Boys and their toys

This is the Husqvarna m/07 military pistol (licensed Browning M1903 pistol). Originally chambered in the obsolete Browning 9mm a cartridge slightly less powerful than the common 9mm parabellum. It was manufactured in Sweden from 1917 until 1945.

A number of them were rechambered in the much less powerful .380 automatic round and imported into the US in the 1950s.

I carried one of these from the time I was 17 until 14 or so years ago when I sold it. (Parts and magazines were impossible to find). I used the proceeds of the sale to buy a Star model PD.

The Husqvarna was the most comfortable gun that I have ever carried.

****************************

This is the Star model PD .45 ACP. It was manufactured by Star Bonifacio Echeverria, in Spain from 1975 to 1983.

This pistol Started the trend by other manufacturers of compact 1911-style pistols. Its aluminum alloy frame made for a light weight and compact carry piece which was favored by those in need of a powerful self defense or back up gun.

Not a "safe" gun, by today's standards, I still have mine and keep it at home near my armchair.

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The Ruger P90 .45 ACP pistol.

Mine, like the one pictured here, has a stainless steel upper an oversize trigger guard to permit safe function with a gloved hand, and the front of the trigger guard bow is recurved to accommodate the support-hand forefinger in a two-hand hold. The rear sight is dovetail drift-adjustable for windage; front and rear sights have white-dot inserts for high visibility, a de-cocking lever and transfer bar safety that allows me to carry it with a round chambered.

The Ruger is the gun I carry daily.

*****************************

The Dan Wesson model 715, stainless Steel, possibly my favorite hand cannon.

Chambered in .357 magnum. With an 8" barrel, its really to large for concealed carry although from time to time, I have been known...

Whenever I make a trip to the range, Dan goes along. With my hottest hand loads, I like to see what I can do to a 100 yard target.

I have other pistols and access to many more but these are the only pistols that I've carried on a daily basis.

New addition to the blog.

Its Official!

Long Range is now a "Troll Abortion Site"! (Look to the sidebar).

Troll posts will be aborted at the discretion of the blog administrators.

We believe that this is a decision between the blog administrators and their creator.

So if you feel like trolling this blog, go ahead, make the post long, we enjoy it more that way.

OK, Nanc; fire up the shop vac for a test run!

vaarrRRROOOOOOOOO(rattle, rattle)ooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMmmmm....

Hmmm, that one must of had a copy of the Communist Manifesto in its pocket!

Special thanks to my best friend on the Internet, Beakerkin of The Beak Speaks, for the concept.

Any of our friends that wish to use this image may do so. If you need help to put it in your template, let me know.

Warren

is there a pimpfant in your house?

there is a new brand of clothing out there for your BABIES! it's called "pimpfant" wear - yup! check out this link. then go here to check out the pimpfant wear. this guy was on fox news today and frankly, i thought he was quite matter-of-fact in his why as to his choice of a name for his infant wear. hokey at best.

answers.com defines pimp:

pimp (pĭmp)
n.
One who finds customers for a prostitute; a procurer.

intr.v., pimped, pimp·ing, pimps.
To serve as a procurer of prostitutes.

elook.org defines pimp:

[noun] someone who procures customers for whores (in England they call a pimp a ponce)
Synonyms: procurer, panderer, pander, pandar, fancy man, ponce


[verb] arrange for sexual partners for others
Synonyms: pander, procure

having worked in the criminal justice system - i also know that pimp in the prison secures a slight, blond haired, blue eyed, male for guys named "bubba".

which brings me to my points. i'm one who believes clothing makes the person.

if you work in an office, men should wear suits and women should wear dresses and/or nice pantsuits. as i've been out of the job market for awhile and have been tending to land, children and animals - tees, jeans and tennies are my mainwear, however when i go to church it's usually a dress.

a very good friend of mine for over thirty years had five children early in life and one of them was the cutest little blond/blue girl you've ever seen. i'll call her "misty". misty was a tiny thing and her mother would dress her provocatively and was perming and dying her hair by the age of seven. if you'd ask misty what she wanted to be when she grew up, she'd coyly say, "i want to be a twamp!" her mother would laugh and say, "isn't that cute?"

guess what? misty grew up to be a drug addict with three children by two different fathers and as far as i know, is still bobbing and weaving in and out of rehabs. she's been in and out of jail a number of times and no longer has custody of her children - thank God!

her mother has asked me where she could have gone wrong - i've never had the heart to tell her as she and i were estranged for a number of years for other reasons. and now she's angry with me because i told her under no circumstances to send me photos of MY sister in her coffin. she has a severe problem with honesty - giving and receiving.

questions i pose to you, the reader, is:

do your children's clothing say, "this is me!"?

do you have an overweight teenage girl in the house wearing hiphuggers and short shirts with the punchy donut roll around the waistline hanging out for all the world to see? take a photo of her and hang it on the fridge.

do you have a smartarse teenage son in the house with a cockeyed ball cap and pants you could put three of him into, and skateboard shoes that cost more than $140.00? yank his britches down in front of all his friends.

do you have a kid in the house who constantly says, "but, so and so has one and i'll just die if i don't have one tooooooooo!"? tell them to hold their breath just shy of five minutes and see what happens.

is there a kid in your house who constantly reminds you that, "so and so has this new razor flip phone and my phone is sooo outdated!"? take the phone away for awhile and give it back to them on a special occasion like h.s. graduation.

i could go on and on, but believe you get my drift - smells like gucci #3! hey, i can afford it - my kids CAN'T! GUESS WHAT? they cannot afford to dress themselves either! go figure, parents buy their kid's clothing - who has the upper hand?

if you start putting your babies in "pimpfant" wear - you are headed down a path that will not only keep you in the poorhouse, but will ultimately put you in the nuthouse! who buys the clothing for your children? are they independently wealthy? i would ask any parent to be responsible before giving in to every whim of your children.

it has been my conclusion that although i want better for my children than i had - it had NOTHING to do with material objects as i had little to nothing growing up in the way of parenting.

if you're into character building in your kids - nothing works better than a big, fat "NO"! they'll thank you for it and i'll thank you for it when i see your kids running our country with decency and in appearance. some people will say, "looks don't mean anything." i say, "liar - there is no second chance at a first impression!"

The DU d'RAT Review: The Question They CAN'T Answer

The DU d'RAT Review: The Question They CAN'T Answer

I said okay; let's just have you fill in the blanks:

1). "I have lost the right to ____________________".

2). "Because of this, I can no longer ____________________".

Verityink asks a simple question but gets no answer.

Read the whole thing.

carna(n)c the not so great predictor

upon reading a great article at democracy frontline this morning by our felis, my linkster at Democracy Frontline, i began a search for information. have you ever gone searching for a particular item only to come across a better and entirely different item? it happened to me.

benjamin disraeli quotes--a treasure trove of quotes!

for those who do not know who disraeli was, he was the first jewish/british prime minister in england in 1868 and again from 1874-1880, under the rule of queen victoria. as i was perusing his quotes, they began to remind me of some of our regular and irregular blogging friends and foes. there will be those who disagree with his politics, but he was spot on in some of his comments.

as you may have guessed, i am going to place a disraeli quote(s) with a blogger in out community who may be the person saying it today. should prove fun and if you believe someone's quote in unsuitable, please feel free to expound.

my favorite disraeli exchange was between him and queen victoria, as she asked, "mr. prime minister, what evidence can you give me of the existence of God?" to which he replied, "the jew, your majesty." short and sweet.

the first i have given to myself and the rest will be alphabetical so you will not think i'm playing favorites as i don't play favorites...well, i play favorites - i just don't want you to know WHO my favorites are! add your own for those i've missed.

all emphasis mine throughout.

nanc to myself - "to be conscious that you are ignorant of the facts is a great step to knowledge."

a.c. - "because it's my blog!" wait, disraeli didn't say that - sorry..."there is no wisdom like frankness." (aka: american crusader)

aow - "upon the education of the people of this country, the fate of this country depends."

aow - "youth is the trustee of prosperity."

aow - "diligence is the mother of good fortune."

beak - "on book reviews - books are fatal: they are the curse of the human race. nine-tenths of existing books are nonsense, and clever books are the refutation of that nonsense."

