — as enemies of clean air, clean water, the working man, or whatever. To her, we're all greedy, vile exploiters of the poor.
Nancy Pelosi is worth more than $50 million — not bad for a champion of the poor.
Actually, to be fair, her favorite pastime is enacting laws to increase the power of unions, trial lawyers, and the federal government. But Pelosi's private life is all capitalist. She and her husband have a net worth of over $50 million — not bad for champions of the poor. Much of their wealth comes from real estate ventures, such as the development of the Corde Valle Golf Club and Resort in Silicon Valley. Schweizer documents how the Pelosis' private partnership (Lions Gate Limited) managed to get approval to develop some raw land over the objections of environmentalists and other local groups, by contractually promising that the club would be primarily a public course and that the development would be ecologically friendly. But the developers stiffed the public. The golf course turned out to be primarily for the use of the ultrawealthy: the hoi polloi have to reserve three days in advance and pay $275 for a round of golf. A membership at the club costs $250,000! And Lions Gate failed to live up to the promised environmental guarantees. When the San Jose Planning Commission started thinking about looking into whether Lions Gate had made fraudulent representations to get the development approvals, the Pelosis simply hired some local, well-connected lobbyists, and the Planning Commission backed away like frightened kittens.

She sounds like just a peach. Yes, just the person we want in charge of the House.

I just watched her victory speech over at Hot Air. And I took some notes:

First she mentioned that the Democrats are going to bring change and a New Direction to government. WHEW. I thought they had no plan. Change and a New Direction. That is exciting.

Next she promises that the Democrats are going to work toward bipartisanship. They are going to work together and restore integrity and honesty to Washington. Here is the biggie: the Democrats are going to lead the most honest, open and ethical Congress in HISTORY.

To continue, she will lead toward a "fairer economy." What does that mean? Pelosi is one of the wealthiest in our country; is she going to start passing out money? That would be fairer. To me. Then she starts going on about how all will participate in the prosperity of the economy. How is that going to work? I seem to remember Marx had the same idea. Lemme guess; higher taxes, raising the minimum wage, and anything that panders to those who don't pay any taxes at all (an ever increasing number in our country.) Really, it's a numbers game and the Dem have figured this out. Keep pandering to those who don't pay taxes, who will FLOCK to your promises. I don't know what they are going to do when they get to the end game; when those who pay taxes are so outnumbered by those who don't that our entire economy grinds to a halt by the democratic process of pandering.

Moving right along, she gets to the part of the speech where she lays out the Democrat plan for Iraq. Let me summarize it for you:
Stay the course is wrong
We need a new direction
Let's find a new solution

The only thing missing in this plan, is the actual plan. Oh well, I'm sure they'll come up with something soon!

Congratulations America!

Didya hear?

I totally knew Kevin and Brittany weren't going to make it.

Made-up My Mind About the Dovvvves

Hmm hmm tasty.

What I'm Reading

Robert Spencer's newest book The Truth About Muhammad.

It's interesting. I'm thinking about trying to reestablish the order of theKnights Templar.

Crib My Cheat Sheet

Dick DeVos (of course)
Terri Lynn Land (Sec of STate)
Mike Cox (Attorney General)
Mike Bouchard (U.S. Senate)

State Proposals:

1- State park, hunting, fishing and conservation fees protected from being raided to fund other things. YES
2-Ban affirmative action. YES.
3- Mourning Dove ban. No recommendation
4-Stop government from taking private property and giving it to another private property under eminent domain. YES
5. Require annual increased state funding to rate of inflation for public schools and colleges; reduce and cap retirement contributions by schools and colleges and shift remainder to the state (that second part is the DOOZY.) HELLS NO.

So , that last part would be simply, Yes, Yes, no opinion, Yes, and NO.

Now, in other civic duty news, it's time for me to give blood again. Gotta get a run in BEFORE I donate. Busy busy.

Revisiting that Bus Ad

"Not Voting Is A Vote for DeVos"

I'd like to deconstruct the meaning behind that. Does it mean that those too lazy to vote are more often Democrats? Detroit Democrats? Dare I say blackDemocrats?

You Get What You Give

A quick note to all those parents who took their kids out begging last night (perhaps even to other/better neighborhoods) without decorating their own homes, or giving out any candy:

YOU TOTALLY SUCK.

People don't have to participate in Halloween. No one is forcing you to go that extra mile and add joy to our sometimes dreary little word. Wet blankets don't piss me off. Perhaps, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and guess you oppose Halloween for religious reasons. Or, you know, perhaps you're a dentist or dietitian.

But, those of you out there who figure it's everyone else's obligation to create a holiday for your children;

YOU TOTALLY SUCK.

