Why America is Great

Patriotism

What has happened to it? Where has it gone?

I'm sitting here right now while, literally, there is one of the biggest Fourth of July parades on the west coast going by my window, and I am amazed at how repulsed I am. Where has my patriotism gone? I can remember that I once truly believed in America, and I that believed in the values it stood for. Well, I still believe in the values, but I'm not sure I believe in America anymore.

It's easy to feel this way when all you see is negativity in the Media about the United States.

Nothing seems to be good for America when our country is broadcast or spoken about outside our borders.

We even have US. citizens, like Al Gore, who will take foriegn government's money, travel to a foriegn country and on thier soil, trash America.

You sir, have spit in the face of America.


Even though many try and degrade America, make America seem evil or bad, I know they are wrong. For you see, I love America. I see it everyday, I see the wonders in everything I do and it's really too bad people do not stop and feel it too. It's easy to take for granted, to get too caught up in your everyday life, the hustle and bustle, the bad news of the day from the media, to actually sit back and think for a moment that you have it so much better than anywhere in the world. Think about that for a moment. You have it so much better in America, you have more freedoms than anywhere in the world.

As much as people think we are the worst country, that so many are so much better than America, most seem to do it while LIVING in America.

Strange isn't it?

That people who would demonize America, who say they hate America and all it stands for, would do so while partaking of America's Bounty. They are Hypocrites of the highest order.

I love the concept of the Statue of Liberty, she symbolizes America, THE America that immigrants from all over the world strive to come and behold her shores, to come and partake of the American Dream.

The American Dream is the faith held by many in the United States that through hard work, courage, and determination one can achieve a better life for oneself, usually through financial prosperity.

If America is so loathed and hated, then why is it so many flock to her shores?

America is so big-hearted and prosperous it can welcome people from all over the world fleeing oppression or poverty.

Yes we have rules and laws, and we expect that if you wish to come here that you please observe and follow them. This includes Immigration. We welcome you to Amercia, but enter legally, for to do otherwise disrespects the Laws of America and in doing so shows a lack of respect for America.

You will find no greater place than America when it comes to Freedom of Speech. No where else in the world has a greater freedom to speak than you will in America.

You will find no greater place than America when it comes to Religous Freedom. We have a diverse country of cultures and religons that practice thier faith without persecution.

You will find no greater place than America when it comes to the Rule of Law - the right of accused persons to confront their accusers, the right to an attorney, the right to remain silent, the right to refuse admission to government officials wanting to enter your home or office.

America is the most prosperous nation in the world and for that people of all nationalities and faiths flock to her shores. They come for Freedom, they come to partake of America's richness, her Glory and Pride.

America is the beacon of Liberty, providing light and hope and inspiration to the entire world.

When there is trouble, where do nations around the world turn?
When there is epidemics, tidal waves, mass destruction, floods.....where do they turn to for aid?
What country is the biggest contributor of aid around the world?

America.


Here is what some think makes America great:

It's a scene of everyday Americans doing the right thing: truck drivers, firefighters, bartenders, teachers, and of course cops and firefighters. Most days, there's an abundance of heroism bundled up in the American people and it only took the appearance of a natural disaster to unleash it. Personally, I'm just happy to be in a country where even if the government is incompetent, the people can collectively rig up solutions to almost anything.

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Next is, of course, Fredom of speech. This is something we often take for granted. In many countries around the world, if someone wrote what I'm writing, they would be arrested and thrown in jail. The very fact that I am able to speak these words and publish these essays demonstrates the level of freedom we still enjoy in the United States of America.

If you think about it, there are countries like China where you wouldn't dare speak your mind, because you'd be incarcerated or assassinated. There are countries like Iran, where bloggers are put in jail because the Iranian government does not like their blogs. Certainly in the United States there's a lot of censorship and editorial control in the mainstream press, but a blogger can get online and say just about anything they want (as long as it's not something like instructions on how to make a bomb).

We can freely criticize the government, the president, private groups and even professions. At the same time we can sing the praises of those things we believe are really phenomenal and positive in this country. That's what freedom of speech is all about. It doesn't mean that you have to agree with everything I say, or that I have to agree with everything you say. It means that we respect each other's right to voice our opinions, even if we disagree. Especially if we disagree, actually. We let the conversation take place, so that individuals can be exposed to many different views, and then decide on their own what they wish to believe. It's a remarkable freedom, and it's crucial that we preserve that freedom. It's one of the best things about living in the United States today.

The cultural diversity

The people in this country are remarkably creative; they are independent thinkers, and they bring together the wisdom of many different cultures and background. I don't know of any other place in the world where you can get the same cultural mix that you have here in the United States. I think it's wonderful to have the cultural influences of Hispanics, African Americans, Eastern Europeans, Asians, South Americans and many others.

Racial diversity is one of the things I really enjoy about this country. I would be bored silly to live in a country that had a homogeneous culture with no international influences. I want some diversity; I like to meet people from different cultures. I'm one of the few vocal supporters of (legal) immigration, because I believe it is precisely such diversities that made this nation great in the first place.

The free market

The next thing to love about America is the free market: The competitiveness of our market results in the creation of highly efficient businesses that deliver necessary products and services to us in ways that simply cannot be achieved under a centralized government system such as communism. I know there are problems with the free market system; in fact I'm one of the biggest critics of certain elements of the free market system. It creates corporate abuses and corporate ethic atrocities, for one thing. This is a system that has created Enron and WorldCom and Big Pharma, after all. But it's also the same system that has created an environment in which natural health supplement manufacturers can flourish. A system in which computer companies like Dell can reinvent the way we get custom-built computers very quickly at remarkably low costs. It serves our consumption interests very well, overall. It spurs creativity and competitiveness, and it promotes innovation.

That's a pretty good economic system. In fact, it's the best created so far. I would hate to be living under a system of communism or centralized control where, in effect, most of the people in the country were just sitting around doing nothing, or pushing paper from one person to another. If you visit any government-run institution in countries like China or Mexico, you'll find that it's a common practice. Everything's still done by paper, and there's no such thing as good service - there's not even an expectation of good service. You're basically at the mercy of government bureaucrats for everything you need. Even if you want to enter or exit the country, you have to get a dozen stamps from some bureaucrat who seems to actually enjoy making you sweat.

But here in the United States we have an essentially free market system, and it's a system that encourages customer service and quality control. These are fantastic benefits of living in this society, and some even creep into the public sector, where now you can visit DMV offices around the country, and many of them are actually doing a decent job these days (it's not perfect, I know, but it's an improvement). They have streamlined operations by mimicking the operations of private industry to create better efficiencies and a more satisfying customer experience. That's quite remarkable. Again, it's something we might take for granted in this country, but it's not something you find everywhere else in the world, and it is indeed something to be thankful for.

Grassroots activism

The next thing to love about America is grassroots activism. In America, people feel the need and have the motivation to stand up and speak out about a great many things. People hold public rallies and marches and grassroots events. They will rally together for an important cause, such as saving the environment or saving the whales or overturning unjust laws. Americans tend to be activist-oriented, and to me that's a healthy sign of the level of freedom in a country. It's frustrating when these activists are suppressed (like happened at the WTO meetings), but by and large activists are able to get their say in this country.

It's important that we all recognize the value of activism, whether or not we agree with the particular agendas of particular activist groups. As long as activists refrain from using violent tactics, they're healthy for this country. Obviously I do not condone any sort of violent activism, or anything that destroys property or threatens the safety of other human beings, but I'm all for loudmouthed activism, even if I don't agree with what they're ranting about. After all, I'm one of the most loudmouthed activists of all, and I feel quite tolerant of the other activists in this country, even if we don't share the same points of view. As Noam Chomsky said, "If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all."

This country not only tolerates activism; it actually seems to welcome it. People like to get involved, raise their voices and be heard. This keeps the government a little more honest. It helps keep public policies sane and provides a check on the legislative and judicial systems in this country. Now with the help of the internet and online activism, it provides an even more powerful way to connect people who share a common passion. For that reason, online activism is becoming a very powerful force for social and political change in this country.
I'm a tremendous fan of online activism. I think that the more people get together, share ideas, and work toward a common goal in a grassroots campaign, the better off we're going to be in this country. That's why I'm also a huge proponent of citizen journalism, online blogging and freedom of speech in all its forms.

Read the rest of it Here.

As you can see America is a great country, it supports many things, it is diverse in its thoughts, culture and people.

