Quote of the Day

"The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in an insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding" Mr. Justice Louis D. Brandeis 1928 -

note: I found this quote in the header of Prying 1 blog - it was too good to pass up so I swipped it.

Gun Blog Awards

It seems the blog awards are snubbing gun blogs. So The Countertop Chronicles has decided to run a Best of the Gun Blogs poll himself. Nominations taken through January 15th. Other details can be found at The Countertop Chronicles Check out my post on the dangers of gun control laws. Guns In Kennesaw

Speaking of gun control (segueing here to another subject), check out Freedom Folks who have a great post on Illegal Immigrants (tsk, tsk, that's supposed to be 'Undocumented' isn't it? The Progressives say so - get with the politically correct program here!). Freedom Folks has several posts on this subject and some good stats. Of particular interest to me:

A calculation is being made in Washington that a certain number of gang rapes and murders are acceptable so long as the dollars flow and trade crosses the border.

Sounds familiar. I've heard a very similar argument as to why we should not be fighting our enemies - a calculation of how many deaths to terrorism is acceptable versus the cost of actually defending ourselves. hmmmm ..... Doing my self-appointed duty to keep you informed of whatever I find interesting in the blogsphere.

Ridiculous Story of the Week

Mark In Mexico reports on the demise of common sense in Britain. Common Sense in Britain: RIP He reports on a story from the London's Telegraph of a physician in London who has endured 2 years of complaints and investigations steming from his refusal to perform a pap smear on a 34-year old male.

The complaint has caused doctors in the west country practice to spend hours in meetings and writing replies to the local primary care trust over the complaint which began two years ago.

The refusal of one of the doctors to put Mr X on the recall list for cervical sceening has resulted in a complaint and, as a result the doctor, practice manager and other practitioners have spent many hours, at the expense of the care of other patients, answering written inquiries.

For one of those you've got to be kidding moments - check out the story!

On Loss and Sadness

A man came by my office today. He lost his daughter in a tragic airplane crash just a few days before Christmas. We sat in my office and talked for a while. Nothing I could say would make a difference for him, I listened, that's all I could do. He told me he had received letters from all over the country. He said he had received letters from other people who had lost their children in similar tragic ways. 'They know exactly what we are going through.' he said. He seemed to appreciate the many cards and letters he and his wife had received. He didn't seem in a hurry to leave. I thought maybe he needed to be there right then so I showed him around a little. While I was showing him around a dozen or so girls of all ages came in and the place erupted in activity, laughter, chattering and silliness. He stopped short and watched for a moment with a sociable smile carefully but not convincingly in place. Then he said he needed to go and would forego the rest of the tour he had asked for just a few moments before. I didn't blame him. The incongruity of a parent who so recently had lost a child he cherished in a place overflowing with children whose parents don't want them was close to unbearable. Sometimes, it's just so acutely obvious of how little sense the world makes. He left and a sadness settled over me that I haven't been able to shake since. I don't have anything profound to add to this. I just needed to write it.

Our Neighbors to the North

The U.S. squared off against Russia at the World Junior Hockey Championship in Vancouver, Canada on Thursday (January 5th, 2006). Our Canadian neighbors did not cheer either team. Instead, they booed the U.S. team throughout the game. They chanted, 'U.S. Sucks. U.S. Sucks. U.S. Sucks.' (etc.) Brilliant. Not very neighborly.

Terrorists Attacks ... What Terrorists Attacks?

I bet you have heard in the news how many American Soldiers have been killed since the War on Terrorism started on September 11, 2001. I bet you hear in the news that the Battle of Iraq is a seperate war from the War on Terrorism and has nothing to do with terrorism. I bet you have heard on the news, repeatedly, the exact number of American Soldiers killed in Iraq. I bet you've heard politicians repeating the number of American Soldiers killed in Iraq to back up their political agendas of appeasement or just for the sake of Blaming Bush. I bet you have heard on the news every single thing American Soldiers have done that can in any way be painted as less that proper. I bet you have certainly heard anything out right dishonorable that American Soldiers have done. But have you heard .... the other side? Have you heard, a single time, on the news or through politicians, how many terrorists attacks have been carried out since 9/11? Not the number of people killed or injured in the attacks. Just the number of attacks? Do you have any idea how many there have been? It's getting very close to a horrific milestone. This is how many deadly terrorists attacks have been carried out since 9/11.

