Saturday, January 31, 2009

Iraqi Shoe Sculpture Tossed

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Remember that giant shoe that used to be in Iraq?


The government ordered it gone.

A huge shoe sculpture honouring the Iraqi reporter who gained global fame by throwing his footwear at former US president George W. Bush has now been dismantled, an official told AFP.

"We have removed the shoe statue of Muntazer al-Zaidi, because we received an order to do so from the governor Salaheddin province," said Shaha al-Juburi, head of the children's foundation where the bronze sculpture had been erected.

The shoe - in which a bush was planted - stood three metres high and sat atop a white pedestal in Tikrit, the hometown of executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.


Gosh! If you can't diss George Bush in Uncle Saddam's hometown, where can you do it? The post will serve to let the Left hyperventilate at will... Apparently the entire country didn't feel this way!

Hat tip Jawa
Cross Posted at Say Anything

A Little Saturday Night Music

Judy Collins & Leonard Cohen - That's No Way to Say Goodbye (1976)

Daschle's Tax Problems Worse Than First Reported

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IN the words of a Stan Freberg song, "It seems they've uncovered as much as they can...
unless they decide to dig deeper!"


In addition to the services of a car and driver that former Tom Daschle failed to report as income, is an $83, 333 consulting fee from 2007 that just must have slipped his mind! (Or maybe Timothy Geithner was his tax advisor?)

ABC News has obtained the Senate Finance Committee Report on Tom Daschle's nomination to be Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, which indicates that Daschle's tax problems were even more substantial than earlier reported.

The report indicates that Daschle's failure to pay more than $101,000 taxes on the car and driver a wealthy friend let him use from 2005 through 2007 is not the only tax issue the former Senate Majority Leader has been dealing with since his December nomination prompted a more thorough examination of his income tax returns.

Mr. Daschle also didn't report $83,333 in consulting income in 2007.


And remember those private jets that marked auto execs as unfeeling, uncaring wasteful jerks? Guess who may not have reported his own private jet jaunts as income?

...The Finance Committee staff still is reviewing whether travel and entertainment services provided Tom and Linda Daschle by EduCap, Inc., Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation, Academy Achievement, and Loan to Learn should be reported as income. Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Daschle made use of the jet belonging to EduCap, a non-profit student loan organization.


It may be that Obama's plan to rescue the country from financial misconduct is to gather all the miscreants in one place where he can keep his eye on them! Heh.

Hat tip My Pet Jawa
Cross Posted at Say Anything

First Interview with GOP Chair Michael Steele



Cross posted at Say Anything

Quote du jour

When Obama is featured 14 times on the cover of Time in a single year, when Chris Matthews of NBC News experiences a “thrill up my leg” from an Obama speech, when bookstores are converted into Obama shrines — and, yes, when a New Republican essayist hails a rather ordinary inaugural speech as “poetry … that truly showed the writerly hand” — it is indeed possible to speak of an “Obama Derangement Syndrome.”

But it is not conservatives who are deranged.

-Robert Stacy McCain

Friday, January 30, 2009

Michael Steele New GOP Chairman

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First African American chair of the GOP


WASHINGTON - Michael Steele was elected Republican National Committee chairman on Friday, defeating the incumbent party chief and three other challengers over six rounds of voting to become the first black to lead the GOP.


Michael Steele, former Lt. Governor of Maryland, was the first African American to be elected to statewide public office in Maryland. He is chairman of GOPAC and currently a partner in the law firm of Dewey & LeBoeuf in Washington, D.C.

Congratulations, Mr. Steele! And good luck! (You'll need it!)

Cross Posted at Say Anything

Friday Night Babe

Tonight's FNB is the star of Untraceable and Unfaithful Diane Lane!

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Now is Not the Time for Profits!

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I'm pretty sure, in business, profits are a good thing!


President Barack Obama lashed out on Thursday at “shameful” Wall Street executives for claiming billions of dollars in bonuses while their stricken institutions asked taxpayers for support.

Mr Obama was responding to a report showing that financial sector employees received $18.4bn (£12.9bn) in bonuses last year, amid dire financial crisis. The figure was down 44 per cent from 2007 but was still the sixth largest payout in history.

Mr Obama described the bonuses as the “height of irresponsibility”, and made clear that additional government support for the industry would be subject to tough conditions on pay and other perks


There were some, during the campaign, that thought that Obama had revealed a socialistic streak when he told Joe the Plumber about his plans to "share the wealth".
It seems that, sans teleprompter, Mr. Obama has had another "share the wealth" moment:

“There will be time for them to make profits, and there will be time for them to get bonuses. Now is not that time.”


Pardon me, but didn't he just link "profit" and "bonuses" when he said "Now is not that time"? Now is not the time for profits???

Careless speech or self revelation: You decide!

And since when does the President try to micromanage businesses? Does he know more about making a profit and motivating the cogs of the business engine to do more? How much is an unreasonable bonus? How much is an unreasonable business expenditure? Unreasonable to whom? Politicians? Hairdressers? Street sweepers? CEO's?

Amateur hour at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue!

Cross posted at Say Anything

Quote du jour

So to repeat, a commitment of untold trillions of taxpayer dollars dedicated to left-wing social engineer that taxpayers themselves would never in a trillion years agree to pay for, guaranteeing generations of crushing debt and an inevitably declining quality of life, all to achieve a comparatively miniscule $90B of stimulus ... most of which will not actually be spent during the current downturn.

If Republicans can't take that ball and run with it, I don't know what to say about them.

-Andy McCarthy

Thursday, January 29, 2009

This Last Week's Poll

This Last Week's Poll: Does the recent missile attack in Pakistan signal:

Obama's continuance of Bush policies? 4 (66%)

A Reversal of his campaign rhetoric? 3(50 %)

Obama's determination to win the war on terror? ( 0 %)

All of the above? 1( 16%)



Thank you for your participation!
Not a scientific poll. Respondents are self selecting. Questions are drawn from fortune cookies, hieroglyphics and tomorrow’s New York Times.

