My occasionally snarky thoughts on everything from motherhood, politics, life and current events. Cocktails are sometimes mandatory. Bottoms up!

Thursday, June 30, 2005

Some funny for your day......

There is a LOT of internet funny out there. So, to celebrate Thursday (for *no* good reason) here a re a few....

First the bunnies -- and this was my favorite:
**Jaws re-inacted by bunnies in 30 seconds.....
this was great too....
**Titanic Bunnies....

For some sick humor (and just for the record I laughed my a$$ off)...
**Billy's Balloon
and **Ah L'Amour

And H/T Boudicca this star wars parody is hilarious!!
**Cuke Skywalker in Store Wars

Enjoy!

No News is Good News?

...is it a *good* thing that I am bored with the news?

So really, I am a news hound. And there is NOTHING going on out there that I find even remotely interesting (or bloggable, for that matter). Valerie Plame? Who cares. Karl Rove's statements? Are you kidding me?? (Like we didn't already know?) MJ is innocent. (Whatever). Nothing new. And you know what?

I am thankful.

I remember those days post September 11th when I woke up praying that there would be *nothing* on the news. That Katie's big story would be about winter fashions. Because we had just survived the BIGGEST NEWS CYCLE OF OUR LIVES. And I was thankful that we could return to a less stressful simpler time -- or at least adjust our view from the horrific and unthinkable.

Not that we shouldn't be focused -- no not at all. And resolute. And determined. And thankful for the difficult job done for us by our men and women in uniform. Thank God for them.... But for me? I am thankful for the relative boredom of our news cycle of late. I really am.

So -- there is no news. The talking heads can talk and pontificate on woudda shoudda, coudda, and I am okay with that. The President made a good speech the other night (IMO) and talked about staying the course. It is going to take YEARS to change the world but, you know, that's not new. It took YEARS to evoke change in Germany, Japan, and the USSR for that matter. Vietnam is now coming around. And I sense great changes in Cuba. Lebanon and Syria, Iran and Egypt. Maybe even Saudi Arabia. We'll see. But as we gear up for the holiday weekend I, for one, am thankful for the lack of news.

No news is good news indeed...............

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Happy Birthday!!

....and thanks for being older than me :-)

Today is my friend Tanya's Birthday.

!!!Happy Birthday!!!
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I wish she'd answer her phone though.......

Uncle Ben Update 6/29

....it's going to be a long haul.

Talked to Uncle Ben today. He sounds *really* tired. In fact, every time I have talked to him this month he has sounded exhausted and more than a few times really out of it too. I know that this is caused by the huge doses of pain meds they have him on and the interferon treatments. The doctors say that things are progressing well. I hope so. I am afraid though.

My parents are there this week giving the hired caregiver a much needed break. *sigh* On the one hand, I am so glad that he is able to do something to battle this cancer but on the other I am unsure if he will be able to survive the damned treatment. My Mother tells me he is thin -- very very thin. And I know I am going to have to really prepare myself so I don't react badly when I see him. I mean, I know I'm not going to collapse crying or anything. I just don't want to even have a flicker of noticeable emotion that he might construe as negative. I used to be good at keeping my emotions totally underwraps but now I am not so sure of myself. And there is no real way to practice either........ But I digress.

The girls and I are going to drive out to Wyoming to see him (and of course my folks) in a couple of weeks. My Brother is going to fly in so that he and I can go see Uncle Ben together. I plan to leave the girls with my Mother when we go so as not to complicate the situation and then if Uncle Ben is up to it I will bring K and A by to visit on our way home to Wisconsin. I don't know what to pray for these days really. Peace? Healing? Patience? All of the above? Anyway, the fight is far from over. Maybe I should just pray for stamina -- for all of us.....
Any prayers you would be willing to give would be welcome as well. Thanks.


Update: If some background is needed
I posted previously about Uncle Ben here, here, here, and here . And the angry 1st post.

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

So it's Tuesday

....whaddya gonna do....

Well, I know what *I* am going to do! First, the good news. My solar fountain came today so I am going to put it up. Yay! You can see the patio where it is going to live in the previous post. Here is the fountain:
Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us The spot where the fountain is to go is in the center or our raised flower bed/stump cover. I am sooooo excited -- I just wish it wasn't cloudy today.

