Torture?

“If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime - Pol Pot or others - that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case.” -- Dick Durbin

This, from AOL News, jumped out at me this morning:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (Nov. 28) - A U.S. citizen has been reported missing in Iraq, a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman said Monday.
The name of the civilian, who was among a group believed to be peace activists kidnapped on Saturday, was not immediately released.
U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Elizabeth Colton said Monday that an American had been reported missing.
On Sunday, a Canadian Parliament official said that four humanitarian workers, including two Canadians, had been kidnapped. A Briton was also confirmed missing by British officials.
Dan McTeague, parliamentary secretary for Canadians abroad, said the incident happened on Saturday, but refused to name the organization the two Canadians worked for or the location where they were kidnapped.
He said he wouldn't release those details in order to protect the safety of the individuals involved. McTeague said the organization has not requested any assistance at this time.
Briton Norman Kember was among the four, the British government said Sunday. His wife said he was representing a number of groups in the country and was a longtime peace activist.

Most likely, in a few days we will be hearing the awful news that these 4 humanitarians have been beheaded by their captors. I don’t know if they are Liberals or Conservatives or a combination of both ideologies. But it doesn’t seem to matter to the terrorists anyway. All people, all ideologies are their targets. Even their own people. If they kidnap peace activists, do you think they will realize they have kidnapped peace lovers and just let them go unharmed? After all, they wouldn’t kill anyone that doesn’t want to kill them, would they?

And the Left wing Liberal Peaceniks are screaming that we should treat terrorists prisoners with respect and kindness, because we are supposed to be “civilized people.” Oh I know that if we torture prisoners, we are lowering ourselves to their level and it would damage our reputation in the world. So what? I don’t care what other countries think of us. Why should anyone care? Other countries don’t seem to be concerned with what we think of them. France comes to mind.

Arizona Senator John McCain (Independent Republocrat, whose political affiliation depends on whoever he is trying to procure votes from at the time) has introduced legislation that prohibits us (meaning the United States armed forces and/or CIA, FBI, and other agencies) from using any forms of torture to coerce confessions from prisoners of war. He says it doesn’t work.

McCain himself was tortured for 5 years in a Vietnamese prisoner of war prison, so he must know what he is talking about, right?

Maybe not. According to some commentators on my own blog, personal experience never trumps book learning. One has said, “Your own story about your own personal experience = anecdote. In other words, not evidence. Not a full picture. Not the whole truth. If you want your views to be taken seriously, you need to educate yourself about the whole subject, not imagine yourself an expert after a simple personal experience”

Nick Berg was unavailable for comment.

Maybe we need to tell John McCain that his 5 year long torture experience is just an anecdote. He is wrong, of course. Just today, I heard of one particular CIA operative that was tortured and gave up all the information he knew. He compromised the CIA’s entire operation in one country and then they killed him anyway. So McCain didn’t crack. It doesn’t mean no one would.

Perhaps we should consult textbooks on torture techniques to decide if torture works or when it is acceptable. Lets also not forget to call together round table discussions and debates to ascertain whether torture is indeed a workable solution or not. Of course, if we get all the participants from any of our institutions of higher learning, we will be hard pressed to find someone to represent the point of view that torture works.

I would say that after all the debates and discussions are completed and we arrive at some sort of conclusion on whether we should torture or not, the four humanitarians mentioned above will have been long dead, and many others not as yet captured at this time, will, too.

Meanwhile, the terrorists will be still kidnapping innocent civilians from all nations, and all walks of life, and embracing all ideologies, and will still be beheading them in the name of Allah and Usama, and the “religion of peace“.

I have heard, although I know of no way it could possibly be proven, that the human head retains life for as much as a full minute after being removed from the body. If that is true, do you suppose it also thinks, and feels, and sees?

If a “left wing peace-nik” loses his head, will he have time to change his mind about whether torture is an effective information gathering technique? Will he have time to change his mind about terrorists and their “fight for freedom“? What if that peace-nik is Cindy Sheehan? Or Barbra Streisand? Babs is a Jew. I bet that would carry some weight with the terrorists.

Will he sympathize with the plight of the poor misunderstood Muslim freedom fighters who simply want America out of Iraq as he sees his head being lifted clear of his torso and placed gently on his back so the cameras can get a close-up? Or will he continue to believe that negotiation is the way to world peace as the blackness envelopes him, giving way to the proverbial tunnel leading to the everlasting light of Heaven?

When he at last opens new eyes and finds himself on his knees before the Creator of the Universe and understands that he is being judged according to his works and his belief or disbelief in that same Creator (I am not making a judgment here, simply stating what the Bible tells us that we all will be judged), will he still believe that we were wrong to invade Iraq and attempt to rescue all those other innocents who also lost their lives to a ruthless dictator? Do you think it will matter, at that point, whether we were lied to or simply misled into supporting an unjust war?

Personally, I am tired of our country’s politically correctness and coddling of these enemy combatants.

I say if it takes torture to find, capture, or kill bin Laden and his cohorts, and any others that kidnap and kill innocent civilians, then lets do it, and do it quickly, before many more innocent civilians are slaughtered.

I believe that only a taste of their own medicine will make them finally sit up and take notice that we will not allow them to continue to run roughshod on the rest of the world. I do not care if it makes some people believe that we have lowered ourselves to their inhuman level. Perhaps lowering ourselves to their level is what it will take to stop the terrorism.

Torture them. Kill them. Behead them. Whatever it takes. But let’s put an end to this madness before it’s too late.

Busy Weekend

It's been unusually busy the last few days around here. I haven't had a lot of opportunity to keep up on what's happening in the news, let alone in the blogosphere. Apparently my son not only got Thanksgiving and the next day off from school, but he has today off, too!

I have fallen woefully short of my goal to write 50,000 words by November 30, too. I will not make it. I am currently stalled at 23,600 thereabouts.

While some people dread the advent of "Empty nest syndrome", I can't wait.

I did have an enjoyable Saturday, though. My son has been visiting a website lately which includes a forum on skateboarding, where skateboarding enthusiasts can post their comments about all kinds of skateboard subjects, and even subjects that have nothing to do with skateboarding. Through the site, he met a new skateboarding friend who lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland, which is near here but closer to Washington DC.

Saturday, he made plans with his friend to meet at a skatepark in Arlington, Virginia. These plans could not be finalized without getting permission from me, the mode of transportation. Ordinarily, I would have refused to drive that far just so he could skateboard, but it happens that my friend, Ursarodinia, (her internet non de plume) is staying in Waldorf, MD, recuperating from an auto accident while traversing the country on her own "See America" tour. So, I took advantage of the trip to the Arlington skatepark to travel the additional 33 miles to visit her.

I had my set of Mapquest directions all printed out to aid me in my journey, so predictably, I got lost. (Mapquest has a habit of directing you onto streets that have different names on the signs) But eventually, using my own acute sense of direction and no small amount of ingenuity ( I looked at a map.) I eventually found the skatepark. My son had much less trouble finding his online friend. They were skating together in a matter of less than a minute after we arrived.

Then, after making sure he was in good hands, and with my trusty mapquest directions in hand, I then proceeded to Waldorf, MD to visit "Ursa", as I call her. Naturally, I exited highway I-395 about one exit early and found myself on the famous thoroughfare known as Independence Avenue. Soon I found myself driving along with massive stone buildings on either side of me with provocative names like "The U.S. Treasury", "The Smithsonian Institution", and "The National Holocaust Museum", etc.

Arriving at the intersection of Independence Ave, and Capitol Blvd, I produced my cell phone to call and let Ursa know that I may never find my way out of DC without a map. She seemed quite impressed when I mentioned that I could plainly see the US Capitol building on my left.

I realized at that time that all I had to do to get out of DC was to follow Capitol Blvd until I found the next place on my directions. The only problem was, the DC police had that street and most of the others heading south from Independence Ave barricaded, so I continued down Independence until I finally had a chance to turn and backtrack a couple of blocks further south. Whew!

