I think this was taken when she really let loose and moved up to the quarter slots. Too rich for my blood.
I'm posting this because I think she's been pretty stingy with the pictures - unless, of course, our children are being sucked into jet engines.
Isn't she adorable?
George
...we have updated scar information.
The first picture shows the scarring that results from the laproscopic procedure that had been planned. The second shows the scarring that results from the more traditional procedure that she ended up requiring. Both were taken one-year after surgery and neither looks too bad. Her husband assured me when I spoke to him on Wednesday that he fully intends to keep her.
She may have to give up bikinis but it seems to me that if she just takes it one step further and sheds only the top no one will ever notice the scar. ...or her hair color. ...or that she's trailed by five children. ...or that they're standing on a beach.
George
I figured that she might be feeling somewhat conscious today so I gave her a call right after I woke up this morning at 5 am. Took her FOREVER to get to the phone. Strange how she's still so groggy....
Of course I'm kidding you. I figured she might be up at lunch and would have her cellphone near if she was interested in calls.
Indeed she is beginning to feel bit better, certainly more awake, but I could tell that she's somewhat uncomfortable. Weird drug effects, she says. She has been up though for a shower and is able to take a turn about the room. She hasn't yet been to see her Dad as it would be a considerably longer walk and she wants to be more "put together" when he sees her. How nice, not wanting to trouble her Dad with the vision of her discomfort.
Reading, yes, even US magazine or the National Enquirer, has been out of the question though she admits they'd be the perfect thing at this point. She has about a two minute attention span with napping breaking out without warning.
Her doctor is guessing she'll be released Sunday or Monday and I would advise her husband to acquire for her a nice riding crop or some other long, light & threatening stick before her homecoming. ...just a little something to warn off a charging child or dog. You'd think kids wouldn't forget that their parent has an injury when said parent is now incapacitated in the La-Z-Boy but they do. Best to raise a warning crop or yardstick before suffering serious trauma. Keep the buggers at bay!
The flower, by the way, is the kidney flower.
George
Medical Updates:
Everyone's fine, and everything's working fine. Father slept four or five hours, which in an ICU with hourly tests is pretty good. Now he's reading Vince Flynn. Carin, we can't get quiet the same details on, but she's comfortable.
So, now as for Carin's day-to-day life.
I showed up at Carin's at 6:45 this morning. I was originals told that Husband would be leaving about that time. Instead, he was still getting ready. While waiting, I tested something. DLP actual works pretty well as a computer monitor, and Civ IV attracts little eyes on the bigger screen. His RSX had been in the shop for a while, but was ready for pickup today. The children woke, Husband got ready and we went to the dealership to get the car.
The Acura RSX is great fun, especially in second.
While we were out, #1 decided on breakfast - a bratwurst and a pork chop.
After returning, I've been watching the kids. Husband got some bagels and has done some laundry, and about 10 minutes ago, Husband has finally gone off to see to Carin. So I'm here. Two youngest children are watching Robots upstairs. First and Third are watching Big-O with me. Remaining child is down playing his MMO-resembling RPG.
And So lets see how things go. At some point, I'll be getting pizza for the kids. Given the fight on getting #3 to eat her Bagel without toasting it, should be interesting to see how it goes.
Yes, I left the hospital for all of you...
I'm going to keep this as a quick little update, but as of 5:00...
In the words of the surgeon I talked to, the actual incision Carin ended up with is similar to what would happen in a non-laparoscopic surgery, so the results and complications of it should be minor. Even before that discusion, Carin's Husband got to see her in recovery. In his words, she's "out of it" but I suppose for now thats for the best. He was planning on returning to the kids, but another has been found to watch them for the evening, given the minor complication.
Our Father is was almost done with Surgery. One of the surgeons came and talked to 'the family' and everything on his side went fine. We were going to find out his location shortly after five, but I had to leave. Following his time in recovery, he will be/was sent to the ICU. They will spend an hour to an hour and a half getting him settled and checked out once he gets there, and only then will he be allowed visitors. That should be around 7:00 PM.
I'm in a class right now, and it's sad when a grad class is so simple you can blog it, isn't it?
Expect my next post to bring word of the father, and tomorrow...
Blogging the Life of Carin without Carin - The Brother alone with the Kids
Just got off the phone with Carin's husband who reported that she is fine. The surgery ended up being more complicated than had been anticipated but she is fine, her Father is fine, the kidney is working and that's all that matters.
Let's pause to thank God for keeping them safe and for giving us all the gift of having this truly amazing woman in our lives.
Now for the details...
They did the laproscopic procedure as planned but somehow in the process her aorta was torn and an additional incision was required to repair it. That turned a 2-4 hour procedure into a 6.5 hour procedure and her potential 3" scar into an 8" one. She'll also likely be in the hospital now until Tuesday.
I sent her husband on a mission to get her US magazine. I know, I know...but as smart as she is it's really all she can handle right now.
George
...and keeping with our Theme of the Day, I have a cute Carin story that actually involves kidneys!
We were in Las Vegas a few years ago with two other friends. (Suddenly inspired to locate my pictures of Carin at the nickel slots - oh, but it could have been a bad move giving me the keys to the kingdom...) In the course of conversation we learned that the friend Carin was rooming with only had one kidney. As we'd known eachother for many years and had shared innumerable details about ourselves we were surprised by the revelation. Someone said, "I didn't know that!" To which Carin replied with a crinkle of her nose, "I saw her sleeping and could kinda tell."
Ah...good times, good times....
George
As I haven't heard otherwise, I'm assuming that the surgery is underway. There was to be one last scan this morning before going in.
Here's the deal....
During laparoscopic donor surgery, three small incisions are made on the abdomen (shown in red).Since 1999, University of Colorado Hospital transplant surgeons have been utilizing video technology to allow the kidney to be removed safely through small incisions on the abdomen. This procedure is called laparoscopic donor surgery.
Patients undergoing laparoscopic donor surgery have significantly less pain, a shorter hospital stay and return to normal life much faster than those who undergo the more traditional “open” procedure.
The donor kidney is removed with sections of artery, vein and ureter through this laparoscopic procedure and placed in the recipient’s lower abdomen. Veins and arteries carry blood to and from the kidney and the ureter carries urine to the bladder. All blood vessels and the ureter from the donor kidney are connected to vessels in the recipient.
As you can see from the illustration, Carin is indeed a Barbie doll. Saves her a fortune on Brazillians...
George
I checked out The Sopranos first season DVD from the library to watch while I'm down. I know you LOVE this show, right? I watched the first episode while working out yesterday.
