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July 30, 2005

Hillary's Secret War

Hillary's Secret War by Richard Poe is about Hillarys war against the new media and the rightwing journalists of the Internet who have made on-line journalism a success.

I have mixed feelings about this book; some of it I found to be quite interesting and informative, which is what I look for in a book on current events. However, some of it I had trouble with, specifically a few parts where it is reading more like conspiracy theory than hard facts. The conjecture being made in those few points may be on the mark, they just did not come across, for me, as the author intended.

There is a great deal of material on the beginnings of Internet journalism, featuring such pathfinders as Matt Drudge, and the Drudge Report, David Horowitz and Front Page Magazine and Christopher Ruddy and NewsMax.com. It comes as no surprise that all of them had been sued, investigated and/or audited, allegedly at the orders of the Clinton Administration. Yet, in spite of the hardships, they persevered and overcame the obstacles set before them. Jim Robinson and his forum, freerepublic.com, are also prominently featured in the book.

Some of the material that struck me as conspiracy theory is discussions on the death of Ron Brown, Vincent Foster and Steven Kangas. Ruddy's investigation into the death of Vincent Foster is discussed in good detail.

I think what struck me as disturbingly conspiratory was the point where one investigating journalist, L.J. Davis is mugged during his investigation into Clinton corruption in Arkansas, with several pages from his notebook torn out, however, he was not robbed.

The book hints (but doesn't outright claim) that it was a part of Hillary's Shadow Team. Her secret police, STAZI, as it were.

Hillary is described (in my opinion, accurately) as being hard-left, and never having renounced her ties to the hard-left, having study under the likes of Professor Thomas Emerson (known as Tommy the Commie around campus at the time), while at Yale.

Hillary's Secret War touches on all of the controversies from the Clinton Dual Administration, including the sex scandals, which is what most people remember, Chinagate and filegate, both nearly forgotten and ignored by the main stream media machine, to white water and the Kenn Starr Investigations.

It reminds the reader of the event sin the 2000 Florida election and how the DNC (and Gore) attempted to thwart the will of the people and steal the election through corrupt processes such as violating Florida law in regards to hand-recounts. In Florida, hand-recounts must be of ALL ballots, not select subsets of districts as the DNC was pushing to have done, ignoring the heavily Cuban districts that routinely vote Republican. It also touched on the Left-leaning media's interference in the election process when the networks called the election for Gore, even though the polls in Florida were still open.

The epilogue is quite telling, as it covers the attack on 9/11, and is worth the price of the book just to read it, as it reminds us how important it is that we have the right people leading this country, those who can shed the light of liberty throughout the world, and not power-hungry leftists who will stop at nothing to seize and hold power.

Although my take on this book is somewhat mixed, overall, it is a darn good read and should be recommended to anyone on the fence post when it comes to a Hillary Presidential campaign in 2008.

The Patriot Picnic

I arrived at Starring Lake Park in Eden Prairie for the AM 1280 "The Patriot" picnic and live broadcast at around 10:30 a.m. The weather was about as perfect as you could hope for; sunny, warm, with just enough breeze to keep people from overheating.

The Patriot began their day early with a live broadcast of The Taxpayers League and David Strom. Strom was gleefully enjoying a cigar during the broadcast, despite the smoking ban in effect at the park.

One of the hot button topics discussed by Strom was the recent report that funds from the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club, a charitable organization to help poor children and Alzheimer's patients was diverted to fund Air America. It looks as though this outrage is being ignored by the "main stream media" and once again left to Talk Radio and Bloggers to report on this serious allegation.

Strom had on the air with him Cheri Yecke, who has announced plans to run for the House of Representatives in Mark Kennedy's district, which sounds like a good plan to me as Kennedy has announced plans to run for the U.S. Senate. This looks to be a good win-win scenario, as both are highly qualified people. The 2006 mid-terms are shaping up into something that should be quite a load of fun.

Yecke supports smaller government and individual rights. She also proclaimed "I love my country." I can't vote for her, as I am in a different district, however, she sounds pretty darn good to me.

She also pointed out the Senator Durbin's recent tirade on the Senate floor about Guantanamo Bay has had a demoralizing effect on our troops.

At noon, the Northern Alliance Radio Network took the microphones, and continued the discourse on the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club, now defunct, and the diverting of its funds to support Air America. They also mentioned that many non-profit organizations, some with partnership arrangements with a non-profit I will not name here for a very specific reason (however, next time you see me, you can ask) have purchased large amounts of advertising air time on Air America stations. You've got to ask yourself, do you want your pledge dollars going to support Air America?

This prompted me to mention to the NARN as well as David Strom that anyone pledging to aforementioned unnamed non-profit can designate the Tax Payers League (it's a 501(c)3 so it qualifies) as the recipient of their pledge dollars. Strom liked the idea.

During the second segment, Congressman Mark Kennedy joined the NARN and discussed a number of issues, including focus on the Roberts nomination to the Supreme Court. IN reference to Ted Kennedy's litmus test for judicial appointments, Kennedy said, "...it's because he wants them to be legislatures, he thinks it's some kind of an election for some kind of a super legislator. These aren't legislators, these are judges..."


NARN with Mark Kennedy.


NARN with Mark Kennedy.

Okay, I admit it, I need to read the manual on my digital camera. I have no idea how I got the darn thing to shoot video for me, but it did. I didn't even know I was recording when Kennedy made that statement.

As for the picnic itself, I'd say there was around 500 people present (glad I got there early as parking was challenging later), the food was darn good, featuring a pulled-chicken BBQ sandwiches, potato salad, chips and cookies, all provided by the Patriot, and plenty of give-away items, including frisbees. A good time was had by all, and I certainly hope this becomes an annual event. My thanks and many kudos to AM1280, the Patriot for hosting this event.


This is me with Congressman Mark Kennedy.


Patriot Water is helping to raise money to support our troops. They are giving 20% of their profits to send packages to our service men and women serving overseas.