It's like Halloween welfare or something. The entitlement mentality.

You're lucky, though, that I'm good enough to hoist all the blame on YOUR shoulders. Your little demon spawn* are blameless.



And, FTR- My husband and I switch off as to who takes the kids around, and who deals with the beggars at the door.

*Hey, it was Halloween. I'm sure some were dressed as demon spawn.

Report from Detroit

Last night, we had the nicest, most polite trick or treaters EVER.

In DETROIT.

Bus Sign

Not Voting is a vote for DeVos

Sigh.

Busy

It's supposed to be warmer in the early part of the day, so I'm going to try to get my bulbs in the ground. And clean the backyard. And put up Halloween decorations. And finish all the laundry. And ...

Cobain suicide?

Read this, omitting the last few lines (which are obviously done by another hand), and tell me if it sounds like a suicide note, or a "farewell to his fans" message?


It may be that I'm tired, but reading through that site has me half-believing that his wife did him in.

To Watch or Not to Watch

Last night (around midnight) I told my husband that if Leyland played Verlander tonight, I was going to bed early.

I could handle a Tiger's loss in Detroit. But to watch it in in St Louis? I don't have the strength.

Marriage is Unnatural

Marriage is a very unnatural act. Black men have realized this fact far ahead of their white counterparts ("Black teens have bleak view of marriage," Oct 19). Marriage is a bad business deal for most men. If you have financial resources, female companionship will always be at your disposal.




This is a letter to the editor that appeared in my paper yesterday.

Perhaps I'm Confused

But, I thought the concept of a "paid vacation" meant you didn't actually GO to work during that time?

Must Not Kill Children

And it's only Monday. It's gonna bee a looong week.

To My Pro-choice readers

I'm ok to be on the side of those who picket abortion clinics This gal is one of yours. Don't want her? Tough. She practiced a unique form of late-term abortion; a procedure supported by the pro-choice advocacy groups.

Despite the fact that the baby was to be delivered that very day, Tammy Skinner, none-the-less, shot it while it was still in her stomach.

Repeat after me; Keep your laws, out of my womb. The slippery slope slides one way; the direction in which no matter how disgusting, such an act is not a crime.

Look how far we've come, Baby!

Have I ruined anyone's dinner?

The New Face of Oppression

I've got something to say about this:

Rose Rock, the mother of comedian Chris Rock, claims she was racially discriminated against when she was seated but ignored for a half hour at a Cracker Barrel restaurant along the South Carolina coast.

But, first I'm going to go punch a hole in a wall.

Listen, Rose, there is a term for what happened to you at Cracker Barrel. It's called bad service. And if you think that only black people - oh excuse me - people of color experience this phenomena, you'd be wrong. My husband and I walked into a low-brow chain restaurant five days ago, only to be ignored at the door for about ten minutes. After we were seated, another 15 minutes went by before anyone took our order. I suppose, perhaps, the restaurant was run by anti-white black panthers, but I doubt it. The joint was disorganized, and -let's face it -certain chain restaurants don't draw exactly from the top of the food chain of restaurant servers and management. They don't pay enough.

But, please Rose go on with your sad tale.

He never called over the waitresses and asked, `Why did these people sit here for a half hour without service?'"she said."The only thing he said was we could have a free meal and neither of us wanted to eat."

You see, he didn't have to. It's not a manager's job to berate employees before the customers. Maybe he didn't bring a server over, because it wasn't a server's fault. Perhaps it was an extremely inexperienced hostess? You know how common it is for a poorly run restaurant, with bad or new hostesses, to sit people without assigning a server to the table? What did you want, Rose the manager to drag over some 17 year-old girl, who goofed, to apologize for 200 years of oppression?

When bad service happens to white people, it's called what it is. When it happens to black people (however slight), it's racism.

Let me give you some unasked for advice, Rose, next time you face the oppression of bad service, walk out.

Update: Gays at Cracker Barrel:

Look, while in the business, I would say about 50% of the male servers were gay. Traditionally this was always the case (although I think it's not as prevalent as it used to be.) Now, if a male employee were to be fired, chances are great (dare I say there is a 50% chance) that he is gay. People are rarely pleased when they are fired, and would usually prefer to find an excuse. I sucked as a server? NO, that can't be it (I mean, after all, how often does bad service occur?)

Word on the Street

The word is that I am in trouble because I viewed my TiVo'd season premier of Battlestar Galactica. I had promised my brother I would wait for him to come over, and we would watch it together.