I think the constant barrage of negativity that the media heaps upon the US (while broadcasting and living here) tarnishes what this nation really is.

It is a great nation.

Remember America the beautiful, it says much about America, and how we feel or should feel about it:

America the Beautiful

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

Read all of it Here.

What I believe says the most about America, and captures the Patriotism that has been felt for our great nation is the Star Spangled Banner:

I.
Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

Chorus
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

II.
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream

Chorus
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

III.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight and the gloom of the grave

Chorus
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

IV.
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Bles't with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."

Chorus
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Remember this when you burn that Star Spangled Banner, you spit in America's face.
The American Flag is something a true American RESPECTS.

The flag is the symbol of our national unity, our national endeavor, our national aspiration.

The flag tells of the struggle for independence, of union preserved, of liberty and union one and inseparable, of the sacrifices of brave men and women to whom the ideals and honor of this nation have been dearer than life.

It means America first; it means an undivided allegiance.
It means America united, strong and efficient, equal to her tasks.
It means that you cannot be saved by the valor and devotion of your ancestors, that to each generation comes its patriotic duty; and that upon your willingness to sacrifice and endure as those before you have sacrificed and endured rests the national hope.

It speaks of equal rights, of the inspiration of free institutions exemplified and vindicated, of liberty under law intelligently conceived and impartially administrated. There is not a thread in it but scorns self-indulgence, weakness, and rapacity.

It is eloquent of our community interests, outweighing all divergencies of opinion, and of our common destiny.

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Though criticized, we firmly believe in the Pledge of Allegiance because it embodies what we feel of America:

This is our pledge to our wonderful great country.
You hear it throughout America. But, do you really know what it means?
Let's look at it very closely so that you can learn and understand its meaning.

"I pledge allegiance"
(I promise to be true)
"to the flag"
(to the symbol of our country)

"of the United States of America"
(each state that has joined to make our country)

"and to the Republic"
(a republic is a country where the people choose others to make laws for them
-- the government is for the people)

"for which it stands,"
(the flag means the country)

"one Nation"
(a single country)

"under God,"
(the people believe in a supreme being)

"indivisible,"
(the country cannot be split into parts)

"with liberty and justice"
(with freedom and fairness)

"for all."
(for each person in the country...you and me...!)


The Pledge of Allegiance says you are promising to be true
to the United States of America! Never take these freedoms that you have for granted.
Remember all branches of the armed forces, and the countless thousands of men, women and children, yes children, who through the centuries have given their lives, so that we may enjoy, all the freedoms that we have today.

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Last but not least, for those that live in America, when it comes to hating America, when everything that comes out of your mouth is nothing but vitriol for America, I have but one thing to ask you.....

Why are YOU still living in America?

Is Sean Penn a Dangerous Person?

Something has been really bothering me since I read the below article:

Hollywood activist SEAN PENN has a plastic doll of conservative US columnist ANN COULTER that he likes to abuse when angry. The Oscar-winner actor has hated Coulter ever since she blacklisted his director father LEO PENN in her book TREASON. And he takes out his frustrations with Coulter, who is a best-selling author, lawyer and television pundit, on the Barble-like doll. In an interview with The New Yorker magazine, Penn reveals, "We violate her. There are cigarette burns in some funny places. She's a pure snake-oil salesman. She doesn't believe a word she says."

Hat Tip: RightWinged.com

Something seems very wrong that a grown man is playing with Barbie Dolls in the first place, but is worse and more disturbing is the physical abuse, violation and burning in "interesting places" which I assume to be sexual private areas.

This is very disturbing to me, not because it is some sort of Ann Couter doll, but because of the gratification he seems to derive from the exact nature of the type of abuse he acts out on the doll and image of Ann Coulter.

Sexual assault is a violent crime and includes rape, child sexual abuse, incest, and sexual harassment. Sexual assault is a humiliating, terrifying, and brutal crime; an act which violates a person's innermost physical and psychological well-being. The victim of sexual assault can be anyone; no one is immune, and no one deserves to have it happen to them.

Link

While this may not be the case, Penn is taking is frustration of Ann Coulter out on a doll that represents her, in what I would assume, is what he would want to do to her if he could.

This is what disturbs me in this line of action from Sean Penn.

This also could be a sign that Sean Penn was sexually abused as a child:

Symptoms of Abuse in Children:

* Re-enactment of the abuse by using dolls, friends, drawings

* Threatening behavior-fear of violence, games with threats

The rest of the symptoms are Here.

The dolls' explicit parts may serve as a stimulus to remind the child of sexual abuse.

Link

Another possibility by the sadistic nature in which he fantasizes with the dolls image of Ann Coulter is a Sexually Aggressive Predator:

Type IV: Sexual Aggressive - socially and sexually active, delinquent peer group, drug and alcohol use, family is abusive and disorganized, sexual acts express anger and domination, poor impulse control, rape and cruelty fantasies, use of force and violence, character-disordered.

Link

If this is the case then I think it might be wise for Ann Coutler to get a restraining order against Sean Penn, since he is displaying tendencies of a Sexual Aggressive Predator.

Again, this too is disturbing if suggestion of it are true, but verification would have to be through previous dates or relationships to see how he really acts.

But as I said, his actions seem to point this way, and are very disturbing if it is true.

Aims of Rape

* Conquest and control

* Revenge and retaliation

* Sadism and degradation

* Conflict and counteraction

* Status and affection - (gang rape)

And it seems the violation, degrading and sadistic nature in which Sean Penn derives pleasure from his actions on a doll that represents Ann Coulter is VERY disturbing.

Sadists - These men find their thrill by not just of hurting someone physically, but more importantly, hurting them emotionally and sexually. These men do not feel a sense of empathy toward their victims as they treat their victim as an object.

"Other people's helplessness makes them feel powerful. Other people's vulnerability makes them feel invincible. Other people's dying makes them feel alive. Other people's submission makes them feel dominant"
(Salter, 108). And

"Rapists certainly intend to inflict pain"
(Salter, 109).

Psychopaths - these men feel a sense of joy and child-like delight at duping and hurting other people.

Link

While I do not think Sean Penn is a Psychopath, I do feel he is exihbiting behaviour that tends to point in very disturbing areas.

3. The Sadistic Rape - power and anger become eroticised (page 13). The offender finds that intentionally harming his victim, seeing the victim tormented, helpless, distressed and suffering is both intensely gratifying and pleasurable The assaults may include bondage, torture, rituals, bizarre acts and the offender may target sexual areas of the victims body to inflict injury and abusive acts such as biting and burning or instruments or foreign objects may be used to sexually penetrate his victim (page 45).

Link

As I said, his actions seem to be of a very disturbed man who is playing with dolls, violating and degrading the image of Ann Coulter. The sadistic nature in which Sean Penn derives pleasure from his actions on a doll that represents Ann Coulter is VERY disturbing.

Others Blogging on Sean Penn:
RightWinged.com, Leaning Straight Up, Urbangrounds, Chez Diva

Stupidity of the Hollywood Elite

The arrogance and stupidity of the Hollywood Elite seem to never end.

Take for instance, Sharon Stone, who is giving sex education talks to strangers on health concerns of unprotected sex:

Actress SHARON STONE is adamant teenagers should be prepared to engage in oral sex, if it saves from them the dangers of unprotected penetrative sex. The BASIC INSTINCT spends much of her time away from Hollywood working as an activist raising AIDS awareness, and she always carries condoms with her to hand out in a bid to increase safe sex levels. She explains, "I was in the store the other day and I watched a young girl trying on clothes, showing her abdomen. "Her mother was trying to talk to her about not being inappropriately luring. I said, 'Gee that would look much nicer with a camisole under.' "Her mother walked away, and I said to the girl, 'I'd like to give you a two-minute conversation about sex.' "Young people talk to me about what to do if they're being pressed for sex? I tell them (what I believe): oral sex is a hundred times safer than vaginal or anal sex. "If you're in a situation where you cannot get out of sex, offer a blow job. I'm not embarrassed to tell them."

Link

First, why is she giving sex advice to children without the permission of the parent knowledge or consent? I thought only Public Schools seemed to think they had that right.
I guess Hollywood Elite think they have that right also.

Second, she works as an activist raising AIDS awareness and she is stupidly advising that, oral sex is a hundred times safer than vaginal or anal sex. "If you're in a situation where you cannot get out of sex, offer a blow job. I'm not embarrassed to tell them."

