2 Real News

This just in from correspondant Gallagher: The president of Mexico announced today that he will be moving to Los Angeles to get closer to his people.

Your Honor, Somebody's Soul IS Corroded...

... and it is your's. It seems Judge Edward Cashman does not believe in punishment because it does not work. He thinks that two months is an appropriate sentence for Mark Hulett and his his molestation (I refuse to use the euphemism, "sexual abuse" in this case) of a girl over a four year period. From the time she was seven until the age of ten, Mark Hulett raped this girl repeatedly...and gets two months! I might could see that IF, and only if it were an isolated incident, but this went on over a four year span!
Yes, I know he also he has to "receive sex offender treatment as rehabilitation" or face life. If it is like most of those type courses all he has to do is show up and behave himself for the duration. Which means that in all likelihood he will be inconvenienced for about eight months total. This compared to the suffering he inflicted over a four year span.
This leads me to the most galling aspect of this story, the judges sanctimoneous lecturing of those in the court. Cashman said, "The one message I want to get through is that anger doesn't solve anything. It just corrodes your soul,". If all is does is lie there and fester and is nursed, that is true. Having said that, what he did was paint the victim and her family as something less than deserving of sympathy. So Judge Cashman no longer believes in punishment. If that is so he is no longer fit to serve on the bench. Apparently, in Judge Cashman's belief that anger accomplishes nothing takes precedence. I would like to remind da judge that was more than just mild annoyance that ended slavery in this country. It was more than being a little miffed that led to civil rights reforms during the Sixties. It took anger to make those steps forward. With a little luck for the people of Vermont, anger will have the positive effect of getting this cretin off the bench.
HT:Michelle Malkin

UPDATED:Cathouse Chat is also covering this

The MSM Stikes Back...In a Sneaky Under-handed Way

In a post onPatterico’s Pontifications written back in spring of LAST YEAR, a person named "Biff" posted the following:

"Patrick Frey? a deputy district attorney? commenting on the LA Times? and people care what you think because….????"
Thing is, he did it just the other day. I guess he thought he was being cute.

Apparently ol' Biff was unaware that that WordPress captures IP addresses and gives them to the site owner. Well guess who owns that IP addy?
Hint: What newspaper is Patterico a very vocal critic of and who owns it? That's riiiiiiiiiiight! The LA Times which is owned by the Tribune Company of Chicago, Illinois. That's right, some hack from Tribune thought he would be cute and post a few dismissive insults around the blog. Kind of a drive-by flip-off. From this point forward, the next time somebody from any Trib-owned paper starts talking about such things as "ethics", "courage" and "journalistic integrity" I will just remember this, chuckle and sing this parody of a jingle used on WGN (another Trib company) during the 80's:

Kids at the Tribune havin' a good time
They're all trollin' Patterico

just a side note, they used actual version that jingle primarily to promote the Bozo the Clown show

Some Thoughts on the "War on Christmas"

Figures that my first post in a while is a link to another blog (I know it's mine, but what the heck)
I put this on My Lewisian Pipe Blog because it is of a largly ecclesiastical nature.

Sore Blogging

I am still a bit sore after this event that benefitted Toys for Tots. We managed to raise a nice truckload of toys (never underestimate the power of a $50 discount on the entry fee is every body on your team donates a toy.)
Unfortunately I came down with something at some point yesterday and was sick at work last night and had to call out today. Will post again when I am feeling more lucid. please resist the temptation of adding "guess we won't be hearing from you again"

New Look

Web Design Graphic Art Miva Merchant Web Design is the source for the new appearance for the House of Opinions. It reminds me of Furman University's rugby jerseys. Just bear with me as I get my blogroll back up. I also apologize for losing all previous comments.
UPDATE:Apparently I didn't lose the previous comments and trackbacks

It Seems You no longer need to Lurk at the Airport

They aren't even waiting and taking the effort to meet them at the airport to spit on them. During and after Viet Nam the anti-war people at least put some effort into goint to airports to spit on returning soldiers. First we see them whooping it up when the 2000th soldier died (sorry guys the pics and rhetoric speak for themselves). Now, thanks to the marvels of modern technology you can do it from the comfort of whatever room you keep your computer. As I was reading Cao's Blog I found a link to this post on A Female Soldier. These words lept out at me making me sick to thinks to the depths some in the anit-war crowd strive for.

I wish to express my congratulations to the hackers, vandals, and anti-war visitors who successfully blocked my ability to post any further tributes to the soldiers. I am sure you find victory in preventing myself and others from having a place to read and pay our respects to the Fallen Female Soldiers, and my brother’s in arms, the brave soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division. I can only imagine your satisfaction in justifying the disgrace of men and women who died for this country. You may not feel it was justified, but they gave their lives believing in what they were doing. Apparently freedom of speech is merely a phrase to you, not something you believe, in unless it applies to you.

