And Everybody Lived Happily Ever After

I’ve said before – in a perfect world, I would be the Empress and we wouldn’t have all the problems we currently face in the United States, but since the world or even the nation is not perfect, I think I’ve devised an alternative plan that could work in bringing peace and harmony to the American people without stepping on anyone’s toes.

First, beginning in the year 2008, we will split the United States into two parts. The left will assume ownership and leadership of their newly formed country and divide it into Democrat states. Some obvious names that come to mind for the states would be the “Welfare State”, the “Socialist Healthcare State”, the “Tree Hugger State” and of course, “Separation of Church and State”.

In their newly formed country they will write a new Constitution which may include anything they wish, from what to teach their children in school, to what people are and are not allowed to say at work. This new Constitution will allow them to really forge ahead in enabling…oops, I mean helping the less fortunate, making decisions for their fellow Democrats and bringing peace to their little part of the world.

Anyone wishing to live in one of the left’s states may do so. Additionally, any military personnel who are on board with the left’s ideals will be assigned to live and work in the new nation of the left and assume responsibility for the protection thereof. They will elect their own officials (wouldn’t Cindy Sheehan and Jesse Jackson make great running mates?) and they will be able to choose to withhold military and financial aid to any country they wish.


I recommend that the new country of the left be strategically placed in the areas that they all seem familiar with and clearly have superior intellect with regard to the ruling thereof. So, the United States would be separated at the points indicated on the map below.

I know, I know, it’s difficult to imagine giving up your golden years in Florida – but since Disney hosts the gay parades, it’s only fair. Besides, we still have Arizona. Of course, Jeb will have to leave, but we’ll find somewhere nice for him to live.

The Democrat’s new nation capital would be, of course, Louisiana – or more specifically, New Orleans. This would give the democrats the opportunity to really “show their stuff” – since they know so much regarding how to handle hurricanes and natural disasters. In fact – they’re getting all of the hurricane states, but since the Republicans are so inept when it comes to that stuff – it’s probably not safe for us to live there, anyway as we’ll just mess things up.

As for the Republican states – well, we would have to rename them as well…my suggestion being, “The Right Side of America”. I am also nominating Lieutenant General Russel Honoré as the first President of the Right Side of America. It seems fitting that our borders should be patrolled by the military personnel who remain with the right – and wear badges that bear our new nation’s motto – “Don’t Be Stuck On Stupid”. The Right Side of America will be able to send financial, military or humanitarian aid to anyone we wish – and withhold it from anyone we wish. I think it’s only fair that for the first 1000 years, we be unable to send any type of support to the left states….tough love, you know? After that, they will have just as much support as we would give any other terrorist harboring nation.

No need to worry if you currently live in one of the states that will be occupied by the left. The Right Side of America will be able to finance all of the relocations using the money that was previously earmarked for re-building the gulf coast.

It won’t be necessary to re-write the constitution on the Right Side of America because we can just take back our original one and put it back together the way it used to be – I’m sure there’s a copy of the original somewhere.

This model for a peaceful and harmonious United States is the closest I’ve ever seen to Utopia. I’m sure if I get the final draft ready, I can rush Congress to get this passed. I’ll just use the word NOW! at the end of every sentence. It works for Cindy Sheehan.

Feel free to submit your ideas to be included in the final draft.

Make It Go Away!

Media-whore Cindy Sheehan deliberately got arrested today in Washington. Evidently the hurricanes were hogging up too much of her camera time. Days like today make me wish, more than ever, that I could have one of those “flashy things” that the Men In Black used. At least we could make it shut up!

The Monkeys Are Talking Again!

It’s an important day in Pennsylvania. One that will no doubt go down in the history books – regardless of the outcome. Today the opening arguments will be heard in Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District. In this case – citizens in the school district of Dover, Pennsylvania are challenging the school’s decision to offer the “theory” of Intelligent Design along side the theory of evolution to their 9th grade biology students. You can read the whole article here, but the readers digest version is this….

In October of 2004, the Dover Area School district instituted a policy that ordered science teachers to point out in a brief statement before a ninth grade biology class begins, that unexplained “gaps” exist in evolution theory, and refers students to a book on intelligent design theory.

Since then, a lawsuit was filed which seeks to have the district policy declared unconstitutional, that the proposed books be removed and that damages for violating their constitutional rights and lawyers’ fees be awarded.

Yes, you read that right – DAMAGES FOR VIOLATING THEIR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS.

Clearly, this is not about the constitution, but about:
1. The left’s innate desire to have their way, and
2. Money

Maybe someone can explain to me how a person/persons could be so damaged by the prospect of a teacher merely suggesting there is an alternative to the theory of evolution (they’re not even teaching ID – simply offering reading material if someone is interested) that they should be awarded “damages”?? If this is, in fact, legitimate – then I must sue the school district my children attend because I am personally so offended by the theory of evolution that I should be filthy, stinking rich!

At any rate – it’s an important day. Those of you who believe in God, believe in Intelligent Design and believe in prayer should be saying a little prayer today for the outcome of this blatant waste of taxpayers dollars to be the first of many that shoot down the left’s campaign to demonize those who disagree with them.

Interestingly, when I was a child – some of the parents in my school district were in an uproar because the school was beginning to teach “that nonsensical big bang stuff!” Prior to that – we talked about dinosaurs, we talked about what scientists speculated to be the age of the earth, but we didn’t really talk much about how the earth got here. Additionally, we had the option to NOT sit in on the lectures that included the theory of evolution (and they actually called it a “theory”).

So, what’s wrong with that? Why can’t we just go back to the “old days” when parents taught their kids where the earth came from? I suspect it wouldn’t fly because the left knows there will be a lot fewer kids growing up thinking they came from monkeys. Like the Pied Piper – they have to get them while they’re young!

S.O.S.

How can you not love this?

Stand With Our Vice President

Regardless of how you feel about the state of the Union, we should all be praying for the leadership in this nation - the greatest nation on earth.
Say a prayer for our Vice President today as he undergoes surgery to remove aneurysms.

Between the Lines

For Brint and anyone else who may think that we northeasterners are not qualified to have an opinion regarding who is responsible for the problems that occurred both before and after Hurricane Katrina - maybe you'll listen to one of "your own".

