Talking with SuperNova yesterday,

I mentioned Odrama's hypocrisy re: keeping the White House warm - SHE attended the same school he did in Hawaii - according to her, Punahou {or however it's spelled} KEEPS classroom temps at near-hypothermic levels - so his staff's bruiting about how he 'hates
the cold' is not only given the lie by his CHOICE of Chicago as his launch-point, but by his high school attendance ...................


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ATTENTION ON DECK!! From the Colonel -

You are collectively hereby ordered to, at the very least, watch this trailer of the HBO production, Taking Chance. If possible, you are further ordered to WATCH said movie when it is shown on HBO.

Carry on.


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;-) From my Colonel ....................................... ;-)

For those of you who have never been to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota,
have you ever wondered what was on the other side of the mountain?


Take a look:





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Sorry, but I had to go to comment moderation ....................................

seems someone likes to fill the 'Net with noise, in the same manner that others fill the air with vibrations by speaking but saying nothing ........................... if anyone can explain to me how to remove the post causing this, I would appreciate the info ......................... trolls & hackers should be half-hanged, drawn & quartered!!


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Nah-nah-nah-nah -- nah-nah-nah-nah - Hey, Hey, Gooood-bye

Via my Colonel






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NOW, if we could just have Odrama prove he is, in fact and in deed, a "natural born Citizen", I'd probably shut up about this garbage & concentrate on what he's doing NOW ........................



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Michelle Malkin is promoting ..........................

Operation Send-a-Pair {no, NOT socks!} to Senate Republicans ................... seems a GOOD idea to me! ;-)



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Thanks to Gay Cynic for the code ................................

for the countdown as to when we'll have some real hope {versus 'Hope 'n' Change'} for a true change for America ....................



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Crusader Rabbit's homesick ........................................

Also, I'm wonderin' ................... does anybody know of any great get-together of U.S. Marines & Diggers, 'way back in the late 50's-early 60's? {Other than southeast Asia.} Reason I ask is, my Dad was gone on a lot of cruises back then, & I remember him singing both songs to me when he returned - he was quite the Australophile {I THINK it's because his antecedents had a lot in common with Australia's British founders ;-) } - as far as we know, he never OFFICIALLY went to VietNam until '68-'69 timeframe. AND, why did it take until 1974 for Australia to choose Waltzing Matilda as their national anthem? Are Australia & New Zealand still somewhat subject to the British monarchy?



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From my Colonel ................................... ;-) ;-)

Baskin Robbins New Ice Cream !!!
Baskin Robbins is introducing a new ice cream in honor of
the inauguration, "Barocky Road"
It's half vanilla, half chocolate, surrounded by fruits and nuts !!!

I'm somewhat of an Anglophile ...........................

half of my heritage is from the UK; the other half is what used to be called "mittel-Europa", so I read British authors as well as American .................... one of the funniest terms I've come across has been 'quango' - Wikipedia defines it as Quango or qango is an acronym (variously spelt out as QUAsi Non-Governmental Organization, QUasi-Autonomous Non-Governmental Organization, and QUasi-Autonomous National Government Organization) used notably in the United Kingdom but also in Australia, Ireland and elsewhere to label colloquially an organization to which government has devolved power. Lack of clarity over its meaning may have contributed to a decline somewhat in its use. The acronym can carry with it an implication of poor management and lack of accountability.

Just SAY the word aloud - it sounds like a dyspeptic waterfowl .................. now, WHY that tickles my funny bone, I can't explain - I understand it is NOT a laughing matter to those who come under quangos' less than beneficent rules - about the closest parallel I can come up with are our vaunted 'community organizers', funded by Uncle Sam, and running around like firefighters with no fires to put out. But, I'm afraid that, should someone decide "we" need quangos, & their representatives introduce themselves as representatives of "our local quango", I'll be hard-pressed to NOT laugh in their faces ....................... ;-)

On to other matters - just as a straw poll, to all & sundry who might read this: HOW MANY times would someone have to studiously ignore you before you would get the idea that they don't like you? We have a neighbor I've mentioned before, for whom there is no milk of human kindness in me, and this IS a small town, with limited locations for local shopping. HOWEVER, even with the paucity of choices, I have been subjected to this individual 3 times recently. Once, the FodGuy was with me, the neighbor was with his nephew, we were all standing in line at a convenience store. The neighbor notices the FG, and announces so the entire store can hear, "Watch out for this guy, he can kick your a$$." THEN, the idiot notices me, and announces to all present that "And his wife here is even WORSE." Fine, if I have a rep for a$$-kicking, so be it.

