Just an evacuee blogging...

It doesn't look too bad in Houston, thank God. Did anyone see Shepard Smith take a fall and roll and get up to keep reporting last night from Beaumont? Too funny. This guy wants a pulitzer so bad he can taste it.

My Mom has dial up here and the wait time just drives me crazy, so I can't even surf the news for ya'll! I am gonna post a rerun again. This is one of my all time favorites. If you have been reading me a while, you have read it. It is from April 30th and it tells you just about all you need to know about me. Enjoy.


My Dream.

I have a reoccurring dream about my grandma. She is sitting on the front porch of her house, which is brilliant white set upon a brilliant white hill. I climb the steps and sit beside her on the front porch swing. She smiles at me and I take her hand and lay my head on her shoulder. I say, “I love you grandma.” “I love you too sweetie,” She replies. I look at her. “I miss you so much.” “I’m still here,” she says. “But it’s not the same.” I say sadly. “No. no it isn’t,” She says as she hugs me.

I close my eyes and see flashes of my childhood with her in brilliant color and texture. I see myself picking blueberries for breakfast in the early morning. I see me running through clean white sheets she is hanging on the line in the sunshine. I see me lying in bed beside her at night with the wind blowing the curtains in the window as she teaches me to pray.

Every child should have a person in their life like my grandma. I was so blessed to have wonderful parents. But to have another person who thinks you hung the moon, as my grandma did about me, causes a child to believe in oneself as never before.

I was one years old when my grandma’s husband died. She never re-married although still young and attractive. (She had had my dad when she was 15) She ran a “nursery” from her house that would be called a daycare today. There were two rooms attached to her garage and that is where the children ate and slept. She lived on a 10 acre playground. She had a big swing set, but nothing else. We played with old rubber tires, making up our games by building with them or rolling them or laying in them. We had trees to climb, dirt and ditches to play in. I don’t ever remember being bored. Imagination is a wonderful playmate.

It drove my dad crazy that she would hardly charge more than she spent. If a mother couldn’t pay one month, she would let it go. There was something so strong and independent about her. And there was love. Oh boy, was there ever love.

There were birthdays and Easter. There were Sunday dinners, Fourth of July, and any event she could celebrate, she did. Every Christmas Eve of my childhood was spent at my Grandma’s. First with just my family, my Aunt and Uncle, and later my cousins and nieces and nephews. We would start out with a big dinner with us kids itching to get it over with so we could open our presents. When given the go ahead, we would race to the living room and stand and marvel at our glittery presents as they reflected the brilliant lights of the Christmas tree. It was……magic.

Years later after my grandma had died and I was grown, I remember singing Christmas carols in a choir at a nursing home. As we were singing I noticed an old lady in a wheelchair crying. I left the stage and went to her and knelt down and took her hand. “Are you alright?” I asked. She said simply, “I miss Christmas.” I knew exactly what she meant. I said, “I do too.”

When my father died I was only 22 yrs old. My grandma was only 68. I spent 2 weeks with my mother, sleeping with her and comforting her. But during the day when everyone would come over, I drove to my grandma’s. As much pain as my mother was in I knew that there was no greater pain than losing a child. As usual though, my grandma was the one who made me strong.

My Grandma was never famous, never wrote a book, never won a Pulitzer, she never even finished high school, but she forever lives on through her love. She celebrated my life. She taught me how to celebrate it as well. Her love and her caring are a part of me that I give to my children and they will give to theirs. Generations from now my great great grandchildren will not know my Grandma’s name, but they will know her, because she will live in them by the love that she passed down. That is the legacy each of us is allowed to give. Who will remember what you did or the car you drove, or how much money you made? But love…that will be forever remembered and lived.

When I realized that I was losing my grandma to Alzheimer’s, I tried to tell her how much she meant to me before she forgot me. I stumbled on the words. How do you thank someone for giving you self confidence? For teaching you compassion? For loving you unconditionally? Words did not seem enough. I simply said, “Thank you for loving me so much.” With her usual way of making me feel like a princess, she smiled and said, “You made it easy.”

In my dream when I open my eyes I am alone on the porch swing. I look around for my grandma, but I can't find her. I close my eyes again and hear my heart beating in the quiet. And I realize that she is there, in every beat of my heart. In all the love that I feel.

She is there.

What a Nightmare...

Well, I made it safely out of Houston. But I have never seen anything like that in my life. We left at 4am Thursday morning. I drove the back way to where I only had to move up the frontage road of I-45N
for about 1/2 mile to my exit going east. I took me almost 2 hours to go that distance. We could see hundreds of cars on the side of the road that had either run out of gas or they had been driving for 12 hours getting from Galveston to The Woodlands (about 40 miles north of Houston) and had pulled off to sleep. I even saw some tents pitched in the median and people sleeping on the ground in sleeping bags.

The powers that be had shut off most of the exit and on ramps getting out of Houston. I heard a 58 yr old woman on the local talk radio describe how she was forced to pull over and go to the bathroom on the side of the road because there was no getting off the highway and she had been driving for 12 hours. She said that she was now at The Woodlands, which I had just left to go east (Thank God) and I thought, "Well, she has another 12 hours ahead of her at least, to get to Dallas. People were pushing their cars to save on gas since everything was literally moving at a snails pace.

Once I got going east it was fine. I had to get on 59 North for a short way, but that took me another 2 hours. Finally I got off that highway. I had mapped out back roads through rural Texas and rural Lousiana to get through to Mississippi. I ran into some problems with people evacuating from Beaumont. There were a few backups but nothing like the ones being experienced by the people on I-45. That highway was the nightmare I knew it would be. Thursday morning they finally decided to open the southbound lanes of I-45 to go north. That had never been done before. Last I heard they were bringing fuel trucks up the highway to give people gas. But I never found out if that happened.

I got lucky so many times. First I was lucky that I thought to fill up on gas on Tuesday, because by Wednesday there wasn't gas to be had anywhere! I started to run out when I was in rural Lousiana, but I said a quick prayer, and lo and behold we came up this little po-dunk service station that only had about 5 cars sitting there. I thought it couldn't possibly have gas, because if it did, there would be a line miles long. (we had seen two stations like that off 59N before we needed gas) Anyway, I pulled up and didn't even have to wait!! I couldnt' believe it. It was a miracle.

A drive that normally takes me about 8 hours took me about 14 hours. Not bad really considering what so many people went through just to get through Houston.

Now I am just watching and waiting to see what happens. Last night I went to sleep and all I could see was the road. I dreamt of the road. But I am glad I got out. Let us all hope and pray that it isn't as bad as they expect it to be.

I want to thank everyone for their good wishes and prayers. And a big thank you to all of you who offered a place to stay. Truly sweet!

You will be seeing this everywhere today..

But I HAVE to post it, just in case you missed it, because no one should miss a military guy telling a ignorant reporter that he is "stuck on stupid." TOO FUNNY AND TOO TRUE!!! via Ace.

Rita! Go Away!!

I went to the grocery store yesterday at mid-day and it was PACKED! I mean check out lines winding down the aisles. People are freaking out because of Katrina.

I just can't decide whether to leave or not. Traffic will be an absolute nightmare. Getting out of Houston is bad enough on a good day. Galveston (about an hour 1/2 south) is having a mandatory evacuation today. So the traffic is already bad.

I know we will lose electricity. We lose that in a regular storm. But I have provisions and I can live without electricity for a few days. Luckily I don't need air conditioning. Heat doesn't bother me much. So to leave or not to leave.

That is the question.

Boys To Men.

* I decided to post some "reruns." Since I have so many more readers from when I first started. I thought I would post some of my earlier thoughts that may not have much to do with politics. Some times I just get worn out talking about politics, even though I enjoy it. So enjoy some of Rightwingsparkle's reruns!' This is from February 26th, 2005.*


Tonight I watched the football movie "Friday Night Lights." If you're not familiar with it, it is a true story about an Odessa high school football team who, against all odds, made it to the State Championship played at the Astrodome in 1988. Yeah, I know it is an old movie, but I always get around to watching these things a couple of years later. I don't have the time or the desire to go to the movies. I like the comfort of my big couch, my big screen, and that pause button. Anyway, this isn't a review of the movie. (which is pretty good, and very accurate about the football madness of Texas) It really made me think about how completely different men are to women (I know, duh) and made me realize a bit how so many men turn out the way they do.

