American by birth; Columbus, GA by choice, HONEY!!

Too frikkin' funny. That, my friends, is what my Aunt Shelia wrote on the sign she held up in honor of her hometown Little League team- the Columbus Northern League All-Stars, after they won the Little League World Series. As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said, "And on this night, Shelia Robinson's homemade sign spoke for her and everyone else." I'm so proud! They were on the news too, but I don't have a vid link to it. This group of 11 twelve and thirteen year-old boys have indeed become America's Team.

Aunt Shelia called me today to make sure I saw the AJC article which mentions her sign. Thank goodness my ears weren't within pinching/pulling distance when I told her that I didn't realize the Columbus team beat Japan in the final game, or that the pitcher, Kyle Carter, is the first pitcher in 60 years to go 4-0.

Aunt Shelia was APPALLED that I, an American YANKEE, hadn't heard about their teams' success. She wanted to make sure that I, and my Dad, knew that "The best baseball players IN THE WORLD are from Columbus, Georgia!" (pronounced correctly, that sounds more like "The beeyast basebahl playahs IN THA WIR-ALD ah froom Columbus, Gee-Oor-Jaaaah", and I'm from "Cin-suh-nah-tah, Ohh-Hii-Ohh")

Of course, she wouldn't be saying that if she'd been able to see her great-nephew pitch this year. *wink* Maybe someday her sign will read "American by birth; Cincinnati, Ohio by choice, HONEY!!"

I WANT MY MAMA!

YEAH, TOAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In honor of my Rolling Victory Fast day being over, I thought I'd share one of my favorite food songs with you (yeah- as if there are a lot of food songs out there, eh?)

YEAH, TOAST!!!!!!!!!!!
(after clicking on the link, right click on the video box and click "play")

hahahaha!! Oh man.... I love Haywood Banks. He cracks.me.up!

An interesting Meme

So there I was, over at Seawitch's place, when I read a comment I just had to check out. Mark made a comment on her Katrina post about wanting input on his latest post, so I hopped over. I have to admit, I didn't comment on the post... but I did scroll down a bit and found an interesting Meme.

1. Find the closest book
2. Turn to page 123
3. Find the 5th sentence
4. Post that text below the text following these instructions on your blog, along with the instructions.

Here goes!

To freeze a sprinter, the shutter must open and close before the image of the runner perceptibly changes position on the camera's image plane. Therefore, the faster the subject runs, the faster the shutter speed you will need to stop the action and avoid a blurred image.

A second factor affecting the final image is the camera-to-subject distance.

One elevator door was half-open on an empty shaft, from which drifted hissing wind. The door was coated to look like wood, but a dent at kneel level showed it was black metal. While he squatted, fingering the edge of the depression, something clicked: a second elevator door beside him rolled open.

"Hey, good-lookin'!" the blond driver yells, her hair flapping in the wind. "Don't go! I think I love you!" Laughing, her friends pull her hat off.

Several people put their arms around me and said keep coming back!

There is no perfect place to live.
(which was followed by "And there will always be some aspect of your situation that you wish were different, whether it be something about your home, your neighborhood, your workplace, your city- or even your spouse. Many of these things are beyond yoru power to change. So learn to make the best of things!")

OK... that's a little freaky to me, considering I'm nearing the end of my divorce...

Eat THIS, Cindy!

My Rolling Victory Fast day is finally here!



Some have chosen to fast in honor of a specific fallen soldier. Some have chosen to fast in support of all soldiers, past and present. Some have chosen to fast simply as a protest against Cindy Sheehan's fast (which I refuse to link to). We all have our reasons, but we all believe in a few basic principles:

1. WE LOVE AND SUPPORT OUR TROOPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2. We also want them home safe... but not until the time is right. That time will be defined by history as the day Iraq and Afghanistan stood on their own two feet again against tyranny and were able to defend their country against insurgent asshats determined to bring them down.
3. We will *always* look for the truth behind the crap the media reports as "news". And if that "crap" somewhat resembles the truth, it will be dealt with appropriately. (ie Haditha, the Pendleton 8, Abu Graib, Gitmo)
4. Our military deserves the best equipment, the best medical care, the best training, and the best vehicles available. It is up to our government to make sure this happens- which means it's up to US to put pressure on our local representatives to make sure this happens!
5. Any and all attempts to discredit our military will be met with swift action in retaliation- just like this fast, counter-protests at funerals Phred Phelps decides to show up at, and the weekly Code Pink counter-protests at Walter Reed.