Hat tip to My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy

Picture of the Day

Check out the Picture of the Day at The Officers' Club. It's well worth the visit. Hat tip to Michelle Malkin.

Old Men and War

Sensible people hate war. Those of us with children who are participating in this, and any war, must surely hate it more than most. Warriors know that there is no glamour in war. But there are wars, whether we like it or not. We have to choose whether to acknowledge and deal with our enemies or keep our heads in the sand and hope for the best. My father fought in World War II and I know very little of his war experiences. My husband is a Vietnam vet and I know a little more about his war experiences, but not as much as I think I should. Men who have been in battle seldom seem to discuss their experiences. My son is currently serving and I am fearful of what he will have to experience before this is over. He has become a man. None of us want our loved ones to have to deal with the results of battle, but it is a reality of life in a very dangerous world during this extraordinarily dangerous time. Over the years I have noticed a phenomenon of former warriors who, in their older age, seem to have forgotten the ugly necessity of protecting ourselves from our enemies. The lessons of the ages have taught us that we must be ever vigilant. Congressman John Murtha of Pennsylvania has become something of a spokesperson for the Democratic Party in his anti-war rhetoric. He advocates pulling out of Iraq as soon as possible. We are not supposed to say anything critical of Mr. Murtha because he was a war hero, which is, undoubtedly, why he's been the chosen the spokesperson of the moment. Another man with similar views is former President Jimmy Carter. Mr. Carter is a graduate of the United States Navel Academy. Mr. Carter served as an officer in the nuclear submarine corp. Both men are now openly critical of the United States' efforts to defend ourselves against the very real, openly stated threat of the Islamic Jihadists throughout the world. They have both been openly critical of our President (rather unseemly of a former President to be critical of a current President, it's considered bad form). Jimmy Carter and Murtha's defeatest attitudes are hardly unique to them. It's a phenomenon we have all seen in other men of similar circumstances. I've tried to understand it. How can someone be so courageous during one part of their life and advocate cutting and running later in life. The only answer I have been able to come up with is best expresed by T.S. Elliot:

And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, And in short, I was afraid.

Read more: Pardon My English Blogs for Bush Rhymes With Right 4 The Little Guy Conservative Outpost

The Blame Game

How terribly sad. As everyone knows by now, all but one of the West Virginia miners were found dead. Saddest is that the families were given false hope and left to celebrate for hours before they were informed that the miners were found dead. Understandably, they erupted with anger at the news. Last night I watched the news and was astounded to hear that the miners were found alive. I heard, with my own ears, reporter after reporter on all the stations informing and interviewing family members. I heard them make statements like, 'The miners are being taken to be medically checked out and we will interview them after they are cleared'. They interviewed family members. They made statements like, 'The miners understandably want to visit with their families before talking with the press.' This morning I heard the very same reporters on the very same stations reporting that the miners were found dead. And, these very same reporters on the very same stations were saying things like, 'We are investigating how these rumors got started.' 'We are looking into who misinformed us.' What???? They were the ones reporting it. They were the ones who were telling the families and spreading the news. This evening I saw a reporter talking to a girl who looked about 8 years old. Her mother had gone home and gotten her up out of bed to welcome their relative home after it was announced they were found alive. The reporter was merciless in her questioning of the little girl. 'How did you feel when you thought he was alive?'; 'What were you going to say to him when you saw him?'; 'What did you feel when you found out he wasn't alive?' The reporter was actually asking this little girl these things and the little girl was looking at her bewildered and dazed. The mother stood by her, bewildered and dazed. Neither seemed to be comprehending how the reporter was using them for 'a story'. They looked in shock and as though they were barely hearing the reporter. Shameless. The press seems to be scrambling wildly looking for someone to blame. I've heard it's the company's fault, the governor of West Virginia's fault, the fault of the people who found the bodies and didn't make their message clear, the fault of the people who received the message and relayed it improperly. I even heard that it was President Bush's fault - but that's a given - everything is his fault. Members of the press corp, maybe once, maybe just once, you should take the log out of your own eye before trying to get the splinter out of everyone else's eye. Other posts related to this story: The Median Sib Michelle Malkin The Anchoress My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy

I'm Myrna Loy!

Myrna Loy You scored 16% grit, 33% wit, 28% flair, and 33% class!

