On this day, December 30, in 1922 the USSR established as a Marxist state... Does anyone know if the Esplanade League is planning a celebration event?
(...that was a joke)
December 2006 Archives
Hmmm...ok, so will the Esplanade League be holding a wake or maybe a candlelight vigil?
(.....still kidding, sort of)
"For years scientific papers and media outlets have trumpeted the news of past water flow on Mars. In this context, "past" usually meant "billions of years ago." But earlier this month, Michael Malin (Malin Space Science Systems) and four colleagues present compelling evidence that liquid water flowed across the surface of Mars in the past seven years."
Want to know more? Read on.
Note from Anthony Watts: And that's not all. They have also discovered evidence of global warming on Mars...as the southern ice cap is melting. This points to changes in the SUN as the reason. More on my blog about it here:
http://www.norcalblogs.com/watts/2006/12/global_warming_on_mars.html
Note from Jack: Oh, no! Global warming on Mars??? USA is sure to get the blame...and I'm suprised the dems haven't passed a law to limit oil exploration on Mars. Uh, maybe its still in committee?
by Jack Lee
We're told the execution of Saddam Hussein could come at anytime and the talk shows are abuzz with the question," Should we watch it on TV?"
They real question today ought to be why we forced the Iraqi's to keep this mass murderer alive so long? Any reasonable, thinking person knows that Saddam Hussein should have never come out of his hole alive.
The wimps who ordered that he be taken alive ought to be excused from any further government service and let them open up a coffee house in Amsterdam or something. Their "desires" to provide Saddam Hussein with a US style trial has cost the lives of an untold number of Iraqi's and US personnel and for what good end? So Saddam Hussein and his Bathists supporters could organize and then do their worst during this long drawn out ordeal many of us laughingly called a trial? Or was it so he could have an international pulpit to make a mockery of the trial? It made us look weak compared to his defiance and it rallied on his terrorist pals!
We know there was at least a 5 people who were brutally murdered as a result of this trial. But, even if only one death was suffered for the sake of this dog and pony show it was one death too many.
The outcome of this trial was never in doubt, so who are we kidding? It was a staged production
Continue reading A Politically Correct Death.
by Tina Grazier
Hers is the “party of working Americans� but you’d never know it by the way she’s flaunting her wealth and dropping names. Yes fellow commoners we need to prepare! Soon we will witness a gala “coronation� with celebrations and events to be held over several days. Little people all across the land will be watching, ready to genuflect and swoon as Pelosi, dressed to kill in gorgeous designer frocks, rubs elbows with the extremely rich and famous. It’s a landmark occasion, a prelude to bigger and better things…it’s Camelot Redux!
In the week of her swearing in on Jan 4, she will be feted at a dinner at the Italian Embassy in Washington to mark the fact that she will be the first Italian-American, as well as the first woman, to become Speaker. Tony Bennett is due to sing I Left My Heart in San Francisco to her.
The events will culminate with a 3,000-seat black-tie dinner and concert at the National Building Museum, close to Capitol Hill, where Jimmy Buffett, Carole King and Wyclef Jean are due to perform. Tickets are $1,000 (ÂŁ510).
Warren Beatty, Annette Benning, Ben Affleck and Richard Gere are among the Hollywood celebrities expected to join Mrs Pelosi to mark what they hope is the beginning of a new Democratic era.
I sure hope working Americans appreciate the humble dedication to service. I hope they appreciate the sacrifice she and her friends are making on their behalf. Soon she will level the playing field…it will be share and share alike…just make those filthy rich folks pay, pay, pay more taxes and soon we will all live happily ever after!!!
Have you made your appointment with Armani yet?
"Hey, doc, how long have I got?" Now there's an answer to that!
If you're 50 or older, all you have to do is answer 12 questions about important risk factors for life and death, and you'll find out your chances of dying in the next four years, reports The Associated Press. Interestingly, doctors say it's 80 percent accurate.
Take the test! The object is to get a low score.
1. Age. Use this point guide:
* Age 60-64: 1 point
* Age 65-69: 2 points
* Age 70-74: 3 points
Continue reading Fail This Test and You Might Die Soon.
As reported recently, some dirtbag who got pulled over in a routine traffic stop in Florida ended up "executing" the deputy who stopped him. The deputy was shot eight times, including once behind his right ear at close range. Another deputy was wounded and a police dog killed. A statewide manhunt ensued. The low-life piece of human garbage was found hiding in a wooded area with his gun. SWAT team officers fired and hit said low-life 68 times.
Asked why they shot the guy 68 times, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, told the Orlando Sentinel...get this. "That's all the bullets we had."
by Nick Freitas
So John Edwards is throwing his hat back into the ring. Great. All that really means to me is that I will have to switch the channel every time one of his nauseating commercials about Two Americas comes on.
I am so sick of superficial class warfare being displayed as intelligent debate. Edwards’s solution is not, in principle, supportable, so he relies on catchy slogans to do his heavy lifting amongst voters.
He claims that there is two Americas, and he wants to change that…great…how?
Well, first of all if you subscribe to his two Americas theory, you have to assume that one side is suffering as a result of the efforts of the other side. So we follow his liberal “logic� that if a fat man is standing next to a skinny one, then he clearly got that way by taking advantage of the thin one.
Continue reading John Edwards - Presidential Candidate.
STRATFORD, N.J. - In an age of multimillion-dollar high-tech weapons systems, sometimes it's the simplest ideas that can save lives. Which is why a New Jersey mother is organizing a drive to send cans of Silly String to Iraq.
American troops use the stuff to detect trip wires around bombs, as Marcelle Shriver learned from her son, a soldier in Iraq.
Before entering a building, troops squirt the plastic goo, which can shoot strands about 10 to 12 feet, across the room. If it falls to the ground, no trip wires. If it hangs in the air, they know they have a problem. The wires are otherwise nearly invisible.
by Jack Lee
It was on this day in 1793 that an American hero was arrested in France, his name was Thomas Paine and his alleged crime was treason.
In his day Payne was the epitome of a modern secular progressive, a term that might draw instant rebuke from many of our readers. However, in fairness his writings now prove he was a true visionary and his only crime was being too far ahead of his time. I know many of today's liberals also try to claim their views are simply ahead of the times, but in Payne's case it was quite true, for his views today are considered mostly conservative and as biographer Robert Ingersoll writes, his name is an inseparable part of the history of liberty.
Ironically his outspoken stance against capital punishment was largely behind the French charge of treason, but now the French thoroughly embrace it.
Continue reading A Sad End To A Good Liberal.
by Jack Lee
I was having a conversation with a friend of mine who runs a car repair shop and he was telling me about some of his pet peeves commonly found among auto mechanics. I thought it might be helpful to share them with you so you can be aware of them. Who knows, it might get you better service and even a lower repair bill! Here you go, the big 6:
1. Don't bring in your own parts, let the shop buy them. Sure it costs more, but if you supply the parts the shop generally won't warrantee them, this is where that extra costs comes in, its like buying an insurance
Continue reading Auto Mechanics Complaints About Customers.
Lex et Libertas -- Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus, et Fidelis!
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it." --Thomas Paine
by Tina Grazier
Senator Kerry has spoken to the Commander-in-Chief. His suggestion: flip-flop, Mr. President! This is just too good to ignore:
"There's something much worse than being accused of "flip-flopping": Refusing to flip when it's obvious that your course of action is a flop."
It's a cute turn of phrase I guess, but it doesn't make sense in describing OUR PRESIDENT. The term flip-flopping
Continue reading Parsing Kerry.
December 25: General Interest
1914 : The Christmas Truce
Just after midnight on Christmas morning, the majority of German troops engaged in World War I cease firing
their guns and artillery and commence to sing Christmas carols. At certain points along the eastern and western fronts, the soldiers of Russia, France, and Britain even heard brass bands joining the Germans in their joyous singing.
At the first light of dawn, many of the German soldiers emerged from their trenches and approached the Allied lines across no-man's-land, calling out "Merry Christmas" in their enemies' native tongues. At first, the Allied soldiers feared it was a trick, but seeing the Germans unarmed they climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with the enemy soldiers. The men exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings and sang carols and songs. There was even a documented case of soldiers from opposing sides playing a good-natured game of soccer.
The so-called Christmas Truce of 1914 came only five months after the outbreak of war in Europe and was one
of the last examples of the outdated notion of chivalry between enemies in warfare. In 1915, the bloody conflict of World War I erupted in all its technological fury, and the concept of another Christmas Truce became unthinkable.
by Tina Grazier
Army Field Manual 3-24, Counterinsurgency - MCWP 3-33.5 for the Marine Corps
"We owe a debt of thanks to the officers (most of them Iraq or Afghanistan veterans) involved in the revision of this manual - which involved a lot of long hours, exasperation and soul-searching."
"Coming up fast from behind (as one hopes we'll be able to do in Iraq), the doctrine writers shook off much of the spell of the last century's bogus theorizing and began to come to grips with the real enemies we face today and will continue to face in various guises for decades to come."
Ralf Peters article, FOUND HERE tells of a new field manual designed to address the challenges our new enemies present. Two comment wer particularly bold:
"Yes, there's still a little too much "peace, love and understanding" silliness, but it's counterbalanced with blunt honesty that acknowledges that not all of our enemies can be persuaded to adore us."
"Earlier drafts cautiously ignored faith-fueled insurgencies and even the phenomenon of the suicide bomber; now both topics get intelligent treatment."
The military gets it...even if the flower children, and Monsieur Kerry, still do not.
Merry Christmas everyone! And a very special Merry Christmas to our military friends wherever they may be. I'm sure I can safely speak for Tina when I say we could not be more proud of our fine men and women in service to this nation. WE SUPPORT YOU AND THAT MEANS WE SUPPORT YOUR MISSION TOO. It's one of the main reasons why we are here. God bless and above all ....,stay safe!
PS Special thanks to Nick F., Tina and I liked your picture and the US flag you sent. It's flying from the second story of my banister as we speak! It was the best gift I could have received!.
By NASSER KARIMI
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran vowed Sunday to push forward efforts to enrich uranium and to change its relations with the international nuclear watchdog after the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions designed to stop the country's disputed nuclear program.
Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the Security Council would regret voting in favor of the sanctions, saying he was sorry the West lost its chance to make amends with Iran.
"I am sorry for you who lost the opportunity for friendship with the nation of Iran. You yourself know that you cannot damage the nation of Iran an iota," the state-run news agency, IRNA, quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.
Ahmadinejad also said the United Nations must accept Iran's nuclear program and warned that sanctions would not harm his country.
Note by Jack: Ahmadinejad is not a worldly man and his view of the holocaust gives a hint at his global ignorance, but his determination to build nuclear weapons in the middle east is beyond reason, it's maniacal and it will only have a bad end.