The *other* thing I am going to do is take the girls to see The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl. Bleh. But I promised, and it is supposed to be hot and thunderstormy this afternoon. Think anyone would notice if I brought a book (with a book light?)?? *sigh*

Update: The fountain looks gorgeous!! And Shark Boy and Lava Girl was craptacular**. This movie makes the Spy Kids movies look like Oscar contenders. (Huh, looks like they were directed by the same guy.) Seriously bad. The girls loved it though. (And the kid that plays "Shark Boy" could have a future -- he had some serious martial arts skills. So, if Jean-Claude VanDamme ever resuscitates his career and needs someone to play his character as a kick ass kid -- he's all set.)

**the word craptacular was shamelessly stolen from Lileks dictionary. :-)

Sunday, June 26, 2005

The Evil of Stumps

....you didn't know that stumps were evil? Ever try to get rid of one?
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So, Eric at Straight White Guy had a great post today about the inherent evil of stumps and the challenge of their removal. Along with a dead on description of the joy that one feels when you FINALLY get one gone. Joy. In. It's. Purest. Form.


... I think I've found my calling, people... I mean, what is more offensive to laid-back humanity than a gnarly stump?... twisted and
hardened and standing in the way... immovable... unrepentant... yes, indeed... and nothing can make a homeowner break a sweat like trying to dig up a stump... those boys?.. their machine made short work of it.. basically a giant grinder with a robotic arm... teeth like an angry Great White Shark.... in 15 minutes, they had worn that puppy down to a nub... nature would have taken 15 years to have laid it low... it was impressive..


I think he has something there. What more satisfying job could there be? And I am sure that he would be *excellent* at it. Of course he had the bonus of having professionals come and do the stump removal for him. Around here, no such deal. We felt sure that we could remove our stump ourselves! A colossal underestimate of the evil staying power of our stump.

You see, last summer Hubby comes to me and announces that it is time to get rid of that #$%!&*% stump in the back yard. Me being a girl wondered why it was such a big deal but figured if it was important to him (and was a project that *he* wanted to do) he could just go ahead and knock himself out. Fine. So I moved the pot of verbena I had on the stump and went on my way.

Oh Lordy -- jihad had been declared. First came the hacking away of exposed parts of the stump -- tough work that -- so next was the 1st burning. Charcoal layed on top, lighter fluid applied, and 4 hours of burning. I was nervous because of the stump's proximity to the house but he assured me that this was just the solution and the stump would be gone pronto.

Ohkaaaay. What progress was made you ask?

None. Nada. Zip.

So next came the application of many "stump eating chemicals". Many holes were drilled in the now burnt up stump and chemicals applied. Progress? No. Just killed all of the grass for 3 foot radius around the stump.

Niiiice. Now *that* was attractive. He decided to try the burning method again ('cuz you know with all of those holes it is bound to work better this time, right?). So he soaks the stump with kerosene for a day and burns it again.

Again no progress -- this damn stump is made of kryptonite! And now the grass is dead *and* scorched! Great. Hubby is frustrated and decides to just try to nurse the grass back to health.

Some time went by, I put the verbena back on the burnt up, drilled out, ugly ass stump and he takes a break. Called Winter.

Spring comes anew and with the thaw the ugly assed stump is again revealed. A solution is discussed (and I said NO to the whole dynamite solution he suggested). So here it is... The stump before:
Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us See?? UGLY! It wasn't a half bad flower pot stand before "the war."

But I must admit, I really like the after:
Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
And though it took us 3 days of hard labor I love my new patio!
Before:
Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us
After:

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us And the #$%!&^#$ stump is gone -- well, at least hidden. Pure joy, that.

Saturday, June 25, 2005

Frustrated.....

So 2 years ago I developed a recipe for Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms at my parents house while visiting. They were FABULOUS! I came up with the recipe just dinking around in the kitchen one day and I think I made them 3 times during my stay there. Everyone *loved* them.
So, the problem is that because I just "made up the recipe, dinking around in the kitchen" it was never written down. I have tried to re-create said B.C. Stuffed Mushrooms 3 different times over the past 2 years and they have been HORRIBLE. Twice completely inedible and today edible (I guess) but not *good* by any stretch of the imagination. So I am frustrated. We are having 2 parties next weekend (one on the 3rd and one on the 4th) and I was really wanting to get this recipe figured out! So does anyone have a great recipe for Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms? [Doesn't hurt to ask....]

