Sometimes I think Court and I share a brain or something. Whenever I despair that there are no other fiscally conservative, socially liberal, gay-loving, gun-loving cynics out there, I just go read Miniluv. This time he has his answer to the question “How could you examine the totality of [Bush’s] record and conclude he deserves to be reelected?”
To me, Bush is less of a threat to my ideals than almost any Democrat President would be.
That about sums it up. I mean sure, if Bush would stop playing the moralist, stop ballooning the budget and deficit, and suddenly become a more compelling speaker, I’d be all the happier. But for the things that really matter most to me - integrity and national security - the Republicans have a lock. He’s not the best of all CONCEIVABLE choices, but he is the best of all AVAILABLE ones.
It’s impossible to post part of a joke and it still be funny, so I urge you to read the whole thing.
Oh, boy. Classic: don’t say anything you don’t want to have come back and haunt you 25 years later. This Oui interview isn’t exactly going to win Schwarzenegger the NOW endorsement:
Arnold Schwarzenegger once told a magazine interviewer about participating in an orgy with other bodybuilders, noting that “everybody jumped on” the woman involved and “took her upstairs where we all got together.” The California Republican added that not every muscleman participated in the gang bang, “just the guys who can f-ck in front of other guys. Not everybody can do that. Some think that they don’t have a big-enough cock, so they can’t get a hard-on.”
Recent events in my personal life make this quote particularly funny:
“Tip the world over on its side and everything loose will land in Los Angeles.” - Frank Lloyd Wright
God, I love Mike and Court of miniluv. Court’s the one who encouraged me to move over to MT, incidentally. Today Mike has an excellent post about Howard Dean’s disconnect from reality:
Let me tell you something about American values, Mr. Dean. Real Americans believe in freedom above and beyond all else. We know that freedom has to be fought over and won. Real Americans know that freedom doesn t come easy, but Real Americans are willing to pay the price.
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And one more thing, Real Americans don t want your socialist agenda; you can keep it.
Also of interest is the trollDean supporter in the comments of that post:
Dean threatens to cripple the nation by recinding handouts to the wealthiest 2%, use some of that money to provide health care for the uninsured, and balance the budget.
When did a balanced budget become socialism?
Uhhhh, lowering taxes is not a “handout", thank you very much. And redistribution of wealth DEFINES socialism, but thanks for proving Mike’s point.
I'm not in the mood to make coherent paragraphs (well, as coherent as usual, anyway), so I'm going to do bullet points instead.
I think that's about it. Thank you for playing.
…LT.
This is a reposting of a couple of comments made about another of my entries (link removed), and I thought it was worth an entry of its own:
Alyssa writes:
“Our country has always been one nation under God, and God has blssed our country for it. Now our country’s government is steadily turning their back on him. What happened to One Nation Under God…It needs to come back to our country once again.”
I respond:
“If you’re referring to the Pledge of Allegiance ("one nation under God"), that was added in 1954 by an overzealous Congress, as a result of pressure from the Knights of Columbus. The framers of the Constitution intentionally avoided allowing the government to establish any religion, and we are the better for it. If you want to be Christian, and you want to believe in the Ten Commandments, and you want to hold a prayer vigil on public property, I have no problem with that, as long as everyone else has the same privilege to pray to whomever, and no one is obliged to pray to anyone against their will. But to use taxpayer money to install a religious monument in a publicly-held courthouse which is supported by tax dollars, well that’s a violation of the non-establishment clause of the First Amendment, pure and simple. The fact that so many of Moore’s supporters have vowed to kneel around this monument and pray to it proves the point.”
One of the guys I write to (this one an Army PFC who was serving in Afghanistan) has come home. His mother wrote to me about his homecoming, and I thought I’d share it here:
It was 6:30 in the morning of Monday, August 18th when they arrived at XXX Air Force Base……well, they got there around 6 but they filed in at 6:30. Talk about difficult, there they are, only feet away from you and you can’t get to them YET. They were at attention, then salute and national anthem…….then someone SPOKE, welcoming them home, congratulating them, yada yada, like hurry up!! Finally they dismissed them, I was crying as was the rest of our family. WHAT A REUNION!!! We did a large group hug, I had lipstick on his cheek, tears of happiness everywhere. There were over 200 service people returning…..only one was very important to us.