I'll be offline for a few days. In my never ending-quest to lose weight, I've decided to have one of my kidneys removed. Granted, it is only going to result in a net loss of a few ounces, but I'm thinking that every little bit will add up. Not wanting the kidney to go to waste, my father has graciously offered to have the kidney attached to his body. Apparently, he can use it (how's that for lucky coincidences?) And it will free up some time for him since he will no longer have to spend 12 hours a week on dialysis. I'm supposed to arrive at the hospital at the beastly hour of 5:45 on Wednesday- so after this evening I won't be posting (or trolling anyone else's blog) until I get home. My brother has (been) volunteered to post in my absence.
Not to piss anyone off with this, but chihuahuas have to be the stupidest dogs ever. And, I've had stupid dogs in the past, so I'm not speaking from an ugly place. You can love your stupid dog, but you should know it's limitations. It's weaknesses. Knowledge is power.
I do not currently own a stupid dog, chihuahua or otherwise. I have a queen of a dog- a white German Shepherd named Greta. In addition to being beautiful, loyal, and smart, she is also protective and very (very) strong. And, to focus my argument, her jaws, and therefor her BITE, is forceful. A thing to be avoided, especially if you were -say- a tiny little dog.
Now, imagine, if you will, you took this white shepherd on a walk though your neighborhood, properly leashed. It's dark (or light, whatever, it doesn't matter), and you've got your iPod on, and you're just generally enjoying life. Suddenly, you look up, and there is this rat heading STRAIGHT for your properly leashed dog. Except, the rat is barking! It's not a rat, it's a stupid little dog, UNLEASHED, trying to attack. Greta, of course, is always prepared to go a few rounds. But, this battle wouldn't make it one round. It would make it about two seconds, at which point I'd probably hear a hideous crunch. The only course of action, is to desperately RUN from this tiny dog, because if it gets w/in leash length, it's over. And, this (really) stupid dog is determined to get within range.
Needless to say, that dog didn't die that fateful day. Nor the other time the same (stupid) dog ran ACROSS the street to try to start something. The owner was at least outside that time, yet for some reason didn't seem to think the incident was the fault of his stupid dog.
So, here is my note to stupid dog owners: If , some day, your STUPID DOG finally does manage to get with-in leash length of my dog (by chasing us, barking and in attack mode) it will be TOTALLY YOUR FAULT. Your dog will be dead, and I don't want to hear boo about it.
Regarding the nomination of Samuel Alito, U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) had this to say:
In sum, in case after case, Judge Alito's decisions demonstrate a systematic tilt toward the powerful institutions and against individuals attempting to vindicate their rights. He cites a few instances in which he has decided for the little guy, but they are few and far between.
Justice Lewis Powell captured the spirit of America best when he said: "Equal justice under law is not merely a caption on the facade of the Supreme Court building. It is perhaps the most inspiring idea of our society. It is one of the ends for which our entire legal system exists."
Do you think it possible, or at all advisable, that I spend the waking hours of the next 5 days surfing the internet?
Jonah Goldberg in NRO:
A coup by sophisticated and serious members of the military would be great news. Even better would be a popular uprising. And best of all would be a combination of the two. An Iran with an old-style military dictatorship charged with defending democratic institutions would be an enormous, epochal victory for the West and for the Middle East. That would go a long way toward guaranteeing success in Iraq and would neutralize the threat of the Iran's nuclear ambitions, even if they decided to pursue a bomb. After all, the argument about nuclear weapons is no different than the argument about guns. The threat is from the people who have them, not from the weapons themselves. Lots of countries have nukes; we only need to worry about the ones run by whack jobs.
Alas, while there's reason to believe the White House shares this view in theory, there's less reason to believe it's doing that much about it in practice.
Well, that's just farking GREAT. Thank you Jennifer Granholm. Thank you Kwame Kilpatrick. While national unemployement is down to 4.9%, Michigan's is around 6.6%. Detroit's is even worse.
Now, someone explain to me how this is Bush's fault?
If you, possibly, rather likely, in the near future had to spend several days in the hospital, what piece(s) of classical music (leaning toward Operas, symphonies, or other "complete" pieces of work) would you want on your iPod?
So far, in addition to my System of a Down, I'm including Orff's Carmina Burana. It's an old favorite- I'm particularly fond of Tempus es iocundum, not the O Fortuna we've all heard a few too many times.
So, if you please, respond in comments your recommendations.
From John Stossel:
Last week's Florida court ruling against vouchers came after teacher Ruth Holmes Cameron and advocacy groups brought a suit to block the program.
"To say that competition is going to improve education? It's just not gonna work. You know competition is not for children. It's not for human beings. It's not for public education. It never has been, it never will be," Holmes said.
Why not? Would you keep going back to a restaurant that served you a bad meal? Or a barber that gave you a bad haircut? What if the government assigned you to "your" grocery store. The store wouldn't have to compete for your business, and it would soon sell spoiled milk or stock only high profit items. Real estate agencies would sell houses advertising "neighborhood with a good grocery store." That's insane, and yet that's what America does with public schools.
Deroy Murdock, correctly, on President Bush's detractors:
If the president wrote MoveOn.org a $10,000 check, they would denounce his penmanship. Bush’s detractors never stop complaining, so the administration simply should make its case.
Drop by drop, isolated news stories and emerging documents are eroding the popular myth that Saddam Hussein had no connections to Islamofascist terrorists. These revelations undermine war critics’ efforts to whitewash Baghdad’s ancien regime — such as when Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid declared: “There was [sic] no terrorists in Iraq.” Likewise, Sen. Carl Levin (D., Mich.) describes a “nonexistent relationship between al Qaeda and Sadda
The photographs and documents on Iraqi training camps come from a collection of some 2 million "exploitable items" captured in postwar Iraq and Afghanistan. They include handwritten notes, typed documents, audiotapes, videotapes, compact discs, floppy discs, and computer hard drives. Taken together, this collection could give U.S. intelligence officials and policymakers an inside look at the activities of the former Iraqi regime in the months and years before the Iraq war.
The discovery of the information on jihadist training camps in Iraq would seem to have two major consequences: It exposes the flawed assumptions of the experts and U.S. intelligence officials who told us for years that a secularist like Saddam Hussein would never work with Islamic radicals, any more than such jihadists would work with an infidel like the Iraqi dictator. It also reminds us that valuable information remains buried in the mountain of documents recovered in Afghanistan and Iraq over the past four years.
Nearly three years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, only 50,000 of these 2 million "exploitable items" have been thoroughly examined. That's 2.5 percent.
