PontifexExMachina.com

Pontifex says why we need to be in Iraq.

PontifexExMachina.com: "The people of Iraq, at least the Shia south, seem to feel a sense of loss about what they refer to as '91, the year of the Gulf War. When America, liberating Kuwait from Saddam, fell short of liberating them as well, dooming them to 13 years of greater sadness.
It's important to remember: the Iraqis don't get to redeploy. There's no coming home; they are home. And what they want and need is to have a today better than yesterday, with a better tomorrow they can belive in. They're sad to see us go.
The people screaming 'U.S. out of Iraq!' are advocating nothing short of a war crime. Some Iraqis resent the occupation, yes. But leagues more of them fear its end, if it comes before a healthy Iraq can manage without it.

The people in Iraq are only human. The media focuses on the rich/powerful/radicals. His blog entry shows us what is happening to the common Joe over there.

I feel for those people. I hope it never happens on our land.

I am so proud of what our military is doing over there. And I don't mean the big brass that are the decision makers. I mean, the grunts, the foot soldiers, the men and women on the front line.

May their trip home be smooth and sweet and soon.

Realist

US News / Special: Empire Builders / Neocon quiz | Christian Science Monitor

I stole this quiz from Acidman.

Here are my results:

Realist

Realists…

Are guided more by practical considerations than ideological vision
Believe US power is crucial to successful diplomacy - and vice versa
Don't want US policy options unduly limited by world opinion or ethical considerations
Believe strong alliances are important to US interests
Weigh the political costs of foreign action
Believe foreign intervention must be dictated by compelling national interest

Historical realist: President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Modern realist: Secretary of State Colin Powell


I agree with most of this. And yes, I am a great admirer of Colin Powell.

Deputy Sheriif Shot

Deputy Wounded

My daughter's dad is a deputy sheriff in Nevada. He is on the SWAT Team there. (They don't call it that, but you know what I mean!)

Anyway, I always used to worry about him when I lived out there. His position was to be the first officer in the door. I used to sit up at night waiting for word from him. Always made me nervous when he was out on one of those calls.

Police officers make more sacrifices than most people realize.

I respect anyone that has the balls becomes a law enforcement official.

Another Heartbreak

The Man In Black has passed on.

He was an amazing man. He touched so many lives. It was most impressive that he had such a wonderful career, and then made a come back in a time when most kids had never heard of him.

I hope he is walking in peace now.

Blessed Be, Johnny Cash.

John Ritter Dies

This just breaks my heart.

I loved John Ritter. He was a funny man and played the bumbling doofus so well.

Blessed Be, John Ritter.

Rain!!

It is finally raining in Southern Minnesota!! Yea!!!

We have not seen rain since the first of August. The drought is temporarily over.

Of course, this rain is only supposed to last until tomorrow night. Then it will be nice and dry and hot again.

This is Minnesota!! It is not supposed to be 85-90 in September.

I will have to remember to read this post in January. It will be -50 and blowing ice. I'll be wishing for this 85-90 degree weather!

LOL!!!!!

Fallen Comrades

Lt Smash has a great post about a fallen comrade.

Once upon a time I was also in the Navy.

My brother also served in the Navy. And although I never saw action, my brother did.

K was in the Navy when they bombed the Beirut Barracks. Remember that? I have an entire scrapbook on that time.

He came home to tell us stories about bullet holes in planes. And the politicians were on television saying there were no problems and no one had done any shooting. Liars.

I was proud to serve in the Navy. As was my brother. My uncle. My friends. And my (ex)husband.

As Lee Greenwood so eloquently put it:

I'm Proud To Be An American
Where at least I know I'm free;
And I won't forget the men who died,
Who gave that right to me.

And I'll gladly stand up next to you
And defend her still today.
'Cause there ain't no doubt
I love that land

God Bless The USA!

My #1 result for the SelectSmart.com selector, Who Is Your Weblogger Twin?, is Caroline of Prolific.org

George W Bush

I still don't approve of George W Bush as a President.

He was a solid and determined Commander-In-Chief. I approve of that.