Please read the rest at the link above.

I scrolled down and found the comments referred to. The biggest culprit is some ...I know that "troll" is the phrase being used in reference to this person thus far, but I think it is too weak...oh well, we'll stick with "troll" til I think of something better. As I was saying, the biggest culprit was some troll calling him/her/itself "Amanda" (which I think is even more of an efront as I once had a girlfriend in collefe named Amanda). Here is some of what this blogging tubgirl was spewing:

"Do you not feel guilty that you are helping in the killing of innocent Iraqis - what did they do to deserve what has happened to them?
You can always choose not to go.
As for prayers and sympathy to your family - forget it!
And when you get back and realise all the death and destruction (which you helped to cause) is a complete waste - dont say you have not been warned" [btw, that is the entire comment, can't cry, "out of context"]

Just to show that ol' Mandy isn't drive-by troll this was posted later"

"If you think you are doing an important job for your country, just look at how much you or your family will get compensated for your death or injury.

Now tell me the President thinks what you are doing is important.

Our country needs idiots like you so we can over-run other countries and take their natural resources [emphasis added]"

Then another clown calling itself "Christians for Cheap Oil" chimed in as well.
These two cretins (as well as the population of Kos and DU) have every right to oppose the war...but it certainly belies their claim that they support the soldiers and oppose the mission. They just couldn't wait for them to arrive at the airport to start spitting on them.

UPDATE: Others have picked up on this and it looks like an all out blogburst brewing.
I will be posting those I discover to be participating.
Cao's Blog
In the Right Place
Whizbang
Small Town Vetran
Pirates' Cove
Random Numbers
Freedom Folks

UPDATE II: Just a random thought, if these folks' IP's could be traced to their employers' computers? I think they might be interested to see what their employees are up to.

If It is a Lie for One...

...it's a lie for the first one to say it!



Sorry, but you can't call it a lie for one and not the other. I think both men believed the intel that was before them and acted in that they believed to be the appropriate manner.

Thank you, Michelle Malkin

Thank You, Beth

Comic book fan that I am I followed the link to this site that I found in My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy and spent more time than I intended looking at all that stuff and reading the hilarious commentary that accompanied. Now I am wayyyyy behind schedule.

Thank You

I am the son of a veteran (USMC). He had served before I was born so I don't know the sacrifices that many military families make except as an observer. These brave men and women put themselves between the enemies and their families, friends and countless people who they will never meet. Whether they come back or not, we owe them a great deal as they are reminders that the freedoms we enjoy are not free. There is a price, and our veterans put themselves on the line to defend them.
Thank you, vets.

C'mon down to South Park and Meet Some Friends of Mine

Between Samantha Burns and My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy I just had to try this:




Try your hand at it at Planearium

BIg Surprise Here

Jimmy Carter, author of the please-don't-hurt-us foreign policy that worked oh so well in the seventies, is on the Bush-lied bandwagon again. This is the same guy who thinks the Revolutionary War was unnecessary but the [American] colonists were a bunch of hot-heads who forced the issue. Mr. Carter, you've got your Nobel Prize, now please go drift off into the obscurity you so richly deserve and stop with the, "Hey, I'm over here" routine, it is old. Very old.

Blogthings - Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 10 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

Hail Scarlet and the Grey!

My alma mater, Newberry College, the smallest school in the NCAA that plays football, has respectfully told the NCAA to "stick it". Our athletic teams nickname is the "Indians" and as many of you know the NCAA is now selectively enforcing a new rule that bars such names from postseason play or hosting post season play. Like Florida State, Illinois and Utah we appealed. Unlike FSU, IU and UU our appeal was rejected. Let's face it, they are bigger and bring in more money to the NCAA.
NC president, Mitchell Zais has responded both forcefully and respectfully with a request to revisit the appeal. Here are a few excerpts from the response:

...Pay a visit to Newberry. You’ll not find a student dressed in headdress and Indian garb, dancing and gyrating as if possessed. It has been 20 years since any athletic team had a mascot. You won’t find silly cartoons or demeaning caricatures on hats, uniforms, or playing surfaces. Our primary and secondary logos are a spear and arrowhead. The spear is nearly identical to the one used by Florida State University, an institution no longer on your blacklist....

...Furthermore, by ignoring Newberry College’s self-study on this issue and including us on the list of offending schools, the NCAA has declared us incapable of making a fair and ethical decision...