So, hunger pains... BRING IT. I'm ready for ya!

Ug.... I am just sick

I TOLD YOU I TOLD YOU I TOLD YOU

but DAMN... I *hate* being right about this. Remember me telling you about the 3 year old, Marcus Fiesel, who disappeared on August 15?

Remember me saying "I'm very worried about this, and I'm speculating that his foster family is at fault somehow for several reasons:"???

I had reason to trust my gut. The foster family went to a family reunion in Kentucky on August 4th, and for whatever reason, LOCKED MARCUS IN A CLOSET AT HOME AND DIDN'T TAKE HIM WITH THEM. When they returned on August 6th, he was dead. The foster father, David Carroll, then took his body to a remote area in Brown County and incinerated his tiny body. They still haven't found any trace of his body, which tells me that the foster parents finally confessed. They have both been arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Joe Deters... nail this couple to the fucking wall... and let the rats eat them alive. I am beyond words.

***UPDATE***
Marcus's remains have been located in the chimney of an abandoned house in a rural area east of Cincinnati. "Police say the break in the case came when someone tipped them off and led them to that spot. The place where Marcus' remains were found is just a few miles down the road from David Carroll's live-in girlfriend's father's house on Route 505."

Well, at least those who care about Marcus will have remains to bury. That's got to be a small source of comfort and closure. *sigh*

Boy Raped On School Bus

Sounds like a nightmare, doesn't it? You send you child off to school, in the apparent safety of a school bus... only to find out that he was sexually assaulted on the bus. Can you imagine the horror? The anger? Oh. My. God. I cannot.

But wait...

The accused rapist is not who you think it is. It's NOT the driver.

The accused rapists are TWO OTHER STUDENTS ON THE BUS!

HOLY SHIT.

NOW I'm pissed. WTF? You know, my 5 yr old gets reprimanded for being loud and not staying in his seat. This bus driver somehow allowed two teens to hold down a boy they were tormenting, pull his pants down, and violate him WITH A PENCIL. ON THE SCHOOL BUS.

"It was just horseplay", says their defense attorney. BULLSHIT.

The two teens go on trial today, but there was no mention of any action against the driver, who said she didn't notice any mischief on the bus that day. WTF??? How in the HELL do you miss a 15 year old boy being held down, depantsed, and raped with a pencil? We entrust our children's safety to teachers and bus drivers- but when they are violated in such a way, while under the direct care of an adult, the adult doesn't even get a hand slap? That is SO messed up.

I, too, am Israeli

The rest of world knows him as Gene Simmons, rocker in the band KISS, but to his parents, he was born Chaim Witz in Haifa, Israel. Earlier last week, he sent a recorded message to an Israeli soldier who is such a huge Kiss fan, he has a poster of the band in his room. His hospital room. Ron Weinreich is paralyzed from the chest down due to injuries sustained while fighting Hezbollah this past month.

"Hi Ron, this is Gene Simmons. I'm talking to you from my home. I can't tell you how proud I am of you, and how much the world and Israel owes you a debt of gratitude," he said. "From the bottom of my heart, you are a real hero, you are everybody's hero, you are my hero and I wish I could be there with you."

Suddenly switching to confident Hebrew, Simmons added: "My name is Chaim, I was born in Haifa."

He concluded by saying in English: "I wish you my best, a happy life and I hope the wedding comes off and everybody should honor you because you are a real hero."

Now THAT, my friends, is how I'd like to see OUR soldiers honored by Hollywood and musical artists like Simmons.

I'm not much of a Kiss fan... but I'm now a HUGE Chaim Witz fan. I wonder what he thinks about the US soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. I say it's time for a KISS USO tour!

OK... here's the deal

IT'S BILL'S BIRTHDAY! IT'S BILL'S BIRTHDAY! IT'S BILL'S BIRTHDAY! Now go searching for the kewlest rotorhead boy toys for presents, and leave them at The Castle.
I have a LOT on my mind, a LOT to do, and no time to do it in... so ya'll are getting a bullet point post today with a ton o' links.

1. Go read Ron's Rants... his "Gretchen and the Hell's Angels" story has had me in stitches this week. OMG... funny, funny shit.

2. I'm moving tomorrow!! Yep.. I finally get to move into my new house. The divorce is moving along a little quicker now, but still stalled on many points. I should have high-speed internet by this time next weekend... that's a VERY good thing!

