Arthur Chrenkoff rounds up 2 weeks of good news from Iraq. From the elections to greater rights and freedoms for women to the rebuilding of roads and buildings. The article is CHOCK full of stuff, but I love to read about the humantarian aid. The news can focus on sucide bombings and such, but these stories can give us hope and a feeling of knowing that we are making a difference of giving and changing things for good for the world. Here are a few examples:

"More than eight tons of donated medical supplies will leave Detroit next week bound for a storage depot in Baghdad, Iraq, to help the interim government there resupply war-torn civilian hospitals. . . . The materials were donated by doctors and hospitals. The shipment was organized by local Iraqis.
"Wally Jadan, president and chief executive of the Southfield-based Arabic content radio and television network Radio and TV Orient, hopes to organize more shipments in the coming months along with a mission by Iraqi physicians living in Metro Detroit."

"Six boxes of nursing manuals and medical reference materials collected by Jackson State University and the Mississippi Consortium for International Development (JSU/MCID) were recently delivered to faculty members of the medical, dental and nursing colleges at three northern Iraqi universities." The Near East Foundation, meanwhile, is making its fourth shipment of medical supplies, valued at $890,000."

"On a more personal scale, a 14-month old Iraqi girl, Fatemah Hassan, is returning home from Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, where for the past six months she has been receiving treatment for a large hemangioma, a tumor-like dense group of blood vessels that sometimes can restrict the airways. The transport back was courtesy of the U.S. Army."

"Army Captain Erik Archer realized his stations' lacked supplies such as computers, paper and pens. The 25-year-old Mundelein native sent e-mails to Chicago area police departments to ask for help. Mundelein Police Chief Ray Rose responded and told Archer he had 39 old bulletproof vests--valued at 500-dollars each--in storage. The Mundelein police department then started collecting old bulletproof vests from several other departments including the Chicago Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
The first of the vests are now on the way to Iraq."

"Firefighters from Portsmouth, N.H., are sending gift packages for American soldiers to give out to Iraqi children. "The idea of sending toys to Iraq came from a letter that firefighter Peter Rice received from former resident Tarren Windham, who is stationed in Fallujah with the First Marine Division."

"Many teenage girls have plenty of shoes, and Niki Streussnig is no different. The 14-year-old from Gastonia has hundreds of pairs.
But they are not for her. "What we basically are doing is collecting shoes, or any other stuff, to help the Iraqi children," she said Friday.
Niki's Little Feet Society is now in full swing, but she needs your help with shipping. And in Muscatine, Iowa, students from Muscatine High School were inspired by the visit of two soldiers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rock Island District to collect more than 100 backpacks full of supplies to send to Iraqi children."

There are many more examples, but you get the idea. We are not just sitting back here and hoping for the best. Blessings to all those who find time to give.


Beautiful Atrocities, a very funny naughty blog (But many times serious) I have just recently discovered has some quotes from that oh so great leader Colonel Gaddafi of Libya:

"AIDS, AIDS, AIDS! We do not understand anything other. It is terrorism. It is psychological warfare. The AIDS is a peaceful virus. If you remain clean, there does not have a problem." Again: "If you are straight, you have nothing to fear from AIDS."

He not only speaks like a 1st grader, his knowledge of this disease goes back to when he actually was a 1st grader.
In his medical wisdom he continues:

He told leaders of African Union they should not 'worry about tsetse flies and mosquitoes' [carriers of malaria & sleeping sickness], saying they were 'God's armies' protecting Africa from its enemies, ie, foreigners: "If they come here, they will get malaria & sleeping sickness."

Which also shows great understanding of God as well. Who knew flies and mosquitoes were a part of "God's armies?"
I kinda prefer the thought of Angels and Saints, but that's just me.

What a loon.

Beautiful Atrocities also looked at Choose Blue, the site I mentioned earlier that tells you which companies are Red or Blue in their giving. He went further and made a list. Interestingly enough I shop at all the red ones, and none of the blue ones and I didn't know a thing about who they gave to.
It must be the aura.

Hat tip to Digger's Realm for directing me to the superhero's page. Had some fun putting this together. Click on image for a bit of a bigger image.
I fight ignorance and big government! (When I am not washing, cleaning, cooking, taking care of kids, and shopping) My little cat there is to keep away the moonbats. He eats them for breakfast. My kitty tells me they don't taste too good, but they are filling because they are full of...well, you know.

Can't travel? Go here. It's cool.

This leftie is really really mad about this election and she blames it all on Fox News. the rant is funny enough, but how she gives exact directions to Fox Studios is hilarious. She goes on and on and on until the end when you pretty much know the entire Manhatten region.
I kinda resent this comment she made about Texas though...

"After 9/11 in New York there were no crazed rednecks roaming the streets with shotguns and axe handles. You can be sure there would have been if it had happened in Texas."

How silly. We never use axe handles. And most of us have high power semi automatic rifles that the rednecks can't even afford. We leave the shotguns to the police. Plus, we would never roam. We hop in our trusty Hummers. So, I mean...really.

She has comments, but boys.... you play nice now.


Just when you think you have seen everything...a dog thong.

When shopping for Christmas (or as this site would probably call it..."winter holiday opening presents and got off work day') this site lets you know where to shop if you want to stay true to the democrats. Choose The Blue lets you type in your store and see if they gave to that evil hitler Bush. No. I am not kidding.

Here is a recipe you can send to your favorite soldier. No joke. And I am thinking it will feed ALOT.

Hat tip to The Biomes Blog for the travel site, dog thong, and Choose the Blue. He is a leftie, but his is not a political site and he's a great guy too.

I think this is hilarious. It is a short tutorial on black phrases and how whites may use them. Basically it is a warning for us to never use them.

Ok, here's a my first Christmas season joke: (warning, NOT spirtual)

Four guys were playing their weekly game of golf, and one remarked how nice it would be to wake up on Christmas morning, roll out of bed and without an argument go directly to the golf course, meet his buddies and play a round. His buddies all chimed in and said, "Let's do it! We'll make it a priority, figure out a way and meet here early Christmas morning."

Months later, that special morning arrives, and there they are on the golf course.The first guy says, "Boy this game cost me a fortune! I bought my wife such a diamond ring that she can't take her eyes off it."Number 2 guy says, "I spent a ton, too. My wife is at home planning the cruise I gave her. She was up to her eyeballs in brochures."Number 3 guy says "Well my wife is at home admiring her new car, reading the manual."They all turned to the last guy in the group who is staring at them like they have lost their minds."I can't believe you all went to such expense for this golf game. I slapped my wife on the butt and said, 'Well babe, Merry Christmas! It's a great morning for sex or golf ' ........ and she said, "Take a sweater..."

Abortion, life and love. No politics, no descriptions, no arguing, no preaching. No matter how you feel about it, just stick with me, ok?