Please make your opinion known in this week's poll.

Obama Turns Up the Heat in Washington

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Will Obama be remembered for the little hypocrisies or just the big ones?
(The shiny head on the left is Joe Biden!)


Literally, more than figuratively!

NYT: WASHINGTON — The capital flew into a bit of a tizzy when, on his first full day in the White House, President Obama was photographed in the Oval Office without his suit jacket. There was, however, a logical explanation: Mr. Obama, who hates the cold, had cranked up the thermostat.
“He’s from Hawaii, O.K.?” said Mr. Obama’s senior adviser, David Axelrod, who occupies the small but strategically located office next door to his boss. “He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there.”

Thus did an ironclad rule of the George W. Bush administration — coat and tie in the Oval Office at all times — fall by the wayside, only the first of many signs that a more informal culture is growing up in the White House under new management. Mr. Obama promised to bring change to Washington and he has — not just in substance, but in presidential style.

Although his presidency is barely a week old, some of Mr. Obama’s work habits are already becoming clear. He shows up at the Oval Office shortly before 9 in the morning, roughly two hours later than his early-to-bed, early-to-rise predecessor


So, the same guy that told the rest of us that we couldn't drive our SUVs whenever we wanted or " keep our homes on, you know, 72 degrees at all times", keeps his office (when he finally rolls into it) warm enough "to grow orchids"? Man! Even the incompetent Carter wore a sweater to show some solidarity (and leadership) with the huddled masses!

"Do as I say, not as I do" is the hopey change mantra for today!

Hat tip Sweetness and Light
Cross Posted at Say Anything

Move On Sheds Crocodile Tears Over Lack of Bi-partisanism

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From the Wonderful People who brought you General Betray Us!


Dear MoveOn member,

Did you see how many Republicans voted for President Obama's stimulus package in the House yesterday?

None. Seriously, not a single one.

Americans voted overwhelmingly for change in November. We voted for an end to the partisan bickering and political games that are destroying our politics. And President Obama bent over backwards to get House Republicans to craft a bipartisan bill, to no avail.

As the bill moves to the Senate, we need bipartisan support, or the stimulus won't pass. Senate Republicans need to know they have a clear choice: support a stimulus package that will put millions of Americans back to work, or continue to play the games that got us into this mess.

We've put together a powerful new ad to pressure the key senators. Can you chip in $25 to get it on the air immediately?


There is one word for this: Wahhhh! Obama and company ran roughshod over the wishes and objections of Republicans to pass this pork-laden Intergenerational Debt bill. The only "bending over" was what Obama wanted Republicans to do to give himself and fellow Dems some cover when, not if, this blows up in their face.

Now the people who can't "move on" are crying because they have a majority to pass this obamination of a bill, but it's not Kum ba yah unanimous? Puhleeease! Whatever happened to "diversity of thought" or "dissent is patriotic"? Not surprising that Move On still needs a bogeyman to help keep the money rolling in!

Cross Posted at Say Anything

Al Gore is "Hogging the Thermostat!"



Dennis Miller on Al Gore, Blago "embracing his inner dirtbag", and various topics of the day...

Hat tip Newsbusters

Great Line by Bush 41



Heh.

Hat tip Hot Air

Quote du jour

Governor Blagojevich, I could have given you the best legal advice possible for defending yourself. What you should have done was said that you are an Al Qaeda terrorist and invoke the Geneva Conventions [and] the Bill of Rights. You’d have every left-wing ACLU-type lawyer defending you and you’d actually have the sympathy of the media and the Obama administration.


-Mark Levin, via Vocal Minority

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

The Medal of Honor

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Staff Sgt. Paul J. Wiedorfer


Citation:
He alone made it possible for his company to advance until its objective was seized. Company G had cleared a wooded area of snipers, and 1 platoon was advancing across an open clearing toward another wood when it was met by heavy machinegun fire from 2 German positions dug in at the edge of the second wood. These positions were flanked by enemy riflemen. The platoon took cover behind a small ridge approximately 40 yards from the enemy position. There was no other available protection and the entire platoon was pinned down by the German fire. It was about noon and the day was clear, but the terrain extremely difficult due to a 3-inch snowfall the night before over ice-covered ground. Pvt. Wiedorfer, realizing that the platoon advance could not continue until the 2 enemy machinegun nests were destroyed, voluntarily charged alone across the slippery open ground with no protecting cover of any kind. Running in a crouched position, under a hail of enemy fire, he slipped and fell in the snow, but quickly rose and continued forward with the enemy concentrating automatic and small-arms fire on him as he advanced. Miraculously escaping injury, Pvt. Wiedorfer reached a point some 10 yards from the first machinegun emplacement and hurled a handgrenade into it. With his rifle he killed the remaining Germans, and, without hesitation, wheeled to the right and attacked the second emplacement. One of the enemy was wounded by his fire and the other 6 immediately surrendered. This heroic action by 1 man enabled the platoon to advance from behind its protecting ridge and continue successfully to reach its objective. A few minutes later, when both the platoon leader and the platoon sergeant were wounded, Pvt. Wiedorfer assumed command of the platoon, leading it forward with inspired energy until the mission was accomplished.


Staff Sgt. Wiedorfer: We humbly salute you and thank you for your service.

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Hat tip Home of Heroes




http://www.homeofheroes.com/moh/living/living_war_wwii.html

There are over a hundred living MoH recipients today. Their names and their stories should not be forgotten. My mission is to honor one of those heroes here each week, and salute them for their courage and sacrifice.

Quote du jour

If Nancy Pelosi wants fewer births, I have the way to do this, and it won't require any contraception: You simply put pictures of Nancy Pelosi in every cheap motel room in America today. Well, that will keep birth rates down because that picture will keep a lot of things down — if you get my drift …

-Rush Limbaugh, via Vocal Minority

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Another Lobbyist for Team Obama

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I get it now! If you had Hope in Obama, that will Change!


