Since my household has been overrun with HALO 2 Madness!!! I found this pretty funny. 

UPDATE: I just noticed that my link of the dem's map that I linked below is no longer there. I even went to the Rolling Stone site and clicked on their link to it and it is gone. Could it be that they realized it really did look like a deep sea fish....or that it had no credibility?...hmmmm.....
For those who missed it, it was like your 1st grader's drawing of the U.S. but with a drawing with alot of gas and more blue than was obviously true. heh.

I personally am sick of seeing the red/blue map everywhere, but I stumbled across this one that the dems are using to blue up the map a bit:

Via Rolling Stone:
" Tim Dickinson thinks this is the best red/blue/purple map he's been emailed all week. (It's a county-by-county cartogram -- skewed by population rather than acreage -- of the country and its Bush/Kerry split.)"

So click on the map, which I really feel they must have mixed up with a drawing of a deep water fish.

This from Air America...seriously....I'm not kidding:

Naomi Klein is urging P Diddy and his celebrity friends to go to Fallujah: “But first they are going to need to flip the slogan from "Vote or Die!" to "Die, Then Vote!" Because that is what is happening there.”

But dying first and then voting is commonplace among democrats, isn't it?

If you want to leave the country now and Robert Redford won't let you tag along, Harpers has a comprehensive look at how to do it. It's harder to leave freedom than you might imagine.

This Leftie from Consortiumnews.com has it all figured out how we won:

"The history is this: For the past quarter century, the Right has spent billions of dollars to build a vertically integrated media apparatus – reaching from the powerhouse Fox News cable network through hard-line conservative newspapers and magazines to talk radio networks to book publishing to well-funded Internet operations and right-wing bloggers."

Rightwing bloggers are well-funded???? Where the hell is my check?

"Using this infrastructure, the conservatives can put any number of “themes” into play that will instantaneously reach tens of millions of Americans through a variety of outlets, whose messages then reinforce each other in the public’s mind."

Yeah, because the left never had that with all those left leaning newspapers and organizations like CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, NY Times, and most major dailies. And they never use "themes" like "tax cuts for the wealthy" and "turning back the clock on women's rights" and the all time favorite one..."homophobic."

"Beyond putting opposing politicians on the defensive, this Right-Wing Machine intimidates mainstream journalists and news executives who will bend over backwards and cater to the conservative side, do almost anything to avoid being tagged with the career-threatening tag of “liberal"

*Pause for hysterical laughter*

Is this a parallel universe they live in? The idea of Dan Rather or Peter Jennings catering to the conservative side is like saying Howard Stern really caters to the church goers.

Funny Bumper sticker of the day:

"If you were looking for a sign from God. This is it."

I was sitting here wondering exactly how to say what I felt about Arafat's death and then how to express the disgust I felt over what former President Jimmy Carter said about Arafat. And then I went to Protein Wisdom and Jeff said it all so well. I usually don't allow the "F" word here, but in this case, Jeff gets a pass.

“Former US President Jimmy Carter calls Arafat a ‘powerful human symbol,’” AFP:
Former US President Jimmy Carter called Yasser Arafat “a powerful human symbol and forceful advocate” who united Palestinians in their pursuit of a homeland.
“Yasser Arafat’s death marks the end of an era and will no doubt be painfully felt by Palestinians throughout the Middle East and elsewhere in the world,” Carter said.
“He was the father of the modern Palestinian nationalist movement. A powerful human symbol and forceful advocate, Palestinians united behind him in their pursuit of a homeland,” "he said in a statement distributed by his Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center.Then the linoleum-toothed Castro groupie let go a single, poignant tear.

Reached for comment, pieces of dead Israeli school children blown to bits by Arafat-directed suicide bombers over the years asked if former President Carter “wouldn’t mind fucking right off.” Only they said it in Hebrew."-Protein Wisdom
****

It is this kind of blogging that is going to continue to change the way we get the news. I think it's called... the truth.

The Belmont Club has the lowdown on Fallujah, and I mean all the lowdown.

You must read this letter from a marine in Fallujah to his dad. h/t The Obsidian Order.

h/t to BigDog's House for sending me the best military news sites. Check his 'athiest' views on the role of religion in American and European history as well.

This from Winds of Change:

A research team at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore has been publicizing their study, which claims to show that 100,000 Iraqis have died since the beginning of The Second Gulf War. Needless to say, these results were conveniently published by the New York Times on Oct. 29, 2004 - less than a week before the U.S. elections.
Fred Kaplan of Slate destroys this study, and confirms its status as just the latest politically-motivated voodoo produced by social "scientists" whose manipulations of their methods and results are blatant and transparent (q.v. Afghanistan, Marc Herold).

So could all you lefties out there that keep quoting me this number please shut up now?

Where shall I begin, sex or the Supreme Court? If I start with the Supreme Court at least I know you will keep reading.

Wizbang has all the sites for and against Arlen Spector to head the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Monk has a good take on the leak of a possible Chief Justice Clarence Thomas. h/t McGehee.

It is truly beyond comprehension that abortion has become the number one deciding factor of judicial nominees. But don't look at Republicans. We have both pro-choice and pro-life senators and judges (not to mention bloggers). It is the democrats that are one minded on this.

What everyone knows is the whole Clarence Thomas confirmation debacle was about abortion. NARAL and NOW went moonbat insane over his nomination. They began a personal smear campaign the likes of which had never been seen before. How Justice Thomas withstood it is a testament to the kind of man he is. Not only full of integrity and honor, but one who wasn't going to let a bunch of hate filled abortion 'rights' zealots tear down a lifetime of hard work.

I am a advocate for the unborn child. Make no mistake about that. My generation of women were lied to and manipulated by the abortion industry. An industry that profits (big time) off the agony of women. But this isn't a post about the issue. It is, once again, a post about the RIGHT of those of us who are pro-life to have just as much of a say in what kind of country we want as the democrats do. (and moderate Republicans for that matter)

A friend of mine tells me that Spector owes Bush big time and will support his nominees. I wish I could believe it, but I don't. Spector may have supported Thomas in those viscous hearings, but my view was that Spector was so disgusted with Anita Hill that it overcame his absolute support for abortion. Spector is not a 'moderate' Republican, he is a liberal one. Period. And not just on the abortion issue, but on everything from school choice to racial preferences.
As NRO says:
"Specter votes like a Democrat until late in his term, when he remembers that he will need at least some conservatives on his side.."