If you're still stuck on stupid enough to think the federal government is to blame - do yourself a favor and take 90 seconds to read this enlightening post from Jeffrey D. Sadow, an associate professor of political science at Louisiana State University Shreveport.

And yes...I'm going to keep saying "stuck on stupid" until you'all are begging me to stop. General Russell “Ragin’ Cajun” Honoré is my new hero. I wish he'd run for President in 2008!

Thanks to JYB for leading me to this post.

Teddy Kennedy on Katrina....He is S.O.S.!!

This isn’t exactly NEW news, but it’s my blog and I’ll rant about whatever I want…

Teddy Kennedy, a man who will go down in history as a democrat who has exhibited blatant disregard for human life, has this to say on his website:

Yesterday, the President and the White House spokesman proclaimed that the Administration would not play the blame game. Well Mr. President, this is not a game. This is not some school yard spat.
It is about life and death. And most important, it’s about getting it right the next time.

We must be about the work of providing continuing relief to our citizens and rebuilding our communities. But we also cannot delay the important task of determining what went so gravely wrong, and
holding accountable those responsible for the tragic failures that Americans have seen so clearly on their televisions and read in their
newspapers.

Then he goes on with a lot of blah, blah, blah – poor people, African Americans, Latinos – blah, blah, blah – middle class people are struggling – blah, blah, blah – we need to give $150 BILLION dollars to rebuild New Orleans – blah, blah, blah

And then he finishes off with this…

That’s the America we stand for – an America where we treat each other with respect – where we address our mistakes and meet
our challenges with honesty and candor and immediate action.

Since Teddy knows so much about being held accountable for tragic failures, addressing his mistakes with honesty and candor and most of all - immediate action...I guess he's an expert on the subject - NOT!

Incidentally, there are some remarkable similarities between Teddy Kennedy and Mayor Nagin:

• They’re both responsible for drowning people.
• They both contacted their attorney prior to deciding whether to call for help.
• They both fled to higher ground to save themselves.
• They both waited until it was too late and then refused to admit that they had failed those who were counting on them to save their lives.

By the way, Teddy…it took the National Guard less time to get to New Orleans than it took you to call the police at Chappaquiddick. Oh, that’s right….you didn’t actually call the police…they called YOU.

No Chillin' at The Hill!

This afternoon, just like clockwork these days when there is some impending doom ready to barrel into our country, the good ol' folks in my hometown lined up at the gas pumps to fill up before the prices sky rocket as a result of Rita. I, too, lined up to fill my car up - I needed it anyway and didn't want to be kicking myself tomorrow when I could have filled up tonight.

I started out at one of four Turkey Hill Mini Markets in town. For those of you who are not from the North East - Turkey Hill is a multi-million dollar corporation located about 90 miles west of Philadelphia. They started out as a dairy- providing milk and ice cream and have evolved into the most popular convenience store in these parts. Their ice cream is still the best you can get anywhere, but like any convenience store - you PAY for convenience. During the summer months, Turkey Hill's catch phrase is, "come chill at The Hill". But back to the subject at hand...

I realized shortly after arriving at the first store that the "87" (regular unleaded) and "89" (premium unleaded) pump handles were covered with plastic grocery bags on each and every pump station. I found this very odd, since this isn't the first time people have scrambled to the pumps because they're afraid of what tomorrow might bring. I have never, EVER seen a Turkey Hill out of gasoline.

Not wanting to pay for the "super" unleaded, I decided to get out of line and go down the street to the next store. I passed a couple of other gas stations on the way...a Hess station, a Shell station and a Mobile station. All three places are close enough to the road to see their pump stations and I took note that none of them appeared to be out of gasoline. When I entered the second Turkey Hill store lot, I found those pumps to be covered as well - all but the most expensive gas. At that point I began to suspect something was up.

My daughter gave a heavy sigh as I drove right through the lot and out the other side to check the next store. Sure enough - the same thing....no sign, no explanation - just covered pumps...all but the expensive gas. When I got to the fourth and final store I found that the pumps were NOT covered, so I got in line to wait for gas. I waited for 25 minutes and just as the SUV in front of me was finishing up, the "manager" came out with plastic bags to cover the two lower priced pump handles (evidently he hadn't been checking the store's e-mails often enough).

I want you to know, folks - you heard it here first.....TURKEY HILL IS BLATANTLY GAUGING THEIR CUSTOMERS!! This is the conversation I had with the manager:
(guy walks out as I am getting out of my car to pump my gas and attempts to begin to cover the lower grade gas pumps - since I had seen the other stores, I knew what he was doing)
Me: What's THAT about?
Fat guy with a lisp...oops, I mean "manager": Sorry, mam. I'm just doing what I'm told.
Me: And what was that?
Manager: We don't want to run out of gas.
Me: You mean you don't want to run out of gas before you have the chance to increase the price to $5 per gallon!
Manager: We might run low, mam. If you want to come back tomorrow to get this grade of gas, be my guest.
Me: So, you're suggesting I wait until you increase the price - no, actually...you're withholding the lower grade gasoline until TOMORROW when it will be more expensive. Is that right?
Manager: I'm just doing what I'm told, mam.
Me: That's price gauging!
Manager: I'm just doing what I'm told, mam. We might run out of gas.
Me: So, you're telling me that ONLY the Turkey Hill stores in this town are running out of the lower grade gasoline? Every other smaller station in town with much smaller tanks is still selling it, but you guys are running out?
Manager: I'm just doing what I'm told, mam.
Me: I bet you sleep well at night.

So, evidently this didn't sit well with the schmuck because the guy walked over to the pump I was about to use and removed the bag from the lowest grade and said, "be my guest" and then covered it when I finished pumping (which proves that he was not out of gas or worrying that he would run out). I filled my tank and resisted the overwhelming urge to run him over with my car on my way out of the lot.

I've been to the Turkey Hill website and learned that their "sister" corporation runs the mini marts. Of course I sent a complaint - one that will probably not be addressed, but I won't feel better unless I NEVER do business with that company again. Just when I think that my little neck of the woods is immune to that kind of nonsense - I get knocked back to reality. UN-FRIGGIN-BELIEVABLE!

