A Face Only a Master Could Love

Is this the worlds ugliest dog?



Hmmm. Could well be.

If You're Gonna Dream -- Dream Big

It is mostly common knowledge that a recently broken up terror group planned to destroy the Sears Tower in Chicago, but it seems they had bigger dreams then that.

They planned on -- with a lot of help from Allah (and boy would they need it) -- to overthrow the government and set up an Islamic state.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Richard Getchell said the alleged ringleader, Narseal Batiste, told an FBI informant as early as October 2005 that his mission was to take over the U.S. government in the name of Allah. He added that although Batiste said he was aware some people would consider that "crazy," he believed that all was possible with Allah's help.

So far Allah has been a lot of help to them.

I'd like to see them try and set up a Sharia in my hometown. They would find themselves buried alive in vats of pig's blood, if my neighbors were in a generous mood. I live right in the heart of Michigan Militia territory. This is the last place they want to try anything.

A Phoney Katrina Victim

A woman from Mason Michigan claimed to be the victim of Katrina and received quite a bit of assistance from local people. The problem was that she was lying about being a hurricane victim and she was caught. The punishment handed down to her is appropriate for the most part; but I think they are asking her to explain and apologize to the wrong people. She should not be explaining and apologizing to school kids here in Michigan. She should be explaining and apologizing to the real hurricane victims.

She claimed that she was actually running from an abusive relationship and lied because she was desperate. There is enough support for women in that position that she did not have to lie. She deserves the punishment she got and more.

Absolute Zero

I have been extended and have accepted an invitation to join the team at the anti-pedophile blog Absolute Zero. I ask readers to have a look at this as this is a major future battlefield in the Cultural War. For those who doubt this, keep in mind what is supposedly acceptable today and what they said about it 20 years ago. The attempt to seperate all sexual activity from the sphere of morality is accelerating and we need to be vigilant. Let's draw a line in the sand well prior to pedophilia and say "No further."

I want to thank them for inviting me and I have accepted.

Two GM Stories.

The Detroit News is currently carrying two significant stories of what is going on at the struggling GM and its (semi) independent (semi) subsidiary Delphi.

First of all, the number of buyouts accepted by GM employees exceeded their expectations and they will be able to eliminate jobs they want eliminated two years early. While it is welcome in the board room and Wall Street, and is probably good news for most in the long run, in the short term many people will now need new jobs. I think it shows little confidence in a company's future when that many people are willing to bail. Of course there is always an eye openning line in most articles:

GM and Delphi will have to scramble to keep plants and assembly lines running by recalling laid-off workers, transferring workers from other plants and hiring temporary workers.
GM said about 9,000 workers have left the company and the remaining workers who took packages have departure dates scattered through the end of the year.
"We feel highly comfortable we can offer continued focus on great quality," Wagoner said.
Healy estimated the cost of a temporary employee at $19 an hour, compared to about $80-an-hour in wages, benefits and retirement costs for current workers. "That's a huge savings," he said.

I think a lot of unemployed people would be quite happy with a wage/benefit package worth $19/hr.

The other GM story is a little brighter. GM is bringing back 0% financing on select models. This is probably one of the smartest things they could do right now to get some models moving off the lot and make room for the '07 models. I would only change the dates of the special and run it a bit longer to help clear out the old models.

The Michigan Governor's Race

Jennifer Granholm is up for re-election and she has her work cut out for her. Now to lay my cards on the table I voted for the other guy but I did, a few years earlier, vote for her as Attorney General and believe she did a fairly good job at that post.

The economic situation in Michigan is not her fault, nor is it John Engler's fault (her predecessor). I have said repeatedly, and still believe, that Michigan's economic woes are cultural rather than political and changing politicians will not solve most of the problem. Too many people in this state believe that they are entitled to an upper-middle-class income with generous benefits, needing little or no education, (and sometimes very little work) as our factories gave us 30+ years ago and they will not accept the fact that it does not work any more. The people of Michigan must change their attitudes on this or the decline will continue.

Though it is not her fault it IS her responsibility because she willingly took that responsibility when she took her oath of office.

The state GOP has annointed former Amway executive Dick DeVos as their man, though things can still go awry in the primaries (as happened to the DEMs 8 years ago when the second biggest embarrasment to the state of Michigan -- right after Michael Moore -- Geoffery Fieger upset the annointed one and won the nomination.)

An editorial by Derek Melot in today's Lansing State Journal points out that there is very little difference in the programs espoused by DeVos and Granholm. Right now they are arguing over competence. I would have to largely concur with Mr. Melot.

I was especially intrigued by this line.

It's said there are no atheists in foxholes.
Dick DeVos' campaign for governor may prove there are no conservatives in Michigan politics.

and a ways down it says

The words may vary, but the theme is the same: Government is the answer.

Sadly our government is only a small part of the answer. The real answer lies in the minds and expectations of the people of Michigan.

Michigan can prosper again, but we have to concentrate on 1) educating our people to higher level and 2) getting businesses to notice the change when it happens. It's not going to happen overnight and we are micro-wave dinner generation. We want everything now.

Update 9:12 PM The Detroit News has an article on this as well based on a voter survey. The biggest difference here is that it gives statistics on what Michigan is thinking. The economy is the top concern of 79% of the state with nearly 2/3 saying the state on the wrong track. Voters seem to feel that neither DeVos nor Granholm have any real answers.

