I WIN!

I win I win! I won Rob's Rob goes to Court contest by correctly answering a bunch of unknowable questions. So, I get TWO tins of Scott's Survival Spice. I am so excited.

New link

Right there on the top of my link list-------> see it? I got an email from my bil in Baghdad, and he informed me it was his commander's blog. So, up it goes. Last word I heard was that he would be leaving Iraq right around New Year's day.

I deleted a couple- ASV is gone, as are a few more that looked like they had been abandoned by their Author (so sad, poor abandoned blogs.) I would like to know what's the deal with Shape of Days which doesn't appear to have an actual POST, just a new appearance.

Yes, indeed

Jawa Report highlights this:

The LA Times’ Dennis Prager asks five simple questions of law abiding Muslims.
(1) Why are you so quiet?
(2) Why are none of the Palestinian terrorists Christian?
(3) Why is only one of the 47 Muslim-majority countries a free country?
(4) Why are so many atrocities committed and threatened by Muslims in the name of Islam?
(5) Why do countries governed by religious Muslims persecute other religions?

The Dennis Prager article can be found here.

Usually, when these types of questions are asked, the peanut gallery points out that Christians have a spotty history themselves. Granted. But that is HISTORY. Let's try to live in the present.

Detroit

From Jayne, in comments:

Little late to comment on this, but, I heard on 3 local radio shows that Kwame is being seriously looked at as a future big contender for the Democrats nationally. Bad for the country and the democrats, but good for Detroit as they could get rid of him. Also, has anyone mentioned the fact that Kwame, Jesse, and Farrakan used the Rosa Parks ceremony for a campaign event for Kwame? And how Detroit chuches seem immune to losing their tax exempt status in spite of holding campaign speeches regularly? Detroit is corrupt, and everyone has heard about it with the exception of the two Levins, Conyers, and Granholm.
One more thing. Pictures of Detroit would be great. You should do that. Have you ever been to the site Detroit Funk? He has pictures of Detroit decay at his site.

Kwame would be a horrible choice. All image, absolutely NO substance. He went to a nothing college, and never existed outside of politics (someone PLEASE tell me, but I think he got his first political job by taking his mother's place.) Really, I'm a Republican to the bone, but I wouldn't wish Kwame on them.

I was ON the Rosa Parks bus yesterday (it is housed at a wonderful museum called "The Henry Ford" - a local treasure, and national gem.) As I mentioned before, I question the timing of Parks death - it certainly provided a wonderful platform for Kwame to politic and pander. I get pretty sick of hearing out awful and racist all whites are, as I sat on that bus, filled with white people listening to the details of Rosa's bus ride. It was a Sunday afternoon, and there wasn't a black person in the entire museum. WHY is that? In a city that is 85% black, why wasn't there any black people there at all?

I think I will do the Detroit pictures, but I will have to figure out a better method than using Flickr. Once I tackle that ...

Go see

This

The latest from France

No-Parasan passes along all the lastest information from France.

(snicker)

Today's parenting strategy

La la la, I don't hear you...

Sigh

Detroit reelected it's corrupt, hip-hop mayor. You can always count on those dem voters to give a guy another chance. Especially one who uses race politics to convince the people that he is blacker than his challenger.

Coleman Young served for five consecutive terms in Detroit; driving the city into the cesspool it became, while enriching his friends. This is the tradition young Kwame hopes to follow.

Kwame Kilpatrick! Not good news for the city, but a good time to be one of his friends!

(how's that for a slogan?)

Mauvais Chien!

DSC00484
Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

Paris riots don't exist on HuffPo Blog

At least I couldn't find a single reference to them. Not ONE of the HuffPo blow-hards could squeeze out a few lines regarding the riots in France? I mean, there are acceptable angles to the story from a liberal standpoint (poverty, racism), but that would mean the French would be the perpetrators- not Bushitler, Rove, and right-wing Republicans. Upon making this discovery, evidently Huffpo bloggers get a bad case of writers block.

Predictions

I'm hoping NRO's John J Miller is right- this from The Corner:

And in a city close to my own heart, I'm anticipating a small piece of good news: In the mayoral race, Freman Hendrix (D) will oust incumbent Kwame Kilpatrick (D), a man with a wonderfully alliterative melting-pot name but also a fellow who has cared more about taxpayer-funded private parties than improving a city that still needs a lot of help.

The Riots, day 12

I find this curious:

The nightly protests against racism and unemployment dropped markedly in the greater Paris region, where violence had increased to the point of shooting at police, but continued unabated in other cities

What better means to eliminate people's racist opinions of you than to burn, loot, and create violent mayhem? "You know, I used to have ill-thoughts about Mohammad, but ever since he burned down my store, and torched my car I've seen the light. I think I'll hire him!"

Also, what does it mean that the protests are down, but violence has increased? I think I'd prefer the protests to violence, but that's just me.

The renewed violence followed a warning by Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin that he would take a firm line against lawbreakers.

I hear Villepin is considering making it illegal to burn and loot. I don't know if he's considering the ultimate sentence - actual JAILING- but I'm hoping it's being considered. Nice to hear they are getting serious about this.

In the early days of the riots, I saw a report (most likely on Foxnews) that the French were proud that no one had been hurt, because the French police have non-lethal methods of dealing with the rioters. And - I'm thinking- perhaps if they had a FEW semi-lethal methods, the riots wouldn't be spreading across Europe like wildfire.

Amazing disappearing post pt 3

And the dumbest EVER use of the race card ...

Goes to "Steve Reifman", lawyer to Detroit City Clerk Jackie Currie :

"We feel all this is a violation of civil rights and the ability of black people to vote," Steve Reifman told The Detroit News.

What is the violation? Well, since a ruling has been made that Currie has been breaking state law in her handling (stress on the word handling) of absentee ballots, and supervision of "ambassadors" who aid the elder and disabled while voting, the State Bureau of Elections wants to "oversee" the absentee voting practices in tomorrow's election.

Can someone explain to me exactly WHERE the violation of civil rights of blacks is occurring. Black people can't vote because ....?? The funniest thing, is that the city of Detroit is 80% black. They have been in power in Detroit for as longs as I can remember. Besides, absentee ballots are not a "black thing" (as far as I know)- so by "disenfranchising" them would be equalized across race lines. Overseeing the handling of absentee ballots sure is a far cry from disenfranchisement anyhoo. This woman is just beyond corrupt, and willing to do just about anything to retain her position (and salary.)

I Report, You Decide

Poster-boy for Michael Moore or lying sack of excrement?

Same-sex marriage won't affect heteros

That is the claim made by advocates for same-sex marriage; that concerns that it will degrade traditional marriage are unsubstantiated, ridiculous, and (of course) homophobic. But then there is thisgoing on in the Great White North, where same-sex marriage was legalized in June:

When male-female marriage and same-sex marriage become equal in the eyes of the law, treating them differently becomes discrimination. In Canada, "privileging" male-female marriage in any way is now a violation of human rights. According to Henry, "Canadians who believe in the historic definition of marriage, who believe that children need a mother and father, are now the legal equivalent of racists."

Today, Canada is combing through its laws and institutions to remove evidence of heterosexist discrimination. Terms such as husband and wife are now forbidden across the spectrum of Canadian law and government programs. The legal meaning of parenthood is being transformed, with consequences no one can predict.

Henry says Canadian schools are becoming battlegrounds. "Children will have to be taught about homosexual acts in health class, as they now are about heterosexual acts. Books that promote same-sex marriage are being introduced in some elementary schools. In one action, complainants have demanded 'positive queer role models' across the whole curriculum. If parents complain, they'll be branded as homophobes." Sound farfetched? People who disagree with same-sex marriage risk charges of hate speech. In British Columbia, teacher Chris Kempling has been found guilty -- and disciplined -- for defending male-female marriage in newspaper opinion pieces. Henry himself has been hauled before the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal for promoting traditional marriage in his pastoral letters. "The human rights tribunals have become like thought police," he says. "In Canada, you can now use the coercive powers of the state to silence opposition."

