I'm BAAAAACK

And would you look at this!
It's a start. I need to keep my real opions on the fates of the judges who voted for this to myself... they are rather extreme...

My Father

It's a hiatus, but hey, I have the keyboard!

Today is Father's day, some day concocted by somebody for the purpose of honoring our fathers. This is something that we are SUPPOSED to do 24/7, but it can't hurt to dedicate a day to their honor.

Some of you may not have known your fathers (Is there a Luke Skywalker in the house... but seriously) and some of you may have had really awful fathers... this is not the case for me.

Mine is amazing. I could go on for ages, but I won't. Here's what you really need to know about the man, and what at this time has left the greatest impression upon me:

He's good old fashioned Yankee frozen chosen, but I'll tell you, he's still one of the coolest and most caring guys I know. He taught me a lot (cliche!), but he taught me some thing that I'm now using to defend this nation... little details that I never picked up anywhere else... little details that have solved major problems.

He's a model of persistance, cool under fire, and did I mention that he's persistant? He sticks to his guns in the face of the worst. I've seen other men, strong men, fail where he simply kept on moving, either disregarding or in spite of the odds against. This particular piece of character is one that I respect more than just about anything else, as it is the core of loyalty... I'd do well to emulate that.

I hope and pray that the years will treat this man well and that his ingenuity will continue to bless all of us... All he's done has certainly blessed me and given me a rather nice foundation to build upon.

God bless you, Dad!

Oh yeah, don't call your dad collect... for crying out loud! I've seen the statistics, I know how it works... unless you're peniless in Iraq or something... yeah, anyway...

Charlie Foxtrot... out.

Downtime

I know my post tempo isn't high, but it's about to drop. I'm on leave
Be safe and remember that the United States... we're the good guys.

Before I punch out, I have to put up a little blurb on a comedy that just came out that left me in stitches.

It's called "Mr. and Mrs. Smith". It's not a cute comedy at all, but the story of two well-off suburbanites who are really assassins for competing factions... and both are clueless, of course. It looked cool when I saw the previews, but my Navy freind said that it was a must see...
It is. Just remember, it's comedy. Don't take it seriously like a lot of people are.

This is Charlie Foxtrot, out.

Sit Down and Shut Up!

It is the soldier, not the reporter that secures the freedom of the Press... so when soldiers do that job, whiney reporters and their respective governments need to thank those soldiers, not do this.

I believe that it is also fair to say that Spain no longer has a say in any part of the war on terror since they knuckled under like a bunch of frightened schoolgirls to a fairly mild attack.

The second we let other governments try our soldiers for anything done in combat is a dark day indeed. Why on earth would we let a nation that can't stand up for itself get in our way when we stand up for ourselves AND their yellow-bellied carcases? Fortunatly, The Pentagon seems to mostly agree with this sentiment and they are not giving up the tank crew.

On a similar note, this latest flap down at Gitmo is uterly ridiculous. First off, we have not mistreated anyone. Second, we have not mishandled anything... although, I have a rhetorical question: Why should a book that relegate women to property and that calls for the death of Jews be held in any regard at all? Women are NOT property and Jews should not be killed for being Jews. Both groups of people are PEOPLE, endowed with every right that anyone else has. Why are we bowing to such a horrid religeon and their morally bankrupt text? If a group of people has a belief, fine... but the second that belief put others down for things that they can not help (being a Female, being Jewish, say...) that group should be destroyed.

People need to stop making the U.S. out to be the bad guys! Get with the program! We are not only a good nation, we are the best, without contest. I recognize the greatness of other nations, particularly Israel, Canada, Great Britain, and Australia... but none of them have done as much for humanity as we. Nobody in the world is as free as we are and no nation has freed more people than we have. WE ARE THE GOOD GUYS! Get on board, or get out of the way!

WHOA! SWEET!

I found the coolest thing on Drudge. It's not political. It's not social. It's SCIENCE, baby!
I'm not a diver (yet), but come on, this is awesome! It may force a revamping of terms though: You say 'Diver' and all you have to say really is Skin Diver or Scuba Diver. Now we have this. Now divers run off of batteries. I think that htis will oen up more opportunities to dive for less money. Not having to contend with HPA will greatly reduce costs. More here...

Okay, fine... I'll politicize this, because it drives home a point I've making for years. Where was this invented? Yes, that's right: Israel. Now, what have the surrounding nations done recently? That's right, nothing worth repeating... except for Lebannon beginning to revolt...

Further Evidence That Culture Is Dead

Ummmm....

For crying out loud, can't phones simply ring? Also, have you heard the tune? It's the exact same thing as Beverly Hills Cop...

I'm about to be EXTRA cynical:
We have people who can't differentiate themselves by who they are, so they have 'personlize' their phone ring to stand out, but of course, everyone has that 'cool' ring tone, so those people get the ringtone and wind up being in the flock of cows once again... mooooo...

...and then we have some yahoo who takes a piece of '80s pop that a fair number of people have forgotten about, puts into a phone and all the sudden it's a hit on the music charts...

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...

Big Brother Is Watching

There have been proposals in the PRK (People's Republik of Kalifornia) and Oregon (A cooler, greener, version of the PRK) to do something like this. It's a a bad idea if you like liberty. I'm all for funding roads, but this is a potential way of tracking who is where when... not cool.

Rush Limbaugh highlighted this issue earlier this winter, citing as one of the driving forces the fact that fewer people are buying gas-guzzlers. Gasoline tax revenues are beginning to feel this trend, and lawmakers are scrambling to 'make up' the difference. What boggles my mind is how England, a nation where more the half the price of a liter of petrol is tax, is low on gas revenues.

Have any of you readers noticed that when a government wants more money, the first reaction is usually to raise taxes, rahter than to cut other things? You and I, if we want, say, a new car, would have to spend less of entertainment or even on our existing car. We prioritize. Is it too much to ask that our governments do the same?
Is it not worth killing a few programs if it means that our cars are not tracked by satellite?

A Positive Cryin' Out Loud Moment

Wow.
Thank you, Mr. Washington! You Rule!

Birdies in Peril

I don't know how much faith to put in this, but I know that introduced critters like rats and housecats have made huge dents in many bird populations. This much is proven. I was happy to see that a few endangered birds are bouncing back, that is truly great news.

Just to be clear, I love birds of nearly all kinds and have gone so far as to hunt their predators (the four-legged feline kind) without restraint in certain areas where such critters were causing problems in the bird population.

People, spay/neuter your cats and keep them inside unless there is a damn good reason to have them outdoors. They are an ecological menace in many places if great care is not taken.

Sharks to Blood

I have been hearing and reading of the latest events down at Gitmo, notably how lawyers are flocking down there in droves (may they fall from their aircraft and eaten by sharks) to open cases for some of the prisoners down there... damages type cases. We citizens should be alarmed at this. The precendent of alowing such terrorists access to legal aid of this kind will hamstring our war effort. Realize that these men (the terrorists, not the lawyers, though the moral difference is small) came from Syria and Saudi Arabia mostly to fight Americans. They fight for no flag. They wear no uniform. They are loyal only to the cause of killing Americans. Dear reader, that is you. This is why you must be outraged, this is why you must protest: if certain people have their way, those that would kill you are not only going to free, but they will be doing so with fists full of cash from YOUR pocket. The U.S. Goverment would pay it out, but you do realize the Government has no money but what they get/take/steal from you, don't you?

These guys are our enemies. Show them no quarter!

It gets better: Amnesty International, who I sort of respected until now, has called our base at Gitmo 'a modern Gulag'. BULL! The Gulags, as those of you who have bothered to educate yourselves know, are where MILLIONS were left to die/worked to death. Don't we have all of about 600 at Gitmo? Are they being starved? No, we are feeding them better then they were by the Teliban. Worked to death? No, we don't make them do much of anything. Tortured (as aledged my many)? This is the biggest lie of all. Not only has the US Military NEVER tortured anyone, these terrorists were instructed to alledge torture if caught!

Remember, say it with me, 'THESE MEN ARE ENEMIES!'

Now, as far as these lawyers go, why is it that they come out now of all times? This shows me that nobody is interested in fairness or justice. These men want MONEY. They see all these allegations flying around and this leads them to believe that the time is now to move, that they can get courts to award money to the terrorists, money that these gutterslurping lawyers get a piece of.
Where is loyalty? Does it mean nothing to be an American?

Again, these men are our enemies!
So are the terrorists...