It probably didn't help matters that I absolutely HATE pumping my own gasoline and visit one of the two full-serve stations in town the majority of the time - but after going on a rampage to find out what was up with the T.H. gas - I ended up passing them by. So, I guess the lessons here are:
For me: Just let the "gas guy" pump your gasoline.
For the Manager: Don't piss that crazy woman off when she's doing something she hates.

UPDATE: I spoke with the manager of the T.H. closest to my home this morning. He manages the smallest one in town, with only two gas pumps, as opposed to the 8-10 that the other stores have. His "take" on the situation was that at approximately 4:30 PM yesterday afternoon, HE and ONLY HE ran out of the "87" grade gasoline. He contacted "corporate" and told them he needed his tanks filled a.s.a.p. He then lowered the price of his "89" grade to accommodate his customers - a move that nearly cost him his job. By 7:00 PM (I lined up at 7:25) "corporate" had told the rest of the stores in town to withhold the lower grade gasoline from their customers. Sounds like they saw the shortage at one store as a potential opportunity to gauge all those who might line up at the other stores. When I told him I "had words" with the manager at the "north" store - he responded, "Ohhhhhh, that was YOU!"

It's good to be notorious for something, I suppose...even if it is for being the crazy lady at the gas pump.

UPDATE: I received this response from the "sister" corporation that runs the Turkey Hill Stores:

Dear Ms. XXXXX:Thank you for contacting The Kroger Co. regarding gasoline available at the Turkey Hill Stores in your area. A Customer Service Representative has received your comments. We have forwarded your message to the appropriate department for review and follow up. Thanks again for writing.

UPDATE (Friday Afternoon): Turkey Hill called me and asked if they could send me a gift certificate for gasoline to be used at their store. According to their customer service guy - "It's terribly upsetting to know that you believe we are gauging our customers" - to which I responded, "well, are you?" The rep then lowered his voice and said, "to be honest, I haven't been able to get a straight answer on that all day".
HA! Unbelievable!
Yes, I took the gift certificate - I'm angry....not crazy. I told him if I live to be 100, I won't buy another gallon of gasoline at a T.H. - but I'm not so stupid that I wouldn't accept it for free.

Are we there yet??

It shouldn’t surprise us that Louisiana officials are once again showing their true, corrupt colors with this report that one of the people in charge of the day-to-day operation of the suburb of Kenner was helping himself to donations that were supposed to go to Hurricane victims. Clearly STUCK ON STUPID, these guys just can’t get enough bad publicity – or is it that they really don’t know any better? At any rate, now the 4 truck-loads of goods have to be processed as evidence before they can be distributed to worthy recipients who have been, according to this report, “begging for these supplies”.

Have we reached the point where the federal government has enough proof of incompetency, indifference and corruption to step in and completely take over these efforts? Grandiose notion….I know. A girl can dream.

Blatant Disregard For Human Life – The New Civil War (Part One)

I don’t remember another time in my life when I was shocked so often by the actions and reactions of Democrats and liberals in general. Throughout history, liberals, Democrats, Socialists and Communists in this country have taken radical steps to come against Republicans but I don’t recall any other time, during MY lifetime, when I was hearing things on a daily basis that were so radical and shocking as the accusations and lies that are coming from the left.

I began pouring through history notes and resources to refresh my memory and determine if there were any parallels to other eras when political opposition was as prevalent as it is today. I found only one era that came closed to what is happening today.

Throughout history, Republicans have been accused of trampling all over people’s rights while the Democrats/liberals are the “great defender of all humankind”. The truth is, the left has long had the ability to justify their blatant disregard for people, unity and the Constitution of the United States by spinning what they do into their “causes”.

For instance, pre-Civil War, the states involved in secession turned what has been, by far, the largest human rights issue our nation has ever faced – slavery – into a “money” issue. While I agree that the Civil War was largely about money (money the land-owners would have to spend on labor if they lost their right to own human slaves) – for those fighting to free human slaves, money was not an issue. To those who saw the ownership of another human being as barbaric, money was not their focus. For the people who hid slaves in their basements, attics and built secret rooms into the corridors of their homes during the operation of the Underground Railroad, the issue was human life – not money. For the right it was about human life, while the left hid their blatant disregard for human life behind the money issue. The Republican Party was founded in 1854 and immediately got off on the wrong foot – by “trampling on the rights of landowners” whose blatant disregard for human life showed us early in our nation’s history that the left was not concerned with “moral causes”.

The parallel doesn’t stop there. When the left didn’t get their way in the 1850’s they began a movement that turned into the most radical, outrageous and, in the end, costly campaigns imaginable. Seven states seceded from the Union and then 8 weeks later opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina – beginning the American Civil War.

This blatant disregard for human life, of course, is relative. The left will stop at nothing and spare no person to have it their way, much like a 2-year old who doesn’t understand the long-term consequences of his actions and much like the Confederate Army who took on a Union much too strong and much too sophisticated to conquer. It’s worth noting that many of the landowners in the rebel states sent their slaves to war for them. The disregard is relative because they insist that they, and only they, are qualified to place the value on a human life. If you threaten the quality or value of THEIR lives; perhaps by implying they should not abort an unborn child, or continue to care for a disabled loved one, THEIR OWN lives are much too valuable to ask for such a sacrifice. In their camp, they will sacrifice the weak to live as they wish – just like the landowners who sent their slaves to fight in a war that could not be won.

Fast forward to WWII. The methods used for mass extermination in the Nazi death camps originated and were perfected in earlier use against people with physical, emotional, and intellectual disabilities. Sound familiar? Today it’s perfectly acceptable to the left to exterminate a person who is without the means to defend themselves due to a disability (or perhaps due to not yet being born). However, if you asked any one of them whether they think the Nazi death camps were a good idea, you would hear a resounding “NO!”. The left is seemingly unaware of how closely their actions resemble those of the most villainous hate-mongers of all time, which takes us back to the 2-year old analogy – they are either unaware or unconcerned with the consequences of their actions.


While the liberal left wails and moans about the Republican/conservative desire to trample all over the rights of women – women who desire the right to kill an unborn child in order that they might live as they choose, conservatives continue this fight for human life. This issue is not about “choice” any more than the slave issue was about money or WWII was about Hitler wanting to take over the US or Great Britain. Hitler had no interest in the United States or Britain except to the extent that we interfered with his plans to expand to the east – at whatever the cost. Those who were not a part of his plan were disposable. Sound familiar? The wealthy landowners who sent their slaves to war were no where near as concerned about money as they were about living as they chose to live without interference. At the end of the day, we are still talking about a blatant disregard for human life.


