Thoughts of a Medic

The New WP blog!

2005-07-18T01:07:00.000-05:00

Yup. Moving to bigger and better things.

I bought my own domain and hosting, and am now running on a WordPress powered website. Currently, the theme is still under construction, so I'm using the default till it finishes.

http://medicthoughts.com

Another Bloody Survey

2005-06-29T08:32:00.000-05:00

I don't really like surveys, but Pam asked so here it is.

I STOLE THIS FROM PAM...............(she told me to!!!)
THREE NAMES YOU GO BY
1. Mark
2. Medic
3. Robert (people call me this all the time because for some reason they cant remember my real name)
THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD:
1. sccfan47 (yahoo/aim)
2. kylekatarn12 (msn)
3. asmodeankane47 (xfire)
THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. teeth
2. Eyes
3. hands (dunno why)
THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. smile
2. laugh (not really physical, but im gonna do it anyway)
3. can't think of anymore
THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:
1. German
2. Irish
3. English
(well, we can see where I get my temper from :P and as a side note I consider myself 100% American)
THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
1. needles
2. snakes
3. liberals (im serious)
THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
1. Contacts
2. Getting on the internet
3. talking with Andrea
THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW:
1. kakis
2. dress shoes
3. socks
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS OR MUSICAL ARTISTS:
1. Steven Curtis Chapman
2. Toby Keith
3. Creedence Clearwater Revival
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS:
1. "Decleration" Steven Curtis Chapman
2. "Bad Moon Rising" Creedence Clearwater Revival
3. "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue" Toby Keith
THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP:
1. Love
2. Humor
3. Trust
(Pam, I like these so I am just gonna steal them)
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE (in no particular order):
1. I once was in a car accident and broke my right leg in two places
2. At one time I thought I was gay
3. When I was in grade school someone shot my dog
THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE PREFERRED SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU(in order):
1. Overall looks
2. personality
3. smile
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES(also in order):
1. Playing Guild Wars
2. Politics
3. Reading
THREE THINGS YOU WANT REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
1. A gallon of ice cold root beer
2. To be back at school
3. For Andrea to come visit
CAREERS YOU'RE CONSIDERING/YOU'VE CONSIDERED:
1. Cop
2. Teacher
3. Bounty Hunter (seriously, wouldn't this job be sweet)
THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
1. Alaska
2. Iraq (I want to go after it is fixed up and see the progress for myself)
3. South Carolina
THREE KIDS' NAMES YOU LIKE:
1. Matthew John
2. Elayne Jessica
3. Heriatio Kane (never would actually name a kid this, but it's still a cool name)
THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
1. Get married (not that I am in a hurry or anything, but it is on the list)
2. Go big game hunting
3. Maybe something with politics?
THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A GIRL/BOY:
1. I like girls
2. I like guns
3. I am not gay
THREE CELEB CRUSHES:
1. No
2. Such
3. Thing
THREE PEOPLE THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE STEAL THIS FROM ME:
1. Chad
2. Andrea
3. Sarah K.(Soon to be J. and I am not sure how much she reads my blog, I know she has been here at least once.

REALLY BIG UPDATE:

Umm, Chad pointed out to me that I forgot to change the part of this survey about how I am a typical guy. Don't worry, I am not a fag, I just missed that section, Ill go and change that.

Happy Birthday Andrea

2005-06-29T08:11:00.000-05:00

Today is Andrea's birthday and she turns 19. I just wanted to post that and tell her happy birthday. Be nice and leave her a note in the comments.

A Post On Andrea

2005-06-28T16:45:00.000-05:00

So, maybe you guys caught it earlier during my Puppy Post that Andrea was (and still is) my girlfriend. I am writing this post because she asked me to write something about her and because she asked so nicely and I love her I decided to do so. I really don't know what to write about her, I spose I could start with saying that she will probably come up to visit me in the first weekend in September and we are both looking forward to that, it should be fun. I plan on getting her ice cream and I promised her that I would not blend her puppies in the spirit of the Puppy Blender, she gets quite cranky when I mention that with good reason, she loves her puppies and I like them as well and would never really blend them, Andrea, I promise I won't. Anyway, I am going to wrap this Andrea post up, I guess that if you have any questions put them in the comments and I will see what I can do.

Looking For A Manual?

2005-06-23T15:33:00.000-05:00

Somehow I don't think these manuals will ever show up at ReplacementDocs...

And as my fellow blogger Opinipundit stated: "We have manuals on how to properly handle the Koran and humanely treat prisoners, paying respect their cultural sensitivities, they have manuals on how to properly torture and decapitate hostages."

KIDNAP AND DECAPITATION MANUAL FOUND IN HIDEOUT

Baghdad, 23 June (AKI) - US Marines have found manuals on taking hostages and decapitation during a raid on a guerrilla hideout in the Iraqi village of Karabla, near the town of Qaim, close to the Syrian border. The Arab newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat reports that in the hideaway the troops also found several hostages who were being held there by Islamic militants. The hiding place was being used as a centre for the interrogation and torture of hostages, and contained electrodes and other instruments of torture.

The manuals found were used as Jihad (Holy War) handbooks. The first was titled: "How to choose the best hostage", the second covered decapitation and was called: "Rules for cutting off the heads of infidels", and the third manual, "principles of the philosophy of the Jihad", was more theoretical.

The three documents, the last of which is 574 pages long, carry the name Abdel Rahman al-Aliya, which the newspaper says is probably a cover name to hide the identity of the real author. The hideout - in the volatile western Anbar province which has been the scene of fierce fighting between insurgents and the US-led forces - is believed to have been used by the group led by the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He is credited with introducing the practice of decapitation to the activities of the Jihadist movement.

This is just sick, Im gonna go grab my guns and go over to Iraq now, it's terrorist killin' time.

No Child Left Behind/Ed Watch/ FedEd

2005-06-22T16:04:00.000-05:00

I sent Michelle Malkin an email about Ed Watch and my former professor's books about the No Child Left Behind Act. (read the post I did on NCLB and Quist's books here) Hopefully she will reply and I can give you guys an update.

What's Your RealAge?

2005-06-21T09:19:00.000-05:00

We all know how old we are. I happen to be 20 right now and I feel great and I am happy and content, but with all the stress in our lives and whatever health issues that we have are we really as young (or old) as we think we are? Well if you go here to RealAge you can take a test (which takes about 10 minutes) and it will tell you how old your body is based on your family history, eating habits, medical history, amount of exercise, etc. My end result was that even though I am 20.1 years old my RealAge is 22.4, maybe that is why people always tell me I look older than I am, dunno. I just thought this was interesting, fell free to share your results in the comments, it would be interesting.

Pray For This Family

2005-06-16T14:29:00.000-05:00

Frank J. got the following email from a reader:

I don't know if you've seen on Drudge the story about the young Catholic woman with brain cancer who's being kept alive until she can bring her baby to term. It's being slowly picked up by different MSM outlets. Jason Torres, her husband, went to high school with me, and his mom is a friend of my family's, so it's personal for me. He's had to quit his job to stay by her side. Their medical bills are about $7,500 a day and they're looking to at least mid-July before they can deliver the baby, assuming the cancer doesn't spread to her uterus. I was hoping maybe you could help spread the word through the blogosphere. Faith and Action have set up a fund to help with the medical costs, so it's all tax deductible and such. If you can help, that would be wonderful.

Check out the news article here and a donation page here. Please keep this family in your prayers, and Frank, I am sorry for so shamelessly stealing, but I think you said this very well and better than I could have.

Percision Guided Humor, Courtesy of Harvey

2005-06-16T12:19:00.000-05:00

Over at IMAO Harvey has a very, very funny percision guided humor assignment. Check it out here and please, remove any beverages or food from your mouth or nose before you do otherwise it will be all over your keyboard and monitor (my keyboard is now a mess).

Captain's Log

2005-06-15T15:47:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine from over at the PTA forums has started up his own blog, Captain's Log. There isn't much there yet, and it's a surprise what will be, but go over and say hi.

Got a Call From PETA....

2005-06-15T12:09:00.000-05:00

Well, not really but you really should check out this audio clip that I got from cessna whom I met on the PTA forums.

Dirty Stinkin' Evil Commies....

2005-06-15T10:29:00.000-05:00

...and Microsoft is in league with them!!!!! Anywho, maybe you have already heard about this but the Chinese government in partnership with Microsoft has banned "politically inappropriate" words when the people in China try to search or read something related to these words they get the following message: "Prohibited language in text, please delete." Now I realize Microsoft loves their money and so on and so forth but by partnering with the commies by prohibiting search terms such as freedom, democracy, and human rights (seriously) that just makes me sick. I really hate Microsoft. Read the rest of the article here.

Caption Contest: Puppy

2005-06-13T12:43:00.000-05:00

Well, my girlfriend got a new puppy last week and this picture I have of it would make a good caption contest, she looks kinda cranky and her name is Akari. Maybe you guys should caption what she is thinking. :P (or you could just look and go "awwwww, how cute".

She sent me a picture of her second puppy (she got two togeather) and I thought it looked depressed but she said it was just checking out the grass, I still say it's depressed, maybe it needs to go see a shrink.

A Story of Heart

2005-06-13T11:02:00.000-05:00

Found this story during my morning news surfing, very heartwarming. I know it's a long article, but its worth it.

A long shot in more ways than one brings a town to tears

Ryan Bellflower's future is uncertain, but for one shining moment ...

By Tim Dahlberg
The Associated Press

CLOVIS, Calif. -- The chant began late in the fourth quarter in the basketball gym at Clovis East High. The students started it first, clapping their hands in unison and pounding the bleachers with their feet.

It didn't take long for the parents to pick it up, too. The noise grew until the whole gym seemed to shake.

"We want Ryno. We want Ryno."

Pacing the sideline, Coach Tim Amundsen felt himself getting goose bumps. Less than 4 minutes remained in the game, and Clovis East was winning comfortably over rival Buchanan High. Now Amundsen had a decision to make.

It was senior night, the last time Ryan Belflower would wear his home uniform. Everyone in the gym knew his story.

Ryan was a special education student who would do anything to fit in and worked tirelessly to make that happen. His basketball career began as a ninth-grader passing out balls to the girls team. Then he hooked on with the boys team, getting there every morning at 6:30, helping out in drills, running the practice clock and cleaning up afterward.

Now, he sat proudly on the sideline in his own white No. 12 uniform.

The crowd wanted him in the game. Amundsen wanted him in, too. But he was also afraid the slightly built 18-year-old might get hurt.

Amundsen considered all this as he walked toward Ryan and patted him on the shoulder. Off came the warm-up jacket, the buzzer blew and Ryan kind of half hopped, half ran onto the court, his left leg trailing slightly at an odd angle.

The noise was deafening as he ran out onto the court.

In the stands, Justin Belflower was near tears. A few years earlier, he was a jock at Clovis East, one of those big men on campus. He knew how hard his kid brother had worked for this moment.

"If you had said four years ago he'd play in a varsity basketball game, I'd say stop lying because it will never happen," Justin said.

On this afternoon in February, it did. And Clovis East would never be the same.

Shooting a basketball was never that big a problem for Ryan. He figured that out during countless hours of playing H-O-R-S-E with Justin in the driveway of the family's modest home in this Fresno suburb.

Playing in a game was something entirely different. Ryan couldn't grasp the concepts of filling lanes, going to spots, running routes.

As a child he struggled to understand the smallest things. He could tell you his name, but for years he couldn't tell you his age.

"You would try to teach him at every birthday, but sometimes it just didn't sink in," said his mother, Shauna Belflower.

His mother knew early on that Ryan was different. He was barely speaking as a toddler, and he just didn't act like his older brother did at that age. She took him to a speech and language specialist, who examined Ryan for about five minutes before turning back to his mother.

"I'm not sure how to tell you this, ma'am, but there's a lot more wrong with your son than his speech," the woman said.

Shauna Belflower searched for answers, though few came as the years went on. Ryan had autistic symptoms, but no one ever formally diagnosed him with that. She took Ryan to different doctors, and even locked him in a psychiatric hospital for 16 days when he was 5. He went on medication, but it made him violent and he had to be weaned from it.

"It was almost like having a little Helen Keller. He had no way of communicating," his mother said. "He knew words were a way of communicating, just no way of knowing what they meant."

In the end, there wasn't much doctors could do. Ryan would improve as he learned things, but for years he struggled to understand and carrying on a conversation was almost impossible. He would look at the ground when he talked, and it was a long time before he could answer a question like "How are you?"

Increasingly, though, that talk was about sports. Ryan memorized statistics, watched ESPN constantly and found out everything he could about his favorite team, the San Francisco 49ers.

Still, he struggled in his vocational special education classes, struggled to find his place in a big high school, struggled with life's little oddities every single day.

One day during his freshman year, girls basketball coach Meredith Pulliam asked her class if anyone wanted to help the team.

In the back of the room, Ryan's hand went up.

Every day he'd be at practice, handing out balls, trying to figure out how to run the clock. At first, the girls were wary of this boy who said almost nothing but was always around. But, as time went on, they grew to love the scrawny kid who worked so hard and did everything he could for them.

Ryan was finally a part of something. And the kid who could barely talk to anyone a few years earlier now wanted to be manager of the boys team. Maybe, just maybe, he could even play. After all, he did know how to shoot.

"I had a long day to figure it out, but I wanted to play," Ryan said. "I really did. And if I didn't make it, at least I tried."