What begins as an argument for "equal rights for all", opens the door for an entire cultural revolution. The merits of gay marriage aside, this issue isn't just about equal rights. There should be a bit more honesty in the debate.

Amazing disappearing post pt 1

Amazing disappearing post pt 2

Harsh words for the president

From Mister Snitch

Accused of changing the rationale for 'his' war, and hounded for mismanaging it. Derided as an uninspiring public speaker. Belittled as an idiot. Blamed for dividing the nation. Charged with incompetence in his administration. Accused of trampling on the Constitution. Engaged in censorship and manipulation of the press. Mockingly compared with lower primates. Pressured for a key Cabinet Advisor's resignation. Of course, we're referring to Lincoln.

I guess with his low approval numbers, old Abe really sucked as a president too?

Offered without comment

From The New York Sun via Instapundit

Back in the 1990s, the French sneered at America for the Los Angeles riots. As the Chicago Sun-Times reported in 1992: "the consensus of French pundits is that something on the scale of the Los Angeles riots could not happen here, mainly because France is a more humane, less racist place with a much stronger commitment to social welfare programs." President Mitterrand, the Washington Post reported in 1992, blamed the riots on the "conservative society" that Presidents Reagan and Bush had created and said France is different because it "is the country where the level of social protection is the highest in the world."

Don't cry for me ...

According to the AP thousands are protesting Bush's visit to Latin America:

The protesters' voice inside the summit meeting room will be Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the leftist leader who opposes Bush's economic model. He arrived early Friday vowing to stop the stalled Free Trade Area of the Americas or FTAA.

"I think we came here to bury FTAA. I brought my shovel," Chavez told reporters.

Chavez is due to speak at an alternative Peoples' Summit at midday before the two-day meeting of leaders begins in the afternoon.

Yea - Good luck with that. Chavez is a fan of "Bolivarianism":

Thus Chávez proclaimed that "a new type of socialism, a humanist one, which puts humans and not machines or the state ahead of everything."[ He later reiterated this in a February 26 speech at the 4th Summit on the Social Debt held in Caracas. To charges from business leaders that Chávez is eroding private property rights, and from the Roman Catholic cardinal that he was becoming a dictator, he said that Venezuelans must choose between "capitalism, which is the road to hell, or socialism, for those who want to build the kingdom of God here on earth."

Yes, all those socialist paradises I read so often about. Give me Hell.

Friday

DSC00462
Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

LOOK, A cute CAT! (This is how blogging should be done on Friday, since the internets are dead dead dead.)

Word of the day

There are Oreos and then there are Oreos!

And what's the deal with the Heil Hitler picture they used of Steele?

One more time-

Miniter on the Civilian Iraqi body count:

When I investigated the 100,000 dead-civilians claim, I was surprised at how quickly it fell apart. The 100,000 figure is based on a single study in a British medical journal published just days before the 2004 elections. The authors were open about their anti-Bush bias. They got the 100,000 by knocking on doors in 33 neighborhoods across Iraq. They simply asked Iraqis how many civilian deaths they knew about. They did not take any steps to avoid double counting. They didn't demand any proof, such as a funeral notice or a newspaper clipping. Instead they decided to just trust Iraqis to give them straight dope. So if you interview Baghdad Bob you know what kind of answers you're going to get. In that chapter, I also uncovered four other major technical flaws with that study. The 100,000 dead civilians claim is provably false.

Even Iraq Body Count puts the number between 26,797 and (max) 30,163. To end-run the objections to that number, have a look at the profiles of the "Contacts and Team Members" who run the site: it is filled with self-proclaimed Peace Activists and the like.

One lie at a time.

A puzzle

Jeff is fucking with us. Anyone know what it means?

Buy me this book

There are actually two books on my "must have" list. The first is one by Peter Schweizer called Do As I Say (Not as I do). It profiles 11 prominent liberals and exposes them as hypocrites (not living they life they so strongly advocate for us "little people".) I found the Publisher's Weekly review rather humorous:

many of his charges are egregiously hyperbolic, as when he suggests that Cornel West is a "segregationist" because he bought a home in a largely Caucasian suburb. Schweizer clearly knows the limitations of his argument, since he backpedals from many of his most damning statements in his closing remarks. For all its revelations, in the end, this volume reads less like a critique of liberal philosophy than a catalogue of ammunition for ad hominem bloggers.

I think I know the way THAT reviewer voted in '04. Anyway, onto the fun stuff! Here is some of the funny revealed in the book:

Michael Moore owns 2000 shares of Halliburton stock! SAY IT ISN'T SO, oh champion of the little people, and slayer of Halliburton

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who proclaims her support for unions, yet the luxury resort, the vineyard and the restaurants she partly owns are strictly non-union. While she advocates tough new laws enforcing environmental regulations on the private sector, the exclusive country club she partly owns failed to comply with existing environmental regulations for the past eight years – including a failure to protect endangered species.

Noam Chomsky has made a reputation for calling America a police state and branding the Pentagon "the most hideous institution on earth," yet his entire academic career, writes Schweizer, has been subsidized by the U.S. military.

Barbra Streisand is another proponent of environmentalism, yet she drives an SUV, lives in a mansion and has a $22,000 annual water bill. In the past, she has driven to appointments in Beverly Hills in a motor home because of her aversion to using public bathrooms.

Ralph Nader plays the role of the citizen avenger – the populist uninterested in wealth and materialism, pretending to live in a modest apartment. In fact, he lives in fancy homes registered in the names of his siblings.

Thanks to the Mayor, who directed me to this article which had highlights from the book.

The other book I really really really want (and will probably get first) is Richard Miniter's Disinformation: 22 Media Myths that Undermine the War on Terror. He's been interviewed just about everywhere in the last week or so, so I've been totally pumped and primed to get my hands on the book. Maybe I need to take a little trip out today?

Goodbye

DSC00467
Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

Puce, Ontario. Family cottage for over 50 years.

Obviously...

DSC00466
Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

Greta and Iggie hate each other.

Fall in Michigan

DSC00482
Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

I'll be posting just a few pictures I took the last few days. The color on this tree (although I have a hard time calling these Japanese miniatures "trees") is just amazing. It only partly comes out in this picture.

I can't keep up

Life is interfering with my hobby - so until I can digest all that's occurred in the last two days, don't expect much more than cat pictures. Tomorrow looks good. I have to figure out what the deal is with this Rule 21 maneuver.

Religion of Peace Update

It appears that conversion at the sword continues:

Men in black clothes and masks beheaded three teenage Christian girls on Saturday in eastern Indonesia as they walked to school near the Muslim town of Poso, officials said. 

For those unsure - Christians were the victims and Mulsims were the murderers.

Must read

By the always interesting, always informative Amir Taheri:

This fake Islamic hijab is nothing but a political prop, a weapon of visual terrorism. It is the symbol of a totalitarian ideology inspired more by Nazism and Communism than by Islam. It is as symbolic of Islam as the Mao uniform was of Chinese civilization. It is used as a means of exerting pressure on Muslim women who do not wear it because they do not share the sick ideology behind it. It is a sign of support for extremists who wish to impose their creed, first on Muslims, and then on the entire world through psychological pressure, violence, terror, and, ultimately, war. The tragedy is that many of those who wear it are not aware of its implications. They do so because they have been brainwashed into believing that a woman cannot be a ''good Muslim'' without covering her head with the Sadr-designed hijab.