Sharon Stone says, ""If you're in a situation where you cannot get out of sex..."
How about telling them not to get in a situation like that.
How about telling them if they don't want sex and they are in a situation they where they cannot get out of sex, they should say NO, and anything after that constitutes RAPE!

*shakes head ruefully*

Hello? Do you not read your own material?
If your an activist for AIDS awareness you of all people should realize that contact with bodily fluid is how it is transmitted, blood to blood, sexual fluids or to SALIVA.

Why the hell is this woman giving what amounts to medical advice?
She is stating that it is safer to have oral sex than unprotected vaginal sex.
That may be so if you are talking about not getting PREGNANT but that will not stop diseases, nor will it stop HIV.

A quick search comes up with this Mrs. Stone:

A number of studies have demonstrated that oral sex can result in the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Link

Something many don't know about Sharon, she's a member of MENSA with an I.Q. of 154.
Which comments as stupid as this really suprise me.

Many teens falsely believe they cannot get HIV from giving Oral Sex, such that Mrs. Stone is recommending to teens she meets:

In a USA national survey of teens conducted for The Kaiser Family Foundation, 26% of sexually active 15 to 17 year olds surveyed responded that one "cannot become infected with HIV by having unprotected oral sex", and an additional 15% didn't know whether or not one could become infected in that manner.

Does Mrs. Stone explain the possibilities of getting the disease through Oral Sex or does she just say 'it is safer than unprotected vaginal sex'?

Several co-factors can increase the risk of HIV transmission through oral sex, including: oral ulcers, bleeding gums, genital sores, and the presence of other STDs.

Now in fact, studies do show that the chance is LESS, but does not say that it is completely safe, in which Mrs. Stone seems to be advocating.

Various scientific studies have been performed around the world to try and document and study instances of HIV transmission through oral sex. A programme in San Francisco studied 198 people, nearly all gay or bisexual men. The subjects stated that they had only had oral sex for a year, from six months preceding the six-month study to its end. 20 per cent of the study participants, 39 people, reported performing oral sex on partners they knew to be HIV positive. 35 of those did not use a condom and 16 reported swallowing cum. No-one became HIV positive during the study. Due to the low number of unprotected serodiscordant pairings, all that can be said is that there was a less than 2.8 per cent chance of infection through oral sex over a year. In 2000, a different San Francisco study of gay men who had recently acquired HIV infection found that 7.8 per cent of these infections were attributed to oral sex. However, the results of the study have since been called into question due to the reliability of the participant's data.

Although the risk is many times smaller than anal or vaginal sex, HIV has been transmitted to receptive partners through fellatio, even in cases when insertive partners didn't ejaculate.

And as I stated earlier, oral sex, while low in possibility of transmitting HIV (but still is not safe as advocated), can still result in the following:

Other STDs Can Also Be Transmitted Through Oral Sex

Scientists have documented a number of other sexually transmitted diseases that have also been transmitted through oral sex. Herpes, syphilis, gonorrhea, genital warts (HPV), intestinal parasites (amebiasis), and hepatitis A are examples of STDs which can be transmitted during oral sex with an infected partner.

Still want to advocate that Oral Sex is safer to kids?
How about telling them more than, "it is safer"?
How about telling them the truth, ALL OF IT.

While your at it Sharon Stone, why don't you quit trying to explain sex to children and teens on the street, or in clothing stores, when thier parents suddenly walk away. Why wait till the parent leaves?

See an Update and Example in, Is Sean Penn a Dangerous Person?

Others Blogging on the Stupidity of the Hollywood Elite:
Sister Toldjah, Expose the Left, RightWinged.com, Killtown, Bookworm Room, Shot In The Dark, Michelle Malkin

Libya, China and Syria Angered by Snub

Beijing (SatireWire.com) — Bitter after being snubbed for membership in the "Axis of Evil," Libya, China, and Syria today announced they had formed the "Axis of Just as Evil," which they said would be way eviler than that stupid Iran-Iraq-North Korea axis President Bush warned of his State of the Union address.

Axis of Evil members, however, immediately dismissed the new axis as having, for starters, a really dumb name. "Right. They are Just as Evil... in their dreams!" declared North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. "Everybody knows we're the best evils... best at being evil... we're the best."

Diplomats from Syria denied they were jealous over being excluded, although they conceded they did ask if they could join the Axis of Evil.

"They told us it was full," said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"An Axis can't have more than three countries," explained Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "This is not my rule, it's tradition. In World War II you had Germany, Italy, and Japan in the evil Axis. So you can only have three. And a secret handshake. Ours is wicked cool."

THE AXIS PANDEMIC

International reaction to Bush's Axis of Evil declaration was swift, as within minutes, France surrendered.

Elsewhere, peer-conscious nations rushed to gain triumvirate status in what became a game of geopolitical chairs. Cuba, Sudan, and Serbia said they had formed the Axis of Somewhat Evil, forcing Somalia to join with Uganda and Myanmar in the Axis of Occasionally Evil, while Bulgaria, Indonesia and Russia established the Axis of Not So Much Evil Really As Just Generally Disagreeable.

With the criteria suddenly expanded and all the desirable clubs filling up, Sierra Leone, El Salvador, and Rwanda applied to be called the Axis of Countries That Aren't the Worst But Certainly Won't Be Asked to Host the Olympics; Canada, Mexico, and Australia formed the Axis of Nations That Are Actually Quite Nice But Secretly Have Nasty Thoughts About America, while Spain, Scotland, and New Zealand established the Axis of Countries That Sometimes Ask Sheep to Wear Lipstick.

"That's not a threat, really, just something we like to do," said Scottish Executive First Minister Jack McConnell.

While wondering if the other nations of the world weren't perhaps making fun of him, a cautious Bush granted approval for most axes, although he rejected the establishment of the Axis of Countries Whose Names End in "Guay," accusing one of its members of filing a false application. Officials from Paraguay, Uruguay, and Chadguay denied the charges.

Israel, meanwhile, insisted it didn't want to join any Axis, but privately, world leaders said that's only because no one asked them.

This Laugh brought to you by the letter 'A', the Number '7', and SatireWire.

On a more serious note though, Sister Toldjah shows more significant evidence that there was collaboration between Al Qaeda and Iraq.

Refueling over Baghdad

Link

Wow!

Additional, very detailed, pictures can also be seen at Atlas Shrugs of fighter jets breaking the sound barrier. Amazing photographs!

Who do they remind you of?

Link

Janeane Garofalo salutes on MSNBC.

Link
And the US gets called Nazi-like....

You decide.


Senator Durbin:

"If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags or some mad regime - Pol Pot or others - that had no concern for human beings," the senator said June 14.

Senator Byrd:

"We, unlike Nazi Germany or Mussolini's Italy, have never stopped being a nation of laws, not of men," Byrd said. "But witness how men with motives and a majority can manipulate law to cruel and unjust ends."

Dr. Dobson:

“The Nazis experimented on human beings in horrible ways in the concentration camps, and I imagine, if you wanted to take the time to read about it, there would have been some discoveries there that benefited mankind,” he said on his radio show last week, in reference to Frist’s stand.” He continued: “there’s a higher order of ethics here.”

Link

Ex-U.S. Sen. Rudy Boschwitz, R-Minn., himself a survivor of the Nazi death camps, called the bumper stickers a "grotesque insult."

"To invoke the name of one of the great monsters of the twentieth century, Adolf Hitler, for base political gain is a grotesque insult to the memory of the millions of Jews and other innocents who died at his terrible hand," Boschwitz said.

The Washington Post says it all right here:

Someone should post a sign in the Senate cloakroom or wherever Important People Who Should Know Better will see it. The sign would warn politicians against comparing anything to the Nazis or Hitler or the Holocaust. These comparisons are not a good idea. Repeat : Not a good idea.

....

According to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, "There is a tradition in many Usenet newsgroups that once such a comparison is made, the thread is over, and whoever mentioned the Nazis has automatically lost whatever argument was in progress."

Link

Sister Toldjah has an excerpt from Katrina Vanden Heuvel, who is editor and publisher of the Nation, that was in the Washington Post on improving political discussion. I agree with ST in that I don't see it happening either.

It would be interesting to track this back to where the country began to spilt so heavily, where hatred and class warfare became central points of discussion instead of actual political debate.

Yes, that would be interesting indeed.

