April 22, 2009

April 20, 2009

WELL SAID

Here's a nice, simple post about the Tea Parties and why they oughtn't be ridiculed.
Funny, I don't remember the media talking heads ridiculing the anti-war protests.

Posted by Sarah at 08:37 AM | Comments (1502) | TrackBack

April 17, 2009

LINK

Yummy new Krauthammer: "Obama has the magic to make words mean almost anything. Numbers are more resistant to his charms."

Posted by Sarah at 07:02 PM | Comments (520) | TrackBack

SHUT UP AND LISTEN

A cool quote via an article by Instapundit:

When Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele asked to speak at the Chicago tea party, his request was politely refused by the organizers: "With regards to stage time, we respectfully must inform Chairman Steele that RNC officials are welcome to participate in the rally itself, but we prefer to limit stage time to those who are not elected officials, both in Government as well as political parties. This is an opportunity for Americans to speak, and elected officials to listen, not the other way around."

Posted by Sarah at 06:45 PM | Comments (1402) | TrackBack

April 16, 2009

SPENDING ON THE WRONG THINGS

CaliValleyGirl also wrote a post about taxes, which is well worth reading.

Posted by Sarah at 12:20 PM | Comments (1258) | TrackBack

April 14, 2009

LINKS

Read Grim's Blackfive post on The Caste of Killers, and make sure to click through to Shannon Love's Don't Be Preedy.

Posted by Sarah at 07:30 PM | Comments (190) | TrackBack

April 13, 2009

LINKS

Surviving in a post-American world

Obama’s Potemkin Military Reception=No Scandal; Troops Plan Who Will Take What Questions From Bush=Huge Scandal

(via Boxenhorn and Amritas, respectively)

My husband left this morning for a week of training (marksmanship camp...no fair!) and my mother leaves Wednesday. I will be back online like my normal self after that.

Posted by Sarah at 09:11 AM | Comments (411) | TrackBack

April 02, 2009

ALL I HAVE TIME FOR TODAY IS A LINK

Beth's Contradictory Brain: Getting It Out

Posted by Sarah at 11:55 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

April 01, 2009

LINKS

An inspired line from Mark Steyn:

You can live as free men, with all the rights and responsibilities and vicissitudes of fate that that entails. Or you can watch your society decay and die before your eyes — as England, once the crucible of freedom, dies a little with every day.

And an awesome article about my favorite.

In unusually blunt language, Netanyahu said of the Iranian leadership, “You don’t want a messianic apocalyptic cult controlling atomic bombs. When the wide-eyed believer gets hold of the reins of power and the weapons of mass death, then the entire world should start worrying, and that is what is happening in Iran.”

You know, every time I swoon over Netanyahu, I think about the funny exchange on South Park when Cartman tries to get the girls to scream and squeal over his new boy band:

CARTMAN: Let's go crazier than that! I mean, you have to act like it's freakin' Leonardo Di Caprio!

BEBE: We wouldn't give a rat's ass if Leonardo Di Caprio came walking past us.

THE OTHER GIRLS: Yeah.

CARTMAN: Fine! Who would you go crazy for?

THE GIRLS: ...Matt Lauer.

Heh.

[Both via Boxenhorn]

Posted by Sarah at 07:13 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 22, 2009

AIG

Two Powerline posts about AIG, one that provides even more details about the bonuses, making it obvious that they shouldn't be taken away, and the other that lays out some hypotheticals using abortion and homosexuality to show how unconstitutional the tax is. (via Amritas)

Posted by Sarah at 09:23 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 15, 2009

March 13, 2009

LINKS

Krauthammer: Morally Unserious in the Extreme

Elder: Democrats Wanted Bush To Fail

(both links via CG)

Posted by Sarah at 07:28 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 05, 2009

LINK

Also via David, a very interesting and different type of post with thoughts on the coming century: Forward to the past.

Posted by Sarah at 08:05 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

February 27, 2009

HA

A good article about left-wing symbols like Che Guevara shirts:

These T-shirts send a message, which effectively boils down to this: I have vague left-wing sympathies but don't read history. I am educated enough to want nonconformity but not intelligent enough to avoid conformity.

Posted by Sarah at 08:51 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

February 24, 2009

LINKS

This is the most realistic tattoo I have ever seen. Wow.

And I love Cracked. Srsly. 5 Ways People Are Trying to Save the World (That Don't Work)

And this makes my heart swell: Eleven States Declare Sovereignty Over Obama’s Action. Go, States, go! It's about time somebody gave a crap about the 10th Amendment.

[All links via CG.]

Posted by Sarah at 08:48 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

February 18, 2009

LINKS

Some links from Conservative Grapevine before I hit the road:

5 Things You Think Will Make You Happy (But Won't)
It has everything: naughty language, cute animals, Cristal snowcones...

Breaking News: Late-night comedy shows make fun of Pres. Obama
The clip of The Daily Show is funny, but isn't it interesting how Jon Stewart makes fun of Obama for being slow and boring and then makes fun of O'Reilly for saying that Obama is slow and boring?

Posted by Sarah at 09:26 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

February 09, 2009

WALMART

Charles Platt Goes Undercover At Wal-Mart

Interesting article about working at Wal-Mart. And this paragraph:

[An employee] was invited to corporate HQ as a guest at a management conference. "It was totally different from what I expected," he told us. "I thought it would be these fatcats talking about money, but no one even mentioned money. All they cared about was finding new ways to satisfy customers. I met everyone including the chairman of the company."

reminded me of this quote from the movie Sabrina, which I blogged about some months ago:

What's money got to do with it? If making money were all there was to business, it'd hardly be worthwhile going to the office. Money is a by-product.

And this thought bears repeating:

To my mind, the real scandal is not that a large corporation doesn't pay people more. The scandal is that so many people have so little economic value. Despite (or because of) a free public school system, millions of teenagers enter the work force without marketable skills.

(Thanks, David.)

UPDATE:

David Foster wanted to post a comment, but neither of us can figure out why it's getting rejected. So I'm just gonna stick it here:

I agree that there should be more emphasis on vocational education...but we need to be realistic that as things are, people without college degrees may do very well for a while but are eventually likely to see their progress halted by lack of the piece of paper. For instance, someone might learn to operate and program CNC machine tools and make a very good living doing so. He might even be promoted to department foreman. BUT, when it comes time to pick a new plant General Manager, the job will almost certainly go to someone with a college degree.

The education cartel exercises such a dominant influence on our society that it is hard to see how we can ever force it to relax its grip.

Posted by Sarah at 08:17 AM | Comments (11) | TrackBack

February 05, 2009

WOW

My buddy at Daily Koan found an awesome aerial photo of Obama's inauguration.

Posted by Sarah at 04:49 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

"A SOLUTION TO WHAT?"

David from Rishon Rishon sent me a link to a Michael Totten post called A Minority Report From the West Bank and Gaza. I thought the most interesting part was the Q&A session. Excerpt:

General Tom McInerney, Fox News Military Analyst: Is there a solution to this problem?

Khaled Abu Toameh: You Americans are always asking us that. Why are Americans always asking me if there is a solution? A solution to what?

Michael J. Totten: The whole thing.

Khaled Abu Toameh: What is the whole thing?

Anthony Cordesman: Is there anything useful that could be done this year?

Khaled Abu Toameh: Listen. Look. We must stop dreaming about the New Middle East and coexistence and harmony and turning this area into Hong Kong and Singapore. If anyone thinks a Palestinian will wake up in the morning and sing the Israeli national anthem, that's not going to happen. If anyone thinks an Israeli Jew will go back to doing his shopping in downtown Ramallah or to see his dentist in Bethlehem or eat fish in Gaza City, that's not going to happen. There has been a total divorce between Jews and Palestinians. We don't want to see each other.

I think that's good. Separation is good. Separation doesn't need harmony and coexistence. Forget about that. That's not going to happen. Let's focus on managing the conflict. Instead of talking about real peace, let's first of all try to stop the violence, reduce the level of bloodshed, and maybe that will pave the way for future peace. The only solution now is total separation between these two communities. Israel should not be involved in the internal affairs of the Palestinians, but at the same time Israel has the right to look after its own security. They should disengage from the Palestinians completely and tell them, “Listen, folks. Don't mess around with us anymore. We're going to strike back if you fire rockets at us. And if you want to have Hamas, Fatah, or whomever, go and do it over there without our help.” That's the only way. I don't see a real peace emerging over here. We should stop talking about it.

The whole thing is definitely worth reading. And it reminds me that the husband and I were talking about donating money to Totten a while back...gotta do that.

Posted by Sarah at 01:27 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

LINKS

Jonah Goldberg, Democrats are hypocrites when it comes to paying taxes:

When moralizing conservatives get caught, say, cheating on their wives or challenging stall mates to robust Greco-Roman wrestling in airport bathrooms, liberals justifiably howl at the hypocrisy of it all (even though conservative moralizing has no teeth, while the IRS has agents with guns). When liberals fail to pay taxes -- the wellspring of a just society -- it's merely, to borrow an old phrase from Daschle, "sad and disappointing," but ultimately not that big a deal.

When he was still running the Democratic Party, Howard Dean made fighting hypocrisy his top priority. "Hypocrisy is a value that I think has been embraced by the Republican Party. We get lectured by people all day long about moral values by people who have their own moral shortcomings."

Well, I hear a lot of lecturing from Democrats about why I should be ashamed for not liking taxes more because "the children" need it.

John Eberhard, The Liberal Mind, Part 1:

“An extensive survey by the Pew Research Center found that three out of four Republicans believe that people can get ahead by working hard. Four out of five believe that everyone has the power to succeed. But Democrats have much less faith in the value of hard work. Only 14 percent believe that people can get ahead by working hard, according to the survey. And only 44 percent believe that everyone has the power to succeed. This is not a case of ‘rich’ Republicans believing one thing and ‘poor’ Democrats another. Even when you compare Republicans and Democrats of the same income, the gap still exists.”

“What this means is that many modern liberals believe differences in wealth are a result of dumb luck rather than hard work and a diligent attitude. It should therefore not be surprising that according to one scientific survey, liberals are two and a half times as likely to play the lottery or gamble in the hope of getting rich.”

This fact is incredible, and very revealing. 75% of Republicans believe you can get ahead by working hard, compared to 14% for Democrats. 86% of Democrats don’t believe that hard work allows you get ahead! The book also quotes many leading liberals in stating that the idea that you should work hard is “ridiculous,” a “seductive myth,” a “profoundly conservative, if not reactionary agenda,” and that the game is “rigged.”

[both links via CG]

Posted by Sarah at 08:25 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

January 24, 2009

QUOTES

Two great quotes this week from Big Hollywood.

Ari David:

I despair that Americans, concerned with the economy above all issues, chose socialist solutions to address their fiscal concerns.

Doug TenNapel:

To conserve implies that something important is being lost that is worth holding on to. It’s also why we aren’t terribly interested in future utopias, new forms we can evolve into, we don’t dream a lot because there can be no hope for the future if the true things of the past are rejected or forgotten. So something must be conserved for there to be conservatism.

What we seek to conserve are not buildings, environments or kingdoms, but the true things the great men of old discovered. Notice, I didn’t say these things were invented, because our values weren’t invented, they were discovered, revealed and learned.

Posted by Sarah at 04:15 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

January 13, 2009

December 31, 2008

EEK

This is a really interesting example of selectively choosing correlation over causation: Does Global Warming Cause Rape Waves?

Posted by Sarah at 09:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 30, 2008

December 23, 2008

December 22, 2008

BEING APART

So I have to leave my husband this morning and go back to work to build a foam pirate ship. I wish I were kidding.

A link for this morning: The Politics of Everyman

Posted by Sarah at 08:53 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

December 18, 2008

HORSES

First, it was Michael Crichton's linking horse manure to predicting the next century.

Now it's Thomas Sowell:

For thousands of years, horses had been the way to go, whether in buggies or royal coaches, whether pulling trolleys in the cities or plows on the farms. People had bet their futures on something with a track record of reliable success going back many centuries.

Were all these people to be left high and dry? What about all the other people who supplied the things used with horses-- oats, saddles, horse shoes and buggies? Wouldn't they all go falling like dominoes when horses were replaced by cars?

Unfortunately for all the good people who had in good faith gone into all the various lines of work revolving around horses, there was no compassionate government to step in with a bailout or a stimulus package.

If there's a bad analogy involving horses at the turn of the century, I haven't heard it!

Posted by Sarah at 08:51 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 10, 2008

LINKS

This Stossel article is exactly what I'm scared to death of...
And this Boortz article would be awesome but will never happen...

(Both links via Conservative Grapevine)

Posted by Sarah at 09:17 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 04, 2008

NEW EXPRESSION

I have never heard the expression "That just rips my knitting" -- which apparently is Scottish for "chaps my hide" -- but I totally want to start using it.

Learned here, in an excellent post by Wendy Sullivan at Ladyblog. Which they describe "Like Fight Club, but with better hygiene." Heh.

Posted by Sarah at 06:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 03, 2008

LINK

I intended to link to this last week but just didn't. My brain came back to it today. I think it's worth reading and thinking about: Black Friday and Love

Posted by Sarah at 12:23 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

November 30, 2008

READ

I have been off doing my own thing this weekend, so I haven't been online. But there is one article that you simply must read.

Thomas Sowell's Ivan and Boris Again:

It may tell us something painful about many Americans today, when so many people are preoccupied with the pay of corporate CEOs. It is not that the corporate CEOs’ pay affects them so much. If every oil-company executive in America agreed to work for nothing, that would not be enough to lower the price of a gallon of gasoline by a dime. If every General Motors executive agreed to work for nothing, that would not lower the price of a Cadillac or a Chevrolet by one percent.

Too many people are like Ivan, who wanted Boris’s goat to die.

Posted by Sarah at 03:49 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 24, 2008

INDEED

#10 of Victor Davis Hanson's Politically Incorrect Thoughts:

The K-12 public education system is essentially wrecked. No longer can any professor expect an incoming college freshman to know what Okinawa, John Quincy Adams, Shiloh, the Parthenon, the Reformation, John Locke, the Second Amendment, or the Pythagorean Theorem is. An entire American culture, the West itself, its ideas and experiences, have simply vanished on the altar of therapy. This upcoming generation knows instead not to judge anyone by absolute standards (but not why so); to remember to say that its own Western culture is no different from, or indeed far worse than, the alternatives; that race, class, and gender are, well, important in some vague sense; that global warming is manmade and very soon will kill us all; that we must have hope and change of some undefined sort; that AIDs is no more a homosexual- than a heterosexual-prone disease; and that the following things and people for some reason must be bad, or at least must in public company be said to be bad (in no particular order): Wal-Mart, cowboys, the Vietnam War, oil companies, coal plants, nuclear power, George Bush, chemicals, leather, guns, states like Utah and Kansas, Sarah Palin, vans and SUVs.

Read the other nine.

Posted by Sarah at 07:23 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

November 21, 2008

LINK

Jonah Goldberg on all the people who are already saying Obama is the next Lincoln:

I think Lincoln was just about the greatest president in American history, but I sure don't want to need another Lincoln. Six hundred thousand Americans died at the hands of other Americans during Lincoln's presidency. Lincoln unified the country at gunpoint and curtailed civil liberties in a way that makes President Bush look like an ACLU zealot. The partisan success of the GOP in the aftermath of the war Obama thinks so highly of was forged in blood.

Posted by Sarah at 12:40 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 10, 2008

EEK

Since I'm a bonafide gun nut now: "Yes We Can . . . Ban Guns"

Posted by Sarah at 02:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

CHIP IN YOUR BUCK O'FIVE

Via my husband: Show Me The Money

So to everyone overseas I say: thanks for your applause for our new president. I’m glad you all feel that America “is back.” If you want Obama to succeed, though, don’t just show us the love, show us the money. Show us the troops. Show us the diplomatic effort. Show us the economic partnership. Show us something more than a fresh smile. Because freedom is not free and your excuse for doing less than you could is leaving town in January.

Posted by Sarah at 08:50 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

November 09, 2008

UNDERSTATEMENT

Kannie found a good article: The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace
Written by a Kerry intern, no less.

Posted by Sarah at 05:23 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

INDEED

AWTM's keen mind caught a double standard concerning Emanuel and McCain.

Posted by Sarah at 08:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 05, 2008

NATIONAL CONVERSATION

The other day, Cassandra said:

If we are smart, and if Barack Obama is elected on November 4th, and if the worst of our fears are realized, there could hardly be a better opportunity for conservatives to launch a national conversation about our ideas. There could hardly be a better opportunity for us to make a logical, coherent, principled case for why conservative, free market economics are better for this country than the plans Obama has presented so far.

There could hardly be a better opportunity for us to tell our fellow Americans why we believe people are more productive when they are allowed to keep the fruits of their own labor; to demonstrate empirically how, when taxes are raised on corporations and businesses, that they DO migrate to more friendly environments where the costs of doing business are lower; to ask our fellow Americans why, if Democrats truly believe it is selfish not to want to help the less fortunate, they don't do the right thing voluntarily?

It may well be that conservatives have a very trying period ahead of us. But hard times may be viewed as a burden, or as a challenge which makes us stronger and brings forth our best qualities.

Posted by Sarah at 12:50 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

GULP

Found via Rachel Lucas, a nice glimpse at the future from Virginia Congressman Jim Moran:

For the last seven years we have had the highest corporate profit ever in American history. . . But it hasn't been shared, and that's the problem, because we have been guided by a Republican Administration who believes in the simplistic notion that people who have wealth are entitled to keep it. They have an antipathy toward the means of redistributing wealth. And they may be able to sustain that for a while, but it doesn't work in the long run.

Is it time to be scared yet?

Posted by Sarah at 10:49 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

November 03, 2008

MUST READ

Victor Davis Hanson: The End of Journalism

Posted by Sarah at 09:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 29, 2008

IT'S TRUE, I DIDN'T SLEEP LAST NIGHT

Is America Really Going To Do This?

There are, alas, many in the west for whom all this is music to their ears. Whether through wickedness, ideology, stupidity or derangement, they firmly believe that the ultimate source of conflict in the world derives at root from America and Israel, whose societies, culture and values they want to see emasculated or destroyed altogether. They are drooling at the prospect that an Obama presidency will bring that about. The rest of us can’t sleep at night.

(Via Oda Mae)

Posted by Sarah at 09:58 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

SHRUG

Blue Collar Muse has posted an excerpt from Atlas Shrugged. I have been telling myself to pull the beautiful copy that Amritas bought me from the shelf and read it again. The excerpt -- Socialism's Lying Promise -- may just prompt me to do that. But I fear it will only succeed in depressing me even further.

I also clicked through to Blue Collar Muse's old post entitled Conservatives Shrugged. I understand this struggle, this desire to shrug, and identify with the dilemma of just wanting to win so we don't have to suffer through Dems vs wanting an actual candidate who's worth a damn.

(As usual, thanks to Amritas for the links. He's been on fire lately.)

Posted by Sarah at 09:22 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

October 27, 2008

YEESH

Man, you guys thought I was crazy when I linked voting and taxes:
White People Shouldn't Be Allowed To Vote
(via Amritas)

Posted by Sarah at 03:23 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

October 22, 2008

SCHEDULE

Second Place To A Cheeseburger
Yes, honey, I dimed you out again on SpouseBUZZ.

UPDATE:

Interesting postscript to the cheeseburger story. Tonight when the webcam pops up, there's my husband, ceremoniously eating a cheeseburger on camera. With this devilish, I'll-show-you look on his face. We both cracked up.

I love how he can turn something irritating into something endearing.

Posted by Sarah at 08:19 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

October 21, 2008

LINKS

Now here's a Democrat I'd like to have a beer with. (OK, you too, pinko commie friend.)
Orson Scott Card: Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn On the Lights?

Via Powerline. Also via them is this post: "I Was Born In Colombia, But I Was Made in the USA."

Posted by Sarah at 09:57 PM | Comments (15) | TrackBack

October 14, 2008

I WISH I KNEW HOW TO QUIT YOU

All my hiatus has done is remove the outlet for my thoughts; it hasn't slowed down the thought process or made me able to ignore the news. So I'm sitting here, itching to blog, and I realized that my moratorium is self-imposed and all I need to do to blog is just log in.

A few links for tonight:

A comment from Varifrank on Vodkapundit's post about the danger of a Democrat president plus a Democrat Congress:

Be careful “Benjamin”, if “comrade napoleon” discovers that you are causing dissent amongst all the animals here on the farm, he will deal with you as surely as he has dealt with “Boxer”.

Ok, now that the animal farm parable is out of the way, I can continue my response in the right context.

A question to all - How many of us already feel that its simply too dangerous to our homes to display a McCain/Palin sign on the front lawn or a bumper sticker on our car? How many of us dare not speak against “Comrade Napoleon” or his ilk while we are at work for fear of repercussions to our careers?

Ok, now which of us thinks that after the election is over that it will all suddenly become calm and business like with respect for all from those who are victorious against those of us who have lost?

Right. Just as I thought.

