Wednesday - March 28, 2007

Motivational Poster Of The Day

“There is something profoundly wrong when opposition to the war in Iraq seems to inspire greater passion than opposition to Islamist extremism. There is something profoundly wrong when there is so much distrust of our intelligence community that some Americans doubt the plain and ominous facts about the threat to us posed by Iran.

And there is something profoundly wrong when, in the face of attacks by radical Islam, we think we can find safety and stability by pulling back, by talking to and accommodating our enemies, and abandoning our friends and allies.

Some of this wrong-headed thinking about the world is happening because we’re in a political climate where, for many people, when George Bush says “yes,” their reflex reaction is to say “no.” That is unacceptable.”

-- Senator Joseph Lieberman, Washington DC, March 12, 2007

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/28/2007 at 11:09 AM   
Filed Under: • Motorvators •  
• Comments (9) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

The Caste System

If you have been following the story of poor Phillip Thompson, aide to Senator Jim Webb (D-VA), you know that he “inadvertantly” carried a loaded weapon into the Senate building the other day.  An honest mistake, I’m sure.  For those who carry weapons with them all the time, remembering to leave it in the car at certain places is difficult sometimes.

But, if I were to make such a mistake, my keister would be in Club-Fed so fast you would not even see the skid marks.  What about the aide to a Senator?  He pleaded Not Guilty yesterday, of course, so it will now be up to the courts to make their findings.  Here’s the thing: if he gets off with a slap on the wrist, as I fully expect, because it was a “simple mistake by an honest man working in Washington”, then there will be holy hell to pay. 

This is the letter I sent to Senator Webb yesterday:

Senator Webb,

I have been following the recent news of your aide, Phillip Thompson, inadvertently carrying a weapon into the Senate building.  I am a concealed carry permit holder in Virginia as well, and take the second amendment to the US Constitution very seriously.  I believe, as the circuit court panel in DC just ruled, that the second amendment declares and enumerates the right we the people have, as individuals, to keep and bear arms for any reason.

Unfortunately, the laws in the District are such that your man did something illegal.  It shouldn’t have been, but it was.  Do not think for one minute that I support the draconian and utterly anti-American gun control laws that are in place in DC.  That being said, they are the laws and they must be respected.  When I carry a weapon into a pizza joint that serves alcohol, I have to change my method to open carry because that is the way Virginia’s laws are written.  I don’t like it, but that is the law.

Unfortunately, that means Mr. Thompson is in a heap of trouble.  I would be surprised and disappointed if he were to get off with a “slap on the wrist” or any penalty less than that of an “ordinary” citizen who might find himself in a similar situation.  Yes, its going to be a terrible time for Mr. Thompson, but again, that is the law.

You, Senator, have the power in your hands to change that law so that the future Mr. Thompsons don’t have to face such idiotic retribution for their “mistakes”.  Push for real second amendment legislation that restores the freedoms and rights that are clearly outlined in our constitution.  Maybe this tragic incident will be the catalyst for real, honest-to-goodness change in our laws.

Sincerely,
MC.

Posted by Drew458     on 03/28/2007 at 07:18 AM   
Filed Under: • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists •  
• Comments (4) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

   Tuesday - March 27, 2007

Shame

I am sorry. I have tried with all my might to fight the good fight and convince all of you that America is still the best hope for mankind and that we believe in all the things that could make the human condition better. I have come before you every day here for the last three years trying to make sense of the complete mess the politicians in the Democrat Party and their Leftist, Liberal supporters would drag us into.

I have failed. Today, the Democrats in the Senate sealed the deal on the destruction of America and all that we stand for. All I can hope for at this point is that in some far, distant future time another beacon of truth and freedom will arise from the ashes we are now descending into to reclaim the honor of representing the best humanity has to offer.

All I can do now is hang my head in shame as the world watches our country slide into the dustbin of history thanks to men and women in our government whose sole goal in life is the petty, transient satisfaction of defeating anyone who gets in the way of their pursuit of power.

