Thank You, Everyone!

Sometime last night, I got my 50,000th hit in 41 months. Considering that I took a hiatus and gave up on politics for a while, I'm quite surprised and pleased. I hope I can justify you're coming back.

One quick thing - the Democrats have cancelled their debate next week because of the writer's strike. What does that tell you about the spontaneity of their questions?

From a Former Football Fan

I have to confess - I'm a heretic. Even though I was born and raised in and around Chicago, I've spent so much time overseas that I now support both the Bears and the Green Bay Packers (unless they play the Bears).

Tonight, the Pack is playing the Cowboys for the best record in the NFC, but about 70% of the football fans won't be able to watch the game - it's being broadcast on the NFL Channel. I know my Time Warner refuses to carry that channel because of the exorbitant amount the NFL wants.

I'm waiting for the NFL to just put all the games on pay per view. That way they can drive away the majority of fans who can't afford it. Hell, unless you have a fistful of hundreds you don't know what to do with, you can't even afford to attend a game anymore.

It seems that all of the pro sports are jacking up prices to drive away the true fan. What a pity.

Standards? What Standards?

So - an elementary school teacher in the Sudan is looking at 40 lashes - and possibly a death sentence - because the students in her class decided to name a teddy bear "Mohammad". I have to wonder what they have planned for the students? They were the ones who named the damned thing!



Working off that logic, parents from Morocco to Indonesia should be beheaded for naming their children Mohammad (there's about half a dozen ways of spelling it). When I was in Pakistan, over half of our house staff was named Mohammad. Blasphemy!!


Which reminds me - do you remember when Pineapple Face, Manuel Noriega, was put in a Florida prison, he claimed to have found Jesus. Big deal - about half the inmates there were named Jesus. Makes it hard not to find him, doesn't it?

Closing Ranks

By now I'm assuming that most people have heard about actor Dennis Quaid's twins being given a dose of blood thinner 1,000 times what they should have been given. The only reason this has come to light is because they're the children of Quaid.

Many years ago, when She Who Must Be Obeyed was a nurse, doctors and nurses were commonly referred to as the "Medical Mafia" - they have a code of silence that's at least as tight as Police when it comes to closing ranks around each other in order to protect someone who screwed the pooch.

Many times families never find out what happened to a loved one who died on an operating table - and way too often the reason for the death is related to incompetence.

On a closely related subject, quite often small town newspapers don't report on many rapes and other sexual assaults, because they "don't want to scare the public".

The People's Paranoia Party is often claiming that the government is keeping secrets from us (no kidding - it's called classified material). They should be looking closer to home - unless something like what happened to the Quaid twins or the Drew Peterson situation takes place, you won't hear a peep.

Happy Thanksgiving

Except in Seattle, where today is a day of mourning, I want to wish all of you a safe and peaceful Thanksgiving. Unless, of course, your family is like mine was.

Every Thanksgiving used to turn out as the start of a feud somewhere in the family. I'd sit on the sidelines and enjoy the show.

When you sit down today to give thanks, please remember all those who are working to protect you and your way of life:

Members of our Armed Forces
Police Officers
Fire Departments
Doctors and Nurses

And others I've forgotten. And don't forget, not all troops are in harms way - Some are in Germany, Japan, U.S. Embassies - and even those stationed in the States who aren't allowed to go home for today.

Watch the Macy's Parade, have your turkey and ham, watch the Packers slap the Lions around - but think about those who are protecting you.

S&G - The Government Strikes Back!

Back when I was in the Marines and Army, there was no such thing as an enlistment bonus. Hell, they didn't even give us Brasso for the breastplate to go over the toga. Now troops signing up or re-upping are getting bonuses up to around $30,000 - but there's a catch. If you can believe the absolute balls of the Washington bean counters, if said troop gets wounded in combat and can no longer serve through no fault of their own, the Government is trying to get a pro-rated part of the bonus back! Someone needs to bitch slap these asswipes.

And don't you just love the illegal Lebanese woman who worked for both the FBI and CIA without a proper Background Investigation? When I joined the Marines I was selected for some classified duty, so I spent months at San Diego after graduation waiting for the clearance to come through. Naval Intelligence even went to talk to my neighbors and the local Police Departments. When I got married to a Foreign National, we had to wait for a BI to be performed on her, even though I lost my clearance as soon as we got married. How did this woman get through - and even send intel back to Lebanon and Palestine?