beak & beamish on communist/marxist dictators - "assasination has never changed the history of the world."

beamish to brownie - "jobrow [william gladstone] has not a single redeeming defect."

beamish to plucky - "he was distinguished for ignorance; for he had only one idea, and that was wrong."

beamish to the people - "i must follow the people. am i not their leader."

eyes - "like all travellers, i have seen more than i remember, and remember more than i've seen." (aka: eyesallaround)

farmer - "we should never lose an occasion. opportunity is more powerful even than conquerors and prophets."

fern - "liberals, cosmopolitan critics, men who are friends of every country save their own." (aka: freedomnow)

i.w. - "we live in an age when to be young and to be indifferent can be no longer synonymous. we must prepare for the coming hour. the claims of the future are represented by suffering millions; and the youth of a nation are the trustees of posterity." (aka: iran watch)

j.b. - "as a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information." (aka: jeff bargholz)

jacob - "we are all born for love. it is the principle of existence, and its only end." (aka: iamaworm)

linkster - "you will find as you grow older that courage is the rarest of all qualities to be found in public life." (aka: felis)

madze - "there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." (aka: madzionist)

plucky to himself - "it destroys one's nerve to be amiable everyday to the same human being(s)" (aka: mr. ducky)

tmw - "amusement to an observing mind is study." (aka: the merry widow)

and last, but certainly not least by any means:

warren - "the greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but reveal to him his own."

in his first speech - disraeli adamantly stated, "the time will come when you will hear me." oh, don't we know. thank you all for being a part of my first post!

National Poetry Month (was last month)

A Clear Midnight
by Walt Whitman

This is thy hour O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless,

Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson

done,

Thee fully forth emerging, silent, gazing, pondering the

themes thou lovest best,

Night, sleep, death and the stars.


Being a charter member of the society of creative procrastination, I have decided to celebrate, National Poetry Month, a little late.

So, I invite you, my friends, to join with me and post some of your favorite poems or snippets.

Note: only cheaters will post limericks! LOL


Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it's queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there's some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Interview time!

A few years uhh... couple of months ago, I ran into this homeless, faceless, pitiful interesting commenter on cuz's, (Mr Beamish), blog, The Crank Files.

As I remember it, she was impressed with my knowledge of firearms and ballistics, hanging on every word of my descriptions of muzzle velocity and bullet weights, then complimented me on my knowledge.

EDIT:
nanc - "heyaaaay - i was homeless, not down and out! they slammed the doors on us at moonbat central and i ended up at madzionist (my madze), freedomnow (my fern), the cranky one (my beamish), autonomist (my mr. dipippo), at long range (my warren), always on watch (my aow) and eventually at the beak speaks (my beak). some people may say i'm a little possessive and frankly, i don't get it.

and really, who WOULDN'T be impressed with your knowledge of firearms and ballistics - even winchester'd be saying, "dayam, that warren knows his stuff!"

edit EDIT:
Warren- Shameless suckup!


Shameless sneak EDIT:
nanc - "this is no time to tell me you're vacuuming..."

Having took pity on this faceless, homeless waif and with the skill of the foremost plastic surgeons of the world, (and after a couple of aborted attempts), I constructed one of the most artistically magnificent avatars ever to grace the Internet.

EDIT:
nanc - "ahem? "one of the most artistically magnificent avatars"? best get your poop in a group, warren - my avatar is right up there with always on watch. perhaps you'd like to reword that?"

edit EDIT:
Warren-Surely you don't expect me to dis my own work, no favorites here!

After she ignored my masterpiece I twisted her arm bashfully declined to use it; I convinced her to try it for a while to see how it worked out.

EDIT:
nanc - "yeah, well sometimes it's all about the chase."

I came to know this homeless waif and again, took pity on her, and decided to take her into my Internet home.

EDIT:
nanc - "yeah, right! who snagged whom? is it time for "the man song"?"

Most of you know her from her shy comments and bashful, modest words. So keep in mind her delicate retiring personality, be gentle with her and we will get to know her better.

On with the interview:

Nanc, what should we know about you?

nanc - "first, i'm one of the Kings' kids. i will only capitalize when yelling or noting something of importance. there are no lengths i will not go for people i love and care about - having been described as a mother lion by a far left friend of mine. hey, somebody has to be their friend.

having been born into royalty, people have a hard time approaching me. yeah, even my sweet husband will come up to me and say, "babe, do people really come up to you?"

Have you always been conservative, were you somewhat of a "wild child" growing up?

nanc - "i have always been a wildly conservative person. as you may or may not know, my parents and most of my relatives are extreme, far left dhimmiwittedcrats. as for my immediate family - husband and children - they are happily rightminded. a quote from my mother, "HOW ON EARTH CAN YOU TEACH YOUR CHILDREN TO BE REPUBLICANS?" well, i don't. they figured it out on their own. this from the same woman when our son was a toddler and we had a huge fireplace, would say, "AREN'T YOU AFRAID HE'S GOING TO RUN INTO THE FIRE?" to which i replied, "well, mom, if he's stupid enough to get within four or five feet of THAT fire, then he deserves to get burned. would you run into THAT fire?"

there really are NO stupid questions, only stupid people who ask them or something like that."

You moved from the West Coast to the Heartland. What would you say was the biggest adjustment that you had to make?

nanc - "about $25,000+ per year less income, avocados year round, and good, quality citrus fruit - those are the biggest, yet easiest to overcome. really nothing to complain about. the heartland is the best place to be, well except for the chicks and tiggers..."

What is your biggest family thing, what do you and your family enjoy doing most as a group? (And have you ever tried a Hartz tea and flick collar?)

nanc - "as a group we love doing stand up comedy amongst ourselves, well, because mostly it's much easier than doing it sitting or lying down. we do attend church twice a week together and love to go swimming and fishing as the weather permits. when the weather DOESN'T permit, we watch "paint your wagon" and sing the score as each song comes on. it has been a prerequisite to hanging out with me for the last 25+ years - then, and only then, do i find out what a person is made of. we do shop together, but only as a support group. as for the critters, they wouldn't dare light on me - we warned the entawr state before we got here. that, and have invested a small fortune on bug dope for the immediate area. thank you for your concern."

So, "Paint Your Wagon" is your favorite movie, what are some of your other favorites and have you ever read a book, then seen the movie and been disappointed, or visa versa?

nanc - "we like serious movies like "kingpin" with woody harrelson and "what about bob" with bill murray, oh, and "young frankenstein". movies are nearly always disappointing when compared to the books. i've always loved stephen king and i don't believe you could make a movie that stands up to his books. one that came close was "the stand". "braveheart" is my ABSOLUTE favorite comedy."

END
********************

Thank you Nanc.

Now I'm going to turn this post and questions over to our friends and the trolls we love to hate.

no longer homeless

do you mean to tell me that i've found a home? of course - if you look pitiful enough there is always someone who will pick you up, dry you off and take you home with them.

TA DA!!!

We have the NEW and IMPROVED, (insert drum roll here)


LONG RANGE!

Nanc has graciously, (cough, cough), acceded to my veiled threat accepted my invitation, and is henceforth my co-conspirator in crime blogging!

I expect there will be a fight over which name comes first in the profile list. Luckily I can't change that!

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Judas: A Saint for Our Seasons

Heads up from Instapundit.

http://americandigest.org/

Have you ever betrayed your promise?
Did you ever break a vow?
Have you traded love for money,
And are you happy now?

Did you kiss him in the garden,
And then abandon him to fate?
Is your final sin forgiven,
Or is it far too late?

WHEN IT COMES TO DISCOVERING new ways to cheapen the human soul, the "professional intellectuals" of our society have cornered the market. So it was last week when, timed carefully to cash in on the Easter holiday, the "serious" editors of National Geographic chose to release their gleanings from a sheaf of rags and call them "The Gospel of Judas."

[...]

Now our traitors to God and Country have found a sheaf of rags that "prove" that the greatest treason was really "all good;" that Judas was really the greatest friend Jesus ever had and was, with a kiss, doing him the greatest favor ever done.

