A new Web-series to follow!

June 30th, 2005

Greyhawk at the Mudville Gazette started a new series yesterday, called A Year At War.

In the upcoming days here at Mudville we’re going to look back at the past year of combat in Iraq in hopes of answering the fundamental questions: Are we winning, and if so, why are so few people aware of it? The introduction to this series is here. This entry will provide brief background information on the situation on the ground in Iraq at this time last year.


From the first installment
:

This week in Iraq Operation SWORD was launched - the latest effort to deny foreign fighters entering Iraq from Syria passage to the country’s interior. The US and Iraqis are not negotiating out of weakness - far from it. And though the insurgents are still capable of killing large numbers of people in a spectacular manner their political effectiveness, once nil, has since dwindled.

From the second installment:

This entry will provide brief background information on the situation on the ground in Iraq at this time last year.

This post discusses the insurgency and highlights the book “Thunder Run: The Armored Strike to Capture Baghdad” by Mark Bowden.

The elements that comprise the Iraqi insurgency are varied in composition, motivation, and determination.

Greyhawk details the main four groups of insurgents.

1. “Former regime loyalists” or “ex-Baathist elements”
2. Al-Qaeda and the “foreign fighters”.
3. Muqtada al Sadr’s Shiite militia.
4. Others without political motivations.

I am looking forward to the next installment!

Latest WTC Design Released

June 29th, 2005

I have been wary of some of the designs for the new WTC Building. Some have been excellent while others were just sad. This latest design I really like.

“This new design reflects a soaring tribute to freedom and a bedrock commitment to safety and security,” Pataki said.

Hat Tip: Aaron @ Pardon My English
More:
September 11 News.com — WTC Plans
Redesigned Freedom Tower Steps Up Safety Measures

A Powerful Exit

June 28th, 2005

A really good last column from Ben Stein for E! Online

How Can Someone Who Lives in Insane Luxury Be a Star in Today’s World?

As I begin to write this, I “slug” it, as we writers say, which means I put a heading on top of the document to identify it. This heading is “eonlineFINAL,” and it gives me a shiver to write it. I have been doing this column for so long that I cannot even recall when I started. I loved writing this column so much for so long I came to believe it would never end.

It worked well for a long time, but gradually, my changing as a person and the world’s change have overtaken it. On a small scale, Morton’s, while better than ever, no longer attracts as many stars as it used to. It still brings in the rich people in droves and definitely some stars. I saw Samuel L. Jackson there a few days ago, and we had a nice visit, and, right before that, I saw and had a splendid talk with Warren Beatty in an elevator, in which we agreed that “Splendor in the Grass” was a super movie. But Morton’s is not the star galaxy it once was, though it probably will be again.

Beyond that, a bigger change has happened. I no longer think Hollywood stars are terribly important. They are uniformly pleasant, friendly people, and they treat me better than I deserve to be treated. But a man or woman who makes a huge wage for memorizing lines and reciting them in front of a camera is no longer my idea of a shining star we should all look up to.

How can a man or woman who makes an eight-figure wage and lives in insane luxury really be a star in today’s world, if by a “star” we mean someone bright and powerful and attractive as a role model? Real stars are not riding around in the backs of limousines or in Porsches or getting trained in yoga or Pilates and eating only raw fruit while they have Vietnamese girls do their nails.

They can be interesting, nice people, but they are not heroes to me any longer. A real star is the soldier of the 4th Infantry Division who poked his head into a hole on a farm near Tikrit, Iraq. He could have been met by a bomb or a hail of AK-47 bullets. Instead, he faced an abject Saddam Hussein and the gratitude of all of the decent people of the world.

A real star is the U.S. soldier who was sent to disarm a bomb next to a road north of Baghdad. He approached it, and the bomb went off and killed him.

A real star, the kind who haunts my memory night and day, is the U.S. soldier in Baghdad who saw a little girl playing with a piece of unexploded ordnance on a street near where he was guarding a station. He pushed her aside and threw himself on it just as it exploded. He left a family desolate in California and a little girl alive in Baghdad.

