Beware The New Generation Of Super Heroes

There's a new crop of super heroes showing up in America. Today we saw the introduction of......

Captain Feces

The FBI is looking into a bizarre and frightening incident aboard a commercial jet heading from Houston to Omaha last Friday involving an unstable passenger.

It began with a middle-aged man leaving the plane's lavatory covered in his own feces.

Sensing danger with his ass all a-tingle, our hero ran to the lavatory (obviously there is no phone booth available on a small commuter jet) and smeared on donned his super hero costume. As longs as he eats regularly, our hero will have a "fresh" change of costume whenever he needs it!

"Oh, it was awful. It was worse than that."

The super hero costume works!! Notice the fear and awe in the voice of this evildoer! This is the last time she'll serve a stale bag of peanuts!

Stacey, from Houston, who asked that we not use her last name, says the small Continental Air Express commuter jet had just one flight attendant in the cabin, a young man who moved the other passengers forward to empty seats and kept the unkempt passenger in the back row.

Our super hero stayed in the area of the plane where danger was most apparent, ready to take on any and all who dared challenge him.

"I hear all of this ruckus and this yelling and I kind of turned around and the poor flight attendant is on his back and the guy is like punching him and I'm like, oh my gosh. It's almost like a scene out of a movie. There were two male passengers behind me that got up and kind of got the guy off of him. The poor steward, he's got a black eye, his eye's swelling. I felt so sorry for him."

Our super hero unleashed a literal shit storm on this evildoer! Using tactics he learned after years of study in turd world countries, Captain Feces wiped up the cabin with the steward.

The U.S. attorney says the man was not arrested, but detained at the airport by authorities until picked up by trained professionals from a care facility in Iowa.

Our intrepid hero, Captain Feces, is now resting at the Super Secret Scatological Sewer of Solitude, a guest of Commodore Commode and The Legion of Excreta.

Memories Like These

My daughter ripped my AR15 apart today and we spent a pleasant half hour cleaning it. Plus her friend Adam is on vacation from SU and he drove up and gave us a hand (he was in Army ROTC before medical problems forced him out).

She issued me a new set of brains on some parts of the bolt and carrier assembly that I had not previously cleaned up to her standards.

*sniff*

It doesn't get any better than that.

Illinois - The Sewer of American Politics

I had a bit of a argument with a relative on Chrsitmas. He suffers from a moderate case of Bush Derangement Syndrome that he caught from PBS and MSM programming. One of my responses was that I do not trust Obama because he comes form one of the most corrupt political environments inthe country.

Like all BDS suffers, this relative is data impaired and started off on how Texas (obvious reference to Bush) and California (I guess the reference is to Arnold?) are just as corrupt. I bought to his attention that four of the last eight Illinois governors have been arrested and three served prison sentences. What other State in the NAtions has that distinction? Certainly not Texas or California.

The conversation ended when when he that he was sick of this and left the house. Our realtionship has always been strained but even my wife has had enough.

I went looking for references to Illinois political corruption and you don't have to go far. Even one of the most liberal media outlets in the country, MSNBC, remarked on the stench from Illinois politics.

Illinois has long legacy of public corruption

At least 79 elected officials have been convicted of wrongdoing since 1972

Illinois’ official slogan is the “Land of Lincoln,” but an equally apt descriptor would be the “Land of Greased Palms.”

The state, Cook County and its governmental seat, Chicago, have a long history of corruption by elected and appointed officials.

The culture of corruption dates back to the late 19th century, when a gambling-house owner named Michael Cassius McDonald created the city's first political machine, establishing a model in which officials would distribute contracts, jobs and social services in exchange for political support, according to a scholarly history of organized crime in Chicago by Robert Lombardo, a sociology professor and former Chicago and Cook County police officer.

Its persistence was documented in Sept. 7, 2006 by the Chicago Sun-Times, which reported that at least 79 current or former Illinois, Chicago or Cook County elected officials had been found guilty of a crime by judges, juries or their own pleas since 1972. The paper provided this tally of the tarnished: three governors, two other state officials, 15 state legislators, two congressmen, one mayor, three other city officials, 27 aldermen, 19 Cook County judges and seven other Cook County officials.

The article noted that so many aldermen had been jailed that the newspaper ran a front-page-story in 1991 when the year passed with none being indicted or convicted.

This is Obama's playground. A cesspool of brbibery and corruption. Obama's Chief of Staff , Rahm Emanuel, left the congressional seat previously held by Rod Blagojevich until his election as Illinois Governor in 2002.

This is one of the main reasons why the thought of this man in the nation's highest elected office gives me chills. And these aren't tingles running up and down my leg ala Matthews.

A Little Bit O'This And That

FROM Poland, a husband pops by the local bootie shoppee for a quickie and finds that his wife has been peddling her wares:

WARSAW (Reuters) - A Polish man got the shock of his life when he visited a brothel and spotted his wife among the establishment's employees.

Polish tabloid Super Express said the woman had been making some extra money on the side while telling her husband she worked at a store in a nearby town.

"I was dumfounded. I thought I was dreaming," the husband told the newspaper on Wednesday.

The couple, married for 14 years, are now divorcing, the newspaper
reported.

The husband thought he was dreaming because for the first time in 14 years she didn't ask him if he was done yet and he finally got back some change from her.

FROM Japan, kids who don't eat breakfast are more likely to burn those missing calories in other ways:

TOKYO (Reuters Life!) - Teens who skip breakfast as middle school students tend to have sex at an earlier age than those who start the day with a proper meal, a government-backed Japanese medical researcher said on Friday.

The link between breakfast and sex probably lies in the teens' family life, said Kunio Kitamura, executive director of the Japan Family Planning Association, who conducted the survey.

The survey examined sexual experiences as well as family relationships and lifestyle habits of Japanese females and males aged 16 to 49. It was carried out in September and was based on about 1,500 people.

The average age of first-time sex for those who said they ate breakfast every day as a middle school student was 19.4, while for those who skipped breakfast, the average age was 17.5.

For students who skipped both breakfast and lunch, puberty was postponed until an average age of 39.6.

FROM Israel, Hamas threatened to "Unleash Hell" if IDF forces, currently in the process of bitch slapping Palestinian terrorists, do not cease offensive operations in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli F-16 bombers have pounded key targets across the Gaza Strip, killing more than 200 people, local medics say. Most of those killed were policemen in the Hamas militant movement, which controls Gaza, but women and children also died, the Gaza officials said.

About 700 others were wounded, as missiles struck security compounds and militant bases, the officials added.

Israeli PM Ehud Olmert said the operation "may take some time"- but he pledged to avoid a humanitarian crisis.

"It's not going to last a few days,'' he said in a televised statement, flanked by Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

Israel said it was responding to an escalation in rocket attacks from Gaza and would bomb "as long as necessary".

Hamas spokesman, Achmed Shahwan, stated that the leash employed to restrain Hell was attached to a choke collar that had become tangled in the wheels of a portable falafel stand. Efforts were underway to free the collar and stop Hell from feeding on assorted chickpea and fava bean delights. The falafel vendor was slightly injured in the incident and will be contacting Congress for bailout funds to replace his wares and lost wages.

FROM America, amateurs are becoming involved in genetic engineering.

[...] Using homemade lab equipment and the wealth of scientific knowledge available online, these hobbyists are trying to create new life forms through genetic engineering — a field long dominated by Ph.D.s toiling in university and corporate laboratories.

In her San Francisco dining room lab, for example, 31-year-old computer programmer Meredith L. Patterson is trying to develop genetically altered yogurt bacteria that will glow green to signal the presence of melamine, the chemical that turned Chinese-made baby formula and pet food deadly.

"People can really work on projects for the good of humanity while learning about something they want to learn about in the process," she said.So far, no major gene-splicing discoveries have come out anybody's kitchen or garage.