The line for food. Another reason I am glad I got there early.


Later in the day, the crowd has thinned out some.

July 29, 2005

Rice on Terrorism

NewsMax.com has a great article reporting that Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice wants people to quit making excuses for terrorists.


In an interview aired July 28 on PBS's "Jim Lehrer NewsHour," Condoleezza Rice fairly bristled at the suggestion that the United States was creating terrorists with its policies. "When are we going to stop making excuses for the terrorists and saying that somebody is making them do it?" Rice said.


Well said, Condi! It's about time this thought pattern gets more attention in the media.

The liberal-left has done nothing about terrorism except to find excuses to justify their heinous crimes, whether it is against America, England, Spain or Israel, they try to reach out and understand how the hate-mongering terrorists feel, instead of focusing on the fact that they are pure and simply mudering terrorists.

July 27, 2005

Discovery Flies Again!

I have been wanting to write about this since the launch, however, something called "a life" has been in the way.

As the whole world knows, Discovery has lifted off and is now carrying out its mission, sporting new equipment, including a special boom to aid in inspecting the shuttle for damage that may have occured during launch, and a heat tile repair kit.

STS-114 Commander Eileen Collins had this to say in her signoff message for day 1:

Collins continued, "As our crew looks back at our beautiful planet and then outwards toward the unknown of space, we feel the importance, today more than any time, of space exploration to all those who are living on Earth. Our flight is the next flight of many in the human exploration of the universe."

"And finally," she concluded, "we reflect on the last shuttle mission, the great ship Columbia and her crew -- Rick, Willie, Mike, K.C., Dave, Laurel and Ilan. We miss them, and we are continuing their mission. God bless them tonight, and God bless their families. Good night."

A fine tribute to the crew of the Columbia, which exploded on re-entry two and a half years ago. And a reminder that space travel is far from safe.

Using date and images collected by the inspections made today, engineers on the gorund continue to evaluate the nature of any damage that Discovery may have suffered during its launch. I hope and pray that it is insignicant at worst.

Discovery is scheudled to dock with the International Space Station at 7:18 a.m. EDT.

NASA will be posting updates on their website.

July 25, 2005

British Have Three Suspects In Custody

This excerpt is from FoxNews:

London police have three suspects in custody after last week's failed terrorist strikes but say they are looking for many more because investigators now believe a wide network of Al Qaeda-linked operatives staged the attacks.

Although I don't believe comes as a surprise to anyone, that Al-Qaeda has a large network in the U.K., it is a relief to see that British LawEnforcement has made so much progress in their investigations. Now that they have several terrorist suspects in custody, they should be able to move through the network in the U.K. and clean out the rats.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair has developed a list of the types of suspects to look for, that includes chemists, bomb-makers, financiers and recruitors, you know, the guys who convince others to blow themselves up in the name of Allah.

Although they have yet to link the two attacks in London, it is fairly certain that both attacks part of the same pattern currently in use by Al Qaeda.

One thing is for certina, I am glad that the U.K. is on our side. Another is that they will do a good job of cleaning out these terrorist cells.

Baghdad Jane, Rides Again

Why am I not surprised by Jane Fonda's announcement to go on an anti-Liberate Iraq tour. In this MSNBC article, Fonda reveals that she was encouraged to go public on her stand on the war to liberate Iraq by veterans she has encountered on her book tour.

How many war veterans has she met that has encouraged her to do so? One? Two? Everyone I have met, albeit no where near as many as Fonda, have been in support of Liberating Iraq from the regime of Saddam Hussein, and based on the blogs I have read of those over there, no one, other than the terrorists, want to return to pre-2003 days of a totalitarian regime.

Does she think the people of Iraq were better off under Hussein, including the some 500,00 people murdered during his rule, or the rape rooms run by his sons, not to mention the torture chambers, amputations and so on.

Okay, maybe, just maybe, Jane Fonda took the bait and is going to show her true colors once again. Maybe there are some vets who are sniggering over their success in getting her to come out of the closet, not that we didn't know where she stood on this war.

This does leave me a bit curious as to whether or not she is going to pull a "Hanoi Manuever" and have her picture taken with gun-totting terrorists, similar to her 1972 photo with NVA soldiers sitting on an anti-aircraft gun.

The piece goes on to describe the bus she'll use on this tour, beginning in March, as running on vegetable oil. Vegetable oil? Yeesh!

July 24, 2005

Wings of the North, 2005

It was a very hot and humid day for going out to the Wings of the North Air Expo in Eden Prairie, however, I made the effort anyway, and it was well worth the effort. Not like it was really that great an effort.

Please note, getting good pictures was at times difficult as people tended to hang around the aircraft, as they were not roped off. On the flip side, it's far better than no pics at all.

Where aircraft are concerned the B-17 Flying Fortress was the star of the expo, with rides being offered at $400 per person, which is more than a bit out of my price range right now. It would be worth it, though. I tried to catch the announcements, and it sounded like expo announcer said that there are only twelve of these incredible aircraft left in flying condition.

Here is a series of shots of the B-17, Yankee Lady.

B-17
Preparing for take-off.

B-17
Preparing for takeoff with T-6 Texan coming in for landing. I thought this one looked rather cool.

B-17
Close-up of nose art.

B-17
Left side of fuselage.

B-17
Right side of fuselage.

The co-star of the event was the B-25, Miss Mitchell. she is a local favorite based out of St. Paul, Minnesota, and is part of the Commemorative Air Force.. Rides on her were offered at $295, which is still out of my price range. Maybe next year.

B-25 landing
The B-25, Miss Mitchell.

B-25 landing
Close-up of nose art.

B-25 landing
Mission markings.

B-25 landing
Here is the B-25 coming in for a landing.

F-86 Sabre
One plane that brought back memories for me is the F-86 Sabre. There used to be one in a park across the street from where I lived in Madera. It was cool to see on here today. The F-86 Sabre was the champion of the Korean War, and ruled the skies during its heyday in the '50s.