Otherwise, my crab stuffed mushrooms are perfectly good and I had really good luck with a Boursin Cheese stuffed Mushroom recipe I experimented with today. I just really wanted to get this blue cheese thing figured out! Dang!

Thursday, June 23, 2005

Vanilla is my favorite!

...yay me!


What Flavour Are You? I am Vanilla Flavoured.I am Vanilla Flavoured.


I am one of the most popular flavours in the world. Subtle and smooth, I go reasonably with anyone, and rarely do anything to offend. I can be expected to be blending in in society. What Flavour Are You?

Later: Now that I have been thinking about it, maybe I should hope to aspire to be a more *cutting edge* flavor but hey -- good or bad -- vanilla really *is* my favorite. Such is life. :)

Soldiers Chapel

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...50th anniversary

This is where I was married 10+ years ago. Lone Mountain stands behind the Chapel and always seemed to me to represent stregnth and permanence. The Billings Gazette had an interesting story the other day about the founders of Soldiers Chapel and the history there.

Chapel for 'immortal soldiers'
Associated Press

BIG SKY - The fighting was long and bloody. The diseases were even worse.

Hundreds of young Montana soldiers had been shipped to the jungles of New Guinea early in 1942, sent there to repel the advances of the Japanese army, which had set its sights on Australia. The Montanans did the job, halting the Imperial Army in its tracks.

"We were young. We were well-conditioned. We were tough," said Fred
Naegele, a sergeant in the 163rd Infantry, Montana National Guard.

But victory came at a terrible cost. If a knife or bullet didn't
find you, biological threats were constant. Malaria, dengue fever, scrub typhus
and black water fever were constant threats. Everybody fell sick at some point,
said Naegele, who now lives in Helena.

Morale was low, and the men needed a lift. One day, an officer walked by a group of men as one of them offered lessons from the Bible. The men were attentive. The speaker was effective.

The officer was Col. Nelson Story III. Story, a Bozeman resident and a descendant of one of Montana's earliest pioneer families, remembered the incident. And he remembered his son, Nelson Story IV, who had fallen in combat early in the war.

Years later, those memories took shape here in the Soldiers Chapel, the quietly elegant little church with a remarkable view of Lone Mountain. Story donated the land, came up with the basic design, wrote the charter and donated most of the money to build the stone-and-log cruciform structure, which was completed in 1955.

It is dedicated to Nelson Story IV and to the outfit in which father and son served
together, the 163rd Infantry.



I have been thinking a lot lately about the sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform fighting this war on terror. First, Harvey at Bad Example posted an email from the mother of a soldier killed in Afghanistan.

Word can't put into words the loss of my son but I will always remember the
passion with which he embraced life and lived it to the fullest. He was born
to be what he became. One of our nations fallen Hero's. Loving and
remembering you everyday. See Ya Later Son!

Your Loving Mother
Paula A Spivey

What can a person say to a Gold Star mother? Thank you? May God grant you peace? I believe in the cause your son was fighting for? It all seems too little but I offer her both thanks and a hope for peace. And I do believe in the cause.

Then both SMASH and Blackfive linked another Milblogger Chuck at TC Override who had been wounded in a IED attack in Iraq (Chuck's wife Carren is posting updates on his condition.)

In general... Chuck sustained shrapnel wounds to his legs and arms from an IED. He and an Iraqi civilian were the only ones injured. The Good Lord above was looking out for him in a BIG way! He is probably in Landstuhl (sp?), Germany by now and will be back in the states in the next week to 10 days (as far as I know right now). He still has his eyesite and has not sustained internal injuries that I know of. I have not talked to him yet... they have kept him sedated for his trip to Germany, as well as for pain management. He also has some injuries to his face, but I think it is just bruised/scratched up quite a bit.

[Ed.]...As you know I told Creighton that his daddy was hurt and that he will be okay and coming home soon. One of the questions he asked was, "Why did Daddy have to go so far away to get the bad guys?" I said, "Daddy had to go far away to fight the bad guys so we are safe here in the US. We don't want the bad guys to be here in our country, so brave men and women like Daddy go far away to make sure that never happens." (A side note... a 5 year old is too young to understand that bad guys are here in the US and managed to do some serious
damage on 9/11).

