Just pics

Not inspired, not creative. So check out my Pixie a few days back,
when it was VERY hot outside...

Mark Martin is still nifty at FIFTY!

My Favorite Old Guy does it AGAIN! Hot damn and congratulations, Mark, thanks for cheering up my Saturday!

From Fanhouse.com -

"I'm going to feel like hell tomorrow because I ain't going to sleep much tonight,'' Martin said on Saturday night. "When I'm pumped up driving fast race cars, I certainly don't feel 50.''

He's far from the sunset of his career and proved it under the lights on the 1.5-mile track.

From Chicago Tribune online -

The close-cropped stubble on his head contains as much salt as pepper, and the wrinkles run across Mark Martin's face like long-ago dried-up riverbeds. And for a while, twilight racing had a far less poetic meaning, semi-retirement leaving him with a loose grip on the track.

So it was with unmistakable giddiness that a man a half-century old took to the radio early in the LifeLock.com 400 on Saturday, his Chevrolet efficiently chopping through traffic and turning the Chicagoland Speedway's 1.5-mile tri-oval into a veritable senior circuit.

"This is easy, bud," Martin told crew chief Alan Gustafson.

He spoke far, far too soon, as double-file restart dueling extinguished his well-earned lead and then returned it to him, all in the final 50 laps.

"Rick Hendrick, he wouldn't quit," Martin said of the team owner who coaxed him back to full-time driving this year. "I was persuaded to do it. And I can't believe what an idiot I would have been. I had no idea it could be this much fun. The whole thing has been beyond my dreams."

• "He's been in his prime for 30 years now."
- Tony Stewart on Mark Martin

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

From the Weekly Standard blog, a post by Jamie Fly:

During President Obama’s almost six months in office, support for two key aspects of his national security policy has been greater on the right than on the left. This fact has been curiously underreported.

On Afghanistan, conservatives were quicker than their counterparts on the left to praise and defend President Obama’s decision to send an additional 21,000 troops to Afghanistan. On Iraq, they hailed his willingness to go back on a campaign pledge and modify his timeline for troop withdrawals from sixteen to nineteen months.

On the left, Obama’s policies were greeted with concern about Afghanistan becoming “Obama’s Vietnam” and the formation of a “Get out of Afghanistan” caucus made up of the remnants of the “Get out of Iraq” caucus. Key Democrats have threatened to impose benchmarks and limit funding for the war in Afghanistan if progress is not made within a year.

Despite this support from Republicans who want to ensure that the United States does not desert Iraq or Afghanistan before the job is done, recent comments by Obama administration officials indicate that the administration’s approach may not continue to be so worthy of praise.

Read the rest.

Busy! Linkages to fill the time.

Here are some links to some things I found interesting, as I'll be mostly offline till we conclude the business with the computer. I don't even have cutesy amusing little remarks to go with 'em, just the link and maybe a line from the story. You understand, my brain doesn't always work real well first time around...and you don't need my commentary, anyway, do you? If you want good commentary, go visit Paco Enterprises or the Grouchy Conservative Pundits - they always have a point of view or one of the commenter's got a point of view that'll either amuse you or piss you off. And that's a GOOD thing. Y'all have a fine day, y'hear? Thanks for stopping by!

Bert Prelutsky -
The question that’s been preying on my mind is who is best suited to study those strange beings known as liberals. It strikes me that they’d be fit subjects for psychiatrists, who might be in a position to figure out why they revere the people they do -- people such as Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, Al Gore and Ted Kennedy -- men who haven’t a single notable accomplishment to their name, aside from either winning elections or eliminating them altogether.

Cal Thomas -

Before buying a car, a shopper might be expected to ask people who own the same brand how they like theirs, or at least consult Consumer Reports. Before we buy the biggest transformation of health care in history and its consequences, shouldn't we first look at countries where government makes most health care decisions to see how things are working for them?

Larry Elder -

President Obama and the Democratic Party's congressional supermajority represent nothing less than a grave and gathering threat to that which made America great — free enterprise, competition, allowing people to keep as much of their own money as possible, and the assumption that people know better how and on what to spend their money than does government.

Bob Tyrrell -

With the government suddenly looming so large in the life of every American, it is time for us to consider what is a singularly American possession: individual liberty. The Founding Fathers created a government that was uniquely solicitous about individual liberty. With the federal government so deeply involved in our health care, our banking, our manufacturing and the many targets of its $787 billion stimulus program, it is time to think about your liberty vis-a-vis the government bureaucrats who are about to minister to you.

Jonah Goldberg -

In July of 2007, Obama said that he would order U.S. forces out of Iraq as quickly as possible, even if he knew it would lead to an Iraqi genocide. This makes Obama the first president in modern memory to have suggested that causing a genocide would be in America's national interest.

"If it looks bad, it is bad."

Please take the time to read this article on Spiritual Survival , from Rabbi Yonason Goldson.

Nostalgia, familiarity, and wishful thinking often assert themselves so powerfully that they overshadow knowledge and common sense. We become so focused on what we expect or what we want that we can make decisions with no rational justification — sometimes with catastrophic consequences.

Wednesday? How'd it get to be Wednesday?

I didn't post yesterday, and almost missed today. Internet service is dodgy at best, and I can't stay on long...and I have dozens of things to do that really are more pressing than posting links to the columns written by a man I think may be smarter than the entire population of Capitol Hill put together. Including the ones I kinda like.

Since I missed it yesterday, my link to Thomas Sowell, Part I, is his column at Townhall.com. The second part is today's column from JewishWorldReview.com. I used to read Townhall all the time, no idea why I don't still do so...well, yes, I do know - I have a ton of other things to get done and a Pixie to potty train. This stuff don't do itself, y'know?

There's been a lot of rain 'round these parts today...and yesterday...and even Monday. I like that it's not 110 in the shade, the cloud cover keeps it almost bearable, temperature-wise...but I think my hair must be getting curlier as I age, is that possible? I don't really wanna turn into Raggedy Ann or Shirley Temple. Really. And I don't like to futz with my hair, it's partly why I cut it off last year. May have to cut it again to keep it in line but I was hoping to make it to August...