Spitfire
This Spitfire was one of the cooler fighter planes on display.

P-51 Mustang
Not to mention this P-51 Mustang, dubbed "Little Horse."


Wildcat
There was also this Grumman Wildcat.

And a number of T-6 Texans.

T-6 Texan
T-6 Texan coming in for a landing.

T-6 Texan
T-6 Texan on runway.

There were quite a few other aircraft there, from helicopters to jets, biplanes and seaplanes. Not all of them were up in the air flying, at least not while I was at the show. Also, there was a World War II re-enactment area, with a variety of military hardware and uniforms to check out.

Also in attendance were many of the members of VMF-214, the Black Sheep Squadron of World War II fame, as well as several cast members from the '70s TV series, a number of Pearl Harbor survivors, and several combat aces from various eras. Oh, yeah, B-24 pilot, and former U.S. Senator George McGovern.

It was a fun day, and somehow I managed to get a few good pics out of the day. Something to put on the calendar next year, and maybe with a bit of better planning will get some friends out there as well.

July 23, 2005

Downtown Demonstrators for Aristide

This week, while commuting to downtown Minneapolis, I was amazed to see a small group of demonstrators calling to restore Aristide to power in Haiti. I wish I had my camera with me, so as to run some images of the signs they displayed. They were, of course, part of the famed "Blame America" crowd.

On the flipside, it has been a while since I had heard anything of Aristide or Haiti, so I figured I would do a little poking around, especially since these demonstrators caused me to smell a rat.

BBC Online ran this article a while back (March 8, 2004). Here is a good piece out of it:

On Sunday, six people were killed in the worst day of violence in Haiti since Mr Aristide left. Gunmen suspected to be Aristide loyalists have been blamed for five of the deaths, while US troops said they killed one gunman. Witnesses said pro-Aristide gunmen known as Chimeres had come out of the slums around the square and opened fire from buildings or the top of a hill. Their target was a crowd of thousands who had gathered in Port-au-Prince to celebrate Mr Aristide's downfall. Shots rang out and panic struck as crowds were packed into the city's central square were dancing to the music of a disc jockey banned under Mr Aristide. US and French troops had been at the march, in an effort to prevent clashes between the two groups.
Based on this little piece, I'd say the vast majority of Haitians are glad Aristide is gone. Question is, why? The BBC Haiti FAQ has this tidbit:
The unrest of recent months stemmed from disputed elections in 2000 and flared as Haiti celebrated 200 years of independence. The political opposition feared Mr Aristide would rig legislative elections due in 2004 and seek to stand for a third term in 2005.

Disputes over the 2000 elections, and the potential for rigged elections in 2004 set off a great deal of turmoil, however, the BBC FAQ has more:


Haiti's economic situation has worsened still further in the past few years. There is very little left of the formal economy, with traditional exports of coffee, rum and other agricultural products having diminished almost to zero.

The small assembly industries for the United States have also almost entirely folded. Tourism, which thrived in the 1970s, has dried to a trickle.

The only growth area is drug trafficking: Haiti makes an ideal staging post for shipments from Latin America to the United States, and US Secretary of State Colin Powell has recently complained of lack of support in the anti-drugs effort from the Haitian authorities.


Drug trafficking has replaced the traditional agrarian economy. Instead of coffee and rum being exported to hte United States, they are aiding drug cartels get their poisonous products on American streets, increasing crime in both Haiti and America.

Although Aristide was the first Democratically elected leader of Haiti, and followed the removal of Jean-Claude "Baby-Doc" Duvalier, he failed to resolve many of Haiti's problems, and the country continued to be the poorest country in the Americas.

I admit, there is a great deal I don't understand about the situation in Haiti, and much of what is on the internet is heavily biased. Hopefully, there will be opportunities to learn more about Haiti and its troubles, and ways to resolve them. However, based on what I currently know, returning Aristide to power is not on the how-to-fix list.

July 21, 2005

Campaign Season Already?

July 20, 2005

James Doohan: Here's To Ya, Lad

StarTrek.com has the obituary on the passing of James Doohan:


James Doohan, the beloved actor who portrayed engineer "Montgomery Scott" in the original Star Trek and six movies, passed away at his home in Redmond, Washington this morning. He was 85. Doohan died in his sleep at 5:30 a.m. local time with his wife of 28 years, Wende, at his side. According to Doohan's Los Angeles agent and longtime friend Steve Stevens, the cause of death was pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease.

Doohan's Scotty has always been my favorite Trek character, his wit and wisdom often out-shining that of Kirk and Spock. He will be greatly missed.

Doohan served in World War II, and was wounded in action during the Normandy Invasion on D-Day.

July 20th, 1969

It was 36 years ago today that the Apollo 11 crew, made the historic first lunar landing, with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in the Eagle, the lunar exploration module, while Michael collins orbited above in the command module.

On this day, it is always good to reflect and remember what it was like to watch this historic event as it was televised.

I was just a kid then, and had watched nearly every launch since the Gemini program, and this day was no different in that I was glued in front of the TV set, watching teh events as they unfolded. No different, except that this was the first time man would walk on the suface of the moon. Wild horses couldn't get me away from that TV set. Not even dinner, which was Chinesse food from a restaurantcalled Loy-Loy.

NASA has a wonderful site with loads of info, including articles on Apollo 11.

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong put his left foot on the rocky Moon. It was the first human footprint on the Moon. They had taken TV cameras with them.

So, people all over the world watched when it happened. More people watched this Moon landing than any other show on TV.

It truly was a spectacular event to have watched, and I can only imagine what it was like to have lived it, However, it set off dreams, and although my dreams changed over the years, those early dreams are still cherished to this day. Dreams that meybe one day I could also walk on the moon, or some distant world.

And the memories of the first Lunar Landing will always be with me, and maybe by sharing them, even a little at a time, someone will be inspired to pursue the life of space exploration and lead a return to the moon, or maybe a mission to Mars. And maybe, just maybe, I may still be able to go, even if only for a short while.

