Laughter is the best medicine

Gotta love a President with a sense of humor....
"A year ago my approval rating was in the 30s, my nominee for the Supreme Court had just withdrawn, and my vice president had shot someone," President Bush said Wednesday night during the annual gathering.

"Ah," he said, "those were the good ol' days."

*SNORT*

He also thanked "Sen. Webb for providing security."

*SNORT SNORT*

That was followed up by possible memoir titles such as " ow W. Got His Groove Back," "Who Moved My Presidency?" and "Tuesdays with Cheney", adding that he would like them to be fun and creative, " maybe a pop-up book".

*SNORT SNORT SNORT*

Ahhhh... life is so much better when you can laugh.

Withdrawal Date = Surrender Date

Sen. McCain and I haven't been getting along very well over the past couple of years. Ever since the whole McCain-Feingold thing, I've been at odds with him. (not that he would know or care, of course, since I'm not on his short-list of advisors. heh.)

HOWEVER.

He redeemed himself a bit calling last week's passing of the House bill setting a surrender timeline for the Iraq war the "most shameful that I have seen in the 24 years I have been in Congress," and describing Democrats as "more interested in guided tours of the Capitol building than caring for American military men and women that are on their tours overseas." (SOURCE)

Yesterday, the bill made it through the Senate. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had this to say about setting a surrender date:
"Setting a date for withdrawal is like sending a memo to our enemies that tells them to rest, refit and re-plan until the day we leave," he said. "It's a memo to our friends, too, telling them we plan to walk away and leave them on their own, regardless of what we leave behind."

JESUS CHRIST, PEOPLE.... STAND UP AND PAY ATTENTION HERE.

WITHDRAWAL DATE = SURRENDER DATE

WHEN WILL THE FUCKING DEM'S GET THAT?!???!???!!! MY GOD... EVEN CHILDREN GRASP THE CONCEPT OF "IF I WAIT UNTIL MOMMY'S IN THE SHOWER TO GET INTO THE CANDY, SHE'LL NEVER KNOW!"
(of course, *MY* children don't get away with this because *I* am not that stupid, lol)

But seriously. Setting a 3/08 withdrawal date is only telling the insurgents that they have a year to beef up their troops, weapons cache, and develop a new strategy for taking over Iraq. You CANNOT announce something like that and NOT expect them to take full advantage of it. Did we really elect such STUPID people to Congress?

And so it begins.

What begins, you ask?

The war with Iran, I say.

Fifteen British Marines on patrol in the Persian Gulf have been "seized" by the Iranian navy, the British Ministry of Defense said.

The Marines were "engaged in routine boarding operations of merchant shipping in Iraqi territorial waters," the ministry said in a statement on Friday.

A U.S. military official who monitors the region told CNN the Marines stopped an Iranian ship suspected of smuggling automobiles, and boarded it for an inspection.

The British ministry's statement said the Marines "completed a successful inspection of a merchant ship when they and their two boats were surrounded and escorted by Iranian vessels into Iranian territorial waters."

Me thinks Blair and Bush are about to have a sit-down about executing Iran, Stage 1. Yes, executing... because you damn well know that the planning has already been done. The scenarios have been put on paper, and most likely ran through computer models as well. If these men aren't released before the weekend is over... something bad is gonna happen in Iran. Something VERY bad.

I do have to wonder though- why were they within Iranian territorial waters? Why not wait until they were in international waters, and then board the ship. Is this a problem with the definition of "territorial waters", or are the Iranians claiming that the British Marines "invaded" when they boarded a ship (suspected of smuggling, I might add) within their borders?

Either way, I still say that something VERY bad will come of this if the Marines aren't released by the end of the weekend.

*********UPDATE*************

FOX is now reporting that the incident occurred in disputed territory:
The seizure of the British vessels, a pair of rigid inflatable boats known as RIBs, took place in long-disputed waters just outside of the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab waterway that divides Iraq from Iran, Aandahl said. A 1975 treaty gave the waters to Iraq and U.S. and British ships commonly operate there, but Aandahl said Iran disputes Iraq's jurisdiction over the waters.