But critics of the movement worry that these amateurs could one day unleash an environmental or medical disaster. Defenders say the future Bill Gates of biotech could be developing a cure for cancer in the garage.

Many of these amateurs may have studied biology in college but have no advanced degrees and are not earning a living in the biotechnology field. Some proudly call themselves "biohackers" — innovators who push technological boundaries and put the spread of knowledge before profits.

In Cambridge, Mass., a group called DIYbio is setting up a community lab where the public could use chemicals and lab equipment, including a used freezer, scored for free off Craigslist, that drops to 80 degrees below zero, the temperature needed to keep many kinds of bacteria alive.

Co-founder Mackenzie Cowell, a 24-year-old who majored in biology in college, said amateurs will probably pursue serious work such as new vaccines and super-efficient biofuels, but they might also try, for example, to use squid genes to create tattoos that glow.

I love the last example. You can watch her glowing tattoos fade in the distance as high speed ink thunders out her asshole.

I myself am holding out for titty whistles.

The New York Post

From Ralph Peters in the New York Post:

A YEAR ago this month, the Post ran a week-long series of columns on the courage and grit of our wounded troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. Their medical treatment was state of the art, but the "off duty" facilities serving them and their families were a shame.

Those who gave so much asked for nothing for themselves. Fortunately, others stepped in.

Brooke Army Medical Center staffers and benefactors in San Antonio, Texas, saw that the local one-room Warrior and Family Support Center that helped prepare badly wounded vets for their return to the "real world" was overwhelmed.

The good people of San Antonio needed four million dollars to renovate the facility to enable it to provide the services needed for out vets. Readers of the NY Post were invited to donate to this cause. And they responded.

When those profiles of our wounded warriors ran last December, you stepped up with contributions great and small. Post readers came through with about a million dollars - a quarter of the funding.

Despite the financial demands we all feel every holiday season, you gave to those who had given so much to us.

The result? On Dec. 1, military authorities received the keys to a magnificent 12,500-square-foot facility.

Instead of one crowded room up a flight of stairs, our wounded vets have a beautiful building specifically designed to meet their needs. The quality is impeccable - this "home" will be there for generations of vets. For once, our troops received a worthy thanks.

Congress, tax dollars and war profiteers didn't give it. You did.

[...]In these challenging times, it's easy to lapse into selfishness. We all have fears and worries. For some of us, this holiday season's a difficult one. But it's going to be a great deal better for hundreds of our wounded warriors because of what you did to welcome them home.

Amen to that and many thanks to the New York Post and it's many readers who saw the need and did something about it where others turned away.

For links to some of these articles go here, here and please check out the Wounded Warrior Project.

Merry Christmas

May each and everyone of you have a blessed Christmas.

May the Grace and Mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ give you Peace.

Presents under the tree are nice, stockings filled with goodies are wonderful too, but as for me, give me peace.

A Corrupt Nation

From this:

To this:

As Scripture tells us, the love of money is the source of much evil. When a nation as poor as Mexico is overrun with billions of drug dollars, the effects are far reaching. The enticements of so much wealth to poor people can be irresistible.

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – A reigning Mexican beauty queen from the drug-plagued state of Sinaloa was arrested with suspected gang members in a truck filled guns and ammunition, police say.

Miss Sinaloa 2008 Laura Zuniga stared at the ground, with her flowing dark hair concealing her face, as she stood squeezed between seven alleged gunmen lined up before journalists.

Soldiers wearing ski masks guarded the 23-year-old model and the suspects. Zuniga was arrested shortly before midnight on Monday at a military checkpoint in Zapopan, just outside the colonial city of Guadalajara, said Jalisco state police director, Francisco Alejandro Solorio.

Zuniga was riding in one of two trucks, where soldiers found a large stash of weapons, including two AR-15 assault rifles, .38 specials, 9mm handguns, nine magazines, 633 cartridges and $53,300 in U.S. currency, Solorio said Tuesday.
State police identified one of the men caught with her as the brother of an alleged drug trafficker from Ciudad Juarez, a city on the U.S. border, and said the man appeared to have been her boyfriend.

Zuniga told police that she was planning on traveling to Bolivia and Colombia with the men to go shopping, Solorio said.

I am not one for beauty contests as I believe they are for the most part manipulative and immoral, but the family of this lovely young girl must be heartbroken.

Still, what was this pretty young thing thinking when she got involved with these thugs? If she was going shopping in Columbia and Boliva I can imagine what those thugs were shopping for.

Upstate NY In WInter

Need I say more?

We were at the mall for almost seven hours and my knees are killing me.

I just got home from Xmas shopping with my daughter and shoveled the driveway.

Twenty minutes later there's another inch and a half on the ground.

That's four and a half inches an hour.

This is supposed to keep up all night. It's not even the end of December and already we're sick of snow.

But all is not lost...









Because...

Thank God we made cookies!! This is not even a third of them.

The coconut macaroons are simply out of this world and my wife's chocolate balls are the best.

(Yeah you pervs, go ahead and bat that one around for a while.)

Golden Snowball Award

The latest snow fall numbers for the Winter of 2008-09

Syracuse............ 42.9"
Rochester.......... 32.1"
Binghamton...... 29.2"
Buffalo............... 28.3"
Albany.............. 10.5"

This means we got just under ten inches of snow yesterday.

UPDATE
We got another 3"-4" overnight.

Some guy up in Booneville was using an old bulldozer to clear his driveway and accidently ran over his 6 yr old kid. Kid's in critical condition with massive injuries to his lower body. Anyone with kids knows how fast a 6 yo can move. This is awful, just awful. Prayers are much needed for the family.

In The Name Of God, Go!

Mark Steyn has a particularly tasty article in the Orange County Register. He has this to say about Princess Kennedy

Gov. Paterson is said to be considering appointing Princess Caroline of Kennedy to Hillary Clinton's vacant Senate seat. After two and a third centuries of republican experiment, America has finally worked its way back to the House of Lords.

"Friends Say Kennedy Has Long Wanted Public Role," Anne Kornblut assured readers in an in-depth Washington Post tongue-bath. She hasn't "long wanted" it to the extent of, you know, running for dog catcher in Lackawanna and getting – what's the word? – "elected," but, if you have a spare Senate seat, she's graciously indicated that she'd be prepared to consider accepting it. As lady-in-waiting Anne Kornblut pointed out, Caroline is highly qualified, being "the author of several books." It's true! She's an experienced poetry editor. She edited "The Best-Loved Poems Of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis." Jackie Kennedy wrote poems? Of course! She wrote so many poems that some are better loved than others.

I guess we should feel honored that Princess Kennedy has deigned to descend from the heights of society and sacrifice herself on the altar of the US Senate.

There's a regular smorgasbord of Steyn appetizers over to the Register.

But one of the commenters, oatka02, presented a quote that fascinated me. He attributes it to Oliver Cromwell. This is perhaps the closest anyone has ever come to expressing what I feel about our own Government.

Dissolution of the Long Parliament by Oliver Cromwell given to the House of Commons, 20 April 1653

It is high time for me to put an end to your sitting in this place, which you have dishonored by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice; ye are a factious crew, and enemies to all good government; ye are a pack of mercenary wretches, and would like Esau sell your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas betray your God for a few pieces of money.

Is there a single virtue now remaining amongst you? Is there one vice you do not possess? Ye have no more religion than my horse; gold is your God; which of you have not barter'd your conscience for bribes? Is there a man amongst you that has the least care for the good of the Commonwealth?

Ye sordid prostitutes have you not defil'd this sacred place, and turn'd the Lord's temple into a den of thieves, by your immoral principles and wicked practices? Ye are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation; you were deputed here by the people to get grievances redress'd, are yourselves gone! So! Take away that shining bauble there, and lock up the doors.

In the name of God, go!