July 19, 2005

Born Fighting

Born Fighting by James Webb is a mixture of memoir, history, and migration paths of the Scots-Irish. The timeframe it covers is from the pre-Roman times through to today. The influence of the Scots-Irish people on America is significant and profound, with their view of bottom-up leadership, the Populism of Andrew Jackson, their consistent and ongoing willingness to serve in our country's military, fighting our wars, and defending those less able.

Bottom-up leadership can be thought of as those who follow choose whom they will follow by the strengths and moral character of those who would lead them. This had a significant impact on the Founding era as America fought for independence, with the soldiers often choosing whom they would follow, and the formation of a Representative Republic to serve the people, and not make the people subject to the whims of government as was the case throughout the rest of the world (and typically still is).

Leadership is summed up as follows: there are those who lead by inspiring those who follow (serve) to do what is needed, and those who must order those under them to do what is needed. The question then asked, which kind of leader would you rather work for?

Webb uses Jackson as a fine example of what the Scots-Irish looked for in a leader, strength of will, integrity, fine moral character.

The Scots-Irish, a highly militaristic people with a strong sense of wanderlust, always wanting to see what is over the next horizon, secured the wilderness territories of the ravages of hostile natives and foreign incursion.

In-depth discussions of their influence continues throughout the 19th Century, focusing on the Civil War and the era of reconstruction, how the war devastated the South and set the stage for an impoverished and disadvantaged segment of America.

He also explores the religious aspects of the Scots-Irish, from the Calvinistic beliefs evolving into the Baptist Church of today.

Then, touching on music, specifically Country music, as being an offshoot of the traditional folk music of Scotland and Ireland, which it most distinctly is, along with the way it evolved into something profoundly unique and American.

Born Fighting is quite a good read, for those who are Scots-Irish descent and for those who are not.

Bush Supreme Court Nominee

Fox News has it up, Bush nominates John Roberts to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court. This will be an interesting battle as I forsee, and I am not alone in this, a return of the filibuster to block the President's legitimate Constitutional power.

Meanwhile, it is time for me to learn something about Justive Roberts, who currently serves on the U.S. court of appeals in D.C.

Congressman Tancredo, Part 2.

Hugh Hewitt has been following the "Tancredo blunder" pretty closely, and is right on the money. Although Tancredo did not use the words "nuke Mecca", that is certainly what he was implying when he said that the "ultimate threat" should receive the "ultimate response." The problem with that is we are dealing with a shadow army that does not belong to any nation, even though it has in the past received support and spnsorship from some rogue states, and may still be receiving such today. However, bombing Mecca is tantamont to declaring war on all Islam, and is worng-minded, and suggesting such a response does more to undermine what the U.S. and our allies are trying to accomplish in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Is it possible that al-Qaida terrorists will attempt to nuke one or more American cities? and if they succeed, what should be our response?

Too the first question, I'd say it's possible, but pray it doesn't happen. I don't have a clue as to how to answer the second question, only that nuking Mecca, or even suggesting we would do so is not the right way to respond.

I only hope that Congressman Tancredo realizes what a major blunder he has made with his reckless statements about "ultimate response" and does some damage control. I have no doubt that al-Jazeera is having a field day with his statements.

July 18, 2005

Tancredo: Nuke Meca?

Senator Tancredo is reported to have said that we should bomb Mecca if Islamic terrorists nuke an American City. This incredibly ill-thoughtout statement will no doubt come back to haunt Tancredo in future elections, especially since it is believed he is considering a run for the Presidency in 2008.

Mecca is Holy to all Muslims, and to intimate that the U.S. would nuke it in retaliation to nuclear terrorism does more to feed the terrorist propaganda machine, especially in allied countries such as Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan, which are Muslim countries, not to mention the newly liberated Afghanistan and Iraq.

Finally, Rain at last

After two solid weeks without rain, and watchng the crops suffer, as well as my trees, we finally had a series of rian storms roll thorugh the area last night, leaving a fairly healthy amount of rain.

No need to continue with the rain dance for a while.

July 17, 2005

Batman Begins

Batman Begins, starring Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, is a stunning film of magnificent proportions, and the most satisfying Batman movie to date.

It begins simply enough with a boyhood experience, a dream sequence of a memory, from which Wayne wakes, finding himself in Communist Chinese prison camp, mixed in with the criminal population. There he meets Ducard, played by Liam Neeson, who informs Wayne that he'll be released the next day and advices that he seek out a rare flower and take it to a hill top where he might find the answers he seeks.

True enough, Wayne is released the next day, and follows Ducard's advice, finding the flower, and finally arriving at a remote mountain top, where he finds Ducard and a group of warriors, ninjas. Ducard trains Wayne to become one of them, so that Wayne may battle injustice, which all these ninjas, who belong to the League of Shadows, are sworn to do.

It is during this time frame that one of the truest lines in the film occurs, when Ducard says to Wayne: "Criminals thrive on the indulgences of society's understanding."

When Wayne completes his training, he learns the League's dark secret, and in a wave of violence, departs, returning to Gotham City, where he rebuilds his life, and gathers the tools he needs to battle the criminal underworld and the corruption of society that has taken place.

Equipped with proto-type equipment from his corporation, provided to him by a scientist named fox (Morgan Freeman) and assisted by his butler, Alfred (Michael Caine), Wayne takes on the persona of the Batman, and thus the Dark Night is born.

Wayne faces many challenges, reminiscent of the hero's journey as described by Campbell in his book The Hero of a Thousand Faces with the people in Wayne's life playing many roles as Wayne develops, learns and overcomes the obstacles set before him in his quest to save Gotham City.

A magnificent film, well written by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer, and directed by Nolan, splendid performances are turned in by this well cast film, that also included Rutger Hauer and Gary Oldman.

All the elements of acting, directing, story telling combined to make this a suspenseful film that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It is a must see on the big screen, and I believe the bigger the better in this case.