Here in Detroit, the sight of the Hijab on Arab and African American women isn't that rare . And I detest it. It's nice to know that I'm not being intolerant of religion. Especially interesting to discover was that this symbol (in the West) of Islam is an invention that dates back to (only) 1977.

H/t: Protein Wisdom- which had a kind of interesting discussion on this before it got ... sidetracked.

What media bias?

What the New York Times printed:

Another member of the 1/5, Cpl. Jeffrey B. Starr, rejected a $24,000 bonus to re-enlist. Corporal Starr believed strongly in the war, his father said, but was tired of the harsh life and nearness of death in Iraq. So he enrolled at Everett Community College near his parents' home in Snohomish, Wash., planning to study psychology after his enlistment ended in August.

But he died in a firefight in Ramadi on April 30 during his third tour in Iraq. He was 22.

Sifting through Corporal Starr's laptop computer after his death, his father found a letter to be delivered to the marine's girlfriend. ''I kind of predicted this,'' Corporal Starr wrote of his own death. ''A third time just seemed like I'm pushing my chances.''

The complete thought:

"Obviously if you are reading this then I have died in Iraq. I kind of predicted this, that is why I'm writing this in November. A third time just seemed like I'm pushing my chances. I don't regret going, everybody dies but few get to do it for something as important as freedom. It may seem confusing why we are in Iraq, it's not to me. I'm here helping these people, so that they can live the way we live. Not have to worry about tyrants or vicious dictators. To do what they want with their lives. To me that is why I died. Others have died for my freedom, now this is my mark."

It appears that this would be the response to Saint Cindy who keeps saying she just wants George Bush to tell her what is the "Noble Cause" her son fought for. Apparently Cpl. Starr knew why he was fighting. Nothing makes me madder than the accusations (by Cindy and company) that these MEN are naive simpletons blindly following orders for a cause they do not understand. They, better than any, understand what this is about.

h/t: Michelle Malkin

All together now ...

"All we are saying, is give peace a chance ..."

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has dismissed international condemnation of his call for Israel to be "wiped off the map", saying his controversial remarks were "right and just."

The official IRNA news agency quoted Mr. Ahmadinejad Friday as saying international scorn had no validity. He said his words express the views of the Iranian people.

Tens of thousands of Iranians staged anti-Israel protests across the country today, trampling on Israeli and American flags and chanting "death to Israel."

The latest events came amid Israeli calls for Iran's expulsion from the United Nations. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Thursday the rights of all states in the Middle East to live in peace will top the agenda of his upcoming visit to Iran.

We need to understand the Iranians and how our imperialism has led them to have these feelings. It is, after all, our fault. They are obviously our moral superior and deserving of a seat on the UN. Yes, the US and Israel could learn a lot from Iran. We should be ashamed of ourselves.

Cat Funny

By that cat blogging fellow over at This blog is full of crap. The first one is my favorite.

New book

NRO's Kathryn Lopez interviews the author of Do As I Say (Not As I Do), and comes up with this nugget:

One overarching kinda question: We all have our moments of hypocrisy. That we don't practice what we preach doesn't make what we preach any less valid. People are human, etc. Is there something about your book that is somewhat fundamentally unfair?


Schweizer: Yes, we are all hypocrites and I talk about that in the book. But liberal hypocrisy and conservative hypocrisy are quite different on two accounts. First, you hear about conservative hypocrisy all the time. A pro-family congressman caught in an extramarital affair, a minister caught in the same. This stuff is exposed by the media all the time. The leaders of the liberal-Left get a complete pass on their hypocrisy. Second, and this is even more important, the consequences of liberal hypocrisy are different than for the conservative variety. When conservatives abandon their principles and become hypocrites, they end up hurting themselves and their families. Conservative principles are like guard rails on a winding road. They are irritating but fundamentally good for you. Liberal hypocrisy is the opposite. When the liberal-left abandon their principles and become hypocrites, they actually improve their lives. Their kids end up in better schools, they have more money, and their families are more content. Their ideas are truly that bad.

You have to read the entire interview, which highlights the hypocricy of the paragons of liberal virture such as Michael Moore, Al Franken, and Noam Chomsky.

snort

WHEN will it end??? Arianna leads with "Plamegate: Worse than Watergate." Someone has sunk so deep into partisan politics, I doubt she could tell her head from her ass.

Useful Idiots

Some tool over on HuffPo wrote a long piece about why he's going to get himself arrested, with Saint Cindy today, in commemoration of the 2000th death. He gives his reasons for protest, and I found this one interesting:

* Anger -- I'm extremely angry. A gang of criminals blatantly lied to the world about the reasons for the slaughter. There could be no acceptable reasons for such a thing, but I would be less angry -- I think -- or it would be a very different anger if they had given honest reasons and my compatriots had accepted them. Instead they told lies. They concocted stories. They forged documents! And many of us knew they were lying. They weren't even so much lying as going through the motions of lying -- this was the level of their arrogance. This sort of arrogance may never before have seen its match outside of the profession of journalism -- a profession about which I am too angry to speak.

It is sentence number three that I find so interesting. There could be no acceptable reasons for such a thing. All the screaming and accusations "Bush lied, people died" are just a cover for the fact that many of these people are against war for any purposes. They truly believe that peaceful solutions can be found for any and all situations. That, perhaps, OBL can be sat down and talked to. Besides, isn't is our OWN fault that he did what he did? Didn't we cause 9/11 indirectly? Well, that's what I learned from Chomsky.

You know, I would really REALLY like to see some peacenik sitting down with an Islamic fascist, and the two having a go at the peace process.

292,131

That was the US cost of life fighting against Fascism and Japanese Imperialism in WWII.

Tomorrow, there will be gatherings across the US to commemorate passing the 2000th American military death in Iraq. One such gathering will be just a mile or so from my house. Will I be there? I just might be.

You're all imbeciles

I USED to be an imbecile, but then I read the wise, wise words of Cenk Uygur, and now I'm a new person! Who would have thought the Huffington Post could have such a sage of wisdom?

George W. Bush is the most powerful man alive. He is a class A imbecile. He is far less intelligent than the average Christian. But like most of the others, he believes Jesus died for his sins. That idea is so perverse and devoid of logic it should shock the conscience. Instead, it gets him elected, and earns him the reverence of a great percentage of America. America! The most advanced country in the world -- run by a bunch of villagers who still believe Santa Claus is going to save them.

There is no damn Easter Bunny. There is no Jesus waiting to return. Moses never even existed. These were all convenient lies from the men of those times to gain power. Their actions were rational -- they wanted to deceive their brethren so that they could amass power. I get their motivations. But I cannot, for the life of me, understand our motivations, thousands of years later, still following the conmen of yesteryear into our gory, bloody, violent end.

Jesus is said to have said on the cross, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" Because Jesus was insane and the God he thought would rescue him did not exist. And he died on that cross like a fool. He fancied himself the son of God and he could barely convince twelve men to follow him at a time when the world was full of superstition.

Of course, you must read it all (link in title of post.) Or not. What an arrogant asshole.

What is happening to me?

Nielsen's top 20 shows for last week :

1 CSI (never watched this show ever.)

2 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (watched for half of last year, then got kinda bored)

3 WITHOUT A TRACE (I have seen one or two episodes of this show.)

4 LOST (In my" top 3"- 24, Battlestar Galactica, Lost.)

5 GREY'S ANATOMY (Never watched.)

6 CSI: MIAMI (never watched.)

7 NCIS (I've never even heard of this show)

8 COMMANDER IN CHIEF (refuse to watch)

9 SURVIVOR: GUATEMALA (Never ever watched.)

10 60 MINUTES (You're joking, right? I think the last time I watched of of these, I was still in high school, which - trust me on this - was a long time ago.)