It was called the Long Parliment because it was around for a loooong time. In 1640 this parliment decided to pass legislation that stated that it could not be dissolved except by the agreement of its members. Can you imagine if the present bailout obsessed 110th Congress decided that it would not make way for the 111th Congress but would stick around for over a decade?

Winter Storm

We got about 8" of snow yesterday but fortunately the storm left the area about 1900 hr and the road crews did a wonderful job in keeping the highways clear. My Explorer got a work out earlier in the afternoon as things were kinda bad; the street I live on was unplowed but the Ford took me up the hill in 4X4 without a hitch. Sweet.

After suffering with my 1983 Ranger and putting up with my wife's 1978 T-Bird (yep - it's been awhile since a Ford's been parked in my driveway), I didn't think I would ever say this - but I really, really like my Ford.

Our daughter's plane from DC was delayed for a half hour and we didn't get back from the airport until almost midnight. But she looks great! She had a bunch of funny stories about her drill sergeants and classmates - so we stayed up yakking and laughing until the wee hours.

We were all packed into the little spare room where she is staying for two weeks (her 16 yo sister commandeered her bedroom downstairs as soon as she left for boot camp). It is just so good to see her at home even for a little while before the Army lays claim to her again. She is fit as a fiddle and was showing us the lengths her squaddies will go through to introduce the "Gun Show" - where they flex their biceps. For such a little thing she is tricked out I must admit.

Any how, the coffee's good this morning, the wife is in the shower and the kids' are all still abed. So I was perusing through some milblogs and stumbled across this at Strategy Page:

I know it ain't the same, but can you see this smashing through a snowbank in Upstate NY? I sure could. It's a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Armored Vehicle plowing through sand dunes at a training course in Iraq.

It'll work.

The Duke Was Right

Look at the following photos and see if you can guess what happened.

Hint:
Deer season .......... check
New rifle .............. check
Bore sight ............. check
Live ammo ........... check
Inattentiveness ...... check

Oh! One more item.
Unsympathic bystander with a camera ......... roger that!

"Life 's tough......It 's even tougher if you' re stupid."
- John Wayne

H/T to my brother.

We're Ahead

Syracuse is ahead in the 2008 Golden Snowball Award contest.
The results thus far:

Syracuse............... 33.1"
Rochester..............23.2"
Binghamton.......... 22.9"
Buffalo..................18.2"
Albany................... 2.7"

Last year at this time we had over 52" of snow.

The winner of this awards gets bragging rights as the most inhospitable place to live in the entire northern hemisphere.

A Chilly Reception

In advance of the 8"-11" of snow we are expecting tomorrow, Ms. Caroline Kennedy did not receive an effusive Upstate welcome this morning.

In fact, from the local news it appeared that she was about as welcome as the heavy snows we're expecting. News Channel 10 has several interviews with people who were less than enthralled about Kennedy's bid for a Senate seat. The same theme seems to resonate - We don't need another warm body with nothing but a last name to represent us.

In addition, Kennedy allegedly blew off Syracuse reporters. I guess when she staryedther upstate "listening tour" she decided that she didn't need to listen to members of the hometown press and electronic media.

This is not the way to ingratiate yourself and become a local media darling unless she feels that she doesn't need any upstate support because:

1) she expects to be appointed by the Governor so who cares what upstate NY thinks, and

2) if and when she runs for the office in 2010, she will have the massive downstate vote so who cares what upstate NY thinks.

Either way, this chick is definitely a NYC elite and who cares what upstate NY thinks?

What do I think? I think it stinks. Another do nothing know nothing society suit who thinks she deserves something.
She is a lawyer but doesn't do any lawyering.
She wrote a book on the Constitution, but has done nothing to defend or strengthen it.
She talks about her father and manages his foundation.
She raises money that is pissed away on liberal causes.
Whatta life.

And while I'm dealing with the Governor's choice for Senator, Gov. Paterson just proposed sweeping increases in taxes and fees to make up the State's deficit - but also increased spending by $1.4 billion. So we're in line for a new Senator whose primary job experience is helping other people piss money away and she'll be appointed by a governor who does the same thing.

Is this a great state or what?

UPDATE:
This just showed up.

Kennedy Takes A Beating From Upstate Media
Reporters Jump All Over Mostly Silent Princess Of Camelot

Mayor Of Syracuse Doesn't Offer Endorsement
Who Should Get Senate Gig?

Siena Poll: Cuomo 26, Kennedy 23

NEW YORK (CBS) Caroline Kennedy took a page from Hillary Clinton's playbook and began an upstate listening tour On Wednesday. The road trip included stops in Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo to help convince Gov. David Paterson and voters she's the one to replace Clinton in the U.S. Senate.

But it was a tough crowd.

But after meeting with Mayor Matt Driscoll, she ran into a buzz saw -- angry reporters who wanted her to do more talking and less listening. "But you've never held public office so what experience [do you have]?" one reporter asked. Actually, she did speak briefly in Syracuse.

"I wanted to come upstate and meet with Mayor Driscoll and others to tell them about my experience and also learn more about how Washington can help these communities," Kennedy said.

Her quick remarks fell flat. Reporters seemed to feel brushed off and they pursued her out. "You're not going to answer questions at all?" one asked. "Where you headed next?" another demanded.

To the car.

We Don't Need Another Clinton Either

There has been talk about Bill Clinton trying to reentry public service in some fashion, perhaps as UN Ambassador.

No. Just, no... Hell no!

Retired Army Lt. Colonel Eric Jowers wrote the following letter in September 1998 (I don't know if he actually sent it to then President Clinton). In this season of political unease, change and posturing for appointments, it once again is topical

It should be attached to every resume and job application that William Jefferson Clinton mails out. A copy should also be power stapled to his forehead.

Dear Mr. President:

It’s not about sex. If it were, you would be gone.

Like a principal or teacher who had sex with a student teacher half his age at his desk during school hours, you would be long gone. Or, just like Army Sergeant Major Gene McKinney, while found not guilty, was forced to resign amid accusations of sexual abuse.

Remember the Air Force general you refused to nominate as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff because he admitted an affair 15 years before while separated from his wife? Unlike you, he wasn’t accused of having a starry-eyed intern my daughter’s age perform oral sex on him while on the phone and with his wife and daughter upstairs.

If it were about sex, you should be subjected to the same horrible hearings Clarence Thomas was because of Anita Hill’s accusations. He was accused of only talking dirty to her. He didn’t leave semen stains on her dress.

No, it isn’t about sex. It’s about character, lying, arrogance and abuse of power. It’s about dodging the draft. When it came up in the campaign, you concocted a story nobody believed, but we excused you and looked away.

It’s about smoking dope. “I didn’t inhale,” you said. Sure, and when I was 15 my buddies and I swiped some beer from an unwatched refrigerator. We drank it but didn’t swallow. “I broke no laws of the United States,” you said. Right. I guess you smoked it overseas where you were demonstrating against the USA. Nobody believed you, but we excused it and looked away.

It’s about selling overnight stays in the White House to any contributor with untraceable cash.

It’s about Whitewater, Jim and Susan McDougal, Arkansas former-Gov. Jim Guy Tucker, Vince Foster, Gennifer Flowers,Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey and countless others. It’s about removing records from Foster’s office while his body was still warm and “not noticing them” in your bedroom for two years.

It’s about illegal political contributions. It’s about soliciting contributions and selling influence at Buddhist temples and in the same White House where Lincoln and FDR led their country through the dark days of wars that threatened our nation. But we excused you and looked away.

It’s about hiding evidence from Ken Starr, refusing to testify, filing legal motions, coaching witnesses, obstructing justice and delaying Judge Starr’s inquiry for months and years, then complaining that it has gone on too long.

Thank goodness, Starr didn’t excuse you or look away. He held on like a tenacious bulldog.