Now this isn't guy bashing, just stick with me here. My brothers were pretty good athletes as was I. Baseball was their game and basketball was mine. I also cheered and played softball and track, but I loved basketball most of all. My husband's high school football team won their state championship in Mississippi back in 1978, I believe. My daughter is an unbelievable basketball player. But being the popular cheerleader was more important, so she chose that instead in high school since they don't let the girls do both. (completely unfair, but that is another post) My other two boys played, but just for the fun of it. Didn't really get into into it or have the passion for it. But still I think they were affected by the coaches and their love of the game. It seems all guys have a deep affection or hatred for their high school coaches. After watching this movie I can see why.

In all the years I played sports I never remember a coach yelling in my face. I never remember a parent going ballistic over a call. But my brothers and my sons? Well, that is a whole different ballgame (excuse the pun) Yelling and parental stupidity is out of control. The part in the movie that really got to me was when the character played by Tim McGraw (an abusive father who had won his high school championship and whose son was playing in this one) told his son that he was not getting it. He didn't understand that this was the best life was ever going to be. After that it's nothing. One of the local ummm...rednecks told one of the football players, "after this there aint nothing but babies and memories."

Well how sad and pathetic is that? Life holds so many wonderful things for you. You're washed up at 17? No. No. No. First of all, I see a competitiveness in men that I do not see in women. Not even close. The article that got around a few days ago about there not being as many women bloggers because we don't like to argue or something like that. It is true that in general, women do not like conflict. Men, sometimes thrive on it.

This testorone filled movie got me to thinking how hard it is for men and women to understand each other. Even for men who never played sports have that same competitive spirit. And to be honest, in my opinion, sports brings out the worst in guys. I know , I know, it is all about team playing, about winning, about trying your hardest....blah, blah, blah. But I see egos the same size as their trucks and guys who think so much of themselves they don't seem to have much left over to think much of women. Jose Conseco's latest book is being blasted by players over his allegations of steroid use, not much is being said about his allegations of the cheating and whoring the players did. Boys will be boys. Right?

Right.

I blogged once on my experience with dating athletes, but I can't find it. Suffice it to say I knew from the start that I was never going to be first in their lives. The sport would always be, so those relationships didn't last long, believe me. So when 2 of my sons didn't show much interest in it, that was fine with me. There doesn't seem to be the same problem in girl's sports so my daughter being a great athlete has been fine also. But now I have my youngest son, who at 8 yrs old has already won 2 MVP awards for his teams on baseball and basketball and he didn't start playing until he was 6. (it is a shame that in Texas they start the teams at 3, yes I said 3.) Anyway, he is playing on a select baseball team now that he was asked to be on. Another one asked him, but it was a traveling team and we said no. I can hardly believe I have to make these decisions at eight! He is playing football now and is the quarterback even though he has never played before. He is a natural athlete, no doubt. I don't mean to sound like I am bragging. I know who has talent and who doesn't. I have two that do and two that don't. Not only does my son have talent, but he has passion for it. Since he was 6 he watched ESPN like most kids watch cartoons. He never plays video games, he is too busy playing football or basketball outside with his friends. My oldest son built his own computer from scratch, my youngest has never even looked at the computer. But now I worry. Is this what I want for the sweetest of my children? He was born with a generous soul and a golden heart. A sweeter kid you will not find anywhere. Do I want him going into a sport where a coach yells in your face all day? Where your told that winning is everything and this is the best time of your life? What if he show true promise? I don't even like the idea of him playing high school football, much less college.

It is like being a movie star. It looks glamorous and wonderful until you realize they can't stay married, they hardly know their children, and they cheat and do drugs and the Hollywood culture is horrible. I know there are exceptions, but you KNOW that is the rule. Same with athletes. If you played high school or college sports or beyond and you think that that was the best thing that ever happened to you, then you are missing out on what it is really important and best in life.

Like the guy in the movie said about his HS state championship, "there aint nothing but babies and memories after that." Like it was a bad thing. If the miracle of your child is not enough to make you realize that THAT overshadows any stupid touchdown or winning championship, then I feel sorry for you.

A guy said to me one time after he had had a wild young life and married and settled down, "Remember the line in the John Mellencamp song that said 'life goes on long after the thrill of living is gone.'? That is how I feel."

I just felt so sorry for him. I felt like shaking him and telling to wake up and look around. Life is wonderful. Every single day is a gift. A child's good morning kiss, a lazy summer day, a baby's 1st step, and swimming in the salty ocean. These are the things of life that can bring us the joy of living, the joy that feeds our souls.

There may not be crowds cheering us. There may not be trophies or spotlights, but there is a whole world out there waiting for us every day. Perhaps some men see themselves as just going through the motions, thankful to have had a little fun. Maybe that explains a lot about them.

Most women I know, even if they don't truly appreciate this miracle of life we are given, they at least understand the fulfillment of giving of themselves. A natural instinct of nurturing that we have, I believe.

So what is my point? I use to say that I would never understand men. Even after a dad and two brothers, a husband and 3 boys. But now I may have an inkling. Funny how some stupid movie can open a bit of a window on something you never understood before. I think men look beyond themselves to feel success and women look at the here and now. (A little profound thought from the mind of Righwingsparkle) And my 2nd point is I am not sure I want my youngest to go this route. And I'm not sure there is much I can do about it. I guess I will wait and see what the years bring.

Update: One of my sweet commenters found my other post on Athletes that I couldn't find. It was written in Nov. after the Pistons/Pacers big fight. If you want to read it. Go here.

Check out today's party at The Cotillion!!

Instapundit is linking Confederate Yankee's post on this news From Fox News:

"A suicide bomber captured before he could blow himself up in a Shiite mosque claimed he was kidnapped, beaten and drugged by insurgents who forced him to take on the mission. The U.S. military said its medical tests indicated the man was telling the truth.
Mohammed Ali, who claimed to be Saudi-born and appeared to be in his 20s, said he managed to flee after another suicide attacker set off his bomb, killing at least 12 worshippers Friday as they left a mosque in the northern city of Tuz Khormato.
In confession broadcast on state television later that day, Ali told Iraqi interrogators he did not want to bomb the mosque and hoped to go home.
Results from medical tests on Ali were "consistent with his story and characterization of his treatment," Col. Billy J. Buckner, a U.S. military spokesman said Sunday."

Confederate Yankee has this thought:

"So much for al-Zaraqawi being "the greatest" if he has to kidnap and drug people to carry out suicide attacks. It seems that the seemingly inexhaustible supply of willing suicide bombers that we westerners have come to fear is exhaustible after all. Some might even be willing to think that this validates the Bush/Rumsfeld "flypaper" strategy."

Iraqi The Model says he is not surprised and remembers similiar tactics of Al-Qaeda. It seems that using the mentally disabled has long been a part of the Al-Qaeda plans. You have to wonder where all these "replacements" are that the left bleats about, if they are using disabled children.

The picture above is the suicide bomber in question. If you look closely you can see the wires hanging from his waist. via Iraqi The Model.

Will PETA be upset with terrorists?

Just another example of their evil.

Bin Laden and talking points?

"In "Osma Bin Laden: America's Enemy In His Own Words," San Diego civil rights attorney Randy Hamud tries to shed light on Bin Laden by translating 20 of his statements and letters from 1994 to 2004." vai sacbee.com (registration may be required)

The article doesn't have many quotes from the book, but says that throughout Bin Laden's speeches he returns to Israel's treatment of the Palestinians and what he calls the "Jewish enemy."

Here is one quote of Bin Laden's they did give though:

"The Iraq war generates billions of dollars for big corporations, either munitions makers or those working reconstruction, such as Haliburton and its sister companies," bin Laden said in an April 15, 2004 address originally broadcast by Al-Jazeera in which he offered a truce with European nations that agreed not to attack Muslims."