The worry, White House aides tell me, is that revealing these ties would generate media criticism and anti-war catcalls. Pentagon spokesman Larry DiRita told Hayes that some reporters might discover exculpatory material among these papers, then “we’d spend a lot of time chasing around after it.”
Victor David Hanson sees four options in dealing with the increasing threat of a (crazy) nuclear Iran. Ignore and hope it just goes away; increase the international condemnation; allow Israel to take care of it; or take care of the problem ourselves with a few weeks of strategic bombing.
What I would like to see, right now, is for liberals to start stating exactly how they think we should solve this problem. Too often, they remain silent and then criticize whatever is attempted. The fourth option might be the best one, yet I can already imagine the howls of protest, and front pages filled with images of injured babies.
Right now, this is THE story. Not the Alito hearings, and certainly not the Abramoff scandel,
From Mister Snitch!, a definition:
The reaction to Abramoff is just the latest example of a debilitating but seldom-mentioned malady known as 'Premature Electulation': Elation over an election or other political milestone long before it's certain or appropriate. P.E. has rendered Democrats impotent for years, but it is now reaching crisis proportions. Unable to 'deliver the goods', today's Democrats have resigned themselves to hoping the other guy falls beneath their level of performance.
We must not remain silent while this political killer goes unchecked.
By eagle I mean my brother-in-law, and by landed I mean he just arrived in Bangor, Maine, after a year in Baghdad! He just called to tell me, so it's official. Woot woot!
I spent tuesday night at the hospital, where they were able to declare with great certainty that my heart is in GREAT shape. Meanwhile, I spend last night doubled over in pain again.
There is some funny reading over at Kos regarding Kate O'Beirne's new book Women Who Make the World Worse; and How Their Radical Feminist Assault is Ruining Our Schools, FAmilies, Military, and Sports. The Kos kids have declared that O'Beirne can "drop dead" . Clever folk over there; they can google a few random comments, from those glean (one of ) her complete arguments, and rebut it without spending the twenty-five buck for the book.
As for myself, I'm enjoying the book and have about two chapters left.
As in I feel like crap. I've been sick since Friday evening. I think it's all Bush's fault, truth be told.
But I'm not too out of it to be ignorant of the latest economic bad news.
update: Perhaps this will aid in my weight-loss adventure? Since friday evening, I've had one bagel, a bowl of rice, half of a salad, and a bowl of chicken-noodle soup.
I'm gonna clink on this link every time I feel like snacking.
Warning. This is powerful stuff. Do NOT click if you plan on eating any time in the next three hours.
You've been warned
Update:
No, Jeff was right. The link was broke. I can't figure out how it was redirecting to an amazon page. Link fixed. Warnings still appply
Update II: George sends me an alternative to dieting; if it worked for Mariah, it will work for me. Now, where did I put the kid's crayons?
We all heard about this story, right?
Italian authorities recently announced that they had used wiretaps to uncover the conspiracy to conduct a series of major attacks inside the U.S.
Italian Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu said the planned attacks would have targeted stadiums, ships and railway stations, and the terrorists' goal, he said, was to exceed the devastation caused by 9/11.
The Associated Press version of the story did not disclose that the men planned to target the U.S. Nor did it report that the evidence against the suspects was gathered via a wiretapping surveillance operation.
Furthermore, only one American newspaper, the Philadelphia Inquirer, is known to have published the story that the AP distributed. It ran on page A-6 under the headline "Italy Charges 3 Algerians.” The Inquirer report also made no mention of the plot to target the U.S. - although foreign publications included this information in the headlines and lead sentences of their stories. Nor did it advise readers that domestic wiretaps played a key role in nabbing the suspected terrorists.
Today in Detroit, at the inaugural of Kwame Kilpatrick, the theme is love:
"The idea behind the theme came from the first lady, Carlita Kilpatrick," said Kim Hagood, head of the inaugural committee. "What it represents is love, pride and unity of Detroit and the responsibility of the community back to Detroit."
Well, it's a new year, which means it's time to come up with some new scheme designed to rid myself of 15 pounds. Apparently, donating a kidney just isn't going to get the job done. I thought I was going to have to resort to diet and exercise, but then I came across this picture of Nicole Richie.
I think this lovely "look" can be achieved by excessive smoking, and perhaps a drug habit?
BTW- like my new tagline? I stole it from the EXCELLENT ARTICLE MENTIONED BELOW.
I have some traveling to do before it's all gone:
What will London--or Paris, or Amsterdam--be like in the mid-'30s? If European politicians make no serious attempt this decade to wean the populace off their unsustainable 35-hour weeks, retirement at 60, etc., then to keep the present level of pensions and health benefits the EU will need to import so many workers from North Africa and the Middle East that it will be well on its way to majority Muslim by 2035. As things stand, Muslims are already the primary source of population growth in English cities. Can a society become increasingly Islamic in its demographic character without becoming increasingly Islamic in its political character?
In his book "The Empty Cradle," Philip Longman asks: "So where will the children of the future come from? Increasingly they will come from people who are at odds with the modern world. Such a trend, if sustained, could drive human culture off its current market-driven, individualistic, modernist course, gradually creating an anti-market culture dominated by fundamentalism--a new Dark Ages."
**********
Since the president unveiled the so-called Bush Doctrine--the plan to promote liberty throughout the Arab world--innumerable "progressives" have routinely asserted that there's no evidence Muslims want liberty and, indeed, that Islam is incompatible with democracy. If that's true, it's a problem not for the Middle East today but for Europe the day after tomorrow. According to a poll taken in 2004, over 60% of British Muslims want to live under Shariah--in the United Kingdom. If a population "at odds with the modern world" is the fastest-breeding group on the planet--if there are more Muslim nations, more fundamentalist Muslims within those nations, more and more Muslims within non-Muslim nations, and more and more Muslims represented in more and more transnational institutions--how safe a bet is the survival of the "modern world"?
I had and epiphany on New Year's day, as I watched the last episode of Firefly (a wonderful show that was cancelled by Fox without giving it a scintilla of a chance of succeeding.)
Now, hopefully I'm not offending anyone here- but I've come to the realization that tv executives don't want me as a viewer. They don't care if they cancel my favorite program. You see, I don't watch enough tv for them to care. And, the more drek they put out, the less I watch. The only viewers they care about are those who are willing to watch the garbage that they offer EVERY night. I haven't watched a sitcom since Seinfeld went off the air. I've never seen an episode of any of the CSI's and haven't watched more than 10 minuets (total) of any of the Survivor shows. I could go on about the shows I haven't watched, but I probably don't even know their names.