Anyway, I found my way to where Ursa was hibernating (Latin scholars, appreciate the humor here), and Her and I had a nice visit. We drove a few blocks to Subway and had sandwiches, I let her take my picture, we conversed for an hour or two, then I had to return to the skatepark and retrieve my son.

I think I should add here, that following mapquest directions in reverse is almost impossible. I had to stop three times to ask directions before I found the skatepark again, only to find I had neglected to leave my son any refreshment or money to get any while I was gone. I was severely chastised for that, which was absolutely deserved.

Ursa and I have a tentative date to visit the Washington DC sites when she recovers more fully from her injuries. Right now, she can't do too much due to severely bruised ribs. Both of us want to visit the monuments and memorials and, if we have time, the Smithsonian.

My son wants to return to that skatepark next week.

I don't know if I want to make that trip again that soon, after all, I don't have the luxury of sleeping all the way there and back.

Go here to see what's happening in the news. Yeah. What she said.

Guest Post Today

I have things to do today and I had an idea for a blogpost today but the idea has removed itself from my mind. Totally. So I am going to feature a guest blogger today.

OK, He's not really a guest blogger. I stole this off his web site. Anyway, here's Larry the Cable guy:

GIT-R-DONE! Well here we are headed to Thanksgiving about to head to that stretch drive of Christmas and once again the anti-Christmas assholes are trying to ban "Merry Christmas". Lets see, it's a holiday about the birth of Christ but yet were not supposed to mention Christ! That makes as much sense as Michael Moore test driving a Mini Cooper! Ya know the Christian religion only gets what, two holidays a year? Christmas and Easter, three if ya count the Daytona 500, and now these PC assholes want to ban "Merry Christmas"! I say this year "Merry Christmas" your ass off as loud as ya can just to piss these pathetic people off! This pisses me off! I'm under more stress than the fat Dixie Chick's control top panties!

My brother however just had some good news this season. Budweiser just sent him a lifetime achievment award and Cracker Barrel just inducted him into the Cracker Barrel wall of bad checks! We're so damn proud! Here's something that gets me as irritated as Star Jones getting mistaken by photographers as ex Chicago Bear William "Refrigerator" Perry. I keep seeing these Hickory Farms baskets in stores that you can buy as gifts. What kinda gift is that? I guess nothing says "Happy Birthday Jesus" like a 2 foot meat stick and some spicy mustard! This world is nuttier than squirrel poop! Speaking of fecies, can you believe how long all those riots in France lasted? Incredible! But I guess when ya don't shower a lot and there's a lot of body odor 24 hours a day then I suppose tear gas aint much of a repelant for anybody. I heard that the only thing that made the idiots stop rioting and head for safety was when the French police took their boots off! (That's funny I and don't care who ya are!) Well I have some bad news. I think my nephew is having sex with his teacher. I've never actually seen anything happen but my sister told me that he came home 2 days in a row with 3 gold stars on his nuts! I have no idea what that means but that just doesn't seem on the up and up.

Well it's time to get into the updates. I hope all my fans have a great Thanksgiving and Christmas season. If you're a Corona beer drinker you may wanna think twice about drinking it over the holidays. Ever since the hurricane went through Mexico, Corona beer is now up to $3 a barrel. Speaking of hurricanes, my Grandma's gas problem is getting worse. Last night the National Weather Service has upgraded her farts to a category 5 so I have to go over and tape up her windows up this weekend! I really am starting to feel sorry for FEMA. First of all, thank you to all my fans this year for coming to my shows. I have by far the best fans ever and not a day goes by that I don't thank you and appreciate your sense of humor and your support. My tour ends on the 10th of December at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas at the Orleans so I hope ya make it out to the rodeo and my show!! It's almost as much fun as curing the bird flu with BB guns and bird feeders!

My book is out and thanks to those of you who picked it up. It reached #26 on the New York Times best seller list. If you don't have it, think about picking it up, I think you'll enjoy it. Also, look for the Christmas CD again this year as fans have been asking for it. It's a collection of goofy Christmas songs and stories that was originally released in 1993. It's something that you fans had requested from all those years when I called radio stations. It's a must for fans that have been with me from early on and want to relive the good ole days.

For the fans of Blue Collar TV, that DVD is in stores now and I thank all our fans for making that show a success. My movie Larry The Cable Guy - Health Inspector will be released on March 31st and I promise you'll laugh your ass off. Also coming up in June of 2006, don't miss me as the tow truck "Mater" in the Disney/Pixar film Cars. This is by far the coolest thing I've ever done and I know for a fact this will be Pixar's biggest movie yet. It wont be bigger than "Stroker Ace" but then again, what is?

If your around a TV on December 6th I'll be on the Billboard Music Awards on Fox and then on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on December 9th. All these of course depend on my parol officer. My new CD "The Right to Bare Arms" is just kickin' ass and if ya aint got it then you're a communist.

Well that's it! Ya'll have a great Thanksgiving and Christmas, That's right, I said Christmas as in the birth of Christ, so kiss my ass. Thanks again to all my fans for all your support this year and I love ya'll to death. Remember to always speak your mind and piss off a political corrector. Everyday you can piss off a PC asshole is a good day. Happy hunting season, Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!

GIT-R-DONE!!!

Larry The Cable Guy

Black Friday

"Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York" -- Richard III Act I Scene I(William Shakespeare)

It's the day after Thanksgiving, and it's cold here in Clear Spring. Extremely cold. Nestled in this valley known as Blair's Valley, where Clear Spring is, the wind rushes from north to south between the two mountain ranges with the force of a ramjet engine, making it seem much colder than it is, and this little apartment has less than adequate insulation.

It's also my ex-wife's birthday. I don't know where she is or I'd send her a card.

It lends new meaning to the term, Black Friday. If it gets much colder than it is now, my son and I will literally freeze to death indoors. I have the heat turned up as far as it will go, and it's still frigid in here. I just turned on the oven for extra heat. It looks like I will be using part of my Christmas money to buy a space heater.

Anyway, how was everyone's Thanksgiving?

I did something this year I'd never done before and actually roasted a turkey in the indoor oven. Up until this year I always barbequed one outdoors in my wood smoker. It came out very good. I used my homemade poultry barbeque rub to season it and it came out much better than I had expected.

I am very good at barbeque but I wasn't sure how to roast a turkey indoors so I am pleased with the result. The only thing that was unexpected was how long it took to cook all the way through. The instructions for roasting a turkey that I got off the internet said for the size of turkey I was doing, it would take 3-3 1/2 hours. It only took 1 1/2. But it got done. I know. When I poked it with a fork the juice that came pouring out was clear, a solid indication that the bird is done.

It looked something like this:

Here is the recipe for my famous "yardbird and hog" rub:

1/2 pound light brown sugar (dried)*
2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon onion salt
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 tablespoon chili seasoning (I used chili powder)
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
1 tablespoon black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and blend well. Sift and blend well. Store in an airtight container in a cool dark place. Yields about 1 1/2 cups.

*To dry brown sugar, place on a sheet pan and let sit for 2 to 3 hours. Stir every hour. Sift out lumps.

I sprinkled the bird liberally (yes, I know, It's the only thing liberal about me) with my famous rub, and placed it in an open pan in about an inch of water, and roasted at 325 degrees. It came out both flavorful and moist.

Now I have to go to work, and after that, SHOPPING!

Note: I am disabling moderate comments. Because I miss Bruiser and Toad! Although I didn't have to delete anyone's comments, I think moderation may have intimidated some from making comments for fear that I might not have allowed them. Besides I don't have time to sit here and check my blog all day. And it's kind of fun to read the silly ones.

Thanksgiving Day

"I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens." --Abraham Lincoln



On this day of Thanksgiving, let us not forget to Whom our thanks belong.

A few years ago, I saw an episode of the now defunct Roseanne Barr television program that had Thanksgiving Day as it's theme. In it, Roseanne traveled back in time, via a dream sequence, to visit the first Thanksgiving.