Does this sound familiar to any of you? I mean... I know I have heard that before from other sources. Let me think...I know it will come to me.

Yeah.

Did I miss this one? Too funny. Kanye West is the one who is a racist. via Sacred Cow Burgers.

How soon they forget.

Hillary has made quite a show on demanding the Katrina Commission, saying that FEMA worked well under her husband. But she seems to be forgetting one little thing.

Maybe you forgot it as well, because the media didn't pounce on Clinton and make bashing him on it a 24/7 affair.

vai Riehl World.

I was wondering...

I've been sorting through political cartoons. Is Chris Muir the ONLY conservative cartoonist?

Whatever you do....

DON'T let the cat bloggers see this.

Tomorrow's Terrorists.

If you think Islamic law Shari'a is something that only the Middle East has to deal with, then you haven't kept up with Canada. (I know. Me either) But this seems pretty important to me.

FrontPageMag.com has this:

The Arbitrations Act allows Ontario courts to pass family and business legal disputes on to religious bodies.

The Islamic Institute for Civil Justice (IICJ) applied to arbitrate civil cases in the Muslim community according to Shari'a. But Iranian exile Homa Arjomand, director of the International Campaign Against Sharia Court (ICASC) did everything in her power to fight this. Having lived under Shari'a law, she understood the harsh implications of this.

She won.

Premier Dalton McGuinty announced on Sunday September 11 (interesting date) that Ontario would outlaw all forms of religious arbitration, including Islamic law or Shari'a.

To understand what we are fighting with Islamic fanatcism, one need only look to Shari'a law. The article says this about Iran:


"Within the first five years of Iranian revolutionary rule, the government executed more than 150,000 people under the Shari'a law."



"Within the first two days, there were mass executions. According to the United Nations, these are not lies"



"They would name you anti-Islam, and anyone who is kafir (an infidel) deserves to die. Women who were arrested were gang raped. They wanted to make sure you would go to Hell. If women were executed as virgins they would go to heaven and they wanted women to go to Hell."


This woman fought this in what is practically our back yard. It would do us well to pay better attention. The terrorists of tomorrow are the little boys who live under Shari'a law today.

I'd say....

He's got a point. The politics and facts of Poverty in America.

Cindy Sheehan Arrested?

One of my commenters j andrew is telling me that 3 or 4 lefty sites are posting that Cindy Sheehan was arrested in New York (Union Square) for "speaking without a permit."

If true, that chick will do anything to get the attention back her I'm afraid.

Thanks j andrew.

Update: j andrew is now saying that he believes it was Cindy's event organizer that may have been arrested, not Cindy. She apparently didn't get the permit Cindy needed to speak.

Update 2: Dembloggers is quoting NYC Indymedia:

"The New York City Police Department forcibly broke up this afternoon's rally for Cindy Sheehan, moving in as Cindy was speaking at about 3 p.m. in Union Square. The rally had been underway for about an hour, and was about to conclude as Cindy spoke following several other speakers, including a few who are traveling with her on her caravan.

As Cindy was speaking, a large platoon of police massed behind from the interior of the park, then formed a circle behind her, the speakers' area and a few dozen people who were deployed in an arc behind her. Overall, about 200 people were in attendance, with the crowd steadily increasing in size as the rally progressed. As the police formed their arc just behind, the men and women immediately behind Cindy linked arms. A captain made a cutting motion at his throat, signalling he wanted no more free speech. He waited about 30 seconds, then the police moved in. They didn't dare arrest Cindy, but they immediately moved in and grabbed zool, the event's organizer and one of the main organizers of Camp Casey-NYC, pulling him away and arresting him. I do not believe anyone else was arrested; at least I didn't see any other arrests. I was nearby, and there was no hesitation on the part of the police in specifically targetting zool.

The police also took the microphone and sound system. The crowd shouted "Shame! Shame!" at the police and asked what they were so afrraid of, but made no response. There was a moderate press presence, even a bit of corporate media there, although the only television crew covering the rally was RTV from Russia."

Looks like I will be live blogging a hurricane this weekend........

$$$ for opinions on the net?

"Beginning today, it will cost you to read Maureen Dowd, Tom Friedman, Paul Krugman, David Brooks and 18 other New York Times columnists online--$49.95 a year, to be exact.

But the executive in charge of the move--and perhaps those at other news organizations giving away their material online--hopes the Times can demonstrate, in a traditionally free arena, that money can be made by charging for premium content."

via WashingtonPost.com

I don't see this working at all. There will always be a few bloggers who will access the articles and then report on what they say (or copy and paste it) and, if interesting enough, their content will be distributed throughout the blogosphere in a matter of minutes and people will be able to read it for free.

Am I wrong?

Yeah, it's a must read.

Buzz Machine gives us this:

"Jon Donley, editor of Nola.com, worked nonstop through the hurricane and flood not knowing for days whether his daughter, Sarah, was safe. He had to post a missing-persons alert for his own daughter on his site. She finally was found not in her own home nearby a broken levee but huddled in the familyÂ’s home across the lake."

Her ordeal is captured in riveting detail here.

You might have to scroll down to "missing person: Sarah's tale" Sometimes the permalink works, and sometimes it doesn't.

Blogging continues to hit the msm.

ABC News' correspondents have their new blogs up. Jake Tapper has his Down and Dirty blog, a "one of a kind take on the intersections of politics and popular culture."

So far, not exactly riveting stuff, but he is kinda busy. I don't watch ABC news so I haven't caught this reporter, but he is hot. I will give him that.

The BBC sucks.

The Guardian has this:

"Tony Blair has denounced the BBC's coverage of Hurricane Katrina as 'full of hatred of America' and 'gloating' at the country's plight, it was reported yesterday.
Blair allegedly made the remarks privately to Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News Corporation, which owns the rival Sky News."

There is no doubt the BBC's coverage was over the top with anti American bias.

But in the reading the article you might be struck by something. Rupert Murdoch was speaking at the first Clinton Global Initiative conference in New York. In fact, Murdoch was one of only two media giants to attend. (Time Warner's Dick Parsons was the other)

The left likes to portray Murdoch as some sort of rightwing media Karl Rove, but Murdoch even lunched with Hillary while in New York at News Corp's Midtown headquarters.

I mean, come on. Think about it. Does Superman lunch with Lex Luther? Does Batman lunch with The Joker? Does Spiderman lunch with the Green Goblin?

You get my drift....;-)

The Red Cross and FEMA and Free Cash.

The local morning talk radio shows are buzzing about the $2000 mastercards given out by FEMA and the $1600 ones given out by the Red Cross. There have been all sorts of stories about people using their cards to buy $600 designer purses and DVD players and the like. I didn't know FEMA and the Red Cross could track purchases, but maybe they can. Let me know if you information on that.

One volunteer at the Astrodome who helped the Red Cross give out the $2000 cards heard groups talking about how you can just go to the ATM machines and get cash. A bank employee called and said that she had helped them at the ATM machines and that you could get cash easily. She wondered why the government can allow you to only buy certain food items with food stamps, but can't do the same with these cards. This money is, after all, the taxpayers hard earned money. Much of it given as charity.

The volunteer who was helping with the cards went to the Red Cross director because she heard a group saying that they were going to car pool to Dallas to get some cards there. (in other words defraud the government) The Red Cross director said "you don't know if they were joking or not." When the volunteer mentioned the fact that the people could buy liquor and cigarettes with their Mastercard, the RedCross director said, "No one tells you what your needs are." Whaaattt?????

I hope to God that this kind of fraud is limited. (I am believing it is) Because if it turns out that FEMA and the Red Cross are just letting people use this money to buy anything their heart desires instead of it's purpose, to help people get necessities, then Americans will never want to be this generous again.

I gave my money to Catholic Charities exactly because of something like this. If you want to help out the Red Cross, then do what I did and give your TIME, but not your money. This is totally irresponsible in my opinion. Church organizations don't hand out mastercards, but give things needed and with a loving hand.

And the other really bad thing that is happening here in Houston is that people who were displaced who are living in housing now are FIGHTING with long time residents who seem to be jealous of the cash and free housing the refugees are receiving. They videotaped one of the arguments and it was on the news the other night and it was embarrassing to watch.