And tonight, I am seeing George W Bush, American. He has gained a lot of my respect tonight. He is showing himself as a real person. I have never doubted how he felt about this Country, and tonight just shows I was right.

But he is showing that he is a real person. Not just a politician trying to be a person.

I am impressed. That is something I never thought I would be in regards to George W.

9/11/01

I am sitting here watching the footage from 9/11/01. Listening to the President talk about what he was feeling.

I have just discovered I do not have to see the video to watch those buildings fall. I automatically close my eyes when it comes to that footage, but I can still see it behind my eyelids. It still makes me sob out loud.

Not just pretty little tears coming down my face, but great, gasping sobs.

i can remember the feelings I had when I watched the Twin Towers fall that morning. The feelings of anger, bewilderment, sadness and then the overwhelming need to avenge those who died.

I read about people looking at things differently now. Yes, I see things differently. I look for escape routes in evry building, every crowd.

I am constantly on the lookout for something "out of the ordinary".

Will it ever end? Probably not.

Will I ever feel safe? I feel safe now. As long as I have my fellow Americans around me.

God Bless America and the people who call themselves "Americans".

Opus Returns

This is the best news I have received in a very long time.

I loved Bill The Cat and cried when I heard he wasn't going to be around anymore.

Long live Berkeley Breathed!!

In A Word

So, this is simple.

In a word...
Sum up your thoughts about me in one word and leave it in a comment.
Then put this on your journal to see what everyone else thinks of you.

Stolen from Mel.

Feeling Sorry For Myself

Okay, so I was bummin' pretty bad last night. It has been the weekend/week from hell the last few days.

I think all the stress from T passing, to R coming back to my life, to P being a total dick is just finally starting to get to me.

I'm feeling a little better today, but then it is only 7am.

A big thank you to Dax! I love his blog and read it daily. Nice to see that is returned.

Chin up. Things will improve. Life is a wheel.

Bleah!!

I've got the blahs.

All I wanna do is curl up in a corner and cry. What I would really like to do is curl up in some loving arms. Too bad that is not going to happen.

Harmony, where are you when I need you?

Blah

I have nothing to talk about. Not that anyone will notice because I have no visitors to my blog.

So, :P to all of you.

Sports Blunders

We are watching the Sports blunder special before the NFL game tonight. They just showed a football ref get clocked by a high school player.

My dad was a high school football ref for many years.

The story he told most was about the ref that got squished between two linebackers. He got hit so hard, it made his heart stop beating. They had to do CPR on the poor man.

He never ref'd again.

I could use their help

Think they would come help me find my class ring?

It's at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. (Long story).

When I was in the fourth grade....

...we moved from a small town in Eastern Oregon to a (somewhat) larger town in Western Oregon.

My brother, K, who is five years older than me, immediately fell in love with a local girl named T. She had a sister my age. We all became great friends and both families got along very well. I think I spent as much time at their house as I did at my own house.

K & T got married shortly after graduation and K joined the Navy. They lived in Florida for a while, then K got out of the Navy and they moved back to Oregon. There was a lot of on again/off again romance there.

I lived with them for aprt of my Junior year in high school. Then lived with T again after I graduated. By this time, the split had become permanent. But my house had been robbed and T was alone with two little boys.

After a few months, I joined the Navy and I only saw T a couple times after that.

Shortly after I moved out, T got sick. She had to have a total hysterectomy. She just seemed to recover from that and she started getting sick again.

They found cancer in her lymph nodes. She was sick for a long time and then went into remission. She was in remission for years. Then it would come back, then go away.

This last time, it did not go away. I received notice this morning that T has two weeks to live. She has Non-Hodgkins type Lymphoma.

I have lost grandparents in the past. But they were in their 90's. I've never lost someone I was close to. I'm not sure how I am going to explain this to my children who only just met T a few years ago.

Make sure you hug everyone you love today. And tell them you love them. Even if you have to do it via cyberspace. At least you will let them know.

Bridges Set On Fire

'Bridges of Madison County' bridge set on fire

This is just wrong. How could anyone do such an awful thing? You have to think it is just some stupid kids out trying to get attention. Probably bored.