July 11, 2005

They REALLY Are Like Our Enemy!

Recently, that person over on some blog decided that Conservatives are the "American Taliban" and proceeded with this point by point comparison. I think it is time to come up with a more accurate comparison.

Foreign Policy


Al Qaida/Taliban: Die, Infidels, Die!
Conservatives: Peace through Superior Fire Power/Peace through Spreading Liberty.
Left-Wing Nuts: We Surrender! (Picard/French Maneuver)

Executing Minors


Al Qaida/Taliban: Die, Infidels, Die!
Conservatives: Sometimes it may be necessary.
Left-Wing Nuts: But he's a victim, too!

Crime and Punishment


Al Qaida/Taliban: Die, Infidels, Die!
Conservatives: Have gun, will self-defend.
Left-Wing Nuts: I'm unarmed! Please don't hurt me!

Pop culture


Al Qaida/Taliban: Die, Infidels, Die!
Conservatives: TV is a waste of time.
Left-Wing Nuts: I believe everything Bab's says!

Self-image


Al Qaida/Taliban: Die, Infidels, Die!
Conservatives: Willingness to enter open debate.
Left-Wing Nuts: Die, Infidels, Die!

God


Al Qaida/Taliban: Die, Infidels, Die!
Conservatives: Beer is proof thet God loves us, and wants us to be happy.
Left-Wing Nuts: Die, Infidels, Die!

Stem Cell Research


Al Qaida/Taliban: Die, Infidels, Die!
Conservatives: Embryonic stem-cell research is morally repugnant and should be banned, other research okay
Left-Wing Nuts: Kill the babies so I might live.

Abortion

Al Qaida/Taliban: Die, Infidels, Die! Conservatives: Is morally repugnant, and should be limited. Left-Wing Nuts: Kill the babies: they're so inconvenient.

Leaders


Al Qaida/Taliban: God chose Osama Bin Laden to defeat the Great Satan.
Conservatives: should be chosen through free and open elections.
Left-Wing Nuts: Be sure to read the instructions for raising the dead to vote.

Use of Force


Al Qaida/Taliban: Die, Infidels, Die!
Conservatives: Sometimes it is necessary to remove evil, totalitarian, mass-murdering dictators, like Saddam Hussein.
Left-Wing Nuts: We surrender!

War In Iraq


Al Qaida/Taliban: Die, Infidels, Die!
Conservatives: Hussein was an evil, mass-murdering, totalitarian dictator.
Left-Wing Nuts: But, we love evil, mass-murdering, totalitarian dictators.

The Press


Al Qaida/Taliban: Control of the Press
Conservatives: Freedom of the Press.
Left-Wing Nuts: Manipulation of the Press for our own political gain.

Free Speech


Al Qaida/Taliban: Die, Infidel, Die!
Conservatives: We're all for open debate.
Left-Wing Nuts: Anyone who disagrees with us is a racist, capitalist pig who doesn't care about anything but themselves.

Individuals


Al Qaida/Taliban: Die, Infidel, Die!
Conservatives: All men are created equal, and are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights...
Left-Wing Nuts: Keep the poor and minorities in their place.

Cooperation


Al Qaida/Taliban: Die, Infidel, Die!
Conservatives: We're all in this together.
Left-Wing Nuts: You're either with us or against us

Tolerance


Al Qaida/Taliban: Die, Infidel, Die!
Conservatives: Freedom of religion.
Left-Wing Nuts: Freedom FROM religion.

Conscinece


Al Qaida/Taliban: Die, Infidel, Die!
Conservatives: Critical reflection.
Left-Wing Nuts: Obedience to authority.

Leaders


Al Qaida/Taliban: Subservient to will of its leaders.
Conservatives: Will served by Representative government.
Left-Wing Nuts: Subservient to will of its leaders.

Illicit Drugs


Al Qaida/Taliban: Sell them to the infidels so they will die.
Conservatives: Illicet drugs destroy both the mind and body.
Left-Wing Nuts: Let's Party!


Women


Al Qaida/Taliban: A woman's place is in the home, completely subserviant to her husband.
Conservatives: Women can pursue any career they wish, including housewife and stay at home mom.
Left-Wing Nuts: Any woman who chooses being a housewife or stay at home mom is a sell-out to the leftist agenda.

Marriage


Al Qaida/Taliban: is between a man and two or more women.
Conservatives: Is between one man and one woman.
Left-Wing Nuts: Hey, go ahead, marry your dog, cat, whatever, it's all the same.

Like the other aforementioned site, this list could go on and on and on. But what the hey, gotta give it a rest sometime.

What's really wacky is that the Left-Wing Nuts claim they don't support Al Qaida, yet they continue to call for our surrender (or withdrawal, however, to the Islamo Fascists, that is the same thing), and blame Conservatives and America for every atrocity committed against us, and say it is wrong to defend our Country. They shout “War is not the answer!” but refuse to acknowledge that it put a stop to black slavery in the United States, ended Nazism and the holocaust, and liberated Afghanistan and Iraq from murderous, totalitarian regimes where women had zero rights.

Got to wonder, just whose side are they on, anyway?

July 10, 2005

Minnesota Highland Games

Yesterday was the Minnesota Highland Games, at the Dakota County Fairgrounds in Farmington. Only one of my friends, Jerry, made it down there. the rest of you missed out on a very good highland gathering. This gathering is the replacement for the one that used to take place at Mac Allister College in the Twin Cities.

There were five or six pipebands in attendance, and the massed bands performance was excellent. There was a pipeband from Iowa and another from Nebrska, the rest coming from the Twin Cities Metro Area.

The the athletes for the heavy events made up a fine field. One of the competitors made numerous huge throws with the weight for distance, falling just short of 90 feet.

There was a pub area where beer was available, and an array folk music bands played entertained their audience with a variety of Celtic Music.

A second stage was set up for additional musicians as well as presentations. One presentation I watched was on Falconry, with three birds: A peregrine falcon, a red-tailed hawk, and a kestrel. The guy making the presentation spoke on how to get into falconry as well as a bit of history behind the sport.

