Friday Frivolity!

The Super Adventures of Ben and Noah is a site I found when I checked in over at the 2,996 project (you HAVE signed up for it, right?!)

It's a couple of homeschooled kids with their own blog, website and STORE! The link to their main page has a big picture of a spider on it (they've been feeding it bugs and it lives in their bushes), so if you are queasy about such things....

Here's a link to their website- Better Than a Lemonade Stand

Go read about them and check out their store! I think I might have to purchase something with their 'handprint' artwork.

But if you haven't signed up forthe 2,996 project yet, go click the link on the right and DO IT NOW! We still need just over 200 people to be able to memorialize all those who lost their lives on that tragic day almost 5 years ago.

And then finally, leave it to the military to determine that you can have your beer AND stay in shape! Beer and Fitness? Can it Be?



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Bwah Ha Ha!

Day by Day

And if you AREN'T reading this strip on a daily basis, you should be!

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Don't blame me, I blame

Tallguy



Not the worst song to get stuck in my head at 0230...

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Islamofascism & the Left- I just need to vent

This is going to be a long one gang, so settle in...


It started when a friend of mine posted this from the NYT-

Rewriting the Geneva Conventions
New York Times Editorial - August 14, 2006

In January 2002, when the Bush administration created the camp at Guantánamo Bay for prisoners from the war in Afghanistan, President Bush said he would be “adhering to the spirit of the Geneva Convention” in handling the detainees.

Unfortunately, like many of the things the administration said about Guantánamo Bay, this was not true. The president did not intend to follow the Geneva Conventions, and in some vital respects, he still doesn’t, despite a Supreme Court ruling that the prisoners merit those protections.

To everyone’s relief, the White House is now working with Congress on one major violation of the conventions found by the court — the military tribunals Mr. Bush invented for Guantánamo Bay. But the president remains determined to have his way on the other big issue — how jailers treat prisoners.

He wants Congress to make the United States the first country to repudiate the language of the Geneva Conventions. The only discernible reason is to allow interrogators — intelligence agents and private contractors — to continue abusive practices plainly banned by the conventions and to make sure they cannot be held accountable.

The Bush administration objects to the clause in Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions that prohibits “outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment.”

This standard has been followed for more than a half-century by almost 190 countries, including the United States. The War Crimes Act of 1996, passed by a Republican Congress, makes it a felony to violate the Geneva Conventions. But the Bush administration authorized techniques to handle and interrogate prisoners that clearly break the rules — like prolonged exposure to extreme temperatures, long periods in stress positions, strapping prisoners to metal contraptions and force-feeding them.

The rational response to the court’s decision would be to ban those practices and bring America in line with the rest of the civilized world. But that’s not how this administration works. It asked Congress to change the law — to amend the War Crimes Act to redefine the standards of Common Article 3.

The White House wants to apply an American legal principle, used to prohibit cruel and unusual punishment, that bars treatment that “shocks the conscience.” Mr. Bush wants Americans to believe that the language in Common Article 3 is too vague and makes fighting terrorism impossible.

In fact, the Geneva standard is more specific than the shocks-the-conscience standard. And a vast majority of Guantánamo inmates are not terrorists. In fact, many do not appear guilty of anything, not even fighting United States troops in Afghanistan.

The administration’s real aim is to keep on using abusive interrogation techniques at the secret prisons run by the Central Intelligence Agency. And it wants to make interrogators — and those who give their orders — immune from prosecution.

Finally, the administration wants Congress to ban the use of the Geneva Conventions as the direct or indirect basis for a legal case in American courts. This would seal off the route that a prisoner used in the case on which the Supreme Court ruled in June.

The Geneva Conventions protect Americans. If this country changes the rules, it’s changing the rules for Americans taken prisoner abroad. That is far too high a price to pay so this administration can hang on to its misbegotten policies.

Not wanting to get into it too deeply with my favorite left leaning friend, I concentrated on the last paragraph-

Riiiight.

