pointing you to Blackfive, and the efforts of the Soviets and their minions to rewrite history:
At the very last display in the camp, there was a book for former prisoners to write messages in. Most were in French or Hebrew. One of the pages had been torn out by the new German historians of the camp. They had framed the page above the book. You could not miss it - that was obviously the point.
The page was written by a former prisoner who lived in Paris and had just visited the camp a few weeks before we did. It was written in French and the Germans had it translated into German and English and Russian (brilliant!). I'll never forget it.
It read:
I survived the horrors of this camp.
Now everyone can know the truth.
Patton liberated this camp, not the Russians. I was there. The Amercans saved my life.
Thank you Americans!
Not one of my sergeants spoke for a long time.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
I had two great-uncles, both now in the soil,
who served in WWII. George Llanes was a skinny guy from south Texas who wound up in the Navy as a hard-hat diver. Ray Wells, Army Infantry in Europe.
Neither of them talked about it. Ever. Until the last few years before they died, each would say a few things. Not much. When Clinton was talking up an invasion of Iraq(and being surprised everyone didn't jump on his wagon), and George talked- a little. About Tarawa, mostly, and dead Marines in the water and on the beaches. Only time I ever heard him speak of his time in the Pacific. He wound up on full disability from injuries received. He did mention(that same night) that a lot of it came when they were diving on a sunken Japanese submarine, and were bombed; as I recall, he said "They knew we were diving on it, and didn't want us to get any intelligence from it."
Ray went over, and came back. And didn't talk about it to the family at all, not even his wife. The little ever heard was when a guy from his unit passing not too far away made a point to visit. Ray's wife, that evening, got him aside and asked him about it. Didn't get much; he didn't like talking about it either. Ray was a country boy who grew up hunting and fishing, he knew how to move in the woods and was, until the last couple of years, one hell of a shot. The friend did say that in one battle, there were eight Germans he personally knew Ray killed; and, worse than the killing, kids coming to their camps to beg for food. Ray was one of those who went without some nights because he couldn't stand to see them go hungry another night. He served from somewhere in France until the end, came home and, like George and a lot of others, considered it a dirty job that'd had to be done but they didn't want to think about it, or talk about it, once over.
Both were the kind of men you were glad to know, good friends. Who did something that had to be done, like a whole lot of others.
Neither of them talked about it. Ever. Until the last few years before they died, each would say a few things. Not much. When Clinton was talking up an invasion of Iraq(and being surprised everyone didn't jump on his wagon), and George talked- a little. About Tarawa, mostly, and dead Marines in the water and on the beaches. Only time I ever heard him speak of his time in the Pacific. He wound up on full disability from injuries received. He did mention(that same night) that a lot of it came when they were diving on a sunken Japanese submarine, and were bombed; as I recall, he said "They knew we were diving on it, and didn't want us to get any intelligence from it."
Ray went over, and came back. And didn't talk about it to the family at all, not even his wife. The little ever heard was when a guy from his unit passing not too far away made a point to visit. Ray's wife, that evening, got him aside and asked him about it. Didn't get much; he didn't like talking about it either. Ray was a country boy who grew up hunting and fishing, he knew how to move in the woods and was, until the last couple of years, one hell of a shot. The friend did say that in one battle, there were eight Germans he personally knew Ray killed; and, worse than the killing, kids coming to their camps to beg for food. Ray was one of those who went without some nights because he couldn't stand to see them go hungry another night. He served from somewhere in France until the end, came home and, like George and a lot of others, considered it a dirty job that'd had to be done but they didn't want to think about it, or talk about it, once over.
Both were the kind of men you were glad to know, good friends. Who did something that had to be done, like a whole lot of others.
June 6
1944. The biggest amphibious landing of all time, combined with massive airborne landings by chute and glider, into the teeth of one of the most heavily-defended and fortified areas in the world.
Airborne troops dropped at too-high speed who wound up landing with a pistol and knife and not much else because the airstream ripped everything else off them. Guys landing on a beach knowing about all the machine guns and artillery waiting for them. I'm going to borrow some from Russ at Ace of Spades:
You know what I did this morning? Maybe it would be better if I told you what I didn't do this morning.
For those, and everyone else in uniform that's been to and fought over and bled and died in everyplace from fields in the Colonies to deserts and mountains and jungles, give them a thought today.
Airborne troops dropped at too-high speed who wound up landing with a pistol and knife and not much else because the airstream ripped everything else off them. Guys landing on a beach knowing about all the machine guns and artillery waiting for them. I'm going to borrow some from Russ at Ace of Spades:
You know what I did this morning? Maybe it would be better if I told you what I didn't do this morning.
I didn't have to spend over 12 hours on a transport ship in choppy water, then clamber down a cargo net into a plywood landing craft, all while carrying up to 100 pounds of gear on my back. Then, I didn't ride through the rough surf in that little plywood target, only to have the steel ramp (the only part of the little plywood boat that was even remotely bullet-resistant) flop down and drop me into the cold ocean water in front of a beach filled with steel obstacles, mines, flying bullets & exploding artillery rounds.
I didn't fly over enemy occupied territory at 1000 feet in a C47 cargo plane and then jump out of the plane into the teeth of enemy anti-aircraft fire. I didn't have to worry about my bright white silk parachute making me a good target for troops on the ground who wanted to use me for target practice, and after I landed, I didn't have to worry about engaging a vastly superior force with only the gear I carried with me (providing that said gear wasn't ripped off by the turbulence I encountered exiting the plane) with whoever I could gather together from the other troops dropped behind enemy lines the same as I was.
I didn't march into a plywood glider (PLYWOOD, as we've already established, is NOT very resistant to gunfire and explosions) and sit quietly while I was towed into anti-aircraft fire, only to be released and experience a controlled crash into trees, buildings or apparently open fields that were booby trapped with wooden poles and steel cables by the enemy.
I wasn't asked to take my place in a McGyvered together amphibious tank, where I would most likely be swamped by the waves and sink to the bottom of the English Channel like....well, like a tank rigged for amphibious operations with lumber and canvas. And if I DID happen to get to the beach, I would have been the prime target of every enemy artillery piece for miles around.
God only knows what all was lost on those beaches and fields and towns and villages. How much potential died there, doing a filthy, bloody, nasty job that had to be done.For those, and everyone else in uniform that's been to and fought over and bled and died in everyplace from fields in the Colonies to deserts and mountains and jungles, give them a thought today.
Friday, June 05, 2009
And, as a knifemaker, I now have to note that the President
is after your knife, too.
Beware! That folding knife in your pocket may turn you into a criminal if the Obama administration gets its way. Although there has been a lot of fear and speculation that the new administration wants to take your guns, the most pressing threat now is actually to your pocket knives. With the changing of the guard at U.S. Customs, that agency has now embarked on redefining "switchblades" under federal law to include a wide variety of one hand opening knives that never were intended to be prohibited. In fact, many of the knives U.S. Customs now seek to prohibit under the Federal Switchblade Law had not even been invented at the time of its enactment! Furthermore, four previous U.S. Customs ruling letters (prior administrations) specifically determined "assisted opening" knives not to be defined as switchblades.
This new proposed U.S. Customs regulation is so broad that thousands of pocket knives will fall under its sweep and millions of knife owners will be affected. The problem is not simply that imports will be banned (which is bad enough), but that the "agency determination" will be used by domestic courts and law enforcement to determine what a "switchblade" is under both federal and state laws. Many states, including New Hampshire, fail to define switchblades and simply rely on the federal definition.
Just effing wonderful, isn't it?
Beware! That folding knife in your pocket may turn you into a criminal if the Obama administration gets its way. Although there has been a lot of fear and speculation that the new administration wants to take your guns, the most pressing threat now is actually to your pocket knives. With the changing of the guard at U.S. Customs, that agency has now embarked on redefining "switchblades" under federal law to include a wide variety of one hand opening knives that never were intended to be prohibited. In fact, many of the knives U.S. Customs now seek to prohibit under the Federal Switchblade Law had not even been invented at the time of its enactment! Furthermore, four previous U.S. Customs ruling letters (prior administrations) specifically determined "assisted opening" knives not to be defined as switchblades.
This new proposed U.S. Customs regulation is so broad that thousands of pocket knives will fall under its sweep and millions of knife owners will be affected. The problem is not simply that imports will be banned (which is bad enough), but that the "agency determination" will be used by domestic courts and law enforcement to determine what a "switchblade" is under both federal and state laws. Many states, including New Hampshire, fail to define switchblades and simply rely on the federal definition.
Just effing wonderful, isn't it?
As stated on the www.kniferights.org website:
U.S. Customs has proposed revoking earlier rulings that assisted opening knives are not switchblades. The proposed new rule would not only outlaw assisted opening knives its broad definition could also easily be interpreted to include one-handed opening knives and even most other pocket knives.
Note that customs interpretation of the Federal Switchblade Act forms the basis for national, state and even local law and judicial rulings in many cases. The effect is NOT limited to just imports.
As stated on the www.akti.org website:
URGENT NEWS - U.S. Customs Proposal would characterize assisted-openers as switchblade knives and jeopardize all pocket knives. On behalf of the entire sporting knife industry and knife owners across the country, AKTI will be filing an official response to U.S. Customs.