Now, I'm not being judgmental (I don't think) - but the problem I have with the way the television world is set up is that the idiot minions who watch 5 hours a day are dictating what is on. And, people who watch that much tv aren't really going to be discriminating. I'm fine with there not being hours upon hours of watch-able television every night. It's just pathetic and sad when shows that are truly great lose out to absolute crap.
I saw King Kong over the weekend. It's not for the squeamish- and I pulled my coat over my head during several scenes, for extended amounts of time. But, it was a thrilling ride, with more than a few fantastic scenarios. In one such scene, the characters were running underneath the legs of stampeding dinosaurs. Now, were this to happen in real life, I doubt anyone would survive. It surely would end in disaster for all involved. And grabbing onto a giant bat to escape King Kong also seems like an event that - in real life- wouldn't turn out so well.
But, to actually COMPLAIN during a movie that such scenes are unbelievable- a movie ABOUT a ginourmous ape? Well, that's just silly. Yet, complain they did (and they were right behind me.) I guess they could "go with" the idea that there is an island out there filled with dinosaurs and a giant ape, but the daredevil stunts just pushed things too far. Everyone has their limits, I guess.
I had those lists that are compiled at the end of every year. 1999 was a special kind of hell for me, when the lists went on to cover not just the previous 12 months, but the last 100 years. I had to avoid newspapers, magazine, and tv news shows for about two months.
Anyway, here are my ten MOST hated categories:
10. Top ten movies of they year.
9. Top ten albums of the year.
8. Top ten novels of the year.
7. Top ten food trends of the years.
6, Top ten HOTTEST actresses of the year.
5. Top ten Hottest Actors of the year.
4. Top ten most annoying people of the year.
3. Top ten rising "stars".
2. Top ten new fashions.
1. Top ten new TRENDS.
You know, if I cared about any of the above mentioned lists, I would subscribe to People magazine. But, I think the end-of-the-year ritual I loath the most are the What's Hot/What's Not lists.
So, if you have a list, or a hot/not trend- do me a favor and just shove it up your arse.
I missed the story of ex-Cuban, American War Hero, Pedro Martin when it was originally posted on on Babalu Blog, but saw it here.
If you haven't read it, you definitely need to rectify that situation.
As we know, there is no thing as a superior religion, culture, or society. Remind yourself over and over as you read this:
In Sweden, according to translator for Jihad Watch, Ali Dashti, “Gang rapes, usually involving Muslim immigrant males and native Swedish girls, have become commonplace.” A few weeks ago she said, “Five Kurds brutally raped a 13-year-old Swedish girl.”
In France, Samira Bellil broke her silence – after enduring years of repeated gang rapes in one of the Muslim populated public housing projects – and wrote a book, In the hell of the tournantes, that shocked France. Describing how gang rape is rampant in the banlieues, she explained to Time that, “any neighborhood girl who smokes, uses makeup or wears attractive clothes is a whore.”
Unfortunately, Western women are not the only victims in this epidemic. In Indonesia, in 1998, human rights groups documented the testimony of over 100 Chinese women who were gang raped during the riots that preceded the fall of President Suharto. Many of them were told: “You must be raped, because you are Chinese and non-Muslim.”
In Australia's New South Wales Supreme Court in December 2005, a visiting Pakistani rapist testified that his victims had no right to say no, because they were not wearing a headscarf.
And earlier this year Australians were outraged when Lebanese Sheik Faiz Mohammed gave a lecture in Sydney where he informed his audience that rape victims had no one to blame but themselves. Women, he said, who wore skimpy clothing, invited men to rape them.
A few months earlier, in Copenhagen, Islamic mufti and scholar, Shahid Mehdi created uproar when – like his peer in Australia – he stated that women who did not wear a headscarf were asking to be raped
After 9/11, I was one scared little puppy. Terrorists could be everywhere, and one would never know where the next attack could occur. I feel relatively confident writing that I wasn't the only one feeling this way. In fact, I would place money on it that pretty much 99% of the US population felt exactly as I did. I fantasized that we had the technology found in the film Enemies of the State, where the government could listen-in on every telephone call on the planet, and find the bad guys.
Of course, though, that was not reality. What chance did we have against such a tenacious enemy? But, I hoped that the government had a few tricks up it's sleeve. I didn't need to hear about them, but I slept at night convincing myself that they had technologies that would aid in finding those who dream of mushroom clouds over Manhattan. Certainly everyone, my fellow citizens would be similarly pleased that we had abilities to detect these monsters? Of course, in this belief - I was wrong.
Patriot Act- BAD.
Wiretaps on those in contact with areas known to be affiliated with terrorist activity- illegal.
Radiation Monitoring- a racist plot.
Writes CAIR :
We are concerned that, under this secretive program, our government has overstepped constitutional bounds by intruding on private property without any probable cause or valid court orders, said CAIR National Legal Director Arsalan Iftikhar. The targeting of so many Islamic homes, businesses and mosques will inevitably create the impression that American Muslims are considered suspect solely because of their faith.
As I've noted before, the ACLU has filed suit against Boston Logan Airport officials to prevent them from using behaviorial profiling to detect security threats. The suit stems from a snit fit one ACLU official had when he was asked to produce ID by Boston Logan officials.
If the ACLU has its way, the interrogation methods used by Diana Dean--the Customs Agent whose questioning of a nervous and sweating young, brown-skinned male trying to cross the Washington state-Canada border unraveled al Qaeda's LAX Millenium plot and saved untold innocent lives--would be banned nationwide.
If the ACLU has its way, we'd have no profiling of any kind.
Well, it's just River Rat and me here, but I've got the time, so here goes:
Unhinged:Exposing LLiberals Gone Wild by Michelle Malkin. A surprisingly entertaining book. I've always enjoyed her writing, but for some reason this book had never jumped out at me. I started reading it this morning, and found myself unable to put it down.
Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy by Peter Schweizer. It's as good as I expected. Most of the factoids have appeared elsewhere, but if I come across anything explosive ...
The Complete Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazny. Science fiction, and not really a gift since I bought it for myself. Someone on the internets recommended it. I'll let you know.
I got one more book, but I'm gonna have to fill you in on that one later.
Most of you will have no clue what I'm talking about, but I think it's time for me to turn into a major advocate for Detroit. My line?
PRIVATIZE, don't POLITICALIZE! Receivership NOW.
My BIL brought this story to my attention. I'll give you a minute to go read.
Done?