I have avoided blogging specifically about abortion. It has become such a polarizing subject and everyone on both sides just shout at one another and no one listens. And everyone in the middle just wants both sides to shutup. But a commenter sent me this article by Peggy Noonan written in 1994 when she attended the National Prayer Breakfast where Mother Teresa spoke. The article is riveting to read not only because the Clintons were in the white house at the time and sitting right behind Mother Teresa as she spoke, but also because of the words of Mother Teresa. She was one no one could accuse of being selfish. She gave her entire life to the poor and dying.
Noonan gives us a perfect picture of what the room was like that morning filled with powerhouse politicans and rich government leaders. No matter how much you hate this issue, or how much you disagree with me, go read this. It might not change your mind, but you will take something away from it. Something that will make you think, not necessarily about abortion, but about love and giving, and what it means for all of us to care for one another. It is just that kind of thing. Trust me.
Come on. Read it.

Peace and movie stars.

Thailand's version of 'give peace a chance' didn't seem to touch the hearts of mutant monsters. via The Jawa Report

What can I say that hasn't already been put on a t-shirt I wear often? "PEACE THROUGH SUPERIOR FIREPOWER"

Pundit Review gives us this celebrity news item:

Banking on Kerry Actor Matt Damon tells Diane Sawyer tonight that supporting John Kerry was, "financially, the stupidest thing that [he] could do,"

Forget financially, pretty boy, it was just the stupidest thing period.

"but the election was about more than money. Interviewed with his "Ocean'sTwelve" costars on "Primetime Live," Damon says he doesn't need or want the fat tax break he's getting from the Bush administration. "I personally would like to give millions of dollars back," he says. "This guy -- this president -- is giving me millions of dollars."

Uhh....Matt...sweetie, come here. Here's the thing, he is not giving you millions of dollars, you earned it making movies. (Some good , some bad) but anyway, Bush is allowing you to KEEP some of your money and guess what???? You may do with it as you wish!!! You think headstart is a fabulous idea? Give 'em a million!!! Here is a few projects in the 2004 federal budget that might interest you:

$725,000 for the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
$200,000 for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio;
$150,000 for a single traffic light in Briarcliff Manor, New York;
$100,000 for the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, Tennessee;
$500,000 for the Montana Sheep Institute; and
$50 million to construct an indoor rainforest in Coralville, Iowa.

Write a check for them all Matt!!! The thing is...WE DON'T WANT TO! See? Your free to! We think they are stupid and local govt. or private donations can and should take care of those things. We don't want to be forced through our tax dollars to fund ridiculous pork barrel projects. (although the Please touch museum does sound interesting)

Don't you just hate it when million dollar movie stars whine about how the govt. is letting them keep their own money? They act like the government is forcing them to buy those mansions and jets instead.

You can take the boy out of the commune, but you can't take the commune out of the boy.

*sigh*

Strange Things.

Well, we have been found out. Kerry really won the election. That's right. Here is the real story. It begins like this:

"Brad Menfil is not my real name. I work for the RNC. I fear reprisals if I'm found out.
The truth about this election is this: Florida and Ohio had to go for Bush in order for him to "win" the election. In reality he lost both states. In fact, he did not even win the popular vote. He lost the national popular vote by at least 1,750,000. This shows you the scale of the fraud.
The exit polls were not wrong. Kerry was the clear winner, but victory was snatched from him."

In Florida, for example, "Brad" says that "Kerry actually won by about 750,000 votes. The numbers were changed by a computer program (in both electronic and scan-tron voting systems) called "KerryLite." "KerryLite" of course is not actual name of the program."

Elvis is alive, The crop circles were made by aliens, and we never went to the moon and all is right with the world.

Hat tip to 'Whatreallyhappened.com' which is a site you will all enjoy that is run by someone whose doctor's have wondered what really happened to his brain after 20 yrs of chronic use of mindbending drugs. For example, did you know that Iran, not Iraq gassed the Kurds? And this, (a tutorial on how to reclaim our democracy.) Well..you just have to see it for yourself.


I just love how Mudville just put things in perspective. This post is on the media's reaction to Rumsfield staying on.


Imagine a world where Teletubbies pack heat and Spongebob goes undercover. That's apparently what US government designers had in mind when they followed President Clinton's 1997 order to add child-oriented Web pages to government sites. Today, the results are bizarre - cryptographic coloring books, drug-sniffing dog cartoons, and spy-satellite sing-alongs. Are they giant inside jokes? Coded messages? Only Uncle Sam knows for sure. via wired.com

So I went looking through these sites. The graphics aren't exactly Halo2, but if you click here and click on Proud to Be An American. You get a short essay written by a child and he says that God watches over him. Shhhh.....don't let the ACLU know,it's a government page you know.
The CIA has a kid's page as well. I don't know who drew the bird, but it looks like he is about to eat the children.
No offense, but don't bother to go through Ginger's adventure through the CIA or the other games. Pretty lame. I may be the only person who has ever visted this page. Clinton should have hired some more interesting people to put together the web pages. The guys on my blogger links would have done a MUCH better job.
The one page I did like was the CIA's K-9 Core page. I love dogs and if you click on their picture they tell you their story. 'Whisper,' for example, can detect 19,000 different types of explosives. THAT is so cool.

Go laugh at Writ of Wisdom again. New pics. He never stops being funny.

Wizbang....Vote or Die.

Guys please go vote over at Wizbang for best blogs. You can vote once a day in the various categories. Protein Wisdom sooo deserves best humour blog. He is a very very bad boy, but he is freaking hilarious. Go vote for him. Politburo Dikat deserves your vote for best top 100 blogs. He's a commie that rocks. Best military blog goes to 2slick because...well...he is too slick. Best Blog Design should go to Cold Fury. Best of the top 100-250 blogs should be blogoSEFERICS cuz he is funny, but serious. Best overall blog to me goes to Powerline. And finally The Kerry Spot for best new blog. Both for all the news before anyone else had it.

Diggers Realm linked to a story that Michelle Malkin did on a sweet and nice obituary written for a man that killed his two kids. Digger's entry was entitled "How Would You Write An Obituary For A Child Killer?
http://www.diggersrealm.com/mt/archives/000491.html

This man killed his 2 daughters before killing himself in a nasty custody dispute. It's disturbing to be sure. Digger wanted everyone to know that the little girl's memorial services are today. Keep their mother especially in your prayers.

Sometimes this world just sucks.

Late Night's Top 10 Politically Incorrect.

Among the top 10 list of politically charged words and phrases, issued by the word usage group Global Language Monitor the computer term "master/slave," (referring to primary and secondary hard disk drives) was chosen as the #1 politically incorrect term. It was banned as racially offensive by a Los Angeles County purchasing department. (So there's proof)
Also in the top 10 were "non-same sex marriage" to describe heterosexual unions, "waitron" for waiter or waitress and "higher being" for God, a term some people found too religious. (Seriously, could it get any less religious than "higher being?") Also on the list this year were "Red Sox lover," to use in place of "Yankee hater," "progressive" for classical liberal, "incurious" rather than more impolite invectives for President Bush, (What?? no Bushitler???), "insurgents" instead of terrorists in Iraq , "baristas" for waiters, and "first year student" rather than freshman. via Yahoo News
I'm surprised "moonbat" didn't make it.