It appears Pres. Barack Hussein Cartman Obama is only interested in
energy sources that are 'extra'-PC, and wave power doesn't count:
The Obama administration has proposed a 25 percent cut in the research and development budget for one of the most promising renewable energy sources in the Northwest — wave and tidal power.
At the same time the White House sought an 82 percent increase in solar power research funding, a 36 percent increase in wind power funding and a 14 percent increase in geothermal funding, it sought to cut wave and tidal research funding from $40 million to $30 million.
Let it also be noted that he has no problem with friggin' Iran building reactors, but doesn't want any built in the US. And now this.
The decision to cut funding for tidal and wave power came only weeks after the Interior Department suggested that wave power could emerge as the leading offshore energy source in the Northwest and at a time when efforts to develop tidal power in Puget Sound are attracting national and international attention.
By some estimates, wave and tidal power could eventually meet 10 percent of the nation's electricity demand, about the same as hydropower currently delivers. Some experts have estimated that if only 0.2 percent of energy in ocean waves could be harnessed, the power produced would be enough to supply the entire world.
As the Random Nukes guy says,
If our two Senators, Patty “Osama bin Laden builds daycare centers” Murray and Maria “Can’tVoteWell” Cantwell would keep their damn eyes on the prize instead of dallying with shit our state doesn’t need attending to, this wouldn’t have happened.
Just last month a set of these power generators was OK’d to be set off in Puget Sound by Mr. Completely’s place. The things have four legs and can be moved around if a better location is discovered or if for some reason their location suddenly becomes a shipping lane. All you see is a damn buoy floating on top of the water and the fish could care less. Twice a year cleanings is the required maintenance. Hit the link for a rather well done drawing.
But noooooo, The President’s folks would rather cover the state of Nevada with solar panels that can’t be manufactured fast enough to meet his production targets and every ridge line mowed down and topped with a propeller until alien civilizations begin to wonder if they have religious significance.
The Obama administration has proposed a 25 percent cut in the research and development budget for one of the most promising renewable energy sources in the Northwest — wave and tidal power.
At the same time the White House sought an 82 percent increase in solar power research funding, a 36 percent increase in wind power funding and a 14 percent increase in geothermal funding, it sought to cut wave and tidal research funding from $40 million to $30 million.
Let it also be noted that he has no problem with friggin' Iran building reactors, but doesn't want any built in the US. And now this.
The decision to cut funding for tidal and wave power came only weeks after the Interior Department suggested that wave power could emerge as the leading offshore energy source in the Northwest and at a time when efforts to develop tidal power in Puget Sound are attracting national and international attention.
By some estimates, wave and tidal power could eventually meet 10 percent of the nation's electricity demand, about the same as hydropower currently delivers. Some experts have estimated that if only 0.2 percent of energy in ocean waves could be harnessed, the power produced would be enough to supply the entire world.
As the Random Nukes guy says,
If our two Senators, Patty “Osama bin Laden builds daycare centers” Murray and Maria “Can’tVoteWell” Cantwell would keep their damn eyes on the prize instead of dallying with shit our state doesn’t need attending to, this wouldn’t have happened.
Just last month a set of these power generators was OK’d to be set off in Puget Sound by Mr. Completely’s place. The things have four legs and can be moved around if a better location is discovered or if for some reason their location suddenly becomes a shipping lane. All you see is a damn buoy floating on top of the water and the fish could care less. Twice a year cleanings is the required maintenance. Hit the link for a rather well done drawing.
But noooooo, The President’s folks would rather cover the state of Nevada with solar panels that can’t be manufactured fast enough to meet his production targets and every ridge line mowed down and topped with a propeller until alien civilizations begin to wonder if they have religious significance.
As to Pres. Obama's speech the other day,
various people have taken it apart. On the "Islam Saved Sciene"-type aspects, Robert Spencer deals with that:
As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and the fall of dusk. As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith.As a student of history, I also know civilization's debt to Islam. It was Islam – at places like Al-Azhar University – that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's Renaissance and Enlightenment. It was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra; our magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens and printing; our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed. Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires; timeless poetry and cherished music; elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation. And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality.
The idea that Islamic culture was once a beacon of learning and enlightenment is a commonly held myth. In fact, much of this has been exaggerated, often for quite transparent apologetic motives. The astrolabe was developed, if not perfected, long before Muhammad was born. The zero, which is often attributed to Muslims, and what we know today as “Arabic numerals” did not originate in Arabia, but in pre-Islamic India. Aristotle’s work was preserved in Arabic not initially by Muslims at all, but by Christians such as the fifth century priest Probus of Antioch, who introduced Aristotle to the Arabic-speaking world. Another Christian, Huneyn ibn-Ishaq (809-873), translated many works by Aristotle, Galen, Plato and Hippocrates into Syriac. His son then translated them into Arabic. The Syrian Christian Yahya ibn ‘Adi (893-974) also translated works of philosophy into Arabic, and wrote one of his own, The Reformation of Morals. His student, another Christian named Abu ‘Ali ‘Isa ibn Zur’a (943-1008), also translated Aristotle and others from Syriac into Arabic. The first Arabic-language medical treatise was written by a Christian priest and translated into Arabic by a Jewish doctor in 683. The first hospital was founded in Baghdad during the Abbasid caliphate -- not by a Muslim, but a Nestorian Christian. A pioneering medical school was founded at Gundeshapur in Persia — by Assyrian Christians.
In sum, there was a time when it was indeed true that Islamic culture was more advanced than that of Europeans, but that superiority corresponds exactly to the period when Muslims were able to draw on and advance the achievements of Byzantine and other civilizations. But when the Muslim overlords had taken what they could from their subject peoples, and the Jewish and Christian communities had been stripped of their material and intellectual wealth and thoroughly subdued, Islam went into a period of intellectual decline from which it has not yet recovered.
I'll add, on the 'religious equality and racial tolerance' bit, Jews and Christians, from what I've read, were dhimmi; restricted in their worship, in what house/type they could own, what kind of livestock they could own, and had to pay a tax to be allowed to live this way. And Mohammed didn't like non-arabs; said it quite plainly that 'Islam is a religion for Arabs'. Not exactly what the President was pushing. Ok, further down he notes this:
"The dhimmi, as these covenanted peoples were called, were granted religious freedom, not forced to convert to Islam. They could continue to be Jews and Christians, and, as it turned out, they could share in much of Muslim social and economic life. In return for this freedom of religious conscience the Peoples of the Book (pagans had no such privilege) were required to pay a special tax — no Muslims paid taxes — and to observe a number of restrictive regulations: Christians and Jews were prohibited from attempting to proselytize Muslims, from building new places of worship, from displaying crosses or ringing bells. In sum, they were forbidden most public displays of their religious rituals."
Things like that, basically sucking up to other countries, and all the apologies for the US... about what you'd expect from Obama. He did point out that the US has done many good things for the world, but always he throws in "We're not so good, we need to advance", always he has to have something to denigrate the US. And this line:
Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail.
WHAT 'world order'? What 'order' has elevated one nation over another? Just how does he mean this? I strongly suspect he's speaking of having a 'proper' world order(UN) making sure no country is, in his terms, better off than another. Yeah, that'd be a wonderful situation, wouldn't it?
I suspect that what American Thinker put forward was right; he didn't have the integrity or balls to say anything sooner- tried to avoid it altogether- about the murder of Private William Long and wounding of Private Quinton Ezeagwula, because he didn't want it to somehow cause him trouble in sucking up to the 'muslim world'. Got news for you, Mr. President; if calling a muslim a murderer and dirtbag, even indirectly, for this crime would cause problems with them, then they need to change their damned attitude. And you need to stand up for our guys, not filter everything through "We must not give offense to muslims."
And, to borrow from someone, STOP APOLIGIZING FOR THIS COUNTRY! I'm sick of it.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Ah, one of the joys of old surplus rifles
is getting the oil and grease out of the stock. The P14 I picked up at Tulsa last fall, to be specific. It wasn't too bad(I've cleaned much worse), mainly the wrist at the back of the receiver, and along the sides of the receiver area.
I finally got pretty much all of it out, and rubbed on linseed thinned with mineral spirits; the spirits thins it enough to let it really penetrate into the wood, let it sit a while then wipe off any excess. It's been drying the last couple of days, so tomorrow I should be able to do a bit of smoothing- making sure not to damage the cartouches- and put on the first coat of Minwax Antique Oil Finish. I'm not going to try to take this all the way to a gloss finish, just three or four times to seal the wood and protect it.
Have I ever mentioned how nice nitrile gloves can be?
Oh, earlier at the redhead's place, I read her recipe for soda bread, and decided to try it. The only cast iron I have that's about 10" diameter is the dutch oven I picked up a while back and hadn't used yet, so it was christened with this; and considering how much rising the stuff did while baking, I'm glad I used it. The bread's good(very), and that and some cheese was dinner.
