Karen of ALa's... you IGNORANT BITCH

SHIT.
I hate haloscam.... almost as much as I despise idiot Americans like you, Karen. Haloscan totally ate my comment.. DAMMIT. I still can't get my comment to post on Haloscan, so I'm posting it here, on my blog.

ALa has few Liberal Left-Wing NUTJOBS who visit. Drive me up a fucking wall, they do. Especially Karen and CJ. Today, Karen made this comment on ALa's post about Saddam's death:
"You had all better be reallllly happy today.

Like 3,000 dead Americans and a trillion dollars happy."

Here's my reply... best as I can reconstruct it from memory.

Karen,
I'm not *happy* about Saddam's death. I don't get excited about ANYONE dying, even those who truly deserve it, like Saddam. I am HIGHLY satisfied by the knowledge that he's gone and can't hurt any more people. I'm proud as SHIT about the fact that American soldiers had a LOT to do with taking him down, and offering him up to the Iraqi court system.

What you need to remember, or at least think about for a second, is that American's may have found his ass in that hole, but it was an IRAQI court who convicted him, sentenced him, and executed him. An IRAQI court, Karen. What's shameful to me is that American lawyers defended His Evilness, but fortunately, the Iraqi's saw through it. They even made sure he got a red card hand delivered, just before 10pm last night.

You're worried about the 3,000 dead American soldiers, and the monetary cost of this war, yet you don't seem to give a damn about the tens of thousands who have been killed by Saddam, bin Laden, Al Qaeda, and terrorists world-wide. You've forgotten about the Al Qaeda attributed attacks on the USS Cole, US embassy bombings in Saudi Arabia and Africa, and BOTH WTC bombings. You're ignoring the links between bin Laden and Saddam. You've forgotten, or perhaps forgiven, Saddam for the torture and genocide he authorized in Iraq which resulted in the injury and deaths of unknown thousands of Iraqi citizens.

You're blind, Karen. You can't see past the nose on your face, when it comes to world safety.

If you're so embarrassed by our government, and our military (who, in your words, are killing in your name, you self-centered bitch)... then GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY COUNTRY.

Yeah. MY country... because it sure as hell isn't YOUR country anymore.

Grandma may have gotten ran over by a reindeer... BUT

Grandpa died in a fire he started in his nursing home room by igniting a crack pipe... while on oxygen therapy.

Is it wrong that I laughed my ASS off about this?!??!?!

I'm thinkin' this guy's last words were a combination of "DUDE!" and "OH SHIT".
I'm also thinkin' he's a candidate for this year's Darwin Awards.

BUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.... oh man.

That's almost as funny as me being #2 on Google for "ice in ass" right now. (See what happens when you title a post "Ice Sucks Ass"??) Mom will be *so* proud when I tell her...

HAHAHAHAHAHA... OH... .MY SIDES ACHE...Laughing SOOOO hard!!!

Shades of Chuck

DAMN IT.
Another milblogger has been seriously injured in Iraq. JR Salzman (of the same unit that created the "halp us jon carry" sign) was injured by an IED and has lost his right arm beneath his elbow and 2 fingers on his left hand.

Like a true warrior and athlete, he is determined to recover and resume his lumberjack activities. As he said in his blog "My legs are fine, so I can still logroll!!!" He has been featured on ESPN, including being awarded the Best Outdoorsman ESPY in 2005, just before deployment.

Many thanks to SK for bringing this to my attention. This is just so sad.
Please, as I know you will, keep JR in your thoughts and prayers. Fuzzy... Chuck.... darlin's... I'm thinkin' a Chuck Z Delivered V-IT laptop is in order, dontcha think?

Yo Quero Taco Bell

*ahem*

that's about all i have to say about that....

Frikkin' Awesome, Dude!

My parents go to TSO every December, but their music was "mainstreamed" last year through YouTube and a certain light display in Mason, Ohio.

I'm sure you've all seen it, so I'm not reposting it here. Instead... I thought I'd bring you TSO performing "Wizards in Winter" on Regis and Kelly a couple of weeks ago. Out-frikkin-standing.

Schwetty Sans Balls

OK.
So.
Leta sent me this gi-normous box of goodies about a week ago, filled with fudge, chocolate covered pretzels, pound cake, turtles, and these little balls, called date-nut balls. Everything was fantastic, but the balls were AWESOME, so I wrote her for the recipe. It just so happened that the box arrived at the same time I was posting the Schwetty Balls video, so I appropriately renamed the date-nut balls "Schwetty Balls". Leta graciously gave me the recipe, so I set out to make my very own batch of Schwetty Balls last night.

