Life's A Jolly Holiday

With Mary

To start off my somewhat lengthy travelogue, I need to introduce a wonderful new friend of mine, Diane. She's a lady I met online when she noticed my status was "Orion Loves Being A Hooker". She sent a note hoping that I meant the Rugby sort of Hooker, not the 'working girl' sort of Hooker...I had actually meant the Chinook-Mechanic sort, of course.

But that started a conversation on Rugby, Helicopters and the US military that wandered just about anywhere and everywhere. She's a professor of English (specializing in 2nd language acquisition) at a college in the UK so we both enjoy language games and the thrust and parry of a good debate.

Anyway, we got to be friends over the next few months as I was planning my trip and she volunteered to play Tour Guide for me on my British Odyssey. When it looked like I wasn't going to be able to manage the trip due to financial concerns, she even volunteered a room at her house for a couple of nights!

When I finally DID get to the UK, she met me at Heathrow Airport, picked me up and drove me up to meet her son in Leicester, and her daughter in Lancaster, putting us up for the night at a lovely hotel on the Moors in Derbyshire. Just phenomenally beautiful. After that, she drove me up to Kendal, the start of England's Lake Country district and got me all set up there and ready to go. She even lent me a cell phone so I could communicate any problems/needs.

After finishing my hike through the Lake District, I arrived in Windermere. Where I found out that pretty much everywhere was full and it looked like I was going to be spending a rainy night sleeping under a tree - so she hopped online for me and found the last available room - and one of the cheapest! - at a Bed & Breakfast in the heart of the city and close to everywhere I wanted to see.

Next, we met up again at Edinburgh where we stayed at the Balmoral - again almost entirely on her dime - and we toured all over the city including Edinburgh Castle, meeting up with her friends Rick and Helen (two most excellent Scots who described me as 'Quite mad, but in a good way'. *laughs!*) for drinks at a lovely pub. Next up, her city and the glorious cathedral where Katherine of Aragorn is buried and then driving me to the train station so that I could head up to Ft. William in Scotland.

We met up again after that in London and had a wonderful tour of the city, showing me just about everything you can imagine there - Big Ben, Parliament, 10 Downing Street, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, Admiralty Arch - everything! I'm afraid I quite walked the feet off the poor woman. I then headed down to Salisbury and Stonehenge - and back again to meet up with friends for drinks and she again allowed me to crash at her family's house for the night, saving me hundreds - and then again the night before I left, we split a hotel room in London and she got me to the Airport for the trip out of town.

Basically, this lovely woman gave me free transportation all over England and southern Scotland, taught me how to make use of the British rail, bus, and underground systems, gave me the benefit of a local's knowledge of all the sights to see and things to do, gave me a lot of free lodging and good company, opened her home to me, lent me a phone and hours and hours of her time playing travel agent, introduced me to her family, friends and co-workers and barely let me pay a thing. I got to take her out to Les Miserables in the West End, buy a couple of hotel rooms, and pay for a couple of meals. That was IT.

That is a pretty amazing friend right there. We had long since decided that since we were a very special sort of friend, that she was a respectable English lady while I was something of a wandering scurfy sort that we were the analog of Mary Poppins and Bert. And this was truly a jolly holiday right down to the Penguins in the chalk drawing.

Thank you, Diane - I could not have made the trip without you, and your presence and friendship made the trip something spectacular.

Orion

Global Warming Religion DYING!

Like Spking A Vampire

It takes a while and it's messy, but it looks like this one is going to be the nice, solid, oaken stake through the heart of this nonsense. A group of Russian Black Hats broke into the servers of one of the UK's Global Climate Change Research Units and posted a lot of their internal communications on the Internet.

Stuff talking about hiding all the evidence against Global Warming. Stuff talking about driving out everyone who disagrees with their religion so that there are no voices raised against the theory. Messages talking about hiding the evidence showing that there is NO Global Warming. Stuff talking about how very puzzling it is that their data indicates that Global Warming is nonsense...You know, that sort of thing.

I'm hoping that this will finally put this foolishness to bed, or at least move it back into the realm of real research where you analyze your data and then come to a conclusion rather than massage your data to support your economic and political goals.

Here's three messages that do a lovely job of giving an overview:

First, Richard Fernandez over at The Belmont Club:

James Delingpole at the Telegraph thinks it may be “the final nail in the coffin of ‘Anthropogenic Global Warming’” but adds “there are too many vested interests in AGW, with far too much to lose either in terms of reputation or money, for this to end without a bitter fight.” While the leaked documents and emails strongly suggest that Global Warmists have been taking the public for a ride, the news as likely to be welcomed as a belated discovery that Karl Marx was actually a stockbroker.

and

Politics is in many ways the bloodless — and sometimes not so bloodless — equivalent of war. Clausewitz believed politics and war fed into each other. It was an ongoing process, not a single event. That meant that actors were free to act on the flow of conflict as it went along. The hacking incident at the CRU will not end the Global Warming War, but it was part of it. The drive to control and tax human behavior will probably continue unabated. But so will resistance to it.

