One man's view of the world, from the top of this great big rock somewhere in the middle of God's Country, with an eye toward freedom....or at least some way to get back down without goin' over the edge.

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Location: West Virginia, United States

Former U.S. Army, SPC E-4, Veteran of Operation Desert Storm. If you are or have ever been a soldier, you have friends in my house.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Californistan or Bust: And The Golden Dildo Goes To...

As if there was any doubt about THESE two:

In the biggest non-surprise of the night, Al Gore's film on global warming won the Academy Award for best documentary on Sunday, and the former vice president and his Hollywood friends used the opportunity to push their cause before a billion-strong global audience.

"An Inconvenient Truth" also walked away with a second Academy Award, for best original song -- Melissa Etheridge's "I Need to Wake Up." Etheridge performed the song earlier in the evening, before a backdrop that flashed messages such as, "You can even reduce your carbon emissions to zero."

Would installing some eco-friendly storm shutters on this idiot's mouth help?

Never mind that the film is being challenged for ....well, for being a crock of polar bear shit, that's what:

"A new scientific study shows that for the first time they're finding polar bears that have actually drowned swimming long distances - up to sixty miles - to find the ice," Gore says in the movie.

John Berlau, author of a new book on the environmental movement entitled "Eco-Freaks," claims the polar bear scene alone should disqualify Gore's film from consideration for best documentary, because it departs from reality.

Berlau noted that while the movie's companion book says the bears were drowning in "significant numbers," the study Gore is most likely referring to only found four polar bear carcasses in the sea off Alaska.

That episode took place after a severe storm, he noted, but Gore makes no reference to a storm during the film's animated polar bear sequence.

Gore also never cites a source for his polar bear claim, Berlau points out, but scientists on both sides of the polar bear debate told Cybercast News Service he was probably referring to a recent report filed by the U.S. Minerals Management Service.

Researchers with the service in 2004 found four dead polar bears floating in the sea off Alaska but said in a report that the bears "are believed to have drowned as a result of the storm."

Never mind the preternatural speed with which the Academy dropped trou and spread 'em for their new hero...

Hmm....anyone else sensing a pattern here?

Dan Gifford, an Academy Award nominee himself, has called on the academy to investigate whether Moore "fabricated scenes and video of real people that has been edited to manufacture a fictional reality intended to mislead viewers."

If it is determined those accusations are true, Gifford, the producer of "Waco: The Rules of Engagement," wrote to Bruce Davis, executive director of the academy, Moore should be stripped of the Oscar and it should be awarded to the runner-up.

"Failure to conduct such an investigation and act according to its findings will diminish the stature of the Oscar, establish an exploitable precedent for future rule violators and be grossly unfair to the other nominees who did follow the rules," Gifford wrote. "That unfairness will be particularly bitter to those whose film would have been nominated in place of 'Bowling for Columbine.'

"Even the accusation of such rule violations taints the Academy Award with implications of politics and favoritism that are most damaging," he continued. "So, I again respectfully ask that you not delay your attention to this matter."

That letter was written April 21. Repeated attempts to reach Davis by telephone were unsuccessful.

Never mind that a goodly chunk of the great unwashed lost interest in Melissa Etheridge long before her beloved partner did. (I wonder what it took to get ol' Wooden-head to let her climb aboard his coattails?)

A fading lesbian rocker and a BDS-suffering Earth-monkey in the same movie, at the Oscars? Please. This was a phone-in.

UPDATE: How 'bout THIS for an inconvenient truth?

In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.

The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh—more than 20 times the national average.

Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh—guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore’s average monthly electric bill topped $1,359.

Since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, Gore’s energy consumption has increased from an average of 16,200 kWh per month in 2005, to 18,400 kWh per month in 2006.

Yet another example of the Democratic mantra: "Do as I say, not as I do."

Thursday, February 22, 2007

David Vs. The Goliaths

Dick Morris has a few things to say about his former boss, and how she handles political criticism. (What, you thought I was talking about Bill? Please. We all know who wears the pants in that organization.)

Take it from someone who knows...pissing off the Clintons is not done lightly:

If you like the idea of censorship of critical political speech, you’ll love Hillary Clinton as president.

To Hilary, open political discourse apparently means that her opponents and their surrogates are free to compliment her. If they do otherwise, it’s off with their heads.

Not even supporters of Hillary’s opponents are allowed to disparage her. If they do, the wrath of Hillary surfaces and it is not a pretty sight.

Case in point: movie mogul David Geffen, who was once one of Bill's biggest supporters (to the tune of about 18 milllion bucks), now says Hillary's not the pretty princess she would like us to think she is. (Gasp! Blasphemy!)
Geffen gave an interview to New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd. Here’s a few tidbits from him that apparently rankled Hillary:

“… I don’t think that another incredibly polarizing figure, no matter how smart she is and no matter how ambitious she is — and God knows, is there anybody more ambitious than Hillary Clinton? — can bring the country together.”