The stars who deserve media attention are not the ones who have lavish weddings on TV, but the ones who patrol the streets of Mosul even after two of their buddies were murdered and their bodies battered and stripped for the sin of trying to protect Iraqis from terrorists.

We put couples with incomes of $100 million a year on the covers of our magazines. The noncoms and officers who barely scrape by on military pay but stand on guard in Afghanistan and Iraq and on ships and in submarines and near the Arctic Circle are anonymous as they live and die.

I am no longer comfortable being a part of the system that has such poor values, and I do not want to perpetuate those values by pretending that who is eating at Morton’s is a big subject.

There are plenty of other stars in the American firmament… the policemen and women who go off on patrol in South Central and have no idea if they will return alive; the orderlies and paramedics who bring in people who have been in terrible accidents and prepare them for surgery; the teachers and nurses who throw their whole spirits into caring for autistic children; the kind men and women who work in hospices and in cancer wards.

Think of each and every fireman who was running up the stairs at the World Trade Center as the towers began to collapse. Now you have my idea of a real hero.

I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters. This is my highest and best use as a human. I can put it another way. Years ago, I realized I could never be as great an actor as Olivier or as good a comic as Steve Martin… or Martin Mull or Fred Willard — or as good an economist as Samuelson or Friedman or as good a writer as Fitzgerald. Or even remotely close to any of them.

But I could be a devoted father to my son, husband to my wife, and, above all, a good son to the parents who had done so much for me. This came to be my main task in life. I did it moderately well with my son, pretty well with my wife, and well indeed with my parents (with my sister’s help). I cared for and paid attention to them in their declining years. I stayed with my father as he got sick, went into extremis, and then into a coma, and then entered immortality with my sister and me reading him the Psalms.

This was the only point at which my life touched the lives of the soldiers in Iraq or the firefighters in New York. I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters and that it is my duty, in return for the lavish life God has devolved upon me, to help others He has placed in my path. This is my highest and best use as a human.

Faith is not believing that God can. It is knowing that God will.

~~By Ben Stein

Hat Tip: Sawa

Letter to my Pet

June 27th, 2005

My cousin, Sawa, sent this to me this morning, and a friend of hers’ sent it to her! It is from GCFL.net, a great humor site.

Dear Dog and/or Cat,

When I say to move, it means go someplace else, not switch
positions with each other so there are still two of you in
the way.

The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your
food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. (Please
note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate of food
does not stake a claim for it becoming your food dish, nor
do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.)

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a
racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object.
Tripping me doesn’t help because I fall faster than you can
run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king size bed. I am very
sorry about this. Do not think I will continue to sleep on
the couch to ensure your comfort. Look at videos of dogs and
cats sleeping. They can actually curl up in a ball. It is
not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched
out to the fullest extent possible. (I also know that
sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out
the other end to maximize space used is nothing but
sarcasm.)

My compact discs are not miniature Frisbees.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the
bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to
get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine meow,
try to turn the knob, or get your paw under the edge and try
to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I
entered. (In addition, I have been using the bathroom for
years…canine or feline attendance is not mandatory.)

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dogs or
cats. I cannot stress this enough. It would be such a simple
change for you.

To pacify you I have posted the following message on our
front door….. Rules for Non-pet owners who visit and like
to complain about our pets: 1. They live here; you don’t. 2.
If you don’t want their hair on your clothes, stay off the
furniture. 3. I like my pet better than I like most people.
4. To you it’s an animal. To me he and/or she is an adopted
son and/or daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours
and is speech challenged.

Dogs and cats are better than kids. They eat less, don’t ask
for money all the time, are easier to train, usually come
when called, never drive your car, don’t hang out with drug
using friends, don’t drink or smoke, don’t worry about
buying the latest fashions, don’t wear your clothes, don’t
need a gazillion dollars for college, and when they have
young, you can sell the results.