I finally got pretty much all of it out, and rubbed on linseed thinned with mineral spirits; the spirits thins it enough to let it really penetrate into the wood, let it sit a while then wipe off any excess. It's been drying the last couple of days, so tomorrow I should be able to do a bit of smoothing- making sure not to damage the cartouches- and put on the first coat of Minwax Antique Oil Finish. I'm not going to try to take this all the way to a gloss finish, just three or four times to seal the wood and protect it.
Have I ever mentioned how nice nitrile gloves can be?
Oh, earlier at the redhead's place, I read her recipe for soda bread, and decided to try it. The only cast iron I have that's about 10" diameter is the dutch oven I picked up a while back and hadn't used yet, so it was christened with this; and considering how much rising the stuff did while baking, I'm glad I used it. The bread's good(very), and that and some cheese was dinner.
Battle of Midway
And some of the things involved in the victory. In part,
Go look at the rest. When you consider everything that could(and some that did) go wrong, it's friggin' amazing.
- Have your major surface combatants destroyed or seriously damaged and unavailable for use.
- Make sure the enemy has 4 aircraft carriers and some big battleships headed for you.
- Make sure you are outnumbered in aircraft carriers by 4 to 3.
- Have 1 of your 3 aircraft carriers severely damaged and limp into port unable to support flight operations.
- Have only a vague idea where the enemy fleet might be.
- Arrange to have your most aggressive, experienced aviator admiral come down with some sort of skin infection that puts him in a hospital bed, unavailable for duty.
- Replace him with a non-aviator admiral just in time for what you know has to be a battle largely fought by carrier aircraft. See #1.
Go look at the rest. When you consider everything that could(and some that did) go wrong, it's friggin' amazing.
Rep. Barney Frank(Evil Party-MA) is a slimy, corrupt little whore
Which you already knew, this just makes what's happening to GM dealers even worse(if possible):
Rep Barney Frank (D-Mass.) won a stay of execution on Thursday for a General Motors plant in his district that the automaker had announced it would close.
No other lawmaker has managed to halt the GM ax. As chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Frank oversees the government’s bailout program, known as TARP. Frank’s staff said the lawmaker spokes with GM CEO Fritz Henderson on Wednesday and convinced him to keep the Norton, Mass. plant open for at least 14 months.
'Convinced'; let's see, is that a euphemism for 'threatened' or 'bribed'? Or both, considering Frank, miserable little bastard that he is.
Rep Barney Frank (D-Mass.) won a stay of execution on Thursday for a General Motors plant in his district that the automaker had announced it would close.
No other lawmaker has managed to halt the GM ax. As chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Frank oversees the government’s bailout program, known as TARP. Frank’s staff said the lawmaker spokes with GM CEO Fritz Henderson on Wednesday and convinced him to keep the Norton, Mass. plant open for at least 14 months.
'Convinced'; let's see, is that a euphemism for 'threatened' or 'bribed'? Or both, considering Frank, miserable little bastard that he is.
Breda notes a company that doesn't want your business
if you're a gun owner.
I was about to continue on but I paused long enough to look at the page again and noticed this as the item's description...
Right. Well then, they just lost a potential customer. And really, it's not as if I couldn't find the same items somewhere else with a little extra effort on Google - librarian skills do come in handy sometimes.
Yeah, if someone craps on gun owners, find the product somewhere else. And tell them about it.
I was about to continue on but I paused long enough to look at the page again and noticed this as the item's description...
"Kikkerland donates 5% of proceeds of each bag to the Brady Campaign to end gun violence (www.bradycampaign.org)"
Right. Well then, they just lost a potential customer. And really, it's not as if I couldn't find the same items somewhere else with a little extra effort on Google - librarian skills do come in handy sometimes.
Yeah, if someone craps on gun owners, find the product somewhere else. And tell them about it.
Why I'm glad Coburn decided to run for a second term
Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn says he's not ready to meet with Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.
He says he still has a lot of reasearch to do before he meets with her...
"I'm not going to talk to her... she has 3,600 cases and when I have reviewed and have prepared myself properly, then I will sit down with her in my office and visit with her."
Senator Coburn was a guest on Wednesday's Mark Shannon Show on KTOK and he says choosing a Supreme Court Nominee isn't about someone's personality...
It's about how they will interpret the law.
Yes, I'm still ticked about his 'yes' vote on the Pork, Payoffs & Bribes Bailout Bill; overall, he's still one of the best in that Parliament of Whores.
He says he still has a lot of reasearch to do before he meets with her...
"I'm not going to talk to her... she has 3,600 cases and when I have reviewed and have prepared myself properly, then I will sit down with her in my office and visit with her."
Senator Coburn was a guest on Wednesday's Mark Shannon Show on KTOK and he says choosing a Supreme Court Nominee isn't about someone's personality...
It's about how they will interpret the law.
Yes, I'm still ticked about his 'yes' vote on the Pork, Payoffs & Bribes Bailout Bill; overall, he's still one of the best in that Parliament of Whores.
Why I don't trust feds as a general rule anymore
The Behenna case was marred by what appears to be prosecutorial misconduct when evidence from the prosecution's own forensics expert favorable to Behenna was ignored and withheld from the military tribunal until the trial was over.
And what might that evidence be?
"● As the case unfolded, and before the government rested its case-in-chief, Dr. MacDonell advised the prosecutors that it was possible that Mansur was standing with his arms raised and was first shot through the torso and secondly shot in the head as he fell. Dr. MacDonell demonstrated this scenario to the prosecutors using prosecution team personnel.
"● After 1LT Behenna testified, Dr. MacDonell again advised another government expert that the forensics of the entry wounds support Behenna’s testimony. The government did not disclose to the defense the fact that their own expert had concluded that Behenna’s version was not just possible but was the “only logical” explanation consistent with the forensic evidence, despite formal requests from Behenna’s counsel before and during the trial for Brady material – evidence potentially favorable to the accused as to guilt or sentencing.
"● The case then proceeded to closing argument without the benefit of Dr. MacDonell’s testimony. In fact, the government argued in closing that Behenna’s version of events was so implausible that the government did not need to call a rebuttal witness when, in fact, Dr. MacDonell was retained in part for the contingency of being such a rebuttal witness. Only after Dr. MacDonell pressed the issue with the prosecutors by sending them an email did the prosecutors disclose his opinion that: '[T]he only logical explanation for this shooting . . .[is] that Ali Mansur had to have been shot in his chest when he was standing. . . . [I]t fits the facts and I can not think of a more logical explanation. [W]hen I heard Lt. Michael Behenna testify . . . I could not believe how close it was to the scenario I had described to you on Wednesday.'
"● This email with its critical content was produced to Behenna’s defense team after the court members (what civilians call the “jury”) had already returned a guilty verdict. Therefore, the court members never learned of Dr. MacDonell’s exculpatory conclusions for their deliberations on guilt or sentencing.
"● The government opposed 1LT Behenna’s new trial, stating in its brief: 'Dr. MacDonell’s opinion that 1LT Behenna’s account was the only logical explanation of the shooting, albeit extremely unlikely or an amazing coincidence, would not have produced a substantially more favorable result for the Accused.'
This kind of bullcrap, like the misconduct that came out in the Ted Stevens trial, is why I just don't trust these people.
And what might that evidence be?
"● As the case unfolded, and before the government rested its case-in-chief, Dr. MacDonell advised the prosecutors that it was possible that Mansur was standing with his arms raised and was first shot through the torso and secondly shot in the head as he fell. Dr. MacDonell demonstrated this scenario to the prosecutors using prosecution team personnel.
"● After 1LT Behenna testified, Dr. MacDonell again advised another government expert that the forensics of the entry wounds support Behenna’s testimony. The government did not disclose to the defense the fact that their own expert had concluded that Behenna’s version was not just possible but was the “only logical” explanation consistent with the forensic evidence, despite formal requests from Behenna’s counsel before and during the trial for Brady material – evidence potentially favorable to the accused as to guilt or sentencing.
"● The case then proceeded to closing argument without the benefit of Dr. MacDonell’s testimony. In fact, the government argued in closing that Behenna’s version of events was so implausible that the government did not need to call a rebuttal witness when, in fact, Dr. MacDonell was retained in part for the contingency of being such a rebuttal witness. Only after Dr. MacDonell pressed the issue with the prosecutors by sending them an email did the prosecutors disclose his opinion that: '[T]he only logical explanation for this shooting . . .[is] that Ali Mansur had to have been shot in his chest when he was standing. . . . [I]t fits the facts and I can not think of a more logical explanation. [W]hen I heard Lt. Michael Behenna testify . . . I could not believe how close it was to the scenario I had described to you on Wednesday.'
"● This email with its critical content was produced to Behenna’s defense team after the court members (what civilians call the “jury”) had already returned a guilty verdict. Therefore, the court members never learned of Dr. MacDonell’s exculpatory conclusions for their deliberations on guilt or sentencing.
"● The government opposed 1LT Behenna’s new trial, stating in its brief: 'Dr. MacDonell’s opinion that 1LT Behenna’s account was the only logical explanation of the shooting, albeit extremely unlikely or an amazing coincidence, would not have produced a substantially more favorable result for the Accused.'
This kind of bullcrap, like the misconduct that came out in the Ted Stevens trial, is why I just don't trust these people.