“Obama is inspirational, and he’s not from the Bush royal family or the Clinton royal family.”

“It’s not a very big thing to say, ‘I made a mistake’ on the war, and typical of Hillary Clinton that she can’t.”

Geffen also call Bill Clinton “a reckless guy” who “gave his enemies a lot of ammunition to hurt him and to distract the country.”

Instead, he's backing Barack Obama, having raised $1.3 million already for the senator from Illinois.

The Clintons' response? Screaming for Obama to renounce his new best friend AND give back all that money.

Obama is no fool, however, as evidenced in the Obama campaign's response to Her Majesty's demands:
“It is ironic that the Clintons had no problem with David Geffen when he was raising the $18 million and sleeping at their invitation in the Lincoln bedroom…It is also ironic that Senator Clinton lavished praise on Monday and is fully willing to accept today the support of South Carolina Senator Robert Ford who said if Barack Obama were to win the nomination, he would drag down the rest of the Democratic Party because he’s black.”

We have not heard the last of this, friends. She Who Would Be Queen will not stand long for this spurning of the Royal Hand.

Tip o' the rock to Cousin Lem over at Hillbilly White Trash for the initial clue-X-4.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

The Victory Caucus

Just a quick note for the morning.

I have recently become a registered member of a new collective of bloggers and other noteworthies who are heavily concerned with the successful prosecution of the War on Terror, and with the treatment of the soldiers currently engaging the enemy therein.

This new grouping is known as the Victory Caucus, and was put together by several people -- including such blogging heavyweights as Hugh Hewitt, Ed Morrissey of Captain's Quarters, and Matt Currier Burden of Blackfive -- who decided they wanted to take a more active hand in things by focusing attention on the activities of our Congressmen & Senators, on both sides of the aisle, as the fight for victory in Iraq and Afghanistan continues on Capitol Hill.

I'll leave you with a link to Matt's post on the subject -- he can fill you in on some more of the details. You may also check the Caucus out for yourselves by clicking on the new link button over to the left there. Happy hunting.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

'Til Death Do Us Part...

For stony limits cannot hold love out,
And what love can do that dares love attempt.

---William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Now THAT'S amore.

My wife says she would've handled this differently, had she been the one to discover this little vignette...and I agree.

Let the eggheads take all the pictures they need...and then put these two crazy kids back where we found 'em. They deserve a little privacy, don't you think?

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all. (Luv ya, hunny. *SWAK*)

Saturday, February 10, 2007

All Evidence to the Contrary

Remember the old song from Sesame Street that started with "One of these things is not like the others"?

This picture was taken from the front page of the Weather Channel website on Feb. 6, 2007.

See if you can find the odd man out.



Here's a hint: If you click on it, you get this.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Artist of the Week: Prince

I don't care if he IS damn near 50 years old.

Dude STILL knows how to throw a helluva party.



Anybody who can channel Tina Turner, Jimi Hendrix and the Foo Fighters -- in ONE performance -- and give 'em all justice in the process has my unconditional respect.

'Course, knowing how to definitively silence a room full of reporters don't hurt none either.

All hail His Royal Badness!

Sunday, February 04, 2007

The Liar, The Bitch, and The War Zone -- Part Deux

Well, lo and behold...I come back a couple days later, and I find a clip that goes EXACTLY where I was headed, by comparing the things Hillary said to the Code Pink group to what she told the crowds while stumping in Iowa on the 27th of January THIS year.

Okay...remember all that stuff she told the Pinkos four years ago -- behind closed doors, mind you -- about how glad she was that, all those years ago in Kosovo, "we did it alone as the United States. And we had to do it alone"?

Now, flash-forward to the song-n-dance she gave the good people of Iowa last weekend about a war the Clintons AREN'T in charge of, and....

Ta-DAAAH! A completely different story!
"I said that we should not go to war unless we have allies. So, he took the authority that I and others gave him, and he misused it. And I regret that deeply...."

Four years ago, she had been patiently gathering and studying information about Saddam's exploits "for more than a decade".

Last Saturday...POOF! It was gone in a flash:
"....And if we had known then what we know now, there never would've been a vote, and I never would've voted to give this president that authority!"

Four years ago, when the time came to decide whether to go after Saddam, she said SHE voted for the resolution "after carefully reviewing the information and intelligence that I had available".

Last Saturday...."What, me? (looks around, then shrugs) Don't look at me. I'M not the one in charge here."
"I think it's the height of responsibility, and I really resent it. This was HIS decision to go to war, he went with an ill-conceived plan and an incompetently executed strategy, and WE should expect HIM to extricate our country from this before he leaves office."

Translation: "...because the last thing I need right now is for us to win the war in Iraq on HIS watch."