...What’s next? A proscription against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish as demeaning to persons of Irish descent? Condemnation of all schools with Crusader nicknames as insulting to Christians or Muslims? Censure of the blue hose-wearing Highlanders of South Carolina’s Presbyterian College as offensive to people of Scottish ancestry? ...

...Already the animal rights groups are lobbying for our nearest neighbor, the University of South Carolina, to remove the “Fighting Gamecock” as its mascot. South Carolina’s legislature recently enhanced the penalties for participating in cockfighting. It’s legal only in Louisiana and New Mexico, two of the fifty states. This mascot pays tribute to unlawful behavior, ostensibly sanctioned by the NCAA. If the NCAA continues along these lines, it won’t be long before special interest activists voice sufficient outrage against the use of any particular mammal, bird, reptile, insect, tree, or weather disturbance to shift that object to the banned mascot list....

Granted, in the grand scheme of things, college mascots are somewhat trivial. It is, however, the proverbial camel getting it's nose in the tent and Dr. Zais' prophecies are probably a lot closer to coming true than many want to acknowledge.

Okay, Okay, I'll Read the Silly Thing

I have thus far resisted reading The Da Vinci Code. Before the chortling gnostics in the crowd start with "What's the matter, scared of being challenged in your faith?", I have resisted it because it has been done before. Anybody remember Holy Blood, Holy Grail? It appears to be another attempt to lay claim that gnosticism is the real Christianity. Now if I am going to discuss this and contribute to the discussion on LaShawn Barber's Corner I am going to have to read the darn thing.

Went as Far as I could Down that Road.

When the President put Harriet Miers' name up for consideration for the SCOTUS I had to admit a bit of surprise, but it was his appointment to make. I tried to give him and her the benefit of the doubt on the matter. I even castigated fellow conservatives for some of their near vitriolic reaction to the nomination.. As time has passed I now find myself unable to support the monination any longer. Her sketchy answers to members of the judiciary committee, the idea she may stop making courtesy calls on the Hill so she can cram for her hearings. I am no longer comfortable at all with the nomination. At first I was concerned with the appearance of cronyism, as this drags on I feel that there is more than just an appearance.
Mr. President, cut your losses and withdraw the nomination.

Perhaps Mr. Kerry would Care to Explain This.

As you may recall, when the Senate was looking into the possibility that there were still American servicemen in Viet Nam it was John Kerry who did everything he could to put a stop to it. He assured us that there were no more. If that is true, then why are the remains of eleven Marines just now getting here?
HT: Michelle Malkin

Amen, Brother Shayne

Being a United Methodist I was more than a little distressed to learn from Wesley Blog that one of our pastors has been named national chaplain for Planned Parenthood. PP is nothing more than a eugenics organization that was founded by Margret Sanger who was in persuit of a racist program of curtailing the number of births to African americans and other groups she deemed "unworthy of life". In addition, their desire to impede the prosecution of pedophiles and statutory rapists (which has led me to parody their name with "Pedophiles' Pal") makes this relationship between a UM pastor wholly inappropriate. I am beginning to think the UM "committment" to the sanctity of life is of the wink-nudge variety.
Cross posted at My Lewisian Pipe Blog

Prez Apparently Asleep at the Switch Again

While I voted for President Bush twice, I am becoming gladder and gladder there is a 22nd Amendment. Those who know me no I do not like the term limit that was written into the Constitution after FDR. This account from Debbie Schlussel proves once and for all that W is no Reagan. Reagan saw the threat posed by Daniel Ortega and risked his presidency to get him out of office in Nicaragua.
Bush, on the other hand is risking his legacy ignoring our boarders and making appointments that are questionable at best (namely Meyers and Miers). I am afraid Schlussel is right, he is looking more and more like Jimmy Carter. Ignoring real threats, going to the mat for people who don't deserve it and leaving himself open to the accusation of cronyism.
W, I want to support you, but you are making it hard these days.

You'd Think He had Nominated Michael Moore

I have been reading with some amusement, and no little bemusement, the reaction to President Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers to be Associate Justice on the USSC replacing Sandra Day O'Connor. And I am not talking about the reaction from the left. I am tired of the let's-jump-ship-if-we-don't-get-what-we-want mentality among some of my fellow Republicans and/or conservatives. It reminds me of the mentality of the country club Republicans that had a snit a few years back and supported Democrat "Jackpot Jim" Hodges; an incompetent boob if ever there was one.
I have just one question for the whiners: who do you think is your best chance to give you something even close to what you want in a USSC justice? Second, what are you basing your gripes on? It seems to me some of you are letting your imaginations run wild. If the confirmation hearings turn up something objectionable I will react accordingly, but until then let's see what shakes out of the tree and oput away the tar and feathers until we see if they are needed.
Also Read:
My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy