Right As Usual

I was reading Captain's Quarters , and found some interesting gossip. Past Democratic Party leaders tell The Hill that John McCain negotiated for two months with them to abandon the Republican Party at around the same time that Jim Jeffords crossed the aisle. Tom Daschle and Tom Downey told Bob Cusack that unlike their efforts with Jeffords and Lincoln Chafee, McCain's top aide came to them Like me, the Captain is highly suspicious of a certain lady. People who exercise particularly Machiavellian political skullduggery are sometimes referred to as having a "fine Italian hand". That phrase fits, to a T, the work of Hillary Clinton and her chubby hubby, Bill. The scenario is: Behind the scenes, build McCain up. Make him believe that he has a prayer of winning, and that you relish the chance to run the Presidential race against him. Get your well-heeled cronies to funnel money to him (haven't checked this out, but I'd bet the month's mortgage on that one)....

I've been on the run for the last few days. Saturday, my husband & I attended a Physics meeting - good geekiness, all day. It was late when we finally reached home. The next day, after church (and a nap), we finally tackled cleanup of the carport and the yard. I was able to set up a center for gardening tools and materials. Monday - chiropracter. Not for overdoing on Sunday, but a previous problem. At my husband's insistence, we both had a massage. Oh, ecstasy! The usual Guard the Borders blogburst has been delayed. Haven't heard about future 'bursts, so check back by Monday (of course you're welcome to come back earlier - I also have posts).

The Thought Police are back in action! From David Limbaugh, word about a PC infraction: General Pace has uttered the unthinkable - that he has an opinion, based on his personal sense of morality, that contradicts "officially" allowed revealed truth: Pace's hanging offense is having passed moral judgment on homosexual behavior and those engaging in it. Certain opinions are strictly forbidden in our society, whether you utter them in uniform or civvies, in public or in private. If Pace's unpardonable sin is being judgmental, aren't many of his accusers guilty of the very same thing? Are they not passing moral judgment on and demeaning him for passing moral judgment on homosexual behavior? Many homosexual activists and others, while demanding "tolerance," want to silence and demonize those who disapprove of homosexual behavior. For them, it's not just "don't ask, don't tell." It's "don't tell, and don't even think the...

I love the Internet, and particularly the blogs. Where else could you find writers like Michael Yon, who is a blogger covering the war . During the silence the soldiers redistribute ammunition and check each other for holes. Sometimes the wounded do not know they are the wounded until someone tells them. This is the kind of detail that is seldom reported in the MSM. Then again, it's hard to actually find out about these kind of things from a cushy hotel in Bagdad, which is where most correspondents are found. I still can't fathom why the media air terrorist propaganda Terrorists started this war with killing, and now are suing for peace with more killing, lashing out at schoolyards, marketplaces, and soccer matches, blowing up kids, women, and men on their way to work or worship. All to win the battle for headlines, which they are certain to get; the greater the savagery, the bigger the font. Our soldiers, meaning the soldiers from countries like the United Kingdom, Australia...

I've been following the propaganda war coverage on MSM news lately. According to the OFFICIAL pundits, the was is, despite the increased killing/capture of the "insurgents", going very badly. Naturally, this is because the troops, despite being MORE highly educated than the average American, are poor sad-sacks who were guiled into joining up. With such easily-led lackeys, the US military leaders (hereafter referred to - under your breath, of course, no telling what those crazed killers will do - as the uber-Hitler-Bushtapo) have no problem forcing them to support the mission. Which, of course, is not to bring freedom to the Iraqi people, but to grab the cheap oil for the US. Where the h##$ is mine? My little Hyundai is costing twice what it did before the war to run. I've been amusing myself with the change that will be coming soon. Eventually, the war will be over. The troops will return. And they will do what returning soldiers have always done. Look around ...

I think all voters with a sense of responsibility need to contact their legislators, and let them know that we are against Pork (loading a bill with extraneous "goodies" for a particular constituency, in order to cajole a vote from a fellow lawmaker who is greedy pathetically and desperately in need of support at home courageously fighting for his people at home), EVEN if it dooms a bill to oblivion. Better a lost vote than piling the debt on our great-grandchildren. This can be a hard sell. Many politicians risk losing their seat to a shyster who will promise all sorts of prizes to the voters. And, it IS a risk. Some legislators have taken the high road, and been defeated, by a promise-them-anything charlatan. We have to commit to tightening our belts, even if it affects US. We have to write the checks for politicians willing to take a stand. Read about efforts by bloggers to notify their legislators that they won't tolerate business-as-usual.