I especially love the “1. They live here; you don’t.” part. I have been to my vet’s office 5 times in the last two weeks … so I am dedicated to my “puppies” (and one cat!) and this is one of the best “pet pieces” I have seen lately. The website offers many more funny stories and jokes if you are interested in humor … and really, who isn’t? (at least occasionally!!)

GCFL is an acronym for the Good, Clean Funnies List. GCFL.net is a web page and mailing list for distributing one GOOD, CLEAN joke a day, five days a week, for free! We hope you will enjoy a joke in the morning before the start of your day that you will want to share with your family and friends.

Have fun!

Harry Potter & Chicken with Orange Sauce

June 26th, 2005

Sounds like a nice evening, does it not?

John at Powerline posted today about Congress’ Field Trip to Guantanamo Bay.

The Democrats’ anti-military PR offensive is petering out.

He links to an article that says …

After getting a classified briefing from base commanders, the House delegation ate lunch with troops - the same meal of chicken with orange sauce, rice and okra that detainees were served.

Hmm, that sounds pretty good and fancy for that matter.

In another, a female interrogator took an unusual approach to wear down a detainee, reading a Harry Potter book aloud for hours. He turned his back and put his hands over his ears.

Oh no!! Anything but that!

You may also want to check out the Club G’itmo collection from Rush Limbaugh! The shirts are great and the brochure is full of information. :P

The whole article:
Lawmakers: Guantanamo Conditions Improve

A-Kon 16

June 25th, 2005

For those of you unfamiliar with A-Kon, it is one of the many annual Animé Conventions … this one held in Dallas, Tx … at various local convention centers/hotels. They are already planning A-Kon 17.

Animé, simply put, is Japanese Animation.

Since there is no official Animé website, at least in English, fan sites are considered the authority. This fan site was approved by one of my friends who said that to his knowledge it was all accurate and he agrees with the opinions presented. (Thanks, Danny!)

Japan also saw it’s animation beginnings before World War II, however, they were minimal, and not well known, if at all known, to America at that time.

After WWII came and went, Japan’s economy went into a downward spiral. While animation in America was cruising along with more Disney classics, and many animated shorts by Disney, Paramount, and Warner Bros., Japan’s animation output was at a bare minimum, due to it’s economic state.

We skip ahead into the 1960s……1963 to be exact. This is when Dr. Osamu Tezuka, created what is hailed by many as the first ‘true’ animated TV series to be classified as ‘anime’. That series……Tetsuwan Atomu or “Astro Boy” as it was known to American kids back then. When producer for NBC Studios, Fred Ladd, looked at the series, he knew it had potential to be a hit.

There is more about this fan’s summary of the History of Animé at his website.

For the last few years, some friends of mine have gone to A-Kon and enjoyed the full experience. Dressing in costume, competing in various events (best costume, cosplay, etc.), and generally enjoying the exhibits and presentations. Well this year … the incredibly talented Katarinia or Katey as we call her :P made several costumes for herself, her brother, and her sister. And one of the 3 she made for herself, she entered in the main costume contest … and … WON TOP HONORS!!!! Go, Go Katey!! :D !!

The costume judges could tell that her brother, Will, had a costume made by Katey! She went to great effort to make the costumes as close to the actual animé character. I am linking to some pics of the event and two wallpapers that Katey made to show the finished costume and the animé character the costume is based on.

Katey won for her imitation of Hand Maid May. Hand Maid May is one of the shorter animés with only 10 episodes. It is the story of Kazuya Saotome, an engineering student who is consumed by his work and has very little luck with ladies. His “friend” infects his computer with a fast moving virus and to save his work, Kazuya must quickly and perfectly type in a 4000 letter password! Just after he completes the password, he ends up on a website for the Cyber Dyne company. In his haste, Kazuya inadvertly makes a purchase … and much to his suprise a robotic maid shows up on his doorstep named May. She is 1/6 the size of an average adult and is fitted with a USB port (Katey had a paper mache one). Adventure and chaos ensue!