Your supporters say you’ve confessed and asked forgiveness. A confession in the face of overwhelming evidence isn’t a confession at all. And you certainly didn’t apologize. Not that it would matter.

A confessed murderer is still a murderer. When your “confession” didn’t sell, even to your friends, you became more forthcoming, but you’ve misled us too much already. Voters can’t believe what you say, and neither can your cabinet, Congress or world leaders.

When a leader’s actions defame and emasculate our country as profoundly as yours have, it is no longer a personal matter among you, your family and your God.

I don’t believe Hillary was unaware of your sexual misadventures, abuses of power and pattern of lying. I believe she has been a party to your wrongdoings since long before Whitewater and Gennifer Flowers. Why? So she could share in the raw power your office carries. You two probably lied to Chelsea, but that is a matter among you, your family and God.

Remember the sign on James Carville's desk in the 1992 campaign? It said, “It’s the economy, stupid!” Put this sign over your desk: “It’s about character, stupid!”

No, it’s not about sex. It’s about character. But we must live with your lies and arrogance a while longer. Your amorality and lack of character have been as pervasive as they have been despicable, and we have no reason to believe you’ll resign and go away. You’ll count on half-truths, attack dogs and spin doctors to see you through, the country be damned. You think we’ll excuse you and look the other way.

No more. We’ve had enough.

When every parent, grandparent, uncle, aunt, teacher, minister, elected official and diplomat has to apologize for your actions, you’ve lost all moral authority and the right to lead.

Now go away and let us show everybody that our country was not without morals; only you were. Let us show them America wasn’t the problem; William Jefferson Clinton was.

Go away, Mr. President. Leave us alone.

And when you leave, know that your legacy to the USA will be a stain on the office of president that is as filthy as that on Monica’s dress. It will take a lot of scrubbing to make it clean again, and you’re not qualified for the job.

Still Waiting...

I just got this from my brother.

According to a Marine Pilot:

In addition to communicating with the local Air Traffic Control Facility, All aircraft in the Persian Gulf AOR are required to give the Iranian Air Defense Radar (military) a ten minute 'heads up' if they will be Transiting Iranian airspace.

This is a common procedure for commercial aircraft and involves giving them your call sign, transponder code, type aircraft, and point of origin and destination.

I just flew with a guy who overheard this conversation on the VHF Guard (emergency) frequency 121.5 MHz while flying from Europe to Dubai .

It's too good not to pass along.

The conversation went something like this...

Irani Air Defense Radar: 'Unknown aircraft at (location unknown), you are in Iranian airspace. Identify yourself.'

Aircraft: 'This is a United States aircraft. I am in Iraqi airspace.'

Irani Air Defense Radar: 'You are in Iranian airspace. If you do not depart our airspace, we will launch interceptor aircraft!'

Aircraft: 'This is a United States Marine Corps F/A-18. Send 'em up. I'll wait!'

Irani Air Defense Radar: (No response ... Total silence)






Thanks Bro!

If The Shoe Fits, Keep It On

From the Times:

He may be a hero to millions of Iraqis but the “shoe man” has had to spend a second night in detention, during which he nursed a broken arm and ribs as well as cuts to his face, according to his brother.

Muntazer al-Zaidi rose to fame on Sunday when he threw his shoes at President George Bush during a Baghdad press conference, missing narrowly, in apparent protest at the actions of US troops over the past few years.

His brother, Durgham al-Zaidi, said he was told that Mr al-Zaidi is held by Iraqi forces in the heavily fortified Green Zone compound in central Baghdad, where the US embassy and most government offices are housed.

“He has got a broken arm and ribs, and cuts to his eye and arm,” he said. “He is being held by forces under the command of Muwafaq al-Rubaie [Iraq’s national security adviser]." Television pictures from the press conference show Mr al-Zaidi being carried away by prime ministerial guards but no sign of excess violence.

Apparently Mr. al-Zaidi's session of "Whack-A-Bush" has not been well received in some parts of Iraqi society.

I assume that the authorities employed necessary and sufficient physical force against Mr. al-Zaidi who:

1) Resisted arrest, attacking his guards by slamming his chest against their boots,
2) Attempted to break out of his temporary holding cell by repeatedly bashing his face into the walls and bars,
3) Initiated an international incident by breaking Kosher dietary laws by storing meats with diary products,
4) Unlawfully impersonated a taller person by wearing size twelve EEEs when he is only an eight and a half.

Al-Zaida was later charged with "Aggravated Unauthorized Flinging of Footwear" as his Oder Eaters™ were still inside the shoes when hurled...

We Don 't Need Another Kennedy

To Governor Paterson:

The very thing that this State does not need is another person whose almost sole professional experience is grubbing for money and then giving it away.

That slot was just used up by the President-elect.

While Ms. Kennedy's experience in begging for and spending other people's money may arouse the hearts of boards of directors for museums, art galleries and "save this historic blah blah blah" efforts, it does nothing for those of us who actually must work and not rely on our father's last name for a living.

Ms. Kennedy's curriculum vitae highlights her experience as:
a) Chief executive for the Office of Strategic Partnerships for the New York City Department of Education, raising over $65 million for the NYC public school system (where the graduation rate is only 43% - nice work Carol, if something is busted, just throw more money at it - actually perfect experience for our dysfunctional national legislature);

b) President of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation (there's a surprise!);

c) Director of the Commission on Presidential Debates (where one of the moderators - surprise! - was writing a glowing, celebratory book about Senator Obama - nice piece of nonpartisan work Carol);

d) Director of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (as we now have a black President this entire organization is essentially meaningless and so is her position); and finally

e) Honorary Chairman of the American Ballet Theatre (Leaving No Tap Dancer Behind).

Governor Paterson, surely there must be some pretentious, important sounding and yet meaningless position to which you can appoint this woman where she can do no harm.

Five More Days

The DLI is shutting down for Christmas and my soldier girl is flying home on the 19th; she'll be here for two weeks. My wife is on the phone with her right now. Soldier girl was supposed to go deep sea fishing this weekend with some of her friends but there was a "perfect storm" brewing off the west coast by San Fran and the charter skippers won't go out. I wanted her to catch a sea pig.

I have been experiencing a lousy connection to the Internet for the past few months. It was real spotty; dropping service every so often, sometimes three ora four times a night. I was blaming MS Vista. I kept rebooting the router and cable modem and it usually came back up.
No longer.
My Internet connection went south last night and stayed there. Then the cable TV followed suit. So no surfing, no football after church.

I called Time Warner at 1 PM and someone showed up two hours later. Turns out the drop line from the pole and the service line into the house was bad; the cable guy replaced part of it. Tomorrow they will do the whole line (can't drop a line across a street unless there are two men on the job).

So anyway my web connection is rock solid tonight and I watched the last three minutes of the Steelers v. Ravens game.

Life is good.

Daddy's Closet

I got off my butt and finally installed something this weekend.

Those three round thingies on the side of the door are 1" locking bolts.


I feel better knowing that the horses are safe and sound in the stable.

Always Follow The Money

"I should make clear the complaint makes no allegations about the president-elect whatsoever, his conduct. This part of the scheme lost steam when the person that the governor thought was the president-elect's choice of senator took herself out of the running. But after the deal never happened, this is the governor's reaction, quote: "They're not willing to give me anything but appreciation. F**k them."

These are the words of federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald regarding Obama's connection with the accused felon who is also the Democratic Governor of the State of Illinois.

Obama's Chief of Staff has now retracted his statement that Obama had spoken to the Governor last month regarding Obama's replacement to the Senate seat he will vacate next month. Obama says he is "saddened and sobered" by these events.

There are phone records. The feds must have grabbed Blagojevich's phones. They will follow these leads. It may get very interesting if calls to or from Obama's Blackberry are in the mix.