I am truly sorry I could not do more. I hope future generations will understand that not all of us were determined to lose. May God have mercy on us all ....

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/27/2007 at 09:10 PM   
Filed Under: • Personal •  
• Comments (11) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

Breaking News!

The title of this post might as well have been “Ball Breaking News”. The asshats in the Senate have now joined the ones in the House in waving the white flag of surrender. If this is what Congress wants, I’d recommend President Bush go ahead and throw in the towel and bring the troops home today. Why get any more brave young men and women killed if the Democrats are only going to stab us in the back over and over again in this treasonous display of political chicanery?

DAMN! I AM PISSED ....

Senate Signals Support For Iraq Timeline
_{WASHINGTON (YAHOO NEWS) - 4 minutes ago}

Defying a veto threat, the Democratic-controlled Senate narrowly signaled support Tuesday for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by next March. Republican attempts to scuttle the non-binding timeline failed on a vote of 50-48, largely along party lines. The roll call marked the Senate’s most forceful challenge to date of the administration’s handling of a war that has claimed the lives of more than 3,200 U.S. troops.

Three months after Democrats took power in Congress, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the moment was at hand to “send a message to President Bush that the time has come to find a new way forward in this intractable war.”

But Republicans — and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, an independent Democrat — argued otherwise. John McCain, R-Ariz., a presidential hopeful, said that “we are starting to turn things around” in the Iraq war” and that a timeline for withdrawal would embolden the terrorists in Iraq and elsewhere.

The effect of the timeline would be to “snatch defeat from the jaws of progress in Iraq,” agreed Lieberman, who won a new term last fall in a three-way race after losing the Democratic nomination to an anti-war insurgent.

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/27/2007 at 05:41 PM   
Filed Under: • Iraq • Politics •  
• Comments (10) • Trackbacks(1)  Permalink •  

Lost!

Lost again over CONUS, Zoomies! In my humble opinion, the USAF base below is the second worst base in the US to be stationed at. The worst base is a few hundred miles West of here. The nearest town is 15 miles due East of here. Even though it’s late March, the tower tells me the temps on the ground are hovering around 40 degrees as today’s high. There’s a whole fleet of KC-135R Stratofortress tankers down there - just like the one in today’s picture below pumping premium unleaded into that F-22 Raptor below. So get out your winter clothes and tell me where I am ...

_{(Click image for larger 1065x915 in popup window)
(Photo from Google Earth Desktop)}

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/27/2007 at 03:08 PM   
Filed Under: • Fun-Stuff •  
• Comments (8) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

Motivational Poster Of The Day

These “Motorvators” have been fun for me to create. I hope you have all enjoyed them. I have created them to make you think and look at things in a fresh new light. Some of them have even caused quite heated discussion. All of which is good.

Today’s poster however, is my magnum opus. I have been hashing the concept around in my mind for months, since I started this series and I have been patiently looking for the appropriate message to go with the concept. I found it finally in an old Texas pioneer saying that I modified slightly.

I apologize to the fine folks in the Lone Star State for modifying one word in the last line. They’ll know what I’m talking about. For your convenience I have provided here a larger (1200x960) image in a popup window that you can view and save by clicking on the smaller image below.

I’m asking all of you, as a favor to me, to print this out in glorious color and paste it up everywhere you can, at home, at the office, wherever you find a blank wall. We need to get back to this message about America before all is lost. Thanks. And God Bless America.

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/27/2007 at 02:27 PM   
Filed Under: • Motorvators •  
• Comments (4) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

Most Ridiculous Item of the Day (So far)

Ewwww.  93 Pounds????

Police: Man swiped 1,500 women’s undies

PULLMAN, Washington (AP)—A man was charged with theft and burglary after police said they found 93 pounds of women’s panties, brassieres and other underwear at his home.