US Supreme Court Scalia to Detainees - No Rights for You

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia dismissed the idea that Guantanamo detainees have constitutional rights and called European concerns over the issue hypocritical, Newsweek magazine reported on Sunday.

....

"War is war, and it has never been the case that when you captured a combatant you have to give them a jury trial in your civil courts," Scalia said in the talk at the University of Freiburg, according to Newsweek. "Give me a break."

....

Scalia, asked at Freiburg whether detainees at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have protections under international conventions, gave the suggestion short shrift.

'IT'S CRAZY'

"If he was captured by my army on a battlefield, that is where he belongs. I had a son on that battlefield and they were shooting at my son, and I'm not about to give this man who was captured in a war a full jury trial. I mean it's crazy," he said. Scalia's son Matthew served with the U.S. Army in Iraq

....

It said Scalia added that he was "astounded" at "hypocritical" reaction in Europe to the Guantanamo prison.

Link

First, I do not think Scalia should have made these remarks public on a case that would be coming before the US Supreme Court and he would probably be hearing. I agree that it shows a lack of impartiality that the Judges should have when hearing a case, and it more than "seems" he has made up his mind, he has. There is no question as to his stance on this and that is not good when a judge makes up his mind before he hears the case.

Second, I also happen to agree with Scalia on one thing, and that is, if a foriegn enemy combatant is captured fighting our troops, planting bombs to hurt our troops, ect, then he does NOT have any Constitutional Rights to a trial by his peers, he is not a US citizen and therefore not subject to the Laws of our Constitution or the Bill of Rights for the US.

I do believe each case needs to be thoroughly investigated and a Military Tribunal be held in each case that should go over the information garnered, and determine a threat assessment on the foriegn enemy combatant and what involvement he had as a terrorist.

As for Europe and it's reaction to the Guantanamo prison, they have thier opinion and we have ours, these are foriegn enemy combatants that were captured. While I firmly believe that they should be investigated by a Military Tribunal as quickly as possible and if not enough evidence is found then released, I also believe that Europe has enough of it's own problems that they should be worrying about at the moment. We will not become like the French, our cities will not burn.

Terrorist 007, Al Qaeda's Hacker Caught

This is indeed good news, and a very good catch.

For almost two years, intelligence services around the world tried to uncover the identity of an Internet hacker who had become a key conduit for al-Qaeda. The savvy, English-speaking, presumably young webmaster taunted his pursuers, calling himself Irhabi -- Terrorist -- 007. He hacked into American university computers, propagandized for the Iraq insurgents led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and taught other online jihadists how to wield their computers for the cause.

Suddenly last fall, Irhabi 007 disappeared from the message boards. The postings ended after Scotland Yard arrested a 22-year-old West Londoner, Younis Tsouli, suspected of participating in an alleged bomb plot. In November, British authorities brought a range of charges against him related to that plot. Only later, according to our sources familiar with the British probe, was Tsouli's other suspected identity revealed. British investigators eventually confirmed to us that they believe he is Irhabi 007.

This could very well glean quite abit of information since he was the terrorist's networks major internet hacker.

The unwitting end of the hunt comes at a time when al-Qaeda sympathizers like Irhabi 007 are making explosive new use of the Internet. Countless Web sites and password-protected forums -- most of which have sprung up in the last several years -- now cater to would-be jihadists like Irhabi 007. The terrorists who congregate in those cybercommunities are rapidly becoming skilled in hacking, programming, executing online attacks and mastering digital and media design -- and Irhabi was a master of all those arts.

He could very well be a fountain of infomation if he breaks in interrogation.

Of course, no subjecting him to Barbara Streisand music, we wouldn't want to torture him or anything. Maybe if we ask nicely he will tell us what we want to know.

This was around the time that Zarqawi began using the Internet as his primary means of disseminating propaganda for his insurgency in Iraq. Zarqawi needed computer-savvy associates, and Irhabi proved to be a standout among the volunteers, many of whom were based in Europe.

This would be very nice if we had additional information on where and how to get to Zarqawi, something which if he is this important, might be able to provide. Names and passwords for these jihad forums, names, contacts, locations, plans. There is a wealth of information he might provide.

Over the following year and a half, Irhabi established himself as the top jihadi expert on all things Internet-related. He became a very active member of many jihadi forums in Arabic and English.

Irhabi's hacking ability was useful not only in the exchange of media, but also in the distribution of large-scale al-Qaeda productions. In one instance, a film produced by Zarqawi's al-Qaeda, titled "All Is for Allah's Religion," was distributed from a page at www.alaflam.net/wdkl .

Link

Since Gitmo is such a hell hole so many seem to think (far from it), perhaps we should store 007 wanna-be in a maximum security prison with the rapists and murders, let him sit in general population till he is ready to talk.

That isn't torture, it is called punishment.

Others blogging on this:
Riehl World View, Fraud, Phishing, and Financial Misdeeds, CyberTerrorism (Excellent Read)

Harry S. Truman Aircraft Carrier - Lego Style

Link
Can you imagine the time put into such a project?

The size is incredible.
There is a small lego man and this dwarfs over it.
I wonder if this was built to scale.

It really is fascinating.


The detail is amazing!

By the looks of it, this whole Aircraft Carrier fills the room it is built in.

Some facts:
Made by Malle Hawking (Weebleleezer). It is about 5m long, 1,40m wide and the height is about 1,20m. It contains over 200,000 Bricks and weighs over 160 Kilos and a five digit amount of costs. Building time was over one year and it will finish end of March 06. It has electrical lights on deck, hangar and aircrafts. Moveable Elevators and radar dishes and finally a motorized catapult!

The cost was in the 5 digits, wow.

I mean, WOW!

The detail is just amazing.

I would love to see a side-by-side comparison of the lego version and the real thing.


Just incredible.

Additional pictures can be seen at the Original Site.

Have Judges Lost Thier Minds?

What the hell is wrong with Judges these days?
Do they not want to uphold the Law anymore?
Any Judge that doesn't uphold the Law should be removed from the Bench for Incompetence or Dereliction of Duty.

Members of a Pawnee County jury are upset a judge gave a suspended sentence to a man convicted of raping a 13-year-old girl. The jury had recommended a 30-year prison sentence.

One upset juror drove to the Pawnee County Courthouse and returned a check for $167.90 he received for serving on the jury.

“They didn’t know what to do with it,” said Bruce Funkhouser.

“Justice was not served by this at all,” Funkhouser said. “I was just shocked. The judge let him go with a slap on the wrist.”

First seen at Stop the ACLU.

Stop the ACLU quotes from Lost...In Lima Ohio in which she gives a good slap at the Judge.

Perhaps these weak-kneed Judges should read what this young lady has to say on Crime and Punishment:

Crime and Punishment

Some nights, I awake in a cold sweat, breathing in shallow gasps. My heart races and tears pour down my face.

I can usually recall most of the nightmare that plagues my sleep. In the horrible dream, either myself, or someone very close to me, is murdered, raped or terribly maimed.

And I'm not the only one having this nightmare. It's not unusual for one of my friends to mention having had a similar dream when we chat together between classes.

I remind myself that these recurring dreams are just a part of my subconsciousness. But when, in my nightmare, the person responsible for such acts of violence walks free I begin to wonder how far my dream world is from reality.

It seems that newspapers today are full of headlines like "Judge Lets Rapist Off With Minimum Sentence," or "Murderer of Two Receives Bail."

This makes me believe that the laws in Canada are not strong enough and that people who commit crimes are not being punished severely enough. Whatever their crime may be - murder, drunk driving, or petty theft - those responsible should be punished as harshly as possible.

It seems that when sentencing someone, judges tend to focus mostly on a criminal's past, on how much other crime he has committed and not on the law he just broke. If a dangerous man beats his wife, but it's his first charge, then he's let off with what amounts to a slap on the wrist.

Why is the justice system so concerned with a criminal's past and not on the harm he just caused?

Take the case of someone with a so-called clean record who rapes a young woman. Doesn't it matter that he just raped this woman, that he stole her dignity and left her with feelings of filth and humiliation? Didn't he still rape her? The fact that he doesn't have a criminal record is beside the point.

I wonder when judges and juries will begin looking at the victims, and start taking into consideration how the criminal made them feel?

A woman who is assaulted and brutally raped is scarred for the rest of her life. She continues to feel the hurt, embarrassment and despair long after her ordeal.