There are more elements to these corruption charges and they will unfold in due time. I believe this is still an ongoing investigation and if Rezko has been singing like we hear, more heads may roll.

Obama may have some trouble explaining his talk-no-talk changes. If Obama or his people were approached by Blagojevich demanding consideration for Obama's choice for the Senate, Obama would be constrained to report this attempted crime.

And he didn't.

Obama may indeed be "saddened and sobered" by further developments.

Preparing Venison

Well, I am a little leary of exposing anyone's trade secrets, but my buddy Cookie over to the Cook Shack has a sure fire recipe for tenderizing deer meat. Being a novice and all I would never attempt this myself, but Cookie's an old hand at this so I am sure that he won't mind sharing his secret.

Tenderizing the deer meat is very, very important in preparing a delicious order of venison. Once it's tenderized, why there's nothing Cookie won't do to it, ahhhhh, I mean with it.

In this recipe, Cookie prepares some doe meat. Getting the meat ready for Cookie's special "treatment" also takes some getting used to. It's not for the faint of heart.

But Cookie likes to do it this way and who am I to judge?

Mosey on down to see what I mean.

Cookie surely puts himself into his work. Now that there's 110%.

I'm not sure what he does when he gets a buck but I'm sure it's interesting.

Sabots

I finally had a close encounter of the venison kind.

Rob, my SIL and I went out gain on Saturday back to the Three Rivers Game Management area, the same area we were in last week. About an hour and twenty minutes after settling into the woods, a big doe was kicked up and ran past me, about thirty yards SW of where I was positioned. I heard her crashing through the frozen ground cover and then she suddenly appeared.

She couldn't have picked a worse spot. This is real dense woods with heavy growth bordering on a swamp. There is brush, saplings and moss covers much of the ground; everything was pretty frozen except for any water deeper than a few inches.

I had some narrow open fields of fire to the N, NW, NE and SE. But not to the S or SW (or W for that matter). I had time to let loose with a sabot round but I missed. I saw her white tail off and on for a few seconds and then lost her. Rob was directly west of my position, about seventy-five yards or so, but he never saw her. It was all over in less than ten seconds.

We checked the area for signs of blood or hair but found nothing, ergo the clean miss verdict. But it was still as exciting as all get out.

We had to get Rob home but went out again, this time to the southern part of the County. We got permission from a dairy farmer to hunt on his land. He even dropped his chores to help with a drive. He knew where the deer are on his property and directed us to a ravine behind his fields.

It was like a mini version of the Grand Canyon. It was beautiful but so steep I had some doubts about climbing down. I went about two thirds of the way down and got behind some trees. At the bottom of the ravine it cleared out a lot and there were great opportunities for a shot. There was a brook running along the bottom - pretty as a picture. The other side of the ravine was even steeper and higher.

After about an hour my SIL showed up along the snowmobile path that was cut in about halfway down. He, like I, saw no deer; but he saw plenty of deer sign. It was almost a relief not getting a deer in this ravine. Our new friend says it is a real chore to drag a deer up from this location through all the brush and briers. I believe it because I had a hard enough time getting my own sorry self back up the ravine.

The season ended today, 7 DEC, at sun down. I was thinking about going out again after church but the temperature dipped into the teens with high winds and snow.

Next year.

Disarm The Elderly

The Barking Moonbat has a post that features a 68 year old British shopkeeper being attacked by sword wielding thugs. The shopkeeper fends them off. These thugs should be dead, shot multiple times in the head and cheat.

But you can't defend yourself with a firearm when the possession of firearms is limited to only those who would break the law anyway.

The British government's insistence on disarming law biding citizens is more like a plan to control health care costs by eliminating those pesky senior citizens who insist on getting old and infirm.

Why bother building extended care facilities and geriatric centers when all you have to do is take away their guns and let vicious goons do the dirty work for you? There is no need to worry about embarassing revelations like Chuck Heston running down the street screaming "It's people!" Just let the boyz loose to do what comes naturally.



The following excerpt is from an article in the UK Mail, dated 15 NOV 2008:

Serious violent crime is going up NOT down, Home Office Chief Admits

The head of the Home Office has admitted in a leaked document that the Government has failed to reduce serious violent crime over the past decade.

In a paper marked ‘Restricted Policy’, Sir David Normington, the Department’s top civil servant, admits that under Labour the levels of the most violent crimes such as murder, serious assaults and rape are higher than they were in 1997.

The admission by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith’s most senior Civil Service adviser appears to be at odds with claims by Ministers that levels of violent crime have fallen since Labour came to power.

The Home Office admitted last night that its own figures showed there were 14,000 serious violent offences in 1997-98 and 16,000 in 2007-08.

Sir David’s 101-page document, sent to new Home Office Ministers appointed in Gordon Brown’s reshuffle last month.

Sir David discloses that because the most serious violent crimes have not been reduced, the Government’s long- term strategy will now concentrate on these rather than less serious ones.

In July, Jacqui Smith twice used the British Crime Survey, based on surveys of thousands of members of the public, rather than crimes recorded by the police, to claim all types of violent crime had fallen substantially since 1997.

In response to the July 2008 crime figures, she said on the Home Office website: ‘Since 1997, crime measured by the British Crime Survey has fallen by 39 per cent with violence down by 40 per cent and burglary down by over half (55 per cent).’

And on July 17 she repeated her claim that violence had dropped by 40 per cent since 1997, ‘with a 12 per cent fall in the last year alone’.

But in his document Sir David writes: ‘In view of the fact that more serious violence has not reduced in the way that we would have wanted in recent years, and that these offences cause the most harm to individual victims and to society as a whole, our long-term strategy on violence focuses on seriousness. This includes homicides, serious wounding and serious sexual offences such as rape.

‘Recorded crime statistics do indicate that despite recent falls, the levels of the most serious violence are higher than they were ten years ago.’

The document also reveals that more than 50 per cent of people surveyed by the Home Office are still not confident that the criminal justice system is effective in bringing offenders to justice.

Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve said last night: ‘This document is a shocking admission that Labour’s crime reduction policy has focused on chasing petty incidents in order to spin crime statistics. Jacqui Smith’s claim that violent crime is down has been dealt a fatal blow.’

This is what happens when do-gooder bureaucrats manage things. There are now so many security cameras in England that a new national pastime has developed whereby people douse them with gasoline and burn them. There are over 4.2 million security cameras in England (2006 estimate), one camera for every 14 people. But for the most part, these cameras are used to generate revenue through traffic enforcement - and that causes a great deal of resentment, but not much security or safety.

The CCTV camera in the above video provided a documentary of the crime of attempted robbery and assault, but did nothing to enhance the safety of the shopkeeper. Those two thugs needed to learn the old prohibition about bringing a knife to a gun fight. But the Brits have removed that lesson from the curriculum.


.

More Crazy

In this world there is crazy.
There is completely bonkers.
There is losing the bubble.

But when you are far off the chart beyond where "Here There Be Monsters," there is ...

ZOMBIE KILLING CHAINSAW BAYONET CRAZY!


Fortunately there is highly specialized training available for this kind of weapon.

Nutz R Us

This San Antonio nutbag must have thought he was on the road to Damascus.

(AP) -- A man who rammed his truck into a woman's vehicle on a highway early Friday told authorities he crashed into her while going more than 100 mph because God told him "she needed to be taken off the road."

The truck rear-ended the car on U.S. Highway 281, both vehicles spun across a median then came to a stop along a barrier in the opposite lanes. Both drivers suffered only minor injuries.

"He just said God said she wasn't driving right, and she needed to be taken off the road," Bexar County Sheriff's Office spokesman Kyle Coleman said in the online edition of the San Antonio Express-News. "God must have been with them, 'cause any other time, the severity of this crash, it would have been a fatal."

God hates people who drive slower than the posted speed limit.