I cooked lasagna and large salad, and watermelon for dinner, had both my sisters and their families join us for dinner that night, there was 14 of us. XXX is trying to adjust to everyday life…… without having a large weapon at his side 24/7. He said that he had like a panic attack in Walmart with all the people and had to get out of there. One soldier commented on all the little “clean and healthy children” that was there to greet the soldiers.
We are waiting to hear about his leave…….could possibly start this weekend. But thank you all for prayers and support during his overseas duty. We think that it is a very likely chance that he will be redeployed to Iraq after 90 days.
Welcome home, Private. Enjoy your leave, and thank you again for your service.
So apparently, Allenwood Federal Prison has a problem with smuggling. Oh, sure, there’s the usual - salami, Romano cheese, steroids - but there have also been at least five cases of sperm smuggling. Inmates jack off into a “cryogenic sperm kit", then smuggle the sperm out to a fertility clinic, where their wives are impregnated. Once they get caught, they face additional prison time. That last part is the bit I don’t understand. Why is this a problem? If some broad wants to get knocked up by a guy in prison, what’s the big deal? Maybe there’s a piece to this puzzle I’m not seeing, but I just don’t get why this is such an outrage. Can anyone shed more light on it?
“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” - Douglas Adams
That one actually made me giggle.
My honey is blogging again! Go check him out; he comes up with stuff completely different from what you’ll find here (he stays away from politics for the most part, for example), but it’s interesting stuff. Plus, he’s been doing this (blogging) since May 14, 1999. Yep, it’s been around *that* long.
I’ve been avoiding the whole recall mess, because it’s all just so silly. Others have said it - carnival, circus, freak show - it’s just a big fat waste of time, money, and media coverage. That said, Scott Ott has uncovered an as-yet-unreported item: Arnold will be participating in debates! He will be debating his own campaign team, since they are “all over the map politically and ideologically.”
We want to use this TV debate to develop some major ideas that I can stand for. Because whatever those ideas are, I’m going to lead people to accept them. Because I am a leader with leadership qualities, and a destiny to lead and of course a leaders’ vision.
Heh.
I haven’t linked to Scrappleface in awhile. I assure you, this isn’t from a lack of good material and hilarious tidbits, but from a desire to avoid redundancy. The man continues to be a genius.
Nathan of Brain Fertilizer has a well-reasoned (bit long, so bear with him) post about the differing ways in which liberals and conservatives view social responsibility. It’s really a great post, and well worth the read.
It looks like Harvey at Bad Money is getting into the satire-writing arena. I’m glad to see it! Go read his latest gem:
Harv: Yes?
They: We are They. We have come for you.
Harv: Right. [patronizing eye-roll] Could you be a little more vague?
They: BATF
Harv: Bureaucratic Assholes Taking Firearms?
They: Close enough.
Via Late Final, David Letterman’s Top Ten Signs You’re In Love With Presidential Candidate Howard Dean.
2. When he announced his candidacy, you didn’t laugh your ass off
1. You’re actually considering wasting a vote on him
And speaking of Flippery Fish, I finished the decorating project on my son’s room. It’s supposed to be an oceanic theme, with characters from the movie Finding Nemo. Pictures for the curious available on my other site.
The Ecosystem is back! Woo! I’m no longer an Insignificant Microbe, but a Flippery Fish. Ain’t evolution grand?
Quick, go vote! Alice will be posting another round tomorrow and a third round Tuesday. FWIW, in this round I voted for LT Smash.
“I prefer the company of peasants because they have not been educated sufficiently to reason incorrectly.” - Michel de Montaigne
Erasmus has an excellent analysis of why the Chief Justice of Alabama’s Supreme Court is out of line in having installed a monument to the Ten Commandments in the rotunda of the state courthouse. I can’t add a word to what he’s said, except to state that I agree with him.
People should be free to follow their faith, but no one should imply that our government or judicial system owes direct allegiance to a supreme being in any way that bypasses the sovereignty of the people. The reason is simple. If we do it any other way, someone will have to represent the mind of god to the rest of us.
That steps over the line!
This entry will be graphic-intensive. You have been warned.
Well, let's see... Amanda has gone. Cleanup on the RV begins.