So instead of doing something constructive, let's be destructive. Those bridges had survived floods, tornadoes and 130 years of Mother Nature. Then some asswipe comes along and torches them because they are bored.

I hope they flog those asshats!

Duh!

Can you say Duh!

How Old Am I?

My inner child is sixteen years old!

Life's not fair! It's never been fair, but while
adults might just accept that, I know
something's gotta change. And it's gonna
change, just as soon as I become an adult and
get some power of my own.


How Old is Your Inner Child?
brought to you by Quizilla

Unconscious Mutterings

LunaNiña.com | Unconscious Mutterings Home

Bookends:: Twins
Compliment:: Colors
Gutter:: Leaves
Obsession:: Sex
Heavy:: Thoughts
Real:: Coke
Disposable:: Razors
Breeze:: Wind
Work:: Sucks
Sweetheart:: P

(Thanks to Mel for the link)

TWO TOUGH QUESTIONS

Question 1:
If you knew a woman who was pregnant, who had 8 kids already, three who were deaf, two who were blind, one mentally retarded, and she had syphilis, would you recommend that she have an abortion?

Read the next question before looking at the answer for this one.

Question 2:
It is time to elect a new world leader, and only your vote counts.

Here are the facts about the three leading candidates.

Candidate A -
Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologists. He's had two Mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks 8 to10 martinis a day.

Candidate B -
He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening.

Candidate C -
He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't smoke, drinks an occasional beer and never cheated on his wife.

Which of these candidates would be your Choice?
Decide first, no peeking, then scroll down for the answer.
----------------------------------------------

Candidate A: is Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Candidate B: is Winston Churchill.
Candidate C: is Adolph Hitler.

And, by the way, the answer to the abortion question: If you said yes, you just killed Beethoven. Pretty interesting isn't it? Makes a person think before judging someone.

Never be afraid to try something new.

Remember:
Amateurs built the Ark
Professionals built the Titanic

And in case you never saw this one......
Can you imagine working for a company that has a little more than 500 employees and has the following statistics:

* 29 have been accused of spousal abuse

* 7 have been arrested for fraud

* 19 have been accused of writing bad checks

* 117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses

* 3 have done time for assault

* 71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit

* 14 have been arrested on drug-related charges

* 8 have been arrested for shoplifting

* 21 are currently defendants in lawsuits

* 84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year

Can you guess which organization this is? Give up yet?

It's the 535 members of the United States Congress. The same group of idiots that crank out hundreds of new laws each year designed to keep the rest of us in line.

Dumbass Brother

Beer Mary has a story of her dumbass brothers on her site.

At least her dumbass brothers were in their teenage years (I assume) when this happened. My dumbass brother was in his mid-twenties.

While we were growing up, my parents bought a 1976 Chevy Vega Wagon. It was 1970's green and the coolest thing we had ever owned.

After a few years, my parents finally bought a new vehicle and gave K the old Vega. Of course, all of us had learned to drive in it, but since he had been in the Navy, he got the car when he got out of the Navy.

He was living on the coast in Oregon with a couple of buddies when he decided to go on one more drug/alcohol run to Eugene and back.

They had 5 people stuffed in that little Vega. The were doing about 85 on Hwy 101. Now, if you have never been on Hwy 101 on the Oregon Coast, it resembles something like a snake in a spasm. It has more curves than J Lo's butt.

Of course, the whole time they are driving, they are smoking some doobies and chugging alcohol.

All of a sudden, my brother says, they took flight. He just suddenly realized that the car had not turned when he told it to, and they were now airborne.

They landed on the rocks about 10 feet below the road. No big deal, he thought. There were a few minor injuries, but nothing anyone was going to die from. (Thank God for all the alcohol in their systems!) They hiked back up to the road and got a ride into town.

After they (semi) sobered up, they got a tow truck to go get the car. They had left the car high and dry on some rocks. When they returned a few hours later, the car was under six feet of water.

They had landed during low tide and while they were off "sobering up", the tide had come in.

K said they had an awful time getting all their stuff out of it because of all the sand.

That poor car never ran again.

Dumbass brothers.

Word From the Ozarks

Women & Cats

I agree with ALMOST every one of these.

Poor Acidman