Despite President Barack Obama’s pledge to limit the influence of lobbyists in his administration, a recent lobbyist for investment banking giant Goldman Sachs is in line to serve as chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Mark Patterson was a registered lobbyist for Goldman until April 11, 2008, according to public filings.

Patterson first began lobbying for Goldman Sachs in 2005, after working as policy director for then-Senate majority leader Tom Daschle. According to publicly filed lobbying disclosure records, he worked on issues related to the banking committee, climate change and carbon trading and immigration reform, among others. -ABC News


Issues related to carbon credits?? Oh, great! Not only is he a lobbyist, but he has Al Gore Green Weinie stamped all over him!

Hat tip Sister Toldjah
Cross Posted at Say Anything

Rejected PETA Super Bowl Ad


Possibly NSFW


Need a little more personal, empirical study on this! At any rate, NBC thought it a bit too racy!

Hat tip Hot Air
Cross Posted at Say Anything

John Boehner on the Scam that is Obama's "Stimulus" Program

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Barack O-Scam-a has a nice ring to it!


House Republican leader John Boehner has a list of twenty points on the Democrats' proposal for economic "stimulus". See if you agree with me on some of the scam-like properties of this proposal:

Although it is being sold as investment in "infrastructure":

"13...in actuality only $30 billion of the bill – or three percent – is for road and highway spending. A recent study from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that only 25 percent of infrastructure dollars can be spent in the first year..."


Meaning that less than 3/4 of one percent would be spent on infrastructure in the next year. Wow! They must really be serious about rebuilding the infrastructure!

2. The Capitol Hill Democrats’ plan includes funding for contraceptives; regardless of where anyone stands on taxpayer funded contraception, there is no question that it has NOTHING to do with the economy.


That could be the "Where the rubbers meet the road " aspect of the bill! Heh.

3. The legislation could open billions of taxpayer dollars to left-wing groups like the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), which has been accused of voter fraud, is reportedly under federal investigation; and played a key role in the housing meltdown.


Hmm. This "infrastructure" must have to do with the lining of certain pockets?

8. Just one in seven dollars of an $18.5 billion expenditure on “energy efficiency” and “renewable energy programs” would be spent within the next 18 months.


Again, if there's no big hurry to do it, it won't "stimulate" the economy. Sounds more like pork!

9. The total cost of this one piece of legislation is almost as much as the annual discretionary budget for the entire federal government.


Expensive pork.

1. The $825 billion package slated for a House vote later this week will exceed more than $1.1 trillion when adding in the interest ($300 plus billion) between 2009-2019 to pay for it.


Expensive pork on a credit card. $300 plus billion in interest for programs, many of which will not take place in the next twelve to eighteen months? Try that one on your wife!
"Honey, I need to buy a new 60" plasma TV and a bass boat...to stimulate the economy! It's okay! We have room on our Visa card!"


The biggest thing that government could do to stimulate the economy, would be to get out of its way and reduce taxes on working men and working capital. But, tax relief is way down on the agenda behind new government programs, new government spending and payback to political cronies.

Hat tip Gateway Pundit
Cross posted at Say Anything

Quote du jour

One should always play fairly when one has the winning cards.

-Oscar Wilde

Monday, January 26, 2009

A Tale of Two Presidents

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Medal of Honor recipient Kenneth Stumpf


Just recently, we reported an account of President Obama's snubbing of 48 Medal of Honor recipients by not attending the "Salute to Heroes" inaugural ball, as had every President since Dwight Eisenhower. Forty-Eight Medal of Honor Recipients Stood Up By the Obamas
Contrast this with President George Bush's second inaugural, where the "Salute to Heroes" ball was his very first stop!

WASHINGTON, Jan. 21, 2005 – President Bush and first lady Laura Bush were greeted with resounding cheers as they made the first stop of their whirlwind tour of inaugural galas Jan. 20 at the Capital Hilton here. At the "Salute to Heroes" inaugural ball, hundreds of veterans from across the country, along with their wives and families, greeted the president with a resounding show of support.


A President who had his priorities straight! Funny how you can always make time for the things that are most important to you!

...Kenneth Stumpf, one of many Medal of Honor recipients who squeezed through tight security inside the hotel to see the president, was particularly happy to be on hand. "I spent my entire life in the military, so whoever was the president, that was my commander-in-chief," he said. "It just so happens I really like this one."

The American Legion sponsors the ball, which recognizes recipients of Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award. It started in 1953 for President Dwight D. Eisenhower's first inauguration.

Event co-sponsors include 13 other veterans service organizations, among them the Military Order of the Purple Heart and the Paralyzed Veterans of America.

With applause and cheers often interrupting his comments, the president used his brief appearance to thank veterans for their service.


One President hobnobbed with Hollywood celebrities. One President thanked the bravest men our country has produced. One was cheered as he came to town. The other was booed as he left.
Makes a body want to say TANJ! But, I know that the one who honored our troops did not do it for the accolades. He did it because it was right!

God bless you, George Bush!

(TANJ= There Ain't No Justice)

Hat tip Cao's Blog
Cross posted at Say Anything

Quote du jour

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up."

- Arthur Koestler

Quote du jour

I'm against a homogenized society, because I want the cream to rise.

-Robert Frost

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Quote du jour

"So this is how liberty dies...with thunderous applause."
- Queen Padme Amidala, "Star Wars III: The Revenge of the Sith"

Presumably not watching Obama's inauguration!

Hat tip Newsbusters

Saturday, January 24, 2009

“Pick the Target, Freeze it, Personalize it and Polarize it.”

Note: This article is a reposting from a year ago March:


Sound familiar? Maybe a way to deal with Travel Office, or Bimbo eruptions , illegal possesion of FBI files or missing Rose law firm records? Words to live by! At least if your name is Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton! The senior thesis of Hillary D. Rodham, Wellesley College class of 1969, locked away from the public during the eight years of the Clinton administration, is finally seeing the light of day.