11 NFL MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (Well, this is often ON in my house, but I don't watch it personally.)

12 LAW AND ORDER:SVU (If I'm awake, and it's on, I will watch.)

13 CSI: NY (Never watched.)

14 TWO AND A HALF MEN (Never watched.)

15 EXTREME MAKEOVER:HOME ED. (I've seen this once or twice.)

16 E.R. (occasionally watch.)

17 COLD CASE (Don't watch.)

18 FOX MLB LCS: GMS 1&2(S) (You don't need me to respond to this one, do you?)

19 CRIMINAL MINDS (Never watched, never heard of it.)

20 MLB DIV : AL (see #18.)

Anyway - I'm going to be one of those Nielsen's households in a few weeks. I'm gonna try to shake things up. Just wait, Battlestar will be #1!

Teaching our kids to be good little Muslims

File this under "YGTBFKM"*:

For three weeks, impressionable twelve-year-old students were, among other things, placed into Islamic city groups, took Islamic names, wore identification tags that displayed their new Islamic name and the Star and Crescent Moon, which is the symbol of Muslims, were handed materials that instructed them to “Remember Allah always so that you may prosper,” completed the Islamic Five Pillars of Faith, including fasting, and memorized and recited the “Bismillah” or “In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate,” which students also wrote on banners that were hung on the classroom walls.

Of course, there is a court case, and it started yesterday. What were they thinking? A kid can't even sing "Silent Night" in a school's "Holiday Concert" now-a-days, yet they were spending three weeks indoctrinating them on Islam.

*You got to be f-ing kidding me.

Huh?

This from Black Panther leader Malik Zulu Shabazz:

We are here to say clearly, and we got proof, that black people are the original people of the planet Earth.
That you are, black man and black woman, the original man and the original woman on the face of the planet Earth — there is no question about it. Huh? We were just watchin’ TV tonight and they went back and said they made a mistake. That they had the first Homo sapiens, was from Ethiopia, come from the word ethiops, meaning from the land of the black and the burnt-skinned people. That they found the oldest human Homo sapien, and Ethiopia, they thought he was a hundred and sixty thousand years old, but they say they made a 35,000-year-old mistake. Two hundred thousand years old! The Homo sapien, the progenitor of the modern human. Then they went back in Africa — I said Africa — Don’t care what they say about Africa, let me tell you about Africa — that they came and they said that they found the oldest fossils of the human ancestors and years ago, uh, L.S.B. Leakey and others gave her a date, they called her “Lucy”, the skeletal remains, and gave her a birthdate of two million years old. Then they went back and found another ancestor, uh, of THAT, uh, progenitor, and found an ancestor THREE million years old! FOUR million years old! They cannot find the origin of the black man and the black woman. (“That’s right!”) You know why? It’s because we are without origin. And we are without father and without mother. We are the original people on the planet — we are the responsible for the existence of the white race! (Applause.)

Iraqi Flashback

Went reading and found these "pre-election" thoughts over at Iraq the Model, written by Mohammed:

I am so excited but a flashback from Saddam’s referendum three years ago still hurts; he wanted a 100% as the 99.96% of the previous one shocked the dictator. I was depressed that way and I decided not to go to the voting office and so did the rest of the family but my father was afraid that not going could be dangerous.
He said that maybe one member of the family could go alone and cast votes for the rest of us. We looked at each other thinking who’s going to volunteer to do this ugly job to protect the family. At that moment my father said “it was my generation that caused the misery we’re living in so I’m the one who should do this”.
I couldn’t stop him and I couldn’t utter a word but I felt sad for him; his sacrifice was big and I had teary eyes when I watched him taking our papers and heading out.

It is different this time father, no more 100% and a ‘no’ would make me happy just like a ’yes’ would do and no one ever will force us to do something against our will anymore.
Tomorrow will be another day for Iraqi bravery. May God protect you my people…you have suffered so much and you will still be suffering for some time but I am sure the future will be bright.
God bless you my people and all the freedom lovers who keep sacrificing to make this world a better place.

Mohammed also wrote about finding a leaflet on his door the morning of the vote - that urged him to vote "no" because the constitution was a "Zionist plot." Heh, I never tire of that joke.

I forgot my "Anniversary"

Anyhoo, this blog was a year old a few days ago. OBVIOUSLY, in celebration, I've spent the last few days so drunk I couldn't even post.

Yea, something like that.

The plans laid bare

Al-Zarqawi gives his four point plan:

So we must think for a long time about our next steps and how we want to attain it, and it is my humble opinion that the Jihad in Iraq requires several incremental goals:

The first stage: expel the Americans from Iraq.

The second stage: Establish an Islamic authority or amirate, then develop it and support it until it achieves the level of a caliphate over as much territory as you can to spread its power in Iraq, i.e., in Sunni areas, is in order to fill the void stemming from the departure of the Americans, immediately upon their exit and before un-Islamic forces attempt to fill this void, whether those whom the Americans will leave behind them, or those among the un-Islamic forces who will ... jump at taking power.

There is no doubt that this amirate will enter into a fierce struggle with the foreign infidel forces, and those supporting them among the local forces, to put it in a state of constant preoccupation with defending itself, to make it impossible for it to establish a stable state which could proclaim a caliphate, and to keep the Jihadist groups in a constant state of war, until these forces find a chance to annihilate them.

The third stage: Extend the jihad wave to the secular countries neighboring Iraq.

The fourth stage: It may coincide with what came before: the clash with Israel, because Israel was established only to challenge any new Islamic entity.

My raising this idea — I don't claim that it's infallible — is only to stress something extremely important. And it is that the mujahedeen must not have their mission end with the expulsion of the Americans from Iraq, and then lay down their weapons, and silence the fighting zeal. We will return to having the secularists and traitors holding sway over us. Instead, their ongoing mission is to establish an Islamic State, and defend it, and for every generation to hand over the banner to the one after it until the Hour of Resurrection.

So, lemme sum it up. Kick Americans out of Iraq, set up Islamic state in Iraq, take over the neighboring countries, and finally eliminate Isreal. Can someone email this little list to Cindy Sheehan and clue her in on what her son died for?

h/t :well, this is all over the news, but I got this part from one of Ace's posts.

ACKKKKK!!!

They killed my PHLOX.

Word to lawn people. If you DON'T know what it is, DON'T fricken touch it.

I'm gonna be sick.

Dumb and Dumber

One of the absolutely stupidest theories out there is that the World Train Center wasn't attacked by Islamic Fundamentalists. Theories as to what happened are, as they said in the X-Files are "out there" - but mostly are found among two groups; muslim and liberal. This from from The New York Post

Hicks does not like the term "conspiracy theory" because, he says, "That assumes it's wrong or not credible."

"I think there is a wealth of alternative knowledge out there that the American people are being kept away from," he told me.

So I ask if the Muslim world is off the hook for 9/11. He said, "Arab rage is a factor" in terror. "But the CIA is smart enough to know this, and to use that rage.

"The Arab community didn't benefit from 9/11. It was Bush and Co."

WAIT, I know this song ....

Around the corner and a million miles away from the yuppie leftists of Vox Pop, Coney Island Avenue hosts a large Pakistani community. It would seem to have little in common with the cafe — until you get people talking.
Men gathered at the Subhan restaurant don't hesitate to say 9/11 is a government-sponsored atrocity.
"They want to go for oil, for war," said Majid, who asked that his last name not be printed. "The government, they don't care how many people can die. America does everything for its own behalf. Bush is evil."

SEE, I told you I had heard this before! It's been a chart topper for the liberal moonbats for the last 4 years.

Majid, a 43-year-old cabdriver, is an American citizen.

