Christmas in Chicago

Hugh Hewitt has been blogging about the fiasco in Chicago where the annual German Christkindlmarket (Christ Child Market) was told by the Mayor's office that they could not have New Line Cinema's The Nativity Story as a sponsor.

Because (say it with me now) it might offend non-Christians going to the festival. Sigh. But no, there's NO anti-Christian bias regarding Christmas! I somehow think that if the German-American group was hosting a traditional (pagan) Yule Festival that they wouldn't be told that they couldn't have specifically pagan sponsors for fear of offending Christians who might attend. No, we'd be expected to 'be more tolerant', to be 'more understanding'...as usual.

Other posts from Hugh on this-
Mayor Daley's Hypocrisy and Chicago's Merchants' Peril
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas: Mayor Daley

Hugh's really going after this one. Unfortunately, I feel it's mostly par for the course these days.

I'm more annoyed that The Nativity Story is NOT going to be playing anywhere in Fayetteville!


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Charlie Rangel thinks my husband is an ignorant hick

I've been letting this one simmer for a bit, deciding if I was going to join the chorus on it or not.

I am. Click for rant!

Here's the exchange from Fox News Sunday (My comments in bold)-

WALLACE: Congressman Rangel, you caused quite a stir this week when you said that you're going to introduce a bill to reinstate the draft. Here's what you said this week in a newspaper article. Let's take a look. "The great majority of people bearing arms in this country, for this country in Iraq, are from the poorer communities in our inner cities and rural areas."

But a recent and very detailed study by the Heritage Foundation, Congressman, found the following and I'm going to put that up: 13 percent of recruits are from the poorest neighborhoods. That's less than the national average of people living in those neighborhoods. Ninety-seven percent of recruits have high school diplomas. Among all Americans, the graduation rate is under 80 percent. And blacks make up 14.5 percent of recruits for the military; the national average is 12 percent.

Congressman, in fact, contrary to what you've been saying, isn't the volunteer army better educated and more well-to-do than the general population?

RANGEL: Of course not. I want to make it abundantly clear that I have been advocating a draft ever since the president has been talking about war, and none of this comes within the jurisdiction of the Ways and Means Committee. (I'll give him this much, at least he's consistent on the issue.)

But I want to make it abundantly clear, if there's anyone who believes that these youngsters want to fight, as the Pentagon and some generals have said, you can just forget about it. No young, bright individual wants to fight just because of a bonus and just because of educational benefits.(What do you know, he's right! They don't do it for the money or benefits, THEY DO IT FOR THEIR COUNTRY. I know it's old fashioned, but SOME of us do still take the idea of duty seriously.) And most all of them come from communities of very, very high unemployment. ( Again, he knows better than the Heritage folks who did the study? They're just a bunch of radical, religious, right-wing warmongers anyway, right Charlie?)

If a young fellow has an option of having a decent career or joining the Army to fight in Iraq, you can bet your life that he would not be in Iraq. (Hmmm....my husband GAVE UP a decent career to re-enlist for 3 1/2 years, and he's not the only one!)

So anyone who supports the war and is against everyone sharing in the sacrifice is being hypocritical about the whole thing. (Sorry Charlie, we all DO share the sacrifice, but just like EVERY OTHER WAR, we don't all do it the same way.) The record is clear, and once we are able to get hearings on this, everyone will see what they already know, and that is that those who have the least opportunities at this age find themselves in the military, as I did when I was 18 years old. (Oh, NOW I get it...because HE was an ignorant hick that didn't have any other options at 18 and joined the military he assumes that's the case for EVERYONE. Hmmm...He seems to have done alright by it!)

So you can see for yourself, here's the Heritage Foundation Study.

I'm just getting sick of all these uppity politicians calling our servicemen ignorant hicks and rubes because they consider joining the Army to be a worthwhile plan. Good grief, I know we joke about 'military intelligence' being an oxymoron, but can you REALLY see trusting our national security to the kind of people Mr. Rangel thinks make up most of the armed services?