I didn't work on Adam's room on my birthday. My hands were too sore. Instead, I put together a dresser I bought a couple of weeks ago to use for my and Mike's clothes. We had a dresser that used to live in the room that is now Adam's, but it was too big for our current living conditions, so I gave it to a friend. We have just a very basic, cheap, functional one now, more or less identical to the kids' dressers. It was missing a drawer slide, but reordering a replacement was relatively painless, so hopefully it will arrive soon and get installed in short order. I still have clothes all over the house in paper bags from when the old dresser was hauled away, so I need to sort through those and see what needs to be put away and what needs to be given away.
Tuesday, we went into town to visit Mike's parents in Spokane. They do an annual summer trip around various parts of the country, and usually try to be in our area about "birthday season." We stayed overnight at a cabin in the RV park where they were parked. It was a nice cabin, but it's always somewhat stressful being away from home with little kids. Poor sleeping habits didn't help much. Nevertheless, it was good to see them, and the kids had fun splashing in the pool and playing in the RV's playground. Damn the heat!
Adam's birthday was Thursday, and the in-laws came down to Pullman for his party, at the same park where Kayla's party was held. Cake, ice cream, pizza, and fruit were the fare, along with punch and other goodies. Two moms showed up, each with two kids. Their older kids were both in Adam's class at preschool, and their younger kids were both in Kayla's class, so it was really a nice arrangement. Nothing significant to report about that, but here are some pictures.
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| Adam, playing in the park's sprinkler. | Mom and Kayla (note to self.. ponytail really isn't a good look for me) | The birthday boy, riding a purple dinosaur | Big grin |
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| Fun on the tire swing | Pizza Face! Classmate Sophia is in the background. | Kayla (right) and her best friend, Courtney, feeding one another bits of food on my lap. Mommies are in the background, along with various babies. | Adam & Cooper, playing on the slide. |
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| As Mike put it, this is what it would be like if I had triplets... TWICE! | The cake (store-bought) | Blowing out the candles. | Mmmm, good eatin'! |
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| Da babies. | Grandma, reading to the birthday boy. |
As a spacer between THAT group of pictures and the NEXT group, I'll fill you in on some of what Kayla's been doing lately. Her words include "Mama", "Mama milk", "uh-oh", "Tigger", "doggy" (though it sounds NOTHING like "doggy"), and "num-num." She's walking pretty well now, taking a dozen or more steps at a time. She does better if she has stuff in her hands, or if she's concentrating. She still drops to the ground for "hot pursuit", though.
Today I FINALLY finished Adam's room. Well, I still need to make curtains for it, and the bedding is on order, but everything else is DONE. We've moved his furniture in there now, and he's already managed to trash it. :) But he LOVES it. A Nemo-themed bedroom was definitely the way to go. So, without further ado...
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Sorry about the spots. Don't know what that's about. And yes, I do intend to clean that window soon.
Unless otherwise noted, I used a projector and a coloring book image to project, trace, and paint the elements below.
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| Squirt, the baby turtle | Crush, the daddy turtle. Also my favorite part of the room | Bubbles | Dory |
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| A crab I free-handed | Jacques, a cleaner shrimp. He's on the rock, below the crab. | Bruce the shark | Gurgle |
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| Treasure chest (and Nemo). The chest is my least favorite part of the room. | Gill | A squid I free-handed | Nemo |
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| Bloat (a puffer fish). My second-favorite part of the room. | Jellyfish, my second least-favorite part of the room. Free-handed. |
The room was fun, albeit tiring, and I'm sure glad it's finished. Next room I decorate/remodel will be ours (Mike's and mine), but that will probably wait til next year.
Via Firefive, who consistently has lots of interesting stuff, this satellite comparison of a regular east coast night and the night of the blackout.
Nobody knew how to sing love songs like Boyz II Men. “When summer burns with heat, I always get the hots for you. Go skinny-dipping in the ocean like we used to do.” I had forgotten all about them until 4 Seasons of Lonely came onto my XM radio.
Via Balloon Juice, there may be a new rash of sniper shootings in West Virginia, which is very reminiscent of the Malvo/Muhammad shootings.
The first shooting was reported around 10:15 p.m. Thursday at a Speedway Gas Station in Campbells Creek. Police say woman was shot in the head while she was pumping gas.