Another good example of how relative the value of human life is to the left is the matter of Cindy Sheehan. Casey Sheehan’s life was valuable. Casey Sheehan fought and died for people he didn’t even know. Cindy Sheehan would tell you that her “cause” is such that those for whom her son went to his grave to protect were not “worth dying for” - America is not worth dying for. The hundreds of thousands of Middle Easterners who were murdered, tortured, raped and oppressed at the hands of a terrorist dictator are not valuable enough to fight for. You see the left believes that THEY should have the right to freedom by way of freedom of choice, freedom to leave others to die at the hands of dictators, freedom to walk all over the rights of those who disagree with them, however they aren’t willing to pay the price for that freedom. Meanwhile, the rights of those who need us most are blatantly disregarded; the rights of the unborn child, the rights of the Iraqis, the rights of the disabled who are unable to feed themselves and don’t even get me started on religious rights.

In a country that was founded on the right to worship the way we choose, by the left’s design, Christians are no longer free to worship as we choose, but we are expected to embrace every other pagan belief system. They’re hiding this blatant disregard for the Constitution of the United States and the original intentions of the authors behind yet another crusade to trample the rights of Christians who don’t agree with them. They call it tolerance. They make themselves out to be the good guys who are protecting the blasphemous religions of the world when the truth is, it’s not about tolerance at all – it’s about the left getting their way – without respect of the cost. When I was a child, if you didn’t believe in God – you could opt not to say the Pledge of Allegiance. In no way did other people’s allegiance to God and country interfere with the atheist’s right to believe as they chose to believe. Today we are heading down a slippery slope where the bottom does not resemble the America we once knew.

I believe we are engaged in an ideological Civil War. One that is as destructive, and ultimately as deadly, as the first. The left no longer fights with guns and bombs (that would go against their crusade to trample on our rights to bear arms). The left (read: insurgents) have found new weapons and ammunition to further their causes. This is a war where propaganda and lies are used instead of physical ammunition. They load this ammunition into their weapon called the MSM every day by which it is shot all over the world. The weapons have changed but the destruction is the same – even worse, because they now have the ability to spread their disease worldwide and pour fuel on the fires of hatred that already exist outside this country. For hundreds of years there have been nations on this earth who hate us because we’re free and I suspect they will always exist, but not for lack of our trying to bridge those gaps. Thanks to the MSM, powered by the left, many of those gaps will never be bridged because our own people have such a blatant disregard for the lives of anyone who opposes them.

I’ve traveled all over the world and I’ve encountered real hatred toward the United States. I have found myself in very uncomfortable situations that made me feel all alone and vulnerable outside what I considered to be the safe walls of our great nation. Lately, however, I have found myself facing hatred that is at times even greater than what I have experienced outside the United States and I hope it always shocks and amazes me that fellow Americans can display such hatred toward their brethren and their country. The greatest nation in the world. The nation that was founded on what many consider to be a harebrained idea these days….”One Nation, Under God, Indivisible, With Liberty And Justice For ALL”. ALL…ALL…ALL…not just Democrats. Not just Republicans. Not just Americans. ALL.

The ideal of world peace for the right may seem to be a grandiose notion – one that involves all those who have never tasted the sweet flavor of freedom to experience a life of peace, liberty and justice. The ideal of world peace for the left is quite different, yet no less grandiose to most of us. If left to their own devices, the radical liberals would have a world where their “if it feels good, do it – unless it happens to bother ME!” philosophy would be adopted by all nations everywhere. If you list out all the contradicting platforms of the left and attempted to adopt them all into a democracy, it would be impossible – for there would be no democracy – only chaos.

To my fellow conservatives – I encourage you to continue to fight this new civil war in the same way our forefathers fought their wars…

Know thy enemy.
Fight only for truth, justice, liberty, freedom and honor.
Always look to do the next “right” thing.

Thanks to Chris Regan for his contributions to this post.

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein

Does Mayor Nagin have the intellectual and emotional maturity of a 14 year old? Who, in their right mind, would call 180,000 people back into a city that has no suitable drinking water, no 911 system and no operating hospitals?

It’s not that I don’t empathize with the residents of New Orleans who want to attempt to get back to “life as usual”, but there is no life as usual in New Orleans and there won’t be for a very long time. 20% of the city is still flooded and according to reports on rescue efforts, there are still bodies to be found (by my count more than 9,000 bodies are missing if we are to have believed Mayor Nagin’s inflated projections).

Some reports hint that the Mayor is anxious to get the city ready for tourists as soon as possible. If that’s the case – not only is he once again showing blatant disregard for the lives of the citizens of New Orleans, but also for anyone curious (read: crazy) enough to start visiting again in the near future. This Associated Press article states,

"Nagin saw a quick reopening as a way to get the storm-battered city back in the business of luring tourists."

The article also says,

“The city requested 200 buses to assist in an evacuation. They would start running 48 hours before landfall from the downtown convention center and a stadium in Algiers”

Gee, I wonder where they got that idea?? I’d like to see the Mayor himself out there with a shop-vac, drying out the buses that weren’t good enough for him to use when he let hundreds of people die in their homes during and after Katrina.

You can read the article yourself, but I’m sure you get my primary rant. The Mayor of New Orleans wasn’t just under stress when he made poor decisions and used horrible judgment in not evacuating his citizens before Katrina. It would appear that he’s just a complete idiot who wouldn’t know good judgment if it bit him in the butt. It wasn’t until federal officials, including President Bush, “URGED” Nagin (for a couple of days) to reconsider letting people back in to NoLo that he suspended his “re-opening”. It’s like a teenager is in charge and the President has to guide him in the right direction or he’ll keep making the same mistakes over and over. Even when he DID reverse his decision to allow people to re-enter, his reasons seem to be related to Tropical Storm Rita causing more damage – not the utter insanity of allowing people to re-enter when much of the city is not cleaned up and the mayor can't even provide healthcare or emergency services to the citizens.