I'm with NRO on this. And to all my fellow conservative bloggers who see Spector has just fine, just think about the absolute meltdown of the left if Thomas is confirmed as Chief Justice. We are talking head spinning and vomiting the likes of which one has not seen since the original Exorcist.

Wouldn't that be satisfying enough for you?

And to Glenn, Wizbang, Powerline, Jeff, and all the rest, you may disagree with me on this, but you know there is a southern saying: "you gotta dance with the one who brought you."

And we brought you Bush. So get your dancing shoes on and get out on the dance floor with us. And remember, Spector is not invited to this party.

Now on the sex part, but your not gonna like it. If you haven't heard about about the book "100 Strokes of the Brush Before Bed" by Melissa Panarello yet, you will. Melissa, an Italian girl from a middle class home was 16 years old 2 years ago and kept a diary. That diary (which is the book) is now published and being released this month in the U.S. It came out in July of 2003 in Italy. It was a runaway bestseller. To date it has been published in 23 countries. A best seller everywhere. Why would a 16 yr olds diary be a best seller? Well, sex of course.

Her catalogue of sexual escapades of lesbianism, sex with transvestites , and S & M adventures, one orgy, and several gang bangs, not to mention your garden variety heterosexual encounters is not something one might come to expect from a 16 yr old girl's diary, but there it is.

In reading reviews of this book I became not only sickened by the fact that so many want to read about this, but that no one reviewing it seems to be bothered by the fact that many of her sexual adventures were with overage men. In case your not up on this, it's called statutory rape, willing partner or not. You see, she was a minor. Maybe this isn't the case in Italy, I don't know. But is there any doubt the book will be a best seller here?

Please prove me wrong America. For God's sake, prove me wrong.

The feminists I read that reviewed the book saw it as some sort of poetic piece of sexual awareness. In an interview recently Melissa said that really all she was looking for was love. She thought she had found it with a 40 yr old man. She says..."He represented for me the father figure that in one way or another I've always been lacking."

Which really says it all for me. I don't know about her family life, but a little girl needs a father. A good father. She needs a father's love. I have always noticed and studies have shown that those little girls without that love go looking for it in other men in other ways and usually before they are emotionally or physically mature enough to even know what love is.

I hope to God, Melissa is a case for the extreme, but it does illustrate the importance of our culture on our children. When we conservatives talk values, we usually are always talking about our children. We are sick of a culture that has let adult sex and adult choices enter into the lives of our children.

Gosh, what a downer this post was. Today or tomorrow I will lighten up. I PROMISE!

I have to leave you with some good feelings...I just have to! Bush won, Arafat is dead/maybe dead/as good as dead. We are kicking ass in Fallujah, and most of the leftie bloggers seem to be in hibernation.

Tech Central gives us some great insight into the battle of Fallujah and how it will and is being fought, but it is brutally honest in it's assessement:

"The coming days promise to be ugly, confused, rife with rumors. There will be mistakes on the part of Coalition forces -- some possibly costly in casualties. And despite the ascendancy of American battlefield technology, the depths of the Islamic radicals' treachery may still hold surprises. But the "Islamic Republic of Fallujah" is now drowning appropriately enough in its own blood. "

Pray for our Warriors.


I am amused at the 2 different camps of democrats trying to figure out this election. One camp is intent on insulting people of faith with as much condescension and ridicule as they can muster. The other camp is falling over it's pews trying to figure out a way to convince people with deep held moral values to vote against those values and vote democrat. Kerry tried hard to talk the talk, but people of faith kind of like to see a person walk the walk as well.

I have seen many argue that Bush's values, in their opinion, don't match what they see as 'moral values." Just as those of us on the right said that Kerry's values didn't seem to reflect what we perceived as "moral values." But the difference the left didn't seem to catch was that although you might could argue the differences, Bush stood by his values. If he said he believed it, he lived it. He worked at seeing it accomplished. From winning the war on terror to refusing to re define marriage. Kerry, on the other hand, would say he believed in one thing, but didn't live the faith he purported to have. He said he thought abortion immoral, yet wouldn't even vote to ban Partial Birth Abortion. He said he was against gay marriage, but no one really believed that. Gays supported him overwhelmingly. I could give many more examples, but you get my meaning.

Kerry was like your date on prom night. He promises he will love you tomorrow, but you know once he gets your...umm....vote, he will forget you by breakfast and never call.

Lucky for us, most voters kept their prom dress on.

I saw Al Sharpton on Fox and Friends this morning plugging his new Spike TV show "I Hate My Job." He takes 8 young guys for a career makeover. In an interview with NewYorkMetro.com Sharpton explains the show and why he did it:

:One of the things that drives me to do this kind of thing is, more young people are influenced by Comedy Central than by 60 Minutes, so if you understand that, you understand why Al Sharpton would do a reality show," he said firmly. "Also, I happen to agree with the concept of people looking to discover what they're really on the planet for, because I had to go through that."

I always wonder why some people refer to themselves in 3rd person. It makes me think they are really listening to the voices in their head and simply repeating what those voices are saying. Why else would a person just not say "I?"

Now we all know why Al Sharpton would do a reality show. It's called the Benjamins and the bling bling. And you can't really blame him, he did discover what he was on the planet for long ago.....pure entertainment.

Speaking of Fox and Friends. If you aren't watching that in the mornings you are missing great TV.

Sharpton on how his SNL appearance changed the general perception of him:

"The right wing would love to project me as a hater and all of that. But I think America that night said, "This guy ain't no hater!"

No, no, no.......we say "hustler", not hater.

We rightwingers are just always misquoted.

And considering he's slated to head out to the Coast to meet with NBC, ABC, CBS, UPN, and the WB about shows that he might executive-produce, I think our way of projecting Rev. Sharpton is dead on.

Describing his meeting with President Bush as Bush spoke at the Urban League, the Rev went on to say:

"..... then he says to me, "You know, it's hard to run for president, and I give you a lot of credit, Al." So, how you gonna get mad at a guy who says that to you? You know you're on TV, so do you smile and act respectful or do you do the ghetto? I mean, what do you do?"

You will all be relieved to know that Sharpton did not do the ghetto.

Well, I got linked yesterday by what is in the blogosphere the high school equivalent of the President of the Senior Class . I really appreciate all the great e-mails and comments. It was like being the new girl in school. Obviously the new girl who needs to take time for spell check. You are all are some picky people! It was just one word! I was one letter off! I will try my best, but I have this thing..... called a life. Well, actually it really isn't my life. It's more like my kid's life, but it takes up way too much of my time. For example, they insist on being fed every day.

It was nice though when some snotty leftie decides to sneeringly point out my spelling error in his comment and then commits a spelling error in that comment! *smile* There must be a blog god who looks after me.

The Politburo Diktat discusses the future of blogging post election. He thinks we will turn in different directions especially since many are burned out over politics 24/7. He is probably right. I have posted a few personal musing in my short time blogging and no one seemed interested. But that could be because my life is not nearly as interesting as my rantings. Thanks to the commissar for a mention too. He really kinda rocks for a commie.

What the hell is this about? I mean you become President of the College Republican Club at San Francisco State University and you figure it will look great on a resume. You dress preppie, work on some campaigns, and life is good. Next thing you know your surrounded by a "noisy and menacing mob of over 300 Palestinian, Arab, Muslim and radical leftist students surrounding your club's table being held back by 13 San Francisco State police officers." These conservative kids were slapped, had food and drinks thrown at them, and some called a"Nazi." (What would the left do if there had been no Hitler? I suppose it would at least limit their name calling to "bigots and racists!" And I imagine "Ditigal brownshirts" would only have the impact of insulting us as some kind of online UPS drivers) But I digress... "Lee Wolf, another College Republicans member, described one of the women on Monday as shouting, "The only way we can defeat you is to kill as many as possible! I'd rather die a suicide bomber's death than to call myself an American!"

How about calling you #5873 in cellblock 5? That would work for me.

These lovely people calling themselves The General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS) were distributing flyers saying "Don"t Let the College Republicans Commit Racism and Bigotry Against Arab Women."

Calling someone a Nazi, assaulting them, and expressing a desire to kill as many College Republicans as possible, on the other hand, is a noble cause.

You have to feel sorry for the College Republicans these days on campus. It use to be all they really gave up were dates with goth and biker chicks and girls with tattoos. Now they have to face angry mobs of ugly bitter women who don't even have time to do their hair or take a shower?? They will get enough of that in the real world of politics facing down the women in NOW and NARAL.


Former presidential candidate Howard Dean is considering a bid to become chairman of the national Democratic Party. Steve Grossman, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee said it is not too soon for Democrats to focus on their future leadership.
"I strongly urged (Dean) to seek the position," he said. "Howard is a voice of political empowerment (YEEE HAAWWWW!...sorry, couldn't help it) and that to me is important, for the Democrats to get their sea legs back as quickly as possible, (guess they were on that 'swiftboat' too long..heh) to get beyond the disappointment of the last week and to believe there is a bright future ahead for the Democratic Party." via SFGate.com

Mudville has Russ Vaughn's latest poem "Swift Justice." You gotta love a former warrior with a poet's heart.

Greyhawk also has incredible details about Fallujah. Please go read it. It is so necessary to understand this enemy. There is no reasoning and no surrender with these monsters. It will just disgust you how these terrorists torture and kill even their own people. Greyhawk , as always, lays it out for us. Have I mentioned lately that he rocks? Because he really does.
He also has some good news out of Iraq...so go...now... read.

UPDATE: at 8:15 central time- Arafat's condition has worsened from almost dead to pretty much dead.

The jurors in the Scott Peterson Trial are still deadlocked and apparently ticked as well. The male jurors are fed up. One female juror was heard to say "He is just too smokin hot to be guilty."

*Ok, just kidding about that last part, but you almost believed it, didn't you? Because that is how sad our justice system has become.

Quote of the day:

"Sure God created man before woman.. but then you always make a roughdraft before The Final Masterpiece."

I suppose I could write a book on the condescension and insults the left media has poured out on us "red staters" since Tues. But this one Slate article pretty much sums them all up. h/t to NRO

Jane Smiley tells us: (emphasis mine)
" I grew up in Missouri and most of my family voted for Bush, so I am going to be the one to say it: The election results reflect the decision of the right wing to cultivate and exploit ignorance in the citizenry. I suppose the good news is that 55 million Americans have evaded the ignorance-inducing machine. But 58 million have not. (Well, almost 58 million—my relatives are not ignorant, they are just greedy and full of classic Republican feelings of superiority.)

Of course her relatives aren't ignorant. And it is Republicans that feel superior, not her, as you can clearly see.

"The error that progressives have consistently committed over the years is to underestimate the vitality of ignorance in America"

That doesn't sound the least bit snotty or superior, now does it? Those Democrats (uhh...'progressives') are really the sweet ones. It's obvious.

"Here is how ignorance works: First, they put the fear of God into you—if you don't believe in the literal word of the Bible, you will burn in hell. Of course, the literal word of the Bible is tremendously contradictory, and so you must abdicate all critical thinking, and accept a simple but logical system of belief that is dangerous to question. A corollary to this point is that they make sure you understand that Satan resides in the toils and snares of complex thought and so it is best not try it."

Something tells me this woman has spent zero time in church or reading the Bible. She is certainly ignorant ( is ok for me to use that term?) of Catholic theology. Galileo, one of the greatest scientific minds ever and a devout Catholic once said "I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." As it turns out, neither do most of us Christians. Galileo taught us and the Church long ago that science is the canvas upon which God paints his mysteries.
Maybe Ms. Smiley ( an ironic name if there ever was one) would be surprised to know that like her relatives, most of us red staters are not ignorant. But, unlike her relatives, we are not greedy. Here is a little known fact. Under Reagan us greedy little pre-nightmare scrooges gave more to charity than in other time in history.
But Smiley goes on to describe how 'they' keep us ignorant:

"..when life grows difficult or fearsome, they (politicians, preachers, pundits) encourage you to cling to your ignorance with even more fervor. But by this time you don't need much encouragement—you've put all your eggs into the ignorance basket.."

Feeling superior is the hallmark of the left and the elite media. For them to use that term for us is truly laughable. It's like Donald Trump calling Mother Teresa egotistical.

Operation Phantom Fury has begun in Fallujah. Video on Fox right now is AWESOME!
PRAY FOR OUR BOYS!!!!

Bloomberg.com has details.

Belmont has good stuff too. Nice to see Blackwatch finally mentioned.

Blogging Rocked This Election.

Tech Central gives us the following tidbits regarding blogs and this election:

Daily Kos raised more than $500,000 to assist the campaigns of fifteen candidates. None were elected."

You know, that's has got to hurt. Especially since they are all so dang smart.

As the Grand Forks Herald observed in the Daschle-Thune race, which really was BIG and the dems are trying so hard to ignore:

"This little-noticed development deserves a lot more attention. The Daschle-Thune race differed from previous South Dakota Senate races in this way: Conservative Web logs gave South Dakota voters access to news like never before.
"Take a look and you'll see what we mean: Web sites such as Daschle vs. Thune and a few others chipped away at Daschle's image day after day."

You S. Dakota bloggers, think about it....You were a huge part of finally getting rid of the biggest hypocrite of all time, the leader of the democratics in congress.....DASCHLE!!!!!! You ended a 26 year reign of moonbattiness!!!!! Do you have any idea how many points in heaven you are gonna get for that???? I mean you have achieved your purpose in life ....... Now go find an island and sunbathe, your place within the pearly gates is secure....;-)

Some of these heaven bound bloggers are...

http://daschlevthune.typepad.com/daschle_v_thune/

http://southdakotapolitics.blogs.com/

http://sibbyonline.blogs.com/

The biggest false story of the msm was the Dan Rather memogate story, of course. Being a new blogger, I watched in amazement as Little Green Footballs and Power Line and Instapundit debunked the story in less than a day and Drudge provided communications with the mainstream media.

A lesser known, but extremely important story was about this blogger who debunked a bogus Associate Press report regarding booing of President Clinton when his heart surgery was announced at a Bush rally. (Complete with audio featuring no boos). Things that used to be ignored, or spun by the news are now available with the 'rest of the story' online with links and sometimes visual proof. Proof that was easily attainable by the msm, but didn't quite fit their story.
Anyway you look at it, it is a boon for democracy. It is certainly a boon for the truth. It seemed pretty clear to me that stories that really did have no basis in truth quickly died, even online.

The bottom line here is that the left leaning media that proclaims itself mainstream can no longer have it's stories go unchallenged. Who knows how this election might have turned out if the Rather's memo story had been accepted at face value or if the Swift boat guys had been ignored, which they certainly would have if it had not been for the bloggers, especially the milblogs. Who knows if any of us would have heard all the good news out of Afghanistan and Iraq if not for the soldiers blogging from the actual places???

This is the Blogging Revolution, and Che Guevera aint got nothing on us.

Is Arafat dead? The Politburo Diktat has the scoop.

The leftie Londoners have a way with words I think.....

Brian Reade in the Daily Mirror, who attributed the President's victory to: "The self-righteous, gun-totin', military-lovin', sister-marryin', abortion-hatin', gay-loathin', foreigner-despisin', non-passport-ownin' rednecks, who believe God gave America the biggest dick in the world so it could urinate on the rest of us and make their land 'free and strong'."

Forty five per cent of Hispanics voted for the President, as did 25 per cent of Jews, and 23 per cent of gays. The Hispanic number is big and wonderful. The Jew and gay number is small but gratifying. But it does sorta discount the lyrical words of our across the pond wierdo.
You know, I can see why he thinks these insults just really are the worst you can say about someone from their wacky point of view, but "military loving????' That's akin to "sister-marryin???" Joining the military and incest.......same thing to them. Hmmm.....can anyone say 'twilight zone?"
And if he really thought about it he might not have wanted to use "the biggest dick in the world," because if you think about it, isn't that a compliment? I have always heard that size matters.

Mark Steyn, who I copied the above Brain Reade post from had this to say in response:
"In all but six states, the Republican vote went up: the urinating rednecks have increased their number not just in Texas and Mississippi but in Massachusetts and California, both of which have Republican governors. You can drive from coast to coast across the middle of the country and never pass through a single county that voted for John Kerry: it's one continuous cascade of self-righteous urine from sea to shining sea. States that were swing states in 2000 - West Virginia, Arkansas - are now solidly Republican, and once solidly Democrat states - Iowa, Wisconsin - are now swingers. The redneck states push hard up against the Canadian border, where if your neck's red it's frostbite. Bush's incontinent rednecks are everywhere: they're so numerous they're running out of sisters to bunk up with."

Please read the whole thing. Steyn is worth is weight in gold.

This is the thing about Americans. Don't tell us we are stupid if we don't vote your way. I honestly think the leftie movie stars and Michael Moore did more harm than good for the left. The European condescending e-mails to Ohio did more for Bush than any of the swiftboat ads, windsurfing and skiing commercials against Kerry ever could have.
Another thing I think that hurt Kerry is having his people simply say "they are lying" about every single thing that came out about Kerry. Whether it was swiftboat ads, liberal voting record, or non support of the military. Because when things then came out about Bush, like the National Guard accusations, lost explosives in Iraq ect. The public just shrugged and said "oh, they all lie." and listened to none of it. Half the time I didn't know what to believe on either side myself.
There is this thing called the truth. And I really think that it is time the media got back on that bandwagon. Instead of spinning a story, show both sides, and at least TRY to get at the truth. The public is SICK of it, I can tell you that.

I have been e-mailing a liberal friend who insists that Iraq had nothing to do with terrorism. If you read my blog, then you saw my post on Operation Viking Hammer, where our special forces went into Iraq at the beginning of the war and brought down a international terrorist training camp. This was a story I got from U.S. News and World Report with an inbred reporter. Several soldiers got silver medals of valor and the like. It is documented military fact, and a reporter from a msm magazine there to report on the accuracy. I told my friend this and he had the same reaction a commenter on my blog had. It wasn't true. It. Just. Was. Not. True. How do you argue with people like that? These are not stupid people. But their mindset is so against Bush and this war that I honestly believe that if tomorrow we found WMD so incredible they could have blown up the world in the basement of one of Saddam's palaces, they would insist that Rumsfield planted it there.

Ok, my funny quote of the day is a bit irreverent, but given the quotes above I decided today was the day to go with it.

Women's creed: "Men are like linoleum. If you lay them right the firsttime, you can walk on them for 20 years."

Here are some redneck jokes to lighten up the weekend for all the lefties out there all depressed.

If your dad's cell number has nothing to do with a phone...

You might be a redneck.

If you find that you are the only one at your 10 yr high school reunion with grandchildren......

You might be a redneck.

If your above ground pool is used as a storage facility......

You might be a redneck.


I was driving to my daughter's basketball game this morning down winding country roads. The temperature was cool and the sky was so blue. I had the windows rolled down and Willie Nelson playing on the radio. I thought "All this and Bush won too" and I felt so good!

There are about one hundred things I wish I could change about this society and culture, especially regarding our children. Sometimes I get mad about it, sometimes I get depressed. But most of the time I am just so dang glad I live in a country where my voice can be heard, where my vote matters, where I can fight for change, even if that change doesn't always happen.
Thats the thing. WE ARE FREE!
We take it for granted, we abuse the gift, we confuse disagreement with hate, we confuse hate with disagreement. but we are free......

My God, I love that we are free.

1) "Shield your eyes.....do not look directly at James Carville, it's like opening the Ark of the Covenant."

2) It's the truth...bright, shining, beautiful....shield your eyes look away lest we be turned into conservatives."

3)...."But their awkward salutes did not impress the Being of Pure Light and Energy and it incinerated them."

4) "The three anchors had plenty of time to move out of the way of charging Humvee. but their brains were paralyzed with hair spray."

Stolen from The Writ of Common Wisdom. I just couldn't decide which line was funnier.

I want Peggy Noonan to be my best friend. If you know her tell her to call me and I will buy her lunch....every Thursday....forever.

Her piece in the WSJ Opinion Journal is just....well....perfect.
Here's some excerpts, but you better go read it. It truly rocks.

"George W. Bush, 43rd president of the United States, became the first incumbent president to increase his majority in both the Senate and the House and to increase his own vote (by over 3.5 million) since Franklin D. Roosevelt, political genius of the 20th century, in 1936. This is huge."

Huge! Beautiful! It was the NY Times headline today.....right? right?

"The president received more than 59 million votes, breaking Ronald Reagan's old record of 54.5 million. Mr. Bush increased his personal percentages in almost every state in the union. He carried the Catholic vote and won 42% of the Hispanic vote and 24% of the Jewish vote (up from 19% in 2000.) "

Now that's the kind of diversity I'm talking about!

"George Soros cannot buy a presidential election. Savor. "Volunteers" who are bought and paid for cannot beat volunteers who come from the neighborhood, church, workplace and reading group. Savor."

Hey! I thought we were the party of the rich!!!!

"To admit defeat with attempted grace is a moving sight. Kerry did well."

See? She even has nice things to say about Kerry. Thats why I like her. She is nice.

"Every time the big networks and big broadsheet national newspapers tried to pull off a bit of pro-liberal mischief--CBS and the fabricated Bush National Guard documents, the New York Times and bombgate, CBS's "60 Minutes" attempting to coordinate the breaking of bombgate on the Sunday before the election--the yeomen of the blogosphere and AM radio and the Internet took them down. It was to me a great historical development in the history of politics in America."

OH YEAH!!! She is talking about us! (ok, maybe more like Powerline, Glenn Reynolds, Hugh Hewitt, and LGF, but still...)

"God bless the pajama-clad yeomen of America. Some day, when America is hit again, and lines go down, and media are hard to get, these bloggers and site runners and independent Internetters of all sorts will find a way to file, and get their word out, and it will be part of the saving of our country."

My God, you have to feel good about that my fellow bloggers.

I have been surfing through some of the left's blogs (as you can see below) and one thing is really bugging me so I am going to get it out. Just because someone voted for the gay marriage ban does make them hateful evil people who think all gays are going to hell. Some voting that way may be hateful. But I believe that most are not. We did not have that on the ballot here, but this is the thing. One can have gay friends and gay relatives and love them and want the best for them and still be against gay marriage.

There are basically 2 reasons they are against it. Some simply do not believe that we as a society should re-define marriage in any way. We have a hard enough time keeping marriage going and strong as it is. It is easy to make fun of those who say "what's to keep a man from marrying 4 wives ect...," but it is true. Once you open the door to a different meaning for marriage then all sorts will want to plow through that door. There is no doubt about that.

Believing this does make one evil. It does not mean they are 'homophopic' or hateful. In fact I know a few gays who feel that way.

The second reason for being against gay marriage is that some believe that it goes against the teachings of Christ and His church. The book of Romans is very clear on this and arguing that there is some sort of mistranslation is just silly. You can either believe the New Testament is our Lord's guide to living or you can not believe it. It is totally up to you. You can even believe it and refuse to live by certain parts of it. That is freedom. But do not turn around and say that just because someone votes with faith and it goes against what you want for this country, that that somehow makes them this horrible person who hates gays.

Most Christians I know, like me, do not hate anyone. Like me they would not want to harm or condemn anyone. Most believe that ANY sexual sin is wrong, homosexual, adultery, or pre martial sex. So if you believe that Christians hate gays for their sexual sin, then we would have to be hating a heck of a lot more heterosexuals.

The whole 'who is going to heaven or hell' is simply not our job. That is God's job. We simply try to find the right road for ourselves and help anyone along who would like to take that spiritual journey with us.

This is the important thing. Christians have just as much of a right to vote in a way that reflects their values as non Christians do.

And finally to all the bloggers out there who think that we Christians somehow want a theocracy, you could not be more wrong.
There is a world of difference between a government that forces some sort of religion on people (like many Islam countries) and one who allows all people of all faiths (or no faith) to run for office, be appointed, or be a judge. People of faith have a right to be at the table of government. We have a right to vote our values. And it is never a reflection of hate. It is a reflection of what we believe to be right or wrong. Just like you.

I have mentioned U.K.'s special forces the Black Watch here several times. They replaced some of our special forces south of Baghdad in order for our guys to go into Fallujah. I heard today that they were attacked and 3 killed. Our prayers are with the families. Thank you guys for having our back.

Fox News is reporting that Liz Edwards has breast cancer. I wish her all the best. Thank God breast cancer is now curable and not the death sentence it use to be. I don't mean this sarcastically when I say that now the campaign is over it is good that John Edwards will be able to be there completely for her during this tough time. I have had friends go through this and it is vital that the husband be involved totally in the healing process.

Thought you might enjoy some of the uhhh...'grumblings' from the left today. I don't think my comment is needed.


Fafblog:
"In fronta the tv screens Lester Holt tells me about Defining Marriage. “Eleven States voted to Define Marriage tonight,” says Lester Holt, “and they have Defined it as a slow-moving, thick-skulled poison-spitting reptile that hates queers. America has spoken.” There's a five-hundred-foot tall inflatable rubber president balloon filled with hydrogen an mustard gas floatin overhead. “Leadership! Marriage! Moral values!” says the Inflatable President. “Gonna smoke those gays outta their holes! America’s safer when lesbians can run but they can’t hide!” It must be true. Look at all those electronic ballots!"

Matt Stoller:
"F*ck the world." (edited by host)

And this from his commenters on the 'at least' thread: (which were too good to ignore)

"At least they run the trains on time."

