Your Mistake....

So... Amazon separates Japanese horror films from other Asian horror films. Okay. But I'm sure their efforts would be better met if they actually limited their "J-Horror" section to horror films that were made in Japan

However, so long as we're looking at the Vengeance trilogy, I might as well add that all three movies are amazing. And I don't use that term lightly. But I warn you,Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance has one of the most fucked endings I've ever seen. Not The Audition kind of fucked, where it's gross and disturbing, but a you just feel so bad kind of fucked. Still, if you haven't seen it you're really missing something.

Oh, My Mistake....

I thought that Japan was in Asia....

You'll Forgive Me If I Look A Little Sick....

...but I just had a glimpse of the next 4 years.

Governors of five U.S. states urged the federal government to provide $1 trillion in aid to the country's 50 states to help pay for education, welfare and infrastructure as states struggle with steep budget deficits amid a deepening recession.

Chickens. Roost.

In light of the $700 billion provided to bail out the financial industry, "It's not shockingly large," he said.

Balls.

Look, let's be honest. People get the government they deserve. And we've been steadily sowing the seeds of statism at an ever increasing pace since Reagan left office. Democrats and Republicans alike. And in so far as all that it takes for evil to triumph is a lack of action from good men, any of us who value liberty but shied from the front lines of the culture war are to blame.

Many of us have allowed ourselves to be bullied and intimidated out of the conversation. Time and time again we've chosen "peace in our time" and in doing so have allowed our opponents to malign us, to redefine language, to recast history. We have allowed our opponents such dominance over the conversation that a great many of them believe it to be over. That they have won.

Quite frankly, when five Democratic governors can ask the federal government for 1 trillion dollars to bail out states which have overspent their way into multi-billion dollar deficits with a straight face, it's hard to remember that they haven't won. But they haven't. Sure. Things look dark. But we can take them. All we have to do is fight. If we fight, we will win because freedom and responsibility are always superior to the yoke of the state. This has never been and is not a now a country for those who would prefer to kneel. Freedom is a hard thing; it requires that you stand. But free men have done more to lift humanity from the muck and the mire than any tyrant, state, or bureaucrat ever has.

No, our opponents haven't won yet. But those of us who value freedom, whether you call yourself libertarian, classically liberal, conservative, whatever, it's time to abandon the silence. Engage in conversations. Challenge assumptions. Confront erroneous information. Don't be rude. There's no need to shout anyone down. We're not trying to convert zealots. We're illuminating an alternative for those who don't know one exists.

And if we want oust the in coming administration in 4 years instead of 8 we should kick the statists out of the Republican Party.

Out With The Old....

On the last night of 2008 let's look back 10 of the most awesome things the year brought us.

10.) We found Earth.

9.) The Piranha Party

8.) Sarah Palin went national

7.) Left 4 Dead

6.) Obzen

5.) Causes of the 1918 Flu pandemic identified.

4.) VI Day

3.) Anon declares war on Scientology.

2.) Rachel Lucas crushed my futile hopes.

1.) The Dark Knight

Obviously this list is ummm.... kind of last minute. So, okay. Maybe not the most awesome things of the year, but they're still pretty damn awesome. Happy New Year, guys. (All what? 2 of you now?) Party safe tonight and I'll see you in '09.

Well That's Not Good....

Earthquakes under Yellowstone. What's so bad about that? Just a little thing called a Supervolcano. Clearly this all Bush's fault.

Genius....

I give you humor.

http://fuckyoupenguin.blogspot.com

Hat tip: Rachel Lucas and Roxanne.

The Awful Thing About Growing Up....

Is learning that your heroes are but mortals. Bettie Page is dead. Tonight I plan on meeting up with some friends and raising a toast in honor of the legend.



Thanks for everything, Miss Page.

Hey....

Let's talk about Sons of Anarchy for a minute.

Now that the season finale is done, there's a lot to say. I started watching because there was nothing on and being sans-satellite I was trolling through the on demand archives and figured I'd give it a shot. The first episode was described by TWOP as being a white trash biker version of the Sopranos. I can't speak for the Sopranos because it was never a show that I really got into, but I like SoA.

SoA keeps you from completely cheering their group of anti-heroes on by giving you an antihero who has serious and continual moral qualms guided by the manuscript of his deceased father. The protagonist operates outside of the law and is entrenched in a world he seeks to change. He does bad things and not always for the right reasons, but tries to do as much good as he can. It's a story of flawed people. And the people progress. Realistically. Even the primary antagonist isn't without virtue. If BSG is about redemption, then SoA is about damnation.

In BSG you watch characters struggle to save themselves from hell in every sense, but SoA is the story of people damning themselves for the most part. Don't get me wrong, SoA is of nowhere near the quality as BSG, but it shares some cross points. SoA lives closer to the alter than BSG does, but it's still about what takes place between the temple and the alter.

SoA is on a larger scale about fixing a dream gone wrong. It's about a biker gang founded to be essentially a libertarian commune operating by its own rules outside of society mainly by distance and influence upon the small town it calls home. The idea went wrong primarily due to the influence of one of the founding members. The son of a murdered founder starts having second doubts because he has a new born son. His doubts are fed by his discovery of his father's manuscript which detail his dreams for the purpose of the club upon its founding and how it went astray. That son, Jax, oscillates between his fathers dreams and the influence of his stepfather, Samcrow, who was founding member who drew the club down the wrong path.

SoA has a very Hamlet feel during the first season, despit the fact that Jax's mother, Samcrow's wife, very clearly knows what happened to Jax's father and sides with Samcrow (though the season finale throws a smidgeon of doubt upon the driving force behind their releationship). In fact, I would go so far as to say that the first season of SoA is essentially Hamlet being confronted with his father's ghost and trying to figure out what to do about it.

I didn't want to write about this show until now because I wasn't sure I could do it without making iti a recap. Tonight made it big league. Hell, I just told you it was Hamlet. It's not BSG level so far, but there will be more posts about SoA if FX picks it up for another season. I hope they do. And I hope they continue the Hamlet mirror. It's hard to go wrong from Shakespear, yall. Really.

That's all for tonight. I recommend that you check out SoA. Start from the beginning because it's that kind of show and give a chance up through the episode with the clown. You'll know which one I mean. That's the one that moved it from casual to must see watching for me. And not just becuase I freaking hate clowns.

I'll close with this: imagine The Sopranos+Hamlet+biker gang, how could that now= awesome? Try it.

Oh, and happy Thanksgiving.

And The Lunacy Continues....

For those of you (okay, I was one) who tried to pull a silver lining from election day's cloud by hoping that Democrat control over both the legislative and executive branches of government would somehow spark a return to sanity and civility, it looks like crazy is harder to cure.

And Congressional Democrats say that they are determined to pursue their investigations — and that they expect career officials to disclose other issues after the Bush administration leaves. “We could spend the entire next four years investigating the Bush years,” Mr. Whitehouse said.

Where to begin? With Obama's staff stating that they'll keep much of President Bush's intelligence policies? Or with the fact that investigating out going presidents based purely and obviously on partisan grudges or policy disputes establishes a completely absurd precedent? Maybe with the fact that we currently have a multi-front war, an economic crisis, China, Russia, North Korea, and the potential of a nuclear Iran to deal with and they want to spend time pursuing an agenda that will only increase the divisiveness of political discourse? There's too much to chose from. I don't know. You decide. What's more insane?

Hat tip, Roger L. Simon

The Wonders Of Editing....

