Ebay auctioning Shelby Black Hornet for charity

THE SHELBY BLACK HORNET

Created under the direction of racing legend Carroll Shelby, the 1968 Shelby EXP500 CSS “Black Hornet” pays tribute to its chrome and green prototype, the Shelby Green Hornet. Like its predecessor, the Shelby Black Hornet sports the famous scoops and stripes, powered by a Cobra Jet 428 V8 engine with a heart-pounding 335 horsepower. It began life as a vintage 1968 Mustang, and was transformed into an authentic Shelby muscle car worthy of inclusion in the Shelby Worldwide Registry. In its next life, it could be yours. For more detailed specifications on the Black Hornet, please go to: www.RestorationHardware.com.

We must Kill the CRA

Stop Covering Up And Kill The CRA

The Community Reinvestment Act is to blame for the financial crisis, but it so powerfully serves Democrats' interests that they'll do anything to protect it — including revising history.

The CRA coerces banks into making loans based on political correctness, and little else, to people who can't afford them. Enforced like never before by the Clinton administration, the regulation destroyed credit standards across the mortgage industry, created the subprime market, and caused the housing bubble that has now burst and left us with the worst housing and banking crises since the Great Depression.

The CRA should be abolished, along with the government-sponsored enterprises that fueled the secondary market for subprimes — under pressure from Clinton, who ordered HUD to set quotas for "affirmative action" lending at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

But powerful Democrats in Washington want to protect the act — along with Fannie and Freddie — and spin the subprime scandal as the result of too little regulation, not too much.

Go to the IBD website to read the rest there is a good section that separates the fact from fiction being spun in the old media.

Not a good update at Dena's blog

For those of you following the blog at CPT Rob Yllescas was not a good update from Dena as they went for emergency surgery tonight. God speed CPT.

Beware the chicken truck

Researchers: Chicken trucks may spread drug-resistant bacteria

Driving behind a chicken truck with the windows rolled down not only may smell bad, but it could be exposing motorists to a harmful bacteria, according to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers.

“It’s enough of a concern that we should consider improving the transportation methods,” said Ana Rule, a research associate at the Baltimore school’s environmental sciences department and co-author of a study on exposure from trucks transporting broiler chickens published this past month in the first issue of the Journal of Infection and Public Health.

Rule and two other researchers, Ellen Silbergeld and Sean Evans, found that trucks carrying live chickens from farms to slaughterhouses may be releasing a drug-resistant bacteria into the air.

Researchers trailed two or three car lengths behind a chicken truck for 17 miles along the Delmarva peninsula. Air conditioners and fans were turned off, and the windows were all open. Chickens are transported in open cages on flatbed trucks.

“We wanted to do the worst case scenario,” Rule said.

Researchers found increased concentration of bacteria in air samples collected from inside the car and on surfaces in the car such as the door handle.

However, researchers don’t know how much of a hazard the levels found are, Rule said.

“We don’t know what’s normal. ... All we know is the levels are higher,” she said.

About 20 percent of the bacteria were resistant to the antibiotics tetracycline, erythromycin and quinupristin/dalfopristin.

These drugs are all approved for use in broiler chickens, suggesting that giving chickens antibiotics leads to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, researchers said. Antibiotics have been used for more than 40 years to keep chickens healthy, according to the poultry industry.

A study released this past year by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production, an independent group formed to review the farm animal industry, also raised concerns about antibiotic use in farm animal production as a source of resistant bacteria. The group called for restrictions in the use of antibiotics.

“We’d love to see producers do something about that,” Rule said.

Bill Satterfield, executive director of nonprofit Delmarva Poultry Industry Inc., based in Georgetown, Del., said the study was the latest attempt to “discredit and embarrass the industry.”

Satterfield noted that co-author Silbergeld has been a long-time opponent of poultry industry practices such as antibiotic use. He also raised questions with the “unrealistic” conditions used in the study.

“Those bacteria would be the least of your problems if you’re tailgating a chicken truck for 17 miles,” he said.

The containers used to transport chickens are designed to keep the chickens cool, he said, calling it an “animal welfare concern.”

They were lucky they were not pelted with live chickens trying to fly the coupe. I see them up and down the interstate all the time and they are fat bastards too.

The stockpiling continues

Welcome home Ranger Cpl. Librado Luna

Soldier Missing in Action from Korean War is Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is Cpl. Librado Luna, U.S. Army, of Taylor, Texas. He will be buried on Nov. 25 in Taylor.
Representatives from the Army's Mortuary Office met with Luna's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
In late November 1950, Luna was assigned to the 8th Army Ranger Company, 25th Infantry Division, then attached to B Company, 89th Medium Tank Battalion as part of Task Force Dolvin. The 8th Army Ranger Company was deployed on Hill 205 in Kujang County along the leading edge of the U.S. position. On November 25, the Chinese Army struck in force in what would become known as the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River. Task Force Dolvin, including the 8th Army Ranger Company, was forced to withdraw to the south. Of the 91 men from B Company, 89th Medium Tank Battalion and the 8th Army Ranger Company, only 22 made it to safety. Ten men, including Luna, went missing on November 26 near Hill 205.
In 1998, a joint U.S.-Democratic People's Republic of North Korea (D.P.R.K.) team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), excavated a burial site in Kujang County where a girl had uncovered possible American remains on a hill near her school. The site correlates with the area where members of the 8th Army Ranger Company fought as part of Task Force Dolvin. The team recovered human remains and non-biological material evidence.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA in the identification of Luna's remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1420.

Family happy to finally bid soldier proper farewell

Family happy to finally bid soldier proper farewell
Updated: 11/24/2008 7:43:47 PM
By: Karina Kling

It's been nearly 60 years since one Central Texas soldier went missing during a Korean War battle.

But Saturday the remains of Army Cpl. Librado Luna were
brought home.

His family will finally give him a proper burial Tuesday, decades late. They said it's been a long journey, 58 years in the making.

It was the early stages of the Korean War, late November 1950, when Pvt. 1st Class Cpl. Luna found himself on the front lines of a battle on historic Hill 205, which would later be known as the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River.
More Information

Members of the 8th Army Ranger Company, part of the 25 Infantry Division, were under attack from the Chinese army.

As soldiers were ordered to get off the hill, Luna was one of four in his company who remained.

"On the day he went missing in action, that night was his 18th
birthday," Luna's nephew, Saul Salazar, said.

But Luna's body was never found, and the mystery kept his family searching for answers. His siblings never stopped carrying Luna's memory with them.

"It's as if he lived through them and their stories, and
we being the next generation, we kept it up and we always talked about him and hoped," Luna's niece, Susie Mokry, said.

Salazar and Mokry never met their uncle, but they made it
their mission to know him. A few years ago, their sister gave them DNA samples.

Then earlier this month, army officials confirmed partial remains of Luna's were found years ago by North Korean school children preparing to plant trees on what would have been Hill 205.

"We honestly never thought this was going to happen. We were
hoping - but none of this," Salazar said.