Because the islmofascists who kidnap and MURDER Americans are CERTAINLY abiding by the Geneva Conventions.

< Rolls eyes >

Because these terrorists in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places abide by the rules regarding uniforms for soldiers, using civilians as shields and the like.

I'm not making a case for, 'well they don't abide so why should we', I'm merely pointing out the LIE that the Geneva Conventions to ANYTHING to protect Americans in any of these countries.

The rest of the piece is the one-sided stuff I've come to expect from the NY Times, but that last bit just made me laugh it it's idiocy.

Her reply? -

There is never any guarantee about the Geneva Conventions. However, when we - the supposed "Good Guys" - choose to ignore them, we set ourselves up to have them ignored for our troops in ANY country - in ANY future conflict.

Not to mention that it's one more way for our standing in the international community to drop.

"Islamofascists"? You've been listening to Faux News again, eh? ;->

ARGH!!!!!!

What part of "I'm not making a case for, 'well they don't abide so why should we'" wasn't clear here? and the writer wasn't talking about FUTURE conflicts, he was clearly talking about current ones, and it's demonstrably false to imply that Americans are in MORE danger because of what goes on at Guantanamo. (Leaving aside for a moment the facts that he is CLEARLY biased on what he THINKS is going on there)

But what really got me going then was her final 'dig' about islamofascists and FOX news. So my snarky reply went-

"Islamofascists"? You've been listening to Faux News again, eh? ;->

No, and you know that.

Would you rather I paint with the broad brush and say that the problem is because of Muslims in general? I don't believe that, and so I didn't.

Who the hell do YOU think flew planes into the WTC and Pentagon?

Grandmothers from Minnesota?

First off, she KNOWS (and now so do you) that I don't watch TV...ever. Well, ok, I occasionally catch 5 minutes of CNN when I go to the food court at the PX. But we don't have TV at home, if we didn't watch DVDs we'd have no need for the box at all.

What I don't get is why Islamofascist is rightwing thing. Doesn't the left KNOW who it is we are fighting? I know they don't agree, but good Lord, please tell me that they do know that these terrorists are members of a dangerously radical form of Islam who want nothing less than the destruction of western civilization!

Her next entry was regarding the work that Dr. Shirin Ebadi has been doing with the Center for the Defense of Human Rights in Iran and how it has recently been sut down. She had a link to a feminist site where you could send an email to the UN and President Ahmadinejad to beg them to reinstate this organization. Not wanting to waste my time on futile efforts that will fall on deaf ears, I responded thusly-

What do you expect from a man like their president?

Y'all (that's the general left leaning y'all, not you specifically) got up in arms over President Bush making comments about his faith leading him, about how 'scary' that was and all.

Doesn't this nutball in Iran scare you? Makes George's words seem kind of pale and meaningless in comparision.

This is nothing new for Ahmadinejad, and I have zero faith in anything the UN might want to do to 'intervene' here. Hopefully, if she wants to leave, they can at least get Dr. Edabi out of the country safely.

Did you hear about the government going around smashing satellite dishes? They're not going to give in to a little 'pressure' from the UN, that's clear.

Sorry for the venting here, I really wish there was more we could REALLY do to change things there before it's too late.

Her reply-
It never hurts to put public pressure out there IMO.

I agree that Ahmadinejad is a nut. Or more precisely, he's backed by Seriously Nutso Fundies.

Iran is fascinating to me. For the past decade or so, the (predominately under 30) general population has been moving towards more democracy, more secularism, more freedom, etc. As that has happened, the Imams in charge since 1979 have gotten more and more terrified of losing power - and therefore keep trying to crack down in various ways.

I personally see the crap the Iranian president has pulled this past year or so as being attempts to use fear tactics to get the people "in line" with fundamentalist policies.

I hadn't heard about the satellite dishes, but I'm unsurprised.