Meanwhile, her rapist may feel little or no remorse about the pain he has caused. And when the punishment he receives is minimal he's given the idea that he shouldn't feel badly about the crime he committed.

Then again, why should he? The judge has, in a way, told him that he's not responsible for his own actions.

Some days, I feel terrified for my own life - especially when I read stories of criminals being released after serving little or no time. And I wonder what would happen if my life were taken from me by the hands of another. Would my family never be at rest because my murderer was given the shortest sentence possible, or was let off altogether?

Sometimes, as I peruse the newspaper and read of yet another person preying on innocent people, I wish that I were older. Then I might be able to a difference in this world.

For example, I would do all that I could to make those who decide the fate of accused criminals understand what if feels like to be raped. I would have them sit before a woman who had been violated by someone never convicted. I would make them listen to her pain and force them to see how terrified she has become since her attack.

Or, I would have them sit together with the family of someone who had been murdered in cold blood. Hopefully, they would then come to realize that the victims are not only those who end up in the morgue. The friends and family of the person killed - the ones who are left to wonder why - are also victims.

I think that if criminals were made to truly pay for their crimes, there would be less chance that these crimes get repeated. Those whose job it is to enforce the law would not have to keep arresting the same violators.

And maybe then I would sleep more peacefully at night.

Christine Kotelniski is 15 years old.

Link

The jury found 38-year-old Gregory Lynn Bryant guilty in November of raping the girl and recommended he serve a 30-year prison sentence. But on March 10, District Judge Jefferson Sellers suspended Bryant's sentence and instead placed him on probation.

Why do we have Jury Trials, a trial by our peers? The Jurors spent time going through the evidence presented and coming to a decision, just to have the Judge throw out thier decision.

Jury foreman Sam Goad of Pawnee said it took only minutes for the jury to find Bryant guilty, and that jurors spent most of their 90 minutes of deliberation on determining what Bryant's sentence should be.

Bryant, a former superintendent of the Pawnee Water Department, has adamantly denied that he had sex with the girl but did not testify during the trial. The girl did testify, but District Attorney Larry Stuart did not offer any medical evidence the girl was raped.

The Prosecution must have made a pretty good case, and Bryant by not testifying on his own behalf only made himself look more guilty. While it is strange that no evidence the female was raped was presented, there may have been reasons we do not know about (she washed, she did not report it right away, she was ashamed, ect).

Sellers said he erred in not granting a motion by Bryant's attorneys for a trial continuance. The defense wanted the nurse who performed the sexual-assault exam on the girl to testify.

"My decision has to do with what (the jurors) did not hear, since I did not grant a continuance of the trial," Sellers said.

Sellers said the defense did not file a motion for a new trial and that he didn't have the discretion to order one. But he said he does have the power to defer or suspend jury sentences or to allow those sentences to be spent in prison.

If evidence was not presented, as far as I know, you are not suppose to throw out what the jurors decide because you feel they didn't get presented with something at the trial. The trial was done and the jurors were there to decide, in which the judge essentially wasted the time of the jurors and decided for himself in a Jury Trial.

How can we forget the idiot judge who gives a 60 day sentence to a rapist who repeatedly raped a 7 year old child.

Others blogging on weak judges:
The Blue State Conservatives, Info4Beer, The Blue Site, Digger's Realm, Free Republic.

Translated Papers from Saddam's Reign Released

A newly released pre-war Iraqi document indicates that an official representative of Saddam Hussein's government met with Osama bin Laden in Sudan on February 19, 1995 after approval by Saddam Hussein.

Bin Laden asked that Iraq broadcast the lectures of Suleiman al Ouda, a radical Saudi preacher, and suggested "carrying out joint operations against foreign forces" in Saudi Arabia. According to the document, Saddam's presidency was informed of the details of the meeting on March 4, 1995 and Saddam agreed to dedicate a program for them on the radio. The document states that further "development of the relationship and cooperation between the two parties to be left according to what's open (in the future) based on dialogue and agreement on other ways of cooperation."

Funny how the article had to be spliced up into Editor notes, but even that made for some good reading:

The document does not establish that the two parties did in fact enter into an operational relationship. Given that the document claims bin Laden was proposing to the Iraqis that they conduct "joint operations against foreign forces" in Saudi Arabia, it is interesting to note that eight months after the meeting — on November 13, 1995 — terrorists attacked Saudi National Guard Headquarters in Riyadh, killing 5 U.S. military advisors. The militants later confessed on Saudi TV to having been trained by Osama bin Laden.)

Sure seems like there is a connection there.
If not, it is a helluva coincidence.

An Iraqi intelligence service document saying that their Afghani informant, who's only identified by a number, told them that the Afghani Consul Ahmed Dahastani claimed the following in front of him:

* That OBL and the Taliban are in contact with Iraq and that a group of Taliban and bin Laden group members visited Iraq.

* That the U.S. has proof the Iraqi government and "bin Laden's group" agreed to cooperate to attack targets inside America.

* That in case the Taliban and bin Laden's group turn out to be involved in "these destructive operations," the U.S. may strike Iraq and Afghanistan.

* That the Afghani consul heard about the issue of Iraq's relationship with "bin Laden's group" while he was in Iran.

This alone is pretty good information and shows much in the released documents that further the reasons why we went to war.

But the Editor tries to note that because the informant is listed as a number it is something that makes this of "limited evidentiary value", which I feel is untrue:

(Editor's Note: While the assertions contained in this document clearly support the claim, the sourcing is questionable — i.e. an unnamed Afghan "informant" reporting on a conversation with another Afghan "consul." The date of the document — four days after 9/11 — is worth noting but without further corroboration, this document is of limited evidentiary value.)

Informants would not be listed by name, there would be other means used to protect the identity of informants, like giving them a number. They see that there are things worth noting in the report, but because of an informant is listed as a number and no further corroboration, the editor tries to down play the importance of this portion of the document.

Correspondence regarding election campaigns in France. This includes a document from the Iraqi intelligence service classified as "secret," ordering the translation of important parts of a 1997 report about campaign financing laws in France.

The attached translated report included very detailed information about all the regulations regarding financing of election campaigns in France.

The Editors notes doesn't mince words, and I will let stand on it's own:

(Editor's Note: This is an intriguing document which suggests Saddam Hussein's regime had a strong interest in the mechanics and legalities of financial contributions to French politicians. Several former French politicians are implicated in receiving oil vouchers from Iraq under the U.N. Oil for Food program.)

Very interesting indeed.

And we get to the meat of the matter when it comes to blocking and subverting the UN Inspections:

A letter from the Iraqi intelligence service to directors and managers advising them to follow certain procedures in case of a search by the U.N. team, including:

* Removing correspondence with the atomic energy and military industry departments concerning the prohibited weapons (proposals, research, studies, catalogs, etc.).

* Removing prohibited materials and equipment, including documents and catalogs and making sure to clear labs and storages of any traces of chemical or biological materials that were previously used or stored.

* Doing so through a committee which will decide whether to destroy the documents.

* Removing files from computers.

The letter also advises them on how they should answer questions by U.N. team members. It says the intelligence service should be informed within one week about the progress made in discarding the documents.

Why the secrecy? Why were they not being upfront? Why were they trying to hide things from the UN Inspectors?

Still think Saddam was wrongly attacked?
Remember this is only a small portion of the THOUSANDS of documents that have been slowly translated and now are being released.

From the Iraq Archive Document Describes Bin Laden Meeting

Others Blogging on this:
Ray Robison, Atlas Shrugs, Blogs for Bush, Expose the Left, Stop the ACLU, Right on the Right.

Senator accused of harassment

A New York State Senator is accused of harassing a staffer in her Albany office.

According to the Albany Times Union, Queens Democrat Ada Smith allegedly threw coffee in the staffers face, and pulled her hair.

New York State Police have confirmed that there is investigation into the allegations. Since it is an on-going investigation he could not comment or release any details.

This wouldn't be the first time Smith faced allegations by a staffer. Last year, she was cleared of an accusation by a former chief of staff who said he was terminated because he is homosexual.

Also, in 1996 she allegedly threatened one employee with a knife. She denied this charge.

Link

Part of the Angry Left?

Joke of the Day

Clinton vows to block bill criminalizing illegal immigrants

Going to block the bill CRIMINALIZING illegal immigrants.

Imagine, we need to pass a LAW which criminalizes the act of ILLEGAL immigration. Something that is illegal in the first place.