Me -- Wrong Place -- Wrong Time

Since I'm only working half-time until changeover is complete, I took advantage of some free time and went for a short stroll. I was about half a mile from my home home and the sky, which had been bright with a few clouds quickly darkened.

Hmmm. Looks like it might rain. I turn around and head home.

30 seconds later. Thunder. I step up the pace.

30 seconds after that. Sprinkling. I hurry a bit.

About a minute later. "Feet don't fail me now!" It starts raining hard.

About half a block from home it is raining so hard that I can barely see. I get under the awning of a store. The wind picks up and starts blowing toward the store (a craft shop whose owner I know) so I go inside and watch barely able to see the cars parked outside, plus the wind is driving the rain onto the windows so hard you couldn't see outside clearly anyway. The rain is hitting the walls, roof, and windows so hard that it sounds like a train going by. About 15 to 20 minutes later it slows to steady pleasant rain and I head home. The water at the curbside is standing over onto the edge of the sidewalks in puddles that reach half-way to the middle of the street. I can only think "Wow!"

I get home to a shock. I had left a window open. My hardwood floor has standing water on it. Sigh . . . Get the mop. Fortunately nothing but a couple of old comics book were ruined. Nothing valuable or expensive.

About 2 hours later I went outside and walked through a park that is only a couple blocks away. A couple of medium sized branches fell, and small branches everywhere. My only thought was "Why did it happen while I was outside and a ways from home?"

Good for a Laugh (3)

This got a real laugh out of me.

They Miss the Point

A column in the Toronto Sun by Shiela Copps complains that tax-freedom day in Canada comes too soon because Canadians are not paying enough taxes. They have been seduced by American Neo-cons into the taxes-are-bad-for-you myth.

She proceeds to point out a few problems that Canada has because of inadequate funding. True and almost everything she points to is valid, but she overlooks a very important fact. A lot of government spending, on both sides of our common border, is wasted. Pork and entitlements, the twin curses of modern politics, consumes far too much of our federal and state (or provinicial) budgets. Both are nothing more than political bribes designed to buy more votes for the politicians. If she wants more money for legitimate uses, then she needs to tell her government to quit wasting money on pork and entitlements and quit asking the over-taxed citizens of any country to pay more.

H/T Let Freedom Ring.

Dreaming of Space

Is this the future of manned space travel, at least from America?

It's called "Dreamchaser" and is apparently getting seriously looked at. Capable of both orbital and sub-orbital flights, as well as NASA, commercial and tourism. I have no idea of the cost factors. It can carry six astronauts or fewer astronauts and more cargo to the space station.

It is somewhat puzzling though, in launch configuration the spaceplane is proportionally smaller than the older shuttle (compared to the entire launch configuration).

Also, there are 5 other designs being considered so this is far from sure.

Update: 1:55 PM Never blog while you're falling asleep. I called it "Dream Catcher" and it is "Dream Chaser" and didn't catch it during proofreading.

Another Leftist Hero Blinks

Walter Mondale, whose 84 presidential campaign included, among other dumb ideas, nuclear disarment and no more support for the contras, now says we should use our military, or at least our missles against North Korea.

Hmmmm.

I'm glad to hear him say this, but ... I wonder what the peaceniks who used to support him think of him now. They too seem to have the philosophy that those who do not support them 100% are against them so is he now the enemy?

Sometimes wisdom does come with age.

How do I Love Thee?

I have been spending some time at an Anti-Pedophile Blog, Absolute Zero, mostly lurking with an occasional comment. Sometimes pedophiles comment and if you follow back to their blogs you get the same motif. "I love children and would never hurt them. What happens between us is love." I have just a simple question for them.

If were to marry a woman and, of course be intimate with her, I would be thinking of growing old with her. Now if you need a child in order to be fulfilled, what do you do with that child when they grow up? Do you suddenly turn into a normal person who needs an adult lover or to you hunt down and seduce, er excuse me -- win the love of another child, as you toss your previous lover aside? How can you call it love when it is impossible for it to last because children grow up?

I feel nothing but contempt for a man who would trade his wife in on "newer model" and yet your love will inevitably lead to this contemptable situation.

I love slow-roasted chicken. Oh boy do I love it. But when there is no meat left on those bones it is no longer of any value to me so I throw the bones away. I think your love for children is the kind of love that I have for that roasted bird. The problem is that there is no moral difficulty in loving a piece of meat like that but there is real problem with loving a living human like that. In fact treating a human like that is worthy of utter contempt.

Unless the living human is nothing more than a piece of meat to you.

What does happen to your "love" when your lover grows up and is no longer desirable to you?

Anything to Keep Us From Voting On It

Mayor Kilpatrick of Detroit does not believe that we should be allowed to vote on certain issues, like affirmative action. There is going to be a ballot question this year that would make most discrimination of any type, including the discrimination that is misleadingly labeled "Affirmative Action" illegal. Say what you will about it, affirmative action is simply discrimination going the other way, and it is every bit as immoral and it should be every bit as illegal.

According to today's Detroit News, hizoner is suing Ward Connerly, the California businessman who feels, as a black man, that affirmative action is an insult. He says that Connerly lied to people claiming that Mr. Connerly told people that the initiative would protective action and tricked them into signing a petition that in fact said the opposite.

a) What sort of fool would sign a petition without first reading it? I do not doubt that there are some that do, and some petition gatherers may have misled people, but I seriously doubt that it is the standard procedure of most of the signature gatherers and would have been no more than a few people; not enough to change the outcome . Someone who would sign a petition without reading it is probably too dumb to be allowed to vote.

b) If the majority of Michiganders are against this, then it will fail on election day. If it passes then it obviously had enough support that it belonged on the ballot. Mr. Kilpatrick is simply trying to stop us from voting on an issue that he does not want changed.

c) The Supreme Court of the United States needs to settle this by banning all forms of discrimination based on race or gender in the public arena. The Constitution forbids discrimination and affirmative action IS discrimination.