"at least we know the apocalypse is now closer than ever"

"at least when we're still in Iraq in four years, and it's even more of a clusterf*ck, w will still be around to take "credit." Of course, that would require merkins reading newspapers."

"At least 49% of America is not clueless.
At least I have a reason to buy a hand gun to go with the rest of my arsenal."

"At least kitchen-based, clothes-hanger abortion clinics will flourish throughout the land. Run by self-employed entrepreneurs, just like the good old days."

"I was mad, but now a new day is upon us and we will prevail.For all you phoney bible humping,queer haters,the real cossacks are comming ,and it won't be pretty."


Talkleft:
"TalkLeft will not support George Bush. We recognize that he is our President, but as our mission statement states, we will continue to expose the injustices in his Administration."

Demagogue:
"I Don't Hate PollsI just hate people."

Matthew Yglesias:
"we're going to see Bush Unleashed -- something that will probably be much crazier than what we've seen over the past four years."

And finally the King of Leftie bloggers--Daily Kos:
"People really are confused and manipulated (we have a mainstream media that continues to focus on irrelevant stories--Swift Boat, Rathergate and all the rest--abrogating its responsibility to focus on what's important and significant; and too much of it keeps giving head instead of keeping its head."


Heh.

First the good, then the bad.

Giving credit where credit is due. Kerry didn't have to concede so quickly. With the news outlets refusing to give Bush Ohio even with Bush some 130,000 votes ahead, Kerry could hardly be expected to concede at that moment. But when it became clear that Kerry could not overcome the numbers he conceded.
His was a gracious and sweet concession speech. Kerry, the person was never what I had a problem with. Although claiming to be a Catholic but going directly against the Church's teachings is wrong and that did bother me alot. I didn't even care about the Vietnam thing, although I understood why others did.
There are dozens of issues from abortion to the role of the UN to stem cell research to social security that I care deeply about and I disagreed on each and every one with Kerry. But I would take a Kerry over a Clinton (both of them) anytime.

Edwards concession speech was hateful and wrong. Especially the line about how to explain why to a mother who lost a son "over there." The reason is simple pretty boy, freedom. But it is a slap in the face of every parent who has lost someone in this war to imply that there is no reason.
His whole speech ticked me off. Republicans care just as much as democrats about healthcare, social security, the poor, and minorities. We just see a different and better way of solving these problems.

I have to admit that I enjoy knowing that Michael Moore and the entire country of France is having a bad day today. Heh.

We won. Today Rocks. Let us get on to the business of the people.

LET FREEDOM RING.

When I went to sleep at 3am, Bush had 269 with Ohio. It looks like Bush has won, although it's not official yet. I do hope that when it looks obvious enough, Kerry will concede with grace. The country has had enough.

I am VERY VERY happy, but very tired, so I am going back to sleep. It was exhausting just trying to explain to my kids this morning what is going on.

I am pleased and surprised that nothing weird or violent happened last night. Although reading on DU (democratic underground) that they were gonna be wearing black hoodies in protest was kind of hilarious.

Take heart lefties. Bush is a good man and a good leader despite what you have been conditioned to believe. Life will go on the same for you.

I will sleep better knowing a man I trust is the leader of our country.

Speaking of sleep, I have to get some.

God bless America and all of you!!!!!!!!

It is time to VOTE, but let us all remember, one person, one vote...ok?

You are known by your friends;

Kerry has been endorsed by the left-leaning Guardian in the United Kingdom and the left-leaning Le Monde is endorsing Kerry in France.

Always nice to be endorsed by a foreign newspaper that just the other day 'jokingly' called for the assassination of our President.

As Joe Scarborough of MSNBC says "When the election is more about who you hate than who you love, you are less likely to get out and vote."

Lets hope that is true.

"Democratic Sen. Tom Daschle sued his opponent, John Thune, and the GOP in federal court in Sioux Falls on Monday, asking Piersol to stop what Democrats say was intimidation of voters." via Argus Leader.com

Part of the evil Republican strategy was as follows:

" Daschle charges that GOP poll observers have been crowding voters, making notes as they voted and writing down license plate numbers of cars bringing them to vote. "

Crowding voters? Hmmm....Isn't is crowded at the polls? And oh boy, when I vote and someone starts taking notes....I JUST GET THE WILLIES!!!!!!!!!!

Lets get real. All these ridiculous lawsuits will be thrown out immediately, I hope. When I think back on REAL voter intimidation that I saw in the 60's with black people trying to vote, it makes me sick what this does to the memory of those brave people.

Speaking of REAL voter intimidation:

"VOTING is off to a bad start in Wisconsin. Thirty vans rented by the Republican National Committee to use in Milwaukee get-out-the-vote efforts were rendered inoperable by vandals overnight. The vehicles were parked near a Republican headquarters on Capitol Drive, where their tires had been slashed. The GOP is scrambling to find replacement vehicles." via Weekly Standard.

Also in Wisconsin:

"One young woman who lives in a heavily Democrat neighborhood in Milwaukee, showed up to vote this morning to find that seven people are registered to vote under her address. She lives with one other person."

Just a tad bit different from "taking notes," don't you think?

Washington, DC , RNC Communications Director Jim Dyke made the following statement today:
After filing more than 40 lawsuits in 18 battleground states in recent weeks, and in keeping with their Election Day playbook, Democrats are prepared to execute an Election Day litigation strategy. As soon as the polls open in the morning, their touted 10,000-plus lawyers will systematically file litigation to change the rules in battleground states across the nation and create a sense of chaos.
Before the day is out, Democrats will begin to argue that every provisional ballot should be counted, regardless of the circumstances or legality in which it was cast, thus allowing them to convert third party registration fraud into voter fraud on behalf of John Kerry.
The Democrats, Election Day litigation strategy has three primary objectives:
Securing special rules and extensions for the benefit of Democrats in predominately Democrat precincts.
Eliminating traditional safeguards against voter fraud, including I.D. requirements and voting in precinct.
Creating a sense of chaos, with the hope of casting a shadow of doubt over Election Day. via GOP.com

Democrats are determined to create a climate of chaos now that they know they can litigate every election.
I hope the people stand up against this and demand decency again before it gets completely out of hand.