James Delingpole is probably also right in asserting that however dismissive the Global Warmists may publicly be of the CRU hack, the smoke of doubt has entered the temple. Even the European public is beginning to suspect that AGW really means “All Your Gold Belong to We”. The Telegraph’s Delingpole says, “if you own any shares in alternative energy companies I should start dumping them NOW.” Well maybe not now, but you might want to start thinking about diversifying your Green portfolio. Nuclear power, anybody?

Next, up, over at The Telegraph in the UK:

If you own any shares in alternative energy companies I should start dumping them NOW. The conspiracy behind the Anthropogenic Global Warming myth (aka AGW; aka ManBearPig) has been suddenly, brutally and quite deliciously exposed after a hacker broke into the computers at the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit (aka Hadley CRU) and released 61 megabites of confidential files onto the internet. (Hat tip: Watts Up With That)

When you read some of those files – including 1079 emails and 72 documents – you realise just why the boffins at Hadley CRU might have preferred to keep them confidential. As Andrew Bolt puts it, this scandal could well be “the greatest in modern science”. These alleged emails – supposedly exchanged by some of the most prominent scientists pushing AGW theory – suggest:

Conspiracy, collusion in exaggerating warming data, possibly illegal destruction of embarrassing information, organised resistance to disclosure, manipulation of data, private admissions of flaws in their public claims and much more.

Ouch...and finally, Tim Blair over at The Daily Telegraph blog:

UPDATE V. Lubos Motl:

The conclusion looks pretty clear. These people should be put in jail as soon as possible.

We’re some distance from that point. Chris Horner is nearer the mark:

If legit, this apparently devastating series of revelations will be very hard for the media to ignore. I didn’t say impossible — they’re fully vested partners in the global warming industry, because catastrophism sells. But so does scandal, and this appears to be the makings of a very big one.

(Via Marc Morano)

UPDATE VI. The BBC declines to cover this story, preferring a piece on mammoth dung.

UPDATE VII. Hadley Climate Research Unit chief Dr Phil Jones seems convinced that the emails and other documents are genuine. About his own comment on hiding the decline in temperatures, Jones says:

That was an email from ten years ago. Can you remember the exact context of what you wrote ten years ago?

The fun is officially underway.

UPDATE VIII. The BBC reports on the scandal. It’s all about the hacking. Incidentally, the correct name of this place is “University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit” or “CRU”. Nothing to do with Hadley. (Via reader Thin & British)

Now, can we FINALLY stop gutting economies across the developed world based upon this foolishness?

Orion

Back Aboard HMS Bounty

Let The Cat Out Of The Bag, Mr. Christian!

Back safely where I belong after a hard push and lovely flights (Lufthansa is a WONDERFUL airline!) and the most amazing Leave ever...I'm going to be doing a series of posts about it, with some pictures and I'll be uploading the best of my over 2,000 photos (2,030 in all!) from Leave when I get home and have some bandwidth. I'll create a post and a Kodak Easyshare Album for each of the following 'Zones'

• Diane - The new friend who was just an amazing friend and really made my leave possible.
• Zone 1: Arrival, Leicester, Derbyshire, Lancaster, And the Moors
• Zone 2: The Lake District
• Zone 3: Edinburgh
• Zone 4: The Scottish Highlands (Glencoe, Glenfinnan, Loch Shiel)
• Zone 5: Peterborough
• Zone 6: Salisbury, Salisbury Plain, and Stonehenge
• Zone 7: Cambridge
• Zone 8: London

So, those'll be coming in the next few days...It's over 5GB worth of images, so I'll try to pick the best few for each Zone to post and then upload the full albums when I can.

Thank you to all of you for following along!

Orion

More Pics

I'm SUCH A Tease



Enjoy!

Guess which Cathedral?

Looking up!

MY Cathedral...

A really big clock I ran across over here...

Ceiling Tiles....

Orion

Photos!

Guess Where?


A Bit of a teaser!




Up at Edinburg Castle...


















The Dales Way on the way to Windermere...

























Stavely...























The Dales Way between Stavely and Windermere...














'A Bit Boggy'....LOL Still the Dales Way...

View from the room at The Balmoral...

More view from The Balmoral...

Orion

Feel The Love

Europe Getting Uneasy

I present this article without further comment...