Amundsen knew about Ryan's work habits and his determination. After Ryan tried out as a junior, he told him he could be the boys team manager. If he worked real hard, maybe he would earn a uniform.

"A lot of times kids like that end up disappearing after two weeks," Amundsen said.

Not Ryan.

He got up early, swept the gym, put out basketballs and got players water.

"I paid the price," Ryan said. "I didn't want to quit and I wasn't going to."

Just before the last game of the year, Amundsen handed him his No. 12 uniform.

"He did it the right way. He earned it," Amundsen said. "You don't see that much these days."

With Ryan finally in the game, the chant grew even louder in the Clovis East gym.

"Give Ryan the ball. Give Ryan the ball."

Ryan wanted it, too. He ran down the court to the corner by himself to wait in case someone saw him. If no one did, he would run back behind the 3-point line to get a pass.

On defense, the 5-foot-6 player ran after Buchanan High's biggest man.

"Coach told me to guard anybody I saw," he would explain later.

Ryan had played a few seconds in a few games already his senior year. It hadn't gone well.

In his first game, the other team was running a fast break off a miss and Ryan couldn't get out of the way. He was sent sprawling about 10 feet down the court. It wasn't anybody's fault, but it made Amundsen wary.

The other kids were bigger and stronger. They saw plays developing. They reacted quicker.

About 2 minutes remained in the game, and Ryan's teammates were trying their best to get him the ball.

Suddenly, he had it unguarded out beyond the 3-point line. As he launched the shot, everyone in the gym froze. On the sideline, his teammates rose as one.

The shot missed badly, clunking off the lower backboard.

By now, the Buchanan players seemed to recognize what was going on. When Ryan got the ball again they fouled him, sending him to the free throw line so he would have a chance to score.

But all the games of H-O-R-S-E hadn't prepared him for this moment. His free throw arced high off the top of the backboard.

In the stands, Justin was crying tears of joy. His brother may have missed, but at least he got a chance. He could always talk about the night he played.

The final seconds were ticking off the clock and Clovis East got the ball one last time. This time, Ryan found a spot just beyond the 3-point line to the left of the key. He got a pass, and turned to shoot.

The noisy gym quieted for a split second as the ball seemed to hang in the air forever.

It swished through, the way it did so many times in the driveway in front of his house.

"Nothing but net," he exclaimed.

The buzzer sounded as Ryan ran joyously toward his bench, attempting to chest butt a teammate in celebration.

In the stands, Justin tried to scream, but nothing came out. He wasn't alone. Grown men and women hugged each other and cried.

The kid who wouldn't take no for an answer could now say he was a player, too.

"All the parents were bawling, and the students were too," Amundsen said. "My coaching staff all had tears in their eyes. It was an unbelievable moment."

It wasn't over yet. As the teams shook hands, two football players grabbed Ryan and hoisted him on their shoulders. He held his arms high in celebration, a big grin on his face, as they carried him on a victory lap around the gymnasium.

"I've never seen anything like it before and I probably never will," Amundsen said. "He'll be my example the rest of my life as a coach."

Word traveled quickly about Ryan's shot. He was on the front page of the Fresno Bee. Local TV replayed his shot again and again.

The attention has been a bit overwhelming, but his mother says he has handled it well. He makes sure he looks a visitor in the eye when he talks about it.

"It's about showing the love," he said. The entire Central Valley has shown its love to Ryan, too. He's not really sure what it all means, but he knows he's been accepted.

"You can see how he's kind of trying to figure it out. I don't know if he fully comprehends what is going on," said his special education teacher, A.J. Blackburn. "His ability to process how huge this has become isn't quite there. With disabilities you don't understand abstract concepts. They need to be concrete. He understands what he did was important, but doesn't truly understand why."

Ryan's future is uncertain. He walked with other students at graduation, but the special education kids don't get diplomas. He had never had a date, but recently worked up the courage to ask a member of the girls basketball team to the prom.

He's thinking of trying to be the team manager at Fresno City College, and wants to have a career in sports. He memorizes statistics and can tell you how every member of the 49ers did last year.

"My dreams now are to be a sports analyst," he says. "I know so much and people say I'm good at it."

That dream will be harder to achieve than hitting a 3-pointer.

"It's going to be a tough transition from this sheltered place called high school," Blackburn said. "Eventually I envision Ryan to be for the most part independent with some counseling. He will always need some assistance, but once he gets in a routine he will be able to live a life much like the rest of us."

Whatever happens, they can't take away the moment that brought a school together and made a town proud. They can't take away the shot that made Ryan a hero.

"He's a guy who tries more than most people ever do," Pulliam said. "He's probably put in twice the work and gotten half the results of anyone else. But he gives others like him hope that there might be a moment in life for them, too, in some way."

Comments, Or Lack Thereof

2005-06-11T20:55:00.000-05:00

Evenin' Folks,

It's been a long day full of sick calves, mowing lawns, and a graduation party I really didn't want to be at. First off, mowing the lawn, its like NASCAR, a couple of hours turning left, only much slower but just as boring. Moving on to the sick calves, well, rather one sick calf, but starting out by inferring there is more than one makes for a more intriguing read. Anyway, this one sick calf somehow got is leg screwed up kinda backwardsish so we first had to set the lag (which was no fun) then we had to stick it with a bloody big needle with I had a tough time with (needles scare the pinkytoe outa me). For you animal lovers out there it's gonna be fine, just a couple more sticks with the needle and makeing sure the leg sets and away we go. As for the gradation party, it sucked, I really don't want to say more about it.

On my last post Pam left a very nice comment about how she noticed that I don't get many...well...comments, very astute of her. Now I will say that I love comments just as much as the next guy, I smile and get rather happy when I check my comments and see someone left me a message (unless its mean, then I laugh). But even though I love comments I do not blog to recieve them so in a slight incentive for you to read my blog is there stuff the people that read this regularly, or not regularly, would like to see (I think my regulars are Chad, Erik, Eric, and Pam). Sorry if I missed anyone, I was going off of people that posted comments. So, yeah, ya kinda know about me, I think, what kind of stuff would you guys like to see?(that includes any qustions you might have of me, if I get enough I could do a FAQ to put in my about me section.) Or should I just keep going on as I am?

Also, I am looking into getting a digital camera because I seem some of the craziest things (and expect to see a ton more next fall) and I think some pictures would do this blog good.

I Heart CNN Polls

2005-06-09T09:56:00.000-05:00

Some of you may know this but as well as reading FoxNews I also read CNN, on a daily basis. CNN also has this lovely poll section which they update daily with a new question that readers can vote on. Yesterday the question was "Are Howard Dean's comments about Republicans approperiate?" Now when looking at the poll below it should be noted that I put my anwser in, "No" if anyone had any question about it, around noon CST so maybe by the end of the day it looked different. I just thought that It was interesting that it was exactly 50/50 at the time I saw it.
(click the picture for a larger image and let me know in the comments if it doesn't work, I have had problems with flickr in the past)

That Old Familiar Feeling

2005-06-07T09:23:00.000-05:00

First of all hattip to Pam who posted this first, I just thought it was so good I had to write on it as well. With all the crap that comes out of the media on a daily basis it is really not that hard to believe that my country that I live in and extremely proud of is an evil twisted entity of hellspawn and George W. Bush is the devil himself (although that is kinda hard to believe due to the fact that Bush&Co. just vanquished an invasion from hell quite recently (IMW 1,2,3)).

In the world I live in and the train of thought I follow I have rules that pertain to politics, the world, real life, and the french (except the french are always evil and they will die a horriable death):

1. Be well informed, know both sides of the issue, even if it hurts or ends up you are wrong. (In my case than means watching and reading CNN and FoxNews and attempting intelligent debate and covnersation with liberals)
2. Realize when you are wrong and adjust your views accordingly. (Every once in a great while I am wrong like once I thought that the South was evil for secceding from the Union and now I realize that not only was it their right to do so but that if given the chance I would have been down there myself.)
3. Have faith. (I personally am a Christian, I have a very strong faith and I am happy to have the beliefs that I hold. Usually when people say "have faith" it means belief in God, I would tend to agree, but barring a faith in God, which you should really have, isn't it better to believe just in case hell is real rather than hoping it's not. But, anyway, even if you don't believe in God you should still have faith in something and adhere to it, unless you have faith in the the U.N. or Hillary Clinton, in that case you were doomed to hell the second you were born.)
4. Realize that there is always something more that you are missing. (I know that there are more points that I could place on this list, but I can't think of them so I am going to stop.)

So, yeah, the point of this post is in the story below which Pam so nicely found for me to blatently borrow and expound on. I just think that these email chain things that show the good deeds that our soldiers do and they support they get from both the people at home and the places that they are fighting in are awsome because they show the side of the war and our soldiers that sadly we never get to see. Having said that I would request that the people that read this blog copy and paste this into an email with a short description (and a link to Pam's blog :P ) and send it to everyone you know. I realize that people don't like chain letters, but I always make sure to send ones like this along myself.

A mother writes:

My son serves in the military. He is still stateside right now. He called me yesterday to let me know how warm and welcoming people were to him, and his troops, everywhere he goes, telling me how people shake their hands, and thank them for being willing to serve, and fight, for not only our own freedoms but so that others may have them also.

But he also told me about an incident in the grocery store he stopped at yesterday, on his way home from the base. He said that ahead of several people in front of him stood a woman dressed in a burkha. He said when she got to the cashier she loudly remarked about the U.S. flag lapel pin the cashier wore on her smock.
The cashier reached up and touched the pin, and said proudly, "Yes, I always wear it and I probably always will. The woman in the burkha then asked the cashier when she was going to stop bombing her countrymen, explaining that she was Iraqi.

A gentleman standing behind my son stepped forward, putting his arm around my son's shoulders, and nodding towards my son, said in a calm and gentle voice to the Iraqi woman:
"Lady, hundreds of thousands of men and women like this young man have fought and died so that YOU could stand here, in MY country and accuse a check-out cashier of bombing YOUR countrymen. It is my belief that had you been this outspoken in YOUR own country, we wouldn't need to be there today. But, hey, if you have now learned how to speak out so loudly and clearly, I'll gladly buy you a ticket and pay your way back to Iraq so you can straighten out the mess in YOUR country that you are obviously here in MY country to avoid."

Everyone within hearing distance cheered!

Kerry Signs SF-180 Form

2005-05-24T08:13:00.000-05:00

John Kerry signed his SF-180 Form which will release his military records to the public...finally.

Check out more here.

Wooohooo, a Post

2005-05-23T10:24:00.000-05:00

I really have nothing to say of any note at all whatsoever. I just wanted to let everyone know (who cares :P) that I am still alive but have been working very hard (40 hours a week people 8-5). This last weekend though my dad and grandpa and I went 4wheeling in northern Wisconsin which was really fun and muddy, but I forgot the camera :( so not pictures. Saw Star Wars last night, it rocked, Yoda was Uber. Anyway, I am still alive, everything is fine, just thought I would share.

The Crazy Stuff That Happens...

2005-05-09T20:52:00.000-05:00

Read this article, it's kinda small because it was scanned (not by me) but it is funny. I wonder what dwarf tastes like.

The U.N. is EVIL and Very Anti United States

2005-05-09T19:54:00.000-05:00

Well, the U.N. has just shown how much it despises the U.S. and how they are trying to worm their way out of the Oil-For-Food Scandal. It makes me mad, anytime the United States slips up and is not perfect people are at our throats and when the U.N. screws up (yet again) people do their best to push it under the rug, its sickening. Read the article here.

Formal Picture

2005-05-09T19:38:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that I forgot to blog on formal. Our school ha our yearly formal dance thing last Friday. It was fun, good music, good friends, and a good time. Anyway, the photo below is of (from left to right) Matthew, Mark(me), Luke, and John. For most the reference should be obvious but for those to whom it is not Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were the four writers of the gospel. We all sat at the same table, we were quite entertained by that. I know my smile looks retarded, forgive me. Click the picture for a bigger image.

Summer Blogging

2005-05-08T11:11:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone,

Summer break is starting to kick in for me as I have finals this week and I am going home for the summer on the 12th of May. As I will have a 40 hour a week job during the summer and not much free time blogging will be probably be rather sparse over the summer (but hopefully not too sparse) and I will jump back in with both feet around August, hopefully with Wordpress and some lovely new categories. One of those categories will be "Pilgrim In an Unholy Land" try to figure that one out. I hope everyone has a good next few months and try not to forget about me as I will make an honest attempt to post something at least once a week.

Thank You,
-[Medic]-

Before and After

2005-05-08T09:14:00.000-05:00

Chrenkoff has some very interesting before and after pictures of terrorists, check it out.

Star Wars Legos

2005-05-04T09:55:00.000-05:00

I really like legos. I know I am in college, but I still like them, they are just fun. The same thing with lincoln logs and erector sets, those are real toys. Anyway, I was surfing around and I found the following Star Wars related lego masterpieces. I have to say that I would buy these if they were out on the market...they just look really cool. :)

Han Solo

Death Star II

Bacon and Buttons

2005-05-04T05:56:00.000-05:00

Hey, Michelle Malkin has some really funny and interesting links, check them out here.

Two of them that I really really like have to do with bacon and buttons.

Real Life Pacman

2005-05-03T23:07:00.000-05:00

Hey, everyone remember Pacman? Well if you don't please, I don't know, pay attention more in life. Because it's coming to a town near you, that's right, real life pacman, you need five people, a city map, and a bunch of cellphones. Crazy if you ask me, but kinda fun too. Check it out here.