Treason, done with the kiss of "my personal freedom," proves that you do not really hate your country, you love it. You are, in the final analysis, your country's best friend. In these "new" old tales about Jesus we read that Judas betrayed the Son of God because Jesus told him to do it. Really? Or did his betrayal come, not from any request that may or may not have been made, but from humanity's persistant lust to sin freely and without even the thin penalty of remorse? Was this final treason done because this sin had been secretly blessed by God, or for the sheer dark thrill of asserting the self at the expense of life in the light?


[...]

Elijah

I know that you installed Firefox and you're still having trouble.

Can you email me at all?

Try composing the Email off line then logging in to send it. I sent you an Email after getting one from you, but I don't know if you got it. If you can't receive my Emails let me know and send me your street address and I'll reply by snail mail.

If you can get a Email to me.

Site Meter

I doubt that anyone has noticed, I installed Site Meter a few days ago.

I did it out of curiosity. I wondered who would look at my blog, that I didn't know, and why they were looking.

No longer than its been installed, I have found the information quite interesting but somewhat confusing.

I found out that Elijah has viewed the blog even if he is still unable to post. Elijah, take my advice and install Mozilla or Mozilla Firefox and your browser will quit crashing.

I found a view from Singapore from a search engine. But the search terms seem to give an impossibly high search rating for my blog based only on the last part of an Email address, (inside a linked article and similar to returning results for every Email address at a given domain). The search engine gave my blog a 4th place in the list even though the address was only listed one time.

A view from a robot spammer out of England that's pushing Viagra. Unable to get past word verification it moved on to another blog.

A view from a domain that I had noticed at Beaks right after he installed Site Meter and 167 and his minions were trolling around. Possibly no linkage, the domain is in the eastern US.

"Anum", seems to be using more sophisticated means of misdirection than a person that represents their self as "it" does would be capable of but not as slick as a pro.

Altogether quite interesting.

At least until it begins to bore me.

Double Suprise !! For Nanc :^P and Freedom Now

http://host.jwcinc.net/610407/PL1.jpg



http://host.jwcinc.net/610407/Contrae-l.jpg





http://host.jwcinc.net/610407/Contrae-2.jpg

Iran Watch

The smaller image is how the larger image would show as an Avatar in your posts.

Its a Griffin.

Head wings and foreparts of an eagle and hindquarters of a lion.

Its an ancient symbol recognized in many cultures.

In Christianity it represents the strength and wisdom of God.

This one started life as a brown, faux wood, pencil holder. You won't find this anywhere on the net unless someone steals it. I usually use some type of image as a start to save time.


Whatca think? Yes, no, maybe so, changes, something else, ideas? Don't take it if you don't like it, I can find it a home.









I believe this is the size it would show on your blog although you can probably change the template to make it larger.

OK Nanc, let's try again.

The text doesn't work well in the avatar sized images.

They're too "busy" and have too many hues.

Suggestions?

Something different?

For it to work well the image needs a ratio of about 3:4 , taller than it is wide.


Update:

Two more images: (whoops! One more something happened to it when it was uploaded)







The other image has a darker background.

I rescaled the image and cropped it so the forward figures appear bigger. I changed the type of siren to one that is more commonly recognized and lightened the background to bring the foreground out.





Another idea. I cropped more of the image and added some color and texture. Also got rid of the guys hand that was in front of her feet and replaced it with some water and rock.

Some fun stuff and something for nanc

I have some fun stuff stored on the web and if any of my friends wish to use these, feel free they may be used in posts but will not show in comments unless you plug one in to your personal picture box.



http://host.jwcinc.net/610407/gifs/booty.gif







http://host.jwcinc.net/610407/grenade2.gif








http://host.jwcinc.net/610407/gifs/fttt.gif







http://host.jwcinc.net/610407/gifs/kmb.gif







http://host.jwcinc.net/610407/gifs/nuts.gif







http://host.jwcinc.net/610407/pooch.jpg







http://host.jwcinc.net/610407/rds.jpg

All of the ones above are in the public domain and may be used freely. To use them, copy the URL from beside the gif or jpg and paste it into your menu for adding images where it says "Or add an image from the web" set the size for 100px which you will see in your "Edit Html" tab, in your blogger "Posting" tab after you download the image to blogger. (the drunken squirl is set for 200px), or play around with the size to see what it looks like. The larger the px size the larger the picture.

If you need help, ask me and I will be glad to give you a hand.


For my friends, no strangers. (if you, a stranger, become a friend first)
I hope I'm not stepping on the boss's toes (Mr Beamish) but if someone wants a custom Avatar, let me know. Its yours owing only to my consrtaint of time. If you aren't familiar with graphics programs and have an idea for a picture you would like to have for your blog, I'll see what I can come up with.

A quote and a few thoughts

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."
--- Frank Herbert, Dune

Much of my though and subsequent life has been gleaned from the written word. I don't remember the first book I read but I remember my grandmother reading stories to me from The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm. I remember reading "A Pilgrims Progress" when I was about five years old.

Fiction has always been my favorite and Science Fiction my love. I discovered Robert Heinlein through a beloved older cousin that bought me two of his novels when I was six years old. After that I read everything by Heinlein I could get my hands on.

I learned that true friends are more rare than diamonds and to do the right thing for self respect and not for praise or reward.

Later, I read books of philosophy and religion, then politics, history and biographies, (and the back of soup cans and cereal boxes).

Through that reading, I gained an appreciation of humanity, even with all its warts, and a cynicism that has always disturbed my family greatly. I learned that civilization is ephemeral and to prepare for the worst but live for the day. I learned that life is paradoxical and if these things seem contradictory, life itself is a constant contradiction.

The one thing I know for a fact.

Without individual freedom, all of the knowledge in the world is worthless.

A letter to the editor

Sometimes when you have despaired of the poor excuse our children and young adults have received for an education, a jewel shines forth. We meet someone like DM, who has his head screwed on right, or read one of AOWs posts, where she has reprinted the work of one of her students, and you come to the realization that things aren't quite as bad as they seem.

From, Wilmington Del. "News Journal"

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
03/05/2006

What leaders do on their own time is a private matter

Because I am 17 years old, some people might say that I am not mature enough to understand many issues. However, let me just say that I get more laughs reading the opinion page than I ever have from the comics.

Delawareans seem to be fixated on bashing President Bush and proposing new conspiracy theories whenever they seem convenient.

President Bush did not cause Hurricane Katrina or the complications afterwards. New Orleans was built below sea level so they should have seen it coming and made preparations themselves.
if Dick Cheney shoots someone by accident on his own time, it is none of your business and neither he nor the president has any obligation to tell you about it.

Finally, it seems unreasonable to me that Bush was able to graduate from Yale University, be elected governor of Texas, and earn the respect and confidence of enough of his peers in the Republican Party to be nominated as their presidential candidate if he is indeed as dim-witted as you say.

I am willing to wager that the majority of Delawareans who get their information from this sorry excuse for a newspaper have barely enough brainpower to govern their own lives, let alone governing a nation of almost 300 million.

Bradley Lehman, Hockessin

Thanks to WSJs, Best of the Web Today - by JAMES TARANTO

And special thanks to Always On Watch, educators like her, and all of those parents that take their obligation to raise their children, seriously, (you know who you are!). ;^)

A new nightmare for the left

Let me preface this by saying, so there is no misunderstanding, I am a Vietnam ,"Era", veteran. I never served in combat I knew I would be drafted and the prospect that I might die in Vietnam was very real.

I placed my fate in Gods hands. I supported the Vietnam war even if I didn't support LBJ and his minions. I was drafted in January of 1971 was inducted into the US Army in Louisville Kentucky, took my basic training at Ft Knox Kentucky and reported for leadership training and combat arms training, (field artillery), at Ft Sill Oklahoma. I was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division just after that unit was returned to the states from Vietnam. Many of my friends were not so lucky.

It always interested me that, there was no organized protest against the Vietnam war until the government started drafting college students after they graduated. A collage "draft exemption" turned into a "limited deferment" and all hell broke loose.

To most of my generation, a college education was either an unattainable dream or something unnecessary for work in a factory. For many of us, thanks to the GI bill, a degree became possible and our horizons had been broadened. We may have once been children when we left, (children, as we came to see those spoiled boys and girls who were insulated from a very nasty world and sent off to school with little to do but party and protest), we came back men and blooded warriors.

There is a core in each generation that has a vested interest in this great nation. They have taken an oath and served our country proudly. They never forget. They know who their enemies are.