Investigators believe Garth M. Flaherty, 24, took as many as 1,500 undergarments from apartment complex laundry rooms before he was caught, police Cmdr. Chris Tennant said.

A man was seen taking underwear from two laundry rooms Saturday, a witness recorded his license number, and Flaherty was identified from photographs, Tennant said.

Police found enough underwear in his bedroom to fill five garbage bags, Tennant said.

”He said he had a problem,” Tennant said.

Ya Think? 

H/T: Tamera

Posted by Drew458     on 03/27/2007 at 10:39 AM   
Filed Under: • Odd-Strange •  
• Comments (5) • Trackbacks(1)  Permalink •  

Single Finger Salute

Paul Allen, former partner of Bill Gates and one of Microsoft’s founders recently founded a company called Vulcan to produce a new portable computer. It’s called the FlipStart and will be released at the end of this year. It’s larger than a PDA or cell phone but smaller than a laptop at 5.8 inches by 4 inches by 1 inch and weighs only 1 pound. It also has a full keyboard in that small space. It also runs Windows XP. Which presents a problem.

As anyone who runs a Windows PC knows, you have to press a unique key combination in order to login. Which is kinda hard to do if you’re holding the device in your hands and typing with two thumbs. That’s about one finger (or thumb) too few for the combination, right? Well, the geeks at Vulcan solved that problem in no time flat. You can see their solution right below the power button in the upper middle of the keyboard below. That snickering sound you hear is thousands of Macintosh users laughing their butts off.

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/27/2007 at 09:52 AM   
Filed Under: •   
• Comments (3) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

We Have Found The Enemy

And it is Plastic Bags

SAN FRANCISCO
Plastic bag ban may apply to drugstores

Legislation to require the use of compostable or recyclable bags by grocery stores in San Francisco was expanded Thursday to cover large pharmacy chains operating in the city.

Extending the reach of a grocery bag ordinance introduced by one of her colleagues, District 2 Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier won approval of an amendment Thursday to cover drugstores as well, saying she wanted to eliminate most of the 180 million plastic bags distributed annually in the city by markets, pharmacies and other businesses.

”I think the target really needs to be the bags themselves,” Alioto-Pier said in explaining the move during a Board of Supervisors committee meeting. “They create significant litter and impede our sewer systems.”

Posted by Drew458     on 03/27/2007 at 08:56 AM   
Filed Under: • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists •  
• Comments (3) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

Mad Dogs And Englishmen

The crisis continues in Iran over the kidnapped British Marines, one of them a female. Iran claims to have confessions and Tony Blair is responding with harsh language. The entire world knows the Iranians are full of crap and the Marines were never in Iranian waters yet the most punishment inflicted on the Iranians so far is a stern warning of a “different phase” to come?

When I was 10 or 11 we lived next door to a couple who had a mean, loud-barking dog tied up in their front yard. Every day when I passed by on my way to school that sorry ol’ cuss jumped out at me and barked and snarled. At first he spooked me. Then it started to get on my nerves. Finally, one day I had enough and I picked up a hefty rock and scored a bullseye on Rover’s head. I got a spanking for hurting the neighbor’s dog ... but that damned SOB never barked at me again.

It’s something for Tony Blair and George Bush to think about ....

Blair Warns Iran Over Captured Sailors
LONDON (TELEGRAPH) - 9:41am BST 27/03/2007

Tony Blair has warned of a “different phase” if diplomatic efforts fail to secure the release of the 15 British service personnel held captive in Iran. The Prime Minister said the first concern of the Government was getting the personnel released as “quickly as possible”.

“I hope we manage to get [Iran] to realise they have to release them,” he told GMTV. “If not, then this will move into a different phase.”

Asked about what he meant by a “different phase”, Mr Blair said: “Well, we will just have to see, but what they should understand is that we cannot have a situation where our servicemen and women are seized when actually they are in Iraqi waters under a UN mandate, patrolling perfectly rightly and in accordance with that mandate, and then effectively captured and taken to Iran.”