His only claim to political fame has been his ability to create controversy and to a lesser extent to creat hatred within his nation for other nations (US and Isreal mainly). This is a blatant attempt to divert attention away from his own failures at home with Iranian economy. Iran is awash in oil, they don't need nuclear energy, but they do need leadership to manage their wealth. One wonders how long Ahmadinejad can last.
by Jack Lee
My daughter and I made a vain attempt to do some last minute shopping today. It was nuts, absolutely nuts. The roads were jammed, parking was non-existent, long lines at the checkout, people, people everywhere. Anecdotally speaking, if this is a symptom of our economy, then we must be rolling in dough! I can't recall seeing more shoppers in Chico...period. It was a day of spending madness, but we gave up early because we couldn't handled the horrendous traffic. So, we're obliged to go back tomorrow, but we're starting out at 8 a.m., hoping for less traffic!
by Jack Lee
AP- "Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is poised to announce his campaign for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination in two phases early next month, a top adviser told The Associated Press on Friday. The Massachusetts chief executive is expected to file paperwork as early as Jan. 2 with the Federal Election Commission, establishing a presidential campaign committee and permitting himself to begin raising money for his race on the first business day of the new year. Romney will leave office on Jan. 4. "
McCain, Gingrich, Giuliani, Huckabee... all have too much baggage, too little experience or pale by comparison in personality. Personally, if it was just a matter of ability Gingrich would be my pick for President, but his infidelity and a messy divorce smacks of days gone by with Clinton. Dems are sure to remind Republicans of what they were put through over Billy's trists, bet on it. McCain can't rally conservatives nor can Giuliani and Huckabee is a popular governor, but only in his own state. Can you tell me what state that would be? Right...myh point exactly, so at this moment in time the front runner is Romney and as the candidates list grows and then is narrowed down, I'll say he will be among the final 3.
By Nick Freitas...
The Iranian President's party just took a wholloping in the latest election!! The demographics say they took the beating from....the youth. Thats right, apparently the next generation of Iranians top priority isnt building nukes and
turning Israel into a parking lot.
Its not all over the news though, because while this is GREAT news for our country, that doesnt neccesarily mean that its great news for democrats. So in a couple days when the media has discovered a way to make this event the result of tireless efforts by liberals we should see it as front page news. Now if there is no believeable way to do this, they will settle for making it a remarkable event despite Bush's foreign policy.
When you simply live and die by the same questions the major media does, the answer reveales itself.
If a potentially big story comes in, first ask yourself... "Will this advance my particular political beliefs?"
If the answer is yes, then print it!!
Next ask yourself " Will this not only advance my political beliefs, but can it be spun in a maner where I can be-little and degrade the beliefs of conservatives?"
If the answer is yes, it's front page.
Now, if the story doesnt do one of those two things but is still news worthy....well try and make it one of those two things as best you can, then rehash a global warming expose'.
From TinmanB....
A blonde woman goes to the post office to buy stamps for her Christmas cards.
She says to the clerk, "May I have 50 Christmas stamps?"
The clerk says, "What denomination?"
The woman says, "God help us. Has it come to this?
Give me 6 Catholic,12 Presbyterian, 10 Lutheran, and 22 Baptists!
by Jack Lee
SPECIAL REPORT - BREAKING NEWS!!!
For many centuries AND I should point out, even long before there was a USA, the civilized people of the world have pondered why Islamic extremists and terrorists are so angry and so irrational that they would lash out and behave in such an aggressive manner. What could be driving their fury? Was it something in their religion, was it cultural or was it some brain defect? What could it be? What lurked behind their blood stained robes? THAT WAS THE QUESTION UNTIL TODAY.
Finally, we have the answer! Thanks to the advancement of modern medicine and the teams of doctors working with our counter-terrorism experts they have found a common thread among all terrorists and extremists from around the world.
It's incredible, but these experts all agree this is the reason...
Continue reading True Reason For Islamic Terrorism Revealed!!!.
Despite constant media reports of civil war in Iraq, that country’s economy is reported to be booming—even in Baghdad. According to studies from the US Chamber of Commerce, the World Bank and the IMF (International Monetary Fund), Newsweek reports that Iraq’s flourishing economy was "the mother of all surprises."
Iraq’s economy has grown by at least 4% and may be as high as 17%, according to Newsweek. Companies registered in Iraq have grown from 3,000 in 2003 to 34,000 in 2006. In 2006, Iraq realized $41 billion from oil revenues and construction, real estate and retail sales are reported to be at all time highs.
Read more on this amazing success story....
by Tina Grazier
Might as well Quote him to you right off the bat...ding bat? No. Moon bat? No! Self absorbed bat. No, make it BRAT! Tom Flynn, author of "The Trouble With Christmas" is apparently under the impression that holiday festivities and associated greetings should be played out exclusively for his pleasure and only with his approval:
Depending on context, wishing someone "Merry Christmas!" can now function as hate speech. In Religious Right Wonderland, you don't wish "Merry Christmas" any more; you wield it.
Wield it, huh? This man can READ people. Yes he is self absorbed, but paranoid, extremely emotional, and overly sensitive also work:
Yes, Virginia, there is a War on Christmas. And it's desperately important that the non-Christians win. Meanwhile, Christian Americans need to recognize how the ideologues on their right flank have poisoned the December air. Ours has become a never-never land in which no Christian can wish a non-Christian "Merry Christmas" without the implied "Up yours" ringing in the hearer's ears. Addressed to non-Christians, "Merry Christmas" is now code for "All you non-Christians go to the back of the bus! This is a Christian country. We own the last two sheets on the calendar. We're number one! By the way, you're all going to hell."
Back of the bus? Back of the BU...hee hee ha ha...us? Give me a break! It's just Merry Christmas. It's a "greeting" for heavens sake! Greetings exist for a reason. They are "expression(s) of kindness or joy"! (Webster's) He goes on and gets all smarmy on us...
And so, I wish "Happy Holidays" to those who are celebrating one-or more- this season. To those (like myself) who aren't celebrating anything, I wish you peace-though also, good luck finding any.
This is America, Tom...remember? YOU can wish anyone "Happy Holidays" any time YOU wish. Do us the favor of adopting your own ideology of "tolerance" and extending the same to Christians who only wish to no longer be shunned from the town square for extending Christmas greetings to others. It's free speech, man, if you stop having a hissy the hubbub will go away.
And by the way, Christ is called the "Prince of Peace". You might try reading his words sometime...well received, they bring a lasting sense of PEACE! (even when someone says the MC words). So......... Merry Christmas, Tom!
But nobody better wish me a merry Christmas.
Oooops...guess I failed to scroll down....he continues...
As a default seasonal greeting, "Happy Holiday" beats "Merry Christams" hands down...But "Happy Holidays" implicitly assumes that every Amercican is celebrating something during the five and a half weeks 'twixt Thanksgiving and New Year's, when in fact many people aren't. For those whose "season" includes no holiday, "Happy Holidays" serves the same dark purpose as "Merry Christmas." It's a snub, an unsubtle reminder to those out of step that everyone's "supposed" to be observing some holiday, any holiday, at this festive season.
Dark purpose? DARK PURPOSE!!! Here we go again. Let's face it, some people are never happy...or at peace.
Find these creepy quotes and more in a piece called The New Hate Speech found at www.secularhumanism.org.
"Trying to follow Mr. Flynn's twisted reasoning is like trying to follow a white line in a snowstorm," say's Christopher Orlet in his piece, "Merry Christmas as Hate Speech" found HERE.
I highly recommend it.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND GOD BLESS YOU...EVERY ONE!!
by Tina Grazier
"But you Bethlehem, though you are small, out of you will come for me, one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." The prophet Micah
Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, is a city steeped in history and tradition. Today it is a place of persecution and strife. Tourists are choosing to stay away and the Christians living there are being persecuted and driven from the area.
Life for Palestinian Christians such as 50-year-old Joseph has become increasingly difficult in Bethlehem - and many of them are leaving. The town's Christian population has dwindled from more than 85 per cent in 1948 to 12 per cent of its 60,000 inhabitants in 2006. ..."We have 65 per cent unemployment and about 2,000 bedrooms in hotels that are empty."
Mary and Joseph would not find it difficult to find a room in Bethlehem today. As we celebrate Christmas this year let us be mindful of those who are facing the harsher realities of life in the Middle East and give thanks for the unalienable rights we enjoy, including the right to practice our religion.
Find the story, "Oh Muslim town of Bethlehem" HERE
Finally some GOOD NEWS: Read this news story...Prosperity is doing well in Iraq and the money is flowing in.
TinmanB sent us these holiday words of wisdom...
Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.
So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing." Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.
by Tina Grazier
The origin of the song Jingle Bells can be found HERE. The following is an excerpt from the report by Andrea, age 12 and Nancy, age 13:
The song was written in 1850, a time before wars, back when life was very simple, and everyone was happy. This song, Jingle Bells, was written only 7 miles from Boston, Massachusetts, in a town called Medford. Jingle Bells was written by James Pierpont as a kind of celebration of the Salem Street sleigh races that were a popular recreation and porch-side spectator sport. Young people sang it on sleigh rides all winter long that year in the Medford area.
In December 1857, Pierpont's brother asked if he knew of a pleasant winter song the Sunday school children could sing at church social they were planning. James did, in fact, have it stored away in an attic trunk. He dusted off the only copy of the song that he wrote years earlier in Medford and gave it to his brother.
The students loved the song. It was a big hit of the Christmas social a few weeks later. Pierpont made a copyright on the Jingle Bells song because so many people were interested and were talking about it. Two years later the song was published, and "Jingle Bells" was a big hit. Victor Herbert once remarked, "Of all the songs by the other composers I have heard, there is only one I wish I had composed myself". When asked the name of the song he replied, "Why, 'Jingle Bells,' of course," a bit surprised anyone would have to ask, "It is a jolly tune".
I also discovered a verse I've never heard HERE:
A day or two ago, the story I must tell
I went out on the snow and on my back I fell;
A gent went riding by in a one-horse open sleigh,
He laughed as there I sprawling lie,
But quickly drove away
Jingle bells, Jingle bells, Jingle all the way!
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh.
They walked in tandem, each of the ninety-two students filing into the already crowded auditorium. With rich maroon gowns flowing and the traditional caps, they looked almost as grown-up as they felt.
Dads swallowed hard behind broad smiles, and Moms freely brushed away tears.
This class would not pray during the commencements - not by choice, but because of a recent court ruling prohibiting it. The principal and several students were careful to stay within the guidelines allowed by the ruling. They gave inspirational and challenging speeches, but no one mentioned divine guidance and no one asked for blessings on the graduates or their families.
The speeches were nice, but they were routine, until the final speech received a standing ovation.
A solitary student walked proudly to the microphone. He stood still and silent for just a moment, and then, it happened. All 92 students, every single one of them, suddenly SNEEZED!!!!
The student on stage simply looked at the audience and said, " GOD BLESS YOU, each and every one of you!" And he walked off stage.
The audience exploded into applause. The graduating class found a unique way to invoke God's blessing on their future with or without the court's approval.
GOD BLESS YOU
In God We Trust, United We Stand.
This is a true story; happened at the University of Maryland . It's inspiring.
By Jack Lee
The Mother was busy cleaning her house for probably the 10th time in the past week, when her adult daughter called and asked her to go shopping for a few hours. She snapped at her, "NO! We've got the employees coming over tomorrow for the Christmas party and I have get this place cleaned up! I just have way too much to do. I don't have the luxury of free time like some people. I can't just drop everything and run off and go shopping whenever I feel like it. Why don't you and Paul (her husband) go shopping, because I can't !" And so the conversation went, the daughter practically begging and the Mother saying NO, until it was over and then they were both mad at each other.
The mother had acted rushed, tense and her voice had an air of condescending hostility. She was frustrated that her daughter couldn't appreciate the enormity of the responsibility placed on her to host a Christmas party. She was such a busy person between her professional obligations and running her fancy home.