As Uncle has asked before, why are anti-gun people
so violent?
Lots of pictures at the site, short version:
People build homes near a range that's been there many years.
People discover noise!
People try to shut range down, fail.
People vandalize range and owners home.
Lots of pictures at the site, short version:
People build homes near a range that's been there many years.
People discover noise!
People try to shut range down, fail.
People vandalize range and owners home.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
So President Obama finally saw fit to, or finally got around to,
saying something about the murder and attempted murder of soldiers here in the US:
“I am deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence against two brave young soldiers who were doing their part to strengthen our armed forces and keep our country safe. I would like to wish Quinton Ezeagwula a speedy recovery, and to offer my condolences and prayers to William Long’s family as they mourn the loss of their son.”
That's it. That's Effing It. It took him three friggin' DAYS to come up with this. It only took hours for him to be 'shocked and outraged' by the 'heinous act of violence' of the murder of Dr. Tiller, but it took him THREE DAMN DAYS to be 'deeply saddened' by the attack on these two soldiers.
I realize he's probably rehearsing bowing to the King of Saudi and otherwise offering our belly to whoever he's planning to apologize to, but even if American Thinker is right and he was worried about 'upsetting the muslim world' by taking notice of this attack, that's not a reason; that's a bloody excuse. This dirtbag murdered one troop and damn near killed another, and it took him THREE DAYS to be 'saddened'. And you know something? If lots of people like Malkin and Rush and whoever had not kept yelling about this refusal to speak, he'd never have said one damned word. Because I don't think he cares about the lives of these troops; he just cares about nothing smudging his image with other parts of the world.
Ok, at the end of her post Malkin points to something else, and I'm now of the opinion that a bunch of seat-warmers in the FBI need to be fired. Preferably yesterday. From the article:
A disturbing aspect of the attack is that Muhammad had been brought to the FBI’s attention months ago, according to ABC News.
But U.S. counterterror teams may have been intentionally prevented from investigating radicalized converts to Islam:
Stratfor implies, however, that the investigations were canceled for purely political reasons.
Many FBI supervisors are reluctant to authorize investigations that they believe may have negative blow-back on their career advancement. In light of this institutional culture, and the order to be careful in investigations relating to Black Muslim converts, it would not be at all surprising to us if a supervisor refused to authorize a full-field investigation of Muhammad that would have included surveillance of his activities... Had the FBI opened a full-field investigation on Muhammad, and had it conducted surveillance on him, it would have been able to watch him participate in preoperational activities such as conducting surveillance of potential targets and obtaining weapons.
Of course, the FBI didn't fire any of the people who effed up before 9/11, so what are the chances of them nailing anybody for one lousy dead soldier?
Lampposts, ropes, and a whole pile of politicians and bureaucrats.
“I am deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence against two brave young soldiers who were doing their part to strengthen our armed forces and keep our country safe. I would like to wish Quinton Ezeagwula a speedy recovery, and to offer my condolences and prayers to William Long’s family as they mourn the loss of their son.”
That's it. That's Effing It. It took him three friggin' DAYS to come up with this. It only took hours for him to be 'shocked and outraged' by the 'heinous act of violence' of the murder of Dr. Tiller, but it took him THREE DAMN DAYS to be 'deeply saddened' by the attack on these two soldiers.
I realize he's probably rehearsing bowing to the King of Saudi and otherwise offering our belly to whoever he's planning to apologize to, but even if American Thinker is right and he was worried about 'upsetting the muslim world' by taking notice of this attack, that's not a reason; that's a bloody excuse. This dirtbag murdered one troop and damn near killed another, and it took him THREE DAYS to be 'saddened'. And you know something? If lots of people like Malkin and Rush and whoever had not kept yelling about this refusal to speak, he'd never have said one damned word. Because I don't think he cares about the lives of these troops; he just cares about nothing smudging his image with other parts of the world.
Ok, at the end of her post Malkin points to something else, and I'm now of the opinion that a bunch of seat-warmers in the FBI need to be fired. Preferably yesterday. From the article:
A disturbing aspect of the attack is that Muhammad had been brought to the FBI’s attention months ago, according to ABC News.
But U.S. counterterror teams may have been intentionally prevented from investigating radicalized converts to Islam:
Several weeks ago, STRATFOR heard from sources that the FBI and other law enforcement organizations had been ordered to “back off” of counterterrorism investigations into the activities of Black Muslim converts. At this point, it is unclear to us if that guidance was given by the White House or the Department of Justice, or if it was promulgated by the agencies themselves, anticipating the wishes of President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder.
Stratfor implies, however, that the investigations were canceled for purely political reasons.
...politics have proved obstructive to all facets of counterterrorism policy. And politics may have been at play in the Muhammad case as well as in other cases involving Black Muslim converts......
Many FBI supervisors are reluctant to authorize investigations that they believe may have negative blow-back on their career advancement. In light of this institutional culture, and the order to be careful in investigations relating to Black Muslim converts, it would not be at all surprising to us if a supervisor refused to authorize a full-field investigation of Muhammad that would have included surveillance of his activities... Had the FBI opened a full-field investigation on Muhammad, and had it conducted surveillance on him, it would have been able to watch him participate in preoperational activities such as conducting surveillance of potential targets and obtaining weapons.
Of course, the FBI didn't fire any of the people who effed up before 9/11, so what are the chances of them nailing anybody for one lousy dead soldier?
Lampposts, ropes, and a whole pile of politicians and bureaucrats.
So I'd day any "It was just a moment of rage/insanity" defense
is out the effing window:
The man charged with the Arkansas military recruiter shooting might have considered other targets, according to law enforcement officials.
A joint FBI-Homeland Security intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press said officers found maps to Jewish organizations, a child care center, a Baptist church, a post office and military recruiting centers in the southeastern U.S. and New York and Philadelphia.
"Out of an abundance of caution, and in light of newly discovered information, the FBI cannot rule out additional subjects, targets, or the potential for inspired copy cats who might act out in support of the original act," the intelligence assessment said.
I will admit to looking very carefully at the wording of releases like this, due to past instances of weasel-wording and flat lies. Considering that, the 'inspired copy cats' line sounds almost like "Let's say 'copycat' now, so if this clown's friends do something, we can have that in the public mind."
Why yes, I am rather untrustful of these people anymore. And the Religion of Peace, for that matter. From Theo, as I recall:
"Police reported that a suspicious box was located in a van outside a local mosque. However, they advise the public that there is no need to panic, as they were able to push it inside."
The man charged with the Arkansas military recruiter shooting might have considered other targets, according to law enforcement officials.
A joint FBI-Homeland Security intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press said officers found maps to Jewish organizations, a child care center, a Baptist church, a post office and military recruiting centers in the southeastern U.S. and New York and Philadelphia.
"Out of an abundance of caution, and in light of newly discovered information, the FBI cannot rule out additional subjects, targets, or the potential for inspired copy cats who might act out in support of the original act," the intelligence assessment said.
I will admit to looking very carefully at the wording of releases like this, due to past instances of weasel-wording and flat lies. Considering that, the 'inspired copy cats' line sounds almost like "Let's say 'copycat' now, so if this clown's friends do something, we can have that in the public mind."
Why yes, I am rather untrustful of these people anymore. And the Religion of Peace, for that matter. From Theo, as I recall:
"Police reported that a suspicious box was located in a van outside a local mosque. However, they advise the public that there is no need to panic, as they were able to push it inside."
A little more on the jihadi filth murderer, and just how well
the system worked to keep an eye on him:
But Muhammad is no stranger to the FBI files. They had their hands on Bledsoe once before, detaining him in Yemen with a fake Somalian passport. However Bledsoe, a US citizen with Constitutional rights by birth, was freed to continue his personal jihad that was to end one new soldier’s life, and send to the hospital.
Why? How does that happen? Despite the hallmarks, the connections, the travels and the trails to jihad centers, and such obvious suspicious behavior, the FBI didn’t have “sufficient evidence” to meet legal demands for either a wiretap or surveillance?
What were they missing by our legal standards that prevented them for further investigation? What if this was to be more than a “hunting” expedition for Bledsoe?
They catch him in a foreign country with a fake passport, they know what he was doing there, but there's 'insufficient evidence' for wiretap or actual surveillance? Or is this another of the decisions like that which kept the investigators from getting a court order to search a laptop before 9/11; chickenshit cowardly brass that didn't want to be seen as 'insensitive' or politically incorrect? I don't now, and barring a real investigation we probably never will. If it's the latter, then the bastards responsible have blood on their hands.
And, so far as I know, the miserable bastard in the White House still has made no mention of the murder and attempted murder of troops here in the US.
But Muhammad is no stranger to the FBI files. They had their hands on Bledsoe once before, detaining him in Yemen with a fake Somalian passport. However Bledsoe, a US citizen with Constitutional rights by birth, was freed to continue his personal jihad that was to end one new soldier’s life, and send to the hospital.
Why? How does that happen? Despite the hallmarks, the connections, the travels and the trails to jihad centers, and such obvious suspicious behavior, the FBI didn’t have “sufficient evidence” to meet legal demands for either a wiretap or surveillance?