Btw, did I mention there is a hurricane heading our way? You better believe I am ready.

Nothing is sacred.

From having a litmus test on Supreme court nominees, to now breaking the the tradition of former Presidents avoiding criticizing their successors, Democrats don't seem to hold anything sacred poltically if it will score points. It seems Bill Clinton's desire to once agains reside in the white house as spouse of a President supersedes all tradition.

Powerline has the full story on Bill Clinton's attack on President Bush on ABC's "this Week" program.

And freedom.....

marches on.

Car Story.

I keep forgetting to tell this strange story. We recently bought a car for my daughter on e-bay. The car was in Houston, and when we met the guy and started talking, he said that he had been selling cars for many years this way and that he was from Kuwait. It seems he had a large inventory in Iraq at the beginning of the Gulf War and Saddam seized all of it and left him broke. He now sells program cars he buys and then sells on e-bay. He had sold 11 cars the day we bought one.

I have to say it was the best deal we have ever gotton on a car and there was no hassle involved and it has been a great car.

The UK's Sun tabloid gives the burger king controversy:

"Cone-demned ... 'spinning whirl' ice creams look similar to the world Allah written in Arabic scriptICE creams are being withdrawn from Burger King — because a design on the lid looks like the word Allah.
The fast food chain has had dozens of complaints about the coloured symbol - meant to be a spinning whirl - on its range of BK Cones."

via Dhimmi Watch and PW.

Here's an idea. Let's look at the cone RIGHT SIDE UP!! And then it looks a an actual swirly cone of ice cream.

It seems some Muslims saw the name Allah in the tsunami as well.

Some things are just too dumb to be believed.

Update: Burger King's new design is here.

by Matt Forge (LST)

Click on picture for bigger image.

I know I said I wouldn't...

But I can't help it. It's too over the top. It's too stupid to ignore. Can you say INSANE?

The Pledge of Allegiance ruling.

The one thing that struck me listening to the California's school district's response to the ruling on the Pledge of Allegiance case was the amount of money the school district is being forced to spend on the case which they wished could be spent on academics.

Such is the way of ridiculous lawsuits. They waste our time, money, and resources. No one had a problem with "under God" for some 55 yrs and suddenly some guy thinks his child saying it is unconstitutional, and away we go to court. The ironic thing, of course, is that his daughter is a Christian and has no problem with it. It's all about this guy's personal agenda.

Why can't common sense prevail here? I seriously doubt there is a kid in school, whether Christian, Jew, Muslim, or atheist, who cares one way or another about the "under God" part. If they are of a religious faith, they are fine with it, and if they are not, they just don't say that part.

For years I went to the Catholic church with my husband with no intention of becoming Catholic. When they recited the Creed and came to the part of believing in "one Catholic holy and apostolic Church" I would simply not say it. Now I understand that the word "Catholic" means "universal," but then I thought it was endorsing the Catholic faith, so I declined.

Isn't that a bit easier than wasting not only the school district's money and time, but the court's as well?

No one can reasonably argue that this is "an establishment of religion." That is just a farce. Go visit Iran. THERE is an establishment of religion. Compare and contrast.

Regarding the pledge, one absolute truth we know is that the kids are not thinking "hmmm, I question this 'under God' part." Most kids are thinking "Did I study for that history test?" or " Gee, Sarah looks nice in those jeans today."

But we are in the age of lawsuits instead of common sense, and people like the ACLU, with lots of time and resources, want to see an eradication of God from our culture, so we will be seeing ridiculous lawsuits like this from now on.

It seems I have a wealth of atheist commenters (BigDog, Misterpundit, Wonderduck, Erik, andy, the commissar, dave bones, and j andrew just to name a few) Perhaps you guys can give me your perspective on this. Are you bothered by the "under God" words in the Pledge?

Mayor Nagin May Want To Just Run For Dallas Mayor

And the people of New Orleans react to the President's speech. The Therapist strikes again. But I wonder if this one really is a parody.

via Ace.

Now This is Fair and Balanced.

This is a guy who hates everybody. Yeah, even George Bush. But I have to admit, It's a great article. Read the whole thing.

h/t dave bones.

Don't mess with Condi.

Did anyone see Condi on Bill O'Reilly the other night? When asked about those who say she sold out her race, Condi responded:

“The fact of the matter is, Bill, I’ve been black all my life, nobody needs to tell me how to be black.”

God. I love this woman.

Geraldo is mad.

And he isn't taking it anymore.

Because while this Katrina stuff is important and all. This really is all about Geraldo.

An Interesting Thought.

From Grouchy Old Cripple: (I edited it a bit for language)

"The same people who think gummint screwed up on Katrina are the same people who want to put gummint in charge of health care."

A Voice For Our Troops.

Military Families Voice Of Victory is "a collective voice and an on-line vehicle through which to voice their support of America in the terror war." Ray and Rebecca Davis began this project and have 3 sons in the military. In a interview with Frontpage Magazine the couple talk about why they started this program and what they hope to accomplish, but this part of the inteview about broke my heart:

FP: Tell us about what experiences led you to decide to create Military Families Voice of Victory.

Davis: My wife and I have been active in troop support since Sept 11th. We have spoken at several rallies and had more than one run-in with different "peace" groups. We started greeting troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq in 2003 as they returned through our city. It was heart breaking as the first soldiers rounded the corner and were met by Americans waving flags and cheering. They turned and went back because they thought we were protesters. This was the impression they got from the news media about how America felt about the war although at the time the overwhelming majority of America supported the mission. Today it seems more and more Americans are questioning if we should be in Iraq. The overwhelming majority of the troops we have met still believe in the mission just as much as they did then. They are there and see it first hand all we have is what the news media tells us. What we are hearing from those fighting the war is quite a bit different from those reporting it. We feel it is important to hear what the troops have to say."

These guys have just returned from risking their lives for freedom and they expect the protestors because this is what the media has led them to believe. I don't know which is more shameful. The media or the protestors.

Protestors such as these perhaps?

When asked about the news coverage, Mr. Davis replys:

"Most of the troops I have met are disappointed in the news coverage. Yes, they are in the middle of a war zone and the fighting needs to be covered, but they don't understand why the media never mentions the humanitarian aide they are providing to the region. For the troops their greatest pride comes from the schools they rebuild, the hospitals they have restored, helping Iraqis establish businesses for themselves. Their greatest pride is not in defeating Saddam Hussein but in helping to build a free Iraq."

Read the whole thing. Mr. Davis is pretty harsh on the radical left. But I don't see how he is wrong. If you think he is, tell me how. (but in a civil manner please)

The President's Speech.

First let me say that I loved the light blue effect. (that is the decorater in me, sorry)

I can never be objective with Bush. I think he is a great leader and an honest man. So I will let a commenter at Polipundit say what he thought:

WHAT A SPEECH!

I know we’re all Americans, and this is an American challenge, not a black/white one, but permit me this one thought:

Conservative blacks like me are at a time in history unlike any in history: after 50+ years of “Uncle Tom” this and “Sellout” that, we’ll FINALLY get to see what a conservative vision of lifting our people out of poverty can do . . . on a scale too wide to be ignored WHEN it’s successful. Imagine if we’d had 40 years of this type of approach to the Great Society!

A good chunk of the 29% in poverty in New Orleans will finally have a shot, with a hand up, not a hand out. The government won’t give you $5000, but you’ll get $5000 to train for a job. They won’t give you a house, but you’ll get a piece of land to put a house on. Even if you are unskilled, if you can do any physical labor, there’ll probably be a job nearby.

I know it’s idealism at it’s corps, but the possibilities for our future are endless.

For those who look at this as a wealth transfer . . . you’re right. But at least there’s an element of capitalism and accountability attached, which has been missing.

SO, what will the libs and race warlords do to derail this one? Should be fun to watch . . .

. . . especially if Janice Rodgers Brown is testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the same time!