One more quick thing...our plan to not become independently wealthy has had some serious assistance recently and is succeeding beyond our wildest dreams. The computer needs an overhaul and some new additions, as I mentioned previously. And I gotta have new tires on my ol truck so it doesn't qualify as a death machine. I don't wanna spend money on such an old wreck, about half of what I could sell it for, I think, but I don't have any other options that don't include being in debt. Which is like garlic to a vampire in this household. And we're going to help out Lovely Daughter so she can take a college course. Between them, she and her hubby make too much money to get financial assistance. Ain't that a kick in the head? Lower middle class who work for everything they have gets crapped on, while the "poverty-stricken" who drive snazzy new SUV's & have their nails done every week on welfare money get to attend school on my dime, too.

I'm glad to help my kids when I can, though, because it's not something I thought would ever happen. Ever. Makes me feel good, and useful, to be able to help.

Life Is Good.

And don't you forget it!

Karma

A few years back, My Chief (retired) bought a copy of Windows, while deployed for Uncle Sam's Yacht Club and Flying Circus, for ten bucks. It has served us well, and Gates never seemed to miss the money we weren't sending him. However, the time has come when more of some certain things are needed on the computer, and nothing can be loaded without a Windows update...which we can't get, because it's a pirate. Tomorrow, my loving husband is going out to buy us a 'new' computer with a registerable and updatable operating system. Won't that be nice???

Posting and reading and commenting may, once again - for a different reason - be spotty at best and severely delayed at worst. I'll still be checking in now and again, but this'll mean I can concentrate on hanging out with the Pixie, so it's certainly not a BAD thing. She is a lot of fun, and cuter'n Hell, too.

Have a FABulous day..or two!

Busy with the Pixie

Happy Monday! My BEEootiful Pixie is 21 months old today. *sigh* We're a bit distracted, so posting, commenting, and even my newspaper reading will be minimal, to say the least. Grandpa gets home shortly, but have errands to run then, if the weather holds.

We're distracted because we've begun the - hopefully short - process of potty training. So far, the potty has gotten wet one time! Perfectly normal, perfectly expected...perfectly awesome.

As American as...

...small Western towns...

...hot dogs...

... Lady Liberty,...

baseball, baseball, baseball, and

FIREWORKS, FIREWORKS, FIREWORKS!

Happy Birthday, America! May you have many many more!

UPDATE: Whoa, I almost forgot the parade!

UPDATE2: And parade pictures! And more parade pictures from a different town (and these are just too cute)!

Independence Day Quotes

Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.
~George Bernard Shaw

Many politicians are in the habit of laying it down as a self-evident proposition that no people ought to be free till they are fit to use their freedom. The maxim is worthy of the fool in the old story who resolved not to go into the water till he had learned to swim.
~Thomas Macaulay

I prefer liberty with danger to peace with slavery.
~Author Unknown

We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls.
~Robert J. McCracken

Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better.
~Albert Camus

Those who won our independence believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty.
~Louis D. Brandeis

You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.
~Erma Bombeck

It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you.
~Dick Cheney

It's Independence Day!

Here are some things I came across while looking for something inspirational or uplifting - or amusing - to share on Independence Day. I didn't have a lot of time for it, I'm kinda new at this, y'know? I'm off to a meeting real soon, then have a bit of corn on the cob to prepare for the deep freeze, and I plan to make potato salad for our dinner later. Got some chicken breasts marinating in Korean bbq sauce, which will go nicely with the corn and potato salad, I think. Maybe some sliced cucumbers & tomatoes as a nice fresh side. Good food and baseball today, with racing under the lights at Daytona as a nice end to the day. Man...I got a great life. Now, let's see what we've got here...


Like other heroes of our founding generation including Paul Revere the silversmith, William Dawes the tanner, and Joseph Warren the doctor, Adams never thought of organizing as a full-time occupation; he just lent a hand where he thought it was needed.

Please read the rest at American Spectator.

There's also An Enlisted Man's Point of View by George H. Wittman that will give...yep, a completely different point of view from what the DemSM (Thanks for that, Andrea) will tell you on any given evening news.

Here's a bit from that article:
It might be a good idea for President Obama and his civilian advisors to spend a few weeks with the Army and Marines to get some idea of what really motivates the U.S. military. Apparently General Jim Jones, USMC Ret., the national security advisor, has forgotten what he once knew.

This column from the online version of the Wall Street Journal is from Memorial Day, but remembering Heroes is a good thing in ALL seasons.

You may think Our Elected Officials speak in gibberish - and I wouldn't argue the point - but it seems Thomas Jefferson's friend wrote him a letter in cipher that has only recently been decoded.

And last, from William J. Bennett and John Cribb, an article on one of the greatest writings of all time, in my humble opinion. I used to know it by heart, but with age and damage, most parts have gone to the recycle bin of my brain. It is still a beautiful and inspirational piece to me.

I wish you all the finest Independence Day imaginable. Be safe, and take care of each other, y'hear? Thanks for stopping by!

Governor Palin stepping down

From the Office of the Governor of Alaska:

“People who know me know that besides faith and family, nothing's more important to me than our beloved Alaska,” said Governor Palin. “Serving her people is the greatest honor I could imagine.” Standing outside her home in Wasilla, Alaska, Governor Palin reflected upon some of the administration’s accomplishments for Alaska as she approaches her final year in office. “I am determined to take the right path for Alaska even though it is not the easiest path,” said Governor Palin after the announcement. “Once I decided not to run for re-election, I also felt that to embrace the conventional ‘Lame Duck’ status in this particular climate would just be another dose of ‘politics as usual,’ something I campaigned against and will always oppose. It is my duty to always protect our great state. With that in mind, my family and I determined that it is best to make a difference this summer, and I am willing to change things, so that this administration, with its positive agenda, its accomplishments, and its successful road to an incredible future, can continue without interruption and with great administrative and legislative success. I look forward to helping others – to fight for our state and our country, and campaign for those who believe in smaller government, free enterprise, strong national security, support for our troops, and energy independence.” The transfer of power will occur following the Governor’s picnic in Fairbanks on July 26. At that point in time, Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell will be sworn in and Lieutenant General Craig Campbell will assume his role as Lieutenant Governor. Governor Palin will spend July 4th in Juneau.