What were they missing by our legal standards that prevented them for further investigation? What if this was to be more than a “hunting” expedition for Bledsoe?
They catch him in a foreign country with a fake passport, they know what he was doing there, but there's 'insufficient evidence' for wiretap or actual surveillance? Or is this another of the decisions like that which kept the investigators from getting a court order to search a laptop before 9/11; chickenshit cowardly brass that didn't want to be seen as 'insensitive' or politically incorrect? I don't now, and barring a real investigation we probably never will. If it's the latter, then the bastards responsible have blood on their hands.
And, so far as I know, the miserable bastard in the White House still has made no mention of the murder and attempted murder of troops here in the US.
In the current version of "No tax increases on people making under
(insert current floating number here)" from the President, here's his newest "Maybe we will raise taxes on you after all":
President Obama, in a pivot from some of his harshest campaign rhetoric, told Democratic senators yesterday that he is willing to consider taxing employer-sponsored health benefits to help pay for a broad expansion of coverage.
So, in the name of 'fairness' or something, he's going to tax the crap out of businesses and people who have insurance(supposedly a good thing) because he needs to loot every source available to pay for his socialist plans. Anybody surprised?
Oh, and you union guys who supported Obama? Because the Holy Union said to, because "He'll owe us"? I hope you're happy. Especially you people who used to work for GM, before The One took it over and started running it. How many jobs lost? How many plants closed? How many dealerships closed and jobs lost? Maybe you didn't consider something: Obama may have considered he owed the Union something, but he doesn't think he owes you shit. Because he gets your money from the Union, and doesn't have to give a crap about you.
President Obama, in a pivot from some of his harshest campaign rhetoric, told Democratic senators yesterday that he is willing to consider taxing employer-sponsored health benefits to help pay for a broad expansion of coverage.
So, in the name of 'fairness' or something, he's going to tax the crap out of businesses and people who have insurance(supposedly a good thing) because he needs to loot every source available to pay for his socialist plans. Anybody surprised?
Oh, and you union guys who supported Obama? Because the Holy Union said to, because "He'll owe us"? I hope you're happy. Especially you people who used to work for GM, before The One took it over and started running it. How many jobs lost? How many plants closed? How many dealerships closed and jobs lost? Maybe you didn't consider something: Obama may have considered he owed the Union something, but he doesn't think he owes you shit. Because he gets your money from the Union, and doesn't have to give a crap about you.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Language alert: as of this time our
God-cursed miserable sonuvabitch President B. Cartman Obama has STILL, so far as I can find, made no statement about the murder of one soldier and wounding of another. In the US. He can make time to condemn the murder of an abortion doctor, but cannot find time in his busy schedule to condemn the murder of Private William Long and wounding of Private Quinton Ezeagwula.
Maybe too busy practicing for the next time he bows to the King of Saudi? and doesn't want to upset him by having on his record condemning a muslim murdering an American soldier? Too busy practicing his apologies for what a sucky country he thinks this is? Too busy screwing up the economy? The bastard can make announcements about the military, but not say one damned word about this? Not even a generic "This was a terrible act" statement?
I was going to go on a tear about this sorry excuse for a man, but I can't. I just can't get the right words to properly express my contempt for this thing sitting in the Oval Office. I apologize, but I just can't put this level of rage into words.
Maybe too busy practicing for the next time he bows to the King of Saudi? and doesn't want to upset him by having on his record condemning a muslim murdering an American soldier? Too busy practicing his apologies for what a sucky country he thinks this is? Too busy screwing up the economy? The bastard can make announcements about the military, but not say one damned word about this? Not even a generic "This was a terrible act" statement?
I was going to go on a tear about this sorry excuse for a man, but I can't. I just can't get the right words to properly express my contempt for this thing sitting in the Oval Office. I apologize, but I just can't put this level of rage into words.
What? A politician may have USED people?
Who'd believe it?
It is now coming out that several of those police chefs may not have been as excited about the governors over ride on the gun bill as he would like people to believe.
We are now finding out they were all in town for some convention or other and were asked to come over and meet the governor during a break. Of course most of them went. When they got there they were all piled in together and finally told what it was about just shortly before the signing of his veto with them as the backdrop.
They did not come to the event knowing they were about to be used.
Pointed to by Uncle
It is now coming out that several of those police chefs may not have been as excited about the governors over ride on the gun bill as he would like people to believe.
We are now finding out they were all in town for some convention or other and were asked to come over and meet the governor during a break. Of course most of them went. When they got there they were all piled in together and finally told what it was about just shortly before the signing of his veto with them as the backdrop.
They did not come to the event knowing they were about to be used.
Pointed to by Uncle
Quote of the day,
from Cold Fury:
Also troubling is the judge’s La Raza membership. La Raza was founded in more “blood and soil” rhetoric than a 1930’s Hitler Youth rally in Nuremberg. The only difference between Arayan Nation and Aztlan Nation is the spelling and the suntan.
Also troubling is the judge’s La Raza membership. La Raza was founded in more “blood and soil” rhetoric than a 1930’s Hitler Youth rally in Nuremberg. The only difference between Arayan Nation and Aztlan Nation is the spelling and the suntan.
Well, so the muslim who murdered one US soldier and wounded another
was being investigated by the FBI.
The suspect arrested in the fatal shooting of one soldier and the critical injury of another at a Little Rock, Ark., Army recruiting booth today was under investigation by the FBI's Joint Terrorist Task Force since his return from Yemen, ABC News has learned.
The investigation was in its preliminary stages, authorities said, and was based on the suspect's travel to Yemen and his arrest there for using a Somali passport. Oh, and look at this:
While there, Muhammad — a U.S. citizen from Memphis who is a recent convert to Islam and was previously known as Carlos Bledsoe — studied jihad with an Islamic scholar, Jihadwatch.org reported.
And from the ABC report: But, Muhammad's travels overseas have sparked a major international investigation. Officials say it is too early to know for certain if he indeed acted alone.
What. The. Hell. He was arrested in YEMEN for using a SOMALI passport? And was studying jihad? Yeah, that indicates that Pres. B. Cartman Obama's plan to have some of the dirtbags he wants to release from Gitmo loose in the US will have NO problems, right? Since the FBI & Co. will be watching them? Like they were presumably watching this clown?
Speaking of President Obama, has anyone seen any statement from the White House condemning this murder and near-murder, this terrorist attack on US soil? Any condemnation of the terrorist? I damn sure haven't. I seem to recall that after that abortionist was murdered, there was a pretty prompt statement released about that; but maybe American troops being attacked and killed on American soil just isn't as important to the President. Or maybe he's just too busy playing makeup with the Queen for having crapped on her, or wondering why the Chinese laughed when told their assets are safe. Or he was too busy worrying about the weenies he's put in charge of the auto industry screwing things up even worse.
The suspect arrested in the fatal shooting of one soldier and the critical injury of another at a Little Rock, Ark., Army recruiting booth today was under investigation by the FBI's Joint Terrorist Task Force since his return from Yemen, ABC News has learned.
The investigation was in its preliminary stages, authorities said, and was based on the suspect's travel to Yemen and his arrest there for using a Somali passport. Oh, and look at this:
While there, Muhammad — a U.S. citizen from Memphis who is a recent convert to Islam and was previously known as Carlos Bledsoe — studied jihad with an Islamic scholar, Jihadwatch.org reported.
And from the ABC report: But, Muhammad's travels overseas have sparked a major international investigation. Officials say it is too early to know for certain if he indeed acted alone.
What. The. Hell. He was arrested in YEMEN for using a SOMALI passport? And was studying jihad? Yeah, that indicates that Pres. B. Cartman Obama's plan to have some of the dirtbags he wants to release from Gitmo loose in the US will have NO problems, right? Since the FBI & Co. will be watching them? Like they were presumably watching this clown?
Speaking of President Obama, has anyone seen any statement from the White House condemning this murder and near-murder, this terrorist attack on US soil? Any condemnation of the terrorist? I damn sure haven't. I seem to recall that after that abortionist was murdered, there was a pretty prompt statement released about that; but maybe American troops being attacked and killed on American soil just isn't as important to the President. Or maybe he's just too busy playing makeup with the Queen for having crapped on her, or wondering why the Chinese laughed when told their assets are safe. Or he was too busy worrying about the weenies he's put in charge of the auto industry screwing things up even worse.
Monday, June 01, 2009
For the offense of being in uniform and standing at a recruiting office,
a muslim murders one soldier and wounds another.
A Muslim convert who said he was opposed to the U.S. military shot two soldiers outside an Arkansas recruiting station, killing one of the soldiers, police said Monday.
"This individual appears to have been upset with the military, the Army in particular, and that's why he did what he did," Little Rock Police Lt. Terry Hastings said in a phone interview.
"He has converted to [Islam] here in the past few years," Hastings said. "To be honest we're not completely clear on what he was upset about. He had never been in the military."
How about because he's a miserable sonofabitch muslim who thinks he's entitled to kill anyone who's not a miserable muslim too?
Police identified the dead soldier as Pvt. William Long, 24, of Conway. Wounded was Pvt. Quentin Ezeagwula, 18, of Jacksonville. He’s in serious condition, but isn’t believed to have life-threatening wounds.