They did not turn out.
I couldn't get them to stick together to form the balls. The mixture tastes right, but something is just not quite right.
SO.
I have renamed my concoction.

I bring to you... Schwetty Sans Balls!!!

Open Season

"If you step into my hood, it's understood... it's OPEN SEASON....I don't give a damn what god you claim, I've seen the innocent that you've slain"



Damn straight, Rich.
The Global War on Terror started with Islamic dickheads stepped foot into our hood, and took our towers down. Until then, we hadn't declared "open season"... but the minute you stepped onto US soil, hijacked our planes, destroyed our buildings, and ruined lives... we were content to let your conduct your piddly-ass attacks around the world. Hell, we even let you try to sink the USS Cole without hardly a nod.

This time... it's not workin' boys. GW took immediate action, and took you to the mat in Afghanistan. We're doing it again in Iraq, but it's taking a bit longer there. That's about to change. American's are fed up with piddling around in the Middle East. We want the job done, and we want our people home. And now, the Army and the Marines have put their heads together to create new "guidelines" to fuck you up. Here's why:
The manual therefore addresses the common characteristics of insurgencies and takes into account issues of religion, ethnicity, and tribal relationships, examining these factors as motivations for the insurgencies the United States confronts today. Additionally, it discusses the impact of contemporary developments such as suicide bombers, urbanization, and new information technologies.

You've been warned.

It's open season on your islamofacist ass. Our Marines and Soldiers are being given more specific guidelines and resources on defeating you. Good hunting, boys.

(h/t Uncle Jimbo for the vid, and Major Pain for the Army/Marine team story)

Let me.. Entertain you....

Here are some vid's I've watched over the past couple of days that are highly entertaining, and I thought you'd enjoy them too.

Christmas cheer... brought to you by Alec Baldwin's Schweaty Balls! Look how they glisten!


Another SNL skit that cracks my ass up is Robert DeNiro's press conference about the most wanted terrorists in the world, including M'Balz Es-Hari and Haid D'Salaami.

And now for something more serious.
Major Pain posted this video yesterday about the Arlington Wreath Project, brought to you by the Worcester Wreath Company. I've heard about the project before, but this is the first time I've seen the video. It's long- 7 minutes- so watch it when you have the time to listen to the lyrics and reflect upon Arlington, the Christmas season, and our military.


*** UPDATE ***
This isn't a video... but a video of this exchange would be priceless.
Yesterday my son Thomas asked his dad what 'fire at will' means. He told him that it means that you can fire your weapon when you're ready- you don't have to wait for permission.
So. This morning the kids were playing in the backseat of the car. Thomas is making gun noises, and says, "FIRE AT WILL!"

To which Kevin replies.....

"BUT I'M NOT WILL!"

oh man.

I am SPEED!

When my 6-year-old says this... it doesn't raise any alarms.
Fortunately, when a Middle-Eastern man says this, along with "I only need to know how to drive forward" to his instructors at truck driving school- AND while studying to get his hazmat license.... it *does* raise a flag.

Thanks Nationwide Tractor Trailor Driving School! YOU ROCK!

Preaching to the choir

Major Pain wrote a nice post today about our flag and the effect it has on the people of Afghanistan.
"We arrived in 3 waves of 4 CH 53 helos that could be mistaken for Russian HIND helos I guess if you haven’t seen that many helos before. As we began to flase and land we could see numerous people running from the area that we were landing in. Men, women children dropped what they had and began to run in to the local mountain foot hills and depart their compounds."
After establishing the checkpoint, they erected an American flag.... and the locals came out of hiding, just.like.that.

They knew why were were there... SO WHY IN THE HELL DOESN'T THE REST OF AMERICA?!?!?!??!??!?!

They knew the value of the American flag... SO WHY IN THE HELL ARE OUR OWN CITIZENS BURNING IT IN PROTEST OF THE WAR?!?!??!?!

As I said in comments, I have to wonder... what in the HELL are they protesting? Making friends with people in the Middle East? Helping secure freedom around the world? Providing S&R missions during natural disasters in our own country and foreign countries? Ridding the world of evil, sadistic men like Saddam?

Yeah. That's really worth protesting over... if you're a terrorist.

Now don't get me wrong, I support the right of anyone in this country to do something as unpatriotic, stupid, idiotic, and disloyal as burning our flag... I just don't get it. Protest all you want- but burning the flag is like flipping off your entire country. You wanna do that... GET THE FUCK OUT. We don't need you.