You Abuse It, You Lose It

2005-05-03T09:36:00.000-05:00

I take out his weapons...Both of them.
--John Hartigan, Sin City

Maybe a number of legislators in the House in Minnesota saw Sin City and though Hartigan had a good point.

"Thousands of sex offenders would be imprisoned for life and some would be chemically or surgically castrated under a sweeping crime bill overwhelmingly approved Thursday by the House."

Now being a Christian and all I am supposed to forgive, but there are some things that I honestly have to say that with be being human and not being perfect, that I can not forgive, ever. This is one of them, I would have no remorse for people that get this done to them, you do something like that why should you get a second chance? Hey, Jeffrey Dahmer, when he went to prison the other prisoners murdered him themselves, no one likes rapists or child molesters. You abuse it, you lose it. Anyway, please give me some feedback, I think that some of my regular readers might agree with me, but I would like to hear from you even if you don't. You can catch the rest of the article here.

The Conversations That I Have

2005-05-01T13:18:00.000-05:00

I had the following conversation over msn with a guy I know here at school. Now no matter if you think guys writing is poetry is fruity or not is not the point the point is that he does not realize what I am talking about. Let me know what you think, the guys and I laughed over this for about 10 minutes. Also, I changed the names in the convo just incase this gets around, I don't want to be too mean, I just thought the convo was funny. I am writing as -[Medic]- and he is writing as 4th floor(i changed that myself).

4th floor: hey
-[Medic]-: hey, whats up?
4th floor: writing haiku
-[Medic]-: isnt that kinda fruity?
4th floor: [pastes address]
-[Medic]-: still fruity
4th floor: no
-[Medic]-:yes
4th floor: no, i wrote 7 and none of them have fruit in them
-[Medic]-:ummm, thats not what i ment by fruity
4th floor: ??
4th floor: what, now im confuzzled

We Just Don't Get These In Minnesota

2005-04-30T08:55:00.000-05:00

Black five has some very interesting pictores of an Iraqi sandstorm. Check it out.

"I Was Wrong."

2005-04-29T15:35:00.000-05:00

Well I was reading blogs today and somehow I stumbled across the following article. It is an article about an anti-war protestor who went to Iraq....and found out he was wrong. Read it and pass it on, this is an excellent article.

...I had been demonstrating against the war thinking I had been doing it for the very people I was here with now and yet I had not ever bothered to ask them what they wanted...Over and over I questioned them 'Why could you want war? Why could any human being desire war?' They're answer was quiet and measured. 'Look at our lives! We are living like animals. No food, no car, no telephone, no job and most of all no hope.'(more...)

The Pledge of Allegiance

2005-04-25T19:55:00.000-05:00

I Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands,
one Nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

I just felt like I had to post that I read this article, courtesy of Kim Du Toit.

Frank J. and Sarah K. Gettin' Married!!

2005-04-25T19:39:00.000-05:00

Now I know that I am a bit late on this update but Frank J. of IMAO and Sarah K. of Mountaineer Musings are getting married, hopefully on December 10, 2005 if all goes well. I just want to send out my very happy and heartfelt congrats to Frank and Sarah and well, its just nice. Also Sarah has a category for her marriage plans called "Soon to be Sarah J." so you can go and click there (or even better bookmark it) to keep up to date on those wedding plans.

Don't Tempt God

2005-04-24T18:40:00.000-05:00

I saw this over at Passtheammo.com but it origionally came from Jeff at gunblast.com. I am reposting this because it is an excellent read and I just happen to agree.

I have been asked on occasion how I can justify carrying a gun and being a Christian at the same time. This is always posed by someone who is trying to trip me up. It can either be a devout Christian asking the question, or a Hedonistic heathen; it doesn’t matter. There are those who believe, or choose to believe, that a Christian must be absolutely passive in all things. I am not just referring to those Christians who ride a horse and buggy. I have been asked about my views on self defense by Christians of most every denomination. Some are genuinely seeking an answer. Others just want to chastise me for not being as “faithful” as themselves.

Many will accept every modern worldly convenience, but scoff at the idea of trying to protect oneself or the life of another. Their attitude seems to be that “God will protect us”. They do have a valid point. God will protect us from the evils of this world, if he so chooses. I would rather have God on my side than a battery of Sidewinder missiles. Indeed, our God can protect us. However, that attitude would lead one to believe that he could walk through Harlem wearing a Ku Klux Klan outfit campaigning for George Wallace, and that “God will protect us”. God could get you through that, but Jesus said that we should not tempt God. I tend to agree with his assessment.

In the saddlebag of my motorcycle, I have a tiny cross with the inscription “Faith Moves Mountains”, but I also ride in the mountains of East Tennessee and the western United States, and I make sure that my brakes are in good working order. I could just trust God to catch me, but again, that could be construed as tempting God. God gave us brakes on our motorcycles, and that is sufficient.

God can indeed protect us. He can keep us safe on the highways, and he can also keep us safe from those who would intentionally do us harm. I am not speaking of politicians here, but of the evil that is in the souls of some human beings. Be certain in this; there is true evil in this world, and it sometimes manifests itself in the form of a low life predator. Being a Christian, it is difficult to believe that people, made of the same composition of flesh, bone, and blood as ourselves, could be truly evil. We have a Heavenly Father who has filled us with basic goodness, but Jesus said that there are those “who are of the synagogue of Satan”.

No sane individual would hesitate to defend himself from a rabid dog or a poisonous snake, but are the two-legged vipers of this world any better than an animal? An animal does that which comes naturally to him. Children of Satan do that which comes naturally to them: that being evil.

Can God protect us from those who would do us harm? Absolutely. However, just as he has given us brakes to save us from the mountain, he has also given to us the tools necessary to defend ourselves, and those whom God has given to us. As Christian men, God not only allows us to protect our families, but he expects us to protect those whom he has placed in our care. This may seem contrary to the mandate for us to “turn the other cheek”, and I too have pondered over this. It takes great strength to turn the other cheek as Jesus intended. That is not a commandment to be weak. Jesus did not operate from a position of weakness. In fact, nothing ever happened to him that he did not allow.

God has entrusted us with the care of our brothers, whether those “brothers” be the children that he has given to us, or our wives, or our friends. We could set our children outside in the cold and trust that God would keep them warm. We could abandon them and trust that God will keep them fed. We could let them loose on the city streets or send them off for a week at Neverland, and trust that no sick, evil freak would abuse them. As Christians, we do not do these things to our children. God expects us to clothe them, feed them, and protect them from the evil that is inherent in this world. He gave to us the ability to buy clothes, grow food, build a fire, and to fight off those who would do us harm. In the time that Jesus walked the Earth in the form of man, the short sword was the state-of-the-art weapon. He told his followers that the time of living carefree was over, and that the time had come for those without a sword to “sell his garment and buy one”.

Today, we have better than a sword. We have more modern weapons at our disposal, and so does our enemy. Keeping a good rifle to defend one’s homestead and a reliable handgun to ward off evil that finds you when you least expect it is not only prudent, but expected. A Christian man is not mean, hateful, spiteful, or quick to anger. Neither is he weak. God never told us to let the evil in this world run over us like a train. He never told us to stand by idly as those whom he trusted to us are abused or killed. A Christian man who packs a gun does not look for trouble, and avoids it if at all possible. However, evil can seek you out.

A well-armed man operates from a position of strength. He is less likely to have to fight than an unarmed man. The predators in this world look for easy prey. God did not put his people on this Earth to be prey for the sons of Satan. God expects us to stand up for what is right, and he gives us the tools with which to do so. When you defend the life of one of God’s children, you are defending good against evil. Use your good sense and God’s word to avoid trouble. If necessary, use the gun at your side to stand against it.

Jeff Quinn

Blog Post To See

2005-04-21T09:28:00.000-05:00

Some (more) Questionable Behavior By Kerry

I Guess That All Doctors Are Not Completely Evil

Roe v. Wade and the 14th Amendment

2005-04-19T21:31:00.000-05:00

So, yesterday I was sitting in my history class, American History II The Civil War to Present Day, and we were discussing a document titled “Judge Carswell’s ‘Sex Plus’ Doctrine”. This document was written in 1970, and is a transcript of Carswell’s appointment testimony before the Senate Judicial Committee in 1970; he was not appointed as a Justice (you can find the transcript here). Somehow—I’m not sure exactly how, I think I might have spaced for a bit—we got onto the topic of Roe v. Wade (that’s the Supreme Court ruling upholding the “right” of a woman to have an abortion). When we discussed Roe v. Wade in class it was mentioned that the main point the Court used in their ruling was that the 14^th Amendment, which guarantees against state action, ensured the right to privacy, including the “right” of a woman to have an abortion. I have copied the 14^th Amendment just below, the whole thing in its entirety (even though the Court only used the part on Due Process). Please read it very carefully and tell me when you find where it gives the right to privacy.

Amendment XIV

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a state, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such state.

Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any state shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Are you done reading it, then? Did you find the right to privacy? I did not; I found the right to life, liberty, and property, but not privacy. Why? Because it is not in there! Legally, the Supreme Court ruled incorrectly here. This is just legal common sense here people. For once I am not going to argue from a moral standpoint and I am just going to say that the Supreme Court is legally wrong—the 14^th Amendment does not guarantee the right to privacy! Privacy is nice, and we expect to get it; but it is not a right guaranteed by the 14^th—simple as that. The following Justices voted FOR Roe v. Wade: Harry Blackmun, Warren Burger, William Douglas, William Brennan, Potter Stewart, Thurgood Marshall, and Lewis Powell. The following Justices voted AGAINST Roe v. Wade: Byron White and William Rehnquist. The following quotes are pulled from writings by both White and Rehnquist in dissent of Roe v. Wade:

Byron White:

I find nothing in the language or history of the Constitution to support the Court's judgment. The Court simply fashions and announces a new constitutional right for pregnant mothers and, with scarcely any reason or authority for its action, invests that right with sufficient substance to override most existing state abortion statutes. The upshot is that the people and the legislatures of the 50 States are constitutionally disentitled to weigh the relative importance of the continued existence and development of the fetus, on the one hand, against a spectrum of possible impacts on the mother, on the other hand.

William Rehnquist:

If the Court means by the term "privacy" no more than that the claim of a person to be free from unwanted state regulation of consensual transactions may be a form of "liberty" protected by the Fourteenth Amendment, there is no doubt that similar claims have been upheld in our earlier decisions on the basis of that liberty. I agree with the statement of MR. JUSTICE STEWART in his concurring opinion that the "liberty," against deprivation of which without due process the Fourteenth [p173] Amendment protects, embraces more than the rights found in the Bill of Rights. But that liberty is not guaranteed absolutely against deprivation, only against deprivation without due process of law. The test traditionally applied in the area of social and economic legislation is whether or not a law such as that challenged has a rational relation to a valid state objective. Williamson v. Lee Optical Co., 348 U. S. 483, 491 (1955). The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment undoubtedly does place a limit, albeit a broad one, on legislative power to enact laws such as this. If the Texas statute were to prohibit an abortion even where the mother's life is in jeopardy, I have little doubt that such a statute would lack a rational relation to a valid state objective under the test stated in Williamson, supra. But the Court's sweeping invalidation of any restrictions on abortion during the first trimester is impossible to justify under that standard, and the conscious weighing of competing factors that the Court's opinion apparently substitutes for the established test is far more appropriate to a legislative judgment than to a judicial one.

Also, in an interesting turn of events, I found the following on Wikipedia:

"Jane Roe" switches sides

[…] "Jane Roe," whose real name is Norma McCorvey, became a member of the pro-life movement following her conversion to Christianity, and now fights to make abortion illegal. In a press conference held on January 18, 2005, McCorvey claimed that she was the "pawn" of the ambitious Weddington, who was looking for a plaintiff to challenge the Texas state law prohibiting abortion. Using her prerogative as a party to the original litigation, she sought to reopen the case in a U.S. District Court in Texas and have it overturned. Her new stance is based on claims made since the decision, including evidence of emotional and other harm suffered by many women who have had abortions, increased resources for the care of unwanted children, and additional evidence of the humanity of the fetus. On June 19, 2003, Judge David Godbey ruled that the motion was not made within a "reasonable time." On February 22, 2005, the Supreme Court refused to grant a writ of certiorari, ending McCorvey's appeal.

The DU And The New Pope

2005-04-19T21:24:00.000-05:00

I will share with you right now that I am not catholic, I am Lutheran, and also I don't agree with the Catholics and the whole pope is the next best thing to Jesus, but that's not the point of this post. I actually really liked the previous pope, very conservative guy, and from what I know of the new one, Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI, I can honestly say the Catholic Church will not get worse or decline in morals, as far as I can tell. But go over the Democratic Underground and they have a few issues with the new pope, check it out here.

On a similar note I just want to make a general announcement that it is very important for people in general, and people interested in politics in particular, to read up on what the other side thinks, talk to the other side, and be informed. You can not make a good valid argument without knowing how things work on both sides. Just thought I would share.

Propaganda Belief...Update

2005-04-14T17:02:00.000-05:00

Chad, this one is kinda for you since you enjoyed my last post like this. This letter was written and sent into our local newspaper, The Free Press, and from what I can tell it has every single bit of anti-Bush propaganda that has ever been released in the last five or six years. Check it out, this letter is property of The Free Press, a newspaper somewhere in Minnesota.

WHAT WOULD THE FOUNDING FATHERS THINK OF BUSH?

What a country. The land of individual opportunity.
If your name were Bush and your daddy were president, you could make &800,000 from insider trading and the Securities Exchange Commission would not investigate. Have influential family friends and you could join the Air National Guard and go to Alabama and not Vietnam. Have so-so grades and you could enter Yale because your daddy is am alum. If Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris were willing to illegally purge enough Democratic voters from the rolls, you could even become president yourself.
If you were asleep at the switch before 9/11, or if you privatized the state-run enterprises in Iraq, you got medals from the president. If you told big enough lies to the U.N. Security Council and expressed unconcern about the number of innocent civilians killed in Iraq, you could retire with honor as secretary of state. If you lied about mushroom clouds and al-Qaida connections, you got switched to secretary of state. If you grossly underestimated the troop levels necessary to invade and secure Iraq, the president would say you did a superb job.
If you denied responsibility for advice regarding the torturing of prisoners, you could become attorney general. If you condone the brutal activities of Central American death squads, you could become head of American intelligence. If you hated the United Nations and stated it publicly, you could become the U.S. ambassador to that body.
If you had enough political clout, you could undermine the House Ethics Committee and not be investigated.
The founding fathers must be proud.
Don x1x1x1x1
Printed in the Free Press 4/14/05

People.....

2005-04-14T16:58:00.000-05:00

maybe you did not notice the addition so maybe I can forgive you, but if you notice to the left right below extras I have a button for a visitor map. It would be cool if you could use it, I put myself on there, come on, it takes like five seconds.

Nation States

2005-04-11T22:15:00.000-05:00

Well I have been participating in this game for quite a while and I find it very enjoyable, enjoyable enough to ask my semi-regular readers to join me in my endeavors of creating their ideal nation. Exactly what am I talking about you may ask, well, I am talking about Nation States, a free online nation simulation game where you get to control your nation and guide it into the nation that you think is best. For more information go here and check out the FAQ, it is really rather easy and lots of fun (playing and understanding the game that is, not reading the FAQ). As you browse the site I recommend staying far away from the forums as they are infested with liberal moonbat pinkytoes who are the least God fearing, most Bush hating, U.N. loving people I have ever had the poor chance to meet in my life. You have been warned.
Also on the subject of Nation States my friends and I have joined together and created an Alliance of nations (the full title is The Alliance of Like Minded States) and I would personally like you to go to our forums here and if you have created a nation precede to the Critical Information section in our forum, read the posts there, and submit an application to the email address provided. As a side (although rather important) note, I would like to say we take this very seriously and expect all the nations in the Alliance to behave like regular, normal, real life nations. This means no crazy names (a.k.a. caliisagooberstate) and participation in all Alliance functions as much as possible (this usually included chat room roleplaying in character as the leader of your nation). This is not to say we don't like to have fun (we hold parties every once and a while) but we are serious.
I hope this rather long message has not scared you people off and I hope to see some emails requesting admittance quite soon. If you have any questions you can email me personally using the email given in my blogger profile or leave a comment. Thank You.

Chancellor Mark Roberts
The Armed Republic of Manstrom

Apparently Not Everyone Likes Me

2005-04-10T11:52:00.000-05:00

Got my first not so nice comment today at around 8"45AM. It really is not that mean compared to ones that other people get, like compared to what Michelle Malkin gets this is a compliment, but it's nice to know I am loved out there in the world. :)

Man I have red some drible. How can you start an illegal war and get away with it. Cos ignorant rednecks like yourself put nutters like Bush in office. Stop beleving your own propaganda. I have lived in the middle east over ten years I even married a local, you guys started this mess, now you have to clean it up. God help those poor families whos sons and daughters lay down their lives for nothing. When will you learn you have created another Nam, yes when the body count gets to 10,000 and decent Amercian familys say enough is enough . Remember it was Donald Rumseld who put Sadam In power, It was your govt that suppled him with weapons that are now killing your own people. You guys are gun crazy. Give peace a chance. Nice layout of web site though Cheers John

Now isn't that nice, well I love you too John. Also for those of you who may have noticed the other John that sometimes posts on my blog that's a differnet guy, the other John that post's is across the hall from me. The not so nice guy from above apparently live in Cali (wow, dont you just love ip locators?).

A Conservative Thread Winds Through U.S. History

2005-04-09T12:12:00.000-05:00

Anyway, today I am writing a paper for history class (On the 1960's) and I came across the Wikipedia entry for Conservatism (Yay, that's me) and I fould an interesteng sentence that traces the basic ideas of Conservatism all the way back to George Washington. Now I don't know about you but being able to trace the basics of my beliefs back to one of the great Founding Fathers of our country makes me a very happy, proud American. The quote is as follows:

The origins of conservatism in the U.S. can be traced from the Whigs of George Washington through the Federalists of John Adams, and the Republicans of Abraham Lincoln (the ideological heirs to the Federalist legacy)

Recently I have also been reading up on/researching the ways some judges are screwing with our Constitution and being fruits and interpreting it however they want, that's not the way it's supposed to work. Anyway, traditionally Conservatives generally support strict construction of the Constitition, which is evidenced by this sentence:

In the United States, most persons who call themselves conservatives believe strongly in the Judeo-Christian social tradition and strict construction of the U.S. Constitution.

Basically strict construction meaks that you look at the you are to hold to the meanings of words and phrases as used when they were written down. Now to me that makes perfect sense, to hold the document to mean what it says and only that, not to mold it into whatever suits your need best. A recent example of this was the Terri Schivo case, when it got all the way up to the Supreme Court they turned it away. Now on first look this might have seemed hearless and cruel but if you look at it from a point of strict constructionalist they were doing exactly what they were supposed to do. It was not their job to rule on that case, it had nothing to do with the Constitution. Also, before you get thinking that the Supreme Court Justices are just stupid they said later, after the ruling, that they were sad and disappointed that they could not do anything about Terri. I for one support the Supreme Court in their ruling, as much as I would have liked them to rule on Terri's case I am glad they did not because of strict constructionalism. Ummm, strict construction is a good thing.

Horse-Tail Thief On Loose in Wis.

2005-04-08T05:58:00.000-05:00

I thought this was very entertaining. I found it on FoxNews.com. Joanna will prolly have a fit, but then again it is lots of fun to tease her. She is bloody obsessed about horses.

TOWN OF LEON, Wis. (AP) — Some horses in central Wisconsin may still be bright-eyed, but no longer bushy tailed.

Waushara and Portage county sheriff's departments are trying to figure out who is cutting off the tails of some horses.

Someone cut off parts of the same horse's tail about four times since January at Town of Leon, Waushara County Sheriff David Peterson said. And Portage County officials are investigating the theft of the tails of four show horses in the town of Eau Pleine.

The horses were not injured and no one has determined a motive.

In both counties, the owners described the horses as friendly, and all were in pastures when the crimes occurred.

The sheriff's office is offering a cash reward through Waushara County Crime Stoppers, Inc., to anyone who helps solve the case.

"We don't know if it's part of some kind of ritual. We have no idea what's going on," Peterson said.

Portage County sheriff's Detective Gina Boettcher said the culprits could be after horsehair that is sometimes used for making jewelry, watchbands, or belts.

"It's very expensive if you go to buy it," Boettcher said.

Papal Madness

2005-04-06T21:52:00.000-05:00

Well here it is people, the event that Catholic Cardinals from around the world wait for, choosing the next Pope. And this time around those of us Not-So-Holy regular people can get in on the fun and excitement also....with the Papal Bracket. That's right people, who's gonna make it to the Flagellant Four? Will it be Angelo Scola against Caludio Hummes and Ted Crilly against Duke, or will it be a completely different match up. It's up to you, you draw up your predictions and you follow the great men as they make their way through the opposition to the Diocese Duo to finally battle it out for the title of SUPREME PONTIFF OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH!!!!!

So get in there and make your picks people. Print off your own Papal Bracket here.

Revenge Of The Sith Trailers And Promos

2005-04-06T10:27:00.000-05:00

I am greatly looking forward to the new Star Wars movie coming out May 19 this year and so that I can share some the excitment with you. Go check out the following traliers and promos for the movie.

Teaser Trailer

Release Trailer

Teaser Ad

Dark Side Unleased Ad

Tragedy Ad

Minuteman Project

2005-04-05T16:47:00.000-05:00

The Minuteman Project, led by Jim Gilchrist, kicked off last Wednesday and has been coined a success by most and a failure by the idiots living in the U.S. For those of you that don't know what the Minuteman Project is as follows taken from the Minuteman website itself:

The main mission of The Minuteman Project is to bring national attention to the fact that the U. S. Federal Government is not fulfilling its mission to protect American citizens from the economic and physical danger of porous borders. The majority of peace loving Americans are concerned about the ramifications of allowing massive amounts of unscreened, undocumented aliens to just walk right into our country. And of course the greatest fear that lurks in the dark corners of our minds is another 9-11 attack, or worse, a suit case bomb. The Minuteman Project plans rallies in support of the rank and file U.S. Border Patrol agents, protest rallies of blatantly unenforced federal immigration laws, and actively spotting and reporting anyone, of any race, color or creed, crossing into the US illegally. We will seal the border by our presence, but will not violate anyone's civil rights, and will not abuse anyone from any country. By legal means we will observe ILLEGAL immigrants on trails heading north. We will alert border patrol to the location of illegals, and wait for USBP to come and pick them up. We will follow illegal aliens from a distance and continue spotting them until authorities answer our cell phone and/or back-pack radio calls. All spotting, calls for assistance, and the response from the appropriate authorities will be chronicled and provided to any media representative. Standing, camping and patrolling at the border fence (four-strands of barb wire) we will be a presence that most illegals will not brush aside and pass by to enter the USA. We will be following the experienced lead of groups like Chris Simcox of Civil Home Defense. They have led to the arrest of over 5000 illegal aliens and led authorities to over 8000 pounds of drugs in the last 4 years.

The following articles sum up the Minuteman Project results quite well although there is an obvious disparity between the people who think it was effective and those who did not. On a more personal note I am a big fan of this and I think it is an excellent idea and I can say that I disagree with President Bush's statment that these people are vigelanties taking the law into their own hands. Personally (and I think many people agree with me) these people are just doing their civic duty when and where it is blatently obvious that the Border Patrol is not doing their job. I also want to say I have no problem with leagal immigrants, if your leagal, i love ya and support ya, but I can't stand that people are getting in out lovely country illegally and causing problems. So congratulations to Jim Gilchrist on what I believe was an extremely effective operation and I commend him and I say I wish I could have been there.

Yahoo News
Fox News

ReplacementDocs.com

2005-04-05T12:57:00.000-05:00

Have you ever found a game that you have not played for ages and get it all set up and ready to play only to find that the manual is missing? Or you get a game from the discount rack at Walmart and it lacks a manual? Well good news is here because at replacementdocs.com you can now download game manuals for both PC and consoles in PDF form (I spose Mac also, but as the Mac only has six games....). So, go check it out, and have fun. :D

Once again that is replacementdocs.com.

Also in related computer game news is the following, the military has produced training simulations that give the players shocks as they get hit/are wounded. Besides this sounding really cool, there is a great possibility that this could soon become available to the public. Keep an eye out for it and read the article here.

We Need Guns...Lots Of Guns

2005-04-05T06:43:00.000-05:00

Paul Bucher, a DA in Wisconsin, has an excellent idea after the recent rash of shootings in around the country, give people more guns. And seriuosly, I agree with him, the right guns in the right hands can solve lots of problems.

"The problems aren't the guns, it's the guns in the wrong hands," said Bucher, a Republican who recently announced his candidacy for Wisconsin attorney general. "We need to put more guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens. Whether having that would have changed what happened is all speculation, but it would level the playing field. If the person you're fighting has a gun and all you have is your fists, you lose."

Read the rest of the article here. (There might some odd question and anwser page to get through to the article, there is no need to fill in an email address.)

April Fools Day Prank

2005-04-02T12:05:00.000-06:00

I was gonna post this yesterday but I couldnt get pictures and I wanted to get the newspaper article also. I can ahppily say that I was a participant in this prank at my school. Go here to check it out.

Brainwashing 101

2005-04-02T10:51:00.000-06:00

For those of you who are in college currently or have already gone through college you may have been (and almost for sure) were berated with a leftist view throughout your time there. This view was probably presented by most of the students and professors, including the administration, and depending on your point of view made you sick or made you happy. As I currently go to a good conservative school I have no problems (well of the political type, my school has other issues) but my school is not the point of this post, a very good documentary is. This documentary was created by Evan Coyne Maloney and in this documentary he visits a few schools around the U.S. to investigate the inproperity that has been going on in our colleges including, but not limited to, hateful emails towards students which the administration ignores, including death threats, hearings against students for placing up flyers for campus events, which sometimes lead to court hearings, and others. This documentary, which can be downloaded here, just reaffirmed the sorry state of our colleges and makes me wish even more that my current college had the major I want. But anyway, this is an excellent, eye opening documentary that you chould watch. It is about 45 minitues so make sure you have the time to watch it in one sitting.

Hat tip to Chad at Pass The Ammo (http://passtheammo.com/) for directing me to this by posting a comment in Erik's blog, Cal Poly Pundit (http://calpolypundit.com/index.php).

Yet Another Sad Point Of View From The Right

2005-04-01T06:23:00.000-06:00

I found this article here on Live Journal and I thought it was worth reposting. Time and time again I am always surprised at the liberal response to our soldiers doing the job they not only signed up for but want to do. People do not join the military to play checkers and stare at walls. They join the military to serve and protect our country. They are my heroes, ordinary men and women who lay their lives on the line so that I can live my life without worrying about anything but living my life. Or, as in the words of A Few Good Men, "Because they stand upon a wall and say, Nothing's going to hurt you tonight, not on my watch.".
Seriously, the problem with liberals is that they operate with their hearts and do things based on "feelings". Not that it is bad to have a heart and be sympathetic towards people and try to improve things, but Common Sense goes a long way, just because it feels good does not mean it's right, think, use your brain. So basically this is just another "We shouldn't be in Iraq letter" but it's still interesting to read to see how the other side thinks.

No yellow ribbons here

By Thomas Naughton, Collegian columnist
February 23, 2005

Guilt can only weigh on a person's mind for so long before they crave the act of purgation; to get the weighty feelings of shame and responsibility out of the mind - or at least the guilty parties attempt to find some kind of peace if they cannot rid themselves of a screaming conscience that implicates and indicts its possessor.

That said, perhaps some readers will understand why my friends and I rip yellow ribbon "support the troops" magnets off of cars or wherever people have affixed them. By ripping off these ribbons, we find a way to deal with our guilt, as though with each ribbon swiped we take back a life that was taken by this senseless war started by our senseless president and those who support him.

I will never say, "support the troops." I don't believe in the validity of that statement. People say, "I don't support the war, I support the troops" as though you can actually separate the two. You cannot; the troops are a part of the war, they have become the war and there is no valid dissection of the two. Other people shout with glaring eyes that we should give up our politics, give up our political affiliations in favor of "just supporting the troops." I wish everything were that easy.

What they really mean is that we should just give up our will, give up our identities, give up our voices to those in power. Perhaps that's just the way people aligned with the right wing choose to get rid of their guilt: blindness and ignorance.

I listen to talk radio very often. It's important to know who your enemies are. The pundits on the radio are the pinnacles of guiltless, shameless wonders, and I am jealous. It must feel good to believe without question, to benefit from the blind belief of young men and women who chose to join the armed forces, to sit in a radio studio in New York and admonish the public to give in like the troops, to just follow orders, to live as just a number that will soon be etched into a gravestone that no one will ever see.

I look into the cars of people with "support the troops" ribbons as I speed past, trying to find some trace of recognition on their face, recognition of their guilt and the fact that they have given up. I usually see nothing; just a mouth moving robotically, singing the pop hits of today or the contemporary country wine of fake cowboys who share a lot with George Bush: no shame.

We say, "support the troops" so that we won't feel guilty about saying "no" to war. We reason that if we say that we support the troops, somehow we aren't monsters for not saying a word when the death tolls of U.S. soldiers climbed above 1,000. Those ribbons are yellow for a reason, they are not the mark of armed forces support, they are the mark of cowards.

Pundits on the radio advise their cowardly listeners to approach men and women in army uniforms and say "thank you." I cannot do that. Every time I pass a person in uniform I look long and hard at them and all I can think inside to say is "I'm so sorry." I want to apologize to them, to their families and to their friends. I feel sorry that we, the people, couldn't control our own government at the outset of this conflict when most of us knew deep inside that it was a mistake.

Where are we now? Are we in a better place? Is the world safer for democracy? No, it is not safer and we are not in a better place. In this war that we are fighting to somehow avenge the deaths of the Sept. 11 tragedy, we have amassed a field of body bags, the number of which almost matches the number killed in the terrorist attacks four years ago. Now, we stare at yet another request for barrels of money for this war by President Bush, while people in our own country search fruitlessly for jobs to feed their starving families, while every public school gets left behind, while our elderly are ensured an uncertain future of unpaid medical bills.

I guess we shouldn't think about those things though, right? We should just buy a yellow magnet and slap it on the butt of our car so we can sleep at night and just let our government do whatever they want. That's supporting the troops, right?

Two years ago my friend Eric called me out of the blue after almost five years of silence between us. We were in a band together when we were teenagers and he had joined the army around the time I was graduating from high school. He had to join the army; he had a son to provide for in the grand tradition of many young members of the armed forces. He called me to tell me that he was going back to Iraq, against his will. He was so sad and angry and scared. He didn't say it, but I know he was calling to tell me that he might die. I didn't say it to him then, but I felt such overwhelming guilt that I couldn't do anything to keep him from going back.

I haven't heard from him since. I don't know if he's dead, and my guilt is alive and well. I hope that all of our family members in harm's way return alive. Until then, I can really honor their sacrifice by demanding that it finally comes to an end.

Excerpt from a response:

"I'm proud to say that my husband and friends fight for your right to be so selfish and ignorant."

"But it seems to me that the real cowards aren't the ones with the yellow ribbons on their cars, or the troops serving in Iraq. The real cowards are the ones sitting behind their desks publishing articles about how supporting our troops is robotic. But what about the troops that are eager to return to Iraq? What about the ones that talk about giving candy to the young Iraqi children and seeing the smiles on the faces of adults who know that things are finally changing for the better. Your article is nothing but a reminder of how biased the media is these days. I'm only sorry that our Military men and women and their families, who already sacrifice so much, are faced with this kind of garbage. Your article is not the result of logical reasoning. In closing, I will say that I proudly display "the mark of cowards" on my car. If someone is childish enough to remove it, I know where to buy more. They're cheap and readily available. I sure won't let a person such as yourself keep me from displaying my pride in my husband, my friends, and the thousands of other soldiers, marines, seamen and airmen that serve our country and stand up for what's right in the world."

The Lord's Prayer

2005-03-30T15:08:00.000-06:00

My friend told be to do a blog post on the Lord's Prayer, so here it is.

The Lord's Prayer,
as the Head of the Family Should Teach It in the Simplest Way to His Household.

Our Father.

Our Father who art in heaven.

What does this mean? - Answer.
God would thereby [with this little introduction] tenderly urge us to believe that He is our true Father, and that we are His true children, so that we may ask Him confidently with all assurance, as dear children ask their dear father.

The First Petition.

Hallowed be Thy name.

What does this mean? - Answer.
God's name is indeed holy in itself; but we pray in this petition that it may become holy among us also.

How is this done? - Answer.
When the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and we as the children of God also lead holy lives in accordance with it. To this end help us, dear Father in heaven. But he that teaches and lives otherwise than God's Word teaches profanes the name of God among us. From this preserve us, Heavenly Father.

The Second Petition.

Thy kingdom come.

What does this mean? - Answer.
The kingdom of God comes indeed without our prayer, of itself; but we pray in this petition that it may come unto us also.

How is this done? - Answer.
When our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead a godly life here in time and yonder in eternity.

The Third Petition.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

What does this mean? - Answer.
The good and gracious will of God is done indeed without our prayer; but we pray in this petition that it may be done among us also.

How is this done? - Answer.
When God breaks and hinders every evil counsel and will which would not let us hallow the name of God nor let His kingdom come, such as the will of the devil, the world, and our flesh; but strengthens and keeps us steadfast in His Word and in faith unto our end. This is His gracious and good will.

The Fourth Petition.

Give us this day our daily bread.

What does this mean? - Answer.
God gives daily bread, even without our prayer, to all wicked men; but we pray in this petition that He would lead us to know it, and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.

What is meant by daily bread? - Answer.
Everything that belongs to the support and wants of the body, such as meat, drink, clothing, shoes, house, homestead, field, cattle, money, goods, a pious spouse, pious children, pious servants, pious and faithful magistrates good government, good weather, peace, health, discipline, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.

The Fifth Petition.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

What does this mean? - Answer.
We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would not look upon our sins, nor deny such petitions on account of them; for we are worthy of none of the things for which we pray, neither have we deserved them; but that He would grant them all to us by grace; for we daily sin much, and indeed deserve nothing but punishment. So will we verily, on our part, also heartily forgive and also readily do good to those who sin against us.

The Sixth Petition.

And lead us not into temptation.

What does this mean? - Answer.
God, indeed, tempts no one; but we pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us, so that the devil, the world, and our flesh may not deceive us, nor seduce us into misbelief, despair, and other great shame and vice; and though we be assailed by them, that still we may finally overcome and gain the victory.

The Seventh Petition.

But deliver us from evil.

What does this mean? - Answer.
We pray in this petition, as in a summary, that our Father in heaven would deliver us from all manner of evil, of body and soul, property and honor, and at last, when our last hour shall come, grant us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this vale of tears to Himself into heaven.

Amen

Amen

What does this mean? - Answer.
That I should be certain that these petitions are acceptable to our Father in heaven and heard; for He Himself has commanded us so to pray, and has promised that He will hear us. Amen, Amen; that is, Yea, yea, it shall be so.

Taken from http://www.immanuelevluth.org/catechism/c-iii.htm

Global Personality Test

2005-03-22T17:18:00.000-06:00

Advanced Global Personality Test Results

Extraversion	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	53%
Stability	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	43%
Orderliness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	63%
Empathy	\|\|	10%
Interdependence	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	63%
Intellectual	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	56%
Mystical	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	36%
Artistic	\|\|\|\|	16%
Religious	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	90%
Hedonism	\|\|\|\|	16%
Materialism	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	63%
Narcissism	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	43%
Adventurousness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	43%
Work ethic	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	56%
Self absorbed	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	56%
Conflict seeking	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	83%
Need to dominate	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	56%

Romantic	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	43%
Avoidant	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	43%
Anti-authority	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%
Wealth	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%
Dependency	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	36%
Change averse	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	56%
Cautiousness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	70%
Individuality	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%
Sexuality	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%
Peter pan complex	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	63%
Physical security	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	70%
Food indulgent	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	36%
Histrionic	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	36%
Paranoia	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	83%
Vanity	\|\|\|\|\|\|	23%
Hypersensitivity	\|\|	10%
Female cliche	\|\|\|\|\|\|	23%

Take Free Advanced Global Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

Stability results were moderately low which suggests you are worrying, insecure, emotional, and anxious.

Orderliness results were moderately high which suggests you are, at times, overly organized, reliable, neat, and hard working at the expense of flexibility, efficiency, spontaneity, and fun.

Extraversion results were medium which suggests you are moderately talkative, outgoing, sociable and interacting.

trait snapshot:
clean, organized, dislikes chaos, semi neat freak, perfectionist, traditional, realist, fits in most places, enjoys managing others, risk averse, good at saving money, prudent, respects authority, high self control, hard working, does not like to stand out, follows the rules, finisher, resilient, takes precautions, cautious, honest, unfamiliar with the dark side of life, practical, dutiful

Interesting test, not quite as accurate as others I have taken. The stability description of me is wrong because while I am cautious and slightly paranoid I rarely worry, I am not insecure or emotional, although I am somethimes anxious. Guess nothing's perfect.

Hat Tip to Incoherant Ramblings (will put up link later, not working now)

A Republican Walks Into A Barber Shop....

2005-03-21T20:50:00.000-06:00

Got this joke in my email today.....

One day a florist goes to a barber for a haircut. After the cut he asked about his bill and the barber replies: "I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week." The florist is pleased and leaves the shop. Next morning, when the barber goes to open, there is a thank you card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door. Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he goes to pay his bill the barber again replies: "I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week." The cop is happy and leaves the shop. Next morning, when the barber goes to open up, there is a thank you card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door. Later a Republican comes in for a haircut, and when he goes to pay his bill the barber again replies: "I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week." The Republican is very happy and leaves the shop. Next morning, when the barber goes to open, there is a thank you card and a dozen different books such as "How to Improve Your Business" and "Becoming More Successful."

Then a Democrat comes in for a haircut, and when he goes to pay his bill the barber again replies: "I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week." The Democrat is very happy and leaves the shop. Next morning, when the barber goes to open up, there are a dozen Democrats lined up waiting for a free haircut.

Jesus, Snow, And A Little Bit Of Pain

2005-03-20T20:12:00.000-06:00

Yesterday morning starting at 8:30 AM myself and a few friends went canvassing around town handing out bulletins for the Easter Service at church. I was lots of fun, other than the foot and a half of snow. We just went around town so we didn't have any long slippery driveways to traverse but just because people live in the city does not mean that they shovel their driveway/sidewalk. This became painfully cold and obvious when I sank up to my knees in snow (and once jumping over a snow drift, catching my leg, and landing really hard on my back, painful).

But don't let that stop you from canvassing if you are interested. It is an excellent experience, it helps you talk to people better, shows the community that you are a positive, active force, and hopefully even gets a few (well if wishes were wings all of them) to come to church. So, great experience, it was loads of fun (except for landing on my back) and now I wish I had taken my camera with me. Oh well, there is always next time.

Also, the pastor got us free subs for lunch after we were done, they were really good.

Tests and Quizes

2005-03-17T10:22:00.000-06:00

I know people are still on (or just got back from) Spring Break, but I found a couple of neat quizes. Take 'em and share the results in the comments area.

Politics Quiz

Dialect Quiz

...And The Eagle Will Fly...

2005-03-15T13:47:00.000-06:00

NOTE -- I am veryifying if the Koran verse is valid, more as my research progesses. -- NOTE

CONCLUSION: This has turned out to be another internet hoax (boy, I seem to get lots of those) you can read about it here.

I recieved an email from my father today (who is always very nice by sending politics/Iraq/military related news) that had to do with Iraq, the Bible, and the Koran...read on below.

VERY INTERESTING -

1. The garden of Eden was in

Iraq

.

2. Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq, was the cradle of civilization!

3. Noah built the ark in

Iraq

.

4. The Tower of Babel was in

Iraq

.

5. Abraham was from Ur, which is in Southern Iraq!

6. Isaac's wife Rebekah is from Nahor, which is in

Iraq

!

7. Jacob met Rachel in

Iraq

.

8. Jonah preached in Nineveh - which is in

Iraq

.

9. Assyria, which is in Iraq, conquered the ten tribes of

Israel

.

10. Amos cried out in

Iraq

!

11. Babylon, which is in Iraq, destroyed Jerusalem.

12. Daniel was in the lion's den in

Iraq

!

13. The three Hebrew children were in the fire in

Iraq

(Jesus had been in

Iraq

also as the fourth person in the fiery furnace!)

14. Belshazzar, the King of Babylon saw the "writing on the wall" in

Iraq

.

15. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, carried the Jews captive into

Iraq

.

16. Ezekiel preached in

Iraq

.

17. The wise men were from

Iraq

.

18. Peter preached in

Iraq

.

19. The "Empire of Man" described in Revelation is called Babylon, which was a city in

Iraq

!

And you have probably seen this one.

Israel

is the nation most often mentioned in the Bible. But do you know which nation is second? It is

Iraq

! However, that is not the name that is used in the Bible. The names used in the Bible are Babylon, Land of Shinar, and Mesopotamia The word Mesopotamia means between the two rivers, more exactly between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The name

Iraq

, means country with deep roots.

Indeed

Iraq

is a country with deep roots and is a very significant country in the Bible.

No other nation, except

Israel

, has more history and prophecy associated it than

Iraq

.

And also.. This is something to think about! Since

America

is typically represented by an eagle. Saddam should have read up on his Muslim passages...

The following verse is from the Koran, (the Islamic Bible)

Koran (9:11) - For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome Eagle. The wrath of the Eagle would be felt throughout the lands of Allah and lo, while some of the people trembled in despair still more rejoiced; for the wrath of the Eagle cleansed the lands of Allah; and there was peace.

(Note the verse number!) Hmmmmmmm?!

Day At The Capitol (better Late Than Never)

2005-03-15T09:09:00.000-06:00

I could swear I had blogged on this before but I guess not. Anyway, a couple weeks ago I attended Minnesota Private Colleges Day at the Capitol where students from private colleges around the state met with legislators about renewing (and increasing) aid for the student grants. You can get an overview of the day here. Also for the college news program I did a small package on what happened, you can download and view it here if you want (right click to save). It was a good time.

Oil From Iraq

2005-03-14T15:38:00.000-06:00

I would just like to point out that I do not think we are in Iraq for the oil. For proof look at the gas prices around the country. In Wisconsin gas is about $2.06 and in Minnesota gas is about $2.02, wouldn't gas be cheeper if we had all this oil coming in from Iraq? I would think so. Comment on the price of gas around where you live. I would be interested to find out what prices are like.

Also, not really related to gas, but Chicks for Democracy are HOT.

This picture was taken in Lebanon.

Finally, Some Halfway Decent Gun Coverage

2005-03-05T19:50:00.000-06:00

If you watch the news or read the newspaper at least halfway regularly you know they are horrible at reporting when someone uses a gun to defend themselves (or someone else) and then exemplary when some crazy goes on a rampage. But....not today, FoxNews gives some excellent coverage about an incident down in Texas. Read about it here, it made me glad to know that at least some reporters know the value of citizens carrying guns for protection.

Spring Break

2005-03-04T14:28:00.000-06:00

This is just to let the 10 or so people that read this blog (Renee is apparently NOT one of them) that I will be on Spring Break until the 14th of this month so there will be a minimum if any posting during that time. As they don't allow my guns here at college I think I will get some shooting in.

Now as much as Kim (expressed on his rundown of my gun) does not like it I really do like my SKS (7.62x39mm). It does shoot well and beyond that it was a gift. As much as I extremely strongly dislike Commies I love my gun. Here's a rundown in it. But if you want to buy me a nice American gun Im fine with that also.

A picture of my rifle.

Accuracy International AS50 (.50 BMG)

2005-03-03T06:31:00.000-06:00

I have a new idea for my Christmas list.

Wow, isn't that pretty. This lovely sniper rifle of death is for our very own SEALs and as Kim said " The AS50 looks like just the thing for those occasions when you really want to reach out and touch something, or someone."

You can get the full specs here.

You're a Republician?

2005-03-02T07:04:00.000-06:00

The following was posted on Bush-Cheney 2004 by mojo_feaver. It is an excellent article. (someone please tell me that this isn't gonna show up on the urban myth's site like my last post. It is just too good an article for that.) Also, lots of the things said below apply to me so unless something he says can't be said about me due to the fact that I was not born yet (I was born in '85) then it is prolly a statment that I would make. Oh, and the statment about Ronald Reagan, I usually make that on a weekly basis.

This full-page ad was placed in the Washington Post by a businessman named George J. Esseff, Sr. He paid $104,655.60 to run the ad and only did it because he is sick and tired of the way that "The Rich" are portrayed by liberals these days. It is a great read!

You’re a Republican???

In today’s America, ask a growing number of high school and college students; their teachers and professors; the self-anointed media elite
and/or hard working men and women of all ethnicities, the question, "What is a Republican?", and you’ll be told a rich, greedy, egotistical individual, motivated only by money and the desire to accumulate more and more of it, at the expense of the environment and the working poor and all whom they exploit.

I am a Republican and I am none of those things and I don’t know any Republicans who are.

WHAT I AM, first and foremost, is a loving husband of some 52 plus years, the father of four and an American who’s proud of his country and his country’s heritage.

WHAT I AM is the grandson of immigrants who risked everything, including their lives and those of their children, to escape tyranny in search of
freedom.

WHAT I AM is a man who grew up during the Depression and witnessed, first hand, the effects of the Stock Market crash and the soup lines that
followed. I watched as both my parents and grandparents, who had very little themselves, share what food they had with a half dozen other families, who had even less.

WHAT I AM is someone who worked his way through college by holding down three and four jobs at a time and then used that education to build a better life.

WHAT I AM is a husband who, at age 24, started his own business for the privilege of working 60, 70 and 80 hours a week, risking everything I had, including my health, in search of a better life for myself and my loved ones.

WHAT I AM is a businessman whose blood, sweat and tears and plenty of them made it possible for me to provide a secure living, not only for my
family and myself, but also for literally hundreds of my employees throughout the years. Employees, who in turn, were able to buy their own homes, raise their own families and give back to their communities and their country.

WHAT I AM is a man who believes in God; a God who has blessed this country and all for which it stands.

WHAT I AM is someone who knows, if you doubt miracles exist in today’s world, you need only to look into the face of those who received them and the eyes of those who give them.

WHAT I AM is an American who’s proud that his President embraces a belief in God; proud of a President who understands, as politically incorrect as it may be, there is evil in this world and for the security and safety of all freedom loving people everywhere, it must be confronted and it must be defeated.

WHAT I AM is an American who takes comfort in the knowledge that our President refuses to allow decisions concerning the very safety and security of this nation, to be governed by the political whims of foreign governments.

WHAT I AM is tired of hearing from leading Democrats who see only negativity in America; racism in her people; class warfare in her society and
political incorrectness in her character.

WHAT I AM is a former Democrat who now understands that it is the soldier and not the reporter that guarantees us our freedoms of press, speech
and dissent.

WHAT I AM is a man who believes in the sanctity of life. A man who is repulsed by the pandering of the political left for votes, at the expense of
the unborn.

WHAT I AM is a husband and father who believes in the sanctity of marriage and the preservation of the family unit.

WHAT I AM is a movie go-er who is repulsed by those insecure, socially inept, elementary thinking, ego-inflated entertainers who have appointed
themselves experts in the fields of national security and geo-politics and then use their forum to attack this nation, its leaders and its actions, much to the delight and encouragement of our enemies.

WHAT I AM is an American who understands the difference between censorship and choice. Evidently, these individuals do not, because when these
same celebrities receive public ridicule for their offensive actions, the first thing they yell is Censorship!. What they seem incapable of understanding is the right of free speech and dissent is shared equally by those offended as well as those who offend. I support and will continue to support those films and performers whom I choose to and refuse to support those I don’t. It is my right as an American and a right I will continue to enthusiastically exercise.

WHAT I AM is a voter, tired of politicians, who, every time their voting records are subjected to public scrutiny, try to divert attention from their
political and legislative failures by accusing their opponents of attack ads and negative campaigning and the news media who allow them to get away with it.

WHAT I AM is a Catholic who loves his God and his Faith and who’s been taught to respect all religions whose teachings are based in love, peace and charity. As such, I am embarrassed and ashamed of those individuals, in both private and public life, whose decisions and actions are devoid of any sense of character or morals; individuals who are only driven by what’s best for them rather than what’s right and often times at the expense of many, including our national security.

WHAT I AM is a realist who understands that the terrorist attack that murdered hundreds of innocent Russian children could have occurred here, in
our heartland. That’s why I sincerely believe America needs now, more than ever, a President who sees with a clear and focused vision and who speaks with a voice when heard by both friend and foe alike, is understood, respected and believed.

WHAT I AM is eternally grateful to Ronald Reagan for having the bravery to speak out against Communism and the courage of his convictions in
leading the fight to defeat it; and George W. Bush for the vision, courage, conviction and leadership he has shown in America’s war on terrorism amidst both the constant and vicious, personal and political attacks both he and his family are made to endure.

WHAT I AM is a human being, full of numerous faults and failures, but a man nonetheless, who, though not always successful, has continually strived to do what’s right instead of what’s easy. A man who is challenging the religious leaders of all faiths, to not only preach to their congregations the fundamentals of what’s right and what’s wrong, but to also then hold them accountable for their actions in both the public and private sectors.

WHAT I AM is disgusted with the Courts who, on one hand, call the murder of a pregnant woman a double homicide but then refer to the abortion of her baby as pro-choice.

WHAT I AM is someone deeply troubled by a political party which embraces a candidate whose primary leadership qualities center around his
protesting of the Vietnam war and his labeling the honorable men and women who fought in it, (50,000 of whom gave their lives in that action), as rapists, and war criminals. That same political party then stepped forward this year to block the appearance of a true Vietnam war hero, retired Admiral and former United States Senator, Jeremiah Denton, (a man who spent seven years and seven torturous months in a North Vietnam prison), from speaking before an open session of the California legislature as part of that state’s 4th of July celebration. The reason Democrats gave for refusing to allow this American hero to speak before their state legislature was because of the conservative nature of his views. As an American, that troubles me deeply, as well it should you.

WHAT I AM is a man who feels the need to spend $104,655.60 (tax paid) of his own money, to purchase this advertisement, in order to set the story straight. Some may say this money would have been better spent feeding the world’s poor. At the risk of sounding self-serving, as an American and as a Republican, for the last six decades of my life, I have done exactly that and more. Following the examples of my parents and grandparents, I have used my earnings to feed the poor, shelter the homeless, provide housing for the elderly and medical care for the sick and continue to do so and I’m not alone in that work.

WHAT I AM is someone who is paying for this announcement, at my sole expense, in hopes of opening the eyes of those led blindly by ill-informed
elements of our great nation, who, through either ignorance, or malicious intent, repeatedly attack and belittle those of us who belong to a political
party that holds true to the belief, the rights of the governed, exceed the power of the government. For those interested, I am speaking only as a
tax-paying individual who is in no way associated with The Republican National Committee, nor with any of its directors, or delegates.

WHAT I AM is a man who understands, the American way of life is a message of self-empowerment for all.

WHAT I AM is an American who is grateful that our nation gives each of us the opportunity of self-determination and the right to benefit from the
fruits of self achievement.

WHAT I AM is an American who wants to preserve that way of life for all who seek it.

WHAT I AM is blessed to be an American and proud to be Republican.

IN GOD WE TRUST!

A Bronze of Honor

2005-02-28T21:38:00.000-06:00

(the following text and picture has been taken from Bush-CHeney 2004 I took this text directly because I believed it did a better job of sharing this story than I could have done.)
This statue currently stands outside the Iraqi palace, now home to the 4th Infantry division. It will eventually be shipped home and put in the memorial museum in Fort Hood,Texas.
The statue was created by an Iraqi artist named Kalat, who for years was forced by Saddam Hussein to make the many hundreds of bronze busts of Saddam that dotted Baghdad.
Kalat was so grateful for the Americans liberation of his country; he melted 3 of the heads of the fallen Saddam and made the statue as a memorial to the American soldiers and their fallen warriors. Kalat worked on this memorial night and day for several months.
To the left of the kneeling soldier is a small Iraqi girl giving the soldier comfort as he mourns the loss of his comrade in arms.....
Do you know why we don't hear about this in the news? Because it is heart warming and praise worthy. The media avoids it because it does not have the shock effect that a flashed breast or controversy of politics does.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio

2005-02-28T17:19:00.000-06:00

Talk about this guy has been around for quite a while now, but for those of you who do not know who he is (or just love to hear about this guy again and again) he is a sheriff down in Ariazona who runs one of the best (well best depending on how you look at it) jails in the States, why? Check it out below.

TO THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH JOE ARPAIO
HE IS THE MARICOPA ARIZONA COUNTY SHERIFF
AND HE KEEPS GETTING ELECTED OVER AND OVER.

THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY:

Sheriff Joe Arpaio (in Arizona)who created the "tent city jail":

He has jail meals down to 40 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them.

He stopped smoking and porno magazines in the jails. Took away their weights.

Cut off all but "G" movies.

He started chain gangs so the inmates could do free work on county and city projects.

Then he started chain gangs for women so he wouldn't get sued for discrimination.

He took away cable TV until he found out there was a federal court order that required cable TV for jails.

So he hooked up the cable TV again only let in the Disney channel and the weather channel.

When asked why the weather channel he replied, so they will know how hot it's gonna be while they are working on my chain gangs.