As of the time Malkin posted, there'd been no word from Fearless Leader condemning this; I guess he's too busy writing his next apology to give to someone. Or planning his next condemnation of the murderer of that abortion doctor; FAR more important than this.
Two soldiers, fresh out of boot camp, killed by the enemy right here in this country. Excuses/threats/cries of victimhood from muslim groups expected at any time. And God damn any one of the miserable bastards who does so. Arkansas has the death penalty; we'll see if they've got the balls to deal with a protected species just like everyone else.
A Muslim convert who said he was opposed to the U.S. military shot two soldiers outside an Arkansas recruiting station, killing one of the soldiers, police said Monday.
"This individual appears to have been upset with the military, the Army in particular, and that's why he did what he did," Little Rock Police Lt. Terry Hastings said in a phone interview.
"He has converted to [Islam] here in the past few years," Hastings said. "To be honest we're not completely clear on what he was upset about. He had never been in the military."
How about because he's a miserable sonofabitch muslim who thinks he's entitled to kill anyone who's not a miserable muslim too?
Police identified the dead soldier as Pvt. William Long, 24, of Conway. Wounded was Pvt. Quentin Ezeagwula, 18, of Jacksonville. He’s in serious condition, but isn’t believed to have life-threatening wounds.
As of the time Malkin posted, there'd been no word from Fearless Leader condemning this; I guess he's too busy writing his next apology to give to someone. Or planning his next condemnation of the murderer of that abortion doctor; FAR more important than this.
Two soldiers, fresh out of boot camp, killed by the enemy right here in this country. Excuses/threats/cries of victimhood from muslim groups expected at any time. And God damn any one of the miserable bastards who does so. Arkansas has the death penalty; we'll see if they've got the balls to deal with a protected species just like everyone else.
So 'Cleanest Congress EVAH!' Pelosi says "Every aspect of our lives
must be subjected to an inventory." All in the name of Saving The Planet For Children, Puppies and Unicorns, of course.
In answering a question from a student about how Pelosi was going to get Americans to cut back on their carbon emissions, the leading Democratic lawmaker said it was important to educate children on how to conserve energy and for citizens to build more environmentally friendly homes.
She wore a dhimmi scarf to make the president of Syria happy, now she's telling the PRC(translated) "We will indoctrinate the children and order our subjects in what kind of home they will be allowed to have, and how they must live in it."
Found via Tam and the Architect.
Inventory, hmmm, you corrupt little politician? Sure, but not the way you think.
In answering a question from a student about how Pelosi was going to get Americans to cut back on their carbon emissions, the leading Democratic lawmaker said it was important to educate children on how to conserve energy and for citizens to build more environmentally friendly homes.
She wore a dhimmi scarf to make the president of Syria happy, now she's telling the PRC(translated) "We will indoctrinate the children and order our subjects in what kind of home they will be allowed to have, and how they must live in it."
Found via Tam and the Architect.
Inventory, hmmm, you corrupt little politician? Sure, but not the way you think.
The Official First Day of Retirement from TAIDNN
pindicates that I'm not going to get much rest for a while.
Let's see, get up and take the walk I've been trying to do regularly(got to do something to keep my fat ass under control), then- since the monthly big trash pickup is Wednesday, haul all the limbs I'd pruned and couldn't chip around front. Then notice all the stuff that's grown up/out in the last while and get the ladder and loppers and so forth and whack them and drag them around... my ass was dragging by the time that was done. And there's lots and lots of little stuff around that needs doing.
Friends down in Texas, the wife used to work at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She'd thought about retiring and working on an upgraded certification for her job, but had put it off for a while; then decided to do it. And signed her papers a day or two before the next round of layoffs was announced(sometimes, timing is everything). Last time talked to them, between studying and the house and whatever, she said "If I was still working, I don't know how I'd get half of this done!" Which is what I'm beginning to wonder.
Right now I've got some wood with the pattern laid out for routing for grips that I need to work on, and a bunch of little-stuff cleaning and neatening in the house. However, my bloody knees are aching, so here I sit. However, I shall(soon) decide to ignore the discomfort and go out and do Something Constructive(soon).
Of course, I just looked around the room and thought- again- 'I really need to neaten up this room', which is where I do my reloading among other things. Outside stuff first, before it heats up too much.
The abbreviation? Denny used to refer to where he worked as The Company I Dare Not Name until after he retired; in my case it's the Agency. Which I'll say something about later.
Let's see, get up and take the walk I've been trying to do regularly(got to do something to keep my fat ass under control), then- since the monthly big trash pickup is Wednesday, haul all the limbs I'd pruned and couldn't chip around front. Then notice all the stuff that's grown up/out in the last while and get the ladder and loppers and so forth and whack them and drag them around... my ass was dragging by the time that was done. And there's lots and lots of little stuff around that needs doing.
Friends down in Texas, the wife used to work at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She'd thought about retiring and working on an upgraded certification for her job, but had put it off for a while; then decided to do it. And signed her papers a day or two before the next round of layoffs was announced(sometimes, timing is everything). Last time talked to them, between studying and the house and whatever, she said "If I was still working, I don't know how I'd get half of this done!" Which is what I'm beginning to wonder.
Right now I've got some wood with the pattern laid out for routing for grips that I need to work on, and a bunch of little-stuff cleaning and neatening in the house. However, my bloody knees are aching, so here I sit. However, I shall(soon) decide to ignore the discomfort and go out and do Something Constructive(soon).
Of course, I just looked around the room and thought- again- 'I really need to neaten up this room', which is where I do my reloading among other things. Outside stuff first, before it heats up too much.
The abbreviation? Denny used to refer to where he worked as The Company I Dare Not Name until after he retired; in my case it's the Agency. Which I'll say something about later.
Ah, the wonders of the UN and the people in UNESCO
Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni, a candidate for the top job at the United Nations culture agency UNESCO, apologised on Wednesday for calling for Israeli books to be burnt.
Hosni's bid for the post of UNESCO director-general provoked the anger of a group of intellectuals who accused him of anti-Semitism in a French newspaper column last week.
Writing in the same newspaper, Le Monde, Hosni said he regretted his words, adding that they had allowed detractors to associate him with things that he found hateful.
Yeah, I'm sure if he'd known this would get out he'd have restated it, right?
Philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, film director Claude Lanzmann and Nobel Peace Price laureate Elie Wiesel last week quoted Hosni as saying he would burn Israeli books and calling Israeli culture "inhuman".
"Let's burn these books; if there are any, I will burn them myself before you," they quoted Hosni as telling a member of parliament who had confronted him about the presence of Israeli books in Egyptian libraries last May.
Hosni told media at the time he had meant the comments as "hyperbole".
Hyperbole, right.
"Israeli culture is an inhuman culture; it's an aggressive, racist, pretentious culture that is based on a simple principle, stealing that which does not belong to it and then claiming it as its own," they quoted him as saying in 2001.
But, of course, there's the perfect defense of this crap:
Hosni avoided any direct reference to this in his article, but said that if any of his remarks had appeared harsh, they should be placed in the context of the suffering of the Palestinian people...
Once again, "We're victims! So you can't blame us for saying nasty things! It's all the JOOOOOOS fault!"
Anybody who hopes for the UN to be part of a solution in the mideast that involves anything but Israel being trashed, has to be off their meds.
Hosni's bid for the post of UNESCO director-general provoked the anger of a group of intellectuals who accused him of anti-Semitism in a French newspaper column last week.
Writing in the same newspaper, Le Monde, Hosni said he regretted his words, adding that they had allowed detractors to associate him with things that he found hateful.
Yeah, I'm sure if he'd known this would get out he'd have restated it, right?
Philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, film director Claude Lanzmann and Nobel Peace Price laureate Elie Wiesel last week quoted Hosni as saying he would burn Israeli books and calling Israeli culture "inhuman".
"Let's burn these books; if there are any, I will burn them myself before you," they quoted Hosni as telling a member of parliament who had confronted him about the presence of Israeli books in Egyptian libraries last May.
Hosni told media at the time he had meant the comments as "hyperbole".
Hyperbole, right.
"Israeli culture is an inhuman culture; it's an aggressive, racist, pretentious culture that is based on a simple principle, stealing that which does not belong to it and then claiming it as its own," they quoted him as saying in 2001.
But, of course, there's the perfect defense of this crap:
Hosni avoided any direct reference to this in his article, but said that if any of his remarks had appeared harsh, they should be placed in the context of the suffering of the Palestinian people...
Once again, "We're victims! So you can't blame us for saying nasty things! It's all the JOOOOOOS fault!"
Anybody who hopes for the UN to be part of a solution in the mideast that involves anything but Israel being trashed, has to be off their meds.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Two serious and one not-so thing tonight,
the second two hopefully taking some of the bad taste out of your mouth.
First, Ann Althouse sort-of defends some of Sotomayor's comments:
Well, of course, she would have restated it if she'd thought, when she said it, that it would be used by opponents of her Supreme Court nomination the way it's being used today. But that's why the original quotation is so interesting and deserving of analysis.
