Sunday, September 30, 2007

For EMB

#8 Kentucky (link)




side note: if you put your fingers on the wrong keys, for = die o.O

Saturday, September 29, 2007

His righteousness and His ways are mysterious to us all. His mercy and His bounty are wonders of the known and unknown.

The Lord my G-d is all-knowing and all-seeing and his miracles are meted by his judgment and by His wisdom.

I sincerely thank and offer praise to my Saviour for the sheltering hand He has extended to my mother in her time of need and for His love and caring that has allowed me to revel in the friends all over the world that have prayed for my family this week.

To all the people that thought of us and prayed for us I wish to say a very heartfelt and humble Thank You from the bottom of my heart and the depths of my soul.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Prayers needed

*update2* Mom came home yesterday (she left the hospital at 12 noon or so) and is doing very good, unless you knew (or saw her meds) you would never believe she had a heart attack. Thanks to everyone that prayed for her.

Last night (Tuesday) my Mom had a heart attack. She is in ICU and doing good atm.

*update* she moved into a private room last night, looks real well and should be home Friday

Monday, September 24, 2007

Truthers and Homosexuals

Ahmadinejad was at Columbia U. earlier (I'm not even going into the why) and was brought to task (slightly) on some subjects.
NEW YORK - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad questioned the official version of the Sept. 11 attacks and defended the right to cast doubt on the Holocaust in a tense appearance Monday at Columbia University, whose president accused the hard-line leader of behaving like "a petty and cruel dictator."

Ahmadinejad smiled at first but appeared increasingly agitated, decrying the "insults" and "unfriendly treatment." Columbia President Lee Bollinger and audience members took him to task over Iran's human-rights record and foreign policy, as well as Ahmadinejad's statements denying the Holocaust and calling for the disappearance of Israel.

"Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator," Bollinger said, to loud applause.

He said Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust might fool the illiterate and ignorant.

"When you come to a place like this it makes you simply ridiculous," Bollinger said. "The truth is that the Holocaust is the most documented event in human history."[link]
None of this changes anything, he's still a madman and he still will deny the holocaust and continue to call for Israel's destruction. This next part was funny though:
Asked about executions of homosexuals in Iran, Ahmadinejad said the judiciary system executed violent criminals and high-level drug dealers, comparing them to microbes eliminated through medical treatment. Pressed specifically about punishment of homosexuals, he said: "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country."

With the audience laughing derisively, he continued: "In Iran we do not have this phenomenon. I don't know who's told you that we have this."
I wonder if any of the 'rights' groups will protest the slime?

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Gracchi has tagged me with the 'First Political Memory' meme...

My first real political memory was the Presidential race of 1980 when Jimmy Carter was running against Ronald Reagen and Iran was holding Americans hostage.

I didn't really grasp what was going on, but I vividly remember the talk around the community of having to goto war to get the hostages back if Carter won the Presidency again.

I'm not going to tag anyone else :)

SEC Roundup

Tennessee got off it's rocker and put away Arkansas State; LSU played championship type football and beat South Carolina; Florida escaped with a win against a game Ole Miss squad; Auburn looked destined to go down and roared back to crush New Mexico State.

Kentucky was outplayed for 3 quarters, luckily they play 4. The fourth was all Ky all the time as they beat Arkansas. Georgia gave up a 10 point lead to Alabama only to win it on their first play of OT. Mississippi State cruised over lowly Gardner-Webb.

I'll give EMB the chance to crow about Kentucky if he wants :) And sorry to say, I don't know who Thai's favorite team is ;(
tag: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Bloody Mary

First she kills her husband, then she skates on it, now she wants the kids...
HUNTINGDON, Tenn. — A woman who killed her preacher husband with a shotgun asked a judge on Wednesday to grant her custody of her three children, saying she needs to help them heal from the loss of their father.

Mary Winkler told a Carroll County judge that she hasn't been able to visit, speak with or write her daughters since she was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in April.

"We can begin healing together and let G-d guide us," she said.

The children have been living with their paternal grandparents in Huntingdon, a small town in West Tennessee, since Winkler killed their father, Church of Christ preacher Matthew Winkler, in March 2006 in Selmer.

The grandparents, Dan and Diane Winkler, are seeking to terminate their former daughter-in-law's parental rights and adopt the girls.

Winkler argued she should at least be allowed some visitation rights immediately while the custody issue is considered.

Winkler said she is still undergoing counseling and is taking medication for anxiety and depression, but she said she is emotionally and psychologically stable enough to care for the children.[link] {emp. mine-LN}
G-d (imo) didn't seem to guide her up to this point. If she has made her peace with her maker, then I support that decision but I don't know what the judge will do in this situation. Needless to say, I feel she shouldn't be allowed within phone distance of the children who 'need healing'. The main reason the need to heal over the loss of their father is the woman who claims to want to help them. (note: I knew Matthew Winkler)
tag: , , , , ,

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Actually heard on police videos…

These 16 police comments were taken off actual police car videos around the country:

#16 “You know, stop lights don’t come any redder than the one you just went through.”

#15 “Relax, the handcuffs are tight because they’re new. They’ll stretch after you wear them a while.”

#14 “If you take your hands off the car, I’ll make your birth certificate a worthless document.”

#13 “If you run, you’ll only go to jail tired.”