Well, I've got a great excuse; I just couldn't wait any longer. Plus, the Tiger games were lurking, and I had to get it in on an off-night. AND, Jeff Harrell wrote a really long post about it, and I wanted to read it. And there is really NOTHING scheduled (worth watching) on Monday nights.

So there you have it. I basically had no choice. It was beyond my control.

Man, these intertubes can get a gal in trouble.

Go Here

Link in title, go check out the picture.

Please

Some one explain to me why I had children?

Weekend Report

First, I must address how happy I am for (commenter, Ace Regular) Mesablue, who was at that Tiger Game. Bastard. Now that I got that off my chest;

HOW ABOUT THOSE TIGERS?! I know, no one wanted, or thought that the Tigers would make it to the Word series. And, when they got rid of the Yankees, the BS on other blogs was how grateful the Mets fans were to the Tigers for getting ride of the Yankees, and now there would be a "Mets/A's" game in the World Series.

Well, how's that working out? They took our games out of prime time, because we were the B-listers.

But, you know, I'm not bitter.

Go TIGERS!

Top of the fourth. Detroit is up 2-0. Yip yip yip.

Update1: Kenny Rogers is having another hot day. All the more amazing since it is so freakiin freezing.

Crackheads and Guns

My mom had her home broken into yesterday. The assessment of the police, and the guy that came to install a new door for mom, was that it was probably the work of a crack-head.

Now, this event can lead me to have rants about the following topics: drugs, addicts, inner city decay, police inefficiency, racial apologists, Jesse Jackson, tougher criminal sentencing, forced sterilization, parental responsibility, morality in to day's society, welfare reform, racial profiling, gangster/rap culture, common decency, social norms, and educational reform.

Oh, and I want a gun.

On the plus side, the guy stole her broken DVD player. Sucker.

Thanks For Nothing

Pretty much everyone knows I home school. And, just about everyone who knows that, knows that I hate teaching children how to read. Detest it to the very fiber of my being. Personally, I love to read. I remember learning how to read; I was in first grade, and I distinctly remember the joy of knowing that I could read stories to MYSELF! I also remember that my readers were of the "Dick and Jane" genre, but that relates not at all to my post. I'm just rambling, basically.

Anyway, back to how much I hate teaching my children how to read. Not one of them has been an quick learner. Let me amend that, none of my children have been "early" learners. Basically, the process involves me trying every method I can find, bashing my head against the wall while they struggle and resist, and then one day I notice they're reading the sub-titles of the French film I'm watching. This has happened three times in my home so far. Yet, with number 4 (and 5 still to go), I gnash my teeth, worry, struggle, and continue to knock my head against the wall. The knowledge that some day they WILL read does nothing to pacify my angst.

So, today, in search of yet another method, I (mistakenly) checked out the forum boards where I bought my curriculum (Sonlight.) I was looking for stuff like this :

HELP! My (almost) 7 y/o is struggling to learn to read and I'm at my wits end. I've tried a variety of methods and nothing seems to be working. Can someone advise me?

To which, I was hoping to see something along the lines of this:

REST assured. There is nothing to worry about. Many 7 y/o children are still struggling with reading. I can recommend many games and books to help you ...

After the ellipses , of course, there would be a ton of helpful suggestions. Unfortunately, that is not what I found. I don't want to copy from a private forum, but basically, no joke, what I found resembled this:

My 5 y/o tested at fourth grade reading level, and I'm having trouble finding a program that is challenging enough for her.

And:

My oldest is 5 1/2. She is reading at a fourth grade level, and has the word recognitions skills of a 12th grader.

I'm going to go bang my head against the wall.

FRAK

I fell behind on BSG webisodes and now I cannot find them on the SciFi site. The only one I can find is episode ten. I wonder/hope it is just a gliche, because apparently there was some plot development. I had assumed they were going to be more in the vein of teasers.

I watched the season premier last night- enjoyed it very much- and refuse to make annoying parallels with the WOT/Iraq, etc. Jeff Harrell has a good post and discussion regarding THAT, and I agree with what was said over there. No need to put it over here. Oh, well perhaps just this :

If you want to all rorschach on it, you can find similarities between “Battlestar Galactica” and pretty much anything. That’s because it’s a show that takes great inspiration from events and situations both historical and contemporaneous. You think you see parallels between the fictional occupation of New Caprica and the post-war situation in Iraq? Great, congratulations. But there are also parallels between the TV show and the occupation of France by the Nazis, the occupation of the West Bank by Israel, the occupation of big chunks of Europe by the Soviets … hell, you can find common threads in the Roman occupation of Britain and the Persian occupation of India under Alexander the Great.