Breitbart: Yes, that's it for now, and I don't have time to search for more, going out to dinner with some ladies...

from FoxNews.com

If you've made prayer part of your life, please petition your Higher Power on behalf of one of our own Soldiers.

From FoxNews.com:

An Afghan police official said the soldier went missing during the day Tuesday in the Mullakheil area of eastern Paktika province. Gen. Nabi Mullakheil said there is an American base in the area.

For more, on a MUCH more personal level, see AFGHANISTANSHRUGGED.

On character

I've had a bit of a lesson in gossip and tale-telling this week. We all know, don't we, that anything we say can be twisted by someone else and turned into something ugly, even when what was said was what we thought of as merely informational. Many of the people I know should be politicians, because they're VERY GOOD at it.

Rabbi Twerski's lesson this morning seems applicable in my situation. Thanks for the reminder, Rabbi!

If you wish to know the true mettle of a person, look at his disciples. The true nature of a person is revealed in those whom he taught. Their character, their behavior and their belief reflect that of the teacher.

Before accepting anyone as authoritative on how one should live, check into how he has lived his life.

Happy Independence Day, Canada!

I tried to put this on the previous post, but Canada's day deserves a post of its own, in my opinion...and it's my blog, so that's whatcha get.

Happy Independence Day, Canada!

On July 1, 1867, with passage of the British North America Act, the Dominion of Canada was officially established as a self-governing entity within the British Empire. Two years later, Canada acquired the vast possessions of the Hudson's Bay Company, and within a decade the provinces of Manitoba and Prince Edward Island had joined the Canadian federation. In 1885, the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed, making mass settlement across the vast territory of Canada possible.

My own time in Canada (1968-1971) was spent in and around the town of Bow Island, Alberta. I love the prairies to this day, and miss them more than I can say, whether on the Canadian side of the border or not.

The Pixie and I are off to shop for groceries now, before the temperature hits 90 and before any thunderstorm that may dampen things a bit more. Y'all have a FINE day, and thanks so much for stopping by.

No Graduation Cliche Here

I have no memory of my own high school graduation speech or speeches - I know who I sat next to, and we were all a bit high at the time. I tripped up the step when it was my turn, but I was such a non-entity I'm probably the only one who remembers it. I think the principal was the "main" speaker, and I'd have to dig out the yearbook to tell you who else took the podium. I'm sure it was the expected "make a difference and BE different/ go forth and save the world that awaits you" plea that so many are.

Rabbi Avi Shafran experienced something really different from the oratory at his daughter's graduation ceremony. He's written about this experience at JewishWorldReview.com and it might be worth a few minutes of your time. There are things we really ought to preserve from the teachings of our parents and grandparents. The religion that instructs, comforts, and sustains us is one, but it certainly isn't the only one. The tenets of our Constitution are worth preserving, too, I'd say. It's going to be work, but I believe it's a worthy cause.

Thomas Tuesday!

I am not ashamed to admit I really like Tuesday mornings. Thomas Sowell's column, even when not written on a cheerful topic, seems to be a good way for me to start the day. Today, GCP beat me to the punch, so to speak, but I'm posting the link from JewishWorldReview anyway. You can, of course, find a different link at GrouchyConservativePundits.com, should you prefer. They're a fun bunch over there, take no crap from anyone, and have a level of sarcastic wit AND intelligence I admire and aspire to.

From the column:

The great haste with which the latest government expansion into medical care is being rushed through Congress suggests that the politicians don't want us to stop and think. That makes sense, from their point of view, but not from ours.

UPDATE!
From the Sowell column today on another of Sotomayor's decisions being reversed:

Qualifications are not simply a question of how long you have been doing something, but how well you have done it. Judge Sotomayor has certainly been on the federal bench long enough, but is being reversed four out of six times a sign of a job well done?

Would longevity be equated with qualifications anywhere else? Some sergeants have been in the army longer than some generals but nobody thinks that is a reason to make those sergeants generals.

Performance matters. And Judge Sotomayor's performance provides no reason for putting her on the Supreme Court.

Oh, brother.

Anyone see a withdrawal of this nomination in the near future?

Nah, me neither.

"I mulch therefore I am" and other fun ideas

I wonder if James Lileks cares that when I read his column, it cheers me up from the crapola that is covered by nearly everyone else? Need a mood-altering COLUMN and a cup of coffee? Enjoy!

The line that started my mood-improvement this morning:

I mulch therefore I am. Well, not true; I don’t mulch. I put down mulch. And by “put down” I mean I swear at every bag in the most humiliating, derisive fashion.

Next on my mood-improvement list is Dave Barry. What can I say about his column that you won't think of yourself? Nothing.

There's a place in California, called the We Care Spa, which bills itself as "a holistic fasting retreat," and which charges guests up to $3,484 A WEEK. Yes! To starve!

I haven't been to a high school reunion, and really have no plans to attend one in the future. I wasn't important there, I wasn't 'connected,' and I certainly wasn't popular. I was closer to being a stoner than a nerd...but I wasn't even very good at that, because I usually followed the few rules my parents set down for me. And I love the idea of letting someone pay me for THEM not eating, but I have a tiny little ethical problem with it...I think.

One more on Jacko

This will be the final link from me about Michael Jackson - because, in so many ways, it's just too pathetic to continue on about.

Mitch Albom at JewishWorldReview.com:

"...let's be honest. Celebrating Jackson more in death than in life doesn't honor him. If anything, calling him Wacko Jacko, chronicling his surgically enhanced face and making him a national joke, then weeping for TV cameras about how much we'll miss him makes us seem, for the moment, even stranger than him."

All Conditions Are Temporary

A man I've known for just about six years put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger last week. In April, another man I'd known for four years took himself out with a shotgun. These are only the latest in a line of people I've known who decided that life ain't worth living.

Both these men had lovely wives and children/ grandchildren, good jobs, really nice cars, loyal friends...and a "drinking problem." Both men had spent some time in a 12 Step program and had experienced relief from the bondage they had to John Barleycorn. Due to personal circumstances, they quit attending so many 12 Step meetings and found excuses to call "old friends." They stopped taking calls from people who were Sober and cared for them so much. They finally quit going to meetings altogether. Then, in a fit of what-the-hell, they took another drink. And nothing bad happened, so they took another. And s'more.