Come lay on the couch and tell me your problems...or scream....whatever.

I had heard of the therapy sessions going on in Boca Raton Florida where people had been tramatized by the elections, but I still thought this article was a joke at first. Here's a few excerpts:

"Twenty John Kerry supporters met for their first group therapy session in South Florida Thursday, screaming epithets at President Bush as they shared their emotions with licensed mental health counselors. The first of several free noontime therapy sessions at the American Health Association in Boca Raton was designed to treat what mental health counselors have dubbed Post Election Selection Trauma (PEST).

Robert J. Gordon, AHA executive director, told the Boca News after the session. “It’s no joke. People with PEST were traumatized by the election. If you even mention religion, their faces turn blister-red as they shout at Bush.”

“I’m scared,” said one man. “Democracy is at stake and nobody is rising to protest this president.” “I want to be a patriot, but it’s impossible to be a patriot in an immoral war,” said another participant, a woman. “Bush is breaking up marriages and dividing families by keeping our troops in Iraq.”

“The media outlets, especially Rush Limbaugh and his ilk on talk radio, scare our patients to death,” said Gordon, facilitator for the meetings. “More than anything else, people with PEST tremble physically.”

“In psychology, we call it ‘learned helplessness.’ After you zap a caged dog twice, he stops moving because he knows there is no place to go. That’s what happened with these Kerry voters. They’ve been zapped so many times that they’re on the verge of giving up on politics.”

Cooperman, also a practicing psychic, added, “One person today said he thinks the country is now run by fascists."

Perhaps instead of therapy sessions, these people need reality sessions. For instance....a belief in smaller government, lower taxes, and moral values is NOT FASCIST! (Despite what any highly respected psychic might say)

You know, yelling and cursing at the President of the United States might not be the most mature way to handle your concern. It just makes you look like a loon.

And Rush Limbaugh is not scary. He is just very very rich. Seriously, he is just a voice on the radio, unlike the ones in your head, you don't have to do what he tells you to do.

If mentioning religion causes your face to turn blister red there might be an exorcism in your future. And once we get this whole democracy thing turned around into the theocracy that we plan, you can bet your little beezlebub you'll get one.

Wait....did I say that out loud?..Oops.

Anyway, the only thing more ridiculous than these therapy sessions is the fact that these loonie's insurance companies are paying for it.

I don't know who is hosting for Rush today, but they just read the parody article I posted Wednesday on "Canada busy sending back Bush-Dodgers." (which was e-mailed everywhere) and he could not have read it in a less funny way. Somethings just need to be read, not said.

I guess the President listened to me and picked Bernard Kerik for Homeland Security. I also strongly recommended Condi for the Sec. of State thing as well. What? You don't think he reads this blog? I just got a Christmas Card from him and Laura yesterday..... so there. (I really don't think they send out many of those...;-)

Jeff at Beautiful Atrocities has this on Barbara Boxer's novel "Lucky Bitch." Someone please tell me that is a joke or something because one could seriously be misled into thinking it was a autobiography.

Jeff also has this from Erotrash:

"Every morning I walk along the streets of New York & there are all these women who tie their scarves just so. In exactly the same way. Round the neck once & tucked into the coat. Like they're Jennifer Aniston. Like that's someone you'd actually want to be. They're buffed, toned, entirely hairless, manicured, pedicured, facialed, plucked, waxed, moisturised, walking talking perfectly made-up shiny-haired automatons from hell."

Everytime I go to NY and see these women I feel the same way. They are all Katie Couric/Kathie Lee Gifford clones. I use to listen to Kathie Lee go on and on about her kids on her morning show. Let me tell you, being a former actress, I know what it takes to look that perfect. A HECK of a lot of time. From hair to nails to waxing to facials. Do all that and do your job and you don't have jack time for kids, I can tell you that. Not to mention the constant self promotion that eats up their days. Not to be harsh, but come on. Any one of us who have had little ones knows that taking care of them is wonderful, but also alot of work. How many moms out there reading this can tell me how many times when you were taking care of your little ones you looked at the clock and it was 1:30pm and you realized you hadn't taken a shower or brushed your teeth??? Forget facials and manicures, if I got through the day showered, supper cooked, and with the kids still alive, I called it victory!

When Eurotrash wondered where he could live where things were different, this one commenter struck me as a true optimist.

16: Face it, everywhere's sh*t. It's either beautiful countryside full of ignorant superstitious peasants, brain-sucked suburbs with parents on Valium and kids bored enough to smoke glue, or miserable cities full of needles, sarcasm and tw*ts. There is no "where", this is all you get.
Posted by fridgemagnet at 1:08 pm on 12.01.04

Wouldn't you love to work with this guy? I'm thinking he is a boatload of fun!
I kinda resent the brain-sucked comment, but the Valium is not a bad idea....;-)

The journalism of blogging.

N.Z. Bear has a interesting article at Tech Central about bloggers and journalism. He ends the article with this:

"To the die-hard old-media types who sneer at "blogging as typing" and bloggers as pajama-clad losers, then, we can quite simply say: laugh while you can. Time is not your friend, because before long, people like us will have your jobs -- and people like you will be a fading memory, shuffled away to the same journalistic dustbin as and black-and-white photos on the front page of the Times."

Hat tip to The Asylum who also has his take on the blogging world.

I have been reading alot about bloggers in general and I find it interesting (and I don't know if anyone has really noticed this) but right leaning journalists seem to love bloggers, while left leaning ones are the ones with the sneering comments.

I also never hear left leaning journalists praise left wing bloggers in any way. But I could have missed it, seeing I tend to avoid reading left leaning journalists. Maybe it is because of the Right's love of freedom opposed to the Left's love of knowing what is best for all of us.

I happened upon the blogging world just before the Dan Rather story hit. I watched AMAZED that day as LGF , Hugh Hewitt , Instapundit, and Powerline and others took off with the story that seemed too incredible to be true. Could a mainstream television news network actually be putting out a false document that demeans the President in such a way that it may affect the election? I mean we all understood that a democratic operative would do that, but a highly respected news anchor??? Agree or disagree with Rather, it was astonishing to me what the bloggers were uncovering.
I remember linking them that day and saying ,"It doesn't look good for Rather," and a leftie commenter saying "let it go....you are all going to look like fools."

Well, we all know now who looked like a fool and it sure as heck wasn't the bloggers. I have to wonder if and when Fox news would have caught on to this story. (Lets face it, the others wouldn't have even tried) But even Fox might not have, assuming as most did, that someone like Dan Rather would never put out there a completely false document. But even then, by the time Fox News got the typography expert and the story together, would the damage already have been done to President Bush?