Also, a post at Cold Fury, suggesting that I oughtn't take that pledge to respect an Obama presidency. Interesting reading.

And I'm making my way through the comments at Dr. Helen's post about when it might be appropriate to "go John Galt."

Many commenters have started. God help us.

Posted by Sarah at 07:45 PM | Comments (11) | TrackBack

October 10, 2008

THE GOODY BAG

That post I wrote the other day about how health care is not a right?
Bill Whittle does it and does it better.

Posted by Sarah at 06:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

LINK

Peggy Noonan:

But these were not the great causes. Neither party has clean hands. Or rather, both parties have dirty hands. Here is the truth, spoken by the increasingly impressive Sen. Tom Coburn: "The root of the problem is political greed in Congress. Members . . . from both parties wanted short-term political credit for promoting homeownership even though they were putting our entire economy at risk by encouraging people to buy homes they couldn't afford. Then, instead of conducting thorough oversight and correcting obvious problems with unstable entities like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, members of Congress chose to . . . distract themselves with unprecedented amounts of pork-barrel spending." That is the truth.

And yet at the debate, when one citizen-questioner invited both candidates to think aloud about the responsibility of our representatives in Washington, they both gently suggested she was cynical.

She was not cynical. She was informed.

Why would anyone trust either candidate to help dig us out of this if they can't speak frankly about what got us into it?

(via CG)

And a comment here:

The biggest problem though isn't the candidates, it's the populace. Article II of the US Constitution, dealing with the powers of the presidency, is only a page long. In there, you will find nothing about tax reform, health care, retirement management, economic stabilization, hope, change, or straight talk.

We, the people, have lost our sense of direction. Instead of thinking about the president simply as someone who represents us on the national scene, we think of him or her as our leader which was never supposed to be the case.

The office is practically a figurehead, yet those around us treat it like an elected dictator, always giving the office more power to 'save us from ourselves'.

Posted by Sarah at 09:32 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

October 08, 2008

HILARIOUS

If Mark Steyn had gone to jail, I would've become his lovesick penpal.

The point is not that President-designate Obama is a "close friend" of the unrepentant Ayers, or that he was only eight when his patron was building bombs to kill the women of New Jersey. As Joe Biden would no doubt point out on his entertaining "This Day In History" segment, McCain was only six when Czogolsz killed President McKinley. But I doubt he'd let the guy host a fundraiser for him.

Posted by Sarah at 08:37 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

October 04, 2008

POTPOURRI

AWTM blogged the debate too, which I failed to point out earlier. Brought to you by Carl's Jr.

And 13 years late is better than never.

Posted by Sarah at 08:27 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

October 02, 2008

THAT'S NOT WHAT WE PAID

If you've been to my house, you've surely noticed my cowboy-themed bathroom. I've heard all sorts of comments on it, ranging from "Oh my, that's...different" to "No fair, your wife lets you have a picture of The Magnificent Seven hanging in your bathroom!" I fell in love with the shower curtain when I was engaged, and my mom bought it for me as a gift.

One of my friends likes the curtain too and wanted to get one. She searched eBay.

Nobody tell my husband I'm sitting on a gold mine...

Posted by Sarah at 03:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

YEP

Rachel Lucas on racial hypocrisy.

I heart Thomas Sowell.

Posted by Sarah at 12:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 29, 2008

URRAAHH, INDEED

SemperFiWife over at SpouseBuzz found an awesome article: Attitude Is Everything

Posted by Sarah at 04:15 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

September 26, 2008

MORE BAILOUT

Emily pointed out that Cass has a lot up at Villainous Company about the bailout. In her post I found this insight from Jim Manzi:

I’m not sure how many people realize how close we were to the wheels coming off at about noon yesterday, as major commercial-paper processing banks like State Street lost 30% – 60% of their value in about 2 hours. Want evidence: When was the last time you heard of the U.S. government identifying a problem, developing a multi-hundred-billion-dollar program and announcing it within about 48 hours?

Does anyone else feel sick to their stomachs? Especially when you read the last line of Cass' post?

If after all this, you are somehow trusting in the rationality of your fellow citizens, may I direct your attention to lemming-like behavior in the face of a non-crisis which nearly brought our entire financial system to its knees and this utterly inexplicable reaction.

Your fellow voters are about to vote you more "affordable housing". It's like deja vu all over again.

Posted by Sarah at 10:24 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

September 25, 2008

BWAHA

Quote of the day, from Varifrank:

How anyone over the age of 12 can vote for a leftist socialist with zero economic experience or so much as a drab of common street sense to be President of the United States is completely beyond my ability to comprehend. You would get more economic common sense if you talked about the 1980's "laffer curve" with a three legged tincan chomping billygoat with a lapshade on its head. The only thing socialists know about markets and economics is how to wreck them and make everyone equally poor.

Posted by Sarah at 04:22 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

September 23, 2008

LINK

Bill Whittle: The Undefended City

Posted by Sarah at 01:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 18, 2008

WITH BOTH FINGERS

This is a week old, but it's too good not to point out. Rachel Lucas was on fire when she saw the silly British article that said that electing McCain is giving the rest of the world the middle finger. She starts with this:

In all seriousness though. I can’t speak for any other Stupid American, but Europe and Rest of World? Wanna know why I don’t give a toss what you think? Because you’re doing it wrong.

You’re doing so many things wrong, in my view, that I want my country to be very different from yours.

And tears it up from there. With plenty of naughty language. Read it all.

Posted by Sarah at 07:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 17, 2008

OVER AT SPOUSEBUZZ

That John Adams Bullcrap

Posted by Sarah at 10:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 13, 2008

FISKS

Let's enjoy some liberal condescension, shall we? And fisking thereof.

First: Lileks from Wednesday, taking on a Canadian columnist.
Mark Hemingway taking on a NYT article about Palin's weird religion.

Hey media, feel free to keep stuff like this coming. It makes average Americans disgusted and happy to vote for the normal mom from Alaska who doesn't feed her kids brie for breakfast or fake a trip to Wendy's.

And by all means, keep helping Obama make fun of McCain for his war injuries. That plays really well too. Anything you can do to keep reminding people that John McCain gave so much for his country that he can't even brush his hair or type on a keyboard.

Posted by Sarah at 08:11 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

September 11, 2008

YES WE CAN

Yes yes yes yes yes.
Because it's today, or because of the wine, or because of Whittle...I am just embiggened by this article that I missed last week:
Proud of the GOP: For the first time, I feel like we deserve to win more than they deserve to lose.

Posted by Sarah at 07:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 10, 2008

WOW

This story made me laugh and cry: Disney motto helped dad, autistic son survive at sea
No matter what gremlins I battle this week, I won't have to tread water for 14 hours and drift away from my child.
There are sure some people out there who endure the worst.

Posted by Sarah at 09:25 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

September 08, 2008

LINKS

The Unexamined Life:

Why is it reporters who were willing to pursue Bristol Palin, who isn't on the ballot, somehow think it is unseemly to ask Sen. Obama tough questions about his drug use? Oh, that was a long time ago, they'll argue. But a 1986 arrest for driving while impaired by Gov. Palin's husband -- not the candidate -- is somehow worthy of extensive front-page coverage?

The double standard is shocking -- but perhaps not to Sen. Obama. In his memoir, he gives the most telling explanation of how he has gotten away with avoiding discussions of his drug use. It was the same technique he used on his mother when she confronted him in his senior year of high school: "I had given her a reassuring smile and patted her hand and told her not to worry, I wouldn't do anything stupid. It was usually an effective tactic, another of those tricks I had learned: People were satisfied so long as you were courteous and smiled and made no sudden moves."

I Hate You Sarah Palin:

But she’s not a Democrat, which despite her va-va-va-voom appearance, means she’s not really a woman, which is one of the reasons we’ve spent the past four days since McCain unveiled her trying to tear her limb from limb. Just because she’s the governor of a state sandwiched between two obscure and unimportant countries, Canada and Russia, and spent more time in her first five minutes visiting American troops in Iraq than Evita Barry did during his entire Rainbow Tour, what could she possibly know about foreign policy? It’s not like she’s John Edwards or something.


Posted by Sarah at 08:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 31, 2008

WELL SAID

A great point from Morgan Freeberg:

I do NOT see any conservatives expressing newfound reluctance now that they have to have to vote for a girl. I have not seen so much of a speck of evidence for that. C'mon guys, we're supposed to be a bunch of d*mned sexists here. Doesn't living up to a reputation mean anything to anyone anymore?? Well, I'll live up to mine -- I'm an equal-opportunity sexist. Palin's a good running mate for McCain, but if somewhere there was a man who would make a better one, I'd say he made the wrong choice. There isn't. She was, as I said before, the best choice he could've made, and being a woman has nothing to do with being a good Vice President. I hope, while the Republicans gulp this intoxicating elixir of identity politics by the gallon, they don't get punch-drunk on it like the democrat party has been since the 1950's. But...they probably will. That's bad for the G.O.P., over the long term, because it diminishes what distinguishes them from the democrats. But good for the country if Palin shows the kind of leadership she's been showing in Alaska. That's a trade I'll take.

I have a dream, that one day our children and our children's children, will judge each other by the content of their character...and not by the configuration of their genitals.

He makes 11 other points in the post worth reading too.

Posted by Sarah at 10:08 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

August 24, 2008

LINK

Obama vs. Baldilocks: "A blogger's African dad came here on the same airlift as Obama's dad. All similarities end there."

I've read Baldilocks since the beginning, which I guess means I've "known" her for about five years. I'm glad she got the publicity for her project, and I will be making a donation.

She's a cool blogger, and seeing this article just makes me feel bummed that I don't read her more often. There are so many good blogs out there that I simply don't find time for.

Posted by Sarah at 06:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 21, 2008

LINK

A good 2nd Amendment story via CG: Guns in the hands of good people:

I believe that those of us who grew up in the'60s and'70s have been lax in protecting each other and have passed this attitude on to our children. Some of us developed this complacent attitude that someone else, especially the government, is responsible for supporting us or solving our problems. But they are not.

Read the whole article about how the author had to take a life and the responses he's received after his story came out.

Posted by Sarah at 12:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 20, 2008

GRRR

Yeah.
Absolutely what she said.

Posted by Sarah at 12:39 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

LINK

Instapundit: Those Sadly Ill-Informed Foreigners

Posted by Sarah at 09:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 13, 2008

LINK

SpouseBUZZ post: The Guilt

Posted by Sarah at 10:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 12, 2008

I'VE GOT THE KNITTING COVERED

I came across an oldy but a goody, an ollld blog post Varifrank wrote during the last election cycle. Still relevant.

This next election is not the last election, just the next one in the line. There will be another in 2 years, and another 2 years after than and so on and so forth. Let's knock this crap off that "this is the most important election in our lifetimes"; they are all important. Just vote. Do a reasonably good job of knowing the issues, accept people who take a different view than you and then go take up rock polishing or go knit sweaters for the other 23 months in between the election season. Let's all go find a hobbies to keep us busy for Gods' sake.

The founding fathers really meant for us to do other things besides talk about tax rates every damn day of the year. You want to change the employment situation, then get a job, if you've got one help someone else. Start with your family and work your way out to friends, and on to acquiantances and then on to strangers. Got too much and feel guilty about it? then give somebody something you dont need. You want to do something about education? then go volunteer for lunchroom duty at the local elementary school.

Stop expecting these half-wit lawyers in Washington to improve your lives. You can improve your life all by yourself, you don't need John Edwards to sue someone for you to get a better life.

Posted by Sarah at 07:34 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

August 05, 2008

August 01, 2008

LINKS

Good Jonah Goldberg:

Any number of countries in Africa are vastly richer in baubles and soil than Switzerland. But they are poor because they are impoverished in what they value.

In large measure our wealth isn't the product of capitalism, it is capitalism.

Good Victor Davis Hanson. No dog food for you tonight, Victor. (Gosh, how many Futurama jokes can I make in one day?!):

Instead of a strutting, Bible-quoting Texan, replete with southern accent and ‘smoke-em’ out lingo, they get an athletic, young, JFK-ish metrosexual, whose rhetoric is as empty as it is soothing. The English-only Obama lectures America on its need to emulate polyglot Europe; while a Spanish-speaking George Bush is hopelessly cast as a Texas yokel.

(Links via CG)

Posted by Sarah at 10:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 26, 2008

THE BEST MEDICINE

Lots of laughter today. Lots.
And I haven't laughed at The Daily Show in years, but this recent clip had me in stitches.
No low blows, no gratuitous Bush jokes, just good comedy.

Posted by Sarah at 06:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 25, 2008

I AM JOE'S NODDING HEAD

Lileks goes to eleven today.

Posted by Sarah at 06:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

NOW IMAGINE SEEING IT FROM THE OTHER SIDE...

If you're really squeamish, this might freak you out. But there's a youtube of a Lasik surgery, and it's exactly what they did to me. I must say, sitting in the waiting room watching these creeped me out at first, but after I'd watched three people go ahead of me, it wasn't that hard to watch. But still...not for those who get grossed out by eyeballs.

Posted by Sarah at 02:12 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

July 19, 2008

CUTE

Yay, CaliValleyGirl finally graced us with her presence, and she even included a picture of her baby wearing the sweater I made for him. Um, the sweater that was supposed to fit him this coming winter, at six months, not six weeks. He's a big'un.

Posted by Sarah at 06:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

LINK

Via Beth, a must read: Patton Oswalt's graduation speech

Posted by Sarah at 04:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 17, 2008

I'M HOME

Thomas Sowell is so smart.

One of the most naive notions is that politicians are trying to solve the country's problems, just because they say so-- or say so loudly or inspiringly.

Politicians' top priority is to solve their own problem, which is how to get elected and then re-elected. Barack Obama is a politician through and through, even though pretending that he is not is his special strategy to get elected.
[...]
Perhaps a defining moment in showing Senator Obama's priorities was his declaring, in answer to a question from Charles Gibson, that he was for raising the capital gains tax rate. When Gibson reminded him of the well-documented fact that lower tax rates on capital gains had produced more actual revenue collected from that tax than the higher tax rates had, Obama was unmoved.

The question of how to raise more revenue may be the economic issue but the political issue is whether socking it to "the rich" in the name of "fairness" gains more votes.

Posted by Sarah at 01:30 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

July 10, 2008

LINK

I thought this was an interesting article: When The Man is One of Us

Posted by Sarah at 09:59 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

NIIICE

File under "I wish I had thought to say that." Lileks on Obama's "merci beaucoup" inanity yesterday:

In the context of English-as-a-national-tongue laws, it’s an interesting assertion: Apparently it is right to expect people who visit Paris to speak French the day they get there, but it is cultural chauvinism to expect people who want to live and work in America to understand English well enough to navigate a ballot.

Posted by Sarah at 07:44 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

July 08, 2008

YUP

Via CG is a post by the American Princess about libertarians that ends with this:

That would be why I would consider voting for John McCain when given the choice between John McCain and Barack Obama. Or at least, thats one of the reasons why. The other is that I just hate Barack Obama so darn much that I would would stoop so low as to vote for (ugh) John McCain who is several thousand years old and lacks total respect for the First Amendment over him.

And that is saying something.

Read the whole thing.

Posted by Sarah at 11:48 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

July 06, 2008

MUST READ

(Via Insty) Timothy Sandefur discusses what the 4th of July is all about.

Posted by Sarah at 09:52 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 02, 2008

GOOD CATCH

Powerline critiques Obama's speech the other day.

Then there's this:

I remember, when living for four years in Indonesia as a child, I listened to my mother reading me the first lines of the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they're endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

I would have thought that pretty much everyone--certainly every Presidential speechwriter, and every Harvard Law School graduate!--knows that these are not the "first lines" of the Declaration, which begins, "When in the course of human events...." What, exactly, accounts for the fact that Obama is not a laughingstock?

Finally, this:

As we begin our fourth century as a nation, it is easy to take the extraordinary nature of America for granted.

"Fourth century?" The United States of America came into being in 1789. We have just recently begun our third century. I suppose Obama would say that the 21st century is America's fourth, just as Minnie Minoso played major league baseball in five decades. As always with Obama's howlers, you should ask yourself: would the press have bought it if it came from Dan Quayle?

Posted by Sarah at 08:13 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

June 28, 2008

THE HELLER CASE

I didn't hear this on the radio the other day, but it's worth reading the whole thing before it becomes unavailable. Some excerpts:

RUSH: John Paul Stevens in his dissent on the DC gun ban bill today wrote that the majority, meaning Scalia and the gang, "would have us believe that over 200 years ago, the framers made a choice to limit the tools available to elected officials wishing to regulate civilian uses of weapons." Folks, that is scary. I know Justice Stevens has been around for a long time, but that kind of interpretation -- there is no way, I don't care how convoluted a way that you read the Second Amendment, there is nothing in it to indicate that the Framers intended to grant the federal government, elected officials, the right to police people.

I too was shocked to hear that statement. It seems like a really jacked-up and backwards way of looking at the Second Amendment. The Framers never envisioned a day when elected officials got to decide whether people could own guns.

And it just gets worse.

Here Jeffrey Toobin, legal expert, CNN, talking to Heidi Collins at CNN. Listen to this question. Memo to Jonathan Klein running CNN: Do you understand how incompetent some of the people you have on your network are? Listen to this question. Heidi Collins to Jeffrey Toobin: "Specifically, Jeffrey, that's really what it's about, isn't it, the Constitution trumping policy?" The Constitution trumping policy? The Constitution trumping policy? (interruption) Yes, of course it is, but for this to be a question to a legal scholar? Here's the answer.

TOOBIN: This is just a big, big event in American constitutional history because the Second Amendment has been a true mystery.

RUSH: No.

TOOBIN: No one really knew for decades what it meant --

RUSH: Yes, they did.

TOOBIN: -- in practical terms.

RUSH: Yes, they did.

TOOBIN: Now the Supreme Court, by and large just 5-4, has said that there is a constitutional right to own a handgun inside the home.

RUSH: Stop the tape here a second. The only reason, Mr. Toobin, anybody ever debated this is because people like you, liberals years and years ago tried to tell us it didn't mean that, and you've been passing laws throughout these local municipalities and states chipping away at the Second Amendment because you don't like it. Nobody had any question about this 'til you liberals got involved, tried to obfuscate it and confuse everybody about it. And now we have to get to the point where the Constitution, which is plainly clear in this case, has to be affirmed by the US Supreme Court?

I too am shocked to hear someone talk about "the Constitution trumping policy." All policy is derived from the Constitution. The Constitution always trumps.

Rush goes on. I mean, he was just on fire that day.

RUSH: One of the problems that we're having here in our culture with all of this is the bastardization of the meaning of the word "right," as in, to have a right. For example, look what the left is saying today. We don't have a right to own guns. I mean, that would be their preference, that there be no Second Amendment. Just get four or five justices to wipe it out. We have no right, even though the Constitution specifically says we do. Yet, they further the notion that we all have a "right" to health care. We do not have a right to health care! That we all have a "right" to a home. We do not have a right to a home! That we all have a "right" to go to college. We do not have a right to go to college, because those are not rights! That we have a "right" to be free of the pollution of oil. That is not a right.

That's good squishy.

Posted by Sarah at 10:05 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

June 26, 2008

WELL PLAYED

I just wanted to say that if you haven't seen Ania Egland's response to that stupid MoveOn ad where the mom won't "give" John McCain her son, make sure you go check it out.

Posted by Sarah at 12:14 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

June 24, 2008

I HEART BJORN LOMBORG

I too find myself mesmerized by Bjorn Lomborg and giddy every time I see him on TV. He must just have some quality that makes straight men and housewives hang on his every word. Heh.

His interview in The Spectator: 'Global Warming Is Not Our Most Urgent Priority'

Posted by Sarah at 09:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 21, 2008

WHEW

Rachel Lucas says it so I don't have to.

Posted by Sarah at 09:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 10, 2008

SPOUSEBUZZ POST

Deployment Silver Linings

Posted by Sarah at 06:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 08, 2008

May 01, 2008

THE HERE AND NOW

A thought from Rachel Lucas:

I’m pretty sure the multitude of African tribes who sold other Africans into slavery haven’t apologized, either. They’re still doing it, actually, but you never hear about that. All guys like Wright care about is what didn’t happen to them at the hands of people who are no longer alive. You know, sometimes I wonder what hut-dwelling, persecuted, starving, or enslaved Africans - who are alive and dying right this second - would think about American blacks like Wright and Cone, if they could know about them. Which they can’t because they live in abject poverty and terror and don’t have a lot of spare time to surf the internet, seeing as how they’re so busy running from machete slaughters and waiting for their cup of rice each day, that is if it isn’t hijacked by other Africans with guns.

I wonder how “supported” they would feel in their “blackness” to know that wealthy, intelligent, resourceful black Americans spend so much time and effort pounding away on shit that happened here hundreds of years ago instead of directing all that rage at injustice towards Africa itself. You know, maybe actually helping black people who need it about a million times more than your average Detroit gangbanger. Just a thought I have sometimes.