Just as conservative authors have speculated, it was the Clintons who asked Wellesley in 1993 to hide Hillary Rodham’s senior thesis from the first generation of Clinton biographers, according to her thesis adviser and friend, professor Alan H. Schechter, who describes taking the call from the White House. [See sidebar: A stupid political decision ]

Wellesley’s president, Nannerl Overholser Keohane, approved a broad rule with a specific application: The senior thesis of every Wellesley alumna is available in the college archives for anyone to read—except for those written by either a “president or first lady of the United States.” So far, that action has sealed precisely one document: Hillary Rodham’s senior honors thesis in political science, entitled “ ‘There Is Only the Fight...’: An Analysis of the Alinsky Model.”



Hillary Rodham’s Hidden Thesis


Too bad HillaryCare didn't pass! The amnesia (and rudeness) that so affected the Clintons seems to be spreading:

When MSNBC.com called Keohane last week at Princeton to ask about the thesis, she replied, "I have no memory of this," and hung up the phone.


Reposted from Say Anything, March 03, 2007
Hat tip to Gateway Pundit, for reminding me of it!

Dennis Miller on the Last Days of the Bush Presidency



Hat tip CommonCents

Moving Pro-Life Ad



Kind of a variation on "You just aborted Beethoven!"

Hat tip Gene

A Little Saturday Night Music

Tom Paxton - The Last Thing on my Mind

The TARP Song

A small phenomenon across the Web is the TARP song. Fifteen minutes of fame for everybody!



Hat tip Midnight Blue
Cross posted at Say Anything

Quote du jour

I didn't listen to the whole inaugural speech, but what I heard, it sounded like his speechwriters did their shopping at Clichés-R-Us!

-Proof

Friday, January 23, 2009

British Colonel Richard Kemp (Ret.) On Israelis Avoiding Civilian Casualties



Particularly telling, when some have noted that HAMAS stands for Hide Among Mosques And Schools!

White Males Need Not Apply

...no, seriously! former Clinton advisor, current Obama advisor Robert Reich and Charles Rangel on who deserves help in tough economic times:



Skills? Not important! The color of your skin? More important to these mental midgets than getting the economy back on track!

Hat tip Michelle Malkin
Cross posted at Say Anything

Conservative Gillibrand Picked to Replace Hillary

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Backed by the NRA? I'm liking her already!


Conservative Kirsten Gillibrand has been appointed by NY Governor Paterson to replace the Wicked Witch of the West Hillary Clinton in the Senate.

ALBANY - Gov. Paterson, defying the liberal wing of his Democratic Party, has chosen little-known, NRA-backed, upstate Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton as New York's junior senator, it was learned last night.

The surprising - and, for many Democrats shocking - decision to pick the conservative Gillibrand, 42, from Hudson in Columbia County, was disclosed by the governor in calls to party officials and some members of the state's congressional delegation, many of whom said they were unhappy with the selection, sources said


...Gillibrand has won two successive elections in one of the heaviest GOP districts in the state, first upsetting incumbent Rep. John Sweeney and, in November, defeating former state GOP chairman and multimillionaire Alexander Treadwell, in one of the most expensive races in the nation.

Liberal Democrats have been wary of her because she ran for re-election with the backing of the National Rifle Association, opposed the federal TARP program to rescue banks, and has been less than enthusiastic about gay marriage.


An attractive conservative woman backed by the NRA...hmm. Where have we heard that before? Anyway, she's got to be better than her predecessor! Heh.

Hat tip Wizbang
Cross Posted at Say Anything

Franken Loses Court Effort to Dismiss Coleman

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The "mouth that roared" will have to defend his ill gotten victory in court!


Al Franken's effort to block Norm Coleman's lawsuit over the U.S. Senate recount was rejected Thursday by a three-judge panel, setting the stage for a trial to begin Monday on the Republican's claims.

State election law doesn't undermine the Senate's constitutional power to later judge the qualifications of its members, the judges said in denying Franken's request to dismiss the election contest, as the lawsuit is called.

The panel also rejected Franken's attempt to limit any court review to verifying math and other technicalities of the recount and canvass, clearing the way for the judges to consider Coleman claims that some votes in Democratic areas were counted twice, that some absentee ballots from GOP areas were wrongly rejected and that there were other irregularities.


Harry Reid may have to wait awhile before he tries to bulldoze Franken into the the Minnesota Senate seat.

Franken had argued that state law and the U.S. Constitution sharply restricted any lawsuit over the results of a U.S. Senate election. But the panel disagreed, saying a court's review of an election "is not limited to the purely ministerial task of ensuring that the tallies from the canvassing board are fee from mathematical error."
Yep! That's the fine sort of legal mind we want writing our laws, keeping the chicanery from public scrutiny or judicial review!

Hat tip Hot Air
Cross posted at Say Anything

Friday Night Babe

Tonight's FNB is actress Jennifer Biel.

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Forty-Eight Medal of Honor Recipients Stood Up By the Obamas

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President Dwight David Eisenhower, no stranger to the military or to honor, started the Salute to Heroes Inaugural Ball 56 years ago when I was just a tad. Every President since has put in an inaugural appearance there until this year.

Blackfive reports:
Our new CINC attended quite a few gatherings last night, but... the Salute To Heroes Inaugural Ball was not one of them. For the first time in 56 years, a newly-inaugurated president has not attended the ball begun by President Eisenhower. 14 presidents later, a snub.

Go check it out over there- FORTY-EIGHT MoH recipients were in attendance. People- that's HALF of the recipients that are still alive, and darn well nearly all that are physically able to attend events.


Half the living Medal of Honor recipients were there to get a glimpse of their new Commander-in-Chief. You'll know, if you've been following the Medal of Honor recipients that we honor here weekly, some of those men aren't "spring chickens" (actually, having received The Medal, they're no chickens at all! ) and some still suffer from the wounds they received in combat. Some of them may not be around for the next inaugural, when we can only hope that the next President sworn in takes a moment to remember who kept this country free enough to have elections!