3. The Cincinnati Zoo announced the birth of a new baby boy gorilla, born on August 13. They're having a naming contest for Muke's baby. HE IS SO FRIKKIN' CUTE... OMG, you have GOT to click on that link and watch the video, and if you live around Cincinnati, you just might win a membership to the zoo if you win the naming contest!

4. I haven't posted about a story that's bugging the hell out of me. An autistic 3 year old boy, Marcus Fiesel, has been missing since August 15. His mental capacity is more like a 12-18 month old baby. He was at a local park with his foster mother and a few other younger children when his foster mother passed out and Marcus apparently wandered off. Marcus hasn't been seen since. I'm very worried about this, and I'm speculating that his foster family is at fault somehow for several reasons:

a. The family refused to let CPS caseworkers into the house for a regular visit on August 10. They were told Marcus was sick, and since previous visits indicated no problems, so they didn't press the family to see Marcus.
b. The police have been running searches around the foster family's home, which is nearly 2 miles away from the park he disappeared from. If he has the mental capacity of a 12-18 month old baby, he couldn't have gotten that far from her.
c. The foster father, David Carroll, was bi-polar, arrested in June for a domestic violence charge that was later dismissed, AND had a girlfriend living with them in their home. So weird...

5. The "Morning After" pill will be available without prescription for anyone 18 or older starting November 1. I see this as a good thing- if a fertilized egg exists, the pills will prevent it from recieving nutrients from the mother's body or attaching itself to the uterine walls. If the fertilized egg has already attached to the uterine wall (at which point a woman is considered to be pregnant), the pill has no effect- which is why it is NOT considered an "abortion pill". Again, I see this as a good thing.

6. Israel just bought two more German-made Dolphin class submarines, capable of carrying nuclear warheads. They already had three, bringing their fleet up to five. That's a lot of submarines for such a small country, don't you think? Scary.

7. Natascha Kampusch disappeared on her way to school in Austria eight years ago, when she was 10. On Wednesday, a young woman claiming to be Natascha showed up on the street in Strasshof asking for help. A couple of hours later, the man she claimed held her captive for the past 8 years committed suicide. Can you imagine the relief her family is feeling right now? Absolutely amazing.

8. I need to go see this exhibit: The Cincinnati Museum Center is hosting a display of letters, drawings, and poems sent to New York rescue workers by children during the aftermath of 9/11. The exhibit, called "Drawn Together: Children's Artistic Response to 9/11" features nearly 100 items and goes on display today. The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is running a similar display starting Sept. 8. When I finally get to see them, I'll bring my camera... and plenty of tissues.

9. Did I mention THAT I'M MOVING TOMORROW??????

10. Courtesy of John Donovan... I bring you.... FRIDAY PLANE PRON! It's a picture of the Hanoi Taxi (my brother's old plane, now that it's retired) being greeting by former Vietnam POW's on May 5th during its retirement ceremony.

Blogging for Dollars

Apparently, it's not a joke- people really are making BIG BUCKS blogging. I am not one of them, LOL.

Business 2.0 magazine arrived in the office today, with their September cover story being titled "Blogging for Dollars". (They still have the August edition online, so I can't link the article- sorry) It features a picture of blogger Drew Curtis, founder of Fark.com, which draws in nearly twice as much in a month as I make in an entire year. Needless to say, I was shocked.

Curtis isn't the only one making big bucks off of blog ads- Michael Arrington is another one pulling in 60k a month off of ads on his TechCrunch blog. Entire companies have been started, dedicated to nothing but matching up blogs with advertisers, like AdSense and Sugar Publishing. Sugar was founded in April for $250k, and is now estimated to be worth $10 mill. DAYUM!

I'm not a big blogger- never will be- but it sure would be nice, eh? The article lists 7 tips for making it big as a blogger:
1. Focus on a narrow niche, ideally one whose audience has a predilection for high-margin products, making your audience attractive to advertisers.

2. Think of your blog as a database- not a collection of newspaper articles. Make archived posts eashy to find through Google and Technorati by citing authors, publications, tags, categories, and keywords.

3. Post at least a half a dozen times before lunch, every weekday.

4. Use striking images in your posts, which will make it more attractive- not to mention the extra traffic from Google Image searches.

5. Enable comments- advertisers want your readers to be able to interact and discuss products easily.

6. Network with other bloggers, and share some linky-love.

7. Set up your blog so that each post gets its own URL for trackback purposes, and use descriptive, keyword-heavy headings which are more easily picked up on by search engines.

