Seems somebody's knickers are twisted ........................

Bare Naked Islam & some readers under threat  

I'm sorry, but the followers of Islam REALLY need to get a grip - threatening folks such as BNI & readers/commenters there, should NOT result in surprise that most folks don't trust Muslims/Islamists at all .................................. so far, in THIS country, "we" still have freedom of speech - "we" can say what we like, and take responsibility for same - and yes, I know this goes against all grains in Islam, but that applies to WOMEN, TOO!! 

So, loosen the turbans and chill out ..................................


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I'll be the first to cheer for those who actually

WORK for a living having vacations {that whole 'earning privileges' concept - out of date, I know} ........................... that said, can someone please explain how Michelle Antoinette Øbama's role is so overwhelming that she has required 15 'vacations' in little over 3 years?  When she's not embarrassing the nation {think Queen Elizabeth; 'proud for the first time to be American', etc.}, she's busy haranguing Americans about our diets {has she LOOKED at herself in a full-length mirror recently?}

The FodGuy generally works 7 days a week, to keep us "even" financially, nevermind "getting ahead"; with the exception of TWO days down in Galveston last November, for our anniversary, we have not had any sort of 'vacation' since 2004.  He doesn't golf; I don't shop extravagantly, we don't "entertain", and yet, were we to be face-to-face with the Øbamas, I'm sure we'd be told how much "sacrificing" they're going through ........................................ nahh, not a lot of sympathy here ............................ and as the Marine Corps teaches, one can find "sympathy" between "shit" and "syphilis" in the dictionary ................................................





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Don't let it be said ..............................

that Texans don't know their audience ........................................ ;-)

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I am getting DAMNED sick & tired of

clicking on bookmarks that have served for YEARS, in some cases, only to get "URL not found" and a load of GARBAGE from Yahoo! and Google .......................................... STOP interfering with my surfing - I DON'T visit porn sites, I DON'T visit terrorist sites, and even if I DID, it's NONE of your damn business, and I'm STILL an AMERICAN IN AMERICA - get your damned censoring software out of my way!


Here's one URL that shows up:  http://urlseek20.vmn.net/search.php?tbn=antiphishing-vmntbcleaner1_0dn&v=1.0.1.15&type=dns&q=hillbuzz.org

I've had it happen with Jarhead Blog, Vlad Tepes, Bare Naked Islam, Crusader Rabbit, Theo Spark, Bayou Renaissance Man, etc., etc., ad nauseum.

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Via Theo Spark ......................... 'nuff said

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To all of us who attended Catholic schools ...................... ;-)

ChopperGunner died Saturday ............................

Patrick Hayes was one of the kindest, most honorable men it's been my pleasure to call "friend".  He welcomed me with open arms when I joined a Marine message board 13 years ago.

When we finally met face-to-face {back in 2000}, it was merely a continuation of the friendship we had developed on the 'Net.  He showed me his home there in Massachusetts, taking me around an area I had not visited before.  We got into some mischief, but laughed about it for years ................................. he told me things, about combat in VietNam, that as a WM, I couldn't fully comprehend, but non-REMFs would surely understand. 

He received excellent care via the VA there in Massachusetts; unlike other VAs, the one in Bedford, Massachusetts seems to really care about their Veterans.

He joins my Dad, my uncle, BullDog, Nomad, AWACS, DittyChaser, Darby and others, guarding Heaven's streets, answering to Chesty Puller ........................................





Semper Fi', my noble Costello!

And when I get to Heaven,
St. Peter I will tell,
"Another Marine reporting, Sir -
"I've served my time in Hell!" 

 *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

If the Army and the Navy 
Ever look on Heaven's scenes
They will find the streets are guarded
By United States Marines.





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For Gecko, KG & all others who love Oz

I'm Fair Dinkum :
Chorus
I'm Fair Dinkum, bloody oath I am
I've loved the smell of gum leaves, since I was in a pram
Some places may be greener, but I don't give a damn
'Cause I'm Fair Dinkum, bloody oath I am.
Now I was in the doctor's just the other day
He told me take an aspirin, the pain would go away
So I pulled out my chequebook, 'cause sickness doesn't pay
I said, "Are you fair dinkum?" - what did the doctor say?