Couple of weeks later, I ran out to the little grocery store here; yep, idiot is there, only he's special - HE doesn't have to park in a parking space {not even a handicapped space} - no, he parks HIS vehicle directly in front of the store. I'm trying to get in & out quickly - no such luck, he sees me & gets in line behind me. Attempts conversation several times - finally, after I've paid & am on my way out, I look around & did the 'oh, didn't see you' routine. Couple of days ago, again at our local grocery, he's already in line, so I go to another checkout - he's YELLING over the display cases at me ........................ I am about at the point of telling him, in front of God & everybody, that I DON'T like him, there is NO HOPE of my EVER liking him, he is a thug to his wife, and a bloviating layabout who spends whatever monies they have on gambling, while they're having vehicles repossessed, awaiting foreclosure/eviction, and if he was on fire, I wouldn't cross the road to pi$$ on him ...................... do ya THINK that would get him to leave me alone? When I came home from the latest incident, I asked the FodGuy - HOW many times, as a man with SOME degree of self-respect, would you attempt to talk to someone who was obviously ignoring you? FG says about twice. That's MY attitude, but maybe we're just a couple of stiff-necked Marines ............................

One of the kittens of the latest clutch died last night - B-Butt had been ill, and had some congenital issues like their Mom, but apparently it was more of a problem for B-Butt - s/he was a sweet, loving little kitten, and will be missed ................



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From VDare's blog ................................

I'm thinking we should send them a TON of cheese to go with this whine ..................


Immigrants Living In Caves In New Jersey

Posted By Brenda Walker On 24 January 2009 @ 10:24 In Immigration | Comments Disabled

Here’s my candidate for Sob Story of the Day…

PLAINFIELD, N.J. –- Dozens of unemployed Central American immigrants who lost their jobs and can’t afford to pay rent have moved into caves, reports El Diario/La Prensa. Immigrants have been living in the makeshift homes in Plainfield and North Plainfeld, N.J. for three months, and call their new residence the “Devil’s Cave.”[[1] Inmigrantes desempleados en la ‘Cueva del Diablo’] Their decision to move into caves is a testament to the harsh climate of the current economic crisis, which has had a greater impact on the undocumented who have more difficulty accessing government aid after losing their jobs.[[2] Unemployed Immigrants Move into Caves, January 24, 2009]

Say, why don’t they move into the nearest comfy Mexican Consulate?

Article printed from VDARE.com: Blog Articles: http://blog.vdare.com

URL to article: http://blog.vdare.com/archives/2009/01/24/immigrants-living-in-caves-in-new-jersey/

URLs in this post:
[1] Inmigrantes desempleados en la ‘Cueva del Diablo’: http://www.impre.com/inmigracion/2009/1/12/inmigrantes-desempleados-en-la-102803-1.html
[2] Unemployed Immigrants Move into Caves: http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=3b0a1a5aa1c07f6bf6a541b6e0caeb9c



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Via Crusader Rabbit, an

online petition to protest the persecution of Geert Wilders for his willingness to speak the truth re: Islam ...................



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With affection to our Doggies, from a Jarhead ............................ ;-)

It's about damn time ...................................

Michelle Malkin notes that Dubya is FINALLY commuting the sentences {that should NEVER have happened in the first place, IMNSHO} of Ramos & Compean - congratulations to them & their families!!

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This is SO ME!!! ;-) ;-) ;-)

more animals





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Bill Faith, Smalltown Veteran, died today ....................................

his self-description was: Baby boomer, nerdy kid, Viet Nam veteran, engineer, daddy, grandpa. Politically incorrect. Proud anti-idiotarian.

In her homage, Michelle Malkin noted a couple of articles that are, God help us all, extremely timely - first is an article from BlackFive; the second was inspired by that BlackFive post .........................


From BlackFive:

The following essay (an extract from the book, 'On Combat') was written by Lieutenant Colonel Dave Grossman, U.S. Army (Ret.) Director, Killology Research Group (www.killology.com). Colonel Grossman is a somewhat controversial figure - he authored the book - "On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society" - a very interesting topic that our politically correct society would rarely discuss. (Thanks to Tom and Mark for sending the article)

On Sheep, Sheepdogs, and Wolves
By Dave Grossman

One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me: "Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident." This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another.

Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.

Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.

I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin's egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful. For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.

"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there that will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf."...

If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.

Let me expand on this old soldier's excellent model of the sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. We know that the sheep live in denial, which is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids' schools.

But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid's school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard, and so they chose the path of denial.

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, cannot and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheepdog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.

Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn't tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, "Baa."

Until the wolf shows up! Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.

The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them. This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door.

Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Remember how many times you heard the word hero?

Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed right along with the young ones.

Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." When you are truly transformed into a warrior and have truly invested yourself into warriorhood, you want to be there. You want to be able to make a difference.

There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population.

There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious, predatory crimes of violence: assaults, murders and killing law enforcement officers. The vast majority said that they specifically targeted victims by body language: slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself.

Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I'm proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs.

Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the hijacking. When he learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd dropped his phone and uttered the words, "Let's roll," which authorities believe was a signal to the other passengers to confront the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers - athletes, business people and parents. -- From sheep to sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground.

"Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself after that?"

"There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men." - Edmund Burke

Here is the point I like to emphasize; especially to the thousands of police officers and soldiers I speak to each year. In nature the sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are wolves. They didn't have a choice. But you are not a critter. As a human being, you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision.

If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust, or love. But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior's path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door.

For example, many officers carry their weapons in church. They are well concealed in ankle holsters, shoulder holsters or inside-the-belt holsters tucked into the small of their backs. Anytime you go to some form of religious service, there is a very good chance that a police officer in your congregation is carrying. You will never know if there is such an individual in your place of worship, until the wolf appears to massacre you and your loved ones.

I was training a group of police officers in Texas, and during the break, one officer asked his friend if he carried his weapon in church. The other cop replied, "I will never be caught without my gun in church." I asked why he felt so strongly about this, and he told me about a cop he knew who was at a church massacre in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1999. In that incident, a mentally deranged individual came into the church and opened fire, gunning down fourteen people. He said that officer believed he could have saved every life that day if he had been carrying his gun. His own son was shot, and all he could do was throw himself on the boy's body and wait to die. That cop looked me in the eye and said, "Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself after that?"

Some individuals would be horrified if they knew this police officer was carrying a weapon in church. They might call him paranoid and would probably scorn him. Yet these same individuals would be enraged and would call for "heads to roll" if they found out that the airbags in their cars were defective, or that the fire extinguisher and fire sprinklers in their kids' school did not work. They can accept the fact that fires and traffic accidents can happen and that there must be safeguards against them.

Their only response to the wolf, though, is denial, and all too often their response to the sheepdog is scorn and disdain. But the sheepdog quietly asks himself, "Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself if your loved ones were attacked and killed, and you had to stand there helplessly because you were unprepared for that day?"

It is denial that turns people into sheep. Sheep are psychologically destroyed by combat because their only defense is denial, which is counterproductive and destructive, resulting in fear, helplessness and horror when the wolf shows up.

Denial kills you twice. It kills you once, at your moment of truth when you are not physically prepared: you didn't bring your gun, you didn't train. Your only defense was wishful thinking. Hope is not a strategy. Denial kills you a second time because even if you do physically survive, you are psychologically shattered by your fear, helplessness, and horror at your moment of truth.

Gavin de Becker puts it like this in "Fear Less," his superb post-9/11 book, which should be required reading for anyone trying to come to terms with our current world situation: "...denial can be seductive, but it has an insidious side effect. For all the peace of mind deniers think they get by saying it isn't so, the fall they take when faced with new violence is all the more unsettling."

Denial is a save-now-pay-later scheme, a contract written entirely in small print, for in the long run, the denying person knows the truth on some level.

And so the warrior must strive to confront denial in all aspects of his life, and prepare himself for the day when evil comes.

If you are warrior who is legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the bad man will not come today. No one can be "on" 24/7, for a lifetime. Everyone needs down time. But if you are authorized to carry a weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath, and say this to yourself... "Baa."