Wesley Sohail, 14, told me the kids discuss 9/11 attacks, and our government's culpability, in school.
"We don't think they brought the buildings down, we think they let it happen," he said. He said his teachers agree.

HIS TEACHER AGREE. Did you catch that? His teachers agree that Bushhitler allowed it to happen. Anyone need some info on home schooling?

H/t: Alarming News

The Mayor's Mammatus

They are CLOUDS, of course, go see 'em here. They are really cool.

Here's to hope

Optimism is the word for today:

The quake shook the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan, where bin Laden is believed to be hiding. However, authorities at this point have no information indicating he's been injured or killed, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the information's sensitivity.

Wouldn't that be the f-ing hand of God?

Update : Leo's complete response to my post.

just wow

FIGHT OF THE DRAGONFLY

Religion of Peace Update

In an interview, Abu Bakar Bashire gives advice to George W. Bush:

What can the West, especially the US, do to make the world more peaceful?
They have to stop fighting Islam. That's impossible because is sunnatullah [destiny, a law of nature], as Allah has said in the Koran. If they want to have peace, they have to accept to be governed by Islam.

As long as there is no intention to fight us and Islam continues to grow there can be peace. This is the doctrine of Islam. Islam can't be ruled by others. Allah's law must stand above human law. There is no [example] of Islam and infidels, the right and the wrong, living together in peace.

What, no mention of Israel? No indictment of US support for corrupt Arab regimes? No, this cuts it to the quick, doesn't it?

H/t: Little Green Footballs.

Related

From Mark Steyn:

I found myself behind a car in Vermont, in the US, the other day; it had a one-word bumper sticker with the injunction "COEXIST". It's one of those sentiments beloved of Western progressives, one designed principally to flatter their sense of moral superiority. The C was the Islamic crescent, the O was the hippie peace sign, the X was the Star of David and the T was the Christian cross. Very nice, hard to argue with. But the reality is, it's the first of those symbols that has a problem with coexistence. Take the crescent out of the equation and you wouldn't need a bumper sticker at all. Indeed, coexistence is what the Islamists are at war with; or, if you prefer, pluralism, the idea that different groups can rub along together within the same general neighbourhood. There are many trouble spots across the world but, as a general rule, even if one gives no more than a cursory glance at the foreign pages, it's easy to guess at least one of the sides: Muslims v Jews in Palestine, Muslims v Hindus in Kashmir, Muslims v Christians in Nigeria, Muslims v Buddhists in southern Thailand, Muslims v (your team here). Whatever one's views of the merits on a case by case basis, the ubiquitousness of one team is a fact.

The left is "atwitter"

Is "atwitter" a word? My spellcheck isn't bumping it, so I'm going with it.

I was over at Unbearable Bobness a bit ago, and he is just oozing with glee over all the criminal indictments he, and the left, imagine are going to lead to the ruin of the Republican Party. In an effort to edjumacate, I offer this I stole from Powerline:

Abrams: Thanks for coming back on the program. I haven't even had a chance to look at this indictment. Tell me what it's about.

DeGuerin: I haven't seen it either, but I'll tell you what happened. Earlier today, a motion was filed that spelled out for Ronnie Earle in terms that even he could even understand that there is no such thing as a conspiracy to violate the Texas election code. So the original indictment doesn't charge a crime. So I guess this is his reaction that he had to rush back to the grand jury and charge some other crime.

Abrams: So you think literally, today, today, he went to a grand jury in the afternoon and got an indictment on money laundering that quickly?

DeGuerin: Apparently, after all the motions spelled out there's no conspiracy to violate the election code. It's just real clear, there's no such crime. So apparently in response to that, he rushed before another grand jury.

Abrams: And again, and and we've talked about this before, you appreciate how severe the allegation that you're making against the district attorney is. The notion that this district attorney went to a grand jury in response to you filing a legal motion and as a result, got a grand jury to indict your client is a very serious allegation.

DeGuerin: I think that's exactly what happened, Dan. And make no bones about it, if you look at what we filed, it's just clear as a bell. There's no conspiracy to violate the Texas election code. Ronnie Earle should have known that before they issued the first indictment, but this is apparently like a band-aid, some kind of patchwork to make up for the fact that they issued an indictment for something that's not a crime first.
***************************

Abrams: Dick, how do you expect to be able to defend two different charges? Are you going to attack both in the same manner, meaning to basically allege, it sounds like you're doing now, that this is political.

DeGuerin: No, what I said to you, Dan, is the first charge just won't hold water. It is not a crime and it's astounding to me that a district attorney who's been in office for 27 years to get a grand jury to return an indictment for something that's not a crime. All he had to do was look at the books a little bit and he'd learn that. And I suppose that -- earlier today, his reaction was, I'll just go get another indictment for something else.

Interesting stuff.

tidbit

Much discussion regarding the Bill Bennett comment last week. Opinion Journal had an interesting post about it, but really, I found this nugget cut right to the heart of the matter:

It is a fact that blacks in America have a far higher violent crime rate than nonblacks. MediaMatters and politically correct folks everywhere do not want you to think about this fact, at least if you are white. But which is a bigger problem, the fact itself or white people's thinking about it?

As to the "whys" and "what can we do about it" question - go a few posts down, and go read the Murray article.

And now...

For something completely different:

The Shining in 30 seconds performed by bunnies.

The Shining movie trailer if it were a warm family movie.

Dave brought it up over the weekend, and it made me go searching for the bunny version. This is kind of a THEME post.

As if Mondays weren't bad enough

Now there is this to chew on. The BBC had a "fantasy leadership" poll and these were the results:

1 - Nelson Mandela
2 - Bill Clinton
3 - Dalai Lama
4 - Noam Chomsky (pictured)
5 - Alan Greenspan
6 - Bill Gates
7 - Steve Jobs
8 - Archbishop Desmond Tutu
9 - Richard Branson
10 - George Soros
11 - Kofi Annan

I have this fantasy, where people are asked to contemplate a "world government" - and they go running for their guns. NOAM CHOMSKY? WTF is up with that?

Bush ranked 43rd - right below Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez.

Charles Murray in Opinion Journal

Often I don't read blogs over the weekend, which means I miss interesting discussions. So, I missed one over at Ace's, and now it's simply too late to join in. Charles Murray wrote in the Wall Street Journal on Poverty, Katrina, the underclass, and illegitimacy:

The government hasn't a clue. Versions of every program being proposed in the aftermath of Katrina have been tried before and evaluated. We already know that the programs are mismatched with the characteristics of the underclass. Job training? Unemployment in the underclass is not caused by lack of jobs or of job skills, but by the inability to get up every morning and go to work. A homesteading act? The lack of home ownership is not caused by the inability to save money from meager earnings, but because the concept of thrift is alien. You name it, we've tried it. It doesn't work with the underclass.

Word. Never discussed in issues of poverty and employment is the taboo idea that the "underclass" often has a strong dislike of working. Of showing up on time. Of determining what is a legitimate reason for not going in to work (extremely sick child) versus a non-legitimate (friend was having a party.)

The meat of the article, though, addresses the single-parent crises in the black community. Ace's discussion turns more toward the promiscuity of society in general. It's ironic that the liberal mentality of free love has lead this major social problem, the onus of which is blamed on the conservatives and their lack of compassion. Round and round it goes.

Excusese, excuses

I know I should post - it's been since Wednesday. But, I have great excuses. First of all, I've been off reading other people's blogs. Why post when someone else is making my point?

My second excuse - I've been busy. Kids, etc, and now I have about 6 hostas on my front porch that I need to plant. I don't even know where to put them, but they are loverly. I also got a hydrangea. Oh, I'm so excited.

Fashion news

Fox news reports :

Vivienne Westwood has launched a line of T-shirts to take a stand against proposed anti-terror legislation.