So there you have it, folks: how to blog your way to the bank. Somehow, I don't think I'll be doing that, but maybe some of you will!

Congress cutting funding for wounded soldiers

WTF?
So.. there I was, just sitting at my desk, browsing blogs, when I came across this post at Grim's place, via Cassandra. Apparently Congress has decided cut funding for the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, a joint Pentagon-Veterans Affairs program headquartered at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, from $14 million to $7 million.

You bunch of elected fucktards.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG... this REALLY pisses me off. As John says, they found $160 MILLION to fund identity theft protection, so why can't they use that same $160 MILLION for our wounded soldiers? These men and women nearly gave their lives up for the GWOT, and now we're cutting their medical benefits? OH, COME ON! GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK!

It's time to open a verbal can o' woop ass on our elected officials. WRITE, CALL AND BADGER THE EVER-LOVIN' SHIT OUT OF THEM OVER THIS! Even the Washington Times is pissed about it- shouldn't we all be?

Love at first bite

No, not the cheesy vampire movie. A different kind of bite. A hamster bite.

About an hour after Thomas got his hamsters, and was given "the rulz" (see post below), he suddenly cried out...

HE BIT ME!
HE BIT ME!
AAAHHHHHHHH!

AND I CAN'T KILL HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BUT HE BIT ME!!!!
AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

(I would have been more sympathetic if I wasn't laughing my ass off.)

Hamster rulz

I got Thomas 2 absolutely adorable chinese dwarf hamsters for his birthday, complete with Habitrail and exercise ball. OMG.. they are SO frikkin' cute! They're also very small- only a few inches long, about the size of a field mouse. I LOVE hamsters- had several when I was a kid, and was really looking forward to my boys having them someday. That day finally arrived!

Hub and I had to make sure we laid down "The Hamster Rulz" to avoid any unintentional rodent injuries. Things we'd "heard" of kids doing to their hamsters and gerbils, but of course had no first hand knowledge of said abuses. (ahem. that's my story... and I'm sticking to it, LOL)

1. No tossing the hamsters in the air on a blanket.
2. No bouncing them up into the air while jumping on the bed
3. If they're on a table, and about to fall over the edge, you can't slam your hand down on top of them because you might break their necks.
4. No dropping them on their heads, causing dain bramage which makes them run around in circles until they drop dead.
5. Don't hold them too tight- you might squeeze the daylights out of 'em.
6. If they bite you, you have to remember that you either a. scared them, b. they're tired of being held, or c. your fingers smell like food. It's nothing personal, and YOU CANNOT KILL THEM over this.
7. NO FIGHTING OVER WHO GETS TO HOLD THE HAMSTER. If someone is already holding it, you CANNOT grab ahold of the hamster and pull! (Kevin caught onto this one, and demonstrated what might happen if you break this rule: "He might *POP* break in half, right Mommy?" ewwwww)

Then Thomas added one of his own:
8. No playing Nerf Darts in the house when the hamsters are out, cuz if you hit them in the head, you might kill them. (valid.. point taken. no Nerf Darts when the rodents are out)

At which point... Kevin excitedly added a rule of his own.
9. "You can neber, eber put them in a spoon and fling 'em across da room into a wall." (which was accompanied by full hand motions of the spoon-fling, flying across the room and SPLAT, hand clap, against the wall)

....it was at this very moment that I wondered why I even bothered telling them the rulz, and I totally forgot Rule #10.

Hissy and Tunnel are DOOMED.

9 Years Ago Today

Just before the alarm clock went off, I woke up, having to pee. It was 6am. Considering I was over 9 months pregnant, that wasn't very unusual. I waddled to the bathroom, peed, and then went to iron my clothes for the day.

The urge to pee hit me again... well, this is weird.

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks- I WAS FINALLY IN LABOR!
After 9 months of waiting, the day was FINALLY here. I had been dialated for month, semi-effaced, and MORE than ready to become a mother. Figuring this process could take all day, I turned off Hub's alarm clock and took a shower. Contraction after contraction hit, with increasing intensity.

I finally woke up the Hub and called my parents around 7am. MY MOM FREAKED. "How long have you been in labor? AN HOUR! OMG... GET TO THE HOSPITAL! YOU KNOW HOW QUICK MY LABORS WERE!" You see, I got a rootbeer and a baby brother for my 3rd birthday. I knew Mom's 2nd labor was quick (AFBro was born while Dad was parking the car after dropping Mom off at the ER door), but I didn't realize that her first labor was just as quick. Oops.