Right now it is too close to call on how the vote will come out, but we deserve to be allowed to vote on this.

Physical Time

Saw the Doctor yesterday. Looks like I'm going to live another year.

Actually it was pretty good. My bloodpressure -- which got me tossed out of the Navy -- was the best it has ever been, just about where it should be. Doc was thrilled with that.

I am on the upper edge of my acceptable weight range (Doc wants me aware of it, but not to sweat it.)

My only dark spot was my tri-gli-cer-ates (sp? A cholesterol group) which was borderline high. Says I eat too much fast food. Need to eat more rabbit food. groan.

George McGovern Backstabs the Union?

McGovern sticks 'knife in the back' of unions

That was the headline of an editorial letter from by AFL-CIO official Brent Gillette in today's Detroit News. What did that one-time hero of the left do that was so bad?

He told them to "Live with less."

When I first started this blog I was saying that "We have a choice. Lose something or lose everything". The heady days of the past were great for the people that lived them but they reached unsustainable levels which, blame the union or the company -- doesn't really matter, we can no longer sustain. $20+/hr jobs with generous benefits are a thing of the past for unskilled labor and that is simple reality. Pointing out reality is not a knife in the back.

Mr. Gillette also wants more schools and fewer jails. So do I but unfortunately we have a real need for jails.

He wants more books and fewer arsenals. I would like that too but unfortunately we have a real need for arsenals as well.

He is entitled to his opinion but I don't think too much of it.

Pay Your Fines -- Or Else!!

Detroit is pushing a new, actually not so new but the attention is new, source of revenues. Unpaid parking fines. At first I was kind of going with a "you gotta be kidding me!" attitude, but there is a substantial amount of money owed to the city. ($13,000,000) A few people owe what would be a few months pay for me.

and if you don't pay and you owe for a number of tickets, then they get real serious with you.

A couple of these people look like they could possibly owe more than the car is worth, but that is unlikely.

I'm A Frog

I took a quiz to see what cute cudley animal I am. I turned out to be a frog.

You Are A: Frog!

Independent yet still part of a large community, frogs are unique creatures known for their distinctive sound and ability to hop. As a frog, you spend your days sitting on lily pads or climbing trees, searching for delicious insects to eat. While there are some frogs that aren't exactly cute, you are certainly not one of those!

You were almost a: Mouse or a Chipmunk
You are least like a: Kitten or a PuppyCute Animal Test!

A Frog. . . Hmmm

Now about that fairy tale of the frog that is actually a prince?

An Ethanol Future?

Will gasoline be replaced with a Gasoline-ethanol hybrid fuel?

To hear some people you would think the answer is yes, with no questions going with it.

It's a mixed bag.

The good news.
1. It's made from corn and we grow alot of corn in America.
2. It burns cleaner.
3. American automakers are actually ahead of the curve on creating the hybrids. (Amazing!!) That would help the domestic automakers.

The bad news.
1. We have no distribution system set up.
2. There would not really be a big savings at the pump.
3. Corn is not a really enviro-friendly crop (and why does this objection not suprise me?)
4. Hybrid cars get less mileage then gasoline cars. (That does suprise me!)
5. Hybrid fuel producers require a lot of water, though that can change with technology.
6. Corn being raised for ethanol would mean less crop space for food driving up food prices.

Clearly we need to look at this but we can't jump to any conclusions at this point. It is probably part of the solution but not the entire solution.

Perhaps the old TV gag of cars running on Hillbilly moonshine weren't so far out after all.

I Want The CD.

You need to see this video and song

Islam's Not For Me

H/T Eurabia

Enemies Within and Without.

I believe without reservation that the Old and New Testament as written in the original Greek and Hebrew is the inspired and infallable Word of God and contains absolute statements and sometimes vague guidelines to all questions of faith and morality. I believe that this is a core belief of true Christians and helps define a true Christian.

Some of our "Christian" brothers seem to disagree.

COLUMBUS, OHIO (6/15/06)-The 75th General Convention of the Episcopal Church today passed a resolution essentially condemning the Bible as an "anti-Jewish" document. Not only does the resolution aim to address perceptions of anti-Jewish prejudice in the Bible and Episcopal liturgy, but it suggests that such prejudice is actually "expressed in...Christian Scriptures and liturgical texts."

There may be things within the liturgies, being human in their origin, which are wrong and need to go, but to condemn the Bible is something else entirely. It is of Divine origin. A church convention condemning the Bible makes as much as sense as if the Supreme Court were to declare the Constitution unconstitutional.

With Islamic and Secular Fundamentalists attacking us from the outside and apostates attacking from within we are truly under attack. (However, we are not Muslims so we won't kill the apostates; we will simply refuse to acknowledge them as brothers or sisters.)

Another Honor Killing

A 25 year old woman in England was murdered by her own family because they did not approve of the man she intended to marry. (who, incidently, was Islamic himself). Her throat was slit multiple times while children were forced to watch.

Just a few observations.

1.This is the religion of peace.

2.This is the culture that claims to be more civilized.

