And since I was already there,

Rob has a series of questions for anyone who wants to answer.

1) How many of you people know how to drive a vehicle with MANUAL TRANSMISSION?

A: I do. I learned on a manual, in the middle of winter, on a damn sheet of ice. I had to take off without spinning the tires, and if I messed up I started all over again. My parents thought it would make me a better driver, and it did. It sucked while I was learning, though.

2) How many of you people can make popcorn on the STOVE, in a POT, the old-fashioned way?

A: Yup. Kettle Corn as well.

3) How many of you people ever saw a drive-in movie?

A: Yep, until they tore down the only drive-in theater where I lived.

4) How many of you people know how to bake a potato without using a microwave oven?

A: Yep, and I prefer doing it in a regular oven. A microwave makes the potato too spongy. I don't like the texture of a microwaved potato.

5) How many of you people can build a fire, first time every time, in the woods? Even when it's raining?

A: First time every time? No, I'm not that good, but I'll get it going eventually.

6) How many of you people know how to skip a rock?

A: Hell, that's one of the first things I can remember my older brother teaching me!

7) How many people know the way to tell when a watermelon is ripe without touching it in the field?

A: This is one that I can't do. Despite living everywhere, I'm a northern boy (NOT a yankee). Ask me a question about the mountains.

8) How many of you people ever handled a firearm and hit what you shot at, without being "afraid" of the gun?

A: Um... do I even need to say?

9) How many of you people take care of yourselves without relying on government to do that job for you?

A: I haven't taken a single freebie from the government. I wish I could say the same in reverse.

10) How many people ever stood up to a bully and never had to fight him again? Even when you lost the fight. How many people have balls enough to do that today?

A: That's where I learned to rage. I found out real quick that bullies, no matter how big and mean they think they are, will never screw with a guy who jumps in their face when provoked. I wasn't the biggest kid is school, but when some dumbass jock thought that pushing me around would be fun, I literally grabbed his shirt and began screaming in his face. I can't remember what I said, but it was along the lines of "I don't care if I end up in the hospital, I'm going to make sure you'll never be able to see again." At different times I remember promising to bite off noses, gouge out eyes, break knees, or any other damage that would drive people off and allow me to continue my day.

I never got into a single fight in highschool, either. Those worthless fucks knew that I was serious.

I stole this picture

Because it was too good not to share.



Found via This Cranky Bastard. I've met Rob in person, and I don't care if anyone has a problem with him, he'd a good guy. And he doesn't lay a line of bullshit on you. You either take him or leave him as he is.

That's a rare quality these days.

Ummmm.....

...ouch.

American Chelsea Davis hit her face on the diving board during the 3-meter springboard preliminaries Friday at the World Swimming Championships.

Davis was attempting an inward 2 1/2 somersault in the tuck position when her face struck the board. Blood poured out of her nose, stunning spectators, some of whom covered their faces.

Helpers jumped into the pool and pulled a crying Davis to the side. She was put on a floating stretcher and taken to the hospital, where her parents and boyfriend joined her.

American Diver Injured at Championships - Yahoo! News

Here it is, your moment of Zen

From Ben Stein:

"Loneliness hurts like the cut of a knife. Mine is only the smallest pinprick. I'll see my wife again soon, if all's well. But what about the Army and Marine wives who go to sleep in their king-sized beds alone for a year? What about the Navy Seal's wife who just heard that her husband will not be coming home from Afghanistan? Or the man who never learned to make a bed and now his wife is gone forever and he's eating out of a can watching a TV show he can't even hear? Or the child whose father will never teach him how to bat a ball or parallel park because he's in a military cemetery?

Our lives are measured by what we do for others, not by how much money we make. Spending time with lonely people, military families, widows, widowers, this is a pretty easy way to make a huge difference in a suffering human life. So when you think of your uncle who just lost his aunt, when you think of the woman down the street whose husband was just called up by the Guard and sent to Iraq, don't just think about them: ask them out to dinner. Invite them to a barbecue. Just call them up to gossip.

People are always asking me for stock tips because they think I know something about the market. Usually, I don't. But I do know this. Sharing company with a lonely man or woman or child is about as good an investment in your own net worth as a human being as you can make."