Will’s costume, Citan, is from an obscure but very well done animé game called Xenogears. I was trying to wait until Katey received her prize in the mail, but it is taking forever! This convention … at least in this one situation (where they did not have the prize ready and now have taken weeks and weeks to send it to her) needs Katey or me in charge of organization (for a reasonable fee, of course)! :P

Wallpapers:
Katey as Hand Maid May
Will as Citan

Other pictures from the event:
Katey & Will as Hand Maid May & Citan
Cosplay group picture ~ (from left to right) Casey (Katey’s sister), Will, Katey, Sarah (Kasey’s friend), and Jace (Katey’s fiancé) … all costumes made of course by Katey! except Jace’s modern ensemble! ;)

Go Spurs!!!

June 24th, 2005

Congratulations to the Champions — San Antonio Spurs!!!!!

And to Tim Duncan for winning his third NBA Finals MVP!!!

Finals — In Review

Game 1 - Thur. 6/9 @ Spurs — SAN 84-69
Game 2 - Sun. 6/12 @ Spurs — SAN 97-76
Game 3 - Tue. 6/14 @ Pistons — DET 96-79
Game 4 - Thu. 6/16 @ Pistons — DET 102-71
Game 5 - Sun. 6/19 @ Pistons — SAN 96-95
Game 6 - Tue. 6/21 @ Spurs — DET 95-86
Game 7 - Thur. 6/23 @ Spurs — SAN 81-74

Tim Duncan
(Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

More Pics from the Finals
All kinds of info on the Finals!

The Non-Apology

June 23rd, 2005

I was not expecting an apology from Sen. Durbin and he didn’t give one. I missed the Rush Limbaugh show yesterday and on the chance you did too … I am quoting him because it is very good. I do not make a practice of mass quoting anyone but this time .. this is just too good. Rush also compares, toward the end of this long quote, the reaction to the joke that Trent Lott made at a birthday party that was a poor choice but not maliciously meant .. and ended his career to reaction of Dick Durbin’s malevolent remarks from the Senate floor and is in the government record for all time. The reactions are completely different, from fellow Senators to the MainStreamMedia. (As always, this link will only be available free until the next Rush show.)

RUSH: He hasn’t taken any of that back. He just said he’s sorry “if” anybody was offended by it, but he didn’t say he was wrong and he didn’t take it back, and he also, ladies and gentlemen, has never been to G’itmo. He’s never been. He went to Iraq, but he’s never been to G’itmo. You would think he’d want to go if it was this bad down there. You would think he’d want to go and take a look at it. Now, he first apologized. We’re giving the apology sound bites now. He first apologizes if anything he said “offended the memory of the Holocaust.” This is last night on the Senate floor.

DURBIN: I made reference to the Nazis, to the Soviets, and other repressive regimes. Mr. President, it is very clear that even though I thought I had said something that clarified the situation, to many people it was still unclear. I’m sorry if anything that I said caused any offense or pain to those who have such bitter memories of the Holocaust, the greatest moral tragedy of our time. Nothing, nothing should ever be said to demean or diminish that moral tragedy.

RUSH: But yet again he simply apologizes for the feelings that it caused, he doesn’t take back what he said, and then here come the tears, the Senate awash in tears. This is last night on the Senate floor, Durbin tears up while apologizing “if anything he said cast a negative light on the military.” Cast a negative light? He called them Nazis! What do you mean if anything he said cast a negative light? Listen to this.

DURBIN: I’m also sorry if anything I said in any way cast a negative light on our fine men and women in the military.

RUSH: Stop the tape. How could it not? I’m also sorry if anything I said in any way cast a negative light on our — I am sorry for casting a negative light and I take it back. That’s an apology. Here he continues saying he’s sorry if anything he said cast a negative — he did. You compared them to Nazis, Soviet gulags, Pol Pot. Here’s the rest of it.