When she learned first hand of the Pilgrim's lifestyle, she immediately began the task of bringing the Pilgrims into the 20th century by educatiing them on important matters such as modern feminism and a more modern attitude about sex. The program was so utterly disgusting I could not finish watching.

I do remember one line though. It haunts me to this day: "Why would you want to give thanks to some old guy sitting up in Heaven somewhere damning everybody?"

In more recent times, I picked up my son's American history textbook and read that Thanksgiving Day is a day set aside for giving thanks.

It did not say to Whom.

This is what Thanksgiving has become for many Americans. It is no longer a day in which we set aside some part of our busy day to reflect on all the things God gave us for which we are thankful.

In America, we have so much to be thankful for. For the most part, even the poorest among us have a roof over our heads, and shoes for our feet, and food in our bellies.

How many other countries around the world can say that? We are truly blessed.

But how long can we remain the most fortunate country on earth? How long will God continue to bless us when we, as a nation, refuse to acknowledge His sovereignty? Is there a limit to God's mercy? And if there is, aren't we coming dangerously close to experiencing God's judgement?

God said, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

On this National Day of Thanksgiving, take a few minutes to reflect and ponder on God's infinite grace and mercy, and yes, give thanks.

To God.

And give thanks to our soldiers who are fighting to keep us free, also.

Signs The Apocalypse Is Upon Us

Former president Bill Clinton says he's lost his taste for showdowns.

Cindy Sheehan has a book coming out today.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that an immediate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq would be "a big mistake".

A representative of the animal rights group, PETA, says eating fish "rots the brain."

David Ludwig has had the charge of kidnapping dropped because his girlfriend has admitted that she went with him voluntarily after he killed her parents.

That Was The President

"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." --John F. Kennedy

42 years ago today, I was sitting in my 7th grade math class when the intercom crackled to life. T.R. Kennedy, our principle, who coincidently, was a distant relative to the President, was announcing to the school that the President of the United States had been shot. He died later that day. John F Kennedy was 46.



Here is a song written about that day:

That Was the President, that Was the Man
(Phil Ochs)

The bullets of the false revenge have struck us once again,
As the angry seas have struck upon the sand,
And it seems as though a friendless world has lost itself a friend,
That was the president, and that was the man.

I still can see him smiling there and waving to the crowd,
As he drove through the music of the band,
And never even knowing no more time would be allowed,
Not for the president, and not for the man.

Here's a memory to share, here's a memory to save,
Of the sudden early ending of command,
Yet a part of you, a part of me is buried in his grave,
That was the president, and that was the man.

Everything he might've done and all he could've been,
Was proven by the troubled traitor's hand,
For what other death could wound the hearts of so many men,
That was the president, and that was the man.

The glory that was Lincoln's never died when he was slain,
It's been carried over time and time again,
And to the list of honor you may list another name,
That was the president, and that was the man.

Why I Am Stupid

"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." --Henry David Thoreau

Recently, I inserted my own humble comments into the comment thread on another blog and found myself in the uncomfortable position of being a minority of one with my perspective on the subject.

I maintain that personal experience is more valuable than book learning in assessing the pros and cons of our present welfare system. In a nutshell, my opinion is that welfare unintentionally inhibits the ability of the poor to improve their lot in life by creating a dependency on the government.

It was implied that I am ignorant and possibly just plain stupid because, as I understand it, I have not received a degree in sociology or political science or journalism, or economics.

I spent a very short amount of time on welfare many years ago, and I lived for 5 years in public housing, more commonly known as "the projects".

I was told that in spite of personal experience, I know nothing about the result of the social experiment known as welfare. Apparently, one has to have spent endless hours in a classroom studying the social patterns of those less fortunate than ourselves to fully understand that 2nd and 3rd generation welfare recipients do not really sit in their front yards getting fatter, while popping out babies one after the other, dealing crack, selling their food stamps to buy more crack, praising the expansive and expensive government programs that supply those $300.00 monthly cash benefits and food stamps with one face while complaining that Uncle Sam owes them even more with the other.

My former neighbor, Yolanda, did exactly those same things, and she was the rule, not the exception. She had lived in that same apartment in the projects for years before I moved in, and is probably still there, if she hasn't died from a stroke or a massive coronary due to her sedentary lifestyle. She has absolutely no ambition or desire to rise above the squalor. And why should she? Why work for something that is handed to you without any expectations of payback or accountability?

I'm not sure Sociology 101 (or even 202, or 303, etc) can really be taught in a classroom. I still believe that actual experience within the failed system itself gives a more accurate picture of the true results of throwing money at the problem of poverty in America.

But I don't know. I didn't take Sociology in college. I didn't even finish College. I guess that makes me stupid and ignorant.

More Moonbattery

"Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." Matthew 7:20

I really don't have time to post a comment today, but I was just thinking about how the Liberals say they support the troops, and it made me check out a few Liberal blogs, specifically the posts made on November 11th, Veterans Day. I figure if they really do support the troops, as they say, there should be some very moving tributes to our veterans posted on them.

What a surprise! None of them had tributes to veterans. Most of them were rants expressing their hatred of George W Bush, although one did mention Veterans Day, in a rant about how Bush has so badly treated veterans.

I don't know. Maybe they just honor the veterans in some special way only Liberals can appreciate.

I'll leave my readers to draw their own conclusions.

Here is another "troop supporting" Liberal's response to a college freshman who had innocently invited him to her campus event to hear from Iraq War hero Lt. Col. Scott Rutter.

The freshman was new student Rebecca Beach, and she was trying to drum up a bit of interest in her event which would feature the War On Terror vet. Here is the entire response she received from John Daly, English prof.:

November 13, 2005

Dear Rebecca:

I am asking my students to boycott your event. I am also going to ask others to boycott it. Your literature and signs in the entrance lobby look like fascist propaganda and is extremely offensive. Your main poster "Communism killed 100,000,000" is not only untrue, but ignores the fact that CAPITALISM has killed many more and the evidence for that can be seen in the daily news papers. The U.S. government can fly to dominate the people of Iraq in 12 hours, yet it took them five days to assist the people devastated by huricane Katrina. Racism and profits were key to their priorities. Exxon, by the way, made $9 Billion in profits this last quarter--their highest proft margin ever. Thanks to the students of WCCC and other poor and working class people who are recruited to fight and die for EXXON and other corporations who earning megaprofits from their imperialist plunders. If you want to count the number of deaths based on political systems, you can begin with the more than a million children who have died in Iraq from U.S.-imposed sanctions and war. Or the million African American people who died from lack of access to healthcare in the US over the last 10 years.

I will continue to expose your right-wing, anti-people politics until groups like your won't dare show their face on a college campus. Real freedom will come when soldiers in Iraq turn their guns on their superiors and fight for just causes and for people's needs--such freedom fighters can be counted throughout American history and they certainly will be counted again. (emphasis mine)

Prof. John Daly

Yeah, Liberals are real compassionate folks, aren't they?

Note: I've added comment moderation. If your comments don't show up right away it is because I have to approve them before they post. I regret having to do this but recent comments have been meaner and ruder than usual and I am tired of putting up with them.

Excerpt from "A Cutting Wind"

Tech suggested I post an excerpt from the novel I am attempting to write for NaNoWroMo, so here it is. Keep in mind (please) that I am not a writer, and never have been, but I have often considered what life in our society would be like if trends of politically correctness continue at the current pace. This is the premise.

Be kind:

It was during this period of joblessness that John had taken to exploring the condemned, dangerously damaged buildings in and around the area in which he lived. The neighborhood was once one of the finest, high rent areas in the country, until the terror attacks of 2010 reduced the majority of the buildings in downtown Manhattan to rubble, and the rest rendered uninhabitable. Most of the residents were killed instantly, and most of the ones who weren't died soon after from the effects of radiation poisoning. Consequently, there was no one to claim the wealth of treasures left behind in the chaos. Treasures that included now worthless cash (worthless because when the new government was created the currency had been changed to pesos.), and jewelry, although most of the jewelry had long since been looted before John ever considered exploring.