He said, "Ah so . . ." (Repeat Chorus with Chinese accent)
I said, "Well can you recommend a nice little Chinese restaurant?"

Then I whistled down a taxi cab and headed for the east
A bad case of the munchies, I was ready for a feast
The driver said "Indian?" - I said, "Oh well, I'd rather not"
He said, "Why don't you come around to my place,
My curry's rather hot".

I said, "Are you fair dinkum?"
He said, "Oh . . ." (Repeat Chorus with Indian accent)

Well, I tipped the nice cabbie so he wouldn't make a fuss
I shot out like a bullet and I grabbed a Bondi bus
I said, "Take me to the waves mate, I'm dyin' for a dip"
He said "Now you be very careful and watch you don't slip.

"Oh, are you fair dinkum?"
He said, "Ah by gum . . ." (Repeat Chorus with Pommy accent)

Well everybody's claiming Australia as their own
I'm no aborigine, so I won't point the bone
It shows good taste mate, so I shouldn't moan
If you got a problem, get Al Grassby on the phone.

Bridge
Yeah, we're Fair Dinkum, bloody oath we are
We all love Koalas and singin' round the bar
And con somebody's missus to drive the flamin' car
Yeah, we're Fair Dinkum, bloody oath we are.

Now give me a home where life is what you make
Where I can walk about, just for walking's sake
Where I can tell our leaders to go jump in the lake
But I'll never knock Australia, you make no mistake.

(Repeat Chorus to tune of bridge)
(Repeat Chorus)



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The day I took the Oath

Funny thing about that Oath - as a friend notes, it does NOT come with an 'expiration date'; it also has this little bit about 'supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States'.

SOPA/PIPA are bills intended to whittle away at our Constitutionally-guaranteed RIGHTS as American citizens - so, in solidarity with others out here in the blogosphere, nothing further will be posted today.

Oath of office:  I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.  

The Constitution in full.

A couple of take-aways: 
We the People  of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Article [I]

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Article [IV]
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.  {Emphases added - DM}

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Not just for men .......................... ;-)

Today started off badly ...............................

some neighbors moved out before Christmas, left their dog {~ 2 year old, Yorkie/Silky mix} behind, tied up; I'd seen him wandering the neighborhood, so someone set him free, so he could hopefully find something to eat/drink {cat food I put out for the strays} - this morning, he's laying in a patch of sunshine, at his "home", gets up when I approach - right hind leg is dangling {skin intact, but bones turned to mush, probably hit by a car} - I enticed him close enough to lay hands on with the FodGuy's's last hamburger - brought him in & the FodGuy palpated the leg - the dog NEVER EVEN GROWLED, much less bit - WE are just in no position financially to go the distance for his orthopod work {minimum of possibly setting the leg, & the resulting care/rehab, up to & including amputation}, so I gritted my teeth & took him to the shelter - when I told Animal Control his story, they immediately took us over to the surgery, where he was put in a kennel to await a local rescue organization, which will foot the bill for his surgery {-ies} & then find him a forever home.  I was in tears on the way to the shelter, 'cause I was certain I was taking him to be euthanized; I was petting him as I was driving, and he'd just look at me with these soft brown eyes, very patient with everything I did with/to him.    I've been involved in humane work for 41 years, and this kind of ignorance/apathy/indifference NEVER gets easier to accept.

Now, his "owners" {may they rot in hell!!} got him as a puppy, for an animated toy for their 3 little monsters - several times, when he was no bigger than a kitten, I had to rescue him, because they had him tied on their front porch, and he'd fall off the steps & hang there by his neck.  They ultimately moved him from near the front door, and basically ignored his existence.  The rescue is going to have to socialize him, because all he expects from humans is apathy or cruelty - his gentleness and patience with me were absolutely amazing, considering what he's known from humans.  The veterinary nurse was amazed that he had never snapped/bit at me, after I told her the history.  St. Francis of Assisi was truly smiling on my efforts today .........................................  

I let it be known, to anyone who may still be in contact with the "owners" that I had better NEVER see them again ........................







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Those of you I've corresponded with, via eMail ......................

know that one of my quotes @ the bottom is "Sammenhold - Danish for Solidarity"; which I started using, thanks to a retired Captain of Marines' bride, who was born & raised in Denmark, who provided the translation during the Cartoon Rage in Denmark.  Like the quote "I am John Galt", or better yet, "I am Spartacus", I find myself more & more respectful of Denmark and her people, and wouldn't mind AT ALL were I to be compared to them and their sense of integrity and national pride ..............................................