Where is our Main Stream Media Coverage of fine soldiers like these? And I'm sorry -- just reading a list of names (in order to further stress the sheer number of wounded or killed) doesn't count. When did the MSM forget thet it is the TERRORISTS that are the bad guys and not our soldiers at GITMO or anywhere else?

Sorry to digress. The article on Soldiers Chapel continues:

The edifice is designed to honor the sacrifices of America's military men. Story
made sure of that when he wrote the charter. A stained glass window, designed by a 163rd veteran, Sgt. Jack C. Gunter, depicts a wounded soldier lying on a
tropical beach, reaching out for the hand of God. Outside the front door stands
a memorial plaque, listing the scores of 163rd members from Montana who died in the war. "Those immortal soldiers of the 163rd Infantry who, with courage
and devotion, died in pain defending their country and the cause of freedom for
all men," is how the plaque describes them.

The church is nondenominational, with pastors from a variety of regional churches leading services during the summer and fall. This, too, is in keeping with Story's wishes, although he took pains to "preserve the quality of religion." A 1955 letter he wrote outlining his plans called for avoiding "splinter sects, itinerant prophets, hillbilly Bible thumpers and the self-anointed." He also urged the exclusion of "groups which harbor conscientious objectors or refuse to salute the flag."
Giving them access to the church, he said, "would be a grave affront to the memory of those to whom the chapel will be dedicated."


All sacrifice time, some sacrifice health, and others sacrifice all. And I thank all of them for having the courage to volunteer themselves in order to keep our homeland safe and promote freedom and democracy in places those ideas seemed impossible to achieve. May they all feel the peace that I have felt sitting in a pew looking west onto Lone Mountain. A peace granted me by other brave soldiers. Thank you.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Some Funny

...This was cute

When sign language isn't enough......

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Kofi is coming around!

...I'll be dipped....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/20/AR2005062001176.html

excerpt:
The Iraqi people continue to endure a painful and
difficult transition, and they still have a long and tough road ahead. The
United Nations is privileged and determined to walk it with them. In doing so,
we serve not only the people of Iraq, but the peoples of all
nations.


H/T SMASH the Indepundit

Well, I can say that I am happy that the U.N. is finally "...determined to walk it with them."

Pool Rules

...or am I just being paranoid??

So the girls and I just got back from open swim at the High School pool (our backyard pool is still too hypothermic to even *think* about). And as I tried to find a comfortable spot on the bleachers (just FYI -- there isn't one) I noticed that I was the *only* parent in attendance. Huh. And isn't as if my girls at 7 & 8 were the youngest kids there. There were at least 12-15 other kids their age or younger. So here is a question, at what age would you feel comfortable letting your kids swim without your (or at the least another grown-up that you trust) direct supervision?

Granted, my girls are strong swimmers and there are life guards but I am not yet comfortable to just "drop 'em off at the pool" at the ages of 7 and 8. So am I just being totally overbearing/paranoid? I'm curious........

And would it kill them to get some #$%^&!* padding or something on the bleachers?? Just a thought!

Happy Blogiversary!!

Happy Blogiversary to Harvey of Bad Example fame (fortune soon to come, I am sure). There are many of us that owe Harvey a BIG thank you for the handy dandy series of blogging tips he put together. I hope the gets lots and lots of toys and has a great day! Thanks Harvey!!

First Day of Summer

...and it's going to kick the door down and have a seat

It's supposed to get hot today. 89 degrees and sunny. I always love the first couple of *hot* days. :-) Summer always brings back such good memories of childhood -- and the girls go barefoot and eat popsicles and play outside until late in the evening because it stays light out so long.

Not to long after the Fourth of July, though, I am *over* the heat. (Much in the same way I am *over* the snow and cold after January 1st -- it's no longer festive so IMO it should just do the honorable thing and give way to spring! It never does, though. *sigh*) I was never very good at living in the southern part of the US because of the weather patterns. The hot shows up in March and stays until October (give or take a couple of weeks) and I never got used to the heat maintaining itself after dark. Even after years of living in Oklahoma and Florida I would catch myself thinking "Oh good it's dark -- it will be much cooler out now!" Only to get hit in the face with steamy humidity once out the door.