I have a nephew in Intelligence in the Marines, and I know he's no imbecile! I've seen the 63 Bravos the my husband works with, and while they are all punk kids (he gets called 'old man' and 'grandpa' alot!), they are sharp and on the ball. I don't know how many of them thought they had no other options, but the majority of them enlisted AFTER 9/11 and knew that they would likely be going to war.

I thank God for all the men and women who have chosen the Armed Forces as their vocation, career, or even just a stepping stone to soemthing better. THEY do it, and do it vey well Mr. Rangel, so that we don't HAVE to have a draft!


Other's blogging about this today-
Texas Rainmaker.
Hugh Hewitt.
Wizbang.


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Thanksgiving

A friend sent this today, and as she said, "better late than never!"

Thanksgiving


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Friday Frivolity, the All Animal Edition!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know I count all of you among my blessings this year!

And now, some animal fun!

An amazing bird!



This isn't the SAME bird, but also amazing- Another Einstein



And this had me busting up laughing- Cute Overload










Why Aaryk likes dogs..because they can do stuff like this!



Of course, with cats there's always the 'humor factor'-




And finally,what Thanksgiving edition of Friday Frivolity would be complete without a flashback to the 80's and WKRP-


(HT- Hugh Hewitt)

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Weblog awards

The 2006 Weblogs awards are gearing up and accepting nominations!

Check out their list of catagories and nominate a favorite blog or two!

They even encourage you to nominate yourself, so go on and get nominating!

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It starts...

Remember back in September when I first mentioned about the Dems talk of defunding the war effort? In this post I linked to an article where Dems talk specifically about cutting funding to force the President to bring our troops home.

Funny, I didn't hear anything about that during the last month of the campaigns...I wonder why? (no I don't)

But now we've got another voice adding to the choir. The soon to be chairman of the powerful Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans Affairs and International Relations. Texas Rainmaker has the story.

"We have to determine that the time has come to cut off funds. There’s enough money in the pipeline to achieve the orderly withdrawal that Senator McGovern is talking about. But cut off funds, we must. That's the ultimate power of the Congress, the power of the purse. That's how we'll end this war, and that’s the only way we’re going to end this war.

I just can't believe that these people don't get it. That they don't understand that by forcing a retreat not only does GUARANTEETEE that there will be a civil war in Iraq but that it makes us look weak and incompetent to the Islamic fascists who will STILL want to destroy us. It will embolden the Taliban and their allies in Afghanistan to try and achieve the same result there. It will mean abandoning our allies in Iraq who will be even LESS likely to join us in the future against Iran or Syria or North Korea.

But I guess being able to say the Bush lost Iraq is worth all that to some people. Anything to make sure that his 'legacy' is a negative one.

Same old Democrats. Sigh.

UPDATE- Gateway Pundit has a post today specifically asking how the Dems will handle our current allies in the GWOT in Iraq.

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Friday Frivolity

Your Movie Buff Quotient: 66%

You are a total movie buff. Classics, blockbusters, indie favorites... you've seen most of them. Your friends know to come to you whenever they need a few good DVD rental suggestions.

Are You a Movie Buff?

(yes, there's more!)
Because making fun of Marines is just so easy sometimes...



This one is 'oogie'. I hate big bugs. Camel spiders may technically not be bugs, but they still just give me the willies!
Making Marines scream like little girls


And, in the weird news of the week-

Dogs and cats living together,Mass Hysteria!

Ah, those wacky Brits-Jedi Knights demand Britain's fourth largest 'religion' receives recognition



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Haven't had a lot to say....

I just haven't felt like writing about politics much since I got over my initial reactions to the election results last week. I could blame it on Percy (that's our new puppy for those of you who haven't been keeping up!), of my current round of job hunting, but really those would just be excuses.

I think I'm just tired of the whole shebang. It's no surprise to me that NOW we are getting all kinds of articles from the MSM about Democrat corruption (Texas Rainmaker and Captain's Quarters are covering that). It's also no surprise that the Republicans are treating this loss as 'business as usual' by making Trent Lott the Minority Whip. They're obviously NOT listening to their base, and just don't get that we want NEW, FRESH faces in the leadership. Even President Bush is getting in on some of that, in his nomination of Gates for Secretary of Defense (Jay Tea at Wizbang writes about that).