UPDATE:

"Representatives of MoveOn.org are out in force in Minnesota, setting up tables, holding signs, handing out literature. In some cases, they seem to be violating statutes requiring them to be 100 feet from the polling place. By 10:00 this morning, the Secretary of State's office had received more than 400 complaints. Hard to say, though, whether these people attract more voters than they repel." via Powerline

I have heard that many Republicans who have voted in previous elections, have their voter registration cards and ID, are not showing up on the rolls. But this actually happened to our own Blackfive, Check it out!
I cannot believe that a soldier that fought in this war and says he has voted in the same place since 2000 did NOT have his name on the rolls!!!! He had his voter registration card, and is NOT being allowed to vote!! Asking 10 people around him who were also not on the rolls if they were Republican, ALL said yes.

Unfreakinbelievable!

Well, Sundance Kid, we will miss The Way We Were.....not.

Mark Melman, a democratic pollster is seeming to predict bad news for his side:

"First, we simply do not defeat an incumbent president in wartime. After wars surely, but never in their midst. Republicans have been spinning this fact for months, and they are correct.
Democrats have spoken often and powerfully about the nation’s economic problems. But by historical standards, they are not that bad. The “misery index” is 7.8 today but was 20.5 when Jimmy Carter was defeated. Economic models of elections show Bush winning 52-58 percent of the vote."

Just for the cheating, I hope the democrats lose.

The Middle East Media Research Institute reports the following:

The U.S. media in general mistranslated the words “ay wilaya” (which means “each U.S. state")(2) to mean a “country” or “nation” other than the U.S., while in fact the threat was directed specifically at each individual U.S. state. This suggests some knowledge by bin Laden of the U.S. electoral college system. In a section of his speech in which he harshly criticized George W. Bush, bin Laden stated: “Any U.S. state that does not toy with our security automatically guarantees its own security.” via Protein Wisdom

I did wonder what exactly Bin Laden meant when he said our security was in our own hands. This would explain much. This also should be BIG NEWS. Please let me know if you hear it on any MSM outlet.

I have noticed in my short time blogging that to many this seems like just a game. They make sophmoric references to who wins this election like it's a football game and you are for your team because it is where you went to school and nothing else matters. This isn't a game. This is serious life stuff. When this is over, I will blog about the many many reasons I voted for Bush other than the war. They are reasons that most of my conservative bloggers will disagree with me on. Which goes to show how Bush was able to unite those with different beliefs together for a common cause.

I think about when Clinton won both times. I was 9 months pregnant both times and both times I cried on my bed all day. But this is the thing. Life didn't change for me personally. In all the areas that people argue over , financial, taxes, healthcare, and even social issues, nothing changed much FOR ME. I had little ones and whether Bush Sr was President or Clinton was President, my life went on in a great way because I live my life based on my faith and my values and that has always served me well. I loved my family, I nutured my little ones , and did what I could for others, and life flowed along. So why was I so upset with Clinton, and why will I be upset with Kerry if he wins? Well it doesn't have anything to do with the effect it will have on MY life (unless of course we are attacked again) Although this time around it does seem to have more effect on my children's life now that my oldest are teenagers. My reasons for caring and voting are based on what I feel for others. For what I feel for my country, my culture, and mostly for what I feel for the children of this nation that don't have someone who loves and nurtures them. That is basically what drives me. I have never believed that a government program can give them what they need. I have seen personally that it cannot. But later, when this whole thing (election) is over I will explain why I vote Republican and why it is so important, not for me personally, but for the children who have no voice.

If you haven't seen this, you MUST click on 50 reasons why a guy who has never voted Republican in his life is voting for George Bush. Have a hanky handy, you'll need it. via Wizbang.

Ok, while sitting here waiting to dole out the candy to the trick or treaters, I went ahead and blogged. (Trying VERY hard to ignore the chocolate screaming at me from the bowl of candy for the lil spooks)


"The New York Post reports that there's another 12 minutes of tape from Osama bin Laden, in which he bemoans that lack of violence accompanying the elections in Afghanistan and notes the toll of war on terror has had on Al Qaeda.

Officials said that in the 18-minute long tape - of which only six minutes were aired on the al-Jazeera Arab television network in the Middle East on Friday - bin Laden bemoans the recent democratic elections in Afghanistan and the lack of violence involved with it.
On the tape, bin Laden also says his terror organization has been hurt by the U.S. military's unrelenting manhunt for him and his cohorts on the Afghan-Pakistani border.
A portion of the left-out footage includes a tirade aimed at President Bush and his father, former President George H.W. Bush, claiming the war in Iraq is purely over oil." via Wizbang

I have seen a lot of dirty politics in this election, but this about takes the cake. The media CENSORS part of a tape by the man who masterminded the horror that descended on us on 9-11 because:

1) Bin Laden admitting that the war on terror has hurt Al Qaeda would help President Bush, proving he did the right thing.

2) The fact that the "war for oil" democratic talking point is being spouted by the personification of evil might make people think twice about BELIEVING those talking points.

I feel sick, I really do.

Jessica's Well does a most superb job of contrasting hollywood's "I care so much because you all love me so much" million dollar women and the women we freed. Rock on Jessica!

AP reports: A shortage of at least 500,000 poll workers nationwide means many voters could face long lines, cranky volunteers and polling places that don't open or close on schedule.

I'm thinking this could have a negative effect on the Mary Poppins and Elvis vote.

Perhaps the shortage is due to this:

"Michael Moore says a total of 1,200 professional and nonprofessional cameramen, filmmakers and videographers will bring their cameras to polling places in Ohio and Florida to prevent "intimidation."
Moorewatch notes that "Moore himself is BLATANTLY trying to intimidate people with this ploy," and has issued this call: "For every camera crew you see, get two people to film *them*. Watch the watchers."
That's on top of the 100 or so U.N. monitors who will be elbowing their way into polling places across 20 states, including Florida; 10,000 Democrat lawyers; 3,600 GOP observers in Ohio; and 1,090 Justice Department enforcement monitors." via Michelle Malkin

I mean would you want to be a poll worker? Part of your job is to ensure that no voter fraud occurs, yet every time you question someone who doesn't have the proper credentials a Michael Moore film crew will be sure and "edit" the film to make you look like you were "intimidating" some poor soul who only wanted to have his/her vote count.

This whole thing has become the theatre of the absurd. We will soon watch this circus begin. Michael Moore, bring in the clowns.

Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have decided no politics today. Take a break and check out these wierd, perhaps scary things you never knew you could know.....(content safe for children and those who act like children)

The art of illusion......

Cell phone towers that dress up as trees.....

Short film of the wierd but cute......

Grow a lawn chair.....

