Evening Snack (5/16)

Senate Rejects Legislation Cutting Off Iraq Funding

The Senate, spending the spring mired in divisive debate on Iraq, sharply rejected legislation Wednesday to cut off money for combat operations after March 2008.

The vote was a loss for Senator Feingold of Wisconsin and other liberal Democrats who support taking the drastic step to end the war. But the effort picked up new support from members previously reluctant to limit war funding – an indication of the conflict’s unpopularity among voters.

I get the impression the Dhimmis are more concerned about politics than they are about the safety of our troops, OR our country. At least that’s the way it’s looking to me. I say we wipe the whole slate clean and start over, but then, what do I know.

Exotic World Said to Harbor ‘Hot Ice’

A Neptune-sized world in a distant solar system orbits very close to its star and might be covered with exotic forms of water not naturally found on Earth, scientists say.

The bizarre world is being called a “hot ice planet.”

Showing my ignorance again: What the heck is “hot ice”? Wouldn’t ice melt if it’s hot?

Melinda Doolittle kicked off Idol

Belmont graduate and Brentwood resident Melinda Doolittle was voted off American Idol tonight.

She was one of three finalists on the talent show, and she charmed judges with her consistent, strong, wide-ranging voice.

Who is Melinda Doolittle, why should I care if she gets voted off American Idol, and why the heck is it a bloomin’ headline?

Officer in alleged beating of bartender pleads not guilty

Chicago police officer pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he beat a female bartender and threatened to arrest bar employees and customers in a failed attempt to suppress a video of the attack.

Uh huh. And the fact that the whole world saw him do it doesn’t count, right?

Strickland restores protection for gay workers

State employees who are gay or consider themselves the opposite gender are about to have the same legal workplace protections as their co-workers.

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland plans to sign an executive order Thursday morning prohibiting state government from discriminating against its employees based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

I’m off the mind that no one should be discriminated against, nor should there be “executive orders” giving anyone special attention.

SoCal doctors charged in $30.5 million surgery scam

Three doctors were charged Wednesday as part of a long-running investigation into an alleged “rent-a-patient” scam that has cost insurers millions of dollars, authorities said.

Prosecutors allege Unity Outpatient Surgery Center recruited patients from across the nation, who then underwent unnecessary surgery in exchange for money or low-cost cosmetic procedures.

How ’bout slime like this paying for everyone’s health care to atone for their deception?

Pakistan Christians demand help

Christians in north-west Pakistan are demanding government protection following threats of bomb attacks if they do not become Muslims.

An unsigned letter received 10 days ago said they had to convert by Thursday.

Yes, this IS a religious war!

Hmmm…..

You’re a Little Stupid

You got 9/10 questions right! Or at least careless. Better go back and recheck your answers!

Are You Stupid?

H/T: Spring City Chronicle

Large Cajones!

Workers sue U.S. factory after immigration raid

Workers including 361 illegal immigrants were cheated of hundreds of thousands of dollars in overtime pay at a factory at the center of a high-profile raid in Massachusetts, according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday.

Excuse me?????? So, now it’s the factory’s fault they got busted?

The class-action lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Boston on behalf of 500 workers, follows a raid by federal immigration agents on March 6 that drew criticism of the Bush administration’s immigration policy and brought national attention to the perils facing undocumented workers.

If ever there was a lawsuit that should be thrown out, it’s this one.

Dozens of children were stranded when 361 workers at Michael Bianco Inc., which makes equipment and apparel for the U.S. military, were arrested by federal agents in New Bedford, a port city about 55 miles south of Boston.

If these people are so worried about the kids, then they should be with their parents….and sent back to from whence they came.

As Douglas commented on America and Proud: What part of “illegal” in illegal aliens do they not understand? And what’s with this “undocumented immigrant” junk? That’s like calling a drug dealer an unlicensed pharmacist.

Need Proof?

If you need more proof of the classless and loony left, go here.

More info via Newbusters. org

Voting in Tennessee

I picked up the mail that had been accumulating when I got to Tennessee yesterday to find my voter’s registration card. I think having such a card is an excellent idea, especially if you apply for it IN PERSON, with all the proof necessary that you are able to vote, LEGALLY. The letter accompanying my card states “MUST SHOW ID WHEN VOTING”. All well and good.