Now 58 years later, on what would have been Corporal Luna's
76th birthday, he'll be laid to rest in Taylor on Tuesday. A
proper burial, his family said, will finally give them closure.

"What's in the casket is his, and he's here with us now," Salazar said.

Not just pictures anymore, but a piece of their uncle finally paid tribute, they said, he so deserved.

"Everyone of us will be proud Tuesday, and will be standing
really tall," Mokry said.

Funeral services for Army Corporal Librado Luna will take place at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Saint Mary's Catholic Church in Taylor.

A burial with full military honors will follow at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Cemetery.

How could the punishment ever fit the crime?

When this happened this summer I was honestly to upset and angry to even attempt to blog about it. I didn't think this case at the time could make me more irate. I was wrong.

Angela Wadlington, her 5-year-old daughter and 4-year-old friend held hands and walked across Floyd Street on July 25 when there was a screech of tires and a vehicle headed right for them.

"Then we were struck," she told Louisville Metro police.

Wadlington said she was knocked to the ground and jumped up to check on the girls, according to court records released yesterday.

She saw her daughter, Claudia Faye Wadlington, in a pool of blood, one of her legs severed. The girl died at the scene, her neck broken. Claudia's friend, Riley Jane Lawrence, wasn't moving. She was pronounced dead at Kosair Children's Hospital.

The vehicle that hit them kept going, Wadlington told police, according to court records in the case against Kenielle Denise Finch, the alleged driver who is facing numerous charges, including two counts of murder.

It was this picture that really made me break down as father and EMT/RN that has seen this way too much.



This assclown ran because he had oustanding warrants for tampering with physical evidence, felon in possession of a handgun, leaving the scene of an accident, carrying a concealed deadly weapon, being a persistent felony offender, and possession of a controlled substance.

What I didn't understand then was why he was loose to start with. Warrants like that lead me to believe he was arrested and released somehow? That made me angry.

Then I have to stumble upon this when searching to see when the trial starts.

Man charged with hitting and killing 2 girls has sentence cut short, many outraged

Finch was already on Louisville’s most wanted list. He was a paroled felon who’d been on the run for eight months. So when finch was arrested on the girls’ murders, he was tossed back in state prison to serve out his parole violation and the rest of his eight year sentence on a slew of other felony charges.

But then, 12 days later, the state gave Finch credit for 692 days, nearly two years worth of so-called street credit, for the time he was on parole and not convicted of a new crime. So because of the state’s new early release policy, Finch wrapped up his sentence on those earlier charges last week.

Finch is no longer in prison but he is still in the Louisville jail. He was transferred there awaiting trial on those new murder charges involving 5-year-old Claudia Wadlington and 4-year-old Riley Lawrence. If he makes bond or judge rules against prosecutors, Finch would be back on the street.

Attorney General Jack Conway is suing the state justice cabinet over its new early release policy, claiming it’s putting violent offenders back on the street too soon. Prison officials and state lawmakers say Kentucky is only following the lead of other states in trying to cut millions of dollars in prison costs.

Of all the money the state spends on complete and utter bullshit they are going to save money by tossing a sorry sack of shit like that back out on the street. I don't know who the assclowns are that paroled him but they will have to live with this. I hope more investigation is done and we find out why this guy was not still in prison and who is responsible so their names can be posted here.

I was going to post a picture of these 2 beautiful girls but I just can't bring myself to do it.

This is the link to a memorial page instead.

Like you need more reasons to not be a teacher

How Spyware Nearly Sent a Teacher to Prison (PC World)

If there's a poster child for the dangers of spyware, it's Julie Amero.

The 41-year-old former substitute teacher was convicted of four felony counts of endangering minors last year, stemming from an Oct. 19, 2004, classroom incident where students were exposed to inappropriate images.

Prosecutors had argued that Amero put her students at risk by exposing them to pornography and failing to shield them from the pop-up images after they appeared on her classroom computer.

Amero was an unlikely porn surfer. Four months pregnant at the time, she said she had only just learned to use e-mail. She says she was well-liked by teachers and students at Kelly Middle School in Norwich, Connecticut, where the incident occurred. "I was the cool teacher everybody liked," she remembers.

Amero said she did everything she could to protect her kids, but school officials, reacting to angry calls from parents, went to the police, who soon pressed criminal charges.

The case ruined her life. She believes that stress from the arrest caused her to miscarry her baby, and her career as a teacher is finished. A heart condition landed her in the hospital after she fainted several times. And while she was briefly employed at an area Home Depot last year, she was fired from the job shortly after an employee posted news clippings about her trial in the employee lounge.

Her conviction in January 2007 was the low point of her life, but soon after that Amero found a champion in Alex Eckelberry, the CEO of Sunbelt Software, who contacted her after hearing about her case. After looking at the evidence, he and other security professionals concluded that Amero had been wrongly convicted. Within months they had mustered a high-powered team of lawyers and security experts who ultimately got the guilty verdict overturned, setting the stage for a retrial.

She calls Eckelberry her "shining star" and keeps a picture of him on her wall

Amero reached a plea bargain agreement with prosecutors late last week. She pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge, paid a US$100 fine and had her state teaching license revoked. Now, she says, she wants some peace, but she's still clearly upset with local prosecutors, whom she says pursued an "incompetent and malicious" case against her.

She should sue the school board for not protecting her from the pop ups. Obviously there was a failure on the tech end.

Active Protection System for the Army's Future Combat System takes down an RPG in flight.

Colmes going solo?

I really don't know why he bothered with it for 12 years. I think I may have located a suitable replacement though.

Father, son soldiers get simultaneous Silver Stars

Father, son soldiers get simultaneous Silver Stars

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Two generations of a family of soldiers received Silver Stars during simultaneous ceremonies at Fort Campbell and a U.S. base in Afghanistan.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jonathan Harris and his father Gary, a retired U.S. Army staff sergeant, were given the military’s third-highest decoration for valor today for their courageous action in Afghanistan and Vietnam.

The elder Harris was mailed his award in 1969, but never received a ceremony, so when his son was nominated for the award, the Army decided to conduct two ceremonies linked by video teleconference.

Outstanding!

For that special someone: Reindeer dropping ornaments

Ill. zoo creates ornaments from reindeer droppings

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (AP) -- The Christmas ornaments for sale at the Miller Park Zoo's gift shop are partly manufactured by reindeer. Honest!

Staffers make decorations out of droppings from the zoo's two reindeer, Ealu and Rika. The droppings are dried, then clear-coated and either painted or rolled in glitter.

Zoo marketing director Susie Ohley has named the products "magical reindeer gem ornaments," and each comes with a label of authenticity. They cost $5 at the zoo gift shop.

Staffer Katie Buydos, who makes jewelry as a hobby, donated wire and beads, saying, "Susie asked me to bring some creativity to the table."

Some folks are surprised at the size of the "gems," which are only about as big as marbles. "Reindeer are so big," zoo maintenance worker Sheldon Williams said. But the droppings are "just a big pile of small."