I guess this next guy thought that he should first do unto himself as he would do unto others:

AP -- A 21-year-old man was accused of driving drunk and leading police on a chase that finally ended with him running over himself. The man was treated for minor injuries at a Santa Fe hospital and booked in to the Sandoval County detention center on charges of aggravated driving while intoxicated, fleeing a police officer, careless driving and two other outstanding traffic warrants.

[...] State Police Officer Grace Romero spotted the man's pickup truck swerving across both lanes of a highway, driving slowly and then fast. He refused to stop.

After narrowly missing other vehicles, police said the suspect drove through a ditch and a barbed-wire fence before stopping. He tried to put the truck into park, but it ended up in reverse.

Police said the man fell from his open door and both of his legs were run over by the front driver's side tire.

Bambi On Crack

Now that I am out in the woods again with a shotgun, all of a sudden I am hearing all kinds of stories and seeing videos of deer attacks on hunters.

SEDALIA, Mo. — A Sedalia hunter bagged a big buck on the second day of firearms season, but the kill caused him a lot of pain.

Forty-nine-year-old Randy Goodman said he thought two well-placed shots with his .270-caliber rifle had killed the buck on Nov. 19. Goodman said the deer looked dead to him, but seconds later the nine-point, 240-pound animal came to life.

The buck rose up, knocked Goodman down and attacked him with his antlers in what the veteran hunter called "15 seconds of hell." The deer ran a short distance and went down, and died after Goodman fired two more shots.

Obviously those first two shots were not as well placed as Randy imagined. The deer wasn't too pleased with them either.

Rutting deer are crazy. My SIL once shot a doe. The buck was following her and walked right into his sights after the gunshot instead of running away. Crazy buck didn't care. He also got shot for his efforts.

But at least Randy Goodman will be chowing down on some deer meat for his efforts.
This next hunter didn't manage as well.
The deer/kangeroo kicked his ass, took his money, his watch and his woman.


Deer are known on rare occassions to kill people, sometimes children.

• Ron Dudek, 73, of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., died Oct. 17 of complications from antler wounds inflicted to his face by a male deer that Dudek encountered when he went to pick tomatoes in his backyard garden. It was the nation's second deer-assault death in two years: Donald Sellers, 79, was fatally gored and mauled by his pet buck in Gilbertown, Ala., in 2003.

• Karen Morris, 56, of Clearlake, Calif., was hospitalized for 12 days with head injuries in an attack by a young buck Nov. 17 outside her home. The horns bruised Clifford Morris, 68, when he came to his wife's aid.

• In Covelo, Calif., on Sept. 29, Arnold and Jeannine Bloom returned to their pickup after watering a friend's vegetable garden. A small buck ran up to the truck and knocked the man on his back, California Department of Fish and Game warden Rusty Boccaleoni says. When Jeannine Bloom swung at the animal with a piece of firewood, it turned upon her and ripped a hole in her arm. The next day, Boccaleoni shot and killed the animal.

• BALL GROUND, Ga. [10/8/07 - sig94]-- A man was found dead after apparently being attacked by a deer. The body of John Henry Frix, 66, was found around 8 p.m. Sunday inside the deer's pen on his property. He had been gored several times in the upper body by a deer's antlers, Cherokee County sheriff's Sgt. Jay Baker said.

The deer was one of several Frix kept on his property.

"This particular deer had apparently been in rut, which is their breeding cycle, and they become very aggressive," said Cherokee County Sheriff's Deputy Jay Baker. "This deer had been quite aggressive the past few days, so we think that's what caused the attack on the man."

Maybe I could start a protective service to handle these kinds of incidents. As a commenter said on the original deer-attacks-hunter article:

timpatico writes:
If that deer had a chance, he'd kill you and your entire family. Then burn down your house and pee on the ashs. Those Deer just are not right in the head.

My rates are reasonable and I'll give you a free fire extinguisher to boot.

Day 2 In The Woods

Once again we were back in the woods at 0630. Just my SIL and I this time and we were hunting in an area behind the homes of some friends of his. Still a little swampy but nothing like yeaterday. It was colder and it was snowing heavily. I had no idea where we were once we got off the main road.

And it didn't matter a bit because neither one of us saw a deer for two and a half hours. But I did notice that my new scope had been installed 90 degrees out of whack. So yesterday as I put 25 rounds through it trying to dial it in at 50 yards, whenever I tried to raise the recticle, I was actually moving it to the left. And when I moved it to the right, I was moving it down. I was thinking as the shots moved to the right when I dialed it up that I was a complete idiot. *sigh*

We left at about 0915 and drove to Lysander for some breakfast. We each had a big, thick slab of breakfast pizza (really, it was 3/4" thick with eggs, ham, sausage and corn) and coffee. The bill came to $6.45 for the both of us. Ahhhhhhh, Upstate New York.




On the way back home we stopped here to hunt. We were right behind the house in the lower left corner of the picture (Google map). Once you get past the rear yard where it is flat and green, there is a ridge line. From there the property drops down sharply about fifty feet into a valley. See the first green blob of treetop closest to the back yard? I was about 75 feet from there. My SIL went around the scrub to the left, up and back around and tried to drive something over.

Nada. Not a thing except an overcaffeinated squirrel bouncing off the trees. After an hour we left.

As soon as I got home I headed back to the gun shop. The guy was just a little embarassed. He reset the scope and bore sighted it again. We had a laugh over it and I got a free replacement box of sabots. I stopped home to pickup my range pass, sat down for a few minutes and fell asleep. So much for the range.

This is where we were yesterday.

That faint oval was my approximate location. This is NYS DEC managed property on Kellogg Rd. Rob was about 3/4 inch to my left. My SIL entered the woods above the top right corner of the picture on Smokey Hollow Rd. The lighter colored area above the oval is the swamp/wetlands.

Bambi Redux

Bambi chickened out - he never showed up.

We all had a good time nonetheless. We dropped my SIL off on the east side of the woods around 0630 and he started walking southwest to drive the deer towards us (hopefully). We got into the woods at dawn and trudged probably over a quarter mile into the State hunting grounds. The morning was cold and damp so we decided to walk into a half-frozen swamp. Rob and I took positions about 100 yards apart just short of the swamp. We stayed there almost two hours.

Rob saw a single doe but couldn't get a shot off. Neither I nor my SIL saw a deer. Rob had to get home so we were outta there at 0930.

I really enjoyed myself but I realized that my Remmy 1100 is basically a pheasant gun and after not shooting it for about 25 years it now hammers the living daylights out of my not so young shoulder. So I went over to my favorite gun shop and asked to see what they had in a used slug gun.

I first looked at a used Weatherby but it was a smooth bore. Out next popped a Mossie 500 with a ventilated, cantilevered, rifled slug barrel. I picked out a Barska 1.25 x 4.5 to sit on top and we were done.

Next trip was to the range where I put 25 rounds through it. This gun was made for sabot rounds.

The recoil is very comfortable because of the ventilated barrel and a nice thick butt pad. My shoulder killed me after 5 rounds with the 1100. After 25 rounds with the Mossie my shoulder did not hurt at all.

I got it to fire a 4" group at 50 yards.

My SIL and I are going back into the woods tomorow morning again.

Give Thanks

There is so much to be thankful for. And it isn't about the food.

I thank God for everything He has provided, the good and the bad. The good because He reveals His wonderful nature; the bad because it reveals myself to me and how far I have yet to go.

Thanksgiving And Deer Hunting

Tomorrow we are having our Thanksgiving meal at my daughter's house. We have been baking pies for two days and my wife is making the stuffing tonight. We will have two turkeys, one roasted and the other deep fried. I just can't get used to the taste of fried turkey and prefer roasted. We'll miss our daughter in the Army but that is tempered by the fact that she is flying in on December 19th and will stay with us through New Year's before returning to DLI.