I *am* thrilled that people like Dr. Edabi are trying to change things in their own country. For that reason, I feel she should be supported and it should be publicly done.

I'm glad and heartened to see that she DOES recognize the evil in Iran. And, I agree that folks like Dr. Edabi deserve our support. I don't think firing off emails to the Iranian President and the head of the UN constitute much by way of PUBLICLY supporting her, but that's just my opinion.

Ok, THEN I got snarky with her-

I *am* thrilled that people like Dr. Edabi are trying to change things in their own country. For that reason, I feel she should be supported and it should be publicly done.

I have no problem with that, I just am enough of a realist to know that it won't change the minds of anyone in that regime....oh, sorry, is that a 'faux news' word too? Should I say 'government' instead?

Are you at least willing to consider the fact that Ahmadinejad and his ilk ARE Islamic fascists?

You seem plenty scared of the folks you would name Christofascist (ok, YOU may not have used that word, but you HAVE agreed with the concept), can you not call THESE religious nuts what they are? I'm a hell of a lot more scared of a Nuclear Iran than I am of Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell.

But, what the hell do I know.

I'm just the wife of a man who WILL get sent over there if things get ugly, and I believe they will. So maybe it's just MY fear talking this time.

Tell me, do I have anything to fear from the likes of the Iranian government?

Did I step over a line? I don't know. I'm just sick of the PC police determining that concepts like Islamofascist are 'rightwing' ideas that the Left can just dismiss with derision and a 'smilie'.

Ok, now WHY is all of this here and why didn't I link to HER blog? Well, she's dealing with the immenant death in the family and needs to spend her energy there and not in arguing with me. But, I couldn't sleep tonight, and just wanted to vent a bit about this whole exchange.

If you've made it this far...thoughts? Comments?



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Beware the Dark...

Chocolate, that is.

It was an odd enough story and then the last line...

The accident involved dark chocolate.

Because this never would have happened around White Chocolate, right? I mean, after all, who would go near THAT stuff?

;)

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Friday Frivolity!

Yay! I didn't forget!

This video is just cool...The painted the skateboards bright green so they could digitally remove them. Hover shoes! HT- Nodwick




And in keeping with our theme of inspirational posters-







Here's the rest- Trek Inspirations Posters HT-Tallguy

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Anyone else notice anything ODD?

You need to click the 'read more' on this one...



I saw this banner ad on Yahoo a while back and to be honest, it infuriated me.

Ok, for those that don't know me, I grew up on the back of a motorcycle. Both my folks rode and we went everywhere on the bikes as a family. It was a great way to grow up. But having done that, I KNOW there are things you just don't DO while riding.

Like email/text some one on your cell phone.

It would be bad enough trying to TALK on your cell while riding (for both people!), but to actually suggest that one pay attention enough to text/email somebody and try and drive?

Good frickin' grief people!

Now that I've found this pic again, I need to get a hold of T-Mobile and let them know what I think of their ad.

Argh!

(yeah, ok, it's a little thing, but it just struck me the wrong way, ok?)

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Well what do you know...

There ARE some decent folk in Hollywood still!

I'm going to print out the list of names and so what I can to support these folks in their future endevors. This was really nice to see.

(Unless of course, it's a typo, and these for were actually condemning ISRAEL and not the terrorists...but that's just my cynical side peeking through.) ;)

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Yay!

U.S. Gov't Gets Giant Cross in San Diego

Let's hope that this is the END of this nonsense in San Diego.

(But I'm not holding my breath...sigh)

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The Bread of Life

As most of you know, I'm a convert to Roman Catholicism. Receiving Jesus Christ in the Eucharist really is the high point of my week. Today at Mass, I had a little epiphany.

If you are interested, click the 'read more'. If not, that's ok, we'll be returning to our regularly scheduled rants in just a bit!