Continue reading Another Kind of Scrooge.
by Jack Lee
I've read the 79 page bi-partisan report on Iraq and it's just not that impressive in terms of anything new and inspiring.
The report tells us the divisions are basically Sunni, Shia and Bathist. Each has been in a constant state of recruitment for their own agendas and that means recruiting for combatants. That's been escalating the violence as they each morph into sectarian militias. Then we have the external forces that have been far from helpful when it comes to a peaceful resolution here. These are the usual suspects... the ever critical, ever negative media (aka MSM) and the many leftist nations in the world that were and remain openly critical long before this war began and shape world opinions against US interests at every turn.
The negative rhetoric has worked well on many Iraqi's who have bought into the extremism, much of it coming from Iran, Lebananon, Pakistan. But, also Syria, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, although the governments of the later three seem passively detached, even if their media and radical groups are not.
The report notes that the "insurgency" is a complex mix, often working independently and without any central command and control. It is a, "network of networks" they conclude. It surprised me that Al Qaeda is allegedly responsible for only a small portion of the violence, but as the report notes, when they strike it is often in a spectacularly devastating manner with mass casualties.
Continue reading Iraq Update... Bi-Partisan Report.
Anybody interested buying a 12 year old TB mare that is the grandaughter to Seattle Slew?
As you may recall Slew was a rare Tripple Crown winner back in 1977. Slew finished his career with 14 wins in 17 races, earning more than $1.2 million US in purses...stud fees were 300k! Well, back to my story, so some local people have the grandaughter to the big boy and she's for sale....now unless there is a misprint...this is the price: $700. I know because I just finished doing the want ads for the CEA website and there it was...Seattle Slews grandaughter being sold for $700 bucks. Well, there it is believe it or not.
Oh, I suppose you might want to check out the ad for yourself, maybe even call the lady. But, chances are this horse is already sold.
Here's the link to the website: http://www.chicoequestrianassociation.com/
Enter the site and look at the classified ads, it's highlighted in yellow, can't miss it. This could make somebody a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!
When people do incredibly foolish things that result in search and rescue being called, should they be financially responsible?
In the summer of 2001 a local woman purchased a new SUV because she is moving to her new mountain home. That winter she found herself cut off from the home by a rising creek. A road sign warns "Do Not Cross When Water Present". But, she drives into the rain swollen creek anyway and becomes trapped as the water rises. Rescue was summoned by a neighbor, cost of the call out was about $6800. Insurance loss for one SUV... $31,000.
2004 a man with little or no climbing experience attempts to scale a cliff in upper park without safety gear. He falls, becomes injured and a helicopter plus 15 fire safety personal are required to get him out. Total cost to get him to a hospital around $9,000.
2005, an otherwise good skier deliberately skis out of bounds at Squaw Valley and becomes lost. A special rescue team finds him around 3 a.m. He has skied and walked almost 3.5 miles from where the out of bounds was clearly marked because he said he "liked the snow better over there". This rescue involved 25 professionals, 75 volunteers, tracking dogs, snow cats and more. The cost of this rescue was over $22,000!
What Price Glory? We have 3 mountain climbers on top of Mt. Hood in the middle of winter, not the best time for a climb is it? Days of rescue have stretched the limits of man and machine and the cost continue to rise exponentially and threatens to go well over 6 digits . I'm sure we all hope this will end well, but at the moment the prospects are not good. They are up around 10,000 feet and winds are gusting over 100 mph. See story.
There are literally hundreds of such highly preventable events that occur every year and the costs are becoming so large that sooner or later we are going to have to acknowledge them, because they are NOT done for free.
So my question now is, should we pass a financial responsibility law to hold people at least somewhat accountable when they do extremely unsafe stunts that turn into a costly and dangerous rescues? We're not talking about a hiker who twists his ankle and needs help, this is just life. We are talking about those times when somebody goes above and beyond and gets themselves in a real expensive fix that we wind up paying for!
If we had such a law, I admit it might not recover much compared to what was spent, but it sends the right message and it could give some people pause, because there are those of us who are less likely to risk our money than our safety, as strange as that sounds. And this could save some lives, not to mention contributing to the rescue budgets and that could be used to save lives too! We already do this when someone lets a camp fire get out of control and burns down neighboring houses. I don't see a big leap here, do you? It's all acountability for our own actions.
I have no problem with people taking big risks. I just have a problem when I am asked to pay for it when things go wrong. I say do whatever you want, but at your own financial peril.
by Tina Grazier
Most of us in the Republican Party treat him like a shirt-tale relative that no one wants at the family reunion. He's David Duke who always denies his bigotry, biases and hatred even as he runs around demonstrating them for all to see. It's particularly repugnant when he pretends reasonableness and so I found it interesting that yesterday he
just might have found himself a new family:
TEHRAN, Iran -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's conference questioning the Holocaust came to an end Tuesday, but not before hearing former KKK Imperial Wizard David Duke say that gas chambers were not used to kill Jews. "The Zionists have used the Holocaust as a weapon to deny the rights of the Palestinians and cover up the crimes of Israel," Duke told a gathering of nearly 70 "researchers" in Tehran at Ahmadinejad's invitation.
Duke found an amazing array of kissing cousins amongst the attendees at the conference...the following is but a sampling of his darkly spirited kindred:
"All the studies and research carried out so far have proven that there is no reason to believe that the Holocaust ever occurred and that it is only a tale," Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour, a former interior minister and one of the founders of Lebanese militia Hezbollah.
Nabil Soleiman, an adviser to the ministry of religious affairs in Syria, said, "If the Holocaust ever occurred, it was a conspiracy against the Arab-Islamic world as today the Middle East is still paying the consequences."
Austrian historian Wolfgang Froehlich, who served a two-year jail sentence in his home country for denying the Holocaust, did not read out his speech -- which was handed out to participants -- for fear of being jailed again.