#12 “Can you run faster than 1200 feet per second? Because that’s the speed of the bullet that’ll be chasing you.”

#11 “You don’t know how fast you were going? I guess that means I can write anything I want to on the ticket, huh?”


Heh, go over to TexasFred's and read the rest (along with all his other posts).
tag: , , ,

Saturday, September 15, 2007

University of Kentucky Football


Finding the right baseball bats or the correct basketball shoes may not seem that big a deal to you, but surely it does matter to your eleven year old that his golf carts are being filled with the right golf equipment. The wrong type of golf clubs is more than enough to put them off golf and you might as well be buying lacrosse equipment for the rest of your life.

For the first time since 1977 UK has beaten a top 10 team. Earlier tonight, the Wildcats pulled an upset win on instate rivals, the University of Louisville. Thanks to a touchdown pass from Woodson to Johnson with only 28 seconds remaining. Kentucky's defense then stopped a last second drive by Louisville to end the game with a final score of 40-34.

Also, Andre Woodson broke the SEC record for most passes without an interception with 257 and counting.

This is the first time in years that I thought UK had a chance at beating Louisville going into the game. Then after seeing a few minutes of the 1st quarter, it looked like UK was really psyched up and out for the kill.

I am looking forward to Tennessee. :)

Auburn Football

Mid-game update:

I stated early that the only way Auburn avoids upset #2 is to NOT.LET.COX.THROW.

Shortly after, interception returned for TD Miss. State up 10-0....

now, interception again and Miss. St is driving.

To all the Auburn fans out there, what's it going to take for Cox to sit on the bench?


And Go Vols! Rough game today in the Swamp ><

Yahoo Widgets


From a+ to advanced courses like cisco certification, only individuals who have mcse and 70-290 on their credit get through easily. Just mcp and 220-602 are not enough to undertake advanced studies.

Found this when I got an email from Sitemeter about a new (desktop) widget to keep track of visits. The widgets have a sidebar and can be viewable 'stand-alone':

Save time. Waste time. Have fun!

  • Your favorite info, delivered live to your desktop
  • Convenient at-a-glance view of your Widgets
  • Weather. Games. Cams. Time Savers. Choose from over 4,000 Widgets!

Find out more

21st century sticky notes. Save online, retrieve anywhere.
Yahoo! Notepad Widget

Get a slick map, quick. It's a snap!
Yahoo! Maps Widget

Wanna build Widgets?  Dream it.  Build it.  Share it.  It's the neighborly thing to do.  We'll show you how.
Find what you're looking for... even faster.
Yahoo! Search Widget

Randomly displays your photos on your desktop.
Yahoo! Picture Frame Widget

Developers rejoice!

Our documentation is now available in both HTML and PDF formats. Get it here!
Pretty interesting and there are quite a lot of them. For almost anything you can think of (from a shark swimming across your screen, to getting the time until the next big game; whatever you're looking for, is probably there.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

That's gotta hurt

Portland had the #1 pick in the NBA last year. Instead of taking the best college player to come out (Kevin Durant) they went with the big man (Greg Oden) because big men are a 'must' in the NBA.

Oden lost for season
By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports
September 13, 2007

Adrian Wojnarowski
Yahoo! Sports

Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden, the No. 1 pick in the 2007 NBA draft, will miss the 2007-08 season after undergoing microfracture surgery Thursday, two league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Oden, a 7-footer from Ohio State, was found to have torn cartilage during exploratory surgery on his right knee and was operated on by team doctor Don Roberts in Vancouver, Wash. Most microfracture surgeries require eight months to a year for recovery.

"Greg had an arthroscopy and a microfracture surgery today," Roberts said in a Blazers statement. "He was found to have articular cartilage damage in his right knee. The area of injury was not large and we were able to treat it with microfracture, which stimulates the growth of cartilage.

"There are things about this that are positive for Greg. First of all, he is young. The area where the damage was is small and the rest of his knee looked normal. All those are good signs for a complete recovery." [link]


Now it looks like they will be without him anyway, guess we know who'll be the favorite for rookie of the year now. It does look like Oden will recover and be able to play next season.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

GCC (again)

Via MVRWC:
WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new analysis of peer-reviewed literature reveals that more than 500 scientists have published evidence refuting at least one element of current man-made global warming scares. More than 300 of the scientists found evidence that 1) a natural moderate 1,500-year climate cycle has produced more than a dozen global warmings similar to ours since the last Ice Age and/or that 2) our Modern Warming is linked strongly to variations in the sun's irradiance. "This data and the list of scientists make a mockery of recent claims that a scientific consensus blames humans as the primary cause of global temperature increases since 1850," said Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Dennis Avery.

Other researchers found evidence that 3) sea levels are failing to rise importantly; 4) that our storms and droughts are becoming fewer and milder with this warming as they did during previous global warmings; 5) that human deaths will be reduced with warming because cold kills twice as many people as heat; and 6) that corals, trees, birds, mammals, and butterflies are adapting well to the routine reality of changing climate.[link]
Again, this won't change the minds of James and others like him, but it should open them abit more :) Since this is based on writings, there will always be wiggle room, but the thought that the only evidence presented for future warming due to man is in fact computer models should hurt. As Martin (MVRWC) says, "...show me a computer model and I’ll show you whatever you want me to."