Yeah it just gets stranger every day.

Seuss lawyers stop holiday Who-ville in Louisville

Lawyers say city must dump Grinch theme for Light Up Louisville

Lawyers for the company that owns rights to the Dr. Seuss Christmas classic "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" have become real-life Grinches, threatening legal action unless Louisville cancels plans to use any part of the book for this year's Light Up Louisville holiday celebration.
Advertisement

"It appears these lawyers' hearts are two sizes too small," Mayor Jerry Abramson said in a news release.

DLA Piper, the law firm representing Dr. Seuss Enterprises, has sent a "cease and desist" letter to the Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Light Up Louisville should have asked for permission and known better but going after a non profit is a little tacky.

Lobster jerky?

For the dog that has everything I bring you WildSide Lobster Private Reserve


Ummm yeah.

Russians to go on offensive against Somali pirates...this will all end in tears

A Russian Solution To The Somali Pirates

November 25, 2008: Russia is planning to send more warships to the Somali coast, along with some commandos and a particularly Russian style of counter-piracy operations. In other words, the Russians plan to go old school on the Somali pirates, and use force to rescue ships currently held, and act ruthlessly against real or suspected pirates it encounters at sea.

This could cause diplomatic problems with the other nations providing warships for counter-piracy operations off the Somali coast. That's because the current ships have, so far, followed a policy of not attempting rescue operations (lest captive sailors get hurt) and not firing on pirates unless fired on first. Russia believes this approach only encourages the pirates.

Russia is planning on bringing along commandoes from Spetsgruppa Vympel. These are hostage rescue experts, formed two decades ago as a spinoff from the original Russian army Spetsnaz commandos.

Read the rest at Strategy Page. I think we have all seen Russian hostage "rescues" before. I doubt this will end well for any involved.

Iraqi Vets Forced to Lick Supposed Urine Off the Ground in Wisconsin

Gateway Pundit: Iraqi Vets Forced to Lick Supposed Urine Off the Ground in Wisconsin

The lawsuit states that Thomas, 19, was fired the same day as the incident and Jacobson, 20, was suspended for two weeks without pay. Both were limited term police officers.

What kind of PD employs 19 and 20 year old cops? You have to be 21 to purchase a handgun but they make these morons cops in Wisconsin? Maybe its time to require a 4 year degree to weed out some of the stupid and immature before these things happen.

Working nights I missed the parade today thankfully there is youtube

Glad to see he is a good sport of his new internet status. Those of you who frequent message boards know what I am talking about.

Pennsylvania National Guard unit deploys with 'Flying Beer Keg'

Nat'l Guard Gets Spying, 'Flying Beer Keg' for Iraq

A Pennsylvania National Guard unit will get a new toy before it deploys to Iraq in January -- an odd-looking robotic aircraft, sometimes referred to as "the flying beer keg."

Designed by Honeywell, the gasoline-powered Micro Air Vehicle, or gMAV, is designed to be a "hover and stare" drone that can loiter over urban canyons, providing surveillance for small units on the ground. The recon keg uses ducted-fan technology to float through the sky. Designers have also added a gimbal-mounted sensor so the gMAV's remote video camera can scan the scene without rotating in mid-air.

Reminds me of the Cypher from Metal Gear Solid video games.

Rosie crash and burn

Roush Dispatch: Rosie Live, Dead on Arrival

If the TV variety format weren't already dead, the ghastly ego trip of NBC's Thanksgiving-eve turkey Rosie Live would surely have killed it. Like the pie Alec Baldwin predictably pushed into Conan O'Brien's face that fell to the floor without sticking, the entire hour landed with a sickening, sad, ill-conceived thud. It felt like an off night at America's Got Talent, bookended by wobbly appearances from Liza Minnelli and Gloria Estefan, each forced to perform with the caterwauling host, Rosie O'Donnell.

Yeah I am not enjoying this at all. Glad to see she dragged down some of her friends with her. /snicker

h/t Instapundit

Indiana Coal-Gas project toast

Coal-gas project shelved

The developer of a $2 billion coal-to-gas plant proposed for Spencer County, Ind., has shelved the project — at least for now.

The end of contract negotiations comes amid uncertainty over what the new Congress or the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama might require of coal plants, in terms of limiting their greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide. The likelihood that coal plants might have to capture the carbon dioxide and inject it underground, at unknown costs, adds to the uncertainty.

"That could have an impact on the price of gas this (plant) could yield, especially if the plant would have to capture carbon. That could impact the capital costs," said Chase Kelley, Vectren Corp. communications director.

Hasn't even taken the oath of office yet and already scaring the shit out of coal related industry.

Reason number #167 I couldn't be President

No way I would pardon that damn turkey. I would whip out my Gerber hatchet and whack that bird right on live TV. I bet our enemies would collectively shit their pants knowing the President of the USA wasn't afraid of blood or getting his hands dirty. Just imagine what those candy asses in the media who were shocked by the Palin turkey video would say.

Penn Station on alert for terror attack?

They really don't have to bomb us just keep threatening various targets forcing us to beef up security to cost us a fortune in security measures. Just look at what the Homeland Security pulls down in budget now.

CBS has a headline I saw at the Bronzes blog that read Cops and Feds armed with M-16's on patrol for forseeable future. Wonder how long it will be before some assclown leaves one in a bathroom stall like the TSA did not long ago.

Terror in India an observation

So I have CNNI on here when one of Indian docs stops by to see how the patient is and catch the latest. I couldn't help but point out that I have yet to see any of the Indian police wearing body armor. He said " Seriously you know how huge our population is and how much it would cost to by them vests?". Right........

As usual I doubt the leader is anywhere near the action but sending his followers on a one way trip like Bin Laden.

I just saw a truck unload what was subtitled Indian Army Commando unit. I saw at least 5 different assault rifles being carried including AK and AR variants. Not gonna be able bum a mag from your buddy.

CNNI is giving credit to the citizen journalists posting video and video on their blogs and twitter. They are posting up thief address asking for amateur footage as well.

The redemption of Barney Frank?

I just finished reading a 7 page article over at the New Republic titled Bailout with the subtitle of above by Michelle Cottle. No mention anywhere in 7 pages is Franks complicity in the Freddie Fannie debacle. Instead we get 7 pages of regurgitated history that reads like Barney's greatest hits. Peppered throughout is the message of how smart Frank is and how he is the driving force behind this Bailout the American people loathe.

I won't hang this entire economic failure on Frank but if he wants to take credit for this disastrous bailout the taxpayers are being saddled then by all means let him. Pin this bailout on this donkeys back with a railroad spike. It is high time the State of Mass got it's collective head out of it fourth point of contact and flushed this turd. The voters should be contstantly reminded of Franks role as the architect of both the failure and bailout.

A sign your RN isn't taking anymore shit tonight

Hank Williams jr for US Senate?

Real Clear Politics is now picking up the story reported last week by CMT that Hank jr is considering seriously a run in 2012. Hank campaigned with McCain/Palin this year. Being fairly close to TN I would think he has a good shot.