So anyway, for the past few months, the wine that St. Michael's uses that becomes the Blood of Christ has been a white wine. I have no problem with that, it's just that the taste was light and a bit sweet. Today, I noticed when the family brought up the gifts, that we were back to a red wine. I was unprepared though, for the sharp, almost bitter taste, and the slight burning sensation as I swallowed. As I got back to my seat, it hit me.

Sometimes, when we receive Jesus, it's a light, sweet and wonderful experience. Other times, by necessity, receiving Jesus is almost medicinal in it's nature.

Isn't that true though in the other ways we meet Jesus. Sometimes it's on those 'mountaintop' experiences, full of joy and light and love. Other times though, Jesus brings us the healing we so very much need. Those times, we may not like it, we may not even want it in our darkness and despair, and it can seem bitter and strong, but at the same time it's warm and calming.

Those thoughts carried me through the rest of Mass, and are making me more mindful of the varied ways God works in my life. Especially those ways that I might not appreciate on the surface.



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I missed my Friday Frivolity!?!

I'm not sure what happened to yesterday.....

but here's an interesting tidbit for today, from the Kim Komando newsletter-


DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED 25 YEARS AGO?

No, it wasn’t the day I was born! ;-) Today is the 25th anniversary of the IBM 5150, the first personal computer. It's hard to imagine, but back in the day, this was cutting edge! While previous computers filled entire rooms, the 5150 sat on the desktop. Atop it perched the monitor.
We owe a lot to this machine. It wasn't the first personal computer. (The Apple was already out.) But the IBM used “open architecture.” It used parts manufactured by others. Other companies could—and did—do that, too. As a result, prices fell and power skyrocketed.
To learn more about the IBM 5150, visit my recent Cool Site. To see its place in the history of computers, visit the Computer History Museum.
And if you're a gamer, you'll get a kick out of the Game Innovation Database.



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Punctuation matters

The 2.13 MILLION Dollar comma

Yes, I know, there are certainly more important things to blog about today. But uncovering the terrorist plot in Britain and the search for the missing Egyptian 'students' are being well covered by-

Wizbang
Texas Rainmaker
Michelle Malkin
Riehl World View

And the Paranoid Left is already out in force-

Mary Katherine Ham reports
and from The Corner here and here
(you want the links to the lefty sites? Check them out at the above, I don't want to give them more 'airtime' than I have to)

Well, not a rant, but a linkfest with attitude!

Tags- Terrorism, GWOT, Punctuation

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The 2,996 Project

What is it?

It's one man's effort to pay homage to all those who died in the 9/11 attacks on it's fifth anniversary. It involves gathering nearly 3,000 individual bloggers to each commemorate and celebrate the life of just one of the people who died that day.

It doesn't have to be long and involved, just a post on 9/11 this year about the person you are assigned when you sign up.

Go HERE and read more about the 2,996 Project. Or just click on the link on my sidebar about it. (You HAVE noticed it, haven't you?)

Currently we have 1,486 bloggers committed to the project.

(From the 2,996 site)
Bottom line is we need more bloggers. That's where you all come in.

1. What if each of us got 2 new bloggers to sign up? I'll tell you what,…we'd have more than enough to put this thing over the top. So tell everyone about it. Remember the old commercial? You tell 2 friends,…then they'll tell 2 friends,…

2. We do need some publicity. And the bigger the better. So send requests to the big blogs you read. Ask them to join. And them to do a story. Ask them to help. It might be easy to overlook one email from the guy running the whole thing, but it'd be much more difficult to overlook fifty or a hundred emails.

I'm doing part one right now. Come on Tallguy, Cop the Truth, ElsieAustin, Mysanal and the rest of my LJ friends. I'm calling you answer this call and join me on 9/11 in commemorating those who died.

If for some reason, you can't participate, would you do me the favor of passing on the info to any of the 'A list' bloggers you know (and any 'B' or 'C' list ones too!)? I'll be doing the same as soon as I finish here.

This is important to me. This year I want to do more than just post about where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news. I hope you'll join me too, and spread the word on your blogs.