Then around 11:45 p.m., at the Go-Mart in Cedar Grove, another victim was also shot and killed.
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Thursday’s shootings come less than a day after two people were found dead in their car in Charleston, W.Va., and earlier this week a man was shot and killed while talking on a pay hone at the Go-Mart in Charleston, W.Va.
Frank J. had me giggling and laugh-snorting this morning with his analysis of an Aquaman comic. For those who don’t follow IMAO, Aquaman gets much maligned there for not being a credible superhero, so someone got Frank an issue of the comic. Hilarity ensued.
The other big change with Aquaman is they lost the orange shirt. Actually, I guess they wanted to get so far away from that stupid shirt that Aquaman doesn’t wear a shirt at all. So, if you re in trouble in a 7-11, Aquaman can’t help you or he’d be breaking the rules.
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(Power Girl? Was she just about to turn in her superhero application form and then suddenly found out that “Super Girl” was taken and then had like ten seconds to come up with a superhero name?)
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And, while he probably couldn’t take on any of the A-list superheroes, I bet he could he could beat the tar out of Robin.
…well, I guess it considers which Robin. He certainly could beat up the dead one. And, if he got too near a bird’s nest and were attacked by a real robin, that bird wouldn’t stand a chance. Aquaman would kick its ass and be like, “Don’t mess with Aquaman!” What a badass!
By the way, I nominated Frank J. for Alice’s Sexiest Male Blogger contest. Funny = Sexy. I would have nominated my own husband, but he hasn’t blogged in over a month, so…
The power outage that hit the east coast today has, of course, caused all kinds of interrupts, including to blogging. This is a VeryBadThing, but from a selfish point of view, it has let me catch up on some of my blog-reading. I didn’t realize, however, that bloggers were getting around the power outage:
Some resorted to using old-fashioned kerosene-fueled personal computers. Others wrote their thoughts out longhand on paper then ran through the streets reading them aloud to the passing crowds of stranded commuters.
God, I love superheroes. French-Man is the kind of hero we need: spineless, cowardly, and full of hot air!! Hopefully we’ll see more from him in the future.
Lesson Two, folks. In this edition, Frank J. enlightens us on the various calibers of bullets available. My favorite line:
500 S&W Magnum: After caving in the anti-gun nuts, Smith & Wesson had to win back the heart of their consumers. They did this by making a freaking huge handgun caliber. If someone is robbing the house four houses down from you, you can shoot through all the houses and hit him with this.
Incidentally, my gun (link removed) uses a .40 caliber, about which Frank writes: “.40: Smith & Wesson shortened the 10mm and gave it nice American caliber name. This quickly became the choice round of law enforcement, because it’s much more of a man-stopper than that pansy ass 9mm.”
Mine is kept loaded with 13 hollow points. One is chambered.
It has become my observation that generosity is not, as a general rule, usually rewarded. With only a few rare exceptions, most of the people in my life to whom I have been the most generous have, in turn, treated me like shit and taken me for granted. I am REALLY sick of this, and am wondering how to deal with it. Is the only answer to become a stingy bitch? Am I too quick to offer help to people? What do you think? Incidentally, I am asking this in all seriousness.
Bill answered my question about the differences between casual drinkers and serious drinkers. He also asked his readers to tell about their worst drunken experience, and stipulated that it must involve vomit. I haven’t had anything alcoholic to drink since I was 19, and before that never got so drunk I vomitted. Yes, that’s right - I suck.
I’ve been painting my son’s room for months - priming, basecoating, and an oceanic mural. I used Olympic paint for the basecoating, largely because they were offering a $6/gallon rebate. I was all set to write an entry about what scum they were, since I sent the rebate form back in June and still hadn’t heard from them, but the check arrived today. Yay, $18!
Michele writes a very thought-provoking article on not forgetting what happened on September 11, 2003. It’s emotional, and parts are heart-rending. I agree with her that we “failed to take the single most important lesson from that day with us when we climbed out of our blackness. We did come together, but we did not stay together. We went our separate ways and some turned their anger back on us and spit on us as we mourned.” The war in Iraq has become a very divisive issue in America. I’m too young to remember any other conflicts that got this hotly debated. I suppose people must have felt this way after Vietnam, too.