The LA Times, on Presidential appearances:
The real draw of the official balls is that the first couple are obligated to appear. Season after season, whether there are five (Kennedy’s) or 14 (Clinton’s second inaugural), they show up. But do the math: Their stay at each ball is, by necessity, fleeting—a matter of minutes. They walk onstage, they wave hello, the president says something moderately funny, maybe they dance briefly, then they wave goodbye.
(emphasis mine)

One dullard on another blog, tried to give the lame excuse that Obama "wasn't Santa Claus" (only he couldn't even spell that right!), so he couldn't be everywhere at once! Funny! It never stopped any of the other fourteen presidents from putting in an appearance! Even Bill Clinton.

It occurred to me just a little while ago, that Clinton had just as many balls to attend as Obama. How sad a commentary is it when you fall behind Bill Clinton in respecting the military?

Quote du jour

Those who will not reason, are bigots, those who cannot, are fools, and those who dare not, are slaves.

-Lord Byron

Thursday, January 22, 2009

This Last Week's Poll

This Last Week's Poll: George Bush Spent $40 Million on his inauguration, the press had a cow. Barack Obama appears to be spending $150+ million, the press snoozes.

The overwhelming majority of you voted for
The media is in the tank for Obama. (73%)

But, Obama's inauguration is more historic-al-er! (5 %)
(Yes, I know there's no such word!)


Tell poor people that eating is over rated! ( 15%)

And the inimitable:
"Ron Paul" was blanked. got one vote! (Someone came in and stuffed the ballot box before my summary published!)

A spokesperson for Mr. Paul was unavailable to comment if a recount would be demanded!
Heh.

Thank you for your participation!
Not a scientific poll. Respondents are self selecting. Questions are drawn from fortune cookies, hieroglyphics and tomorrow’s New York Times.

Please make your opinion known in this week's poll.

Trashing DC

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I can see the change, but where's the hope?


Washington trash trucks hauled away at least 130 tons of garbage after the inauguration of President Obama, with more to go. National Park Service workers picked up almost 100 tons on the Mall and near the White House.


*Sigh* Finally, an environmental President!

Hat tip Wizbang
Cross posted at Say Anything

Fare thee well, President Bush!

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Stolen shamelessly from Lady Cincinnatus

Quote du jour

“The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in the insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding.”

-Justice Brandeis, quoted by Mark Steyn

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

The Medal of Honor

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Pharmacist's Mate George Edward Wahlen


Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the 2d Battalion, 26th Marines, 5th Marine Division, during action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima in the Volcano group on 3 March 1945. Painfully wounded in the bitter action on 26 February, Wahlen remained on the battlefield, advancing well forward of the frontlines to aid a wounded marine and carrying him back to safety despite a terrific concentration of fire. Tireless in his ministrations, he consistently disregarded all danger to attend his fighting comrades as they fell under the devastating rain of shrapnel and bullets, and rendered prompt assistance to various elements of his combat group as required. When an adjacent platoon suffered heavy casualties, he defied the continuous pounding of heavy mortars and deadly fire of enemy rifles to care for the wounded, working rapidly in an area swept by constant fire and treating 14 casualties before returning to his own platoon. Wounded again on 2 March, he gallantly refused evacuation, moving out with his company the following day in a furious assault across 600 yards of open terrain and repeatedly rendering medical aid while exposed to the blasting fury of powerful Japanese guns. Stouthearted and indomitable, he persevered in his determined efforts as his unit waged fierce battle and, unable to walk after sustaining a third agonizing wound, resolutely crawled 50 yards to administer first aid to still another fallen fighter. By his dauntless fortitude and valor, Wahlen served as a constant inspiration and contributed vitally to the high morale of his company during critical phases of this strategically important engagement. His heroic spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of overwhelming enemy fire upheld the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.


Pharmacist's Mate Wahlen: We humbly salute you and thank you for your service.

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Hat tip Home of Heroes




http://www.homeofheroes.com/moh/living/living_war_wwii.html

There are over a hundred living MoH recipients today. Their names and their stories should not be forgotten. My mission is to honor one of those heroes here each week, and salute them for their courage and sacrifice.

Quote du jour

The history of our race, and each individual's experience, are sown thick with evidence that a truth is not hard to kill and that a lie told well is immortal.

-Mark Twain

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Thank you, President Bush!

There's a site here where you can show your appreciation to President George W. Bush for his years of service to our country!

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Show him that the American people appreciate him more than the ankle biters of the MSM will ever let on!


Hat tip Jammie Wearing Fool
Cross Posted at Say Anything

Obama Sans Teleprompter Muffs Oath



Did Di Fi say "Oaf of office"? Heh.

Somebody get this bonehead a teleprompter!

Hat tip Say Anything

William "the Flag Dancer" Ayers Turned Back at Canadian Border

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I always knew I liked Canadians!


Dateline Toronto: An American education professor, one of the founders of a radical 1960s group known as the Weather Underground, which was responsible for a number of bombings in the United States in the early 1970s, was turned back at the Canadian border last night.

Dr. William Ayers, a professor of education at the University of Illinois-Chicago and a leader in educational reform, was scheduled to speak at the Centre for Urban Schooling at University of Toronto's Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. But that appearance has now been temporarily cancelled.

"I don't know why I was turned back," Ayers said in an interview this morning from Chicago. "I got off the plane like everyone else and I was asked to come over to the other side. The border guards reviewed some stuff and said I wasn't going to be allowed into Canada. To me it seems quite bureaucratic and not at all interesting ... If it were me I would have let me in. I couldn't possibly be a threat to Canada."


What do you think, folks? The Centre for Urban Schooling got a sudden case of good sense? If it were me, Bill, I'd let you in but not take you back! Other than not wanting to be seen as an act of aggression towards our friends to the North!