Comment by BlackCon

Dianne Feinstein's SCOTUS confirmation hearing crib notes

*Stolen from Jeff. I link him, but I rarely get to actually steal from him cuz he's such a potty mouth, but this one was pretty clean! (click on note for bigger image)

Let's do a caption contest! One is long overdue!

Change.

I have installed haloscan again. I have had so much trouble with hateful commenters that I need to be able to ban IP's for those who break my rules.

The comments were deleted. Sorry. If you want, feel free to repost something you posted recently.

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

CYBER SEXISM.

One of my Cotillion buddies, Ilyka Damen, is fighting mad! She is quitting her blog and coming back as a man. Not a sex change, mind you, but a internet cyber sex change. (that doesn't sound right, but oh well) She is going to start her blog as a guy so she can get the respect she deserves.

She first wrote about this here. It seems big boy bloggers like John Hawkins of RightWingNews couldn't think of too many conservative women bloggers. And even bigger boy bloggers, Instapundit and Hugh Hewitt don't link us too much. Ilyka is really ticked at one of my favorite bloggers, Jeff at Protein Wisdom, but I don't know exactly why because his site is down right now and her links to him aren't working.

I see her point, but I have never let anyone's bias bother me. When I first started blogging I ask a few of the blogs I really liked to read to link me. Protein Wisdom, Ace, The Jawa Report, The Politburo Diktat, and Mudville. They all did. Which was nice because I had hardly started blogging. After that I didn't do much of anything to gain traffic. I didn't even have a sitemeter until about a month ago. I don't even know how to do tags.

My Dad once told me that cream rises to the top, so I figured if I was a good enough blogger then people would eventually come to read me. I don't like to say how many hits I get. It seems like a hell of alot to me, but I don't keep up with the traffic at other blogs. I'm no Michelle Malkin, but then I'm not trying to be. I LOVE it that so many people read me. I like the debates in the threads and I generally like the people who come to my blog and comment.

The fact is that sexism exists just as racism does and nothing is ever going to make it go away completely. If sexism keeps some boy bloggers from linking me, then so be it.

I just don't care.

I have this little space in my universe to say what I want to say. No one edits me and no one can fire me. It's my space and I like it. If the big boys don't link me, it's their loss.

BUT, all that being said. I think in order to prove Ilyka wrong and prove to the world that the big boy bloggers (and little boy bloggers too!) aren't sexist, they need to link me NOW and many many times from now on. So if you're a guy I think it is your responsibility to e-mail all the bloggers you know and tell them to link Rightwingsparkle (and blogroll!) to prove they are not sexist in cyberspace.

It's the only socially responsible thing to do. :-)

What Is The Answer To Black Proverty?

I've been reading several articles about the impoverished in New Orleans. It disturbs me greatly that the underlying reasons of poverty among African Americans has not changed since I grew up in an integrated area in Jackson Mississippi. Lifestyle choices of low income black women are a large contributing factor. In all the articles I read (not to mention personal experience) you see the same tale of a young girl getting pregnant at 16 or 17 and dropping out of school, not to marry, but to continue on as a young unwed mother with little hope of a better job or a better life. Despite the untold number of programs that have been tried over the past 30 yrs, little has changed. I see programs that allow young girls to continue their education, giving free transportation, free education, and free daycare, and yet these girls still drop out. I see programs with after school activities and care for young African Americans, yet they still join gangs. I see programs that give food stamps and free health care, yet so many still live unhealthy lifestyles that lead to obesity and other health problems. I see programs that give better housing options, but still no change in lifestyle. Despite the billions and billions of dollars we have thrown at this problem through government social programs, we still have the highest poverty rate in the developed world. Clearly what we are doing isn't working.

The fundamental difference in how Democrats and Republicans approach these problems is this. Democrats feel that the programs I listed above would allow people an opportunity to rise above their circumstances, but what Republicans understand is that people are not going to rise above their circumstances unless we teach them the principles of responsibility.

This applies to the rich as well, of course. I can't tell you how many rich kids I knew at Ole Miss who were given everything they could want, but still squandered it all. Drinking and partying and never going to class. Money is not the answer to raising a responsible child. Social programs aren't either. Bill Cosby is the only high profile black I am aware of that actually gives us the answers to so many of the black community's problems. If you don't remember some his remarks from 2004, here are a few:

"People marched and were hit in the face with rocks to get an education, and now we've got these knuckleheads walking around. ... The lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal. These people are not parenting,"

"Brown versus the Board of Education is no longer the white person's problem. We have got to take the neighborhood back. ... They are standing on the corner and they can't speak English."



"Let me tell you something, your dirty laundry gets out of school at 2:30 every day. It's cursing and calling each other 'nigger' as they're walking up and down the street. They think they hip -- can't read, can't write -- 50 percent of them,"

"We got too many young girls who don't know how to parent, turning themselves into parents. Ladies and gentlemen, our little eight-year-old boys, nine-year-old boys, having erections and only acting out that which they see and hear on some CD. They're acting that out and they don't know the damage that they are doing when they rape some little girl nine years old and what they have done to her whole life. It's time to stop!"

"Education, ladies and gentleman, respect the elderly, respect for yourselves, respect for others,"

One thing I heard while volunteering at the Astrodome was how glad so many were to be out of New Orleans. I thought they meant to be out of a flooded New Orleans, but the more I read interviews with them, I realize they meant out of the a place where they felt trapped. Trapped in substandard schools, dilapidated housing, and a world of gangs and drugs. More than once I read that many felt like they were "incarcerated."

How sad to feel so trapped in life. An article in Newsweek, interviewing evacuees, explains how they felt so trapped they felt they couldn't even leave to get away from a dangerous hurricane:

"Like almost all poor evacuees interviewed by NEWSWEEK, she has no bank account. Before the storm, she did own a stereo, refrigerator, washer and dryer, two color TV's and a 1992 Chevy Lumina with more than 100,000 miles on it. This, too, is common among the poor; like more comfortable Americans, they spend on consumer goods beyond their means. But these are often their only assets. The reason that more African-Americans didn't heed warnings to leave New Orleans before the hurricane hit goes beyond the much-publicized lack of cars. They were reluctant to abandon their entire net worth to looters."

I can see now why so many didn't leave. Who wants to allow thugs to take everything you have from you???

Bill Cosby understands what most Republicans have been trying to get across for years. Blacks should not, and have no need to, depend on white liberal government programs to get a head in life. Bill Cosby believes that the focus should be on education. Period. Democrats have decried Bush's cuts to the social programs I mentioned above as proof that he doesn't care about the black community, but Bush's approach is what Bill Cosby has been asking for. As the article in Newsweek points out:

"His (Bush's) main involvement with poverty issues has been on education, where he sharply increased aid to poor schools as part of his No Child Left Behind initiative. Democrats have offered little on education beyond opposition to NCLB. They've shown more allegiance to the teachers unions (whose contracts are models of unaccountability) than to poor kids."

This is the difference that we all need to understand. This message is not being put out to the black community. Too many high profile Democrats don't want it to be. It's time for Republicans to make sure that it does.

John Roberts and the question that won't be answered.

If you want to see how the hearings are going you can go to several msm news sources here and here and here and here.

But I can save you the time. They are all about what I always said that this nomination is all about to Democrats. Abortion. Abortion. Abortion.

Roberts, who is no fool, very intelligent, and knows Democrats are looking for any little thing to hang their "vote against" hat, had this to say to them:

"It is not a process under which senators get to say: 'I want you to rule this way, this way and this way. And if you tell me you'll rule this way, this way and this way, I'll vote for you.' Judges are not politicians. They cannot promise to do certain things in exchange for votes."

It is sad that it has come to this. Nominees to the highest court of the land are reduced to being badgered about answering a question about one issue in order to get on the court. I suspect that most Democrats will vote for Roberts. If they didn't, they would have to answer why such a qualified and intelligent man is not worthy of their vote, and their answer would have to be...Abortion.

Sometimes I wonder how different the political landscape would be if abortion wasn't a part of it. I can guarantee you that we wouldn't be so "divided."

I'm copying an entire post at Dean Esmay's blog just to drive andy crazy. Heh.

