Stupid Justifications

I was reading an article about how a GI reportedly complained about Iraq abuses in the incident with Iraqi prisoners being abused in prison by U.S. soldiers in Iraq. (Abuse in the following form: "The photos appeared to show soldiers at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad posing and laughing as naked male prisoners were stacked in a pyramid or made to simulate sex acts with one another.")

What really disturbs me is the length to which people back in the U.S. who are related to the asshats involved will go to claim that their relative didn't do anything wrong. For example... (Quotes in italics, my responses after each quote)

“He’s just the guy they put in charge of the prison,” (Said by the uncle of the guy who, well, was in charge of the prison)

So let me get this straight: because he was the guy in charge of the prison, he's not responsible for his soldiers' behavior, correct? This is such a stupid argument that it boggles the mind.

“We really don’t know how those prisoners are behaving, ... There’s a line between heinous war crimes and maintaining discipline.” (Said by the wife of another person charged in the mess)

Go here. Look at the picture. Explain to me how that maintains discipline.

"... stupid, kid things -- pranks" (Said by the mother of yet another person involved.)

Of course, stupid kid pranks excuses everything, right?

And finally, my favorite:

“I can assure you Chip Frederick had no idea how to humiliate an Arab until he met up [with his superiors]” (Said by the lawyer of the guy who was in charge of the prison.)

I don't even know where to begin with this one. Let's start with this: the fact that you didn't know how to do something beforehand doesn't excuse learning it and doing it. For that matter, I didn't know people were ever taught how to "humiliate an Arab".

It's shit like this that makes me totally unsurprised that there are a bunch of folks in the Middle East who hate us. Are some of them any better? No. But we're not allowed to claim ignorance of their reasoning.

Koppel to Read Names of Saddam's Victims

Mr. Koppel said next week's Nightline will be a "special extended episode starting Friday and running non-stop until the day I retire from ABC."

Oy!

ScrappleFace: Koppel to Read Names of Saddam's Victims

Back From Idaho

Tired, exausted, pooped, wiped out. Would you like to know when I can tell that I'm back in the Seattle area? It's when I see all the cars with the drivers seats raised as high as they can go. Why are they raised up, you ask? It's because the divers here HAVE THEIR HEADS UP THEIR ASSES and they need the seat raised in order to drive! Of course, actually LOOKING at the road seems to be a secondary concern for these non-driving dunderheads, since they spend more time on their cell phones than actually LOOKING AT THE DAMN ROAD. And they obviously slept through any kind of drivers education class, since none of them seem to know that the FAR LEFT LANE IS FOR PASSING, NOT FOR DRIVING AT A SPEED SOMEWHAT SLOWER THAN A GLACIER.

Maybe if I had a labotomy coupled with a crippling addiction to Valium I would approach the levels of crapitude that these idiotic asswipes have attained behind the wheel, but that's a "maybe". Crack-smoking chimps have better driving skills than these worthless oxygen thieves. You don't just go for a drive here, you do battle on the interstate. And it's a good thing that I don't have a huge truck, otherwise I would have just pushed these morons off the road, where they would pose a danger only to themselves. As it is, I'm about to weld railroad spikes to my brushguard in an attempt to get these fuckwits to stay AT LEAST FIVE FEET AWAY FROM ME. I need to get "Q" from the Bond movies to hook up my truck. I have fantasies about sending out an oil slick and watching the tailgating assholes skid to their firey deaths as they plunge off the road and down the 200 foot cliff. If I could reinforce my rear bumper, I would brake-check these thumb-sucking twits. But I can't afford to have my truck out of commission, even if I do get to beat the hell out of the slimy bumblefuck after he rear-ends me. Here's a clue, people. It's called the two second rule - You should be following at least two seconds behind the car in front of you. Short of the lead car hitting an invisible wall and coming to a complete stop in the road, two seconds gives you enough time to react if anything happens on the road. When you're so close on my tail that I can't see the headlights in your grill, THAT IS NOT TWO FUCKING SECONDS!

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Scotch.... I have scotch.... sweet scotch, make the bad men go away!

I so need to get out of this shithole disguised as a city. My bloodpressure jumps 20 points every time I have to return. This festering sore on America needs to be bulldozed flat, burned to cinders, bulldozed again, and then have a MOAB dropped on it for good measure to make sure that nothing gets out alive. This isn't a city, it's a fucking huge virus sucking the life out of Washington State. It needs to be sterilized, and while we're at it let's take out Olympia as well. Two parasites with one nuke. It sure as hell sounds like a good idea to me. Plans are in the works to get me out of this town, and when I leave I'm going to stop at the city limits and take a huge stinking shit on Seattle land, just to show my true feelings. And I'll eat shitloads of peppers and other spicy food the night before so that I can let all my aggression out. Was that a bad choice of words? Too bad, I don't even care right now. Seattle does that to me. If I didn't have my ten acres in Idaho I'd go batshit. As it is I can plan for the future and remember that I have a happier life ahead of me out of this g-d forsaken hellhole.

That's it, I'm hitting the scotch. I'll see you all tomorrow.

NASA says some 'Iraq' photos are shuttle victims

CNN.com

Outta here.

I'll be back Monday. See ya then. Tim, here's your chance to write all those nasty things about me that you've always wanted to!

Tent Cities

There's a Tent City in Seattle, set up by the homeless. It moves around from time to time, aided and abetted by the local politicians. And yes, I meant to use those words.

If anyone needs a reminder how I feel about the homeless, fine. I've also extrapolated on that issue here. As far as I'm concerned, the moonbats are simply enabling the homeless to remain homeless. But they're not homeless, trust me. I drive past Tent City on my way to the dogpark. Read all the nice things that the local politicians have to say. I just have one question -

If these "homeless" people are able to organize a law abiding settlement (according to the Politicians!), and if they are able to get legal council to represent them in King County, WHY FOR FUCK'S SAKE CAN'T THEY GET A FUCKING JOB?!?!?!?!?!

Trust me, folks. There are HUNDREDS of organizations in King County who's sole purpose is to assist the homeless. One of my co-workers was truly homeless for a short time. She keeps the list of organizations just to show people how many there are. It's not one or two pages, it's a frigging book, and they're available to anyone who needs help.

The only reason to be homeless in Seattle right now is from CHOICE. And if it's your CHOICE to live in a tent, if it's your CHOICE to not work, if it's your CHOICE to drink all day, if it's your CHOICE to suck off the government's teat, then it's MY CHOICE to tell you "FUCK OFF, YOU LAZY BUM!" Rot in the street for all I care. You choose not to work, then I choose not to help your lazy ass. The government already takes assloads of my money, you're not getting another damn dime of it.

Opinion of the UN

I was watching some academic battle of the high schools type thing on TV this week. One of the teams was from Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The moderator was interviewing the contestants and there was this one kid he was talking to who had participated in a mock UN meeting with young people from across the world at the UN building in New York City. The kid described the meeting and then moderator asked him:

"So what do you think - is the UN still a force for peace in the world?"

And the young man replied:

"No. It's irrelevant."

I almost fell out of my chair. There are Democratic politicians across the States stating that the way to fix Iraq is to "go to the UN and let them police it". And they're supposed to be the learned ones.

Get me my Cluebat....

Because someone is in need of a major clue infusion.

United States soldiers at a prison outside Baghdad have been accused of forcing Iraqi prisoners into acts of sexual humiliation and other abuses.

The charges, first announced by the military in March, were documented by photographs taken by guards in the prison.

Some of the photographs, and descriptions of others, were broadcast in the US on Wednesday by a CBS television news program and were verified by military officials.

Of the six people reported in March to be facing preliminary charges, three have been recommended for courts martial.

OK, follow my logic here, if you will. First of all, let's look at this from the Geneva Convention, shall we? Hmmmmm.... Yep, torturing prisoners is ILLEGAL! What in G-d's name were they thinking? Oh, that's right, THEY WEREN'T! I can't think of a single time in my military experience when one person thought that torturing prisoners was OK. In fact, the Geneva Convention was drilled into our heads so damn often that I can still recite parts of it! And torturing prisoners is definitely not on the list of good ideas!

"The pictures show Americans, men and women, in military uniforms, posing with naked Iraqi prisoners," a transcript said.

"And in most of the pictures, the Americans are laughing, posing, pointing or giving the camera a thumbs-up."

The program's producers said the army also had photographs showing a detainee with wires attached to his genitals and another that showed a dog attacking a prisoner.

The photographs were taken inside Abu Ghraib prison, near Baghdad, where US forces have been holding hundreds of Iraqis.

Do a Google search on "Abu Ghraib". It's one of Saddam's most notorious prisons, where unspeakable acts occurred on Saddam's orders. This just gets worse and worse.

Gary Myers, the lawyer for one of the enlisted men who has been charged, said the military had treated the six enlisted soldiers as scapegoats and had failed to deal adequately with the responsibilities of senior commanders and intelligence personnel involved in the interrogations.

Officers at the prison, including a brigadier-general, faced administrative review, officials said.

Mr Myers said that the accused men, all from a reserve military police unit, were told to soften up the prisoners by more senior interrogators, some of whom they believe were intelligence officials and outside contractors.

"This case involves a monumental failure of leadership, where lower level enlisted people are being scapegoated," Mr Myers said. "The real story is not in these six young enlisted people. The real story is the manner in which the intelligence community forced them into this position."