It hasn’t just been on a national level; it’s happened on a person-to-person level. I had some very dear friends with whom I never shared much in the way of political ideology, but we always got along and appreciated each other’s company. Since the decision to invade Iraq and depose Saddam Hussein, those friends and I have parted company. We grew apart not gradually, the way that often happens with friends, but in jerky, hasty steps. They could no longer tolerate my vocal support of the war without their resentment and anger coming through, and I could no longer tolerate the constant criticism of President Bush and the rest of the Administration. That isn’t to say I think criticism is a bad thing; in fact, I think it serves a healthy purpose. But it takes a toll on personal friendships when you hold views that are so at odds with those of your friends, and neither of you is willing to budge.
Does this mean I think we did the wrong thing going to war? Nope. I think we were right, and that history will prove us so. I think we just need to chalk up some shattered friendships to the sacrifice this country made for freedom in Iraq.
I have to wonder, how are these kids being raised, when they think behavior like this is ok?
Four teenagers were charged Saturday with attacking homeless people with a stun gun as they slept and videotaping the assaults.
I can only assume they think homeless people aren’t really human. How else to explain it?
Happy Birthday to me!
I have lost count of the blisters on my hands. :( I spent all of yesterday installing the carpet in Adam's room. Yes, that's right: the painting of the mural is done! This was largely thanks to lots of help from Amanda, who will be leaving today for California. She's moving there permanently. Good luck, girl! Anyway, she painted most of the flora, and I painted most of the fauna. I'm fairly pleased with how it came out, though (perfectionist that I am) I see room for improvement. I finally decided that the project needed to come to a close eventually, though, so we wrapped it up. As I said, most of my time yesterday was spent installing the carpeting. That's done, and let me tell you - that little chore was a b*tch! I can see why people pay professionals to do it. Hell, if I thought any professionals would come way out here, I probably would have paid them! I still need to cut, paint, and install the trim and moulding, make curtains for the window, install a couple of door handles for the closet doors, and buy Adam a bed, but the hardest parts are done. I'm still trying to have his room (at least mostly) ready for him by his birthday. We'll see if I feel up to it today to start work on the trim and moulding, which is the next step. No pictures until the moulding and trim are up!
Between working on Adam's room, chasing 2 kids, and helping Amanda get her computer rebuilt in preparation for the move, I'm woefully behind on lots of things, including email and correspondence. If I owe you something (like the fabric for Ulrika and the Cheezits for Mo), I haven't forgotten! Just please be patient with me awhile longer. This promises to be another busy week - Mike's parents are in Spokane, and I'm going to try to spend time with them, including staying overnight in Spokane Tuesday. We have 2 birthdays this week (Adam's is Thursday), and a few other commitments. Isn't it funny how so many things seem to "come due" all at once?
Happy birthday to me! I’m 29 years young today. I only have 365 days to go before I’m no longer “in my twenties.” Maybe next year I’ll have a party to mourn that fact. ;) Anyway, I probably won’t be blogging much today. Or maybe I will, hell, you never know.
I did add a few new book reviews over at my other site, in case you’re interested. There’s plenty of journally content over there, too, if that’s your thing. Hey, I aim to please!
What a clusterfuck! Larry Flynt, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gallagher, and now Gary Coleman? Make a note - I agree with Diane Feinstein: “more and more like a carnival every day.”
… and yes, I know how to use it.
Note also that I am in line with Frank J’s gun safety rules, and have my finger off the trigger. There’s a Commie in the room to my left, explaining both the gun’s direction and the big grin on my face. ;)
Update: the gun is a Sig Sauer P-229, 40 caliber, semi-automatic. It’s loud. It’s bad. It’s effective. I’m a surprisingly accurate shot.
… for a little green teddy bear with a gold bowtie. It may be involved in the war effort.
I swear to God, if I weren’t already madly in love with my husband, I’d have to court Frank J. Today, he starts a series on the basics of guns. Hilarious, as always.
* Glue gun: Fires hot glue. If you’re creative, it’s great for arts and crafts. If you’re really, really creative, you can kill someone with it.