Probably some of the most important treasures, in John's opinion, were hundreds of books. Books were still around after the war, but were in ever increasing short supply. These days, books were written and stored electronically, not printed on paper and pulp. Inside these condemned buildings were mounds of books, of all kinds, and John became a voracious reader. He would spend hours, literally, sitting on a pile of ruined, smelly, discarded bedclothes in the diffused light of a bombed out basement, reading out of books that were no longer in print.

The thing about the Bible that had grabbed John's attention was the way it was bound. It was the only book out of the hundreds of books he had found that was bound in leather, with gilt edges on it's pages, and a large part of the text, at least in the last third of the book, was printed in red ink, in stark contrast to the black print in the rest of the book. Yes, it was decidedly different in appearance, and, as John soon discovered, in content as well.

I've Had It

I am going to ease up on the blogging for a while. For many reasons. One reason is because I have gotten involved in the NaNoWriMo thing, and I have fallen woefully behind where I need to be in order to reach my goal of 50,000 words.

In case there is someone reading this that doesn't know what I'm talking about, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. I have been trying to write a novel and it is intended to give me some motivation to actually get it done. I have the month of November to write a 50,000 word novel. If I didn't have a goal, I would not be even as far along as I am now. So far, I have written over 19,000 words but that is behind where I should be.

Another reason I am easing up is because the comments on what I've been writing have become increasingly mean spirited and rude. And I am not in the mood to put up with it anymore. The number of comments have dropped off, and the ones that I am getting of late are insulting both to me and my president. Plus there is way too many people posting stupid comments under assumed names as if it is funny. It isn't. It's annoying. I will not even try to reason with fools.

Just for the record, President Bush is not a liar. If you believe he intentionally lied to start a war, than you have to believe the Democrats lied as well. They all said the same things the President did. I will ask again, although I didn't get an answer the first time I asked, and I don't expect an answer this time either:

Why is it, that if the President said it, it is a lie, yet if the Democrats say the same thing, they were just misinformed? They had the same info Bush did. Why is he a liar and they aren't? And don't give me that crap about because he is the President. Being President didn't stop Clinton from lying and you didn't mind it then. In fact, you seem to think he was being clever and charming. Anyway, The Senators and Congressmen are our elected representatives, too, and should be held to the same high standards as the President. Higher, actually, because they are supposed to be representing us directly.

Nevermind. I will blog again this month if I have time. But I am sick of the crap that I've been getting, so unless you have something polite to say, I will delete your comments. If you want to be a jerk, then your comments won't be seen here anymore.

Misrepresentation and Distortion

"I am not one of those who in expressing opinions confine themselves to facts." --Mark Twain

Yesterday, I heard George Stephanopoulis tell an interviewer that former President Jimmy Carter "supports the teaching of Intelligent Design in schools"

I don't know if Jimmy Carter supports that or not, and frankly, the teaching of ID in schools isn't what I am going to discuss. I am concerned, however, with the distortion of the issue of Intelligent Design in schools.

I drive through Pennsylvania every night and I have the opportunity to hear, via the radio, daily reports on the current debate about ID directly from the town where the debate is taking place. George Stephanopoulis is not the first commentator or politician to misrepresent this debate, and most likely won't be the last.

The debate is not about whether Intelligent Design can or cannot be taught in public schools. It is about whether public schools have the right to inform their students that there is such a theory. They are not asking for the right to teach ID. Only the right to mention that the theory exists.

Period. That's it.

Currently, evolution is the only theory that is allowed, legally, to be taught in public (government) schools. What the York, Pennsylvania County school system is "guilty" of is simply informing their students that evolution is not the only theory on the origin of life. They do not, nor have they attempted to teach any other theory than evolution.

And it is this misrepresentation of the issue that I want to discuss. Or rather, any misrepresentation of any issue.

I would think that journalists would do the homework necessary to get the facts right before reporting a story. It is irresponsible journalism to do otherwise. And yet, they continue to feed the public erroneous information. The result is uninformed people becoming misinformed people, which is usually worse than just uninformed.

After all, no one ever started an organized protest of any kind over something they know nothing about.

Another example of this irresponsible kind of journalism is the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. To this day, Democrats insist the issue over which articles of impeachment were brought was the fact that he had oral sex in the oval office. It was not. It was the fact that he perjured himself before a Grand Jury, a felony charge. Any high crime or misdemeanor is considered grounds for impeachment. Journalists that continued to insist the impeachment was about a simple act of immorality, which is not illegal, and not about the very real crime of perjury propagated the myth that impeachment was not justified.

Before you accuse me of bashing Democrats or Liberals, (sometimes the two aren't synonymous) let me add, hastily, that Liberal journalists are not the only ones who misrepresent facts to influence their audience. Conservatives do it, too.

One example I can think of, in particular, is the way Sean Hannity and others misquote Howard Dean. Ever since Dean said, "many Republicans never worked a day in their lives" Hannity and many other Conservative talk show hosts and pundits report that he said, "Republicans never worked a day in their lives", and some I have heard actually get indignant over that simple omission of the word, "many". I submit that what Dean said in this case is absolutely true. I am sure that some Republicans indeed have not worked a physical job in their lives. But then, some Democrats haven't either.

I am of the opinion that if facts and quotes were represented correctly, as much as half of the more divisive issues the two parties fight over would be less contentious.

There might even be agreement in some cases.

Willie and Joe in Iraq

"The pacifist is as surely a traitor to his country and to humanity as is the most brutal wrongdoer". --Theodore Roosevelt



Willie: Watcha readin' there, Joe?

Joe: The New York Times

Willie: Why you look so glum?

Joe: The New York Times says we're fightin' this war because of a lie. It says Bush lied to get us sent over here, because he wants Iraq's oil.

Willie: Awwww, don't believe that, Joe, they aint over here. They don't know what good things we done here.

Joe: I don't know, Willie, they make some good points. Listen to this:

Harry Reid says, "...the Bush White House manufactured and manipulated intelligence in order to bolster its case for the war in Iraq and to discredit anyone who dared to challenge the president".

Willie: Naw, Bush wouldn't do that. He's the President!

Joe: (reading) "All of these things simply were not true," Mr. Reid said. "The administration knew that, but they did not share that with me or anyone else in Congress that I know of."

Willie: What are they sayin'? There aint no reason to fight? Saddam wasn't a threat? That's crazy! Look at all the mass graves we found!

Joe: Yeah, Willie, but the New York Times says there wouldn't be any terrorists in Iraq if we hadn't invaded.

Willie: There were terrorists here before we got here. We seen what they did. The people here told us all about the prisons and the executions and the torture. We seen proof!

Joe: But the Times says they came here to make us leave, that there wouldn't be attacks if we weren't here.

Willie: Well, Joe, If that's true we're fighting' for nothin'...Do you really think the President would do that to us? Send us here to die for lies? C'mon Joe, that don't make no sense!

Joe: That's what the newspaper says, Willie, and they're the most important newspaper in the world. It says that right here. See?

Willie: Well, I guess if the New York Times says so, it must be true. They wouldn't say it if it wasn't, would they?

Joe: Well, I say the hell with helping these people build a democracy. They don't want us here, anyway. The New York Times says so.

Willie: But they don't act like they don't want us here. Why do they cheer us and help us and smile at us everywhere we go if they don't want us here? Look at em! Don't it look like they want us here?

Joe: Who you gonna believe, Willie? The New York Times? Or your lyin' eyes?

Willie: I guess you're right, Joe. The New York Times wouldn't say those things if they weren't true.

Joe: Where ya goin', Willie?

Willie, (picking up rifle and walking away with it): I aint fightin' this war for no damn lie. I'm goin' home. America aint worth dyin' for.

Joe: Wait up, Willie! I'm goin', too!

News From Home

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."--Edmund Burke

From the August 9, 2005 Kansas City, Kansas Kansan newspaper:

Double homicide leaves two women dead

The Kansas City, Kan., Police Department is continuing to investigate a shooting that occurred early Saturday morning near Gilmore and Coy avenues, in which two women were killed and several others were injured.