Apparently the Marines were in IRAQI territorial waters, which would give Britian every right to be there at this time.
Again, I say to you... this is VERY bad.

Peaceniks?

Leta, Joan, Gunn, MP, Mary and John all got to experience the "peace" march in DC this weekend. They came armed with coffee and the much-sought-after "spit guards", and for good reason. Peaceniks are anything but peaceful, in case you haven't noticed.

US Rep. Mike Rogers found out the hard way that "anti-war" doesn't mean "peace" today when his Lansing, Michigan office was vandalized. Red paint was sprayed over the windows and walls, "no more deaths" was written in red paint on the sidewalk, the front doors of the building were glued shut, and security cameras were destroyed. A sign saying "Rogers: There is blood on your hands" was taped on a window.

Anyone who has shown up at Walter Reed on Friday nights has experienced Code Pink(o) and their "peaceful" protest of the war.

Anyone who has seen Phred Phelps at a military funeral has more than experienced their "peaceful" protests.

I'm thinking that "peaceniks" need to be renamed something like "shitbags". Yeah. That'll do.

Ohnosecond

Ohnosecond: that very short moment in time during which you realize that you have pressed the wrong key and deleted hours, days, or weeks of work.

Kinda like the moment when the Alaska Dept of Revenue computer geek accidently reformatted the hard drive AND backup drive with information regarding the claimants to the state's $38 BILLION oil fund.

Heh.

oops..... my bad.

Teddy Bear

You are Teddy Roosevelt!

Biography:
Teddy Roosevelt was one of the most dramatic figures in American history. He was both an accomplished civilian and military leader. He captured the nation's imagination by leading the "Rough Riders" in the Spanish American war. As assistant secretary of the Navy under President William McKinley, Roosevelt vigorously worked toward a two-ocean Navy. As President, he was known for advocating environmental conservation, pro-labor policies, and expansionism.

Leadership Attributes:
Teddy Roosevelt was a man of action and preferred to lead from the front. He stunned the country when he resigned his powerful and comfortable position as assistant secretary of the Navy to establish and lead the Rough Riders in the Spanish American War. He achieved lasting fame by leading his regiment in a bold charge up Kettle Hill in the Battle of Santiago. Personally, he was upbeat and dominant. As President, he was a skilled diplomat, negotiating many issues favorable to the U.S., including Alaska's boundary with Canada. He even helped bring an end to the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-1905, for which he received the Nobel Peace Prize.


oooohhhh I LIKE IT!
h/t to John, who came up as *cough hack* Wes Clark.

Burqa, Burqa, Mohammed, Jihad.....

(yes, I know the song is Durka, Durka.... but I changed it in honor of this story)
KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan soldiers caught a senior Taliban commander at a checkpoint who was wearing a burqa, while NATO forces on Wednesday fought Taliban militants in the second day of the alliance's largest-ever offensive in Afghanistan.

Mullah Mahmood, who is accused of helping the Taliban detonate suicide bombs, was caught Tuesday in Kandahar province while wearing the all-encompassing Islamic veil worn here by women, NATO said.

"Alert (Afghan) soldiers at this checkpoint spotted the oddity and quickly arrested him," NATO said.

This shows me that:
* The Afghan Army is committed to ridding their country of the Taliban
* Training led by US CJTF members is working
* There's a good reason we don't allow burqa-clad people to escape scrutiny
* Taliban extremist are being reduced to pussified terrorists, dressed in women's clothing, fleeing the country they are trying to take over
* Middle Eastern countries are more than capable of taking care of themselves, given the right training, equipment, and reinforcements


It also shows me that, as Americans, we have a LOT to be proud of when referring to the job our military is doing in the Middle East. Give a man a fish, and he'll eat. Teach a man to fish, and he'll never go hungry. Same principle applies here- Rid a country of terrorists, and the citizens can rest easy. Teach a country to defend itself against terrorists, and the citizens never go without a good night's sleep again.
Well done!