This business of being a sheep or a sheep dog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-sand-sheep and on the other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one end or the other. Most of us live somewhere in between. Since 9-11 almost everyone in America took a step up that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few steps toward accepting and appreciating their warriors, and the warriors started taking their job more seriously. The degree to which you move up that continuum, away from sheephood and denial, is the degree to which you and your loved ones will survive, physically and psychologically, at your moment of truth.

Inspired by the above:

The Sheepdogs

Most humans truly are like sheep
Wanting nothing more than peace to keep
To graze, grow fat and raise their young,
Sweet taste of clover on the tongue.
Their lives serene upon Life’s farm,
They sense no threat nor fear no harm.
On verdant meadows, they forage free
With naught to fear, with naught to flee.
They pay their sheepdogs little heed
For there is no threat; there is no need.

To the flock, sheepdog’s are mysteries,
Roaming watchful round the peripheries.
These fang-toothed creatures bark, they roar
With the fetid reek of the carnivore,
Too like the wolf of legends told,
To be amongst our docile fold.
Who needs sheepdogs? What good are they?
They have no use, not in this day.
Lock them away, out of our sight
We have no need of their fierce might.

But sudden in their midst a beast
Has come to kill, has come to feast
The wolves attack; they give no warning
Upon that calm September morning
They slash and kill with frenzied glee
Their passive helpless enemy
Who had no clue the wolves were there
Far roaming from their Eastern lair.
Then from the carnage, from the rout,
Comes the cry, “Turn the sheepdogs out!”

Thus is our nature but too our plight
To keep our dogs on leashes tight
And live a life of illusive bliss
Hearing not the beast, his growl, his hiss.
Until he has us by the throat,
We pay no heed; we take no note.
Not until he strikes us at our core
Will we unleash the Dogs of War
Only having felt the wolf pack’s wrath
Do we loose the sheepdogs on its path.

And the wolves will learn what we’ve shown before;
We love our sheep, we Dogs of War.

Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne Division
Vietnam 65-66


Rest in Peace, Bill Faith ...................



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The recent dearth of posting was due to ............................

my being 'temporarily' employed ..................... I started on my birthday at a local gas station/convenience store. SuperNova trained me, & we became very good friends .................... anyhoo, on Monday, I went in to pick up my pay {"paydays" are ostensibly Sundays} - but it was $40.00 {5 hours} short. Please bear in mind, in order to open the store Monday through Friday, one gets up & out of bed by 0330. Also, due to a dead starter on one of our vehicles, I had to WALK to work at 0430 {this town doesn't waste a lot of money on streetlights} along a two-lane country road TWICE last week.

I called the owner at 0800 Monday {SuperNova was working the store, but we'd both been up since zero-crack-tweet}, & left a voicemail about the missing $40.00 {due to time off over the holidays, the FodGuy's checks were shorter - we were looking to MY pay covering the costs of replacing the starter} - the owner calls, not me, but SuperNova - HE doesn't appreciate being called "so early" about pay issues, & tells her to fire me. So, I hand in my keys. In the meantime, SuperNova is going through familial issues {a terminally ill parent, in Hawaii} - emergency surgery was performed last night, an ileostomy was introduced, and the family is left with palliative care. 'Nova didn't sleep for the past couple of nights, due to worries about her family - she asked the shirttail relative of the owner who's the nighttime cashier, to come in an hour early, so she can leave early today - for the past EIGHT MONTHS, she's been staying at least an hour late on Fridays, so this ................ individual ...................... can "go pray" {nevermind that the first question this missing link asks about a new female employee is "will she f*** me?" When I learned he'd asked it about me, I made it a point to stop by with the FodGuy .................. heheheheheheheh, ain't I evil?} When 'Nova brought up the FACT of her covering for his supposed attendance at mosque, he told her the owner wouldn't like her bringing that up - which got me thinking - THEY CHOSE to come to America - they had to have SOME idea of what America is about - first & foremost, that little idiosyncrasy of ours called "freedom of speech" - 'Nova seems to think the owner will eventually call me to ask me to come back - the FodGuy initially suggested that I call & apologize for having called 'so early' {I think he interpreted "the Look" very well}, but now agrees that, if the owner calls & offers a half-assed apology for his behavior, I go back but actively seek something else. Also, once we get some money ahead, I'm having my rose & EGA tattoo done on my left arm - underneath it, in Arabic script, will be "I will not submit".

Please keep SuperNova & her family in your thoughts & prayers, as they travel this very difficult road ..................




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