What would a highland games be without a living history section? There were several living history groups in attendance, providing a taste of what it was like living in the various ages they recreated.

Finally, there was the sheep herding demonstrations, which is something I have always enjoyed watching. The dogs do a magnificent job, and you can tell by the way they look that they love what they do.

There were some 20 or so clans represented in the glen of Clans; various food booths; and quite a number of vendors selling Scottish and Celtic goodies.

The weather was excellent, the Fairgrounds provides plenty of parking (unlike going downtown), and was well run. I'll be looking forward to a return next year.

Convergence 2005

Convergence 2005 is officially over! And, as usual, it was a blast. Be sure to check out my during the con reports. See the following pages for more write ups:

Report 1

Report 2

Report 3

Report 4

Now for pictures and more details:

Blog Panel

Kelly McCullough, Elizabeth Bear, Patrick Smith (back), Kevin Trainor (seated).

These are the folks that lead the Blogging as Literature panel, which strayed heavily into politics. Intersting panel, and it is hard to separate politics out in any discussion involving blogs, however, it would have helped if the left-wing nut knew what he was talking about. As mentioned in my original post, kudo's to Elizabeth Bear for getting the panel back on topic and off of politics.

One of the really interesting comic book based costumes was Swamp Thing.

Swamp Thing

The Swamp Thing.

Swamp Thing Attacks

The Swamp Thing Attacks. My, doesn't she look terrified?

Leia

Nice Star Wars outfit.

Jed and Elisa

Jed and Elisa, a couple of cool people, and members of the illustrious Clan MacDude.

Rakehell Party Room

Qob with guests in the Rakehell party room.

Corncob MacDude

Corncob Macdude, one of the two inductees into the clan from Wisconsin.

Cow Party

The Wisconsin Asylum for Insane Cows party. Mad Cow never looked so good.

Cow Party

And then Mad cow got even better!

The Science Room expanded to the great atrium area with this 3-D display of the galactic neighborhood. The big gold star in the center is the Sun, and the various balloons mark the location of the various stars in our area, with cards taped to the floor listing their names and details. Very cool display. The guys that run the science room here never cease to amaze, and they spend an incredible amount of time developing these displays.


Solar System Icon
629k JPEG
Click the image to see a larger version of this image. Very cool and worth the the download bandwidth.

Mars Rover

This is the Mars Rover, parked outside of the Science Room.

Science Room

The Science Room. One side of it. They also had severl computers running a shuttle landing simulator, which is a really cool flight simulator.

Sharon and Otis

Sharon, one of the volunteers from the Raptor Center. Otis is a Screech Owl cute little guy.

Otis

Nice pose from Otis.

Chuk the Peregrin Falcon

This is Chuk, the Peregrin Falcon brought down by the folks from the Raptor Center.

Madame Maxine

madame Maxine, also known as Max, is a Bald Eagle. She ended up as a permanent raptor center due to an injury to her wrist, which, if I recall what Amber said, is the joint where the wing attaches to the body. don't quote me on that, though.

Amber and Max

Very nice shot of Amber holding Madame Maxine. As you can see, Max is pretty darn big. What is interesting is that her body weight is right around 12 pounds. Incredibly light, especially when you realize that wild turkeys, roughly the same height, weigh in around 30 pounds or so.

Super Girls

Elastigirl and Orgasmigirl. Hmm...I wonder...

Mel, Dana, and Elisa

Mel, Dana, and Elisa. Dana is the good witch, Glenda, from the wizard of Oz. elisa is the Cat. Not sure if Mel was a specific character.

Sqotty, with Elisa and Mel

The one, the only picture taken of me at this con. With Elisa and Mel.

Mad Clown

Fluffy as the Mad Clown. I believe he said the film was Night of 1,000 Corpses.

Poison Ivy and Battlestar Galactica

Poison Ivy and Battlestar Galactica. Interesting combo.

The Batman

The Batman. Very cool outfit from the ‘60s era series.

Connie's Space Lounge

Connie's Space Lounge is one of the con run party rooms, with live music.

World Defense Force

The World Defense Force party room, also known as the Bog. Cool bunch of people. Fluffy, who runs this party room with the WDF, is also a member of the Clan MacDude.

Scotch Fairy

And last, but not least, the Scotch Fairy. I have to wonder if he has read the Legend of the Scotch Fairy

The most incredible thing happened this con. I realized recently that a large number of the pics I take at cons since moving to Minesota have Ivan in it. Some how I managed to not have one picture of Ivan from the entire con. Incredible, but true. Or is that Believe it, or not. Take you pick.

No matter how you slice it, this was a great con, and convergence just keeps on getting better year after year. I know that I am not the only one looking forward to seeing what they have in store for us in 2006. And I better book my room much earlier this time, as they are filling the entire hotel.

July 8, 2005

Townhall Meetup: July 2005

last night was the once-a-month gathering of the Townhall meetup group, where a bunch of people throughout the Twin Cities Metro Area gathered for an evening of food, drink and lively political dialogue. This group continues to attract new faces, and attendance is now solidly about twenty on a regular basis. Tracy, our fearless leader, and blogger over at Anti-Strib continues to hope for a coup d'tat, and I have no doubt that I misspelled that, still no takers. Actually, he has been doing an outstanding job of running these monthly get togethers and keeping the group on topic. I also have to thank Darrel for continuing to book the meeting room where we gather. Both are swell guys and without there willingness to lead, it is doubtful this group would be thriving as well as it is.

This week, we talked briefly about the terrorist attacks that took place in London earlier that day, and the reaction around the world. Personally, I was surprised by the attacks, even though I wasn't surprised when similar attacks took place in Madrid. My reasoning: Arab terrorists blew up a favorite restaurant of mine back in 1985, targeting American military personnel. That attack (April 12, 1985) killed 18 Spaniards, and injured some 80 people, a few Americans, including a couple of guys from my unit, were amongst those injured. So, Arab terrorists operating in Spain is no surprise to me. Why was I taken by surprise by the London attack? I can't tell you, there is no logical reason for my being surprised. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and families of this heinous attack. Message to Blair: Stand firm against terrorism and the liberation of Afghanistan and Iraq.