By 8am we were rushing into the ER, me in full, hard labor; contractions 3-4 minutes apart.

Thank you, Epidural! By 10am, I had my Epidural and was getting some much-needed relief from the pain. An hour later, and I was fully dialated. BUT WAIT.. DON'T PUSH YET! "It's our shift change- would you mind waiting?"

DO I LOOK LIKE I WANT TO WAIT???????????????????????

But... I did.

I started pushing at noon, and an hour and 17 minutes later, I had a freshly pinked baby boy. All 8 pounds, 10 ounces of him- and every ounce screaming like there's no tomorrow. His wrinkled forehead looking like he had the weight of the world on his tiny, red shoulders. My parents, crying at the sight of their first grandchild... and my brother's disappointment of missing the actual birth because he arrived around 1:45, 30 minutes too late.

Every year I relive the day you were born, Thomas. I remember your first birthday, and how I cried cleaning up afterward, knowing that my baby was indeed growing up. We've come a long way, baby boy.... You're 9 now. You're entering the 4th grade. You play baseball, climb trees, ride a bike, swim like a fish, rollerblade, and have "grown up" teeth instead of baby teeth. You've lost all of your "baby" words, like "hangerber", "marsh-oh-do's", "yespect", "da-doo", "bo-bo", and "fuserated". (translation: hamburger, marshmallows, except, dropped it, poop, and frustrated) You weigh about 65 pounds- well past the 8 you were born at. But you know what?

You'll always be my baby boy, and I'll always love you, LTHSS*.


*Little Thomas, He's So Sweet!

Overheard In The House Last Night.....

Kevin: Mommy... can I sleep with you in your bed tonight?

Me: No, honey... I have some things to do after you go to sleep, and I don't want to wake you up.

Kevin: You mean like snoring?

Me: Oh Kevin... mommy's don't snore.

Kevin: Yes they do- I've heard you before.

Me: Honey, mommy's don't snore. They Purrrrrrr. In their sleep.

wurdth ub withsdom

IF YOU ARE GOING THROUGH A DIVORCE, AND YOUR DENTIST IS A LONG-TIME FRIEND OF YOUR SOON-TO-BE EX'S FAMILY......


GET A NEW FUCKING DENTIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*owww owww owww owww*

Free's kick-ass Dem rant

First of all... we have Nate's Liberal bullshit comment at ALa's about the UK sting operation that nabbed the next round of airline terrorists:
A terror plot foiled, there must be an election coming up.
Strange how you guys aren't whining and complaining that the media is "vilifying" the terrorists before they have been convicted of doing anything wrong.

Which was followed up by a most excellent rant by Free, former Marine, full of the "f" word, but also full of way more wisdom than his 20-some-odd years would indicate. Free's an in-your-face kind of guy. Calls it like he sees it, no matter who he's talking to or about. He's the kind of guy that you'd want covering your ass in a firefight (verbal or with real bullets), because you sure as hell don't want him firing at you. ROCK ON, FREE!

Ah yes, lumping US Marines and Soldiers in with the enemy yet again. Oh the moral equivalency never ends with the party of stupid. If Joseph Stalin was alive today in America, he'd vote Democrat. The Lamontists and Lennonists are one... one big group of commie scum bags who should be lined up against a wall and cut to death with little knives. We're torturing the wrong people. Put the Islamofaciests out of their misery and get to work on the Dymimmi crats.

You know... I've had it with them. They balked at the Hostage Crisis of 79. They pushed for a pull out from Lebanon after the Beruit bombing which killed 243 Marines. They pissed and moaned about Bombing Kadalfi, and they shriek when Israel defends itself. They opposed stopping Saddam from stealing 1/3 of the worlds oil supply back in 1991. Their fuckbag of a President retreated from Somalia and let Iraq push us around for 8 years, and ignored the 1st world trade center bombing, the bombings of two of our embassies, and the near sinking of a US war ship ALL at the hands of Islam.

I repeat, they did NOTHING when Americans died. I'll say it again, Democrats and Progressives won't protect us or even admit we are in a world war. Fuck them. I choose life. Its time we start taking these motherfucking leftists to task. Its time they paid for their pussy ass dereliction of duty. I've had it with them. Fuck Democrats, fuck the donkey, they're communists. Fuck em'. I hate them.

I got mine... do you have yours?