I expect this to be the first and last post about Sci-Fi's new series Chase. Whatever else there is to say about this show, the editing is amazing on two levels. The first level is that the introduction of the hunters is just ridiculously action movie. However, more importantly, the contestant interviews are placed for sheer comedy gold. In the first 13 minutes two contestants have had fantastic comedy placement for their interviews. A girl who had just indulged in being completely clueless interviews about how she's actually really smart. Then a guy interviews how he's in good shape, only to immediately trip over a fallen lamp post. A lamp post, people. It's not like it was uneven pavement. It was a goddamn street light.

That is all.

And The Great Whitewash Begins....

....I mean, hey, it's never too early to start shoring up the legacy.

So the President-in-Training gets hundreds of millions in dubious credit card money, but McCain follows the rules and he gets punished.

JamieWearingFool links to the full story.

Memories....

John Hawkins over at Right Wing News remembers the North American Union and pays homage to the paranoid idiots who parroted it.

Well, Barack Obama is our new President-elect and George Bush is twiddling his thumbs and waiting for January so he can go back to Crawford. Shockingly, well to incredibly gullible people who don't understand the basics of how the country works, Bush has not merged our country with Mexico and Canada.

The funny thing about conspiracy theorists is that they never let a little thing like proof get in the way of their ideas. Don't expect people to shut up about it now, just because it hasn't happened.

Hat tip, Steven Green.

Veterans....

....thank you. Thank you for everything.

The First Step....

I've long held that history will treat President Bush far kinder than his contemporaries have. Could this be the first step (of many) towards that eventuality? I hope so.

New Conservative Brand?

Cassandra over at Villainous Company discusses the future of the conservative brand:

....We need to start making the case that nearly all of these issues are ones which have traditionally been resolved at the state and local level. We need to frame this as a "freedom" issue: when the federal government imposes a one-size-fits-all moral code upon 50 very different states, we LOSE the freedom to decide and debate amongst ourselves how we want to live....

....There may be better words for this, but in broad, overarching terms conservatives need to frame the choice facing voters as being between a Party of Opportunity and Freedom which maximizes individual dignity, responsibility, and choice and minimizes government interference in the lives of citizens a Party of Pessimism and Control which maximizes dependency on government, waste and inefficiency and minimizes productivity, opportunity, and accountability.

It seems to me that that's pretty much the conservative brand as it once was. The vast majority of conservatives who I know are "conservative because [they're] classical liberal[s]". But that's just a way of saying that you don't believe in turning your (or anyone else's) morals into legislation. (This could lead to another entire post about how a moral decision stops being moral, when it's made at gun point.) I forgot where I was going with this. Anyway, check it out.

Oh For Fuck's Sake....

Thursday I received a text message from an associate in California asking me to petition the governor to overturn the vote on proposition 8. My first response was to ask why the hell they were asking me, a Marylander, to petition the governor of California on an amendment to the California state constitution. I was told to "think positive". That, boys and girls, was the proverbial straw. I've been stewing on the situation for several days and goddamnit I'm not holding back any more.

RESPECT DEMOCRACY, ASSHOLES!

I mean really, the voters of California turned out and had their say. Democracy means you don't always get your way. And if you do get it, it might not be on your time table. If proposition 8 failed and its supporters tried the kind of shit its opponents are currently trying we'd be hearing about republican/conservative/religious fascism until out ears and eyes bled.

The biggest supporters of proposition 8 (the ones who made a difference really) were the blacks and hispanics who turned out to vote for Obama (who is also against gay marriage). Does this mean that gays will finally tire of being thrown under the democrats' post election bus? Doubtful. But it is fun to watch the chickens of identity politics come home to roost.

Look, gay marriage will come to be in this country. Maybe not rightthismoment, but it will happen. And it will happen sooner if people stop pushing for it to happen yesterday. Frankly (preemptive no pun intended), I think the best solution resembles the situation in France (see?). And if I'm lauding the French government it's either a cold day in hell indeed, or a time to seriously prick up your ears. My solution is this: civil unions become the government recognized institution. Whatever your persuasion/orientation, your committed 1:1 thing will be called a civil union under the law. Marriage will be taken up with your/the/a church/temple/whatever. Given the number of republican delegates at this year's convention who were amiable to civil unions, I suspect that that compromise will be a relatively easy legislative battle to win. The republican presidential and vice-presidential nominees were both against banning.

But all of that is beside the point. The point is simply this: The Union, this country, is bigger than ohmygodiwantitnow! The fact that this is even a subject of national debate is huge in and of itself. This isn't about shutting up and moving to the back of the bus, it's about understanding that at this juncture reasoning with those who disagree is a better tactic than trying to use the guns of the government to persuade them. It's about the fact that, the system which you extole and villify as it suits your purpose has held together a rag-tag band of miscreants, rabble-rousers, and apostatic reprobates for over 200 years, and it has done so in a manner which has produced prosperity and freedom to such a degree that it should (and does which is why they hate us) shame the rest of the world. And in your selfish need for instant gratification and unconditional surrender you seek to hobble it. Moreover, you cripple the good faith that must exist between citizens for the system to function.

Good faith between citizens is crucial for the survival of a democracy. It's the understanding that the other side will not seek to circumvent, impare, or destroy the system in order to get their way when they lose or maintain power when they win.

By any serious accounting this stopped being a debate about if years ago. It's a debate about when. If a little patience is excersised, it'll probably happen within the next 10 years, and it won't be court ordered, but chosen by the American people. Now stop pissing in the fucking well.

Wasted Opportunities

So I'm watching tonight's episode of Sanctuary and all I can think is how much I wish it was an episode of Supernatural instead. You could so totally rely on Dean to refer to the nubbins as predator-tribbles. Because I mean, really. A whole hour devoted to small furry rapidly breeding cute creatures who have natural active camouflage and eat everything (including people) and not one reference to Star Trek's The Trouble With Tribbles episode? Like how is that even possible?

One More Thing....

After last night's drunken post it occurred to me that I left something out.

PALIN '12!!!

Also, for all of those no-neck, squid loving, rats piling on the Alaskan Governor, I have just one thing to say: you try to pin your failure or inadequacy on Palin, you join the general pile-on of ivy league elitist bullshit, and you will cripple the Republican party. Oh, and fuck you for trying.

A Few Words....

First, Congratulations to Senator Obama.

Second, John McCain gave an amazingly classy speech tonight. I'm proud of him and my ideological fellow travelers. I extend my heart felt thanks to John McCain, Sarah Palin, and their families for the efforts they put forth. I look forward to hearing from Governor Palin on the national stage in the future.

Third, I will be spending the next hour or two nursing a beer or two.

Now, there are many on the right who've already articulated what I'm about to say. I disagree with President-elect Obama on a great many issues. This is no secret. However, I applaud his victory and wish him the best of luck in these troubling times. I hope my concerns about him prove to be misplaced. I hope the next 4 years are peaceful and prosperous. I remain committed to doing my part to improve civility in political discourse in this country. My country.

I will do this by example. I will not fall into the mindless rage that has marked opposition political discourse for the past 8 years. John McCain and Sarah Palin campaigned on the slogan "Country First". I intend to demonstrate that that was not just a slogan, but an affirmation of a way of life. I will not hope for President-elect Obama and the Democrat controlled congress to fail over the next 2 to 4 years. Instead, I will hope that they rise above the bitterness and sheer contraryness that has marred the past 8 years of politics in this country and lead. Lead this country and its people to prosperity and victory.