We'll bury the second one some time this week. Because the Demons are not forever banished just because we don't drink. They come back again if we are not on guard. Then, if we continue down the road to destruction, we leave behind some of those Demons for our wives, our children, our grandchildren and our friends to mull over and consider. When it comes right down to it, if I believe it's a choice between drink and shotgun, I'll drink. My friends can help me get Sober again -- they can't bring me back from the Dead.

I'm going to a meeting now. Thanks for stopping by, I'll post something more interesting later tonight or tomorrow. Y'all take care, y'hear?

Icon, Idol...pfft. I'll mourn the passing of a REAL Man.

I don't mourn the passing of "superstars" or celebutards. Jonah Goldberg says it so much better than I...which is why they pay him, not me. From the column at NRO...

...I know he was not someone responsible parents should applaud, healthy children emulate, nor society celebrate.

And while we’re at it, his relatively early death wasn’t “tragic.” He was one of the richest people in the world. He spent his money on perpetual childhood and he was perpetually with children not his own.

Meanwhile, in the last ten days, we’ve seen or heard of remarkable people who’ve given their lives for freedom in Iran. We’ve heard of innocents killed because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the last decade, America has lost thousands of heroes in noble causes and thousands of innocent bystanders who were denied the simple joys of life through no fault of their own. Those deaths are tragic, and we're hard pressed to think of more than a handful of names to put with the long line of the dead. If anything, Michael Jackson’s life, not his death, was tragic.

Lori Borgman at JewishWorldReview.com writes about her father-in-law. THIS was a man I could love and admire, had I known him.

The old suitcase he used to carry on visits to our house now sits in our front hall. The cell phone we gave him for his 95th birthday rests on the kitchen counter.

He was the oldest of four parents and yet he lived the longest. They are all gone now. A door on well-oiled hinges has swung shut with a resounding thud. Another generation has passed.

UPDATE: Another man I know took the 'easy' way out today. That's 2 in 2 months.

Like almost all teenagers, he lies...for no good reason

In another excellent column, Bert Prelutsky calls BarryO the man who would be G-d. That IS what teenagers want, though this column idea and Barone's (in my previous post) may seem to be coming at Mr. Hip from two different directions.

Teenagers of today want a couple things that these columns point out so well. They want to do whatever Mom and Dad say they aren't allowed to do. They want to do whatever they damn well please, whenever they damn well please. They want Power - the power to hurt Mom and Dad (teachers, bosses) for being such idiots and embarrassments to the coolness they believe they possess.

For instance, when he jammed through the trillion-dollar pork pie, he claimed it was so urgently needed, he couldn’t spare the legislators even 48 hours to plow through the 1,100 pages. However, once they passed the bill, Obama waited four days before flying off to Denver to sign it.

These attitudes are temporary and not as strong in children who have been raised with discipline and respect for their elders, for the property of others, and for their Country. Lovely Daughter has passed through the stage and is a fine young wife, mother, and employee today. I'm not taking credit for that, but it's how I was raised so it's how she was raised.

BarryO and company have never grown up, they have remained ill-mannered contrary little brats...with the Power to force our children and grandchildren into servitude.

A second lie that recently went unquestioned by the media was Obama’s claim that he had only given President Sarkozy short shrift when he was in France because it was essential that he get back to the Oval Office and make those tough decisions that only he can make. And, sure enough, it turned out that within an hour of his return to Washington, he was on the golf course, making one of those gut-wrenching executive decisions -- deciding whether to use a putter or a sand wedge from the edge of a bunker.

Ever wonder what it would be like to have your teenager in the Oval Office?

According to Michael Barone, that's exactly what we've got. BarryO the Prez is a prime example of a bratty adolescent who - with his little posse of you're-no-the-boss-of-me's - does the opposite of what his parents say just because he can.

A regime of tyrants dedicated to hatred of America, Britain and Israel is not going to be persuaded to abandon a central goal by even the most dazzling display of adolescent charm

A contrary, pimple-faced boy who thinks he's hip, slick and cool, but really knows just enough to be dangerous. And might just burn the family house down with his arrogance, all the while whining about how mean and hateful and wrong the parents have been.

As president, he has singled out missile defense for cuts, even in the face of missile launches by North Korea and evidence of continuing missile development by Iran. Bush abrogated the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and pushed ahead on missile defense, so it must be bad even if there's no U.S.-Soviet balance of terror to destabilize anymore.

The toughest time for me as a parent was when Lovely Daughter was a teenager. For her, as with MOST people, it's a stage she passed through. For BarryO and Company, I'm afraid it may be a lifestyle. And it's our house that's in danger of burning.

These moves show an adolescent determination to renounce the policies of those who came before, no matter what. As parents know, it takes time for an adolescent to grow up.

Have YOU ever herded cats, or nailed jello to a tree?

BarryO is going to corral the unwieldy, unworkable, uncontrollable financial system. Do I need a bomb shelter for this?

John Stossel gives his take on the "sweeping overhaul of the financial regulatory system," which was announced recently by BarryO. Oh. Boy. If those words don't scare the living Hell out of you, you don't have any nerves left.

A couple of quotes from the column:

"...when regulators set out to redesign an economy, they display not wisdom but a "pretense of knowledge."

"The decentralized, competitive market full of free people is hands-down preferable to a centralized body of clueless bureaucrats who can hold a gun to our heads."

I have a very uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my gut.

Again.

Juniper Springs kayak trip - Pictures

fern garden







the water is so clear and cool







peaceful

The "Obama Effect?"

Caroline B. Glick's column:

THE REAL OBAMA effect on world affairs relates to the US media's unprecedented willingness to abandon the basic responsibilities of a free press in favor of acting as propagandists for the president. From Cooper - who pretends that Obama's unreciprocated open hand to the mullahs is what empowered the protesters - to Newsweek editor Evan Thomas who referred to Obama earlier this month as a "sort of God," without a hint of irony, the US media have mobilized to serve the needs of the president.

Media whores for the government. Our Founding Fathers surely weep for us.

What they fail to consider is that by genuflecting to tyrants, Obama has made the US an international laughingstock. Far from sharing their adulation of Obama and his cool demeanor, most of the nations of the world believe that the US has abandoned its leadership role.