Some people get into bandaids....

It's gotten to where even a cop can't cross dress for Halloween...

Some people really really like dogs.....

This is graveyard spooky...

This is just wrong....

Have a great Halloween !!! Save some snickers for me!!

Michael Moore going as himself.  

The Commissar at Politburo Dikat, for a change of uniform I guess. 

When I first heard that the memo from Dan Rather was a forgery, I didn't believe it. Even knowing how partisan he and CBS has always been, I still believed that they would not put out a complete lie. But I was wrong.
I find the following hard to believe as well, but NOTHING the left says anymore surprises me.

Former CBSNEWS anchorman Walter Cronkite believes Bush adviser Karl Rove is possibly behind the new Bin Laden tape.Cronkite made the startling comments late Friday during an interview on CNN.Cronkite said he is "inclined to think that Karl Rove, the political manager at the White House, who is a very clever man, he probably set up bin Laden to this thing."Interviewer Larry King did not ask Cronkite to elaborate on the provocative election eve accusation. via Drudge

I don't mean this to incite. But the more I read of Bin Laden's speech, the more I hear democratic talking points. From the sneering referral of Bush's book reading to the little girl when the towers were hit to criticizing the Patriot Act.
I have to believe that it bothers democrats to have OSAMA BIN LADEN use your talking points against the President of the United States.
It does bother you, right? Please tell me it does.

David Brooks in the NY Times says it all about the Bin Laden tape. Go..... read.

who else? Bin Laden 

Joe Lockhart 

Harvey from Bad Example 

Dick Cheney 

Blackfive 

Well, the most gruesome face of all came on TV today 2 days before Halloween. Bin Laden finally shows his face again. No doubt hoping to affect the election. Here is a bit of the monster's words:

"Bush is still deceiving you and hiding the truth from you and therefore the reasons are still there to repeat what happened (with new attacks)"

Why does this sound familiar? And what were those reasons again? Oh yes. Israel.

"We had agreed with the overall commander Mohammed Atta (who led the Sept 11. suicide plane hijackers), may God rest his soul, to carry out all operations in 20 minutes before Bush and his administration take notice," he said.

I don't think I have ever commented on the state of someone's soul but I feel with certainty that Atta's soul is neither at rest nor with God.

"As I watched the destroyed towers in Lebanon, it occurred to me to punish the unjust the same way ... to destroy towers in America so that it can taste some of what we are tasting and to stop killing our children and women," said bin Laden.

he was referring to our support of Israel, which will continue with Bush or Kerry, so Bin Laden is out of luck there.
Here's a quote I haven't heard on the American news, but I have in European news:

"Liberals do not neglect their security, contradicting Bush, who says that we hate freedom," Bin Laden said.

An endorsement for Kerry? That has got to hurt. An endorsement you really really don't want.

HALLOWEEN FUN! MY GUESS ON COSTUMES THIS YEAR! (CLICK REFRESH IF YOU CAN'T SEE THE PICTURE)

John Kerry 

Al Gore 

John Edwards, of course 

Hillary 

Here's my guess on what some will be wearing for Halloween this year. More to come! (CLICK REFRESH IF YOU CAN'T SEE THE PICTURES!)

Greyhawk at Mudville 

Teresa Heinz Kerry 

Andrew Sullivan 

Jeff at Protein Wisdom 

Mortimer B. Zuckerman, editor of U.S News and World Report lays out the real truth about Iraq in it's Nov. 1 issue:

*Saddam wanted to re-create Iraq's banned weapons programs including nuclear weapons.
*Saddam was determined to develop ballistic missiles and tactical chemical weapons when the U.N. sanctions were either lifted or corroded.
*Saddam increased his military industrial spending 40-fold from 1996-2002.
*Saddamn's scientist were performing deadly experiments on human guinea pigs in secret labs.

Where did this information come from? The Duelfer report. Yes the same one you heard about that found no WMD. Why didn't you hear the rest? Because that is all the MSM concentrated on. This was also in the report:

"Iraq would have been able to produce mustard agents in a period of months and nerve agent in less than a year of two."
It went on to say that "Saddam intended to reconstitute long-range delivery systems (missiles) and the systems potentially were for WMD."

Zuckerman points out that sanctions were not working and prohibited goods and weapons were being shipped into Iraq with no problem. From where? France, China, Russia, Egypt, Turkey, and Syria. No surprise many of these same countries were the ones protesting the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Saddam's chief nuclear guru, Mahdi Obeidi, says that "Saddam's strategic objective was quite simple- to end the sanctions so he could reconstitute his banned weapons programs." He goes on to say that they had the designs needed to jump-start the nuclear weapons program and "there is no question that they would have done so very quickly." Obeidi was unable to tell U.N. inspectors these things before we invaded because Saddam had his family held hostage.

Duelfer described Saddam to the Senate Armed Services Committee "as a grave threat to the Middle East and to the entire world."

Zuckerman ends the article with this sentence:

"What stopped Saddam was the will of a few strong-minded leaders who believed ina more forceful response than simply joining hand and singing "Kumbaya."

If you are one of those who still believes that this was the wrong war at the wrong time and that our soldiers are there for nothing, then I can't help you. The truth is the truth. I hate war as much as anyone, but some things must be defended. Sometimes hard unpopular decisions must be made. I want and need a leader willing to make those decisions.
There are many other reasons I support Bush other than the war, but they are dwarfed by this world changing event. I pray we can get back to discussing these other issues. But for now, we fight the good fight.
Find it in your heart to vote for Bush on Tuesday. This mom would be grateful.

(Reuters) - U.S. marines are preparing for an assault on rebels in the Iraqi cities of Falluja and Ramadi, a senior commander said on Friday.
"We are gearing up for a major operation," Brigadier General Denis Hajlik told reporters at a base near Falluja. "If we do so, it will be decisive and we will whack them."
Hajlik, deputy commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said the expected operation would include the insurgent-held cities of Falluja and Ramadi, west of Baghdad, and would also involve Iraqi forces.

Lets keep our soldiers in our prayers during this important battle. May God bless them and protect them.

UPDATE on missing weapons story. Fox News is reporting that a soldier from the 3rd ID will speak shortly saying that he denoted 200 tons of explosives of the RDX stockpiles on April 17th from the Al-Qakka facility. (after his unit taking them to Baghdad, If I am hearing it correctly) Another piece of the puzzle, along with satellite photos showing Russian and Iraqi trucks backed up to the bunkers on March 17th.