We here, on the right, like to refer to ourselves as the party of adults. Let's demonstrate that. Let's be adult. We lost. They won. If my hopes fall short we will have hard work cut out for us, not just in doing everything in our power to work against what we understand to be wrong, but also to fight for what we know to be right. It is of the utmost importance that we now look to the future and begin to rebuild and reshape our party. Let's not spend these upcoming years being contrary for the sake of being contrary. Now we have an opportunity to build a new contract with America. Strengthen the bonds of the Regan coaliton.

The Debate

Three things:

1.) Neither candidate whips government intervention as the primary cause of our current financial predicament. They're both too hung up on Wall street.

2.) McCain did a really good job of keeping Obama on the defensive. He did a really good job of bringing the questions around to his strengths and his references to his record were a good call. He didn't have to say "that my oponent lacks".

3.) McCain really missed a chance on the last question. Obama mentioned going after the roots of terrorism and McCain gave a good response, but it would have been great if he -without mentioning Saudi Arabia and Iran specifically- brought that back into his energy policy (specifically the drilling) because right now there is no better way to hurt Islamic terrorism's major funding than by decreasing the price of oil which means drilling here now. McCain's response was good, but could have been great.

Hot Republican VP.....

Oh, and she's smart, capable and more qualified than the Democratic Presidential nominee. So color me surprised when a lefty friend of mine tried to pull the "lacks experience" card against her.

Baltimore Sun Strikes Again....

In a demonstration of its typical sense of good taste, the Baltimore Sun decided to run news of McCain's VP pick directly behind the obituaries and right before the celebrity entertainment section. Way to keep it classy guys. Not even fit to line a bird cage.

Oh Brother....

I'm watching The Messiah's acceptance speech tonight and reading the inevitable drunkblogging.

So three beers in at the end and if G.W. was running this election, there'd be a lot of relevance where there wasn't any.

Rockstar crowd.

Marxism, no surprise.

Raising teachers' salaries??? That's lower than state level. What function, exactly, does he think the president serve.

And this dude is a lying bastard of a politician. Well is from Chicago.

No how, but a lot of "what".

Lot's of olive branch to the PUMAs, using the old "good show, don't stop believing, I have daughters" route. Still, he did pretty much cockslap H.R.C. with his whole less than one month in office as senator decision to run for POTUS.

How do I come away? This is a guy who was compared to McGovern during the primaries, but this dude is Chicago through and through.

Check the drunkblogging and the comments.

I know I didn't have much to say, but neither did he.

Props to McCain for the classy ad.

See you folks for the RNC.

Ummm....

Sorry about last week's BSG post. Really. It's just that... I was a bit overwhelmed. Sorry.

So I watched last night's episode in a bit of an emotional fugue after Natalie died. I loved that particular Six from her first episode. Shooting star, baby. Shooting star. Damn. Then again, I love all the Sixes. And the Eights. And... well frak. I love everyone on that show. Even annoying ass Lee Adamma because idealists are a pain in the ass ,but/because they keep us honest about the shit we do.

Also: Athena. I understand that trip. But still. Frrraaaaaaak.

President Roslin. That is all.

Threes unboxed!!!! OMFG!

Bill Adamma... just... wow. Really.

New theory about the ending? Everyone dies.

After spending several seasons telling people this show wasn't like the bleakest existential trip ever.... No. I mean, it's not that. But frak, BSG.

On a lighter note, Doctor Who kicked ass last night. This season's been really quite spectacular so far. Yay.

Unadulterated Hero Worship....

*Bumped*
I've been gone for a while and what do I return with? This post, that's what. I'm starting a list of Rachel Lucas' "Jesus in a ___" statements. Gawd, is that woman a genius. Every time there's a new one, this post will be updated and bumped. In theory.

• "Jesus in a meadow"
• "Jesus in a frosted mug"
• "Christ with a cigarette"
• "Jesus in a green beret"
  

I know. This is beyond sad. Not like anyone's reading though, so I'm free to wallow in my freakish adulation.

Rundown....

You may be wondering what's up with all the BSG blogging seeing as how it's been the focus of my last four posts. So here's the deal. No, I did not just discover the awesomeness that is Battlestar Galactica. I've been a devoted follower since the mini-series that started it. But I used to feel weird blogging about TV so I didn't. Now I don't care, so I do.

Politics are on hold for a while. And by "for a while" I mean "until I want to again". Don't know how long that will be- not like there's anyone here who cares, neh?

Anyway, tis the season for baseball, ultimate frisbee, and the sort of drinks served in tiki bars that come with those little umbrellas. But we can ignore the umbrella part.

Having Climbed Down...

from the frakking ceiling after Friday's BSG, I'm going to have to rewatch it. Especially because, two weeks!? Nooooooooooooooooooo!

But then, yeah. We'll talk about it.

Doctor Who is awesome, but then it always is (like BSG) except for that episode in season two with the little girl who drew people and they became trapped in the drawing. That one was rubbish. (Like BSG's "Woman King" in season 3.)

Frak!

Frak! Frak! frak! Frak frak frak frak frak frak frak frak FRAK!!!

Frak Athena! Frak!

What the FRAK?!

Holy Frak....

So of all the unlikely events to occur this week, last night's episode of Doctor Who framed the heck out of BSG. And it's all about songs.

Last night Doctor Who was all songs of freedom and unification and self. Held captive, turned in on themselves, and truncated they became songs of mourning and loss and isolation. The Doctor broke the circle and through freedom and reunification the self was reclaimed and the song was both liberated and liberator.

Galactica opens with a song- or rather the chance of reclaiming a song- as Starbuck, after 58 days finds a chance to reconnect with the song/the sound of the universe that gave her Earth and brought her back from the dead (in more ways than one).

Opening credits and our weekly song/prayer for light and grace and peace.

We dive back in and Starbuck gets her chance and so does Athena and Sam and a member of the resistance on Caprica, Barolay, to seek out their respective songs. They jump away in the raptor and Starbuck hears it and it guides her to her comet, which is the basestar.

Disembarkation and Athena's song this week (and pretty much this entire show in iterations) is about re/unification and self reclamation. Here, it's first iteration comes from another eight and it's this: welcome, we missed you, you were right, help us be like you, war. And Athena Kendra Shaws/sings back: "Pick you side and stick with it". Athena's is cleaner, but only on one end (as we'll see later).

Anders' song (this entire frakking season) is acceptance and it's strained and hesitant as he almost tries to access the Cylon computer system. It's cut short by Kara, calling him to come with her. He should stay there because he's more familiar with the raptor's systems which, true. But also, does this place feel like home?

Next there's the Barolay and the six. And their songs are the same and they're both bound in circles of the past. Barolay killed the six on Caprica. Drowned her. And after shouldering by the six is informed of this. Barolay non-graces to repeat the performance and six kills her. And I don't think the six planned that. But Anders and Athena rush in, check for vitals, realize Barolay is dead, and draw their weapons. Anders' gun in the back of the six's head as she kneels on her hands and knees. Natalie, Starbuck, and an eight rush in, and the six's story breaks your frakking heart or you don't frakking have one. But the telling of it is redemption and then she graces that she's glad it's Natalie. Natalie kisses her goodbye, stands, places her hand over Anders' and pulls the trigger. I confess, I cried here.