Fuck you Mr. Myers, the enlisted men knew that what they were doing was wrong, and they did it anyway. And the pictures show them having a good fucking time. Lock their asses up and throw away the key, as far as I'm concerned. Those men and their entire chain of command need to spend the rest of their lives in Leavenworth.

Look, war is a nasty, brutish, horrible business, there's no doubt. But one thing that separates us... the one thing that we need in order to hold our heads up high when all is said and done is the fact that WE ARE BETTER THAN THE ENEMY. We don't torture prisoners, (at least, not the majority of us!). We don't cause needless pain and suffering. We have MORALS, even when we're at war. The acts of one small group endanger all of that. It also aids the enemy, both there and at home. I can hear the moonbat's hysterical shrieking from New York to Seattle. We're already facing an enemy who doesn't care about rules, they'll use anything they can in order to hurt us. Giving them ammo like this hurts EVERYBODY on our side. We're supposed to be the good guys, but it's going to be damn hard to convince people when they see pictures like this!

This isn't the heat of battle. This isn't something that happened accidentally. This was deliberate mishandling of prisoners under the US Army's care. Those soldiers need to be kicked out, their commanders need to be stripped of their commissions, and that entire unit needs to be brought home and shut down. And everything needs to be done in full view of the Iraqi's who might now be questioning just who the good guys are.

What they did is unacceptable, and cannot be tolerated in the slightest.

Found the link at Right Thinking.

CODA: If this turns out to be horribly mis-reported by the US media, that company should be barred from every setting foot in Iraq again.

Speaking of Colin Powell...

Rumsfeld’s plan was to train and equip and then transport to Iraq some 10,000 Shia and Sunni freedom fighters led by Shia exile leader Ahmed Chalabi and his cohorts in the INC, the multi-ethnic anti-Saddam coalition he created. There, they would have joined with thousands of experienced Kurdish freedom fighters, ably led, politically and militarily, by Jalal Talabani and Massoud Barzani. Working with our special forces, this trio would have sprung into action at the start of the war, striking from the north, helping to drive Baathist thugs from power, and joining Coalition forces in the liberation of Baghdad. That would have put a proud, victorious, multi-ethnic Iraqi face on the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, and it would have given enormous prestige to three stubbornly independent and unashamedly pro-American Iraqi freedom fighters: Chalabi, Talabani, and Barzani.

Rumsfeld's War, Powell's Occupation

Al Sharpton to Address Democratic National Convention?

After all he said at the DhimmiDonk "debates"?

Kerry: "I hope so. Sure ... That's my call ... If he wants to do it, he
can do it ... Let me just say to you ... if he wants to do it, I'd like him to
do it. I think he'd do a terrific job. I think he'll add something ...
there's no plea necessary. It's my invitation."

And they call Colin Powell a Tom.

Presidential Candidate John Kerry Opens Door for Rival Sharpton to Address Democratic National Convention

Pat Tillman "got what was coming to him"

Boston.com

First they said there wasn't enough time...

..then they left early. It is tempting to believe that the Bush Administration are buffoons when you read and watch opinion like that every day. But they said the 9/11 Commission would be politicized, didn't they? And they were right, weren't they?

Maybe that's no great feat; predicting that a bunch of DC politicos would get political is like predicting that when Barbara Boxer opens her mouth, something stupid will come out.

The Council Has Spoken!

This weeks winning Council entries are: Creating Terrorists by King of Fools, and Dubya the Dummy by Kim du Toit. You can find all the results here. However, I'm going to try something different this week - instead of just linking to the results, I'm going to post them all. There's so much damn good writing out there, it's almost unimaginable. So, from top vote getter to bottom, here are the results for this week.

Council Links -
Creating Terrorists - King of Fools
Found It... - Four Right Wing Wackos
The California Legislature: Granola-eating Surrender Monkeys - e-Claire
How Not to Defend a Lie - The SmarterCop
Dog Trainer Distorts Coverage of Three Strikes Decision - Patterico's Pontifications
Surrender Now - Free Will
Deserve Victory - Exultate Justi
Buh-Bye Specter? - Alpha Patriot
Another Corrie Cantata - Damnum Absque Injuria

Non Council Links -
Dubya the Dummy - Kim du Toit - Weekly Rant
Medals or Ribbons; Who Cares? - Hog On Ice
Military Draft Negates the Right to Life - Capitalism Magazine
Note to Whoopi: It's Not All About Religion - News From the Great Beyond
John Kerry: The Next Wesley Clark? - Soundfury
Old Women For Abortion - Michael Williams -- Master of None
The Strange Odyssey of John O'Neill - Cavalier's Guardian WatchBlog
JFK on WMD: WTF? - Captain's Quarters
Asymmetric Journalism: Out of Sight, Out of Mind, Out of Context - Davids Medienkritik
Victims' Rights and Punishment - Michael Williams -- Master of None

Joke

A wife decides to take her husband to a strip club for his birthday. They arrive at the club and the doorman says, "Hey, Mike! How ya doin?" His wife is puzzled and asks if he's been to this club before.

"Oh no," says Mike. "He's on my bowling team."

When they are seated, a waitress asks Mike if he'd like his usual and brings over a Budweiser. His wife is becoming increasingly uncomfortable and says, "How did she know that you drink Budweiser?"

"She's in the Ladies' Bowling League, honey. We share lanes with them."

A stripper then comes over to their table, throws her arms around Mike, and says, "Hi Mikey. Want your usual lap dance, big boy?"

Mike's wife, now furious, grabs her purse and storms out of the club. Mike follows and spots her getting into a cab.

Before she can slam the door, he jumps in beside her. He tries desperately to explain how the stripper must have mistaken him for someone else, but his wife is having none of it. She is screaming at him at the top of her lungs, calling him every name in the book.

The cabby turns his head and says, "Looks like you picked up a real bitch tonight, Mike."

OSI Pharma soars on positive Tarceva study

I have held OSI Pharmaceuticals for about four years. I'm not about to be listed on some Fortune Magazine list between Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, you know. In fact, I am likely worth less than the contents of their garages.

Whatever.

If I ever get to Seattle, ammo's on me.

I will note an opinion here: if every single person here had lived on hot dogs, generic cereal, and water during 1998 and 1999, and had put all that cash that went into beers and TVs and football games into Linux stocks, every single one of us would be affluent today. I often give myself just a tiny kick since I missed that wave. Watched it go by, in fact.

The next wave is anti-cancer biotech. I expect mortality rates to fall by half or more in the next decade. Anti-cancer technology is the next dotcom boom.

DISCLAIMER: I am usually wrong.

This Just In Tonight

Next Show Time: Thursday April 29, 11:30 PM (ET/PT)

Slow Weekend

I'm heading over to Idaho this weekend, so unless Tim comes out of hiding, you won't see much of anything. I'll be leaving tomorrow evening and returning on Monday. So I'll post a bit tomorrow morning, but after that, it's road-trip time.

Family before blogging.

Cleland the Puppet

I was able to watch some CNN yesterday. Ugh. I'm glad that my TV is already broken, so that I don't pipe this crap into my home. They had Max Cleland on with Wolf Blitzer, whining and bloviating about President Bush. "He attacked my patriotism! He's attacking Kerry's patriotism!" Blah blah blah, whine puke snivel vomit.

I'm tired of the Donks pulling out Cleland every time they need their token Viet Nam Vet. Look, you insufferable snotwad, I haven't seen one memo, TV ad, or piece of writing from the White House that attacks Kerry's patriotism. Got it? Not. A. Single. One. You want to know who's been attacking Kerry's Patriotism?

We are. The people who have seen his actions and are disgusted by them. The Viet Nam vets that he stabbed in the back over three decades ago. The military members, both prior service and current, who have seen Kerry vote against every weapons upgrade, pay raise, and Cost Of Living Allowance. The Americans who have seen Kerry kow-tow to every anti-American leader, country, and organization recently. We're the ones questioning his patrotism, you fat oaf. Bush has done nothing but bring up Kerry's track record, and you know what? When you bring up Kerry's track record, he's screwed. Fucked. Shot down. Gutted. Bush doesn't need to question Kerry's patriotism, because Kerry has handed Bush so much ammo on his own that Bush doesn't NEED to do any such thing.

When Bush's TV ads use actual live clips of Kerry giving a speech, unedited, you know that Kerry doesn't have a chance with anyone that has an IQ over room temp, OK? "I voted FOR that $87 billions BEFORE I voted against it." WTF?

For G-d's sake, the VILLAGE FRIGGING VOICE has op-eds against John Fonda Kerry! What more do you need to know? He's vilified by his own damn party!

Bush doesn't have to question Kerry's patriotism. Kerry has already proven to the American People that he has none. Bush is just driving that point home with Kerry's voting record.

Handguns and bullets

Via Kim tu Toit we find out that some people are surprised that hundgun usage by the military is higher than expected in Iraq.

DUH!

It's urban combat; you don't want to be swinging a rifle the size of a broom handle around in cramped quarters! It impedes your ability to do your job, runs the risk of having you spotted by the enemy, and is unwieldy when you need to be quick.

Unfortunately, our troops are saddled with the 9mm pistol, which I loath with every fiber of my being. The M9 pistol has to be one of the worst guns I've ever fired, and NOT just because it's 9mm. The slide is steel, but the frame is aluminum, causing the gun to have more recoil than my .45 ACP, without any of the benifits of the larger caliber. Target reaquisition sucks. Don't even try to double tap, your second round will be more dangerous to any low-flying birds than to your target. And since the military uses ball ammunition instead of hollowpoints, the 9mm load looses any kind of advantage you would get with a smaller round. So although I doubt that any high ranking member of the Pentagon will read this, I'm still putting it out:

Bring back the M1911. I'm begging you.

Here are a few charts from Chuck Hawks to emphasise my point. The Beginners Guide to Stopping Power illustrates a few things that every firearm user should know. The Handgun Cartridge Power Chart lays out the test results in black and white. My only quibble is that the tests done with the 9mm only used hollowpoint ammo, not the ball ammo that the US military uses. But in comparing "One Shot Stop", the 9mm (+P) JHP OSS ran at around 83%-91% with hollow points. The .45 ACP JHP? 94%. Nuff said. In combat, every last little bit of power helps.

Fifty Grand

Fifty thousand dollars. Five-oh Large. That's the goal put forward by the three groups involved in the Spirit of America fundraisers. There is more than $30,000 is SoA's account right now, but we want to push it up over the big 5-0 mark. So, Wizbang put up a list of everything being offered by all three groups.

Can you imagine being able to hand over 50 g's to SoA? Hot damn!

I'm a sucker for the underdog....

I hope by now that you've heard of the Spirit of America fund-raising drive. I hope you've given as much as you can, but just in case you haven't, I'm giving you one more reason.

Dean Esmay's Liberty Alliance is trailing in the fund raising, so I'm going to toss my hat in their ring. The auction ends real soon, (Thursday at 1201 hrs) so this is going to be a short auction. I'm going to auction off a gunbelt, hand made by yours truly. The winning bidder sends me their waist size (I'll keep it private, don't worry), color preference, and confirmation of his donation, and I'll make the belt and send it to them. Just to give you an idea of what you'll be bidding on, here's the belt that I made for myself.



Two straps of 6-7 oz leather, 1¼ to 1½ inches wide.

Now, the belt I make for the auction will have a regular bar buckle on it, not a trophy buckle, but the rest of the belt is the same. Hand cut, hand punched, hand sewn. I can dye it black, brown, british tan, forest green, blue, navy blue, red, or purple. It's your choice. (My belt is British Tan) I can also stamp your name on the belt if you wish, either inside or outside. How's that sound?

Here's the belt with my holster and mag pouches on it.



Yes, everything was made by hand. I'm too broke to pay for the high-end gun gear, and too snobby to buy cheap shit that'll break in a year or less. So I make my own, and I end up wearing it for years. Most of my belts are pretty old, but I made them myself and they still look good and function perfectly. No, you don't get a holster and mag pouch with your belt, unless you donate enough money to make me snotch it.

So, leave your bid in the comments. The winner can donate here. You have to use that donate page so that the Liberty Alliance gets the credit. If you don't win, you don't have to donate (although I know that you WILL, right? Five bucks or so? C'mon, it's for a good cause!)

Remember, the auction closes at 1201 hrs, Thursday, so this will be a one-day auction. Yes, I know I got in the action late, so sue me. I've had a lot on my mind the past few weeks.

UPDATE (20040429, 1139hrs.): Not a single bid? Do the pictures suck that bad, or did I just put it out too late?

UPDATE 2: OK, Haloscan seems to be dying a painful death, so the comments may be crapped out. Email me your bid, and I'll list them off. And how about I do this: If the bidding gets above $60, (the average price for a normal gunbelt) I'll toss in that flag buckle you see in the picture if the winner wants it.

UPDATE 3: Um, people, you DO know that a $5 bid gets you a gunbelt right now, don't you? (At least until someone puts in a $6 bid. heh) I'm not asking for massive amounts of cash, just whatever you can spare. It's for a good cause, and I guarantee you won't find a $5 belt at any gun shop! (However, $5 doesn't get you the spiffy American Flag buckle, just a normal one.) The auction is over tonight, so if you know of anyone who needs a good belt, let them know! They can get a handmade belt right here!

CLOSED: It's late, I'm tired, and I'm going to bed. So, I'm closing the auction - David K. is the winner! Expect an email from me, David. Since I'm closing it down about an hour early, but I don't want to cheat anyone, here's the deal: If you can prove to me that you donated a higher bid before midnight PST, I'll make you a belt as well. Yeah, I'll take it up the tailpipe in leather costs, but it's worth it.

Home Repair

Spring is coming up, and that means it's prime time for fixing up your house. I've found a helpful video that teaches you how to -

1. replace a garbage disposal
2. replace a shower head
3. change a dryer vent
4. install a ceiling fan
5. repair drywall
6. replace a toilet
7. use power tools
8. practice safety

Anyone who is somewhat tool-challenged might want to check it out (not safe for work!). Hat tip to ALMTTR.

War is not pretty.

You can see for yourself. (Possibly not safe for work, depending on the sensibilities of your workplace).

Indeed, it's not pretty. It can be gory, violent, horrible, shattering, and bloody. Why then do people such as myself support it? Why are there so many military veterans, who have seen first hand the horrors of war, supporting this one that we're in?

I'll tell you why. Because despite all the horrors that may arise out of war, the alternatives are worse.

A life of living under the thumb of Jihadist Islam is worse than war.
Forcing women to wear black burkahs for the rest of their lives is worse than war.
Killing people because of their sexuality is worse than war.
Killing women for being seen with a man who is not related to them is worse than war.

Allowing any of the above to happen to America is worse than war. And that is a small list.

We have been given a choice by the Islamic thugs who currently rule the terrorist networks of the Middle East: We can either submit and live under Shari'a law, or we can die. America has chosen a third option, thankyouverymuch. We'll fight for our way of life. That is, SOME of us will fight for our way of life. And I think that the many military vets, those who have seen what the alternative is, support this war because they know it's the right thing to do. Some of the country will continue to wail and moan about how horrible America is. Some of these spoiled, snotty, ignorant, uneducated, gutless, spineless, treasonous, cowardly parasites will continue to fight America from within. And we will fight them as well.

The alternative is worse. Look at those pictures, and remind yourself of that. Those pictures pale in comparison to what Saddam Hussein did on a daily basis. Those pictures cannot touch the horror that would be visited on America should we fail.

The alternative is worse.

Link found at Right Thinking.

Foul Mood

Don't expect any real nice posts from me for a while. Just reading the news makes me sick to my stomach these days. If the Democrats get any more unhinged, we're just going to have to rename them the American Communists.

They already play fast and loose with the truth. Lenin and Stalin would be proud.

Let's Play a Game

Let's say that there's a criminal in your town. A really bad guy. He's killed people, beaten people to death, burglarized homes, and been an all around bad guy. Now, he's on parole, but only if he doesn't own any guns or bullets. This guy is not allowed to own anything that might have to do with guns. In accordance with his parole, the authorities are allowed to go in and search his house to ensure that he doesn't have anything. This guy is also supposed to show evidence that he's gotten rid of all his guns, from .380 pistols to 30-06 rifles.

Following me? Good.

Now, let's say that every time the cops show up at his door, he lies to them. He plays games. He never shows them both hands at the same time, one hand is always hidden behind is back. He won't let the cops search his bedroom or his library, claiming that they're "private" rooms. He does this for years. Do you think the cops would put up with that?

No, of course not!

So the cops take him down. He's locked up in jail. Once he's in jail, the cops search his house and find:

Black powder, suitable for making bullets or explosive devices.
Barrels for rifles and pistols.
Internal mechanisms for firearms (i.e. sear assemblies, recoil assemblies, firing pins, ect.)
A reloading press for making cartridges.
Various other items of a criminal lifestyle, drugs, knives, little black books with addresses of victimized houses, stolen items, and to top it all off, computer disks filled with kiddie porn.

So here's the real question: Was the cops arresting this guy unwarranted? He refused to follow the terms of his parole, and was in possession of items he wasn't allowed to have, right? The guy should be in jail.

Why then does the Left in this country call the Battle of Iraq a criminal action? Let's look at what Saddam had, shall we?

A prison laboratory complex that may have been used for human testing of BW agents and "that Iraqi officials working to prepare the U.N. inspections were explicitly ordered not to declare to the U.N." Why was Saddam interested in testing biological-warfare agents on humans if he didn't have a biological-weapons program?

"Reference strains" of a wide variety of biological-weapons agents were found beneath the sink in the home of a prominent Iraqi BW scientist. "We thought it was a big deal," a senior administration official said. "But it has been written off [by the press] as a sort of 'starter set.'"

New research on BW-applicable agents, brucella and Congo-Crimean hemorrhagic fever, and continuing work on ricin and aflatoxin that were not declared to the United Nations.

Why have research on Bio-Weapons if you don't have them and are not trying to obtain them?

A line of unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs, or drones, "not fully declared at an undeclared production facility and an admission that they had tested one of their declared UAVs out to a range of 500 kilometers [311 miles], 350 kilometers [217 miles] beyond the permissible limit."

"Continuing covert capability to manufacture fuel propellant useful only for prohibited Scud-variant missiles, a capability that was maintained at least until the end of 2001 and that cooperating Iraqi scientists have said they were told to conceal from the U.N."

"Plans and advanced design work for new long-range missiles with ranges up to at least 1,000 kilometers [621 miles] -- well beyond the 150-kilometer-range limit [93 miles] imposed by the U.N. Missiles of a 1,000-kilometer range would have allowed Iraq to threaten targets throughout the Middle East, including Ankara [Turkey], Cairo [Egypt] and Abu Dhabi [United Arab Emirates]."

The Democrats, through their capitulation to the fringe elements in their party, have completely forsaken any kind of common sense when it comes to international affairs. Period. End. Stop. They have no credibility when it comes to foreign affairs at all. The Battle of Iraq merely clarified that point.

Many thanks to Drumwaster's Rants for the link

Time for a break.

My co-worker, Jim, died today. Cancer finally got him. Don't expect much from me for the next few days. I'll post when I feel up to it again.

Busy Day

Sorry about the lack of posting. I have enough time to check my email and gulp coffee, then I'm off running again.

So until then, the only thought I can leave for you is this: Eli Manning is a self-absorbed prick. Any creds he might have had coming into the draft are now gone, and all references to his name shall be preceded by "Fucking" or "That Prick".

No, I don't root for the Chargers, I'm a Seahawks fan! Still it's the principal of the thing, you know?

How'd your teams do? The Seahawks look to have had an OK draft, but nothing spectacular. As long as they fill the holes they had, I don't care what other people think.

Piss off an J.E.R.M. day!

With one of these!

I think I might go for "Ma Fish Falastin" Found the link at Curmudgeonly and Skeptical.

Non-Political day

After reading TVE's essay down below, I'm not writing a single political thing today. Nope. I ain't gonna dilute that.

So what will I write about? How about lawns. Yes, lawns. I did some much needed yard work yesterday, and I've come to the conclusion that lawns were invented by people who sat on their ass and had the servents mow the damn things. Because nobody in their right mind would ever purposely cover their yard in something that takes so much money, time, and effort ON A WEEKLY BASIS. Mow the grass. Fertilize. Weed and feed. Yada yada yada. By the time you're done, the day is wasted, your wallet is empty, the lawnmower is a smoking wreck, and oh good you get to do it all over again NEXT week, otherwise your front yard starts to look like the Amazon and you're getting dirty looks from your neighbors.

Seriously, I hate having a lawn. I hate mowing grass. Give me landscaped garden beds and brick pathways, or even just some ground cover that doesn't require hours of maintainence every week.

Bah. Lawns. What are they good for, anyway? Besides lunch for a passing horse, that is. (Yeah, I grew up in the country, what's it too ya?)

On the other hand, the gardens are doing well. I'm starting to have some peas and corn poke their heads up. I bought some starter tomato plants, and they've been planted and watered. The lettuce, carrot and onion bed has been raided by the local cats looking for a litter box, so I'll have to start that over. Crap. Ah well, I learned a new trick that should keep the stupid bastards out of the bed. And if that doesn't work, I still have my pellet gun. Heeeeeeere kitty kitty kitty! The only thing left is to start the peppers. Unfortunately, peppers don't get too hot around the Seattle area. Not dry or hot enough, I guess. The jalapenos I grew last year were good, but they weren't hot. Most of them ended up in my pepper sauce, which was rather mild. Good, but mild.

Anyways, it's a free day for me, and I'm taking the girlfriend out and about. I'll see you all tomorrow. Now go read TVE's piece!

Pat Tillman Stadium

Spoons has an idea who's time has come. The Arizona Cardinals are building a new stadium, and they don't appear to have sold the naming rights yet.

Pat Tillman Stadium. 'Nuff said.

Arizona Cardinals
P.O. Box 888
Phoenix, AZ 85001-00888
(602) - 379-0101

You know what to do.

Found via Random Nuclear Strikes

Why Iraq? I'll Tell You Why.

We are there because we have to be. That area of the world has been riddled with strife and generally uncivilized behavior for long enough and they've started exporting this negativity to the western world in the form of terrorism. I'm convinced most people have no concept of how global terrorists operate, and that has fueled a massive debate intensified by the destruction of the towers of the World Trade Center on 9/11 in New York. Al Qaeda had found fertile ground from which to base their operation and this comfort level provided their membership organizational infrastucture. It also made it easier for those who would seek them out in order to provide funding, resources or any other type of assistance. Afghanistan and it's ruling Taliban provide a good illustration of this global terror organizational model. Not better than Iraq, but better in the sense that the world's leftists and their media did not take up cause against that battle in this war. As far as our enemy is concerned, this war is divine in nature and this influences who they identify as their enemy. Our rhetoric consistently underestimates the cunning of our opponents. We speak of them in ambiguous terms because they choose to keep their membership low profile, their loyalty to a cause rather than to a nation, and operate in concert with traditional leadership and in defiance of it. They are basically a politcal force in both the middle east, and the world (as witnessed by the events in Spain before during and after their most recent elections). Owing to their aggressive nature and level of skill, traditional leaders in the region(s) where they have the most influence have to address any designs they choose to inflict on them. There are degrees to which these leaders embrace the likes of Al Qaeda. The Taliban, when confronted with destruction chose to remain steadfast in their support for Al Qaeda. For that mistake they've had their reckoning with justice. The War on Terror, can not be limited to the Taliban as it's doctrine demands these traditional leaders purge the global terrorists and their leadership from their society as they rightly should. Al Qaeda is obviously one of the most deadly and organized of the global terrorism exporters, but organizations such as Hezbola (sp?) share the very essence of their movement with Al Qaeda. Should they find their targets too limited in scope, they will step up attacks against the allies of their enemies as well. Saddam Hussein fully supported their efforts going so far as to pay the families of suicide bombers 25,000 dollars even as we massed our forces at his borders. Saddam Hussein had been flirting with the more organized and lethal Al Qaeda terrorist network, and indeed they shared a common enemy....the United States. Al Qaeda seeks refuge for their operations in sympathetic areas throughout the world, but primarily in the middle east. Their ideology drives their selection of targets. Their targets include the United States, Israel, and all who would align with us. The Taliban embraced their ideology and gave safe haven to them (them meaing both Al Qaeda and exporters of this brand of terror in general). Saddam Hussein supported the same causes as these organizations as well as the organizations themselves directly and openly. Al Qaeda and their ilk use ambiguity of their location, membershiip, and the subversive nature of their network iin concert (in part or in full with) traditional leadership like that of Afghanistan's Taliban and Iraq's Saddam Hussein to export violence to their enemies thoughout the world. This gives them all a decisive advantage over their enemy as, from our perspective, it is not absolutely obvious exactly who and where we should focus our retalliation.

There were two very important considerations in our decision to focus our efforts on Saddam Hussein and the region of Iraq.

Saddam Hussein, a declared enemy of our nation, had a history of conflict with his neighbors, with us, and with the world at large. After his invasion of and eviction from Kuwait, he was given an ultimatum. He had to conform to the expectations of the agreed upon cease fire arrangement or he would be removed. He never really fullfilled his side of the deal. Measures were taken to attain his cooperation and limit his influence. He was required to cease support for terrorists, eliminate his weapons of mass destruction and discontinue efforts to manufacture them, and end the brutal treatment of the Iraqi people and open his government to the influence of democracy. He fialed to comply with any of these expectations. In regards to WMD, David Kay (who was assigned to find out as much about Saddam's banned weapons as possible) has said that Saddam's missle capability exceeded the maximum range he was allowed, that he maintained secret and dual purpose facilities related to the programs as well as materials relating to the creation of such weapons. He said Hussein was in material breech of the United Nations Security Council resolutions requiring him to fully and transparently disarm. On the treatment of his people, the world's sympathy for their suffering involved a program that allowed Saddam to sell the country's oil wealth in limited quantities and use the money for infrastructure and relief for the Iraqi people. This system (which by it's very nature sought to illicit Saddam's cooperation and was never meant to be a permanent method of containment for his designs) was thoroughly abused by both Hussein and some of the nations he did business with. It caused a conflict of interest for those nations, that went unmolested duirng the U.S. push for resolution to the situation with Hussein in the United Nations Security Council when nations such as France and Russia opposed the application of punishment for Saddam's continued obfuscation and deception.

We may not have found his stockpiles of WMD, but we had good reason to believe he had them, and they may yet be found. It is beside the point when one reviews the realities exposed as a result of ending his regime. Our supiciouns were well founded. His intentions were clearly to continue his deceptive behavoir and subvert the inspections/sanctions until such time that they were removed or he had attained the ability to threaten his persecutors with clandestinely manufactured weapons of mass destruction. I've my suspicions that there remains a substantial amount of weapons and materials that we've yet to find after reviewing his immediately pre-Operation Iraqi Freedom machinations. He burried figher jets in the deserts of Iraq. He had regime memebers destroy records that would have been incriminating. He hid. He might have been a blood crazed lunatic thug, but he wasn't stupid. He knew his enemy was coming and he knew they possesed the ablity to dispatch him. He also knew that if he could maintain his innocence during his seclusion and pick our soldiers off one at a time, that the sceptical and timid elements and their influence in our nation would begin calling for our withdrawal. If he could hold out long enough, he could return to power. It was either do that, or go out in a blaze of jihad, or simply surrender.

We had to finish the natural course of affairs with Saddam Hussein. He was an effective target for our war on terror because of and as a result of the history we had with his regime. If we can't take out someone like Saddam, who can we take out?

F*&^ G(*^&*)( M#$#$^!!!!!!!

Pat Tillman is dead.

This man had more guts, a bigger heart, and larger balls than every whiny, snot-nosed, craven, yellow-bellied, no-dicked, doped up, weed addled Anti-American fuckwit COMBINED. One of this man was worth more than every brain-dead fuckwad holding a sign in downtown Seattle.

Fuck it, I'm done for today.

The Council Has Spoken

This week's winners are Your Political Correctness or Your Life by Patterico's Pontifications, and Woodward Says No Secret Oil Deal, Suggests Kerry Learn to Read by Captain's Quarters. You can find all the (not-as-long-winded) results here.