The homicide victims' families have been notified and the deceased have been identified as Marie E Guzman, 21, Hispanic, Independence, Mo., resident and Diana Tovalin, 17, Hispanic, a KCK resident.

At about 3:10 a.m., Saturday officers were flagged down by gunshot victims in a SUV at Seventh Street and Kansas Avenue.

Several minutes later, reports came that more gunshot victims were in a car near 39th Street and Rainbow Boulevard. Each vehicle had one person dead and several injured.

The injured were taken to several local area hospitals, where they received treatment. As the incident developed it was discovered that both vehicles were involved in an armed disturbance near Coy and Gilmore. Officers responded, confirmed and sealed the area.

Detectives are continuing to piece together information surrounding the shooting and are encouraging anyone with information to call them at 913-573-6020 or the Tips Hotline (816) 474-TIPS.

Yesterday, I received a call from my stepson in Kansas City. I hadn't heard from him in several months. He told me he was one of those in the car near 39th st. and Rainbow Blvd. He was out drinking with a friend, and just happened to be present when a man approached the group with an AK47 assault rifle, and opened up on them.

My stepson was shot in the back, the wound coming within an inch of severing his spinal chord. He was told he would be paralyzed from the waist down for life, but fortunately, the doctors were wrong. He is not paralyzed, but he still suffers considerable pain.

Mike, 21, has been in and out of jail since he was 12. He appears to straighten himself up for a while, but then, the next I hear, he has gotten himself into another mess. I know what he is doing wrong. He keeps gravitating towards the wrong people and wrong situations. I just don't know why.

Interestingly enough, although he is not my natural son, I care more for him than his own mother. The last time she saw him, he was being led away in handcuffs. When he got out of jail, she had deliberately moved away and left him no forwarding address or phone number. He doesn't know where she is. And she doesn't know where he is or what is going on with him. Nor does she care.

There has to be a solution to the problem of violence in the inner cities. I just don't know what it can be.

I wish I did.

This whole thing bothers me on many levels. It's not just an inner city problem. Some of you might remember that I discussed the loaded gun found on a student at my son's high school. This is a town with a population of 450.

This morning, I heard a report on the national news about an 18 year old boy who killed his 14 year old girlfriends parents and now the two are on the run together. They live in Lititz, Pennsylvania, a town I deliver to every day of the week on my route. No doubt some of the people I interact with on a daily basis know these young people personally.

We all hear reports every day about some kid somewhere who goes off the deep end and goes on a shootimg rampage, and it happens so often that I think we all get jaded. It becomes just one more story in the news that "wouldn't happen to me". Maybe I am just too close to these stories that they affect me so deeply.

I want these stories to stop. I want this problem to just go away. I want someone to do something. Anything.

There has to be a way we can turn this thing around without making a divisive political issue out of it. I don't want to get a call someday telling me that one of my children has died before me.

Maybe the solution is within this post. Parents have failed these kids. Government has failed these kids. Schools have failed these kids. And unaccountability has failed these kids. How did this happen?

What can we do to turn this problem around?

Don't Live In DC!

District of Columbia License tags (plates) are a common sight in this area, since I live less than 90 miles from DC, so it was some time before I noticed the slogan on the DC tags:

"Taxation Without Representation"

Is it just me, or does that make no sense? Is the District of Columbia bragging or complaining? If they're bragging, am I missing something? And if they're complaining, wouldn't some government officials be upset?

According to what I learned about American history, back in the days when the earth was cooling, taxation without representation was cited as one of the reasons the colonists revolted against England. I remember this from one of the songs "mein Grosspater" sang:

Der tea ben arriben mit taxen geloaden,
Und Bostoner folkers ben soonish exploden!
Mit paint on der facers, der folkers en groupen
Und throwen der tea en der harbour mit whoopen!
Meinselfer ist thinken der tea ist ben wasten
In cold ischer wasser und salt ischer tasten!

So what is DC trying to tell the world? That in DC they have no representation yet get taxed anyway? Why would they advertise that fact? Other states put slogans on their tags that promote pride in their state.

New York: The Empire State
New Hampshire: Live Free or Die! (kind of scary)
Delaware: The First State
Kansas: The Wheat State
Florida: The Sunshine State
West Virginia: Wild and Wonderful
Virginia: Virginia is for Lovers
New Mexico: Land of Enchantment
Illinois: Land of Lincoln
Oklahoma: Oklahoma is OK. (just OK?)

You get my drift.

Here are some alternative slogans.

While looking for more information about DC's plate slogan(Yes, It really bugs me!)on the internet, I came across this interesting story, which is pretty funny in it's own right:

In 1979 a Los Angeles man named Robert Barbour sent an application to the California Department of Motor Vehicles requesting personalized license plates for his car. The DMV form asked applicants to list three choices in case one or two of their desired selections had already been assigned. Barbour, a sailing enthusiast, wrote down "SAILING" and "BOATING" as his first two choices; when he couldn't think of a third option, he wrote "NO PLATE," meaning that if neither of his two choices was available, he did not want personalized plates. Plates reading "BOATING" and "SAILING" had indeed already been assigned, so the DMV, following Barbour's instructions literally, sent him license plates reading "NO PLATE." Barbour was not thrilled that the DMV had misunderstood his intent, but he opted to keep the plates because of their uniqueness.

Four weeks later he received his first notice for an overdue parking fine, from faraway San Francisco, and within days he began receiving dozens of overdue notices from all over the state on a daily basis. Why? Because when law enforcement officers ticketed illegally parked cars that bore no license plates, they had been writing "NO PLATE" in the license plate field. Now that Barbour had plates bearing that phrase, the DMV computers were matching every unpaid citation issued to a car with missing plates to him.

Anyway, I don't think I want to live in a place that celebrates taxation without representation, so I guess I won't be moving to DC anytime soon.

A Day Trip Into History

"First, first you must travel a long and difficult road. A road fraught with peril. You shall see things, wonderful to tell...I cannot tell you how long this road shall be, but fear not the obstacles in your path, for Fate has vouch safed your reward, though the road may wind, yea, your hearts grow weary, still shall you follow the road, even unto your salvation." -- From "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?"

Last weekend, I took a short trip out and about and I took some photos of the sights in and around the general area of the town in which I live. I started just about 5 doors down from my front door.
This is a sign on the street that points down a walkway to a small niche where you can see the clear spring this town is named for. I have heard that some company bottles the water for drinking purposes but I've never seen it sold anywhere. (click to enlarge)

This is the walkway and the niche:
The sign on the wall reads, "Water unsafe for drinking"

After that, I drove about 8 miles down the road, to Williamsport, Maryland. I saw a flag on top of a hill so I investigated and took photos. This is what I found when I got to the top. It is in an old cemetery.General Abner Doubleday, best known as the inventor of Baseball, once occupied this spot. Next to this marker were three cannon, overlooking the Potomac river.

Here are more pics from River View Cemetery:The inscription on this memorial reads, "Dedicated to the memory of Gen, Otho Holland Williams--Founder of Williamsport in 1787--Died in 1794--Aged 45 years--Beloved, Honored, and Deplored". His tomb is right next to the obelisk.

After the cemetery, I wandered over to River Bottom Park, near where the C&O (Chesapeake & Ohio) Canal ran. I thought this was funny:Here is a shot of the aqueduct, which carried the canal over and across the Conococheaque Creek: It carried water over water until part of it collapsed one day and dumped a canal boat into the creek. There were no injuries, but they never rebuilt the wall that collapsed. Originally, there was a wall holding the water in but it isn't there anymore so now it's just a bridge.

As I left, I took a few more Photos of some nice scenery:If you look real close you can see a canoeist.

On my way home, I took a detour to the top of Fairview Mountain, and took this shot from the summit, a rather panoramic view of the Appalachians:

I then headed home into Blair's valley, where Clear Spring is situated, and supposed home of the infamous "Blair Witch" of cinematic fame. :Sunset in the "Valley of the Witch"

This last photo is flawed. My son, who is taking a class in Photography in high school, tells me it is because the chemicals weren't mixed properly but it looks like fingerprints to me.