DURBIN: I went to Iraq just a few months ago with Senator Harry Reid and a delegation, bipartisan delegation, the president was part of it. When you look in the eyes of the soldiers, you see your son, you see your daughter. They’re the best. I never, ever intended any disrespect for them.

RUSH: (Crying sounds.)

DURBIN: Some may believe that my remarks crossed the line. To them I extend my heartfelt apologies.

RUSH: There you go. “Some may believe my remarks…” They did cross the line. You’re not taking it back. You didn’t erase the line. The line’s still there. Your words are still over the line, and you’re apologizing to people for making them feel bad. Now, I know what you’re saying, Rush, can’t you just let this go? Come on, Rush! Come on, Rush, he apologized. Can’t you just let it go? This is only gonna — see, you’re just going to make everybody think the right-wing is just a bunch of wackos and freaks. Stick with me on this, folks. Stick with me. You have been with me long enough to know that we don’t do anything here without a major point with a big exclamation point to be followed, and that’s what’s going to happen here. So just stick with me before you say, “Come on, Rush! Be nice, will you? Be big about it. Be bigger than Durbin, accept the apology.” I just want to show you how Washington works here and I know how short memories are. Just sit tight. Let’s finish up with Durbin here before we go to the break. Let me check the roster here. Yeah, this is the last Durbin. He ends up here by quoting Abraham Lincoln who was shot in the temple. Remember that joke that he told about Lincoln? A lot of people think that he’s Jewish, yeah, Abraham. And he was shot in the temple. (Laughing.) Everybody laughed big time on that, still haven’t heard an apology for that one. Anyway, here he is, he invokes Lincoln’s name.

DURBIN: There’s usually a quote from Abraham Lincoln that you can turn to in moments like this.

RUSH: We do every day.

DURBIN: Maybe this is the right one. Lincoln said, “If the end brings me out right, what is said against me won’t amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong 10,000 angels swearing I was right wouldn’t make any difference. In the end I don’t want anything in my public career to detract from my love for this country, my respect for those who serve it, and this great senate.” I offer my apologies to those who were offended by my words.

RUSH: There you go.

DURBIN: I promise you that I will continue to speak out on the issues that I think are important to the people of Illinois and to the nation.

RUSH: How do you hear this? I’ll tell you the way I hear it. “I apologizes if…” First the Lincoln business. Hey, look, you know, if what I said was right it doesn’t matter what anybody else says; I’m going to be right — and if I was wrong, it doesn’t matter who defends me. I’m still going to be wrong. That’s just for icing. He gets to the point here. “I offer my apologies again to those who were offended by my words,” and then he says, “I’m going to keep saying it,” then he says, “I promise you I’m going to continue to speak out on issues that I think are important to the people of Illinois and the nation,” and if your feelings get hurt I may apologize again, but I’m going to keep speaking. All right, now, for those of you saying, “Come on, Rush! Can you let it go?” just stick with me.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: So Dick Durbin says that “some may believe that my remarks crossed the line.” But he doesn’t say he thinks that. He doesn’t say, “My remarks crossed the line.” He said, “Some of you may think my remarks crossed the line, and if you do, I’m story for offending you,” but I’m going to keep speaking out on these issues. He didn’t take the words back. I’m sorry, he didn’t take it back. “Come on, Rush! Give him the benefit of the doubt.” Just sit with me, folks. Let’s continue with the audio sound bites. Last night on the Senate floor, John McCain — who has to insert himself into virtually every story that there’s going to be a lot of press on — rushes to the Senate floor to praise Durbin and ask that we put this behind us.

THE MAVERICK: The senator from Illinois just made a heartfelt statement, one of apology. All of us, I believe, who have had the opportunity to serve in public life from time to time, have said things that we deeply regret. I know that I have. I can’t speak for the other members of this body. I would like to say to the senator from Illinois, he did the right thing, the courageous thing and I believe we can put this issue behind us, and I thank the senator from Illinois.