I'm talking about my 9/11 victim to memorialize, as a part of the 2,996 Project. Over the next month, I'll be researching the life, and death, of Davin Peterson. All I know about him is that he was a trader for Cantor Fitzgerald, was incredibly tall, had huge feet, and had a wonderful sense of humor and family. As you can see, I have a lot to learn about Davin.

So... do you have yours? If not, you should.

Medically Speaking....

Three stories in the news today are grabbing my attention, all medically oriented:

1. A Coke a day doesn't keep the fat away.... in fact, it can add 15 pounds a year. This is NOT GOOD NEWS FOR ME. I *heart* Coke... but I have definately added a lot of weight over the past couple of years. *MAJOR POUT*

2. In Salt Lake City, a team of doctors surgically separated 4-year-old twin sisters Kendra and Maliyah Herrin during a 26 hour operation this week. The girls, who were born fused at their midsection, face-to-face, shared a leg, a liver, a kidney, a pelvis, and part of their intestines. Absolutely amazing.

3. Carson Palmer, quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals, suffered a possible career-ending injury during a playoff game against Pittsburgh back in January. The tackle left Palmer without his ACL OR MCL (yes, BOTH tendons were blown out) to hold his knee together, so no one really expected him to play again. Instead of having the surgery here in Cincinnati, he opted to have it done in Houston... a move that may have saved his career, and without a doubt gave his knee a second chance.

Julie De Rossi, a Houston-area band manager, was killed in a car accident on a Houston freeway on March 17, 2005. The driver of the car that hit her had a blood alcohol level of .234- THREE times the legal limit, and was driving at an incredible 117 miles per hour when he hit De Rossi's car from behind. For his crime, the driver, Eric Hinton, is only serving a 5 year sentence.

De Rossi was an organ donor, and has helped more than 50 people as a result of her donations- including Palmer. Doctors reconstructed his knee with De Rossi's Achilles' tendon. Julie's mom wants everyone to remember that her daughter's tendon and other donated body parts aren't just pieces of tissue. "This was a human being, my daughter. A real, living person with history, who lived life on her own terms. Her name was Julie."

Thank you, Julie.

Dear Joan and Katie

This is all for you.
Write any comments you want.
But.... I will not be answering.
Write anything you want- I won't delete it.

I have just one thing to say:
By making this into a public display, YOU are the ones looking like asswipes. Not me.

So have at it, girls.

Give Thanks

Thanks to Karen for sending me a link to Let's Say Thanks!

The mission of Let's Say Thanks is to provide a way for individuals across the country to recognize U.S. soldiers stationed overseas. By submitting a message through this site you will send a free personalized postcard greeting to a deployed soldier.

The postcards, depicting patriotic scenes and hometown images, were selected from a pool of entries from children across the country.

Let's Say Thanks (a Xerox foundation... translated: SUPPORT XEROX!) prints the card you chose, and then sends it to one of our soldiers in care packages from Give To The Troops. Give To The Troops was started in 2002 by a Marine wife. They send thousands of care packages to registered troops. All of the items they send are donated, as are the funds needed to ship them. Donations-in-kind and donations of cash are greatly needed by Give. Please help them if you can- and if you're a deployed soldier in need of some TLC from home... you can sign up to receive care packages from Give HERE.

US Marines join search for Matt Maupin

Capt. B is all over this.... yet our local media is not. How sad.

“This is very important for us to do this,” said Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Steven J. Nesbit, a 49-year-old member of the Personnel Recovery Detachment from Multi-National Corps-Iraq in Baghdad. “Any Coalition member lives by that creed that we never leave anyone behind.”

Rum is flammable? WHO KNEW!

Dumbass lawsuit of the year award goes to......
Agata Macierzynska and Danielle Alleyne, who were severely burned at a nightclub in Miami. A patron lit a menu on fire while the bartender was pouring Bacardi 151. When the flame reached the stream of rum, it created a flame-thrower worthy of MacGyver.

The thing is... they're not suing the asshat patron who lit the menu on fire. Nor are they suing the nightclub or the bartender.

THEY'RE SUING BACARDI.... FOR MAKING A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS PRODUCT DUE TO THE EXCESSIVE FLAMMABILITY OF THEIR PRODUCT.

What a bunch of freaks. Of course it's flammable.... IT'S ALCOHOL! And not only that, bottles of 151 are clearly marked, warning against flaming the product. I can understand them wanting to go after the dickweed who lit the menu on fire, but Bacardi? Man... talk about gold-digging.