Illegal immigrants come into the US ILLEGALLY. We need to quit being PC with stupidity of words like "undocumented immigrants". They are in the US ILLEGALLY.

Here are other PC terms that are funny, but just as stupid as the one above:

A Criminal - unsavory character
A Crook - morally (ethically) challenged
Abortion - Near-Life Experience
Alcoholic - Anti-Sobriety Activist
Alive - temporarily metabolically abled.
An Immigrant - a newcomer
Assassination - involuntary term limitation
Censorship - Selective Speech
Corpse - Permanently Static Post-Human Mass
Corpse / Stiff - Metabolically Challenged
Corpse / Stiff - Terminally Inconvenienced
Cowardly - Challenge Challenged
Crime Rate - street activity index
Dishonest - Ethically disoriented.
Ignorant - factually unencumbered
Ignorant - knowledge-based nonpossessor.
Incompetent - Differently Qualified
Incompetent - Specially Skilled
Incompetent - Uniquely Proficient
Perverted - Sexually dysfunctional.
Pregnant - parasitically oppressed.
Prostitute - sex care provider
Racist - genetically discriminating

Link

It's funny when you look at it this way, but when you apply it to our normal way of life it becomes moronic to phrase things this way.

Again, if you have not thought much about it, when you come into the US without permission, you are here ILLEGALLY!

Why should we have to pass yet another LAW on something that already is ILLEGAL.
(Hint: There is already a LAW).

How about ENFORCING the Laws on the books.

Others blogging on this:
Michelle Malkin, Captain's Quarters.

Welcome to Married Life

Finally Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Clinton are acting like a married couple.

After being surprised by her husband's role in the Dubai ports deal, Sen. Hillary Clinton has insisted that Bill Clinton give her "final say" over what he says and does, well-placed sources said.

Link

(Chuckling)

Welcome to married life Bill.

Remember, no need to cash that paycheck Bill, just hand it to the wife as soon as you walk in the door. (Grins Evilly)

"Hillary has final say," said the adviser, and the ex-President's staff has been warned not to do or say anything without running it by the senator's handlers.

"That was true in the White House during the [2000] Senate campaign," recalled another longtime aide who stayed close to the ex-President after he left office. "If he said the sky was blue and she said the sky was purple, then the sky was purple."

Hillary Clinton's aides denied that her husband's comments have been a liability but concede she is calling the shots.

Lose your pants there Bill?
I think Hillary may be wearing them.

Odd Questions, Honest Answers

I was going to make this a light blogging day, but wanted to write a bit on an article I read in the Detroit Free Press. I ran across an article by Susan Ager on the March 12th Edition that caught my eye and have been holding on to it so I can write about it, but haven't had the time.

Well....

I had the time, I just kept forgetting.
What are you going to do...bend my dog tags?
Sorry, old Army joke.

As I was saying, the article had a very interesting concept that is being done already in Orange County,CA.

It's called, Ask a Mexican.

Susan Ager writes:

The "Ask a Mexican" column appears in OC Weekly, published each Thursday in Orange County, in southern California, where immigration is a hot issue. The column encourages readers to ask anything, and they do: Why do Mexicans sell oranges at freeway offramps? What's with the Virgin of Guadalupe everywhere? Why do Mexicans pronounce "shower" as "chower" and "chicken" as "shicken?"

Answering these questions with a salsa of honesty, affection and irreverence is Gustavo Arellano, a 27-year-old fourth-generation local with a master's in Latin Studies from UCLA. He told a Los Angeles Times reporter recently that Orange County is the "Ellis Island of the 21st Century" and said: "The people who write in -- they have this preconceived notion of what a Mexican is. I answer their question, but in a way that's either going to flip the stereotype or going to explode it."

I find this is a very unique and interesting concept.

To many people assume they know what another person or another nationality is like so they don't bother to ask the questions to find out what they are missing in thier knowledge. Plus there is always something of every nationality someone will have a question about but is too afraid or embarrassed to ask, so it remains unanswered. This column allows for greater communication and understanding between different nationalities.

I agree that we need this, and would love to see it expanded:

Ask anyone.......

Ask an Arab.

Ask an Armenian.

Ask a Canadian.

Ask a Catholic.

Ask a Baptist.

Ask a Pakistani.

We could open this thing even wider: Ask a rabbi, a mortician, a single mom. Ask a lesbian.

But it would mainly give safe space for simple questions across the lines that divide us. About food and hair, about behavior and attitudes.

Imagine the information we miss out in finding out about the different cultures and nationalities because we are to afraid to ask or embarrassed that what we say may seem ignorant or foolish.

Let me clear it up for you right quick.
If you don't know the answer you are ignorant. Until you learn the answer you are ignorant (uninstructed or uninformed) of the truth. Asking questions is always the best way to learn.

One reader wondered: "What is it with Mexicans and jaywalking? No crosswalks in Mexico?" Arellano's answer began: "Try no streets."
Link

Why do Mexicans pronounce “shower” as “chower” but “chicken” as “shicken”?


Dear Chino,
This column has provided readers with many indicators of the differences between recently arrived Mexicans and los que have lived here for generations: skin tone, car purchases, whether the Mexican in question flushes his soiled toilet paper or tosses it in the trash can. Another sure-fire way is the ch/sh phonetic test. Proper Spanish doesn’t feature a “sh” sound (known among linguists as a linguapalatal fricative), so Mexicans pronounce English words using an “sh” sound with the harsher “ch” (known as a lingualveolar affricate). However, many indigenous Mexican tongues use linguapalatal fricatives. The most famous example is in the original pronunciation of Mexico: as said in Nahuatl, the word sounds like “meh-shee-ko.” The Spaniards couldn’t pronounce the middle consonant, though, instead substituting a guttural “j” (as in “Meh-hee-ko”) early in the Conquest. They killed most of Mexico’s Indians in the ensuing decades, but the indigenous “sh” sound never wholly disappeared: if you do hear a Mexican using “sh,” it’s probably a Mexican Indian. So next time you hear a Mexican ask for a “Shinese shicken sandwish with Sheddar sheese,” VATO, por favor don’t shortle.

Link

As with anything you will have the jerks and the idiots who will bring racism and bigotry into the questions, but filtering through some of them, I do find some of the honest questions to be interesting and the answers to them intriguing.

It is too bad we don't have more of questions and honest answers for every nationality and ethnicity that we have questions about. It would go a long way in understanding our cultures and each other.

Needed Humor

It has been a long night of work for myself, and as it begins to wind down, I feel the need for a much needed grin.

So join me this morning for a hot cup of coffee and a chuckle:

An 80-year-old man went to his doctor for his annual check-up. The doctor asks him how he's feeling. The 80-year-old says, "I've never felt better. I now have a 20 year-old bride who is pregnant with my child. What do you think about that?"

The doctor considers his question for a minute and then begins. "I have an older friend, much like you, who is an avid trophy hunter and never misses a season. One day, when he was going out hunting, he was in a bit of a hurry and accidentally picked up his walking cane instead of his gun. When he got to the creek, he saw a prime beaver sitting beside the stream of water. He raised his cane and went 'bang, bang'. Suddenly, two shots rang out and the beaver fell over dead. What do you think of that?"

The 80-year-old said, "I'd say somebody else pumped a couple of rounds into that beaver."

The doctor replied, "My point exactly."

Courtesy of eBaum's World

Job Opening

A guy walks into the local welfare office, marches straight up to the counter and says, "Hi... You know, I just HATE drawing welfare. I'd really rather have a job."

The social worker behind the counter says, "Your timing is excellent. We just got a job opening from a very wealthy old man who wants a chauffeur and bodyguard for his beautiful nymphomaniac daughter. You'll have to drive around in his Mercedes, but he'll supply all of your clothes. Because of the long hours, meals will be provided. You'll be expected to escort her on her overseas holiday trips. You will have to satisfy her sexual urges. You'll be provided a two-bedroom apartment above the garage. The starting salary is $200,000 a year."

The guy, wide-eyed, says, "You're bullshittin' me!"

The social worker says, "Yeah, well... you started it."

*Grins* I like that one.

There is a factory in America which makes the Tickle Me Elmo toys. The toy laughs when you tickle it under the arm. A new employee is hired at the Tickle Me Elmo factory and she reports for her first day promptly at 8:00am.