When they get the models to correctly predict last weeks weather, maybe I'll listen more. When they can get the models to correctly predict weather a month from now, I'll listen even more. They can't do this now, yet the computer models are 'spot-on' in predicting what will happen 50-100 years from now. As Hillary would say, "...really [would] require the willing suspension of disbelief.”

Joke

From Theo Spark (h/t Shelly at his place):
A father asked his 10-year old son if he knew about the birds and the bees.

"I don't want to know," the child said, bursting into tears. "Promise me you won't tell me."

Confused, the father asked what was wrong.

The boy sobbed, "When I was six, I got the 'There's no Easter Bunny' speech.
At seven, I got the 'There's no Tooth Fairy' speech. When I was eight, you hit me with the 'There's no Santa' speech.

If you're going to tell me that grown-ups don't really get laid, I'll have nothing left to live for." [link]

Post

OK, 1 more day (night) of work and then I'll get back to normal :)

Thanks for all the visits yesterday and the comments (whether I agreed or not with them) and I hope that maybe Thai or EMB will throw something in here for you guys.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

9-11


The NY city skyline pre-9/11:

A tribute to a time now dead; when Democrats were anti-Republican, but pro-American. A time when national security was something thrown into a debate simply to highlight a weakness, not something that would make or break a race for office.

A time when my only concerns in life were to my wife and upcoming child (daughter was born in Dec. '01). When muslims were only thought of in passing by most, and not at all by some. A time when the country was still reeling over the difficulties of Floridians in picking a Presidential candidate and the Supreme Court decision that it lead to.

A time when the world was somewhere else and rarely intruded upon the lives of the simple folk of this great land. A time of naive innocence.

All this changed in one brief, yet agonizingly long, morning in September of 2001. On that day, 19 murderers, enemies of the U.S. and all it holds dear, successfully launched an attack on the very heart of the American Dream. On that day, approximately 3,000 citizens were lost in the first major battle in a war that most did not know existed and still will not acknowledge.

No matter what side of the red/blue divide you are on; no matter where you stand in the creation vs. evolution debates; no matter what your view of the Israel/Palestinean conflict is; this day is a day to remember those that were killed in the name of Islam.

This is the day to say to your children that the U.S. will NOT back down; will NOT lightly lose 3,000 of it's precious peoples. On this day, 6 years ago, the country became one like it has only a few times in the history of this great land. That should be remembered ... and mourned.

With so many of our 'great' leaders so quick to make cheap the sacrificies of the nation, the people and specifically the ones who died; take time out to tell your loved ones, your neighbors, your friends, exactly what they mean to you. Treat them with the respect and kindness that you would want to be treated with and NEVER let them forget who the real enemy is.

~Lord Nazh [I'll never forget!]

linked at NourishingObscurity, TexasFred, Don Suber, Ol' Broad, Westminster, JB's Corner, Wired News, 1389 Blog, Ironic Surrealism II, Stix, Miss Beth's Victory Dance, Israel Maztav, Long live the Republic, YID with LID : thanks!

Monday, September 10, 2007

Iraq Report

General Petraeus gave his assessment of Iraq today (confirmed by Senate 81-0 to lead the forces in Iraq) amid much scorn from Democrats. Truthfully, the Dems in Congress (and elsewhere) were the ones that wanted the September report so bad, they were short of votes to cut out of Iraq and felt the surge would do no good and only help them to get more converts to their side.

Lo and behold, the surge worked well enough that even the MSM decided to print some on it. Varoius Democratic leaders went to Iraq and reported on progress and no more votes to run were given. Of course, that was before the report.

In the weeks and days leading up to the report, Democrats and their 'base' have steadily been downplaying the report by calling Petraeus a 'bush-mouthpiece' and saying his report is lies and 'cooked' for the Whitehouse (yes he was confirmed 81-0, had to have been a few D's in that vote) before they even laid eyes on the report. With the news on the MSM and from the Democrats that took the time to visit the war zone, they knew they had to jump out in front of this thing.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Republicans accused Democrats on Monday of embracing "character assassination" against Iraq war commander General David Petraeus, hours before his key testimony to the US Congress.

Pent-up political fury over the war spilled over before the appearance by Petraeus and US ambassador to Baghdad Ryan Crocker before the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees later Monday.

The flare-up was sparked by a full-page advertisement in The New York Times placed by anti-war liberal campaign group MoveOn.org, reading "General Petraeus or General Betray US? Cooking the Books for the White House."

White House spokesman Tony Snow said that the advertisement represented a "boorish, childish, unworthy attack.

Top Democratic Senator Joseph Biden said on NBC that he did not agree with the sentiments of the advertisement, but also disagreed with Petraeus's expected conclusion that the current troop surge in Iraq was working and should be extended.

"I really respect him, and I think he's dead, flat wrong," Biden said of Petraeus on NBC television.

"The truth of the matter is that ... this administration's policy and the surge are a failure."[link] {emp. mine-LN}
Notice the last quote from Biden, remember, this is BEFORE he heard the report. Do you honestly think he'll pay ANY attention to what the General says? The Democrats are convinced that they have a 'mandate' to stop the war, yet they are too cowardly to actually do so. There is an election coming up and they feel (rightly I think) that ending the conflict as a party would damage their chances in '08.