Hybrid's room and Starbuck listens to the hybrid's god-song trying to discern the strains of her own. It's no good and she orders the plug pulled to allow the raptor to guide the basestar's jump back to the Demetrius. One of the eights who greeted Athena comes in. She's trying to sing Athena's song, but not really understanding it. The eight (and seriously, I really wish they all had names because I love them that frakking much) tries to unplug the hybrid. The hybrid screams like a homing beacon for doomsday and doom answers in the guise of a centurion, who shoots the eight. She falls and her blood runs into the hybrid's pool and the hybrid co-opts Kara's song and as Starbuck listens and tries to sing, it turns to ashes. There are really only two things you can do when your song turns to ash in you mouth: you can choose to be a demon dancing in the fires of destruction or you can choose to be a phoenix. Kara sits on the edge and Natalie gives her permission to become the pheonix. Gives her her song back. And now it's their song.

The eight who was shot by the centurion, rolls over and understands the song Athena sang. She sings it back it back too clear for Athena to hold, asking for recognition of her redemption. She finds it, not in the grasp of a sister who came back without returning, but in the arms of a lost brother who's face she doesn't know to recognize. And Sam's song of acceptance is clear hear, and it's born in mourning. Mourning for a girl who didn't know she was a girl and when she did the world ended/was reborn and she along with it. And I cried here too as Sam closes the eight's eyes. Circle broken. The eight joins the extremely short list of people on this show who managed to make redemption stick. They're all dead. What does that tell you?

Basestar jumps back to Helo and the rest of the crew of the Demetrius several seconds after the clock ran out and three seconds before Helo orders the jump. And it's re/unification songs all over the place.

I haven't said anything about President Roslin's story line this episode, but that's about songs too. I won't get into it right now because this post is big enough as it is.

Just a Thought....

I'm going to propose a completely insane hypothesis as to the identity of the final unknown Cylon model. Don't read any further if you're not interested.






Okay, so what if unboxed three, transformed by her vision of the faces of the final five is last of the final five?


That was it. I don't think that's the case at all, but fun thought experiment-y thing.

I Had to Wake Up for This....

Today in class we discuss conspiracy theories. To be fair, it was brought up by several classmates. However, after letting several people ramble on about how the U.S. government is controlling the drug trade (including one gentleman who thought Iran-Contra took place in Cuba) there was no effort to address the statements made. So.... 15 minutes of conspiracy theories and no effort at damage control.

And people question the value of higher education....

But the Question is....

Since assuming office the first thing on MD Governor, Martin O'Malley's agenda has been the ousting of the State Superintendent of Education, Dr. Nancy Grasmick. Mind you, Dr. Grasmick is the reason MD schools are ranked 3rd in the nation. Just what could be the motivation behind publicly and irrationally launching an offensive against the head of the state's education system?

Well, I could call O'Malley a partisan hack, but that would be too kind. It's no secret, here in the old line state, that our current Gov. has dreams of Pennsylvania Ave. So maybe that in conjunction with the success H.R.C.'s campaign explains why he suddenly seems to have had a change of heart.

Primaries and the Elections

This is my first and last primaries post (and possibly my first and lest elections post). I was a Fred Head. That dream is dead. I'll hold my nose and support McCain instead.

But seriously, folks. Am I thrilled with McCain? No. But he's a damn sight better than Clinton or Obama. Just because I haven't thrown my voice into the discussion until now, doesn't mean that I haven't been paying attention. Generally speaking, I hear two reasons for why we should pack up our toys and go home: McCain is the same as or worse than Cli-Bama; and that the lesser of two evils is still evil.

To the McCain = Clinton/Obama people: I do not understand the world you live in. Other, bloggers with bigger readership and more respect have posted the facts. Reposting them here isn't going to make a difference. But maybe if we're all very lucky, in time when emotions have settled you'll look back on yourselves in these moments with more than a little humility and maybe a little embarrassment.

To the less evil is still evil people: Stop making the perfect the enemy of the good.

Here's the deal, if we lose the war against the Islamicists it won't be because they were smarter or stronger. It will be because we lost focus. And just in case you've forgotten (and I suspect that some of you have) if we fail here, we won't have a country left to fix (or ruin). I know it's unpleasant. Yes, it sucks. It's a lousy set of options we have to choose between, but that's life, and the real world, and adult-hood. And if you're sick of being lectured like petulant children who didn't get their favorite cookie for desert then start acting like rational adults who are deciding the fate of the free world.

Reign it in, people.

Well...Duh....

Turns out the CIA report which cooled so many heels on the threat of Iran's nuclear weapons program was worded less than optimally.

It turns out that on Tuesday, as our Eli Lake reported on page one of yesterday's Sun, the director of national intelligence, Mr. McConnell says he now regrets the phrasing of the unclassified estimate that so stirred America's enthusiasts of diplomacy.

Of course the only people who are probably surprised by this are the people who gleefully proclaimed egg to be on the administration's face. Anyone with a wit of sense realized that any time France agrees with Israel you should pay attention.

Hat tip: Glenn Reynolds

It Took This....

....to get me back.

4 undersea internet cables cut in something like a week. Speculation has been ramping up. I don't know what to make of it, but it stretches the limits of coincidence.

Hat tip: Vodka Pundit

Lawhawk is trying to make heads or tales of it. There are more links at Slashdot.

I suspect primary buzz is a major damper on this story, but it bears keeping a close eye on.

Yeah... I Know

This is finals week. I'm still alive. I'll be spending Christmas in Paris. I'll try to post between now and then with some sort of serious update.

Shades of 2006 Already....

This time it's oil.

Europe’s oil supplies from Russia were being held to ransom last night as the Kremlin fell into bitter dispute with a former Soviet satellite state.

Kinda makes you wonder how long until the next nuclear assassination.

As Suspected....

Several months ago (not sure if I posted about it here or not) I went ahead and requested the free copy of the Qur'an that CAIR was sending out. Naturally it was part of a "understand Islam" thing that stemmed from some Muslim doing something that got Jihad watchers' attention.

I requested a copy for two reasons. One, it's the word from the horse's mouth. Two, I thought it might be a good idea to see what exactly CAIR was passing off to non-Muslims as the text of the Qur'an. Clearly, if they're passing off a sterilized version, then its usefulness is as a primary source is....well.... rubbish.

So it arrived sometime just after Thanksgiving and I put it on my book shelf. I had a some time today so I pulled it down to see if any editing had taken place and so far it looks.... thoroughly sterilized. I did a quick search to locate chapter and verse coordinates for some of the more questionable passages and upon flipping to them in the CAIR provided copy, nada.
The search I've done to point is in no way conclusive or thorough, but the preliminary findings point to CAIR having edited out every anti-semitic phrase in the book.

Even if there was no anti-semitism involved in the current practice of Islam it wouldn't justify editing it out of the book. There are numerous allusions to slavery in the Christian Bible and while slavery is universally condemned in Christian countries when missionaries hand out Bibles, they don't hand out books with all references to slavery omitted.

But anti-semitism is very much a part of current Islamic practice in much of the world so to remove the passages in the Qur'an which feed into that is damning evidence of the actual reasons behind CAIR's efforts. Clearly they are less interested in providing real information than they are in dispensing propaganda.

If my future findings continue along the lines of the ones I've already made then it will be further evidence of CAIR's malign intentions. For what purpose, if not profound, could drive a person or persons to so drastically edit their holy texts?

At any rate it looks like I'm actually going to have to go out and purchase a copy of the Qur'an in order to have my primary source, but I'm not sorry I requested this one from CAIR. It too will serve as a primary source, but not in the manner in which they intended.

Infidel One, signing off.