"I am not a terrorist. Please don't arrest me," says one T-shirt, which Westwood designed to raise funds for Liberty, one of Britain's largest civil rights organizations.

Of course, if you want to take a stand with one of her shirts, I hope you're loaded. They cost $88.

NOOOOOOOO!

Jeff is on hiatus. This cannot be tolerated.

Drat, just yesterday I was working up a big "blog crush" post dedicated to his Shape of Days.

Commies on Parade

Photographic proof that my description of last weekend's marchers as "communists" was not merely name calling :

Zombietime

I especially like the picture of the guy wearing a shirt featuring Marx, Lenin, and Mao.

Useful Idiots on Katrina

Harry Belefonte and Danny Glover speak out :

When the hurricane struck the Gulf and the floodwaters rose and tore through New Orleans, plunging its remaining population into a carnival of misery, it did not turn the region into a Third World country - as it has been disparagingly implied in the media - it revealed one. It revealed the disaster within the disaster: grueling poverty rose to the surface like a bruise to our skin.

But the storm not only revealed the poverty of those most vulnerable, those left behind. It revealed the poverty of skewed priorities that put the shoulder of technology to the wheel of death rather than life, creating killing machines that are now called "smart" and surveillance systems that, in the words of the great Guyanese poet Martin Carter, "are watching you sleep and aiming at your dreams."

Oh yes. Living in a ghetto in the US is SO LIKE living in a third world country. It's just like living in Zimbabwe, where you have to steal across the boarder into Botswana to make some money to feed your family back home. And, it's JUST like living in the Sudan, where if you are first not killed by Islamic militants, you can exist by whoring yourself out to French UN workers for food (or be forcibly raped.) Yes. It's exactly the same.

Cindy gets spanked on Kos

Now that they are chastising her EVEN on Kos (in the comments), can we officially move Cindy to the moonbat category w/o further debate?

From commenter "hibsnet" in reply to Cindy's whine (it was just a little wind and a little rain, sayeth Cindy) that the media was covering Rita instead of her anti-war fest:

Well Joan Baez sang for you today, and you got your smiling-happy picture taken with Jesse Jackson today, and your story is still front page on CNN.com today. So it was a very good day. Yes it was a beautiful day for Cindy wasn't it?

Except for a little wind and a little rain earlier.

Perhaps Cindy doesn't care about the wind and rain because it didn't hit the poor and black (or radical). But, on a more positive note, I wonder if this is the sound of sanity creeping into the liberal party? We can sure hope so. I mean, it's fun and all to watch, but I'd prefer a more rational democrat base.

Wow

Even Kos is dissing the rally!

That's it

I've done enough for today. I'm going running.

Teenage Parenthood?

Ack! Moment over here explaining why teenage motherhood for black young women might be a rational choice. It seems they have confused the "results" of teenage parenthood, with it's causes.

Just a question

Who names their kid Shepherd?

ANSWER

For those who bristle at my calling those participating in this weekend's protest "Moonbats", I offer this:

The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition organized the first national demonstration against war and racism following September 11 on September 29, 2001, which brought 25,000 people into the streets of Washington DC and 15,000 in San Francisco.
The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition gained prominence because the Coalition from its earliest days after September 11, 2001 provided a principled and activist orientation to organize political resistance through mass action, and created a forum for people of conscience to speak out when so many others were silent. Many of the national organizations that constitute the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition Steering Committee were those groups in the anti-globalization movement who - after September 11 and in the most difficult circumstances when people in the Untied States were subject to a carefully orchestrated round the clock campaign to create a war fever - initiated a strategy and mass mobilizations to counter the Bush Administration’s endless war drive, its so called war on "terrorism."
The Coalition has since then worked to build an anti-racist, peace and social justice movement. The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition, thus, had initiated the mass anti-war movement in the United States. A central characteristic of the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition’s organizing strategy has been to work in partnership with the Arab American and Muslim community and other sectors in U.S. society who have been traditionally ignored. This has helped to create a truly multi-national anti-war movement.

So, in the days after 9/11 - the FIRST thing on these people's mind is to protest "war and racism" and to form an organization. And, the key word up there -anti-Globalization- is moonbat code-speak for "anti-American." ANSWER is one of the major supporters of these weekend's activities. For a nice look at ANSWER in action, Bill at INDC has done in-depth research.

Now, granted, I am sure there will be bereaved parents marching - those not worthy of the moonbat designation. There will be those who just want peace. But, they will be marching next to Socialists, Communists, anti-Semites, and some of the most un-American Americans we've got.

Oops

So predictable that they would first blame Israel:

 A pickup truck carrying masked militants and two homemade rockets blew up at a Hamas rally Friday, killing at least 10 Palestinians and wounding 85, hospital doctors said.

Hamas blamed Israel, but the Israeli military denied involvement and the Palestinian Interior Ministry said the blast was set off by the mishandling of explosives.

Witnesses say the truck carried homemade weapons. Loverly.

Expecting a Post today?

Well, perhaps I can obliged. A picture of a cat or something. I'm gonna try to muster up some outrage regarding the weekend's anti-war march. It's not that I'm not irritated, it just - I don't know what else there is left to say. Moonbats on parade.

I will quote Christopher Hitchens from last week's debate with certified looney George Galloway :

: If you examine the record of the so-called the anti-war movement in this country and imagine what would have happened had its counsel been listened to over the last 15 and more years, you would have a world in which the following would be the case...

Saddam Hussein would be the owner and occupier of Kuwait, he would have succeeded in the annexation, not merely the invasion, but the abolition of an Arab and Muslim state that was a member of the Arab League and of the United Nations. And with these resources as we now know because he lost that war, he was attempting to equip himself with the most terrifying arsenal that it was possible for him to lay his hands on. That's one consequence of anti-war politics, that's what would have happened.

In the meanwhile, Slobodan Milosevic would have made Bosnia part of a greater Serbia, and Kosovo would have been ethnically cleansed and also annexed. The Taliban would be still in power in Afghanistan if the anti-war movement had been listened to, and al-Qaeda would still be their guests. And Saddam Hussein, with his crime family, would still be privately holding ownership over a terrorized people in a state that's been most aptly described as a concentration camp above ground and a mass grave underneath it.

To often (even this morning, on the radio) I hear anti-War protesters advocating peaceful methods of conflict resolution. Ever try that with a murderer? Or a rapist? Or a thief? How does that usually work out?

Speaking of ...

Speaking of falling approval numbers, take a gander at these.

911 Calls

Those calls for help as Katrina hit the shore are very sad to listen to. But, there was no one there to help, because there was a MANDATORY evacuation. See, that means, you are supposed to leave. If the shit hits the fan, there won't be anyone there to help you. This includes (amazingly enough) the Federal Government. EVEN IF THE LEVEE BREAKS A HOURS LATER, because - you see- people are still evacuated and won't be there to help you.

Shameful!

It is just shameful what happened in New Orleans, and how George Bush did nothing to stop the misery. He should have acted as Bill Clinton did in 1995, when only 1000 people died in a heat wave.

If an elected politician or the media want to play a blame game then all natural disasters that resulted in hundreds or thousands of preventable deaths should be treated equally. If Hillary Clinton wants to shout from the rooftops and make demands for a "Katrina Commission" she should also demand a "Heat Wave Commission."
A disproportionate number of black people died in the heat wave of 1995. Yet, no one ever said, "Bill Clinton doesn't care about black people."

You must read the whole thing. And, then come back and tell me that the media isn't biased.