I realize that Republicans aren't saints (they have a lot that needs to be fixed in the party so conservatives like me can again feel comfortable with them) but they are the best bet we have to keeping this country safe and on track economically. Until or unless a Conservative party emerges, I will continue to support Republicans over Democrats for precisely these reasons.

(other news on the report here)

Dallas beats NY

:Page brought to you by:
Do you love sports and exercise? If you re looking for hte best in fitness equipment, where are you going to look? The internet of course! Sign online today and find the best in baseball equipment, home gym equipment, football equipment and golf equipment! No matter what type of sport you love, the internet has the best selection of sports gear!
::
IRVING, Texas (AP) -- Wade Phillips threw a soft uppercut and smiled widely. He did it early, when his first gamble as coach of the Dallas Cowboys worked out -- then again in the closing minutes, following a touchdown that also made him let out a big sigh of relief.

Marion Barber got things rolling with an 18-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1, Terrell Owens added two highlight-reel touchdown catches and Tony Romo made up for an interception with a 51-yard touchdown pass to Sam Hurd for a 45-35 victory over the injury-depleted New York Giants on Sunday night.

Romo threw for a career-high 345 yards and four touchdowns, plus ran for another, helping the Cowboys match the most points they ever scored in four years under Bill Parcells.

"It was good to see we were able to put up so many points and keep attacking," Romo said.

However, Phillips' supposedly improved defense gave up 438 yards and lots of big plays, turning a potential blowout into a nail-biter.

"How about my offense, huh?" Phillips said with a laugh at the start of his postgame news conference.[link]
I didn't get to watch (work) but it's always good to get a conference win, especially against the Giants (my brother's favorite team).

Sunday, September 9, 2007

SEC Roundup

(24)Tennessee 39, Southern Miss 19
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A trio of Tennessee wide receivers combine for 241 yards and two touchdowns.

Robert Meachem, Jayson Swain and Bret Smith? They're gone. The new trio of Austin Rogers, Lucas Taylor and Josh Briscoe had a breakout game against Southern Mississippi.

Erik Ainge threw a touchdown pass a piece to Rogers and Briscoe, Arian Foster ran for two scores and No. 24 Tennessee defeated Southern Miss 39-19 Saturday night.

"The potential has always been there, so we aren't shocked that they're where they're supposed to be every time," Ainge said about his new top pass catchers.
I didn't get to watch this one (pay-per-view) but it looked like the defense finally started playing in the 2nd half. Big game @ Florida next week though.

(2)LSU 48, (9)Victim Tech 7
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- LSU didn't need any small-school sacrificial lambs on its early season schedule to post a couple gaudy blowouts.

No. 9 Virginia Tech couldn't stop the second-ranked Tigers any more than some pushover.

LSU (2-0) scored on four of its first five possessions and cruised to a 48-7 victory over the uncharacteristically hapless Hokies (1-1) on Saturday night.

Jacob Lester and Keiland Williams each scored two touchdowns and LSU's menacing defense drove Virginia Tech starting quarterback Sean Glennon from the game midway through the second quarter.

Williams highlighted an overwhelming first half for the Tigers with a career-long 67-yard run for a touchdown.
This game wasn't as close as the score (yes, you read that right). LSU looked like a team that is shooting for a championship this year while Va Tech looked like they wanted to be anywhere else.

Alabama 24, Vanderbilt 10
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Terry Grant ran 24 times for 173 yards and two touchdowns, and Alabama made Nick Saban the latest coach to oversee the Crimson Tide's dominance of Vanderbilt with a 24-10 victory Saturday.

Leigh Tiffin kicked three field goals, and Alabama (2-0) won its Southeastern Conference opener with a 20th straight victory in a series it now leads 60-19-4. The Tide improved to 18-3-1 when opening SEC play against the Commodores (1-1, 0-1).

With 18 returning starters, the Commodores came in with what looked like their best chance to defeat Alabama on their home field since 1969 when they last beat the Tide in Nashville.
This was a good game for most of the 1st half. Vanderbilt had it's chances early, but after their starting QB got hurt, it was all but over. Give credit to Alabama also, they played with their usual workmanlike effort and overwhelmed a 'game' Vandy squad.

South Carolina 16, (11)Georgia 12
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -- Steve Spurrier tried to downplay his latest win over Georgia. Of course, he couldn't resist one little dig at the Bulldogs.

"I guess I have won two out of three here," the ol' ball coach said Saturday night, clearly savoring another victory between the hedges.

Spurrier, who beat the Bulldogs regularly while at Florida, guided South Carolina to a 16-12 upset of No. 11 Georgia that may indicate the Gamecocks are finally ready to contend for their first Southeastern Conference title.
S.C. dominated this game. If their offense would have played better this would have been a blowout. Georgia managed just 4 field goals and looked anemic all game long. Spurrier finally beat UGA with SC (he owned them at Florida).

(4)Florida 59, Troy 31
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- No. 4 Florida was nearly perfect early and sloppy late.

Tim Tebow threw three touchdown passes, ran for two more scores and led the defending national champion Gators to a 59-31 victory against Troy on Saturday night.

Florida scored on all seven possessions in the first half, moving the ball with relative ease against Troy's soft zone.