We are trying to make some plans for the summer. Hubby really wants to make the drive up to Glacier National Park maybe spending a night on the Canadian side and seeing friends along the way. The Going to the Sun Road has some of the most amazing vistas I have ever seen -- and I am not easily impressed with mountain views having grown up with them. There are beautiful places to camp and stay and the lakes are deep, clear and gorgeous. The only difficulty is trying to find a way to balance the fun with all of the driving involved (for the girls anyway). I think it may be a bit much to take on over a 10 day period. Either way, it will be great to get to spend some time in the mountains. I'd like to find a way to incorporate Yellowstone National Park too and maybe spend a couple of nights just north of the park in SilverGate Montana . They have great little cabins there and years ago the Log Cabin Cafe served the most amazing pumpkin bread for breakfast. Yummmmm -- pumpkin bread. :-) Leave it to me to think of the food......

Anyway, happy first day of summer!

Sunday, June 19, 2005

I just don't get it....

...no I really don't.

I probably spent 10,000+ hours of my youth here.

That little chicky is sitting near the 1 meter board looking toward the office. I know *exactly* what it smells like there and what all of those little tiles (that she is sitting on) feel like. I cried there, won there, lost there, grew there, loved there, puked there, worked there, hurt there, believed in myself there, and achieved the impossible there. That place forged a huge part of who I am today. Work ethic. Belief in self and others. Teamwork. The belief that regardless of physical abilities a person could achieve anything through hard work and perseverance.

I lost my innocence there as well.... {though not in *that* way you pervs ;) } My beloved coach, Coach O, the man that I would have walked over fire for... (I swam a State Meet final once for him/the team with cracked ribs, stitches in my face and a sprained ankle -- I had to be helped to and from the starting blocks -- He asked me to... We needed the team points... And I would probably do it again...) Anyway, *my* coach left the team -- hell, left the STATE to be with the woman he loved and pursue a different career. I wasn't the only one who was pained by his perceived abandonment.

Then, I hated him. I was soooooo angry. Later I learned that people leave -- and it *often* has nothing to do with you. People have other lives, other ties that have *nothing* to do with you. It's okay, but you have to be careful who you cast your TOTAL loyalty with. Be cautious with whom you decide to *trust* or *follow* completely. That lesson has served me well in the 20+ years since. Now, I often think of Coach O. fondly and wonder if he and his wife are happy (she had the most arresting yellow eyes and was very pretty) ? Did they have kids? Etc....

I have a sense that he was not happy with the way he *left* us either. His community ties were deep at that time but once gone no-one heard from him again. Anyway, I digress....

This pool issue in my hometown has been going on for some time now. I think it would be TRAGIC for the community to loose this asset. I don't care [well, maybe a little -- ed.] if they tear down the old pool but this mental masturbation over weather it is earthquake proof is just STUPID! There hasn't been an earthquake there in 50 years! And even if -- the odds that an earthquake would be strong enough there (this is *not* California, mind you) are slim. C'mon people. Enough. It is a perfectly fine pool. There is *no* reason to tear it down and go without!! I hate when government regulations take over common sense.....

A BS Blog

....I've got one too

Huh. As I read Boudicca this morning it occurred to me that I too have a Bullshit Blog -- not that *that* is a bad thing mind you! It's just that this will never be a "news blog" or a "political blog" or a "cute kid stories only" blog. Just a mish-mash of things that interest me or that I am thinking about -- A record of what is going on in our lives and a way for me to express myself.

I updated my Blogroll recently to include all of the blogs that I read regularly (some daily, others at least weekly) and I have been thinking about writing a post that kind of illustrates my favorite blogs and bloggers. As Bou put it,
"I don't talk about Matty [Blackfive] because... everyone knows about him. He's a big Blogger, a household name amongst other bloggers. I read him, I try to read him
every day, but I don't mention him much as I know everyone reads him.

But then I thought, perhaps there is a new reader out there, a new
blogger, who doesn't know... and should."

Exactly. Blackfive is a daily stop for me and has been since he started blogging -- He has brought many many stories about the great things our men and women in uniform are doing to light that would have NEVER been known without his tireless dedication. Matt has inspired me personally to donate to Soldier's Angles and makes me feel like I can make a difference when it comes to supporting our troops.

Some other Blogs I read daily for their military perspective are SMASH the Indepundit and Greyhawk's Mudville Gazette. Great great milblogging there. Smash has also been doing terrific things in his native San Diego launching Operation Thank You to counter protest the vociferous (and sometimes downright mean) war protesters that gather there. Matthew Heidt at Froggy Ruminations also does great work highlighting our military from a SEAL's perspective.