Charm, it seems, can only get you so far. Despite Europe’s initial wild
reception of Barack Obama, the anti-Bush, and the bestowing upon him of the most
prestigious of Euro-lib awards, the Europeans still seem to expect action from a sitting U.S. President.

Understandably, the Czech Republic and Poland were among the first
to be disenchanted with the “new direction” in America when Obama decided to scrap the missile defense shield that George W. Bush had promised them. In Poland,
President Lech Kaczynski expressed concern that Poland is now left in a dangerous “gray zone” between Western Europe and the former Soviet sphere, while ex-Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek was dismayed because the U.S. is “not interested in this territory as they were before. … It’s bad news for the Czech Republic.”

Then we had French President Nicolas Sarkozy deriding Obama’s “no nukes” dream as “naive,” saying, “We live in a real world, not a virtual world. The real world expects us to make decisions.” And it’s been said that Sarkozy thinks Obama is “incredibly naive and grossly egotistical.” When the French begin criticizing your ego, perhaps it’s time to take a step back and reevaluate.

Comments?

Orion

Your House Is Now Public Property

So Watch It You Pervert!

Man Arrested for Being Naked in His Own Kitchen - Hit & Run : Reason Magazine

Springfield, Virginia resident Eric Williamson was arrested and charged with indecent exposure yesterday for failing to put on any clothes after getting up at 5:30 am to make some coffee. A woman and her 7-year-old daughter had cut across Williamson's front yard and saw him through his kitchen window.

If convicted, Williamson could be fined $2,000 and spend a year in jail.

Fairfax police say Williamson wanted to be seen naked. Which I guess means Williamson's front yard is a pretty popular spot at 5:30 in the morning.

to take one comment and run with it, if they broke in to his house and saw him coming out of the shower, can we charge him with sexual assault?

Apparently, the privacy of your own home is no longer private...I'm thinking that since I've recently learned that EVERYONE is naked under their clothing and that it's possible for people to actually discern the outlines of nakedness under those same clothes that we should begin arresting people who don't wear multiple layers and finally cover themselves with a burkha...Filthy perverts!

It's for the CHILDREN!

Orion

Beauty And The Beast

And More Fox!

Ever wonder what the Beast would've done if Belle had decided to leave after all? *GRIN*

Anyway...Here's some more Fox cartoons!

I'm a bit behind the actual date...*laughs*










Not that such a thing was ever proposed or discussed, or course...











And I think every male who's ever had a flight physical, or is over 40, or any female past menarch can identify with this one...









Hope things are going well for all of you...

Orion

Efficient Health Care

We NEED This Kind Of Reform!

Um...Anyone else find this concerning...(caveat! I haven't had the bandwidth to watch the video, so I have to take the author at his word...)

The Humble Libertarian: Obama Advisor, Robert Reich To Elderly "We're Going To Let You Die!"

Robert Reich, former Labor Secretary under Bill Clinton and an adviser to President Barack Obama, spills the beans about the Democrat's plans for your health care!

[...VIDEO HERE AT THE ORIGINAL POST!...]

He affirms that this is what an educated, honorable, realistic, democracy should support:

-Younger people should pay more

-Healthier people should pay more

-Older people should just die- they're "too expensive"

-There should be "less innovation" in medical technology

-You should not expect to live longer than your parents.

Now, now, don't get all excited...I'm sure it's Bush's fault somehow...I'm just ASKIN'...

UPDATE: Instapundit points us to a Belmont Club Article that puts this in some context and makes it less creepy!

Creepy

I Wonder If There's An Enemies List

I also wonder how people would've reacted if the Bush White House had said and done things like this....But hey, the First Amendment shouldn't apply to Conservatives...They're not 'legitimate'...and it'd be akin to yelling fire in a crowded theater, right?

HolyCoast.com: Obama Fights Fox News, Fox News Hits Ratings Highs

Attacking the news media is a time-honored White House tactic but to an unusual degree, the Obama administration has narrowed its sights to one specific organization, the Fox News Channel, calling it, in essence, part of the political opposition.

“We’re going to treat them the way we would treat an opponent,” said Anita Dunn, the White House communications director, in a telephone interview on Sunday. “As they are undertaking a war against Barack Obama and the White House, we don’t need to pretend that this is the way that legitimate news organizations behave.”

Hey, like I said, I'm just ASKIN'....Not like we need all TEN o' them' Bill of Rights thingamujiggies anyway.

Economy? We Don't Need No Stinking Economy

No Doubt It's All BUSH'S Fault!

Anyone else concerned about the continually hideous economic news? Not like there haven't been warnings of all of this for a little over a year...(Like almost all my links, this one came from Instapundit...)