So, while I haven't been writing much, I still HAVE been reading all over the blogosphere. It seems that almost NOBODY is excited about the 110th Congress. So, I'm certainly not depressed about the election results anymore, but neither am I enthused about a Republican minority doing any house cleaning and getting a fresh start.

I'm not quitting blogging, or anything like that, I'm just venting a bit is all.

Thanks for sticking with me!

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A busy couple of days

We left Friday morning for Kentucky and got back home about 10:30 last night. The reason? You'll have to click to find out!




Say Hi! to Percy, or if you want to be more formal, Percival von Drake.

He's adorable, and lovable, and all wrinkly!
Back to serious blogging tomorrow, tonight it's all about the puppy!

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Friday Frivolity

First, a Quiz!

Ultimate Gamer!! GM says drop 2d10, aanndd... you roll 85% !

What, are you a first generation gamer? Did you own the brown box?! Whatever you do in your spare time, gaming seems to be your job. Either you looked up the answers or you're the best of the best, the type that makes other gamers strive to know more. Just don't let the knowledge overwhelm the newbies, it tends to push them from the hobby. We all bow before you. You are the living nat 20, congradulations. I'm going to flee the scene now ;)

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 99% on dice

Link: The Real Gamers use Dice Test written by luminasita on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Apparently, I still got it! Wait....is that a GOOD thing? ;)

And some linky love-
Dolphins sing the Batman theme? I wan t to see THAT on You Tube!
2006 Weblog Awards are gearing up!
Gridlock a wonderfully addicting little game!
Don't leave home without one!

And, I'm off for the next couple of days, theoretically to go and get a puppy! I'll let you know how that goes when I get back (and hopefully I'll have pictures!)



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So, how'd those Fighting Dems do?

Back in the spring, before the primaries, a liberal friend sent me a copy of an email she got from the Dems about all their veterans who were running for state or federal office. Here's a link to it on her blog-

Mysa's LJ

I remember thinking at the time that it was interesting that the Dems felt they had to point out their vets, because usually the GOP doesn't. I maintained then that it was because such a vast majority of the military are Republicans, it's nothing new to us to have veterans running for office. I did think it was telling that in this election the Dems felt they needed to point this out.

Here's the list of 'Fighting Dems' that made it to the General Election-

Democrat Veteran Candidates

That's quite a few. This article tells how they fared-

Beltway Blogroll

Of the list a grand total of FOUR won in their races.

What does that tell me? That's it's not enough to trot out a veteran to run for office so you can 'show' you support the troops (or whatever). We're not so blind (or stupid) as to think that just because she's a veteran she must be right and I must vote for her.

I don't think we'll see quite the emphasis on Veterans in the Dems party in 08, it just didn't play well enough for them this time. They'd much rather be mocking the troops than supporting veterans for public office.

(But at least the Dems finally got a pic of AMERICAN troops on their webpage now!)


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Independent Senators

I must have been asleep that day in Civics 101, because I don't know how to reconcile this.

The GOP has (Currently, with VA still out) 49 Senators.
The Dems have (See above) 48 Senators.
There are TWO other winners in their senatorial races who are NEITHER Republican OR Democrat. Joe Lieberman in CT and Bernie Sanders in VT. Ok, sure, they will likely be voting more with the Dems, but why do the Dems get to count them as part of 'their' majority?

Can some one explain that to me please?




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I needed to read this....

Make a Choice

Bill Whittle said what I really needed to hear this morning. (I know, how unusual!)

From this piece-

As I write this, the Democrats have taken control of the House of Representative and look likely to eek out control of the Senate.