Tagged

5 songs I know all the words to

Jeremy, Pearl Jam
Black, Pearl Jam
American Idiot, Greenday (JOKING)
This Night has opened my eyes, The Smiths
Pale Shelter, Tears for Fears


5 Snacks

Pretzels w/ hummous
Grapefruit
handful of cereal
slice of summer sausage
home made cookie

5 things I'd do with a $100 million

Move
Pay off debt
Donate a bunch
Save
Dream


5 Places I'd run away to

UP of Michigan
Any Mountainous region (in North America)
Banff (always wanted to go there)



5 things I'd never wear

Che Geuvara shirt
hemp clothing
Patchouli
anything Orange
A fedora



5 favorite tv shows

Battlestar Gallatica
House
24
(sorry, only 3)

5 greatest joys

beautiful weather
immediate family (including my dog)
A good run
My garden/ gardening in general
getting everything done in time (which rarely happens)


5 favorite toys

My iMac
My iPod
My camera
My pop-up campter
My new printer - I'm such a geek- but it really helps with our home schooling.

Now... who should I tag?? Oh, heck, if you have time, tag yourself. I don't want to bug ya if you're too busy.

Saint Cindy

Huffpo

One thing that truly troubled me about my visit to Louisiana was the level of the military presence there. I imagined before that if the military had to be used in a CONUS (Continental US) operations that they would be there to help the citizens: Clothe them, feed them, shelter them, and protect them. But what I saw was a city that is occupied. I saw soldiers walking around in patrols of 7 with their weapons slung on their backs. I wanted to ask one of them what it would take for one of them to shoot me. Sand bags were removed from private property to make machine gun nests.

Humn ... I imagine all it would take would be for her to tell them her name. But, remember, she LOVES the troops. She "supports" the troops. Funny how quickly she can turn on a dime. Someone from moonbat central - remind Saint Cindy that the current talking points are "love the solider/hate the commander-in-chief."

I would fisk more, but really - Cindy is just silly. She plays the class envy instrument like a fiddle; Bush only cares about the top 2%, only the poor know what hard work is, bla bla bla. Later, she even says: " If George Bush truly listened to God and read the words of the Christ, Iraq and the devastation in New Orleans would have never happened." So - New Orleans was hit by a storm sent by God because Bush didn't listen to God? Oye.

I'm ALIVE

My service as been turned off SINCE FRIDAY MORNING. Pay the bill a tad late, and apparently they still turn it off. EVEN IF WHEN THEY TURN IT OFF, THEY'VE ALREADY POSTED YOUR PAYMENT DAYS PREVIOUSLY. I called on friday, and got the run-around from a horrible customer service person. Today, I called, and they turned it on in about two minutes. She had no idea why is was still off.

Nice, huh?

What next?

You know, when Clinton was president, we didn't have bubonic plauge loose in New Jersey.

Case study by File It Under

Honestly, the only type of blog links I haven't done are the "Carnival style." Mostly because I'm just too lazy.

Attention Kayne West/ Updated

West accused Bush (and - by extension -white America in general) of helping the poor and black "as slow as possible." Matter of fact, according to West, Bush doesn't care about black people. Funny, then, along comes this story;

— Amid the chaos and confusion that engulfed New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina struck, a congressman used National Guard troops to check on his property and rescue his personal belongings — even while New Orleans residents were trying to get rescued from rooftops, ABC News has learned.

Said congressman is both a Democrat and a black man. So, while people were waiting to be rescued from rooftops, this black Democrat, used the military to drive him to his home, and wait on his porch for about an hour, while he retrieved things from his home. When did this happen? On September 2. The same day as West's famous comments.

Update: Blanco said what?

H/t: Scott who doesn't do politics on his blog.

Key to a good relationship

Scott shares with me some information he came across regarding the key to a good relationship: Pretending to give a shit.

"If I didn't sit there in total silence, staring off into the distance but occasionally grunting out an 'Oh yeah?' or a "No kidding,' Jena would probably start to think we have a communication problem," said Woodman. "Sure, I could just walk out of the room when she starts barking out her meaningless ramblings, but that would be equivalent to just coming right out and saying that she's boring me."

Ah - love.

Thanks for the advice Scott. Can I use it while my hubby talks to me about football?

I thought I was a Republican

But, according to this survey I certainly don't qualify as an "anti-Huffpo" blogger, and by extension - a conservative.

Particularly interesting was this:

Fred Phelps says "New Orleans, symbol of America, seen for what it is: a putrid, toxic, stinking cesspool of fag fecal matter."
-is this an example of what Bush calls "Compassionate Conservatism?"
-Do you think Phelps's desire to demonize gays exposed his own delusional fantasies?
-Do you think Phelps's pants were on when he wrote that fantasy?

Funny, because Phelps is a DEMOCRATE.

More:

-do you understand the motivations and feelings of working people?
-because you own a maid?
-do you like to put outfits on your maid?
-and take pictures?

I understand the motivations, because I am one of the "working people" asshole. And, while I don't "own" a maid, my husband has indicated he wouldn't mind me dressing up as one, AND taking pictures. Does that count?

Do you have a trust fund, a yellow magnet on your car, and a golfing buddy who knows somebody who knows somebody whose cousin is in the National Guard?
Do you celebrate "political incorrectness" above all?
And you're pushing 40?

No, no, and no. Really I lose points on this one, since my hubby was in national guard until he retired after 22 years. And, his brother is in the National Guard in Iraq right now.

I have to say that my answer to just about every one of the survey questions was "no." Man, I hope this doesn't mean I have to become a liberal. I think I'd rather gouge my eyes out.

File this under "YGTBFKM"*

Blair's advisors are proposing the elimination of "Holocaust Remembrance Day" because, get this, Muslims are offended by it.

The draft proposals - which provoked a backlash from British Jewish leaders - want to replace Holocaust Memorial Day with a Genocide Day that would include recognition of Muslim deaths in the West Bank and Gaza, Chechnya and Bosnia, the Times said.

A Home Office spokesman said it would consider the proposals but said it regarded the Holocaust as a "defining tragedy in European history," according to the report.

"The very name Holocaust Memorial Day sounds too exclusive to many young Muslims," a member of one of the committees was quoted as saying. "It sends out the wrong signals: that the lives of one people are to be remembered more than others. It's a grievance that extremists are able to exploit."

You know, the West Bank, Gaza, Chechnya, and Bosnisa should feel free to hold as many "remembrance" days they want. They can have them IN the West Bank, Gaza, Chechnya, and Bosnia. The fact that much of the middle east was cheering on Hitler (and to this day, have kept Mein Kampff on the bestseller list), suggests something else is at work here. When I think of "extremists" - those holding a Holocaust memorial service aren't the first ones who come to mind. WWII, and the Holocaust have become a defining moment to the Western Society- and wrapping it up into some "Everybody Hurts" fest is just stupid.

h/t:ace

*You got to be f'ing kidding me

Ut oh!

They're on to us over at Daily Kos:

I am happy to hear that there are only 200 people dead in NO, but this doesn't sound right. If the people didn't leave and didn't get evacuated then what happened to them?? I hope there are no evil doings going on.

This is NOT a drill, I repeat, this is NOT A DRILL. Operation cover-up is now in full effect. Please keep close to your fax machines to await further instructions from Karl Rove.

GEORGE BUSH EATS BROWN BABIES

This just in: George Bush eats brown babies. The report, at this point, is unconfirmed .

Related

Bryon York's piece in NRO on yesterday's Moveon.org rally in Washington DC, describes an interchange between a Moveoner and a Bush supporter.

Just then, a man walked up to Taylor and said, "If George Bush ate a baby, would you defend him?"

"That's absurd," Taylor answered.

"Well, that's kind of where you're at right now," the man said.

"So you're saying George Bush eats babies?" Taylor responded. "That's absurd. And it's exemplary of the mindset of the MoveOn crowd. These guys are so far out from reality, it's pathetic."