How low can the Left sink?

Lowah! LOWAH!

Wonkette operatives have alerted us to some details in John G. Roberts background. We're not making any conclusions here -- we wouldn't want to comment on an ongoing investigation -- we're just laying out the facts: He is a graduate of an all-boys Catholic school where, as a member of the wrestling team, he regularly grappled with other sweaty, repressed boys. That is when he wasn't the drama club playing Peppermint Patty, for God's sake. He was also an editor of the school newspaper, "The Torch."

And yet the Right still asserts that "he's no flame-thrower."

We like him more and more.

Court Nominee's Life Is Rooted in Faith and Respect for Law [NYT]
RELATED: How gay is this guy? [Manhattan Offender]
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So what's Roberts been up today, anyway?: "[I]f you are interested in a little NSA sex in the Capitol building with a good looking white male, drop me a line...." [Craigslist]
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But we liked it better when he was gay.

-- Ann Marie Cox ("Wonkette")

Charmaine Yoest

Wait a tic....

SecState Rice's entourage gets manhandled, and nobody on the Left seems to give a shit?

After protests, the officials were eventually allowed in. But guards repeatedly pushed and pulled Rice senior adviser Jim Wilkinson, and at one point he was shoved into a wall.

“Diplomacy 101 says you don’t rough your guests up,” Wilkinson said later.

Once Rice’s traveling group was inside, the guards tried to keep reporters out of a planned photo shoot of Rice’s meeting.

When reporters were finally allowed in, they were elbowed and guards repeatedly tried to rip a microphone away from a U.S. reporter. They were ordered not to ask questions, over State Department objections.

When NBC diplomatic reporter Andrea Mitchell tried to ask el-Bashir a question about his involvement with alleged atrocities, a scuffle broke out.

Guards grabbed the reporter and muscled her toward the rear of the room as State Department officials shouted at the guards to leave her alone. “Get your hands off her!” Wilkinson demanded. But all the reporters and a camera crew were physically forced out.

That's Sudan, where genocide is still going on under the nose of the UN. That's Sudan, where oil fields are protected by Chinese troops. That's Sudan, who regularly practices enslavement of blacks and christians. That's Sudan, who despite the genocide, the slavery, and the inhumane treatment of it's citizens, still got a seat on the UN Human Rights Council, forever cementing just how useless and worthless the UN is. That's Sudan, a backwards country that should have been erased from the map along with it's thugocracy of leadership, and yet the Left just blithely cruises along without noticing, because the US doesn't have troops there. And yet if we DID have troops there, we would see protests all over again, and listen to the Leftist whine of "It's all about OOOOOOIIIIIIILLLL!"

Phah. That's one country I see no redeeming qualities of. We should have pulled our people out right then and there, and told Sudan to screw itself.

Why Australia rocks

Well, there are actually plenty of reasons, even though they're almost as anti-gun as England. But still.....

PRIME MIN. HOWARD: Could I start by saying the prime minister and I were having a discussion when we heard about it. My first reaction was to get some more information. And I really don't want to add to what the prime minister has said. It's a matter for the police and a matter for the British authorities to talk in detail about what has happened here.

Can I just say very directly, Paul, on the issue of the policies of my government and indeed the policies of the British and American governments on Iraq, that the first point of reference is that once a country allows its foreign policy to be determined by terrorism, it's given the game away, to use the vernacular. And no Australian government that I lead will ever have policies determined by terrorism or terrorist threats, and no self-respecting government of any political stripe in Australia would allow that to happen.

Can I remind you that the murder of 88 Australians in Bali took place before the operation in Iraq.

And I remind you that the 11th of September occurred before the operation in Iraq.

Can I also remind you that the very first occasion that bin Laden specifically referred to Australia was in the context of Australia's involvement in liberating the people of East Timor. Are people by implication suggesting we shouldn't have done that?

When a group claimed responsibility on the website for the attacks on the 7th of July, they talked about British policy not just in Iraq, but in Afghanistan. Are people suggesting we shouldn't be in Afghanistan?