WTF is wrong with society? Everyone of those kids deserves to be taken out back and shot. YES SHOT. What good can become of a teenager who behaves like this? We would save society a lot of grief, and future criminal behavior, if we just eliminate them now. Additionally, their PARENTS should be held up to ridicule. I want explanations as to why and how they allowed their children to become such monsters. They should be forced to wear t-shirts that say "I suck at being a parent." Or, perhaps, "I raised a morally bankrupt child."
And, yes, I know I am being hyperbolic.
... where you list what you got for Christmas. Once everyone gets back from where ever the heck they are?!?
I'll go first:
DVD set of Romantic Movies
Two more Waterford flutes
The Holiday was here. Wish you were merry.
Or something like that.
Personally, I can only handle so much merry making. The house gets messy, and I can't checked my email.
And, in a cryptic shout-out to no one who reads this, but it must be said; women are bitches.
What is Figgie pudding, and is it good? I mean, is it actually a Christmas tradition, or is it just some holiday-song sham perpetrated upon us Americans?
Personally, I'm kinda sick of ham and turkey and all those traditional CHRISTmas meals. Since I couldn't find a roast beast, we're going to have Prime Rib. YUM. And, for dessert I am going to attempt some French concoction called "Il Flotante." The French are, after all, good for something; food and wine. They can keep their politics, their feminists, and pretty much everything else.
Code Pink has a wonderful Holiday planned for us. Let us begin with a Holiday Carol
War to the World (To the tune "Joy to the World")
War to the world! Don Rumsfeld
declares;Let's go to war for oil!
Arms dealers and oil companies
Will make our foreign policies
And we'll be safe and free!
And we'll be safe and free!
And women and children will all be safe
and free!
We rule the world! With bombs and
tanks;
So let the war hawks sing!
We'll target all the hospitals
And mosques and pesky journalists
And lie on CNN
And lie on CNN
And NBC and ABC and C-N-N!
War to the world! The empire reigns;
You're with us or against!!
We're good and you are ee-vil
We're good and you are ee-vil
So we'll blow you away
So we'll blow you away
So Merry Christmas, and have a nice
day!
Get a bunch of friends to go with you to each buy a war toy, and then go back to the store later to return them. Create long complaint lines, showing other customers (and hopefully you’ve called the media) why war toys are bad. Talk directly to store owners and managers and ask them to stop selling war toys. Tell them you and your friends are considering no longer shopping at the store if war toys continue to be sold. Make buttons that say, “Say No to War Toys” or “War is Not a Game” and offer them to the employees.
Ask your child’s teachers to talk about the negative impact of war toys and start a campaign to ban war toys on the school playground. Suggest a toy exchange for the school, where children turn in their war toys and get some cool, peaceful toy like a hot pink Frisbee. Make it a class project and involve the children in setting it up.
On the Barrett Report?
Word on the street is that it's release will ruin Hillary's career, so I'm all for it seeing the light of day. Personally, I find it frightening that some "powers that be" (the Clinton Legal team) have been able to totally suppress this thing. Some of my favorite names have been active in making sure this doesn't see the light of day (John Kerry and Carl Levin.) And, if there is nothing to it - liberals should be happy to demonstrate how much money Republicans ($20 million!) have wasted in a "witch hunt."
I've been working up a good rant on the kerfuffle regarding Bush supposedly infringing on our civil rights by listening to the phone calls of bad guys. Thankfully, a much better writer than I did one:
In order for me to enjoy the not-getting-my-ass-blown-up lifestyle to which I’ve become accustomed, people who love sending care packages of cash and semtex to post-office boxes in Central Asia have to give up the privilege of making private phone calls to their relatives in Whocaresistan. Is it fair? Of course not. Nothing in life is. But we make the best we can with what we’ve got, and right now that means telling the Islamist sympathizers to sit down and shut up while we go poking through their mail.
*******
So if you want to sit there and tell me, all earnest and shit, that it’s not about politics, that you’re just concerned about the law, that’s fine. You go right ahead. I’ll occupy the time while you’re speaking by sitting here and not believing a word that you say. Because we both know the truth, even though only one of us is willing to speak it aloud. You don’t give two shits about the law. All you care about is the fact that you hate George Bush. You’ve hated him so long, and so fervently, that you’ve totally forgotten why. But that hate remains even though the cause for it is gone, and it colors everything you say and do. So just keep talking, asshole. Keep telling me that you want to see the sitting President of the United States “frog-marched to the hoosegow” for enacting entirely legal measures to defend this country during a time of war, but that the Republicans in Congress were jerks for tainting Saint Clinton’s second term over “just a blow job.” Keep right on, man. Because I know where you’re coming from, and I know what you’re really thinking.
Meanwhile, I’m gonna continue to enjoy those freedoms that the President is acting to defend. You know. Like his oath said he would.
NRO has an article on Canadian health (cough cough) care:
Canada’s universal-health-care system has long been a darling of the nanny-state Left. Its stated purpose, jealously touted by swooning cohorts of compassion from coast to coast, is to provide free and equal health care for all, regardless of ability to pay.
In practice, sadly, this high-minded endeavor has hit a few snags. The pesky fetters of reality have imposed stingy budget constraints on the enterprise, while the promise of free service for all has increased the demand for treatment. The Canadian government has thus struggled to treat more patients while spending as sparingly as possible on each of them, causing waiting lists to swell and the quality of care to sag.
Despite claims that there is no media bias, out comes this study from UCLA. Apparently, the media leans left! I know, I was shocked too! But catch this :
Of the 20 major media outlets studied, 18 scored left of center, with CBS' "Evening News," The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times ranking second, third and fourth most liberal behind the news pages of The Wall Street Journal.
Only Fox News' "Special Report With Brit Hume" and The Washington Times scored right of the average U.S. voter.
The fourth most centrist outlet was "Special Report With Brit Hume" on Fox News, which often is cited by liberals as an egregious example of a right-wing outlet. While this news program proved to be right of center, the study found ABC's "World News Tonight" and NBC's "Nightly News" to be left of center. All three outlets were approximately equidistant from the center, the report found.
"If viewers spent an equal amount of time watching Fox's 'Special Report' as ABC's 'World News' and NBC's 'Nightly News,' then they would receive a nearly perfectly balanced version of the news," said Milyo, an associate professor of economics and public affairs at the University of Missouri at Columbia.
Leo has been taking me to task in comments regarding the "race riots" in Australia. So, I pose this question; what are the causes of the race riots in Australia. Or, race riots elsewhere? On the surface, the Australian riots began (so it says) in retaliation for the brutal beating of two white lifeguards on Cronulla Beach. The newspapers state that "white supremacists" retaliated in a mob of 5,000, attacking any youth with a middle eastern appearance. This lead to counter-attacks by Lebanese in several Sydney suburbs.