She reported a few days ago that there were protestors outside DLI - the idiots thought that DLI was giving instruction to Army personnel on how to waterboard terrorists. The fools don't realize that waterboarding is a third semester course; waterboarding comes after the second semester fingernail pulling, testicle pounding and colon water cannon classes.

My SIL finally talked me into going deer hunting with him. Friday morning at oh-dark hundred we will enter the woods and practice our deadly trade. I will be sporting my new Remington camo orange hat as I carry my trusty 1100.

So I am going out again. This time I will bag and tag the elusive Bambi.

I gave up deer hunting years ago because I am such a lousy deer hunter. I don't have the patience.

I dug out the last NYS big game permit I bought; it was for the 1977-78 season. Crikey.

Bambi should be a lot older and slower now.
I'll get my shot when he takes off running in the woods and breaks a hip.
I just hope I don't have to stop and pee when he does that.

Friday could be a loooooong morning.

Santa's Special Delivery

I found this at over at Jawa and had to "borrow" it.

Don't worry, I'll give it back as soon as you're done with it.

You Already Know Why

The local paper reports that a A 20 month old girl was beaten to death by his mother's boyfriend. The 20 year old sperm donor father of the infant has this to say:

"I just want to know why," said Imani's father, Lee Jennings Jr., 20, of 607
Park St.

He said he had admonished Cherron Patterson in the summer of 2007 for slapping their daughter in the head to discipline her.

"She would slap her, pop her in the forehead, like no ordinary slap," Jennings said. "She went beyond a disciplinarian."

But after he stopped dating Cherron a year ago, he never suspected that she or Weakfall was abusing the toddler, Jennings said.

"I had no idea," Jennings said.

Now bear this in mind - this psychopath was smacking her 20 month old daughter over a year ago. She was "popping" a six or seven month old infant. In the head. And the idiot baby daddy never suspected that anything was wrong, "I had no idea". This kid's nuts should be cut off and buried in the back yard until either he grows up or the squirrels find them.

What did all the other adults in baby Imani's life do to protect her? Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

On Sunday, relatives said they wished they had done more to protect 20-month-old Imani Jennings.

Patterson's boyfriend, Anthony Weakfall Jr., was charged in the beating death of the child.

"I saw (Weakfall) spanking the baby (in the past)," said Amy Patterson, Cherron's mother and Imani's maternal grandmother. "Any place where Imani had bare skin, they'd smack her.

They'd smack her till she screamed and then tell her to shut up. I told Cherron that he (Weakfall) has no business putting his hands on that baby. It's not his child."

Still, she never thought her granddaughter's story would end like this.

Well, not exactly nothing....

On Sunday, Imani Jennings' relatives and members of Mothers Against Gun Violence held a candlelight vigil outside the 124 Fage Ave. home where Syracuse police said Weakfall beat the girl to death over a potty-training accident.

They held a candlelight vigil. How sweet; how caring.
Nothing like a vigil to ease a guilty conscience. Then you can go right back to doing exactly nothing again because you have shown everyone just how much you care. You cared enough to spend two hours holding a candle in front of the house where the child was murdered. Unfortunately you didn't care enough to intervene before the child was killed. Not even an anonymous phone call... That's how much you cared.

The answer to Jenning's question "I just want to know why?" is self evident. Imani is dead because those who supposedly loved her did nothing to protect her. No one called the police or Child Protective to report this behavior. But, Oh, Praise God they held a vigil.

Police said Weakfall spent nearly an hour Friday beating the toddler with a metal rod, a cable cord, bedsprings and his fists. He then left to attend Corcoran High School.

Weakfall -- who was charged Saturday with murder -- was being held Sunday in Hillbrook Detention Center.

Cherron Patterson, a Fowler High student, was not home when her daughter was killed, police said. But police charged the woman with assault and endangering the welfare of her child in a prior incident involving Imani.

The more you read this article, the more you want to scream; Cherron is six months pregnant. It is unknown at this time who the sperm donor is.

Weakfall is being held at Hillbrook Detention because he is a juvenile. The murderous son of a bitch is fifteen years old.

When the culture glamorizes sex and violence, why are people surprised when babies turn up dead? Bill Cosby has tried to address this with little success. Lyrics to degenerate rap songs like "Gimme That Nut" or "Play" are common fare for teens. I don't dare put the lyrics on this blog. The BBC has a list of violent rap songs one of which was written by Snoop Doog, a media darling now. People are rewarded richly for writing this crap that kids listen to.

Is rap music the cause of the viciousness? No, it is symptomatic of a moral collapse that allows such vileness to exist. Add to this the irresponsible behavior of alleged adults who refuse to address a potentially deadly situation and the answer to Jennings question is simple: it happened because you all stood by and did nothing. You all betrayed this child. There's your answer idiot.

The power steering on my wife's car went yesterday and the vehicle was towed to the dealer for warranty work. We drove to the dealer today to pick it up and on our way home we passed the mall where some people were out in traffic with buckets trying to collect money. On the bucket it said "For Needy Children." Talk about trying to capitalize on an outrage.

I got a clue for all you idiot do gooders.

All the stinking buckets in the world chock full of cash won't help "needy" children if you don't get up off your asses, accept some responsibility and do the right thing.

44 B.C.

It's been about 2,050 years since the demise of the Roman Republic. I am starting to think I understand how some Romans felt when they heard that Julius Caesar was appointed dictator (dictator perpetuo - prior to 44 B.C. he was only a temp, a dictator interregnum).

While Bush Derangement Syndrome is still out of control we haven't had a chance to take a breath before Obama Orgasmic Syndrome takes hold.

The latest example of a BDS outbreak is documented in the Belmont Club:

Gail Collins of the NYT makes what she thinks is is a clever proposal: she wants President Bush and Dick Cheney to resign so that Barack Obama can take over right away. The Gateway Pundit has video of Chris Matthews proposing essentially the same thing.

Thanksgiving is next week, and President Bush could make it a really special holiday by resigning. Seriously. We have an economy that’s crashing and a vacuum at the top. Bush — who is currently on a trip to Peru to meet with Asian leaders who no longer care what he thinks — hasn’t got the clout, or possibly even the energy, to do anything useful. His most recent contribution to resolving the fiscal crisis was lecturing representatives of the world’s most important economies on the glories of free-market capitalism.

Putting Barack Obama in charge immediately isn’t impossible. Dick Cheney, obviously, would have to quit as well as Bush. In fact, just to be on the safe side, the vice president ought to turn in his resignation first. (We’re desperate, but not crazy.) Then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would become president until Jan. 20. Obviously, she’d defer to her party’s incoming chief executive, and Barack Obama could begin governing.

Obama Orgasmic Syndrome is manifesting itself in in a different pattern, a dinner service pattern that is, as documented at Six Meat Buffet:

Once upon a time collecting hummels, Precious Moments dolls, and faberge eggs used to be all the Certificate of Authenticity you needed to grant you involuntary incarceration to a padded cell of your legal guardian’s choosing.

But for those who’ve never soared the heights of the hummelian, the passport from your emotional ghetto is just a phone call and $19.95 away. You never thought it would happen but it did.

Awww gee. My wife has three shelves of Hummels from her mom...

For some reason I don't think we'll see any collectors scrambling like mad to order the latest Obama Commerative Winchester Model 1892 .30-30 caliber lever-action carbines or any Barack Bowie Knives.

COPS: Mean Streets Of The Sorry Ass End Of The Galaxy

Serendipity

Ser⋅en⋅dip⋅i⋅ty   
1. an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.
2. good fortune; luck: the serendipity of getting the first job she applied for.
Sometimes good fortune not only smiles on you, but invites you in, shines your shoes, cooks you a meal and tries to get you to marry her daugher.

From New Science:

Material slicker than Teflon discovered by accident

A superhard substance that is more slippery than Teflon could protect mechanical parts from wear and tear, and boost energy efficiency by reducing friction.

