Monday, May 29, 2006

In Honor Of Those Who Served.

http://www.photospin.com/content/photos/full/1180075.jpg

I thank you for your service. We are lucky to have men and women such as yourselves on our side.

Speaking of bravery, If you are as fascinated as I am about the countless stories of heroism and bravery from WWII, I suggest reading the following story about the Reverend Viktor Koch, it's one of my personal favorites.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Because I'm Sick Of Hearing About Barry Effing Bonds

Sick of hearing about Barry Bonds? Me too. In a second I will link to perhaps the best baseball play of all time.


But first, since you're reading this, you'll have to bear with me while I rant. It'll all tie together, trust me.


I'm sick of the tired "Bush Lied People Died" mantra that so many normally intelligent people have repeated ad nauseum. It's three years later and we're still arguing the same tired points. Every time I get in to an on or offline discussion about Bush and Iraq with someone who's entire argument consists of the previous mantra, folks will ignore the FACTS I bring up about it.

Look people, Bush may have lied about many things. But what he didn't lie about was why we went to war in Iraq.

If you read all of this link from Delroy Murdock and STILL think Bush was lying, then I want to hear why. If not, then fuck off. I'm through being polite.

And I'm freaking tired of trying to explain it to obnoxious pseudo-hippies. People who think that Iraq and the world was better off with "Hitler Junior" (in case you missed it, I linked to what Saddam actually did, HERE IT IS AGAIN) who bragged about funding assholes like Hamas and the original 1993 WTC Demolition gang as the dictator of one of the most secular countries in the middle east need to shut the hell up, do so goddamn reading and get to the back of the line.

Because these folks simply don't seem to get it.

It's graduation time, so we get to hear all of these same assholes spewing forth the same crap they have been for the last five years. They have officially proven that the worlds of academia in modern American universities are mired in the same semiotic bullshit that went out of flavor with the soviet union and socialism.

I refer you to Jeff Goldstein and his tireless efforts to expose how academia has reverted to such unintellectual futility that it actually is affecting our ability to defeat our common enemy.

But back to baseball.

I going to post a link to a story about one of the greatest plays ever made on a baseball field.

A disclaimer: if you want to burn the freaking flag, and it doesn't result in you burning either my house down or physical damage to myself or others, yeah go nuts. That's the whole point behind being patriotic to the ideals of freedom.

Just don't be shocked when someone tries to stop you from burning said flag.

That being said, this is probably one of the greatest baseball plays of all time.

Plus, I hate Barry Bonds, so it's a win-win.

Rick Monday Saved the Flag 30 Years Ago

 Outfielder Rick Monday of the Chicago Cubs dashes between two men in the Dodger Stadium Outfield in Los Angeles, in this April 25, 1976 photo, snatching an American flag the men were about to burn. In honor of the 30th anniversary of his saving the American flag on April 25, 1976, the Los Angeles Dodgers will recognize Rick Monday on Sunday, April 23 with a video tribute. Monday, a Dodger broadcaster, will also be on hand to throw out the first ceremonial pitch. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Herald Examiner, James Roark)








Here is a video tribute to the play. "Greatest Play in Major League Baseball "..

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

We're workin' on a new theme....


But until then-

If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire...

these guys......

Monday, May 15, 2006

Good News for the US, Bad News for Europe.

Hirsi Ali to Leave Netherlands for Job with US Think Tank

15 May 2006

AMSTERDAM — Liberal party MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali is leaving the Dutch parliament in September and moving to the United States.

Insiders confirmed a report on the website of Dutch newspaper 'De Volkskrant' on Monday about the move. Hirsi Ali has been on a speaking tour in the US and is due to make an official announcement on Tuesday.

She is going to work for the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a conservative Washington think tank. The institute was founded in 1943 and is seen as one of the most important advisors to the government of George Bush.

Somali-born Hirsi Ali has been an outspoken critic of aspects of Islam and she became a campaigner for freedom of speech after the murder of film director Theo van Gogh in November 2004.