Posted by Sarah at 08:02 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

April 22, 2008

NICE

Lileks is a gem:

You know, it may be hard to find a candidate who doesn’t belong to a church whose leader delivers eyebrow-singing speeches on the evils of America and also built a house Jim Bakker would approve, and it may be hard to find a candidate who doesn’t move with ease in the same social circles as some people who bombed the Pentagon, but it can’t be that hard to find one who doesn’t do both.

Speaking of gems, my husband's ego grew about two sizes after the previous post. Now he's walking around the house talking about how great he is.

Posted by Sarah at 11:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 21, 2008

SICK

So apparently that miscarriage art, it was a hoax. I don't know what is sicker: really inducing your own miscarriage for art, or just pretending you did to get attention.

Posted by Sarah at 08:37 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 17, 2008

IN STRANGE COMPANY

Ha, Mare thought to do a little googling, and she found that we don't know the only Hitler cat. There's a whole website of 'em: Cats That Look Like Hitler. I'm gonna get permission to add our kitteh to the bunch.

Posted by Sarah at 09:23 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

April 16, 2008

AWWWW

Found this story on ABW's site: Baby left at doorstep finds new home

BAGHDAD – Spotting irregularities is a tactic that is drilled into the minds of Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers throughout training and in practice while in Iraq. Soldiers recently watched as a car pulled up to an entry control point at Forward Operating Base Callahan in northern Baghdad. They continued to watch as a woman stepped out of the car holding a bag. Once the woman dropped the bag near the gate, internal alarms were ringing and a careful search was called for and conducted.

That search yielded a newborn baby wrapped tightly in several cloths. Soldiers raced to the bag, retrieved the child and brought him to the aid station to be examined. “We unwrapped it to make sure he was alive – and he wasn’t sick, he wasn’t dead, he wasn’t injured,” said Staff Sgt. Paul Briscoe, the Aid Station NCOIC at FOB Callahan. “He was a perfectly healthy baby. I’m guessing three to seven days old. He was in perfect health. There wasn’t a scratch on him.”

And what's to happen to the little bouncing boy? That's the best part of the story:

The baby is to be adopted by the brother of a local national, who works at the base. The brother and his wife have been married five years and have been unable to have a baby of their own. The interpreters at FOB Callahan have taken a collection to donate to the family to help care for the baby.

A happy ending for everyone. Plus I like thinking about manly soldiers in Iraq changing diapers and cooing over a newborn.

Heh, that reminds me of the time we went to visit some friends who had just had a new baby girl. While we were there, our friend was telling my husband about the new pistol he'd bought. He brought it out to show my husband, and oh how I wish I had a picture of my husband holding a newborn baby girl under one arm and aiming a Glock with the other.

Now that's hot.

Posted by Sarah at 01:45 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

April 15, 2008

WOAH

This is just...well, awful. It's one of those stories that on the surface sounds funny if it weren't so damned serious and sad.

'World peace' hitcher is murdered: An Italian woman artist who was hitch-hiking to the Middle East dressed as a bride to promote world peace has been found murdered in Turkey.

The artist's sister says it all:

"Her travels were for an artistic performance and to give a message of peace and of trust, but not everyone deserves trust."

Indeed.

Posted by Sarah at 08:45 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

April 04, 2008

TOWNHALL

A good Townhall article today: Do We Care What They Think of America?

I wonder whether Democrats ever indulge the suspicion that "world opinion" may be bunk? Let's contrast, for example, the popularity of Israel (19 percent positive, 52 percent negative) and North Korea (23 percent positive, 44 percent negative).

You can imagine the juxtaposition she sets up between Israel and North Korea. Why do we care if Europeans don't like us; if they nestle us in betwee China and North Korea, they're the ones with problems, not us.

Also, Lorie Byrd wrote an article called I'd Pay to See Movies About American Heroes and opened her piece with quotes from lil ol' me. Aw, shucks.

(Both articles found via Conservative Grapevine, one-stop shopping for good links.)

Posted by Sarah at 07:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 03, 2008

YEESH

Oh my heavens, now MEN are getting pregnant before I am.

Posted by Sarah at 08:31 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

March 25, 2008

AWWW

Oda Mae sent a touching link: a 5-year-old boy "enlisted" in the Army as part of the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Sniff.

Posted by Sarah at 08:56 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

March 23, 2008

LOVELY

OK, AirForceWife made me cry the other day, and today it was AWTM's turn. Her Being a Mother on Easter post is so sweet.

I am so grateful to still have my mom. And I hope someday I have a little boy whose brain gets crazy at times.

Posted by Sarah at 03:43 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

March 18, 2008

LINK

The Girl sent me a link to the new issue of Stars and Stripes, marking the 5 year point in Iraq. I can't recommend enough that you go to the site and poke around.

Posted by Sarah at 08:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 15, 2008

LINK

An overwhelming piece on Obama by the Instapunk.

Posted by Sarah at 08:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 12, 2008

BABY BOOM

I've been checking Angie's website every day waiting for the news, and it's finally come. Baby Boy #4 was born. Camo teddy #4 needs to get finished asap so he can join his teddy tank crew.

Congrats to Angie and family.

Posted by Sarah at 12:59 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 11, 2008

LONG WALK

In college I did something called a Crop Walk, where we walked 20 miles to raise money for hunger. It sucked. I will never forget how badly my feet hurt after walking 20 miles.

These guys from Resolve to Win are walking from SC to DC to show support for the troops. Hot dog, that's a long walk. I hope their feet fare better than mine did!

If you're in the DC area, these walkers deserve a hearty welcome when they arrive.

Posted by Sarah at 08:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

TABLE TENNIS CLUB

If you've read my 100 Things post, you know that I am one of the, oh, ten women in the United States who doesn't like the British accent. That said, I can't get enough of listening to Pat Condell, accent and all. Most of you have probably seen his youtube rant called The Trouble With Islam. His new video, Appeasing Islam, is good as well. And I just love the line "If only they'd had a table tennis club": perfect delivery.

Posted by Sarah at 10:04 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 10, 2008

AFW's GONNA LIKE THIS ONE

I was laughing out loud at Mark Steyn's article today. I'm copying a big chunk of it in case it disappears, because it is too good not to have archived:

As Ali Gallagher, a white female (sorry, this identity-politics labeling is contagious) from Texas, told the Washington Post: "A friend of mine, a black man, said to me, 'My ancestors came to this country in chains; I'm voting for Barack.' I told him, 'Well, my sisters came here in chains and on their periods; I'm voting for Hillary.'"

When everybody's a victim, nobody's a victim. Poor Ms. Gallagher can't appreciate the distinction between purely metaphorical chains and real ones, or even how offensive it might be to assume blithely that there's no difference whatsoever.

On the other hand, Barack's ancestors didn't come here in chains, either: His mother was a white Kansan, so was presumably undergoing menstrual hell with the Gallagher gals, and his dad was a black man a long way away in colonial Kenya. Indeed, Obama would be the first son of a British subject to serve as president since those slaveholding types elected in the early days of the republic. As some aggrieved black activist sniffed snootily on TV, Barack isn't really an "African American" – unless by "African American," you mean somebody whose parentage is half-American and half-African, and let's face it, no one would come up with so cockamamie a definition as that.

As for victims, you have to feel sorry for John Edwards. He was born in a mill. He weighed 1.6 pounds and what did his dad get? Another day older and deeper in debt. John spent most of the 19th century as a spindly 7-year-old sweep with rickets, cleaning chimneys in Dickensian London until Fagin spotted him and trained him up as a trial lawyer. And it worked swell in the 2004 primary but it counted for nothing this time round because, even with all that soot on his face, he's still a white boy.

Bill Richardson was the first Hispanic candidate but nobody needs a Hispanic called "Bill Richardson." Hillary assumed she'd be the last identity-politician standing in a field of bouffant poseurs like Joe Biden, only to discover that by the time she got to the final round the Democratic primary process had descended to near-parody – or, as The New York Times headline put it, a "Duel Of Historical Guilts."

Posted by Sarah at 04:04 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 09, 2008

COOL EXERCISE

I watched Casablanca recently and apparently had the same thoughts that Roger L. Simon did. I just scoffed that the movie could ever exist today, but he's (at least as an intellectual exercise) working on the script. It's a great post; thanks for the link, David.

Posted by Sarah at 02:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 06, 2008

HE IS CALLING ME DUDE

My husband found this perfect video. This Cake song came out in 2001, but I swear it looks like it could've been written for the Obama movement.

Posted by Sarah at 10:27 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

March 05, 2008

POPPING IN

I've been busy hanging out with Heather and trying to distract her in the last few days before her husband returns, so I haven't been on the computer much.

But read these uplifting thoughts from Subsunk about young people in Iraq rejecting terrorism...

Posted by Sarah at 07:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 21, 2008

WE'RE BONED

Not enough stress in your life? Watch this video by Dave Walker from the Government Accountability Office.

Then, if you're not freaked enough, watch Ha Ha America. It's like a train wreck; I can't look away.

(via Kim du Toit)

Posted by Sarah at 09:21 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 20, 2008

LINKS

Links found via CG today:

a hilarious Hitler cartoon
Mark Steyn's So what would it take to alarm you?

Also, Rachel Lucas goes off, and it is good.

Posted by Sarah at 09:17 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

February 18, 2008

EXACTLY

Lileks is right; let's not talk about the NIU killer. Let's not look for root causes and make excuses and find a way for this to make sense. Instead, click on Lileks' link to the victim's story.

Posted by Sarah at 02:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 15, 2008

AWWW

Geeky valentines.
My favorite is the Avogadro one.
(And the comments are hilarious too.)

Also, I still think that this is romantic, but I am a dork at heart.

(Thanks to C.G. for the link.)

Posted by Sarah at 03:45 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

February 11, 2008

LINK

American Princess writes about why feminists don't stand up for women in the Middle East. Well said.

Posted by Sarah at 09:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 09, 2008

LINK

My husband found this this morning, and we're just fascinated by it: The case for settling for Mr. Good Enough

Posted by Sarah at 10:40 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

AMERICA: HATING US IS SO NORMAL

I missed a day of Lileks, and it was a good one. Recommended reading: Thursday's Bleat, in which Lileks channels Hate America Firsters.

Nations are bad enough, but we’re something else: the only nation that has ever fought a war, acted in self-interest, had a good opinion of itself, permitted slavery, elected leaders who lacked a certain Olympian quality, had a popular culture that included simple catchy melodies and bright pictures, harbored racist attitudes, had a strong religious element, and contained a sizable amount of stupid people.

And scroll through the slogans. And be sad.
But enjoy #218. And laugh at #486.

Posted by Sarah at 10:01 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

February 01, 2008

I'M A DUNCE

This Chicago Boyz article is really good but also really painful for me to read because I know I am "educated beyond [my] intelligence." But at least I know and can admit it, right?

Yeah, reading that post made me want to puke.

(Gee thanks, David...)

Posted by Sarah at 04:10 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

January 30, 2008

OPPORTUNITY COSTS

Mrs. du Toit has a lengthy but good post covering a variety of ideas. One segment I particularly liked:

Take something like a Happy Meal at McDonald’s. While it might seem affordable to us today, even in today’s dollars, the idea that someone would spend $3.00 a meal for the kids, when the ingredients cost 50 cents, would have been considered a luxury item. What we have done as a society is put a value on our time, and a willingness to pay someone else to add the value of preparing it. The ingredients cost 50 cents, and if you add your free labor to prepare the same meal, that’s how much it will cost you (plus about 5 cents to cover the energy costs).

If, however, you do not want to spend the time to prepare the meal yourself, then you have to pay someone else to do it, and that is why we say “a couple can no longer live on one income.” They sure as hell can, IF they are willing to assign to the job description of a wife the same level of labor that was assigned 100 years ago.
...
My point is that what we define as “getting by” now includes luxury and non essential items. A welfare recipient once said, “I can’t afford a Happy Meal for my kid on the money I get.” Nor should she! She is not working, so she has plenty of time to prepare the meal and save the labor costs.

That last sentence killed me.

Posted by Sarah at 04:22 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack

January 10, 2008

CAN YOU BELIEVE THE GALL?

This is really rich. Mahatma Gandhi's grandson says that Jews just need to get over the Holocaust:

It is a very good example of a community can overplay a historic experience to the point that it begins to repulse friends. The holocaust was the result of the warped mind of an individual who was able to influence his followers into doing something dreadful. But, it seems to me the Jews today not only want the Germans to feel guilty but the whole world must regret what happened to the Jews. The world did feel sorry for the episode but when an individual or a nation refuses to forgive and move on the regret turns into anger.

You know who else is one individual that the whole world regrets what happened to? And who gets "overplayed"? Gandhi.

What an a-hole.

Posted by Sarah at 07:52 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

January 09, 2008

WELL SAID

Definitely go read this article today, Great (American) Expectations. Excerpt:

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is chided for not moving legislation quickly enough through Parliament. But the very essence of a real parliament, as opposed to a rubber stamp, is gridlock. Have Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, with nothing worse to overcome than their Republican opposition, done better in their first year in the majority than Mr. Maliki, who must run a government besieged by al Qaeda and Iranian-backed militias?

From The Wall Street Journal's offices in New York City, one can look down at Ground Zero, still mostly a huge pit after more than six years during which its reconstruction, now in its umpteenth design iteration, was supposed to have been the signal proof that Americans would rebuild--better, taller, prouder.

Also across the way is the hulk of the old Deutsche Bank building, critically damaged on 9/11 and slated for destruction. In an attempt to ensure that not even trace levels of asbestos and other unpalatable elements would escape the wreck, a meticulous plan was devised to dismantle the building floor by floor, at a price exceeding that of its construction. In August a fire broke out, and two firefighters died after getting lost in the maze of internal scaffolding erected to keep the asbestos in. Those brave men lost their lives for the sake of an EPA standard, and there's been no work to speak of on the building since. It's a case of the perfect becoming the enemy--the mortal enemy--of the good.

And the rest is just as good.

Posted by Sarah at 01:58 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 24, 2007

CUTE

A neat blog post. Teaser quote: "I love It's a Wonderful Life because it's the greatest financial services movie ever made."

Posted by Sarah at 09:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 22, 2007

SNIFF

I'm a few days late in noticing this very touching post, ironically entitled Why I Hate Christmas.
Stupid pregnancy hormones, good for nothing anymore except making me weepy.

Posted by Sarah at 02:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 21, 2007

TEH REAL MONEY

AWTM, this link's for you. It has a teh in it! I'm still giggling.
You Might Be a Fredhead If...

I had a friend in high school (Hi, T!) who used to make a hilarious distinction between "money" and "real money": Money was what his mom gave him; real money was the stuff he had to go out and earn.

I would pay Real Money to see Fred Thompson beat up teh bin Laden.

And how bad do I want one of these shirts?

Posted by Sarah at 08:41 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 17, 2007

NOPE

Mark Steyn:

At the recent climate jamboree in Bali, the Rev. Al Gore told the assembled faithful: "My own country, the United States, is principally responsible for obstructing progress here." Really? The American Thinker's Web site ran the numbers. In the seven years between the signing of Kyoto in 1997 and 2004, here's what happened:

•Emissions worldwide increased 18.0 percent;

•Emissions from countries that signed the treaty increased 21.1 percent;

•Emissions from nonsigners increased 10.0 percent; and

•Emissions from the United States increased 6.6 percent.

Posted by Sarah at 08:02 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 16, 2007

HMMM

Peggy Noonan:

I wonder if our old friend Ronald Reagan could rise in this party, this environment. Not a regular churchgoer, said he experienced God riding his horse at the ranch, divorced, relaxed about the faiths of his friends and aides, or about its absence. He was a believing Christian, but he spent his adulthood in relativist Hollywood, and had a father who belonged to what some saw, and even see, as the Catholic cult. I'm just not sure he'd be pure enough to make it in this party. I'm not sure he'd be considered good enough.

Ain't that sad.

Posted by Sarah at 09:43 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 14, 2007

OFF TO THE RANGE

This tongue-lashing (via AWTM) is long and angry and personal. It's also entirely worth reading.

Mass Murder and the Metrosexual reaction to the Westroads Mall massacre

The part that got to me was this:

I'll tell you what you will want because I have heard it over and over from people that have been lucky enough to live through violence. You will want a gun. You will cry for a gun. You will pray for a gun. You would offer up your soul for a gun to save your wife/husband and kids.

You'll be running like a scared little sheep trying to herd your family out of danger all the while praying "Oh how I wished I had a gun, oh please let us be spared, oh I feel so helpless, how I wish I could do something to save my wife/husband and kids, please someone with a gun stop this madness."

But then it wouldn't do you any good would it? Because of your irrational fear of an inanimate object you wouldn't have practiced the skills to function with it and you'd probably end up dead anyway. That is what his is really all about isn't it. You lack the gumption to do what is necessary to protect yourself and your family so you harbor an unhealthy jealousy for those that do.

I could use another trip to the range.

Posted by Sarah at 10:30 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

December 08, 2007

SHEESH

Well, if we're not going to see the Freedom Watch ads on the networks, then we need to go over to Powerline and watch them. They're touching.

And at least this way I'll see them; we fast-forward through commercials anyway in this household.

Posted by Sarah at 10:15 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

MILITARY MBA

My husband is about to start his last semester of his MBA program. Yay for him! He has busted his tail to work full time and make it through an entire MBA, and I'm so proud of him for his perseverance.

When he started the program, we were still living in Germany. He had to look far and wide for an online degree program from a respectable school that didn't require him to fly across the Atlantic once a semester. It took a lot of research before he found the right program, and I think he could've saved a lot of time if we had known about the website Military MBA. So when Military MBA contacted me about hosting an ad on my blog, I thought that was a program I could get behind.

If you're in my husband's boat, trying to find an MBA program that will fit with the hectic military lifestyle, give Military MBA a look.

Posted by Sarah at 09:52 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 27, 2007

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Thomas Sowell:

Among corporate CEOs, those who cash in stock options that they have accumulated over the years get a big spike in income the year that they cash them in. This lets critics quote inflated incomes of the top-paid CEOs for that year. Some of these incomes are almost as large as those of big-time entertainers -- who are never accused of "greed," by the way.

Posted by Sarah at 04:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

POTPOURRI

-- I always find stuff like this, Shiver Me Timbers: 'Tree Man' Revealed, so sad. This man's life has been ruined, he's been mocked and has resorted to working in a freak show, all over something Americans doctors could fix with doses of Vitamin A. My heart always breaks when someone in another country suffers a horrible, debilitating illness that can be cured with simple medicine.

-- I have a really low tolerance for Mormon bashing. And this article, Enough Cliches About Faith: Mitt's Mormonism Matters, got under my skin today.

Those contradictory statements won't cut it. And they don't sidestep the plain fact that Mormonism, like the other faiths I mentioned, is not a Christian religion.
...
Mormons, it turns out, believe human souls have existed for all eternity, temporarily inhabit physical bodies and can eventually evolve into gods. They also believe the Garden of Eden was in Missouri and that tribes from Israel traveled to what is now America, built ancient cities and fought epic battles.

Needless to say, there's no physical evidence of the cities or the thousands killed in the ancient wars of the Mormon holy books, and DNA evidence rules out American Indians as descendants of ancient Israel.

DNA evidence also rules out Noah's Ark, and there's no archaeological evidence of the Exodus. So let's throw out the Old Testament while we're belittling religions. There go Judaism and Christianity. Oh well. There are none so blind as those who will not see.

-- And my #1 pet peeve of all: our military installations in Germany. Mark Steyn opines on the Defense Welfare Queens:

But hundreds of thousands of U.S. personnel should not be living permanently in Europe, for reasons I go into in America Alone. The problem is nicely encapsulated in a remark by Karl Peter Bruch, the then Interior Minister for Rhineland-Palatinate. When Rummy first mooted reducing the American presence and the Germans started lobbying Washington to change their minds, Herr Bruch said:

We realised that our installations are in grave danger. And then came the question, what can we do to make us more attractive?

"Our" installations? Who's this "our," kemosabe? These bases are built, maintained and staffed by the United States - and paid for by U.S. taxpayers. Yet Herr Bruch regards them as a permanent feature of the German landscape, like the Black Forest.

Amen, brother. I once asked a German co-worker what happens to the buildings and land when we close down an American installation, do we sell the buildings to the Germans or just leave? She indignantly replied that, of course the Germans don't buy anything; we Americans "stole" the land in the first place. And what was perhaps the only time in Sarah's life that she managed a zinger, I fired back with, "Um, you really don't want to get in a measuring contest of who stole more land in the 30s and 40s, do you?"

The Continentals are so insulated from reality they don't even value the U.S. presence in strategic terms. German politicians speak of U.S. military bases mainly as an economic issue — all those German supermarkets and German restaurants that depend on American custom.

And that sums it up. All you ever hear about is how all the poor restaurant owners will go out of business when American soldiers stop eating out every night of the damn week. Cry me a river. Bring all those soldiers back to the US to patronize American restaurant owners.

US out of Germany now! No more blood for schnitzel.

(All links via Conservative Grapevine)

Posted by Sarah at 10:47 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

November 25, 2007

I GOT NOTHIN'

I keep sitting at the computer, waiting for inspiration to strike. It doesn't. But I can give you links.

Steyn's GOP looks like the party of diverse ideas
Reynolds' Loving Monsters

And here's a good RWN post called 2/3 of Americans Polled are Idiots. I swear, I don't want to compare life to that movie Idiocracy, but sometimes I just can't help it. Sometimes a silly movie about how morons outbreed smart people and turn the world to crap doesn't seem so far off.

Posted by Sarah at 04:37 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

November 16, 2007

HEH

Quote of the day, by John Hawkins:

We will never go back to the America that the Founding Fathers envisioned. We're talking about people who were profoundly distrustful of the federal government and believed in keeping it extremely weak and starved of funds. They wouldn't support Social Security, Medicare, or even the income tax. The Founders made the nerdiest Big L Libertarian you'll ever run into today seem like Vladimir Ilyich Lenin in comparison.

Posted by Sarah at 12:45 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 08, 2007

INGENIUS

This is the most heartwarming chuckle I've gotten in a long time. Check out JR's new prosthetic.

(Can you tell I'm the first milblogger on the scene? All the others partied like rock stars last night while the pregnant lady was sleeping. So now I have plenty of time to screw around on the internet while waiting for them.)

Posted by Sarah at 01:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 29, 2007

YUP

Here's a Mark Steyn quote to go along with the Peggy Noonan one from the other day:

It seems to me, for example, that when anti-war types bemoan Iraq as this generation's Vietnam "quagmire," older folks are thinking of the real Vietnam – the Gulf of Tonkin resolution and whatnot – but most anybody under 50 is thinking of Vietnam movies: some vague video-store mélange of "The Full Metal Deer Apocalypse."

Posted by Sarah at 01:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 28, 2007

LINKS -- WILL SAY MORE LATER

Two links found off Instapundit...

Peggy Noonan:

I'll jump here, or lurch I suppose, to something I am concerned about that I think I am observing accurately. It has to do with what sometimes seems to me to be the limited lives that have been or are being lived by the rising generation of American professionals in the arts, journalism, academia and business. They have had good lives, happy lives, but there is a sense with some of them that they didn't so much live it as view it. That they learned too much from media and not enough from life's difficulties. That they saw much of what they know in a film or play and picked up all the memes and themes.

OPFOR:

Members of the Iraqi Army in Besmaya collected a donation for the San Diego, Calif., fire victims Thursday night at the Besmaya Range Complex in a moving ceremony to support Besmaya's San Diego residents.

Iraqi Army Col. Abbass, the commander of the complex, presented a gift of $1,000 to U.S. Army Col. Darel Maxfield, Besmaya Range Complex officer in charge, Multi-National Security Transition Command Iraq, to send to the fire victims in California.

Posted by Sarah at 09:55 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

October 15, 2007

LINK

A nice snappy post from QandO.
(Found via RWN)

Posted by Sarah at 11:06 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 06, 2007

PATRIOTISM

From an article discussing how Katie Couric is uncomfortable "saying ‘we’ when referring to the United States.” (via Photon Courier)

I’ve come around to the view that the culture war can best be understood as a conflict between two different kinds of patriotism. On the one hand, there are people who believe being an American is all about dissent and change, that the American idea is inseparable from “progress.” America is certainly an idea, but it is not merely an idea. It is also a nation with a culture as real as France’s or Mexico’s. That’s where the other patriots come in; they think patriotism is about preserving Americanness.

Yet the strangest and most ironic aspect of our national culture is that we have an aversion to talking about a national culture.

Posted by Sarah at 10:06 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 05, 2007

LINK

Mistakes were made in Iraq. No, not our mistakes, theirs.
Mission Accomplished
I can't say enough how interesting this article was. It addresses all the common complaints about OIF, from the Iraqi side. It breaks down Sunni worries and Shia strategies. It is crucial reading. I plan to read it again.

Oh, and like the der Spiegel article, this one wasn't written in the US either. Why can't our press come up with stuff like this?

Posted by Sarah at 09:52 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 03, 2007

MAYBE NOT THEN

The husband and I have been hesitant to see Flags of our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima. If Lileks' reaction is any indication, then we were right to be leery.

But I seem to be in the minority in my reaction. I’m sure Eastwood intended the movie to be respectful, but sometimes it seems like the second half of his career has been spent apologizing for the first half.

Posted by Sarah at 10:02 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

October 02, 2007

September 12, 2007

HEH

Niiiice:

Imagine if a more reliably sober-minded sort — say Zbigniew Brzezinski, David Broder — prophesied six years ago that in 2007, Bin Laden would still be at-large and giving televised addresses in which he offered generous blurbs for Noam Chomsky, touted global warming, expressed disappointment with the Democratic majority in Congress and championed a flat tax so low it would make Steve Forbes blush like John Ashcroft at a Pussycat Dolls audition. Most of us would have suggested that Messrs. Brzezinski or Broder should open the window when they cook their meth.

Posted by Sarah at 08:42 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

September 05, 2007

AWWW

I saw this today and my heart just melted because, you know, we have a Charlie too.
Soldier looking for way to get his dog back from Iraq
He's got pictures of this cutie on his blog.

Posted by Sarah at 11:15 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

September 04, 2007

LINKS

Two witty observations about the Larry Craig fiasco:

Jack Kelly:

When a scandal involves a Republican, his or her party affiliation is mentioned in the lead. When it involves a Democrat, party affiliation typically is mentioned deep in the story, if at all.

But media bias is not the main reason why Republicans suffer more from scandals. Democratic voters expect Democrats to steal on their behalf. Lawmakers are judged on the basis of how many goodies from the federal treasury they can shower on their constituents.

Mark Steyn:

Instead, Sen. Craig copped a plea. Because of that, he should disappear from public life as swiftly as possible and embrace full time the anonymity he cherishes in his sexual encounters. Not, as the left urges, on grounds of "hypocrisy" – because he's a "family values" politician who opposes "gay marriage" yet trawls for rough trade in men's rooms. A measure of hypocrisy is necessary to a functioning society. It's quite possible, on the one hand, to be opposed to the legalization of prostitution yet, on the other, to pull your hat down over your brow every other Tuesday and sneak off to the cat house on the other side of town. Your inability to live up to your own standards does not, in and of itself, nullify them. The left gives the impression that a Republican senator caught in a whorehouse ought immediately to say, "You're right. I should have supported earmarks for hookers in the 2005 appropriations bill." That's the reason why sex scandals take down Republicans but not Democrats: Sex-wise, the left's standards are that whatever's your bag is cool – which is the equivalent of no standards.

Posted by Sarah at 07:57 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

September 01, 2007

SHEESH

Ecofashion? I'm all for not being a jerk to the earth, but are we really calculating the carbon footprint of our back-to-school clothes now? Kids not only have to worry about looking cool; they now get to worry that their clothes are "grown with petrochemical fertilizers."

Hey Mom, when I wanted those Guess jeans in 6th grade, instead of telling me that I didn't need to wear a certain pair of jeans in order to make the right friends, maybe you could've said acid wash causes acid rain.

Posted by Sarah at 10:06 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

August 24, 2007

HEH

This experiment was really interesting: Six weeks without a wash: The soapless experiment

Posted by Sarah at 09:56 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

August 23, 2007

I AM JOE'S BREAKING HEART

I didn't even have to make it to the article body to feel a lump in my throat over this one (via LMT): Family Loses Second Son in Iraq War

And what came to mind was this:

Executive Mansion,
Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.

Dear Madam,--

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.

I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.

I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,

A. Lincoln

Posted by Sarah at 05:24 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

August 14, 2007

MAKES THE HEART SWELL

I loved this airforcewife post over at SpouseBUZZ...

Posted by Sarah at 09:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 23, 2007

WOAH

A fascinating story via Amritas
Terrorist Hunter: By day, Shannen Rossmiller is a Montana mother of three. At night, she takes down America’s enemies. It’s a compulsion even she can’t explain.

Posted by Sarah at 08:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 21, 2007

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO US?

Should people with no kids pay more taxes to cover the slack for those who can't afford their own kids? Good thing I'm not the only one who was horrified at the suggestion: this comments section was reassuring.

Posted by Sarah at 09:38 AM | Comments (11) | TrackBack

July 20, 2007

LINKS

Two teasers to make you think and hopefully get you to read the blog posts to which they belong.

First: Thereby Hangs a Tale's Does America Support our Military Strategy? (via Achilles)

We have an angry voting public. About 71% are mad at the war and the President. But just what are they angry about? I’ve researched the polls and no poll that I can find goes beyond a simplistic, “Are you for or agin the war?” Are those polled just angry at a bullheaded (or principled, depending on your view) President? Are they frustrated by continued fighting in a war that may already be lost?

Second: Neptunus Lex's Us and Them Part I

It’s also popular to say that the people are “war weary,” but - apart from the very small percentage of those who are actually deployed, or their families - what do they have to be weary of? We live lives of ease, prosperity and entitlement our own parents could not have imagined, we shop at the mall, are very nearly fully employed, the economy is on solid footing, the stock market is through the roof and yet we go to the watercoolers with worried looks and tell ourselves that the country is very much on the wrong track, tut-tut.

Posted by Sarah at 09:45 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

July 19, 2007

HEH

Guard Wife gives it to Ted Rall with both barrels. She uses phrases like "Left-wing cuckoobird who draws junior-high level cartoons for a living" and hands him his hat. Nicely done.

And this comments section at Standing By is fascinating. Go be a fly on the wall.

Posted by Sarah at 09:28 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

July 10, 2007

LINKS

Some morning links before I head to the airport:

Mark Steyn: British bomb plot and Michael Moore-style health care

According to a report in the British Medical Journal, white males comprise 43.5 percent of the population but now account for less than a quarter of students at UK medical schools. In other words, being a doctor is no longer an attractive middle-class career proposition. That's quite a monument to six decades of Michael Moore-style socialist health care.

Incidentally, that was the exact same argument I tried to make at our office Christmas party in Germany.

John Stossel: Government is all about force

Government has nothing it hasn't first expropriated from some productive person. In contrast, the private sector – whether nonprofit or a greedy business – must work through persuasion and consent. No matter how rich Bill Gates gets, he cannot force us to buy his software. Outside government, actions are voluntary, and voluntary is better because it reflects the free judgment of creative, productive people.

And a great Mark Steyn quote from The Corner:

I want to bequeath the wonders of this earth to the next generation, but I worry that my grandchildren will never know the feeling that you've totally demonstrated your tremendous concern and commitment to taking action just by going to a concert and staying until halfway through the George Michael set when he started doing stuff from the new album.

Posted by Sarah at 09:17 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

July 08, 2007

July 05, 2007

HMM

Interesting article on Scooter Libby, sent by Oda Mae: Bush Got It Right... Unlike Mr. Clinton

Posted by Sarah at 03:52 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

July 04, 2007

AND THAT'S WHAT IT MEANS

Lileks posted for the 4th of July. I wanted to excerpt it, but 1) I can't even pick one part that's better than another and 2) if I excerpt it, you might not go read the whole thing.

Trust me, you're gonna want to read it twice.

Posted by Sarah at 04:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 03, 2007

SAD

Must read Michael Yon: Bless the Beasts and Children

Posted by Sarah at 09:56 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

June 27, 2007

ONE-SIDED BRIDGE BUILDING

Here's a fascinating blog post about a church that invited someone from the local mosque to speak to the congregation.

The stated purpose of the visit, from my church’s perspective, was printed in the newsletter: “In an increasingly fragmented world in which followers of other religions are often viewed with fear – how wonderful it would be to build bridges.” But when we’re told flatly, “Touch Mohammed and there will be riots,” it’s obvious that it’s less about bridge building and more about schooling us as to how we are and are not to behave to avoid what Muslims who think like our speaker believe are the reasonable consequences of offending Islam–or even the more “aberrant” consequences. Ironically, this pattern reminds me of radical feminists, whose aim is to curtail the behavior and speech of people, particularly men, whom they deem offensive. In both cases, this reveals an absolutely infantile grasp of human relations that insists you tightly align your behavior with their proscriptions because they simply cannot handle, or respond appropriately to, what you might say or do. Our speaker, in answering my questions about the Mohammed cartoons, asked vehemently and self-pityingly why we could not leave Mohammed alone, why Islam cannot have even one thing that is sacred from the opinions of others (my words). I remember pathetically wondering this myself when my sister wanted to play with my toys–when I was about eight. But this begs for control of the behavior of others rather than planning for measured responses of one’s own.

Read the whole thing.

Posted by Sarah at 08:41 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

June 23, 2007

HMMMM

Found a very old Grim's Hall post I missed the first time around:
"The secret of social harmony is simple: Old men must be dangerous."

Posted by Sarah at 08:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 19, 2007

HOPE

The title of this one is all you need...
Iraqi Orphanage Nightmare: U.S. Troops Discover And Rescue Orphan Boys Left Starving, Chained To Beds
The photos made me weep. They're concentration camp liberation for my generation.

Posted by Sarah at 07:47 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

June 17, 2007

WELL SAID

Found a comment over at Buzz.mn that narrowly applies to seatbelt laws but broadly applies to almost everything we cover in the blogosphere:

Anecdotal Evidence Can Be Fun!
Submitted by jhugart on Thu, 06/14/2007 - 12:36am.

My dad used to wear seat belts only when he was driving on the interstate; he explained it by saying he could hold on to the steering wheel at lower speeds.

Then one day he was driving to the interstate, and had his belt on. Another driver ran a red light and smashed into his car, rolling it, and shaking him up a lot. He was uninjured, which all agreed would not have been the case had he been unbelted. From that point on, he always wore a seat belt.

For my part, I always put on the belt, and expect passengers to do so as well. I used to get the response, "Oh, I trust your driving!" My reply was, "It isn't my driving we're worried about." That always resulted in a thoughtful look and the click of the belt.

The entertaining part about anecdotal evidence is that it is great for supporting something you already believe in. If you believe seat belt use is a good idea, you can find stories to back it up. If you think seat belt use is dangerous, you can find stories to back that up.

Humans being human, I suspect that no scientific assessment of seat belt use, non-use, accidents, injuries, and fatalities would sway people from whatever positions they have already adopted. They are much more likely to be affected by a friend or relative who survived because of behavior X, whatever it happens to be.

The short answer is that there are all sorts of ways to die with a car involved. You can do your best to protect yourself, but sometimes you can get killed in spite of those efforts...and other times you can survive in spite of what may seem terminal stupidity. C'est la vie.

Jacob

(Thanks to this ColdFury post for leading me there.)

Actually, it reminds me a lot of something that's been bugging me immensely lately over at SpouseBUZZ: the idea that the new Lifetime series Army Wives is unrealistic because officer wives would never deign to hang out with enlisted wives. I say that my three best friends in Germany were all enlisted wives, and someone else says that in her entire Army life no officer wife has ever once spoken to her. And so our anecdotes cancel out. Ace says nicely today that "the plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'", and I don't know if there's any data out there on this subject, but it sure does bother me to read over and over that I am too snobby and uppity to ever be friends with my three best friends.

Posted by Sarah at 11:15 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack

June 07, 2007

VILE

You really must go read "In Saudi Arabia, a view from behind the veil," an article about the horrific gender segregation. It's absolutely vile. Go here and click on the top link to read.

Posted by Sarah at 08:07 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

June 03, 2007

MR. ROGERS

When I was two years old, I got to meet Mr. Rogers in the airport. I don't remember it, but my parents took me over to say hello. They say that Mr. Rogers was the exact same person in real life as he was on TV and that he talked to me as if I were the most important person in the room.

I told that story to someone a few years ago, and she gave me a weird look and said that Mr. Rogers was a pedophile. I was stunned. I had never heard any such thing, and I told her she'd better google it and make sure of what she was saying before she ever repeated it again.

I loved this blog post (via Hud), and I hope that my friend has never repeated those horrible things about such a wonderful man.

Posted by Sarah at 08:25 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

May 31, 2007

SHEESH

Some people are just complete and utter freaks. Wendy's manager shot over chili sauce
What on earth is wrong with people?

Posted by Sarah at 09:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 26, 2007

READ

Good article written by a Muslim: How to end 'Islamophobia'

Islamophobia could end when masses of Muslims demonstrate in the streets against videos displaying innocent people being beheaded with the same vigor we employ against airlines, Israel and cartoons of Muhammad.

Posted by Sarah at 10:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 24, 2007

WOW

This article on illegal immigration is excellent: The Promise of Home

Posted by Sarah at 10:22 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

May 22, 2007

GO

Bill Whittle's newest is finally up: You Are Not Alone

Posted by Sarah at 09:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 20, 2007

FAREWELL

Annika, who will quit blogging in exactly six and a half hours, isn't going out with Miss America waves and reruns. She managed to find these hilarious quotes from rockers who are wising up to the fact that their benefit concerts don't really help much of anything.

Annika, you will be missed.

Posted by Sarah at 09:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 14, 2007

GUNBLOGGING

I enjoyed Annika's gun interview. I will miss her when she stops blogging in a week. And my husband and I really need to buckle down and do some firearms research soon. We've been talking about it since we returned from Germany, but we haven't done anything about it yet. And it needs to get done before he deploys.

Posted by Sarah at 03:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 02, 2007

UGH

Read this interview with Sandmonkey and be depressed.

Posted by Sarah at 08:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 01, 2007

STEYN RULES

If you look up "turn of phrase" in the dictionary, you should see Mark Steyn's picture. Holy crap, can this man write.

So I don't believe the nightly plume of smoke over Baghdad on the evening news explains the national disenchantment. Rather, the mission as framed by the president -- help the Iraqi people build a free and stable Iraq -- is simply not accepted by the American people. On the right, between the unrealpolitik "realists" and the "rubble doesn't cause trouble" isolationists and the hit-'em-harder-faster crowd, the president has fewer and fewer takers for a hunkered-down, defensive, thankless semi-colonial policing operation. Regardless of how it works on the ground, it has limited appeal at home. Meanwhile, the leftists don't accept it because, while they're fond of "causes," they dislike those that require meaningful action: Ask Tibetans about how effective half a century of America's "Free Tibet" campaign has been; or ask Darfuris, assuming you can find one still breathing, how the left's latest fetishization is going from their perspective:

"On Sunday, April 29, Salt Lake Saves Darfur invites the greater Salt Lake community of compassion to join with us as we honor the fallen and suffering Darfuris in a day of films, discussion and dance with a Sudanese dance troupe."

Marvelous. I hope as the "Salt Lake Saves Darfur" campaign intensifies in the decades ahead there'll be enough Darfuris to man the dance troupe.

Posted by Sarah at 12:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 30, 2007

WE SUCK

A great Jonah Goldberg article about how pointless public opinion is:

HUGE NUMBERS of Americans don't know jack about their government or politics. According to a Pew Research Center survey released last week, 31% of Americans don't know who the vice president is, fewer than half are aware that Nancy Pelosi is the speaker of the House, a mere 29% can identify "Scooter" Libby as the convicted former chief of staff of the vice president, and only 15% can name Harry Reid when asked who is the Senate majority leader.

Also last week, a Washington Post-ABC News poll found that two-thirds of Americans believe that Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales' firing of eight U.S. attorneys was "politically motivated."

So, we are supposed to believe that two-thirds of Americans have studied the details of the U.S. attorney firings and come to an informed conclusion that they were politically motivated — even when Senate Democrats agree that there is no actual evidence that Gonzales did anything improper. Are these the same people who couldn't pick Pelosi out of a lineup? Or the 85% who couldn't name the Senate majority leader? Are we to imagine that the 31% of the electorate who still — after seven years of headlines and demonization — can't identify the vice president of the United States nonetheless have a studied opinion on the firing of New Mexico U.S. Atty. David Iglesias?

Posted by Sarah at 07:34 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

April 26, 2007

NAMING IT DOESN'T MAKE IT SO

Mark Steyn is awesome, as usual: Let's be realistic about reality

But you can't do that at Virginia Tech. Instead, the administration has created a "Gun-Free School Zone." Or, to be more accurate, they've created a sign that says "Gun-Free School Zone." And, like a loopy medieval sultan, they thought that simply declaring it to be so would make it so. The "gun-free zone" turned out to be a fraud -- not just because there were at least two guns on the campus last Monday, but in the more important sense that the college was promoting to its students a profoundly deluded view of the world.

Posted by Sarah at 10:16 AM | Comments (13) | TrackBack

April 23, 2007

WORK

Interesting study on how women need to quit their bitching: Surprise -- Men Do Just As Much Work As Women Do
For the record, my husband works way more than I do. He always has. Even when I had two jobs and felt like I was going nuts, he was deployed. So he always trumps me.

Posted by Sarah at 08:12 AM | Comments (10) | TrackBack

April 18, 2007

LINKS

Hilarious line from Steyn: "Apparently, when two hip-hoppers are up on stage doing their 'Who was that ho I saw you with last night?/That was no ho, that was my bitch' shtick, they're just keepin' it real. When a white guy does it, he's just keepin' it real unlikely he'll find gainful employment again."

And from an article by a civilian contractor in Baghdad: "Why are the Democratic Party, the mainstream press, the human rights groups, the UN leadership and the "social justice" crowd currently pushing policy that virtually guarantees an Iraq genocide? Are they not familiar with what transpired after the US abandoned South Vietnam to the communists? Can they not see that their cries for US withdrawal threaten to take Iraq to the same places as the killing fields of Cambodia and Bosnia and Rwanda?"

Also, I've been reading the book The Tipping Point, and I wanted to plug it here, to be a maven for the book, if you will. It is so good, I am reading it with a giddy smile on my face. I love this book. If you're looking for something interesting to read, check The Tipping Point out.

Posted by Sarah at 09:00 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

April 14, 2007

DREAMS MORE PRESSING THAN KNITTING

Victor Davis Hanson has a dream:

In this dream, I heard our ex-presidents add to this chorus of war-time solidarity. Jimmy Carter reminded Americans that radical Islam had started in earnest on his watch, out of an endemic hatred of all things Western. I imagined him explaining that America began being called the “Great Satan” during the presidential tenure of a liberal pacifist, not a Texan conservative.

Bill Clinton would likewise add that he bombed Iraq, and Afghanistan, and East Africa without congressional or U.N. approval because of the need for unilateral action against serial terrorism and the efforts of radicals to obtain weapons of mass destruction.

George Bush Sr. would in turn lecture the media that it was once as furious at him for not removing Saddam as it is now furious at his son for doing so; that it was once as critical of him for sending too many troops to the Middle East as it is now critical of his son for sending too few; that it was once as hostile to the dictates of his excessively large coalition as it is now disparaging of his son’s intolerably small alliance; that it was once as dismissive of his old concern about Iranian influence in Iraq as it is now aghast at his son’s naiveté about Tehran’s interest in absorbing southern Iraq; and that it was once as repulsed by his own cynical realism as it is now repulsed by his son’s blinkered idealism.

And Bill Whittle has posted Seeing the Unseen Part 2

Reader Oda Mae had a visitor when we lived in Germany who came to work on a project with Germans for a few weeks. He told a story at dinner that the Germans told him they could never imagine living in the United States, that it is so scary that the government could just make a person disappear. Oda Mae's friend looked at them puzzled and asked what on earth they were talking about. They replied, "Well, we've seen it on Enemy of the State." They thought a Will Smith movie was the truth about the US government.

Wow.

Posted by Sarah at 09:24 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

April 06, 2007

COOL

Like Tarantino? Read this.
Heh: only "4 3/4 films underneath his belt." Personally, I loved his room at the hotel.

Posted by Sarah at 10:47 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 22, 2007

SWEET

Yes yes yes. Instapundit just led me to the perfect book:
How to Raise an American: 1776 Fun and Easy Tools, Tips, and Activities to Help Your Child Love This Country

Posted by Sarah at 03:14 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

DEBATE

It's interesting what happens when people actually realize that the global warming issue isn't one-sided:

Before the start of the nearly two hour debate the audience polled 57.3% to 29.9% in favor of believing that Global Warming was a “crisis”, but following the debate the numbers completely flipped to 46.2% to 42.2% in favor of the skeptical point of view.

via Hud, who always has the good links

Posted by Sarah at 11:15 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

March 12, 2007

WOW

Your cry of the day, via Argghh: Beyond the River Kwai

Posted by Sarah at 08:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 11, 2007

JUST...WOW

You can't imagine how disappointed and frustrated I feel after hearing what happened to AirForceWife: Another Reason Not to Trust the Media

Posted by Sarah at 09:31 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

March 05, 2007

SAVE THE UGLIES

You should go check out this photo slideshow of ugly endangered animals. It was a very interesting commentary on the conservation movement. Plus, I think that jerboa is kinda cute. But what do I know; I'm a girl who hates dolphins.

Posted by Sarah at 10:38 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

MMMMMM

This should get your mouth watered up for Lileks today:

Beware people who regard the distinctions between public and private as a mere legality, and one based on subjective viewpoint at that. In the end, they can define anything private as public, which gives them the right to take it away. And if you lose something you own, well, “loss” is a subjective concept as well that does not match real life. Or at least the real life you can understand if you have a whole new mind.

And if that doesn't make you want to click the link, this will:

It’s a safe bet that people who use the words “empowered,” “community” and “meaningful” in close proximity do not produce anything you can hold in your hands.

It isn't quite Notes from the Olive Garden, but it's definitely good squishy.

And here comes the heart attack, because I just tried to link to the Olive Garden screed and found that it is gone. Panic sets in. Lilek's main page says the screeds will be reposted in 03/07. Whew. OK, I suppose I can give him some time to rearrange.

Posted by Sarah at 07:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 04, 2007

DESKMERC, THIS ONE'S FOR YOU

Found this via SciencePunk:

iloveyou.jpg

Yeah, I didn't get it either until I went to the original website, and now I can't stop thinking that this is the coolest thing I've ever seen. Romantic Math is awesome.

Oh, and I totally want this clock.

Posted by Sarah at 09:52 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

March 03, 2007

LINK

The new Victor Davis Hanson: Anatomy of Iraq. Excerpt:

There were numerous reasons to remove Saddam — 23, according to the Congress that authorized the war — but the administration privileged just one, the sensible fear of weapons of mass destruction. That was legitimate and understandable, and would prove effective so long as either a postwar weapons-trove turned up or the war and its aftermath finished without a hitch.

Unfortunately neither proved to be the case. So with that prime rationale discredited, the partisan Congress suddenly reinvented itself in protesting that it had really voted for war on only one cause, not 23. And when the news and evidence both went bad, that lone reason was now pronounced null and void and hardly a basis for war.

Posted by Sarah at 01:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 02, 2007

LOOKING FOR COMPANIONSHIP?

Anyone in Texas want to adopt two truly beautful dogs?
(No, Erin, not you. You already have four.)

Posted by Sarah at 03:35 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

February 23, 2007

LINK

I know CaliValleyGirl only reads Lileks when I post a link, so I'm posting one today to make sure she sees this one.

Posted by Sarah at 08:26 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

February 18, 2007

SOME LINKS

These are apparently older posts, but I just happened upon them via LGF today:
The Perils of Moral Tourism
Blunting the Senses in the Name of Fairness

Posted by Sarah at 09:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 13, 2007

I EAT IT UP

The best part about 24 is Jack Bauer. The second best part about 24 is James Lileks.

Posted by Sarah at 07:42 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

February 10, 2007

LINKS

Your patriotic links for the morning:

The Polish city of Katowice wants to replace their Soviet monument with a statue of Ronald Reagan.

Albert Pujols scores a perfect 100 on his citizenship test earlier this week. I expect no less out of CaliValleyGirl in 2011. Start studying.

Posted by Sarah at 10:47 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 05, 2007

GLOBAL WARMING LINKS

Mark Steyn: What's so hot about fickle science?

Joe's Global Warming Groundhog Day

Glenn Reynolds' thoughts on global warming

And make sure to check out Donald Sensing's very interesting post What if global warming is a good thing? The gist:

Folks my age and maybe a little younger can remember when the Environmental Apocaplypse was not global warming but global cooling. So let us suppose two things: first that global warming really is occurring and human attention to it can reverse it, and second, that we do reverse it. Are we then to agree that a cooler earth really is in our best interests? Why?

That's actually a very interesting question.

Posted by Sarah at 09:34 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

READING

A few weeks ago, CaliValleyGirl lamented the fact that my German isn't good enough to read the book Hurra, Wir Kapitulieren. But der Spiegel was nice enough to translate part of it for us.

Posted by Sarah at 09:18 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

January 29, 2007

THE SO-CALLED PRINCIPLES OF THE UN

Just when we all thought the UN couldn't get any more disgusting. Go see some lauded entries from the UN political cartoon contest, entries that were "chosen for their ability to enhance, explain and even help direct the spirit and principles of the U.N." And then tear your hair out.

Posted by Sarah at 08:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 28, 2007

THIS BETTER BE ANOTHER BOTCHED JOKE

Thank heavens this man did not end up as our president...

MORE:

Nor this guy our vice-president (via Conservative Grapevine)...

Posted by Sarah at 07:45 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

January 25, 2007

AWWWW

If I enjoy my child half as much as Lileks enjoys Gnat, then we'll be a happy little family indeed.

Posted by Sarah at 08:43 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 22, 2007

GO

Read Varifrank's 10 Things I Learned From Iraq

Posted by Sarah at 09:18 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

January 17, 2007

WELL SAID

Today's reading via RWN: 20/20 Bias.

Posted by Sarah at 10:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 08, 2007

VFW

Walmart takes a lot of crap, so I thought this webpage where the VFW thanks Walmart for their support was pretty cool.

Posted by Sarah at 04:47 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

INSIGHT FROM ALLICADEM

When I first started blogging, I linked to everything I liked. Now I've gotten much lazier and there's just too much good stuff out there to highlight it all. But you should read this.

Posted by Sarah at 04:02 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

January 03, 2007

LINK

Varifrank's entry on Saddam's execution: Gauge the distance

Posted by Sarah at 05:29 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

December 28, 2006

NEWS, EVERYONE!

Ho.Ly.Crap.
Saddam to be hanged by Sunday
This calls for one of my cakes!

Posted by Sarah at 09:13 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

December 07, 2006

RESOLUTE

On this day that will live in infamy:

No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.

I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.

With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounding determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God.

Posted by Sarah at 06:40 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

December 02, 2006

HEH

Wanna know what Stonehenge was? (Via Hud)

Posted by Sarah at 02:26 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

November 30, 2006

COOL

I'll be interested in reading Bjorn Lomborg's new book when it comes out. Check out this interview with him.

Posted by Sarah at 09:33 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 21, 2006

LINK

Read this too: An Honest Confession by an American Coward by Pat Conroy (via Cold Fury)

Posted by Sarah at 07:55 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 20, 2006

GO

Read this.

Posted by Sarah at 08:46 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 18, 2006

LINK

Let Them Eat Bullets

A nation that's defended Europe from aggression in the 60 years since World War II is asking why Iraq can't defend itself. The fact is, Iraqis risk their lives for their country every day.

Clearly the days when Democrats warned of a long twilight struggle and pledged to pay any price and bear any burden to ensure the success and survival of liberty are over, judging from remarks by Carl Levin, incoming chairman of the Senate Armed Service Committee.

"We cannot save the Iraqis from themselves," Levin opined Wednesday at a Capitol Hill press conference. "The only way for Iraqi leaders to squarely face that reality is for President Bush to tell them that the United States will begin a phased redeployment of our forces within four to six months."

"We cannot be their security blanket," he added. But why not, if it's in our best long-term security interest?

Yes, we should demand more of the Iraqis. But those who ask whether we can or should stop Iraqis from killing themselves forget that we're in this to stop others from killing us and using Iraq as a base camp from which to do it.

We've been Europe's security blanket for six decades. We are Japan's security blanket. We are South Korea's. It's been said that were it not for us, the French would be speaking German and the Germans would be speaking Russian. In 1938, the West decided it couldn't be Czechoslovakia's security blanket and sold out that country in Munich, Germany. The rest, as they say, is history.

Read the rest. Via Cold Fury and Instapundit, who says he'd like to see a phased redeployment from Europe. And how.

Posted by Sarah at 09:23 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 17, 2006

POOR CONDI

Slighted...

In the past week, there are 476 documents on Nexis heralding the magnificent achievement of Nancy Pelosi becoming the FIRST WOMAN speaker of the House.

I thought we had moved beyond such multicultural milestones.

The media yawned when Condoleezza Rice became the first black woman secretary of state (and when Lincoln Chafee became the first developmentally disabled senator).

There were only 77 documents noting that Rice was the first black woman to be the secretary of state, and half of them were issues of Jet, Essence, Ebony or Black Entrepreneur magazine.

Posted by Sarah at 07:53 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 15, 2006

SET YOUR VCR

Make sure you try to see this show tonight: Exposed: The Extremist Agenda. Glenn Beck is running footage from the Middle Eastern media. It'll be like LGF, only on TV.

Posted by Sarah at 04:23 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

November 14, 2006

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

I missed this last week, from the always-genius Annika: I blame Bush.

Posted by Sarah at 09:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

GITCHER STEYN FIX

John Hawkins has an interview with Mark Steyn, whose new book is apparently on Pres Bush's nightstand. Here's one interesting tidbit from the interview:

I mean this idea that it's normal for the state to be as big as it is in advanced social democratic societies is something that would have seemed incredible to anyone a hundred years ago. I mean, I remember being struck by - on September 11th - and I was writing a column a couple of days afterwards and, you know, we're all done with our initial reaction, so you're trying to think a couple of days ahead and find a new angle on it, and I happen to just notice that it was more or less (a hundred years after the) assassination of President McKinley. I was thinking, well, maybe I could tie these two things together, these two big traumatizing events and, you know, bookending the century, whatever - you know, just peck, peck, peck - we journalists always are going to peck.

So I sort of rummaged around the clippings of President McKinley's assassination and realized that while people were upset about it, they essentially regarded it as the removal of a remote figure who played a peripheral part in their lives. To that point for most people in most parts of the U.S. the federal government did not impinge on their life in any way.

So when people talk about the modern social democratic state, you know, cradle to grave entitlements, we should understand that it is, in effect, a huge experimental departure from the normal course of human history - and the experiment as we can see in almost every other country apart from the U.S. has failed.

And if you need an even bigger dose of Steyn, check out his newest column:

If they'd done a Spain -- blown up a bunch of subway cars in New York or vaporized the Empire State Building -- they'd have re-awoken the primal anger of September 2001. With another mound of corpses piled sky-high, the electorate would have stampeded into the Republican column and demanded the U.S. fly somewhere and bomb someone.

The jihad crowd know that. So instead they employed a craftier strategy. Their view of America is roughly that of the British historian Niall Ferguson -- that the Great Satan is the first superpower with ADHD. They reasoned that if you could subject Americans to the drip-drip-drip of remorseless water torture in the deserts of Mesopotamia -- a couple of deaths here, a market bombing there, cars burning, smoke over the city on the evening news, day after day after day, and ratcheted up a notch or two for the weeks before the election -- you could grind down enough of the electorate and persuade them to vote like Spaniards, without even realizing it. And it worked.

Posted by Sarah at 09:39 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

November 08, 2006

MORE ADVICE

Varifrank also has some post-election advice for us.
By the way, my husband is "playing" Sherman in an exercise they're doing on his staff ride today. No one else wanted to touch Sherman with a ten foot pole. My husband, on the other hand, thinks he was a pretty smart guy.
Personally, I've just enjoyed teasing him about the "Civil War reenactment" he's participating in. Hopefully he can work in a game of grab-ass.

Posted by Sarah at 05:34 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

ADVICE

Bill Whittle has some post-election advice we all should read.
And a new essay up!

Posted by Sarah at 11:08 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 07, 2006

DANG

Woah...Neil Armstrong didn't say what you think he said!

Posted by Sarah at 04:24 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 05, 2006

LINKING

Here's a long discussion on Donald Rumsfeld. Yesterday Tim asked my husband whether he thought Rumsfeld should be replaced. My husband replied that what Rumsfeld does is way above his pay grade and he doesn't have any access to information that would make him able to make that call. My husband is a smart man.

Posted by Sarah at 08:26 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

JUSTICE

Suck it, Saddam.
How quickly can we get the noose around his neck?

Posted by Sarah at 07:48 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 03, 2006

FYI

MaryIndiana -- FYI, there's a pupdate up at SpouseBUZZ!

Posted by Sarah at 03:30 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

OBSESSION

I'm setting my DVR for a special Fox News showing of the movie Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West on Saturday night at 8 PM ET. For more info, see here.

I have to tape it, because I won't be home. My husband and I will be hanging out with Tim and Patti! Tim organized a book signing for The Blog of War. If you're anywhere near the Aiken Office Supply in Aiken, SC, this weekend, drop in and see us!

Posted by Sarah at 03:22 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

HUH?

Who woulda thought we'd read this this morning?

Let's go back and clarify: IRAQ HAD NUCLEAR WEAPONS PLANS SO ADVANCED AND DETAILED THAT ANY COUNTRY COULD HAVE USED THEM.

Just when I think things couldn't get any weirder...

Posted by Sarah at 09:38 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

October 24, 2006

WHY VOTING MATTERS

Bleak House: Republicans deserve to lose, but what happens if Democrats win?

First, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has promised that election of a Democratic House would insure "a rollback of the [Bush] tax cuts." Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, who would be chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, would make sure no tax cut extension bill would ever get to the floor. He voted against the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts and the bill that later extended the tax cuts until 2010 (as did all but seven of the 205 Democratic House members). In September Mr. Rangel said that he "cannot think of one" Bush tax cut he would agree to renew.

Investors Business Daily recently pointed out that since the Bush tax cuts took effect in 2003, "the economy has added $1.26 trillion in real output, $14.4 trillion in net wealth and 5.8 million new jobs." But that progress doesn't seem to matter to the liberals, whose primary goal is to raise income tax rates. "Taxing the rich" will be the leading economic argument of a 2007 Democratic House, and a rollback tax bill of some kind will reach the floor.

Second, President Bush will not be able to re-energize his effort for individually owned Social Security accounts, for "preventing the privatization of social security" is in the Democratic National Committee's "6-Point Plan for 2006." Democrats don't trust people to own or invest their own retirement funds--better to let a wise government do that, for as socialist Noam Chomsky says, "putting people in charge of their own assets breaks down the solidarity that comes from doing something together." And since Congress gets to spend Social Security tax receipts that aren't needed to pay benefits, letting people invest their payments in their own retirement accounts would be a costly revenue reduction that the new, bigger-spending Congress won't allow to happen.

Via Instapundit. Yikes. Read the remaining points. Double yikes.

Posted by Sarah at 04:31 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

October 22, 2006

LIFE IMITATES ART

Woah. It's a real-life John Doe! I wonder if this guy knows how many dimples there are in a golf ball...

Posted by Sarah at 07:14 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

October 20, 2006

LINK

John Hawkins has a great interview with Larry Elder on race, health care, free trade, and blogging.

Posted by Sarah at 03:50 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

October 14, 2006

GOOD LINK

I started feeling antsy and came in to check blogs. I found a great post on the supposed 654,965 dead Iraqis over at Annika's. And I was so engrossed in reading it that I missed Suppan's homerun. Dangit.

Posted by Sarah at 08:58 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

October 13, 2006

BLAH

Lileks has a good bleat today and a link to an article called "Imagine Earth Without People". Take a deep breath and dive in. Now, I'm no biologist, but you know what else earth probably wouldn't have if it didn't have people? Pandas.

Posted by Sarah at 09:24 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

October 12, 2006

SHORT BUT SWEET

Found: a den Beste post

Posted by Sarah at 08:26 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

October 02, 2006

LINK

Absolutely horrifying:
Is There Blood On His Hands? The Case Against Kofi Annan

And absolutely mindboggling:
At Gitmo, detainees get La-Z-Boys, pastries

Posted by Sarah at 07:44 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

September 25, 2006

September 23, 2006

LINK

One of our friends from OBC was wounded two years ago in the fight in Mosul that launched CBFTW to fame. He's back in the saddle now, and there's an article about him explaining the differences between Iraq then and now.

Posted by Sarah at 08:26 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

September 17, 2006

ANNIKA RULES

My husband's reaction to the Muslim Brotherhood demanding a personal apology from the Pope: "Just who in the hell do these people think they are?" I think that sums up the influence Islam knows it has over the West these days.

Annika has a good roundup of what she's calling "the next 'cartoon' riots." My favorite bit is this quote she found from an Indonesian protest organizer:

Of course as we know the meaning of jihad can only be understood by Muslims . . . Only Muslims can understand what jihad is. It is impossible that jihad can be linked with violence, we Muslims have no violent character.

Tell that to the Palestinians who immediately started attacking churches. Or the folks who threatened to suicide attack the Pope.

No violent character my foot.

Posted by Sarah at 08:35 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

September 06, 2006

OIL

Interesting discussion going on about oil and the future of our energy. Also found via Hud, who always finds the good stuff.

Posted by Sarah at 11:38 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

August 30, 2006

HEH

From now on, any time someone takes a photo of me, I want the Katie Couric treatment!

Posted by Sarah at 12:58 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

FOR OLD TIME'S SAKE

Den Beste wrote a post on Israel's disproportionate response. What a man.

Posted by Sarah at 12:53 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

August 29, 2006

WHEW

At least I'm not the only one who did a double take at the Ford Freestyle ad. There's not really anything wrong with it per se, but it was a bit jarring when I realized the family was divorced. A sign of our times?

Posted by Sarah at 11:25 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

August 21, 2006

NICE

An ode to grown-ups, by James Lileks.

Posted by Sarah at 07:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 18, 2006

WHEW

Hooray for the new pension bill!

Posted by Sarah at 07:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 11, 2006

SAD

I had a dream the other night that I met James Lileks and I didn't like him. When I woke up, I wanted to beat up my subconscious. How could you not like this man, even in a dream? What was I thinking?