Of Batman and NATO....

As an old comic book fan I grew up with an understanding of certain things. There are good guys. There are bad guys. Sometimes the good guys have to kick the bad guys asses. And most importantly when people ask "Who are you to do this?" or "Why you?" The answer is "I can distinguish right from wrong and I have the will to act." The will to act is the fundamental super power. (It's really the only one that Batman has.)

Sometimes you'll have allies. Sometimes you won't. The reasons for your company or solitude may vary, but having company or not doesn't ever absolve you of your responsibility to act.
This is really my way of saying there's nothing wrong with unilateral action.

Our reliance on NATO in Afganistan is counter productive. When I say this, I'm not talking about specific member nations, but rather NATO as a whole. Specific member nations are allies, the NATO as a whole is an institution.

As an institution NATO hangs around in Afganistan so that we can say "multi-lateral". This is because multi-lateral is supposed to be the end all be all of all things swell. It's become the goal in itself. Having NATO in Afganistan has turned out to be alot like conveening the JLA for iced mocha lattes while the Legion of Doom is out looting.

But the JLA could always depend on Batman to pick up the slack. If there was a problem that no one wanted to think about or seemed to awful to imagine, Batman would think about it. Batman would imagine it.

(In case you're not following I'm about to compare the United States to Batman).

The U.S. is (for the most part) like Batman in this little construct. We're rich, well trained, smart, our hearts are in the right places, and we're willing to think of the things that other folks aren't. Additionally we are (sometimes) gifted with a will to act that exceeds anything this world has ever known.

We're using NATO in Afganistan to let some of that will slide. NATO isn't picking up the slack.
It's nice for batman when the JLA pulls their weight. A few more shoulders to share the weight of the world is groovy sometimes. But it's not necessary. NATO doesn't want to do the work? Fine. Time for them to take a backseat then.

We can't really afford to continue to stand around with our hands on our hips begging the JLA to actually join the fight. Batman and the few allies who are willing to fight have to step up and put the bad guys down. The JLA can push the broom when we're done.

Spot of Good News....

Now I know that I've been a sporadic blogger as of late, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been paying attention. And over the past week or so, I've watched people get their panties all up in a twist over President Bush talking to Iran and Syria. Well, here it is- the end of the world.

WASHINGTON — As pressure mounts for the United States to seek direct talks on Iraq with Iran and Syria, President Bush appeared Tuesday to rule out any change in his administration's policy toward those Iraqi neighbors.

Or not. Of course it is the LA Times and this is the same President who appeared to rule out firing Rumsfeld (just before he fired him), so who's to say....
Still, I know I'm not alone in hoping that this is one story we can take to the bank.

Not Exactly Official....

...but close enough. An upcoming book lists the old home town as one of the worst.

Contrary to the city's new tourist slogan, contrary to its being named last year as one of the top 10 summer travel destinations in the world, and maybe just plain contrary, Gilmartin has proclaimed Baltimore one of "The Absolutely Worst Places to Live in America."

No surprise there. Baltimore, MD is the murder capital of the country. That's right, Charm City is one of a handful of places in this country where the homicide rate actually increases each year.

At any rate, the real gem in the article is this little diddy:

"I've got one word for this guy: Loser," she said, flipping through the pocket-sized hardback book in her office. "I think it's sad people have to sink this low to make a dollar and get something published." Gosson called the book superficial, one-sided and said it reinforced negative and outdated stereotypes.

That's from an executive director of an organization founded to promote city living. Stellar debate skills. I wonder if she made an 'L' with her thumb and index finger and held it up to her forhead when she said that. Maybe she's a product of Baltimore's brilliant public education system. But the Baltimore Sun saved the best for last.

"Besides, who wants perfection? Perfection is boring."

Call me crazy, but not being stabbed to death over a cell phone and a sandwich coming home from work sounds like the kind of boring a girl could appreciate.

Uhggg....

If you ever had any reason to doubt the sheer partisan nature of the Pravda on the Hudson this should make the picture perfectly clear.
The same news paper that's been screaming quagmire and calling for our immediate cut and run from Iraq is now calling for more troops.
The Dem's get congress, the Hudson Pravda wants increased troop levels.  Maybe the media isn't as naive as we here on the right have been saying. 
But that's a mixed bag.  What that means is that the liberal press has been knowingly sabotaging the war effort in a shameless attempt to manipulate the election.  Do you really think that the anyone suddenly woke up this moring or yesterday morning and said "Holy crap!  Jihadi's!"  Of course not.  To borrow from the political opposition: The MSM lied and troops died.
The Hudson Pravda engaged in a systematic campaign to destroy the resolve of the populace to continue the War for Western Civilization so the Democrats could gain control of congress.
Repugnant.  Now that the Democrats have won, they seek to un-do the damage they wrought.  They know how important it is that we win this war, yet they were willing to sabotage it.
Another round of cancelled subscriptions? I certainly hope so.
 

Working On It....

Trying to get more posts out. Updating links soon.
See yall tomorrow.

Just In From The Translation Department....

In case you missed it, Michael Moore has a list of promises for conservatives. Of course those promises are in moon-speak so, we ran them through the ol' translator before laying them out for our loyal readers (hi, mom and dad).

1.) We will never call you "unpatriotic" because we don't really know what it means. Instead we'll call you Nazis. They tried to establish democracy in Iraq too. We think.

2.) You haven't heard the last from our activist judges.

3.) We won't spend your money and your grandchildren's money so much as give it away. Though some of it just might end up in a few freezers. Doesn't that sound balanced?

4.) After we snatch defeat from the jaws of victory we'll promptly resume hamstringing the military and the intellegence community. Viva la France deux!

5.) Under Hillary Care we'll all suffer equally. Whether rich or poor, your chances of dying while waiting for medical attention will sky rocket. The government is so swell at everything else, why shouldn't it be in charge of your health?

6.) We don't need no stinking economy. We will run with brother bear and swim with sister salmon over the crumbling remains of eeeeviiil western capitalism.

7.) Our enemies are going to have to nuke us before we decide they're worth fighting. Now that's what we call safe!

8.) We will be far too concerned with emptying your wallet and controlling your speech crime to look in your bedroom. Yet. Unless you're a Republican- then your bedroom and your families' bedrooms are totally fair game.

9.) We will promptly disarm the law abiding populace. Criminals should not be in fear while carrying out their chosen professions. Additionally the last recourse of the people against the tyrany of government is to lay down and surrender. If you cooperate with the bandits they probably won't kill you. See? Safe.

10.) So what if you have to work the register in a fast food restaurant to earn minimum wage? Everyone's entitled to whatever they want regardless of education or work ethic. In light of this we will continue all social engineering. At your expense.

11.) We encourage the practice and respect off all religions except for Christianity and Judaeism. We elevate Islam as being more equal than the others, and extremism will not be tolerated unless we have to worry about you murdering non-Jews.

12.) "We will not tolerate politicians who are corrupt and who are bought and paid for by the rich. We will go after any elected leader who puts him or herself ahead of the people. And we promise you we will go after the corrupt politicians on our side FIRST. If we fail to do this, we need you to call us on it. Simply because we are in power does not give
us the right to turn our heads the other way when our party goes astray." NOT!

Another Wake Up Call

Head over to NRO and check out the link.

You criticize your history, your institutions, your churches. Why can't you realize that it has nothing to do with what you have done but with what they want."

Of Elections and Name Changes....

