Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Michael Burghardt




Leading the fight is Gunnery Sgt Michael Burghardt, known as "Iron Mike" or just "Gunny". He is on his third tour in Iraq. He had become a legend in the bomb disposal world after winning the Bronze Star for disabling 64 IEDs and destroying 1,548 pieces of ordnance during his second tour. Then, on September 19, he got blown up.


Read about this amazing story here. Verified by Snopes.

Dead Drunk


When I got to work last night security had just noticed a guy bending over the second floor railing, almost going over. He was so drunk he didn't know where he was or where he belonged. I walked back to see if I recognized him. I didn't. They had him sitting in a chair and he was passed out. Just around the corner was a 12 pack of Corona and we were standing right there talking. We had called the police and when they arrived they ran his I.D. and somehow found out he was staying at a different hotel, he was lost. They ran him off and left. Security went around the corner to get the beer and it was gone. Someone stole it while the police were there.

Happy Birthday!




James is six today. Don't mess with him.

I remember when he was born so clearly. It's hard to believe it's been six years. Six wonderful years.

Monday, February 27, 2006

I'm In The Money!




James had his birthday party Sunday and one of his aunts gave him $30 in ones. Does he look happy?

Friday, February 24, 2006

Incredible!


This is some pretty incredible juggling by Chris Bliss, click on "Watch" to see it.

He Dropped The Knife, Didn't He?


Man set on fire as Taser hits lighter

"Taser! Taser!" Cassidy shouted as she sent a two-pronged wire, packing 50,000 volts, at Crouch's chest. What happened next stunned everyone.

A Taser probe pierced the pocket of his khaki shirt -- and ignited the butane lighter inside. Crouch's pocket exploded in flames.

"The subject," recounted Sgt. Al Tolley in a subsequent report, "immediately dropped the knife."


Apparently, he was unharmed.

Crouch didn't seem too concerned about his run-in with police and clearly had other priorities Tuesday night.

"You're burning my minutes," he said about his cell phone. "It's not 9 o'clock yet."


It's funny how selective memory can be sometimes.

"Why did they get into my house?" he asked of police. "I didn't invite them into my house. They came into my bedroom and shot me with the Taser, and it [the lighter] exploded."


Because we all know this nation has a real problem with police officers randomly entering homes and tasering people for fun.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

The Blob


Mystery blob eating downtown

Downtown Los Angeles that is.

"We were called back because there was a gooey substance, a tarry-type substance, coming out the underground electrical vaults, out of manhole covers in the street, through the sidewalks and possibly in one older apartment building," Myers said.

A 120-foot stretch of Olive buckled 1 1/2 feet, he said. The pre-1933 unreinforced masonry apartment building shifted one foot from its foundation. Sidewalks were as hot as Jacuzzis.

And a pressurized liquid shot from every street orifice located above what used to be a historic oil field downtown.


That's got to be one of the coolest stories I've heard in a while. No one has been hurt except for some property damage. Where are the TV news cameras when you need them? I want to see it.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Surrendered?


From the desk of Ed Koch: The Free Press Has Surrendered to Islamic Fanatics

Bennett's most important comment was, "I promise you, they have won. They have silenced -- these -- these mobs have silenced the mainstream media, who are afraid of the mob." Later on in the discussion, Bennett stated, "One of the difficulties with the cartoons is, they hit pretty close to the bone...Is there no suggestion that, in the name of Islam, in the name of the Koran, in the name of Allah, people are having their heads cut off? These things hit their target."

To me, that is the crux of the matter. There is a war of civilizations being waged in the world with the Islamic fanatics subliminally seeking to storm once again the gates of Vienna, where, in 1683, they were defeated. If by threats of terror against them, the great media institutions can be brought to their knees, we are in big trouble. Before this occurred, I had no doubt that, no matter how difficult, no matter how long the war we are now engaged in continues, the democracies of the world would win, as they did when first facing Hitler and later Stalin. Today, I am no longer so certain.


I think the bottom line is this; too many of us just don't believe Islamists will/can carry out what they so clearly want. Ignoring the problem won't make it go away. We must deal with this head on - no quarter given. Every time we retreat (even when we think we're just being gracious or sensitive), they advance. It strengthens them, it emboldens them. They view it as weakness, and like a predator they attack the weak.

They need us to defeat them, it is in their best interest. It is in the best interest of the world. During WWII the Germans and the Japanese were of the same spirit. They needed that strong hand to put them down, too, and knock that spirit out of them. It took a while, but we finally recognized that and did what it took. Yeah, it hurt, but you do what you have to do, and the world was better place because of it. It doesn't last forever though and that spirit has raised up another problem to deal with. Now is the time to put it down. The stakes are too high now to wait.

Today there are new ostriches in our land. They refuse to take terrorists at their word. The Times reported on February 4th the comments of a cleric at the Al-Omari mosque in Gaza, "We will not accept less than severing the heads of those responsible." Regrettably, many Westerners don't take Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Osama bin Laden's principal deputy, at his word when he said, "Killing the infidels is our religion, slaughtering them is our religion, until they convert to Islam or pay us tribute."

Monday, February 13, 2006

Resistance is Futile


The Borg are still at it and Michael Burkert has a commentary that sheds some light on it: Cartoon Wars

So, a big storm is in progress over Europe. It's all about cartoons. Or is it? What we are seeing more and more on a daily basis is the rise of Islam, not only in Europe, but also in our country and Canada as well. I've written time and again about unlimited immigration from the Middle East, swarming into an unsuspecting Europe, but this tragically is happening in North America as well. The results of this ill-advised process is a soon to arrive clash of cultures on a catastrophic scale.