Dollar loses reserve status to yen & euro

Ben Bernanke's dollar crisis went into a wider mode yesterday as the greenback was shockingly upstaged by the euro and yen, both of which can lay claim to the world title as the currency favored by central banks as their reserve currency.

Over the last three months, banks put 63 percent of their new cash into euros and yen -- not the greenbacks -- a nearly complete reversal of the dollar's onetime dominance for reserves, according to Barclays Capital. The dollar's share of new cash in the central banks was down to 37 percent -- compared with two-thirds a decade ago.

Just askin'...

Orion

New Airlines In The Works

From OS Companies!

This is hilarious - One of my Technical Inspectors gave this to me because he's noticed how much I hate Windows (I guess I've given a few hints here and there) and has seen how smoothly Linux works...

UNIX Airways
Everyone brings one piece of the plane along when they come to the airport. They all go out on the runway and put the plane together piece by piece, arguing non-stop about what kind of plane they are supposed to be building.

Air DOS
The aircraft is an old DC-3, but without engines. Everybody pushes the airplane until it glides, then they jump on and let the plane coast until it hits the ground again. Then they push it again, jump on again, and so on...

MAC Airlines
All the stewards, pilots, baggage handlers, and ticket agents look and act exactly the same. Every time you ask questions about details, you are gently but firmly told that you don't need to know, don't want to know, and everything will be done for you without your ever having to know, so just shut up.

Pan-Windows
The terminal is pretty and colourful, with friendly stewards, easy baggage check and boarding, and a smooth take-off. After about 10 minutes in the air, the plane explodes with no warning whatsoever.

Windows NT Air Lines
Just like Pan-Windows, but costs more, uses much bigger planes, and takes out all the other aircraft within a 40-mile radius when it explodes.

Air Windows XP
You arrive at the airport, which is under contract to only allow Air XP planes. All the aircraft are identical, brightly coloured and three times as big as they need to be. The signs are huge and all point the same way. Whichever way you go, someone pops up dressed in a cloak and pointed hat insisting you folloow him. Your luggage and clothes are taken off you and replaced with an Air XP suit and suitcase identical to everyone around you as this is included in the exorbitant ticket cost. The aircraft will not take off until you have signed a contract. The inflight entertainment promised turns out to be the same Mickey Mouse cartoon repeated over and over again. you have to phone your travel agent before you can have a meal or drinnk. You are searched regularly throughout the flight. If you go to the toilet twice or more you get charged for a new ticket. No matter what destinatio nyou booked you will always end up crash landing at Whistler in Canada.

Linux Airways
Disgruntled employees of all the other OS airlines decide to start their own airline. They build the planes, ticket counters, and pave the runways themselves. They charge a small fee to cover the cost of printing the ticket, but you can also download and print the ticket yourself.

When you board the plane, you are given a seat, four bolts, a wrench and a copy of the seat-HOWTO.html. Once settled, the fully adjustable seat is very comfortable, the plane leaves and arrives on time witout a single problem, the in-flight meal is wonderful. you try to tell customers of the other airlines about the great trip, but all they can say is, "You had to do what with the seat?"

Love it! If anyone knows the original author, please let me know so that I can give them credit.

Orion

State Slogans

I'm Still Crying.

I love these - Most I've seen, but here's two lists...one, just for Michiganders and the second for the rest of you...and remember...we're watching you...Especially you Ohio folk!

Enjoy....
Possible State Slogans For Michigan:

1. The Snow Me state!
2. It's pronounced Macki-NAW... I don't care if it has a "C."
3. We're actually north of Canada.
4. Let's Fish again in Michigan.
5. The one that looks like a mitten and a rabbit, you moron!
6. Where used cars from Florida bring top dollar.
7. No hurricanes here.
8. The land of 2 seasons: Winter and Construction. ... or ...
9. The Orange Barrel State...
   