The warning comes as the family of one of the service personnel has spoken of the “very distressing time” they are going through.

Faye Turney, 26, who has a three-year-old daughter, was the only woman among the British sailors and Marines captured last Friday after boarding a dhow carrying suspicious cargo off the coast of Iraq.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Defence on behalf of her family said: “While we understand the media interest in the ongoing incident involving Faye, this remains a very distressing time for us and our family.

- More ...

Iran Claims To Have Confessions From Marines
TEHERAN (TELEGRAPH) - 12:54am BST 26/03/2007

The Iranian military last night claimed its interrogators had extracted confessions from 15 British naval personnel, who had admitted straying illegally into Iranian territorial waters.

The 14 men and one woman were reported to have been transferred to Teheran to be grilled over what they were doing when they were picked up near the entrance to the Shatt al-Arab waterway south of the Iraqi city of Basra. Iran called the action “blatant aggression”. Britain insists its forces were on the Iraqi side of the maritime border with Iran when they were surrounded by gunboats and taken into custody.

The Sunday Telegraph has learned that British intelligence was warned by the CIA that Iran would seek revenge for the detention of five suspected Iranian intelligence officers in Iraq in January.

But although the US raised threat levels around the world and warned British intelligence that there was a danger Iran might step up attacks in southern Iraq, British threat levels were not altered.

Last night Gen Alireza Afshar, spokesman for the Iranian general staff, said the 15 had been interrogated and had admitted they knew they were inside Iranian waters. He said data on their geographical positioning systems backed up the Iranian claims.

“They are currently being questioned and have admitted to violating the territorial waters of the Islamic republic,” he said. “We have solid evidence that they were detained in our territorial waters. They themselves have confessed and admitted their mistake.”

The Ministry of Defence and the Foreign Office both said the arrests were made in Iraqi waters, a version of events supported by an Iraqi fisherman who witnessed them. He said the Iraqi ship the British forces were searching had been anchored for a week or more and that Iraqi boats never ventured across because of tight security by Iranian coastguards.

- More ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/27/2007 at 05:30 AM   
Filed Under: • Iran •  
• Comments (6) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

Heroes

Here’s more news from the front lines about our outstanding young men and women in uniform. Cpl. Warrick’s story is only one of many I receive from CENTCOM every week.

I remember when I used to live in a country that celebrated men like Cpl. Warrick, talked about them on the news and made movies about them. That was this country fifty years ago.

Nowadays, people celebrate by burning American flags in our streets, the news media concentrates all their attention on drug-addicted celebrities and the movies are all about homosexual cowboys and lovable gangsters.

Do you miss the America that was as much as I do?

Soldier Performs Life-Saving Actions Despite Life-Threatening Wounds
(US CENTRAL COMMAND) - March 27, 2007

Sept. 18, 2006, was a typical morning for platoon medic Cpl. Warrick: The sun was bright, and U.S. military police and Iraqi policemen were conducting their usual transitional training at the Al Huria police station in Iraq.

Suddenly, without warning, small-arms fire erupted from all directions. The base was under siege. Coalition forces concentrated fire on the attackers, but then a speeding pick-up truck crashed through the entrance and careened toward the center of the station.

The truck detonated its 200-pound aircraft bomb, throwing Cpl. Warrick several meters and knocking him unconscious. Rubble from the explosion buried him. Warrick’s platoon leader saw what happened and quickly pulled him from the debris.

Warrick’s legs were on fire – so the platoon leader used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames. When Warrick regained consciousness, he realized that he was badly burned – but he also realized that if he sat in one place, he would go into shock. He requested morphine, but his medic bag was buried in the burning building.