When Sergio de Mello was murdered in Iraq -- a brave man, a distinguished international diplomat, a person immensely respected for his work in the United Nations -- when al Qaeda gloated about that, they referred specifically to the role that de Mello had carried out in East Timor because he was the United Nations administrator in East Timor.

Now I don't know the mind of the terrorists. By definition, you can't put yourself in the mind of a successful suicide bomber. I can only look at objective facts, and the objective facts are as I've cited. The objective evidence is that Australia was a terrorist target long before the operation in Iraq. And indeed, all the evidence, as distinct from the suppositions, suggests to me that this is about hatred of a way of life, this is about the perverted use of principles of the great world religion that, at its root, preaches peace and cooperation. And I think we lose sight of the challenge we have if we allow ourselves to see these attacks in the context of particular circumstances rather than the abuse through a perverted ideology of people and their murder.

That's Australian Prime Minister Howard's response to an obnoxious leftist journalist (but I repeat myself) who implied that the July 7th attacks in Britain were in response to Britain's involvment in Iraq. And I'm betting ten dollars that his statement won't make it to the nightly news unaltered.

Via Instapundit.

You knew it was going to happen

And the Smear & Fear tactics begin. No one nominated by President Bush is going to get a fair confirmation hearing from the Leftists. It's just not going to happen. I hope Judge Roberts has a strong stomach.

Trucker's Strike

The truckers are on strike down here in Puerto Rico. One of the things that I currently cannot purchase because of the strike is gas.

I'm currently sitting at a quarter of a tank, with a few gallons in a container out back (for the lawnmower, but now for emergency truck fuel). In the states, there would be people driving across state lines to drive trucks, but since we're on an island and the truckers are SHOOTING AT OTHER TRUCKS, the place is pretty much shut down.

1) Gee, this is the gun free island of Puerto Rico! Getting a gun here practically takes an act of god, and yet we have people shooting at trucks with guns. Hmmmmmm.... I guess we can call that another gun control success story, right?

2) The truckers get paid damn near nothing, and cost of living in Puerto Rico is sky high. Honestly, I can understand why the truckers are pissed off. The tolls have been raised, (and there are toll booths everywhere), the price of gas has gone up, making it harder to do business, and the roads suck. But guess what folks - the people of Puerto Rico have put themselves into this situation. They have elected a socialist type of government not once, but for a generation. This island could be one of the most advanced in the world, and yet in some instances it seems like they're barely clinging on to first-world status.

Honestly, I think it's time for Puerto Rico to shit or get off the pot: Become a soverigne country, or become the 51st state. If I recall correctly, that was put to a vote in Puerto Rico, and the people voted for the status quo. I think there needs to be a new vote, with only two choices. State, or Country?

I don't think it'll happen anytime soon, but that's what should happen.

John Conyers, Jr. is having a House Party !!!

No no no! Not that kind of house party! This kind:

The house parties I have organized for July 23rd provide a platform for people to come together and express their strong opposition to the Bush Administration’s conduct of war. Please join us at a house party near you. If you can host a party, click here to sign up. We will provide media kits and other materials to assist with the event. If you would rather attend an event, click here.

I will be conducting a conference call for house party hosts featuring Ambassador Joe Wilson and Randi Rhodes as my special guests.

Oy!

John Conyers, Jr. -- July 23rd House Parties featuring Amb. Joe Wilson and Randi Rhodes

Those Krazy Kos Kidz

This is from a DailyKos thread of comments about John Roberts:



Those crazy Lefties. They're so wacky!

Jack Roberts is 4.

On Judge Roberts

Given that the Democrats had made plain that they were going to go after ANYONE Bush nominated, the nominee could have been the head of NAMBLA and the Donks were going to go into hysterics, just because Bush nominated him. That's a given. Other than that, I can't find anything to really give the guy a yay or nay. So why are the Donks screaming like somebody just cut off their welfare checks?

Meh. A pox on that whole side of politics. They're diseased parasites.

Instapundit has a roundup, as does Captain Ed.

Tanks to Mr Bush....

...the US is in the toilet. California --- even their Attornies General are wacky!

Never seen this blog before

I like it.

Wing Nut Echo Chamber

I am not surprised

What else can you expect from a land where morals are disparaged and the unnatural is celebrated?

King County sheriff's detectives are investigating the owners of an Enumclaw-area farm after a Seattle man died from injuries sustained while having sex with a horse boarded on the property.

Yeah. Um....... I got nuthin'.

Via Rodger

Another quick question:

In all the hysteria about RovePlameMaybeSortaGate, has anyone in the so called Mainstream Media ever ONCE mentioned that Matt Cooper, the "journalist" who's pointing fingers at Karl Rove, is married to a frigging Democrat mover and shaker?

I mean, perhaps the fact that he's married to a Democrat operative might just make him a little, yaknow, BIASED? Of course, we already knew he was biased, but at least now we know why.

It's an anniversary of sorts

Witnesseth:

John Farrar observed that a large amout of air was released from the car when it was righted in the water, he also noted that the trunk when opened was remarkably dry. These observations and others lead many to believe that Mary Jo Kopechne had not drowned but suffocated in an air pocket within the Delmont 88.

During a party on Chappaquiddick Island...

More about PlameGate from Power Line

Including this classic regarding "Truthless Joe". Oy! Also Power Line exposes some Journalistic Malpractice. Again.

Still no word on the total cost of the investigation thus far.

And from Steyn, via DANEgerus:

In fact, the only lying sonafabitch turned out to be Yellowcake Joe. Just about everybody on the face of the earth except Wilson, the White House press corps and the moveon.org crowd accepts that Saddam was indeed trying to acquire uranium from Africa. Don't take my word for it; it's the conclusion of the Senate intelligence report, Lord Butler's report in the United Kingdom, MI6, French intelligence, other European services -- and, come to that, the original CIA report based on Joe Wilson's own briefing to them. Why Yellowcake Joe then wrote an article for the New York Times misrepresenting what he'd been told by senior figures from Major Wanke's regime in Niger is known only to him.

There's more here.

Just a quick thought

How many of the Lefties currently screaming for Karl Rove's head said a single damn thing when Sandy Burger was caught stuffing Code Word clearance documents down his pants and then shredding them?



Yeah, that's what I thought.

No Child Left Behind paying dividends ???

Debatable, to be sure, but if test scores were flat, we'd sure would have heard about it. But the scores aren't flat, which is why one must rely upon bloggers to hear about them.

Mission Accomplished

The train bombings in Madrid were specifically intended to impact the Spanish election.

How does one say "quel suprise" en espanol?

The PETA People...

...have prioritization issues, in my opinion, but doggone if they don't put together an imaginitive protest from time to time.

Yeah, I'm busy.

But you already knew that. Although the past two days were pretty much a waste of time, they were an Army mandated waste of time, so I had to go.

Although there was some benefit to it. I had to go down to Camp Santiago today, and on the way down I saw some of the prettiest sights I've ever seen in Puerto Rico. On the way over the mountains the sun was just rising, and there were clouds of fog in the valleys down below.

It was like looking over a series of lake, broken by almost sheer walls of green. It was mystical.

I won't bore you with details about Camp Santiago, suffice to say that the Army must have looked for the most miserable, bug-ridden plot of land in Puerto Rico and then built a camp on it.

I'm catching up on the news, so I'll be back tomorrow with more opinion.

Maybe it's just me

But I think Analog Kid wants to play.....

Please give me a Fatwa, please! Once you declare a Fatwa on me I can legally, oh yes, quite legally, begin hunting you right back, you shit stains in Allah’s cotton briefs! And boy, what an easy hunt that would be, what with you stinking worse than any bear I’ve ever bagged and tagged and the fact that most bear are smarter than you.

You’d be fucking lucky if I just behead you and stick your bacon wrapped cranium on top of a chunk of re-bar stuck in my front yard for my neighbors to see. Especially the one with the ignorant ‘No Blood for Oil’ bumper sticker on the back of her “Dodge Caravan of Many Colors”.

Sounds like it would work for me. But seeing as how I'm in the running for a trip over to the Sandbox to begin hunting said terrorists already, I can do it WITHOUT a fatwa! NEENER NEENER!