Now, what I found the most annoying….the DAMN THING HAS MY SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER ON IT! Whose bright idea was THAT?!? If my purse is lost or stolen, my number is out there. If I keep it at home, what happens if someone breaks into our home, and takes it, along with everything else of value? (I consider my SS # quite valuable.) That has got to be the most flagrant disregard of personal information I’ve ever seen!

I can assure you, someone is going to get an earful!

UPDATE:  I called the county election board.  All I got was “Well, that’s just the way we do it!”  Horse manure.  She did give me the number of the state guy, and I’ll be calling him in the morning.

My Rose

I know squat about roses, but we now have a couple of bushes, so I guess I should learn.  Wonder if I can manage NOT to kill ’em, like I’ve been known to do with cactus?  The bad part is, the darn things were planted right by the front walk, along with something else with major barb things (I have NO idea what it is).  Naturally, this will cause a problem for anyone walking up to the front door.

How do ya like that fancy vase?  Hey, it was all I could find, and the stem is very short, so gimme a break!  🙂

Romans 1:18-20

18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

Yes, there is a reason I post this!

Rest In Peace: Yolanda Denise King 1955-2007

Yolanda King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., dead at 51

The oldest child of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. has died.

Yolanda Denise King, 51, died late Tuesday night in Santa Monica, Calif., according to the Rev. Joseph Lowery, one of the King family’s closest friends.

Lowery said he did not know the cause.

An investigator with the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said they were not planning an autopsy.

A spokesman for the King Center, Steve Klein, said the family suspects it might have been a heart problem.

Ms. King, known since childhood as Yoki, was an actor and producer.

“She was a princess and she walked and carried herself like a princess,” Lowery said Wednesday. “She was a reserved and quiet person who loved acting.”

(…)

“She looked well,” said Lewis, adding that he had no idea that Yolanda King might have been ill. “She gave me a hug. To Atlanta, to the southern region, to the nation, we have lost a strong spokesperson for peace, non-violence and the call for human rights.”

(…)

King was born in 1955 in Montgomery, Ala., and was an infant when her home was bombed during the turbulent civil rights era.

As an actress, she has appeared in numerous films and played Rosa Parks in the 1978 miniseries “King.” She also appeared in “Ghosts of Mississippi.” She founded a production company called Higher Ground Productions.

She was also an author and advocate for peace and nonviolence.

She is survived by her sister, the Rev. Bernice King; two brothers, Martin Luther King III and Dexter Scott King; and an extended family.

The family said in a statement that arrangements will be announced later.

Her death comes more than a year after the death of her mother, Coretta Scott King.

Morning Coffee 5/16/07

Small-time crook confesses to bank robbery

A 51-year-old man with a history of state convictions for shoplifting and writing bad checks upped the ante of his criminal record when he confessed to yesterday’s robbery of an M & I Bank in Greenfield, police said this morning.

My question: Why, with that kind of record, was this guy still running around in the free world?

Republicans Debate Their Conservative Bona Fides

The debate included sharp jabs as the candidates pledged tax cuts and all but one reaffirmed their support for the war in Iraq. The contenders also further exposed their party’s divisions over social issues, including abortion and stem cell research, on a day when the Rev. Jerry Falwell’s death cast a shadow over the campaign.

Yes, it was a fairly lively debate, but other than the comment at the beginning by Brit Hume, no one else mentioned Rev. Falwell. What in the world are they talking about?

Cities act on immigration
Municipalities, tired of waiting on Congress, get proactive on reforms

And state legislatures in all 50 states, dissatisfied with congressional inaction, are considering more than twice the number of immigration-related laws as in previous years – with most imposing tougher restrictions on illegal immigrants.

The message to Congress, some say: If you can’t do it, we will.

At least someone is doing something. Lord knows, D.C. isn’t actually doing diddly, and actions speak a LOT louder than all the rhetoric.