I hope you enjoyed the pics. Have a good weekend.

Veteran's Day

"...That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain..." -Abraham Lincoln

Veteran's day commemorates the signing of the Armistice to end World War I The armistice treaty between the Allies and Germany was signed in a railway carriage in the forest of Compiegne, some 65 km north-east of Paris, on November 11th, 1918.

(in 1940 Hitler exacted revenge by forcing the French to sign an armistice - on German terms - in the same railway carriage).


The actual fighting between the Allies and Germany ended with the armistice, which went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. Armistice Day, as November 11 became known, officially became a holiday in the United States in 1926, and a national holiday 12 years later. On June 1, 1954, the name was changed to Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans.

In 1968, new legislation changed the national commemoration of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. It soon became apparent, however, that November 11 was a date of historic significance to many Americans. Therefore, in 1978 Congress returned the observance to its traditional date.

The United States lost 126,000 men in WW I, but it is important to remember that, while the "War to end all Wars" lasted 4 years, from 1914 to 1918, America didn't enter until 1917. This is not to say that America didn't have any forces in the war prior to their official entrance into the fray. Many Americans were already over there fighting, having enlisted in the French and British armies. There was at least one All-American French squadron fighting the air war in French planes. It was called The "Lafayette Escadrille".

Note: One of the best tributes to Veterans I have ever seen can be found here.

Here is a song written by Eric Bogle in memorial of the brave men who lost their lives in "The Great War":

The Green Fields of France

1) Well, how do you do, young Willie McBride?
Do you mind if I sit here, down by your graveside,
And rest for a while 'neath the warm summer sun.
I've been walking all day and I'm nearly done.
I can see by your gravestone you were only nineteen
when you joined the great fallen in nineteen sixteen.
Well I hope you died quick, and I hope you died clean,
Oh Willie McBride, was it slow and obscene?

Chorus:
Did they beat the drum slowly, did they play the fife lowly,
did they sound the death march, as they lowered you down?
Did the bands play the last post and chorus?
Did the pipes play the flowers of the forest?

2.) Did you leave a young wife or sweetheart behind
In some faithful heart is your memory enshrined,
Although you died back in nineteen sixteen
In some faithful heart are you forever nineteen?
Or are you a stranger without even a name
Enclosed now forever behind a glass frame
In an old photograph torn and tattered and stained
And faded to yellow in a brown leather frame.

Chorus:
Did they beat the drum slowly, did they play the fife lowly,
did they sound the death march, as they lowered you down?
Did the bands play the last post and chorus?
Did the pipes play the flowers of the forest?

3.) The sun shines bright o'er the green field of France
The warm summer breeze makes the red poppies dance,
The trenches are buried long under the plow
There's no gas or barbed wire, there's no guns firing now.
But here in this graveyard it's still no-man's land
The countless white crosses in mute witness stand
To man's blind indifference to his fellow man
And a whole generation who were butchered and damned.

Chorus:
Did they beat the drum slowly, did they play the fife lowly,
did they sound the death march, as they lowered you down?
Did the bands play the last post and chorus?
Did the pipes play the flowers of the forest?

4.) I can't help but wonder now, Willie McBride,
Do those who lie here really know why they died?
And did they believe when they answered the call
Did they really believe that this war would end wars?
Well the sorrow, the suffering, the glory, the pain,
The killing, the dying, was it all done in vain?
For young Willie McBride, it all happened again
And again, and again, and again, and again.

Chorus:
Did they beat the drum slowly, did they play the fife lowly,
did they sound the death march, as they lowered you down?
Did the bands play the last post and chorus?
Did the pipes play the flowers of the forest?

A Loss of Integrity

"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall" --Proverbs 16:18

Mary Mapes, disgraced former producer at CBS news, has released a new book detailing her side of the infamous Rathergate scandal.

She and CBS anchorman Dan Rather used forged documents to bolster an investigative piece on George W Bush, in a story about him going AWOL when he was in the reserve during Vietnam. No evidence has ever surfaced supporting that charge, but Mapes and Rather reported it anyway.

When it came to light that the aforementioned documents were forged, Rather was forced to resign from CBS news, and Mapes was fired.

Now, in her new book, "Truth And Duty", she steadfastly refuses to admit the documents are phony.

Howard Kurtz, of the Washington Post tells us:

She ladles out plenty of blame but largely defends what she still considers a fair piece of reporting, although an independent panel accused CBS of having "failed miserably" to authenticate the documents before rushing the story to air.

Not only does she refuse to admit any wrongdoing, but she has viciously attacked those who she feels has betrayed her.

Of CBS President Les Moonves, she says, "He doesn't know journalism from dirt farming," noting that Moonves courted and then married "Early Show" anchor Julie Chen, she writes: "I used to say everything Les knows about journalism had been sexually transmitted. Now I know even that hasn't taught him much."

She also criticized the 86-year-old former secretary to Bush's late squadron commander, Karl Rove, President Bush, and even her own father for what she feels contributed to her downfall.

But CBS has quite a different take on the events leading up to her firing. According to Kurtz, Linda Mason, a CBS News senior vice president, said Mapes was fired because "her basic reporting was faulty. She relied on documents that could not be authenticated -- you could never authenticate a Xeroxed copy. She led others who trusted her down the wrong road." Viacom acted because its executives were "stunned at the report" and concerned about restoring CBS News's reputation, she said

Three of CBS's own document experts say they had warned CBS they could not authenticate the memos. Mapes's source for the documents, former National Guardsman Bill Burkett, later admitted lying about who had given him the memos said to have been written by Bush's long-dead Guard commander. "Document analysis is a real subjective profession," said Mapes, who still believes the memos are real. "You can find one to say yea or nay on anything."

I know this sounds like Mapes has lost touch with reality, and maybe she has, but I believe this is a perfect example of what I discussed in a previous blog post.

Arrogance.

This woman has so convinced herself of her own infallibility, that she will never believe that she could possibly be wrong about anything. The truth could slap her in the face and she would still say it is lies.


Dan Rather is the same way. He refuses to admit that in their zeal to discredit Bush, those documents were forged. Keep in mind that Mapes and Rather came out with this "story" a mere 55 days before the Presidential election. It was a blatant attempt to steal the election from Bush and hand it to Kerry. Both of them hate Bush so much they are willing to compromise their integrity to crucify him.

Hatred is a by-product of Arrogance, too.

This, by the way, is a common practice for Liberals. When they have nothing on a perceived opponent, they resort to baseless accusations and slander. Even to the point of fabricating evidence.

Arrogance can be a good thing, but once it is allowed to compromise your integrity, it becomes a hindrance.

And once you have lost your integrity, it will be almost impossible to regain.

Unfortunately, Ms Mapes and her partner, Dan Rather, seem to prefer to go through the remainder of their lives without integrity.

And maybe that's the real crime.

Lie Of The Day (From Laura Ingraham's web site)
"As a journalist, that is a good story and that's a story that deserves coverage," claimed former 60 Minutes producer Mary Mapes, fired for her role in Docugate.


THE TRUTH:
EVERYONE has said that the reporting was shoddy! Since when does shoddy reporting deserve coverage?

Corruption Triumphs In Jersey

The results of yesterdays elections in many states are in and the Democratic party has scored a resounding victory. The Democratic candidates for Governor won in New Jersey and in Virginia, as well as the mayoral election in New York City. In California, all of Governor Arnold Swartzenegger's proposals were defeated.

Fox news reports: "Democratic Sen. Jon Corzine easily won the New Jersey governor's seat after an expensive, mudslinging campaign, trouncing Republican Doug Forrester by 10 percentage points. Polls in the last week had forecast a much closer race".

While I have to admit I haven't closely followed the Gubernatorial race in New Jersey, this news particuarly disturbs me. Corzine is the U.S. Senator that, according to Wikipedia, "forgave a $470,000 loan to his onetime girlfriend, Carla Katz, the head of a large state employee union, Communications Workers of America Local 1034. Corzine's ex-wife told The New York Times that Corzine "let his family down, and he'll probably let New Jersey down, too." Corzine said their relationship with Katz had ended and would not affect his decisions as governor".