As a manager, I can only stand to watch my employees bloody things up for so long – then I have to step in and say, “let me do it”. I keep waiting for that to happen in this case and so far the feds have allowed Nagin to stay involved in what’s happening with recovery and rebuilding. Of course, throughout this time – you know, the time when the federal government has completely taken over all the real responsibility in cleaning the place up, Nagin continues to complain. Only this time it’s not for lack of help, it’s for too much help. Evidently his panties went into a wad when this happened:

“On Tuesday, Nagin had harsh words for the federal government's top official in the city, Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad Allen, who he said "stepped outside his lane by talking directly to the citizens of New Orleans”.

What’s the protocol anyway? “Ya’all just come down here and fix everything, but DON’T talk to anyone!!”

I say it’s time for the feds to take a level of authority that matches their level of responsibility in this rescue/recovery/rebuilding effort. People just end up getting shot in the foot when they’re given a boat-load of responsibility and no authority to carry it out.

If the federal government really does change the rules, giving them the authority to step in and take over in cases of natural disaster – something the President hinted to in his speech, but I have a hard time envisioning it actually becoming a reality, they’re going to have to develop a protocol that will keep idiots like Nagin from muddying the process so much.

I think we’ve given him enough rope and he’s managed to hang everyone around him – the feds need to tell him to sit down and shut up so they can do their job.

Ahhhhhh…..maybe in a perfect world.

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Junkyardblog

Ted Koppel......put that in your pipe and smoke it!

I don't know about you, but I'm proud of George W. Bush and what he had to say tonight. It takes a lot more courage to stand before this country after the way people have been pointing the fingers at him and not blast the media for over sensationalizing the Katrina disaster, as well as the local and state officials whose blunder after blunder CREATED this mess. He was dignified and, as usual, always the optimist.

My favorite part, however (besides the last few lines of his speach that almost made me tear up) was the interview afterward (on ABC) by the correspondent in Houston, outside the Astrodome. It was pretty obvious that he hand picked the people he wanted in the interviews as they were all black. The greatest slap in the face to the media that I've seen in a long time happened when he couldn't get the "interviewees" to bad-mouth the President. He practically BEGGED them - practically put words in their mouths and they wouldn't bite. "Aren't you skeptical?" "Do you believe the President?" "Do you blame the President for what happened to you?" And person after person said they beleived and trusted what the President was saying, as well as pointing out that it was their local and state authorities who were asleep at the wheel - NOT the President.

I LOVED IT!

Take THAT, Ted Koppel and all your pompous, windbag media buddies!

lovin' this!

I'm loving this Impeach Kathleen Blanco site!

Still Kickin'

I'm still here - extremely busy and the squirrel who usually takes my posts down in short-hand is storing nuts for the winter.

I'm working on something....seriously!

More Lunacy From Down Under

Check out this nutball Australian-Muslim who claims the American Government orchestrated 9/11 and is publishing his findings to back up his theory that, "The 9/11 terror attacks were a massive US-inspired conspiracy.”

This is about as sensible as the Lebanese who insist we bombed our own Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon on October 23, 1983.

I’m not making this up – I have an acquaintance who is an Australian-Lebanese, has family in Lebanon and has had the audacity to argue with me regarding the 1983 bombing which he claims to KNOW with all CERTAINTY that the U.S. bombed their own barracks to give them an excuse to pull out of Beirut (he knows this because the US Government keeps secrets from their citizens…secrets to which HE is privy). Which of course makes perfect sense, since the United States is known for running away and NOT helping people when they need it??????? Of course the fact that we did NOT pull out of Beirut after the attacks (that killed 241 American Servicemen and only 1 Lebanese citizen) doesn’t really wash with the conspiracy theory, but hey…those Australians are the only ones getting the REAL truth about the American Government.

I wonder if it’s just a coincidence that both conspiracy theories came out of Australia.

Can anyone say, “certifiable”?

Flight 93 Memorial - Time To Say NO!

My new friend, Ken, over at Oblogatory Anecdotes had a conversation with the ACLU regarding the proposed Flight 93 Memorial. Read his conversation here.

Thanks, Ken, for sharing this with us. The libs have a history of eaking things like this through with nowhere near enough opposition. The more it's talked about, the better.

Also, for in depth analyses of the whole project and what it deliberately or otherwise means (these guys have really researched this thing thoroughly!) Check out Junkyard Blog's posts:

"Not One Dime"

And the follow-up:

"Mecca, We Have A Problem"

Are you sick of hearing about polls yet?

Here’s a good example of what I was ranting about last week. I know I’ve already said my piece on polls and how they’ve outlived their reliability/usefulness, and I’ve even been reprimanded for my “arrogant ignorance”….what ever.

I just thought I would point out the differences in how the polls are being reported on. Last week, Associated Press writer Will Lester quoted the AP’s Ispsos Katrina poll results as saying the following:

“Two-thirds of those surveyed say the federal government was not adequately prepared to respond to the disaster.”

In an article written by Associated Press writer Jennifer Lovel, the following was quoted from the poll results:

“More than half of respondents in an Associated Press-Ipsos poll last week said he is at fault for the slow response.”

“HE”, obviously, is G.W. Bush.

Now, forgive me for splitting hairs, but am I the only person who thinks there is a huge difference between the statement, “the government was not prepared” and the statement, “G.W. Bush is personally responsible”?

And NO, it’s not two separate polls – there is only one Ipsos Poll to be found that relates to Katrina.

So, can I thank Ms. Lovel for proving my point? The press takes what they will from polls – scews the results – defines the results in what ever manner suits the direction they are trying to take their article and leads the public with information that they call “factual”, all the while it cramming down the throat of the American public which is made up of an exorbitant number of idiots who believe everything they read/hear.

I know there are bigger fish to fry, but I hate polls. I hate the way they are quoted, misquoted, misinterpreted, misunderstood and represented as “fact”. I hate the MSM for all of that and more. I also know there are a lot of people who blame “W” for everything – boy do I ever! But the media is making me start to think like a conspiracy theorist and I REALLY hate them for that!

Now, if you’ll excuse me….I’m late for my Vast Right Wing Conspiracy meeting.

Begs a good question...

Brian Preston begs a good question here when he asks,
"SHOULD MICHAEL BROWN BE DRAWN AND QUARTERED OR MERELY FIRED?"
at Junkyard Blog. Check it out!