If you do decide to join, leave me a comment here please and let me know?

Thanks gang.

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I gotta agree with the Governors on this one

Governors object to Bush's Guard plan

Although I do have a problem with the title of the piece. From the information provided, it's not Bush's plan, but rather the House of Representative's plan. But anything to make Bush look bad, ya know?

"Federalization just for the sake of federalization makes no sense," said Gov. Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana, a Democrat who had rough relations with the Bush administration after the disaster last year. "You don't need federalization to get federal troops. ... Just making quick decisions can make things happen."

THAT is hilarious! Especially since SHE was the one not making the 'quick decisions' and Bush got blamed for it.

I absolutely agree that this is a State's Rights issue, but I also maintain that when there are screw ups that the Governors themselves need to be held accountable.

Our other option is to do more of what ended up happening during Katrina. Sending in our regular active duty military troops (which the President already controls) to take care of things. I'm not comfortable with our military being used regularly in this capacity. I understand the necessity during wartime when many of our Guardsmen are deployed overseas, but I'd rather that the Governors showed more backbone in THAT arena as well, and not simply 'rubberstamp' the approval for Guardsmen to be used in the GWOT.

No easy answers here, but it IS nice to see the Governors standing up for the rights of the states for a change. It's a start anyway.






Tags- State's Rights, GWOT, Media Bias

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Whoo hoo! 100th post!

And it's Friday Frivolity! (Sorry I missed last week, I was in Wilmington NC having a GREAT time!)



Me?!? Geeky?!? Who'da thunk?

Your Geek Profile:

Music Geekiness: High Geekiness in Love: Moderate SciFi Geekiness: Moderate Academic Geekiness: Low Fashion Geekiness: Low Gamer Geekiness: Low Internet Geekiness: Low Movie Geekiness: Low General Geekiness: None

How Geeky Are You?

I'm sorry, really... ;)


It's good to know that the man doesn't take himself too seriously!

and for my gaming friends we have-
RPG MOTivational posters!

I found these over at Nodwick.com, and as Aaron says-

There's some off-color language and nigh-nekkidness in a few of them, so be warned if you're of tender heart or in a workplace that doesn't go for that sort of thing. And don't forget to be inspired; that's what these posters are for, right?

Here's two of my favorites-





I'm sure I'll be back to more regular topical blogging soon. Until then, go read Tallguy (linked in my sidebar), he's got some good stuff on Israel's war on terror.

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This got under my skin today

In this pagan woman's LJ she talks about-

What does it mean to be honorable? What does it mean to be loyal? What do either of those words mean coming from the mouthpiece of genocide?

BBC News reports that US troops smiled before killing Iraqi insurgents.

And what do we expect? Does not military training indoctrinate people so that they are able to do such deeds? Doesn't Fort Benning, Georgia teach techniques of torture?

Why is the US continuously surprised at the horrific actions of US soldiers?

Because of our mythology. We still want to think of ourselves as a "peaceful" nation. A "strong" nation. A "freedom loving" nation. Our collective myths are strong. And these collective myths are lies.

So, we shouldn't be surprised when our soldiers commit horrific actions during war? I guess they're all just programmed to behavior that way. Better tell my husband he's slacking then.

Since we're painting with broad strokes here, I guess I can call the author a pedophile. I mean, after all, this pagan friar is and says that "Not all pedophilia is bad, and sex [with boys] can be healthy,"

So, why should I be surprised? I mean, aren't ALL pagans pedoplhiles?

Wait, you mean...they're NOT? Well, how can THAT be?

See where taking the actions of a few sick people and basing your opinions of an entire group on them will get you?

No, I don't think pagans in general or this woman in particular are pedophiles. I also don't believe that our soldiers in general are trigger-happy, smiling murderers.

I just get tired of having to defend the 99+% GOOD man and women in uniform from being smeared by people like this who takethe proverbial 'bad apple' and make it the rule and not the exception.



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