The immediate condemnation from around the world was heartening but none as credible as the testimony from a very brave man who was once a terrorist himself :
When I finally realized the lies and myths I was taught, it is my duty as a righteous person to speak out...The Israeli Arab Conflict is not about geography but about Jew hatred; Throughout the Islamic as well as Christendom's history Jews have been persecuted, the persecution of Israel is just the same as the old antisemitism... The so called "Israeli occupation" is currently the only real freedom any Arab has had in any part of the Middle East in the 56 years of Israel's existence. - Walid Shoebat
Any chance Mr. Duke will convert or will he abandon this new family and rush back to the safety and freedom of American soil?
From TinmanB...
Twas the month before Christmas
When all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying
Nor taking a stand.
See the PC Police had taken away,
The reason for Christmas - no one could say.
Continue reading Christmas Poem.
Little Things Mean a Lot...
"Democrats are talking about an increase to $7.25 an hour, and they're promising to push it through in the first 100 hours of the Democratic majority rule. (President) Bush has said he supports an increase, but won't haggle about the numbers in public... Bush has said that he also wants to be sure that the increase is done in ways that won't hurt small businesses. Which is, of course, impossible. Regardless of where you stand in the intense debate over whether increases in the minimum wage reduce the number of jobs available to low wage workers, an increase in the minimum wage will hurt small businesses. Do the math: Suppose you employ ten people, full time, at minimum wage. A two dollar increase will cost you about $40,000 a year. How would we react to a tax of the same size imposed on the same scrappy entrepreneurial grocer or clothing store owner?" --Katherine Mangu-Ward
$40,000.00...just peanuts...take it out of petty cash!
by Tina Grazier
Just so we keep the insane accusations of Kerry and Rangle ever present in our minds I have chosen to post these comments sent to James Toranto in response to his reporting of their slurs on those fantastic folks serving in our military:
Kerry, Rangel and the rest of their comrades try to criticize our military by saying that it is an option for those
Continue reading Lest we forget-Kerry, Rangle.
by Tina Grazier
Air Force records show that at least a few bombers escorted by the red-tailed fighters of the Tuskegee Airman were shot down by enemy planes, William F. Holton, historian of Tuskegee Airmen Inc., said in an interview Monday
Continue reading For the Tuskegee Record.
Iran students heckle Ahmadinejad... Iranian students have disrupted a speech by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a prestigious Tehran university, setting fire to his picture and heckling him. "Some students chanted radical slogans and inflamed the atmosphere of the meeting" at the Amir Kabir University, said the semi-official Fars news agency on Monday, which is close to Ahmadinejad.
Go read "Dark Night of Fascism ..." by David Frum at National Review
Online found HERE. It's a keeper!
So the Clinton administration was tapping Princess Diana's phones. Repeat after me: the Clinton administration. And of course there was no warrant. The princess was not a suspected terrorist or enemy combatant. It's hard to imagine that Dodi Fayed was either, but who knows? Maybe he was the Scarlet Pimpernel of Islamo-fascism - an
Continue reading Dark Night of Fascism.
“When the San Francisco Democrats treat foreign affairs as an afterthought... they [behave] less like a dove or a hawk than like an ostrich—convinced it would shut out the world by hiding its head in the sand... When the Soviet Union walked out of arms control negotiations, and refused even to discuss the issues, the San Francisco Democrats didn’t blame Soviet intransigence. They blamed the United States. But then, they always blame America first. When Marxist dictators shoot their way to power in Central America, the San Francisco Democrats don’t blame the guerrillas and their Soviet allies, they blame United States policies of 100 years ago. But then, they always blame America first. The American people know better.� —former UN ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, who died last Friday at 80.
Jeane Kirkpatrick began political life as a democrat, but as her education and power of reason increased, it became apparent thier issues no longer matcher her sage wisdom and she stepped up to the higher ground to become a republican.
by Jack Lee
"For me, then the question, “How to Stop Terrorism?� is easy. We stop terrorism first of all by stopping our own terrorism!" Writes Progressive John Dear in his windy essay. Dear is a well know peace activist and
Continue reading Saturday's Thoughts....
by Tina Grazier
Reading through the headlines following "The Report" it became increasingly clear that the founders were brilliant when they gave the job of C-in-C to the president. The opinions and counter opinions and opinions wrapped in spin...the favorable opinions and unfavorable opinions...and more and less and then...the why's and wherefore's, it's such a mess, methinks......leadership by "committee"...absolutely STINKS!
Continue reading Why We Have a Commander-in-Chief.
The Republicans in Congress that brought us those Democratic victories a month ago are at it again. Now they want to vote themselves a $3300 pay raise! And just when you thought they couldn't look any more out of touch! This was the perfect setup for the Democrats to take the leadership role and for Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi to righteously criticize them and draw applause from the voters to boot.
What in the world is wrong with
these people, are they all on drugs?
these people, are they all on drugs?
My party is giving me headaches. This is such an obvious misstep. I can't believe the GOP would even let it come up. The Democrats seized on this grand opportunity and they threatened to block the pay hike until the "minimum wage" is raised. Oh, big deal Ms. Pelosi! A 30-60 day delay in a pay increase (its also retroactive). Some sacrificel. I say, forget that "tokenism" stuff Nancy and go big time! If you want the dems to really look good, put in for a sizable pay cut! We don't think Congress deserves what they get anyway, so you won't have any resistance from your constituents, in fact voters would give you a standing ovation. If the GOP doesn't want to hand over the keys to the White House they better sober up!
There is water on Mars. And where there is water, there is the possibility of life. Newly released photographs of the Martian surface taken by orbiting spacecraft show liquid water occasionally flows on the planet, reports The Washington Post.