I'm painting my dining room today....not much of my own stuff to say except,
"I HATE PAINT!"

New Bullet Point In The Presidential Job Description: **must be a mind reader

President Bush is now being held accountable for not implementing recommendations included in a hurricane disaster plan that he received on September 3rd, 6 days after Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana. The article speaks of:

"a hurricane simulation that projected 61,290 dead and 384,257 injured or sick in a catastrophic flood that would leave swaths of southeast Louisiana uninhabitable for more than a year."

This project had been going on for more than a year and the reports were all but complete when Katrina showed up. Unfortunately, there is no way the information could have helped New Orleans prepare as the report was not submitted to the proper authorities until they were in the depths of a rescue effort.

The article fails to mention that the documents never made it to the White House until September 3rd until AFTER the writer suggests that the federal government failed:

"Their fictitious storm eerily foreshadowed the havoc wrought by Category 4 Katrina a few days later, raising questions about whether government leaders did everything possible _ as early as possible _ to protect New Orleans residents from a well-documented threat."

suggesting that because the report was complete (although it had not been delivered), it could have saved thousands of lives had the plans it contained been implimented by the government. I'm sure it could have saved lives - if only it had been in the right hands.

Amazing. I must be the only one who didn't know our President was clairvoyant.

You GO Laura!

Can I just say that I LOVE Laura Bush....
She is a REAL lady.
Hats off to her for defending her husband!!!

I only wish G.W. would take off the gag and blast a few people who have it coming.

More Than Half of Whose Country?

The Associated Press released poll results today regarding whether or not Americans believe New Orleans should be rebuilt. Their opening statement in the article was,

“More than half the people in this country say
the flooded areas of New Orleans lying below sea level should be abandoned and rebuilt on higher ground”.

Can I just say that the media has become way too big for their britches when it comes to polling. “More than half the people in this country” is an outlandish statement. The poll included 1,002 adults who weren’t smart enough to know how to avoid a poll. This nation has a population of nearly 300 million people! The opinion of 1/600,000th of the nation is hardly basis for a statement to that effect. According to Wikipedia, 78% of our nation’s population would fall into the category of “adult” (although they use the age 15 and up). Polls being used in this way are out of control and account for a lot of misinformation and misguided decisions.

There was a day when the media wasn’t allowed to “speak for the masses” based on a poll. The news had to back up their claims with hard data. I guess that’s no longer the case. What bothers me about things like this is that I am reminded daily of the number of idiots I am surrounded by. There are a LOT of people who take the media at their word, which is why I get so disturbed when celebrities get on their political soap boxes, because there are so many people who believe everything they hear coming out of the mouth of….oh, let’s just use Oprah as an example, who never actually consider that she is just a regular person expressing her opinion. The fact that she is filthy stinking rich doesn’t make her any more “in the know” or “correct” than anyone else who has the brains to make a decision for themselves based on their convictions.

Now, don’t anybody bite my head off – I’m not picking on Oprah. I know she does a lot of nice things for people, blah, blah, blah…

As for the rest of the AP article:

”An AP-Ipsos poll found that 54 percent of Americans want the four-fifths of New Orleans that was flooded by Hurricane Katrina moved to a safer location.”

Ok – you can’t MOVE New Orleans to a “safer location”. If you MOVE New Orleans, guess what??? It’s not New Orleans anymore. It’s some place else! Regardless of how idiotic it is to build/rebuild a city that is below sea level – it’s been there since 1718 and is the home of 1.3 million people. It’s more idiotic to say, “let’s just not go back there. We’ll make a NEW New Orleans somewhere else”. And by the way….WHERE?

“Their skepticism about restoring New Orleans below sea level comes as the public mood has darkened after one of the nation's worst natural disasters.”

Which tells us that nobody has really ever given the idea any serious thought before now. I wonder how many people in the poll are from the Greater New Orleans area? Oh that’s right….NONE….they don’t have telemarketing polls at shelters!

As for “abandoning” the low lying areas of New Orleans. Who are they kidding? Even if that was the decision, they would hardly be abandoned. There are somewhere between 5,000-10,000 people still in New Orleans who have refused to leave and are being forced out (something that should have happened on August 26th or 27th). Tell them they can’t go back. Tell them they have to abandon their neighborhood. Those folks will be back there chaining themselves to their doorposts as soon as the water is dried up. Once the shelters are closed (unless we’re planning on keeping Katrina shelter’s open for the next 50 years), many of those folks will have nowhere to go but back.

“Almost two-thirds, 65 percent, say the country is headed in the wrong direction — up from 59 percent last month.”

Did you notice the shift from rebuilding New Orleans to how unhappy people are with their country?? Pretty slick, eh? Read on…

“President Bush's job approval was at 39 percent, the lowest point since AP-Ipsos began measuring public approval of Bush in December 2003.”

Would this article have been just as readable and “informative” (albeit based on scewed statistics) without the dig on President Bush?

“Two-thirds of those surveyed say the federal government was not adequately prepared to respond to the disaster. And about the same number said the state and local governments deserve much of the blame for the slow response.”

Ya’all know how I feel about this! The Federal Government should not have to be prepared to respond – that’s why we have STATE Governments. It’s the Federal Government’s job to protect us from terrorists, other countries and the boogie man. It’s the State Government’s job to protect us from natural disasters and the monster under the bed.

“Despite their gloomy mood, people are donating to hurricane victims at record levels. Almost two-thirds in the poll say they have already given money.”

Ok, so more people in the poll said they had given money to help relief efforts than admitted to being pleased with the President. I’m so shocked! NOT.

“The poll of 1,002 adults was taken Sept. 6-8 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.”

If anyone knows where they come up with the data to back up their “margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points”. Please do tell. How is the margin of error determined? Is there a formula? Is it anything like the formula they used when they decided that 1,002 adults represented the opinion of the entire adult population of the United States?

Stupidity should be painful.

A Blog-Tastic Proposal

It’s been 11 days since Hurricane Katrina placed a death-grip on Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. While we all still seem to be riveted to our televisions and computer screens, searching out the latest images and “official quotes” and the American Red Cross, via every radio station and support group available, is busy raising necessary funds to care for the victims of this tragedy, the bloggers have done an outstanding job of touching the real issues that led to the magnitude of this “catastrophe of Biblical proportions”.