No, of course it won't. Their relationship has ended. Who do you suppose will be the next beneficiary of Corzine's infactuations? Business Owner Maria Yglesias says:

"[Jon Corzine] has the necessary skills to combat New Jersey's fiscal problems..."

How in the world does she arrive at that conclusion, knowing what we do about his ill-placed generosity? Perhaps she's hoping that if she vocally supports him, he will shuttle some of his apparent disposable income to her.

Additionally, I have wondered since I first heard of this scandal involving Ms. Katz whether it was taxpayers money that he so generously gave away. I have been unable to find any information about that. Is it just me or does anyone else smell a conflict of interest here?

Well, you know? I don't care. That is New Jersey. The Garden State. I've never been to New Jersey and with Governors like Corzine, I don't think I want to go. Well, maybe I would go, on my way to New York, but I certainly wouldn't want to live there. New Jersey is already notorious for blatant corruption in the Gubernatorial office, and I don't see anything changing in that regard.

Time will tell, I suppose, but if past behavior is any indication, New Jersey is in for a few more years of corruption and scandal. But, hey, The people have spoken. They have to live with the consequences.

I don't.

But I feel sorry for Francis Lynn.

Abandon Ship!

“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
“To talk of many things:
Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax—
Of cabbages—and kings—
And why the sea is boiling hot—
And whether pigs have wings. --Lewis Carroll

"After their luxury liner is sunk, a group of over twenty survivors take refuge in a life boat made for only nine. Included in the group are an old opera singer, a nuclear physicist, his wife and child, a General, a play-write and his dog, a college professor, a gambler and his mistress, the ship's nurse, and several members of the crew, including the Captain and executive officer. Soon, the captain dies from his injuries. The executive officer must take charge, and as a hurricane approaches, and their food and water run out, he must decide who to put over the side, and who stays and gets a chance at survival"
That is the synopsis of a movie I saw on television yesterday. It's called "Abandon Ship!" and it was made in 1957. The synopsis fails to mention that many of the castaways were injured. Or that one of the survivors was an able bodied black man. Since it was made in 1957, he was obviously a token.

It made me think. What a dilemma for the executive officer! Twenty-six people on a boat built to hold nine, a storm on it's way, which would place all of them in serious danger, He had to decide which of the survivors to throw overboard in an effort to save the others. I found myself thinking about who should stay and who should go.

Some of the decisions were no-brainers. One of the more seriously injured was a good friend of the officer, and the officer no doubt knew his friend would have to go, but he steadfastly refused to do that to him. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, his friend made the decision for him and jumped overboard.

What about you? Put yourself in the place of the executive officer. What criteria would you use to decide who lives and dies? Do the ladies stay on board out of chivalry? What about the dog, or the child? Remember he needs the strongest of them to help row the boat.

Who do you throw off of your lifeboat?

Evil White Man.

"I Yam what I Yam, and that's all that I Yam" --Popeye

I am so sick of being the Devil. Everywhere you turn in our culture, if the media is to be believed, the white anglo saxon male is evil incarnate. I mean all media, not just the newspapers and electronic news sources. Television programs, books, magazines, all of the media.

Last night as I was dozing, my son was watching a cartoon show that was telling it's viewers that America is a "white supremacist power structure".

A cartoon show!

I became wide awake when I heard that.

White men blew up the levees in New Orleans to kill black people. White men oppress black people. White men inhibit the immigration of Mexicans and other illegals from entering our country. I've even heard it was the evil white man that perpetrated the September 11th attacks.

We are called racist if we dare to display a confederate flag. We are called racist if we dare to speak out against true racists like Jesse Jackson, or Al Sharpton, or Lewis Farrakhan, or Charlie Rangel.

If we remind people that Margaret Sanger was a true racist. If we want to stop the lawful killing of unborn babies we are somehow guilty of denying women their rights. Even if we try to treat women the way our mother's taught us we are being chauvinists.

We are in a lose/lose situation.

If we express concern over the threat to our country from middle eastern extremists. We are not allowed to search young middle eastern appearing men in airports even though it is they who are the most likely to be carrying a bomb.

Try saying some of those same things about any other ethnic group and see how righteously indignant people get.

And if you are a White Christian man, you are doubly damned.

I am not the Devil.

I Won't Give Up My Day Job

This past week, while I was driving around on my job, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful the fall foliage was, so I decided to do something I've never done before. I attempted take photos of the changing leaves I saw. I don't own a digital camera. I don't even own a regular camera. My son used to own a Sony Handi-cam Camcorder, but he left it in a place where he couldn't keep an eye on it and someone relieved him of the responsibility of camcorder ownership. So I went to Walmart and picked up a cheap disposable camera and took pictures of interesting pastoral scenes wherever I went. I used 24 of 27 exposures by myself and let my son take the last 3 photos. Then, after using up every exposure on the roll, we went back to Walmart and had them put on a CD to install on my hard drive.

All so I could share the wonders of nature in rural Maryland with you, my loyal readers and friends.

Unfortunately, only a few of the pictures came out looking the way I saw them through the viewfinder. I have selected a few to post here that will prove that I am not a photographer.

Here is an attempt to capture the beauty of the city lights of Harrisburg, PA, after dark while driving 60 miles an hour.It doesn't work. I don't recommend trying to prove it can be done.

This is probably the best picture I took:I don't like the inclusion of buildings or people or power lines, etc. in pictures of nature but I couldn't seem to avoid that in this area, hence the Allstate office.

Looking west along the famous Mason -Dixon line. (The line is imaginary, Bruiser) That farm you can barely see sits with the north half in Pennsylvania and it's south half in Maryland. Way back behind that, is White Tail Ski Resort, which from where I was standing is clearly visible to the naked eye, but apparently not to the eye of a camera. It looks cool without snow. Trust me.

This is the picture that my son took. As you can see, he is a much better photographer than I. I watched him take this and laughed because I realized some of the photos I took would have been better if I had thought of turning the camera on it's end, as he did.


Lastly, I had been asked by some why I didn't dress in costume for Halloween. Well, I was actually going to go as the BTK killer, from Wichita, Kansas, which is coincidently my hometowwn, also, but I couldn't find an orange jumpsuit. I bear a striking resemblance, don't I?

The Reason I Support Bush

"Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it" --Adolf Hitler

The Liberals keep insisting that Bush lied to get us into war in Iraq. They know that isn't true. As I explored in my previous post, The Democrats agreed that Saddam had WMD before America entered the war of liberation. But now they insist they were always against the war. The Liberals count on the people not doing the research necessary to find out the truth for themselves, and it's working. Now, Bush's poll numbers are down. Is it any wonder? Hitler also said, "The broad masses of a population are more amenable to the appeal of rhetoric than to any other force."

He also said,"The great masses of the people will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one."

Liberals wonder why I, and other Conservatives continue to support President Bush and refuse to believe that he would lead the country into war by lying about the reasons.

I can't speak for other conservatives but I can say why I support him. I believe Bush is a man of honesty and integrity. I doubt sincerely if any Liberals can point to anytime when Bush was caught in a lie. I know they believe he lied, and I know also, that Liberals have been accusing him of lying since he was elected, but no where have I seen any proof. And Liberals have been unable to produce any evidence that he ever lied about anything.

Remember the Presidential campaign of 2004? That was the campaign of the 527 groups? The groups that spent millions of dollars to slime and slander the candidate that they opposed. Remember how the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth continually attacked Senator Kerry's war record?

This excerpt from the SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER reports how Bush demonstrated his integrity, while at the same time slamming him by using words with negative connotations such as "unsubstantiated" and "unproven" when describing the groups charges. In fact, there was a great deal of substantiation of the charges against Kerry's war record.