Posted by Sarah at 07:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 28, 2006

July 27, 2006

July 15, 2006

LINK

Annika sums up my thoughts on the Israel situation...and introduces fears I hadn't thought of yet. Great.

Posted by Sarah at 03:33 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

July 14, 2006

YUP

Mark Steyn on the fighting in Israel:

And the reality of this situation is it's nothing to do with Bush and Cheney. It's happening in India. It's happening in Israel. It's happening in Bali. It's happening in Russia. It's a planetary-wide problem, and it's nothing to do with Bush and Cheney stealing chads, or any of this other rubbish they go on about.

Go read it to find out how that paragraph fits. (Via RWN)

Posted by Sarah at 06:27 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

July 12, 2006

SHEESH

Scroll to the end: Lileks lays the smackdown on some douchebag who can't stand the American flag.

We're having company tonight -- my grad school roommate's parents are passing through -- so I need to work my tail off unpacking more boxes today. See you tomorrow.

Posted by Sarah at 08:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 28, 2006

READ

Christopher Hitchens: Four Projects for Righteous Anti-War Types

Posted by Sarah at 05:26 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

June 20, 2006

WHEW

A refreshing and rejuvenating blog post: How far is far enough?

Posted by Sarah at 03:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 16, 2006

LINK

A long article on the threat that is political correctness. The crowning example:

Political Correctness can reach absurd levels. Early in June 2006, Canadian police arrested a group of men suspected of planning terror attacks. The group was alleged to have been “well-advanced on its plan” to attack a number of Canadian institutions, among them the Parliament of Canada, including a possible beheading of the Prime Minister, and Toronto’s subway. However, the lead paragraph of newspaper Toronto Star’s story on the arrests was: “In investigators’ offices, an intricate graph plotting the links between the 17 men and teens charged with being members of a homegrown terrorist cell covers at least one wall. And still, says a source, it is difficult to find a common denominator.” Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner Mike McDonell said that the suspects were all Canadian residents and the majority were citizens. “They represent the broad strata of our community. Some are students, some are employed, some are unemployed,” he said. However, there was one common denominator for the suspects that wasn’t mentioned: They were all Muslims. The front page article in the New York Times (June 4), too, was a study in how to avoid using the dreaded “M” word. The terrorist suspects were referred to as “Ontario residents,” “Canadian residents,” “the group,” “mainly of South Asian descent” or “good people.” Everything conceivable, just not as “Muslims.”

Posted by Sarah at 03:54 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

June 13, 2006

NO, PLEASE NO

Oh no...

Bryan Singer, the film's gay director and responsible for The Usual Suspects and the first two X-Men movies, compounded the anxiety last week by describing Superman Returns as a "chick flick about a superhero seen from a woman's perspective, with qualities you'd want in a husband". The woman is Lois Lane, played by Kate Bosworth.

I've avoided commercials and previews for Superman Returns because I want to go in fresh. But this article about how metrosexual Superman is certainly has me nervous. They better not have messed with my Man of Steel.

And look at all the money wasted! Man. Nicolas Cage got $27 million for nothing? Ugh.

Posted by Sarah at 11:25 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

HMM

This is a very touchy subject right now, but Big Lizards has a lengthy post on the Ann Coulter deal. Ann Coulter is always good for a guffaw, and I'm often shocked at the things she's comfortable saying, but I agree with Dafydd when he lays out his argument as this:

Ask yourself this question: what reason is offered for us to accept the analysis of the Jersey Girls about what's wrong with our response to 9/11? Why listen to them, instead of (for a wild example) Big Lizards?
The only reason put forward is that 9/11 "tore our families apart and destroyed our former lives."

I recommend reading the whole post to understand Dafydd's argument.

Posted by Sarah at 11:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 12, 2006

GOOD

And I hope every second of those 52 minutes was agony...

Posted by Sarah at 02:48 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

May 29, 2006

April 18, 2006

HEH -- IT'S FUNNY CUZ IT'S TRUE

Mark Steyn on Iran:

You know what's great fun to do if you're on, say, a flight from Chicago to New York and you're getting a little bored? Why not play being President Ahmadinejad? Stand up and yell in a loud voice, "I've got a bomb!" Next thing you know the air marshal will be telling people, "It's OK, folks. Nothing to worry about. He hasn't got a bomb." And then the second marshal would say, "And even if he did have a bomb it's highly unlikely he'd ever use it." And then you threaten to kill the two Jews in row 12 and the stewardess says, "Relax, everyone. That's just a harmless rhetorical flourish." And then a group of passengers in rows 4 to 7 point out, "Yes, but it's entirely reasonable of him to have a bomb given the threatening behavior of the marshals and the cabin crew."

Posted by Sarah at 08:43 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

April 12, 2006

April 11, 2006

UGH

Wanna read some absolutely depressing stuff about immigration?
No easy answers on immigration conundrum

Posted by Sarah at 04:07 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

April 02, 2006

LINK

Pericles pointed out an article to Erin that's worth repeating here:
Don't Politicize Our Soldiers

Also, a hearty HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Tim! We miss you!

Posted by Sarah at 09:44 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

March 10, 2006

FIRST THING THAT POPPED INTO MY HEAD

I'm Nobody! Who are you?
Are you—Nobody—Too?
Then there's a pair of us!
Don't tell! they'd advertise—you know!

Earth heard a rumor that there's water on Enceladus...

Posted by Sarah at 11:17 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 08, 2006

SNIFF

This article will give you a lump in your throat. Heck, I got misty-eyed just reading the title: At his 80th birthday party, Holocaust survivor meets soldier who liberated him

Posted by Sarah at 12:48 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

March 03, 2006

UN

Mark Steyn is preaching to the choir for me; his assessment of the UN's ineptitude is spot on:

Transnational institutions should reflect points of agreement: Americans don’t mind the Toronto Blue Jays playing in the same baseball league—and even winning it occasionally—because they’re all agreed on the rules of baseball. A joint North American Public Health Commission, on the other hand, would be a bureaucratic boondoggle seeking to reconcile two incompatible health systems. Imagine then what happens when you put America, Denmark, Libya and Syria on a human rights committee, and then try and explain why the verdict of such a committee should be given any weight when the U.S. is weighing its vital national interest.

It's long but it's worth it.

Posted by Sarah at 04:01 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

February 28, 2006

HOORAY

CaliValleyGirl's boyfriend is back from Afghanistan. Go over there and give them your congrats!

Posted by Sarah at 09:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 27, 2006

SO DANG WITTY

Lileks watched Air Force One over the weekend:

It was shot in 1997. It opens with a joint American / Russian spec-ops kidnapping of a head of state, who is one of those super-nationalist Russians we were all twitchy about in the late 90s; he is sent to a very bad and smelly prison. Cut to President Solo, giving a speech that puts forth a new American policy towards terrorists and terror-enabling states:

Peace isn't merely the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice. Never again will I allow our political self-interest to deter us from doing what we know to be morally right. Atrocity and terror are not political weapons. And to those who would use them, your day is over. We will never negotiate. We will no longer tolerate and we will no longer be afraid. It's your turn to be afraid.

He is also quite physically fit AND he can fly a plane. This was the sort of person Hollywood wanted for President in 1997. Then they get one, and they completely wigged out. Ah well.

Posted by Sarah at 07:39 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

February 23, 2006

LINKS

Mark Steyn:

It's easy to be tough about nothing. The press corps that noisily champions "the public's right to know" about a minor hunting accident simultaneously assures the public that they've no need to see these Danish cartoons that have caused riots, arson and death around the world.

James Lileks:

The average American’s reaction to handing port control over to the UAE is instinctively negative, and for good reason. There are two basic reactions: We can’t do this ourselves? and We should trust them, why?
As for the first, the assertion that American firms were the lower bidder is unpersuasive, rather like saying that we should have outsourced the flight crew for the Enola Gay to Japanese nationals because they knew the terrain better. As for the trust issue, well, wanting port control to remain in American hands is not a matter of Arabiaphobia, any more than selling Boeing to China means you harbor deep hatred of Asians. Some things ought to be left in local hands. It seems absurd to have to make that argument in the first place.

Christopher Hitchens:

The incredible thing about the ongoing Kristallnacht against Denmark (and in some places, against the embassies and citizens of any Scandinavian or even European Union nation) is that it has resulted in, not opprobrium for the religion that perpetrates and excuses it, but increased respectability! A small democratic country with an open society, a system of confessional pluralism, and a free press has been subjected to a fantastic, incredible, organized campaign of lies and hatred and violence, extending to one of the gravest imaginable breaches of international law and civility: the violation of diplomatic immunity. And nobody in authority can be found to state the obvious and the necessary—that we stand with the Danes against this defamation and blackmail and sabotage. Instead, all compassion and concern is apparently to be expended upon those who lit the powder trail, and who yell and scream for joy as the embassies of democracies are put to the torch in the capital cities of miserable, fly-blown dictatorships. Let's be sure we haven't hurt the vandals' feelings.

Posted by Sarah at 10:04 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

January 26, 2006

MORE LINKS

Well, it's already time to take mom back to the airport. I can't believe how little it feels like you can do in 15 days!

Lileks is right to be upset that newspapers change certain quotes to avoid "giving offense to readers". What kind of garbage is that? If someone said "Chocolate City", then by golly you print it so everyone can decide for themselves. You don't edit it out so people can't be offended. What is wrong with these people?

I read Joel Stein's op-ed on why he doesn't support the troops. A lot of people on the Right apparently are bashing this guy, but I give him two thumbs up. Say what you really think. If you're against the war and against the military, then I'm pleased you don't put a yellow ribbon on your car. Good for Joel for speaking the truth even when it sounds crass; more people should adopt this behavior.

And lastly, a funny quote from John Hawkins:

After all, why would a normal man want to go see this film? Men don't even want to go see relationship movies that feature men and women, so why would they want to see a movie about two gay cowboys hopping in the saddle together?

Maybe if the gay cowboys were secretly ninjas sworn to avenge their masters or kill crazy ex-seals out to stop a team of Al-Qaeda terrorists from blowing up school buses full of kids, it might be a movie that could appeal to most guys -- assuming they didn't get all touchy-feely and start grabbing each other like the Hobbits did at the end of "Return of the King."

Posted by Sarah at 08:01 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

January 24, 2006

LINKS

I'm still busy running around with my mama...and battling our radiators: we've had DPW (maintenance) to our house twice already this week and scheduled for today and tomorrow too. For some reason, the house just doesn't want to warm above 60 degrees.

But here are some links:

Want To Cut Down On Abortions? Make Them Illegal (via RWN)
Why Hollywood Loves Johnny Cash—and not Merle Haggard (via Cold Fury)

Posted by Sarah at 09:13 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

January 06, 2006

LINK

Beth sent me a link to 2005: The Year In Military Heroism, which includes our good buddy Red6. Incidentally, Red6 returns to Iraq next week, this time deployed with his wife. I look forward to hearing new tales of armor geddon.

Posted by Sarah at 09:34 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 29, 2005

READ IT

The Chicago Tribune put out the results of a study called Judging the case for war:

On Nov. 20, the Tribune began an inquest: We set out to assess the Bush administration's arguments for war in Iraq. We have weighed each of those nine arguments against the findings of subsequent official investigations by the 9/11 Commission, the Senate Intelligence Committee and others. We predicted that this exercise would distress the smug and self-assured--those who have unquestioningly supported, or opposed, this war.

The matrix below summarizes findings from the resulting nine editorials. We have tried to bring order to a national debate that has flared for almost three years. Our intent was to help Tribune readers judge the case for war--based not on who shouts loudest, but on what actually was said and what happened.

Posted by Sarah at 10:20 AM | Comments (21) | TrackBack

December 28, 2005

WOW

Via Powerline, I just learned the true and horrifying story of Kwanzaa.

Posted by Sarah at 01:25 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack

GOOD READ

Varifrank has a post of denbestian length, appropriately titled Where is this all going?

Posted by Sarah at 10:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 22, 2005

HEH

Woah, you really can knit anything: prosthetics for a mastectomy.

Posted by Sarah at 07:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 21, 2005

LINKS

Why Liberals Hate War (via RWN)

The Democrats can see the writing on the wall. They know that if we stick around and maintain our will there is no way we can lose this conflict. We shall prevail! And that idea is terrifying to the Democrats and the rest of the American left. Why? Because it shows that war CAN solve problems. That with our overwhelming technical skill we can invade and secure just about any other country in the world, and not only that, but we can get a democratically elected government in place within just a few years.

War never solved anything? My fat ass it didn’t. In the last four years two wars have liberated two countries, and we are in the process of getting those countries on their way to prosperity and self-sufficience. In terms of the cost of life, especially when you look at the numbers for previous wars, we have suffered quite a low number. While the death of any man or woman is tragic, they should be honored to the fullest for their sacrifice to this nation, and to the people of Iraq.

The Democrats and the left cannot have this. The US has been in the “lose” column for so long now, That’s been one of their main sources of political strength. They must prevent, at all costs, the US from getting to a point where this was can be chalked up as a win. If we get a win then we negate the rallying cry of Vietnam.

The Roots of Anti-Americanism

The Constitution of the United States of America is a greater achievement than the ancient pyramids of Egypt.

Our brilliant forefathers got it right the first time, and it was the very first time, because they were inventing the wheel. The Constitution of the United States serves as the foundation for the world's oldest democracy today. Consider that: This country that Europeans regard as so young and immature is by far the oldest and most stable democracy in the world. Consider France: it followed suit and threw away its kings shortly after we did. Then came the emperor Napoleon. France is on its fifth republic (fifth constitution) today. We got it right the first time.

Now let's put ourselves in Europeans' shoes. How do you think they're going to react? Are they going to acknowledge this brilliance that puts their own stupid and immoral feudal system to shame? I don't think so.

You've Got Male: How about a little fair play in the battle of the sexes?

The clout of female voters has been transmuted into a strangely pervasive inattention to the legitimate needs of boys and men. While there remain grating sources of unfairness to women, the community is in the process of steadily creating a new legal and educational structure that generates new gender unfairness: 90% of the victims of Ritalin and similar drugs prescribed for schoolkids are boys; but even drugged they perform less well than girls. A 2005 study at Yale found nationally that even in prekindergarten boys are nearly five times as likely to be expelled as girls.

What is going on in this country?

Of course those who can do the work should receive the rewards. However, the broader question is: Who defines the work and evaluates it? The drastic occupational and familial situation of especially minority males suggests the urgency of a hard review of this issue. Were females the victims of such apparent sex-based unfairness, the legal paper attacking the matter would cloud the air like flakes of New Hampshire snow. But since it's only males . . .

Posted by Sarah at 10:37 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

December 19, 2005

QUICKIES

-- Here's what multiculturalism gets us: Iran saying that we need to be "more tolerant" of their view that the Holocaust didn't happen. Give me a freaking break. It's not possible to be more tolerant of blatant falsehoods. But that's what our trend towards "accepting all views" has gotten us.

-- I enjoy thinking about generational differences. The other day I was flipping through Redbook and found a shockingly graphic article about how to get it on in the shower. Like detailed descriptions of who should place which body part where. Whenever I come across articles like that in regular old "mainstream" magazines, I always have the same thought: What would my grandmothers have thought if they had come across the same article back when they were my age? It brings me a good laugh to think about naughty shower articles being published in 1939.

-- (via Cold Fury) Thomas Lifson takes Howell Raines to task for saying "He [George W. Bush] adopted the full agenda of redneck America." It's amazing what Respected Journalists can get away with as long as they aim their hatred at white men.

Posted by Sarah at 10:35 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

December 07, 2005

THANKS, BETH

Reader Beth sent me two things...one outrageous -- Palestinians Unveil Monument Honoring Sheehan -- and one wonderful -- SewMuchComfort.org. The extent of my sewing is typically rank insignia, but if you're good at sewing, you might be a perfect candidate to make pajama pants that actually fit over prosthetics and splints for our recovering soldiers and marines at Walter Reed.

UPDATE:

Amritas points out that the Sheehan thing is a joke. Whew. Though nothing surprises me these days...

Posted by Sarah at 10:55 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 04, 2005

WEEKEND LINKS

Holocaust victims to be reburied at Stuttgart ceremony

The bodies of Holocaust victims unearthed in September at Stuttgart Army Airfield will be reburied there on Dec. 15, a local Jewish leader said.

A Moral War

We took no oil — the price in fact skyrocketed after we invaded Iraq. We did not do Israel’s bidding; in fact, it left Gaza after we went into Iraq and elections followed on the West Bank. We did not want perpetual hegemony — in fact, we got out of Saudi Arabia, used the minimum amount of troops possible, and will leave Iraq anytime its consensual government so decrees. And we did not expropriate Arab resources, but, in fact, poured billions of dollars into Iraq to jumpstart its new consensual government in the greatest foreign aid infusion of the age.

Posted by Sarah at 10:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 02, 2005

HMM

Interesting article on the minimum wage: Dead-end jobs
The comments section at RWN is hosting some good fights about the article.

Posted by Sarah at 11:38 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

December 01, 2005

LINKS

Hey The Girl -- when are they gonna lower our gas prices like they did in the Pacific? We're still at $2.78, and the national average is $2.15? Yuck.

SheepDog asks where our Thomas Paines are. I agree with him that MilBlogs are handling that task quite nicely, but I'd also like to give props to Bill Whittle. His book, Silent America, is a rally cry for our time.

Tanker sent me a link: The Iraq story: how troops see it

And our friend Tim sent me words from Joe Lieberman, a sane man in a sea of crazies. Hard to believe he ran with Al Gore...

Posted by Sarah at 09:51 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

November 28, 2005

CHECK IT OUT

Donald Sensing's Thanksgiving post is too wonderful not to share...

Posted by Sarah at 08:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 23, 2005

November 21, 2005

HA

The Screedblog's awesome today. Lileks rips Vonnegut via The Princess Bride. Priceless.

Posted by Sarah at 09:50 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 19, 2005

QUICK LINKS

Interesting article on what happened to Iraq's WMDs: Where the WMDs Went
And an article whose name says it all: I took Saddam's cash, admits French envoy

UPDATE:

Read SGT Rausch's letter to Hook: Taste of Freedom
The Real Pro-War Crowd: Who They Are and What They Want (Chaos, Anarchy and Death)
And the Western media ran with a completely despicable fakery, once again: McCarthyism 101

And a good quote on a worthwhile Donald Sensing post:

I stand by every word, including what I wrote about WMDs. Why? Because it’s worth remembering that the only reason we have certainty now about Saddam’s WMD programs is because we invaded Iraq.

Posted by Sarah at 11:15 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 15, 2005

TODAY'S LINKS

Some good posts on RWN:
The Bush Counter-Offensive Continues
How Many Other Mary Mapes Are Working In The Mainstream Media?

From Varifrank:
The J. Patrick Buchanan Memorial Library for Failed Prophets of Doom
(The husband remarked the other day at dinner: "What ever happened to acid rain?" Remember how that was drilled into our heads 20 years ago?)

Also, it's funny how whenever we talk about a "war for oil", someone always brings up the image of the SUV. Oil is used for other things, you know, as our commissaries are realizing. Personally, this is just fine with me; I always thought my local baggers went way overboard with the double-bagging anyway. Two boxes of cereal don't need to be double-bagged.

Posted by Sarah at 10:59 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

November 10, 2005

LINKS

Podhoretz's Who Is Lying About Iraq? is the last nail in the coffin: Bush did not lie.
Tim sent me a reminder of French lectures to the US.
And Lara sent me a hilarious parody: President is sending Marines to France.

Posted by Sarah at 12:01 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 09, 2005

DANG

OK, if this man can lose 230 lbs. to join the Army, then I have no excuse for not losing the ten pounds I want to lose. (Thanks, Hook.)

Posted by Sarah at 10:13 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 08, 2005

PARIS LINKS

Two more links about Paris:
Rioters say "each night we make this place Baghdad"
The Association of Muslim Journalists calls for a probe into the "violation of Muslims’ civil rights in France", if you can believe that irony.

Posted by Sarah at 09:56 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 07, 2005

I LOVE JACOBY

Raven1 found a good article: The good news from Iraq is not fit to print

Posted by Sarah at 11:49 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

NICE

More Mark Steyn. Money quote:

French cynics like the prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, have spent the last two years scoffing at the Bush Doctrine: Why, everyone knows Islam and democracy are incompatible. If so, that's less a problem for Iraq or Afghanistan than for France and Belgium.

Posted by Sarah at 11:34 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 06, 2005

SNIFF

Cali found a heck of an article: Restaurant is haven for wounded war vets

Posted by Sarah at 12:17 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

November 02, 2005

LINKS

My German former co-worker used to often say how lucky we were to be living in Europe instead of the US, you know, where all the crime is. I mean, thank goodness we live in peaceful Europe, where there have been massive riots in Paris for the past week. Good thing we're not in the Midwest anymore; boy, is it more dangerous there than in Europe! (via LGF)

I had no idea that black people had dibs on New Orleans. Apparently they all called squatters on the city before they left, like my brother used to do with his spot on the sofa when he would go to the kitchen for a drink. And now that Hispanics are moving into New Orleans to take construction jobs, Jesse Jackson is crapping his pants. A large number of black people say they have no plans to return to New Orleans, so Jesse wants to bus them back in. Sheesh. (via Hud)

And on a lighter note, read Mare's Halloween post.

Posted by Sarah at 10:42 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

October 21, 2005

READ IT, FOR IT IS GOOD

The Killjoy Nation

And apparently my friend's husband is a blog reader too. Well, if he's reading today, Happy Birthday to you...

Posted by Sarah at 09:54 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 20, 2005

LINKS

The Iraqis voted again over the weekend, and look whose picture they took with them for strength and support. Those of us who follow news from Iraq -- and not just the garbage the AP feeds to us -- remain optimistc about Iraq's future.

Saddam Hussein went on trial yesterday. Did it even make the news? We've got hourly updates on DeLay and Rove, but apparently the Butcher of Baghdad is old news. Powerline reminds us to watch the media to see who will get "more favorable treatment in the American press, Saddam or Tom DeLay, Karl Rove and Scooter Libby?"

And out of Turkey, we get the following report (via LGF):

The survey was conducted in the conservative south-eastern city of Diyarbakir. It questioned 430 people, most of them men. When asked the appropriate punishment for a woman who has committed adultery, 37% replied she should be killed.

Twenty-five percent said that she deserved divorce, and 21% that her nose or ears should be cut off.

The survey group was small but the results are a reminder that "honour killing" - a practice where women are murdered for allegedly bringing shame on their family - still has significant support in parts of Turkey.

LGF has tracked honor killings for years. Never forget that this is what we're fighting against. Honor killing is the marriage of two of the seven signs of non-competitive states, a tradition that must be eradicated before Arab states can move forward.

And lastly, Powerline asks "Where is the outrage?" over the destruction of synagogues in Gaza. He quotes an editorial that reminds us that, unlike Peeing on the Koran-gate, this actually happened.

Posted by Sarah at 09:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 16, 2005

CAN'T SLEEP

Hook is back!!!
Hanson's switched on.
Varifrank is a god.

Posted by Sarah at 10:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 26, 2005

HEH

The Stars and Stripes got some good quotes from D.C. this weekend:

Jamie Santoro, a 40-year-old editor with a book company in Chicago, rode 18 hours with 40 friends to participate.

“I came because I think war is wrong in every circumstance,” she said. What about in fighting someone such as Hitler? “War is always wrong.”

Arianette Gosnell, 18, a student at Lorain County Community College in Ohio, drove out with her friends.

She was handing out flyers that read “RESIST OR DIE! NO SCHOOL ON NOV. 2!”

Asked what the group hoped to accomplish by not going to class for a day, she said, “Actually, I just got involved today, so I don’t know.”

Heh.

Posted by Sarah at 09:47 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

September 25, 2005

LIBRARY

I swear I could've written this blog entry about the library. I volunteered there as a kid and longed for the day when I had logged enough time to be able to stamp the due date cards. Mostly I just shelved the children's books, but it wasn't a bad gig for a ten year old. And I have asked my husband about the library vs. Napster thing too.

Posted by Sarah at 02:44 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

September 23, 2005

OUTRAGE

You're not alone, Charles. I too am outraged.
Hamas To Convert Synagogue to Weapons Museum

Posted by Sarah at 08:50 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

September 20, 2005

GASP

Hey, Deskmerc -- did you see this? Did your heart skip a beat like mine did?
Are we really going back to the moon?

Posted by Sarah at 07:17 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

September 15, 2005

MAN

This is too touching for words: Iraqi Soldiers Donate to Katrina Victims.
(via Malkin)

And this article on the "bad working conditions" at Wal-Mart reads like a Scrappleface entry. What a joke.

Posted by Sarah at 07:14 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

September 08, 2005

LINKS

Interesting discussion on subtle racism at Annika's
Interesting article on "the story that no one is reporting" about Katrina

Posted by Sarah at 08:50 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

PHOTOS

Wanna see some photos of white people cackling and rubbing their hands together as black people drown in New Orleans? Sorry, I don't have any. All I've got are these photos of human beings helping each other.

Posted by Sarah at 08:30 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 25, 2005

LINKS

Some Thoughts on Casualties in Times of War and Peace

The media's breathless tabulation of casualties in Iraq--now, over 1,800 deaths--is generally devoid of context. Here's some context: between 1983 and 1996, 18,006 American military personnel died accidentally in the service of their country. That death rate of 1,286 per year exceeds the rate of combat deaths in Iraq by a ratio of nearly two to one.

The Grunts...and The Press...

The Grunts aren't Rhodes Scholars, but they have seen the press show its ass. Their jobs have been made harder because some idiot with a typewriter decided that his right to shout "Fire!" in a crowded theater overrode the simple human decency of restraint.

Col. Thomas Spoehr is annoyed

Spoehr is the director of materiel on the Army staff. He had a good news story to tell [reporter Michael] Moss, which Moss converted into a bad news story.

Most of these links are taken from or found via Conservative Grapevine. You really should check it out every day; John Hawkins consistently finds gems on blogs I've never even heard of.

Posted by Sarah at 08:35 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

July 26, 2005

LINKS

Mark Steyn: Mugged by reality? (via RWN)
This Will Make You Proud (via my dad)

Posted by Sarah at 08:33 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

July 14, 2005

June 30, 2005

READ IT

It’s All About 9/11

I'm not getting much computer time these days because Charlie can't climb stairs, and when I do bring him upstairs he 1) chews on the computer cords or 2) thinks "upstairs" is "outside" and piddles. I'm trying to read stuff as fast as I can while he takes his little naps, but I'm finding it hard to concentrate.

And I miss Bunker a lot these days; I keep coming up with things I want to discuss with him.

Posted by Sarah at 09:38 AM | Comments (1)

June 29, 2005

HEH

Heh. Kelo is about to bite one of the Supreme Court justices in the butt. How deliciously crafty this proposal is:

The proposed development, called "The Lost Liberty Hotel" will feature the "Just Desserts Café" and include a museum, open to the public, featuring a permanent exhibit on the loss of freedom in America. Instead of a Gideon's Bible each guest will receive a free copy of Ayn Rand's novel "Atlas Shrugged."

Posted by Sarah at 09:03 AM | Comments (1)

June 15, 2005

SWEET

We were careless once, and thousands of people died. Let us not make the same mistake again.

Thus ends Varifrank's post. (Erin, you're gonna like this one.)

Posted by Sarah at 07:18 AM | Comments (2)

June 14, 2005

GEEZ

I don't even know what to say about this story: Grieving 9/11 Widow Spends Almost $5 Million. Glad to know that all the money we donated to 9-11 funds went to a good cause, right? Perhaps I'm a part-owner of one of this woman's $5000 purses.

At least I had this story to read afterwards and restore my faith in humanity: A long shot in more ways than one brings a town to tears

Posted by Sarah at 08:56 AM | Comments (6)

June 03, 2005

LINKS

Right Wing News has a good round-up today. Just go to his blog and go down the grey list on the right.

Posted by Sarah at 08:52 AM | Comments (0)

June 02, 2005

HA

I had five Varifrank blog entries to catch up on today, and I can't say which is my favorite. You just need to go to his blog and start reading from the top. Make sure you go all the way down to "I got your desecration right here pal" if you haven't already read it.

I can point out a certain bit that made me chuckle: Varifrank's advice to the EU constitution writers...

First, get an Englishman to write your constitution. It worked for us; it can work for you too! President Valery Giscard D’estang? What were you thinking? For gods’ sake, the French can write 2000 pages on the various color of apples without breaking a sweat. Its not getting them to talk that’s the trick, it’s getting them to shut up. You don’t put a Scotsman in the kitchen, you don’t put a Frenchman near a pen and paper, its one of life’s little rules.

I know exactly what he means, for I've been forced to read Marcel Proust.

Posted by Sarah at 09:08 AM | Comments (1)

June 01, 2005

THANKS

Tanker Schreiber shared a good article with me: The green card mercenaries

Posted by Sarah at 10:32 AM | Comments (4)

May 31, 2005

COOL

Via RWN I found an interesting calculator that shows you how you'd fare under President Bush's Social Security reforms.

Posted by Sarah at 08:39 AM | Comments (2)

May 24, 2005

DEWEY'S CIVILITY

I was thinking about civility again this morning and I remembered Den Beste's post on Thomas Dewey. It's worth reading again.

Posted by Sarah at 07:30 AM | Comments (1)

April 27, 2005

HA

Man, I wish I could punch Saddam in the face!

Posted by Sarah at 07:14 AM | Comments (4)

April 25, 2005

&%#$*

My first instinct is to say something extremely rude to Ms. Gyllenhaal. All I can think of saying after reading this disgusting article are some pretty choice insults. I'll leave them to your imagination...

Posted by Sarah at 01:45 PM | Comments (17)

April 22, 2005

WOW

I'm stuck here at school on parent-teacher conference day, and no one wants to talk to me. I've been here two and a half hours and I've talked to one parent. So I've been catching up on my reading, and I came across a wonderful Varifrank post.

Posted by Sarah at 10:32 AM | Comments (0)

April 05, 2005

QUICKIES

I'm with Deskmerc: Berger needs a whupin' from my husband's platoon sergeant.

Via Amritas: a good write-up on minimum wage

Posted by Sarah at 01:54 PM | Comments (0)

WHEW

Found via RWN, a *monster* of a post by Jane Galt on the institution of marriage. I'm not sure what I think of this post yet, but I sure know original thinking and a worthy post when I see it, and I plan to take the time to digest the whole thing.

Posted by Sarah at 01:45 PM | Comments (1)

March 21, 2005

YUCK

I can't believe spring break is over. Yuck.

Oh, and long live the UN. Snort.

Posted by Sarah at 06:38 AM | Comments (1)

March 17, 2005

QUICKIES

You mean other countries' flags are flammable? I thought only the American and Israeli flags would burn...

This Was Not Looting

Posted by Sarah at 07:51 AM | Comments (1)

March 16, 2005

GROSS

In case you missed it on Powerline, check out the photos of Cuba's free health care.

Posted by Sarah at 08:28 AM | Comments (0)

March 08, 2005

QUICKIES

This article on Iraqi checkpoints is very informative. I urge anyone in Iraq to read it.

I'm not a crusader for or against abortion, but this article made me a little spooked. I had to read it many times, and I'm still not sure what it's saying. The UN considers abortion a human right? UN delegates oppose teaching adolescents both abstinence and proper condom use? I'm really weirded out.

(thanks to RWN for both articles)

Posted by Sarah at 07:11 AM | Comments (0)

March 05, 2005

GUNNER PALACE

If you live anywhere near New York City, DC, Los Angeles or San Francisco, please go see Gunner Palace. I need you to make it a hit so that it can come here to AAFES so I can see it. Either that or I have to track down Michael Tucker and make him give me a personal screening!

Read the story of the birth of this movie. Incredible...

MORE TO GROK:

Please read Tim's words here in the comment section. And read the whole story at Mudville.

Posted by Sarah at 10:29 PM | Comments (9)

February 27, 2005

1989

I'm too young to have seen some beautiful things. Thing #1 I missed out on was the space race; I'd give anything to have seen a man go to the moon. Thing #2 was 1989; I was just a dumb kid who had no idea of the significance.

1989: A Pivot of History

Posted by Sarah at 08:06 AM | Comments (5)

February 25, 2005

FEMALES

Awww, man. Protein Wisdom linked to like every girl in the blogosphere except me...

Why don't more women blog? Who cares? Just read the stuff and laugh or learn or whatever, and stop worrying about whether the author is wearing pajamas or a nightgown. Stop getting so worked up over trivial crap. Geez.

Now excuse me while I go put on makeup and water my houseplants...

Posted by Sarah at 12:05 PM | Comments (1)

February 19, 2005

KYOTO SUCKS

Good article on the nonsense that is Kyoto, via Hud.

Posted by Sarah at 07:27 AM | Comments (0)

February 17, 2005

LINKS

Heh, this is why my hair is down to my waist!
When Liberals Are Honest About The War In Iraq
I like Lileks today too.
Selfishness is bad, right?

Posted by Sarah at 07:50 AM | Comments (3)

February 14, 2005

LINKS

On culture front, we're losing war by Mark Steyn
Arrogant censorship by David Limbaugh
"Dresden Bombing Is To Be Regretted Enormously" interview with Frederick Taylor

Posted by Sarah at 08:12 AM | Comments (1)

February 12, 2005

DANG

I started feeling tears well up in my eyes as I read this story. And then I let out a long, deliberate ho...ly...crap when I got to the punchline.

Posted by Sarah at 09:50 AM | Comments (2)

February 10, 2005

HEH

Steve of Hog on Ice is a Native American, just like Ward Churchill.

Posted by Sarah at 09:35 AM | Comments (2)

February 08, 2005

COOL

I've been meaning to point out something Oda Mae steered me towards:
Cox & Forkum's tribute to Ayn Rand

Posted by Sarah at 09:05 AM | Comments (3)

FIGHT

Bunker pointed out a great post by Michael Totten. The hook:

Believe me, you don’t know what a tense political fight feels like until the person yelling at you is from a country you recently bombed and currently occupy.

It's was a very interesting evening. And don't miss the Iraqi's one sentence summary of feelings towards the US.

Posted by Sarah at 08:01 AM | Comments (0)

THANK YOU

I know it was a commercial and it was staged, but it sure choked me up. We OCONUS folks can watch the Anheuser-Busch Super Bowl ad here. I don't care if we are in Germany; Budweiser is still the king of beers.

Posted by Sarah at 07:44 AM | Comments (1)

February 06, 2005

ELECTION

My friend sent me a wonderful email forward:

To all,

Rarely do I send emails to everyone in the command. I highly suggest you take 3 minutes and 12 seconds (the length of this video) out of your day to view the fruits of your labor. With all the negative spin and focused attention on the struggles, difficulties, and bloodshed going on in Iraq, this should be a true verification of what the REALISM is behind our sacrifice and dedication as American Soldiers. As an augmented Special Forces guy on the ground in Iraq during the early part of the war, I saw it every single day. But trying to communicate what that is like, is often difficult. If this doesn't make you proud to be an American, and TREASURE what we have built here in the United States, now alive and well in Iraq, then nothing will. To each and all who have given everything to uphold, support, and defend FREEDOM THROUGH MILITARY VICTORY, I offer my personal thanks for a job WELL DONE.

http://adamkeiper.blogs.com/comparevideo/files/Iraq_Election.wmv

Very Respectfully,
LCDR Keith Harrison, USN

So go watch it. And smile.

Posted by Sarah at 09:02 PM | Comments (2)

February 04, 2005

QUICKIES

-- When, when, WHEN is Viagra "medically necessary"? I honestly can't figure it out. Medicare is now going to pay for Viagra only when it's necessary, but when in the heck is that? Please explain it to me, because I can't quite figure it out.

-- The German economy is the worst it's been since Hitler came to power. Heh, just wait until troop realignment!

-- Janeane Garofalo was disgusted that Republicans wore blue ink to the State of the Union. Naturally, she managed to compare them to Nazis. How can a show of solidarity like that be disgusting? Yale students did the same, and I would've done it too if I had thought of it. I think it's a wonderful display of support. What a grumpy old bitch Garofalo is.

-- And my favorite news bit from today: U.S. General Says It Is 'Fun to Shoot Some People'. Always a touchy subject to bring up, but you've read Red 6's blog; true soldiers love battle. My husband said once that getting his soldiers to go on regular missions is like pulling teeth, but offer them the slight chance that they might get into a fight and they're immediately all business. Many bloggers have said that the hardest thing about war is not enjoying killing, but no one has quite voiced this truth like LTG Mattis. And who could be easier to kill than the people who oppress and abuse women, force the handicapped into suicide bomb vests, and behead prisoners? It's not hard to dehumanize this enemy.

Posted by Sarah at 08:23 AM | Comments (8)

January 09, 2005

DONATE

Last week I donated for the tsunami via Amazon, but I didn't give that much and I knew I was being a bit stingy. After reading this post today on the ineffectiveness of the Red Cross, I went and gave a little more via World Vision. If you haven't given anything but still want to, perhaps Hugh Hewitt's endorsement will persuade you...

Posted by Sarah at 09:16 AM | Comments (4)

January 04, 2005

LINK

How the Left betrayed My Country -- Iraq (via Powerline)

Just linking today, folks. I'm back at work, and it's been busy.

Posted by Sarah at 07:41 AM | Comments (1)

WHIMSY

I really do enjoy contemplating how insignificant human beings really are. It's fascinating. More on Mother Nature's whimsy here.

Posted by Sarah at 06:41 AM | Comments (0)

January 02, 2005

UN

Yeah, this pretty much sums up how I feel about the UN too.
Thanks, Bunker.

Posted by Sarah at 09:21 PM | Comments (0)

December 30, 2004

THIRD

The third part of that series is out: World Speaks Our Language and Attends Our Colleges

For two years, the Pew Research Center for People and the Press polled 66,000 people from 44 countries on whether children "need to learn English to succeed in the world today."
The answer was a resounding "yes."
More than 95 percent of those surveyed in Indonesia, Germany and South Africa agreed that English is necessary for children. More than 90 percent of those surveyed in China, Japan, France and Ukraine agreed.
Only one of the 44 countries had a substantial minority that disagreed — 35 percent of Jordanians said English is not a necessity.

And that attitude will make all the difference for the future of the Middle East.

Posted by Sarah at 09:21 AM | Comments (1)

December 28, 2004

WHA?

I had to do a double take: an article about the US that's all good? Woah.
America enjoys view from the top

And it looks like it's a five-part series; I'm anxious to read the rest.

Posted by Sarah at 11:18 AM | Comments (3)

December 19, 2004

CAN I CALL A DUDE'S SITE "PRETTY"?

Look at Bunker's new style for the holiday season! I like it.

Posted by Sarah at 08:53 AM | Comments (1)

December 16, 2004

LAW

Law and order are coming to Iraq. In baby steps, naturally, but they're coming.

Posted by Sarah at 08:23 AM | Comments (0)

December 15, 2004

JUNK SCIENCE

I had read this Michael Crichton speech on junk science before, pointed out by Kalroy, but I returned to it today, pointed out by Hud. It's amazing how much junk science we're inundated with every day. My favorite bit, per global warming:

Nobody believes a weather prediction twelve hours ahead. Now we're asked to believe a prediction that goes out 100 years into the future? And make financial investments based on that prediction? Has everybody lost their minds?

This is one of the best articles I've ever read.

Posted by Sarah at 10:16 AM | Comments (13)

December 14, 2004

STEP THREE: PROFIT

Varifrank tackles the underpants gnomes of "import less oil".

Posted by Sarah at 07:57 AM | Comments (2)

December 07, 2004

SMART CELEB

I'd like to meet Ben Stein. He sounds like a good guy.

Hud says:

I've talked to people on the left who live in red states, who told me they've encountered some ugliness for expressing their beliefs, but I'd be really surprised if they feel they have whisper to each other like the people in this article. Most lefties I know are pretty open about it. On the other hand, I have known many people on the right who were afriad to speak out for losing work. I've even had some people tell me I was risking never getting hired for the stuff I say on this blog. And what I tell them is, if you let people oppress you, they win. And now more people are going out and challenging the leftist orthodoxy

I know I never show my Bush support unless asked a direct question about whom I voted for, and we live on a military post, for pete's sake.

Posted by Sarah at 10:45 AM | Comments (6)

December 05, 2004

CLOSE CALL

Bunker's son nearly got shot yesterday. No, not the Marine. Not the Soldier either. The cop. That's why I don't waste time worrying about whether my husband could die in Iraq; non-Soldiers are just as mortal. And most of them don't spend life in IBA and an M1A1.

Posted by Sarah at 08:13 AM | Comments (0)

December 03, 2004

AMERICA ON STEROIDS

Lots of my friends here are red-state voters who come from coastal blue states. They sort of can't figure out why I want our next duty station to be Texas. Lo and behold, Vinod says it better than I could. A blog post in praise of Texas that includes references to 1) Lila and 2) groking: could it get any cooler than that?

Posted by Sarah at 12:24 PM | Comments (3)

December 02, 2004

SOME LINKS

Man, did I get sucked into this comments section!

And if there's one thing I can say about Ann Coulter, it's that she sure knows how to make me laugh:

But Bush nominates a brilliant geopolitical thinker who happens to be black and female and all of a sudden she's Butterfly McQueen, who don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no Middle Eastern democracies.

Posted by Sarah at 09:56 PM | Comments (0)

November 30, 2004

START

Congress Eyes UN Fund Cut...well, it's a start.

Posted by Sarah at 07:41 AM | Comments (1)

November 29, 2004

LINK

I have a million articles to read that have been emailed to me, but I need to grade a couple of papers before class. I'll try to get caught up this evening, but in the meantime, read Under Fire (via Oda Mae), an article that compares the Fallujah Marine to Ethics in America, the series I've been raving about for some time now...