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From a retired USMC MSgt .............................

And, from a retired LtCol of Marines...........................

I've certainly known a few for whom this would be an improvement ....................... ;-)

From Theo Spark ..............................

A Marine's Christmas Song

Marine Master Sgt. Robert Allen sings a song he wrote for his wife for Christmas. Allen joins the thousands of men and women deployed this holiday season in support of counterinsurgency efforts in Afghanistan. He said he hopes his Christmas song "will help people understand that though we're willing to do it, it's still heartbreaking." Master Sgt. Robert Allen, Hometown: Pawnee, Okla. Produced by Cpl. Brian Adam Jones, Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan. Provided by 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward).









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Happy Thanksgiving!!

Since I'm working now, didn't do a lot of prep for today; {been working a LOT of hours!  ;-) } we're having a pork roast {the FodGuy doesn't "do" fowl willingly} - below is a picture snitched from Old NFO that kinda sums up my attitude toward the stinky OWS crowd .......................

Enjoy yourselves today - tomorrow's gonna be a bear for me {security in a retail environment} - but I'm earning and contributing!!  ;-)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR BELOVED MARINE CORPS!!

Don't know if Blogger will permit all the videos, but let's try - this link is very graphic - DON'T click it unless your anger outweighs your 'sensitivities'.

We were living in Monterrey, NL, Mexico, when 9/11 occurred;

 I'd had trouble sleeping the night before, so Dawn answered the door to another American expat, Danny from Chicago. He barged on in, to get to our TV, since we had American satellite. Dawn came & woke me up with "Mom, they've attacked New York City."

    I headed down to our TV room, where Danny already had CNN on - it was unbelievable, watching the footage over & over again. The three of us were in shock, trying to comprehend it all. Dawn had 3 friends she went to school with, lost that day. Mike came home & he & Danny polished off almost a full bottle of Scotch. Danny was panicking, because he couldn't get through to his family back in Chicago. The grounding of ALL U.S. flights, the barren radar displays, the sight of military aircraft patrolling the skies - was almost incomprehensible. My primary reaction was pure rage - wanting to kill all responsible & let God sort them out.

    We were all glued to the TV for the rest of the day; couldn't get through to family back in Pennsylvania, couldn't get over the border {it was closed until Friday, 14 September} - we were impotent.

    I didn't cry until the next day, when I saw the changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, and the Coldstream Guards played our National Anthem; it still makes me cry.

    The rage is still there; I doubt it will go away as long as I draw breath.


This was the first time I cried over 9/11, at the changing of the Guard on 12 September 2001


 Whenever I see firefighters, especially New York firefighters, I think of my friend O'B, retired Philadelphia firefighter - the courage of any firefighter is awe-inspiring:











This just added to my rage:

 
And these are various tributes and one-time commercials, aired in support of those lost and injured on 9/11, many only "one-time" commercials, because the businesses weren't interested in profits, but in acknowledging our loss.

Good to know SOME folks remember .......................

Via Theo Spark {who, if I'm not mistaken, is in AUSTRALIA - too bad more Americans just want to forget - Old NFO is NOT one of those Americans}:

Only Time lyrics
Who can say
where the road goes
where the day flows
only time
And who can say
if your love grows
as your heart chose
only time

Who can say
why your heart sighs
as your love flies
only time
And who can say
why your heart cries
when your love lies
only time

Who can say
when the roads meet
that love might be
in your heart
And who can say
when the day sleeps
if the night keeps
all your heart

Night keeps all your heart

Who can say
if your love grows
as your heart chose
only time
And who can say
where the road goes
where the day flows
only time

Who knows - only time
Who knows - only time

I MISS my country .............................. 2012, PLEASE get here soon!!

Declaration of Independence

Here is the complete text of the Declaration of Independence.
The original spelling and capitalization have been retained.

(Adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776)
The Unanimous Declaration
of the Thirteen United States of America

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.

He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing taxes on us without our consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies:

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samual Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

Source: The Pennsylvania Packet, July 8, 1776



Of course, 36 years later ..............................








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