For the record, I think there were a few points in the episode where the writers were trying to get their digs in (calling the good guys "insurgents", for example) , but overall, thematically, the argument cannot be made that the show is a teaching moment for the foibles Bush administration. Assuming, of course, the person has over an 8th grade education.

Does this happen in your 'hood?

I live in a perfectly nice neighborhood. Nice gardens, manicured lawns. Nice, even sidewalks.

It is that last part which makes the mystery of why teens, in my neighborhood, INSIST on walking in the streets. Right down the middle.

Now, I would understand if it were the winter, and the sidewalks were unshoveled and icy. Or, as is in some bad areas of Detroit, the sidewalks were heavily littered with debris (left, I might add, by pedestrians and litter bugs.)

I would say it's a ghetto thing, but not all the kids doing it are from a ghetto. And, to make you understand how irritated I get by this, the other day it wasn't a group of teens, but ONE teen with three little kids walking smack dab down the middle of my street.

Honestly, I'm interested in the psychology behind this.

Not On My Dime

Michelle Malkin has a vlog on last week's brewhaha at Columbia. It was disgusting, and she sums it up pretty well.

Juicing/fitness

Ok, George, I just drank a cup of juiced apples and carrots (I received a nice juicer when I was first married.) What recipes have you got? I don't suppose I can drink that every day (I used to buy apple/carrot juice.)

For the record, I have lost few pounds since I really started running regularly - I'm on my third week, and am running 4 miles, followed by a day of either walking or thirty minutes on the nordic track. I don't want to run every day, because my knees need to be babied. I've also hit the Bowflex, although I do need to hit it harder.

So, how long until I fit into E's jean size?

Today's run; A review

Not so great. My body prefers to run after dinner, but my schedule prefers a morning workout.

Anyway, four miles, the last two in drenching rain, complete with thunder and lightening. I bet I was running with five pounds of water weight added on.

My kids were waiting for me with a towel when I got home.

Running music update

Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" was pretty good. I put together a "running" playlist, and tried it out for the first time last night. Four miles of glory, it was.

And, Kel, I even put a Madonna song on the list; "Ray of Light".

Another reason I don't watch Oprah

Isn't Oprah trying to convince us she's not a lesbian? Because the list of "sexiest" men in her magazine does little to convince me that she's actually, you know, attracted to men. Well, anyway, here is the list of "sexiest" men:

1. Cory A. Booker--liberal Newark Mayor and Yale lawyer.
2. Larry Page and Sergey Brin--Google founders.
3. David Gregory
4. Albert Pujols--St. Louis Cardinals First Baseman (he should sue Oprah for listing him among these geeks; very uncool)
5. Barack Obama
6. James Nachtway--photographer of the African AIDS crisis
7. Markos Moulitsas Zuniga
8. Robert Egger--founded D.C. Central Soup Kitchen
9. Dr. Drew Pinsky--hosts sex radio show, used to host MTV sex show
10. Jeffrey D. Sachs
11. Larry Norton--Breast cancer researcher
12. Johann Olav Koss--Olympic gold medalist who uses sports as tool for kids in third world
13. Michael Arad--Architect designing politically correct Ground Zero Memorial with artsy fartsy pools and waterfalls and "living park" devoid of noting what really happened there
14. Fareed Zakaria
15. Alton Brown--Food Network chef
16. Patrick J. Fitzgerald

Well, I'm all hot an bothered now, aren't you?

Content Lag

But, you know, you get what you pay for here.

This week, I will blog while I am not doing one of the following:

Mulching the yard.
Planting bulbs and a few fall flowers.
Caulking the tub.
Running.
Home schooling.
Over-seeding the backyard.
Ferrying my children to/from soccer games/practices.
Preparing and/or teaching my fourth grade catechist class.
Washing windows.
Cleaning the house.

There you have it. Don't expect too much, and you will NOT be disappointed.

Sigh

The guest bloggers are killing Protein Wisdom. Don't bother clicking. It's not loading today.

QOD

Name some good songs to RUN to. I find running needs entirely different songs from, say, an elliptical trainer. System of a Down is great for that. Too angry for running though.

*Note: suggest Madonna and you will be banned.

My dog just farted

Right here, next to the computer.

I gotta go. Let things air out.

HELP!

I agreed (since I didn't exactly volunteer) to teach a Catechism class for my church. The church was (obviously) desperate. Anyway, I got stuck blessed with fourth graders. I don't want to say that they are little terrors, but they talk incessantly, giggle, fall off of their chairs ... you put it together. Not to appear sexist, but I have a class made up primarily of boys. Whose idea was it to give the new gal a class of boys? Trial by fire, I guess.