You are JFK

SA-WEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!!!!
I am *so* diggin' this result... especially considering that Leta got Bill Clinton!

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Who are you?

.. if only in my dreams.....

Matt posted a tear-jerker of a story this afternoon about surviving being a Vietnam POW. The story focuses on two POW's; one named Ernie Brace... and the other, John McCain. It's the must-read of the week, I swear.

When you are imprisoned, the enemy can take almost everything from you but they cannot take your spirit. Those unspoken words coming from Ernie - who, due to his work with the CIA , had the least chance of getting out of the camp alive - were a poignant affirmation that as Americans, we possessed a divine spark that our enemies could not extinguish - hope.

"We'll all be home for Christmas. God bless America ."

God bless them all. Every last one....

The New and Improved Fran O'Briens!

Oh man.
I read this over at Lex's place, and nearly did a happy dance right here at work. (oh no... not at work. no way. not me. I don't blog from work. I'm virtually at home. I swear. Honest.)

Fran O'Brien's original restaurant was closed last spring after Hilton *hack.. spit* refused to renew their lease, saying that their clientele wasn't up to Hilton standards. (in other words, they didn't want to accomodate the injured soldiers from Walter Reed)
Marty said he'd be back, and he is! The new location is in Mclean, Virginia. He's not sure when the Friday night free steak dinners for our wounded will start up again, but he said it will happen- including transportation to and from the hospital.

Good on ya, Marty! Good on you too, WaPo, for keeping up on this story.

********UPDATE*************
Several people have commented about the fact that the Friday night dinners have continued since Fran's closed last spring due to the work of Hal and Jim and a variety of DC hosts. I did know that this was happening. I posted this story because I thought it was cool that Fran O'Brien's will be re-opening and would like to start the dinners up again. I've heard that they won't be hosted by Hal and Jim, like they were before, but I don't know why.

Ice sucks ass

It took me nearly 3 hours to drive to work today- sporting a menstrual migraine and heavy cramps. Lovely. Then at lunch, I crunched on something non-food. Part of my crown. No, not the tilted one on my head, but the one on my molar. Shit. I had dental insurance until 2 months ago. Shit.

BUT....
It could have been worse!
When I finally *did* get to work, look what happened outside my office a mere 15 minutes after I got here.

Being Red Cross First Aid trained, I couldn't just stand by and watch, so I got in the back seat and helped stabilize the passenger's head. He wasn't wearing a seatbelt and his head went partially through the windshield, and then back again.
The driver, the passenger, and one of the passengers on the bus were taken to the hospital by ambulance. Here's another shot, of the firemen loading the passenger onto the stretcher. I'm in the blue coat (no more "yellow slickah", Maggie!). My hands are up in the air because they're covered with blood and shards of glass from the passenger's head and face. I didn't go get my kit from the car before heading to the wreck, unfortunately, so I didn't have my gloves on.

They'll all be ok, I think. The passenger was totally unresponsive, but conscious and breathing despite the many cuts, and bleeding from his mouth and nose. He never once even moaned, but he did try to move a couple of times so I had to restrain him some. I have a feeling he has some broken bones in his face (jaw or nose). He had some nasty cuts on his neck and was dripping blood. I know his first name was Will, and the driver was Jeff (I believe), but that's all I know about them. I wish I could follow up.
You can click on this link, scroll to the right, and look at "raw video footage" of the wreck, and then down a bit further there is a photo gallery with more pictures. The video says it took place on Kenwood Road, but it wasn't... it was on Victory Parkway in front of the Edgecliff Apartment building which is only 2 houses from my office.

Things can always be worse... right? At least I didn't go through the windshield today.

Bad Mojo

Everywhere I look today, I see bad news. And I don't mean "It's gonna snow 3 feet by 5pm" bad, I mean "I can't finish reading this story without crying" bad; "I can't finish reading this story without my head exploding" bad.
For instance:
We have 6 Sailors from the USS Frank Cable recovering from 3rd degree steam burns. Think about it... 3rd degree STEAM BURNS. God. Go read the comments on that post, if you can bear it. Some are from family members, fellow crew, and friends of the injured. It's heartbreaking. Soldier's Angels are on the scene with these men at Brooke in San Antonio, and are working to get Valour-IT laptops to them, but with 30-70% burns, these guys have a LONG recovery ahead of them.