Couldn't do worse than some of the assclowns we have now and would certainly be better than Al Franken.

Melamine Found in U.S.-Made Infant Formula but which one?

Traces of Melamine Found in U.S.-Made Infant Formula

WASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration said that it found one positive sample of U.S.-made infant formula containing melamine "at very low trace levels."

Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said the agency also found melamine in a few samples of products such as nutritional supplements and medical supplements, all made by the five U.S. manufacturers of infant formula. Dr. Sundlof said the melamine detected was at "extremely low levels" and likely was the result of contact with melamine during the processing or from packaging. Melamine was approved to be a "food contact substance" in the late 1960s or early 1970s.

The melamine found in U.S.-made products "is no cause for concern" from a health standpoint, Dr. Sundlof said. The FDA said the low level of melamine was detected with the use of new technology that can detect minute traces of the chemical.

Why in the hell is the FDA not naming the brand?

Things You Can Say on Thanksgiving and Get Away With It

Things You Can Say on Thanksgiving and Get Away With It

1. Talk about a huge breast!

2. Tying the legs together keeps the inside moist.

3. It's Cool Whip time!

4. If I don't undo my pants, I'll burst!

5. Whew, that's one terrific spread!

6. I'm in the mood for a little dark meat.

7. Are you ready for seconds yet?

8. It's a little dry; do you still want to eat it?

9. Just wait your turn you'll get some!

10. Don't play with your meat.

11. Just spread the legs open and stuff it in.

12. Do you think you'll be able to handle all these people at once?

13. I didn't expect everyone to come at once!

14. You still have a little bit on your chin.

15. How long will it take after you stick it in?

16. You'll know it's ready when it pops up.

17. Wow, I didn't think I could handle all of that!

18. That's the biggest one I've ever seen!

19. How long do I beat it before it's ready?

Why no blogger application for iPhone?

Looks like I can only upload pics from the camera roll not from my files on the iPhone?

Mystery solved of what happened to Kate Dillon

I think I know why I have not been seeing her in the pages of Avenue and Lane Bryant. She appears to be shrinking but is still very awesome no matter what size. Looks like maybe a French fashion magazine?

Is it not normal to be stabbed with a pencil in grade school?

9-year-old student charged in pencil stabbing

A 9-year-old elementary school student has been charged with seriously injuring a classmate by stabbing her in the back with a pencil on Wednesday, lawmen said.

Cumberland County sheriff’s deputies charged the boy after he stabbed the 10-year-old girl at Cliffdale Road Elementary School, a news release said.

Investigators say the boy stabbed the girl with a pencil, causing a puncture wound on the upper portion of her back.

The boy stabbed the girl after an argument over a pencil box, authorities said.

According to the release, the boy found his missing pencil box in the girl’s possession.

The girl did not require emergency medical assistance and returned to school Thursday, the release said.

Detectives could charge the boy with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury pending the outcome of the investigation, the release said.

He is in the custody of his parents at this time. School officials will handle disciplinary action against him.

h/t Drudge

Ah memories (or is it PTSD) of Catholic grade school come back. I still bear the blue/black marks on both legs from being stabbed in the 5th grade. Young Steven took the worst of it when I caught him in the bathroom later and gave him a swirly. A different time I suppose and it wasn't a boy stabbing a girl. I suppose we should ban pencils from schools now for the sake of the children.

Saddest part of the end of the 2008 campaign

No more Meghan McCain updates? From an LA Times interview she said:

Her stint on the campaign trail is merely a detour, she insists, on the way back to Manhattan, where she hopes to design "a high-end couture line that goes up to plus sizes."

Perhaps she could model as well? Kate Dillon has been noticeably absent from Avenue and Lane Bryant ads lately. Would love to more of Meghan in the future especially if she could wear something other than black. Seems like in just about every campaign pic she was wearing a black outfit. Although she makes this plain black shirt look pretty good.

Whats next Mount Rushmore?

New York Elementary School Renamed After Barack Obama

Begun the renaming wars have. Were they just anxious to be the first to do it or what? Technically he is not President yet maybe you should have waited until Jan 21st 2009?

Looks like the National League of Families could use some help

via the Castle Argghhh!!!

My adopted POW/MIA is SFC Gunther H. Wald

I love protests

Two good examples of local govt waste and stupidity.

When the KY State road dept attempts to "repair" a pothole they bring in a dump truck of asphalt. Sometimes they just stop and shovel some into the hole before whacking it a few times with a shovel. When its a large spot they dump it out on the road and smear it around with a grader. When they get done its really hard to tell if it was an improvement or not. Both of these examples can be spotted on any interstate in Kentucky.

In my own city I watched the progress as the city crews worked for 3 months to replace a sidewalk 2 blocks long. There were so many workers out there you could not even count them especially the supervisors sitting in trucks. I don't know how many times this summer I was stopped in traffic forced to witness this cluster fuck. I remember sitting there on my phone stopped when a white F-150 rolled up and workers jumped out grabbed up orange cones and jumped back in like they were being chased by a herd of wolverines. Naturally it was 3:20 and they had to get back clock out. I would love to find out what the city paid in man hours for that project.

Christ he really is reading a book on FDR

Obama's plan to spend almost a Trillion dollars to employ 2.5 million for rebuilding roads and bridges, modernizing schools, building wind farms, solar panels and fuel-efficient cars. Today the blogosphere was set ablaze by this news. I'm sure the left is giddy with excitement while the right is screaming socialism and the libertarians are aghast. 2.5 million more useless over paid govt twats I will have to support. But hey if the Big 3 all go under they could surely transition from the UAW to Uncle Sams teat.

I really have just one thought on how this effects me. Building roads and bridges do we really want to go back to the govt actually building the damn things? The state and feds contract out things like road building, repaving and bridge work to professionals because these companies do a good job and its much cheaper. Seriously do we really want out of work former job bank UAW members attempting to build a bridge?

Here is the kind of quality work I see coming from this program.

Scientology in the news

Guard fatally shoots man armed with swords at Scientology building

I would normally think a headline like that would be strange but since it happened in LA and involved Scientology not so much.

Speaking of which I did catch this headline a few days ago as well:

Germany drops attempt to ban Scientology

Germany has said it considers Scientology to be in conflict with the principles of the nation's constitution, calling it less a church than a business that uses coercion to take advantage of vulnerable people.

Erhart Koerting, Berlin's top security official, told reporters. "The appraisal of the government at the moment is that (Scientology) is a lousy organization, but it is not an organization that we have to take a hammer to."

Snicker. Obviously they prey on the weak and stupid. Explains why the celebrities seem to flock to it.

When I was a kid I went to church with my grandparents. It was a rural General Baptist church and on a good Sunday it had 2 dozen people. I remember when it finally was air conditioned, when the wooden pews got cushions and when they installed carpet I think.

Many churches today do operate as a business at best or are businesses operating as churches at worst. Speaking of which...