3.Weapon style knives are now illegal in Britain. Knife control works just like gun control.

May God Himself have the mercy that her family did not.

H/T Little Green Footballs.

Now this needs to be in the headlines of every newspaper in the free world.

Say Good-Bye to a Landmark

Picture London without Big Ben

Picture Paris without the Eifel Tower

Picture NYC without the Statue of Liberty

The ballfield that was homefield to greats like Ty Cobb, Al Kaline, Mickey Cochrane and others, was homefield to the Lions back when they actually knew what a goal post was for, is soon going to be history.

I have only been to Tiger Stadium a few times and the last time I went I was in college. I have yet to be in either Comerica Park or Ford Field, but I hope that these fields will one day be as rich and colorful in history as Tiger Stadium was.

Bad News -- Unemployment Down In Michigan

No I am not being sarcastic or anything nor is that a typo.

Michigan lost another 19,000 jobs in May yet the state's unemployment rate dropped. That is because many people have left the state for greener pastures. People are giving up on The Great Lakes State.

I can think of nothing more to say about this at this point in time. Michigan is my home and I hate what is happening to it. It is depressing.

The Threat of Politcal Correctness

A few years ago there was movie out called PCU which was supposed to mock the concept of Political Correctness. I went to see it with my hopes high, but they were quickly dashed. The movie literally showed the "Campus Republicans" goosestepping and quoting both Hitler and Reagan while Political Correctness was revealed as a Right Wing plot to get the good-hearted liberals on campus to fight each other instead of them. That movie stunned me with its outright lies and assumption of our stupidity. Fortunately it was bomb (U.S. Box Office: $4,346,237)

I understand Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press to mean that we have the right to tell the truth and state honestly held opinions. Sadly that is not the case in many situations anymore; there are whole segments of society that it is now taboo to offend.

The Gates of Vienna has a long and worthwhile article on PC and its relationship to Marxism and it is a very disturbing bit of writing. I encourage you to go and the read the article but I wish to point out and comment on a few things.

Political correctness is communist propaganda writ small. In my study of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, nor to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded to reality the better. When people are forced to remain silent when they are being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to repeat the lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of probity.

The need to silence all criticism is needed to achieve their ends. By wrapping their intolerance in the language of tolerance they are now the tyrants they pretend to hate. One of this biggest lies is the idea that TOLERANCE = APPROVAL. That is perhaps their most successful lie because you don't need to tolerate something you approve of; you tolerate things you don't like.

The Left have become ideological orphans after the Cold War, or perhaps we should call them ideological mercenaries. Although the viable economic alternative to capitalism didn’t work out, their hatred for this system never subsided, it merely transformed into other forms. Multiculturalism is just a different word for “divide and conquer,” pitting various ethnic and cultural groups against each other and destroying the coherence of Western society from within.

Communism is supposedly dead, but like the Beast of Revelation 13, it seems to have a life beyond its mortal wound (and no I am not saying the Beast is Communism, I am just noting a similarity.)

This quote is also worth thinking about:

Much of the political Left is simply engaged in outing their opponents as evil, instead of rationally arguing against their ideas. Attaching labels such as “racist” or even “Fascist” to anyone criticizing massive immigration or Multiculturalism has become so common that Norwegian anti-Islamists have coined a new word for it: “Hitling,” which could be roughly translated to English as “to make like Hitler.” The logic behind “hitling” is a bit like this: “You have a beard. Adolf Hitler had facial hair, too, so you must be like Hitler. Adolf Hitler liked dogs. You have pets, too, you must be like Hitler. Adolf Hitler was a vegetarian. You like carrots, you are just like Hitler.”

Any “right-winger” can be slimed with such accusations. Curiously enough, the reverse is almost never true. Although Marxism may have killed 100 million people during the 20th century and failed in every single society in which it has ever been tried out, there seems to be little stigma attached to being a Leftist. The fact that Leftists can get away with this and claim to hold the moral high ground amply demonstrates that we didn’t win the Cold War. We let our guard down after the fall of the Berlin Wall and never properly denounced the ideology behind it. This is now coming back to haunt us.

Much of the criticism of the right is pointless name calling. We are not supposed to question them because they are the good guys, and we are not to ask what they mean by that. That is their whole way, to make us ashamed of what we believe without ever offering concrete reasons why other than it does not fit with their worldview.

I especially appreciated this quote:

Alain Finkielkraut stated: “In France, they would like very much to reduce these riots to their social dimension, to see them as a revolt of youths from the suburbs against their situation, against the discrimination they suffer from, against the unemployment. The problem is that most of these youths are blacks or Arabs, with a Muslim identity. Look, in France there are also other immigrants whose situation is difficult — Chinese, Vietnamese, Portuguese — and they’re not taking part in the riots. Therefore, it is clear that this is a revolt with an ethno-religious character. These people were treated like rebels, like revolutionaries. (…) They’re ‘interesting.’ They’re ‘the wretched of the earth.’ “Imagine for a moment that they were whites, like in Rostock in Germany. Right away, everyone would have said: ‘Fascism won’t be tolerated.’ When an Arab torches a school, it’s rebellion. When a white guy does it, it’s fascism. Evil is evil, no matter what color it is.”