Continue reading Life on Mars? Look What They Found!.
by Jack Lee
Asked in front of Safeway, during the PV High lunch break. What is significant, meaningful or unusual about this day for you?
Mychal-15, "I found out today we're buying a new Beemer (BMW)!"
Joshua-15, "I won a wrestling match, but that was yesterday, it was at Corning High School."
Continue reading Street Interviews For Dec. 7th.
At Pleasant Valley High School in Chico there will be no special mention of this, instead they will be celebrating Dec. 7th as "hat day". All students are encouraged to wear hats in observance of hat day.
Dec. 7th, 1941, "A date that will live in infamy".
Japan has launched a surprise attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and has declared war on Britain and the United States. The US president, Franklin D Roosevelt, has mobilised all his forces and is poised to declare war on Japan.
Details of the attack in Hawaii are scarce but initial reports say Japanese bombers and torpedo-carrying planes targeted warships, aircraft and military installations in Pearl Harbor, on Oahu, the third largest and chief island of Hawaii.
News of the daring raid has shocked members of Congress at a time when Japanese officials in Washington were still negotiating with US Secretary of State Cordell Hull on lifting US sanctions imposed after continuing Japanese aggression against China.
__________________________________________________________________________
Dec. 8th, 1941: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addresses the nation...
"Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives:
Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
Continue reading Japanese planes bomb Pearl Harbor.
Tinman Bill writes to remind us....
1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.
2. Drink as much eggnog as you can and quickly. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an "eggnog-aholic" or
Continue reading Christmas Tips.
Just in minutes ago....
Iraqi government not happy with US panel report
Not much information is being released about the arrest of an American working to recruit terrorists in Egypt. This is the latest information made public, "Along with the American, police arrested two Belgians, nine French and several others from Egypt and other Arab countries including Tunisia and Syria, the statement said.
by Tina Grazier
Daniel Pipes, in an article in the New York Sun titled "Moderate Islam May Be Key To Winning War on Terror" has proposed a sensible and interesting challenge for Muslims and non-Muslims alike:
The most effective form of counterterrorism fights not the terrorists but the ideas that motivate them. This strategy involves two main steps. First, defeat the Islamist movement just as the fascist and communist movements were defeated -- on every level and in every way, making use of every institution, public and private. This task falls mainly on non-Muslims, as Muslim communities are generally incapable or unwilling to purge their own...In contrast, only Muslims can undertake the second step, the formulation and spread of an Islam that is modern, moderate, democratic, liberal, good-neighborly, humane, and respectful of women. Here, non-Muslims can help by distancing themselves from Islamists and supporting moderate Muslims.
Lasting solutions always rest on the shoulders of those people who are willing to make noble and honorable efforts regardless of the difficulty and despite ugly criticism. We find ourselves at the base of a huge mountain...let's hope we are up to the climb.
I can't help adding that George W. Bush has correctly identified the problem and has been correct in his prediction that this battle could take 20 years or more and must be fought in many different ways, on many fronts.
By Tina Grazier
In a recent interview with the BBC Kofi Annan repeated the leftist mantra that Iraq was better off under Saddam Hussein:
"I think they are right in the sense of the average Iraqi's life," Annan said. "If I were an average Iraqi obviously I would make the same comparison, that they had a dictator who was brutal but they had their streets, they could go out, their kids could go to school and come back home without a mother or father worrying, 'Am I going to see my child again?'"
Anyone who has bothered to notice has seen news footage of Iraqi's going about their everyday lives. We have seen people driving cars and meeting in the marketplace and children playing outdoors. Although I don't doubt
that there are those in Iraq who agree with the Secretary General, I'm certain he does not speak for all Iraqis. James Toranto reveals a few facts drawn from the US State Department and a PBS report:
Saddam Hussein is the first world leader in modern times to have brutally used chemical weapons against his own people. His goals were to systematically terrorize and exterminate the Kurdish population in northern Iraq, to silence his critics, and to test the effectiveness of his chemical and biological weapons. Hussein launched chemical attacks against 40 Kurdish villages and thousands of innocent civilians in 1987-88, using them as testing grounds. The worst of these attacks devastated the city of Halabja on March 16, 1988. 5,000 civilians, many of them women, children, and the elderly, died within hours of the attack. 10,000 more were blinded, maimed, disfigured, or otherwise severely and irreversibly debilitated.
Saddam's Republican Guard fought the resistance in Karbala. Civilians and rebels fled the city. On the roads leading out, Iraqi army helicopter crews poured kerosene on the refugees, then set them on fire. . . . There were mass executions of civilians, some of whom were tied to tanks and used as human shields. In Karbala, some of Shiite Islam's holiest shrines were destroyed. Others were used as centers for murder, torture and rape. In Najaf, residential areas were bombed, and hospital staff and patients were murdered.
These vivid examples of Saddam's brutality don't specifically address the evil things his sons were up to. They don't point out Saddams "vision" for the welfare of his people. That vision is made real in the many palaces the tyrant built; structures that stand as opulent reminders of his ego and contempt. Kofi's words no doubt ring true in his own elitist ears, but they do not reflect the realities and fears that the Iraqi people faced each day. Beyond the obvious terror and torture is the more subtle torment known as oppression. The idea that a leader should be considered "better" because he successfully "managed" thugs and criminals is nothing short of cowardly tolerance for evil.
Personally, I think it's a good thing that Saddam is gone and it might be time for Mr. Annan to go as well. One quick look at the continuing troubles around the world and it becomes obvious that his leadership at the UN has been less than inspiring.
"Asked if he thought the United States was winning the war in Iraq, defense secretary nominee Robert Gates answered with a simple "No, sir." Incoming Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Michigan, asked the question during Gates' Senate confirmation hearing today." CNN News
by Tina Grazier
Elections in Mexico seem to have finally come to resolution as the new president, Felipe Calderon, was sworn into office. The ceremony was less than festive as opposition members continued to protest striking the air with raised fists and chanting disapproval...it was just short of an all out brawl. The new president has pledged to raise wages for the armed forces, calling them a crucial weapon in the nation's arsenal to
Continue reading South of Our Borders.