RUSH: A courageous thing here. So why doesn’t Durbin have to go on an atonement tour like Trent Lott did? Why doesn’t he have to go to sensitivity training? Why doesn’t he have to go meet Abraham Foxman? Why doesn’t he have to apologize to all the different Jewish groups in person like Lott? Lott had to show up on Black Entertainment TV, for crying out loud and sit with some of those stone-faced anchors who didn’t care that he was there and weren’t going to accept his apology no matter what. Lott apologized five times and they never accepted it once. And after he apologized five times the White House dumped all over him, and they took his Senate leadership position away from him and created an enemy out of him from now on until Bush leaves office. Five times Lott apologized — not once was it accepted — over a remark he made at a birthday party, and yet this that Durbin did was courageous. We’re not finished here. Do the Republicans demand that he resign his leadership post? Do they refuse to accept the apology? No, they accept it and move on. This morning on Fox and Friends, Mitch McConnell was there, and E. D. Hill says, “Some of have suggested that he should be canned from his job as minority whip. Do you think that’s going too far?”

McCONNELL: You know, leadership posts are up to the Democratic conference. That will be for them to decide. I think we’re probably going to move on from this point and to other issues.

RUSH: Yeah, we’ll get back to Bolton and the filibuster. Hubba hubba. Yes siree bob. Now, folks, don’t misunderstand me. I don’t care whether Durbin resigns his post or not. I’m just trying to show you the differences in these two parties. I’m trying to show you a party with gonads and a party with linguini spines and you tell me which party is which. I’m trying to show you which party’s got the guts to act like winners, which party has the guts to act like they have spines and which party, despite the fact that they lose, still acts like they run the show. As far as Durbin going or staying, I don’t know. If he stays, fine. I think he’s a poster child here for the Democratic Party, and I hope he keeps talking, and I haven’t changed my mind, and whether he apologized or not is irrelevant to me. I’m just pointing out to you I don’t think he did. I don’t believe in these public apologies anyway. I think it’s all a bunch of — he said what he meant to say. He said what he meant to say, and the really irony here is that while he’s out there supposedly apologizing for hurting people’s feelings what’s Nancy Pelosi doing? She’s organizing 133 members of the house to set up this investigation of what’s going on at G’itmo and to get us out of Iraq while Durbin is out there apologizing and praising the troops and the guards and everybody else. There’s not one bit of scrutiny from the mainstream press on any of this, just reporting and praise and, “Okay, Durbin did it. Can we now move on,” and the Washington Post we get a little story, tips for the Democrats. Hint: Next time don’t compare anybody to Hitler — and, by the way, the only reason they’re doing it is because Rush Limbaugh invented the term feminazis. That’s the sum total of the Washington Post story, Durbin did it because I popularized it first with feminazis. I haven’t used that term on this program in years. But it still gets to ‘em, doesn’t it, and you know why? (Laughing.) Because it’s right. Because it’s accurate, and I’m not going to apologize if it hurts your feelings but, you know what? I think if you’re offended it’s your problem, not mine. That’s another thing about this. Durbin is not in charge of other people’s feelings. He has no business apologizing if people are offended. People’s feelings are their own. So if you’re offended it’s your problem. That’s the way I look at it. You can’t go through life trying not to offend people or you’ll end up being a wimp. Anyway, Bill Frist accepted Durbin’s apology, this is this morning on C-SPAN2 on the Senate floor.

FRIST: Last night’s statement from Senator Durbin both honored our troops and recognized the sacrifices of those who lived and died under the grim systems of Nazi terror, of Soviet repression and Cambodian genocide. That is right and fine and worthy. Senator Durbin took an honorable step yesterday afternoon and I look forward to working with our colleague from Illinois as we move forward.