Where to start? Well, I suppose with the name change. I'm just feeling more snarky and smarmy than angry these days.

Getting rid of Rumsfeld was a mistake as was the way in which it was done.

That said, let's talk about the election. We lost. The morning after was rainy here in Maryland, some might say appropriately. I confess, I broke my promise to myself about avoiding exit polls. I watched them all night- well, most of the night. Additionally I am embarrassed to admit that when I woke up on Wednesday morning and saw the results I had a "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" moment. You know that scene towards the end where Jimmy Stewart is on the steps of the Lincoln memorial, bags packed, ready to hop the first bus back home? Well that was me, but minus the "bus back home" bit. I was ready to toss in the towel, "If my fellow Americans lack the courage and resolve to do what's necessary then we deserve the dark world we're sure to get." In fact, embarrassed doesn't cover it. I'm deeply ashamed of my initial response.

It lasted for about a minute and a half. Then I pulled myself together, re-embraced democracy, rolled up my sleeves and committed myself to the long haul. Democracy means sometimes you're on the losing side. And the Republicans deserved to lose congress this election. The Democrats didn't really deserve to win it, but...well- as with all things it's a mixed bag.

Bill Whittle (who has a new essay out) graced us with a blog post after the election which sums up how I feel about things (post first minute and a half) quite nicely. The short of it is that a Democrat controlled congress is going to make things more difficult for us, but we still have a job to do. The fact that the mission just got harder doesn't absolve us of the responsibility to complete it. It will probably require more of us, and the price of victory probably just got higher. It's still a price worth paying, because the price of defeat is too great to fathom.

It's time to roll our sleeves up even further and dig in even deeper. It's going to take hard work, but hard work is something that Americans practically have the market cornered on. This is a nation of hard workers the likes of which the world has never seen before.

The bums got tossed on the second. There are positives that could come of that. The Republicans will (hopefully) take a second to analyze exactly why they lost. This was a wake up call that just may have helped us avoid a real disaster in '08. Additionally having gained power, I hope that the accompanying responsibility will serve to wizen the Democrats.

Don't mistake the positive tone of this post to mean that I'm not concerned. I am. However, I'm determined not to fall into the hole that caught the Democrats up. I will not be shrill or hysterical. I will not compare Nancy Pelosi to Osama Bin Laden or the Democratic Party to Al Qaida. I will keep my conversation civil and my discourse will continue to be based in fact and logic. The Democrats aren't the enemy the terrorists are and if the Democrats could see that about the Republicans we'd have an easier time of things. Hopefully control of congress will allow them to see that.

For the good of the Republican Party I'm not going to pull any punches when it comes to calling out shrill crazed members from my side of the aisle. To demonstrate this I'm going to coin a new term: Moongopher.

Moongophers are the rightwing equivalent of moonbats. They're shrill, irrational, and hysterical. Let's hope I don't have cause to use it often.

Looking Good....

Just finished watching the season premier of Showtime's Weeds. If you haven't seen Weeds, it's about Nancy, a suburban housewife-come widow, who takes to selling pot in order to support her family after her husband dies of a heart attack. She doesn't exactly like what she does, but she's good at it.
The show is hilarious in a bitter-sweet sort of way. Nancy's interactions with other people in the community (and often the interactions between other community members) provide most of the comedy. However Nancy's struggle to keep her family and her life from completely coming apart at the seems is the real heart of the show. It's the combination of those elements which makes Weeds a must see.
In fact, I dare you to try it. No peer pressure though. But you'll thank me later.

Party Census....

So I just got this year's Republican Party Census, and true to political questionnaire form the questions are designed to ellicit the "right" answers.

Here's my favorite:

"Do you agree with President Bush's call for a comprehensive approach to immigration reform that secures our borders, meets the Nation's economic needs and protects the rights of legal immigrants while not unfairly rewarding those who came here unlawfully?"

Too bad there's no option for "I would absolutely support such a call, if President Bush made it." Seriously, how does his amnesty policy fit any of those categories? I know someone out there is bound to say "illegal immigrants do the jobs that Americans won't do.", but that's horse shit. Illegal immigrants do jobs for less money than American's and legal immigrants are willing to accept. They stunt our economy, not drive it.

Don't know if I'm going to fill it out and send it back yet. The WoT section is worth giving them feedback on, if only to make sure that at least one party is committed to our victory in this.

From the Front Lines....

Israeli soilders on the realities of the war....

“It was hell. They are really well trained. They’re not suckers, they know how to fight,” said one, slumped on the pavement. “You’re scared the whole time over there. We didn’t get any sleep the whole week.” There was not a voice of dissent.

This quote at the end is a real gem though....

“But what is very important is that this is a just war on our part. Because they are a bunch of f***ing terrorists.”

I think that sums it up, quite nicely.

Good News Boys and Girls....

I haven't been the only blogger on.... vacation. Bill Whittle's been gone a while too. And the good news is that I'm not the only blogger who's back. That's right, Eject Eject Eject is back with all new material and Bill Whittle's talking about a new book.
He came back while I was gone, and already has a couple of new posts (including two new essays) up, so I'm just going to send you to the main page.

Coverage From Israel....

Atlas has been (and still is) touring Israel and her blog is full of excellent coverage, but today she's got some great stuff from the front line.

First the North, where yesterday there were over 230 rockets were fired at civilians and two Iranian missiles made it further into Israel than ever before. With each launch the barbarians learn more. Yesterday I spent the top of the day on the Gaza border.


It's a huge post with photos and video embeds. Get the full experience.

9/11 Loose Change Guys Laughing at Flight 93

These bastards are dispicable and there's a special place in hell for the lot of them.



Hot Air has installments 2 and 3. We all have to do our part to confront this insanity. The people who create and perpetuate it are probably beyond reason, but we can help the unfortunate people they fool.

To help you help others, check out Screw Loose Change.

I, For One, Am Shocked....

...simply shocked that this didn't make the MSM. /sarcasm

When live Jews can’t be found, dead ones are targeted. In Belgium last week, the urn that contained ashes from Auschwitz was desecrated at the Brussels memorial to the 25,411 Belgian Jews deported to Nazi death camps. It was smashed and excrement smeared over it. The silence from Belgian leaders following this desecration was deafening.

Lucky for us, Charles at LGF is on the ball.
Europe's color always was collaboration.

Into The East River....

In standard PC lip service, the UN claims that if we don't say that the Israel- Hezbollah war is about terrorism, then it isn't about terrorism.

It’s not helpful for it again to appear to be the team that led on Iraq or even on Afghanistan. It’s not helpful to couch this war in the language of international terrorism. Hizbollah employs terrorist tactics, it is an organisation however whose roots historically are completely separate and different from Al Qaeda.

I hate terrorism as much as any decent human being, so I'll give this a shot. This war is about Happy dragon daisy pants.... Nope. Still about Israel (and the rest of Western Civilization) fighting terrorists and terrorist states for the right to exist.

I provided a link to the whole thing, but I'm not going to tell you to read it. It'd just make you gag, and you can probably guess what it's going to say anyway. I mean, it is from the UN. I just posted it because I wanted to make that snarky comment about the happy dragon daisy pants.

Totally Boss

About five minutes ago the police started a raid on the house of the local hoodlum (about two doors down from me). I had kind of drifted awake and was shifting about trying to get back to sleep, when I hear someone yelling.
At first I couldn't make it out and since two about two weeks ago a group of hoodlums broke into that same house and held people at gun point, I really didn't know what was happening. Then comes this sound like an explosion and a loud flash (yep, a flash-bang). Not really knowing what the situation was, I rolled out bed, hit the floor and started checking on the people I live with.
Decided to check the windows before calling the police and saw the S.W.A.T. van.
S.W.A.T. arresting the neighborhood criminal? File that under totally boss way to start the day.