The Trojans (0-2) refused to give the Gators (2-0) anything deep, keeping two safeties well back and prompting Tebow to throw underneath.
Another game not on TV in my area (that's what happens when you play 'little' schools) so I can't tell you much on how Troy managed to get 31 points. I know they got 7 on Florida's starting defense, but not sure who was playing on the last 24 that the Trojans put up. Florida probably was looking ahead a bit in the 2nd half to the upcoming game with Tennessee.

Kentucky 56, Kent State 20
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- John Conner had two of Kentucky's six rushing TDs -- the first two of his career -- as the Wildcats' offense overcame their porous rushing defense to defeat Kent State 56-20 Saturday night.

Conner scored on Kentucky's opening drives of both halves, including a 16-yard scamper four minutes after halftime that gave the Wildcats (2-0) the lead for good. Coming into the game, Conner had only two other carries in his career.

Tony Dixon, Andre Woodson, Alfonso Smith and Derrick Locke each added TD runs, Locke's from 67 yards out on just his second career carry. Kentucky racked up 266 rushing yards, but Kent State did even better on the ground.
Yes it was Kent State, but this is a Kentucky team that went to a bowl last season and has hopes of contending in the East this year. Didn't get to watch (it's still Kentucky) but from score updates, the offense is definitely clicking in KY.

Mississippi St. 38, Tulane 17
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Michael Henig passed for one touchdown and ran for another and Mississippi State outscored Tulane 21-0 in the second half on its way to a 38-17 victory Saturday night in the Superdome.
Good win for the Bulldogs.

Missouri 38, Mississippi 25
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- Chase Daniel accounted for a career-high 396 total yards and threw five touchdowns passes Saturday as Missouri sprinted to a 28-point lead over Mississippi then held on for a 38-25 win.

It was the eighth time in the last nine games that Daniel had at least 309 total yards. He faced little pressure as he masterfully ran the spread offense and picked apart the Ole Miss (1-1) defense in the first 35 minutes.

Rebels running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis had a career game with 226 yards rushing.
If you had Mississippi and the points, please pay before you leave.

South Florida 26, (17)Auburn 23 (OT)
AUBURN, Ala. -- Jessie Hester Jr. caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Matt Grothe to lift South Florida to a 26-23 overtime win over No. 17 Auburn Saturday night, another impressive upset for the Bulls.

Auburn freshman Wes Byrum made a 39-yard field goal to start overtime and then Grothe took over. He ran three times, including a sneak on fourth-and-1. Then, on the next play he hit Hester behind the defense for the game-winner.

South Florida (2-0), which had pulled off upsets of highly ranked West Virginia and Louisville in the past two seasons, won for the first time in five tries against Southeastern Conference teams.
USF looked terrible in this game. They got 5 turnovers from Auburn and couldn't convert them to points. Yet after all that, they managed to tie the game up in the final minute (their kicker was 2-6, yes 2) and won the game on a sweet pass in OT. If you like Auburn there's good news and bad news. Good news is this game won't hurt you in the conference. Bad news is, your team sucks.

Friday, September 7, 2007

Club for Growth on Fred

Summation

Senator Thompson's eight-year record in the U.S. Senate demonstrates an admirable commitment to limited government and free-market principles. His record on entitlement reform and school choice is excellent, while his support for lower taxes and free trade is very good. On Social Security reform in particular, Thompson courageously supported personal accounts at a time when few politicians were willing to risk their necks taking on the third rail of American politics.

His record on spending (save the occasional pork project) is generally impressive, as demonstrated by his votes to restrict the growth and reach of the federal government. On regulation, too, Thompson voted generally against government intrusion in the private sector. Many Republican politicians talk about limited government and the principle of federalism but Thompson exemplified those ideas, often voting against bills that would have made it easy for a political opponent to paint him in a negative light.

While this strong federalist philosophy casts a redemptive light on his opposition to tort reform, it does not fully excuse or explain a number of his votes. His persistent federalism also makes his role in the passage of McCain-Feingold all the more disappointing. It is difficult to reconcile Thompson's fervent belief in a limited government with his enthusiasm for increasing government regulation on political speech. Thompson has never adequately addressed this contradiction and will have to do so. His recent doubts over the legislation's efficacy are encouraging, least of all because all politicians make mistakes, and rare are those willing to admit their own.[link]
The above summation is from the Club for Growth (limited government, pro-growth, anti-tax organization) on Sen. Fred Thompson. His record (on subjects important to the club) is spread out and talked about with a 'white paper' pdf at the link also. Good read and good summary of the political career (Senate) of Fred.

Jay at StoptheACLU is having weekend trackbacks again, go over and check the links.

107

If this guy is a friend of yours, you may want to make sure he's not around next time you get sick.
A sick acquaintance with several credit cards apparently proved too tempting for a man who authorities have charged with 107 counts of fraudulent use of a credit card.

Officials with the Florence Police Department said 26-year-old Christopher Wade Hall, 2025 N. Wood Ave., Florence, has also been charged with first-degree theft of property.

"He went on a shopping spree for a few months with stolen credit cards," said Florence police detective Cliff Billingsley.

Authorities said the investigation indicates that Hall took 12 credit cards without the owner's permission.

"From what we have been able to determine, here in Florence he used two (cards) more than 100 times," Billingsley said.[link]
Christopher Wade Hall
Not only did the man prey on his sick friend, he did it to the tune of $50k+ in meaningless expenses. The report goes on to say that all the purchases weren't local, so a grand jury will convene to see if any more charges will be filed.