My friends, this is time to make a choice. We have suffered a very large defeat tonight, and there is nothing now that we can do about that except decide on how we wish to face it. We have been given an opportunity to show what losing with honor should look like. Do not wail and cry. Do not shout CHEATERS! or whine about media coverage. And most especially do not blame the American people. They are not idiots and they are not sheep. Iraq is not lost, the War on Terror goes on and despite what you may be feeling right now, there will not be any US helicopters evacuating stragglers off the roof of the US embassy in Baghdad...not tomorrow or any other day. That war was won on a November night two years ago. Trust me on this one, if you can, and if you cannot then at least do not despair. Maybe now we will realize that selling this war is as important as fighting it. In that regard I've been AWOL and I am ashamed.

and

The Congress that the Republicans lost they lost because they abandoned the ideals that elected them in the first place. We must learn from our mistakes. We will have two years to do so.

Remember one thing before you go. The most important election we are ever likely to see in our lives was not this evening's election. Bush's re-election in 2004 was the one we HAD to have, and we got it. Be grateful for that, acknowledge that this loss is no one's fault but our own, congratulate the Democrats on their impressive wins and start figuring out how we can make sure this never EVER happens again. =)

Emphasis mine. Go read the whole thing, it's short and puts things in a better perspective than I could.

Ok Dems, you got the Congress, now....show us what you're made of!


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Heh

Ok, I lied, I didn't go back to bed. Instead, I found this!


Over the Hedge

Somehow, it just seems fitting.



Tags-Election 06

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Well, that's that

Well, I'm hideously depressed this morning. But, being a democracy it's true that we get the government we deserve. I have no doubt that we'll survive Speaker Pelosi (I guess she CAN go pick out the curtains now), but I am concerned that Charlie Rangel will be a man of his word and push to defund the war effort.

I'm really sorry that Steele didn't do better in Maryland, I was really pushing for him. And Dana Irey (PA-12) too...although you didn't hear much about her in the last couple of months.

What do you want to bet that the ONLY places the Dems want to say were rigged are Virginia and Montana? Well, only if the votes DO go to the Republicans there. Yeah, I'm a little bitter this morning, but like I said at the beginning, we do get the government we deserve, and maybe a Republican minority isn't such a bad thing. Hell, they've been acting like it for the last several years anyway.

Now I get to 'walk the walk' and try to find the good and positive things in this new Congress. Sigh.... Hey, maybe it means that Bush will grow more of a spine and actually VETO more things!

AZ didn't change too much this time, here's the info on the races/initiatives there-

AZ election results
JD lost, and that's a bummer, but he'll bounce back. On the initiatives, all the ones that involve illegal aliens went towards limiting services, English is now the official language, there will be NO stupid lottery prize for voting, no requirement to mail out ballots to each citizen, and restrictions on how the government can take your land. On the down side, we did vote to raise the minimum wage, ban smoking statewide in ALL restaurants including bars, tax cigarettes to pay for preschool programs (which just means that more folks will go to the Reservations to get their cigs), and it looks like the same-sex marriage ban is going to lose. BUT, they still have quite a few absentee ballots to count still (including ours!), so who knows?!

Okay, I got up early to see the news, I'm going back to bed...it's cold and rainy here and I'm just not ready to face the day yet.

UPDATE- I'm okay. Not happy, but okay. I refuse to live in fear and darkness, even with a democrat controlled Congress! ;) Just didn't want y'all to worry aobut me! Fortunately, life goes on, and America is STILL the greatest nation in the world!

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Dirty tricks and questionable acts

I'm just going to keep track of the various reports I read today of attempted (or actual) voter fraud, intimidation, and the like. I KNOW most of these are from partisan sources, but I also know that the MSM won't be covering many of these...irregularities. And just for the record, no, I don't think that Repbulicans are perfect, and yes, we have scummy people on our side too. But since it's the Dems that are saying crap like- 'if we don't win then you cheated', I think it's more than fair to oint out where THEY are the ones doing the cheating.