Another Kidnapping?

This time near Tel Aviv....

Adding to the tensions were witnesses reports that an Israeli soldier was apparently kidnapped while hitchhiking north of Tel Aviv.

In light of last night's post, the above... well.... it seems that things probably are about to get a whole lot uglier.
Give 'em hell, Israel.

Correcting My Oversight....

Last night's post was not the first post that I wanted to make on Israel vs Hezbollah, but I couldn't not post it after reading it. And I couldn't shake it out of my head long enough to post anything else. That being said, I have been, am still, and will continue to cheer Israel on.
Pro Israel rally at noon in DC. Maybe I'll see yall there.

Tough Time Sleeping Tonight....

But then after you read this, I might not be alone. Whether or not you've heard of Hezbollah's alleged plans to hit Tel Aviv, there's little doubt with Syria and Iran pulling the strings, that if they can they will.
Evidence of Iran's contribution to Hezbollah's arsenal can be seen in the attack on the Israeli ship. So I'm not positive that Hezbollah doesn't have the capability to hit Tel Aviv.

Happy 4th of July, Friends

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

-- He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

-- He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

-- He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

-- He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

-- He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

-- He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

-- He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

-- He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

-- He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

-- He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

-- He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

-- He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

-- He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

-- For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

-- For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

-- For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

-- For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

-- For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

-- For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

-- For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

-- For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

-- For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

-- He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

-- He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

-- He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

-- He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

-- He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

---

The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:

Column 1
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton

Column 2
North Carolina:
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton

Column 3
Massachusetts:
John Hancock
Maryland:
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton

Column 4
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean

Column 5
New York:
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark

Column 6
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Massachusetts:
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
New Hampshire:
Matthew Thornton

It Gets Better...

Israel is showing Hamas who's boss.

Hamas says Israel has declared war on the Palestinian Authority, after more than 60 senior Hamas figures, including many members of the PA government, were arrested overnight.

I mean it's not like the PA government declared war on Israel or anything..... /sarcasm.
Go get 'em IDF.

The Gloves Have Come Way The Fuck Off.....

The leader of Hamas is responsible for the kidnapping of the Israeli soilder, so Israel is going to kill him.

Earlier, Justice Minister Haim Ramon said that Mashaal, was a target for assassination due to his ordering of the kidnapping of Shalit.

I'm not sure how stupid you have to be to keep screwing with Israel, but it's gotta be something close to "Darwin Award" level.

Lights Out....

...for the Displaced Arabs.

The IDF began its "Operation Summer Rains" offensive Wednesday night with the entry of Israeli forces into southern Gaza. The stated goal: The release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.

In addition to knocking out electricity in much of Gaza, the operation has included:

* Aerial missile attack on an electricity station south of Gaza City
* Aerial attacks on three bridges in the central Gaza Strip, over dry river beds
* Artillery fire at open areas in the southern Gaza Strip
* Entry of armored forces into the Dahaniya area, mainly the abandoned airport, where the IDF has set up a headquarters. This area represents a strategic control and observation point over the southern Gaza Strip.

Someone is going to have a very bad day. And it's all because someone hasn't learned a very important lesson: Don't fuck with Israel.

Well That Was Fast....

Apparently the Displaced Arabs have decided that it might be a good idea to be on the recieving end of Israeli military action.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Egyptian- and French-led efforts to negotiate for the release of an Israeli soldier abducted by Palestinian gunmen in the Gaza Strip have failed, Israeli television reported on Tuesday.

Nobody ever said they were smart.

Hamas Accepts Two State.....

Yeah, you read that right.

Palestinian militant group Hamas has agreed to a document backing a two-state solution to the conflict with Israel, officials say.


Of course after the abduction of Israeli tank gunner, Cpl Gilad Shalit, things weren't looking to good for the Pali's.

"The state of Israel does not negotiate with terrorists," Mr Regev insisted. "Unless he is released it is our moral obligation as a government to take action to free him."

Yeah, the Israeli army, locked, loaded, and ready to go is a damn good reason to start talking platitudes.
Still, when it comes to the promises of the Displaced Arabs, I'm not exactly holding my breath.

Too Bad....

This pilot which "aired" on You Tube (in 1, 2, 3 parts), would probably make a pretty entertaining show. Too bad, it was scrapped by the networks.
The show is called Nobody's Watching and its success you You Tube inspired an artical on Engadget.

Well, At Least There's One....

....sane person left in San Fransisco. I give you, The Crack Emcee.
And if that made you smile, here are his archives.

Treason Times....

As you can see from the title of this post, I'm pretty upset about the whole classified information thing. However I can't really weigh in right now without sounding like a nut job. That is to say, that I don't think I could fight the urge to say "Ann Coulter was right about where Tim McVeigh should've parked his truck." Also, I don't think that calling for the executions of the responsible writers and editors at the NY and LA Times is particularly rational, so I'm going to hold off until later today, and possibly even tomorrow.

Well It's About Time....

I suppose the Red Cross is expecting aplause or something so here it is: three sardonic golf claps. Not a damn bit more. I'm sorry, but I just can't muster up the ability to toss out a few back-pats because the Red Cross after 60 years, couldn't find any more reasons to drag their feet on Israel's admission. I'd say "congradulations" to the Red Cross for finally doing the right thing, but this is so long over due, and that pc flag is such a slap in the face that I'm having difficulty with that too. The muslims get their cicle, the christians get their cross, but the star of David is "offensive". Bullshit. The Red Cross ought to appologize to Israel for 60 years of aiding and abetting blatant anti-semitism, but that, apparently, is too much of a step in the right direction.
Still, congradulations, Israel. You've deserved it since day one, and today you finally got it.

Holy Crap....

A petition drive to push Maryland's new early voting legislation to referendum has fallen short on the first deadline.

A Republican-led petition drive to thwart Maryland's early-voting provisions hit a major snag yesterday when the state Board of Elections said the effort fell 138 signatures short of moving forward.

The news was a blow to Marylanders for Fair Elections, a volunteer group backed by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who both complain that the legislature hastily enacted early voting without safeguards to prevent voter fraud. Democrats considered it a victory, calling the drive a ploy to suppress voter turnout.

What Sun (surprise, surprise) doesn't tell you is that only measures the legislation include to verify voter's identity and the number of times a voter votes are after the votes are certified. Seriously....I have nothing left to say.

Two Things....

One, you may have noticed that I have updated my link list again and I appollogize for my shameful neglegence in that arena. Getting my link list up to par is and will continue to be an on-going project. Thank you for your patience.

Two, (which is actually more important that one) Lilkes has an excellent bleat up. Oh, and I happen to know the joke to which the punchline, "death by juju", belongs. Mayhaps I'll post it here sometime. God knows, I owe any readers still with me from the first site some kind of attempt to make up for having cursed them with the knowledge of the most unfunny joke in the world.

New Human Rights Commission...Same Old UN....

Atlas has an excellent post on the latest addition to the allegedly improved UN Human Rights Commission.