Yet it was not an unguarded spontaneous outburst. It was a carefully written speech delivered to a particular audience. Sotomayor was saying the things that would be well-received by her audience. Indeed, I have trouble getting roused by her statement — "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life" — because I've been immersed for a quarter century in the kind of law school environment that she addressed. Here, we sympathetically smile and nod at such things. We nurture racial analysis. We create a school of thought and hire people to write about Critical Race Theory. What Sotomayor said was actually a weak, feel-good version of the kind of racial talk that is widespread in the legal academy.
Want to know why so much in the legal world, and our government, is so effed up? That gives you a good look at why. Read the whole thing. Personally, I think this bit is very important:
It was for publication in the Berkeley La Raza Law Journal, in a symposium called "Raising the Bar: Latino and Latina Presence in the Judiciary and the Struggle for Representation." She had to address the topic. She did so in a notably non-radical fashion.
And she did 'address the topic'. And it's how she did, and her statements of how she does things as a judge, that is causing the upset. As it damn well should. And it's only in a environment that 'smiles and nods' at such crap that it could be described as 'non-radical'.
Second, one of the first Brits- and the first Brit paratroop- to land in France on D-Day was back in Normandy for the approaching anniversary.
Richard said: "As soon as we were on the ground our dropping zone was covered with enemy fire. You didn't hang around. Luckily I dropped right by a track that led straight to our rendezvous."
A quick glance skywards before diving for the cover of trees told him how fortunate he'd been to survive this long.
Todd recalled: "Being first out of the first plane wasn't my idea I assure you. But immediately I could see I was lucky. My plane had benefited from the element of surprise. We'd come under a lot of enemy fire but nothing compared to the flak the other planes behind were getting.
"Looking up I saw whole planes full of paratroopers being brought down. We lost a lot of men that way.
...
In 1944 the crucial mission for Todd's 7th battalion of the Parachute Regiment was to hold the bridges over the River Orne and the Caen Canal three miles inland, stopping the German forces from getting reinforcements to the beaches. That allowed the Allies in the seaborne landing to advance inland. A glider force-led by Major John Howard, of the Ox and Bucks Light Infantry-had seized the bridges in minutes, just half an hour ahead of the main airborne invasion.
Todd's landing site was just half a mile from the bridge and after taking cover in the woods he linked up with his commanding officer, Lieutenant- Colonel Geoffrey Pine-Coffin, and his team. They trekked across farmland to the target.
A hell of a lot of troops never made it out of the planes that night, or were killed while still in the air. We cannot allow them to be forgotten.
And last, the enviroweenies want to introduce(or re-introduce) beavers back into Scotland, and Mr. Clarkson isn't wild about the idea:
As we know, the economy is stagnant, we are up to our shoulders in debt and things are likely to get worse. So imagine my surprise to find the government has decided to spend £275,000 on 11 Norwegian beavers that will be freed to roam wild in Scotland.
As this works out at £25,000 each, I’m wondering if the money could have been better spent. Because I’ve done some checking and it turns out that for the same kind of cash they could have bought an extremely rare white lion cub, half a dozen house-trained chimpanzees and a brace of albino pythons.
A striped Bengal cat, which looks very much like a small monochrome tiger and is created by mating an Asian leopard cat with a domestic tom, can be bought, according to a Forbes magazine survey, for as little as £500. Extremely good value for money considering that I should imagine many of the couplings end with the domestic tom inside the female’s stomach.
...
I’m not suggesting that the beavers will eat people who go to see them, although if they are ramblers that would be no bad thing. But who’s to say the trees they chew don’t contain some unknown bacterium that stops sheep becoming man-eaters? Who’s to say the floods their dams create won’t swamp Glasgow? Who’s to say the Loch Ness Monster isn’t an ancient beaver experiment that got out of hand?
Of course, the beaver enthusiasts will dismiss all this as nonsense and point to the red kites that were successfully reintroduced in the Chilterns a few years ago. Absolutely. I love to see these majestic birds soaring over the cut on the M40 as I drive to London. They lift my spirits.
But did anyone notice the RSPB findings last week? The sudden and dramatic decline in the number of lapwings, wood warblers and fieldfares? Could this have anything to do with the sudden re-emergence of the airborne raptor?
What was it Tam said, that what the world needs is a airborne predator with a 15-foot wingspan? I'm sure it's on somebody's schedule.
First, Ann Althouse sort-of defends some of Sotomayor's comments:
Well, of course, she would have restated it if she'd thought, when she said it, that it would be used by opponents of her Supreme Court nomination the way it's being used today. But that's why the original quotation is so interesting and deserving of analysis.
Yet it was not an unguarded spontaneous outburst. It was a carefully written speech delivered to a particular audience. Sotomayor was saying the things that would be well-received by her audience. Indeed, I have trouble getting roused by her statement — "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life" — because I've been immersed for a quarter century in the kind of law school environment that she addressed. Here, we sympathetically smile and nod at such things. We nurture racial analysis. We create a school of thought and hire people to write about Critical Race Theory. What Sotomayor said was actually a weak, feel-good version of the kind of racial talk that is widespread in the legal academy.
Want to know why so much in the legal world, and our government, is so effed up? That gives you a good look at why. Read the whole thing. Personally, I think this bit is very important:
It was for publication in the Berkeley La Raza Law Journal, in a symposium called "Raising the Bar: Latino and Latina Presence in the Judiciary and the Struggle for Representation." She had to address the topic. She did so in a notably non-radical fashion.
And she did 'address the topic'. And it's how she did, and her statements of how she does things as a judge, that is causing the upset. As it damn well should. And it's only in a environment that 'smiles and nods' at such crap that it could be described as 'non-radical'.
Second, one of the first Brits- and the first Brit paratroop- to land in France on D-Day was back in Normandy for the approaching anniversary.
Richard said: "As soon as we were on the ground our dropping zone was covered with enemy fire. You didn't hang around. Luckily I dropped right by a track that led straight to our rendezvous."
A quick glance skywards before diving for the cover of trees told him how fortunate he'd been to survive this long.
Todd recalled: "Being first out of the first plane wasn't my idea I assure you. But immediately I could see I was lucky. My plane had benefited from the element of surprise. We'd come under a lot of enemy fire but nothing compared to the flak the other planes behind were getting.
"Looking up I saw whole planes full of paratroopers being brought down. We lost a lot of men that way.
...
In 1944 the crucial mission for Todd's 7th battalion of the Parachute Regiment was to hold the bridges over the River Orne and the Caen Canal three miles inland, stopping the German forces from getting reinforcements to the beaches. That allowed the Allies in the seaborne landing to advance inland. A glider force-led by Major John Howard, of the Ox and Bucks Light Infantry-had seized the bridges in minutes, just half an hour ahead of the main airborne invasion.
Todd's landing site was just half a mile from the bridge and after taking cover in the woods he linked up with his commanding officer, Lieutenant- Colonel Geoffrey Pine-Coffin, and his team. They trekked across farmland to the target.
A hell of a lot of troops never made it out of the planes that night, or were killed while still in the air. We cannot allow them to be forgotten.
And last, the enviroweenies want to introduce(or re-introduce) beavers back into Scotland, and Mr. Clarkson isn't wild about the idea:
As we know, the economy is stagnant, we are up to our shoulders in debt and things are likely to get worse. So imagine my surprise to find the government has decided to spend £275,000 on 11 Norwegian beavers that will be freed to roam wild in Scotland.
As this works out at £25,000 each, I’m wondering if the money could have been better spent. Because I’ve done some checking and it turns out that for the same kind of cash they could have bought an extremely rare white lion cub, half a dozen house-trained chimpanzees and a brace of albino pythons.
A striped Bengal cat, which looks very much like a small monochrome tiger and is created by mating an Asian leopard cat with a domestic tom, can be bought, according to a Forbes magazine survey, for as little as £500. Extremely good value for money considering that I should imagine many of the couplings end with the domestic tom inside the female’s stomach.
...
I’m not suggesting that the beavers will eat people who go to see them, although if they are ramblers that would be no bad thing. But who’s to say the trees they chew don’t contain some unknown bacterium that stops sheep becoming man-eaters? Who’s to say the floods their dams create won’t swamp Glasgow? Who’s to say the Loch Ness Monster isn’t an ancient beaver experiment that got out of hand?
Of course, the beaver enthusiasts will dismiss all this as nonsense and point to the red kites that were successfully reintroduced in the Chilterns a few years ago. Absolutely. I love to see these majestic birds soaring over the cut on the M40 as I drive to London. They lift my spirits.
But did anyone notice the RSPB findings last week? The sudden and dramatic decline in the number of lapwings, wood warblers and fieldfares? Could this have anything to do with the sudden re-emergence of the airborne raptor?
What was it Tam said, that what the world needs is a airborne predator with a 15-foot wingspan? I'm sure it's on somebody's schedule.
There's been an awful lot of cases of prosecutorial misconduct
in federal cases coming out the past while; it appears here's another:
Former U. S. Attorney Robert McCampbell said today that Army Lt. Michael Behenna, convicted of murder in the death of an Al Qaida operative in Iraq, should, at the least, be given a new trial due to prosecutorial misconduct.
...