There's a Tea Party here on 2 July. I have a previous commitment (2 of 'em, actually) so not sure I can make it, but I may design a shirt to wear WHEREVER I may be. Suggestions for wording are greatly appreciated, if you'd put them in a comment? Thanks!

Welcome, once again, to Thomas Tuesday

Thomas Sowell, of course. From his column, which I read at JewishWorldReview.com:

A Gallup poll last week showed that far more Americans describe themselves as "conservatives" than as "liberals." Yet Republicans have been clobbered by the Democrats in both the 2008 elections and the 2006 elections.
...
...when you have the high cards and still keep taking a beating, then you need to re-think how you are playing the game.
...
Perhaps people who are busy gushing over the Obama cult today might do well to stop and think about what it would mean for their grand-daughters to live under sharia law.
...
Ronald Reagan won two elections in a landslide by being Ronald Reagan — and, most important of all — explaining to a broad electorate how what he advocated would be best for them and for the country. Newt Gingrich likewise led a Republican takeover of the House of Representatives by explaining how the Republican agenda would benefit a wide range of people.

Neither of them won by pretending to be Democrats.

Or communists. But I risk redundancy there, don't I.

UPDATE! Sowell's column on Wednesday is on education. Here's a bit I like:

"..the time comes to leave the classroom and go out into the real world."

I've known quite a few 'professional students' in my life. No one is more self-absorbed than a 40 year old who's going to get her third or fourth degree but has never held a full-time job and still talks, acts, thinks and dresses like the 19-year-old Freshman she once was. No one is as boring as the guy who tells you how much he knows...about everything...all the time.

Real world experience is sorely lacking, both in government and in the nicer neighborhoods. But college degrees? LOTS of those.

Did I mention I really like this guy?

And not just his cute self, of course, I like the way his mind works. Now, Stossel has his own blog, and I may be able to tear myself away from it for normal human interaction...in a couple hours.

I've also been to check out Grouchy Conservative Pundits - even though I'm only marginally conservative, I like they way those folks write. One of the Global Moderators is our friend SwampWoman, and one of the newbie registrants is an old buddy of mine from SoCal. Wow!

My blogroll continues to grow...
UPDATE! Another new one! On Paco's recommendation, go say howdy to Dan Collins at Piece of Work In Progress.

Here in NEFL, it's Hot as Hell with the blowers on, as my dad used to say - even at 8pm it was nearly +100F. Blech. Not sure when to expect relief - but hope it's in time for my birthday! Lovely Daughter, Handsome Son-in-law and BEEootiful Pixie came over to have Father's Day burgers & dogs with Daddy/ Grandpa. I let the other grownups do the outdoor part, I stayed inside with the Pixie and we arranged pickles, beans, and other assorted condiments in the comfort of the air conditioning. Oh, and we watched some Tigger & Pooh, while we waited for the ball game to come on. As the terrible writers at my school paper used to say, MUCH too often, "A good time was had by all." Pfft.

One more load of laundry to fold, then I'm off to bed. Thanks for stopping by!

I don’t have much patience for deliberate lies dressed up in a “science” costume.

SwampWoman, at A1A South, posted a brilliant, thoughtful, and slightly? scathing fisking of the "climate change" report issued by the White House last week. It is, quite simply, priceless. I'm sure glad the woman is on my side! You gotta go read the whole thing, but here's some of my favorite parts:

These f***ing clowns can’t predict what temperature it will be on Monday of next week, so why in the hell should they be considered some kind of experts on what temperature it will be after they’re dead? The temperature trend is DOWN, you morons!
...
Sounds like there wasn’t any evidence before and lots and lots of data falsification has been going on because they know that the Democrats aren’t actually going to check the facts. Hell, they won’t even bother to read the paper. They’ll just have somebody give them a synopsis using one syllable words. I’m shocked, shocked I tell you, that somebody whose job title is “coordinator of global change science” would find evidence of impacts from climate change. For the sarcasm challenged, yes, that is sarcasm dripping off the keyboard and pooling on the floor in a large, glowing puddle.

Gotta love her!

Gah!

Spent many hours with no internet and no house phone. Generally no phone isn't a problem because I have a cell phone, with a handly little spot to store all the phone numbers I need or want or have to use. Well, MY cell phone spent the week in Kansas City, and the house phone went down, and not having contact with the outside pretty much ruined my day...for 2 days! Nice young man showed up yesterday & replaced the box the phone & computer plug into, all the lights are now properly lined up & the right ones are blinking. I'm hoping to be back on track today, but no promises on that score.

Woke up tired again.

Tomorrow is going to be a fun day, there's a bunch of us going to go for a paddle at Juniper Springs. The swimming hole is closed for renovation, but the kayak/canoe launch is new & improved & I can hardly wait! Depending on how the rest of today goes, I may be back with a couple easy posts. Y'all have a great day & thanks for stopping by!

John Stossel on Glenn Beck

I've listened to Glenn Beck off & on for years now. I feel a connection to him you might catch when you read the column. And I don't mean about his being a Mormon convert, cuz I'm not. It was HIS Tea Party appearence in San Antonio, with Ted Nugent and Janine Turner - and at which a good friend was in attendance - that I was glued to on April 15.

John Stossel has been a favorite much longer, but also only intermittent, since I don't watch network tv, or really much tv at all except baseball, cooking, and DIY. So, two of my favorite guys in one column? Wow, this could be a grand day after all!

From Stossel's column:

And now he's host of his own Fox News show, which, even though it airs in the ratings desert of late afternoon, has a bigger audience than every show on the other cable news channels.

Why is he so popular? Beck says it's because he really believes what he says. I don't buy that. Rachel Maddow and Lou Dobbs believe what they say, but their audience is a fraction of Beck's. I hope he's popular because of what he says, like: "Both parties only believe in the power of the party"; "if we get out of people's way, the sky's the limit"; and the answers to our problems "never come from Washington."

Good stuff. Glad I got up for it. Y'all have a great day now, thanks for stopping by!

If it's Tuesday, it must be Thomas Sowell

And it IS Tuesday, I'm sure of it.