Hat tip Sister Toldjah
Cross Posted at Say Anything

Quote du jour

"We are all wanderers on this earth.
Our hearts are full of wonder and our souls
are deep with dreams."
-anonymous

Monday, January 19, 2009

"Joe Had First Pick on VP or Sec State"

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And here we longed for the days of ol' foot in mouth Joe! Seems his bride matches him toe to toe!


We thought no one could out gaffe the human gaffe machine, Joe Biden, though Barack Obama certainly tried his best during the campaign. Here is an indication that the Bidens were a match made in heaven!

During the taping of the Oprah Winfrey show today, Dr. Jill Biden said that her husband, the vice president-elect, was given a choice of being either vice president or secretary of State.


This cannot be good news to Mrs. Clinton after being a no show for veep, to discover she was sloppy seconds to Joe Biden for Sec State as well!

Mrs. Biden interjected: "Joe had the choice of being secretary of State or vice president." She then seemed to realize she'd said something she wasn't supposed to have said.

Her husband laughed. Said Oprah, trying to continue the conversation, "You said, 'Joe...?'"

"I said, 'Joe if you are secretary of State you will be away, I'll never see you,'" Mrs. Biden said. "We will see you at a state dinner once in a while. But I said if you are vice president, the entire family, because they worked so hard for the election, they can be involved ... They can come to our home, they can go to events, they can be with us and that is what is important to us."

Oprah turned to the VP-elect, asking "Were you worried about being number 2 because you wanted to be number one?"

"I think Barack was worried about it," the former senator said with a laugh.


Mr. and Mrs. Gaffemeister will be attending the inaugural in matching doghouses! Heh.

Hat tip Michelle Malkin
Cross Posted at Say Anything

Quote du jour

Racism isn't born, folks, it's taught. I have a two-year-old son. You know what he hates? Naps! End of list.

-Dennis Leary

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Propaganda Pro-HAMAS Style

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Note the swastikas that represent the helicopter's rotors,
because everyone knows what Nazis the Jews have always been!


This picture was taken at a UK pro-HAMAS rally. I am continually amazed that, as Ann Coulter points out in her new book, it is often the victims who are accused of being the oppressors. The Jews, who suffered millions of casualties under Hitler's regime, are the last people on the planet to be compared with the Nazis...unless like the Nazis, you need to dehumanize them before you destroy them! In which case, these HAMAS (Hide Among Mosques And Schools) sympathizers know exactly what they're doing!

Note, too, the bomb "Made in USA", complete with American flag, being dropped on the Giant Baby Bottle of Blood! (I would think, a baby bottle of blood as big as a helicopter could be a frightening thing, but who am I to judge? )

Would it be too much to ask these people to get off their duffs and protest all the rockets being fired into Israel which bring about the Israeli response? There is video posted of Israeli pilots who actively avoided civilian casualties while hunting down the animals that target their families. You can see it here. So, the image of Israelis bombing children is merely a base and baseless calumny from the pro-HAMAS protesters. But, as propaganda, to the "victims" who are in reality the oppressors dedicated to wiping Israel off the map, no lie is too big. No slander is too great. This is merely another in a long line of lies.


Hat tip Weasel Zippers
Cross Posted at Say Anything

Quote du jour

The shoe-chucking incident is a watershed in the middle east, signaling a massive change for the better.

An Arab man tossed his shoes at a head of state, and he was not killed; his family was not arrested; the press reported on both sides of the issue; people were allowed to protest in support of the shoe chucker, as is their right; and the Iraqi prime minister did not interfere in the prosecution of the man.

Arabs all over the region have seen that Iraq is now a free country, due to the man who was the target of the shoe throwing.

The shoe chucker did a huge service to President Bush and our troops. He proved definitively that Operation Iraqi Freedom is a success, and the war is won.

-Tom W. in a comment on Gateway Pundit

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Rush Limbaugh Interviews Ann Coulter

I heard this on the radio the other day, but couldn't find the video until now...









Hat tip Robert 108

Flag of the Obama Nation

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57 Stars?


*Sigh* Yes, you're happy. We get that! Does disrespecting the American flag have to go hand in hand with that? Michelle Malkin notes:

US Flag Code: “The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature.”


This is worse than the Obamanites picturing the flag upside down at their convention. You'd think if he spent 160 million bucks he could hire one guy to look up flag etiquette and maybe spread the word among his followers?

Hat tip Michelle Malkin
Cross Posted at Say Anything

A Little Saturday Night Music

Ry Cooder - Maria Elena

Coast Guard Video of Hudson River Rescue



Nothing happens the first two minutes of the video. Gives you some appreciation for what law enforcement must endure, scouring hours of surveillance tapes looking for a few minutes of criminal activity!

Then, the question in my mind was: How do you approach a floating airplane? From the front or the rear? Do these guys ever get to practice this, or just make it up as they go along?

Then, there's the second boat that looked like he was going to throw up a significant wake to hit the "raft with wings". He either pulled up or was waved off (no pun intended!) and then took a slower approach.

Fascinating stuff!

Hat tip LGF
Cross Posted at Say Anything

Obama Proves the Only True Wind Power is From Politicians

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You've heard of "performance art"? This is Non-performance art!


Why am I bringing this up again, you ask? It's in the news, baby! Barack Obama is using windbag power to inflate expectations of what wind power will do for the country. Photo op aside, the efficiency and drawbacks of wind power make it unrealistic to save our economy or our ecology. It takes energy to manufacture all those windmills sitting idle, like oil derricks on the crest of the hills. As an old friend of mine was fond of saying:
There's nothing free in Waikiki!


President-elect Barack Obama will call for action to stimulate the economy at an Ohio company that manufactures very large bolts for wind turbine towers, according to announcements by the President-elect's team and information received by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). The company, Cardinal Fastener & Specialty Co., Inc., is based in Bedford Heights, Ohio, and the visit will take place Friday, January 16, as the President-elect travels from Illinois to Washington, D.C., for his Inauguration.