Today, this core is being refreshed anew. Only this time they are men "and" women. They are volunteers, they are smarter, more healthy and better educated and trained than my generation with a far higher percentage of those that describe themselves as conservative.

They are the pool from which our future leaders, in both the private and public sectors, will come.

The left vilified my generation upon its return to civilian life, and in turn, those that would accept the label, were portrayed as victims.

This will not happen again!

This is the lefts nightmare. A generation of leaders tested in fire, one that does not, and will not, bow down at the alter of political correctness. A generation willing to face reality and ready to cast out silly notions of moral equivalence and "subjective truth". A generation that has taken an oath and served our country proudly. They will never forget. They know who their enemies are.

Leftists, meet your future. It looks pretty grim.

For Nanc and Missinglink

George and Ida. Notice Georges feet.



This is a cleaned up photograph of, Ernie, (my wife's grandfather) and Jack, (her father).
Ernie was raised on the reservation, (Cherokee). He was the common law husband of Maisie, (half Apache). Ernie was 25 or so years older than Maisie. This picture was taken in the late 1940s

My wife is strawberry blond and freckled. :^)




This is the repaired and cropped photo optimized for the Internet.

The original was torn and spotted with places where the emulsion was totally gone.

I repaired a bunch of these photos for my brother in law.

A few relatives

This is a picture of my great grandparents. Left to right.

Ida, (my great grandmother) full blooded Cherokee.

George, (My great grandfather) nobody is really sure how much Cherokee.

Nola, (front center) my great aunt.

Rose, (the pale looking one). She was my great uncles wife, I believe she was Irish, my great uncle, (Norman I think), was taking the picture.

Lawrence, my grandfather.


The picture was taken sometime in the late 1920s or early 30s in McLean County, Kentucky. It, (the picture) was so dark when I received it that none of the faces were visible except for Rose's

I have one other picture of George and Ida but it isn't optimized for the Internet. As far as anyone knows, these are the only surviving pictures.

If anyone is interested, I will optimize the other picture and post it also.

The press trembles

Our friend Russet Shadows at Strange Fire
has an interesting post up titled "The Fearmongers

It is a curious thing how the press walks on eggshells around Islam but can't be bothered to be so respectful of other religions. Why? The underlying truth is that the press can be controlled through fear, and that allows men to destroy freedom of the press without even resorting to censorship. [...]

Well worth a read!

Hamas Takes Control of Palestinian Parliament

By Scott Wilson
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, February 18, 2006; 4:00 PM

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Feb. 18 -- The radical Islamic group Hamas took control of the Palestinian parliament Saturday during a somber swearing-in ceremony, and legislators from the new majority quickly made clear that they would not abide by signed agreements that recognize Israel's right to exist. [...]


But Abbas called Saturday for a revival of the PLO, which has lost influence since the Palestinian Authority's creation, to pursue peace talks that he said have been undermined by Israel's settlement construction, the security barrier rising between Israel and the Palestinian population of the West Bank and Israel's failure to leave Palestinian cities. He said, "I'd like to emphasize our full rejection of unilateralism."

"We are confident that there is no military solution to the conflict," Abbas said. "Negotiations between us as equal partners should put a long-due end to the cycle of violence."

Mouin Rabbani, senior Middle East analyst for the International Crisis Group who attended the event here, said Abbas may be signaling a new strategy to minimize Hamas's influence.

"Is this part of an organized effort to marginalize the Palestinian parliament?" Rabbani said. "Abbas seems to be saying that it is not the formation of the government that's important. It's what the government does afterward that matters.

I see more posturing and meaningless rhetoric.

Quite frankly, there is no way that a "Palestinian" State can support itself without the donations of the Western world and Israel. (That last is a bit of surprise). The article states, "Israel will likely stop the monthly transfer of about $55 million in sales tax and customs fees it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, depriving the government of about 30 percent of its operating funds."

To the rest of the Islamic world and Western leftists, "Palestine", exists only as a bone of contention and focus of anti-Western propaganda. Does anyone seriously believe that "Palestine" could actually be anything other that another festering disease ridden cess pool.

For Juan Mancha de Mierda

Well, John shit stain. (btw that's what, Juan Mancha de Mierda, means)

That was your first post on my blog, and your last.

I don't suffer fools gladly and your sissy assed whining about censorship falls on deaf ears.

This blog is my property and I don't indulge psychotics in their fantasies.

BTW, we are all Zionists here and the only "head coffins" I know of are the ones where armchair Marxists park what passes for an intellect.

Rote repetition of nonsense phrases is an earmark of psychosis. (i.e. "head coffins")

Your preceding post will remain, all following posts will be deleted in their entirety as soon as I become aware of them. You have your own blog and if no one posts there, its a reflection of what you post. In other words, its because there is something wrong with 'YOU'.

I have no wish to join in your "revolution" which has resulted in the murders of 150,000,000 people and human misery such as the world has never know before.

Gore opens bid for President of United Arab Emerates

Yahoo News

By JIM KRANE, Associated Press Writer Mon Feb 13, 7:10 AM ET

JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia - Former Vice President
Al Gore told a mainly Saudi audience on Sunday that the U.S. government committed "terrible abuses" against Arabs after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and that most Americans did not support such treatment.
ADVERTISEMENT

Gore said Arabs had been "indiscriminately rounded up" and held in "unforgivable" conditions. The former vice president said the Bush administration was playing into al-Qaida's hands by routinely blocking Saudi visa applications.

"The thoughtless way in which visas are now handled, that is a mistake," Gore said during the Jiddah Economic Forum. "The worst thing we can possibly do is to cut off the channels of friendship and mutual understanding between Saudi Arabia and the United States."

Gore told the largely Saudi audience, many of them educated at U.S. universities, that Arabs in the United States had been "indiscriminately rounded up, often on minor charges of overstaying a visa or not having a green card in proper order, and held in conditions that were just unforgivable."

[...]

Joe Gandelman

Why didn't Gore just put a sign on his back that said "KICK ME" and then walk into a Republican rally?

Uh, oh. We better not give him any ideas...

I hear that Dick Cheney asked him to go hunting....

Bumper stickers anyone?

From exposetheleft.com.

Palestinian "Democracy"

To those idiots that have degraded the democratic process and taken pleasure that the "Palestinians" have voted Hamas into power.

How can you be so foolish as to assume that one democratic election makes a Democracy. Once again, you must be reminded that democracy is a process and not an event!

If nothing else, this election teaches us that recalcitrant children are not fit subjects for self rule, and you, that have so vociferously advocated "Palestinian" self-rule, are actually spoilers.

You have no answers, only demands. You have no solutions, only criticism. You have no purpose in life but to degrade those that actually do something while you offer volumes of cynicism.

Democrat Stratagems

It has become clear what the Democrat strategy will be in the 06 elections.

More of the same!

Listening to the statements of their leaders, we learn two things, their DNC approved main taking points will be "culture of corruption" and endless comparison of GWB to Hitler.

I don't believe either of these pieces of crapola will gain any traction.

Any talk of corruption begs for comparison of the rampant corruption of the morally bankrupt Clinton administration which will not reflect well on St Hilary, the piano legged. The endless attacks against GWB elicit jaw breaking yawns from all but the left fringe. (Hello Democrats! Hasn't anyone told you that GWB will not be running for political office?)

At this point in time, the Dems should be running to the right, (to pull the wool over our eyes). Instead they are still raving like the lunatics they are.

I guess there is more than a hint of truth about Bush Derangement Syndrome

Damn you Beamish!

The Childhood Meme, (I've been tagged!)

My life as a child (under 15) in 50 words or less:

I was raised by my Grandparents until I was 10 years old. Although My parents lived there too, I never saw them except weekends. They both worked second shift jobs. At ten, my parents bought their own house and I moved in with them where I was expected to look after my two younger brothers. I started working for my father at thirteen when I was a freshman in high school

Where were you a kid?

Evansville Indiana, I still live here.

Given the choice, were you barefoot or did you wear shoes?

Barefoot, I had some tough feet!

Were you a city kid or a country kid?

Its difficult to explain. Although we lived in the city, we raised chickens etc. and we had a huge truck garden that grandpa cultivated with a Gravley two wheel tractor. We sold the extra produce to stores and off the front porch.