This is what the Liberal Seattle paper had to say:

Bush did not hesitate when asked about the central charge issued by the Swift Boat veterans' group that has leveled unsubstantiated attacks against Kerry's record in Vietnam. "I think Senator Kerry should be proud of his record," Bush told The (New York) Times. "No, I don't think he lied." (Emphasis mine)

I won't lie. I wasn't completely sure about Bush up until then myself, but his honesty and integrity at that moment convinced me of his qualifications in addition to what I already knew of him.

Contrast that with the allegations that were made during the campaign against Bush by groups such as moveon.org, CBS news' Dan Rather, and John Kerry himself. Forged memos, personal attacks, not only on Bush himself but also on his family, and blatant lies. Kerry never denounced the very groups that were trying to help him. But then again, Kerry's voting record in the Senate was all the voters of America needed to convince them that he was not the best choice for president. Kerry consistently showed himself to have little or no integrity.

Even Don Imus, who was an ardent supporter of Kerry, and admitted freely that he voted for him, stated on many more than one occasion that Kerry was a "lying scumbag", but nevertheless, Imus voted for him.

If anyone is lying, it is the Bush haters. Liars always hate men of integrity.

Who's Lying?

"We've traveled the world, we've known Kings, we've known Prince's, discoursed with scholars, and reasoned with fools." --Scottish folk song

Democrats say President Bush lied to get America into this war in Iraq. They don't seem to consider that maybe he was just given flawed information.

This is a quiz. Here are some quotes from Democrats regarding information received about WMD.

Which ones are lies? Which quotes are the result of false or misleading information? Explain the difference.

"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real..."
- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003

"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force -- if necessary -- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."
- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002

"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line."
- President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program."
- President Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

"We must stop Saddam from ever again jeopardizing the stability and security of his neighbors with weapons of mass destruction."
- Madeline Albright, Feb 1, 1998

"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983."
- Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998

"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."
Letter to President Clinton.
- (D) Senators Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, others, Oct. 9, 1998

"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process."
- Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998

"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them."
- Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."
- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."
- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002

"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..."
- Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002

"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years ... We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction."- Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members ... It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."
- Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002

"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002

Extra Credit:

Why is it when Democrats react to misleading intelligence information, they have been misled, and so, cannot be held accountable, but when Republicans do the same, they are lying?

This Week

"Once again it shows the Democrats use scare tactics, they have no conviction, they have no principles, and they have no ideas."
-- Senator Bill Frist, on the Democrats' "closed session" stunt in the Senate

Sean Hannity was off today and I don't remember the name of the guest host, but he posed this interesting trivia question:

Who (outside of the major news media) has profited the most from the war in Iraq?

Halliburton? Guess again.

Here's a hint:Yep.

What a shocker.

Katy, a 15 year old girl from my hometown of Wichita, Kansas, called in to the show with this interesting fact: The Guiness Book of World Records lists Saddam Hussein as the world record holder in deaths caused from chemical weapons.

But we were wrong to invade and attack him.

Joe Wilson has been ubitquitous this week, appearing on every television news program he can. It seems to me he is attempting to retry Karl Rove in the media, since Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald's Grand Jury found no evidence of wrongdoing on Rove's part. It must be difficult for someone with his ego to face the fact that his plans to destroy the Bush administration have gone awry.

Senator Harry Reid, Senate Minority leader, invoked rule 21, calling for a closed door session to discuss the pre-war intelligence investigation, the second phase results of which, Senator Pat Roberts had already announced the previous day, would be presented next week. So why call the session? Could be the Senate democrats are trying to steal the thunder from Bush's stellar SCOTUS Justice appointment. Or maybe he's trying to cover up the news that Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald pretty much exonerated Karl Rove and consequently, President Bush, of that non-crime of outing a non-covert CIA employee.

Last week, the Mainstream Media outlets were rejoicing about what they referred to as Bush's worst week. I wonder how they are going to spin this week, undoubtedly one of Bush's best, in comparison. Seems Clinton isn't the only Teflon President.

Lie Of The Day
"Time and time again, this Republican controlled Congress has consistently chosen to put its political interests ahead of our national security," claimed Harry Reid, on the Senate floor.


THE TRUTH:
If ANYONE is putting their interests in front of national security, it's the Dems! What do you call the "closed Senate session" anyway???

What I Meant

I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it.--Groucho Marx

In a recent post I made regarding Walmart, or rather, Walmart's CEO Lee Scott, I came under some fire from fellow blogger buddies questioning my conservatisism, which has troubled me. I have tried to explain my comments but I fear I failed to articulate my thoughts adequately. The comment was about Scotts apparent callousness in speaking off the cuff about the national minimum wage, not about Walmart per se.

I don't happen to like Walmart, but that's a personal thing between me and Walmart.

Let me state for the record that I believe Walmart to be a great American success story, and I am totally against raising the minimum wage. That said, I also believe that Lee Scott has departed from the principles that made Sam Walton so successful in business.

"Mr. Sam", as he was known to his friends and employees, was a man who believed in treating people with respect and compassion, and cared a great deal about his employees. I believe if he were alive today, he would not approve of the direction Walmart has gone particuarly in how the corporation has treated it's own employees.

Everything I believe, my ideology, and my comments are consistent, based in my faith in God, and in what I believe Christ teaches. If I appear to be inconsistent it is either because I have been misunderstood, or because I have re-evaluated how I interpret the scripture and decided I may have been mistaken in my interpretation.

People who seriously study the Bible often re-evaluate their beliefs based on further study of God's word. And every believer who studies the Bible ultimately has some disagreements with other believers, but that's a good thing. It stimulates honest discussion and introspection, which tends to make people re-evaluate what they believe.

If I never say something you disagree with, then I am either God, or I have no integrity, and, like Senator John McCain, mold my convictions according to whatever group I happen to be addressing at the time.

All things to all people, I'm not.

As Groucho Marx said, "Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others".

Rush is Funny

"O wad some Power the giftie gie us To see oursels as ithers see us! It wad frae mony a blunder free us, An' foolish notion: What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us, An' ev'n devotion!" ---Robert Burns

I don't usually post comments about Rush Limbaugh or things he says, mainly because he spends the entire 3 hours of his show accusing Liberals in general of being the personification of evil and I just don't see Liberals that way.

I see them as idealists who stubbornly cling to the idea that a Utopian society is indeed possible. Not that Utopia is a bad thing, it just isn't realistic in my opinion. Nor is stubbornness necessarily a bad thing. Or idealism.

Jesus will establish a true Utopia when He returns, but no one else will ever accomplish that task, no matter how hard they try. I don't think anyone can be blamed for trying, though.

Liberals want better things for America and the American people. They want a chicken in every pot and two cars in every garage. They want the hungry to be fed. They want poverty to just go away. They want peace in our time.

I do too.

Conservatives want these things, too. The difference between Liberals and Conservatives is that we disagree on how to accomplish these goals. We all become frustrated when others just don't see things the way we do. Often times that frustration manifests itself in anger. It's only natural.

I have often stated my belief that Liberals, for the most part, are generally more mean spirited and hateful than Conservatives. They seem to me to be more likely to engage in name calling, personal attacks, half truths, lies, and biting sarcasm when people disagree with them. Some Conservatives do that, too, but not as many as Liberals.

It is an unfortunate progression arising out of a passion for equitability. I think Liberals are more passionate than Conservatives. There is an oft repeated truism among Conservatives that says, "Conservatives think. Liberals feel." That is just a rather offensive way of saying, "Liberals are more emotional."

I feel. I also think. Sometimes I just think I feel. More often I don't think at all.

Now we have a new appointee to the Supreme Court of the United States, Samuel Alito. He is reportedly a staunch Conservative. I guess I don't fully understand why Liberals and Conservatives are preparing to fight over his nomination. Don't both sides agree that the job of a Justice should be to read and interpret the Constitution? So what difference should it make whether he is a Conservative or a Liberal? I daresay the Constitution is not partisan.

I did think it was funny, though, when yesterday, Rush said he thought Chuck Schumer should have his own 24/7 news service and suggested he call it "the All Schumer Service, or ASS".