10. Stop and see the Giant Man-eating Clam on the trip north.
11. So close to Canada you can hardly tell the difference.
12. The last line of defense against Canada.
13. We know the rules to euchre.
14. Got fudge?
15. Two Mystery Spots. No waiting.
16. Yes, the Porcupines are real mountains.
17. Soda? We say pop here, buddy.
18. The Midwestern "M" state without a wrestler as a former governor.
19. No riots in Detroit since 1967. (Can't say the same about East Lansing though!)
20. More than just boarded-up auto plants.
21. Casino fever - catch it.
22. Home of Kalkaska dirt, our state soil.
23. Sandy beaches without severe undertow.
24. Happiness is a warm pasty.
25. Imagine an island where horse manure still litters the streets.
26. Water enough for any drought.
27. Visit Hell, Paradise,and then Climax all in the same day.
28. Birthplace of Meijer Thrifty Acres.
29. Where Ontario is a shortcut to New York.
30. Just a serial killer away from enacting capital punishment.
31. Gerald R. Ford slept here.
32. It's called snow. Get used to it.
33. Where the names of high-toned suburbs needlessly end with "e."
34. The buck stops here.
35. Deer processing available here.
36. Not as flat as Indiana.
37. Once a swamp unfit for habitation.
38. Try eating corn flakes without us.
39. Hardly any annoying lizards or poisonous snakes.
40. Big on flannel.
41. It's not the heat. It's the humidity.
42. Smoked fish sold here.
43. Good people with camping trailers.
44. We moved American history to Dearborn.
45. Uncle Ted rules.
46. No toll roads and proud of it.
47. Who you calling a hick?
48. Our biggest bridge makes yours look puny.
49. Nearly went to war with Ohio once and will do it again if they pull any funny stuff.
50. Land of snow machines and bass boats.
51. !#@%*+$#! mosquitoes.
52. We know a place where wooden shoes are always in style.
53. Where lousy teams get new stadiums.
54. Consider Amway.
55. Speed limit back up to 70, so move it.
56. The Red Wings State.
57. Three out of four seasons very pleasant.
58. Canadian money accepted.
59. Yes, it gets even colder than this.
60. Probably north of wherever you're from.
61. Mountains?! We don't need no stinkin' mountains!!
62. The Snowshine State.
63. You'd never guess Madonna was born here.
64. Where men are men and deer are dear.
65. Where troll's live under da Bridge.
66. Where else can you find Yoopers and Trolls all in one state?
67. 
    

And for those of you not fortunate enough to be Michiganders:

Alabama: Yes, We Have Electricity.

Alabama: Like the Third World, but Closer!

Alabama: Keeping it in the Family Since 1819.

Alaska: 11,623 Eskimos Can't Be Wrong!

Alaska: Jeez, it's Cold.

Alaska: Yeah, But It's a Dry Cold.

Arizona: But It's a Dry Heat.

Arizona: Soon To Be the Pacific Coast State.

Arkansas: Literacy Ain't Everything.

Arkansas: Attention K-Mart Shoppers!

California: By 30, Our Women Have More Plastic Than Your Honda.

Colorado: Now 100% John Denver Free!

Colorado: If You Don't Ski, Don't Bother.

Connecticut: Like Massachusetts, Only The Kennedys Don't Own It Yet.

Connecticut: The Middle C is silent, Ca**hole.

Delaware: Everything is Smaller Here!

Delaware: We Really Do Like The Chemicals In Our Water.

Florida: Get Off of My State, You Kids!

Florida: Ask Us About Our Grandkids.

Florida: So Close, You Can Smell Fidel.

Florida: More Than Just a Great Place to Die.

Florida: America's Wang.

Georgia: We Put The "Fun" In Fundamentalist Extremism.

Hawaii: Haka Tiki Mou Sha'ami Leeki Toru (Death To Mainland Scum, But Leave Your Money).

Idaho: More Than Just Potatoes. Well Okay, Not Really, But The Potatoes Sure Are Real Good.

Idaho: You Can Be Da Ho Next.

Illinois: Please Don't Pronounce the "S".

Indiana: 2 Billion Years Tidal Wave Free.

Indiana: Dan Quayle's Favorite Country!

Iowa: We Do Amazing Things with Corn.

Kansas: First of the Rectangle States.

Kentucky: Five Million People; Fifteen Last Names.

Louisiana: We're Not ALL Drunk Cajun Wackos, but That's Our Tourism Campaign.

Maine: We're Really Cold, but We Have Cheap Lobster.

Maryland: If You Can Dream It, We Can Tax It.

Massachusetts: Our Taxes are Lower Than Sweden's (For Most Tax Brackets).

Massachusetts: Now with 30% Fewer Kennedys!

Michigan: First Line of Defense From the Canadians.

Minnesota: 10,000 Lakes And 10,000,000,000,000 Mosquitoes.

Mississippi: Come and Feel Better About Your Own State.

Missouri: Your Federal Flood Relief Tax Dollars at Work.

Missouri: Loves Company!

Montana: Land Of the Big Sky, the Unabomber, Right-Wing Crazies, and Very Little Else.

Nebraska: Ask About Our State Motto Contest.

Nebraska: The "N" is for Knowledge.

Nebraska: Land of Two Seasons - Winter and Construction.

Nevada: Whores and Poker!

New Hampshire: Go Away and Leave Us Alone.

New Hampshire: Just Like Old Hampshire, but Newer.

New Jersey: What Smell?

New Jersey: You Want a ##$%##! Motto? I Got Yer ##$%##! Motto Right Here!