Today, I really have to get them under control, or I fear all is lost. I 'm thinking I have to come up with a game or something that we can regularly play if they get the "work" part of the class done in time. Any ideas? Any advice is welcome.

New on the Tube

The new fall television season is upon us, and I thought I'd list the new additions I plan on watching :







That ought to sum it up. I hate new shows, and I never watch them. Through the process of attrition, this would eventually lead to watching zero tv. That's not entirely how it works, because occasionally I'll hear someone talking about a show, and I might check it out. That's what happened with House. And, many moons ago, with Buffy. Sometimes, I check them out, watch for a few weeks and then decide I really don't like them; Desperate Housewives. To be honest, my goal is to watch less TV, not more, which is why I don't even start with new programs. That leaves me with:

24
Battlestar Galatica (which has a rather short season)
House

These are (pretty much) the only shows I TiVo. Everything else depends on how desperate I am to watch something (anything.) Last night I ended up watching the last forty-five minutes of Bridget Jones' Diary.

Pope Invites New Looks at Catholicism

Never mind the violence occurring today, let's focus on what the Catholic church used to do:
 Pope Benedict XVI's reference to dark aspects in Islam's history also has opened up another type of backlash for his church: fresh examinations of its past as conqueror, inquisitor and patron of missionaries whose zeal sometimes led to conflict with other faiths.

Right, let's dig into these past issues, because, you know, no on is going to declare a fatwa and go on jihad if we criticize Christians.

"No religion is without their unholy periods," said the Rev. Khalil Samir, a Vatican envoy for interfaith links in Lebanon. "To admit this is an important step to real understanding and dialogue."


Except, Islam will admit no such thing, of course.

In recent decades, Islamic groups and others have increasingly targeted Christian missionaries for allegations of forced conversions and as symbols of Western interference

Well, of course that is because there is no other God but Allah, and Mohammed is his Prophet. Duh.

FTR

I find that the endorphins don't kick in until after mile THREE (when I was younger, it used to be after mile two.) Of course, if I only run three miles, I completely miss the whole positive vibe of running. It's just one long, sustained effort to keep moving.

But, last night I went to four. Yea me.

Overheard on Medved

That the average home has more TVs than people.

We've got 7 people and 2 tvs. Actually, we have three - we bought a small one for the PS2, but it only occasionally gets used since the kids prefer to use the larger tv in the basemen.

What's this?

Typhoid fever is an infectious feverish disease with severe symptoms in the digestive system in the second phase of the illness.

Sounds good so far.

Classic typhoid fever is a serious disease. It can be life-threatening, but antibiotics are an effective treatment. The disease lasts several weeks and convalescence takes some time.

Do you think they have antibiotics in the caves of Afghanistan or Pakistan? Because I'm guessing that might be tricky.

The disease is transmitted from human to human via food or drinking water, and it is therefore mainly hygiene and sanitary conditions that determine its spread. It is primarily for this reason that it is no longer so commonly seen in Europe.

Bad hygiene you say? Well, I, for one, am shocked at the very suggestion.

You can read all the details here, but here is where it starts to get good:

2nd phase: in the second to third weeks of the disease, symptoms of intestinal infection are manifested and the fever remains very high and the pulse becomes weak and rapid. In the third week the constipation is replaced by severe pea-soup-like diarrhoea. The faeces may also contain blood. It is not until the fourth or fifth week that the fever drops and the general condition slowly improves

Unless, of course, you never got those antibiotics.

Intestinal perforation or profuse bleeding from the intestinal mucosa may occur if typhoid fever is left untreated.

Ouch, that sounds bad.

If Osama turns up dead, you can all thank me, because I have been faithfully praying to God to strike this evil man down. Or, should I say, you can Thank God. And go to church and show him a bit of gratitude.

On the shelf

Mark Steyn reviewing a new book by Lawrence Write on the development of the current jihadists we fae:

In an Islamist grievance culture, the tower doesn't have to be that tall to loom. The tragedy in Wright's book is that across little more than half a century a loser cult has metastasized, eventually to swallow almost all the moderate, syncretic forms of Islam. What was so awful about Sayyid Qutb's experience in America that led him to regard modernity as an abomination? Well, he went to a dance in Greeley, Colo.: "The room convulsed with the feverish music from the gramophone. Dancing naked legs filled the hall, arms draped around the waists, chests met chests, lips met lips . . ."

In 1949, Greeley, Colo., was dry. The dance was a church social. The feverish music was Frank Loesser's charm song Baby, It's Cold Outside. But it was enough to start a chain that led from Qutb to Zawahiri in Egypt to bin Laden in Saudi Arabia to the mullahs in Iran to the man arrested in Afghanistan on Sept. 11. And it's a useful reminder of how much we could give up and still be found decadent and disgusting by the Islamists. A world without Baby, It's Cold Outside will be very cold in

What a concept!

