Ch Ch Ch Chia!

It has been said that imitation is the sincerest (most sincere?) form of flattery.

So, what does that make this???

Remember, makes a great Easter basket stuffer!

from Jihad Watch

Jihad Watch posts this from the AP:

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A former Navy sailor convicted of leaking details about ship movements and the best ways to attack them was sentenced Friday to the maximum 10 years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Mark Kravitz said Hassan Abu-Jihaad, of Phoenix, betrayed his country and endangered his fellow sailors.

"I cannot really overstate the seriousness of this crime," Kravitz said. The leak "does constitute a fundamental betrayal of your country and of your oath. You endangered your colleagues, you endangered your vessel and other vessels and other sailors, and you endangered your country."

Abu-Jihaad, 33, was convicted last year of disclosing classified national defense information. Prosecutors labeled him a traitor who was trying to help foreign terrorists replicate the bombing of the USS Cole, which killed 17 American sailors.

Abu-Jihaad, an American who is formerly known as Paul Hall and whose chosen Muslim name means "father of jihad," was a signalman aboard the USS Benfold who was honorably discharged from the Navy in 2002.

He was accused of posting information to a Web site in London that openly espoused violent jihad against the U.S. The information included the makeup of his Navy battle group and a drawing of the formation the group would use to pass through the dangerous Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf in April 2001.

The ship was not attacked.

Abu-Jihaad did not speak during Friday's hearing. His attorney, Dan LaBelle, said his client maintained his innocence and appreciated the fairness of the court.

He said his client's demeanor in court has been "very remarkable."

Prosecutor William Nardini encouraged Kravitz to consider Abu-Jihaad's actions, not his demeanor in court. He said the former sailor praised the Cole bombing as an operation carried out by martyrs.

"That is a twisted view of the world," Nardini said.

Abu-Jihaad believed engaging in a fight against his own country would make him a martyr, Nardini said.

"His alliances are not with America but with the American enemies" Nardini said. "He embraced those enemies. When he did that he betrayed his oath, he betrayed his security clearance and he betrayed his country."

Kravitz said Abu-Jihaad's sentence should be a deterrent for anyone who supports terrorism....

Thankfully, this scuzbucket is an anomaly in the Navy. Most Sailors serve with honour and pride, with at least a minimum love for their country. I hope there's something that can be done to yank that "Honourable Discharge" this traitor got, but really don't know. Think I'll add it to my Santa list.

Here's the Oath my grandfather, father, brother, uncles, cousins, father-in-law and husband have all taken:

I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

My last thought before bed - I wonder if enlistments are up or down since the Ascension?

Congress Passes GIGANTIC Budget

Listening to Neal Boortz while I fix the Pixie's lunch, he announces that BarryO's budget has passed the House and the Senate, by a score of ALL Dems, NO Republicans.

I have no reason to doubt the bit of trivia Neal shared - that this budget puts us more into debt IN ONE YEAR than the debt of the other 43 Presidents COMBINED.

Dave Ramsey says the borrower is slave to the lender. We are now enslaved to our government. Your children and grandchildren, and THEIR children, are going to be slaves to Uncle Sam for a very long time. Will we also be slaves to China?

I "hope" you Democrats are proud. I am ashamed. And thoroughly disgusted.

UPDATE: As usual, Paco hits it dead center. His newest "my favorite" quote: “There are countless horrible things happening all over the country, and horrible people prospering but we must never allow them to disturb our equanimity or deflect us from our sacred duty to sabotage and annoy them whenever possible.” (Auberon Waugh)

Tea Party Time!

Tax Day Tea Party - Florida! Swampie, Andrea, you might wanna check this list.

I think I'd prefer St. Augustine or Ocala to Jax, but I'll go wherever My Chief (retired) takes me.

UPDATE: Get your shirts & hats here - so appropriate for Tea Parties OR be part of the next Revolution in one of these great designs

BASEBALL! AT LAST!

The Jacksonville Suns will play the New Orleans Zephyrs in the inaugural Dixie Classic.

This is the first year the Suns are AA for the Florida Marlins, and the Zephyrs are AAA.

The city council in Miami has passed a thing to build a new retractable-roof stadium, scheduled to open in 2012. At that time, the name will change from Florida Marlins to Miami Marlins.

Ick.

But, it's baseball, it's in Florida, their farm team is here in town, and we take what we can get in that case, don't we. I don't have to go to Miami to enjoy baseball.

By the way, the WeatherChannel forecast for tonight's game is +75F, with an 80% chance of thunderstorms. This is why Miami's getting a retractable - they get rained or lightning-ed out of games pretty often! The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville is a very pretty park, I love it - but it ain't got no roof!