‘Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?’ auditions are Saturday

Open casting calls for five new fifth-grade students for the second season of “Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?” will be held from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday at Popeye’s in the Jackson Plaza on North Highland Avenue.

So, if you are going to be in the Jackson, TN area, why not find out if you’ve got the basics down pat. 🙂 I’ve never seen the show, and have no intention of starting now. Just passing it along. 🙂

Hamas kills five of its own in ambush

Hamas gunmen killed five of their own combatants in an ambush on a Fatah vehicle that had been carrying Hamas detainees, Fatah officials said Wednesday.

Also killed were two members of the Fatah-affiliated Preventive Security force that had been guarding the detained Hamas members, the officials said.

I’ll try to summon up some sympathy…..later.

Five Islamist suspects’ supposed farewell videos led to terror warning

Five Islamists from Frankfurt who had supposedly filmed farewell videos for use after suicide attacks on U.S. military bases were the impetus of last month’s terror warning, a German news magazine has reported.

The magazine, Focus, quoted police sources and said that the five included two Germans who had converted to Islam and three Germans of Turkish origin. All belonged to the Islamic Jihad Union, a group affiliated with al-Qaida, the magazine said, and some had undergone military training in Pakistan.

I think the converts are going to be a bigger problem than those born to Islam. The ‘reformed’ are more radical, and evidently, more easily brainwashed.

Democrats Agree on $2.9 Trillion Budget

Republicans said Democrats managed to project a balanced budget in 2012 only by assuming tax rates on income, dividends and capital gains revert to pre-Bush levels, costing taxpayers more than $200 billion in 2011-2012 alone.

Keep your hands out of my pockets. I don’t know you, and you do not have permission to touch me!  This is bordering on harassment, and I don’t like it!

Fred on the Evil Mouse

It’s a Small World After All
Fred Dalton Thompson

Just when you think you’ve seen just about everything; in this case I’m talking about that video of the Palestinian children’s show featuring a costumed Mickey Mouse character. An awful lot of you have watched this footage, posted on Websites and then played on television news shows. For the few who haven’t, the squeaky-voiced Disney icon is shown encouraging Palestinian children to become martyrs in the struggle to achieve worldwide domination — starting with the destruction of Israel.

This message isn’t new by the way. The ruling Palestinian party, Hamas, produces music videos that encourage the youngest children to become suicide bombers. The Hamas website for children is filled with the same hateful fanaticism. Public-service announcements on Palestinian television feature a boy in heaven, supposedly killed by Israeli soldiers, calling out to other children to follow him through martyrdom.

We hardly ever hear about this stuff though. What made the Mickey Mouse video go viral, to use the Internet term, was its use of an image we’re all familiar with. We know Mickey Mouse as a symbol of childhood happiness and innocence. It’s shocking to see this image used to encourage children to become terrorists.

It’s even more shocking given the current political situation. The Palestinian people are suffering badly right now. The flow of international aid to them has been slowed — because their government refuses even to pretend it will stop trying to destroy Israel.

Nevertheless, support has been growing in the UN and Europe for restoring financial aid. The two competing Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, had agreed to stop killing one another and get back on message — blaming Israel. Once again, the international press was parroting the notion that Palestinian violence is caused by Israel’s security fence and border checkpoints. The tide seemed to be turning.

So, naturally, somebody decided it was the perfect time to launch a murderous new kid’s show. Some people never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.

But the Internet has changed things in good ways and bad. In the old days, Yasser Arafat could condemn terrorism in English and promise more attacks in Arabic — and almost no one would hear about it. In this new age, one subtitled video posted to the Web can get the world’s attention and trigger international repercussions.

That’s a good thing but, of course, the same technology can also be used for evil. According to press reports, the six New Jersey terror plotters were immersed in extremist videos and propaganda from pro-jihad Websites. Their message of hatred is so powerful and widespread that it persuaded grown men, living in the United States, to give up their own lives to murder Americans.

Think how much more effective this type of propaganda must be when it is aimed at children. Now think about an entire generation of Palestinians, Pakistanis, Iranians and others — saturated with this message their whole lives. That’s the real message we should take from that Mickey Mouse video.