Disgraced pastor returns, as Christian businessman

Earlier this month, a guest took the pulpit at Open Bible Fellowship in Morrison, Ill., a 350-member church surrounded by cornfields. The speaker was an insurance salesman from Colorado named Ted Haggard.

The former superstar pastor, disgraced two years ago in a sex-and-drugs scandal, had returned — this time as a Christian businessman preaching a message that was equal parts contrition and defiance. Haggard linked his fall to being molested in second grade and apologized again.

I'm sure a reality TV show will be forthcoming.

iPhone 2.2

Thanks for nothing. No copy and paste and Safari crashes just as often as it always did. Until you can fix such basic things why keep wasting my time with more bells and whistles?

Random A-10 pics

I won't show anyone I swear.....

Nude pics in phone lost at McDonald's get online

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Here's some food for thought: If you have nude photos of your wife on your cell phone, hang onto it.

Phillip Sherman of Arkansas learned that lesson after he left his phone behind at a McDonald's restaurant and the photos ended up online. Now he and his wife, Tina, are suing the McDonald's Corp., the franchise owner and the store manager.

The suit was filed Friday and seeks a jury trial and $3 million in damages for suffering, embarrassment and the cost of having to move to a new home.
Click here to find out more!

The suit says that Phillip Sherman left the phone the Fayetteville store in July and that employees promised to secure it until he returned.

Manager Aaron Brummley declined to comment, and other company officials didn't return messages.

$3 million because you are an idiot? I'm just curious to know how he found his wife's pictures on the internet.

Please don't let it be these people.

Not even safe with airsoft

Ranger Infantry Companies of the Korean War message board link

Message board of the
Korean War Ranger Veterans


The official site of the
Association of Ranger Infantry Companies(Airborne) of the Korean War (RICA)

M-14 not dead yet

New Lease on Life for the Beloved M-14

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have demonstrated how critically important snipers are to a fight marked by urban canyons and high-mountain caves. Problem is, those highly-trained sharpshooters are in short supply, and the need for accurate, long-range fire has outpaced the services' ability to field one-shot killers.

So both the Army and Marine Corps began a program to seed infantry squads with so-called "designated marksmen" -- call them "snipers-lite."

The growing need to equip these new marksmen with accurized rifles prompted the Army to reconsider the role of the venerable M-14 rifle for the war on terror. Back in Desert Storm, armorers from the 10th Special Forces group took M-14s equipped with a match barrels and fitted a gas piston on them for optimal performance, re-designating it the M-25. They replaced the stock with a McMillan M1A fiberglass one, developed a scope mount and added a Bausch & Lomb 10x40mm fixed-power optic or a Leupold Mark 4.

The revamped M-14 provides the Army squad designated marksman with on-command direct fire support for his squad, a fire team or his platoon. The heavier-caliber sharpshooters provide cover when machine guns displace, counter-sniper fire in urban areas, and they help in overtaking valuable real estate.

Infrared targeting lasers such as the AN/PEQ-2 and PAQ-4C make the DM's job more like 24-hour shift work. Now that suppressors for the M-14-series of rifles are available, the night-vision capabilities coupled with sound mitigation makes the Soldier's ability to own the night even more secure.

Very nice. MOH winner SFC Randall Shughart of Delta used a custom M-14 in Somalia.

Scary Typealyzer shows blog gender and personality

Gateway Pundit: You Know It's Bad When You're Only As Manly as a Sewing Blog

So I went to the link posted on Gateway Pundit and entered my blog url. Results were:

We have strong indicators that http://sithwest.blogspot.com/ is written by a man (90%).

So far so good. Then I went to the Typealyzer and did the same.

The independent and problem-solving type. They are especially attuned to the demands of the moment are masters of responding to challenges that arise spontaneously. They generally prefer to think things out for themselves and often avoid inter-personal conflicts.

The Mechanics enjoy working together with other independent and highly skilled people and often like seek fun and action both in their work and personal life. They enjoy adventure and risk such as in driving race cars or working as policemen and firefighters.

Well I was an EMT and did at one point have a race car. That is a little scary.

Victory in Iraq Day

Victory in Iraq Day


Congrats to the troops and thanks for a job well done.

Whatever happens to Iraq now you did your part.

Convicted child killer executed in Kentucky after huge meal

Convicted child killer executed in Kentucky

He requested a last meal of a 32-ounce sirloin steak, 20 butterfly shrimp, salad, iced tea and a banana cream pie.

The meal alone should have killed him.

Epic thread from message board makes the Dutch news?

link to Dutch news website

Just a warning I almost choked to death laughing when I scrolled down through the comments.

Pelosi Says She Rejects Bankruptcy for Automakers

Pelosi Says She Rejects Bankruptcy for Automakers

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected bankruptcy as a solution for domestic automakers, saying it would be “digging a hole far too deep.”

Bankruptcy by the automakers would have “a devastating impact on the workers, on the economy, on the manufacturing base and on the confidence of the country,” Pelosi said at a briefing in Washington.

Because GM filing would be devastating to the UAW and in turn cripple their ability to pour money into the DNC. The UAW must be protected at all costs. The UAW has sucked the life out of the Big 3 and now will suckle on the Govt teat until we are bled dry as well.

Would-be appointees quizzed on guns WTF over?

Would-be appointees quizzed on guns

“Do you or any members of your immediate family own a gun? If so, provide complete ownership and registration information. Has the registration ever lapsed? Please also describe how and by whom it is used and whether it has been the cause of any personal injuries or property damage.”

Yes hundreds
No
Not required
No

I suppose I won't be getting a job working for the One. Oh well its his loss.

Right wing blogs need to cease fire on Obama

Thats right you heard me correctly. I think at this point we need to cease fire on Obama until he at least takes office. The best course of action is to cease fire, new targets left side, range point blank and fire for effect.

The right needs to get it's message out the and shine the light on the cockroaches in office. 2012 is far away but we have races in 2010 to prepare for. Polls have shown the American people have no idea who Pelosi is. The Democrats have been the lawmakers for 2 years but Bush has been blamed for everything. America needs to be told about the Countrywide mortgages to Dodd and reminded of the complicity of the Democratic involvement in the financial meltdown.

Continueing to bash Obama will only alienate the 52% that voted for him. Let him at least take office and fuck up first. So far it looks like he is more interested in getting reelected than paying back favors to the left that helped get him there. I don't think he is an idiot and knows he cannot govern from the left and win a second term. The Democratic majority is so far removed from reality I have no doubt they will over reach so at this point they are the most dangerous.

Speaking of cease fires the Republican circular firing squad must cease. I think there is plenty of blame to go around. A weak presidential candidate much older than his opponent aided by an inept staff. The GOP is obviously out of touch with technology and was smoked by a community organizer. The GOP must adapt or go the way of the Whig party. McCain could have shot anew YouTube commercial every day for very little cost and effort. The religious right must no longer be the mouth piece of the GOP. Preaching to the choir gets us no where and only alienates the magic undecided 20%. We must get back to our small govt roots and soon.