From Thomas Sowell's column this week:

One of the many problems of the pay-back approach is that many of the people who most deserve retribution are no longer alive. You can take symbolic revenge on people who look like them but this removes the whole moral element. If it is all right to discriminate today against individuals who have done you no harm, then why was it wrong to discriminate against you in the past? (Emphasis mine)

...

Attempts to claim that Judge Sonia Sotomayor's words were isolated remarks — a slip of the tongue "taken out of context" — have now been discredited by further information showing that she has repeatedly expressed the same ideas, in virtually the same words, at other times and in other contexts.

On a personal note: Tough day for me yesterday, woke up tired again today. This is becoming the way of my world and I'm not crazy about it. All my meds are correct, so once again, I'm going to blame the heat. There are times when it isn't just living in a city that I can barely stand, it's living in a city covered in a blanket of "hotter than Hell!" It's ten minutes till 8 - A.M! - and it's 81F. Gah!

Happy Belated Birthday, Handsome Hubby and Paco and Irobot!

They had a Flag Day celebration on your birthday I'm sorry I missed, in Great Falls, Montana.

From the Great Falls Tribune:

"In honor of the flag that has stood guard over Great Falls for the last quarter century, the Great Falls Association of Realtors organized a picnic to go along with this year's ceremony, and there also was a parade of Harley-Davidson motorcycles."

Thanks for stopping by, we're off to the Commissary now for juice and other goodies.

My Favorite Old Guy does it again!

Bob's Bites has the story...and what a story it is. Thanks, Bob, I love that picture!

If it's true that you're as young as you feel, Mark Martin oughta feel like a young gun tonight. That ol gunslinger hasn't had the young'uns after him. He got respect from the whippersnappers, including ones he's known since they were in Pampers, but no one worried about him stealing their thunder. He's old, he even semi-retired...but that means diddly when you're the one taking the checkered flag AGAIN!!!

Is he a threat to win the Cup? I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand, that's fer damn sure. He is a DRIVER!

One other quick thing - I really get interested when they start worrying about running out of gas. It adds another something that keeps me on the edge of my seat and the unpredictability makes me CRAZY!!! But in a good way.

WHAT was she thinking?

Track-A-Crat has a picture that is worth much more than a thousand words. If you want to know what kind of people take and spend your hard-earned dollars, get a load of the broad who's First Lady of the United States.

This is so embarrassing...when my daughter was 2, she had more fashion sense! She was always kinda advanced that way. Granddaughter is 20 months, she might find this 'pretty' - she has the excuse of her youth and inexperience!

What a classless, clueless bunch.

(shudder)

Internet and phone were down for a major portion of the afternoon and early evening. I'm almost sorry they came back!

But thanks, Track-A-Crat and Paco - now, if y'all will excuse me, I think I'll go bleach my eyes.

As Ohio goes, so goes the Nation?

From The Farm Gate - "the place to go to find integrated information across a variety of disciplines, including crop and animal sciences, ag economics, ag engineering and veterinary medicine" - via one of my contacts in Australia.

Not living in farm country anymore, with family in the business too distant for me to follow what they do, I don't pay lots of attention to crop and animal sciences as an everyday habit, only a glance when I read my home state newspapers online. So thanks to an Aussie, I read the blog, then the summary:

Summary:
Political initiatives may change many US livestock production practices, rather than the marketplace or science-based research. Those efforts may cause massive changes in the livestock industry, including how livestock is produced, or even result in a phase-out of US production and transfer to foreign nations.

There is NOTHING in your life or mine that the politicians of the United Nanny Socialist States will leave to your personal discretion. If you think this is only about the evil meat-production industry, you are sadly mistaken.

Truly humble people shun acclaim.

Reading those last columns left an icky taste in my mouth. Rabbi Twersky has written something that washes it right out.

I'm a member of a group that works at combating the Seven Deadly Sins - character defects - in ourselves. Rabbi Twersky's work has been of great assistance to me, and to a few others who've discovered it.

He could give lessons to our Elected Officials, but most lessons of this kind can't be learned without a willingness to change, and Politicians in general only want US to change, not themselves.

Read it anyway, it says some wonderful things about my favorite Hero of the Bible - Moses.

Birds of a Feather

Dave Weinbaum

All you West Coasters who love Obama, get ready to say adios to your casas. Either that or learn to speak Espanola, if you haven't already. There should be an abundance of work if you stay.

Jonah Goldberg

He's not a member of anything other than the crazy caucus. Von Brunn's True North is conspiratorial anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. He's not a member of the Christian Right. In fact, he denounces Christianity — just as Hitler did — as a Jewish plot against paganism and Western vigor. Nor is he a capitalist. Again, just as Hitler did, he hails socialism as the solution to the West's problems.

Mitch Albom

I bring this up, because it happened, in Pakistan, less than a day after President Barack Obama made his ballyhooed speech to the Arab world. In that speech he called for understanding between Muslims and the West. He insisted the United States was not and had never been at war with Islam. He even began the talk with the Arabic greeting "salaam aleikum," which means "peace be upon you."

I wonder who he was talking to.

Anne Beyefsky

In fact, Obama's Egyptian hosts would have been only too familiar with Arab anti-Semitism during World War II (and beyond). After all, Obama was speaking in the country that schooled and later welcomed back Grand Mufti Haj Muhammed Amin al-Husseini as a national hero. This was the man who spent the war years in Berlin as Hitler's guest facilitating the murder of Jews.

Priorities

It's not quite 8am, it's almost 80 degrees outside...but seems to be less humid, so I'm out there with the Pixie while she entertains herself and I try to hem some jeans. Got a nice article to post later, so please come back by if you get the chance!

Dear BarryO...You scare me, too.

I swiped this from Swampie's site, because - though I read it at Snopes, too - it was the easiest way to copy & paste. If you've read it before, I apologize. I'm tired and cranky and not terribly cheerful. Anyone got a solution for muscle spasms? The ones in my shoulder and neck are about to drive me half crazy. I even swore - LOUD - at the cat yesterday. Except for the fact that she didn't curse, I sounded like my little grandma...and he DID curse, so I also sounded like her son, my dad!

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

By Lou Pritchett

Dear President Obama:

You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike any of the others, you truly scare me.

You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you.

You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of support.

You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth growing up in America and culturally you are not an American.

You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll.

You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus don’t understand it at its core.