MORNING UPDATE: Driving home last night from Callahan - in the worst storm I've driven in in years - I heard the game was on rain-delay after 6 1/2 innings, with the Zephyrs ahead, but I didn't catch the score (lightning static) and I can't find it yet.

MORNING UPDATE 2: Yup, Zephyrs won, 3-2. More detail, if you're interested.

From the Havre Daily News

My hometown newspaper - an afternoon paper, if I remember correctly - reports this today: There's time to submit comments and suggestions about building a visitor center at the Bear Paw Battlefield.

Did I know it wasn't called the Chief Joseph Battlefield? That's how I always referred to it...but I've been wrong about things before. Been a long time since I was there.

I do know it's one of my favorite places on the planet, and hope any visitor center is either on other land, unseen from the battlefield, or in town. Inconveniencing a few Easterners or visitors from other countries who whine about inconvenience is a small price to pay for keeping it as beautiful as it is. In my opinion.

Inconvenience...out on the Montana prairies? The closest airport is Billings or Great Falls, both 3 or more hours from Chinook, over mostly 2 lane blacktop, in good weather!

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
423 AM MDT THU APR 2 2009
.A DEVELOPING PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE
MOUNTAINS OF SOUTH CENTRAL MONTANA TONIGHT AND BRING PERIODS OF
HEAVY SNOW. THIS STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE SLOWLY ACROSS NORTHERN
WYOMING AND SOUTHEAST MONTANA FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY AND BRING
PERIODS OF PROLONG PERIODS OF SNOW.

Lovely Daughter (and Handsome Son-In-Law) you gotta read this

I don't know if it's kosher to do this, as Rachel Lucas has no clue who I am, but if I have to delete this later, I will.

For those who don't know me, I am a professional child-care provider, most recently known as "Grandma Daycare" to the blond little love of my life. This post - and comments - of Rachel Lucas' is THE BEST!

Go read it - go on, go NOW!

We're not ALL stupid, are we?

I know, I know, I've already posted two pieces of drivel (linking to SMART writing) this morning, but I read Rich Lowry's column in JWR.com, and if you don't make reading his stuff a priority (as RSMcCain and Steyn are), you might miss it.

F'r instance - "It used to be that presidents only could fire chiefs of staff and Cabinet members; now, Obama can fire any of the corporate officials who effectively work for him. It used to be that the country had clearly delineated public and private sectors; now, they are mashed together in an arrangement vastly increasing governmental power." (emphasis mine)


How can you resist a line like this - "...if politicians and bureaucrats knew how to run car companies, they'd probably be working for Toyota or Ford."

Yep, got us one impressive administration these days...(hack-cough-sputter-gag)

UPDATE: Excellent post on this topic at Are We Lumberjacks?

Buckle Up!

I don't know how many cities and towns and counties around the country have seat belt laws (have you noticed they've morphed into "safety" belts?) but I'd guess MOST of them. Some places are so Big Brother that they can stop you JUST BECAUSE the cop doesn't see you wearing one, while most places I've lived so far are only allowed to ticket for seat belts if there was another infraction or accident as the primary reason for the traffic stop.

Seat belt rules on military bases have been around much longer than the civilian world, so we made it a habit long ago that the durn thing is on before we leave the driveway. This center-conservative libertarian-leaning Constitutionalist woman doesn't AGREE with the laws, but to the best of my ability, I try to follow the Law of the Land, if for no other reason than I don' t have a lot of money to be throwing away on fines. And it IS just as if I were throwing money out the window, except if I threw it out the window, someone who REALLY NEEDS it might find it and use it for something worthwhile.

What brings this up is a friend of mine was recently ticketed for not wearing her seat belt. The fine is $99! Her income is from unemployment and odd jobs, so this hundred bucks is a HUGE chunk of her monthly pay. Even those of us with really good jobs don't need to be THROWING MONEY AWAY like this. Your Government - at every level - takes your money in enough different ways that you can't control. Don't give 'em extra just because you're lazy or your dress might wrinkle!

I DID take History...

...this makes my skin crawl:

In the name of "change," Barack Obama is following policies so old that this generation has never heard of them

Wanna know why? Here's why:

Seeking deals with our adversaries, behind the backs of our allies? France did that at Munich back in 1938. They threw Czechoslovakia to the wolves and, less than two years later, Hitler gobbled up France anyway.
...
However much Barack Obama has proclaimed his support for Israel, his first phone call as President of the United States was to Hamas, to whom he has given hundreds of millions of dollars, which can buy a lot of rockets to fire into Israel.
...
Our oldest and staunchest ally, Britain, has been downgraded by President Obama's visibly less impressive reception of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, compared to the way that previous Presidents over the past two generations have received British Prime Ministers. President Obama's sending the bust of Winston Churchill in the White House back to the British embassy at about the same time was either a rookie mistake or another snub.