Supporting the bailout was a huge mistake for many in the GOP and now they must redeem themselves by fighting the UAW bailout (let's call a spade a spade shall we) and putting an end to earmarks.

A-10 working in Afghanistan

New and improved A-10 Warthog coming soon with lasers

A-10s Get The Laser Of Death

A-10s Get The Laser Of Death

November 20, 2008: The U.S. A-10C has successfully dropped its first JDAM (Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition). The main difference between JDAM and LJDAM is the sensor unit. The GPS sensor on JDAM is replaced with a laser seeker sensor, turning the JDAM into the LJDAM. The aircraft dropping the bomb uses its laser designator to track the moving target, and the LFDAM bomb hits the moving target. LJDAM can hit a vehicle moving at about 60 kilometers an hour. LJDAM entered service two years ago. It will be useful against enemy convoys of moving vehicles, since the smallest LJDAM uses a 500 pound bomb. A-10Cs will begin using LFDAM next year.

The A-10C began operating in Iraq and Afghanistan last year. This is a version of the A-10 with upgraded electronics. The A-10 can fly low and slow, and is designed, and armored, to survive lots of ground fire. The troops trust the A-10 more than the F-16, or any other aircraft used for supporting the ground troops. The new goodies for the A-10C equip the pilot with the same targeting and fire control gadgets the latest fighters have. The new A-10C cockpit has all the spiffy color displays and easy to use controls. The basic A-10 is a three decade old design, so the new stuff is quite spectacular in comparison. New commo gear is installed as well, allowing A-10 pilots to share pix and vids with troops on the ground. The A-10 can now use smart bombs, making it a do-it-all aircraft for troops support.

While newly equipped A-10s showed up last year, it will take four more years to upgrade all 350 aircraft in service. Beyond that, the air force is upgrading the engines and structures of the 1970s era aircraft. All the upgrades will cost about $13 million per aircraft. The air force has been trying to retire the ugly, and elderly, aircraft for over a decade. But the A-10s are just too damn effective, and popular, when there's actually a war on.

The A-10 could always take out moving vehicles with its 30mm automatic cannon. But this requires getting down and within a few hundred meters of the target. The LJDAM enables the A-10 to stay out of range of ground fire to do the job, and also deliver a bigger bang to the target.

Glad the Air Force never was able to kill this beast.

Deer season 2008 goes to the dogs

Err maybe the coyotes. Coyote jerky anybody? cricket cricket cricket

Today is national ammo day

Now go buy 100 rounds!

Gulf War illness is real, report finds

Gulf War illness is real, report finds

WASHINGTON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - A report released on Monday concluded that Gulf War syndrome is a legitimate illness suffered by more than 175,000 U.S. war veterans who were exposed to chemical toxins in the 1991 Gulf War.

The congressionally mandated report could help veterans who have battled the government for treatment of a wide range of unexplained neurological illnesses, from brain cancer to multiple sclerosis.

The Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses concluded that Gulf War illness is a physical condition distinct from the mental "shell shock" suffered by veterans in other wars. Some earlier studies had concluded it was not a distinct illness.

The panel found two possible causes: a drug given to troops to protect against nerve gas, known as pyridostigmine bromide, and pesticides that were used heavily during the war.

The panel said other possible causes could not be ruled out, including extensive exposure to smoke from oil-well fires and low-level exposure to sarin gas when captured Iraqi stocks were destroyed.

The U.S. government has spent roughly $440 million on Gulf War health research since 1994, but spending has declined in recent years and often is not focused on improving veterans' health, the committee said.

Well that didn't take long so how about funding so we can find out how to help them before they are all living in the Old Soldiers home?

Zombie Time proclaims Victory in Iraq Day November 22, 2008

Victory in Iraq Day November 22, 2008

We won. The Iraq War is over.

I declare November 22, 2008 to be "Victory in Iraq Day." (Hereafter known as "VI Day.")

By every measure, The United States and coalition forces have conclusively defeated all enemies in Iraq, pacified the country, deposed the previous regime, successfully helped to establish a new functioning democratic government, and suppressed any lingering insurgencies. The war has come to an end. And we won.

What more indication do you need? An announcement from the outgoing Bush administration? It's not gonna happen. An announcement from the incoming Obama administration? That's really not gonna happen. A declaration of victory by the media? Please. Don't make me laugh. A concession of surrender by what few remaining insurgents remain in hiding? Forget about it.

Forgot about this article

A Way Out of the Wilderness By Jeff Flake

I suggest that we return to first principles. At the top of that list has to be a recommitment to limited government. After eight years of profligate spending and soaring deficits, voters can be forgiven for not knowing that limited government has long been the first article of faith for Republicans.

Exactly.

Somali pirates hold oil tanker with 2 million barrels onboard worth $100 million

Hijacked oil tanker nears Somalia

Well since its registered in Liberia like most of the cruise ships I suppose Liberia will have no problem getting it back.

Oh wait you would get these guys:



vs these guys:

Way to get the American people behind you UAW

UAW leader says workers will not make more concessions

Oh hell no. Not 1 dime Mitch not 1 dime.

Really nice furniture....

...should come with a weapons drawer. Okay technically its a locking jewelry drawer but look how well my Bushmaster fits in there. Thomasville should advertise their bedroom furniture "Now with locking gun drawers!".

Looks like our drawer chest is discontinued but I bet others have the feature.

T. Boone Pickens hit by credit crunch

T. Boone Pickens may stall wind farm plans

I'm sure energy is going to go on the back burner now and that's a shame. As the economy recovers the price of oil will climb again. The big question is will we be ready this time? Probably not.

iPhone OS 2.2 coming next week ?

Rumor: iPhone OS 2.2 coming next week

The next update to the iPhone might be here in time for Turkey Day.

At least, that's what a Greek site called iPhone Hellas is claiming (via Gizmodo).

Google translations can be tricky things, but the site reports that "The iPhone OS v2.2 will be given in circulation on 21 November '08." That could just mean that developers will be getting an advance copy to test against their applications that day, but it could also mean that Apple plans to release the update as of that date.

The forthcoming update is reportedly going to bring iPhone users the Google Street View feature as well as over-the-air podcast downloads, among other things. An earlier report had pegged the release of that software for October, but that clearly hasn't happened.

Yet still no copy and paste. /sigh

48 to 52

Coal industry is screwed now hope the UMWA is happy

Utah coal plant permit blocked by EPA panel

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Environmental Protection Agency was blocked Thursday from issuing a permit for a proposed coal-burning power plant in Utah without addressing global warming. The ruling by an agency appeals panel means the Obama administration probably will determine the fate of other similar plants.

Environmentalist and lawyers representing industry groups said the ruling stops the permitting of perhaps as many as 100 coal plants.

"In essence this is a punt to the Obama administration. ... All permits in the pipeline are now stymied," said Jason Hutt, a lawyer who represents a number of utilities, merchant energy developers and refineries seeking permits. He said it also would affect permits for oil refinery expansion.