The narrowness of Marxist thinking is quite evident. They wish to explain all of history as a "Class Struggle" and everything must be defined in those terms. In actuality history is a series of different struggles that are in some ways independent of each other and in some ways interelated. I see not only the "Class Struggle" (which is real but not the entire story), but also a Philosophical Struggle, a Theological Struggle, an Identity Struggle, Militancy vs Pacisfism etc. Marxists try to define the struggle of society as a simple line with socialism on one end and capitalism on the other, when in fact its a hyper-dimensional matrix of many struggles. The failure to understand this means that Marxists must define the Jihad in class struggle terms, for it is the only struggle they recognize as real. This blinds them to real intent of the Jihadists.

When I think of a Marxist proffesor I really wish I could think of those poor misguided Japanese soldiers who loyally soldiered on 20, 30 years after WWII ended. They fought a war that they knew was over and lost. Sadly the war with Marxism is not over and they have not lost, at least not in their minds. They are soldiers for a lost cause that they believe in so strongly that they are unwilling to surrender and hope to resurrect their dream. God help us if they ever succeed.

If I were to quote every worthwhile quote from the article I would plagarize it. Instead I urge you to read it.

Is This The Start of Something?

In the unlikely but possible event that Senator Joe Lieberman loses to his primary challenger, Ned Lamont, he would seriously consider running as an independent, which polls strongly suggest he would win. It seems he is more popular with Independents and Republicans than he is with Democrats. (Sort of the opposite of John McCain.)

As the extreme left keeps gaining more power in the Democratic Party they will drive the center left out as they are already trying to do. America needs two good parties to choose from, not one barely tolerable (the GOP) and one totally intolerable (the other guys.) I would like to see him run as an Independent to show the need for a good third choice. It would peel the center-left out of the DEMs along with the liberal wing of the GOP with two possibly good results. First it would create a viable alternative to the GOP and secondly with a viable option the GOP would need to clean up its act.

Yes Joe, start the ball rolling.

(Of course if Joe wins the primary, which is likely, this all irrelevant.)

Counting Your Chickens

It is common wisdom that one should never count their chickens until they are hatched (and based on some things our friend over at Born Again Redneck has told us you should wait until they grow up to count them.)

I do not know how the '06 election is going to turn up because nothing is clear right now. Just a few short weeks ago the DEMs were already passing out chairmanships but things appear to be shifting at the moment. Bush's approval rating is still quite low but it is up quite a bit from a just a few weeks ago and confidence is rising. Only time will tell if this is a blip or a new trend and I will not venture a guess.

Not long ago they were planning to take some over being Governor in few more states as well, but numbers are beginning to make them nervous.

Election Day is a long ways off and anything can happen in the next four months. I think both sides need to concentrate on doing their jobs and proving themselves to the voters. Neither side should be either celebrating prematurely or panicking at this point in time.

If They Want It They Should Pay For It.

Daryl Hannah, nice figure at one time - still no brain, has been arrested. Squatters were using 14 acres of privately owned land for farming and the owner decided to put it to use as a warehouse for which it was zoned. A protest and mass arrest, including the arrest of the one-time mermaid, occured. She said that "I'm very confident this is the morally right thing to do, to take a principled stand in solidarity with the farmers."

Miss Hannah, you are so generous with other people's property. You have the money to buy that property and give it to those people. Don't complain about the greed of others when limousine liberals such as yourself will not open your own wallet to help these people.

Update 9:00 PM The word "hypocrite" is thrown around alot but what does that word actually mean? Before Jesus ever used it, the Greek word hupokrites was in common use. It was word used to describe dramatic actors, or in modern terms "actor" or "actress". When Jesus called people "hypocrites" He was literally calling them "actors".

Someone Got Hacked :-D

There is webpage urging people to turn their backs on our military. I have been aware of it for a while but figured why give the idiot any advertising. Recently some Marines have asked us to do something about them.

Under normal circumstances I would do anything our men and women in uniform ask, but I believe that allowing this idiot to speak is the best way to let the world know what an absolute loser he is.

Someone must have hacked his site. On a whim I decided to go see what the imbecile was saying.

AS of 3:03 Tuesday Afternoon (EDT) his site www.forsakethetroops.com will redirect you to an armed forces recruiting page. Illegal but ... (Hey I didn't do it so ...)

It's illegal what they did to his site, yet there is also a slight feeling of glee.

Now KFC Is Getting Sued

No one mistakes KFC food as a recommended diet, in fact a single original recipe chicken thigh from there exceeds my recommended intake for fats (though I love their chicken; it tastes great.)

Now a "public interest group" (read money-hungry lawyers) is suing them to force them to change.

I would agree if someone was forced to eat at KFC, but nobody has to eat there (and even their employees who eat for free or a discount can eat other items which are much better.)

This is people who once again assume that we are too stupid to look out for ourselves and they have to do it for us.

No Proper Warning?! All you have to do is read their "nutrition" tables which are prominently posted or offered at all outlets. If a given store does not then that store should be fined for not making the information available but it is absurd to sue an entire chain of fast food joints.

An Anti-Pedophile Blog

Bushwack's blog has connected to an blog dedicated to exposing and fighting the agenda of pedophiles. It is worth a visit and a read.

Some of the comments from the pedophiles is stunning but I went to the blog of one who admits he is struggling with what he admits is abnormal, but in the end he tries to justify it.

In the last few years I have seen movies where sibling incest is given a sympathetic treatment as well ... most notably The Royal Tennenbaums. (In the Very Brady Sequel sexual tension between Gregg and Marcia Brady boils over but it is played for laughs; I'm not sure if I would consider that another example or not.) First we wink at sex outside of marriage, then gay sex, now is it going to be incest and pedophiles. I certainly hope not.