"We are very excited by the selection," said AWEA CEO Denise Bode. "On that factory floor in Ohio, President-elect Obama will see first-hand how renewable energy creates American manufacturing jobs and helps revitalize our economy.


Bedford Heights is very close to where I lived for the last three years. And windmills are what I have been driving by for the last three or four days...windmills that are not turning at all!
When you listen to what Obama says about "stimulating the economy", I want you to remember those hundreds and thousands of windmills sitting in the Altamont Pass producing zero electricity at the moment. There is a place for wind energy as part of the nation's total energy package, but it's by no means the largest part and it's by no means cheap!

Cross Posted at Say Anything

Quote du jour

"The federal government has taken too much tax money from the people, too much authority from the states, and too much liberty with the Constitution."

-Ronald Wilson Reagan

Friday, January 16, 2009

Video of Israeli Pilots Avoiding Civilian Casualties



Wasted at least three missiles in this video avoiding civilian casualties. Not at all the picture painted by some people!


Hat tip LGF

Red Cross: Israel's Use of White Phosphorus Not Illegal

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Truth will not deter anti-Semites from criticizing, no doubt!


This is a follow up to a story in the Say Anything Reader Blogs: Israel Using Chemical Weapons.
GENEVA – The international Red Cross said Tuesday that Israel has fired white phosphorus shells in its offensive in the Gaza Strip, but has no evidence to suggest it is being used improperly or illegally.

The comments came after a human rights organization accused the Jewish state of using the incendiary agent, which ignites when it strikes the skin and burns straight through or until it is cut off from oxygen. It can cause horrific injuries.

The International Committee of the Red Cross urged Israel to exercise "extreme caution" in using the incendiary agent, which is used to illuminate targets at night or create a smoke screen for day attacks, said Peter Herby, the head of the organization's mines-arms unit.

"In some of the strikes in Gaza it's pretty clear that phosphorus was used," Herby told The Associated Press. "But it's not very unusual to use phosphorus to create smoke or illuminate a target. We have no evidence to suggest it's being used in any other way."


Ironically, the last sentence in the article on the ICRC is:
White phosphorus is not considered a chemical weapon.

I'm sure the author of the Reader blog will print a retraction or correction of his earlier story.

Hat tip LGF
Cross Posted at Say Anything

Friday Night Babe

Tonight's FNB is Pauley Perrette, of NCIS fame. Evidence to follow...

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Still Separated at birth?

Last August, I noted the similarities in the two logos:

Separated at birth?

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Now it seems Pepsi is celebrating the Obama inauguration with a variation of both!

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Guess Rush isn't the only one on the cutting edge of societal evolution!

Quote du jour

Ronald Reagan had a vision of America. Barack Obama has a vision of Barack Obama.

-Thomas Sowell

Thursday, January 15, 2009

This Last Week's Poll

This Last Week's poll: "Today, the Supreme Court will confer over Barack Obama's Birth Certificate. If it turns out that Mr. Obama was not born in the US:"
...did some brisk business this week! The overwhelming choice was:

"Matters a lot. The law is the law. He's outta here!" at (89%)

"Undecided. Don't know if I really want a Constitutional crisis just now!" (3%)


"Doesn't matter. We elected him, didn't we?" (1%)

And the inimitable:
"Ron Paul" (5%)


Thank you for your participation!
Not a scientific poll. Respondents are self selecting. Questions are drawn from fortune cookies, hieroglyphics and tomorrow’s New York Times.

Please make your opinion known in this week's poll.

The Anti-Jefferson Ron Paul

Hamas was encouraged by Israel? Established by Israel? He says he's not taking sides, but all his remarks seem to come down on the side against Israel. Why is that, I wonder? Perhaps, his antipathy for Israel or at least the US support of Israel is what attracts some of the skinheads and Neo-Nazis to Dr. Paul? Crackpot. Crack pipe. Coincidence? I think not! Hat tip Transsylvania Phoenix Cross posted at Say Anything

Alternative Programming for Inauguration Day

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This is only a movie!


According to my friend Rob Port, over at Say Anything:

According to the liberal media Obama’s inauguration will supposedly be the greatest moment in American history. HBO is carrying it for free on its cable channels. MSNBC is carrying it in movie theaters.


And, I thought, "This is why we have DVD's and DVR's for when there's nothing good on!"
So, if you're not in the mood for the Obama lovefest live, here's some alternate programming, with at least a hint of the presidential mixed in:

Murder at 1600 A good film (Warning: There is some nudity at the beginning. May not be suitable for the kiddies!) by Wesley Snipes in his pre-IRS problem days. With the ever watchable Diane Lane, and a nice performance by Dennis Miller. Ronny Cox is the President.

Air Force One Harrison Ford is the President in this thriller about the eponymous hijacking. A little intense in spots, but good family fare.

Independence Day Aliens invade. Jeff Goldblum creates a virus for a computer, whose operating system he's never seen, based on extra-terrestrial technology that he couldn't possible know anything about, based on the premise that aliens advanced enough to make intergalactic space travel aren't smart enough to have anti-virus programs on their computers. Still, a lot of fun if you don't look behind the curtain! Bill Pullman is the President.

Swing Vote As I wrote in a recent mini review:
Swing Vote has a charming cast of characters, starting with Bud’s 12 yr. old daughter Molly, played by Madeline Carroll.
The movie skewers politicians who will do anything to get elected and the news media who would do anything to garner ratings and get a story. Throw in a little morality play of an apathetic voter and you have a pleasant evening’s entertainment!
Kelsey Grammer is the President.

There you have it! Murder in the White House, blowing up the White House, buying votes to get to the White House, and hijacking Air Force One! What more could you ask for in an inaugural day's entertainment?

Cross posted at Say Anything

Quote du jour

The two most common elements in the universe are Hydrogen and stupidity.