Bad news is good news for ethanol

Henderson ethanol plant scrapped

A long-discussed corn-to-ethanol project in Henderson is dead, but another alternative energy project -- perhaps converting garbage into gasoline -- could take its place

Subsidizing the ethanol business is a huge waste of taxpayer dollars. Converting garbage to gas? That should smell great right down from the big chicken plant.

Seeing as how the site sits right by the river and conveniently located next a brand new coal mine how about coal to fuel plant for the Air Force?

Double standard on bailouts?

Regulators nix credit card debt forgiveness plan

So the message here is if you do a poor job of living within your means you should file bankruptcy but if you are an automaker or a state you get a taxpayer funded bailout.

I am against bailouts of any sort. The solution is simple credit card owners should pay it off, GM should file bankruptcy to restructure, and the states need to cut their budgets to be inline with their tax incomes or raise taxes.

Best idea for a bailout yet

Bush Offers Compassionate Version of Auto Bailout Bill

h/t Instapundit

More hope and change from Drudge

Democrats prepare to move forward with investigations of the Bush administration... Developing...

Yep sounds like a new direction from the Demorats.

Blast from the past

I remember watching this back in 78 on WTBS.

Democrats want to buy into Big 3?

Democrats urge federal stake in big auto companies

WASHINGTON – Congressional Democrats are pushing legislation to send $25 billion in emergency loans to the beleaguered auto industry in exchange for a government ownership stake in the Big Three car companies.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., hope for quick passage of the auto bailout during a postelection session that begins Monday.

Legislation being drafted by Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, would dip into the $700 billion Wall Street rescue money, approved by Congress last month, for the auto aid.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the minority leader, was noncommittal about additional aid. In a statement, his spokesman said Congress should move to speed the release of a $25 billion loan program passed earlier to help the carmakers develop fuel-efficient vehicles.

Mitch you better be more than cool to the idea you need to be screaming small government from the rooftops. The financial bailout was a terrible idea and will only sink the GOP further. If the Govt can loan the Big 3 the original $25 billion that is fine and you need to get the money to them ASAP. Beyond that GM needs to file for bankruptcy its the only think that will allow them to restructure appropriately to survive long term.

Barney Frank has no business making financial decisions about anything the man couldn't run a 7-11. Has it been that long that people forget Barney is balls deep in the housing market crash?

Happy Veterans Day and Thank You

One veteran's perspective
By Col JACK MORONEY

Article published Nov 11, 2007
One veteran's perspective
By JACK MORONEY
Veteran's Day means a lot to some, a little to others, nothing to many, and is often confused with Memorial Day by most.

While it is a day to honor those men and women who served in this nation's military, it is how the veteran perceives this day that might surprise those who, for one reason or another, never wore their country's uniform.

There are two distinct groups of veterans: those who served a tour in the military and then left to pursue civilian life, and those who chose the military as a profession and remained until retirement.

While service to one's country can often be a life-altering event for either group, I have found that it is the military retiree whose metamorphosis is most complete.

Those who serve and elect to return to civilian life are still basically who they were before they entered military service. There are exceptions of course, but those who return to civilian pursuits are once again the teacher, the mechanic, the professional business person and easily integrated back into society as a member of a civilian community.

The person that retires from active duty has no such identity, very rarely has ties to any civilian community and has learned a hard lesson that you make but very few close friends in the military. He is best defined not by who he was as a civilian but what he did in the military. It is the common thread that binds us all into that band of brothers that have stood for and with each other through indescribable experiences that defy understanding by those who were not witness to those events.

The more elite and demanding the units in which the retiree served, the greater the loss of his connection to civilian identity because there is just no parallel personal or professional civilian category into which he easily fits.

Things change over time, but over decades nothing is recognizable to most returning veterans. Many retirees' chosen path is not akin to a job but rather an all-consuming profession requiring total commitment to each other, their unit and the mission incurring significant, and sometimes unimaginable, physiological, psychological and personal costs.

Despite the portrayals in movies, there are no motivational sound tracks in the background and no glorious visions of striving for the greater good of God and country, just plain gut-wrenching emotions, pain, effort and selflessness to help each other get through to the next event.

I find it amusing that many folks who wish to honor veteran's or "support the troops" do so in blissful ignorance thinking that those of us that chose to serve stood on freedom's frontier at the behest of some ignominious military leader when the truth is that the military is the last card played by the politicians when all other elements of national power have failed. Civilians do not seem to understand that they have been stakeholders all along in the events experienced by veterans because of the very politicians that they have voted in or out of office. I have always thought that the best way to honor a veteran would be to have the entire Congress mustered on the veranda of Lee's Mansion within Arlington National Cemetery. Standing there they can see Washington, D.C., but in the process they have to over look the headstones of thousands of veterans lying in mute testimony to the folly of bad political decisions, political bickering and personal agendas.

It is not the veteran who needs Veteran's Day. For many of us the pride, the shadows, the pain and the tattered memories are with us every day. Veteran's Day is really for everyone other than the veteran so they never forget that we are still walking among them trying to be part of their lives although we have all willingly spent a good portion of ours by taking up the torch for those who could not or would not serve.

Jack Moroney is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces colonel who served in Vietnam. He was an Army service member from 1965 through 1993.

Col Moroney was laid to rest in Arlington National with full military honors on Election day 2008. A true warrior poet who will be greatly missed.

RIP Col thanks to you and all Veterans on this day.

CPT Rob Yllescas Receives Purple Heart from President Bush

I feel so bad that we wasn't awake for it. President Bush was the person who awarded it to him. When he walked into the room, he gave me a huge hug. He had tears in his eyes and told me he was so sorry. He just kept hugging me. He told me that Rob WILL wake up and when he does, he will meet Rob in person again. I got his business card from his personal assistant so that I can call him when Rob is ready to meet him.

Glad to hear that President Bush will meet with him again when he is awake.

I'm hoping for change as well

Would the hope and change crowd help vote out some of the Congress and Senate that has been in office for more than 2 terms?

Just asking.

Oh wait the racist and rednecks of Penn voted to send John dementia Murtha back for more pork.

Obama wants to extend unemployment but States are running out of money

States drain unemployment trust funds

State unemployment insurance trust funds are rapidly running out of money amid soaring job losses.

This is prompting state officials to consider raising employer taxes or curtailing benefits, while forcing them to borrow from the federal government to cover claims.

"Some states didn't have adequate reserves built up," said Andrew Stettner, deputy director of the National Employment Law Project. "They are having significant problems paying out the increased number of benefits."

So Obama and the Democrats would pass a stimulus package that extends unemployment but will they provide funds to the states?

If the states raise the taxes on businesses will they absorb the cost or lay off a few more to save money?

NY family opposes end to care for brain-dead boy they haven't visited since July

A Washington hospital has asked a judge for permission stop treating a brain-dead 12-year-old cancer patient, even though his ultra-religious New York parents want to keep him on life support.