So, here's who's got info already-
Free Republic
Red State
Breitbart Don't know the 'sides' on this one, and don't care. Wrong is wrong.
Hugh Hewitt has a round up of other...irregularies today.
Gateway Pundit




Election Results courtesy of NZ Bear (nothing here until this evening folks!)
the Pajama Media's coverage
Glenn Reynolds TCS Daily column is just good general reading



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Prayer for the elections

Got this from a friend today and thought I would share-

So let us join together in asking God to intervene strongly and decisively in an election which will affect the fates of so many souls in America and around the world, beginning...

"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:
Heavenly Father, You alone have the divine power to vouchsafe the election
in America for the forces of goodness and life. Relying on the perfect
promise of Your perfect Son, we implore you to mobilize the Holy Spirit
to battle the forces of evil in our beloved land and to bring forth
Your Perfect Will for this election. Send the Intrepid Saint Michael and
all the warrior angels from heaven to fight for life and justice. We beg
for the intercession of all the martyrs in heaven; for all holy souls
who have shed blood for Divine Love, and we ask especially for the
intercession of all the deceased relatives of CatholiCity Citizens and their
guardian angels. So far as You, Almighty God, have dominion over the
affairs of men, let light triumph over darkness."

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas, pray for us.
Saints Katharine Drexel and Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for us.
Saint Thomas More, Patron of Politicians, pray for us.
Immaculate Mary, Patroness of the United States, pray for us.
Saint Joseph, Defender of Families, pray for us.
Holy Spirit, Guide Us on Election Day.
Jesus Christ, King of Kings, we adore you!

Amen.

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Robocalls

I've gotten a couple of them this election season, you know, the prerecorded messages from candidates? I imagine I haven't gotten more because my only phone is my cell phone.

but today I read this -

Fighting RoboCalls. Expert advice. Multiple updates. (be forewarned, it's a Kos diary)

It's alleging that-

Desperate Republicans across the country are using robo-calls (automated dialing systems that play recorded messages) to harass voters. Your phone rings, there's a brief recorded intro that makes it appear the call is from a Democratic campaign or related group, and then a pause, and then a recorded message. If you hang up it calls you back six or seven times or more. The goal is to make people think they are being harassed by the Democrats, and piss them off enough to change their votes. It works well enough to potentially flip some close races.

It goes on and on about what to do if you get these calls and how to fight against the GOP who is obviously behind these repeated calls FROM DEMOCRAT campaigns and related groups. Nowhere does he offer PROOF that these calls are from any Republican group, but I guess that doesn't matter...after all it's ALL the Republicans fault!
(Click the 'read more'!)

The LJ I found this on also posted a link to the following article-
GOP Launches 'Robocall' Campaign Attack

Sounds bad, doesn't it? There go those evil Republicans again. Except that in the article the first person they quote about this new type of targeted campaigning says-

"As much as people complain about getting automated calls and saying they don't work, every politician is doing them," said Jerry Dorchuck, whose Pennsylvania-based Political Marketing International will make about 200,000 such phone calls each hour for mostly Democratic candidates. "Targeted calls play a key in very close races."

Huh...so Democrats ARE making these calls too? So...maybe the 'evil Republicans' aren't the ones "using robo-calls to harass voters". I wonder if the Kos diarist above will be taking the same steps against ANY robo-caller. Somehow I doubt it.

It is blantantly obvious to anyone willing or able to look beyond their political bias that BOTH parties are making use of this technology. From the article-

In Connecticut's hotly contested 4th Congressional District, incumbent Republican Rep. Christopher Shays and Democrat Diane Farrell both said they are victims of misleading and annoying robocall campaigns. Shays, a 10-term congressman, said he has survived more than 20 robocall campaigns, including one that tried to link his stance on stem-cell research to that of religious extremists.
and
It's not just Republicans. After Rep. Mark Foley resigned his seat amid the House page scandal, the progressive American Family Voices launched robocalls in 50 districts.

Now, I freely admit that I don't have enough knowledge to tell whether either side is violating the law in the way they conduct their robocalling. I'll leave that to the lawyers. As far as the repetitious nature of some of the calls go, I think it is much more likely to be a flaw in the programming software than one of malicious intent, and I believe that to be the case no matter which group is making the calls.