I guess we will never know. Would it be too dramatic to say that the bloggers may have stopped the political destruction of Bush and because of that we are not looking at a Kerry presidency?

I know that I am grateful to the bloggers who grabbed onto this story and hung on like a pit bull in a fight. It was a turning point in the way news is made, if only that the MSM now know that there are fact checkers looking over their shoulder, not for a paycheck, but for love of country. The bloggers will make sure the story is true and that it is being told fairly.

I don't think bloggers have much of an influence outside of the computer and journalism world though. Even though the bloggers are getting more recognition, most people I know don't even know what a blog is. The only reason bloggers were able to make an impact, even with the Rather story was because Fox News picked up the story. If there was no Fox News, the story probably would have slowly leaked out into places like National Review and maybe finally U.S. News and World Report. Probably too late.
Who knows ?

The future of blogging will be interesting to watch. Will it grow and become totally mainstream or will it just be a helping hand to journalists? All I know is that I am glad they were there when it was critical to be there.

My top pick for replacing outgoing Sec. of Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge is Bernard Kerik, the former New York police chief during 9-11 who is presently training Iraqi police.

Before becoming NY's police chief, Kerik was a fearless narcotics detective. He went undercover to buy drugs in Harlem, seized millions of dollars of cocaine from the druglords of the Cali cartel, and was awarded the Police Department's Medal of Valor for saving the life of a fellow officer.

He impressed me during 9-11 with his calm but firm demeanor and determined leadership qualities. I read his memoirs, "The Lost Son: A Life in Pursuit of Justice," a beautifully written story of a tragic life turned around for good.

Any of you who read the post about my father knows that that kind of story truly touches my heart. People who overcome adversity and become great men (or women) seem to always be the kind of person you want in leadership. It is the kind of leader who understands what life can do to us and how to rise above it. In Iraq, he is dubbed the "Baghdad Terminator" for his no-nonsense style in rebuilding the city's police force.

The day before the election Kerik wrote a piece in the NY Post on why he was voting for Bush. Go read it, it will make you even more proud of your vote.


And then in the not so important news category, Caroline Kennedy is once again auctioning off some Kennedy items with Sothby's auction because " I found myself again with more houses and belongings than I could possibly use or enjoy." I feel that way all the time. Don't you? I even have some of the 'stuff' she is auctioning off. Thats right, lil ole me, one of the masses. I never make quite that much for my stuff at my garage sales though. Here are a few of the items:

"A fibreglass kitchen tray, some old suitcases, chipped china and a few tumblers.
A pair of folding suitcase racks described as "mid-20th century" and incomplete sets of crockery ($150-$200) as well as tables with nicks and what the New York Times describes as "painted pieces [that] are missing some of their paint". From The Gardian

The last Kennedy auction earned 7 times what they estimated, netting $34.5m (£18m), earning it the title "the sale of the century".

This recent auction just strikes me as wierd. I don't know why. I just don't see why she doesn't donate to some museum or even give it away. It isn't like she needs the money. And these items aren't the quality stuff her mother had that brought so much money in last time. Oh well, her stuff, her life.

And finally, leave it to Jeff at Protein Wisdom to make a really sick news story into a really sick funny news story as only Jeff can. This is a take on the teacher, Debra Lafave, who had an affair with her 14 yr old student you might not have thought of. (warning---naughty alert).

Sister Support. Not.

Frankly I don't see how Condi Rice stands all that is thrown at her. I hope she doesn't read articles like this from BlackAmerica.com. Once again the smug liberal condescension raises it's ugly head. This from another black successful woman:

"Although I have not been a fan of yours, I offer my sincere congratulations on your nomination to be U.S. secretary of state. What an honor to ascend to one of the most prestigious posts in the world’s most powerful government – fourth in line to the presidency! – and to present “America’s face to the world,” as President George W. Bush put it, as that of a black woman.
Of course, you can expect some tough questioning – especially about your role in thwarting terrorism as the president's national security adviser – a role which, among others, former White House terrorism czar Richard Clarke says you essentially blew. Unless someone slips some sodium pentothal into the White House Kool-Aid, we’ll never know will we?"

Oh, it gets better....

"As you no doubt realize, yours is an amazing opportunity. Not only can you help repair the damage done to our national image by your boss’s intransigence, arrogance and smugness ensconced in his policy of pre-emption and unilateralism, but you can help repair the rift between the administration and 50 million Americans who voted against him.
Having spent the last four years or so cozying up to Bush and carrying his water, you’ve won his confidence and favor."

"...... You can use the political capital you’ve collected over the years to move Bush toward a wiser course. Put that able mind to work for truth and reality, not in service to some pompous ideology based on ethnocentrism, supremacy, hegemony, daddyism – “we know what’s good for you” – or bullyism – “my way or the highway.”

She ends on the usual liberal high note.

Now, I must admit, that I will be astonished if you step up on these matters because, frankly, your record of speaking truth to power is not very good. Certainly, it would come as a surprise to your patron to find that his favorite girl is no longer a yes-woman, willing to go along with ill-timed, ill-informed and perhaps even treacherous plans. But, seize the day. Show ol’ Dick Cheney what’s what.

This was written by Deborah Mathis, who is a nationally syndicated columnist and former White House correspondent for the Gannett News Service. (Yet another example of 'objective' white house news reporting, I'm sure.) She is the author of two books,
"Yet A Stranger: Why Black Americans Still Don't Feel at Home "and
"Sole Sister: The Joys and Pain of Single Black Women."

I can't imagine why she is single. If she talks this way to successful black sisters, imagine how she must talk to the men in her life.

You Big Mouth, You! blog is asking for a blogging challenge to help in raising money for Spirit of America. "This program answers requests by the United States military and civilians for goods and services that will improve the lives of ordinary Iraqis and Afghanis. All funds donated through this blog will go to the Iraqi Project Fund. There's no overhead. 100% of your donation goes to the project."

It seems it is basically helping our soldiers help others. Listed as one of the things provided by this charity is that they contributed equipment to Iraqi-owned television stations to establish a better alternative to Al Jazeera. That alone is worth it to me.

I got this in an e-mail. It may be all over the net, but I thought it was funny:

Canada busy sending back Bush-dodgers.

The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration.

The re-election of President Bush is prompting the exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they'll soon be required to hunt, pray and agree with Bill O'Reilly.

Canadian border farmers say it's not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors,animal-rights activists and Unitarians crossing their fields at night. "I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn," said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota.The producer was cold, exhausted and hungry. "He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken. When I said I didn't have any, he left. Didn't even get a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?"

In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. So he tried installing speakers that blare Rush Limbaugh across the fields. "Not real effective," he said. "The liberals still got through, and Rush annoyed the cows so much they wouldn't give milk."

Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons, drive them across the border and leave them to fend for themselves. "A lot of these people are not prepared for rugged conditions," an Ontario border patrolman said. "I found one carload without a drop of drinking water. They did have a nice little Napa Valley cabernet, though."

When liberals are caught, they're sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have been circulating about the Bush administration establishing re-education camps in which liberals will be forced to drink domestic beer and watch NASCAR.

In the days since the election, liberals have turned to sometimes-ingenious ways of crossing the border. Some have taken to posing as senior citizens on bus trips to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half-dozen young vegans disguised in powdered wigs, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizen passengers. "If they can't identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, we get suspicious about their age," an official said.

Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating an organic-broccolishortage and renting all the good Susan Sarandon movies. "I feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can't support them," an Ottawa resident said. "How many art-history majors does one country need?"

In an effort to ease tensions between the United States and Canada, Vice President Dick Cheney met with the Canadian ambassador and pledged that the administration would take steps to reassure liberals, a source close to Cheney said. "We're going to have some Peter, Paul & Mary concerts. And we might put some endangered species on postage stamps. The president is determined to reach out."

The Belmont Club has this:

"Senator Norm Coleman has called for the resignation of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan for his role in the maladministration of the U.N. Oil-for-Food program. Coleman, who chairs the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee charges that Annan allowed the Oil-for-Food program to become a covert program for subverting the very sanctions they were intended to enforce."

They have much more and really covers this whole scandal. I just cannot believe that Kofi Annan has not been asked to step down before now.
But I have to say it concerns me that Clinton wants this job. I wonder what the chances are that he could actually get it?


WND has an article about a Principal at a Georgia High School who recited a parody prayer over the intercom that has circulated the internet for years. Of course the usual "offended" parties called in. Here's the prayer:

Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule.
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.
If Scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a federal matter now.
Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a freedom scene.
The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.
For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all.
In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the state.
We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks.
They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the "unwed daddy,'' our Senior King.
It's "inappropriate'' to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such "judgments'' do not belong.
We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.
It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot, my soul please take!
Amen.

Maybe not the best thing for a Principal to read, but there isn't a thing in there that isn't true and that is the saddest thing of all.



Rolling Stone has a interesting article on why Bush won. David Gergen points some voting trends about the democrats that I wasn't aware of:

"The Democrats are in danger of sliding down. They haven't won a majority of the white vote since 1964. They haven't won fifty percent of the national vote since 1976. And in the last six congressional elections -- starting with 1994 -- they haven't cracked 48.5 percent of the national vote. This is a party that needs to have some deep rethinking -- not simply go out and turn a few dials."

Although I find this encouraging, I don't see how the democrats can really 'rethink' things. They are who they are. What the elections depend on is who the voters want. My guess is that they will do the only thing that can be done. Sound centrist, but govern to the left when they get there.

U.S. News and World Report Dec. 6th edition says that Top officials expect that the marine under investigation for shooting an unharmed insurgent (the whole Kevin Sites thing) will be cleared despite the media outcry. ( and it WAS just the media) The officials argue that the soldier knew about booby-trapped bodies and he felt he had less than a second to shoot or be killed. One official suggested that the public would support a decision not to prosecute.

Can I have a AMEN?

The Writ of Wisdom has some more "I'm sorry" pics with hilarious captions. He even has a bad girl..but guys, come back here, ok???

This from Fox News:
CHICAGO — Mayor Richard Daley's (search) 29-year-old son has enlisted in the Army and will soon report for duty in the airborne infantry.

I don't know why I find this interesting except for the fact that the Daley's have long been known as a democrat dynasty and you have to know that it is not exactly the first choice of a career that he would want for his son. Listen to this..umm...not so ringing endorsement:

"Asked about his own feelings toward the war in Iraq , the Democratic mayor said: "You stand by the president; you stand by the men and women of the military."

I wish the best of luck to Daley's son, who could be sent to Iraq within a year.

I suppose you saw the NBA's Piston/Pacers brawl on TV, since they showed the clip every five minutes! I happen to come across this quote from columnist Clarence Page.

" the jaw-dropping footage has aired over and over again like an ad for some sort of a "Negroes Gone Wild" video."

Yow! Only a liberal black journalist could get away with saying that. Yet, ironically in the same column Page sneers at Rush Limbaugh for saying this (among other things):

"This is the hip-hop culture on parade. This is gang behavior on parade minus the guns. That's the culture that the NBA has become."

I guess Page has a "your a liberal black, you can say anything" card.

I found the column interesting because all I could think of during the brawl was how stupid everyone involved in it was. The basketball players for losing it and the fans for throwing beer on someone who could probably snap their neck in a matter of seconds. The color of the idiots never occurred to me. I blogged on the incident earlier and felt that sports itself, from little league to the big leagues was out of control. It all starts with the parents. Just like everything else. I just found this take on color a little strange.

MSM, where is this story?

Ok, I promise not to quote from 2slick's blog every single day, but he received an e-mail from Army officer serving in Task Force 2-7 CAV. His unit went into Fallujah on Nov. 8th and in the e-mail he describes it. It is a fascinating discription of the battle. But I found these points interesting:

"They (the Marines) also found unbelievable amounts of drugs, mostly heroin, speed, and cocaine. It turns out, the enemy drugged themselves up to give them the "courage" and stupidity to stay and fight.The enemy tried to fight us in "the city of mosques" as dirty as they could. They fired from the steeples of the mosques and the mosques themselves. They faked being hurt and then threw grenades at soldiers when they approached to give medical treatment. They waived surrender flags, only to shoot at our forces 20 seconds later when they approached to accept their surrender."

So..... drugged up idiots would throw grenades at our guys even as the Marines were attempting to give medical care to them. And yet again we hear about "faking." I swear if that Marine that NBC's Kevin Sites exploited gets into ANY trouble over what he did, it will be wrong and unjust.

" Soldiers took fire from heavy machine guns (.50 cal) and came across the dead bodies of fighters from Chechnya, Syria, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Afghanistan, and so on...no, this was not just a city of pissed off Iraqis, mad at the Coalition for forcing Saddam out of power. It was a city full of people from all over the Middle East whose sole mission in life was to kill Americans. Problem for them is that they were in the wrong city in November 2004."

In other words, we killed thousands of these monsters from all over the middle east and he says we have 900 in custody who seem pretty willing to talk. Weren't we always asked "Why go into Iraq? They didn't attack us on 9-11." What Bush understood was that no country attacked us on 9-11. Hate and bigotry attacked us and it had no country. Our boys just killed thousands of those hate filled fanatics who had the weapons, the plans, and certainly the inspiration to kill us. Now we have some singing as well.

Do you think it is possible for the critics of this war to now see that we needed to do this? That those fanatics will never hurt or kill Americans now? That we will uncover plans and bring down what is left of these enemies of ours? Is it possible? Perhaps it could be if what this soldier wrote about is told. If Americans can see the whole picture and get a clear understanding of all that we have accomplished here.