You scare me because you lack humility and ‘class’, always blaming others.

You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail.

You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the ‘blame America’ crowd and deliver this message abroad.

You scare me because you want to change America to a European style country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector.

You scare me because you want to replace our health care system with a government controlled one.

You scare me because you prefer ‘wind mills’ to responsibly capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves.

You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of living in the world.

You scare me because you have begun to use ‘extortion’ tactics against certain banks and corporations.

You scare me because your own political party shrinks from challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals.

You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider opposing points of view from intelligent people.

You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both omnipotent and omniscient.

You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do.

You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the Limbaughs, Hannitys, O’Relllys and Becks who offer opposing, conservative points of view.

You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing.

Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.

Lou Pritchett

Note from Snopes.com: Lou Pritchett is a former vice president of Procter & Gamble whose career at that company spanned 36 years before his retirement in 1989, and he is the author of the 1995 business book, Stop Paddling & Start Rocking the Boat.

Mr. Pritchett confirmed that he was indeed the author of the much-circulated “open letter.” “I did write the ‘you scare me’ letter. I sent it to the NY Times but they never acknowledged or published it. However, it hit the internet and according to the ‘experts’ has had over 500,000 hits.

No 'simple serfdom' for me, thanks

I found this article last week, but have just re-read it.

From the Wall Street Journal online:

Never mind that in the past 20 years, thanks in part to the explosion of American consumption, hundreds of millions of people around the world, now with jobs to meet U.S. import demands, have eaten three meals in one day -- for the very first time in their lives. This is a War on Poverty that we are winning! Snobs would rather downsize and turn victory into defeat.

I try to keep my life "simple" - but I certainly don't advocate a return to the days of disease, malnutrition, or a severely shortened lifespan. I've lived in a rural area where indoor plumbing was NEW. I went to a country school in first grade that had electricity, and His & Hers outhouses. It's not my preference at the grand old age of 53. I prefer small-town life but recognize the convenience and blessings of living in this city. I love my cell phone, my refrigerator, central air conditioning in summer and a furnace in the winter. I've been the beneficiary of some of the medical miracles that came from the greatest Nation on Earth. I'm unwilling to give them up. I also have a small vegetable garden.

There's a balance to what I do and what I have - I have all I need, and more, to live a productive life in this society. I am content, and I am - and have - enough. If you wish for more and can produce that, good on ya. My ego can live with the fact that we're different that way.

Evidently not everyone is so blessed.

"Edgy as a soccer ball"

I haven't stayed up late enough to watch "Late Night" in many years. I DID stay up for Carson when I was younger, and even Leno once in awhile. I'm not hip enough - and never have been, I guess - to stay up that late now, hoping to partake of what the Cool Kids watch. I do, however, keep up with Lileks and the goings-on at Jasperwood. Dave's being too too cute again, I understand?

What’s amusing is how unamusing he is in the clip. How sour he seems. Compare him to his predecessors: Carson was all midwestern charm, with unreadable yet mannerly reserve; Steve Allen was almost as smart as he was certain you thought he must be, but he was cheerful; Parr was a nattering nutball covered with a rich creamy nougat of ego, but he was engaging. Letterman is empty; he’s inert; he stands for nothing except disdain for people foolish enough to stand for anything - aside from rote obesciance to all the things Decent People stand for, of course, all those shopworn assumptions passed around in the bubble.

Cool and hip, maybe I'm not. But I'm also not unkind to children, even those who have parents more well-known than I. Thanks, James, for watching the dreck (so I don't have to) and writing so well about it.

(Tip of my cap to Lileks at the Bleat. Small towns create lots of wonderful people like him)

Thomas Sowell Tuesday!

You don't need to listen to (or read) my blather when you can read the words Thomas Sowell.

Today, he's written about doing nothing. Here's a bit:

"...thanks to the United Nations, there is a place where political leaders can go to do nothing, with a flurry of highly visible activity — and the media will cover it in detail, with a straight face, so that people will think that something is actually being done.

There may be televised statements and counter-statements — passionate debate among people wearing exotic apparel from different nations, all in an impressive, photogenic setting. U.N. resolutions may be voted upon and published to the world. It can be some of the best nothing that money can buy."

On a more pathetic note

I had an idea that I might skip putting anything flagrantly political up today. If I say that to myself again, I have to remember to not visit most of the websites I go to for news and commentary!

From JewishWorldReview,com comes this column by Richard Z. Chesnoff, formerly a senior correspondent with US News and World Report, now a columnist with the NY Daily News, and author of "Pack of Thieves: How Hitler and Europe Plundered the Jews and Committed the Greatest Theft in History."

From the column:

And why beat your breast over American involvement in the 1953 overthrow of Iran's Mossadeq regime. If Mr Obama thought he was reaching out a conciliatory hand to the Mullahs of Tehran, he missed it. The mullahs who seized power in 1979 have tried to use Mossadeq now as a martyr. But they always opposed and despised Mossadeq who was a secular nationalist. Nor was his regime "democratically elected". At the time Mossadedeq was overthrown with CIA help, he had autocratically suspended elections and ruled Iran by "emergency decree".

As David Frum put it, "for the United States to apologize to the present Iranian regime for the overthrow of Mossadeq would be a little like President Eisenhower apologizing to Josef Stalin for the murder of Trotsky."

BarryO is a real putz. A very dangerous putz.

Anniversary Plans

The Chief (retired) and I got married 22 February 1985. Went to the courthouse on a Thursday afternoon and met with a judge, she did the honours, then we drank a bottle of Asti Spumanti and spent the night at my apartment in Memphis, took him back to base at zero-dark-thirty, and didn't see him again till Monday or Tuesday. We have taken our honeymoon in increments, weekends here and there to do something fun, interesting, different. Honeymoons for people that have been living together for over 3 years seemed a waste of money and effort, in my mind. I've much preferred our way, it's never OVER, this way. I flew to San Diego from Washington for the weekend once when the ship was in. Same with a trip to Hawai'i when the ship was there picking up the Tiger Cruise passengers. Came back to Florida in 2000 & spent a few days with him in the barracks while he was re-training on P-3's, before we transferred to Hawai'i.