New Mexico: Lizards Make Excellent Pets.

New Mexico: Cleaner than Regular Mexico.

New York: You Have the Right To Remain Silent, You Have the Right To an Attorney.

North Carolina: Tobacco is a Vegetable.

North Dakota: We Really Are One of the 50 States!

Ohio: At Least We're Not Michigan.

Ohio: Where One of Your Dad's Friends Lives.

Ohio: It's Not Just "Hello" in Japanese.

Oklahoma: Like The Play, Only No Singing.

Oregon: Spotted Owl - It's What's For Dinner.

Pennsylvania: Cook With Coal.

Rhode Island: We're Not REALLY An Island.

Rhode Island: Small, Yes, But We Know What to Do with It!

South Carolina: Remember The Civil War? We Didn't Actually Surrender.

South Dakota: Closer Than North Dakota.

Tennessee: The Educashun State.

Texas: Si' Hablo Ing'les (Yes, I Speak English).

Utah: Our Jesus Is Better Than Your Jesus.

Vermont: Yep.

Vermont: Gettin' Busy with New Hampshire since 1791.

Virginia: Who Says Government Stiffs and Slackjaw Yokels Don't Mix?

Virginia: Where you're family....Really.

Washington: Help! We're Overrun By Nerds and Slackers!

Washington, D.C.: Wanna Be Mayor?

West Virginia: One Big Happy Family - Really!

Wisconsin: Come Cut The Cheese.

Wisconsin: Come Smell our Dairy Air.

Wyoming: Where Men are Men (And The Sheep are Scared).

Orion

PS: The Wyoming one was one of many MTU Slogans I heard when I went there...as well as:
MTU, where there's a beautiful woman behind every tree...and no trees.
MTU, where the farmers lock up their sheep.

Right Wing Torture State

Dreamland - And More Fox!

My brother made a comment on one of these articles over on my Facebook page and I had to chuckle. He commented that:

The right wing turned us into a stinking torture state that kidnaps and tortures innocents and holds people in extra-territorial gulags.
Don't even try and paint any other group as nearly that bad.

Which got me to giggling a bit. So, the near-absolute control of the US Government from the local level on up (with the exception of the Presidency up to last year) by left-wing politicians has turned the US into a right wing torture state.

Say WHAT? Oh, of course...the moron President, George W Bush ("somewhere a village is missing its idiot", et. al.) somehow used his incredible intellect and powers of persuasion, backed by the right-wing controlled media and reactionary film writers to fool all those intellectual elite running the country to turn us into a RIGHT wing torture state. Um, do you still qualify as the intellectual elite if a moron fools you for eight years?

And now, with no right-wingers anywhere in Government (except the few who stuck an 'R' after their name to get elected) we're still in PERIL from the terrible RIGHT WINGERS!! The religious bible-belt gun-clinging fear-mongering hillbillies are coming for us all!!! Bar the doors! Lock 'em up! No Free Speech for Right-Wing Hatemongers! In order to protect our society we must change it entirely to save it from the dreaed right-wing fearmongers! We have to act now! No time to read that legislation or debate it! Just vote for it! The barbarian hillbillys are at the DOOR with their BIBLES!

Yeah. Right.

Anyway...here's some more Fox cartoons!


I'm sure this is where they got the idea for the sea gulls in "Finding Nemo"...and I don't think this has changed since the first Mail Call in Britannia or Germania with the Legions.















I think I may have inspired this one...Though maybe not. It's hit all of us frequently....










*coughs* I am unable to comment on the motivation for this cartoon at the present time. But thank you for asking. :-D








This is another one that's hit all of us and relates to the first one...I'm just to lazy to put 'em in that order. *laughs*



Hope you're all having a great day! After a week of VERY long hours, it's been wonderful having a day off...

Back to the job tomorrow!

Orion

Liberals, What ARE You Doing?

Do YOU Even Know?

Just curious...Two interesting articles here:

Charles Krauthammer in Decline Is A Choice over at The Weekly Standard:

Among these crosscurrents, my thesis is simple: The question of whether America is in decline cannot be answered yes or no. There is no yes or no. Both answers are wrong, because the assumption that somehow there exists some predetermined inevitable trajectory, the result of uncontrollable external forces, is wrong. Nothing is inevitable. Nothing is written. For America today, decline is not a condition. Decline is a choice. Two decades into the unipolar world that came about with the fall of the Soviet Union, America is in the position of deciding whether to abdicate or retain its dominance. Decline--or continued ascendancy--is in our hands.

And Where Will We Be In A Year from And So It Goes In Shreveport:

Consider first the fact that some kind of health care reform is going to pass. Some form of it. Every possible plan on the table involves a tax increase. There will be tax increases on insurance providers to pay for all of it which will be passed on to the consumer. There will be tax increases on the wealthy, too. There will be fines for non-compliance.