The Army officer also says:

"It was amazing to see how the American military had brought the world's most evil city to its knees."

I want to see that too. Don't you?

God, I hope we do.

Vote the right way...or God gets mad. Did you know that?

Is there is anything more condesending to read than the MSM writing about Christians, especially evangelical Christians? (of which I am not one, but I know many) In this ABC news article this is the very first "Christian" quote:

"I believe Our Lord elected our president and I believe he put him in office and it is my prayer that he will sustain him in office," said one woman at the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The ABC article goes on to say this about those Christians:

"They believe that if their agenda is not implemented quickly — if their concerns are not addressed in a timely fashion — God will be angry."

We do??? Notice he didn't say "many Christians" or "some Christians." He used the word "They" to imply all Christians.

Then the ABC reporter asked the pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church about the millions of Americans who are not Christian, or have a different interpretation of Christianity, Kennedy said with another laugh: "I couldn't care less. It's true."

I wonder how long it took this reporter to find a church where he could make sure the pastor and the parishioner sounded kooky enough. One woman, not even named, speaks for all evangelicals I suppose. And of course the Pastor HAS to sound intolerant and dismiss what others think by saying " I couldn't care less."
How many pastors do you know that would say something like that? I grew up in the deep south, raised in the Methodist and Baptist Church. Why is it that I never heard this kind of "I speak for God" talk?

I have about had it with this kind of smug reporting. Do Christians ( and other religions for that matter) believe that God listens to prayers and moves to answer prayers? Yes. Are those prayers always answered in the way we want them to be? No. They are answered in the way God wants them to be.

I don't think many Christians believe that God elected Bush. The people of America elected Bush. Did prayer sustain Bush during the election? Did prayer move people to vote? Did prayer change people's hearts? I'm sure it did. Prayer is powerful, believe me, I know. But I also believe that God does not care about politics. He cares about us.

The media likes to portray Christians in this backwoods church kind of way because that is the way most of them see us. My entire family from cousins to Aunts to Grandparents are all college educated, many with post graduate degrees, doctors, teachers, and lawyers, and they are all Christians as well.
What the media does not understand is that faith is the foundation of our lives therefore it does affect the way we vote, but it does not prevent us from reasoning and deciding certain issues in an intellectual way.

Finally the reporter ends the story with this:

"Evangelicals say Kennedy may seem intolerant, but there's no greater love than upholding the will of God."

Evangelicals say that? As a group? Is that written some where? No greater love than upholding the will of God? WHAT???? I've been a Christian for 30 yrs and I have never heard that one.
Imagine this reporter writing something where he speaks for all blacks, or all Jews, or even all Texans??? These blanket statements are not only unfair, but untrue.

The media doesn't have to be a Christian to understand our concerns. It doesn't have to agree with those concerns. But a little respect might be nice.


One interesting side note: I noticed in the ABC article mentioned above it says:

"By one measure, conservative Christians comprised 12 percent of the electorate this year — the same as four years ago."

Yet in a related ABC article , ( from Rueters, but it is from the same ABC news page) it says this:

"Unprecedented turnout by evangelical Christians was a key factor in ensuring Bush's narrow victory over Democrat John Kerry in the election."

So which is it? Was it an unprecedented turnout or the same as four years ago? Someone want to call ABC and check? Because it seems that whichever spin fits the story is the one they go with.

Gloria Borger with U.S. News and World report has a interesting article on why democrats lost. I know this topic has been run into the ground, but this part really says it all:

"When did the party of the little guy, the middle class, and working moms become the party of the intelligentsia, of Hollywood moguls, of left-wing billionaires?"

The answer to that is simple of course. The democrats became that party when they starting sharing the same values (or lack thereof) of the intelligentsia, Hollywood moguls, and left-wing billionares.

Sometimes we have to face the mirror and change what we know to be wrong. Not that I want to give democrats advice, but it is time for them to return to at least looking out for the little guy. At least then I could have some respect for them.

Iraqi Views.

According to 2Slick , Eric Simon's Desert Sky will be featured on FOX's Dayside with Linda Vester on Monday 1pm eastern time. It is a documentary told by the soldiers themselves about a year in the life of the world's largest Air Assault Helicopter Brigade.

I'm betting the film rocks.

2Slick also has more info on a new book coming out, IRAQ: PROVIDING HOPE written by Eric Holmes which are personal stories from 50 people actively involved in freeing and rebuilding a new Iraq. (2slick is in it!)
Please contact Timberwolf Press for more information and to pre-order.
Call office toll free to order: 888-808-0912 Or email information to: sales@timberwolfpress.com

And to round off a complete hat tip post to 2slick, here is an Iraqi blogger with a little Thanksgiving post of his own.

Reading a bit more on his blog I noticed he had this to say on Nov. 16th:

" the chief editor of an Arabic newspaper located in London, widely read in Arab world, recounted an incident which happened to him with one of the editors in the newspaper. He said that a picture, shows an American soldier speaking to an Iraqi girl, was to be published with an article. A comment which says (An American soldier instructing an Iraqi girl) was to be under the picture. What happened, the junior editor changed it to (An American soldier hitting on an Iraqi girl). Such comment stimulates a very conservative religious society as the one in Iraq.Now, what happened yesterday of showing an American soldier shooting an injured man in Fallujah will be the tambourine on which Aljazeera and Arabic media will play on for a long time."

It seems this Iraqi understands the damage of perception to us (the U.S.) and our soldiers when a story is "spun" in such a way to make us look bad. Perhaps Kevin Sites should read this guy's blog.

He goes on to say:

"The crimes of breaking into hospitals, snatching injured Iraqi policemen and soldiers, cutting them into pieces by the insurgents are not criticized by Aljazeera. "......The crimes committed by Saddam’s closest assistants against the Iraqi people, many are filmed, had never been spoken about. No one dared to raise a voice to demand a trail because of fear. And the same fear is used nowadays by the insurgents to keep mouths shut."

I think it is time for a 'fair and balanced' answer to Aljazeera.

What is the Arabic word for Fox?

Patti Davis and the long embarrassment....

Patti Davis, Ronald Reagan's daughter, has written a book about her father's descent into Alzheimer's disease called "The Long Goodbye." Patti spent her life embarrassing her father and doing a lot of whining. First with a "fictional" book about a daughter whose father was President and a cold aloof mother. She then posed for Playboy in 1994. Later writing another book involving S & M sexual activities. She was just a real class act all around.

Here she talks about her book. Making money off her father's memory is no surprise to me. It doesn't even surprise me that she even speaks for him in death, obviously injecting her own political feelings into what she 'thinks' he would have done or said in the present political climate. Here's a bit:

Point Loma, CA: Do you think the current president's vision for America is similar to your father's?

Patti Davis: I do not believe my father would have taken us into Iraq, nor do I think he would have alienated so much of the world. I believe, if he had been in office when 9/11 happened, Osama bin Laden would not still be walking around and sending out broadcasts via television.