You are class itself, the calm, confident "perfect woman." Men turn and look at you admiringly as you walk down the street, and even your rivals have a grudging respect for you. You always know the right thing to say, do and, of course, wear. You can take charge of a situation when things get out of hand, and you're a great help to your partner even if they don't immediately see or know it. You are one classy dame. Your screen partners include William Powell and Cary Grant, you little simmerpot, you.

Find out what kind of classic leading man you'd make by taking the The Classic Dames Test written by gidgetgoes

hat tip to The Median Sib for pointing to this test!

Weird Habits

I got tagged by Collecting My Thoughts to list 5 of my weird habits and I left out one of my weirdest! I thought I'd add it cause it's really weird. I have a thing about cemeteries. It started when I started getting interested in genealogy. I would go to cemeteries to find tombstones. Then I started taking pictures of tombstones.

Thanks to digital cameras, I have probably, thousands of tombstone pictures and actually spend time uploading them to genealogy websites. I don't know or have any connection with 99% of the tombstone pictures I have. Sometimes during lunch or just when I want to be alone, I will drive to a cemetery and just walk around it. My husband calls me Thanoptais (The Goddess of Death). When I wonder out loud why I go to cemeteries to chill out, he says, 'Well, there's not a lot of action going on in a cemetery and no one is going to bother you there.' Maybe that's it.

I got tagged

New Year Tag Norma at Collecting My Thoughts tagged me. I didn't know what that meant and had to go over to her blog to figure it out. So .... this is my first tag! The rules are: Rules: “The first player of this game starts with the topic “five weird habits of yourself,” and people who get tagged need to write an entry about their five weird habits as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next five people to be tagged and link to their web journals. Don’t forget to leave a comment in their blog or journal that says “You are tagged” (assuming they take comments) and tell them to read yours.” Five Weird Habits I Have 1. Blogging! I don't have time to blog. I am not doing other things I need to be doing and blogging instead. I wasn't gonna blog, but my sister said, 'Start a blog.' and I did and now I can't stop. I'll do like I've done with every other obsession I've had in my life. I'll be obsessive about it, figure out all I can about how to do it, how to do templates, how to make it work, etc. And then I'll get tired of it and it'll become a chore (note: all the websites I've started, genealogy research, restoring old photos - and those are just a few hobbies I've had in the last couple of years.) 2. I write with a certain type of pen. I can have 50 pens sitting in front of me and I'll spend time looking for the right pen to write with. It has to have a certain feel, flow and have a fine tip. I like the gel pens that have to dry when you write with them. I do the same thing with other items. There are certain glasses I drink out of at home, certain spoons/forks I eat with. 3. I get into what my husband calls my 'refugee clothes' as soon as I get home, no matter what time of the day it is. I do not stay in my work clothes and I look like a refugee with old baggy sweats or scrubs or mixtures of the two. 4. I spend a lot of time during the day thinking about what I'm going to do when I get home. For instance, re-wallpaper the bathroom, scrub the floor in the basement, straighten out the garage, clean out my closet, etc. By the time I get home I rarely have the energy to actually do what I've been planning all day. But I'm always planning. 5. My sister-in-law reminds me that I have a problem with throwing out clothing. I am really working on getting better at this. But I have a terrible time throwing out clothes or shoes. My closet is horrible, but I always feel a little guilty to throw out something I don't wear anymore, like I'm being wasteful. So it stays in my closet, or boxed up somewhere. I put on a coat a few years ago that I hadn't worn in a while and I really liked it. A beautiful leather jacket. It was stuck back in the back of my closet and I pulled it out to wear one night. My son looked at me and said, 'Mama, you look so 80s'. I took it off and looked at it again. It had big shoulder pads and was snug around the waist - definitly 80s. I couldn't believe I didn't notice that - I just remembered I liked the coat - I got rid of it after that. Okay - I've unmasked my facade of perfection here! (g) Now that I'm thinking about it, I can think of a LOT of other weird habits! Thanks a lot Collecting My Thoughts! but you said just 5. So now I'm supposed to tag 5 people..... so...... Cozy Reader The Median Sib Ruthlace The Second Twin Empress Baggie

Trading Pen for Sword

Check out this story ....Reporter Moved to Become a U.S. Marine Matt Pottinger, a former Wall Street Journal Reporter has traded in his pen to become a Marine. Pottinger says that covering China for 7 years made him realize how rare American freedom is. He was arrested there for writing about corruption.