Holy Moly

This coercive stifling of opinion permeates daily life, not just our campuses. It is very hard to think of an area of life that is free of the exhortation of intrusive moralizing. We are told what food is right or wrong to eat; how we should treat our pets; what clothing to wear; how we should spend our after-tax income; how precisely we should phrase invitations for sex; what kind of bags we should carry our groceries in; when and where we are permitted to pray or smoke; what jokes we are allowed to tell; who should pick the fruit we buy at the supermarket; how we should invest our money; what chemicals we should use in our gardens; by what method of transportation we should go to work; how we should sort our garbage; what we ought to think about cross dressing, sex change operations, teenage sex, and pot smoking; we are forbidden to inquire after the age, marital status, drug use, or alcoholism of job applicants; we are liable to be accused of sexual abuse if we spank our children or hug our neighbor's; our 19 and 20-year olds are permitted to fight our wars, but they are not permitted to buy a beer; we are not supposed to say that people are crippled, stupid, mentally defective, fat, or ignorant; and we must not use words like "mankind," "statesman," or "He" when referring to God.



What makes this coercive moralizing even worse is the hypocritical double-talk by which it is presented. For the stifling of opinions is said to be required by toleration. Its defenders advocate toleration of discrimination in favor of minorities and women (but not against them); of obscenity that offends religious believers and patriots (but not African-Americans and Jews); of unions' spending large sums in support of political causes (but not corporations' doing the same); of pot smoking (but not cigarette smoking); of abortion (but not capital punishment); of the public lies of Clinton (but not of Nixon); of hate speech against fundamentalists (but not homosexuals); of sex education in elementary schools (but not prayer); of jobs open only to union members (but not private clubs open only to males); of lies about American imperialism (but not the Holocaust); of sacrilegious of language (but not of language that uses "he" to refer to all human beings); of scientific research into just about anything (except racial differences in intelligence); and so on and on. We are awash in this ocean of hypocrisy, lies, and falsifications. And that is the background against which I have written the lecture about the professoriate and the truth that you are about to hear.

Would you like to read the rest? You should. I don't often demand that people read something, but if there ever was a piece that needs wide distrobution, this is it.

Found at Kim du Toit's.

Bush, AIDS, and Africa

Kim du Toit links to a few Tech Central Station articles today, both of them must reads. The first article takes on the Democrats and their lies about the Bush plan for AIDS relief in Africa. I'm not going to cut-and-paste the article, because there isn't any one section that can stand on it's own. You have to read the whole thing. However, the point that is made needs to be repeated every time a liberal lies about Bush and the AIDS plan.

And lets face it - what really pisses the Leftists off is that Bush is actually doing something about AIDS. All the Left has ever done is talk. Talk and no action.

News Time

Jacko the Kiddy Diddler is getting indicted! Can I get an AMEN!

Look, I was willing to give him the benifit of the doubt when all this crap came up the FIRST time. But what is this, the third accusation? The fourth? After he's already admitted that he likes to sleep in bed with teenage boys? C'mon, he's as guilty as they come. When one of your accusers can describe your pecker, you're in deep shit. And if he hadn't paid off the last kid's family he'd already be in jail. He'll be going from little boys in his bed to BIG boys in his bed soon enough.

I also found a place where I want to get my next haircut.

Scottish men may soon be able to get a little nudity with their crew cuts.

Churchgoers, feminists and politicians have united in protest against Scotland's first planned topless barbershop, reports The Scotsman newspaper.

The shop, to be called "A Bit Off the Top," will charge customers £25 — about $40 — for either a haircut or a private-booth massage. Both will be provided by former exotic dancers retrained to clip locks

Hell, why not? So long as they don't expose themselves to the general public while they're cutting hair, who gives a shit? And they call America tight-laced? Sheesh. My only problem is that I normally close my eyes while I'm getting a haircut to prevent all the little clippings from getting in them. At this place, I could have a handfull of hair tossed in my eyes and I probably wouldn't even notice until an hour later.

And from the "Stupid people behaving badly" file, don't steal this woman's helper.

The wife of Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., was arraigned on assault charges Wednesday following a dispute at a Northwest Washington garden center.

Wanda Baucus, 56, was charged after a dispute Tuesday with a woman who was having mulch loaded into her car at Johnson's Nursery, said District of Columbia police spokesman Sgt. Joe Gentile. Baucus was apparently upset that she wasn't getting help having some mulch loaded into her car and the other woman was.

Mrs. Baucus, here's your sign.

And last but not least, Kim has found the latest entry for the M-16/M-4's replacement, and it looks like a good gun. If you want to know what's wrong with the M-16, just ask me, and I'll tell you. Bring coffee and something to eat, because I'll be going on for a looooooooong time. I DESPISE the M-16. It's one of the worst damn rifles I've ever put my hands on, and the troops in Iraq feel the same way. No stopping power, too long for urban combat, the list goes on and on. It's nice to see that they're in the process of replacing it.

I might blog some more if I have time, but today is pretty damn busy. I'll see you all later.

MTV's subliminal man

I'm flippin' channels and I see that Jackass is on MTV. So I stop. I'm watching and here comes the commercial break. In the back of my head, I'm thinkin' "I just KNOW they're going to slip in some leftist indoctrination." Then I see this guy with shoulder length curly hair outdoors ryhming....rapping.....talking quickly...whatever. I make out "war", "not fair", "blind", "war nobody wants". It ends with some bullshit in print on the screen like "music + poetry = freedom". Oh brave MTV! If it weren't for you......you and CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, NPR, the New York Times, and half of Fox....how would anyone here the words "A war for oil that nobody wants"?! Rap the vote! Or is it "Force feed the meme" or perhaps "brain wash the stupid"?! You may have already seen their "If all the little kids we indoctrinate with leftist bullshit were able to vote, Algore may have won" or was it "Choose or Loose 2004" or "Trumpet of the Donks". So now Kerry has Moveon.never, The Liberal Media Fund, and MTV.....well to be fair, the Donks have always had MTV. :)

DAMN!

A Turkish ship headed for New York — and stuffed with thousands of AK-47s and other Kalashnikov assault rifles — was seized en route in Italy, authorities said Tuesday.

Well, there's some time and investment down the drain. That's the last time I deal with that compa....

Uh.... I mean...

The "Cry Wolf" Syndrome has arrived.

And it's biting people in the ass.

The University of Colorado at Boulder’s ongoing sex scandal revolves around football players who are accused of "getting away" with raping up to 10 women over the past several years. Women are suing. Dozens of athletes and their families are devastated. The National Organization for Women is demanding the head coach be fired.

Legislators wonder if they should conduct their own investigation. The truth of the specific accusations has yet to be determined. But, through the cacophony of voices, Richard Grego wishes to express a differing opinion: Namely, that the CU campus promotes false awareness.

Grego, who told me his story via e-mail, claims he knows CU promotes false awareness because, he says, he used to sell the "lie."

When I was an MP, I was a witness in a rape case. The case failed because THERE WAS NO RAPE. Attempted rape, possibly, but I'm not a prosecutor. Everyone involved in the whole debacle was confronted with a plantiff who didn't care about the actual truth, she just wanted to make this guy suffer. And this guy was a shitbag, no doubt about it, but he wasn't a rapist. Not even close.

I'm willing to bet that almost everyone involved in that case is much more skeptical of any rape claims. "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" isn't just a child's bedtime story.

From 1997 to 2000, while an undergraduate, Grego served as "a peer educator" in the Colorado University Rape And Gender Educators (COURAGE), which is funded by CU, and so, sanctioned by it. The group’s stated mission: "to raise awareness about sexual assault, stalking, intimate partner violence and gender as it relates to those topics." In January, 1999, Grego’s work was even singled out and featured for praise by the Colorado Daily in its weekend edition.

Grego now calls his work a "lie" that encouraged unfounded accusations of assault. He writes, "We created at CU a culture of false awareness. … [S]ince I left the group I have suspected that many women have been making false allegations to obtain the attention, sympathy, kid-glove treatment, and power that comes with being a victim of sex assault."

My first year at Ft. Riley I had a rape case come across my desk involving a Private from the 1AD, 1st Brigade. The Plantiff and Defendant statements were all he said/she said stuff. What got to me was a witness statement which claimed that the witness had walked around the side of the building where the intercourse had taken place. When the witness came around the corner, the witness observed the Plantiff engaged in sexual intercourse ON TOP of the Defendant. The Witness stated that they observed the couple engage in intercourse for some time, and when the Plantiff noticed that she had an audience, she jumped off of the Defendant and began crying. The Plantiff pressed rape charges.

Everyone involved in that case is much more skeptical of rape claims.

Why does Grego say the awareness was false? For one thing, COURAGE and its "educators" aggressively promote "facts" such as "1 in 4 women … will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime." COURAGE claimed that the statistic came from the FBI. Thus, Grego explains, "with the credibility of both a large respected university and the police department, we told college kids, many of whom were 18-year[-old] freshmen, that women are being raped left and right." As a COURAGE educator, Grego "went to classes, dorms, fraternities, other groups, and many sororities."

Then Grego took a sociology class that used the much-cited "Mary Koss study" as a cautionary example of how not to do research. The Mary Koss study was a 1985 report published in Ms. Magazine that claimed 1 in 4 women had been raped, and based the claim on interviews Mary Koss conducted with some 7,000 female college students. The women were asked 10 questions; they were deemed to have been raped if any question elicited a "yes" response. One question was, "Have you had sexual intercourse when you didn't want to because a man gave you alcohol or drugs?"