RUSH: You can’t be serious. I wouldn’t look forward to working with the guy. The guy is holding up everything you want to do, Senator Frist. This is the collegiality that of course our friends in the Senate, blah, blah, blah, blah. Durbin, after all this, is going to think the slate’s been wiped clean and he’s going to continue to stand in the way of everything Frist wants to get done. Nothing is going to change. All this collegiality, all this bending over forwards and backwards to be nice, to try to be bigger than everybody about this, to try to be bigger than the Democrats, it never works. It doesn’t make the Democrats like them any more. It isn’t going to get John Bolton a new vote. It isn’t going to get him approved. It’s not going to get Social Security advanced. It isn’t going to get anything done. Republicans are just afraid of the media ripping them to shreds if they refuse to accept the apology. That’s all this is.

Will the Senate come through?

June 22nd, 2005

I have never understood how an action can qualify for protection under the First Amendment for Free Speech. But that is just me!

A constitutional amendment that would allow Congress to ban flag burning passed the House yesterday, and congressional leaders said it has a strong chance to clear the Senate for the first time, sending it to the states for ratification.

The House has been quite consistent with passing this bill several times previously, however the Senate has always killed it. This time supporters of the bill are concerned but hopeful.

“There are too many scenarios where we lose,” said Terri Ann Schroeder, senior lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union. “We’re very concerned.” Schroeder counts 65 solid votes in favor of the amendment of the 67 needed for passage. “We still have a number of folks that have never voted, and we still have a potential problem if 100 members do not . . . vote,” she said.

And of course, following in the footsteps of the libs and/or Dems …

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) said in a statement that she would “support federal legislation that would outlaw flag desecration, much like laws that currently prohibit the burning of crosses, but I don’t believe a constitutional amendment is the answer.”

Meaning — Yes, but not really … thoroughly degrading the meaning of the words yes and no.

The proposed one-line amendment to the Constitution reads, “The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States.” For the language to be added to the Constitution, it must be approved by two-thirds of those present in each chamber, then ratified within seven years by at least 38 state legislatures.

It’s sad that there is a need for a bill like this, but there is. I will believe the Senate will pass this when they actually do pass it, not before. If passed, I hope all states follow suit ASAP, however I can see several blue states causing enough problems so that it will fail the seven year deadline. I don’t know when exactly patriotism became such an evil thing in the eyes of a Democrat, but it has.

House Passes Constitutional Amendment to Ban Flag Burning
House approves move to outlaw flag burning

Of all the scents …

June 21st, 2005

I heard this on the news yesterday and I still kinda laugh when I see it. Of all the scents out there, and the money modern women spend on fragrances … the scent of grapefruit is the one that studies show make women seem younger to men. Making women appear younger has been a gold mine for business across the board … cosmetics, medical offices, clothing, pharmaceuticals, nutrition, even automobiles. And the answer was in the produce section!

They don’t know why men who smell grapefruit think women are younger, but it’s intriguing nevertheless.

Indeed it is! :D

More:
Forget the perfume, try the produce
Grapefruit May Make Women Seem Younger
Scent of a grapefruit

Brennan Hawkins, Alive!

June 21st, 2005

This has been breaking news for about the last hour … Volunteers looking for lost Boy Scout, Brennan Hawkins, have reported that he has been found ALIVE. His exact condition is unknown as this is still a developing story. WBAP, in Dallas, reports that he is doing well. No details have been releases yet as to how he survived and how he got lost. I will add updates as they become available. This, if confirmed, is great news!!

More:
Lost Utah Boy Scout Found Alive
Utah Scout Found Alive in Woods
Missing Scout Found Alive in Utah

Update: The family of Brennan Hawkins just had a press conference confirming Brennan was found alive and mostly well. He is at a Salt Lake hospital, being treated for dehydration and receiving a full check-up. The volunteers who found him stated he appeared very tired but ok.

After downing bottles of water and eating all the granola bars carried by a group of volunteer searchers, the boy asked to play a video game on one rescuer’s cell phone, sheriff said.
Found 5 miles from where he disappeared, the main questions now are what happened to separate him from the group and how did he get where he was. The latter is being asked because to get where he was .. presumably he had to scale a cliff where most adults have trouble.

One more: Missing Scout found alive in Utah (same title as above, but different article)