The next topic was eminent domain, which we touched on briefly, and one of the group brought up the plan to condemn one of the Court's Justice's home to make room for a new hotel, "Lost Liberty Hotel." Once they start accepting reservations, there will be a lot of us in line to stay there. Book early.

The hot button issue, however, was immigration. There was one hot head who seemed to be unable (or unwilling) to differentiate between legal immigration and those who enter our country illegally. Although some of the group supports sealing the border, others are adamantly against it. The general consensus, however, is that changing our immigration laws so that it is easier to enter legally is pointless unless we defend our borders. The hot-head seems to miss the point that one of the legitimate roles of government is to protect our borders, not just from military invasion, but to also control who enters the country and where they enter it from (I don't mean what country, but whether they are entering through legitimate border checkpoints). Having a hot-head in the group may make for heated discussions, however, it would have been helpful if he good back up his arguments with something other than empty rhetoric.

A final note for this chapter of Townhall meetup: The group is very welcoming of all points of view. We have conservatives and libertarians and the occasional left-wing nut. Anybody is welcome to join in the dialogue. Part of the purpose of this group is to get a handle on the issues of the day and learn how to enter into the public debate. It's a real hoot, and if you haven't been to one of these meetings, you should come on down and check it out. Also, if we keep growing, and it looks like we will, we should set attendance records in the 30s fairly soon.

July 7, 2005

Leftists Rantings on Air America

I have, on occasion, tuned in to Air America, partially when I am in need of a good laugh, and also when I am on the road after Hugh Hewitt has ended is show. Tonight, on my way home from the Townhall meetup was one such occasion. What I heard sickened me so much I had to flip over to some hard rock just to regain my senses. I am still reeling from the obscenities that I heard broadcast over Air America on the Mike Malloy Show.

There is a difference, a significant one, between the uttering of obscenities and profanities, and this guy did both. Let me illustrate: calling the president a son-of-a-(expletive deleted) is a profanity. Calling our leaders Nazis, blaming Bush and Blair for the terrorist attacks that took place in London this morning, and equating the Liberation of Afghanistan and Iraq to terrorism, these are obscenities.

The vile hatred I heard spewing across the radio waves, was beyond appalling. There is no excuse for this, except an unreasonable hatred for all that is good in the world.

Welcome to the world of the hard-core left. A nightmare realm where up is down, right is left (or is it the other way around), good is evil, and moral relevancy is the law. Hatred for all that is good. Hatred for liberty. Hatred for anything that does not agree with their world view.

I need a laugh, because these people on the far left say things that are utterly laughable, following the Howard Dean Doctrine of winning.

This guy is so far to the extreme left, I have to wonder, why does he live in America.

He spouted off about how the people who died, tragically, in the London attacks as just being a bunch of people who wanted to go to work, live their lives, and so on. sure, that's true, we can all see that. But then, he said Bush and Blair are the blame for their deaths. That they, the bringers of liberty to two Middle-Eastern nations that have long lived under totalitarian rule, are the killers of those murdered in London. The terrorists who perpetrated this horrific attack, they are, by his lack of condemnation, must be innocent of wrong doing.

You and I are human, but not those running our Government, Malloy said. I guess, had he realized that sometimes non-leftists, or right-wingers, were listening, he would have lumped me in with the non-human category. At least there, I would be in good company.

Thank God for Rock and Roll. FM saved me from tossing my cookies on my drive home.

God help us if the hard-core left ever get control of this country. It is bad enough that they control the once great and honorable Democratic Party. Let us all hope that the moderate, freedom loving people who call themselves Democrats will wake up, smell the roses, and chase these nuts out of their party. Then they will have a great party again.

July 4, 2005

The Fourth of July

July 4th, Independence Day. This is, to me, the most important day of celebration in the United States. It marks the day when the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence, and formed the United States of America.

It had already been a year since Concord and Lexington, and it would be another 11 years before our Constitution would be written.

My ancestor, Absolem Pollard fought in the Revolution, serving as a corporal, having enlisted at the tender age of sixteen into the Continental Army in 1776.

Something that is often forgotten is that when the signers of the Declariation pledged their honor, fortunes and thier lives that many of them would do exactly that as five were captured and executed by the British, and several others died as a result of the war. some had their homes and lands (for an agrarian society, this is ruinous) burned.

Today we celebrate it with fireworks, hotdogs and apple pie.

In Northfield, where I live, there are bike races running throughout the day, and even a children's bike parade, with a patriotic theme. Concerts in the afternoon will also be on the order of the day. Fireworks to follow.

An interesting site to visit is the Constitution Society It is chock full of resources to help you teach your children about the America's founding documents.

Convergence 2005 Photos

The photos with commentary is now up in the
Mission Reports
section. Enjoy.


When you are done there, Check out the Rampant Wombat for more Convergence details.

Convergence 2005, part 4

Convergence 2005 is over. In fact, its now the day after. Time to get this final post finished and write a mission report and put up the photos. Not to mention pick the girls up from doggie camp and get some yard work done around here.

Final numbers for Convergence, roughly, as I didnt have a note pad (and it was also too dark to write during closing ceremonies) was 530 (or so) rooms out of approximately 560 rooms that the hotel has were filled. This means send in th room reservations early. Once again, Convergence had over 2,000 attendees, with the numbers being 2407 memberships sold and 2304 in attendance. And on Saturday night, it felt like it. I only hope this con doesnt outgrow Sheraton Bloomington, as it is a fine hotel, and the layout for conventions is close to ideal.

The Sheraton Bloomington has two areas with function rooms, one in the main tower, where the dealers room, main stage, space lounge, and registration were located, and the club tower where most of the function rooms are located, with a couple of more in between the two towers.