Hirsi Ali and Van Gogh collaborated on the short film ‘Submission’ which featured women in see-through veils discussing ill-treatment of women in Muslim societies. Hirsi Ali’s life has been threatened several times and she is under armed guard.

She is currently embroiled in a controversy about lies she told the immigration service in 1992 to get asylum in the Netherlands. She became a naturalised Dutch citizen five years later.



Ms. Ali was recently in the US where she spoke at Harvard for the "Profiles in Leadership" conference at The John F Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership. You can listen to the conference and Ms. Ali at the following link here.

Noticeably absent from support for Ms. Ali has been the feminists of Hollywood such as Babawa Stweisand or Susan Sarandon. They were especially absent when Ms Ali's colleague Theo Van Gogh was murdered by Islamic extremists for his participation in the infamous documentary Submission, which was written by Ms. Ali.

The film's title is a direct translation of the word "Islam". The film suggests the mistreatment of women born to Muslim families. The film was shown on the Dutch public broadcasting network (VPRO) on August 29, 2004. It portrays a Muslim woman (dressed with a transparent black clothing) as having been beaten and raped by a relative. The bodies are used in the film as a canvas for verses from the Qur'an.


It is interesting to me that Ms. Ali represents the ideal of tolerance that Europe is so fond of bragging about, especially the Netherlands, yet here we have Europe doing everything they can to rid themselves of Ms. Ali out of fear of the Muslim extremists.

Not so tolerant now, are they?

Even more interesting is the fact that Ms. Ali will be working for a conservative think tank, one that is well known for supporting and advising the current US presidential administration. She should be the poster child for what women can do if they are allowed to participate in society as equals. But instead, she will be shunned by womens groups in the US. Sad, really.

Jeff over at Protein Wisdom comments-

The other day I hoped aloud that the US would, once again, act as that beacon for freedom, and send a message to the rest of the world: we shall not, as a nation, cave to the demands of the Islamists (even if our “tolerant” press and academic elite argue that it is our multicultural duty to do so if our offense is to give offense—a message that became evident during the Mohammed cartoon controversy, when the Boston Globe took the unusual position that the lesson of the Enlightenment is that everyone’s opinion is equal).

And we have not.

Today is a good day for America. Unless, that is, Congress—catching wind of this—rises up and demands that the President keep Ms Ali away from our ports.


(A reader "rls" at Protein Wisdom had this priceless comment too-"I would trade the Yale Talibani for her. And even throw in a “terrorist to be named later”.)

Welcome to the US, Ms. Ali. We are honored to count you among us.

Friday, May 12, 2006

Another Great Shot From Cassini And The Latest News From The B612 Foundation.

How cool is this shot?



The Cassini spacecraft delivers this stunning vista showing small, battered Epimetheus and smog-enshrouded Titan, with Saturn's A and F rings stretching across the scene.

The prominent dark region visible in the A ring is the Encke Gap, in which the moon Pan and several narrow ringlets reside. Moon-driven features that mark the A ring are easily seen to the left and right of the Encke Gap. The Encke Gap is 325 kilometers (200 miles) wide. Pan is 26 kilometers (16 miles) across.

In an optical illusion, the narrow F ring, outside the A ring, appears to fade across the disk of Titan. A couple of bright clumps can be seen in the F ring.

Epimetheus is 116 kilometers (72 miles) across and giant Titan is 5,150 kilometers (3,200 miles) across.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 28, 2006, at a distance of approximately 667,000 kilometers (415,000 miles) from Epimetheus and 1.8 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Titan. The image captures the illuminated side of the rings. The image scale is 4 kilometers (2 miles) per pixel on Epimetheus and 11 kilometers (7 miles) per pixel on Titan.



Also, Rusty Schweickart gave a presentation at the International Space Development Conference this year. Here's the transcript of his speech-

NEOs: The Katrinas of the Cosmos?
Russell L. Schweickart
Chairman, B612 Foundation

A brief excerpt-
For those not familiar with the issue let me simply state the entry assumptions for this talk which, should they seem questionable to you, I invite you to speak with me about afterward.