Use a skinny-ass, drugged-out, white chick in black-face to garner attention to the plight of Aids in AFrica.

Genius!

In the kithen today

Apfelkuchen

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups sifted flour
3 ounces sugar
1 1/8 cup warm milk
5 lg. peeled, cored, sliced apples
1 package dry yeast
1 package vanilla-sugar
3 ounces room temperature butter
Dash salt
--TOPPING:--
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash salt
3/4 cup sifted flour
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup butter

Directions:

Mix all ingredients (except apples). Then blend on high for 5 minutes. Let dough rest for 5 minutes. Grease cookie sheet and with greased hands, pat dough into the pan. Place apples on the dough and push in lightly. Let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Topping: Combine sugar, flour, spices and salt; cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over apples. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake 20-30 minutes or until brown.

Recipe from CD Kitchen.

Dang, I'm busy

That is all.

You First, Buddy

Morocco's King Mohammed VI sent a letter to the Vatican in which he implored Benedict to show "the same respect for Islam that you have for the other religions," Moroccan media reported. Morocco withdrew its ambassador to the Vatican over the weekend

As soon as they stop beheading in the name of their relgiion, I'll start to respect it. The following statement does little to encourage hope:

The group said Muslims would be victorious and addressed the pope as "the worshipper of the cross" saying "you and the West are doomed as you can see from the defeat in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya and elsewhere. ... We will break up the cross, spill the liquor and impose head tax, then the only thing acceptable is a conversion (to Islam) or (killed by) the sword."
Islam forbids drinking alcohol and requires non-Muslims to pay a head tax to safeguard their lives if conquered by Muslims. They are exempt if they convert to Islam.

I'm having 'puter troubles; my entire screen is fuzzy. Sigh. There could be a ton of typos here, but I can't see a thing. Sorry.

Is the Pope Catholic?

A quick read through the Pope's speech which has sent the Islamo-tards frothing:

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached". The emperor goes on to explain in detail the reasons why spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable. Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul. "God is not pleased by blood, and not acting reasonably (F×< 8`(T) is contrary to God’s nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats... To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death...".

The decisive statement in this argument against violent conversion is this: not to act in accordance with reason is contrary to God’s nature. The editor, Theodore Khoury, observes: For the emperor, as a Byzantine shaped by Greek philosophy, this statement is self-evident. But for Muslim teaching, God is absolutely transcendent. His will is not bound up with any of our categories, even that of rationality. Here Khoury quotes a work of the noted French Islamist R. Arnaldez, who points out that Ibn Hazn went so far as to state that God is not bound even by his own word, and that nothing would oblige him to reveal the truth to us. Were it God’s will, we would even have to practise idolatry.

And the Muslim response? Jihad.

Adnan El Shukri Jumah sighting?

Go read the thread to this post of SondraK's. The comment is from 7:18 yesterday and continues further down.

It does help to keep our eyes open and spread the word. These nuts do not have the power of invisibility.

Coincidence?

Growing up, one of my good childhood friends was Canadian. My family had a Cottage in Ontario, so I spent every summer with her. She was very sweet, but not the sharpest tool in the shed. One year, I wanted to learn a bit about how their government worked, but I quickly realized I was asking the WRONG person when she informed me that Ronald Reagan was her president.

I never assumed, though, that intellectual acuity was tied to her nationality. But, this (from AoS) gives me pause:

Sadly, a recent poll on another Canadian television network showed that 22 per cent of Canadians believe the American government was involved in 9/11. Another 53 per cent are of the opinion that US foreign policy was responsible for the attack. All of which shows a diminishment of trust in America

Twenty-two percent?!? That's a rather large percentage to be merely a loony "fringe." What is the problem Canada? Too much beer drinking? Been playing hockey without a helmet one too many times?? I'm about ->this<- close to declaring the entire country a lost cause. If it wasn't for the Tragically Hip I would have written you off entirely long ago. And I'll never forgive you for foisting Celine upon us.

Never forget. Never forgive.

Good News

Not everyone at Harvard is a total idiot:

The feminists at Harvard seek to remove every vestige of patriarchy in America, but they have said almost nothing about the complete dismissal of women's rights by radical Islam. To do so would be to attack Islamic culture, and according to multiculturalism, every culture is equal and none is evil. They forsake women in societies that repudiate women's rights and direct their complaints to societies that believe in women's rights. Of course it's easier to complain to someone who listens to you and doesn't immediately proceed to slit your throat. No sign of any rethinking of feminism has appeared in the universities where it flourishes.