Stupidest thing you did before the age of 15:

I almost burnt the house down burning the trash on a windy day.

Do you know how to play Kick the Can?

Yes

What else did you play in groups?

Red Rover and 50 different versions of Scrub, (Baseball without enough people to make two teams.) Army, Cowboys and Indians, Football, Basketball.....

Worst injury?

A tie between getting a small piece of metal in the optic nerve of my left eye and going blind for three days, (they call it sympathetic blindness), or almost taking my kneecap off with an ax.

Do you agree with Bob Seger's line in Against the Wind, (I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then)?

No. Ignorance may be bliss, but only to the ignorant!

Elijah, If you're reading this you're tagged. You can do it here.
DM, tag!
Hjordes, my favorite Nordic goddess, (If you have the time), Tag, you're it!

;^)

A Christmas Visitor

(Written one year ago.)

4:00 am 12/24/04

There was a knock on my front door which startled me awake. My dogs were barking which required dire threats to quieten as I answered the door.

Maybe you have heard of our weather and the unusually cold temperatures (16 F) and large amount of snow that has fallen, (18"), in the last 24 hours. I live just south of Interstate 64 in Southern Indiana and you may have seen the news about the closed Interstate and stranded motorists on the national news.

A man, about my own age, (early 50s), stood at the door. He was wearing tennis shoes, jeans, a field jacket and sock hat. His glasses were frosted and he wore no gloves.

He told me he was lost and asked where St.James Blvd was. I told him it was about a mile and a half to the West and asked him where his car was. He said he was walking.

I asked him in and sat a chair for him by the furnace vent. He was shivering uncontrollably, a faint whiff of alcohol was on his breath. I asked if I could fix him something to eat and he refused but he accepted a cup of coffee.

My wife talked to him as he warmed himself and I made some coffee, I could hear him speak as I made his coffee ready.

My son heard him and came into the living room to sit and listen, to keep an eye out, just in case.

He was homeless, he had been sleeping under a bridge on the Ohio River about seven miles away to the West. He decided that it was too cold and he might freeze to death if he didn't find a safe place to stay.

About midnight he left his meager possessions, a few clothes, and headed for his sisters house on St James, but he had walked past the street in the dark. He was lost and confused, probably somewhat drunk, and hypothermia can add confusion to even the sober mind.

As he talked, I realized that he had mental problems, as do many of the homeless. There are places that take in the indignant, I'm sure he knew it too, but they won't accept anyone who is intoxicated, which I'm also sure he was aware of.

He drank his coffee then asked me if I would drive him to his sisters house and offered me two dollars. Of course I refused the money but offered to take him where he wanted to go, I intended to take measures to see after him anyway. He seemed anxious to leave.

As I drove, he told me that his sister was out of town but he had permission to use her house in an emergency. I was worried that he was just lying to me for reasons of his own but I was determined to see the thing through, even if I had to call the police to ensure his wellbeing through this cold weather.

We drove up to the house and there was a porch light on and smoke coming from the chimney vent, even though it was apparent that there was no one home as the snow was undisturbed. I asked him if he was sure he could get in, he said, "Yes, she told me where the key is." He reached out his hand, as if for a hand shake, and when I offered mine, pulled it to his lips and kissed it saying, "God bless you".

I was profoundly embarrassed but stayed long enough to see him dig around in the snow and find a key, then unlock the door and wave goodbye.

I drove home, my thoughts disturbed, by the events that had taken place.

My wife was relieved as I came in and I started preparing food (very early) for this Christmas Eve. As I cut up fruit for salad and prepared the turkey for baking, my son came up behind me and hugged me, kissing my head, and said, "Dad, you did a good thing."

Again, I was embarrassed, not by my son's hug and kiss but by his praise.

I hadn't did it for praise, I did it because it was the right thing to do.

Then he told me that he tries to help the homeless ones that hang around his place of employment. We spoke of how little we can actually do for them and I was proud of my son for doing the right thing, he is a good man.

As I continued to prepare, my thoughts drifted to a couple seeking shelter in Bethlehem and the birth of the Lamb of the New Covenant, and I felt God's Peace.

May God's Peace be with you all!
Merry Christmas.
(and a Happy Hanukkah)

Warren

Snake oil and pea bug misunderstandings

The other day, I was listening to talk radio, a commentator made a reference to "snake oil". Very few people know the origins of that phrase but I believe it has its origins in Cherokee legend.

(note:) a larger account of the snake legend(s) can be found here!

The ancient Cherokee believed that the snake was a supernatural being. Some snakes were once human and turned into snake form but all had an intimate connection with the rain and thunder gods and the plant and animal "tribes". The most feared and respected, of the snake "tribe", was the rattlesnake.

The rattlesnake was named (utsa'natii) which can be translated as, "he has a bell", referring to the rattles. Most Cherokee went out of their way to avoid killing a rattlesnake and if one had to be killed, even by accident, the action had to be atoned for by asking pardon of the snakes ghost, through the mediation of a priest, according to a set formula. Otherwise the dead snakes relatives would send one of their number to bite the offender or a member of his family so that they would die.

The rattles, teeth, flesh, and oil were prized for occult or medical uses. Certain priests, (shamans, medicine men) who knew the necessary rituals for pardon, killed the snakes for this purpose. This also provided a lucrative business for the less than ethical, (both Indian and white). The oil was prized for its healing properties and was said to relieve the pain of rheumatism and sore joints among the Whites as well as the Indians.

The shamans and priests lost favor among the Indians after a couple of smallpox outbreaks in the 1700s that almost killed off the tribe reducing it to one point to a number of less than 9000 from estimates of a population that I have seen as high as 50000. I have heard there were reprisals taken against surviving shamans. As far as I know, (and I freely admit that my knowledge is far less than complete), nothing substantive remains of the original religion(s) and rites although there is still a herbal tradition practiced in the eastern and western bands.

unscrupulous traveling salesmen would wonder from town to town selling their, "genuine Indian snake oil cure", and who had any idea what it really was or what was in it!

On a more humorous note:

Definition:
Pea bug, what Warren "thought" his wife called a wood louse (e.g. pill bug, sow bug, rolly-polly bug), what she actually called it, was pee bug.

I realized my mistake when ol' Shortfuse .357, (i.e. my wife Jackie), said her grandmother made pee bug tea and made the kids drink it if they peed in the bed. Her grandmother, (half Apache), apparently learned the recipe from her Apache mother, (by accounts, a little, dark, scrawny woman with a hot temper and skin like tree bark, only refered to as "granny").

I asked my wife if it worked and she said, "Well... I didn't pee in the bed, but I didn't go to sleep either. I'd rather stay awake all night than drink pee bug tea!"

Note:
Interestingly enough, wood ice do not urinate; instead of excreting urine, woodlice excrete their nitrogenous waste in the form of ammonia gas. Sounds homeopathic to me but how would Indians know that "pee bugs", don't pee?

;^)



Update: I found this interesting letter from Richard L. Allen:

Psuedo Shamans Cherokee Statement

By Richard L. Allen, EdD Research &
Policy Analyst Cherokee Nation

Copyright © 2001 RLAllen
All Rights Reserved

Greetings:

The Cherokee Nation is overwhelmed with those charlatans who fraudulently claim to be shaman, spiritual leaders or descendents of a Cherokee princess. Such individuals make such claims without ever having lived within the Cherokee communities. They claim to be descended from some nebulous and mysterious ancestor who was from "a reservation in North Carolina" (there is only one) or "a reservation in Oklahoma" (there are none). The ancestor is never just a plain ordinary everyday Cherokee citizen but a "Cherokee Princess," a "Cherokee Shaman," or a "Cherokee Pipe carrier" none of which actually exist or ever have. Those who claim to be "shaman" do not reside within the known boundaries of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma.