Magnet therapy taken a wee bit too far....

I've heard about the supposed healing affects of magnets on the body, but I can't say that I've ever heard you are supposed to wire the magnet and stick it up your butt....
However, that's exactly what an Iraqi national is trying to convince California authorities of after he tried to board a plane in Los Angeles with a series of wires on his body, attached to a magnet stuck up his ass (or "body cavity" as the article calls it).

Hmmmmmmmm.

The plane left without him (geee.... YA THINK?), but then diverted to Las Vegas so his luggage could be removed. Nothing suspicious was found in his luggage, BUTT still, what they found in HIM was more than a tad strange, ya know?

mmmm.... Candy.......

He's a sweet-talkin' sugar-coated Candy Man....
purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Deep Thoughts

John posted the story of a man, Lt. Eric Lomax, who was repeatedly beaten and tortured by a Japanese interrogator today. The link was emailed to him by Jim. I read the story in absolute horror, and then wrote the following comment:

My mind cannot wrap around the concept of inflicting so much pain and torture upon another human being, and for what? A radio? I know that despicable people throughout time have studied how much abuse a human body can take before dying, but the mental anguish suffered by the survivors is just as real and even more devastating.

I am equally amazed by our ability to forgive those who trespass against us, and I firmly believe this can be done only with the help of God. How else could we muster the strength to face, and forgive, anyone who has inflicted so much pain upon our lives? I don't think of myself as a deeply religious person- I can't quote the bible nor can I forgive myself as my Father has forgiven me... but I hope that someday I will, just as Nagase was eventually able to.

My mind just cannot fathom the dedication, courage, faith, and strength it took to inflict OR endure such beatings.

You really need to go read that story, and learn a very difficult lesson in human forgiveness. Follow the link back to John's site, because I'm sure he'll get more comments on this story than I will- comments that also need to be read.

If I can't have you.... no one can

What drives people to this state of mind? The whole "if I can't have you, no one can" mentality has caused the tragic deaths of former and current spouses, and even more tragically, children, throughout time. People so devastated by the thought of continuing their lives without someone they love, whether it a spouse or a child, drives them to kill. These so-called crimes of passion have devasting results, sometimes resulting in the death of children. Remember Susan Smith, who drove her young sons into a lake, still belted in their carseats, drowning them as she watched from the shore?

Apparently, it's happened again in Indiana. A 47 year-old man, Eric Johnson, had been on a trip with his 8 year-old daughter, Emily. Johnson, a pilot, seemingly ended the trip by crashing his plane into his former in-laws house, killing both himself and Emily.

What a state of mind, to feel your best option to resolve your future heartache, is to kill someone you love so dearly. What a state of mind, to know your father, whom you trust and adore, is purposely crashing his plane into Grandma's house- with you in it. How it must feel to know your ex-husband resorted to such dramatic lenghts to keep your daughter from you. I know how it feels to be disliked by in-laws, but never, ever, EVER would I consider harming them. It's just unthinkable.

What a tragedy.

I am yo chocolate!

Your chocolate cake, that is!

You Are a Chocolate Cake

Fun, comforting, and friendly. You are a true classic, and while you're not super cutting edge, you're high quality. People love your company - and have even been known to get addicted to you.

What Kind of Cake Are You?

So what are you?

Remember me... and tell me you love me

Last night Bridget, her mom, and the Patriot Guard welcomed home a fallen soldier from Kansas. Today, she got this from a Patriot Guard member who was there. She passed it along to me and some others with a "tissue alert". I'm passing it onto you with a "BOX of tissues alert".


Be proud of me.
Support me.
Be there when I get home.
Love me.
And above all.... Remember me.
Isn't that what we all want? Isn't that the the least we owe the men and women who have given so much for our country, and in some cases, gave all for our country? I think so.