Lastly, Happy Birthday to a person who has absolutely no excuse to still be sucking oxygen - Joe Walsh is 60. For those who don't recognise the name, he was with the James Gang, went solo for a long time and joined the Eagles in the mid Seventies. He's the blond guitarist at the far right end as you look at the Eagles on stage.

Veterans Day

This is a day to acknowledge the service of all veterans. It is a day to observe, not to celebrate.

I tend to get upset when people say "Happy Veterans Day". I put it down to ignorance, because there's nothing about war or combat that's worth celebrating.

This is a day that tends to hit me fairly hard, thinking of those I served with and all the others in all our wars that never came home. But today also honors all vets, past and present - no matter where or when they served. Just making the sacrifice in a person's life to serve their country is one of the highest acts a person can make.

To any vets going out today, please remember that the Secretary of Vets Affairs has asked that we wear our medals and ribbons with pride. They were not "awarded", they were earned and should be worn with pride.

May everyone have a safe day, and take time to stop and remember.

A little P.S. to this post - I was out front this afternoon, looking up and down the whole length of my street, and I saw a grand total of one American Flags - the one in front of my house.

Assholes.

Happy Birthday, Marines

232 years ago today, the United States Marine Corps was formed. In the years since, Marines have fought "In Every Clime And Place".

To this day, Marines are fighting to protect not only our country but our basic freedoms - many of which the Marines are denied while serving. But the Marines wouldn't have it any other way. They are considered to be the Nation's elite fighting force, with good reason. Marines can be sent anywhere on a moment's notice and be ready to perform any duties asked of them.

Marines are still stationed on every Navy craft and they protect our Embassies in every nation around the world.

So, to all my brother Marines - past and present - have a great day today. Be proud and show your colors - you have earned the right!

Semi-S&G

Is it just me or:

Is Mike Huckabee the only
Republican running?

Why do animals have species while humans have
races?

After the college kid and the old lady, is
deadly force preferred to tasering?

If Democrats think all cultures are equal
(including the head hunters and cannibals still in New Guinea), why
are they so eager to see Israel destroyed?

Why would anyone want Bill
back in the White House? Could he be Vice Pres?

Are the Christmas ads going to start on
Labor Day? And:

Should we draft Ted Nugent as the
Republican candidate for President?

Also - to everyone who takes our way of life for granted and assumes that it could never change, check out what's happened to Hong Kong in the last ten years.

Back to Politics

I've gotten to the point where I wouldn't piss on Hillary if she was on fire. I never did like her, but in the last week she's gone right over the edge from ludicrous to absolute stupidity.

First, she's been trying to project this image of a tough woman who can handle all the world can throw at her once she becomes President - then she throws a hissy after a debate, saying that the other candidates were just picking on her because she was a girl.

The other thing is, back when she was "Co-President" she kept tons of documents - now she can't release them because each FOI request must be handled one at a time and it takes months. Hello? Didn't she just bring Sandy Berger into the fold? He could get all those documents out in the public view in an afternoon!

To me the rest of the Democrats and Republicans aren't worth much, but Hillary has been nothing but a lying, thieving bitch.

Almost Funny

I don't know if you've seen this, but there's an ad for a new nasal mist - I think it's called VERAMYST. If you pay attention to the ad, I wouldn't go near this.

First of all, at the bottom of the screen it says that no one is really sure how this product works. No one knows how it works? That scares the shit out of me!

Then, among the side effects are glaucoma and cataracts.

How the hell did this get past the FDA, and how much did it cost?

It's Getting Better

Well, I finally got the email to work on the new machine. I still have to get all the contacts added, and when my music was copied over from the backup external, it doubled every song.

Now, normally that might not be a problem, but I have around 1,400 Cd's and they're all on the computer. Figure out the average number of songs on each CD and you can see the problem.

My old scanner wouldn't work with VISTA, so I got a new present - a CANON printer / copier / scanner and fax, although the fax part is a waste. I tried out the scanner and it's great. I've used CANON printers for about 15 years because they're the easiest to use, install, and until recently the ink was inexpensive - it's still cheaper than many others. I also used it to make T-Shirt transfers, and the ink is permanent and didn't need rinsing in vinegar like some others.

So much for the commercial. As a person who still misses DOS 3.11, dBase and Clipper, I'm starting to come to grips with the new system - but there's a few system programs they've hidden. I'm getting too freakin' old for playing hide and seek.

I'm still viewing VISTA as the enemy, but it does have some nice features.