So while Rosie equates Christians to homosexual-killing Islamists, and Harvard welomes Mohammad Khatami, there are small vestiges of intelligence to be found.

With Love from River Rat

Bush Poll numbers average at 42% approval.

Well his numbers are improving why so silent now, are those crickets I hear? Oh ya one other thing gas prices are dropping like Britney spears underwear, I thought GWB wanted high prices for his oil buddies.

Silly, we only hear stuff like this when it's bad news for Bush. Here in Detroit, there was a station selling gas at $2.05 a gallon.

Why I don't Watch Daytime TV

Because it is too farking stupid.

I missed Rosie's rant the other day on The View because I never watch that crap. But I did catch it on the intertubes. When I heard the applause , by a New York audience, to her line - "And just one second, radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America"-my first thought wasn't to wallow in despair that we were a nation of total fucking idiots, but instead to feel secure in the knowledge that on display was merely the low-caliber of intelligence (or rational thought) of those who watch daytime television.

A few years ago, I was shocked to learn that women I knew watched soap operas. I couldn't believe that anyone, over the age of 21, could find such dreck entertaining or interesting. I was so naive. It was said, long ago, that religion is the opiate of the masses. I disagree; mindless TV is the opiate.

Have you Seen This Man?

He's wanted by the FBI.

I don't know about you, but I'm thinking about taking a drive over to Dearborn and see what I can find. He's only 5'3 aND 135, so I'm thinking I can take him myself, but I might bring Greta, because I've heard these Islamic fascist Jihadists hate dogs. I might pull a Lynddie England on him myself (where did I put that extra dog collar?)

Do you think a bit of torture, before I turn him over to the FBI, would interfere with collecting the $5 million reward?

For those Keeping Score at Home

Ethan's head: 1
Erin's teeth: -3

Enough

I must stop watching and reading 9/11-related stuff on the internet.

"The Arab and Iranian Reaction to 9/11 Five Years Later

Democracy Now!'s Loose Change debate with the makers of crackpot film extrodinaire "Loose Change" and the editors of "Popular Mechanics." (h/t Hot Air).

The two above links are in competition; watch the Memri one and you will be amazed at the stupidity pouring out of the Middle East. But, then you watch the "Loose Change" debate and you see that we have some real weiners on our side of the pond as well. I'm undecided as to whether or not that is reassuring.

Allah put together 27 minuets of the CNN coverage from 9/11. PTL I didn't know CNN was going to do this (I found out in the afternoon) or I probably would have sat and watched it all day long.

For the last two days I've been wallowing in 9/11 . I didn't watch the miniseries, but I did watch the French documentary that was shown Sunday night. I need to stop. My children need schooling.

Abu Ghraib/ bias keeps flowing

Article in which complaints are made of treatment by Iraqi Guards since the Americans have left.

Some of the small number of prisoners who remained in the jail after the Americans left said they had pleaded to go with their departing captors, rather than be left in the hands of Iraqi guards.
"The Americans were better than the Iraqis. They treated us better," said Khalid Alaani, who was held on suspicion of involvement in Sunni terrorism.

Picture for the article? Lynndie England with the dogleash photo.

Do I Need to Remember what I Haven't Forgotten?

Jeff Harrell puts into words something that's been lurking in the attic of my brain, but just I couldn't put my finger on it:

[W]ith all due respect, you can blow your memorials and your big-screen movies and your documentaries out your ass. Remembering 9/11 isn’t the problem.

I started watching "The Path to 9/11" last night, but then stopped. It's TiVoed in case I change my mind at some point, but I don't really need a movie to reenact the events. Who does, at this point? If someone is living so outside of the events of the world, that they need a refresher course on this stuff- well, I Just don't know what to say about that.

I'm still mad

On 9/11-today- I opened my local newspaper to read this dreck:

Sept. 11 only heightened the misconceptions about Islam. Islam-phobia has risen in the post-Sept. 11 era among certain populations in the United States.
If there was a different administration [with] a difference language about the Muslim community and had a different foreign policy and a domestic agenda, and a different agenda on the so-called war on terror, I think Islam-phobia would decrease.Dawud Walid, executive director of CAIR

Look, buddy, 9/11 didn't heighten the misconceptions about Islam, your jihadist muslim Brothers did that with their actions. He references 9/11 as if it were just a date unattached to the most horrible act of terrorism committed in the name of HIS religion.

I remember 9/11. The World changed. My world changed. But, I'm not going to write about where I was, or what I did (although I remember everything about that day), because I'm sure others have more poignant tales to tell. And, I'm not posting a tribute to someone who died; or to the heros or victims in general. On this day, five years later I am mad. Mad again.