Motl Brody of Brooklyn was pronounced dead this week after a half-year fight against a brain tumor, and doctors at Children's National Medical Center in Washington say the seventh-grader's brain has ceased functioning entirely.

But for the past few days, a machine has continued to inflate and deflate his lungs. As of late Friday afternoon, his heart was still beating with the help of a cocktail of intravenous drugs and adrenaline.

That heartbeat has prompted Motl's parents, who are Orthodox Jews, to refuse the hospital's request to remove all artificial life support.

Under some interpretations of Jewish religious law, including the one accepted by the family's Hasidic sect, death occurs only when the heart and lungs stop functioning.

.........

His eyes are fixed and dilated. His body neither moves nor responds to stimulation. His brain stem shows no electrical function, and his brain tissue has begun to decompose.

..........

"We respect the family's beliefs, and have tried since the patient's arrival in June to work closely with them in a spirit of mutual respect," the hospital said in a written statement.

It added, however, that attempts to discuss end-of-life issues with the family had been complicated.

Motl's mother and father, Eluzer and Miriam Brody, haven't been to the hospital since July. The medical center says its requests to speak directly with them have been rebuffed, and in recent days, hospital employees "have been inundated with harassing and threatening calls" regarding the case.


People like that just make me sick.

North Dakota health officials lead bullet junk science

Lead bullets under fire

LANDER -- People in Wyoming and North Dakota received mixed messages this week about eating animals killed with lead bullets.

North Dakota health officials recommended on Thursday that pregnant women and young children avoid eating meat from wild game that was shot with lead ammunition.

But an official with the Wyoming Department of Health said the Cowboy State will not be issuing the same warning to its residents, because state epidemiologists believe the effects are "very unlikely to be clinically significant."

The lead levels of children under 6 in the study were an average of just 0.88, the Foundation added, which is less than half the national average: "Children over 6 had even lower lead levels. The CDC's level of concern for lead in children is 10."

Officials in North Dakota and other states have warned about eating venison killed with lead ammunition since the spring, when a physician conducting tests using a CT scanner found lead in samples of donated deer meat.

The findings led North Dakota's health department to order food pantries to throw out donated venison. Some groups that organize venison donations have called such actions premature and unsupported by science.

So people who don't have enough food cannot eat the deer even though their lead levels would still be below the national average?

You don't hunt deer with pellets so I fail to see the problem here. A high powered rifle in and out through the chest cavity, heart and lungs. Unless you are going to try to eat deer ribs or make meatloaf with the heart please explain how the hams, backstrap, tenderloin and shoulders would be touched?

I can see how supported by this sort of nonsense from the CDC the gun grabbers will try to go after the ammunition next. Watch for it because its coming.

Obama victory opens door to new black identity

Obama victory opens door to new black identity

Shortly after leaving the voting booth, 70-year-old community activist Donald E. Robinson had a thought: "Why do I have to be listed as African-American? Why can't I just be American?"

Yeah why cant you? I don't list myself as Scottish American or even American Indian even though legally I am 1/16th Cherokee Indian. Is that societies labeling or a group insisting on labeling itself?

Certainly racism did not disappear after Obama's white votes were counted. No one is claiming that black culture and pride and community are no longer valuable. Many also dismiss the idea of a "post-racial" America as long as blacks and other minorities are still disproportionately afflicted by disparities in income, education, health, incarceration and single parenthood.

White trash has all those same problem in a disproportionate number as well. Maybe that is because many of them are self inflicted problems?

"My grandmother told me when I was 5, 'Boy, if they ask you what you are, just tell them that you're an American," said Benjamin Jealous, the 35-year-old president of the NAACP. "The reality is that our heritage, our culture, our families, our community have been extremely important to us. It's always been our right, and in many ways what we fought for, to be seen simply as Americans."

Sounds like your grandmother was very wise.

Fitting image for the day

Begun the war against our Bill of Rights has

Beginning with the first amendment:

Schumer on Fox: Fairness Doctrine ‘fair and balanced’

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday defended the so-called Fairness Doctrine in an interview on Fox News, saying, “I think we should all be fair and balanced, don’t you?”

In 2007, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a close ally of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) told The Hill, “It’s time to reinstitute the Fairness Doctrine. I have this old-fashioned attitude that when Americans hear both sides of the story, they’re in a better position to make a decision.”

The Brady nutbunch didn't even wait for Obama to claim victory before declaring:

Obama Victory Means ‘Stronger Support for Sensible Gun Laws’

The strong Election Day showing for Democrats signals stronger support for “sensible gun laws” in this country and a “significant setback” for the National Rifle Association, a gun control group said Tuesday night.

The Brady Campaign issued a statement even before Sen. Barack Obama was declared the winner, saying the political environment is better than it’s been in years for “progress on gun violence prevention.

"America should take notice that reasonable policies on guns are carrying the day," said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign, which endorsed the Obama-Biden ticket.

The Brady Campaign says Obama “consistently supported common sense gun laws in the U.S. Senate and in the Illinois State Senate. Senator Biden not only has supported, but also has been a leader for strong gun laws throughout his career in the U.S. Senate.”

Congratulations to Barack Obama

Even if you didn't vote for him it should give you pride that anything is possible in the United States of America.

Even though I disagree with him on almost every issue I hope that those that he inspired to become involved in the political process remain engaged.

Jimmy Obama

Ok this picture cheered me up from my last post.

Thanks to the Donovan

If the Democrats gain a filibuster-proof Senate, it will be the first time since the 95th Congress in 1977, when Democrats held 61 seats in the Senate, 292 seats in the House, and had President Jimmy Carter (D) in the White House. And we all know how well that worked out.

CPT Rob Yllescas via Mudville Gazette

Wife of CPT Rob Yllescas has recieved notification. and is now at Landstuhl

I have added the family blog to my blog links. There is a link there where you can donate directly to the family via paypal. Looks like the family is staying at Fisher House which is also listed in my side bar and is an outstanding charity.

I have to say reading where she had to explain to her 7 year how daddy was wounded and has lost his legs had me in tears. I'm going to go break something now.

McConnell breaks down in Madisonville

Lunsford gets boost from Clinton
McConnell: Voters value his seniority

McConnell campaigned Sunday in Madisonville, in the heart of Western Kentucky, which, despite an overwhelming majority of registered Democrats, has increasingly tilted toward Republican candidates for Congress, U.S. Senate and president over the last 20 years.

McConnell and his wife, U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, rode in a convertible in a veterans parade, waving to the crowd and posing for pictures. The vehicle broke down about halfway through the route, so the Washington power couple walked the rest of the way, shaking hands and talking to people.

That explains the abundance of horse shit on Main street.

Seriously though I have had to endure this nasty race for so long now looking at either one of them makes me want to puke. I have heard all the mud that Lunsford has to throw and I am unimpressed by far. Trying to stick NAFTA on McConnell and then wheeling out Hillary to campaign for him? Is Lunsford that ignorant of history?

By the way shouldn't Hillary be campaigning for that other guy running for something?