Apologizing for "offending Islam" is not enough for the Muslim masses of Europe. They want blood! They literally want the heads of the cartoonists and the laws of Europe changed to meet their demands. The masses of Muslim immigrants living in Europe today did not come here to assimilate. They have no intention of becoming Germans, Frenchmen, Dutchmen or Danes. They come not to assimilate, they come to DOMINATE.


But, that's not all.

The Islamics are fanatical about Jerusalem. They are dedicated to the destruction of every Jewish man, woman and child. A united Muslim world, under the command of a Caliph could facilitate such a military and political reality in the never-ending lust to destroy the tiny nation of Israel. Everything else is a sideshow.

DingBat


Gore Laments U.S. 'Abuses' Against Arabs

The American people should get down on their knees and thank God Al Gore did not become President of the United States. He goes to an enemy country (I know Saudi Arabia is technically our ally but there is a huge enemy element within that country) and badmouths America and the President. Abuses against Arabs? Al Gore is insane with envy for President Bush.

Gore told the largely Saudi audience, many of them educated at U.S. universities, that Arabs in the United States had been "indiscriminately rounded up, often on minor charges of overstaying a visa or not having a green card in proper order, and held in conditions that were just unforgivable."


He and his ilk need to be hung for treason. They don't get their way so they try to burn down the house. Yes, hung. We are in a war and this behavior cannot be tolerated, too much is at stake. They are not just stepping across the line at this point, they have trampled it so much they have no idea where it is anymore.

Maddening


A company from the United Arab Emirates may be taking over operations at six American ports - New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.

Are we insane? Why you would want a company from any other country to be in such a position is beyond me, but the United Arab Emirates? Why not Saudi Arabia? They're our "allies" too.

Why not put China in charge of the Panama Canal. Oops, it already is.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Ford Mega-Pickup




The past week I noticed two of these Ford F-650's driving around, a red one and a yellow one. They are huge and very sharp. I'd never seen them before and they didn't seem to be work trucks at all - just "I'm badder than you" trucks. I found them on the web here. They even have an X-treme Utility Vehicle down near the bottom of the first page and a six-door pickup around the middle. Truly incredible. They claim better gas mileage than I thought - 13 mpg. I wonder what they'll come up with next?

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Red Light Cameras


Camera At Orlando Intersection Catches 2,700 Red Light Runners

Since mid-November, a camera at the corner of Hiawassee Road and Raleigh Street in Orlando has caught 2,700 people running the red light.


My question is: When exactly does it count as running a red light? What if it turns red as you exit the intersection? Or are halfway through it? What if you're in the intersection waiting to make a left (not for New Jersey drivers, where 3 rights = 1 left) and you can't get through until it turns red for oncoming traffic?

Human beings where not meant to be monitored and controlled by computers. It just doesn't work. There are too many variables in real human life that a computer just can't factor in. Just knowing you're being watched so closely causes too much stress for people. I'm not saying running red lights is OK but I think the authorities see dollar signs and can't see around them to reality.

I live in a town that is very heavy on police speeding enforcement. Very heavy. I can't tell you how many times I almost panic at the sight of a police car, immediately checking my speed (9 times out of 10 I'm not speeding anyway, the other time it's less than 5 over) and I end up driving down the main road constantly checking the speed. When I get out of town driving is so much more relaxing, I don't really worry about it that much. And I don't drive any faster out of town. The only difference is worrying about getting a ticket. And a side effect of this is that you never want to see a cop. They become "the enemy," even though you're not doing anything wrong.

Previously Unknown "Lost World" Found


The scientists are the first outsiders to see it. They could only reach the remote mountainous area by helicopter, which they described it as akin to finding a "Garden of Eden".


Scientists hail discovery of hundreds of new species in remote New Guinea

They believe no man has ever set foot in this remote area and they aim to change that.

There were so many new things it was almost overwhelming. And we have only scratched the surface of what is there." The scientists hope to return this year.


Keep scratching. No doubt scientists will soon lay claim to being the only protecters of the area as well. Can't have global warming killing off all the new species before they've catalogued them.

Monday, February 06, 2006

Grandpa Munster


Al Lewis dies at 95. I always liked "The Munsters." I loved Fred Gwynn as Herman and Al Lewis was great in that show. How long before a Hollywood remake of that show? I have a hard time believing they could pull it off. How do you replace Fred Gwynn and Al Lewis?

Friday, February 03, 2006

Despicable


NAACP Chairman Julian Bond - you're despicable! How dare you say these things. You're not doing anything to advance the lives of anyone, let alone those who your organization claims to advance. In fact, by saying these things you are hurting all Americans. You're shameful.

Civil rights activist and NAACP Chairman Julian Bond delivered a blistering partisan speech at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina last night, equating the Republican Party with the Nazi Party and characterizing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her predecessor, Colin Powell, as "tokens."

"The Republican Party would have the American flag and the swastika flying side by side," he charged.

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Bizzaro World


What has education come to? I think they just want to see how far they can go and get away with it. British school bans raising hands

To spare embarrassment of the students who do not know the answer, the school has incorporated a "phone a friend" system, allowing one child to nominate another to take the question instead.


You can't raise you hand if you know the answer and if you don't know you can have someone else answer for you. I guess they got that idea from "Who Wants to be a Millonaire?" Can they nominate someone to take a test for them too?