With that, Taylor began an impassioned, impromptu speech. "Now, please try to figure out what's going on in this country," he said, his voice booming. "There has been an enormous outpouring of goodwill from people on both sides of the political spectrum. You know, when those soldiers and national guardsmen go into the homes of the victims, they don't ask, are you Republican, are you Democrat. They ask, do you need help? What can we do to help you? I wish that this crowd out here would have the same attitude, because all you're doing is trying to tear the country apart for political purposes."

A-freakin-men.

Wanna be a HUFFPO blogger?

Greg Gutfeld has a nice little survey to see if you have "what it takes" to fit in. A little sample:

Do you believe people are too afraid to discuss the "taboo" of race?
Yet you can discuss it for hours, insert it into any topic, from natural disasters to footwear?
Do you feel compelled to let blacks know immediately where you stand on the topic of race?
Do you feel compelled to tell blacks how much you admire Spike Jonze?
Do you realize the next day that you meant Spike Lee?

Is there anything racist about the fact that Oprah Winfrey talks black to black people, and then talks differently to white people?
-And what's up with Steadman, anyway?
-He's really taking care of himself!

Breaking news

The Left has lost it's mind.

This just in

Attention race baiters, and the "Blame Bush" crowd this just in.

H/t - shamelessly stolen from Protein Wisdom.

Anne Rice

"To my country I want to say this: During this crisis you failed us. You looked down on us; you dismissed our victims; you dismissed us. You want our Jazz Fest, you want our Mardi Gras, you want our cooking and our music. Then when you saw us in real trouble, when you saw a tiny minority preying on the weak among us, you called us "Sin City," and turned your backs.”

Someone needs to STFU.

Charitable giving efforts

National Guard assistance

Fema

Fema's medical assistance

I could sit here all day searching and listing the aid that is being made available. Anne Rice just slapped all those people in the face.

It's the thought that counts

So, thanks for the thought. Oh wait, the thought ain't so great either. I've got my eye on Canada too.

Mandatory reading

Bill Whittle's essay Tribes. It's hard to pick what to excerpt, but here is a bit- comparing the reaction to crises of NO to that of NYC:

[I]n Louisiana last week the governor cried and the mayor blamed everyone but himself, and half the country bought every single stinking Pink lie about global warming and missing National Guard units and blamed the sheepdogs while the wolves raped and pillaged and looted everything in sight.

Hundreds of New York firemen and policemen never came home, never came home, but New Orleans Police Chief P. Edwin Compass III said, of his men, “If I put you out on the street and made you get into gun battles all day with no place to urinate and no place to defecate, I don’t think you’d be too happy either… Our vehicles can’t get any gas. The water in the street is contaminated. My officers are walking around in wet shoes.”

Well, Chief, I’m sorry your men’s feet are wet, but getting their feet wet is part of their fucking job. New York’s Finest aren’t complaining about wet feet or places to pee because they died doing their jobs. They were sheepdogs.

Get a cup of coffee, and read the whole thing. Who do you want to be? A sheep or a sheepdog (among the wolves?)

For the factually challeneged

Here is a good timeline.

H/t: Jeff who has written some excellent pieces over the weekend on Katrina.

And not one mention of color

This is unbelievable. No wonder there were not enough cops in NO to keep "control."

And he's a WINNER

DSC00440
Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

Of course, he won. But to rub it in a bit- I offer the photographic proof. He's creaming that chick, and she's got two people helping her. He is, of course, looking at me as I ran alongside, cheering him on.

Race Day!!!

DSC00436
Originally uploaded by Carinroz.

Here you see Ethan ready to go, but we couldn't find his helmut. He was a bit upset about the pink one. Oh well, a true champion cannot be held back.

stopped up

I am so irritated by "events" that I can hardly blog. Kate at Small Dead Animals expresses so much of what is pissing me off. As does Jeff. There is insanity out there.

I want to ask, though - if Bush (and by extention - Republicans) hate black people (and thus haven't tried to "save" them) - why is it that Texas is offering so much help? One of the reddest "Red States?" Don't make this "about race", or it's gonna be about race.

And sorry, but the cold hard facts are that many of those who were trapped in NO, without food or water, did absolutely NOTHING to aid in their own survival. They were WARNED to leave (their own Mayor left!) And, I've heard the tales of many in the city who did prepare - who had food and water, and merely waited for rescue. Uncomfortable, but relatively save (unless, of course, you count the roaming gang of thugs who threaten to rape the women, and steal the food.)

Despite being very "Red" (which must mean I hate brown babies) - I will do what I can to help. I've given money, and I will continue to give money. I'm trying to get my husband to talk his company into doing some sort of collection of material goods that can be sent South. If refugees make it this far north, I will do what I can to help them. I am sympathetic not because of their color, but because they are HUMANS. Period. Now, I wish people would just STFU about this being a racial issue.

From above

Good imaging of New Orleans from above here. I think I know where the French Quarter is - and I was looking for the Cafe du Monde - they are all dry, I believe??

H/t: the corner.

AMERICAblog: Because a great nation deserves the truth

Per the train of thought at Aravosis's AMERICAblog, shame on EVERY ONE OF YOU going away this weekend! How dare you when people in Louisiana are dying on the street.

More at Protein Wisdom

In her own words II

"If Zarqawi and bin Laden gain control of Iraq, they would create a new training ground for future terrorist attacks," Bush said. "They'd seize oil fields to fund their ambitions. They could recruit more terrorists by claiming a historic victory over the United States and our coalition."(George Bush, August 30, 2005 in San Diego.)

So it is official, Casey had his blood shed in Iraq for OIL. He died so we could pay over 3.00/gallon for gas. Like I suspected all along, my dear, sweet son: almost 1900 others; and tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis died so the oil fields wouldn't "fall into the hands of terrorists" and so George and his immoral band of greedy robber barons could become wealthier. Like I have said all along: how can these people sleep at night and how can they choke down their food knowing it is purchased off of the flesh and blood of others? We have found our "Noble Cause." And it is OIL. This man and his handlers need to be stopped.

I thought we went to Iraq for cheap oil? Regardless, is she really so emotionally distraught that she doesn't understand Bush's statement? Or is she being willfully disingenuous? Perhaps it was the sun. If she can't understand the danger of terrorists controlling oil wells, then the conversation is just over. But, really, I'm curious. Is her misunderstanding of Bush's statement intentional, or is she just ... challenged by it?

I'm not the only one

I'm not the only one REALLY REALLY irritated by Randi Rhodes. Take a listen to her comments:

"This President is never gonna do the right thing. I think somewhere deep down inside him he takes a lot of joy about losing people, if he thinks they vote Democrat or if he thinks they're poor, or if he thinks they're in a blue state, whatever his reasons are not to rescue those people who are (planning?) for their safety."

This is par for the course for Randi. I did a test last night - I switched between Randi Rhodes and Sean Hannity (they are on simultaneously here in Detroit.) Randi devoted her whole show (or as much as I could stomach) to blaming Bush for the tragedy. Sean Hannity focused on the tragedy and what could be done. One show focused on partisan blame, and the other on the depth of the crises and what we should and must do (give till it hurts, basically.) A similar experiment this morning yielded similar results; Bill Bennett discussed the humanistic aspect, while the "progressive talk" (the new code for Democrats) station discussed how to "stick it" to the profiteering oil companies.

I don't care

I don't care what gas costs today. I have a home, I'm dry, and looters aren't destroying what's left. Just FTR- the Hurricane wasn't Bush's fault. Exon and Cheney did NOT orchestrate this whole thing for profit. People WERE warned to leave. New Orleans is BELOW sea level, so a precarious existence as it is.

Now, I'm gonna be busy all day, so go read something positive and come back and tell me about it.