On the surface, it appears that Aussie's are a racist lot. And, then I come across this and wonder:
I read your garbled and fraudulent accounts of the race riots in Australia. The riots were not unprovoked "drunk... White... neo-Nazis" riots against innocent Muslims as you claim.
After years of escalating racial violence by Lebanese gangs, including rapes gangs, Australians are finally standing up to Muslim racial supremacists. Lebanese and other Muslims use rape gangs and gang sieges/home invasions of Australian families in order to ethnically cleanse neighborhoods. In a country where all Australians have been disarmed and are not allowed to have guns or large knives, Muslim gangs openly parade arsenals of weapons as the police, afraid of losing their jobs if they show "racism", refuse to protect defenseless Australians.
In a country that has been completely disarmed by gun control, Muslims are heavily armed and many Muslims (including Muslim profesors at the best Australian universities) openly call for the extermination of the Australian "Whites".
Four churches in Sydney have been attacked in the last 24 hours by gangs of Lebanese Muslims. A community hall of one of the churches was burned to the ground.
Feel the peace BURN, baby.
I think Jeff is right on in this:
But the official party line of the United Nations is — must be — that the right to vote is circumstantial at best. Because the United Nations welcomes member states that recognize no such right. The official position of the government of Syria, just to name one example, is that the people have the right to vote only for candidates that have been approved by the sitting government. The people of Syria, according to their government, have no right to remove the Baath Party from power and replace it with another group of leaders. The Syrian government denies that that right — which we as Americans believe is unalienable — exists.
And yet Syria is a full member of the United Nations and enjoys all the privileges thereof.
Whites disproportionately represented among Katrina fatalities. Whites made up 46% of the deaths, while they only compromise 28% of the population. WHY DOES BUSH HATE WHITE PEOPLE?
H/t: File it Under and, WILLisms for the story itself.
Apparently, our friends across the pond are upset that we executed the murderer of four people, Tokkie Williams.
Leaders of Austria's opposition Green Party even called for Mr. Schwarzenegger to be stripped of his Austrian citizenship -- a demand rejected by Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel as "absurd" despite his government's opposition to the death penalty.
In Graz, Mr. Schwarzenegger's hometown, local Greens said they would file a petition to remove the California governor's name from the city's Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium. A Christian political group suggested it be renamed for Williams.
Well, what I really mean is that I totally stole this story from Gail, who borrowed it from No Pasaran:
For anybody genuinely worried about climate change, Montreal is bleak. First, many countries which take the 'moral high ground' in public are quietly the very worst offenders. Hypocritical Canada (Paul Martin was unbelievable in his attack on the US) has seen its emissions rise by 24% (on the Kyoto-base 1990-levels); Japan, which gave the name to the original Kyoto Protocol, by 18%; and the statistics for some of the ever-pious European countries take the breath away - Spain up by 42%, Portugal up by 37%, and merry Ireland and Greece up by 26%. In contrast, the US - the non-ratifier of Kyoto, note - has seen its emissions rise by only 13% (and they have fallen 2% under Bush!). So who is the bad boy?
While not a die-hard supporter of the death penalty, the crowd surrounding Tokkie this last few months is morally confused:
On Sunday, November 13, one week before the “Save Tookie” rally at San Quentin, 14-year old William Cox and a friend were attending a neighborhood carnival when they were gunned down by a man who mistook them for rival gang members. Cox, who was not in a gang, was struck in the chest and died at the scene. That is the evil wrought by Stanley Williams!
Of course Snoop and Danny Glover did not hold a rally for William Cox. His death went unnoticed by the Hollywood commissars of compassion. They were too busy trying to save the life of a cold-blooded killer to notice one more young life snuffed out by gang violence.
That tells you all you need to know about the corrupt vision the Hollywood left has for America.
Here is an example that nicely illustrates my definition of a terrorist:
A banned Islamist militant group blamed for a series of bombings in Bangladesh has threatened to kill women, including non-Muslims, if they do not wear the veil, a statement said.
The statement by the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen came hours after Thursday's suicide bomb attack in a northern town that killed at least eight people, the latest of a series of blasts blamed on militant groups in their campaign for an Islamic state.
"Women will be killed if they are found to move around without wearing burqa (veil) from the first day of Jilhaj," the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen said in the statement sent to a Dhaka newspaper office.
Jilhaj refers to the Arabic month beginning early January.
I'm back to that idea that not all muslims are terrorists, but almost all terrorists are muslims. So, without further ado, I give you this:
. Over 100 Koranic verses exhort believers to wage jihad against unbelievers. “When you meet the unbelievers in the battlefield, strike off their heads and, when you have laid them low, bind your captives firmly” (Koran 47:4). This is emphasized repeatedly. Jews and Christians are among those to be fought: “Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued” (Koran 9:29).
There is no doubt that Muhammad meant such verses literally. Nonetheless, the fact that warfare against unbelievers is not a twisting of Islam, but the Islamic mainstream, and is repeatedly affirmed in the Koran, Hadith, example of Muhammad, and rulings of every school of Islamic jurisprudence, still does not make every Muslim a terrorist.
Why? Because the Koran is in difficult, classical Arabic, and must be read and recited during Muslim prayers in that language only. A surprisingly large number of Muslims have scant acquaintance with what it actually says. This is common to a degree that may surprise non-Muslims.
So is the Koran the Mein Kampf of the totalitarian, supremacist movement of Islamic jihad? If we take seriously the words of the book itself and how they are used by jihadists, then it clearly is their inspiration. Are we to ignore the jihadists' many clear statements on this because they offend contemporary sensibilities? The challenge for peaceful Muslims today is to confront, not to deny, this obvious fact, and to formulate strategies for a large-scale rejection of literalism in the Islamic community in America and worldwide, so that Muslims can coexist peacefully as equals with non-Muslims without the continuing recrudescence of this supremacist impulse.
Can it be done? The odds against it are prohibitive. But we do not do genuine Muslim reformers any favor whatsoever by denying that there is any work they need do with the Koran and Islamic tradition, or by pretending that the source of the problem is other than what it is.
Why you gotta hate?
Why why why
Why you want to gas him?
Why why why
He used to have a fro',
The baddest ass I know,
But now he says he's sorry,
So how 'bout we just let a brother go?*
In the immortal words of Tokkie Williams:
I'll get every one of you Mother fuckers.
News from Howard Dean:
Saying the "idea that we're going to win the war in Iraq is an idea which is just plain wrong," Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean predicted today that the Democratic Party will come together on a proposal to withdraw National Guard and Reserve troops immediately, and all US forces within two years.