The 1-in-4 figure ranked as the Number One Myth in "The Ten Most Common Feminist Myths" flyer from the Independent Women’s Forum, which was circulated amid controversy on campuses in 2001. IWF commented, "The researcher, Mary Koss, hand-picked by hard-line feminist Gloria Steinem, acknowledges that 73 percent of the young women she counted as rape victims were not aware they had been raped. Forty-three percent of them were dating their ‘attacker’ again."

Grego recognized the discredited "facts" as the ones he was "feeding" the student body. They had not come from the FBI but from a feminist study that was being ridiculed by those who taught statistics. He asked, "Can you imagine how I felt? I had been in essence lying to the students. I was stunned."

Grego claims that when he confronted the professional coordinator of COURAGE about the statistic, she told him that the cause of "raising awareness" about rape was more important than the questions surrounding Koss' study.

Grego decided to leave the group.

So long as the legal system immidiately assumes that the male is guilty, you will have people abusing the system. The growing amount of people who treat charges of rape with skepticism prove that the "Cry Wolf" syndrome is alive and well. And the more proof that rises, showing that the modern feminists care more about "raising awareness" than the actual truth, the larger the pool of skeptics grows.

Dead Kids in Iraq

Take the fucking gloves off, already.

KerryCore.com

This site officially kicks all kind of ass. It's Raging Dave approved!

Found via DANEgerus.

I don't speak a word of Spanish

But some things need no translation.

Yeah. Look at the picture.

Found it...

The actual article that I was LOOKING for when I ran into the two "news items" that set me off. Not that this article is any better than the last two, as it highlights the idiocy, knee-jerk reactionism, and complete bullshit of the local politics in the Seattle area.

City may tie dogs' weight to label of 'dangerous'

In Auburn, they call it Fritz's Law - a proposed dog-control ordinance named in honor of a terrier-poodle mix killed by a neighbor's pit bull.

Designed to prevent further attacks by out-of-control dogs, if passed it could be the most restrictive measure of its kind in the state, declaring any dog weighing 30 pounds or more to be "potentially dangerous."

After an emotional debate, the controversial measure was passed out of committee yesterday afternoon, and the City Council took it up in the evening. More than 100 people turned out to oppose the measure, with more than 20 testifying against it. The council decided to return the measure to committee to review the 30-pound weight limit.

There is so much wrong here that it's hard to know where to start. So let's just start with three basic facts that these mind-numbingly stupid people need to have branded on to their foreheads.

Number One: All Dogs Are Social (aka: pack) Animals.

Dogs need a pack. They need that sense of belonging. Dogs require more social interaction than we do by a large margin. If you get a dog, and then do nothing but chain it up outside, it will go insane. Got it? It has nothing to do with the breed of the dog! You cannot keep a dog isolated and alone, and then expect it to behave in a polite and proper manner! You have prevented it from learning how to act in social situations, you have driven it nuts by neglecting it, and the dog's actions will reflect that!

If you were to take a human child and chain it outside, preventing any kind of interaction with other people or animals, what do you think that child would be like in a few years? Feral? Probably. Lonely? Without a doubt. Socially gifted? Not a chance. Multiply that by one hundred, and you have the effect of isolation on a dog. It's not some furry trophy, it's a living, breathing, social animal that needs attention and interaction! In this regard, BREED OR SIZE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.

Number Two: All Dogs Were Originally Bred For A Purpose

Mankind didn't accept dogs just because they were cute and fuzzy when they're puppies, dogs had to be able to assist man in some form or another. Terriers were bred to kill rats, after people in medieval Europe killed off as many cats as they could (because they were a sign of witchcraft). Retrievers and Labradors were bred to retrieve game birds after the hunter shot them. Poodles (the standard breed, not the miniature or toy) were bred to be hunters. Did you know that? That's how a poodle's haircut came about - the fur was shaved off of areas likely to get wounded, so that the fur wouldn't get into the wound and cause an infection.

Shepherds and collies were bred to help humans herd sheep, cows, goats, ect. Rottweilers, believe it or not, were originally used by the Romans to herd cattle for the Roman armies (food on the hoof for the legions). The various hounds (Basset hounds, Beagles, Coon hounds, Blue Tick Heelers and many other breeds) were bred to flush game out of the woods, or to let hunters know where the prey was. Just listen to one of those dogs when it gets to baying. There's a reason they have such a loud voice. Spaniels and Springers were also hunting dogs. All dogs had a purpose originally, and just because we've been able to have them as pets for the past century or so doesn't mean that these traits have left the breeds. When dealing with a dog, you have to take into account what what the dog was meant to do.

Number Three: All Dogs Are Instinctual Animals

This ties in to Number Two a bit, but it can also stand alone - All dogs, despite a lot of training, operate quite a bit on instinct. In fact, quite a bit of training is simply refining the instincts that the dog already possesses, or teaching them out counter those instincts. Other things are ways you can communicate with a dog on his level. One instinct that most people are familiar with is the direct stare. Staring directly at a dog is a challenge. Their instinct says to respond to that challenge. With proper training a dog can just shrug it off, but if the dog hasn't been trained, it will either A) eventually look away, accepting you as dominant, or B) respond to the challenge in many different ways, some of them ending up with you leaking from several holes in your skin.

Running from a dog - a dog sees you run and thinks one of two things - Either "Play time!", or "Ooo, Lunch!". It's INSTINCT. Barking at intruders - it's INSTINCT. Fetching a ball - believe it or not, but that is also INSTINCT. Knowing what a dog will or will not instinctivly do under a certain situation goes a long way towards preventing any accidents or attacks by a dog.

So, keeping these three rules in mind, what does that say about Auburn's new dog law? It smells as bad as the trash can at a dog park. I have the perfect way to keep people (and their dogs) in check:

Make the Owner responsible for the actions of their dog.

Any trouble caused by the dog is a results of either lack of training (which the owner is responsible for) or neglect and abuse (also the owner's fault). I have yet to see a well socialized dog attack anyone without cause. I have yet to see a dog that was treated properly become mean. I have yet to see a trained dog freak out and bite anyone. In my five years as an MP, I never saw a dog that was properly taken care of become a "problem dog". In fact, my experiences with dogs reinforced the belief that so called "violent dogs" are anything but. German Shepherds, Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, Dobermans, all of them are great dogs. Loving, playfull, and yes, gentle. My friend at Ft. Riley had a daughter who learned to walk by holding on to their Doberman's ears. (He hadn't had them cropped). Think about that. A dog that uninformed people consider violent allowed 20 pounds of wriggling toddler to grab on to it's ears and walk around the house.

I've had Rottweilers curl up in my lap. I've had pit bulls beg for a tummy rub. I've had German Shepherds take naps with me on the couch. So called "problem dogs" are not the problem at all. The problem lies with the owners. The people who get a big dog and then chain it outside 24/7. "Hey, look at my dog, isn't he big and mean?" Well, he's big alright, and if you continue ignoring him, he'll get mean. But not in the way you're thinking.

So Auburn, you get my "Worthless Dumbasses of the Month" award, for your lack of knowlege, knee-jerk reactions, and complete ignorance of anything on the subject for which you are pontificating. Thank god that people rose up to stop you, at least temporarily.

Make the Owners responsible for their dog's actions. And watch the problems with dogs go away.

More twaddle from the fishwrap

The local media is just starting to wind up the partisan hype, and it's already calf-deep in Seattle. This next piece is just an example of the kind of bullshit that passes for "news" in this town. As usual, all emphasis is mine.

It was just one name yesterday morning: Raymond E. Jones Jr.

He was 31, an Army staff sergeant from Gainesville, Fla., and a member of the 1st Infantry Division.

Jones' listing as the latest American soldier to be killed in Iraq didn't take up much space in the paper. But the weight of his death on his family must be unbearable.

And the rest of us are starting to feel the weight placed on the public by President Bush's private decision to go to war.

Did you get that? It's all Bush's fault. Never mind the 14 different UN resolutions, never mind Saddam's violation of the 1991 ceasefire agreement, never mind the act of Congress authorizing military force, it's all "President Bush's private decision". What a stupid bint.

The past few days have revealed much about how we were painted into this corner of some 700 U.S. dead and billions spent.

Painted into this corner? By who? Right now there are two choices - either this war was justified, or you just admitted that you are so stupid and gullible that you allowed yourself to be led around by the nose. Which one is it, Ms. Brodeur?

On Sunday's "60 Minutes," Bob Woodward discussed his new book, "Plan of Attack," in which he charges that Bush's war plans were made in near-secret. He said not even Secretary of State Colin Powell knew of the plans until the planes were all but fueled up.

All the general could do then was ask Bush if he was "aware of the consequences."

If you actually believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn that I can sell ya, cheap. Or did you forget Colin Powell's presentation before the UN? Let me tell you something, you little twit, a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff turned Secretary Of State is briefed on situations that MIGHT JUST IMPACT HIS JOB, don't you think?

Oh, right, you're in your little "Liberal Land", where logic doesn't exist, it's all happy flowers and bunnies.

Powell denied that yesterday. He said he knew and supported the war plan.

Yeah, it might have something to do with the fact that he gets face-to-face meetings with the President, don't you think?

But the he-said, he-said of this saga pales as "the consequences" mount. Readers of The Seattle Times got a look at them Sunday in a front-page photo of flag-draped coffins inside a cargo plane at Kuwait International Airport. I counted 18; six rows of three.