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To tell how many bullets a magazine holds, keep pushing bullets into it until you finally exclaim, “This is too hard; I give up.” Sometime one more bullet can be put in the magazine if you have a friend helping by yelling at you, “Don’t be such a pussy; you can fit one more bullet in there.”
This morning’s email had another note from one of “my guys": the soldiers overseas that I correspond with. These are ALWAYS the highlights of my days. This one was from an Army captain, in Iraq.
Things here are going well, and we continue to make Iraq a better place. Leaders continue to make good decisions and we are pumping a ton of money into the local economy just supporting soldiers and governmental agencies
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I continue to be amazed by the Iraqis that I meet. This one man that I do contracting work with, Ali, is convinced that the US is the epitome of all that is fair and just. We had a long conversation about how Sadam cared for no one but himself and the Iraqi people suffered under him for a long time. He now has hope that one day Iraq will be a place fairness and equality, without the persecution of a tyranical leader. It is going to take alot of work on our side, but I beleive we can accomplish anything. Anything we do to make Iraq a better place will make our country safer and more secure.
Note the lack of gloom and doom?
I originally misread the headline on this story as “Penis Shape Evolved to Dispense Others’ Semen.”
“If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions?” - Scott Adams
So it seems some justices on the Supreme Court are no longer limiting themselves to U.S. law in deciding cases.
“Our island or lone ranger mentality is beginning to change,” Ginsburg said during a speech to the American Constitution Society, a liberal lawyers group holding its first convention.
Justices “are becoming more open to comparative and international law perspectives,” said Ginsburg, who has supported a more global view of judicial decision making.
Hello! The Supreme Court specifically states:
The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;–to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;–to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;–to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;–to Controversies between two or more States;– between a State and Citizens of another State;–between Citizens of different States;–between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.
Nowhere does it state the Supreme Court justices are to review laws of other countries in interpreting American laws. David Rivkin is right on - “foreign trends can be helpful to legislators in setting policy, but not to judges in interpreting the U.S. Constitution.” But then, Ginsburg and a few others on the Supreme Court seem to have forgotten their job is to interpret laws, not make them.
This issue is satirized on Silflay Hraka:
Citing Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s impassioned speech to the American Constitution Society on the need for the American Justice system to adopt international law perspectives, the Supreme Court today voted 6-3 to jettison the Constitution in favor of Sharia law, effective immediately.
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Dissenting from the decision were Justices Scalia and Thomas, who were last seen drinking bourbon straight from the bottle in a local watering hole before it was shut down by the newly organized American Religious Authority.
Also satirized on Scrappleface:
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said today that the high court must become less provincial and take into account intergalactic law in future rulings.
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While the Supreme Court does not yet have direct access to intergalactic court rulings, she said “much can be learned from archival episodes of Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and of course, the Star Wars movies.”
Eugene Volokh disagrees:
But the matter is, I think, rather more complex than just arguing something like “U.S. judges are interpreting the U.S. Constitution, so they have a constitutional duty to completely ignore other countries’ approaches” – just like we don’t think that state courts must say “California judges are interpreting the California Constitution, so they have a constitutional duty to completely ignore other states’ approaches.”
On the contrary, I hold it is that simple. If the California constitution enumerates which texts/laws can be considered, and that state constitution hasn’t been overruled by the U.S. Supreme Court, then I think they have to stick to what’s enumerated. Remember, in the U.S., power flows from the people. If We The People tell them they can only consider the Constitution, the Washington Post, and the Sunday edition of the comic For Better or For Worse, then by God, that’s all they can consider!
OK, I’m riding the movie-making wave! Here is my directorial debut.
You can make your own movies at Dfilm.
Well, damn. This just goes to show you that even though an idea is an obviously bad one, some people will still support it.
The Ottawa County Planning Commission has created a new brochure designed to reduce nuisance complaints that new homeowners sometimes make against farmers. The pamphlet includes a scratch-and-sniff section that emits a genuine odor of manure.
Bush said, “I need to get attacked by terrorists more often. That will learn them for sure! If they want to destroy America, they should do it through non-violent means such as helping the Howard Dean campaign.”
Learn them. Bwaaahahahahah. Oh, another gem:
Bush started laughing. “Yeah, I hired a woman,” he said mockingly, “She’ll be sitting there fixing her nails while I get mowed down by machine gun fire. Don’t you have some dishes to clean, Condi?”