Lex brought us the story of Navy Medic Chris Walsh, who, as the headline reads, put down his weapon and helped save a baby's life. Mariam was born with a rare condition which caused her bladder to form OUTSIDE her abdomen. Chris and the Marines he was stationed with resolved to get Mariam back to the United States to get the life-saving surgery she needed. Three months later, Walsh was dead, along with two other men in the vehicle they were riding in together. The rest of the unit decided, right then and there, they couldn't give up on Chris's dream to get Mariam to the US. They succeeded.... and Chris's mom was there to see this little brown-eyed baby girl get her life-saving surgery.
"This,” Mariam's great-randfather said, “was an act of God. God sent Chris. To Mariam. So she will live.” Chris's mom, Maureen Walsh, agrees. “There were too many coincidences for it to be coincidence,” she said. “Chris was waiting his whole life for something like this.”


Then there's the story of Bryan Fluharty and his fight to get custody of his four children. While deployed, he finds out his wife is possibly abusing the children, and he can't do a damn thing about it because he's told that "the wife is the custodial parent.... she is here". He gives up his 8-year military career to be a better father and tries to get custody, but somehow Louisiana courts grant full custody to the wife without even so much as a hearing. His daughter even wrote a letter offering up her dad's Purple Heart to anyone who can help them. Over a year later, Bryan is finally granted custody of the kids, and lands a job at the US Postal Service. BUT. He has to appear in court in Louisiana (he now lives in Ohio) within the first 90 days of working for the USPS. They FIRED HIM. For a MANDATORY court appearance. WEEKS before Christmas.
What can you do to help Bryan? Write a letter to the USPS and send it to V.O.I.C.E.S., Fluharty Family Support Benefit Fund, P.O. BOX 245, Newton Falls, Ohio 44444-0245. Tell the USPS exactly how you feel about Bryan being fired over a mandatory court appearance. You can also order Amazon, KB Toys, Macy's, or Target gift cards through AnySoldier, and sign it "AnySoldier Santas". Just make sure you click to the merchant you want through the AnySoldier page so that they get credit for the sale. (how's that for a win-win situation? You get to help anysoldier AND the Fluharty's, all at the same time!)

There are so many more bad stories out there today... I'm just so tired of reading them, and writing about them. We need some "good" today, don't you think?

One more reason I'm glad I don't live in a Muslim country

Bulo Burto, Somalia officials have issued a beheading edict for anyone caught not praying 5 times a day. Bulo Burto is located about 125 miles NW of Mogadishu. The chairman of the town's Islamic court, Sheik Hussein Barre Rage, has also declared that public places like shops and tea houses should be closed during prayer time, and that no one should be on the streets.

Yeah.
Religion of Peace... indeed.

USS Intrepid Underway!

The USS Intrepid is a Mud Puppy no more... after months of preparation and one failed attempt to move the carrier, the Intrepid is *FINALLY* on it's way to New Jersey for restoration.

I've been on the Intrepid twice, including the last day she was open to the public prior to final preparations for this move. It's an amazing experience to be aboard a carrier. Walking the deck, imagining what it was like during war, seeing the aircraft and weapons up close and personal... it's a very emotional experience. During the last two years of WWII, the Intrepid survived 5 kamikazee attacks and lost nearly 300 Sailors.

When the Intrepid is returned to it's New York home, it will sport 2 years and $60 million dollars worth of restoration and repair. I cannot WAIT to walk her deck again.

Many thanks and congratulations to the folks who finally got her underway today.

This Is Your War II

R2A is back.
Post-deployment life hasn't been kind to him. Not.At.All.
I've missed you, Michael. I'm glad to see you're writing again, and hopefully, that writing will help you heal. I hope you know that this isn't just *your* war, Michael... we're listening, and we never stopped thinking about you.

Space-aged Gecko Feet

You know what would be uber-kewl? Having Gecko feet. Gecko's can climb near 'bout anything, lickity-split, due to the unique hairs on the bottom of their feet. They can even climb polished glass surfaces and hang upside-down on ceilings.
Well... thanks to some British researchers, now you can!

A team at British aerospace and defense company, BAE Systems Advanced Technology Center has created what they are calling "Synthetic Gecko". It's a reusable super-strong adhesive that leaves no residue, and only becomes sticky when force is applied. You could run your finger over it, no problem... and then use a square of it, pressed to the ceiling, to hang up a small family car. Damn. Other possible uses include medical applications- they're playing with the idea of using it to adhere skin graphs. How cool is that!!

Science is incredible, isn't it?