Archive for April, 2006

Course I could have put Midget Porn (which is what Bob at Crazy Politico's Rantings advised to increase traffic stats…).  The name of this quiz is…..drum roll please……Sex Toy or Baby Toy?  Since I failed miserably at this particular little quiz, you take it and tell me your score.  Guess you can tell I'm not exactly into this genre of play.  heh  heh

Here's my stats: 

You have scored: 6 out of 15

You fail. Stay out of the bedroom. Not to mention the nursery.

h/t to Rock'n'roll Minor Planets

As much as I admire Secr. of State Rice this is another reason why I don't think she's someone I would vote for to be President.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is not upset or offended by hearing the U.S. national anthem sung in Spanish. Asked about the issue, which has become a topic of outrage on conservative talk radio stations, Rice said she had heard "The Star-Spangled Banner" sung in many different ways. "I've heard the national anthem done in rap versions, country versions, classical versions. The individualization of the American national anthem is quite under way," she said on the CBS show "Face the Nation." "From my point of view, people expressing themselves as wanting to be Americans is a good thing," she added.

Apparently Secr. of State Rice is a multiculturalist believer instead of a "melting pot" believer and that smacks of a globalist view to me. No problem in changing the lyrics? This is a means to express themselves to be Americans? I'm not sure I understand how that translates!

Rice not upset by US national anthem in Spanish – Yahoo! News h/t Lucianne

What I'm reading now is Roberts Ridge by Malcolm MacPherson.  It's a chronicle of the Battle of Takur Ghar in Afghanistan in March of 2002.  MacPherson had unprecendented access to interview SEALs who survived the battle along with other Special Forces operators.  This is the battle where Neil Roberts and Jason Cunningham died.  As I read this I wonder how on earth these guys ever made it out of this battle alive what with the failure of communication; the disarray surrounding information between the boots on the ground and their higher ups.  Along with the bravery of the boots on the ground there's the pilots who disobeyed orders in an attempt to assist those in dire conditions on the ground.  I highly recommend this book.

Carol from The Planning Blog sent me a few photos she took to post. There’s also some photos from our sightseeing which I took.

These two photos are of Mr. & Mrs. Smash – aren’t they sweet!

Okay, the next three have me in them. First one is from Friday night after we stood in the rain at Walter Reed and then went to Fran O’Briens for the meet and greet. This is me with Matt from Blackfive.

Talking with conference live bloggers Heidi and Kit

I HAD to get my picture taken with Col. Hunt (ret., Fox News analyst).

On Sunday Carol and I went sightseeing. First we got tickets to see The Spy Museum. The Ford Theater was almost next door so we there and both of us were glad we took the time cause it was very interesting. From there we hoofed it over to the Washington Monument, WWII Memorial (this memorial is absolutely a do not miss), Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Wall. On either end of the Wall are bronze statues which are so moving to see. I was really taken with these statues.

While looking at one of the statues I noticed this squirrel. It sure looks like an albino squirrel to me.

On Monday one of the places I went was Arlington Cemetary. I saw the Tomb of the Unknowns and watched the changing of the Guard and then walked over to the Marine Memorial which is under construction but I was still able to see the Iwo Jima Statue.

Oh yeah, Jason is primed for this one.

Thanks for the laughs
Not sure where they came over from, but I’d like to thank everyone who came over to this thread and called me a Chickenhawk.

To wit:

You, sir, are a true chickenhawk. The living breathing embodiment of privilege without principles, logic without sincerity, rhetoric without wisdom.

You have no sense of what it means to fight and, therefore, your very claims of needing a war are base out of dangerous ignorance.

The guy who sent me a link to a recruiting website was especially funny.

Why don’t you come on down and call me a chickenhawk personally? Meet me at my unit. You’ll know you’re on the right side of the building from all the combat infantry badges on soldiers’ chests and the shrapnel scars visible on a few of them.

Best laugh I’ve had in a long time.

COUNTERCOLUMN: All your bias are belong to us

Why are Socialists and Communists so afraid to identify themselves by their real idealogy? Because they know these “isms” scare the bejesus out of most Americans. So, they couch the name in titles like ‘Progressives’. Hillary Clinton sure sounds like a Socialist, I mean if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck……..then it must be a duck. Here’s Hillary at a meeting of the Chicago Economic Club:

On the one hand, Clinton acknowledged a growing economy, a stock market at historic highs, strong productivity and profits, and low unemployment, while on the other she called for big-government investment in infrastructure and heavy spending on health care and education.

The senator argued that “tax cuts are not the cure-all for everything that ails the American economy,” and that instead we need the “right tax system (and) the right investment, including infrastructure – decisions and policies that only all of us acting together through our government can make to set the stage for future prosperity.”

So what we have is a plea for a government-directed economy. This used to be called industrial planning, until the dismal economic performances of France, Germany and Japan totally discredited those terms. But for Clinton, government planning is back.

Clinton is calling for a “national investment authority” to rebuild the nation.

Hillary isn’t alone in her beliefs, this IS the face of the Democrat Party.

Kansas City Star | 04/27/2006 | Sleepy visit to Planet Hillary – Larry Kudlow

H/T Lucianne

I can’t thank Andi enough for having the vision and gumption to put this conference together. It’s difficult to find the words to describe this experience. Meeting all of these fun and amazing people after reading their blogs for such a long time was a gift. All of the Panels were interesting and informative. Hearing and seeing these bloggers expressions and intonations when they spoke goes beyond the black and white of the written surface. You see the passion and feel the pain and sense of humor with their experiences. Beyond the Panels there were the rest of the conference attendees, more bloggers and supporters who had the same passion and commitment to our Soldiers and their families and to our country’s security.

The resonating soundbite throughout this conference was the disappointment with the dominent media for failing our Troops and our country. There was such a feeling of comraderie which can’t be explained (well, I can’t explain it in words). I met Carol (An American from London) who I connected with and am sure this will survive into the future. What a fun lady who tries to maintain her conservative values and outlook in a country not terribly conducive to this thinking. Meeting Andi,Greta, Carla and Deb was a huge treat and look out for these ladies….they are a force to be reckoned with.

I met the people from The War Tapes on Friday night as I was waiting for a taxi and offered to share my taxi and heard about their wonderful film (plus they picked up my taxi fare). Oh and TacoBell and his Kilt, I’m still kicking myself for not getting a pic of that! SammyDetroit (troop supporter and all around sweet lady) is another example of people who care and act on their convictions. Connecting with Matt from B5 who has been so gracious to me and is just a great guy. Met Bob from Crazy Politico which was a treat and I finally got his geographic situation cleared up…finally! I know I’m missing people but I could go on and on.

I’m not really going to comment too much on the content of the conference since the video will be available in the near future. But from Panel 3 the topic of the media and it’s focus and affect on the American people was discussed. At the time this came up though, milblogs and their influence dominated the discussion. With the attendance of a reporter from the BBC and Boston Globe(haven’t checked for the link yet). I would hope the media would shift their focus of their news from opinionated news stories to “real” news like the what, where, why and how’s of journalism 101. My worry is the folks who don’t read blogs, milblogs or get 95% of their information from the local newspaper and network news. We (as bloggers) forget there’s a significant portion of America who still formulate their opinions based on the “old” media. If we as bloggers can’t influence “old” media to cure themselves it will be too late for the Iraq situation. I’m thinking about my parents and many who are in their mid 30’s, 40’s and older. These people still get the majority of their information from these sources. I think bloggers insulate themselves into thinking there are more of the population who go beyond the “old” media but today that isn’t true. Five years from now the statistics will change but do we really have 5 years to wait?

I will probably post more on this but I’m afraid if I don’t get some of this down now I’ll procrastinate until I forget names and themes. Here’s more pictures from the conference. I was disappointed with quite a few of the pictures I took, seems as though I couldn’t keep the camera still long enough unless I was in a bar. Hmmm. I think I might need to only take pictures after I’ve had a glass of wine……

From Friday night at Fran O’Briens: Carol of The Planning Blog (American in London), SammyDetroit (troop supporter) and Mr. and Mrs. Smash.

Heidi and Kit (my hotel mates) mauling Capt. B………heh heh.

Milbloggers live blogging the Milblog Conference (say that 20 times really fast).

Panel One – Buzz Patterson, CJ(Soldiers Perspective), Smash(Indepundit), Matt (Blackfive), John (Op-For) and Steve(ThreatsWatch) . This was the first time I had heard of Steve and wow, some of the things he said were so passionate, all I can think to say is bravo.

Panel Two was the family perspective. All were inspiring and deserve such kudos for enduring the emotional rollercoaster they’ve had to ride. Carla, Carren and Chuck and Deb.

Panel Three had Col. Hunt (ret) grilling them. I met Col.Hunt when he first walked in to the registration desk and whoa, he is quite the piece of work. I mean that in a nice way. He sounded like he was involved in an interrogation up on the stage. But he sure did get the guys yakking with a lively discussion. Considering this was the last panel that was good since people had just had lunch and it easily could have turned into a snooze fest. But with Col. Hunt moderating that wasn’t an option.

Col. Hunt, Jeff, Fred, Bill Rogio, Capt. B and Michael Fay.

I almost forgot the Freepers people (Free Republic)! We visited them on Friday night with their banners and support for the Soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital. Let me tell you it was raining (hard) and chilly, those guys are true diehards and we all owe them a debt of gratitude.

If the columns appear out of whack to you then The Twilight Zone has visited your screen just like it has visited my blog. I have no clue what’s going on and have put in a request for assistance!

He’s written another one of those achingly touching stories about our Soldiers.

Sgt Hook – This We’ll Defend Blog Archive: At the Station

Phil Valentine is hosting a Townhall Meeting on the illegal alien issue. Phil calls this Demagnetizing America. What does he mean by demagnetizing? If you take away the illegal alien magnets the illegals will go back from whence they came. We won’t need to rely on the Department of Homeland Security to deport illegals (good thing too since DHS’s policy is catch and release on illegals).

If you can’t attend the 2 hour Townhall Meeting you can listen online commercial free.

Details
Participants:
**Jim Gilchrist – Co-Founder of the Minuetman Project
**Susan Tully – National Field Director for FAIR
**Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (R,TN)
**TN State Senator Bill Ketron
**Theresa Harmon – Tennesseans for Responsible Immigration Policies

April 27, 2006 at 6PM (CDT)
The Factory in Franklin, TN

Demagnetize America Townhall Meeting