Good, you know how to count. Too bad you don't know how to actually talk to the soldiers who loaded those coffins, you might actually learn something.

This is what war looks like. This is what comes back when all the beady-eyed threats and finger-pointing are carried out.

Get it? "Beady-eyed threats and finger pointing". It's all Bush's fault, har har har. Saddam wasn't doing anything (except lying to the UN, violating international law, and murdering thousands of Iraqi's a day)

Until now, America has been allowed only glimpses of what we deserve to know.

Your ignorance of what war truly is comes from your refusal to deal with anything that might include reality. Amazing how many of the people who are FOR the war have actually had experience with combat. You, on the other hand, did nothing but sneer at those of us who supported ousting Saddam as "Simplistic". Now you want to use the bodies of the men you derided months ago as proof that they were wrong. Piss off, you stupid bitch!

The White House version of this war includes the "saving" of Jessica Lynch and the capture of Saddam Hussein, gleefully played like a clip from "Celebrities Uncensored."

But now this photo: wonderfully imperfect humans contained in sharp-edged boxes, wrapped in flags that represent the courage they embodied.

I honor them.

You HONOR them? Don't make me laugh! These are the people you described as "dupes", "rubes", and various other names during your hysterical screeching before we went into Iraq! But I guess a dead soldier is the only kind of soldier you like, isn't it?

But does the White House honor us? It kept us in that dark corner, not trusting us to say what should happen to our tax dollars and our kids. Precious cargo, indeed.

The White House has put out flaming assloads of information, you just didn't like what it said. So you ignored it, and now you whine about how you "weren't informed". Too fucking bad for you!

To believe Woodward is to believe your worst fears: Bush was a frat boy eager to prove himself, and Vice President Dick Cheney was his grudge-carrying enabler, the upperclassman outside the liquor store with a ready ID.

To believe Woodward is to prove that you are indeed a brain-dead moronic fuckstick incapable of tying your own shoes on a daily basis without instruction. Weren't you just whining about how you were duped earlier? And now you're going to follow someone else on the basis of a book they wrote? You truly ARE a fucking dipshit, and any ignorance on your part is due to your own gullibility, you twitterpated shitsack!

Bush's vows of vengeance ring a little hollow now that the dead can be seen, Spain is pulling out and the injured who come home can't sleep long enough to dream.

Spain is pulling out? Wait, I thought we were "unilateral"! Stop the presses! Luckily we still have allies who's leadership doesn't bend over and grab their ankles for Al-Queda.

The war has turned personal, and you feel powerless, like a passenger in a speeding car with everything that matters to you in the trunk.

The other day I sat in a coffee shop with a friend, watching our sons goof off.

I thought about how fast time was flying, and then felt my warm thoughts go cold.

Bush's war legacy could become my son's future. It's years away, but still ...

Bush's war... so I guess you think that if we just left those poor lil dictators and terrorists alone, everything would be fine? Dear god, you're as dumb as a wet sack of dogshit, you know that? And what's worse, you are that stupid because YOU CHOOSE TO BE. You ignore every threat made by Bin Ladin. You ignore every statement made by the terrorists. You ignore every scrap of evidence that clearly shows the terrorists want to kill us BECAUSE WE ARE AMERICAN. Thank god there's someone in the White House that is NOT as fucking brain dead as you are, Ms. Brodeur, because if we all followed YOUR leadership style I bet even money that NYC would be a mushroom cloud right now.

Consider this from Woodward's book:

"How is history likely to judge your Iraq war?" he asked the president.

"History?" Bush replied. "We won't know. We'll all be dead."

Raymond E. Jones Jr. might not be — if we had known more.

SSG Jones knew everything he needed to know, you ignorant bint. Which is more than I can say for you, after reading this pile of trash you call an "article".

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! I need to get the hell out of this stinking shithole disguised as a city!

The Local Fishwrapper

It's getting to the point that the Seattle Times is almost on par with the Seattle Commie Apologiser Post Intelligencer, I tell ya! I don't think I've ever seen such a load of twaddle from any major publication in Seattle in a looooooooooong time. I went to the Times' website to look for a news article I had heard mentioned, and there are so many laughable pieces of "journalism" that it made me want to puke. Oh, and on top of every webpage? A political ad for John Fonda Kerry.

I wonder if he's ever heard the phrase "Preaching to the Choir"? Ah well, let him waste his money.

But as to the articles - on the front page, there's this tripe about a "Day of Silence" for the GLBT community at the University of Washington.

Here's a hint, folks. If there's anything that will get you ostracized from the U of Washington, it's not sexual orientation. Don't believe me? Stand in the middle of campus with a sign that says "I support President Bush". Bring a helmet, you'll need it. Reading through the article just made me want to scream.

Gym class was just not an option ?— what if they made fun of the way he walked?

That has nothing to do with being gay, does it? Anybody can have an odd gait to their walk.

And running for student government was too risky ?— what if they picked apart the way he talked?

Again, what does this have to do with sexual orientation? Do you think kids who stutter or have a cleft palate have an easy time in high school?

He'd seen it all happen before, to boys who weren't even gay.

Bingo, the most telling sentence of the entire article. TO BOYS WHO WEREN'T EVEN GAY.

Fewer than one-third of GLBT students surveyed in 2001 said they saw the issues in their lives reflected in textbooks, according to the task force. About the same percentage said they could access gay-resource Web sites at school or find GLBT resources in the school library.

"The issues in their lives?" I didn't know that Math was sexually oriented. I didn't know that history was sexually oriented. Maybe if you would actually concentrate in getting an education you wouldn't worry if the textbooks had entire chapters devoted to different sexual orientations! As for accessing gay resource websites? If you can find the NAMBLA webpage from a college computer (and I know you can, it's protected under the 1st Amendment!) then you can find anything else you want. Maybe they should look a little harder instead of complaining about it!

When Goshu was in high school, he heard a message in that silence that straight people might not even notice: You do not belong here.

Funny, that was the same message that I got, but I wasn't gay. I just didn't fit in with "The popular crowd". Most people don't. Perhaps if Goshu had looked around at the various people who are shunned in high school, he wouldn't have felt so alone.

He already had heard that message at home. When he was in sixth grade, Goshu said, his father pulled him aside to deliver a warning: If you become a homosexual, I will kill you.

That's a fucked up father, no doubt. No kid should have to go through that. But does that make it my fault? Or anyone else's fault but his father's?

The words followed Goshu to high school ?— and nothing he saw there made him feel any better about being gay. He saw boys and girls holding hands. He saw photographs on teachers' desks of traditional families ?— a father, a mother, children at their feet.

Yes, when the majority of people are heterosexual, you will see lots of hetero couples holding hands! Duh! If you take offense to that, it's YOUR problem, not ours! If you take offense to traditional families, it's YOUR problem, not ours! If you expect the entire world to avoid offending you due to YOUR life, then it's YOUR problem, not ours!

What he did not see was his life.

Two words: LOOK HARDER.

Look, if you are gay, fine. You're gay. Big whoop-de-do. If you're gay and you want to be treated just like everybody else, good! Equality should be the norm, not the exception! But if you're gay and you want everybody to conform to your standards to avoid "offending" you? That's where I have a problem.

Are gays harassed in school? Without a doubt. So are kids with thick glasses. So are short kids. Anybody who is different takes a load of shit from other people in school, and it sucks. But to be upset because you see hetero couples holding hands? That's a load of horses**t. To feel put out when you see pictures of a teacher's family? That's your problem, kiddo. Whether you like it or not, your sexuality is in the minority of the population in this country. You can either accept that fact and deal with it accordingly, or you can live our your life in misery. But you do NOT have the right to make the entire country go out of their way to avoid your delicate sensibilities.

Is that harsh? Probably. But here's the truth of the entire matter: Until you stop demanding special treatment, you will not get treated equally by anyone else. If you make a big deal about how different you are, then that's how people will perceive you -

Different.

You Shall Not Pass

This says to me: "Damn! Their resolution to win is too strong. We will now
A) Remark upon their deaths and losses often and at the expense of their leadership
B) Emphasize the humanity of the enemy and implicate their innocence at every mention of their demise.
C) Accuse their soldiers of unspeakable acts of random senseless violence and attribute actions which may be construed as such to have originated from the top of their chain of command
D) Relentlessly undermine their intentions and mission regardless of the good they do.

There is more than one war taking place here, good people. The left and their media have declared war on the sitting President of the United States, and their hatred and venom make our enemy on the field of battle seem noble in comparison.

Don't let them pass.

Absolutely no point what-so-ever

But it's kinda cool all the same.

Linky Love

Also: Jamie Gorelick - Incompetant hack, or evil enemy?

Sorry, I just had to toss that in there, because the more I read about Gorelick, the more I'm disgusted with the whole Democratic Party. So, on the whole "Let's string Gorelick from a lamp post and use her limp, worthless body as a Pinata" string, I give you the Volokh Conspiracy, Old Benjamin on Andrew McCarthy, and Andrew McCarthy himself. Read. Be nauseated. And re-educate yourself on the vile corruptness that is the Democratic Party.

James Lileks smacks down Andrew Sullivan over Sully's remarks about a gas tax.

The truly needy tend to consume less gas than their middle-class compatriots. Others say it penalizes those in remote and rural areas. So what?

Some conservatives say it's antithetical to the American Dream. Hooey.