This just in 44 minutes ago! Egypt arrests American, others in terror plot
November 21, 2006
US Airways Airline
To all news stations concerned:
In reference to the removal of the six Muslim gentlemen from flight 300 at the Minneapolis St. Paul airport last light, prior to the planes departure.
I was a passenger on that flight, sitting in seat 5-E originally and . . .
Continue reading Subject: The Islamic clerics(?).
by Tina Grazier
After reading an article, "Russia law on killing 'extremists' abroad" by Steven Eke, I couldn't help thinking how silly and juvenile we must have looked to the rest of the world as we insisted on knit picking about a very sensible and cautionary policy, the NSA
Continue reading Extreme Measures.
by Tina Grazier
A great story in the Boston Herald, "Say no to AP's shoddy work" by Jules Crittendon, found HERE is a great follow-up to Jack's piece on the Iraq Study Group and US policy in Iraq:
The AP is making up war crimes. But the resulting stink in the blogosphere has barely wrinkled a nose in the mainstream press. The ethics-obsessed Poynter Institute seems to be oblivious to it.
It has to do with the AP's Iraqi stringers and an oft-quoted Iraqi police captain named Jamil Hussein. Problem is, the Iraqi police say Capt. Hussein does not exist. The Iraqi police and U.S. military say an incident described in an AP report - Iraqi soldiers standing by as people were burned alive in a mosque - didn't happen. Another AP-reported incident, U.S. soldiers shooting 11 civilians, also never happened, the military says.
When the AP was forced to acknowledge this situation, it did so in a story about a new Interior Ministry policy regarding false reports. The AP buried the fact that its own false report prompted this new policy.
IF YOU DON'T READ ANOTHER STORY TODAY...READ THIS ONE!
by Tina Grazier
A response to an informed opinion by Nick.... "Well at least the War on Terror veterans (Iraq) and the Vietnam Veterans will be able to relate at the VFW meetings.
Well, maybe...and then again, maybe not. An article in the Weekly Standard titled "A Perfect Failure-The Iraq study group has reached a concensus" by Robert Kagan and William Kristol suggests that those bloviating wind bags, after much discussion and deliberation, have pretty much
Continue reading A Hard Look at Iraq.
by Jack Lee
Saturday was supposed to be a day of fun and hunting for Chico's Jim Ledgerwood. It began early in the a.m. hunting ducks, but the fun ended abruptly as Jim was returning to Chico and apparently fell asleep at the wheel . His vehicle went out of control on Road Z (7 Mile Lane) about 2.5 miles north of 162 around 1 p.m. today. Jim's SUV skidded in a wild S pattern and then rolled off the east shoulder an into a rice field narrowly missing a concrete bridge abutment. Both Jim and his hunting dog escaped with only minor injuries. The SUV was a total loss.
by Jack Lee
As a follow up to my previous article on Iraq, there is a Blue Ribbon Panel that is addressing our very concerns. It's made up of bi-partisan members of Congress and Chaired by Lee Hamilton. They're going to detail our options and recommend a course of action. The report is to be released to the public on Dec. 6th, 2006.
The leaks have already begun and we know at least two of the major points of consensus. The US is to begin a phased withdrawl by 2008 and it suggests we talk with Iran and Syria about how to calm things down. Considering these two countries are the major instigators and have been helping to kill our soldiers since day one, I would have a different suggestion, one that lends itself to the use of B52's and ridding ourselves of all our old bombs, but what do I know about military defense compared to such great military professionals as Nacny Pelosi or Maxine Waters? So, stay tuned, I'm sure the report will be brilliant.
Daily chuckle from Tinman....
With a couple celebrating their 50th anniversary at the church's marriage marathon, the minister asked Brother Ralph to take a few minutes and share some insight into how he managed to live with the same woman all these years. The husband replied to the audience, "Well, I treated her with respect, spent money on her, but mostly I took her traveling on special occasions." The minister inquired as to what trips. "For our 25th anniversary, I took her to Beijing, China." The minister then said, "What a terrific example you are to all husbands, Ralph. Please tell the audience what you're going to do for your wife on your 50th anniversary?"
V
V
V
V
V
V
Brother Ralph: "I'm going to go get her."
by Tina Salisbury
The following examples of "reporting" on the war demonstrate how the MSM use their theatrical powers to create an overall "mood" in the public and around the world...nice going guys! From my point of view this isn't reporting at all...it's writing the script and directing the movie: The mood is dark...all hope has been lost for the
Continue reading Media Reels-Roll Film.
by Jack Lee
It doesn't matter if we call it sectarian violence or a civil war, the real debate for people in America now is what can we do about it?
The consequences of a "policy" failure in Iraq is severe. But, before we go there, let me make this clear. If things continue to devolve in Iraq and we do withdraw and leave them to fight it out, we will not have failed because of our military. The failure will be much greater, it will be a geopolitical failure and for that the American media and the American left deserve a large portion of the blame. Militarily we could have crushed any internal resistance and taken out Iran for good measure. We have that power and we've proved it twice when we rolled over the worlds 4th largest army in a matter of days. Remember that same Army fought Iran to a stalemate for years, we took them out in days with virtually zero losses verse massive casualties on their side, but we are following a self sacrificing policy of policing, not fighting and that leaves little room for war winning military tactics.
However, if we fail politically and not militarily, it is still a loss and that means Al Qaeda's credibility will go up exponentially because they have been fighting us in Iraq for 3 years. They will declare it a huge victory, just like the
Continue reading A Hard Look At Iraq.
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