As I previously mentioned (in my facetious post), Hillary Clinton has done an outstanding job of pointing fingers, among others who have jumped into the spotlight to further their political agendas. Many of them have suggested an independent investigation into what the breakdowns were in the management (or mismanagement) of this disaster. I couldn’t agree with this suggestion more, and I would go a step further in saying that some great bloggers have already done much of the research and calculations in determining to whom the incompetencies belong. It should be an easy road for the independent council members to complete their investigation. That being said, I have my doubts as to whether the real story will ever be brought to light by the investigation. As we have all learned from 9/11, there is no such thing as an “independent council”. The people who are inevitably considered for positions within these “councils” all have their own agendas and usually can’t get along long enough to come to many conclusions.

I propose that the “independent investigation” be manned by the incredibly talented researchers/writers who keep us all informed via the alternate dimension we like to call the blogosphere. My proposal would include the likes of Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit), John Hawkins (Right Wing News), A. M. Siriano (A.M. Siriano), Bob Parks (Black and Right), Brian Preston and Chris Regan (Junkyard Blog). These guys get to the bottom of things in ways that put the liberal media to shame and make the 9/11 Commission look like lightweights. And why not? They’ve already done the research. Put them in a room together and I suspect they would have a report ready in about a day (give or take a couple doughnut and coffee breaks).

It’s pretty clear what needs to happen in Louisiana. Someone needs to clean house starting with the Governor all the way down to the Mayor of New Orleans and the corrupt police force who, instead of keeping the peace, wussed out and walked away from their jobs when the people they “served” needed them most. While they’re cleaning up the streets, they need to clean out the closets and get rid of these under qualified, over paid officials who belong in prison after what their negligence has cost Louisiana.

I believe there are plenty of qualified individuals who could get to the bottom of things “right quick” and keep this from being a long, drawn-out affair that drags out past re-election time. I’ll even offer up my house for the “council” to convene – saving the usual thousands of dollars spent on “accommodating” the council members. I’m not a writer and not even a good researcher, but I can cook!

I know, I know…..it’s just a fantasy that reasonable, intelligent people without a political agenda will be appointed to investigate this tragedy.

A girl can dream, can’t she?

UPDATE:
I have no idea how I could have forgotten to add Michelle Malkin as a potential council member - sheesh....where would the female voice of reason come from without her? Lord knows nobody actually listens to ME! (Thanks, Chris, for pointing it out!)

Liberal Fantasies - where DO they get their material?

Bully to Hillary Clinton for pointing out today that the Federal Government is to blame for the mess down in New Orleans. Without the Clinton’s wonderful insight, I don’t know where this country would be (Lord knows there would have been a lot more children who didn’t know what a blow job was by the age of ten!) What I don’t understand, is why she hasn’t pointed out the other obvious things that G.W. Bush is responsible for. Let’s face it folks, he is NOT getting the recognition he deserves for wrecking…well, pretty much everything!

We know he was responsible for 9/11 (single handedly, I might add!), and he LIED to his country about the WMD’s! He’s personally responsible for the death of Casey Sheehan. Where HAS his foul-mouthed mother run off to, anyway? It’s been far too long since we’ve heard from her. Perhaps she was on tour in the deep south when the hurricane hit – in which case, old Bush is responsible for her fate as well! But what about all the other issues?? Why haven’t we called the Bush administration on the carpet for all the other messes they’ve made of the world??

For instance:
Did you know Ford had to recall 3.8 million pick-up trucks? Don’t you think it’s just a little too coincidental that most of the pick-up trucks sold in the United States are sold in the south and the hurricane victims live in the south? We ALL know this is just G.W.’s way of kicking those poor minorities while they’re down!!

How about Hurrican Ophelia? We all know that she is churning out of control and heading toward Florida because the Bush administration has not given enough attention to the issue of global warming!

And did you know that the Bush administration is responsible for the errors you get in Microsoft Windows? Really! I wouldn’t make this up. Seems someone from Bush’s team of thugs coerced Bill Gates to set up those errors so that when you click on the button that says, “send error report” it goes straight to the White House and G.W. knows exactly what you’re doing all the time! Yup!

I read today that there has been a significant increase in tennis elbow. The reason for the increase is because so many Americans have to play tennis now to relieve stress created by the Bush administration. Which mean, yep…you guessed it! It’s HIS fault! When will this man quit??

Did you know that the rings around Saturn have significantly changed in the past 25 years? Rumor has it that it’s because of the Bush administrations neglect of the Ozone. “O” as in O-zone – the rings are like “O”’s…. coincidence? I think not!

Also, both United Airlines and Delta are talking about bankruptcy. That all goes back, of course, to 9/11 for which Bush was entirely responsible, so it’s his fault these corporations are going under. The tax breaks he gave them, supposedly to help them survive, was obviously just hush money.

And finally…and you didn’t hear this from me……but, I hear there is a private investigation going on into the death of Bob Denver. Yep! It’s true! They called it “complications from cancer”, but I think we all know what that REALLY means! George W. Bush KILLED Gilligan!

I have other issues under investigation that I can’t comment on just yet, but let’s just say that the environmental issues they’re having in China, Renquist’s death, G.W.’s exercise habits, the degree of homeliness of Bill & Hill’s daughter, that wave that hit the cruise ship last year, Wacko-Jacko’s acquittal and a little secret about Kermit the Frog are about to be blown WIDE OPEN!

Bus Art

Had to share this......
Bus Art

Check it out...

Still think the Federal Government is to blame for the Katrina catastrophe?
Check out this EXCELLENT article written by my friend, Chris Regan, and his co-author and "owner" of the great Junkyard Blog, Brian Preston.

Kudos to both of you for being published in the National Review Online!

People First!

Thanks to Ken at Oblogatory Anecdotes for this enlightening information on how the New Orleans catastrophe could have been dealt with some 28 years ago. They say hindsight is 20/20, but in this case foresite could have been.

I'm all for protecting the environment, but people first!

It Pays To Be The Son Of A Judge

Joran Van der Sloot, once the prime suspect in the Natalee Holloway disappearance gets to go to Amsterdam to attend college, now that authorities have let him go. He and his father, the Aruban JUDGE, arrived in Amsterdam yesterday, just days after the lad was freed from jail for "lack of evidence".