Cherokee medicine people and spiritual leaders are known to the Cherokee people and do not practice medicine for a fee nor sell "shamanic" lessons to anyone. They do not advertise their services through any form of media and certainly not over the internet. Traditional Cherokee healers and spiritual leaders provide their services to the Cherokee people. A Cherokee medicine person or spiritual leader is fluent in the Cherokee language and would conduct any medical or spiritual practices by using the Cherokee language. Therefore, our medicine people are those who were born of a Cherokee mother and a Cherokee father and would have been reared within a Cherokee community speaking the Cherokee language. Our traditional Cherokee healers and spiritual leaders are humble people and would not present themselves as such nor "hang out a shingle" so to speak. Cherokee medicine people are acknowledged and recognized by members of the Cherokee community as effective healers and leaders. It is the recognition of the Cherokee people that validates these persons as medicine people and healers not self-proclaimation. We may provide them small gifts, a token amount of money or foodstuffs in payment for their services. They do not charge for their services nor would they withhold their services when asked and they certainly would not prescibe payment by credit card. Cherokee medicine people may provide services to recognized members of other tribes or may provide services to non-Indians who would seek them out for treatment, but certainly would not mix their spirituality or medicine with that of other nations. Cherokee medicine and spiritual practices do not include tarot cards, palmistry, psychic readings or sweatlodge ceremonies.

One may assume that anyone claiming to be a Cherokee "shaman, spiritual healer, or pipe- carrier," is equivalent to a modern day medicine show and snake-oil vendor. You have my permission to print this response as is.

Richard L. Allen. EdD
Research & Policy Analyst
Cherokee Nation
P.O. Box 948
Tahlequah, Oklahoma 74465
E-Mail: rallen@cherokee.org

Fact check

Today, President Bush made a speech from the Naval Academy at Annapolis, delivered remarks on the war on terror and the national strategy, (which the Democrats say he doesn't have), for victory in Iraq. He started by saying that we are fighting the same ideology that attacked us on 9/11.

The terrorists in Iraq share the same ideology as the terrorists who struck the United States on September the 11th. This is an enemy without conscience, and they cannot be appeased. If we're not fighting and destroying this enemy in Iraq, they would not be idle. They would be plotting and killing Americans across the world and within our own borders. By fighting these terrorists in Iraq, Americans in uniform are defeating a direct threat to the American people. Against this adversary there's only one effective response. We will never back down; we will never give in, and we will never accept anything less than complete victory.

Later in the speech, he said:

Senator Lieberman is right. Setting an artificial deadline to withdraw would send the message across the world that America is weak and an unreliable ally. Setting an artificial deadline to withdraw would send a signal to our enemies that if they wait long enough, America will cut and run and abandoned its friends, and setting an artificial deadline to withdraw would vindicate the terrorist tactics of beheadings and suicide bombings and mass murder and invite new attacks on America. To all who wear the uniform, I make you this pledge: America will not run in the face of car bombers and assassins so long as I am your commander-in-chief. (wild applause)

This upset the Democrats and a rather over the top John (I voted for the war before I voted against it) Kerry, was "forced to give a Democrat reply:

[...] What it did on the Democratic side seek to do [sic], was set an estimated timetable for success, which will permit the withdrawal of our troops. Everything that we have presented has been presented on the basis of how you succeed. The president today in his speech said, I quote, "America will not run in the face of car bombers and assassins so long as I am commander-in-chief." Well, so long as Jack Reed is a United States Senator and John Kerry is a senator and the rest of us are senators, none of us, no one, has ever suggested or believes that we should run in the face of car bombers or assassins.
[...]

[...]"debate is not about an artificial date for withdrawal"[...]

He's right! Debate isn't an artificial date for withdrawal, but the Democrats haven't been debating. They have been pontificating, propagandising and politicizing since this war started, but not debating.

Kerry also said, (I'm not sure that this is from his speech or to reporters afterward):

said Bush is falsely trying to suggest that Democrats want to set an artificial date for a pullout. Kerry said that's not the case, and that Democrats just want an "estimated timetable" for success

Anybody with the memory of a gnat knows that's a crock!

From the main page of Russ Feingolds Senate web page:

Feingold Proposes Timetable for Iraq Withdrawal

I believe that the American people deserve clarity from the administration regarding the United State's commitment in Iraq. I have proposed a target timeframe for the completion of the military mission in Iraq and suggested December 31, 2006 as the target date for the completion of the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.

Representative John Murtha, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee:

"It is time for a change in direction. Our military is suffering, the future of our country is at risk. We cannot continue on the present course. It is evident that continued military action in Iraq is not in the best interests of the United States of America, the Iraqi people or the Persian Gulf region,"

Yahoo News on House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi:

"We should follow the lead of Congressman John Murtha, who has put forth a plan to make American safer, to make our military stronger and to make Iraq more stable. That is what the American people and our troops deserve."

Senator Clinton Calls for Withdrawal From Iraq to Begin in 2006

Kerry Urges U.S. to Start Withdrawal From Iraq
Senator's Timetable Specifies 15 Months
Thursday, October 27, 2005; Page A03

News Flash: Biden Calls for Withdrawal Timetable

Thursday, January 27, 2005
GUARDIAN/(AP): Amid constant harangues that "Iraq is Bush's Vietnam," Teddy Kennedy has now explitictly called for the immediate "withdrawal" of US troops from Iraq.

Kucinich Renews Calls For The US Withdrawal From Iraq, a press release from July 28, 2003, by Kucinich's office in Congress

WASHINGTON (Oct. 25, 2005) Rep. David Price, D-4th, and Rep. Brad Miller, D call for troop withdrawal from Iraq
-

I could go on but this is getting tiresome!

Shouldn't someone let Kerry know? (especially since he has been one of those doing the calling)

Trials and tribulations

Its Thanksgiving day and I finally have enough time and energy to post.

Please excuse me my friends. I haven't forgotten you and you have been in my thoughts and prayers.

Since the last time I posted, I have been subjected to a series of events that have sorely tested my mental health, pocketbook and endurance.

My mother has had a major operation, (she's fine now and recuperating at home). My sister-in-law has been diagnosed with breast cancer, (I believe that she just had her last chemo and the prognosis is good). We suffered a business slow down due indirectly to the increase in fuel prices, (somewhat better now, we'll see). My four year old refrigerator went to that big appliance store in the sky, (big bucks). My central air went out, (more big bucks, and I have to have it for my asthmatic wife). I had a head on collision and my car is totaled, (I have a backup and I'm unhurt). I've been working 12+ hour days, doing my regular job then my part time jobs as the different businesses get ready for below freezing weather. My son broke his wrist and two of his vehicles need repaired, (clutch and transmission problems, (we do our own car repairs). And I have a terrible cold.

That tornado that took out the trailer court in Southern Indiana, passed less than a quarter mile behind my house. I live about two miles due West of that trailer court. I slept through it. No damage here except scattered debris. I had that head-on two days later on the way to work. We were under another tornado watch and it had been raining sheets. The road was slick from the debris dumped on the road from the tornado and I slid across the center line while slowing to make a turn. The Ford Ranger pickup, I hit, wasn't going very fast either but when you put a Saturn up against a FWD truck, the truck wins every time (no one was hurt).

Hopefully, things will settle down a little bit and return to normal, such as it is for me.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Especially you Beak, I am lucky to have you for a friend!

Word Verification

Spam comments have finally started to get on my last remaining nerve!

Word verification is on.

Now I'm going to delete a bunch of spam!

Of lawyers, judges and Justices

The nomination of Harriet Miers, to the position of Justice of the SCOUS, is raising quite a stir within the Republican party and among Conservatives in general.

We have charges of cronyism and betrayal on one side and counter charges of elitism and sexism on the other. Meanwhile the the "loyal" opposition seems rather self satisfied, in hope of a "meltdown", while their point-men and self-aggrandizing agents spout their seeming support for the nomination of, Ms Miers, with all the believability and sincerity of a used car salesman.

There is just one point I would like to address.

In this instance, are we not all guilty of elitism?

Why do we put so much faith in the legal profession, why should a Justice of the Supreme Court be required judicial experience, why should a law degree be of paramount importance for this position? I could understand if the SOCUS performed only its Constitutional duties, but it has usurped the roll of arbiter of the Constitutional and performs little of its original roll.

Originally, the Supreme Court was solely the court of final appeal and you cannot find anything in the Constitution that gives it the power to interpret the Constitution outside of its roll as final court of recourse.

THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION
Section. 2.

Clause 1: The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;--to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;--to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;--to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;--to Controversies between two or more States;--between a State and Citizens of another State;--between Citizens of different States, --between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.