“I was working on threat assessments for middle eastern countries,” Rice answered angrily.
“That’s cute, Condi; you keep doing that.”
I love the “Know Thy Enemy” segments at IMAO. The latest one is about airline terrorists.
When fighting a terrorist, the best and most climatic way to finish him off is to open an emergency door and suck him out. Be careful, though, as air pressure imbalance does not distinguish terrorist from decent American; it’s neutral like the Swiss.
I’m an Insignificant Microbe. How pathetic. I don’t even have a zero after my site name, which is puzzling since my details show 6 links. Maybe this is something that works itself out. Any ideas?
Scrappleface cements his position as the god of political satire
Professional journalists continue to chronicle the miracles performed by this former medical internist. Besides healing lepers and walking on water “Dr.” Dean has also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars on the Internet – a feat previously accomplished only by online pornographers and gambling companies.
I just don’t understand this kind of thing. First of all, why take your three-year-old to visit her father in jail in the first place? Did the mother NOT realize how traumatizing that could be? second of all, once the woman realized her daughter wouldn’t be allowed in to visit the jailbird, she locked the girl in the trunk. Wouldn’t the (infinitely) smarter thing to do be to take the daughter home and write the jailbird a letter, explaining the situation? Wait… what am I saying? I’m expecting rational thought from people again, which I’ve learned the hard way is not always an assumption I can make.
This is just one more example of why I’m amazed that you have to apply for a license to fish, pass a test to drive, and even go through hours of training to operate the fry machine at McDonald’s, but any idiot with a womb can have a child.
Ya know, I really like RSS feeds. They save me a lot of time browsing different sites (mostly blogs), and I think they’re totally cool. I’m subscribed to about 30 different feeds, and I do my RSS reading in Outlook, via NewsGator. I have no complaints about NewsGator (no affiliation, yadda yadda), but I do think I’m going to have to get choosier about which stories I read in full. See, lately, I’m spending all my time reading other weblogs, and none out, finding stuff of my own to talk about! I know others do this, but it seems too much like brain-stealing.
I already had to scrap Instapundit; I just couldn’t keep up. Maybe I’ll have to stop following the ongoing Insultathon between Bill and John. I might have to drop all the Palestinian/Israeli stories from over at A Small Victory. I hate to think of it, but I could be forced to give up some of my daily bile, courtesy of Silent Running. One thing is sure: I refuse to ever let go of Scrappleface’s satire or anything Frank J. has to say. I’d rather give up sleep.
Scrappleface does it again:
“I acknowledge that Senator Kerry has a certain disdain for George Bush,” said Gov. Dean. “But my hatred for the president is pure, and deep and wide. My rage about him is unfettered, palpable and savage.”
…
DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe said today that the party will release the official Bush Loathing Index (BLI) for each Democrat candidate later this week.
Hm. I somehow doubt it.
June Cleaver: You are June Cleaver from Leave it
to Beaver. You might not wear pearls while you
do your housework, but you probably like the
idea of being a traditional type of mom who
bakes special treats for your kids when they
come home from school and who sits down to
dinner with them at night. You think of
thoughtful ways to show your kids you care
like making elaborate Halloween costumes or
whipping up chicken noodle soup for sore
throats and you work hard to stay involved in
their lives.
Of course, you teach your children right from wrong
and always hold them to strict standards,
though you may prefer that someone else in the
household do the actual disciplining. That's
just because you are so devoted to your little
ones, you can't stand the thought of missing
out on any time with them behind angry doors or
pouting faces.
Which TV Mom are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
“He [Saddam Hussein] was a very good father, loving, had a big heart, loved his daughters, sons, grandchildren,” Raghad said. “He was the one we always go to.”
Big heart, huh? Well, that’s good to know. Will make aiming so much easier, and lessen the need for precision.
I've started painting the mural in Adam's room. It's looking very different from what I envisioned (in my head, I can paint), but I'm still fairly happy with it. So far, I think my favorite part is the crab on the rock. :) I won't go into too much detail about it, since I intend to take and post copious pictures when it's all done. I will say that I never should have started that damned treasure chest!! I still have a lot of work to do on it, and am snatching painting time here and there, as I can. There's still a fair amount of work to do even after the mural, but hopefully it won't be so tedious, and so might go faster. We'll see. I'm bumping it up in priority, because having the carpet rolled up in the kitchen, awaiting installation, is starting to really aggravate me. That, and the feeling of being overcrowded since all of Adam's furniture (well, the pieces we have, anyway) are crammed into the rest of the house.