This is NOT Bad News

The LA Times (registration req.) seems to think that the people of Europe are seriously messing up. They are letting their precious European Union falter.

The article states
On a continent that dreamed of eliminating national borders, hostility toward immigrants — especially those from Muslim countries — is causing national boundaries to spring back to life. In short, political life across Europe is being renationalized, plunging the enterprise of European integration into its most serious crisis since World War II.

Europeans would not be the only losers if the EU continues to stumble. Americans might have to confront the return of national jealousies to Europe, as well as an EU that is too weak to provide the United States the economic and strategic partner it needs.

The EU has been a really terrific strategic partner so far now hasn't it. I also note that the writer is quite concerned about hostility toward Muslim immigrants.

Four good reasons are given for the possible failure of the EU and all four of them are quite legit. (A clash between the welfare states and the free-market states, fear of Islam, return of populist politics, and no great leaders.) Sadly I have to agree with the anti-EU people on every one of these. The possible demise of the EU is not bad news.

In theory I have no problem with a European Federation, in fact it would be a good thing if it was done right. The EU that is being offered is not a good idea; to much power resides in unelected bureaucrats and NGOs. A better way to do it would be a simple federation where the military and economy are integrated but the member nations are still sovereign over most of their affairs, guided by an assembly elected by the voters of the various nations that is ultimately accountable to the people and not the elites who control the current EU organization.

Of course it is none of my business because I don't live there, but that does not keep me from having an opinion.

If you do not wish to register for the LA Times, a partial text can be read here (in fact it is the entire article but a secondary source.).

H/T Eurabia.

Meeting People Online

We often hear about sexual predators online and the precautions that parents should take to protect their children, but sometimes the kids will go to great lengths to do incredibly stupid things.

A 16 year old girl lied to her mother to get a passport and then flew to Jordan (the country) to meet a 25 year old guy she met at myspace(dot)com. Fortunately she left a trail that the FBI could easily track and she is now back with her family, but what a stupid thing to do.

I remember a co-worker of mine going frantic when she discovered her (then 14 year old) daughter having extended conversations with an adult in Dallas Texas (remember we are in Michigan), and she had given him her phone number.

Are kids that desperate for attention or are they just that trusting of strangers?

A Local Observation

While talking to some of my co-workers I noticed something.

On military and defense matters the vast majority of them are absolute red-staters.

On cultural, family and social issues they are very strongly red-staters.

On economic issues (except for welfare) they are blue-staters. (I don't think anyone despises welfare more than the lower echelons of the working class.)

I personally am not much of a blue-state economic person, and don't know if this is local, but if a serious third party were to come along and take note of that (or a dissident faction of an established party) the big two parties might have a problem. Whether or not this is a good thing is another thing altogether. I tend to distrust mixing the government and economy as much as I distrust corporate monopolies (as the results are indistinguishable from each other.)

Over at Brainster

Brainster's Blog has a video that centers on actual footage of the bombing of Zarqawi's safe house. You drop to the posting that says "Kudos to the Men and Women of Centcom!" and you will a video screen. Push the button in the center of the screen, but it is loud!

Straight From the Horse's Mouth.

While reading at Jihad Watch I came to a posting that caught my immediate interest. It was from an Islamic Site that basically said that freedom was a western fallacy and there was no need or room for it in Islam.

The page that they linked to is here. I strongly recommend that you read the entire thing (and it is not very long.) The article is entitled There Is No Room For Freedom In Islam. And if anyone should doubt that this is an Islamic site, here is the homepage (and it has some real beauties amongst its articles.)

The article itself says some astonishing things:

We do not want the slavery to our desires, money, women, man-made laws, Tony Blair etc like that offered by a free and democratic society, rather the Muslims believe in Islam, which is the total submission to Almighty Allah exclusively by worshipping Him (swt), obeying and following his commands and declaring complete intolerance, hatred, disassociation from Shirk (associating partners with Allah) and all of its people (i.e. all Jews, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, atheists etc).

Please note the words "declaring complete intolerance, hatred, disassociation for Shirk ... and all of its people."

I am also astonished to read this:

Another favourite of the west is the personal freedom to dress provocatively, to walk naked in the streets harming everybody in their way, freedom to look at pornography ‘as long as it is not children’, freedom to drink themselves into a frenzy until they are drunk and begin to steal, rape, kill and beat their wives and children.

Are they trying to say that Muslims never rape?!?

Perhaps they should tell it to this young Swedish lady who was gang-raped by Muslims because she was an infidel.

The article which released this picture includes some very telling words from young Islamic men who were prosecuted for rape.

NOTE: I was quite tired when I wrote this and made a major mistake, which I admit and apologize for. I have deleted what I read as a quote and was in fact an interpolation from another commenter suggesting that western women are the rightful booty of Islamic men.

However, the following is a proper quote that says essentially the same thing:

“It is not as wrong raping a Swedish girl as raping an Arab girl,” says Hamid [link is in Swedish]. “The Swedish girl gets a lot of help afterwards, and she had probably fucked before, anyway. But the Arab girl will get problems with her family. For her, being raped is a source of shame. It is important that she retains her virginity until she marries.” It was no coincidence that it was a Swedish girl that was gang raped in Rissne – this becomes obvious from the discussion with Ali, Hamid, Abdallah and Richard. All four have disparaging views on Swedish girls, and think this attitude is common among young men with immigrant background. “It is far too easy to get a Swedish whore…… girl, I mean;” says Hamid, and laughs over his own choice of words. “Many immigrant boys have Swedish girlfriends when they are teenagers. But when they get married, they get a proper woman from their own culture who has never been with a boy. That’s what I am going to do. I don’t have too much respect for Swedish girls. I guess you can say they get fucked to pieces.”