The party zone is in the Cabana, which is two floors of rooms that surrounds the swimming pool and over flowlounging area, and makes for a fairly large, and mostly accessable block of room parties.

The IKV Warhammer (KAG) raised $140 for the American Diabetes Association through their Batleth Tournament and other goodies they had on hand.

Four new members were inducted into the Clan MacDude. This makes roughly 20 Clannies in the upper-Midwest now. :-) Maybe it is time for a room party.

Closing ceremonies included a short parody of fandom (come join our group) with a look at what is in store for next year. Based on what they said, I expect them to have a indepth space program.

The main guests said a few words thanking the attendees for making this the best convention they have ever been to, and coming from Marv Wolfman, Len Wein, Mercedes Lackey, that carries a lot of weight. Mercedes kissed the Convergence Board, one of them repeatedly.

After closing ceremonies, the crew of the Rakehell departed to a nearby, undisclosed, restaurant for dinner and discussions of the con. Were all looking forward to next year.

After words, I went home and crashed, getting a badly needed nine hours of sleep.

Ill have my mission report posted later today, with photos, so be on the lookout for it.

Convergence 2005, part 3

It is Sunday morning at Convergence 2005. I have survived another night of drunken revelry. At least, this time, it was easier as I chose not to get hammered like on Friday night.

Saturday evening started out with dinner in the bar with some friends, then heading up to the masquerade where we learned we were a day late and a dollar short as the main stage was filled to capacity, so we were sentenced to the overflow area with a couple of hundred others, where we could watch it on big screen TV.

I lost track of the number of entries after 23, however, thats roughly the number. Although I didnt get a good view, and many of the disappeared after the masquerade judging was complete, what I did see was very good.

After the masquerade, it was time to party again. However, tonight, it was somewhat less raucous as many, as I think many decided not to repeat last nights over indulgence, even though the alcohol flowed freely throughout the party zone.

The famous House of Toast, which serves up toast with some 60 different toppings, and sushi, had an early crowd as the line for toast flowed out the door and down the hall.

Belly dancers were also in great supply as the Rakehell had several on hand to provide evening entertainment. Belly dancers were also involved with at least one other room party.

Missing this year was the resident harpest from the Prancing Pony. The Pony was loaded for bear otherwise.

There was also another room that had a fairly full bar serving up mixed drinks, including White Martians. I was that White Russians. Whats the difference.

The DJ run dance floor was rocking, mostly 80s music, with Johnny Quest videos running in the background.

I called it an early night at around 2:30, and got a whopping five hours of sleep.

Con is almost over. Ill have a final report later today, then upload my photos tomorrow.

Convergence 2005, part 2

Afternoon…the Raptor Center put on a very good demo, featuring three of their touring birds: Otis, the Red Faced Screech Owl; Chuk, the Peregrine Falcon; Madame Maxine, the Bald Eagle.. This was an educational presentation in a freeform format.

The Raptor Center volunteers, Sharon and Amber fielded numerous questions about the center, the birds they brought, and raptors in general.

Something that caught me by surprise was that roughly 30% of the birds brought into the Raptor Center suffer from lead poisoning. There are several factors that cause this to happen, from lead sinkers used in fishing to the use of lead shot when hunting game, the determining factor here is the field dressing of game where the "yummy" freebies are left behind, and often contain lead fragments from the shot. Food for thought, don’t use lead shot when hunting.

The session was also laced with anecdotes of dealing with raptors. I am now thinking of becoming a volunteer, as it would help me learn more about some of my favorite neighbors, the Eagles.

The science center is at this time setting up a scale model of the galactic neighborhood using balloons with the anchors laid out in a grid, giving a walkthrough, 3-d model. A very cool idea. I’ll have pictures posted in my post con report.

Elisa and Jed introduced me two of their con newbie friends, and suggest I behave.

Convergence 2005, part 1

Its now the morning of Day 2 of Convergence 2005. and I am just a wee bit hung over.

Yesterday, after getting checked in and overcoming problems with the card key programming for the elevator so I can get to my room on the club level, I headed down to the con, picked up my badge, made a first pass through the dealers room, then went to the Friday panel I had planned to visit.

The panel, "Blogs as Literature" started off talking a bit about different blog sites, mostly Live Journal, which is popular amongst SF fans, then degenerated into blogs, the internet and politics. The winner of this round was Kevin Trainor, the lone Libertarian/Conservative type on the panel, the others being two liberals and one rabid left-wing nut whos idea of facts on the internet seems to be similar to Dan Rather and his National Guard memos. Kudos do go to Elizabeth Bear, one of those on the panel (not the left-wing nut) for getting the panel back on topic.

Evening party time was, well, a blast, with three party floors this year, and many of them top notch. The clan MacDude ranks bloomed with several new members with the addition of Jed, Rick, Corncob and Pro. Jed is a Minnesotan, Rick is from Chicago, but spends a lot of time out here and has a number of friends hear, including Jed and Elisa. Corncob and Pro are from Madison Wisconsin.

Fluffy MacDude and the World Defense force had the Bog up again, and I delivered up to fluffy a bottle of 12 year old MacAllen, which we promptly went through about half of the bottle.

Then there was the tribble sweat. I had filled my flask with Wild Tribble 101, which neer failed to get a reaction.

The IKV Rakehell was running its party room, with the groups standard drink of choice, supplemented by numerous other intoxicants, including (and most notably) a fine homebrew provided by Jed.

Corncob, Pro, and their group from Wisconsin were running one heckuva party, with loud Rock and Roll and dancing. Much fun was had until the party shutdown around 3 AM to the group of party goers singing along with American Bye.

After that, it was crash time.

I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the excellent staff of the Sheraton Bloomington, who are once again taking great care of all the crazies (myself included) and dealing with a weekend of non-stop mayhem. They are a darn good crew, and I think this is due to a lot more than the t-sirts the con gives them every year.

More later.

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