You know, don't you, that in the NFL, a rookie mistake can lose a game. We have not just a rookie, we have an arrogant rookie with really dangerous friends who likes to lecture US as President.

Congratulations, America, you're even dumber than I thought.

I'm using my Noggin, and Noggin's using YOU

Much as I want her to be smart and sassy and aware of the world around her, I don't think I'd agree with my Pixie sporting a Palin/Jindal button when she goes to kindergarten. Of course, I may change my mind between now and then!

Bret Stephens in the Wall Street Journal Online:

Typically, Noggin features such fare as "Dora the Explorer," "The Backyardigans," "Blue's Clues" and the deeply enigmatic "Yo Gabba Gabba." And typically, my wife and I are grateful for these sweet-natured, violence-free, semi-educational programs, even if Noggin's claim to being "commercial-free" elides the fact that it is one big ad for all the merchandise (dolls, toys, books, DVDs, the works) that goes with the shows.

I have a feeling 'commercialism' isn't going to be the point of THIS column?

Yet there we were -- my right-leaning self, my otherwise-leaning better half, the Obama-aware-though-not-yet-politically-engagée Lara and her slightly befuddled younger brother Noah --watching the Noggin channel as it "celebrates President Barack Obama and some of his favorite things."
. . .
I've been watching Noggin on a more-or-less daily basis for four years, and I can't remember a similar clip about President Bush, his bike rides, cowboy boots and Scottish terrier.
. . .
And if you campaign as a messiah, better not drop the mask.

Good stuff.

More obamanation

George Will's column: The Supreme Court has said: "That Congress cannot delegate legislative power to the president is a principle universally recognized as vital to the integrity and maintenance of the system of government ordained by the Constitution." And the court has said that properly delegated discretion must come with "an intelligible principle" and must "clearly delineate" a policy that limits the discretion. EESA flunks that test.

via Paco, a National CEO at GM? Jeremy Anwyl, chief executive of the automotive Web site Edmunds.com, called the move "political theater" to appease an increasingly bailout-weary public.

Need a reason to avoid the malls on the weekend? "We're looking for supporters," said DeHaven of Hoover, one of the event's organizers. "We're not looking for a fight. That will come later, when we have an army."

Men and women who have never held a real job, never run a business, never met a payroll or waded through all the government regulations in order to file all the necessary, sometimes contradictory, paperwork - and often, it seems, make a habit of NOT filing their taxes - THESE are the people, led by BarryO, who has not worked an honest, productive, real job IN HIS ENTIRE ADULT LIFE...these are the folks who know how to run healthcare, education, and the auto industry.

My shattered clavicle.

Almost 18 months

One of the most fun things about being Grandma is watching MY daughter with HER daughter. I was too embarrassed to tell anyone that I was crazy in love with my little girl. It seems to be perfectly acceptable to be that way with my grandchild, but as a parent, it sends the wrong message, I guess. But I was nuts about her when she was little, and now that she's a mama herself, I'm still nuts about her.

The REALLY cool thing, as I said, though, is that she seems to be crazy in love with her little girl, too. And so is the Pixie's Daddy, AND her Grandpa, so that's just the best we could possibly hope for, isn't it?

Some recent pictures:
Watching the new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. We LOVE the Hot Dog Song, but the beginning song ain't M-I-C-K-E-Y and I don't like it as much. Of course, she can't possibly care less right now, and by the time I can tell her about the old song, she'll think I'm terribly old-fashioned. Wait till I tell her the show was in black and white AND was on one of only 3 stations we got IF we were lucky.

She may think I've taken leave of my senses, but the other grandparents will verify and then we'll be OLD for sure.


She LOVES playing inside my truck. I don't know what the attraction is, but she demands it almost every time we're outside...and not always in the front seat, either, sometimes she climbs into her carseat and points at the driver's seat and yells 'bye-bye' at me!

And I see by the clock on the wall that I better grab something to eat and get to bed, because 6am comes early.

Thanks for stopping by!

Here, kitty kitty

When Lovely Daughter and her family moved to their own place last February, they left their two cats, Reggie and Wylie (named for Jaguars football players). They both grew quite a bit, since I tend to feed my cats at least once a day, and often more than that. Both kitties were interested in Mr. Bird, who sits in his home, in a sunny corner of the living room, but eventually got used to his presence and mostly ignored him.

Until this morning!


That's Wylie. She likes to eat birdseed, too.