He cut off coffee since it has zero nutritional value. When the inmates complained, he told them,
"This isn't the Ritz/Carlton. If you don't like it, don't come back."

He bought Newt Gingrich' lecture series on videotape that he pipes into the jails.

When asked by a reporter if he had any lecture series by a Democrat, he replied that a democratic lecture series might explain why a lot of the inmates were in his jails in the first place.

With temperatures being even hotter than usual in Phoenix (116 degrees just set a new record), the Associated Press reports: About 2,000 inmates living in a barbed-wire-surrounded tent encampment at the Maricopa County Jail have been given permission to strip down to their government-issued pink boxer shorts.

On Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing boxers were either curled up on their bunk beds or chatted in the tents, which reached 138 degrees inside the week before. Many were also swathed in wet, pink towels as sweat collected on their chests and dripped down to their pink socks.

"It feels like we are in a furnace," said James Zanzot, an inmate who has lived in the tents for 1 = years. "It's inhumane."

Joe Arpaio, the tough-guy sheriff who created the tent city and long ago started making his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic He said Wednesday that he told all of the inmates: "It's 120 degrees in Iraq and our soldiers are living in tents too, and they have to wear full battle gear, but they didn't commit any crimes, so shut your damned mouths!"

Way to go, Sheriff! Maybe if all prisons were like this one there would be a lot less crime and/or repeat offenders. Criminals should be punished for their crimes - not live in luxury until it's time for their parole, only to go out and commit another crime so they can get back in to live on taxpayers money and enjoy things taxpayers can't afford to have for themselves.

Sheriff Joe was just reelected Sheriff in Maricopa County Arizona.

Condi Caption Contest 2

2005-02-26T15:33:00.000-06:00

Do your thing people. :)

Security Beneath The Nurturing Warmth Of The Iron Curtain

2005-02-25T08:49:00.000-06:00

First off, I am not Commie. I am just using that title to relate to what I am going to post about. As some of you may know I do read blogs from "the other side" (a.ka. liberals, commies, french, etc) because I like to know how the other side thinks (or tries to). Over at BlameBush today Larry has this rather interesting post about our swaggering president. As much as I like Bush that is not what this post is about. I would like to comment on the following excerpt.

Nevertheless, it's a hard pill to swallow for those who still remember when the Nazis swaggered across Europe, flustering millions of Frenchmen and leading to the great Smelling Salt Shortage of 1941. Ronald Reagan's swaggering during the dark ages of the 1980's is still bad memory for the gentle, peace-loving quisling peoples who found security beneath the nurturing warmth of the Iron Curtain.

I am thinking maybe that Larry needs to read a history book or maybe even talk to some people from the Ukraine about the atrocities committed there. Due to the fact that he prolly will not do that the following links may help him out although they are not very extensive and only give a small picture of Soviet Russia.

Revelations From The Russian Archives
Repression & Terror: Stalin In Control
Repression & Terror: Kirov Murder & Purges
Secret Police
Anti-religious Campaigns
The Gulag (also from Wikkipedia the Gulag Article)

WHO THE {bleep} DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

2005-02-23T16:39:00.000-06:00

The following quiz has been provided by Frank J. in reply to the MSM's accusations that we bloggers are unqualified to even have such things as opinions (much less qualified to get journalists to stop talking about their opinions). My answers are as follows.

THE "WHO THE {bleep} DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" BLOGGER QUIZ

1. Who the {bleep} do you think you are?

My name Mark, one day I will be a journalist second only to Michelle Malkin.

2. So, other than blogging, what's your job? Do you work at some fast food joint, dumb{bleep}?

Well, I go to college so you could say that my job is "student" but during the summer I work in the information technology department at company that goes by the name of Flambeau (yeah, I know it sounds french, but no one's perfect).

3. Do you have like any experience in journalism, idiot?

You mean other than the classes that I am currently taking and the campus news show that I report for? Nope.

4. Do you even read newspapers?

Yes, I do, I read the local Star and Sickle, err *cough* Star Tribune *cough* and every once in a while I pick up the Chicago Times.

5. Do you watch any other news than FOX News propaganda, you ignorant fool?

Yes, I watch MSNBC and CNN, know thy enemy.

6. I bet you're some moron talk radio listener too, huh?

Yeah, I am, Rush Limbaugh and Jim Rome.

7. So, do you get a fax from the GOP each day for what to say, you @#$% Republican parrot?

I don't own a fax machine.

8. Why do you and your blogger friends want to silence and fire everyone who disagrees with you, fascist?

I want the truth, and yes, I can handle the truth.

9. Are you completely ignorant of other countries, or do you actually own a passport?

I do own a passport, I keep it in my sock drawer.

10. Have you even been to another country, you dumb hick?

Yes, I went to Canada once, their grilled cheese sucked.

11. If you're so keen on the war, why haven't you signed up, chickenhawk?

I thought about it, then I realized I wanted to learn something first, maybe later.

12. Do you have any idea of the horrors of war? Have you ever reached into a pile of goo that was your best friend's face?

No, do you?

13. Have you ever reached into any pile of goo?

I eat jello with my hands, does that count?

14. Once again, who the hell do you think you are?!

I am Mark, this is my blog, a journalist I shall be. Also, I would like to say that I would be proud to have my fellow bloggers fact check my pinkytoe. Who better than rabid fascists to make sure your telling the truth?

What Did You Do?

2005-02-23T08:24:00.000-06:00

I just thought I would put this up, food for thought let's say.
(courtesy of Kim Du Toit)

The U.N. Has A Blog?

2005-02-22T18:57:00.000-06:00

Yeah, I guess so, or at least they are trying, and they borrowed a couple of John Kerry's aides to run it. Sounds like it is going to be a success. They also have yet to enable comments and while they say they will somehow I just don't believe them. Check it out here.

Incoherent Irrational Hate Can Mean One Of Two Things...

2005-02-21T22:09:00.000-06:00

either you are doing a really great job or you are a horrible evil person. Although this can apply to everyone I would like to discuss this as it pertains to President Bush. As you may have noticed the liberal's have a incoherent irrational hate of him that is unexpressable in words and can only be expressed by angry protests and mad garbled yelling and screaming. This can be evidenced at pretty much any post on the Democratic Underground Forums (not safe for children) and also in lots of political chat rooms. Now with all this hate flying around like SARS in Asia you would think that Bush must really be the devil incarnate or something but I would like to raise another, more happy, possibility. What if Bush is just doing a really good job and they can't stand the fact that they have been proven wrong about Iraq being a quagmire and whatever else they moan on about. Ok, first, "elections in Afghanistan won't work", they did work, then "elections in Iraq won't work", they did work, and then in between that they said "Bush won't get elected" (really they mean reelected they just don't know about prefixes), guess what, he did get reelected. Ummm...I kinda forgot what all I was going to say, and Im tired, I will update this tomorrow...stay tuned.

Update: Good morning people, wow, I was tired last night, I shouldn't blog when Im tired, things I type don;t make sense to me. Yeah, so, the point I was trying to make above is that Bush must be doing a really good job for people to hate him so much. Either that or he is evil and 51% of the American population is stupid and can't figure that out.

Frequent Flyer Miles

2005-02-19T08:06:00.000-06:00

Hey, if any of you guys have any unused frequent flyer miles that you don't want head over to Pass The Brass and donate them to Heath. Come on people, you need to show your patriotism here, donate to our military.

Drink One For The Gipper!

2005-02-19T08:03:00.000-06:00

I would like to agree with and support Heath over at Pass The Brass in his endorsement of Sobe. Apparently he was drinking some green tea yesterday (or maybe really early this morning) and his Sobe cap said "Drink one for the Gipper". Please, wait here while I run to the store and buy some Sobe.

Comparing the history of Republicans and Democrats

2005-02-19T07:59:00.000-06:00

You know how the Democrats are always saying that Black Americans are not welcome in the GOP? No, well they have, open your ears. Anyway, Deroy Murdock has this excellent article informing us of a little history on the subject. Read on.

BlogAClass: Political Science -- Just War Doctrine

2005-02-16T15:05:00.000-06:00

Welcome back to the latest edition of BlogAClass, if you liked this category then smile, it's back. If you didn't like this category, smile and read it anyway. So, anyway, with new classes this semester I am taking the only political science class offered at this school, taught by Professor Allen Quist who wrote the book FedEd, which I blogged about before here and so far this is the best class that I have ever taken in my life. Quist also has a sequel to FedEd that just came out called America's Schools: The Battleground For Freedom, check it out. Sorry bout that, I just had to get in that plug for my prof's books, read them, they both are very good. Anyway, in class today we discussed the Just War Doctrine, which basically lies out what makes a war qualify as a "Just War". An interesting fact, apparently it was the Catholics that came up (or at very least populizied the idea or something) with the idea of "Just War" as you can see here and here (Frank J., maybe you can make a post out of that?). The notes that we took in class and discussed are below.

Just War Doctrine
(according to Richard Regan, NOT Ronald Reagan)
(based on Thomas Aquinas, Augustine et.al.)

1. Must be waged by a legitament authority. (properly elected government, not always a democracy though)
2. Must be waged for a just cause. (must be morally, ethically defensible)
a. Aim to prevent wrongful action by another country.
b. Harm inflicted should be proportional to harm prevented.
c. Invasion is prima facia just cause. (a.ka. using force to repel an invasion is always just if the other points apply)
d. There has to be a reasonable chance of success. (basically don't throw away lives, although this is kinda moot because reason dictates that you should defend yourself in invaded even if you can't succeed, unless you are the french, then your surrender preemptively just in case)
e. Any attack in international waters or airspace is prima facia just cause. (a.ka. provocative actions by another country)
f. Nations have prima facia just cause to help another country that is attacked.

Preventive or Preemptive Attacks
g. A nation does not have to wait to be attacked and put itself at a disadvantage against an aggressor.
h. Nor does a country have to wait until the aggressors has stockpiled deadly weapons.
i. Preemptive attacks must be based on solid evidence.
j. War should always be a last resort.
1. This does not mean that countries should allow endless negations.
2. This does not mean that countries should not try other means to accomplish objectives.
3. There are causes for intervention in internal affairs. (e.x. humanitarian concerns)
4. Just war requires the right intentions. (that is that leaders agree to the principles of just war)

This Is The Attack Submarine Jimmy Carter, Prepare To Be Boarded

2005-02-16T14:59:00.000-06:00

I am serious, they are naming an attack sub after Carter, see, look here. Also check out Day By Day by Chris Muir, he comic for today applies.

Patriot Debate

2005-02-15T17:23:00.000-06:00

President Push has called for a renewal of the Patriot Act. You can read the Act in whole here and over at this site, Patriot Debates, they are having some nice, civil, discussion on the pros and cons and wot not of renewing the Act. Check it out.

Trackback: Michelle Malkin

Minnesota...err...Norwegian Joke

2005-02-15T17:17:00.000-06:00

A Norwegian man wants a job, but the foreman won’t hire him until he passes a little math test.

“Here’s your first question, the foreman said. “Without using numbers, represent the number 9.”

“Without numbers?” the Norwegian says, “Dat is easy.” and proceeds to draw three trees.

“What’s this?” the boss asks.

“Ave you got no brain? Tree and tree and tree make nine,” says the Norwegian.

“Fair enough,” says the boss. “Here’s your second question. Use the same rules, but this time the number is 99.”

The Norwegian stares into space for awhile, then picks up the picture that he has just drawn and makes a smudge on each tree. “Ere you go.”

The boss scratches his head and says, “How on earth do you get that to represent 99?”

“Each of da trees is dirty now. So, it’s dirty tree, and dirty tree, and dirty tree. Dat is 99.”

The boss is getting worried that he’s going to actually have to hire this Norwegian, so he says,"all right, last question. Same rules again, but represent the number 100.”

The Norwegian stares into space some more, then he picks up the picture again and makes a little mark at the base of each tree and says, “Ere you go. One hundred.”

The boss looks at the attempt. “You must be nuts if you think that represents a hundred!”

The Norwegian leans forward and points to the marks at the base of each tree and says, “A little dog came along and crap by each tree. So now you got dirty tree and a turd, dirty tree and a turd, and dirty tree and a turd, which makes one hundred

...So, when I start?!”

(borrowed from Boots & Sabers)

Kerry's Treason

2005-02-15T17:05:00.000-06:00

On January 30th, 2005, Senator Kerry told Tim Russert on Meet the Press that he would sign an SF 180 in order to release all of his military records. The only problem is that he has yet to sign anything of the sort. Check out the following site and lets flood Kerry with requests/reminders to sign the SF180. Kerry's Treason

Check Your SS

2005-02-14T21:51:00.000-06:00

No, not your Schutzstaffeln, check your Social Security. You can click on the link below and " Enter your age and gender to calculate what an American worker of your same age and gender can expect to receive from Social Security." is what the FAQ describes the Social Security Calculator as. It then also tells you what you would get as a return if you invested your SS taxes into a Personal Retirement Account. Let's support this people, not only do you get more benefits when you finally retire, you are getting benefits from money you earned, not being dependent on some other goober to (hopefully) work and put money in the system for you, I much prefer to be in control of my own retirement thank you. On a similar note go over and read this article on SS by Kim DuToit's wife, it is very informative.

So, check out your SI, Social Insecurity.

That "Insufficient Funds" takes my back to the days of playing Command & Conquer (yes, all of them, I am a geek) where that hot chick voice would inform you that you had "Insufficient Funds" to finish building whatever cool machine of death you were building and that you were out of cash. Well, although Bush does not have a "hot chick" voice my head still snaps over and looks at that ever dwindling funds bucket as I scramble to have the always envious "Sufficient Funds".