Well, okay. Say you are fine with that - you don't mind paying a little more so that others can have the same coverage you do. But consider that there are also other huge increases on the horizon. Waxman-Markey has already cleared the House. Should it clear the Senate there will be massive hikes in your energy bills. Massive. Huge. Add that to the extra cash you're paying to pay for health coverage for other folks, and well, it adds up.

I've been tinkering with writing about Liberalism as a philosophy and the built in paradoxes it entails, and I thought that resonated pretty well with these two articles.

Here's what I had so far:
You’ve been completely wrong on so very many things (Iraq, The Surge, The Stimulus, etc) I ask you to consider that you may have been going about what you want to do in a very counterproductive fashion.

If you WANT to destroy the United States as a nation, America as a concept, and enslave our population, keep on going – you’re doing fine. I’m sure our children will love working at child-sex brothels set up and administered by Obama’s ACORN, but some of us may want something different for our kids…

Seriously and all snark aside – what is it that you wish to accomplish? I believe that there are a large number of Liberals out there who’s motivations are something positive – a genuine desire to help those less fortunate, to provide a ‘safety-net’ for the poor and to eliminate racism and so on. But is what you’re doing going to reach any of those goals?

Because what you ARE doing is very, very different from what the Hippies wanted to do – freedom for all, ‘if it feels good do it’, an end to oppression, equal rights and the like…Instead, every law you are passing under the guise of 'it will ensure for all!' involves taking rights, choice, and freedoms away from everyone in order to give something else to someone.

I hate to break it to you, but TANSTAAFL. In order to provide Social Security, you are taking MY money for your OWN purposes, by force, and giving it to other people. The GOAL was noble - the implementation was theft and mismanagement. Essentially a giant government Ponzi scheme.

'Free' Health Care For All! means more taxes for those of us who work in order to provide that 'free' health care. In other words, you are using the power of government to force one group to pay for another; Essentially theft. We don't have the choice to opt out of these things. And consider this - You believe that somehow, the same organization that has run the Post Office, AmTrak, the CIA, and the IRS is going to run our Health Care system well...Seriously?

"BUT!", but I hear you cry, "You can say the same thing about EVERY tax!" Which gets us to a debate about the proper role of government, now doesn't it? A debate that is pretty clearly covered by the US Constitution. A document which is being shredded by your choices and legislation. Yes, YOURS. You control every aspect of government completely now. YOU are the only ones running the government.

I ask you to please, please, please, read the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution - They're short! - and tell me you believe that the Founding Fathers believed the Federal Government should be the ultimate nanny and we should live as it's children. EVERY 'service' you want the government to provide involves taking more money and more rights from US Citizens. Don't DO it. We cannot get them back. THINK, sit down and write it out in fact, about just what the proper role of a Federal Government should be in a Free State.

Then tell me you think we should be providing Medicare, Social Security, Free Health Care, controlling the Automotive and a half dozen other industries, and so on...Because this is the core of the debate about what the government should be doing.

Because it sure looks to me like you are driving us over a cliff based upon a cherished belief that is not supported by history, logic, or mathematics, science or any sort of sense. You have a dream and you want to by god force it down our throats.

Orion

Desert Fox Returns!

More Cartoons!

Here's some more Desert Fox Cartoons...Enjoy! I need to start posting more often or I'll finish the deployment before I get to his really good recent ones!


This one goes back to the endless suicide prevention classes we have in the Army...For reasons that are pretty obvious to everyone, the military suffers from a somewhat higher suicide rate than the general public. The Army is doing everything imaginable to try to bring this back down again - with the result that most of us are contemplating killing ourselves just to get OUT of the endless suicide prevention classes..(I'm KIDDING! JOKE! JOKE! No...I don't want the jacket...ooooooo.....niiiiceee injection.....ahhhhh!)



This one actually happened when our bus was found to be operating illegally! Egads! Of course, the comic MAY SLIGHTLY exaggerate the exact event, but hey...:-D








This one has happened to most of us here and I think anyone that's ever been deployed can relate to it easily.
















This one doesn't even need an explanation...IT happens all too often!

















Enjoy!

Orion

Day By Day Sums It Up.

Get The Point?

Day By Day - the best political cartoon out there, pretty much sums up the situation in the United States today...Enjoy!



Really, it's just a brief overview of the atrocities taking place in what was the USA.

Orion

Another Amendment Gone

Regulate That Free Speech!