Or perhaps they can explain this event as well. Or perhaps this is more civilized than anything done in Europe.

Free to beat their wives and children? Take a look at this including this quote:

This verse is not are not a thing of the past. In 2000 a retired Turkish Muslim cleric, Kemal Guran, sparked a controversy in that secularized Muslim nation with a passage in his booklet, The Muslim’s Handbook. According to the BBC, “the booklet, published by the Pious Foundation, which is part of the government’s Religious Affairs Directorate, says men can beat their wives as long as they do not strike the face and only beat them moderately.” Even a relatively moderate Muslim, Dr. Jamal Badawi, acknowledges that husbands have the right to beat their wives. Quoting Sura 4:34, Dr. Badawi doesn’t deny the prerogative, but he’s clearly embarrassed by it, and tries to explain it away: “Such a measure is more accurately described as a gentle tap on the body, but NEVER ON THE FACE, making it more of a symbolic measure then a punitive one.” (Emphasis in the original.)

As a stopped clock is right twice a day, they are right about the problems of immorality and they do need to be solved, but their solution, Sharia, is a cure far worse than the disease. Yes they share some moral ideas with the so-called Religious Right, but the Religious Right does not encourage men to rape women or beat their wives. We do not threaten to kill people who quit believing in Christianity. The differences are far greater than any superficial similarities that may exist and those who want a make a moral equivalence between the two are only spouting political rhetoric and are not even worth listening to.

"Order of The Phoenix" Cast

Some of the new characters for the 5th Harry Potter movie have been announced.

The slightly off-kilter, but still loveable witch and loyal friend to Harry, Luna Lovegood will be played by a young Irish lady named Evanna Lynch.

Natalie Tena will play Nymphadora Tonks, the young adult witch who can alter her appearance at will and aids Harry in his struggles.

The main villain of the book, though not the series, Delores Umbridge will be played by Academy Award nominee Imelda Staunton.

I Think This Quiz Needs Some Work.

Lone Pony linked to a quiz to see what TV character you are.

I came up as

What classic sitcom character are you?

Commander Adama
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I am not a natural leader or exceptionally brave but I am awfully tolerant of stupidity. I think this quiz needs a little work.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Gets to Meet Allah

And he is in for a terrible suprise when he sees the nail holes in the hands of his judge. He has now discovered that Mohammed was a false prophet and I fear that he will pay a horrible price for his being the true infidel.

I find no joy in this. Neither does God.

As the TRUE Word of God says:

Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? (Ezekiel 33: 11)

The news of his death is here.

Thou Shalt Not Tempt the LORD Thy God

Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on the pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down; for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning thee; and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. (Matthew 4: 5 - 7)

Some idiot should have a little closer attention.

Some guy, saying God would protect him from the lions, lowered himself into a lions pit in a Ukrainian zoo. He did not survive the adventure. (God might have under different circumstances, but we have warned not to put Him on the spot by saying He will definitely do something when He did not say so.) Give this idiot a Darwin Award.

It did not say who he was or what religion he followed.

What's Going On At GM

General Motors has just had its shareholders meeting, and Oh how I would have loved to have been there.

The shareholders were not happy and made a few changes, starting with how the board was elected. A lot was said but mostly, from what I read, Wagoner's speach was little more than a pep talk. I find it troubling that people were discussing global warming at the meeting, but I guess you can't get away from that canard.

I have to agree with the critics who wonder why someone who owns ZERO stock in the company is on the board of directors, even if he is proxie for Kerkorian; he should own some stock if he is on the board.

I also have to agree with the idea of splitting the CEO and the Chairman of the Board. I do not believe it is wise to have one man filling both seats, unless he has controlling stock in the company. It is too bad that one failed.

Regardless of the optimism coming from the board at this meeting, GM, and its employees and stockholders, are still in for a rough time. The changes that they are now making should have been made years ago, but the arrogant "We're the best, don't question us!" mindset that they had for too many years has taken its toll and it will be years before GM finally catches up to the rest of the world.

Only in Hell

There is a town in Michigan called Hell (and I'm not kidding, it's a bit north and west of Detroit.) It's small and would be insignificant if it wasn't for it's name. Anyway, with yesterday being 06-06-06 that town had a bit of a celebration. It sounds like it might have been fun, but I was busy elsewhere. Oh well. I certainly hope the townspeople got their wish and no REAL Devil Worshippers showed up.

Another Look at the Federal Marriage Amendment

While I am emphatically against same-sex marriage, I have some concerns about proposals to amend the Constitution to ban it. Yet I am also concerned about the courts forcing state governments to allow what the they and their constituents do not wish to allow.

If the people of a state wish to tolerate same sex marriage or polygamy, it is the business of that state and that state would have bear the consequences of that decision. On the whole I agree with this American Spectator article on the question as well as this posting that it links to which offers this alternative amendment.

(1) The United States Constitution shall not be construed to require the federal government, or any state or territory, to define marriage as anything except the union of one man and one woman.[7]
(2) The United States Constitution shall not be construed to require any state or territory to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage under the laws of another state or territory.