"I was standing over a toilet," he recalled, "with a bunch of Chinese policemen standing around me shredding my notebook, page by page, and flushing it down a toilet."

He lists some of his reasons for joining the Marines, including the beheading of his colleague Daniel Pearl, the complacency of the American public and watching a video of the beheading of another American in Iraq. He says:

"I watched it, and it was so obscene and so deeply disturbing to me that I felt a bit of the terror."

and when he covered the tsunami in Asia:

"Watching U.S. Marines and other military personnel on the ground helping people there amid that devastation … it's really indescribable ..."

After Pottinger was sworn in as an officer in the United States Marine Corp, he commented about the changes he is facing in his life during the next year. He went on to comment on the changes our country is facing.

Get off our sofas and get involved," he said. "Start improving ourselves. We're competing now. … We can't take our eye off the ball. This is going to be a big 10 years. A lot's going to change in the world over the next 10 years. And we've got to be on our toes."

Semper Fi. Hat tip to The Median Sib for pointing out this story! What a great story and a great American!

Margaret Cho and Book TV

We watch Book TV which can be quite interesting sometimes. It’s often very entertaining. Stay with me here a minute, I'll explain. I just watched a show with Margaret Cho hawking her new book, I have Chosen to Stay and Fight. She was into the Q&A part of her little talk when I came in, so I missed the speech. But, I have to say, it was very enlightening. Someone asked Ms. Cho how hard it is for a female comic to make it as a stand-up comedian. It seems, according to Ms. Cho, that male comics don’t like female comics because they are threatened by them. ‘Women are funnier than men.’ She said. ‘We don’t laugh at their jokes and it makes them mad.’ She continued. ‘That’s why most successful women comics are lesbians, we don’t care what the men think of us so we just stand there and don’t laugh at them.’ She explains how the men want control over everything and therefore if they don’t laugh at their jokes they don’t like the women and therefore make the women have to work harder to get to the same place men get. She went on about this for a little bit. About how women are smarter, funnier and overall better than men. While I was listening to her I found myself wondering, just right out of the blue, for no apparent reason, what the female version of a misogynist is. You know, if a man who hates women is a misogynist, then a woman who hates men is a …… ??? Obviously, that would be a mister-ogynist! But wait - there is more still! Someone asked her about straight men who hang out with lesbians. She got really excited about this and said, ‘Oh mmmyyyyy Goooooddddd!!!! I love it! I mean, whenever a straight male does ANYTHING right it’s got to be a good thing, RIGHT!?!?!?!?!?!’. I mean, like, AM I RIGHT!?!?! A random thought flipped through my mind, ‘Her father must have been abusive to her when she was a child’. Where’d that thought come from? Several of her guests shamelessly bowed down and worshiped her, verbally. ‘In 100 years you will be the comic that people will look back on and understand the profound influence you are having on this generation.’ I thought, 'This guy is barking up the wrong tree with his verbiage, she’s already declared she’s a lesbian. Surely he doesn’t think saying those things to her will help him get lucky.' Another of her guests asked her what she thinks of schools in the ever backward ‘Middle America’ teaching ‘Intelligent Design’. ‘Oh, that makes me so mad!’ She screamed. ‘I mean soooo mad!’ ‘It’s so stuuupid! Really stupid, you know, like, I mean really STUPID.’ ‘Do those people really want to raise their children to be as stoopid at they are?’ ‘I mean, you know, like, stoopid, I just think it’s stupid. Why do they call it intelligent, cause it’s just stupid’. I listened intently to this profound and well thought out argument against the teaching of intelligent design. She talked on it for a couple of minutes barely taking a breath. For the sake of space I’ll summarize, she seems to think intelligent design is ‘stupid’. One last topic was brought up. Someone asked her about a film she has written, starred in and produced. She rolled her eyes. It seems, this is an independent film and is truly a great work of art. Unfortunately, there are a lot of stupid people who just don’t get it. ‘You know, like, if people see ‘independent production’ they need subtitles to understand it’. You know? Like. Yeah. I get it. We’re stupid. I think that means the movie isn't making any money. The general gist of Ms. Cho’s talk was how glad she is that she lives in an enclave that is enlightened and open to alternative lifestyles. Open minded people, that’s what she likes. Anyone who isn’t open-minded (by her definition) is ‘stoopid’. Really, really stupid. That seems to include anyone who doesn’t live in California, all males except the ones that are enlightened enough to hang out with lesbians and women who are ‘into the whole hair, nail, beauty thing’. Now, who would have thought Book TV could be THAT entertaining. I’m not a wealthy or famous comedian, movie star or musician, so I’m quite sure that Ms. Cho will not be interested in anything I have to say. But, supposing I had the power to get a ‘stoopid’ book published and to get myself on Book TV and to get a crowd there to hear me. I would have a little advice for Ms. Cho and her Hobbyworld cohorts. First, you really shouldn’t try to wing it by doing a Q&A – stick to the script. I’ve seen your act a time or two and you can be funny sometimes, but going like well, you know, on and on, and saying things like, that’s just, you know, like, really really stupid, like, man, I just hate when people don’t get it, you know, like that, you kinda lose the illusion that you might have sense. Second, listening to you made me think of Barbra Streisand. She can sing good, but when she quits singing, nobody really wants to hear her talk. Again, stick to the script. Third, you, like Barbra, have been lucky enough to make gazillions of dollars doing something like singing or stand-up comedy. You are living in a country in which you can stand up and say any stoopid thing you want to say and the worst that will happen to you is people might not buy your book, go to your concerts or go see your movie. Nobody is going to line you up against the wall and shoot you for sedition. Forth, you, like Barbra, have made your gazillion dollars in your lives because of the guy that works in the factory that built your car. The guy that works in the cotton mill that works the machines that weave the cloth that makes your clothes. The guy that cleans your houses, answers your doors, drives you places, fixes your meals and in Barbra’s case, makes sure there are always rose petals in her toilet. The people you so arrogantly demean, the backward ‘Middle American’ are the very people that made you rich. They are also the people who put their necks out there to make sure you have the right to say whatever you want to say. Their children, our children, are the ones that will fight for your right to be just as arrogant and demeaning to us as you want to be. You have the freedom to speak and behave pretty much any way you want. I know you don't like it, but we, the Middle Americans, have the freedom to work hard and speak, behave and believe as we want. Freedom goes both ways. Meanwhile, sit back, enjoy your chauffeur driven ride. We’ve got your back.