Dogmatic, Intolerant, Closed-Minded Scientists

Dean

It's increasingly clear to me that for some, dogmatic atheism and "science" have become one and the same. Witness for example scientists protesting allowing the Dalai Llama to speak at a neuroscience conference.
Letting the man so much as speak is a threat to science? How rabidly anti-religion do you have to be to act like that? I don't even like the Dalai Lama--I have no love for theocratic tyrants, which is what he was when he ruled Tibet--but objecting to his very presence on religious grounds? As an atheist, a materialist, and an empiricist, I find this behavior nothing short of pathetic.
Then witness Richard Sternberg, a man with not one but two PhDs in evolutionary biology:
"They were saying I accepted money under the table, that I was a crypto-priest, that I was a sleeper cell operative for the creationists," said Ste[r]nberg, 42, who is a Smithsonian research associate. "I was basically run out of there."
His crime? Being willing to publish a paper by a scientist who argued that there was evidence of intelligent design behind some phenomena found in biology. Sternberg didn't even agree with the paper, he just published it in the spirit of free and open debate.
You can read more about how Sternberg was harassed and all but thrown out of the Smithsonian here in the Washington Post. And you'll find more on Dr. Sternberg's home page.
It's astonishing to watch modern-day advocates for Darwin acting exactly like William Jennings Bryan in Inherit the Wind--in other words, as fulminating censorship advocates and closed-minded intellectual bullies who are terrified to have their most cherished beliefs questioned. But that's exactly what seems to be going on among many who claim to be upholding the spirit of free inquiry and open debate. It's shameful and appalling.

Friends in time of need. Enemies rant.

The al-Qaida in Iraq group, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, called the devastation across the U.S. Gulf Coast region God's retribution on America.

al-Zarqawi's group released an Internet statement saying "God's great wrath has hit the head of the oppressors where their dead are in thousands and their losses in billions."

Those terrorists have a way with words, don't they?

But looking towards the good, Kuwait is offering $500 million in aid which includes $400 million in oil products and $100 million in humanitarian relief.

"It's our duty as Kuwaitis to stand by our friends to lighten the humanitarian misery and as a pay back for the many situations during which Washington helped us through," Kuwait's energy minister, Sheik Ahmed Fahd Al Ahmed Al Sabah, said in a statement.

Nice.

via Yahoo News.

Translation of the John Roberts hearings for normal folk.

*PCC = Pro choice Congressman

PCC-will you rule on abortion as a right to privacy?

Roberts- I can't tell you how I would rule on a case, you know that, stop showboating.

PCC-Tell me if you think you will support Roe v. Wade??

Roberts-Ginsburg didn't answer these questions and neither will I.

PCC-You're avoiding answering!!

Roberts-duh. Either way I answer people go nuts.

PCC- I demand to know if you support abortion rights!!!!

Roberts- Well, I guess you guys advising pro-choice Ginsburg not to answer these questions in 93 to avoid the abortion controversy is coming back to bite you in the ass, isn't it?

UPDATE: Ted Kennedy's SCOTUS confirmation hearings crib notes. Heh.

The face of abortion.

In the comment thread below one commenter said he thinks abortion up to 23 or 24 weeks is fine. I thought I might show the face of we so easily dismiss as having no right to live. The first picture is at 20 weeks. A full month before he would have the right to live under that restriction of 24 weeks. These abortions are especially grisly as you might imagine. They are done for as little a reason as the baby having a cleft palate and it is perfectly legal. The 2nd picture to the right is at 14 weeks. Abortions are routinely done at this stage in the United States. Once the abortion is performed, the body parts of the baby must be put back together on a surgical table like some macabre puzzle to assure the abortionist that he extracted all the parts. So we can argue about abortion all we want, but everything I know about the value of life I can see in the faces of these babies.

The John Roberts hearings.

Why don't we just save everyone a lot of time and trouble and just get this over with. Have a Democrat asked Roberts if he would overturn Roe v. Wade, get the answer and end the hearings.

This is all the Democrats care about. Let's stop pretending this is going to be about anything else.

Faith Crossing Church member left, prays with evacuee at a Church in Texas. via Fox News. Of all the countless pictures and in person experiences I have seen of the aftermath of Katrina, it is ones such as this that will stay with me. The reaching out of strangers to those in need. The deeply personal expression of caring. This is what I will carry with me.

This was us at our best. This was us as we should be. Out of darkness came the light.

This was our finest moment.

And the silence.....

Continues.

Is there any excuse for this?

via Junkyardblog

My favorite of dave bones artwork. There is a stained glass quality to it, don't you think? I like how there seems to be light coming from the center. (dave, hope you don't mind me posting this)

Can Air America survive?

Not a single business has purchased air time specifically during Air America's slot since its debut at KOMY radio station in California.

Keep this in mind. In CALIFORNIA.

It just makes me feel so much better about America in general.

h/t BigDog.

I found this over at a place called Hullabaloo. This is a typical lefty blog. I don't think I have to explain what these maps are suppose to prove. The red states are still the "racist" states, don't you know.

There is just one problem. The red states of the south are where 54.8% of African Americans live as opposed to 17.6% in the oh so blue states of the northeast. Are blacks being forced to stay in these "racists" states?? You would think they would want to live in the tolerant northeast, wouldn't you?

And then there is this place called Houston in that big RED STATE of Texas. You know the one. The state where our evil racist President was once Governor and where his parents live. The state where he will retire to when his term is over. Well, this place called Houston opened it's heart, it's doors, and it's treasure to the victims of the hurricane out of New Orleans. What a shock it must have been for the Red Cross to discover that the refugees were black!! I mean if they had known then they certainly wouldn't have spent all this money to get the shelters ready, right?

What? You say they knew they were black? You say it was on TV? But.. but... why would a racist RED STATE do such a thing??? And so quickly?? And then why would they encourage those unwanted dark skinned people to stay by giving them access to housing and jobs and even open empty schools for their children to start school????

It just doesn't make sense.

But, my friends, this is the world of delusion our lefty friends live in. These are the questions Michael Moore and Kanye West can't answer. Who knows how many lefty blogs this map has made it's way to. Who knows how many smug lefty's have looked at it and shook their head and said to themselves, "nothing changes!"

I'll tell you where nothing changes. Nothing changes in the minds of those who are determined to believe that conservatives are somehow racist when all evidence points to the opposite.

Non serious stuff continues.

Things you might not know about me. (and probably don't care to know, but hey, I'm in the mood) This is sorta my own version of those surveys you see everywhere.

My favorite role from my younger days was Lucy in "Dracula."

I still feel 22.

Things I miss about being young: riding horses, not worrying about kids, kissing guys, staying out late and still having lots of energy the next day, and not having to work at staying slim.

If it weren't for their politics, I think John Edwards and Mayor Nagin of New Orleans are hot.

I'm against the death penalty.

My favorite thing to do is sleep late, and I hardly ever get to do it.

I hate crowds.

I met Jesse Jackson when I was 11.

I've met Ken Starr, Rick Perry, James Baker, Muhammad Ali, Reggie Jackson, and Former Senator John Breaux.

People I would stand in line for hours to meet: 0

People I would like to have dinner with(not in order):
Brit Hulme, Condi Rice, President Bush, Barbara Bush (mom), Justice Scalia, Peggy Noonan, Michelle Malkin, Glenn Beck, and Pope Benedict.

Bloggers I would like to meet:(not in order)
Jeff at Protein Wisdom, Jeff at Beautiful Atrocities, Beth at My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, Ace at Ace of Spades, Greyhawk at Mudville Gazette, and Jeff Jarvis at Buzz Machine.

People I hate: 0

The most interesting people I know are my children.

My first car was an aqua blue Cougar XR7 with white leather interior and speakers in the door. It was and still is the coolest car I ever owned.

I use to spar boxing with my brothers for Golden Gloves boxing.

I have experienced miracles.

I have never tried a cigarette. (or anything illegal)

I have never seen porn.

I don't have a favorite song or movie. I just don't care enough.

If I could do whatever I wanted, I would travel with my kids every chance I got. I would have 3 dogs and 2 cats. (I have one dog and I get to travel only about twice a year) and I would wear nothing but T-shirts, shorts and no shoes.