Clause 2: In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.

Clause 3: The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.

If you read, "Clause 2" (above), you will see that it is subject to the exceptions and regulations of Congress. I can only assume the Supreme court has usurped its present "authority" with the tacit approval of Congress. In effect we have a new branch of government as it seems to hear cases of Constitutional "importance".

I find this troublesome. We have, in effect, a branch of government, created by lawyers. A group that makes its living seeking to "bend" the law and rules for monetary consideration and notoriety.

If the SOCUS is the final "interpretor" of the Constitution, then may only lawyers be capable of understanding it?

Somehow, I don't believe that to be the case. I know that was not the intent of the founders. They meant for the Constitution to be understandable to any moderately intelligent person. A wealth of information about the thought that went into the Constitution can be read in the Anti-Federalist and Federalist papers.

Some important points to ponder:

The Constitution, by its nature, is a conservative document. It is not meant to be easily changed.

The meaning of the Constitution can be derived by historical context and examination, that context is available and readily understandable.

A Lesson

Once, many years ago, my youngest brother found a fledgling sparrow hawk.

If you are unfamiliar with the sparrow hawk, they are the smallest of the falcons, (birds of prey). They are hunters that eat mice, insects and other birds.

He took care of it, intending to release it to the wild when it was old enough. One day he decided that it was old enough and released it. It flew off in a rush and he had thought that he would never see it again.

The next day it returned, landing on its cage, squawking and generally making a pest of itself.

He thought that it returned because it loved him!

The truth is it returned because it didn't know how to obtain food and water, it had no idea how to shelter itself or do all the things that hunting birds do in the wild.

I showed him how to train the bird to hunt, (a time consuming process). When I thought it was time, I told him to leave its cage open. It stayed around for a few days, then one day it left. Occasionally the bird would return and watch from the top of a nearby tree.

My point?

For over forty years we have clothed, feed and took care of people that are perfectly able to take care of themselves. Why are we surprised that they refuse to leave the cage?

Isn't it time we quit treating them like tamed animals?

A most marvelous rant!

From, Eject! Eject! Eject!:

Bill Whittle, lays it all out and takes no prisoners!

[...]

In New York, we had a governor who got every available resource on the ground as fast as it could get there, and in Louisiana we have a governor who...cried. Governor, your job is to not cry. Your job is to be strong. We have plenty of civilians crying. You want to cry, cry in the car on the way home like everybody else did four years ago. Crying Governors, race-baiting mayors and looting police do not a Finest Hour make.

In New Orleans we have a mayor who left some 400-500 buses sitting fueled and underwater in the Ray Nagin Memorial Motor Pool saying that evil white conservative America was selling out his people within 24 hours of the catastrophe, from a safe and dry and adequately toileted location, while four years ago we had a Mayor who ran to the site of the disaster so quickly it is a full-blown miracle he was not killed when a building collapsed literally on top of his magnificent, combed-over head.

Now, much has been made of the fact that Ray Nagin is an incompetent, race-baiting black man, and Rudy Giuliani, who was neither, is white. Also, feminists are upset that people dare attack Governor Blanco because she is incompetent, weak, indecisive, and also a women. And no doubt there are salivating long-haired, short-cortexed idiots just waiting for this to be over so they can sail into the comments section and tell me what a racist and misogynist I am.

[...]

A 'very' small part of a much, much larger rant.

I wish I'd said that!

Sean Penn, a capital ship?

A capital ship for an ocean trip, was the galloping window blind.

No gale that blew dismayed her crew or troubled the captains mind.

The man at the wheel was taught to feel contempt for the wildest blow,

But it often appeared, when the weather had cleared, that he'd been in his bunk below...

From The Herald Sun News:

Sean Penn's rescue bid sinks
From correspondents in New Orleans
05sep05

EFFORTS by Hollywood actor Sean Penn to aid New Orleans victims stranded by Hurricane Katrina foundered badly overnight, when the boat he was piloting to launch a rescue attempt sprang a leak.

Mr Penn had planned to rescue children waylaid by Katrina's flood waters, but apparently forgot to plug a hole in the bottom of the vessel, which began taking water within seconds of its launch.

The actor, known for his political activism, was seen wearing what appeared to be a white flak jacket and frantically bailing water out of the sinking vessel with a red plastic cup.

When the boat's motor failed to start, those aboard were forced to use paddles to propel themselves down the flooded New Orleans street.

Asked what he had hoped to achieve in the waterlogged city, the actor replied: "Whatever I can do to help."

With the boat loaded with members of Penn's entourage, including a personal photographer, one bystander taunted the actor: "How are you going to get any people in that thing?"

I am the very model of a modern Major General,
I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical
From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical;
I'm very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical,
I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical,
About binomial theorem I'm teeming with a lot o' news,
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse.

Note to Mr. Penn:

People of "Forest Gump" like intelligence shouldn't attempt to perform heroic, like, actions. Leave New Orleans and return to Hollywood where you can pretend to be a hero on the big screen instead of becoming another problem. You might actually save someones life that way, (maybe yours), by not taking up the valuable time and resources of rescue workers!

Question asked, and answered

As we have seen in the last week, there are many unanswered questions in reply to those that wish to fingerpoint about the (seemingly) slow response of the government to Hurricane Katrina.

For those that wish answers, and those that need ammunition, here is a link with answers about the logistical problems encountered.

COUNTERCOLUMN: All your bias are belong to us.

Start reading at the Sunday, September 04, 2005, entry and scroll downward.

If you are more interested in fact that bureaucratese babble and sensationalist propaganda, you will find a wealth of information in easily understood language.

Hat tip to the instapundit.

Of Looters and Lefties

It the aftermath of the hurricane, in New Orleans we see the pictures of total idiots looting partially destroyed shops and stores.

I see nothing wrong with a person looking for the means of survival and taking bottled water, food, blankets and diapers, maybe even a 6 pack or two. But will someone tell me what the hell are they taking designer clothes, jewelry and big screen TV's for.

Its theft, pure and simple, brought on by opportunism. Their first thought is their advancement at someone else's expense. The idiots don't even realize that eventually they will be rounded up and forced to leave their loot behind.

In the same vein, we see leftist nut cases blaming the President for everything from the hurricane to fuel prices.

These glowing jewels of ignorance are also opportunists, awaiting any reason to bring om their idiotic charges in a fit of ideological hatred that would make a white supremacist blush. Their first thought is their advancement at someone else's expense.

Here we see the looter mentality through its full spectrum.

Amazed!

Composing is a creative process, a process that I find almost impossible to do when depressed.

Lately, I have found it increasingly difficult if not impossible to post as an ever increasing sense of gloom seemed to overwhelm me.

Tonight a weight has been lifted! A burden has been remove, abet temporally.

You might think it was news from Iraq or the idotiarians in the ditch in Crawford Texas.

Well you would be wrong!

A co-worker has decided to take a few days of vacation. His incessant bitching, back biting and shear oneryness has sapped the life from me.

He's gone! I won't have to listen to him degrading the company or his constant complaints and ridicule of our fellow workers. No more smarmy insults that deserve a good bitch slap.

I'm free! FREE! FREE AT LAST!
MMMWWWAAAAA HA HA HA HA.

But he will be back Monday.


Anyone know a good hit man?

The only good constitution is a dead constitution.

Dahlia Lithwick, a Slate senior editor, posted a column titled, "Reasons To Go On Living". In the article she asks for help:

"So, I turn to you, dear readers, smart thinkers, and posters of great wisdom in the Fray, to ask simply: Is the living Constitution dead? Are the critics correct-was it all just a great drunken binge of Brennan and Thurgood Marshall's? What is left in its place? Is there room for a Brennan-esque defense anymore? Or am I correct in guessing that Scalia is right this time?"

In order, I answer her questions, yes, yes, The Constitution of the United States of America, no and Hell Yes!

In effect, she is saying that there is no comprehensive, logical defense for the myth of the "Living Constitution".

The "living Constitution" is dead.
Long live the Constitution of the United States of America!

Read the link for what intelligent jurists and legal scholars have to say .

Thoughts on the Iraqi Constitution

Sometimes, (as a history buff), I assume that my friends and others know their history and have the same perspective that I do. Sometimes, we know these things and fail to put them in their proper perspective.