For news and current events I turn to Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit -- I have no idea how he manages to blog so much so quickly and coherently but he does.
Also daily, I read Stephen Green and Will Collier at Vodka Pundit, Ann Althouse, John Hinderaker, Scott Johnson and Paul Mirengoff at PowerLine and Wretchard at the Bellmont Club. I always find good information and perspective.

Now for fun, I start every day with James Lileks andThe Bleat. You never know what you are going to get. A Gnat (his daughter) story more often than not but usually with something else. A link to a site for drunken Wookies for example, or a funny story about star wars. Like I said, you never know.

Other folks I read every day just because I really like their blogs and the way they write/stories they tell are: Michele at A Small Victory She writes about *everything*, Frank J. and the crew at IMAO for political and other humor, Sarah K at mountaineer Musings (she is engaged to the aforementioned Frank J and they met via blogging), Varifrank -- he is hard to define blogging-wise, Doc Russia at Bloodletting -- a former Marine and current medical student in Huston, Neo Neocon who discusses politics/current events, Basil's Blog -- great linkagery there, Eric at Straight White Guy for the snarky southern perspective, Steve H. at Hog On Ice (someday I am going to order his cookbook!), Rob Smith (the *king* of snark) at Gut Rumbles, Tammi (formerly of Road Warrior Survival) at Tammi's World who sounds like the nicest person and like someone who, like me, has "Super Hostess Syndrome", Bou at Boudicca's Voice for all of the great *mom* and family stories, and Harvey of Bad Example who's blogging tips were instrumental in helping me start this blog.

Jeez, looking back that seems like a lot and I read so many other great blogs too! That's just it, though. The blogosphere has given rise to so many new voices and has exponentially increased our ability to exchange information and ideas. How cool is that?

Friday, June 17, 2005

Last Durbin Post

...unless he does something even *more* stupid

And of course, James Lileks (screedblog) says it best:
It shouldn’t surprise, really. To some on the hard left, the American
soldier comes in two flavors: Grandpa, who died so France could someday take the month of August off to hit the beach, and the Lt. Calley variety who lights a thatch roof with his Zippo, lights his Marlboro with the same, and shoots the fleeing villagers with his Napalm Super Soaker. Those who do not fit the latter model are poor people who joined the military because they had no other options, and are thus to be pitied – unless they do something wrong, in which case economic and ethnic identities are forgotten, and their identity as a military operative trumps all. Vietnam is the template, as ever. Gitmo is a slo-mo My Lai.

And why do I keep talking about this? Because they do. As the Durban flap demonstrates: It just never ends. And it won’t. There’s too much political hay to be made undercutting the war, and the consequences be damned. If they want to defeat the war to defeat Bush, well, noted. If they truly believe that the United States is in the same group as the Nazis, the Soviets and Pol Pot, then they’ve shown they have no perspective, no judgment, no sense of nuance, shall we say. And the idea that such comparisons might be picked up in the Middle East and broadcast with glee is irrelevant; they’re parochial to a fault, and care little for anything beyond their reputation and power in Washington

Is it bad that someday I want to grow up and *be* him?

Senators that know right from wrong.....

...thank God we have some!

Via Roger L. Simon I learned that some of our Senators grew a pair and actually formally called Dick Durbin out:

Freshman GOP Senators Issue Joint
StatementCall on Senator Durbin to Apologize


WASHINGTON, DC - Freshman Senators Richard Burr - NC, Tom Coburn - OK, Jim
DeMint - SC, Johnny Isakson - GA, Mel Martinez - FL, John Thune - SD and David
Vitter - LA today issued the following statement in response to comments made by
Senator Dick Durbin - IL on the Floor of the United States Senate comparing U.S.
troops to Nazis, Soviets and others:

As freshman Senators, we recently campaigned to change the tone in
Washington and accomplish great things on behalf of the American people. We are
united in our support for our troops in the ongoing War on Terror. We found
Senator Durbin's remarks to be highly offensive and dangerous. This rhetoric is
harmful to our soldiers and emboldens our enemies. We call on Senator Durbin to
issue an apology to the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces.
The American Armed Forces are the best in the world and to compare them with
Nazis, Soviet Gulags, or Pol Pot is outrageous. Millions of innocent people were
murdered in death camps under these evil regimes
.