But read the title to the AP article again. If all you read was the title as you glanced through the paper, what would YOU think was going on? But no liberal bias going on here, of course not!

Now, personally, what do I think of prerecorded campaign calls? I put them in the same category as other 'computer voice' calls. If you don't care enough about me to get a real person to call, then I'm not going to stay on the line and listen to you.

UPDATE- Heh...even Peter David is tired of all the robocalls...from DEMOCRATS. And it seems the Dem talking points are out in force on this one...just look at his comments section!

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Worldview in the balance

Orson Scott Card has some thoughts on tomorrow's election that I think are important...and he's a Democrat.

There is only one issue in this election that will matter five or ten years from now, and that's the War on Terror.

And the success of the War on Terror now teeters on the fulcrum of this election.

If control of the House passes into Democratic hands, there are enough withdraw-on-a-timetable Democrats in positions of prominence that it will not only seem to be a victory for our enemies, it will be one.

Unfortunately, the opposite is not the case -- if the Republican Party remains in control of both houses of Congress there is no guarantee that the outcome of the present war will be favorable for us or anyone else.

But at least there will be a chance.

I say this as a Democrat, for whom the Republican domination of government threatens many values that I hold to be important to America's role as a light among nations.

But there are no values that matter to me that will not be gravely endangered if we lose this war. And since the Democratic Party seems hellbent on losing it -- and in the most damaging possible way -- I have no choice but to advocate that my party be kept from getting its hands on the reins of national power, until it proves itself once again to be capable of recognizing our core national interests instead of its own temporary partisan advantages.

To all intents and purposes, when the Democratic Party jettisoned Joseph Lieberman over the issue of his support of this war, they kicked me out as well. The party of Harry Truman and Daniel Patrick Moynihan -- the party I joined back in the 1970s -- is dead. Of suicide.

Go read the whole thing, and then click the 'read more' for my rant!

I wish my folks only saw things this clearly. I mean, if we lose the GWOT what will the NEA (either of them) matter? Liberals are so concerned over our Rights, but they don't have a plan to protect them other than 'get rid of BushCheneyMcHilterCo'. Don't they understand that if we cave in to the islamofascists that we will CERTAINLY lose our Rights and freedoms?

That's what I just don't get. The Left will say that if we give up our Rights in order to win the war then we still have lost. Okay....what Constitutional rights have we given up so far? Right to life? Guaranteed, unless of course you are a preborn baby. Freedom of Speech? Still got it...oh, wait, unless I'm a conservative trying to speak at a University campus, then it's kind of iffy. Freedom of religion? Yep, I can go to whatever church I want, so long as I don't DARE try and put forward my views on morality in the political arena. Guns? Sure, I can own one (but only certain types) legally, after background checks and a waiting period. Voting? You betcha! Unless of course I'm actually fighting for freedom in the military overseas, and then maybe they'll count my vote, maybe not.

Oh, wait, those aren't the Rights that the Bush administration has tried to abolish. Those are the ones that some Liberals have decided reworking.

So which Rights HAVE the Bush administration done away with? Habeas Corpus? Nope, it's still there (the Military Detainee Act only refers to Alien Illegal Combatants, and only for military tribunals. ALL US citizens are still covered, even those who are suspected of being terrorists!). Protection from unlawful search and seizure? Still there, unless you're talking with terrorists or their sympathizers overseas.

So where's the wide spread denial of Rights? Where's the martial law? Where are there people 'being disappeared'?

Sorry, I see far more abridgment of my Rights with Liberals in powers than I do now!

Which is why I voted early by mail, since we're active duty, and why I voted Republican. At least this way we have a CHANCE!



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Wowsers

Comic Store Crash

This may be old news to my AZ friends, but I just heard about this today. One of the guys on the City of Heroes forum posted the link.

Atomic Comics blog has a bit of an update too.

And here's the article from the AZ Repulbic

I never was a huge fan of Atomic, for a variety of reasons (including that I worked at the competition for a number of years), but it's times like these that I hope the comic industry in Phoenix pulls together to help these folks out.