Bring the 80,000 National Guard and Reserve troops home immediately. They don't belong in a conflict like this anyway. We ought to have a redeployment to Afghanistan of 20,000 troops, we don't have enough troops to do the job there and its a place where we are welcome
From Unbearable Bobness:
It must end one day and know that a U.S. Army infantryman is not one molecule more a righteous soldier of God than a suicide bomber blowing himself up in a bus full of innocents, sorry, but such religious arrogance is nothing more than a geopolitical folie a deux.
First, I want you all to share my outrage that my friend Matt's blog (Lone Tree On the Prairie) has disappeared. Matt was on blogger, but if he can't get this fixed (and it's been broken since friday) he'll be leaving. I'm one step closer to taking that step myself. This isn't poetry I write, but it's kinda fun and it really really would crap my day if one day it went poof.
Second - You should all go and vote for File It Under in the Web Blog Awards. Why? Because he has that really funny news banner, that's why. And SECOND, because he is running against Dave from Garfield Ridge, and while he's funny, he has refused to link me, the bastard. It's as simple as that, my friends.
LINK ME, AND GET MY VOTE. This isn't rocket science.
James Robbins in NRO concerning those four kidnapped pacifists in Iraq:
A sensible terrorist political warfare strategy tries to drive wedges into the enemy society by isolating the groups you will never be able to win over and appealing to as wide a base as possible. The Swords of Truth Brigades should not be threatening the CPT team; they should be holding a joint press conference to denounce the Coalition. The way they are behaving is comparable to the North Vietnamese shooting Jane Fonda with a firing squad instead of a camera in 1972. The terrorists really do not know who their friends are. They kidnap humanitarian workers. They target journalists. They bomb the U.N. Lenin must be spinning in his tomb.
I've got the day-after-birthday blas, and don't feel much like blogging. So, don't expect much.
The headline (on the Yahoo homepage) I dug past was this :
US Bases Attacked in Iraq
And what I found was this :
Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch told reporters that suicide bombings fell to 23 in November, which he attributed to successful U.S.-Iraqi military operations against insurgent strongholds in the Euphrates River valley west of the capital.
"His weapon of choice is suicide bombers," Lynch said of the insurgents. "In the month of November: only 23 suicide attacks; the lowest we've seen in the last seven months, the direct result of the effectiveness of our operations.
Police Lt. Mohammed al-Obaidi said at least four mortar rounds fell near the U.S. base on the eastern edge of the city, but that there were no reports of casualties. U.S. officials disputed the report and said only one grenade was fired.
You might have heard of attorney
Geoffrey Fieger, or seen him on Foxnews doing legal analysis. But, I'm sure you don't feel the same amusement that I do with this story:
Federal agents raided the law office of Geoffrey Fieger late Wednesday looking for evidence that he laundered $35,000 in campaign contributions to the John Edwards 2004 presidential campaign through his employees.
“Yeah, right, I want to hear it from them.” Fieger said this morning, charging he’s the victim of Republican conspiracy. “I’m tired of all of this McCarthyism – period.”
I'm a "lowly insect." Can someone please explain how this is better than one of those "crusty crustacean" things? Because it certainly doesn't sound any better.
Ace is on fire. I hate to quote him, since many read him anyway, but he really puts in words the way I feel on this issue, and have wanted to address.
The Democratic Party and the New York Times (and the whole of the MSM) have a vested political interest in American defeat. They want America to lose. If America loses, Bush loses. If America loses, the Republicans lose. If America loses, the media and the Democratic Party wins. The Democrats take Congress and perhaps the Presidency, the media regains (it thinks) its supposed old reputation as an objective truth teller and National Repository of Wisdom In All Matters.
It's quite true that Bush and the Republicans have a vested political interest in the outcome of this war, too. As has been said too many times to easily count, Bush's Presidency depends on victory. If he wins in Iraq, he will be a successful president; if he is defeated, he will be a debacle.
While there's a selfish interest there, it can't help be noticed that Bush's selfish interest happens to coincide with the national interest. Whereas the Democrats' selfish interest is directly contrary to it.
"The best way to end that threat once and for all is with a new Iraqi government -- a government ready to live in peace with its neighbors, a government that respects the rights of its people," Clinton said.
Such a change in Baghdad would take time and effort, Clinton said, adding that his administration would work with Iraqi opposition forces.
If, when you discuss politics, you find yourself unable to proceed without using the words "dipshit" and "fuckwit", perhaps you should refrain. *.
Can you believe this BS?:
It is a war between 27 million and 10,000; 27 million Iraqis who want to live lives of freedom, opportunity and prosperity and roughly 10,000 terrorists who are either Saddam revanchists, Iraqi Islamic extremists or al Qaeda foreign fighters who know their wretched causes will be set back if Iraq becomes free and modern. The terrorists are intent on stopping this by instigating a civil war to produce the chaos that will allow Iraq to replace Afghanistan as the base for their fanatical war-making. We are fighting on the side of the 27 million because the outcome of this war is critically important to the security and freedom of America. If the terrorists win, they will be emboldened to strike us directly again and to further undermine the growing stability and progress in the Middle East, which has long been a major American national and economic security priority.
*******************
I am disappointed by Democrats who are more focused on how President Bush took America into the war in Iraq almost three years ago, and by Republicans who are more worried about whether the war will bring them down in next November's elections, than they are concerned about how we continue the progress in Iraq in the months and years ahead.
Here is an ironic finding I brought back from Iraq. While U.S. public opinion polls show serious declines in support for the war and increasing pessimism about how it will end, polls conducted by Iraqis for Iraqi universities show increasing optimism. Two-thirds say they are better off than they were under Saddam, and a resounding 82% are confident their lives in Iraq will be better a year from now than they are today. What a colossal mistake it would be for America's bipartisan political leadership to choose this moment in history to lose its will and, in the famous phrase, to seize defeat from the jaws of the coming victory.
John Derbyshire isn't one of the most beloved conservatives, but he goes to far when he writes this in NRO :
t is, in fact, a sad truth about human life that beyond our salad days, very few of us are interesting to look at in the buff. Added to that sadness is the very unfair truth that a woman's salad days are shorter than a man's — really, in this precise context, only from about 15 to 20. The Nautilus and the treadmill can add a half decade or so, but by 36 the bloom is definitely off the rose. Very few of us, however, can face up to this fact honestly, and I am sure this diary item will generate more angry e-mails of protest than everything else I have written this month.
Gravity's Rainbow
Altas Shrugged
Portrait of a Lady
The Foundation Series
The Great Gastby well I think I have read this one, but it left very little impression on me.