Good for them!!

Traitor

...and he should be held accountable

IMO Senator Durbin is a traitorous Dick. Literally. Many others have said it better than me:

Froggy Ruminations: "I want Durbin's job, and I want it now. I'll be damned if a US Senator is going to get away with comparing my comrades to the Gestapo, or Stalin's thugs."

Michelle Malkin has a great round-up.

And last but not least this from Ace: "Today's Democratic Party --
We're self-loathing, but we'd love to have company in that."

UPDATE: Varifrank gives a well thought out answer to the question "Why would Sen. Durbin make and then STAND BEHIND such a horrible comparison of our troops to Nazi interrogatorsors/camps??"

Now, I dont want to spend this piece just jumping on Senator Durbin,
that would be all too easy.

The real issue here is why.

Why is guantanamo even an issue? Why is this 24x 7 x 365 atrocity
watch even going on? Does anything that has ever been put forth so far rise to
the occasion to even begin to acquire the description of Nazi like?

Come on now, does it? Of course not.

The reason why Sen. Durbin, Leahy, Kennedy and Amnesty International
have all decided Guantanmo has got to go hasn't anything at all to do with
detainees or their legal state, or our place in the world of Human Rights.

It has to do with you. You see, its easy to say you support the
troops when you think of them as liberators and warriors out killing terrorists
and keeping you safe and and the world free from harm. Its not so easy to
support the troops when you think they are uni-browed goons and babykillers
who are out gleefully torturing innocents. That's what they want you to think,
that's what this is all about, it a full court press to change the narrative of
the war from one of voting and freedom to one of the oppression of innocents and
torture.

Oh. Right. **sigh**
Varifrank finishes with this:

Oh and if you get the “Do you support our torture
in Guantanamo” from people on left, just answer them the way I do:


“I’ll put
our treatment of our detainees up against any Al-queda camp. Our camps have
thousands of visits from members of media, the red cross, access to lawyers and
regular food and to date there has not been a single beheading, on camera or
off. Al-queda cant begin to match that record


Anyway, read the whole thing.........

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Hahahahaha

I needed some funny..........

Just a teaser, the rest of the funny is from VW at One Happy Dog Speaks:
Horn Broken... Watch For Finger.

Ha! I swear to God, that should be my tagline! Right next to my motto:
"Complete honesty in word and deed is a good way to get punched out."

Word.

Thoughts on Camp X-ray

Keeping focused even through difficulty...

So, all over the news recently there has been a raging debate about whether or not the terrorists we have housed at gitmo should even be there, what kinds of abuses they may have suffered, have we done everything we can to respect their religious and human rights, how the rest of the world thinks we should or should not be running things, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I am so sick and tired of hearing about how we should be worried about whether or not the *terrorists* that we have captured are comfy and happy!!! As always, Varifrank puts together a very insightful essay about why having gitmo is a good thing:


Imagine if [Mohammed] Atta had been stopped.
Imagine if Atta were
in here living safely behind bars, with a government provided Koran and three
squares a day. he would be angry that he was caught, but he would thank his
lucky stars that he was incarcerated by the United States, rather than Pakistan,
Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Russia or even Israel. Imagine how you would feel if you
knew what Atta was going to do and you had managed to stop him. Imagine standing
outside his cell, knowing that he had a plan to take commercial aircraft and
crash them into buildings, only he had been stopped at immigration and
information from other sources confirmed that he was part of the Bin Laden
network.

September 11th clarified that WHOLE debate for me. There are people in the world who don't care that we just want to live with them in peace and allow them to worship whatever god** they so desire. They want to kill us in some holy war that will simply guarantee them paradise after their martyred death. Nothing I can offer them is worth more to them that their chance to attain paradise (and however many virgins that comes with). Again Varifrank says it better:

You'll notice that the respect we paid to him [Mohammed Atta] and his
minions during his stay in our country had no effect whatsoever in his desire to
kill us. While he was planning to kill thousands of people in downtown
Manhattan, Mohammed Atta was protected by the full faith and credit of the
Constitution of the great satan.

I listen to all of this posturing by our politicians and media, Amnesty International about how we have damaged our credibility as a nation by keeping these "enemy combatants" in camp X-ray (or according to Amnesty the "gulag" of our times -- yeah, right). And all I can think is who cares?? Don't you get it? This *isn't* a world popularity contest damnit!! 3000 people were murdered on 9-11! Our past policies of ignoring the terrorists or just leaving them alone did not protect our country. Been there, done that, didn't work. Time to play hard ball with these guys.