Prater said information in the possession of the military prosecutors in the Behenna case favorable to Behenna should have been "immediately" disclosed to Behenna's defense attorneys. Instead, the information was not disclosed until Behenna had been convicted. An appeal to the judge based on the withholding of the information was dismissed.
...
That information came from the proseuction's own forensics expert, who agreed with Behenna's account of how the death occurred. The expert was not called to testify and was sent home by the prosecutors after he told them of his opinion.
Ok, if this is accurate, then the prosecutors should be disbarred and prosecuted themselves. The job of a prosecutor is supposed to be to find the facts, to seek the truth; NOT 'get a conviction no matter what we have to do'.
Former U. S. Attorney Robert McCampbell said today that Army Lt. Michael Behenna, convicted of murder in the death of an Al Qaida operative in Iraq, should, at the least, be given a new trial due to prosecutorial misconduct.
...
Prater said information in the possession of the military prosecutors in the Behenna case favorable to Behenna should have been "immediately" disclosed to Behenna's defense attorneys. Instead, the information was not disclosed until Behenna had been convicted. An appeal to the judge based on the withholding of the information was dismissed.
...
That information came from the proseuction's own forensics expert, who agreed with Behenna's account of how the death occurred. The expert was not called to testify and was sent home by the prosecutors after he told them of his opinion.
Ok, if this is accurate, then the prosecutors should be disbarred and prosecuted themselves. The job of a prosecutor is supposed to be to find the facts, to seek the truth; NOT 'get a conviction no matter what we have to do'.
The Stupid Party bigshots just keep proving why that name
sticks.
Steele: GOP Needs To Stop “Slammin’ And Rammin’” On Sotomayor...
and
McCain to back Meg Whitman for California governor
You know, this woman:
Whitman said she...believes tough gun laws like assault weapon bans and handgun control are appropriate for California.
And these clowns wonder why so many people are leaving the 'R We Stupid' party and registering 'independant'?
Steele: GOP Needs To Stop “Slammin’ And Rammin’” On Sotomayor...
and
McCain to back Meg Whitman for California governor
You know, this woman:
Whitman said she...believes tough gun laws like assault weapon bans and handgun control are appropriate for California.
And these clowns wonder why so many people are leaving the 'R We Stupid' party and registering 'independant'?
Remember the 'right-wing terrorist- warning for LE in Missouri?
Ran across this today, it's a bit dated but still good:
Since the SPLC was listed as a source in the MIAC Missouri Documents, ALIPAC sent a letter of inquiry to the Missouri Governor Jay Nixon on March 20, 2009 asking for more specific sourcing information.
"When many of us read these Missouri Documents we felt that the false connections, pseudo research, and political attacks found in these documents could have been penned by the SPLC and ADL," said William Gheen of ALIPAC. "We were shocked to see credible law enforcement agencies disseminating the same kind of over the top political propaganda distributed by these groups."
Colonel James F. Keathley, Superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol issued a letter of response to ALIPAC and other sources on March 25-26, which states that the Missouri militia documents are being withdrawn, more oversight will be applied to future releases, the Missouri Documents do not meet the high quality standards expected from the MIAC, and that "certain subsets of Missourians will not be singled out inappropriately in these reports for particular associations".
FOX Radio Network is reporting that Missouri Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder (R-MO) has asked that Missouri Public Safety Director John Britt be placed on administrative leave. The report also says Kinder has issued a public apology to Presidential candidates Ron Paul, Bob Barr, and Chuck Baldwin.
That action was taken is good, but as was pointed out at the time, the damage had been done before the document was withdrawn; the government of Missouri, basing the charges on biased documents from two political action groups, had slandered and thrown suspicion on a lot of honest people.
As the Gun Rights Examiner column asks, why does someone saying "I support the Constitution" and other such things scare some law enforcement so badly? Badly enough to equate the people saying them with terrorists?
And just what does that say about some of our law enforcement?
Since the SPLC was listed as a source in the MIAC Missouri Documents, ALIPAC sent a letter of inquiry to the Missouri Governor Jay Nixon on March 20, 2009 asking for more specific sourcing information.
"When many of us read these Missouri Documents we felt that the false connections, pseudo research, and political attacks found in these documents could have been penned by the SPLC and ADL," said William Gheen of ALIPAC. "We were shocked to see credible law enforcement agencies disseminating the same kind of over the top political propaganda distributed by these groups."
Colonel James F. Keathley, Superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol issued a letter of response to ALIPAC and other sources on March 25-26, which states that the Missouri militia documents are being withdrawn, more oversight will be applied to future releases, the Missouri Documents do not meet the high quality standards expected from the MIAC, and that "certain subsets of Missourians will not be singled out inappropriately in these reports for particular associations".
FOX Radio Network is reporting that Missouri Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder (R-MO) has asked that Missouri Public Safety Director John Britt be placed on administrative leave. The report also says Kinder has issued a public apology to Presidential candidates Ron Paul, Bob Barr, and Chuck Baldwin.
That action was taken is good, but as was pointed out at the time, the damage had been done before the document was withdrawn; the government of Missouri, basing the charges on biased documents from two political action groups, had slandered and thrown suspicion on a lot of honest people.
As the Gun Rights Examiner column asks, why does someone saying "I support the Constitution" and other such things scare some law enforcement so badly? Badly enough to equate the people saying them with terrorists?
And just what does that say about some of our law enforcement?
As the man says, if public officials were doing it to private citizens,
it could be 'chilling people's right to speak'; when citizens do it to public officials, that's accountability.
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee Firearms Association is seeking to publicly identify each law enforcement officer and prosecutor who attended Gov. Phil Bredesen's veto of a bill to allow people with handgun carry permits to take their weapons into bars and restaurants that serve alcohol.
Nashville Police Chief Ronal Serpas said Friday that the move could be seen as an effort to "chill people's rights to speak their opinion."
Well, Chief, if you've got a problem with the people knowing that you supported a bill, or supported a veto, tough; they have a right to know. Especially if you appear in uniform to do so.
It's been kind of amazing to read some of the BS being thrown around about this bill. Changing the law to allow carry in a restaurant that serves alcohol became "THEY WANT TO HAVE GUNS IN BARS! IT'LL BE TERRIBLE!!!" One of the nice things about the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act was this was taken into account from the first: you can't carry into a bar; you can carry in a restaurant that serves alcohol, but you can't drink- or sit in the bar- while there. I think the 'not in a bar' is silly as long as you're not drinking alcohol(designated driver, with a friend, etc.) but they did cover this matter. Which saved us a lot of this nonsense.
Been interesting reading the comments in articles like this. Lots of "I have always been around guns, but there's no reason to have one in a restaurant", which is at least civil, to "You right-wingers have a little penis and this is how you compensate" crap on the opposition side. The fact that robberies and such do happen in restaurants seems to be ignored, or pooh-poohed; and some- usually several- boobs start the "You don't need a gun while you're drinking" crap("Let's ignore that it's still illegal to drink when carrying and use this as a club.")
Back to the basic point, if you're a public official, say a police chief or sheriff, and you publicly support or attack a proposed law, you've got no grounds to bitch that people want to know about it. Period.
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee Firearms Association is seeking to publicly identify each law enforcement officer and prosecutor who attended Gov. Phil Bredesen's veto of a bill to allow people with handgun carry permits to take their weapons into bars and restaurants that serve alcohol.
Nashville Police Chief Ronal Serpas said Friday that the move could be seen as an effort to "chill people's rights to speak their opinion."
Well, Chief, if you've got a problem with the people knowing that you supported a bill, or supported a veto, tough; they have a right to know. Especially if you appear in uniform to do so.
It's been kind of amazing to read some of the BS being thrown around about this bill. Changing the law to allow carry in a restaurant that serves alcohol became "THEY WANT TO HAVE GUNS IN BARS! IT'LL BE TERRIBLE!!!" One of the nice things about the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act was this was taken into account from the first: you can't carry into a bar; you can carry in a restaurant that serves alcohol, but you can't drink- or sit in the bar- while there. I think the 'not in a bar' is silly as long as you're not drinking alcohol(designated driver, with a friend, etc.) but they did cover this matter. Which saved us a lot of this nonsense.
Been interesting reading the comments in articles like this. Lots of "I have always been around guns, but there's no reason to have one in a restaurant", which is at least civil, to "You right-wingers have a little penis and this is how you compensate" crap on the opposition side. The fact that robberies and such do happen in restaurants seems to be ignored, or pooh-poohed; and some- usually several- boobs start the "You don't need a gun while you're drinking" crap("Let's ignore that it's still illegal to drink when carrying and use this as a club.")
Back to the basic point, if you're a public official, say a police chief or sheriff, and you publicly support or attack a proposed law, you've got no grounds to bitch that people want to know about it. Period.
According to the Sitemeter message this morning,
sometime in the last 2 or 3 days, this site hit 300,000. And it only took... Damn, I've been doing this since 2004! I'd lost track.
And a little over 4000 posts.
Lousy numbers if you compare to someone like Insty, who gets more hits than that in a day, but for my electronic soapbox, not bad.
And a little over 4000 posts.
Lousy numbers if you compare to someone like Insty, who gets more hits than that in a day, but for my electronic soapbox, not bad.
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