As for her husband's record as a terror-fighter....well, here's what he said last September about his efforts to round up Osama bin Laden:
WALLACE: "Do you think you did enough, sir?"
CLINTON: "No, because I didn't get him."
WALLACE: "Right --"
CLINTON: "But at least I tried. That's the difference in me and some, including ALL the right-wingers who are attacking me now. They ridicule me for trying. They had eight months to try. They did NOT try. I tried. So I tried and failed."

....and here's what he said -- yep, you guessed it -- four years earlier (emphasis mine):
"We'd been hearing that the Sudanese wanted America to start dealing with him again. They released him. At the time, in '96, he had committed no crime against America, so I did not bring him here because we had no basis on which to hold him, though we knew he wanted to commit crimes against America. So I pleaded with the Saudis to take him, 'cause they could have. But they thought it was a hot potato and they didn't, and that's how he wound up in Afghanistan."

In the end, the only thing he really tried was our patience.

So there you have it. What they said then, and what they say now.

Keep this in mind as we approach the 2008 Presidential election.

Do we REALLY want to give these two used-car salesmen a crack at the ultimate do-over?

Thursday, February 01, 2007

The Liar, the Bitch, and the War Zone

Russert: "Do you believe we could have disarmament without regime change?"

Clinton: "I doubt it....I can support the president, I can support an action against Saddam Hussein because I think it's in the long term interest of our national security."

---Hillary Clinton, Senator (D-NY)
NBC, "Meet The Press" - September 15, 2002

Now pay special attention to this next clip, in which Hillary speaks in person to a group of Code Pinkos about six months later in March 2003, just before the invasion of Iraq got going. (Fair Warning: This is a long one.) You can safely ignore the first four minutes or so, which consists of a bunch of chicks dressed all in pink with apparently way too much time on their hands.

At about the 4:45 mark, the lead tulip (hey, Hil said it, not me) says they decided to organize to protest the idea of going to war in Iraq because they "care deeply about the Iraqi women and children".

Well, sure they do...now that there's someone they don't like in the White House that they can safely lambast for actually wanting to take down the guy responsible for their having something to "care deeply about".

But I digress. At about the 6:30 mark, Her Majesty begins to speak. Hear her words, mere mortals, and tremble.

First she dispenses the standard acknowledgement of the group's willingness to speak out for the women and children -- after all, they do care so deeply -- and then this pops out (emphasis mine):

"There is a very easy way to prevent anyone from being put into harm's way, and that is for Saddam Hussein to disarm, and I have absolutely no belief that he will. I have to say that this is something I have followed for more than a decade. If he were serious about disarming, he would have been much more forthcoming..."


More than a decade, eh? We'll get back to that one in a little bit.

She blathers on for a while about the travesties of Saddam Hussein's governing techniques, the success of the Missile Destruction program, and eventually states that she "ended up voting for the resolution after carefully reviewing the information and intelligence that I had available, talking with people whose opinions I trusted."

So the consummate politician, possibly the smartest woman on the Hill, with all the resources at her disposal, followed Saddam Hussein's efforts to up his arsenal for over a decade...and then decided to "allow" some other President to do what should have been done -- well, over a decade ago -- because she can always call him to the carpet for it later if it goes kerblooey. Okay.

Now, fast forward a bit to about the 12-minute mark (you can stop off a bit if you like, to hear some old bag from N.O.W. say something about how going to war will put our men and women of color in danger of being shot at -- no, really, listen to her) -- and we find this little gem of a response to a comment made by the aforementioned old bag that it is not OUR responsibility to deal with Saddam, but rather that of the "world community"...in which Hillary explains why we (read: "Bill and I") ordered troops into Kosovo WITHOUT the backing of the UN (again, emphasis mine):

"I just do not believe that, given the attitudes of many people in the world community today, that there would be a willingness to take on very difficult problems were it not for the United States' leadership, and I'm talking specifically about what had to be done in Bosnia and Kosovo, where my husband could not get a Security Council resolution to save the Kosovar Albanians from ethnic cleansing. And we did it alone as the United States. And we had to do it alone. It would have been far preferable if the Russians and others had agreed to do it in the United Nations. They would not. I am happy that, in the face of such horrible suffering, we did act."

And almost a decade later, we're still there. Funny...I don't hear anyone ponying up an exit strategy for THAT one.

Why? Simple....it was done by a Democrat. And when you're a Democrat, the usual rules don't apply. So Bill makes a mess and doesn't clean it up himself, and that's cool.

But let a Republican try to go in and clean up a mess the Useless Nations made (I wonder why no one there would back us this time either?), and he gets fifty lashes.

There will be more to come on this later, I promise. But this is shaping up to be a bigger post than I expected, and right now, I need to get to bed. But I think you get the jist for now.

Until then...flame on!