I mean, I get it! Islamic terrorists want to kill me and my family to appease some bloodthirsty god** they worship and I don't really give a crap whether or not they are happy about not being able to continue on their ruinous mission because they are housed in Guantanamo Bay. It is necessary to remember the lessons of September 11th.

We were careless once, and thousands of people died. Let us not make the same mistake again.

Go read the whole thing.

**The "god" of Islamic terrorists does not get a capital G from me. So I'm petty. So what.

Update: But this is an idea....... Heh.



Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Bubonic Plague???

Holy crap you have to be kidding me............
The Billings Gazette:

LARAMIE - A house cat has died of bubonic plague, but health officials
say the disease isn't uncommon in Wyoming and residents need not react beyond
taking practical precautions in dealing with wildlife.

"Plague in cats is relatively common, especially in the southwestern part of the United States," O'Toole said. "In Wyoming, it is less common, but we have seen previous cases in cats. Infected cats have been associated with 23 cases of human plague in the U.S. in the last 20 years."


Who knew that *plague* was even still out there! Let alone in my home state! Color me naive but I just assumed that Bubonic Plague had been eradicated from the earth -- or at least from the U.S. but apparently not! Huh. Just shows that there *are* other things to be concerned about other than how Michael Jackson is going to revive his career.......... Sheesh!






Gonna have to try this.....

You never now what you're gonna find.........

So have you ever thought of microwaving a cup of peanut M&M's just until they are barely melted and enjoying warm, melty, peanuty chocolatey goodness before?? Me either. Until I read about it here. Thanks and a H/T to Boudicca. :-D (Who knew shooting boobs could lead to such a yummy treat!?!?)

So MJ is "not guilty"

Whatever.

I haven't followed the trial. I was never a huge fan. I really don't understand why the MSM felt we needed non-stop coverage and analysis but whatever -- it's OVER. FINALLY FREEKIN' OVER and I think SMASH said it best:

Can we get back to the real world now?
Ugh. Enough.

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

You'd think they would at least CALL first!

....Before a kid in a yellow vest shows up and starts digging up your garden!

You know, the gas company has my phone number. Hell, they send me a nice little letter every month letting me know how much $$$ I owe them. (And would I please pay by xxx date.) So is it soooooo much to ask that they let me know that they are planning to come to my house and start un-doing all of the work that I have spent re-doing all of my front flowerbeds?? Even dismantling a part of the retaining wall that I built?? Huh??? Or do they send some kid in a yellow vest and have him just show up and start digging?

You guessed it. I just got the crap scared outta me as I looked out of my office window and saw this kid dismantling a large part of my garden!!! I just planted the !#$%!%#^# thing last week! All of my hostas and lilies are now laying haphazardly nearby. I went out and talked to the kid (he looks about 17) and he explained that they are replacing some of the pipeline. Well fine. Could you have knocked on the door first? "Ummmmm, I rang the door bell....." (And then guess what -- you didn't hear anything. The doorbell doesn't work. Otherwise you would have *heard* the bell m'kay?) This kind of crap really ticks me off.

So you need to do some maintenance on the gas line? Fine. I understand. But would you please have the frickin' courtesy to call (or write me) ahead of time and let me know??? Is that so much to ask? You see, that way, maybe *I* could prep the area so you're not fucking up all of my nice new plants that I JUST PLANTED. See, had I known, I could have put off planting them until *after* the maintenance was completed!! Freeking morons!! *sigh* Guess I'll be having more gardening to do later. Great.

UPDATE: Okay, so they put everything back mostly where it was *supposed* to go........ But still, would it kill them to call first??? I'm just sayin'............

Last Day

Today is the last full day of school for K and A. I can hardly believe tht the year is over and summer is here!

There has been a lot going on but I just haven't felt the urge to write about it. Hubby did take me to the Yankees/Brewers game last night and that was great. Warm weather, cold beer, good baseball. And we were 4 rows up right behind the Brewer's dugout. Best. seats. ever. Hubby is now off to Chicago for the rest of the week.

Possibly the most boring post ever written but hey. Sometimes boring is good. Or not.