- Harlan Ellison

Quote du jour

"Books are preserved minds."

-Japanese proverb

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The Medal of Honor

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1st. Lt. James Elms Swett


Citation:
For extraordinary heroism and personal valor above and beyond the call of duty, as division leader of Marine Fighting Squadron 221 with Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, in action against enemy Japanese aerial forces in the Solomons Islands area, 7 April 1943. In a daring flight to intercept a wave of 150 Japanese planes, 1st Lt. Swett unhesitatingly hurled his 4-plane division into action against a formation of 15 enemy bombers and personally exploded 3 hostile planes in midair with accurate and deadly fire during his dive. Although separated from his division while clearing the heavy concentration of antiaircraft fire, he boldly attacked 6 enemy bombers, engaged the first 4 in turn and, unaided, shot down all in flames. Exhausting his ammunition as he closed the fifth Japanese bomber, he relentlessly drove his attack against terrific opposition which partially disabled his engine, shattered the windscreen and slashed his face. In spite of this, he brought his battered plane down with skillful precision in the water off Tulagi without further injury. The superb airmanship and tenacious fighting spirit which enabled 1st Lt. Swett to destroy 7 enemy bombers in a single flight were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.



1st. Lt. Swett: We humbly salute you and thank you for your service.

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Hat tip Home of Heroes




http://www.homeofheroes.com/moh/living/living_war_wwii.html

There are over a hundred living MoH recipients today. Their names and their stories should not be forgotten. My mission is to honor one of those heroes here each week, and salute them for their courage and sacrifice.

Update: According to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society webpage, I'm sorry to report that 1st. Lt. Swett passed away four days after this was posted. RIP.

Obama Brings "Change" to Iran

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Maybe they're using Zippos rather than book matches? That would be change!


For all the Pollyannas who believed that once the "hated" George Bush was gone and a "progressive" politician was President, the world would fall over themselves loving us, here's a little dose of what we conservatives like to call "reality".
The picture, burning Obama in effigy, was taken in front of the Swiss embassy in Iran in the last 24 hours.

On a positive note, maybe the soot and pollution from burning Obama in effigy might drift back to Minnesota and bring those poor people some relief? Heh.

Hat tip Wizbang
Cross Posted at Say Anything

Quote du jour

Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company.

-George Washington

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

"Set the Flamingo Free!"


Minnesotans For Global Warming


Having just left snowy Ohio, I can identify with this song.

To all my friends back in Ohio and North Dakota please stop reading now.

(It hit 70° today here in Northern California!) Heh.

Hat tip Tom

"America is Back"

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My question is: When did we leave?


The very French looking John Kerry (btw, did you know that he served in Viet Nam?) presiding over the U S Senate Foreign Relations Committee oozed the following statement (in part):

We're delighted to welcome Senator Clinton, Secretary of State- designate. In Senator Clinton, we have a nominee who is extraordinarily capable and smart, an individual with the global stature and influence to help shape events. She will take office on a first-name basis not just with numerous heads of state, but also with the billions of people in every corner of the globe that the Obama Administration hopes to reach, inspire, and influence. Her presence overseas will send a strong signal that America is back.


Back from where? Stronger than freeing Afghanistan and Iraq with American blood and treasure? What a maroon!
Did someone wake the junior senator from Taxachusetts before his nap was finished? This committee meeting was a gigantic snooze love fest with Democrats bestowing accolades upon one another rather than grilling the nominee over anything of substance.


Get ready for four years of squishy liberalism at its finest!


Cross Posted at Say Anything

Quote du jour

"I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do."

-Robert A. Heinlein

Monday, January 12, 2009

"Hide Among Mosques And Schools"

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Steve Breen , San Diego Union-Tribune


Fitting.

Quote du jour

If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.

-George S. Patton

Sunday, January 11, 2009

"He Passed the Test"


Bush 41 on Bush 43


Hat tip Hot Air

USS George H. W. Bush Commissioned

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To the delight of leftists everywhere, the name of George H. W. Bush will be with us for a long time! Heh.


The Washington Times gives a couple of reasons why they may have named a carrier after this man:

Mr. Bush, 84, is a decorated Navy pilot in World War II. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Mr. Bush, who was then 18, decided to join the Navy. After finishing his 10-month course, he became the youngest naval aviator to that date.

Mr. Bush flew the Avenger torpedo bomber in combat from the carrier USS San Jacinto. He nearly lost his life during an attack on enemy installations near Chichi Jima in September 1944, when his plane was hit by enemy fire and heavily damaged. Nevertheless, he completed a strafing run on the target before bailing out of the doomed craft.

Mr. Bush parachuted into the sea and was rescued by the Navy submarine USS Finback.

Mr. Bush flew 58 combat missions. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals and the Presidential Unit Citation, which was awarded to his squadron based on the USS San Jacinto.


Hat tip Old Retired Petty Officer
Cross posted at Say Anything

Gary Sinise on the Brutality of Saddam Hussein



Pictures speak louder than words. Maybe some of these images will convince some of Uncle Saddam's apologists that they were wrong? One can only hope!

Hat tip MsUnderestimated

Quote du jour

"Hamas is a mental illness masquerading as a nationalist movement."
-Mark Steyn

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Hope Floats. Pirates? Not so much!

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What the well dressed Somali pirate is wearing these days.


At least, they should be!

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Five of the Somali pirates who released a hijacked oil-laden Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a reported $3 million ransom after their small boat capsized, a pirate and a relative of one of the dead men said Saturday.

Pirate Daud Nure said the boat with eight people on board overturned in a storm after dozens of pirates left the Sirius Star following a two-month standoff in the Gulf of Aden that ended Friday.

He said five people died and three people reached shore after swimming for several hours. Daud Nure was not part of the pirate operation but knew those involved.


Somehow, I have the same problem feeling sorry for incompetent pirates as I do incompetent terrorists. Bon voyage, boys!