The givens are that 1) the Earth is infrequently hit by asteroids which cross our orbit while circling the Sun, 2) the consequence of such impacts ranges from the equivalent of a 15 megaton (TNT) explosion to a civilization ending gigaton event, and 3) for the first time in the history of humankind we have the technology which, if we are properly prepared, we can use to prevent such occurrences from happening in the future.

Given those three assumptions I am going to give an update on the development status of the key elements which will enable us to avoid these devastating cosmic collisions.

The three prerequisite capabilities which will enable us to avoid the fate of the dinosaurs, and many smaller disasters as well, are 1) early warning, 2) a demonstrated deflection capability, and 3) an established international decision making process. I’ll address each of these three elements in turn giving a status report on each and pointing out some of the implications of current trends.


As usual, Rusty hits the nail on the head. Here's the $64,000 statement-


for the first time in the history of humankind we have the technology which, if we are properly prepared, we can use to prevent such occurrences from happening in the future.


I just wish NASA felt that way...again folks, WHEN we get hit. Not IF.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Dear France.................

to:The French Consulate

re: Your request to have Moussaoui sent home to serve out his prison sentence.


Dear France,

Recently we received your offer to take back this lovely fellow Zacarias Moussaoui. Apparently it is your contention that since we decided he should not be executed, but instead serve a life sentence, that he should be allowed to return to France to serve out his punishment. This has something to do with the consular protection you say he deserves as a French national.

Allow us to respond to you in the clearest, most unambiguous terms possible.


Ahem.


Suck it.


Sincerely

The US of A.




There's been much written about the sentence that Moose-boy got for his admitted participation (and/or lack thereof) in the 9/11 plots. Peggy Noonan pretty much lost it (I don't blame her). Jeff over at Protein Wisdom discusses how this relates to the recent WSJ article by Shelby Steele which discusses how the white guilt factor is negatively affecting our ability to be resolute in the war against fascists. He makes some compelling points.
Quoth Jeff-

Which is not to say that the country as a whole is not prepared to execute terrorists: it’s just that, well, not everybody can be as white as Timothy McVeigh. He apparently should have know better.


There was this interesting interview with former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani on Hardball with Chris Matthews here (transcript). This part especially-

“I would have preferred to see the death penalty, but I kind of stand in awe of how our legal system works that it can come to a result like this,” Giuliani told “Hardball” minutes after the verdict was announced outside the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Va.

“It has to say something about us to the rest of the world.”


What exactly it says may be left open to interpretation I'm afraid.

And finally, here's a post by the Right Wing Nut House that I think I agree with the most.

"VENGENCE IS THE LORDS: JUSTICE IS OURS IN MOUSSAOUI CASE"
I sympathize with those who believe that it would have been enormously satisfying to put this man to death. But I think we have to have some sympathy for the jurors as well. Talk about executing a human being is cheap. Unless it is actually your responsibility, I daresay one’s outlook on the death penalty then would become very personal. Whether the jurors were looking for an “out” in order to avoid mandating another person’s death is beside the point. They followed the law, their consciences, and in the end, common sense. As our representatives, we couldn’t have asked for anything more from them.

One aspect that was not brought out in the verdict but which very well may have played a role in the jury’s deliberations was their decision to deny martyrdom to someone who so obviously wanted it. From a practical standpoint, Moussaoui will now fade into history even among those who admire what he stands for. His incarceration in a very deep and very black hole (it’s almost a guarantee he will not be placed into the general prison population and instead will be kept in solitary confinement) will mean that his name will eventually die even if he himself remains alive. That is a victory against our enemies of sorts.

A close call, but a correct one. And I don’t think that even those among us who support the death penalty but agree with this decision would have been terribly upset if the verdict had gone the other way. As it is, I’m glad that justice triumphed over revenge.


May Zacarias rot as slowly and and irrelevantly as possible for the remainder of his worthless years amongst the living.

Let us hope that we never have to hear another word from this scumbag.

Monday, May 01, 2006

Immigration in a Nutshell.

So the kids are yellin' about the immigration protests. My buddy Fin pictured here-

(when he's not busy pissin' off Brad)




says (doing his best cochran)"If you cant conjugate, you must relocate."