The next day at 8:45am there is a knock at the Personnel Manager's door. The foreman from the assembly line throws open the door and begins to rant about the new employee. He complains that she is incredibly slow and the whole line is backing up, putting the entire production line behind schedule.

The personnel manager decides he should see this for himself so the 2 men march down to the factory floor. When they get there, the line is so backed up that there are Tickle Me Elmo's all over the factory floor and they're really beginning to pile up.

At the end of the line stands the new employee surrounded by mountains of Tickle Me Elmo's. She has a roll of plush red fabric and a huge bag of small marbles. The 2 men watch in amazement as she cuts a little piece of fabric, wraps it around two marbles and begins to carefully sew the little package between Elmo's legs.

The Personnel Manager bursts into laughter. After several minutes of hysterics he pulls himself together and approaches the woman. "I'm sorry," he says to her, barely able to keep a straight face, "but I think you misunderstood the instructions I gave you yesterday. Your job is to give Elmo two test TICKLES".

Probably going to catch it from Sister Toldjah, but I wonder if the woman was blonde. *grins evilly*


And finally, since the next couple of days are days off from work, this will be my excuse if they try and call me in:

Sanity calls his boss one morning and tells him that he is staying home because he is not feeling well.

"What's the matter?" he asks.

"I have a case of Anal Glaucoma," Sanity says in a weak voice.

He asks: "What the hell is Anal Glaucoma?"

Sanity responds: "I can't see my ass coming into work today."

**Changed wording of joke to fit the situation**

Democrats finally have a PLAN - Attack Everything

Senate Democrats have finally come out with a plan and we find it is the same as it has always been....attack President Bush on Everything!

Senate Democrats have mapped a political battle plan for the March congressional recess that calls on lawmakers to stage press events with active duty military personnel, veterans and emergency responders to bash President Bush on virtually every one of his national security policies.

The plan: Attack EVERYTHING.

Titled "Real Security," the political document calls for staged town hall events at military bases, weapons factories, National Guard units, fire stations and veterans posts.

Yes, use the Military that you don't support to try and attack the Military's Commander-in-Chief.

Is the PLAN that has been years in the planning?
This is what the Democrat Party to be, the party of Obstrcution, the party that attacks everything but offers no real solutions, no answers?

It is easy to complain and attack everything your opponents do and say, but without anything of substance to show what you can do, all you will do is make yourself look petty and small.

"Ensure that you have the proper U.S. and state flags at the event, and consider finding someone to sing the national anthem and lead the group in the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of the event," the battle plan states.

Ah, trying to spark the patriotism part of the PLAN?
This portion alone shows me that this is nothing but smoke and mirrors, dressing up your attack under the guise of Democrat Patriotism. Something I rarely see from thier party and something that is hard is even harder to write next to each other.

The plan is the latest attempt by Democrats to criticize Mr. Bush on national security issues in the aftermath of the Dubai ports deal dust-up, which Republicans conceded was mishandled by the administration. One of the few areas where Republicans continue to poll well versus Democrats is on fighting terrorists.

In almost every issue in the Reid memo, Democratic lawmakers are called upon to criticize the president for not spending enough federal dollars.

Republicans poll well mainly because they have a stance, a position on how to protect the US, or are at least trying. We are still waiting on the plan from the Democrats, so far this Plan addresses nothing on what the Democrats are standing on for a position.

Is this in repsonse for the President cutting 190 Billion out of the Budget Ried wanted in?

They criticize the President for spending too much, and then want him to spend more.

The plan urges the lawmakers to:

• "Hold a town hall meeting with state officials and a local National Guard unit at their armory to discuss the security impact of long deployments. ... Ask National Guard members to offer input on how security and disaster response at home is compromised by long deployments."

• "Hold a town hall meeting with troops at a local military installation. ... When selecting a location at the military installation for the event, make sure to select a space that allows easy press access and clearly conveys the message in the shot. Planes, vehicles, equipment and signage in the background enhance the pictures coming out of your event."

• "Work with [veterans] organizations ... to find recently returned Iraq and Afghanistan veterans willing to discuss the mental effects they or their fellow veterans have experienced."

• "Tour a factory in your state that manufactures military equipment like Humvees or body armor and hold a press availability afterwards with Iraq and Afghanistan veterans on the importance of protective equipment."

• "Visit the home of a military family that has purchased body armor on their own for a family member serving in Iraq or Afghanistan and hold an open press 'conversion' on the issue. ... Ask the family if they would be willing to hold the open press conversation/town hall meeting in their yard, on their front porch or in their home."

Link

Do Not Disrespect the Soldiers Mr. Liberal Actor Man

Liberal Law and Order: SVU actor Richard Belzer and Congresswoman Ileanna Ros--Lehtinen appeared on March 17th's edition of Real Time with Bill Maher.

The Congresswoman has recently just returned from meeting soldiers in Iraq and Afphanistan (If you want to speak for the troops, I think you should visit them personally to see what they have to say and not ASSUME). The Congresswoman shared with the audience of Bill Maher's show what most of the troops were saying:

“we’re proud of our mission; we know what we’re doing over here"

That simple statement from the Congresswoman sent the Hollywood actor into a tirade that started with calling it “bullshit” because he feels that the troops don’t know what’s going on over there. Amazing, the troops don't know what is going on where they are at?!? Maybe he is suggesting they pick up a copy of the NYT?

Mr. Hollywood actor person (SVU Actor), a liberal, claims that he reads over 20 newspapers a day and therefore he knows everything about Iraq. Well that clenches it, not a wonder he thinks the way he does if he is getting his news from the NYT and its band of merry men.

Hey Mr. Hollywood actor guy, try talking to the troops like the Congresswoman did.

Continuing his tirade, Belzer puts down our troops and basically calls them idiots when he knocks their level of education. Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen told Mr. Liberal actor that her nephew, a college graduate, just returned home after serving 8 months Iraq. However, he insists to lump everyone together and come to the conclusion that they’re all ignorant. After all, anyone who joins the military are poor unfortunates who can't read or write, they are children, they are suckered into the military or at least that is how Liberals tend to think.

Where even Bill Maher (in the quote below), as left as he is, was even saying to the SVU actor, “You’re going to lose even me…”

Ros-Lehtinen mocked him: “Yeah, you know because you’ve been there.” Belzer rudely lashed back: “What, I don’t fucking read!? Don’t do that!” He went on to argue: “It’s this patronizing thing that people have about if you’re against the war everyone’s lumped together. You know, the soldiers are not scholars, they’re not war experts.” That was too much for host Bill Maher: “You’re going to lose even me…”

"You know, the soldiers are not scholars, they’re not war experts.”
He is joking right? No folks, he is not, he actually said this.

I would think a soldier who has been in Iraq would have more knowledge on the war, it's tactics, the people they are fighting and the people they are fighting for, than Mr. Liberal Hollywood Actor Guy who reads the newspaper (Probably the NYT). They are more "expert" that you will EVER be Belzer.

It's funny how he can lump all the soldiers together but when the Congressman points out he has not been there or talked to the soldiers he comes back with:

“It’s this patronizing thing that people have about if you’re against the war everyone’s lumped together."

I also wonder why Bill Maher actually had on this twit of a Hollywood Liberal Actor?
Are we supposed to take him as an expert because he stars on TV and reads the newspaper?
I can bet he is one of the "I HATE" everything about George Bush crowd.

Quotes from Newsbusters:

Ros-Lehtinen cited the knowledge of her Marine officer stepson, but Belzer, who plays “Detective John Munch” on NBC's Law & Order: SVU retorted: “Doesn't mean he's a brilliant scholar about the war because he's there.” A quite agitated Ros-Lehtinen sputtered: "Oh, you are though! You are though? Okay." To which Belzer affirmed: "Well I have more time...” Host Bill Maher interjected that Belzer's point was that a 19-year-old is in the army “because he probably couldn't find other employment." The Republican Congresswoman from Florida countered that her stepson is a college graduate, leading Belzer to snidely denigrate the military: "You think everyone over there is a college graduate? They're 19 and 20-year-old kids who couldn't get a job.”

Wow, he has more time so that is what constitutes HIM being a brilliant scholar eh?
Because he reads newspapers?
What is with Maher trying to interpret what this idiot is trying to say?
You can definately feel the hatred this liberal has for the military and the people who serve.

See the video HERE (.WMV) or HERE (.MP4)

Big Hat Tip to Expose the Left and Newsbusters for being ever vigilant in catching this type of idiocy in the media.