You Can't Say That

The new resolution, championed by the Obama administration, has a number of disturbing elements. It emphasizes that "the exercise of the right to freedom of expression carries with it special duties and responsibilities . . ." which include taking action against anything meeting the description of "negative racial and religious stereotyping." It also purports to "recognize . . . the moral and social responsibilities of the media" and supports "the media's elaboration of voluntary codes of professional ethical conduct" in relation to "combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance."

What more needs to be said? Not that we'll be able to say it for much longer anyway.

Orion

Liberals And Morals

Something's Missing.

One of the things I've always disliked about Liberalism in general is it's denial of any sort of moral code. There is no behavior so reprehensible - except being responsible - that they cannot justify it and even celebrate it as long as it's one of their friends who's involved.

To whit - One, Roman Polanski. 'Artist'. Who, after drugging a 13 year old girl STILL couldn't get into her pants - The nerve! - anally raped her.

Which is just FINE to Hollywood.

Enjoy....

A tidbit:

Roman Polanski anally raped a 13-year old girl. After plying her with Quaaludes and champagne wasn't enough to make her succumb to his charms, he ignored her protests and did what he wanted.

This was not a consensual affair, or a misunderstood romance. It was a wealthy, powerful man doing what he wanted to a powerless young girl.

And one of my favorites:

Whoopi Goldberg, who has sometimes styled herself a "child advocate," opined that it may have been rape, but it wasn't rape-rape. Debra Winger commented that "the whole art world suffers" from prosecutions like Polanski's.

And film mogul Harvey Weinstein chimed in to argue that -- by going after a multidecade fugitive -- the government was the one "acting irresponsibly and criminally." Weinstein went on to opine that "Hollywood has the best moral compass, because it has compassion."

See how it works? We've got the best morals because we CARE!! Actual OUTCOME doesn't matter, only that they CARE...So many liberal philosophies work out this way. They don't care about what actually happens, only that they have good intent...Sort of.

My belief is that most of the time Liberals want nothing more than to control everyone else.

Orion

New Blog

Hey! 

Just a quick 'heads up'.... there's a new photo blog just starting up!  It's mine and right now it's still in the "tweaking" stages, but I'm hoping to start with pictures tomorrow.  I'm going to have photos with little stories and the occasional personal posting, but it's primarily for photos.

Tomorrow I will start with a special photo and the story of "Clyde" the Camel  =)

Check it out when you can!

Tags-n-Tales 

The Coming Storm

Batten Down The Hatches!

Sorry I've been so quiet lately - We've been busy, of course, and I'm struggling to try to salvage my leave in the UK; Prices are INSANELY expensive there, and struggling with a bit of depression to boot, plus a number of exacerbated injuries that have left me in a lot of pain...NONE of which has left me with a lot of motivation to blog!

But the biggest thing has been watching my country die.

The Party has decided to stop noticing the complaints of the peons...The Supreme Soviet is appointing the legislators we need now, and the Party is deciding which parts of the Bill of Rights are 'no longer relevant'...*shrugs* Anyway...If you haven't seen the millions of folks marching across the country and the many, many signs calling for armed revolt, you've only been watching the State Media, which doesn't cover such things...But here's some interesting things - see if you notice the pattern!

(For all the ACORN stuff, go to http://biggovernment.com/)
ACORN - recipient of millions in Federal Funds caught helping to set up child prostitution brothels.
State Media ignores pretty much everything about ACORN.

NBC tells Anti-ACORN group, "Bit me Jew-Boy!"
Sarkozy calls Obama naive and openly mocks him at the UN
Democrat Majority Leader calls off investigation of ACORN because its too 'distracting'.
More banks collapsing - but being hidden..FDIC on verge of collapse. 'An Earthquake is coming."

But, of course, there is a major difference between the anti-Bush protesters and the 'I Want My Country Back' protesters - not that you'd notice watching State Media...

Kinda hard to maintain even the fiction of a Democracy when you no longer have free press. Hell, the Government's even using the NEA now to push their agendas.

The list goes on. If you've not started stockpiling water, food, gasoline, and other such goods, you might want to start doing just that 'cause it 'aint looking good, long-term.

Orion

Taking Over!

Since Orion can't get online, dependably, right now, I thought I'd pop in with a cuteness break!

Since I'm a stay at home Mom with one kiddo who's in school all day, I almost always get asked the same two questions....

"What do you do all day?"

"Aren't you bored?"

Well.... just because kiddo isn't here doesn't mean I've nothing to do. In fact, here are my other three "kids" who keep me busy around the clock!

Kodi (my old man at 7yrs old)






Zoey (the middle child at 18 months)





Emma (the baby at only 6 months)





All my Furry Family



Along with them I also have a couple of fish and one hugely anti-social kitty!

Never a dull moment at the home zoo!