But I wonder if additional things are not needed.

The Constitution, in my opinion, needs to be amended to define and protect the family as follows.

1: Explicitly recognizing the right of the states to refuse to allow or recognize non-heterosexual, non-monogamous marriages, as well as limitations by blood-relationship and age, but not by race, religion, social or economic class.

2: Assuring that all marriages will be by mutual consent. NO ONE, not even family, has the right to force someone to marry against their will.

3: Explicitly stating that parents are primary care-givers of children and have primary responsibility for them. They would also need to be assured the right to raise their children according to their beliefs, traditions and values and would have the right to reasonably discipline their children as needed, though abuse, neglect or teaching them to disobey the law would not be allowed.

4: Allowing parents to request a jury trial if they are going to permanently lose their children.

There would need to be tweaking on these but I believe they are all needed.

Festival Weekend

This weekend we had our local carnival-festival. Now some people complain about the noise, the kids, the hassles etc (not to mention the drunken woman who was arrested for walking through town in her birthday suit) but I kind of like it, in fact I really enjoy it.

I don't so much care for the carnival rides etc. but I do enjoy the shows and watching competitions. The craftsmen displays are really great as is the swordplay by the local members of the Society for Creative Anachronisms (which I have several times been asked to join but have declined for lack of time). In fact I was drooling over some old weaponry that was for sale and was seriously considering buying an (unofficial) replica of Aragorn's sword from The Lord of the Rings movie, but what would I do with a longsword? Common sense won the day and I did not purchase it.

There were a number of outdoor concerts, including two great heavy metal bands that I really liked (one secular the other Christian.)

Sadly we had a cloudburst that virtually ruined our parade.

I also liked talking to a lot of the travelling merchants. One was an Ojibwa or better known as Chippewa who was selling traditional handmade jewelry. He absolutely despised what the casinos were doing to his people. He told me that it gives the young people no sense of accomplishment and no pride in themselves and their work. He ranted that yes the money was good for the tribe when used for the tribe but just handing it out to kids who have no idea of work, pride, struggle or craftsmanship was "worse than poverty" because it ruined them. His wife sat and firmly nodded at everything he said.

There were also a few... er ... let's call em "travelling evangelists" and they ranged from quite knowledgable and sensible, yet dedicated to downright crazy. I never realized how many of these men travelled along side of, but not part of, carnivals. The crazy ones were just entertainment but there were a few that were genuinely worth listening to.

All told it was a great weekend, but it got of put a damper on posting.

The Police Are Busy -- And Doing What They Should

Around the world we are hearing of local and regional police forces doing their job - keeping their people safe.

About a week ago in England a co-ordinated series of raids led to 9 arrests (2 released later) and possibly 5 deportations. It's a good start and I hope they keep it up. What got me though was this line:

"This is just a drama they have done to annoy the Muslims. They can't be Muslims and be terrorists."

Can't be Muslims and be terrorists?!? REALLY!?! What planet is that guy from?

On further reading at another page I come to this doozy of a line:

Neighbour Dimple Hirani, 21, said she believed some of the boys had become more radical after the 9/11 attacks in the United States, although she did not attach much significance to that. "I never thought anything of it. Lots of young Muslims these days are getting more religious, especially after 9/11. It's nothing to be suspicious about," she said.

Nothing to get suspicious about --- hmmmm. The fact that she thought nothing of it says a lot.

More recently in the largest city of our good neighbor to the north, Toronto, there was another series of raids leading to arrests of non-arab Muslims on grounds of terrorist activity. (H/T to a commenter "cornmeal" at Captain's Quarters.) The RCMP are actually quite a good police force when they are doing what they are supposed to be doing. According to a report given to a Toronto TV station 10 people were arrested.

Italy too is getting in on the action. I note that one of the intended targets of these people was a local Cathedral.

I have also stumbled acrossed this site which I suggest with some reservations and concerns. Homeland Security News.

Just Like Gun Control

The UN has had another brilliant brainstorm.

"Let's outlaw Nukes."

I can see it now.

"When nukes are outlawed, only outlaw nations will have nukes."

You know that's how it's going to work. There are nations that are going to want Nukes even if they don't need them, and small nations may see them as a means of compensating for their small militaries, especially if the big countries don't have them.

As long as nations feel threatened (like Israel does) or have imperial designs (as Iran does), these nations are going to want nuclear weapons and will probably find a way to get them.

Secondly, not all nations with Nukes are equally dangerous. I am not overly concerned about Russia's, India's or Israel's nukes; I am somewhat concerned about China and Pakistan having them; but the thought of a nuclear Iran or (someday in the future) nuclear Saudi Arabia is truly frightening. It depends on what they want the nukes for, defense or offense. Also, the old Soviets were imperialistic, but at the end of the day they wanted to live. The Jihadists are perfectly willing to die and that makes them doubly dangerous with nukes because they do not fear being killed in the inescapable counterstrike.

It would be great if we could get rid of nukes, but to put it simply, it isn't going to happen. Somebody, somewhere is always going to have one. It is another case of voting 99,999 votes for peace, 1 for war: war wins! The decision for a nuclear free world, like the decision for peace must be unanimous and sincere, as one "Nay" vote, by simple reality, can veto every "Aye" vote on the planet with these issues. Or to paraphrase what I believe was said by Robert A. Heinlein "The decision by the sheep to require all animals to be vegetarians is pointless if the wolf doesn't want to go along." (I remember this but cannot find the exact quote.)