Meanwhile Sister Toldjah posts on a piece Def. Secretary Donald Rumsfeld wrote for the Washington Post and gives thanks and praise to the troops. That is what is called support.

********* Early Morning UPDATE *********
I decided to do a little searching, because for such a vocal liberal, he had to have had other outbursts and tirades.....

I wasn't wrong...

NBC show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

The January 14, 2000 show pushed the liberal gay agenda by denigrating the simplified views of a conservative group’s leader, stating as fact such unsupported assertions as "one out of every ten men is gay" and then allowing actor Richard Belzer to go on a diatribe about Newt Gingrich "being a pedantic megalomaniac who espouses family values while serving his cancer-stricken wife with divorce papers."

Link


Did you know he is a comedian?
This sure would have made me laugh:

In 1985 on his talk show "Hot Properties" Belzer insisted Hulk Hogan put a wrestling move on him. Reluctantly Hulk Hogan got him in a front chin lock and Belzer passed out. Belzer soon sued Hogan for the incident.

Link

Due to his “uncontrollable wit,” Belzer was politely asked to leave every school he ever attended.

Link
Asked to leave? Is that the polite way of saying, he got kicked out of every school?

Belzer is a longtime standup comic who for the past few years has played the sardonic Det. John Munch in the excellent NBC dramatic series "Homicide: Life on the Street." He's not a household name, so you may not be aware that in 1990, he blamed the popularity of crass comedian Andrew Dice Clay on the Reagan administration's "contempt" for blacks, "derision" towards women, and "total hostility" toward gays. Speaking of hostility, in 1992 he called George Bush "a murderer" for sending our troops to fight in the Gulf War.

Late last month, Belzer gave an interview to the Washington Post pummeling Bill Clinton for moving toward the center. According to Belzer, Clinton has "sold out the liberal movement and he's sold out the progressive movement. He's a contemptible piece of [expletive]." Clinton may be contemptible, and he has sold out his allies on the left from time to time, but most understand these moves to be tactical adjustments meant for short-term political gain, and not definitive sea changes in id not attempt to invent a story.

Link

Richard Belzer, the actor-comedian who plays Munch, is given to political outbursts outside the show. In February, on Tom Snyder's CNBC cable show, Belzer asserted that "there's a very dark underbelly to this country, and that's the CIA and what those guys are doing."

Last year on Dick Cavett's CNBC program, Belzer performed a Nazi salute when journalist Pat Buchanan was mentioned; when his fellow guest, comedian Will Durst, called George Bush "one of the biggest thieves in American history," Belzer stated, "He's not a thief. He's a murderer."

Link


Maybe I am Jaded, but I am more of a CSI person.
I will take Gary Sinise and his patriotism and his support of the troops (which I wrote about in Celebrity Spotlight - Gary Sinise) before I give Belzer the time of day.

Mr. Liberal Hollywierd Actor Guy, I suggest you visit Diary of a Hollywood Refugee, she has graciously decided to help you understand by putting you in touch with those troops you so denegrate:

And I would also suggest you head over to Ft.Riley where I'd be happy to arrange for you sit with LTC Eric J. Wesley, who has recently completed his SECOND of duty in Iraq, (he also happens to be quoted in Cobra 2, by Bernard Trainor and Michael Gordon, and No True Glory by Bing West, two books you might want to add to your "prestigious" newspaper reading list ) so that you can exchange your insight and knowledge on Iraq with his.

Other Bloggers that have commented on this:
RightWinged.com, Iowa Voice, Atlas Shrugs, Protein Wisdom.

If I missed a few, please let me know.

Feminists Blogger Posts Detailed How-to Intructions for Abortion

There comes a time when freedom of information can be a bad thing.
I do not advocate the banning of information, but common sense should prevail that this has far reaching consequences.

This would bypass the safest way of handling these matters.
While I do not advocate abortions, in fact I am firmly against it, I do not and would not ever recommend someone trying this at home.

A feminist blogger has posted explicit directions online for a surgical abortion, in reaction to the new South Dakota law all but banning the procedure.

Her action troubles activists on both sides of the issue: Is it a harbinger of a return to the era of secret, illegal abortions?

At her "Molly Saves the Day" weblog, the 21-year-old Florida resident uses the pseudonym Molly Blythe. Given the volitility of the abortion debate, she requested that her real name and city of residence not be used in this story.

In an interview, the blogger said South Dakota's recent ban on abortion -- even in cases of rape and incest -- prompted her post, "For the Women of South Dakota: An Abortion Manual." The blogger, who has no medical background, said she has been compiling instructions for several years. She observed an actual abortion, interviewed providers and read medical texts, she said.

She posted directions for a dilation and curettage -- or D and C -- abortion, and plans to next place online the steps for a vacuum aspiration abortion.

"If anyone has a problem with this and they don't think non-doctors should perform medical procedures, there's a simple way to guarantee that won't happen: Make sure Roe v. Wade is not overturned," she said, referring to the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion nationwide.

Link


This allows a person who wants an abortion to be able to have an abortion at any time, given the instructions, to be able to at whatever stage the mother wishes to abort, even at a partial-birth.

Instruments needed and their uses

You will need:

One set of uterine dilators (any equipment may be purchased from numerous websites. If you need assistance in finding this equipment, do not hesitate to email me at molly.blythe@gmail.com)
Vaginal speculum
Pregnancy test
One set of uterine curettes
One pair of uterine forceps
One pair of regular forceps
Sterile bags for medical instruments and medical waste
A course of antibiotics
Sedative medication
Pressure cooker
Container of bleach solution: one part chlorine bleach to 10 parts water
Strong soap
Sterile latex gloves
Water-based lubricant
Maxi pads
Clean plastic sheeting and towels
Exam table
Wet wipes

First, let's talk instruments, before we talk implementation:

This now also raises the question of giving out Medical Advice if you are not a doctor.
Could she be held lawfully accountable?
What happens if someone dies from following her advice?

At the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo in 1994, governments recognised unsafe abortion as a major public health issue and called for:

Prompt, high quality and humane medical services to treat the complications of unsafe abortion;
Compassionate postabortion counselling and family planning services to promote reproductive health, reduce the need for abortion and prevent repeat unsafe abortions.

Treatment of abortion-related complications often requires several days of hospitalisation and staff time, as well as blood transfusions, antibiotics, pain control medicines and other drugs.

Lets not forget other problems that can occur:

Researchers on the after-effects of abortion have identified a pattern of psychological problems known as Post-Abortion Syndrome (PAS). Women suffering PAS may experience drug and alcohol abuse, personal relationship disorders, sexual dysfunction, repeated abortions, communications difficulties, damaged self-esteem, and even attempt suicide.

Link

Progressive U tries to make others understand what Molly seems to be trying to do by saying:

Molly is not advocating self-induced abortions. What Molly is attempting to do is provide alternatives for those in South Dakota. Yes, she posted how to perform an abortion, but I believe this was only to dispel some of the rumors about the procedure.

I think that abortion should be legal, and I also believe that women should not attempt to do so by themselves. I think this was not supposed to be a 'do it yourself abortion' manual, but rather information on abortion and it's just been blown out of proportion.

Of course, I've been wrong before.

I believe you are wrong here though.

Should you be held responsible if you post instructions on how to make a bomb, in every detail, or how to build a nuclear bomb?

Yes I know it is an extreme scenario I just mentioned, but abortion is just as extreme.
Do you think that just because you have posted and said that you don't advocate doing it, but here is how you do it, that you should not be held responsible when someone does it?

She is too detailed on what to do, with step-by-step instructions and not just an overview of the procedure. She is intentionally showing others EXACTLY how to have an abortion, and this IS a Do-it Yourself Abortion Manual.

Let us not forget to tell our would-be Do-it-yourself Abortionist where to get drugs:

Antibiotics can be purchased from Mexican pharmaceutical supply houses for less than $2 per course.

What is Molly's background?
Is she a Doctor? A Pharmascists? A OBGYN?

Quoted from her blog, she is:

Feminist issues, liberal talk, and news analysis by former journalist turned phone sex operator.

Do you really want to take advice from someone who is not a doctor...
Who is not even a nurse...
But is a PHONE SEX OPERATOR?

For additional information on what affects abortion can have:
* The Aftereffects of Abortion

* Unsafe Abortions

* Medical Complications - Sterility