Mad because of people like Walid, for whom 9/11 is a date from which to trace his victimhood as a Muslim.

Mad because a movie about 9/11 moves politicians to make grave threats against a network lest their inactions against terrorists be widely exposed to a television watching audience.

Mad because people believe that appeasement will work.

Mad that this war is being fought on unequal footing; they act with 7th century barbarity, while we acting with a 21st century sense of human decency.

This list is by no means complete. But now I've gotten myself good and worked up.

Did anyone watch that miniseries last night?

Like Peanut Butter and Chocolate

Two great things that go great together. NIN and "Angel".

Mood check

I believe I can see the future
Because I repeat the same routine
I think I used to have a purpose
Then again, that might have been a dream

I think I used to have a voice
Now I never make a sound
I just do what I’ve been told
I really don’t want them to come around
Oh, no.

Every day is exactly the same
Every day is exactly the same
There is no love here and there is no pain
Every day is exactly the same

I can feel their eyes are watching
In case I lose myself again
Sometimes I think I’m happy here
Sometimes, yeah, I still pretend
I can’t remember how this got started
But I can tell you exactly how it will end.

Every day is exactly the same
Every day is exactly the same
There is no love here and there is no pain
Every day is exactly the same

(spoken)
I’m writing on a little piece of paper
I’m hoping someday you might find
Well, I’ll hide it behind something
They won’t look behind

I am still inside here
A little bit comes bleeding through
I wish this could have been any other way
But I just don’t know, I don’t know,
What else I can do…

Every day is exactly the same
Every day is exactly the same
There is no love here and there is no pain

NIN

Yea, whatever froggie

Against terrorism, what's needed is not a war. It is, as France has done for many years, a determined fight based on vigilance at all times and effective cooperation with our partners.

"But we will only end this curse if we also fight against injustice, violence and these crises."

What does that even means? A fight based on vigilance at all times? And, we will only end the curse (of terrorism, I suppose) if we fight against "injustice"? The injustice exists in the Arab culture, and if you buy the multi-cultural mumbo-jumbo, that should mean hands-off in influencing them. Isn't that cultural imperialism?

Wow

No blogging for a week! Probably a record. Things are just busy - lots of traveling and visiting for the past month. Now, we've got to get our homeschool groove going. Add to that a cat that bugs me WHILE I'm at the computer, and a "v" key that won't work, and a "c" key that repeats. Oye.

I must mention that I loved the Crocodile Hunter, and this ESPN ad is a hoot.

Wow

No blogging for a week! Probably a record. Things are just busy - lots of traveling and visiting for the past month. Now, we've got to get our homeschool groove going. Add to that a cat that bugs me WHILE I'm at the computer, and a "v" key that won't work, and a "c" key that repeats. Oye.

I must mention that I loved the Crocodile Hunter, and this ESPN ad is a hoot.

Have I ever told you ...

That I love Metallica?

I'm Joining

I'm joining the Public School teachers and their strike. I'm done.

Homeschooling: the wages suck, and you can blame the student's bad behavior on anyone else but yourself.

Oh, yea, and the "principal" doesn't get home until 6:30.

Striking, "For the Kids"

Nothing says "it's not about the money, it's about education" like marching with signs that read:

Hands off my benefits

Yet, you can always count on at least one striker making the asinine comment. This time, it was veteran teacher Audrey Gates:

"It's not about money in our pockets, it's about teaching these kid."

For the sake of the children, of course. Because, you know it really makes a difference to the students if your insurance co-pay goes up.

Articles are stressing that the teacher's want a 5% pay increase, which isn't exactly the case. They want complete protection of their benifits, and a 5% pay increase each year for the next three years. I went to Detroit public schools, but I think 5+5+5=15%.

You'd have to live on another planet to not know that Detroit is broke, and that health insurance costs have gone through the roof. Detroit schools have been bleeding students for years, resulting in a bloated system serving a diminishing student body.

Yet, the public employees believe they deserve more. Keep repeating that teacher's don't make enough, and some fool will believe it. Teacher's in Detroit with a Master's degree can make $70,046. Not exactly second-rate pay.

Perhaps unspoken is WHY they believe they deserve higher pay (because it certainly isn't for the superior product they turn out.) One striking teacher, though, let the honesty seep through after a fight broke out between two girls during registration:

"I need a raise at least as an incentive to come back to this," Dianne Brown-McDuell, an English teacher at Denby, said after witnessing the fight.

Maybe she's got a point. Could we earmark it as "hazard pay?"