While Kofi takes the time out of his busy pilfering and extorting schedule to smear Israel with the Gaza beach Pali Arab murders, see who is sitting on the *NEW*, *IMPROVED*,"human rights" (more like human deaths) council -- check this out (hat tip Norman);

UN rights council 'mockery'

The Iranian prosecutor implicated in the death of Montreal photojournalist Zahra Kazemi is part of a delegation at a new UN human rights body that was created to replace a commission widely discredited for allowing human rights abusers too much power.

Go read the whole thing. Seriously, isn't it time we put that very valuable NYC realestate to good use? Let's get the UN out of our country and our country out of the UN.

Oh, In Case You Missed It....

Charles at LGF has a pdf of the declassified WMD document.
Of course the left will attempt to bury the importance of this under questions over the timing of the release. Still, it good to have something more than a few old and under-reported news stories to shove in the faces of nay-sayers.

Attacked By An Alternate Dimension....

Well... that may be sensationalizing, but the point is that something damn odd is afoot.
Namely, that my wallet, but not my ID (which was in my wallet) has disappeared. So to summarize, my AAA card, my bank card (though there is nothing in my account), and the actual physical wallet are nowhere to be found. My driver's license was on my book shelf.
Peculiar, no?

Because It Has to Be Done...

I give you a clean link to Hadji Girl.

and a link to the lyrics.

Also a link to Vent in which the lyrics scroll.

I don't care what the pc asshats say, that song is fuckin' funny. I wish the Sweater Kittens would put out a CD already.

Saddam and the Taliban.....

Surprise! They were connected. /End sarcasm.



In this second of a three-part examination of a newly-released document captured in Iraq, Robison offers further evidence that in 1999 the Taliban welcomed "Islamic relations with Iraq" to mediate among the Taliban, the Northern Alliance and Russia, and that the Taliban reciprocated with an invitation to Iraqi officials to visit Afghanistan.

It's long, so you might want to bookmark it and read it over the duration of the weekend. But the real question is: When do you think we'll hear about it from CNN? I'm not going to hold my breath.

Stealth Marxism.....

Fjordman has an excellent post.

The simple fact is that we never won the Cold War as decisively as we should have. Yes, the Berlin Wall fell, and the Soviet Union collapsed. This removed the military threat to the West, and the most hardcore, economic Marxism suffered a blow as a credible alternative. However, one of the really big mistakes we made after the Cold War ended was to declare that Socialism was now dead, and thus no longer anything to worry about. Here we are, nearly a generation later, discovering that Marxist rhetoric and thinking have penetrated every single strata of our society, from the Universities to the media. Islamic terrorism is explained as caused by “poverty, oppression and marginalization,” a classic, Marxist interpretation.

Why are you still hanging around here?? Go read the whole thing.

Oh That Liberal Media....

The AP is dispicable and shameless. This is how they slander our victory over Zarqawi:

BAGHDAD, Iraq - An Iraqi man who was one of the first people on the scene of the U.S. airstrike targeting Abu Musab al-Zarqawi said he saw American troops beating a man who had a beard like the al-Qaida leader.

The witness, who lives near the house where al-Zarqawi spent his last days, said he saw the man lying on the ground near an irrigation canal. He was badly wounded but still alive, the man told Associated Press Television News.

U.S. troops arriving on the scene wrapped the man’s head in an Arab robe and began beating him, said the local man, who refused to give his name or show his face to the camera. His account could not be independently verified.

Somthing oughta be done about this anonymous source business. Seriously, this is a joke. If it gets any worse they'll be attributing information to random tin cans with string that they find on the stree.

The above is the text of the original story (posted by LGF), click on the story link now and suddenly that third paragraph is nowhere to be found. Too low for the AP? Who'd have thought it possible....

Not like what they left is any better, it's attributed to:

The Iraqi, identified only as Mohammed....

Well that's specific.... (/Sarcasm) the only difference is that it lacks the overt rumor-monger nature of their previous attribution.

Zarqawi Post....

Yes late, but still. Freakin' Woot.

Michelle Malkin posted a sweet video over on Vent yesterday.

Genius, pure freakin' genius.

WooHoo!

Couldn't Pass This Up....

I know I said that I was taking a break from the political stuff for a bit, but I couldn't not comment on this.
Yesterday the right-wing Michael Moore released her new book. Of course I mean Ann Coulter. And yes, it is typical for her work.
To promote the new book, she's been making the media circuit and naturally controversy follows in her wake.
Matt Lauer
Hannity and Colmes
Why break my vacation for this as opposed to the terrorist ring busted in Canada?
Simple, Ann Coulter is an excellent example of what's wrong with political debate in America. The solution to the left-wing pundits who use bits and pieces of truth to create a larger lie isn't to engage in our own dark magic. When our opponents trade in falsehood and untruth we have all the more obligation to deal squarely with the facts.
Ann Coulter's sensationalist tactics draw attention, but they do nothing to add to the quality of political debate.
However there is something to be said for the fact that while we have to put up with Ann Coulter, a large and vocal number of people on the right see Ann for what she is and proclaim her as such. Where as the left embrace and swoon over the likes of Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky, and Robert Fisk.
Still the most upsetting aspect of Ann Coulter is the clear intellegence and talent that she has and chooses to abuse so she can engage in a hard-liner circle jerk. Ann Coulter has the ability to be a top notch pundit providing much needed quality to political debate, instead she makes herself content to be a troll.
The by-product of this is that we lose the very real point that she was trying to make regarding the MSM treatment of wives and mothers of dead soilders who use their status as a grieving relative to speak out against the war. (How's that for a run-on sentence?) Ann Coulter is right, in so far as the MSM and a large portion of the left hold these women above reproach or debate because of their status as bereived relative. If anyone aruges, the left comes back by throwing that person's grief up as some sort of shield. "How dare you question their opinions because they lost a husband/son/daughter." However Ann Coulter's bating rhetoric tends to cause people to foam at the mouth- which is exactly what she aims to do. But she does a disservice to whatever point she makes, no matter how correct she might be.
Michelle Malkin has some additional input on the sanctity of victimhood for the left.

Tonight....

I know that the rest of my office will be trying to figure out what to do now that the season finale of Desperate Housewives is over, but I'm just starting my TV watching. Tonight is the season premier of Footballer's Wives.
This show makes Desperate Housewives look like Mr. Rodgers.
If you don't know what you'll be doing at 10pm, I highly recommend BBC America. It's the least guilty, guilty pleasure you'll ever find.

Something I've Been Working On....

The New Ontology (?)

does sanity run so hard from salvation
all commitment
my thoughts singed before they can escape- through the pours in
my skull- it's a sieve. damn.
unreliable, lets everything through keeps nothing in
god never makes sterile environments
we weren't meant for serenity

we're all saints spellbound in sin
wallowing in a baptism of hedonism
the self indulgence of science's non servium
clean as the abyss- pristine
beyond sterile- god's operating room
it makes ghosts of us all

MY CARBON IS MY OWN
MY CARBON IS MY OWN
intrinsically linked to my energy
no more seperate than my hand from me- remove it
i'm incomplete- FUCK
they trade places with each other- my soul my skin my bone
my carbon is my soul

before time i was the whole of this
now i'm a fragment- i cling to what's left of me
rebel against further separation- futility
but once i was you, not in you- just you
now we're strangers, it's not entropy, just degeneration-
disassembly
we are god dying.
it's why i believe in love.

Break From Politics....

I'm a little burned out from politics right now, so I'm going to take a break. Okay, to be honest, it's more like I'm continuing my break, but I'll be posting now.
Just not about politics. Don't worry I'll come back to politics. I can't stay away forever.