Natalee’s mother gets to go home empty handed….without justice being served…without her daughter or any answers as to what her fate was.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it and say it and say it as long as anyone will listen. Stay away from Aruba, people. They should get their tourism back, only after they give the United States some answers and the Holloway-Twitty family some closure.

I had plans to go to Aruba this winter. I’ve decided to take the girls on a cruise instead. I’m only one person, but they’ll not have my money. There are plenty of other beautiful Caribbean islands to visit while avoiding Aruba.

Sean Penn Is A First Class Schmuck!

It's pretty interesting how Mr. Penn, who normally saves his humanitarian efforts for countries we're at war with, came forward as a "true American" to help Katrina victims.....or is it just an opportunity to tout more of his Anti-Bush administration crap?
In his latest photo-op, Sean Penn accused President Bush of criminal negligence in the Katrina catastrophe.
UN-FRIGGIN-BELIEVABLE!

A Few Words on New Orleans

I have started typing on more than one occasion regarding what’s going on down in New Orleans, but honestly – what hasn’t been said?

I just have a few thoughts on some things people have said to me face-to-face over the past few days that were either relevant enough to repeat, or stupid enough to repeat so you-all can get a laugh.

Decadence:
Let me just say that one of my biggest pet-peeves is when people pick and choose what suits them from the Old Testament and say the rest is just “old law”. No, I do not believe that God is punishing New Orleans because of their sin. The Bible is very clear in that God does not punish people and that Jesus paid the price for our sins. My cousin, who also happens to be an incredible writer (obviously it didn’t come from the side of the family we share), made a valid point. “This vengeful God they envision was the same God who was nearly persuaded to spare Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of just a handful of good folks, could they have been found. My guess is, New Orleans had at least that many.” The day of judgment is coming – it’s not here now.

New Orleans has been a corrupt place for a very long time. I fail to see, however, how they are more corrupt than what goes on in Hollywood every day. Could it be that they are in the deep south – the “Bible Belt”, if you will, and we expect more from them? The same things that go on in New Orleans have been going on elsewhere in this country for a very long time. If this was a vengeful act of God, then why hasn’t California broken off and floated out to sea yet?

Whose fault is it?
This is probably the topic that irritates me the most. First, where I come from there is an old saying, “crap rolls down hill”, meaning that when something goes wrong – the people at the top usually start going down through the ranks to see where the breach occurred. These days in the United States – crap seems to roll up hill. For some reason, everything from hurricanes to the price of tea in China is blamed on George W. Bush. To that I just have one comment. Since when are our basic survival needs the responsibility of the Federal Government?

When I was 5 years old, Hurricane Agnes hit the United States with a vengeance. I lived in a valley in the mountains of Pennsylvania, on the bed of the Allegany River. I have very vivid memories of my father taking us out of our home by rowboat to the edge of town where my uncle picked us up in his pick-up truck. The water was all the way to the top step of our front porch, which would be approximately 4 – 4.5 feet off the ground. Looking back and knowing how far our home was from the pick-up location, my father must have been exhausted. I don’t know how many trips he made, but I do remember that he could not take all 5 of his children, plus my mother, in one trip. I believe he took us two at a time. In the aftermath, my parents did not look to the Federal Government for answers (and let’s face it – we were in good shape compared to the coastal areas). The people in the community said, “we need floodgates on this river!” and some time after Agnes, those floodgates were poured and remain there today. Hindsight is 20/20 and the local municipality took the appropriate steps to see that this didn’t happen again.

Mayor C. Ray Nagin has a lot of nerve blaming the Federal Government for his lack of concern for the citizens of New Orleans. While I understand that many of the people who did not evacuate were of little or no means to do so (thanks to the media for pointing that out every 5 seconds), I also understand that if I had no car, no money and no place to go and someone told me that a devastating hurricane was on it’s way to my house – my children and I would be taking the shoe-leather express up the highway to the first “road-side rest”. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not blaming the victims. That’s just what MY solution would have been, but as many blog sites have pointed out, less than a mile from the Dome where so many took shelter before and after the storm, there were some 150 +/- a few school buses that could have been used to remove approximately 9000 people from New Orleans. Ironically, that’s about the same figure Mayer Nagin is using to estimate how many may have lost their lives in the storm.

In Pennsylvania we get snow…a LOT of snow. Over the past 10 years, I can recall three blizzards that called for the local government to step in and deliver orders to insure safety for the communities finding themselves in state of emergency. The orders are always something along the lines of:

“There is too much snow on the roads to safely operate a motor vehicle, therefore it is unlawful for anyone to drive a motor vehicle, aside from a snowmobile or all terrain vehicle, unless you are a member of a police or emergency department. If you drive your car, you are breaking the law. If you are involved in an accident as a result of this illegal activity, there is no guarantee that emergency response teams will be able to help you”.

How the heck does this relate, mom?

If the local and state authorities in Pennsylvania have the authority to issue this type of order in my state – it makes perfect sense to me that Mayer Nagin could have issued a similar order:

“There is a hurricane headed to New Orleans. If you do not have the means to leave the city, we will remove you by school bus to a safer location. If you do not leave New Orleans and the outlying areas via the transportation the city is providing and choose to stay in your home, you are breaking the law. If you become harmed, injured or ill because you have broken the law and failed to accept the evacuation being provided to you, there is no guarantee the local authorities will be able to help you in the event New Orleans becomes flooded”.

It’s really quite simple. Nagin FAILED New Orleans. NOT God, NOT the Federal Government, NOT George Bush, NOT FEMA. The floodgates (which barely qualified to be called such) in New Orleans have been a time bomb for decades and their own local government’s failure to prepare and ultimately have a reasonable evacuation plan falls on the shoulders of one foul-mouthed cry-baby named C. Ray Nagin.

Enough said.

UPDATE: I just had to add this - while watching a news clip on New Orleans, the following statement was made, "Fires continue to break out across the region, which authorities say they are unable to contain due to the lack of water". Ok...maybe I'm missing something here, but the video showed a fire raging in the middle of a flooded area. Please correct me if I way out of line and misunderstanding the intricacies of putting out fires when I suggest that they should use the stinking flood water!!!