More to come. Why don't you play along?
From Rasmussen :
Tuesday November 29, 2005--Forty-five percent (45%) of American adults approve of the way George W. Bush is performing his role as President.
Fifty-four percent (54%) of Americans Disapprove of the President's performance.
Seventy-six percent (76%) of Republicans give the President's performance their Approval. That view is shared by 21% of Democrats and 36% of those not affiliated with either major political party.
That is the day Serenity comes out on DVD. You can buy it combined with the complete series for $43! I REALLY wish my husband read my blog.
Since I home school, I can be sure that my children will never see questions such as the following on a vocabulary quiz:
I wish Bush would be (coherent, eschewed) for once during a speech, but there are theories that his everyday diction charms the below-average mind, hence insuring him Republican votes."
Calories consumed: Not too bad, and I managed to exercise everyday 'cept Turkey day itself (although I did go for a short walk.) Sorry, Leo. I know how disappointed you must be to find that I don't really fit into the stereotype you've fallen so in love with of Americans. Head-to-neck ratio is just as it should be, and my Cholesterol, blood pressure, etc, are all just perfection.
TV watched: avoided all football games. Ditto any and all parades, although I DID see the Detroit Santa Float on the 94/Woodward overpass on my way South to see the inlaws. "LOOK KIDS, THERE'S SANTA!" All the fun, none of the zero degree cold.
And, I finally watched the first DVD of Firefly and I have to say it rocked! Anyone know how many episodes in total there are? I want to prepare myself ... pace myself, if you will. I'm Netflixing them, but I really really like what I've seen so far. I might have to ask for them from Santa.
I, for one, am Thankful my forefathers had the good sense to get out of Europe.
Too busy crafting today to blog. Of course, I'm sure Leo is imaging that I'm knitting toaster cozies or painting rocks.
While visiting his niece, an elderly man had what was apparently a stroke. The woman drove wildly to get him to the emergency room. After what seemed like a very long wait, the E.R. doctor appeared, wearing his scrubs and a long face. Sadly, he said, "I'm afraid that your uncle's brain is dead, but his heart is still beating."
"Oh, dear," cried the woman, her hands clasped against her cheeks with shock.
"We've never had a Democrat in the family before!"
It might just be me, but right now, I can't get enough of System of a Down. Don't care for their politics, but I can ignore that.
No, not football. But, I'm reading Ray Bradbury's S is for Space and I was thinking if I could "be" any author I wanted to, it would be him. I'd have a house that looked like the Jetson's and I might even start smoking a pipe. I would be so cool.
My oven isn't working. The stove top is fine, and the broiler goes on, but the oven just sits there. Good thing I don't have anything going on this weekend. OH YEA, I do. It's Ian and Erin's birthday. Guess I won't be baking a cake.
And, it's not as if the entire stove wasn't working, and I'm relieved of cooking.
A bit down in comments, Leo mentions two incidents of Christian terror in recent history (one is 20 years old). I couldn't find it at the time, but here is the running total of Deadly terror attacks carried out by Islamic crazies since 9/11. That was, in case you forgot, only 4 years ago.
If numbers and charts aren't your thing,here (graphic warning) is an illustrative picture of what Islamic terrorists do to innocent Christians.
The following is an email reply from Warren Community College English professor John Daly, to student Rebecca Beach who had asked the faculty to announce the appearance of a decorated Iraqi War Hero (Lt. Col. Scott Rutter.)
Remember, as you read the following, that those opposed to the war are supportive of the military.
November 13, 2005
Dear Rebecca:
I am asking my students to boycott your event. I am also going to ask others to boycott it. Your literature and signs in the entrance lobby look like fascist propaganda and is extremely offensive. Your main poster "Communism killed 100,000,000" is not only untrue, but ignores the fact that CAPITALISM has killed many more and the evidence for that can be seen in the daily news papers. The U.S. government can fly to dominate the people of Iraq in 12 hours, yet it took them five days to assist the people devastated by huricane Katrina. Racism and profits were key to their priorities. Exxon, by the way, made $9 Billion in profits this last quarter--their highest proft margin ever. Thanks to the students of WCCC and other poor and working class people who are recruited to fight and die for EXXON and other corporations who earning megaprofits from their imperialist plunders. If you want to count the number of deaths based on political systems, you can begin with the more than a million children who have died in Iraq from U.S.-imposed sanctions and war. Or the million African American people who died from lack of access to healthcare in the US over the last 10 years.
I will continue to expose your right-wing, anti-people politics until groups like your won't dare show their face on a college campus. Real freedom will come when soldiers in Iraq turn their guns on their superiors and fight for just causes and for people's needs--such freedom fighters can be counted throughout American history and they certainly will be counted again.
Prof. John Daly
For Michael Moore's minutemen:
Two suicide bombers strapped with explosives killed at least 74 people and reduced two crowded Shi'ite mosques to rubble during Friday prayers in the northeast Iraqi town of Khanaqin.
More bodies were trapped, said Ibrahim Ahmed Bajalan, a member of the Diyala provincial council. "I think there are more than 100 people dead," he said. Another lesser blast was reported near a bank in the town, police said.
Kamaran Ahmed, the director of Khanaqin hospital, said 74 people had been confirmed killed and 150 wounded. He said many bodies were too badly mutilated to identify.
Apparently, the relative obscurity to which Cindy! has been regulated to in the last few months doesn't sit well. In an attempt to relive her glory days, Cindy! is returning to Crawford:
The fallen soldier’s mother who drew thousands to her 26-day war protest near President Bush’s ranch this summer plans to return for Thanksgiving next week, despite new county ordinances banning roadside camping.
Cindy Sheehan and at least a dozen supporters are prepared to be arrested as they return to the makeshift campsite along the road leading to Bush’s ranch, where he is expected to spend the holiday.
“It is critical for our democracy that we continue to ask the same questions that Cindy Sheehan asked this summer: What is the noble cause for the war with Iraq, and at what point do we say enough bloodshed has happened?” said Hadi Jawad, co-founder of the Crawford Peace House.
I guess I can't read Shape of Days for a while. The problem must lie in my older version of Safari -which just refuses to reveal his posts. I looked into updating it, but the only new version I could find was one that goes with the brand-spanking new OS X 10.4 (actually, I found one that goes with 10.3, but am using a 10.2 version.) So, until I feel like plunking down another $130 bucks for a new OS, guess I'll have to content myself with other bloggers.
I sure hope none of my other links decide to go all high-tech on me. I might have to return to reading books.
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