Would some of you guys out there keep me posted on how they're doing please?


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More Videos!

I saw this on Storm in Afghanistan's blog, and thought it was just great-



(I know, I said I wasn't going to saw more about him...but just watch the vid)

What I didn't realize, was that the Kerry piece was an homage to this-



Noe THAT'S cool! Even though the Army's new slogan gets joked about some (Army Strong, Hulk Smash and the like), it's STILL better than 'An Army of One'.




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Friday Frivolity...part 2!

A Storm in Afghanistan posted this today, and since Tallguy posted the original recently, I thought I would share!

Enjoy!

Tags-Friday Frivolity

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Friday Frivolity

First up, a quiz!

You Are 4% Democrat

If you have anything in common with the Democrat party, it's by sheer chance. You're a staunch conservative, and nothing is going to change that!

How Democrat Are You?

Heh...no surprise there! What DID surprise me though is that on their 'How Republican are you' quiz, I only scored 52%...go figure ;)

And below the cut, a couple of videos for your amusement!




It's scary, I can just see some of my friends (okay, and probably me too!) reacting very much the same way....

Imagine...Bill, Jason, and Aaryk getting that mysterious case...heh...



Now, I got the links to these two videos from Nodwick, which is where I find some of the coolest stuff for Fridays. His comment on this commercial was- "For the young gamers out there, if you want to know why D&D had such a hard time catching on with the non-nerds, you need look no farther than the marketing plan for the game. And just LOOK at that table! Where's the pizza and Mountain Dew 2-liters?" My first thought was, "Oh my gosh, look at the geeks!", but my second thought was, "Wait a minute, that's not at ALL realistic...I mean, out of five players they have TWO girls? And one doesn't even wear glasses! Sheesh!"

Last night, I was going to make Sloppy Joes for supper, but we were out of bread. So I asked Aaryk what he thought about putting them on tortillas. He turned and looked at me and said, "Wouldn't that make them Sloppy Joses?"

It made me laugh, and I just wanted to share. Oh, and although it's a little odd eating them like tacos, Sloppy Joses are quite tasty! ;)

Have a good weekend everyone!

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Military monitors blogs

No, it's not some government plot to take away your First Amendment rights, they're only monitoring milbloggers, to make sure that bloggers aren't giving out info that would help the enemy. Here's a story about it-

Army Monitors Soldiers' Blogs


A Virginia-based operation, the Army Web Risk Assessment Cell, monitors official and unofficial blogs and other Web sites for anything that may compromise security. The team scans for official documents, personal contact information and pictures of weapons or entrances to camps.

In some cases, that information can be detrimental, said Lt. Col. Stephen Warnock, team leader and battalion commander of a Manassas-based Virginia National Guard unit working on the operation.

In one incident, a blogger was describing his duties as a guard, providing pictures of his post and discussing how to exploit its vulnerabilities. Other Soldiers posted photos of an Army weapons system that was damaged by enemy attack, and another showed personal information that could have endangered his family.

"We are a nation at war," Warnock said by e-mail. "The less the enemy knows, the better it is for our Soldiers."


I have no problem with this whatsoever. I wish their guidlelines were a little more specific, but I understand why they can't be. The Army polices it's own, and that's as it should be.

Now, I just wish there was something that could be done about the New York Times.

WHY are they so bent on 'leaking' secrets that only hurt our efforts in the Middle East? Don't answer that...I KNOW the reason, I just wish they would see past their blind hatred of all things Bush and just do their damn jobs.

Really, is it too much to ask that a newspaper NOT commit treason on it's front page...repeatedly?!?

Wait, don't answer that either...we know the answer there as well.




Tags-GWOT

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All I'm gonna say about John Kerry

A Storm in Afghanistan pretty much sums it up for me.

While you're at his blog, read his sidebar about the struggles this soldier and his family are going through right now. Then, if you can, send a little donation their way or remember them in your prayers, or whatever else you can do to help.

- Tallguy has a nice bit on Kerry today too.


Tags- John Kerry, Army

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