She might be right about the bin Laden thing, but I don't think the left she loves would have liked the way he would have done it.

Orlando, Fl: ....Do you believe your father would have conducted a pre-emptive strike against Iraq, both in Desert Storm and now as the present administration has done?

Patti Davis: I think my father would have handled things very differently if he had been in office. I think he would have responded to 9/11 in an appropriate way by going after the group who carried out the attack. I'm saddened by what this administration has done.

Umm....Perhaps someone should tell Patti that Bush did go after the group (the Taliban) who carried out the attack. We went in Afghanistan and kicked their ass, killing off most and destroying their base and organization. And just as a little side thing, Bush also freed the afghan people from tyranny and allowed them to have free elections for the first time. I think Reagan would have loved that from the bottom of his freedom loving heart.
Patti, being the feminist that she is, might also kinda like the fact that girls are allowed to go to school and work now, and even have the right now not to be murdered if they choose the wrong boyfriend.
Because you know, I was really saddened by the brutality, murder, and discrimination that the Taliban had done.

Crofton, MD: Hi Patti: You've always been one of my favorite writers. Did your father ever voice an opinion regarding stem-cell research?

Patti Davis: Unfortunately, by the time stem-cell research became part of our vocabulary, my father was too ill to understand it. I think he would be very proud of my mother's work for this cause.

Everything that Ronald Reagan every wrote or said on the subject of embryos and the sanctity of life says he would have been against embryonic stem cell research, but for adult stem cell research. But, she doesn't say that he would have been for it at least, she only says that he would be proud of her mother, which of course, he would have. I think he would have supported Nancy in all things.

Gautier, MS: What type of relationship do you and your mother have with Michael? He seemed so alone at the funeral.

Patti Davis: Our family has pulled together and bonded through my father's illness and passing.

This was a good dodge. Michael, who is a outspoken Christian, could not be more different from Patty and Ron. The one thing they do seem to have in common now is the love and respect they have for their father. Patty spoke a bit about how her father would have hated how divided the country was. Does she really believe that that we would be less divided with Ronald Reagan in office? Reagan's political policies and vision makes George W. Bush look like a liberal. Does she think the democrats would embrace a Ronald Reagan? Or even tolerate one? It was the force of Reagan's conservative vision that began the head spinning hatred the left has for conservatism.

This post probably seems harsh. Patty's book, as I understand it, is a beautiful tribute to her father. But that does not give her the right to put words in her father's mouth. Especially about political decisions being made now. And I admit to always having felt sickened by how she humiliated her parents who had such class. As you have read recently here how I felt about my father, I just can't not wrap my mind around doing something so embarrassing to him, especially in such a public way. We all make mistakes, but most of us do not intentionally open family wounds in public, and do it in such a way that seems determined to make our family look hypocritical.
I did read Patti's first book. It seemed to me that Nancy was not a nuturing mother to say the least. This seemed to be where the deep problems that Patti has dealt with her whole life come from. Everything I have read in interviews with her seem to say the same thing. If writing this book helps her and her family become closer, then that is fine. But I just wish she would not speak for her father.
His whole life speaks for itself and it is loud and wonderful enough for all us to understand everything that he was and all that he gave us.

Dean and the DNC.

Eleanor Clift wonders if Howard Dean can save the democrats by heading up the DNC:

"Dean is essentially a New Democrat who happened to be against the war. Signing legislation legalizing civil unions is the only outsized liberal thing he did, and he did it reluctantly in a compromise forced by court action. Only a few staffers were present at the signing ceremony, and photographers were banned."

He just "happened to be against the war." Like it was an accident. I tripped and fell and discovered I was against the war!
And by golly, they made him sign that leftie civil union thing! And then after they got through practically forcing him to, he signed it real secret like, so it really doesn't count. He didn't even let them take pictures! So I guess if you don't let them take pictures of you signing leftie legislation it makes you more centrist?

Clift goes on to say:

"Deciding to lead the party would probably take Dean out of the running for the ’08 nomination. Maybe that’s why the Clintons are quietly pulling for Dean. He would be one less party favorite for Hillary to dispose of."

Dispose of? I don't know about you, but that kinda gave me the creeps for some reason.

I just got this e-mail and I am wondering how many STUPID people will respond to this. I like the part where she says she found my e-mail by searching the internet. I guess she googled "honest foreigner" and my name popped up!!!!!
Never trust someone who wishes to never "look for money" again in her life. Working usually works better than looking for it, but thats just my opinion.
If I am reading this correctly she says her father died in a plane crash, but that she is his first wife.....? OK, well thats just gross.
So anyway if any of you want 20% of nothng, have at it.





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My house is clean, the groceries bought, the guest room ready. I'm all ready for Thanksgiving and it is only Tuesday!! YAY ME! So I am posting on the lighter side of life today.

If I had a real life I would want some of these and any sparkle shown here. (especially the shoes!) I will take this purse. (notice it is 'inspired' so I am not that bad). And This blue coat.

Continuing in the realm of unreality, I did an unusual thing last night. I actually watched some late night tv. I switched between Leno and Letterman and they were pretty funny. Letterman had actor Colin Farrell on and if there is a better looking man on this planet I am not aware of it. That is until....He opened his mouth. He just babbled and twitched. I just wanted to shout "just shutup and let me look at you!" Is this how you men feel about Anna Nicole Smith? (the new skinny one)

It just so happened that I had just seen "The Recruit" starring Colin Farrell and Al Pacino and Farrell is a very very good actor, Al Pacino is just incredible and Farrell held his own, so he must be pretty good. Like with most actors I will take the picture over the person anytime.

I hear Farrell is excellent in "Alexander The Great," but I also heard it is like a historical gay porn flick, so I guess I will be missing it because if there is anything worse than watching a great looking man babbling and twitching, it is watching a great looking man kissing another man.

Fred Hale dies at 113, he became Guinness' oldest known driver. But he hung up his car keys at 108, annoyed by too many slow drivers. (Heh.)

I keep thinking they could have come up with a better name for this item.

Someone might think about getting Jeff from Protein Wisdom this for the Holidays.

This is suppose to wake you up if you are the kind that doesn't wake up with your alarm clock.... who are they kidding?

If we only had a drink to keep us from this. But the label is interesting.

The Writ of Wisdom has another "We are Sorry Pic" that is too funny. I can't pick a caption I like the most. You pick.



I'll end with a used before quote of the day. It may become my signature quote:

"I was going to change the world, but I couldn't find a babysitter."

Reporting on War.

Belmont Club has this regarding the NBC reporter on the story and filming of the Marine who killed a wounded insurgent in a mosque:

"Although Kevin Sites' weblog posting can be read, at one level, as a defense of a journalist's duty to report what he sees, it is now being used to convey the impression that a Marine now under investigation is guilty of shooting an inoffensive and wounded man. Sites himself does not say the Marine is guilty: he carefully avoids that; but was well aware that a journalist's story could easily be put to uses beyond his control. Describing his own video, Sites said:"

"We all knew it was a complicated story, and if not handled responsibly, could have the potential to further inflame the volatile region. I offered to hold the tape until they had time to look into incident and begin an investigation -- providing me with information that would fill in some of the blanks. ...
I knew NBC would be responsible with the footage. But there were complications. We were part of a video "pool" in Falluja, and that obligated us to share all of our footage with other networks. I had no idea how our other "pool" partners might use the footage. I considered not feeding the tape to the pool -- or even, for a moment, destroying it. But that thought created the same pit in my stomach that witnessing the shooting had. It felt wrong. Hiding this wouldn't make it go away. There were other people in that room. What happened in that mosque would eventually come out. I would be faced with the fact that I had betrayed truth as well as a life supposedly spent in pursuit of it.
When NBC aired the story 48-hours later, we did so in a way that attempted to highlight every possible mitigating issue for that marines actions. We wanted viewers to have a very clear understanding of the circumstances surrounding the fighting on that frontline. Many of our colleagues were just as responsible. Other foreign networks made different decisions, and because of that, I have become the conflicted conduit who has brought this to the world."

Sites also says this:

"During the course of these events, there was plenty of mitigating circumstances like the ones just mentioned and which I reported in my story. The Marine who fired the shot had reportedly been shot in the face himself the day before. I'm also well aware from many years as a war reporter that there have been times, especially in this conflict, when dead and wounded insurgents have been booby-trapped, even supposedly including an incident that happened just a block away from the mosque in which one Marine was killed and five others wounded. Again, a detail that was clearly stated in my television report. ..."

This is what I am not getting. Yes, I understand why he didn't destroy it. That would have been wrong. The Marines themselves would have wanted to look at it, but couldn't he have used it without feeding it to the video pool knowing how it could be used against us? He uses the word "obligated." What does that mean? Was he under contract? Or was it more of a unwritten courtesy? Would he have been fired had he not shared it? This is important to know. It would tell me a little more of his motivation. It is very exciting for a reporter to have a "prize" piece of video. They get a lot of attention with it being aired everywhere with all video feeds. Did that maybe go into his decision?

Just asking.


Darrin Mortenson of the North County Times in defending Site's reporting tells of time in Fallujah where he witnessed a Marine shoot an unharmed Iraqi talking on his cell phone. He reported the incident to the Marines, but he goes on to say:

"It was instructive: What we had witnessed and documented was how the insurgency grows -- something the military and folks at home seemed very uncomfortable hearing about."

This is problem here to me. Does anyone else see it? This reporter Mortenson is certainly putting himself in the place of being all knowing here, isn't he? Did it ever occur to him that the Marine might have known something the reporter didn't? Perhaps being told that cell phones were being used to activate bombs at our forces? ( a not uncommon occurrence), perhaps even notified that that was exactly what this man was doing? I am just speculating here. For all I know the Marine could very well have shot this man against all engagement rules, but this reporter is assuming the worst, why? And why does he feel that he is instructing us and the marines on how the insurgency grows? Did he not think the Marines had a clue about anything going on there? It sure seems like it to me. Perhaps the military wasn't uncomfortable hearing about it, maybe they just disagreed and had intelligence saying otherwise.

Just wondering.

Do you see what I am saying here? On his website Sites says that "the wounded man made no sudden movements before the Marine opened fire on him. ... "

Perhaps it never occurred to Sites that in the sentence where he says "the wounded man made no sudden movements," he should have added...."That I saw."
Is it possible that the Marine, who I am imagining had a laser beam focus on the guy, could have seen movement?

My point is that as we know the Marines will investigate and the Marine in question will either be found guilty of ignoring rules of engagement or he will be justified. But these reporters seem to have a sense of being the ones who really know what is going on in this situations. They report as if they are above the fray.
I think it is fair to say that if one has never been a Marine, then one can never really know the knowledge, training, and expertise that goes into being one.

It is not the filming of the incident that is making people so mad. It is the arrogance of the reporting behind it and either the reporter's seemingly ignorance of Marine training, or just not caring that he knows little about that training. It is the fact that this is war and awful mistakes happen, but one should not use those mistakes, if that is what they are, to further one's career, if that is what he is doing.

Just speculating.

UPDATE: This from CentCom . The incident occurred yesterday afternoon. Wonder if anyone was filming it???

Check out this oh so cool military photo essay from USA Today. h/t INDC Journal.

And while we are thinking about it. Lets really support our troops. Here's a site that lets you know all the ways you can. h/t Mudville.

The most excellent Belmont Club brings us this:

One of the situational dangers of the battlefield was illustrated by the death of a California Marine. The Mercury News reports:
Marine Lance Cpl. Jeramy Ailes, 22, of Gilroy was killed Monday in Al-Fallujah by small arms fire. "They had finished mopping up in Fallujah and they went back to double-check on some insurgents. From what we gathered, somebody playing possum jumped up and shot him,'' said his father, Joel Ailes, who learned of his death Monday evening. "It's extremely hard."
... His first time in Iraq, Jeramy Ailes gave $10 to each child he came across because he knew it would feed their families for 30 days. This time, he asked his family to mail as many soccer balls as they could. His family sent 300 balls, and Jeramy Ailes' platoon handed them out to children.
Joel Ailes warmly remembered the last conversation he had with his son last month, in which Jeramy Ailes recounted how he had come across a large man walking with a 12-year-old girl carrying a huge bale of straw on her back. His son, who spoke and read Arabic, exchanged words with the man. And, for the next seven miles, his son carried the girl on his back and the man carried the bales of straw. "That was my son," Joel Ailes said.

That was his son.


Then the first comment by "Kenny" really says what everyone should be thinking.

Comments:
"well I guess it's better to die a hero that he is...than to shoot the iraqi playing dead and be termed a war criminal "

Then the AP gives us this:

"In Fallujah, where U.S. Marines and soldiers are still battling pockets of resistance, insurgents waved a white flag of surrender before opening fire on U.S. troops and causing casualties, Marine spokesman 1st Lt. Lyle Gilbert said Saturday without elaborating."

These guys wave a white flag and then open fire. And we are suppose to worry about a young soldier shooting an insurgent that was faking dead? I think our soldiers know which rules of engagement these guys use.....NO RULES. NO, I am not saying we throw out our strict rules at all. But when fighting an enemy like this, I think taking into account that they pose a danger until they are safely captured and tied up or until they are DEAD is something I don't mind our soldiers understanding and acting upon.
h/t to BigDogshouse for throwing me the big lines to catch. If you are a smart single 20-30 something female hottie, you might want to check out his website. So I can give him some big lines to catch. 3 words ladies....he can cook.


Now, if you haven't been here all weekend. Please scroll down and read my Thanksgiving and Protesting posts. They are personal and I would like all who come here to read them.

Thanks!