News: My daughter is having surgery this morning (tonsils) so I may not be online today. Good thoughts and prayers are appreciated.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

HRW attacks Israel (again) and Bad guys dead

Human Rights Watch has decided that Israel acted wrong in firing upon Lebanon in the last little war:
In its harshest condemnation of Israel since last summer's war, Human Rights Watch charged that most of the Lebanese civilian casualties came from "indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes," according to a report to be released Thursday.

In a statement issued before the report's release, the human rights organization said there was no basis to the Israeli claim that civilian casualties resulted from Hizbullah guerrillas using civilians as shields. Israel has said that it attacked civilian areas because Hizbullah set up rocket launchers in villages and towns. [link]
It's hard to win if you're Israel, no matter what you do, or what they do (like anyone really believes that terrorists weren't using civilians as shields) you can't win. This is probably the first of many condemnations of Israel to come.
More than 1,000 Lebanese were killed in the 34-day conflict last summer, which began after Hizbullah staged a cross-border raid, killing three IDF soldiers and capturing two others. They are still being held.

IAF warplanes targeted Lebanese infrastructure, including bridges and Beirut Airport, and heavily damaged a neighborhood in Beirut known as a Hizbullah stronghold, as well as attacking Hizbullah centers in villages near the border. {emp. mine-LN}
You can readily tell the A(w/t)P wrote this article, they never seem to tell you that any of those 'civilians' were terrorists. Since there is no exact way to know exactly how many were, a little caveat would be welcome. At least they remembered who started the war this time.

Three slimes got their's:
Israeli troops backed by tanks and bulldozers moved a kilometer (half-mile) inside the Gaza Strip to strike at Palestinian terrorists on Thursday, a day after Defense Minister Ehud Barak said a broad operation inside the coastal territory was inevitable.

Three Palestinian gunmen were killed and 12 people were wounded in a battle with soldiers, but there were conflicting reports on the details of the clash in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis.[link]
Of course there are conflicting reports, anytime you have 2 sides to something, you will inevitably have 2 reports.
Meanwhile, IDF troops operating in the northern West Bank town of Jenin on Thursday arrested an Islamic Jihad member armed with a rifle and two explosives devices.

During the arrest a group of Palestinians at the scene hurled two homemade bombs at the troops. The soldiers returned fire and one Palestinian was hit by a rubber bullet. He was treated at the scene by an IDF doctor.

In addition, troops operating in the town also uncovered 30 pipe bombs in a vehicle.
Bonus catches for the IDF, of course those poor terrorists are only fighting the occupation /sarc

A New Race

Fred! is finally in (good thing too, since I already put my official bumper sticker up):

Update: Can't get the link to work here, so you'll have to travel over to Fred's site to see the video.

On with the real race.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Post of the Day

To follow up from the Quote of the day post, here's basically a response (although it wasn't written in response to her):
I legally carry a concealed handgun on a daily basis. I don’t take my decision to carry lightly.

I’m not a police officer, a private investigator, a bail bondsman or a bounty hunter. I don’t deal with criminals on a daily or professional basis. I’m just an ordinary guy.

I don’t carry merely because it’s my right, although I’m within my rights to do so and I also believe that any right not exercised is a right in danger of being lost.

I don’t carry just because I enjoy firearms and shooting sports, although I do.

I don’t carry because I frequent “bad” areas of town, although in this day and age, any area of town can be “bad” at times. Crime can and does happen when you least expect it. [link]
Read the rest of the post, it is a good post on the reasons to carry a firearm (when legally permitted).

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Quote of the Day

From Kim du Toit:
“I don’t believe that any gun should be in the hand of a thinking, feeling, breathing human being. Americans are by nature filled with rage-slash-fear. And guns are a huge part of our culture. I know I’m crazy because I’m only supposed to say that in Europe. But violence corrupts absolutely.”

In the interview, she talks about how The Brave One was not the correct title for what the movie was really about.
You'll have to click over to see who said that (and read the comments about it).

Hard to imagine the thought process that instantly thinks that guns cause violence instead of people.

Fred in Arizona

Thompson Outperforms McCain in Arizona
Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Arizona is the home state for John McCain, but Fred Thompson is the strongest GOP Presidential candidate in the state at this time.

A Rasmussen Reports telephone survey found that Thompson leads Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton by seventeen percentage points, 51% to 34%. Thompson will be formally announcing his candidacy this week.

Rudy Giuliani, who leads the polls for the Republican Presidential nomination, leads Clinton by eleven points, 49% to 38%. McCain has a ten-point edge over Clinton, 46% to 36%. With McCain as the GOP candidate, 15% of Arizona voters say they’d select a third party option. Mitt Romney is the weakest of the GOP candidates in Arizona but still leads Clinton by seven points, 46% to 39%.

For question wording and responses, click here. [link]

Fred is heating up in the south (leads in South Carolina) and getting a boost from McCain's stance on illegal immigration.

All three front runners (and McCain) have comfortable leads on Hillary in Az, but of course polls don't mean anything without votes.

Silly Season (politics)


September 3, 2007

And they're off (but the race began long ago)

Indianapolis Star

Dan Balz

6 questions to ponder on traditional campaign starting date

WASHINGTON -- Labor Day is the traditional starting date for presidential campaigns, but Labor Day the year before the election?

That's the reality of the 2008 campaign, a contest that has been barreling ahead since January. What happens from here on will matter far more than what has happened up to now, but the first eight months of 2007 have delivered on predictions that this would be one of the most interesting and consequential campaigns of modern times.

On the Democratic side, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York remains the front-runner, but Barack Obama's prodigious fundraising and passionate crowds continue to make the Illinois senator an intriguing rival. Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina has staked his hopes on Iowa, and so far Iowans remain open to him. The rest of the Democratic field is starting to make noise, though their odds remain long.

For Republicans, the contest is about to change with this week's entry of former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee. He will join former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Sen. John McCain of Arizona and maybe former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in a contest still in search of clarity and definition.

To help make sense of what has happened and where things may be heading, think of the next four months -- until January, when actual voters will finally start to make choices that count -- in terms of six questions. For answers to them, we sought out strategists in both parties, based in Washington and around the country, some of whom spoke only if they were not identified.

For them -- and for the campaign itself -- today marks a moment when the pace quickens and the stakes increase. (link)
Great write-up on what will define a 'great' race to the Whitehouse. It still doesn't feel right that the campaign began in January, but now it's getting to be crunch time. There's still plenty of time for the candidates to position themselves (although for most, their positions would be hard to change now), and there really is no telling in this internet age just what will happen next.

Hillary is the odds-on favorite for the Democratic (and some experts say National) ticket although Obama isn't too far off for comfort [Edwards seems to be sinking slowly into oblivion, but don't count out Iowa in the Democratic process]. On the Republican side, it's basically a 3-way race according to where you ask. Guiliani is still the front-runner, with Romney and Fred getting the nod in localized polls. While Romney seems to be the most organized, Fred brings the 'grass-roots' to the table and both these candidates should be well positioned to remind voters of the short-falls of Rudy.

While the next few months promise to be exciting, they (more than likely) will be bitter and 'underhanded' as well. This seems the SOP for politics in this day and age.

May the best candidates win.

Great W-in-Iraq post over at Misha's; check it out (pictures)

Happy Labor Day

Labor Day

Labor Day is observed annually in honor of working people on the first Monday in September in all the states and territories, including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The day was originally conceived in 1882 by Peter J. McGuire, the radical founder and indefatigable warrior of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of New York. On 8 May, McGuire proposed to the New York City Central Labor Union that the first Monday in September, because it fell midway between the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving Day, be set aside annually as a "labor day." His effort bore fruit on Tuesday, 5 September 1882, when workers in New York City held a large parade and a festival sponsored by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor. In 1884, the New Yorkers held a parade on the first Monday of September and designated that day as the annual Labor Day. The agitation in New York City was soon followed by labor unions in other states, which staged vigorous campaigns in their state legislatures for the establishment of Labor Day as a legal holiday. Their earliest victories were in Oregon and Colorado, where Labor Day was declared to be a state holiday in February and March 1887, respectively. The next year the American Federation of Labor passed a resolution for the adoption of a Labor Day at its St. Louis, Missouri, convention. Thirty states had followed the lead of Oregon and Colorado by the time the first Monday in September was made a national holiday by an act of Congress, with the bill signed into law by President Grover Cleveland on 28 June 1894. In the early twenty-first century, Labor Day parades, rallies, festivals, and speeches were still organized by labor unions across the country and often supported by political leaders. Because of the shrinking popular base of traditional labor unions, however, most Americans tended to regard the day merely as the finale of a long summer of fun in which hot dogs, barbecues, and picnics reigned.
Update: This post will stay at the top until the Holiday is over, scroll down for new posts until then

Monday, September 3, 2007

Pro-Choice Equality


When you are not getting an air conditioner installed, you are indirectly claiming your love for open windows and thus increasing the need for proper home security arrangements. Also, then using candles indoors is out of question. You might as well be working on your garden tools within the doors.


This is for the pro-choice (abortion) people: [note: I am divorced with a child, I support my child willingly and would no matter what the law stated because I feel it is right to do so and I want to do so.]

Since the concept of pro-choice is the basic fact that the female should have the choice of having a child or not, shouldn't this construct be given to the male in the equation also?

Consider, you and your partner become pregnant unexpectedly (wrong time, not trying, etc.). Both of you are pro-choice and both feel that it wouldn't be a good idea to have the child. The husband/boyfriend argues that this wouldn't be good because of [insert good reason here] and you feel roughly the same. After thinking about it, you feel that reason [insert better reason here] would overcome his (and your concerns) and decide (as is your right) to have the child even though he doesn't want to.

A period of time later, you split up (in no relation to said pregnancy). Here's the question: should it be his choice whether to support the child or not? (morally yes and legally yes, in all places I'm aware of, but this is a hypothetical) Why or why not?

Since the decision to have the child was yours and yours alone (in this case, remember his choice was no child), shouldn't he then logically be entitled to the choice of supporting the child or not (that he didn't want and now does not live with).

Also, suppose he wanted the child and you ultimately decided against it (as is your right as you both believe), should he then have legal recompse from you for not having his child? If you have the legal means to get support from someone that didn't want a child (who believed as you that it is your choice) vis-a-vis shouldn't he have the same right to get support (something) from you for not having the child that he wanted?

As I am pro-life, these questions will not keep me up at night, they were just random thoughts that ran through my head and I wanted to get some responses from others on. Feel free to comment and discuss.

Sunday, September 2, 2007

What to believe


With certifications like 350-018 and 642-533, you can go places. Programs like 642-812 as well as 70-528 also readily accept such applicants and even

go to the extent of offering free courses like EX0-100 and 220-603.

Two paths to get to here from there:

BeliefScience
BeginningG-dNothing
EarthCreated by G-dBig bang, going against the laws of conservation and energy, matter was created from nothing
LifeCreated by G-dMatter that was created from nothing somehow forms into life (single-cells)
Human LifeCreated by G-dEvolution from single cell through the animal tree eventually to human (relies on scientific 'proof' missing key 'proof' of actual evolving into a human from another animal)

Any wonder why we believers scoff at evolution? (yes this is a very simplistic argument, sue me)

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Difference


From living room furniture to the beds and the tables that go elsewhere, everything should follow a theme. The bathrooms cannot be classic if the rest of the house including the flooring as well as the furniture is contemporary. Minor features like candles etc can be adjusted somehow.

Power Outages Accompany Sweltering Temperatures
'Four Days Straight' Of Record Consumption Leads To Blackouts

LOS ANGELES -- Scattered power outages linked to near-record heat and record-setting demand have blacked out various neighborhoods across the city Saturday.

As of mid-afternoon, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power estimated that 5,700 customers, both businesses and residences, were without air conditioners or refrigerators at some point during the afternoon, in temperatures above 90 degrees.

Neighborhoods that were affected by the scattered problems included Mount Olympus, Silver Lake, Koreatown, Highland Park, Cypress Park, Eagle Rock and Atwater Village. {emp. mine-LN}
Four days of above 90 and they have blackouts. We went 7 days above 100 with none. The energy production in the west is abyssmal at best and criminal at worst.

In the Tennessee Valley region we had 5 (I think) straight days with over 33,000 Megawatts of output (high point output) without any problems (until fire on a transformer knocked out a 500kV line and caused a plant to shut down a unit for safety reasons and a transformer problem in north Alabama caused a blackout to parts of a city, no 'production' blackouts). The deregulation of the energy industry in California was a bold move when it occurred but people are still paying for it.

Competition is great, but only if there are enough people to supply the demand needed.

UPSET

#5 Michigan (Big Ten) vs D1-AA (FCS) Appalachian State...

App State 34
Michigan 32


Booya

Sen. Craig Resigns

Top story on Yahoo is about Sen. Craig (R-Idaho) resigning after the sex 'sting' in the airport bathroom:
GOP Sen. Craig resigns over sex sting


By JOHN MILLER and MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press Writers 16 minutes ago

BOISE, Idaho - Idaho Sen. Larry Craig resigned Saturday over a men's room sex sting, bowing to pressure from fellow Republicans worried about a scandal dimming their election prospects.

"I apologize for what I have caused. I am deeply sorry," Craig said, his wife Suzanne at his side.

Craig's resignation completed a stunning downfall that began Monday with the disclosure that he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge following his arrest during a sex sting in a Minneapolis airport men's room.

Although leading members of his own party had called for him to step down, Craig steadfastly resisted resigning for days, contending he had done nothing wrong and that his only mistake was pleading guilty Aug. 1 to a misdemeanor charge.(link)
I've read all kind of 'tolerant' people heaping mounds of ridicule on this man, from right-wing people to lefty liberals and their agenda of inclusion. From what I've read (and the audio of the 'arrest') the Senator didn't do much that would be considered illegal. Yes he pled guilty to a misdemeanor, but this small fine has now cost him his job.

I don't really want to get into the Democrats vs Republicans on scandals, but I do want to talk about how they respectively handle them. The Dems will rally around their troublemaker and take a stand, 9 times out of 10 this gets the person off the hook (so to speak) and they continue to serve. The Repubs will circle like sharks in the water and attack. They force resignations at a whim to avoid looking 'bad' in the public (and end up looking bad all the same).

While I personally believe homosexuality is a sin and against G-d, that gives me no right to judge someone for what they believe or do. Had Sen. Craig been caught having sex in a public place, maybe I would feel different about this issue, but he was not. He was caught 'proposing' to have sex, something that happens every minute of every day from schools to bars to public transportation. When that becomes illegal, this country truly will die.

Victory Caucus

Stand by the American Mission in Iraq


Iraq is now the central front in the War on Terrorism - not because Americans want it to be but because America's enemies have said so and made it so. Al-Qaeda and Iranian-backed militias are determined to drive the United States out of Iraq. Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups would then use that country as a safe haven from which they can mount attacks on the U.S., its interests and allies.

We recognize that the U.S. involvement in Iraq has divided Americans and that our leaders have made mistakes. We also recognize the cost of this war, not only in financial terms but, more importantly, in the loss of more than 3,000 of our bravest men and women. The issue, however, is not how or why U.S. forces became engaged in Iraq but, rather, what is happening there now and what would happen if we were to leave too soon. (link)

Click through to read the rest and sign the petition.

Trackback weekend over at StoptheACLU.

Warzone

 Recently played a few games on Caldera (warzone) and then... Lots of luck in this one, but satisfying