I hate cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping and shopping in general, but I have to do all four constantly.

I've read National Review since I was 21 yrs old.

I could never live anywhere but Texas and the South. (except on a tropical beach anywhere)

My biggest fear is my children not growing up to be caring and loving people.

Feel free to tell me what I don't know about you.

WuzzaDem has the John Roberts hearing. Sorry, couldn't resist. Too funny.

Not so serious.

As you may have noticed, I am not much into the popular culture. I don't watch much TV or movies. But since this has been such a serious week, I thought I would share some of my limited knowledge of what's out there just to lighten some things up.

For the geeks out there, I just finished watching the DVD series of Firefly. Dean Esmay has assured me that makes me officially a geek. So be it. I liked it. I look forward to the movie.

You know who I think is hilarious? Kathy Griffith. She is a comedian who has a reality type show on the Bravo channel. I love how she rakes celebrities over the coals for their excesses and ridiculous way of living. If you get to watch re-runs, don't miss her going to a Kabbalah party, where they had someone going around asking seductively if the guests would like to be "tied up." Which was referring to having that red string tied around your wrist. Kathy just rolls her eyes. It is amusing to watch Kabbalah and Scientology fight for celebrities money..oops, I meant souls. Heh. You have to love those religions that have no distinction between right and wrong. Sin? Forget about it!! Cheating and greed? Just connect with your inner positive energy!!!!

Anyway, I love Kathy. She has this wicked dry sense of humor. She doesn't care what people think.

I have never watched CSI until they started re-runs during the day. Now I catch it when I fold clothes. Great show. I can see now why my Mom is obessed with it.

I also got to see this years MTV awards while doing laundry. Could P. Diddy be anymore self involved? Also, has rap taken over MTV? It would seem so. The whole show was truly bad. Having teenagers I am forced to listen to a lot of music. I like Green Day, Gwen Stefani (although someone needs to tell her she is 35, not 19) Not that she needs to act 35, but pretending your a teenager is just silly. I like Simple Plan and Foo Fighters. I also will admit I like Avril, Kelly Clarkson and Hillary Duff's music. But when I am in the car, it's country music every time. I don't think there is an artist in country music I don't like.

I usually take the time when the kids are back in school to watch all the movies that I missed. If you have any suggestions on what to rent, please give them to me. Keep in mind though that I don't watch R rated movies.

Consider this an open thread to comment on popular culture. Let's have one day where we don't discuss politics, ok??????

Sadness......

Watching the Discovery channel's re-enactment of flight 93 was heartwrenching to say the least. The audio of the actual phone calls to the loved ones from the passengers on the plane made me weep. I was amazed at how calm the calls were even after they realized what the terrorist were planning to do. There is no doubt that courage and faith dwelled on that plane.

I wonder if any of us truly comprehend how many people were saved that day by these brave souls.

They gave their lives that day saving others. Perhaps what so many don't understand is that the terrorists flying the plane were already dead. Their souls had died a long time ago. Their souls died when they stopped believing that human life had value. Their souls died when they convinced themselves that God would reward them for their act of horror.

As I finish writing this I realize that the passengers on the planes that crashed that day, although not dying in the same manner, they were also.....the people of the sky.

In every decision we make in this war on terror, we must never ever forget any of the people of the sky.

The People of the sky.

The Cross-9/11 by Ray Tapajna


Of all the images of the horror of that day, the ones that haunt me the most are the ones of the people that jumped from the WTC buildings. I try to imagine what must have been going through their minds. The pain of the fire and heat that was so great that jumping into the sky was their only alternative.

Did they close their eyes and pray? Did they see their whole life flash in front of them? Did they cry? Did they wonder what had happened? Did the falling seem like slow motion to them?

Did they scream?

It is the people of the sky I think of when others say this war on terror is not worth fighting. It is the people of the sky I think of when I hear of a brave soldier dying fighting those monsters who have no conscience.

It is the people of the sky I think of when I think of 9-11.

Do white people care?

Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton tell us that white people in New Orleans wouldn't have been treated this way. Kanye West tells us that Bush hates black people. Michael Moore smugly sneers at us who believe it wasn't about race.

One of the black singers on the hurricane relief celebrity laden fundraiser on TV last night tells us to turn to God, "the slaves and the slavemasters."

The only problem with all these assessments is that no one told President Bush or the American people who happen to be white, that we are suppose to not care.

If the left want to focus on all that went wrong in the immediate aftermath of the hurricane, than what went right, then fine. But don't pretend it had anything to do with race.

Bush has done and continues to do more than anyone in history to help disaster victims. White America (as well as middle class blacks and other races, of course) opened up their wallets, their hearts, their time, and their homes to the victims. It didn't matter that they were black, it only mattered that they were humans in need.

If white America seeks to "enslave" black America so much then why did they give so much?

There will always be racists in this world. But the reaction to this tragedy has proven to me once and for all that most people in America are caring people who give what they can to those in need.

So Jackson and Sharpton and all the other camera hounds can play the race card all they want, but the truth is there for all to see. Maybe this is the turning point. Maybe this will prove to the black community once and for all that Democrats have used them for too long for political purposes. Maybe they will see that it is Bush who appointed blacks to the highest positions in the government, because he didn't see their color, only their character. It is the Republicans who see that telling universities to give blacks "extra points' on entry exams is insulting to blacks. They don't need extra points, just opportunity.

Maybe they will see which political party truly respects them.

Maybe change is on the way.

Pictures.

These are the most fascinating pictures I have yet to see from a guy who lived and worked in New Orleans and took pictures throught the whole thing. He has pics of the looters and the water rising. It's easy to click though too. His journal at the bottom is an incredible read as well.

It's a Must See.

via Boing Boing.

Being a Mom.

An e-mail came through our Cotillion from one our Moms that had just ended a frustrating day with a trip to the emergency room, asking if she can retire from being a mom. Her 3 yr old reminded her though:

"Mommy, you're not a girl. You're a mommy." That is sooooo what happens, isn't it?'

I e-mailed the following back and another Cotillion member asked me to blog it. Who am I too refuse a request like that?????

"Such wisdom from a 3 yr old!! That is something our moms never tell us. When WE become moms, the girl in us is whisked away!

To answer your question. No. You cannot retire, you cannot quit, you cannot take a vacation from it, hell, you can't even take a coffee break from it! But, in the end, believe it or not, it is ALL worth it and more. Because in the end what we really did was live a life of love.

Right now it just LOOKS like choas and mayhem, but it's just love dressed up as life."

via The Steel Deal.

Katrina e-mail scammer.

Sortapundit replys. Heh.

Satan speaks.

In a rare interview Satan speaks in the aftermath of Katrina:

"Satan specifically cites the immediate and turbulent race baiting in the wake of hurricane Katrina.

"My approach would have been to just perpetuate the hopeless nature of it all," he says. "More images of desolation, more subtle implications of 'is this what your loving God wants?' Etc. etc. But no, between Randall Robinson, Harry Reid, Jesse Jackson, and my apprentice, Hillary, they've practically driven the people into the church house to pray that none of these people come to power."

Heh.

Good News.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said Friday he believes that within two years, there'll be no further need for U.S. forces there.

Let's hope and pray this happens. 2 yrs is not that long. Then we can finally stop the bickering about the war. That would be nice.

Oh, the filthy rich!

I heard on the local news station this morning about dozens of displaced families from New Orleans staying at a local Motel 8 that were about to be evicted for not paying their bill. This was despite receiving a letter from the Red Cross telling the motel that it would be reimbursed.

It seems a Houstonian heard this and went directly to the motel and wrote a check for $44,000 to pay for another month for the families.

Good God! You just have to hate those greedy rich people!! They deserve to be in the 36% income tax bracket!!!! They deserve to have any money they inherit, or leave to inherit, taxed TWICE!

Then there are these kind of rich people.

Funny and Sweet.

Trying to find a lighter side here, I stumbled upon this true story from a New Orleans man who did NOT want to evacuate:

"Michael O'Donoghue, a denizen of New Orleans' Lower Garden District, claimed the harrowing distinction of being evacuated, escaping, returning home and facing evacuation again.