As many of you, (no doubt, figuratively), have heard me say; all things lose their meaning when taken out of context. I do not mean words or sentences taken from a statement, paragraph, chapter or book. I mean that, literally, 'everything' loses its meaning when taken as a singular event.

I am going to attempt to 'not' make assumptions about historical matters and make an effort to provide context for events in the news.

As my first effort I will point out that the US Constitution did not get created overnight and some of the things we thing of as "normal", (e.g. a bicameral legislature), are actually compromises that required years to negotiate.

Now lets look at what Professor John Eastman had to say about the Iraqi Constitution.

From a transcript of the "Hugh Hewitt" radio program:

[...]
HH: And so they convene in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787, and there are deep divisions. Identify some of those divisions for people.

JE: Well, the big divisions, often unspoken, but sometimes explicitly addressed, was slavery. By then, most of the northern states had outlawed slavery. Most of the southern states not only kept it, but thought it was critically important to their economy. And so, the balance of power in the new central government was going to have to be pretty even, so as to not interfere with this issue, because they couldn't grapple with that at the same time they were trying to establish a new union. They had just defeated the British, but the British were still salivating over coming back in and taking over again. The second thing is big states versus small states. If you give power in the central government's legislature based on population, New York, Virginia, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania run everything, to the detriment of New Jersey and Maryland and Rhode Island and what have you. If you give it equal votes to each state, then the small states are going to have a much greater role in the national government than their population would warrant. And this was an intractable problem, finally settled by the compromise that gave population-based control to the House of Representatives, and state-based control to the U.S. Senate.

[...]

HH: Now given that background, are you surprised that it is so difficult in the birthing in Baghdad?

JE: No. I'm not at all surprised. In fact, if anything, you add to it the deep religious animosities, and cultural animosities that exist between the peoples there, that we didn't have. We were a largely homogeneous population in 1787, in a way that Iraq is not. The fact that they have gone as far as they have, as quickly as they have, is the real story here.

[...]

Read the whole thing and I think you will be more optimistic about the future of democracy for Iraq.

Remember that democracy isn't an event, it is a process.

What ya think?

I know this will seem a little strange, but please read the first five posts on this message board and tell me what you think.

LINK HERE



:^)

For wintermute

Islamic terror bombings in Bangladesh.

Must have been a reaction to the American presence... Oh, sorry wrong country!

Well, maybe they just need to set down and have a dialog.

LOL

Always On Watch

Always On Watch, Id like to apologize.

I just realized that I haven't blogrolled your wonderful site.

I'm sorry, I thought I had.

I'm correcting that error now

Branching out

Our friend, Drumaster, of Nicotine & Rock has created a new blog, High Voltage.

Where his first blog is mainly about music with some interesting side trips into electronic media and UFOs. This blog will deal with current events. (I'm the guilty party on the UFOs) ;^)

In his first post he asks us our opinion about sex offenders working among the unaware public.

Go read it and voice your opinion.

Of Apologists and Enemies

I must admit, I do not understand the penchant that many on the left have for apologist attitudes. I think that much of it is Orwellian in nature.

They have divided the world into two political camps, (how absurd). America = Imperialism = bad, all else, revolution = good. They have become totally thoughtless reactionaries and actually see the totalitarian Islamists as an ally. They oppose any American policy or action in a Pavlovian fashion that would embarrass even the most hardened student of aberrant psychology.


Normblog
[...]

So, there are apologists among us. They have to be fought - fought intellectually and politically and without let-up. What is it that moves them to their disgraceful litany of excuses? This is doubtless a complex matter, but here are a few suggestions. One thing seems to be the treatment of those who practise terror as though they were part of some natural environment we have to take as given - not themselves free and responsible agents, but like a vicious dog or a hive of bees. If we do anything that provokes them, that must make us morally responsible, for they can be expected to react as they do. If this isn't a form of covert racism, then it's a kind of diminishing culturalism and is equally insulting to the people transformed by it into amoral beings incapable of choice or judgement.

[...]

Revolution

If allowed to poison the well, (once again), the ANSWER types will make sure we are the losers. We will lose much more than a war!

There is a formula for revolution that was perfected by Stalin and used as a model for modern revolution.

(Loosely):
First unrest is generated against the government in power. Individual groups are loosely banded together under a common cause. Shrill accusations and propaganda is disseminated to achieve "popular" support. Rumors are spread and accusations fly. Martyrism is encouraged to provide more fuel for the fire until a type of critical mass is achieved where revolution becomes possible.

The Soviets were rather adroit at this and used the cell system and sleeper cells to lessen the chance of detection. Subversive elements are recruited and encouraged to pass information and if possible seek advancement that will allow the access to privileged positions inside of a government and civil services. (see the Verona papers)

Once the revolution is achieved and the remains of the old system are mopped up a new "threat" is found in the form of "counter revolution". The leaders and upper echelons of the separate groups that once formed a "popular revolution" are gathered up and "dealt with".

Power is consolidated and any descent from the party line is not tolerated. Gulags, et al ensue.

This model was used in Soviet Russia, China, North Korea, Vietnam, Cuba and all of the "Peoples Republics"

In an interesting twist, this formula was used by the mullahs of Iran. But this time the Communists were gathered up in the "counter revolution" phase and were hanged.

These, ANSWER, people are the rightful inheritors of Communist style revolution. They do not give a damn about Iraq or the war except as a propaganda tool. The war isn't the issue, the "cause" is the issue. If tomorrow it was decided that the Iraq war "issue" did not further the "cause" of "International Socialism", The next day ANSWER would be no more or find a new "issue".

Have you ever wondered why these people support the "Palestinians", or why so much anti-Zionist propaganda comes from that quarter? A rational view of the situation doesn't seem to warrant the absurd charges of, "Human Rights Abuses", we so often hear. Especially in the face of the barbaric actions of the PA/PLO.

If they supported Israel they would have no issue to point out the "evils" of Western Civilization. In short, it would not further the "cause".

No doubt there are many well meaning people among them, (Stalin called them useful idiots), but at their core they are the most deceitful cold blooded murderers on the face of this earth.

For the present, they are content with subversion and seeking disruption through propaganda and attempt to gain power through the ballot box. Regardless, they further their "cause". If exposed they will not go away, they will change the names of their groups then duck their heads, while planning for tomorrow.

The Supreme Courts, Kelo Decision

A quick summation.

At issue was the scope of the Fifth Amendment, which allows governments to condemn private property and compensate the owners if the land is for public use.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that local governments may use the governmental right of eminent domain to seize people's homes and businesses for private economic development.

Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for the majority. He was joined by Justice Anthony Kennedy, David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer.

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who has been a key swing vote on many cases before the court, issued a stinging dissent. She argued that cities should not have unlimited authority to uproot families, even if they are provided compensation, simply to accommodate wealthy developers.

"Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party, but the fallout from this decision will not be random," O'Connor wrote. "The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms."

She was joined in her opinion by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, as well as Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

********************************

IMO, at the heart of the matter is this.

Individual rights vrs group rights.

Should the Government be able to 'take' the possessions of an individual to enhance itself, (in this case by increasing the amount of property tax revenues)?

Almost all Conservatives, all true Libertarians and probably an overwhelming majority of self described Liberals are against this decision. But why?

Conservatives and Libertarians are for limitation of government and individual rights as a matter of political and moral philosophy.

The Liberals, I have talked to, seem to hold some kind of nebulous position that they are for "the little guy". That position is about as deep as the scratches in the paint on my car!

Can we assume that if Mrs Kelo had millions of dollars and wasn't blind, Liberals would be for taking her house?

Lets remember what actually happened. As a result of this decision, cities have the wide power to bulldoze residences for projects such as shopping malls and hotel complexes to generate tax revenue.

Justices said, local officials, not federal judges, know best in deciding whether a development project will benefit the community.

"The city has carefully formulated an economic development that it believes will provide appreciable benefits to the community, including -- but by no means limited to -- new jobs and increased tax revenue," Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for the majority.

A sad, sad, day on the Supreme court. I can think of no better reason to appoint Justices that will interpret according to the original meaning of the Constitution. In this case, the Constitution would not allow condemnation because the land will go to a private developer and not be for public use.