I've had a lot I've wanted to say here, but never seem to be at the computer when I think to say it. I do weblog a pretty good amount of stuff, but that's much different writing. Guess I'll just have to see how much of it I can remember now.
Kayla's now one year old. She had a little party on her birthday, following preschool. Lots of kids and parents showed up, and I think they had a good time despite the blistering (106, by some accounts) heat. The drive home was pure misery, but we all seemed to survive. I really must stop having summer babies. Anyway, here are a few gratuitous pictures.
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| Amanda, helping Adam with his present for the day - a battery-operated bubble-blower. | A Mommy-made ladybug birthday cake. | Mommies, babies, and a Daddy. | Adam, Kayla, Mike, and lots of other people. |
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| The feeding frenzy. Everybody wanted one of the ladybugs. | Mike, with a cake-eating birthday girl. | More of the same. | Finger-lickin' good. |
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| Dat's my brudda. | Happy girl. | Kayla gets plenty of help opening her presents. |
It was tiring, but I think everyone enjoyed themselves.
The kids have enjoyed playing in the pool this summer. In fact, it's been a godsend. With about a week of 100+ degree weather, there have been some days with it was all that kept us from going crazy. More gratuitous pictures:
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| Gotta love that spiky hairdo. | Better with a blue bonnet on it. | Woo! Baby jellyfish! | Aunt Amanda helps Kayla get some splashing time in. |
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| Yayyy!!! | Splash! | I can see my feet! | Vrrroooooom! |
I'm still making slow progress on the Neverending Double Wedding Ring Quilt From Hell(tm). I've finished about a row and a half, out of 21 rows. Obviously, I need to pick up the pace.
Speaking of over-committing, (well, I was, you probably just didn't notice), I'm teaching scrapbooking classes at the end of this month. Actually, I'm offering one class at two different times. The class is shaker tags, and it's been fun and challenging coming up with ideas. Truth be told, I'm looking forward to teaching, though it's a little bit daunting. Wonder if anyone will even sign up for it? Speaking of scrapbooking, I went last night, all by myself! Yep, no babies; Mike kept both of the kids. I was out for about 6 hours, total, so I got to do about 4 hours of scrapbooking. Not bad! It wasn't my most productive 4 hours ever, but it was nice to just spend some time with grownups and not worry about what Kayla was getting into. From what I hear, the kids were both fairly well-behaved, though it was (understandably) still a long night for Mike. Hopefully, I can do this on a more regular basis.
Weblogs of active service personnel - especially deployed service personnel - fascinate me. There’s a new one out now, a friend of turning tables, both of which are great reads. Check them out!
This was funny, but don’t read it if you’re religious and easily offended.
Ideally, religious types and the unfortunate should be like other people’s children; neither seen, heard, or smelt. If you doubt me, attend yourself a rural Southern Baptist church one Sunday; there’s enough Walmart designer imposter in the air to stun a goat.
Come to think of it, Satan’s cloven-hoofed. Maybe that’s how they keep him away.
What a cool idea! There’s a site where you can track where dollar bills have been! You just enter the serial number, denomination, and series, and it gives you information about where else the bill has been registered. Sweet!
Via Bad Money
So it seems that Governor Dean asked for a lot of his records to be sealed when he left office. Many commentators are all up in arms over this, since he asked for a 10-year seal rather than the more customary 6-year seal. I’m sorry, but I just can’t get excited about this. Presidential records stay sealed for decades. Maybe if someone did a comparison of, say, how many cubic feet of records and how long the seals were, for a variety of former governors (including former governor George W. Bush) they’d be making more of a point. Or, maybe they wouldn’t.
Michele of A Small Victory examines why Ted Rall is dead wrong when he says we should just up and leave Iraq. I agree with everything she said (well, except maybe some of the gratuitous personal insults), and think this one’s definitely worth a read. I’ve seen it said elsewhere, but not this well.