O'Donoghue, 64, likened his four-day Superdome stay to imprisonment.

"Tuesday, I made a couple of breaks but they brought me back," he said. "I finally escaped Thursday."

His house is livable, O'Donoghue insisted, and "once you put yourself in the hands of the government, you could end up in Utah."

UTAH!!!??? GOD FORBID!!!!!.....Heh.

A sweet story:

"A problem-solver from Baton Rouge, La., came up with a nifty solution Wednesday to the classic animal problem: people who won't evacuate New Orleans without their pets vs. rescuers who won't take pets.

Carlos Padial rented a bus after he learned that a friend's daughter, Robin Schaffer, 43, was car-less in New Orleans with her two cats. Padial won the governor's permission to enter the city and take out a busload of pets and their owners. Schaffer promoted the opportunity far and wide. A local radio station got wind of it.

When Padial arrived, he hung banners on the bus: "Pet Loving People." The bus filled and Padial was off like Noah."

Where is this story?

I was beginning to think I was the only one asking this question. But it seems Hugh Hewitt even went to the source to ask it:

"The Fox News Channel's Major Garrett made another appearance on the program this evening, following up on his blockbuster story yesterday. Among other things, Garrett got confirmation from the head of the Red cross --on camera-- of the Louisiana State Department of Homeland Security's blocking of the delivery of relief supplies to the Superdome and the Convention Center. In addition, Garrett received confirmation from senior Salvation Army officials in Washington, D.C. that the Salvation Army's efforts at supplying the evacuees were also repeatedly blocked. Radioblogger will have the transcript up later, but the key takeaway was when I asked Garrett if characterizing Louisian's preparation for the storm as "abysmal" was accurate and he confirmed that indeed it was. Read the whole thing.

I also asked Garrett why no other network is on this story. He can't offer an answer for that, even though he points out that this isn't a hard story to get, and Fox News needn't be credited. All CNN has to do (or MSNBC or CBS) is call the Red Cross and get a camera over there.

Of course that would interfere with the "blame Bush" conclusion being pushed by Jacked-up Jack Cafferty and Campbell Brown etc."

I had a commenter here who kept saying that the news he was reading claimed that the Red Cross had been kept out by FEMA. It seems that some news sources saw "Department of Homeland Security" in the part that said "Lousiana Dept. of Homeland Security" and assumed it was the federal branch and part of FEMA and got the story wrong.

Why is this important? Why is it important to understand why people didn't get water when they needed it? It's important so people can't write irresponsible things like THIS.

*I want to add that nothing has EVER convinced me of msm bias than this story. For days we were subjected to the trembling anger of Tim Russert, Keith Olbermann, Shepard Smith, and dozens of editorials about the hurricane victims lacking food and water for DAYS! How could this happen in America?? We were asked over and over. We finally get an answer to that question and Tim, Keith, and Shep are nowhere to be found. When they thought it was Bush's fault it was the lead, but when it is proven it was not, they don't even mention it. Since Tuesday when the story broke, I have looked and looked and could not find one mention of it in any msm news other than the one who broke the story, Fox News.

If this story is a lie or a spin, then THAT should be the story. But there is NO excuse for ignoring this story. NONE. Except for the glaring explanation, which is the media bias.

Real or Parody?

It took me a few minutes of reading this before I realized it was parody since it so closely resembles so many far left sites.

It is parody, right?

Americans know It isn't about race.

I just saw a quick clip on TV of Howard Dean saying that what happened in New Orleans had everything to do with race and class. I have been looking for the quote, but I can't find it. Update: I found the quote here.

“We must ... come to terms with the ugly truth that skin color, age and economics played a deadly role in who survived and who did not,”

Considering that the vast majority of those who "survived" were black and poor, I think that Dean may be losing what is left of his mind.

Last night Bill O'Reilly had a black columnist from a black national newspaper on and she stated that the policies of Bush prove he is racist. Bill ask her for one example of this and she came up with nothing. She just started in on the hurricane.

If this is going to be a talking point on the Democrat side, take some advice from me. It will backfire on you. You are not going to convince America that Bush doesn't care about black people (as Kanye West tells us) when he is doing more to help the victims of hurricane Katrina (who are mostly black) than anyone could. Let's look at what he has done.

Victims were set up in shelters across the country with beds, food, drinks, and medical care. Everything from phones, job fairs, help with forms to fill out for unemployment, WIC, ect.. were given. Schools were opened for the children, school supplies given, and now $2000 check cards for everyone to get started. And this list is just a partial list. Bush signed off 10 billion just to begin helping.

Does this sound like a man who doesn't like black people? (we won't even go into his appointment for cabinet-level positions)

Americans are not stupid. Howard Dean can spin this any way he wishes, but people can clearly see on their TV's that Bush is doing EVERYTHING possible to help these people. And you know he isn't doing it because he figures they voted for him. We all know that 90% didn't. So this isn't about votes, it's about caring.

Despite the onslaught of criticism on Bush for the last week from the msm, a recent CNN/Gallup Poll shows that only 13% thought the Katrina aftermath was Bush's fault.

Democrats will do well not to tow this line. Dean is wrong. And you all know it. Race had NOTHING to do with this tragedy.

The American people know this.

A terrible force of nature and the terrible nature of man.

Here are some questions I asked myself regarding the aftermath of hurricane Katrina and maybe you did too:


"What explains bands of thugs using a natural disaster as an excuse for an orgy of looting, armed robbery, and rape? What causes unruly mobs to storm the very buses that have arrived to evacuate them, causing the drivers to speed away, frightened for their lives? What causes people to attack the doctors trying to treat patients at the Superdome?
Why are people responding to natural destruction by causing further destruction? Why are they attacking the people who are trying to help them?

The Intellectual Activist asks these questions and answers them.

It's a must read folks.

This is great news.

HOUSTON -- The number of hurricane evacuees staying at Houston shelters fell from 25,800 to just over 8,000 as people are finding relatives to stay with or alternative housing, relief officials said Wednesday. via Star Telegram
I was a bit worried that people would be just sitting there in shock and then what? I wondered, did this many people have no one to turn to? No family, no friends? It is wonderful to know that they are finding loved ones to stay with. Once someone is living with a more nurturing environment, then they can start to rebuild their lives.

One reason might be Continental Airlines has set up stations at each of the shelters, and Houston's largest airline is offering free tickets to any shelter resident seeking to relocate to one of 48 states. If one had family far away and no money, it was all but impossible to get there. SBC had set up phone lines in the Astrodome so people could call their relatives and friends, It does my heart good to see so many companies doing so much for these people. Houston also opened two empty schools today to accomodate the children at the Astrodome and sent school buses there today to pick them up for their first day of school here.

Nice.

Interesting Timing.

UN Chief Annan accepts responsiblity for the food for oil scandal. Yep. This would be the time I would expect him to announce this. Just when the U.S. is focused on a huge tragedy. The sad thing is that he will be probably get away with it and not be forced to resign.

Some Answers.

I listened to the news tonight and it doesn't look good for the local government in Louisiana. The first glaring mistake was when Gov. Blanco refused to give federal authority for the disaster to President Bush when he asked for it. This tied the hands of many agencies, including FEMA, who had to wait for permission from Gov. Blanco to act and she was clearly overwhelmed.

It seems the Red Cross WAS there with supplies of food and water for the people at the Superdome and Convention Center and the highways , but the Louisiana Dept. of Homeland Security told them they COULD NOT give relief supplies out for fear of it creating a magnet for thousands of others to come to the Superdome or Convention Center.

It was a bureacratic nightmare.

I want to add that I get no satisfaction that those on the hard left, who were screaming that it was all Bush's fault that the people got no water and food, were wrong. The people still suffered and placing blame won't change that.

But now we know who to be mad at...the Louisana Dept. of Homeland Security. The federal government is not allowed to take control if it is not given by the State. If we want that to be different we better decide that now before the next disaster.

Update: More here.

Check out this week at The Cotillion!!!!!!