Quote of the Day

People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs. ~ Unknown ~

Kids Today!!!!

What gives with kids today? Sometimes they get it when the adults around them don't. The very left leaning editorial cartoonist Mike Luckovich with the very left leaning Atlanta Journal Constitution used the names of 2,000 American Soldiers fallen during the Battle of Iraq as fodder for his cartoon one day in October.

A 17 year old Atlanta girl, Danielle Ansley, answered him with this:

I can think of nothing that angers me more than using the bodies of dead American soldiers to further political agendas. Good for Danielle Ansley for her persceptive and dedicated response to Luckovich. It's a little like David and Goliath, don't cha think!?! Thanks to Michelle Malkin for getting this story out. Speaking of kids ..... What about the Florida 16 year old, Farris Hassan, that flew to Iraq for a journalism assignment. Now, I would probably have a hissy-fit and lock my son up if he pulled a stunt like that. But that's not the point right now. The point is .... he wrote in his essay:

“There is a struggle in Iraq between good and evil, between those striving for freedom and liberty and those striving for death and destruction,” “Those terrorists are not human but pure evil. For their goals to be thwarted, decent individuals must answer justice’s call for help. Unfortunately, altruism is always in short supply. Not enough are willing to set aside the material ambitions of this transient world, put morality first, and risk their lives for the cause of humanity. So I will.” “I want to experience during my Christmas the same hardships ordinary Iraqis experience everyday, so that I may better empathize with their distress,”

(Wow, smart kid! Seriously! Aside, of course, from the fact he took off by himself into a freakin' war zone!) And how did the media tell the story? The media responds with something like 'He's a member of the Republican Party Club at school.' As though that would explain bizarre point of view on the issues of war and Iraqi freedom. Twisting and turning, the MSM will find a way to paint both of these kids as ignorant, just too young to understand, misguided, etc. Thanks to Macsmind for shining a light on the media bias in the story of Hassan.

New Year's Resolutions

Can't decide what to resolve this year? The computer is always here to make our lives easier. Daddy's Roses and Second Twin pointed me to the link below to find New Year's Resolutions.

In the year 2006 I resolve to: Spend time with a leprechaun. Get your resolution here