UPDATE: FoxNews has a nice update with some good explaining of Bush's new idea.

Find Your Name

2005-02-14T17:40:00.000-06:00

I found this name popularity thing through Boots & Sabers. Check it out, my name is ranked 106 in 2003.

American Hero Update

2005-02-14T16:46:00.000-06:00

Hey, do y'all remember when I posted about the Marine who got his leg and ass all chewed up? Well, courtsey of Kim I have an update for you, read on, it's a good one.

With more than half his blood draining onto an Iraqi battleground, a bullet-riddled Brad Kasal feared he might never again see his family in Afton, Iowa.

But the first sergeant's resolve to save a younger Marine lying next to him pushed aside such thoughts.

"I was losing consciousness," a recuperating Kasal recalled last week. "I forced myself to stay awake. I was worried about saving him and keeping the enemy at bay."

Both Kasal, 38, and Pfc. Alexander Nicoll survived that Nov. 13 Fallujah firefight, albeit with life-altering injuries. Nicoll lost part of a leg; Kasal is fighting to save his.(more...)

The Democrats Need to Retreat and Regroup

2005-02-14T16:33:00.000-06:00

Or is it regroup and retreat? I can never remember and personally I hope they don't figure this out so the "good guys" can keep winning. But here are my thoughts of what needs (and is most probable of happening) if the Democrats ever want to ever be a political force to be reckoned with ever again, assuming they figure it out at all.
The Democratic Party has done poorly in the past 6 or so elections (this includes White House, and congressional elections). In these past elections the Republicans have won the majority of the seats (or the presidency) and I am curious as to what is going to happen to the Democratic Party. I do not see that the Democrats, as they are now, can ever make a comeback on the political scene and I think that if they even want a chance of holding any power again a change is needed. As I see it there are three possible options, the party could move to the right, move to the left, or split. Concerning the option of moving to the right, I don't think it will happen, if it did they wouldn't be Democrats and it would suck all the fun out of life. It is possible they could move more to the left (as they have been doing slowly but surely), but I think the most likely possibility would be a split. Liberals (or Progressives if you prefer) have too many differing views on many things (mostly they just agree that they are liberal) so I think the really far left will split (maybe into the Progressive Party) forming a "radical left" sort of thing and then the Democrats that are not quite as far left (a.k.a. not so extreme) will form some sort of moderate party (maybe the donkeyalunts? lol) that combines both the ideals of the Conservative left and the Liberal right. Comments? Agreements? Disagreements? New party names? Feel free to comment.

AOL Apparently Evil As I Have Suspected

2005-02-11T23:14:00.000-06:00

I have never really liked AOL. We had it for a while back home with my parents and we had numerous problems with it, not to mention the billions of coasters we get each year as they try to suck my parents back into using AOL. But what they have going on now really takes the cake, and I would be inclined to boycott AOL until it fixes it's most current problem. Err, right, your probably wondering what problem does AOL have this time, well, apparently they have taken to supporting anti-American/terrorist messages. No, not like banner adds and email notices, but in a more subtle but no less damaging way. So with that as an introduction I will point you to Trevor's site at The Right Report here and here. This is very interesting, and wrong, AOL should fix it, now.

Frank J. Reads The Bible

2005-02-11T23:02:00.000-06:00

Frank J. went and bought himself a nice new NKJ Bible (that's New King James for those who don't know) and it appears that he is going take us along with him on his exciting adventure through THE WHOLE THING, or at least he gets bored with his new hobby and leaves us hanging (personally I want to see what he has to say about Revelation, it should be funny). Now I will say right here that in Frank J.'s most recent post he said some doctrinal things that I do not agree with, but that is not really the point, I am just sharing. Now for those of you who say "He's making fun of the Bible? He can't do that, it's wrong." I say that he's not making fun of the Bible persay but more having fun and trying to be funny as he reads it. Who ever said Christian's couldn't be funny and even poke fun at religion every once in a while? I don't think anyone ever did. So, I am going to be updating this post every time Frank J. has a new Bible post so, um, yeah, go read Frank J.'s site, it's funnier than mine.

Genesis 1-3
Genesis 4
Genesis 5-9
Further Discussion of Genesis
Genesis 10-13

Hey, Simmons, whats the name of that Mexican lizard....

2005-02-11T22:23:00.000-06:00

that eats all the goats? Well apparently some Red Vs Blue fans over in Iraq know, as you can see in the picture below. No, don't ask me what the joke is, go over to the RVB website and watch ALL the videos, or at least the first season.

(Picture courtesy of Red Vs Blue, all credit goes to them and of course the soldiers that shot the picture in the first place. I just thought I would spread the laughter)

Trackback

2005-02-10T18:58:00.000-06:00

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog. I just thought you might like to know. Have a good evening.

Hehe, Those Silly Marines

2005-02-10T14:53:00.000-06:00

Courtesy of JarheadDad off of Blackfive's blog I give you this sign some Marine's put up, very funny. (click the picture for a larger version)

Alias Dedication

2005-02-10T14:37:00.000-06:00

After Alias last evening they dedicated the show to Tricia Goken and I didn't know who that was, now I do.

"I just learned that "Alias" will dedicate tonight's show to our friend Tricia Goken, who was killed in an auto accident on January 29 along with her fiance, LCDR Denis Tri.

Before moving to Maryland last year to be with Denis, Trish served as script supervisor on the TV show "Alias" for the last four years she lived in Los Angeles."

Hat Tip: The Right Report

North Korea Has Nukes

2005-02-10T10:08:00.000-06:00

North Korea told the world on Thrusday that it has nukes, and that it has no intention of disarming.

North Korea Confirms It Has Nuclear Weapons

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea defiantly told the world Thursday it does have nuclear weapons and that it's not interested in restarting disarmament talks anytime soon.(more...)

Bored

2005-02-09T18:42:00.000-06:00

Im bored, I just thought I would share. Lost starts in 15 minutes, thankfully it's a new one.

Warm Fuzzy

2005-02-09T17:03:00.000-06:00

This commercial from the super bowl gives me warm fuzzy feelings every time I watch it.

Hero Salute

Polling Point

2005-02-09T16:59:00.000-06:00

Was surfing around today and found a site called Polling Point that puts out polls on national issues ( I was drawn to it by their State of the Union poll) and I thought some of my readers might be interested. Check it out here.

Convert The Jews?

2005-02-09T11:07:00.000-06:00

I found this article on Israel National News.

Muslim Dilemma: Kill Jews or Convert Them?

While the Palestinian Authority may come down clearly on the side of killing Jews for divine Islamic reward, other Muslims think converting Jews is even better. Although, they'll agree, killing Jews is still good. (more...)

Now I don't know much about Islam, but wouldn't you think you get points for conversion along with killin'? You know, more conversions means more believers and that means more troops to fend off the 'evil Americans' or whatever.

Wisconsin Man Returns $850 G

2005-02-09T11:02:00.000-06:00

Wow, I am very impressed, cheers for this guy.

Wis. man finds — and returns — $850G

ROTHSCHILD, Wis. (AP) — Police and city officials say thanks is not enough for Jon Jazdzewski.

Jazdzewski, 52, an employee of Wausau Supply, was driving out of town for business around 4 a.m. Jan. 28 when he spotted something on the road near the Rothschild Village Hall.

"I knew it was a money bag, and I picked it up. But there was no doubt in my mind that this thing was going back to (the village)," said Jazdzewski, of Kronenwetter.

What was inside the locked bag was more than $850,000 in cash and checks, according to city officials.

A police officer had set the bag on the trunk of a squad car and then was called to an emergency, Jazdzewski said. The bag apparently slid off the back of the car when the officer pulled away.

Rothschild Police Chief Bill Schremp declined to discuss the contents of the bag, which was lost between the Village Hall and River Valley State Bank, but he said he was grateful.

"Someone that found the bag was very honest. We are planning on doing something for him," Schremp said.

American Soldier....Doing His Job

2005-02-08T20:15:00.000-06:00

I just thought this was a really cool picture, I found it on Bush-Cheney 2004. Good find circle_sky. Also just for the fun of it lets make it a caption contest. Have fun!! (for the less observant of you look at the patches on his arm.

FBI Loses Rifles

2005-02-08T19:32:00.000-06:00

What kind of law enforcement officer leaves his gun in the car? Apparently some FBI agests do because last Sunday a number of rifles were stolen from a FBI SWAT van. Very Funny.

FBI Van Burglarized; SWAT Rifles, Ammo Taken

5:35 pm EST February 7,2005 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Four sniper rifles, scopes and ammunition were stolen from an FBI SWAT van parked outside a Baymeadows Road hotel before dawn Sunday. The FBI said the guns belonged to a team from Atlanta in Jacksonville to provide extra security for the Super Bowl.A spokesman for the FBI said authorities are concerned these weapons are out on the street and are doing everything possible to try and find whoever took them.

Four high-powered rifles with scopes and 80 rounds of 308 ammunition were taken from the unmarked, locked van parked outside the Holiday Inn at Baymeadows and Interstate 95. An agent parked the van at 3:45 a.m. and discovered a few hours later the padlock cut and van burglarized.An internal investigation is under way.The FBI asks anyone with information that could help recover the rifles to call their Jacksonville office at (904) 721-1211.

Adopt A Sniper

2005-02-04T20:12:00.000-06:00

I just found this website called Adopt A Sniper. It is a website for a grassroots campaign started by Brian Sain, a former SWAT member, that takes donations so that his organization can buy equipment desperately needed by snipers in Iraq, Afghanistan, and places not named for security reasons. FAQ's are located here, a flash movie is here (this is really cool), and an article by CNN about a university shutting down fundraiser by some Republican students who set up a booth for Adopt A Sniper is located here and also at Michelle Malkin's blog here and here. The university would get a retarded sticker but I don't want to sully this post with something like that so I will just say "shame on you Marquette University" and I want to let all our troops out there that I support you guys, keep it up.

I'm Gonna Make You An Offer you Can't Refuse

2005-02-04T19:50:00.000-06:00

Check out this article by Electronic Arts. I hope they do a good job with this, it would really be too bad if they messed it up.

EA MAKES OFFER GAMERS CAN’T REFUSE…THE GODFATHER VIDEO GAME

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – February 2, 2005 – Electronic Arts and Viacom Consumer Products today announced a videogame based on The Godfather fiction is under development and will put gamers at the center of the action in one of history’s most revered masterpieces. The book by Mario Puzo and classic film by Paramount Pictures serve as inspiration for the game as gamers will join the Corleone family and earn respect through loyalty and fear as they rise through the ranks to become Don in a living 1945-1955 New York. The game is scheduled for release in fall 2005 under the EA GAMES brand for the Xbox® videogame system from Microsoft, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Sony PSP™ handheld entertainment system and PC.

Gamers will create their own mob character in the game, putting themselves into the action while reliving classic moments from the fiction and experiencing original missions alongside memorable characters from the film. After a life of small-time jobs and petty thefts the player will be accepted into the Corleone family, America’s most famous criminal organization. It will be up to the player to carry out orders, earn respect and make New York City their own.

"We are incredibly excited and honored to have the opportunity to bring the fiction of The Godfather to life in a videogame," said David DeMartini, EA’s Executive Producer of the game. "The Godfather movies raised the standard for cinematic achievement with their high level of drama and intense story telling and in fall 2005 gamers will be able to experience that dangerous and living world of The Godfather for themselves."

"We are thrilled to partner with Electronic Arts to bring this exceptional content into the interactive world," said Sandi Isaacs, Vice President of Interactive from Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products. "The Godfather is a crown jewel of Paramount Pictures. We are confident this game will deliver the depth of the experience expected by The Godfather movie fans around the world."

Featuring non-linear action-adventure gameplay, The Godfather will offer gamers countless choices for solving the family’s problems with brutal violence, skillful diplomacy, or a cunning mixture of both. From mob hits and bank heists to drive-bys and extortion, step deep inside the world of The Godfather where intimidation and negotiation are your tickets to the top. Players will use their powers of loyalty and fear to earn respect through interactions with characters in the world. Decisions made by the player in the game will have lasting consequences, just as it was in the mob underworld featured in The Godfather fiction.

The Godfather film featured some of Hollywood’s finest actors and several are lending their likenesses and contributing to the game’s development including James Caan as Sonny Corleone and Robert Duvall as consigliore Tom Hagen. Before his death, Marlon Brando granted his likeness rights to EA and conducted a voiceover session with the developers. His character, Don Vito Corleone, the Godfather, will be featured in the game.

The Godfather is being developed by EA Redwood Shores where such hit franchises as Lord of the Rings, James Bond, and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR games are made. The game has not yet been rated by the ESRB.

I'm An Iraqi And I Like Killin' Terrorists

2005-02-04T16:11:00.000-06:00

Got this off of Kim's Blog. I just love it, I am rather partial to the buring cars, it reminds me of an incident we had here last year *cough* riots *cough*. But go Iraqi's, keep up the good work, show those terrorists you want them out!!

Citizens of Al Mudhiryiah (a small town in the "death triangle") were subjected to an attack by several militants today who were trying to punish the residents of this small town for voting in the election last Sunday.
The citizens responded and managed to stop the attack, kill 5 of the attackers, wounded 8 and burned their cars.
3 citizens were injured during the fire exchange. The Shiekh of the tribe to whom the 3 wounded citizens belong demanded more efforts from the government to stop who he described as "Salafis".