I've been out of touch with the web for a few days, due to my husband's medical issues. While out of town, I checked the news for coverage of the Gathering of Eagles meeting in Washington. Nada. Zilch. I saw coverage of the "brave" protesters "telling truth to power". The amazing courage of the anti-war left me breathless - imagine daring to speak out, when the Bushtapo stormtroopers lay all around, just waiting for a mis-step to put them all in the BushGulag. Yeah. Like that's gonna happen. For all the average network viewer could verify, the anti-war was the only game in town. It looked like a massive protest, with a straggly few anti-protesters quickly shown - nothing to see here, go back to the valiant MASS movement of anti-war activists. Check out the photo essay of the antiwar protest . Note the tight camera shots - they don't allow you to see the vast empty spaces in a pathetically sparse crowd. A reporter provides a different slant on th...

I've been out of town for the last 4 days - my husband needed further work on his eyes. His Lasix surgery was basically working, but he developed a "wrinkle" in one cornea. As a result, he had to have another cut and re-stitch, followed by a next-day check-up. The doctor came in just for him at 8 am, in the middle of a major cold front. Everything is healing nicely, and he was even able to drive about 1/2 the way. His eyes are still very sensitive to light, so he's wearing tinted glasses indoors, and heavy sunglasses outdoors. We found a CHEAP source of both reading glasses ($0.88 apiece) and sunglasses (about $2.00). So we loaded up - bought 6 pairs of reading glasses, and four pairs of sunglasses. Mine are large and wrap-around - think Jackie O. I may never choose any other type - they're really comfortable. They block almost all unfiltered light, which is a LOT easier on my eyes. Since I'm now living in a region of the country that receives strong...

I dunno. I know that Dennis Kucinich drives many (OK, almost all) conservatives crazy for his near-complete pacifism, bleeding-heart views, and naivete about the real world. And, to a great extent, I agree. But, he was my councilman and mayor for a time. I got to know him on a personal level, and, I gotta say, I genuinely LIKE the guy. I have absolutely no doubt that everything he says is on the level, and straight from his fuzzy little heart. He is who he is, and that alone is refreshing in American politics. Michelle Malkin has a post about him today . He's the sole Democrat who is, as she says, calling out the cowards who won't debate on Fox News . As usual, Dennis tells it without mincing words: “If you want to be the President of the United States, you can’t be afraid to deal with people with whom you disagree politically,” Kucinich said. “No one is further removed from Fox’s political philosophy than I am, but fear should not dictate decisions that affect hundreds o...

Hacked! That's the situation facing Heidi at Euphoric Reality . In a way, it's probably a compliment to the excellent work she does in raising awareness of the illegal alien problem. If she wasn't making some headway, they wouldn't bother. But the average American citizen is becoming more aware of the issue; I can tell by the emails I'm receiving from friends and family, who, last year, hadn't even thought of the issue. In lieu of the Guard the Borders Blogburst this week, I'm sending visitors to a poignant slide show , that shows the problems currently facing the citizens of border states, that will eventually filter to the rest of us.

I found the above picture, and more, at A Texan Abroad .

Why, you might ask, are you sitting with ice on your foot? Because I dropped a computer on it. Not that bad - it was, after all, a laptop. But not an ULTRALIGHT laptop. So, it definitely hurts. It hit right on that spot just over the ball of the foot, where there's a tendon connecting the big toe. FYI, it hurts unbelievably. Mind, I'm a real sissy about relatively small injuries - if I stub my toe, I'm likely to take to my deathbed for a few days. Big stuff, I'm pretty stoic about. 3 kids, natural childbirth (OK, I swore a lot), major surgery, broken bones - relatively OK. But the little stuff - boy, I'm a real baby. Whine, whine.

[Editor's Note: This article is reprinted with permission from American Freedom Riders .] A Pattern of Malicious Prosecution by U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton by American Freedom Riders Written by his own hand, former U.S. Border Patrol Agent Gary Brugman tells how, in the performance of his duty, he was falsely charged and convicted of violating the civil rights of an alien caught entering the U.S. illegally at the Mexican border. This case, along with the cases of Ramos and Compean, Hernandez, Sipe, and who knows how many more, serves as proof of the agenda of malicious prosecution by Johnny Sutton against law enforcement officers who dare to uphold our immigration laws. ( Sutton bio - Note the joined-at-the-hip relationship with George W. Bush ) Once again, as in the Ramos and Compean case, Sutton worked in concert with the Mexican Consulate to locate a deported Mexican national and payed his way back to the United States many months later to testify against a Border Patrol ag...

In American education, there is a prevalent theory that children will be irretrievably damaged by letting them know that their efforts were inadequate to the task. Therefore, teachers jump through hoops to avoid saying, "that answer is wrong", instead focuing on the nearness of the answer to almost-not quite-kinda-sorta right. For this reason, the standards movement arose. Parents, employers, and colleges needed some way to differentiate between the B averages and straight As they were seeing on transcripts, and sort out those who, however beloved by friends, family, and God, just weren't up to the task. Then, miraculously, American Idol arrived. And the arch-villain Simon Cowell become meritocracy's new hero. Simon isn't as cruel as many would characterize him. He simply states the truth. Cowell's fame (or infamy) grew, fed by his deliberately insincere signature phrase, "I don't mean to be rude, but …", inevitably followed by an unsparing d...