The "ceramic alloy" is created by combining a metal alloy of boron, aluminium and magnesium (AlMgB14) with titanium boride (TiB2). It is the hardest material after diamond and cubic boron nitride.

BAM, as the material is called, was discovered at the US Department of Energy Ames Laboratory in Iowa in 199, during attempts to develop a substance to generate electricity when heated.

BAM didn't do that, but was found to have other desirable characteristics. "Its hardness was discovered by accident. We had a terrible time cutting it, grinding it, or polishing it," says Alan Russell, a materials scientist at Iowa State University in
Ames.

Those chance findings have now developed into a $3-million programme at the Ames Lab to develop the BAM into a kind of eternal lubricant, a coating for moving parts to boost energy efficiency and longevity by reducing friction.

BAM is much slipperier than Teflon, with a coefficient of friction of .02 compared to .05. Lubricated steel has a friction coefficient of 0.16.

One way to exploit this slipperiness is to coat the rotor blades in everyday pumps used in everything from heating systems to aircraft, says Russel. A slick BAM coating of just 2 microns could reduce friction between the blades and their housing, meaning less power is needed to produce the same pumping power.

Combat Tortoise

This tortoise is relentless. It's like he's on a mission or something.

More On The El Paso Police Pinata

The El Paso Police Pinata thread has received a lot of attention for some reason. I only posted four photographs as I am not a gore merchant. I am a retired police officer and a certified evidence technician - I processed crime scenes for seven years. I'll go into some more detail now as I believe it is warranted, particularly from some of the reponse from Gunbroker.com and XD Talk (hi guys!).

There are twelve crime scene pictures that my brother sent me. I will now include all of them and comment where I see something relevant.

Photo #1

The first four photographs are the only ones that show the placement of a single helmet. From his proximity to the suspect closest to the plainclothes officer (we'll call him Officer #1 and the suspect is Suspect #1) and the helmet. He appears to have lost consciousness or has expired. If you look closely at the rearmost suspect (farthest away from the police officer, we'll tag him Suspect #3) you will see a very small object near his right knee. When blown up, it resembles a cartridge casing. While onlookers appear to keep their distance, there is no real attempt to secure the scene. It is a cloudy day and thus no sharp shadows; however, look at the apparent shadow thrown by the white pick up truck bed, the helmet and the officer's feet. It appears to be a very short shadow so it may be that these photos were taken around noon time.

You will also notice something in this and in all the other photos that is conspicuous by its absense - there are no emergency medical workers in attendence. The motorcycle cop in the back (if that's what he is - he's wearing a helmet) we'll call Officer #2. There appears to be another officer (dark pants and dark t-shirt) next to the motorcycle cop, we'll call him Officer #3 because it seems that he is wearing some kind of equipment around his waist. Next to Officer #3 is a man in a white t-shirt. Behind him is a man dressed in matching blue pants and shirt and he has something shiny on his belt. We'll call him Officer #4.

The suspect in the middle, Suspect #2, apparently has a gunshot wound to his left arm and is lying on his right side.

There appears to be a line of some kind of cobblestone to the right of the suspects' motorcycle. It could be a false curb marking where parking is allowed.

Photo #2

This photograph is taken from the same aspect. Suspect #2, the one still alive, has moved and Suspect #1 has been rolled on his back. Suspect #1 also has his left leg splayed out away from the motorcycle and his right arm has moved lower to his body, away from Officer #1. To the left of Suspect #2 is another police officer wearing mustard colored shorts and carrying handcuffs. We'll tag him as Officer #5. Behind Officer #5 is a man wearing a white long sleeved shirt and blue with some kind of identication tag around his neck. I will not tag him as a cop right now.

Next to Officer #2 (motorcycle cop) is a man with a big gut wearing a horizontally striped shirt and blue shorts. To the right of him is a man wearing a striped shirt and jeans. It looks like he is holding a cell phone and there is something in his right hand. Look above his right hand; apparently he is wearing a holster as his shirt is bloused out over it. Tag him Officer #6.

Look at Suspect #1's right thigh. There is a blood stain on his pants but no blood underneath his leg. This smear was caused by someone dragging Suspect #2 over his leg. This action probably caused the movement of Suspect#1 as detailed in the above paragraph. I will blame Officer #5 for this as he looks like a chump. He may be considering whether or not it is necessary to 'cuff Suspect #2.

Suspect#3 has not moved. There is still a small object near his right knee. You can now see the motorcycle on the right side of the photo. There is a small object on the lane paint stripe just to the left of the motorcycle's rear tire. Perhaps it is a lane reflector. Officer #3 is talking on a cell phone and seems to have his right hand on his holster.

The suspects' motorcycle still has its headlight on. There doesn't appear to be any spilled gas on the road.

Photo #3

Officer #1 has moved to the left side of the photograph. He is still holding his pistol. Officer #3 appears to be motioning for people to stay away from the scene, you can see the holster on his right thigh more clearly now. The motorcyle cop hasn't budged, perhaps he is posing. Mustard shorts is out of the picture as well as the guy with the big gut.

Photo #4

The photographer has moved behind the cobblestone line. Officer #1 is still holding his pistol and he is dancing over the stream of blood. The suspect's headlight is still on. Suspect #2 has his head up from the pavement. Either he is waiting to see if the cops are going to kill him outright or someone is talking to him. He is not using his arms to support himself. He may also have a chest wound, but since he was originally laying on his right side, the blood on his t-shirt could be from the gunshot wound to his arm.

There is a mark on the side of the suspects' motorcycle gas tank shroud. I can't tell if it is a bullethole, the headlight is still on.

Suspect #1 looks like he has bled out. I have seen far, far more blood than that on a bleed out. Suspect #3 still has his head up. There may be blood on the right side of the black full cover helmet. I call Suspect #1 as the driver as I think he was wearing the helmet. There is blood on his right hand corresponding to the blood on the helmet.

Photo #5

Still not sure about that round mark on the tank shroud. Suspect#3 appears to have some blood under his head, he is clutching a baseball cap in his left hand - obviously he wasn't wearing the helmet. That small object is still near his right knee. The motorcycle cop still hasn't moved. He is the only one with shiny shoes. Suspect #3 now has his head down, right side towards the pavement.

Photo #6

Suspect #3 moved his head to the other side. Officer #1 still has his pistol in his hand. The motorcycle cop has moved ever so slightly away from his two wheeler. The suspects' motorcycle's drive chain needs a good lube. That object near Suspect #3's knee is still there.

Photo #7

Officer #1 has had his pistol surgically attached to his hand. The cop expects Suspect #2 to jump up at any time and assault him, possibly with deadly shards of bone from his left arm. This and the next photograph show how badly that arm has been hit.

Photo #8

Officer #1 may be questioning Suspect #2. Still no medical personnel on the scene, but these photos could have been taken within five minutes or less. In a third world city it probably is unfair to expect an ambulance within minutes.

Photo #9

There is a black line just above Officer #1's belt. It may be a holster. Officer #1 is either going to holster his pistol or is preparing to shoot and then urinate on Suspect #2. The man in the background wearing jeans and a gray shirt looks like he is taking a picture.

Photo #10The pistol is now holstered and Suspect #2 can't believe that he hasn't been shot or pissed on. It looks like someone wearing uniform shoes is squatting just to his right,

Photo #11It does not look like Suspect #1 took a GSW to the chest. Perhaps a gut shot severed a major artery.

Photo #12

Last photo. I can't tell if this was a police photographer taking these shots or not. If it was, he is not very good.

It seems like the photographer tried to capture the scene from all four sides (that is an absolute minimum - I would go through a dozen rolls easy at a scene like this), but he missed shooting from the side of the road where the police motorcycle was parked, or else those photos were not included in the original emails.