In 2004 we left Maryland and spent 2 nights and 3 days in San Diego, so we could see a Padres game in their new ballpark. (I also went to 3 AA meetings where I first learned the basics about living life based on the principles of the 12 Steps.)That was how we celebrated 20 years of marriage. You'll notice that the DATE is FLEXIBLE! I was a NAVY WIFE, fercryinoutloud, flexibility is a requirement. Adjust and adapt. We celebrated 6 months worth of holiday dinners in a 4-day weekend (The ship was leaving the Monday after Thanksgiving) before USS Nimitz deployed on the Med cruise that later took it to San Diego. Flexibility, adjustability, adapatability is KEY to any successful Navy marriage, and we succeeded for 22 Navy Family years.

Next February will be 25 years of wedded bliss. Holy blinkin' cow, Batman! What to do, what to do. This week, we figured out what to do. One weekend in September we're going to Damascus, Virginia. We're taking the kids and grandkid, spending one whole day and 2 nights there in a lovely little bed and breakfast in the heart of one of my favorite towns. The kids and the Chief (retired) will ride bicycles down the Virginia Creeper Trail, while I hang out with the Pixie...if I want. Which I will.

Don't know if Handsome Son-in-law has seen "autumn" or mountains in his whole life, or been on a road trip further away than Tampa. THAT is going to change, if he's gonna be part of THIS family! I think (and I really really hope) he'll enjoy it, and I know Lovely Daughter will.

I love my life. I'm so glad I get to share these things with them.

Very tired now, think I'll hit the rack so I can be on top of it tomorrow when I pick up the Pixie. Y'all have a fine evening, please come again some time!

I believe...

I BELIEVE that what comes down
can also quite possibly go up.

I BELIEVE that all bad things
come to an end.

I BELIEVE that the journey of a thousand miles
begins with a map.

I BELIEVE that the shortest distance between two points
is a leap of faith.

I BELIEVE that dreams come true
for those who put their hand to the plow
and never look back.

(H/T to American Greetings card I bought my hubby a long time ago...)

D Day

This is the anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of Europe in the attempt to save the Free World from the domination of Nazi evil. The Allies had little chance of success those first hours and the waters ran red with the blood of the men who landed on those beaches that day, And yet, they persevered.

It is my thought that we may yet have to fight another War of Liberation in the not-so-distant future, against an evil just as bloodthirsty and tyrannical.

Did I say 'we?' Yes, I did. I'm not convinced we'll be able to keep the war from this continent this time. We've done a pretty fair job so far, but I see no promise that the lines of security will hold in the future. Not with people like that scum in Little Rock just biding their time and our elected officials and their toadies treating invaders better than citizens.

This date has a special meaning for me, on an even more personal level. The Sixth of June, 1997 was the first day of my life as a member in good standing of The Original 12-Step Program. There was no guarantee on that day that I'd survive to see many more, due to some pretty serious injuries that may or may not have mended themselves. My BAC was the highest I've ever heard - and I've heard lots. My liver was lacerated, my spleen was bruised, and I had concussion, a cracked vertebra and a bunch of broken ribs. There was also extensive road rash, some of which I'll get back to. I spent 8 days in hospital, then 10 weeks supposedly on bed rest. Homemakers don't do "bed rest" very well, so I fudged on the standing, lifting, cleaning, bending, and (lastly) driving because I HAD to.

About 35 days into that recovery, I attended my first 12 Step meeting. And I've been going regularly, no matter where I am, ever since. Got my head straight, got my soul right, and got on with living a pretty damn good life. Some of it has been easy peasy, and some of it has been a slog. But as long as I'm breathing, I've got a way to deal with anything that comes down the pike, from crapola politicians and pathetic excuses for presidents to attacks on my Country, to natural disasters made worse by stupid human bureaucracy, to the deaths of friends and family, to pain that reminds me how much I used to love to fight. Every day, when I shave my legs, I see the 'tattoo' where the threads from my Levi's embedded themselves in my knee that night.,.and I remember what it was like, what happened, and what it's like now. Unlike June 5, 1997, I have a Program, a design for living, which works under any and all circumstances.

When I first got Sober, the internet was a side-show, an interesting creation that might be fun for some. We'd had a pc since 1990 and we bought our first new one in '97 or '98. When I left SoCal, I kept in touch with my AA family with email and online meetings. It was terrific then and it's better now. I still use it to stay in touch with sponsors, sponsees, and AA friends all over the world.

Neither of these creations which have saved and enriched my life would be possible if it weren't for this being the United States of America, where individual liberty, freedom of assembly, freedom of worship, and an unyielding belief in creating and improving our own lives has taken a hold I never thought would die. The benefits have been felt around the globe since the beginning.

It can die. The Free World has been saved by the sacrificial blood of our brothers in arms more than once. NOT by the rhetoric of pantywaist politicians who will say anything for a vote or an increase in poll numbers. Pretty words will not save this Nation from enslavement by those who care little for pretty words. I hope we don't let it die without a whimper, much less without a fight.

So, as I celebrate my 12th AAnniversary, free from the tyranny that once ruled me, I ask that you remember those who laid down their lives, those who dedicated their lives and those who still fight a war that never ends - the fight for the Liberty and Freedom that is at the heart of every Honourable Man and Woman.

UPDATE: Tim Blair has an example of why I haven't watched network television in about 15 years...what a pathetic piece of work Brokaw is!

Fisk Friday?

Saint takes apart BarryO's oh-isn't-Islam-grand speech, with a link to a spectacular fisking of said speech.

Paco has a link to a great post on the LACK of respect for the Rule of Law by our esteemed (cough) Present Administration.

Three Beers Later lists some things BarryO declined to include in his speech in Egypt. You know, other contributions the followers of Mohammed have made to "civilisation."

More comment on that speech by The Other McCain.

Some great things to read today, a break in the rain for awhile, gotta shower and get moving to pick up my Pixie, so may be back later and thanks for stopping by!

UPDATE: Love the cartoon posted by Lemuel at Hillbilly White Trash, too. I must be in a snarky mood today. Fatigue does that to me...

UPDATE2: This has been at Tim Blair's for a day or so - hey, I'm slow, so sue me - and it is PRICELESS! The comments are well worth your time, too. What would give YOU better value than this 6-pack/ $15???