As a medic, he knew that without pain medication, his only choice to avoid slipping into shock was to stay active. So he climbed through a hole in the building to see how he could assist. With a heavy stream of fire still raining down on the station, and suffering from third-degree burns over 45 percent of his body as well as shrapnel wounds and smoke-inhalation injuries, Warrick went about the work of a medic: He assessed injured soldiers and Iraqi policemen – and told the nearby support battalion what injuries they could expect. That vital information helped save the lives of seven Iraqi policemen.

Warrick realized he couldn’t fight off the shock much longer, so he moved to the north side of the station where he could be evacuated to the medical station himself. For his life-saving actions while suffering from life-threatening wounds, Warrick was awarded the Silver Star on Dec. 11, 2006.

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/27/2007 at 05:01 AM   
Filed Under: • Military • War-Stories •  
• Comments (6) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

   Monday - March 26, 2007

Through The Looking Glass

“Dual Fuel Pump Station”

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/26/2007 at 05:36 PM   
Filed Under: • Art-Photography • Military •  
• Comments (4) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

Lost!

Dangnabbit! Lost again! We’re overseas and that ain’t a USAF base below but there sure is a whole lot of military traffic going in and out and if we’re not careful we about to collide with a flock of choppers carrying jeeps off somewhere out there. There’s a big city and a large river off our starboard wingtip. I could also swear we’re taking incoming small arms fire too. You better tell me where I am real quick this time!

_{(Click image for larger 1065x915 in popup window)
(Photo from Google Earth Desktop)}

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/26/2007 at 04:26 PM   
Filed Under: • Fun-Stuff •  
• Comments (4) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

Joke Of The Day

I know I’m gonna catch hell from our Brit readers, especially Bulldog but here goes anyway ....

Changing A Bulb Is Risky At BBC
(Sunday Telegraph-UK) - 12:00am GMT 25/03/2007

With a few simple precautions, thousands manage it every day. Yet BBC staff have been stopped from replacing lightbulbs because of concerns for their health and safety. Instead, the corporation is paying up to £10 for each replacement bulb to be fitted.

The situation came to light when Louise Wordsworth, a learning project manager with the BBC, complained. “I called up to ask for a new lightbulb for my desk lamp and was told that this would cost £10,” she wrote in a letter to Ariel, the corporation’s magazine.

“On telling them I’d buy and replace the bulb myself (bought for the bargain price of £1 for two bulbs) I was told that it was against health and safety regulations. So guess how many BBC colleagues it finally took to change a lightbulb (risking life and limb to do so)?”

A BBC spokesman confirmed that there had been a number of complaints, but said that each request was judged on its merits to save staff time. As for Ms Wordsworth’s unanswered question, three years ago it was calculated how many people it takes to change a BBC lightbulb.

The member of staff left in the dark would need to find a clerk to get a reference number so that the repair could be paid for, then report the fault to a helpline. An electrician would ask the store manager for the part and install the bulb, making a total of five people.

_{(-- Hat tip to James Taranto at WSJ’s Best Of The Web Today for this one! --)}

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/26/2007 at 03:44 PM   
Filed Under: • EUro-peons • Humor •  
• Comments (3) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

DISCLAIMER

THE SERVICES AND MATERIALS ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE HOSTS OF THIS SITE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE OR ANY MATERIALS.

Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
3. Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

THE INFORMATION AND OTHER CONTENTS OF THIS WEBSITE ARE DESIGNED TO COMPLY WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THIS WEBSITE SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ALL PARTIES IRREVOCABLY SUBMIT TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE AMERICAN COURTS. IF ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE IS CONSTRUED AS BEING CONTRARY TO THE LAWS APPLICABLE IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY, THEN THIS WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED TO BE ACCESSED BY PERSONS FROM THAT COUNTRY AND ANY PERSONS WHO ARE SUBJECT TO SUCH LAWS SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO USE OUR SERVICES UNLESS THEY CAN SATISFY US THAT SUCH USE WOULD BE LAWFUL.

Copyright © 2004-2015 Domain Owner