Here's a question that I think Sullivan should have to answer - why the hell should Ma and Pa Public who live in Idaho/Montana/Wyoming/anystatewithassloadsoflandbutveryfewpeople listen to a Manhattan socialite who doesn't even drive? Do you have any idea the costs involved? Do you think that loaf of bread just materializes on your counter ala "Star Trek"? Do you think that salad hopped off of the field and onto your plate all by it's lonesome? Do you think that computer that you're typing on was hauled into New York for free? Hell no! And you didn't even think about what an effect a gas tax would have on the rest of the country, did you? No, you just bloviated on a subject that you have NO FUCKING EXPERIENCE with, didn't you?

That's right, Sully. Keep your ass in New York City and shut the hell up. Let those of us who live in the real world deal with real world problems. Stay in your Ivory Tower before I slap the taste outta yer mouth!

The more I read Sullivan, the more I realize that he has absolutely no idea what goes on outside New York City.

And last but not least, from Baby Troll Blog - I'd be more inclined to believe VP Cheney when he says that he and Bush are the friends of gun owners if ol' Dubya hadn't stated way back when that he would sign an extension of the ill-named, full of crap, communist wet dream "Assault Weapons Ban". However, Cheney is partly correct when he states "John Kerry's approach to the Second Amendment has been to regulate, regulate and then regulate some more". Sorry Dick, but you forgot "Ban, deny, and criminalize".

Just in case people forgot.....



Yep, after missing the majority of his votes in Congress this year, 'Ol John Fonda Kerry found time to zoom back and vote for more "gun control". F.E.T.E.

Maybe more later, if I can scratch out some time.

Anniversary

No, not my anniversary. I don't have one yet. But today, April 19th, in the year 1775, a shot rang out in Lexington, MA.

How the hell we went from Paul Revere and Sam Adams to Ted "Chappaquiddic" Kennedy and John Fonda Kerry, I have no idea. I wonder of Massachusetts realizes that it's elected representatives are laughingstocks in large parts of this country?

Leftist mazes

Howard of Oraculations was planning on doing a simple little "follow the money trail" report on "Families for Peacefull Tomorrows" What he found is nauseating.

The 9/11 "Moms" or "Families for Peaceful Tomorrows" is not just a group formed to agitate our government to find the "truth" about 9/11. It is a front for raising money to be "donated" to other places. All Left. All against the Bush Administration. Against the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Some go to back to far Left groups like The Tides Foundation (which gave them money) which in turn will fund "moveon.org" (Bush is Hitler ads).

Tides is funded by people like Maria Teresa Thierstein Simoes-Ferreira Heinz Kerry, the one with the billion bucks to throw around. Tides in their turn have funded Peaceful Tomorrows to the tune of millions.

Hmmmmm, rich leftist first-lady-wannabes funding anti-Bush groups? Who woulda thunk it? Found via Kim du Toit.

News Update: Some Illinois residents are Idiots

Don't take my word for it, go ask Spoons. And while you're there, read his set of questions (near the bottom of the post). If you can't answer at least half of them, perhaps you need a tad bit of education. I know that I need a refresher course myself.

This Just In at the top of the hour

Tune in to Spike TV. It may actually be a new one. Not that we'd know as they've yet to list an episode guide and a further than a 1 in the future episode listing (no title). I did contact Spike about this. Perhaps this is an opportunity for other fans of This Just In to inform them of how valuable such web available info would be to fans of the series.

Update: It's on now, and it is a rerun. It appears there will be another episode on following this one that had promo clips I didn't recognize. Could be a new one. *frustrated by lack of info* I sent emails to Spike and to the address at "Newport's Blog".

In case you haven't read it -

Lee at Right Thinking from the Left Coast takes that slovenly, fat, America-hating sack of shit Mikhail Moore to the woodshed, with predictable results.

Hmmmmmm......

It seems that some people are questioning whether the wounds that John Fonda Kerry recieved a Purple Heart for were actually combat related.

Would John Fonda Kerry every exaggerate to make himself look good? Well, an exaggeration is a very tiny lie, isn't it?

And we already know that John Fonda Kerry wouldn't know the truth if it bit him in the ass......

Credibility

I was reading a Townhall.com article by Paul Rosenzweig in which he asks the question "Is the 9/11 commission's credibility at risk?"

Buddy, any credibility the 9/11 commission had is long gone.

One of the architects of the security failures, Jamie Gorelick, actually sits on the commission. Gorelick's exposure as a direct link to the failures of the previous administration undermines the commission's purpose, as she doesn't have to testify, and exposes the Democratic leaders of the commission as partisan hacks more interested in protecting their own hides and attacking Republicans than in actually correcting the problems and failures that allowed September 11th to happen.

Bob Kerry - releasing his own book about September 11th before the commission releases it's findings. Can we say Conflict of Interest? I knew we could. This man is seeking to make money on the very subject he's supposed to be presiding over. The book is probably already written, so that it could be published and on shelves before the commission winds up it's testimony. Any information that disputes his book makes it less valuable. Kerry has a vested interest in ensuring that his pre-decided set of facts are the only facts allowed to see the light of day.

Richard Ben-Veniste - the man has been a Democratic attack dog from the word "go". Washington insiders have dealt with Ben-Veniste's slime for years, but now his lack of anything resembling human decency has been televised for the world to see. His attacks on Condoleezza Rice, performed in such a way that there can be no doubt as to the depths that this man will sink in order to protect his Democratic minders, brought the entire commission to new lows on a daily basis. His attempts to prevent Dr. Rice from even speaking more than one sentence at a time coupled with his undisguised scorn and thinly veiled sexism sank the Democrats in the minds of anyone with room temp IQ.

But it's not just the Democrats who are going down with the ship on this. The Commission Chairman, Republican Thomas Kean, has allowed the gross behavior and slime to continue unabated. His response to the calls for Mrs. Gorelick's resignation, "People ought to stay out of our business", shows the elitism and political protectionism that the entire commission seems to share. Instead of a fact finding mission, we have a commission who's two sides are working towards goals that have nothing to do with the central mission of the entire debacle. The Democrats are hysterically flailing for anything they can use to hurt president Bush, and the Republicans seem to be more interested in keeping the Congressional Boys Club intact from any perceived slight. The entire commission is one horrible joke, from top to bottom. This is the group that's supposed to figure out what happened? Please, spare me.

Here's my prediction: The commission will find nothing new. The only worthwhile activity of the commission will simply be bringing previously known information into the light of day for the rest of the country to see. The Democrats will continue to shriek and gibber about President Bush, culminating in a pre-election day burst of hysteria, and the Republicans will continue to pretend that everything is fine, why should we interupt, ect., ect., ect. And the rest of the country, save for the fringes who actually think that the commission is somehow worthwhile, will go about their business and let their voices be heard in November.

Sunday News

Ah, España, what happened to your character? I know that people have been bemoaning Zapatero, and that you crawled to your election booths on your knees... but I guess the full force of your capitulation to terrorism hasn't hit me until now.

Zapatero, you are a gutless coward, and your nation, having shown it's willingness to grab it's ankles for terrorism, will continue to be whipped by the terrorist tumblefucks everytime they feel the urge to show their power. You have set your people up for years of fear, death, and anguish. I spit on you, and I spit on the people who were foolish enough to elect you. Ye shall reap what ye sow.

The remains of five MIA soldiers were put on a plane in Viet Nam and sent to Hawaii for identification. But wait, I thought that John Fonda Kerry had testified in Congress that there were no more POW/MIA/KIA left in Viet Nam? Gee, he lied? Yep, right before his relatives got a sweet business deal out of Viet Nam, which was opened up for normal relations thanks to the testimony of... John Fonda Kerry.

Kerry lied, slandered, and abandoned his fellow soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines back in 1971 when he gave false testimony at the Winter Soldier commission. He's abandoned the armed forces with every vote he made in Congress. And now we have more proof that he abandoned the military when he lied about the status of MIA/POW in the 1980's. The man is scum. Rotten, vile, poisonous, rancid, traitorous scum.

If you haven't checked out DANEgerus lately, you're missing out on some of the best smackdowns being discovered and/or dished out. FrontPageMag smacks down that slimey sack of donkey vomit, Ben-Veniste, not just once but twice. Ben-Veniste has been a craven toad from the moment he first raised his head in Washington. The more I learn about this man, the more I wish that there were no laws against tarring and feathering.

Jonah Goldberg has his moment of Frankenfreude after learning that Err Air America was off the air for a while.

Air America is off-air in Chicago and L.A. because they bounced a check after only two weeks of broadcasting, according to Arthur Liu, the owner of Multicultural Radio Broadcasting Inc., who was essentially renting airtime to Air America. The folks at Air America deny this, claiming that Mr. Liu is lying and - I quote - a "Liu-ser."

I am delighted to hear that making fun of Asian last names is now socially acceptable according to liberals. I am grateful that Mr. Liu's last name isn't Dong or Wang. Who knows what those joke-meisters might have come up with then.

You know what? I hope that Err Air America keeps going until election day. I really do. Because the more that normal Americans see and hear from this billionaire-funded group of liars, hacks, and bullshit artists, the more likely they are to vote for Bush. Keep it up, Al! Racist insults, easily debunked myths, and flat out lies are the PERFECT way to get people to see the light!

And don't forget to check out the French War for Oil. Remember folks, Saddam was bribing the French, Russians, and anyone else he could with barrels of oil. We're the ones to gave that oil back to the Iraqis.

I'll probably have more later. 'Till then...