Posted by Sarah at 08:52 AM | Comments (1)

November 23, 2004

FINAL NAIL

Wretchard puts a final nail in the Bush-is-Hitler meme. I have no idea if readers click on every link I provide, but this is certainly one you want to check out. You also need to click on Wretchard's link to the liberation of Dachau when he compares it to the shooting in Fallujah.

Posted by Sarah at 07:34 AM | Comments (1)

IT'S HERE!

Bill Whittle's long-awaited book, Silent America, is now for sale. I personally have to wait two torturous weeks until it goes on sale through Amazon, because pre-sale orders can't be shipped to APO. But I will be first in line to buy a copy once they're available.

Posted by Sarah at 07:10 AM | Comments (0)

November 22, 2004

WELL SAID

Good Bleat today...

I was a cranky teen too. Now there's nothing I like more than shopping for Christmas decorations with Mom.

Posted by Sarah at 07:25 AM | Comments (0)

November 19, 2004

MEMORIAL

The Stars and Stripes account of the memorial service for CSM Faulkenburg, CPT Sims, 1LT Iwan, and SSG Matteson.

Posted by Sarah at 07:24 AM | Comments (2)

November 18, 2004

TERLIT

Wallace got a fitting tribute for his Vietnam service! (via Bunker)

Posted by Sarah at 07:38 AM | Comments (0)

November 16, 2004

LINKS

Some links this morning:

Hell no, I am not sorry
Super Bush?
a short video clip on Arafat: Yasser Arafat's Dark Legacy (via David Kopel at Volokh)

Lots of grading to catch up on today, but I will post final thoughts on R&R soon.

Posted by Sarah at 08:05 AM | Comments (0)

October 26, 2004

GIVE WAR A CHANCE

This paragraph was the first thing to catch my eye:

Many writers, to be sure, have offered apologies for war. Under the title "Give war a chance", Edward Luttwak wrote in the Summer 1999 edition of Foreign Affairs, "Since the establishment of the United Nations, great powers have rarely let small wars burn themselves out. Bosnia and Kosovo are the latest examples of this meddling. Conflicts are interrupted by a steady stream of ceasefires and armistices that only postpone war-induced exhaustion and let belligerents rearm and regroup. Even worse are UN refugee-relief operations and NGOs [non-governmental organizations], which keep resentful populations festering in camps and sometimes supply both sides in armed conflicts. This well-intentioned interference only intensifies and prolongs struggles in the long run. The unpleasant truth is that war does have one useful function: it brings peace. Let it."

I won't even pretend to be a good history student -- it's always been my weakest subject -- but the article by Spengler that springboards from this quote is very interesting. (via The Corner)

Posted by Sarah at 07:54 PM | Comments (4)

October 22, 2004

SCARY

Woah.

Posted by Sarah at 09:54 PM | Comments (1)

TIP

Dear Bunker,
You should check out this article that Hud links to. I mean, everyone else should too, but for some reason I kept wondering what Bunker would make of it. Interesting stuff.
Your pal,
Sarah

Posted by Sarah at 08:55 PM | Comments (2)

WEARY

"I can’t wait to get this election behind me, so I can go on with my life."

Let's knock this crap off that "this is the most important election in our lifetimes"; they are all important. Just vote. Do a reasonably good job of knowing the issues, accept people who take a different view than you and then go take up rock polishing or go knit sweaters for the other 23 months in between the election season. Let's all go find a hobbies to keep us busy for Gods' sake.

Do blankets count? I've knitted a couple of those lately.

Posted by Sarah at 10:15 AM | Comments (0)

YAY

My husband is the happiest man in Iraq right now.

MORE TO GROK:

My mother-in-law emailed a Cardinals representative last week and the woman called her back. They talked a bit, and then the woman passed on the fact that there are two brothers in Iraq who are definitely rooting for the Cards. Legend has it that Pujols said that he would hit a homer for the boys...and his first at bat was a homer. Not too shabby.

Posted by Sarah at 07:10 AM | Comments (0)

October 21, 2004

LINKS

My email is really backed up, so I'm wading through all of the links.

American Student Hides Support for Bush

I feel so sorry for that girl.

Get Out the military vote — now

I keep calling MO and my husband's absentee ballot still hasn't arrived. The woman who works in the office has been great, and we've been discussing different options to make sure that he can vote. But I'm getting nervous!

Pessimistic Kerry supporters predict Bush will be the victor

I hope these people are right!

Posted by Sarah at 01:39 PM | Comments (1)

October 19, 2004

SPIRIT

Baldilocks gives more examples of those who are Americans in spirit and those whose spirits are unaffiliated.

Posted by Sarah at 11:07 AM | Comments (0)

October 14, 2004

FEAR

Whittle and Green both have important thoughts to share today about fears for our future.

Posted by Sarah at 09:46 PM | Comments (0)

October 12, 2004

NEW DEMOCRACY

I'm having computer problems, so I might be offline for a day or two. However, if you want to see what freedom looks like, if you want to see the most exciting photo I've seen in a long time, visit Smash.

Posted by Sarah at 03:41 PM | Comments (5)

October 08, 2004

MISSING

What word does Kerry never use? (via Bunker)

Posted by Sarah at 03:15 PM | Comments (1)

October 07, 2004

LINKS

Apparently we've already taken the global test. It didn't go very well.
"Standing for our principles is more important than being loved"
This "reading the meters" analogy is very good.

Posted by Sarah at 08:19 AM | Comments (0)

October 04, 2004

LINKS

Tanker sent some good links again:

3 Nations Reportedly Slowed Probe of Oil Sales (guess who!)
Iranian Citizens Trash Fahrenheit 9/11

And I'm sure by now that everyone has seen that ridiculous photo of Kerry reaching through his legs. I still can't figure out what the heck he's doing!

Posted by Sarah at 04:06 PM | Comments (3)

October 03, 2004

PHASE II

John Kerry's problem seems to always be the devil in the details. Deskmerc is constantly trying to figure out what goes on in Phase II, this time with Kerry's plan to give nuclear fuel to Iran.

Gnome 2: Phase I we collect underpants.
Gnome 1: Ya, ya, ya. But what about Phase II?
[Silence]
Gnome 2: Well Phase III is profit. Get it?

Posted by Sarah at 07:51 AM | Comments (2)

October 01, 2004

SCREED

I really want to know what happened during the debates last night! Lileks gave me a good taste to start out with...

Here’s the thing. I’d really like to live in John Kerry’s world. It seems like such a rational, sensible place, where handshakes and signatures have the power to change the face of the planet. If only the terrorists lived there as well.

Hey, Blue 6. If you have time, I think you might like this one.

Posted by Sarah at 08:14 AM | Comments (1)

September 30, 2004

SHEESH

What part of the word illegal do these people not get?

Posted by Sarah at 08:48 AM | Comments (1)

HEH

(Via Anders) If Saddam is released, he wants to do one of two things, he told a Swedish newspaper: either to run for president again in January or to move to Sweden, Switzerland, or Austria. Heh.

Posted by Sarah at 08:34 AM | Comments (2)

September 28, 2004

LINKS

What an awesome wish...
Flirting With Disaster
Troops Demoralized?

Posted by Sarah at 10:56 PM | Comments (5)

September 17, 2004

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE

What if it hadn't been John Kerry?

Posted by Sarah at 02:42 PM | Comments (0)

FOUR LINKS

Living in a Closet (via Oda Mae)
Kerry supporters make a little girl cry
a good post on the underdog
another Blue 6 (who just moved)

Posted by Sarah at 08:35 AM | Comments (0)

September 16, 2004

LINKS

I can't find a permalink, so you'll have to scroll, but I enjoyed reading this 17 August post called "America has failed".

And I know that this isn't really fair, because I know you could find some unflattering photos of me, but I loved the photos of the President.

Posted by Sarah at 09:13 AM | Comments (1)

September 13, 2004

HEH

As John Hawkins said, "Love to see some follow-up on this." Heh.
And Frank J can always make me smile.

Folks, it looks like Mom and I are on the mend. Nothing like spending a chunk of change on a plane ticket to Germany and then ending up sick in bed for four days. But now -- several pieces of plain toast and 13 episodes of Smallville later -- we seem to be doing better. We might even leave the house today!

Posted by Sarah at 08:05 AM | Comments (4)

September 12, 2004

DEFINITIVE?

A thorough post from a typographer.
Thanks, Hud.

Posted by Sarah at 09:27 PM | Comments (10)

LINKS FROM YESTERDAY

what the forged memo should have looked like
911 memorial vandalized
peace aktivists harrass mother of fallen Soldier
at home with John and Theresa (heh)

Posted by Sarah at 08:46 AM | Comments (0)

September 10, 2004

HEART ATTACK

This latest Cox & Forkum made me really sad.

Posted by Sarah at 11:25 AM | Comments (3)

HEROIC

I smile at the fact that English, in Vietnamese, is the "heroic language"...

Posted by Sarah at 07:17 AM | Comments (4)

September 09, 2004

LINKS

Tanker sends me many good links all the time. Here are a few:

Thank You From Iraq
When Germans Cheered US Soldiers
Kerry vs. Kerry

And from Oda Mae:

a story about President Bush

Posted by Sarah at 06:10 PM | Comments (2)

September 07, 2004

DILEMMA

What to do: catch up on blogs or study for my test?
For the link-hungry:

Cerberus writes about Zell Miller (via Bunker)
Bunker's gonna be on the radio
Mark Steyn: No other word for it but slaughter
Two must-reads: Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold and Deserving Victory (via the Rottweilers)

Posted by Sarah at 08:35 AM | Comments (2)

August 31, 2004

ELECTION

"It's an election year, and America stands at a crossroads." Thus begins CavX's great new post.

Posted by Sarah at 03:58 PM | Comments (1)

EUREKA

This will take about 10 seconds, but the eureka moment will be worth it. (Make sure you click on the green headline.)

Posted by Sarah at 07:59 AM | Comments (4)

August 30, 2004

PEER REVIEW

Deskmerc explains the importance of peer review in an excellent post.

Posted by Sarah at 06:55 PM | Comments (0)

NASTY

You know, I've seen some pretty hateful stuff in my years of being glued to the blogosphere, but oh...my...god.

Posted by Sarah at 08:00 AM | Comments (4)

August 27, 2004

OVERLAP

I've only taken two days of statistics so far, Stephen, so I can't explain this polling overlap either. It is pretty funny though.

Posted by Sarah at 03:11 PM | Comments (0)

August 26, 2004

OPTIMIST

Could it be true? Could John Kerry "go down in history as the man who made Dukakis look good"? I'd like to hope so...

Posted by Sarah at 05:31 PM | Comments (0)

LINKS

OK, there are a lot of things out there that I think you guys should be reading, but I'm too drained to write anything about them. So just take my word for it and go read this and this and this and this and this. And this, about how pro-wrestling is political. I have homework to do.

Posted by Sarah at 12:42 PM | Comments (0)

August 24, 2004

WOW

I for one have been brainwashed and hoodwinked.
A lot of this is news to me.
It's a shame that party stereotypes continue to trump reality.

(via Avery)

Posted by Sarah at 05:41 PM | Comments (3)

August 20, 2004

ROTTWEILERS

The Rottweilers are on a roll today, barking about illegal immigration, relocating the troops, and the absolute arrogance of the UN.

Posted by Sarah at 11:18 AM | Comments (0)

August 18, 2004

LINKS

There actually were heroes in Hollywood. At one time.

And read Bjorn Staerk's post on Islam and all of the comments.

Posted by Sarah at 12:38 PM | Comments (4)

August 17, 2004

RACISM

Some people can find racism in anything.

Posted by Sarah at 11:11 AM | Comments (0)

August 14, 2004

LINKS

Links to keep you busy:

On Loathing Bush, by Victor Davis Hanson

"Journalists are our brothers," says a spokesman for al-Sadr. You don't say?

Bunker writes on altruism.

Now this is a cool photo.

Avery writes about ebonics.

And isn't the timing of the FL hurricanes just a little too...convenient?

Posted by Sarah at 10:27 AM | Comments (2)

August 12, 2004

GAME PLAN

Stephen Green's Game Plan is a good read. I didn't even want to pull a passage out because the whole thing has to be read as one whole. But I gasped when I read this:

We fought at Bull Run, too. And we fought at Kasserine Pass, and Manila, and Bastogne, and Hue, and on Flight 93. We even won at a couple of those places, even though the cause seemed lost.

But we fought.

I've written about both Bastogne and Flight 93 before; both of them give me chills, but it wasn't until I saw them juxtaposed like this that I realized how they're related. In both cases, Americans fought even when they knew the odds were overwhelmingly against them. And they succeeded.

They fought anyway. That's an American value.

Posted by Sarah at 10:45 AM | Comments (0)

August 11, 2004

LABELS

Bunker found a good article -- A Marine's Role in the End of History -- and has his own interesting commentary.

Posted by Sarah at 09:28 AM | Comments (0)

August 10, 2004

DIVERSITY

Genius observation on diversity by David Boxenhorn.

Posted by Sarah at 09:45 AM | Comments (1)

August 09, 2004

IF ONLY

Awesome. Excellent. Sweet. Cool. Wow. Wonderful. Kick-ass. And other adjectives that describe Cold Fury's Someday, Some way. Oh and funny, dead-on, and if-only.

(via Baldilocks)

Posted by Sarah at 11:11 AM | Comments (0)

YUCK

Nice graffiti...

Posted by Sarah at 08:55 AM | Comments (1)

WE GET IT

I can't praise Cav X enough...

So... we get it. John Kerry was in Vietnam. What no one can explain is how that alone qualifies him to be President of the United States. No one can explain how spending four months on a patrol boat thirty-five years ago is a better qualification than spending the last three years destroying terrorist training camps, breaking up terror cells in the US and abroad, uncovering a multinational nuclear proliferation ring, forcing belligerent North Korea to the bargaining table, cowing Libya into giving up its WMD programs and terrorist support, and winning two wars against terrorist-supporting Islamofascist dictatorships in the process.

Posted by Sarah at 08:50 AM | Comments (0)

August 07, 2004

HEH

What John Kerry would have done instead of reading My Pet Goat. Heh.

Posted by Sarah at 03:43 PM | Comments (1)

August 06, 2004

LINKS

One way to stop worrying is to return to business as usual. So I return to blogging.

INDC has an intriguing piece about President Bush.

Tanker sent me this link, which is wicked cool, about success in Afghanistan using Schwarzenegger's "girlie man" technique.

People misspeak all the time, and I -- like everyone else who can follow unscripted spoken English -- have no problem understanding what President Bush meant. But why on earth do we have to throw Kerry-was-in-Vietnam into every single news article? It's irritatingly irrelevent here.

Posted by Sarah at 10:23 AM | Comments (1)

August 05, 2004

SWEET

The Hulk is going to hunt terrorists. Sweet. (via RWN)

Posted by Sarah at 09:10 AM | Comments (1)

August 04, 2004

LURKER

I've been a lurker at Stereo Describes My Scenario for several weeks now, always admiring Avery's wit and smarts, but this post is really something: Oooh! A Battle. I'd share sammiches and Kool-Aid with Avery anytime, especially if we'd get to talk about Rocky.

Posted by Sarah at 03:18 PM | Comments (3)

CHOMSKY

A sobering sentence from Diary of an Anti-Chomskyite (via Amritas):

The embrace of Chomsky by the mainstream liberal elite in America and the political consensus in Europe -- both Left and Right -- has to be regarded as one of the most unsettling developments in the intellectual world since 9/11; if only because, for the first time since Vietnam, the idea that America is, on a fundamental level, not merely misguided or mistaken but also evil is becoming a part of acceptable discourse.

President Bush got ripped a new one for using the term Axis of Evil because of its biblical and dichotomous overtones. But now we're tossing the word evil around like it means nothing anymore. Amritas and I were laughing over the weekend about the Canadian kids who said the US was a "force for evil." A force for evil, such a strange expression. Who says something like that?

There is true evil out there in the world; those who call the US evil have never seen it.

Posted by Sarah at 09:38 AM | Comments (33)

August 03, 2004

DOOZIES

Two doozies via LGF today:

He was complacent, arrogant and humourless. How they loved him.

Kerry now says that Bush "misled" him on Iraq. But, if he was that easily suckered by a renowned moron, how much more susceptible would he be to such wily operators as Chirac.

What's wrong with Fahrenheit 9/11?

Michael Moore throws everything he can at Bush, who is portrayed at times as bumbling and artificial, at others conniving beyond our wildest imaginations. The Bush-hater need only take their pick: the disputed election, his ties to the House of Saud, Afghanistan, Iraq, Bush’s plutocratic pedigree, his drawl, too much antiterrorism, too little antiterrorism, defense companies, the Saudis again, and then finally, at the end of the movie, the big one: war is what powerful elites do to keep the poor down and preserve their hierarchies of wealth and privilege. Actually piecing the movie together reveals a contradictory mosaic of unrelated topics, which, especially in the lurid conspiracy-weaving parts, flit across the silver screen in rapid-fire succession. It is “somewhat confusing, admittedly,” says Joanne Doroshow, an associate producer of the movie.

Posted by Sarah at 07:41 AM | Comments (5)

August 01, 2004

SWEET

Off to the movies we shall go
where we learn everything that we know
cuz the movies teach us what our parents don't have time to say
And this movie's gonna make my life complete
cuz Stone and Parker are sweet...

Thank god Amritas showed me this quiet little awesome preview!

Posted by Sarah at 09:36 PM | Comments (1)

July 29, 2004

HMMM

There may be correlation, but is there causation?
Fear of hell makes us richer, Fed says

Posted by Sarah at 02:22 PM | Comments (1)

FUNDING

Tanker sent me this link from Iraq the Model. Those brothers are smart cookies:

This reveals the fact that the terrorists’ resources are no longer sufficient to their expenses and this is what made them seek financial support through these criminal operations.
Ok, we know now that they’re close to bankruptcy and here come two countries to reinforce the terrorists position by withdrawing from Iraq. And people here in Iraq believe that Manilla paid several millions of dollars to free the hostage just like what the Egyptians did when the Egyptian embassy announced that the operation was more about money than about politics.
Do you know what this means?

Millions of dollars mean hundreds of victims. They’re funding terror in one way or another and I find it very stupid that negotiations take place through the help of a highly under suspicion-group like the "Sunni Muslim Cleric Council".

There’s a deal to fund terror in a different way than before and there are groups and countries who support this and maneuver to override the obstacles.
Negotiating with those thugs provides them with legitimacy let alone submitting to their demands and funding them.

Posted by Sarah at 02:17 PM | Comments (2)

BLEAT

Hilarious Bleat today. Trip to IKEA: done it myself, many times. Chili Cheese Burrito petition: signed it with my husband's name, since it's his favorite Bell item. And I can't decide if I laughed harder at this paragraph

This is why I am not completely undone by the news that it may take a while to fully electrify Iraq. It took DirecTV ten attempts to fix one dish, and no one was shooting at the techs.

or this one

I like my union; they've backed me up when I was in a corner. I just wish they didn't force me to subsidize pictures of the president standing in a sack of shit, that's all. Is that too much to ask?

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm hooked on Lileks.

Posted by Sarah at 10:03 AM | Comments (0)

July 26, 2004

HATE

Just a quick link via RWN: Bush-haters do Kerry no favors

Posted by Sarah at 10:01 AM | Comments (0)

ON

Mark Steyn is on:

And here's where I have some sympathy with Sandy Berger and his overloaded pants. By his own words, he's guilty of acts that any other American would go to jail for. He "inadvertently" shoved 30-page classified documents down his pants and then "inadvertently" lost them at home and then "inadvertently" returned to the National Archives to "inadvertently" take another draft of the same 30-page document and "inadvertently" lost that, too. He "inadvertently" made forbidden cell phone calls from the room with the classified documents, and he "inadvertently" took more suspicious bathroom breaks while in the Archives than that Syrian band took on that L.A. flight that was in the news last week. If the former national security adviser has an incontinence problem, that at least explains where he was during the '90s when Osama bin Laden was growing bolder and bolder on his watch.

Posted by Sarah at 07:45 AM | Comments (0)

July 23, 2004

GOOD-BYE

And when I got to the end, I realized I was crying.
We'll miss you, Tim.

Posted by Sarah at 08:39 AM | Comments (1)

July 22, 2004

STEIN

A soldier wrote a letter in response to a Ben Stein column.
Ben Stein responded.

(via Greyhawk)

Posted by Sarah at 09:39 AM | Comments (1)

July 20, 2004

ACCOMPLISHED

Fahrencrap 9/11 will be shown free-of-charge in Seoul in an effort to get more Koreans to see the movie and oppose the deployment of Korean troops to Iraq. Mission accomplished, Michael Moore.

Posted by Sarah at 07:25 AM | Comments (3)

July 19, 2004

INSTY

Some good stuff on Instapundit today. First, a quote from reader David Pinto:

We've done a pretty good job of surrounding potential trouble makers. Pakistan has the US on one side and India on the other. Iran has the US on two fronts. And Syria has the US and Israel on two fronts. Not a bad strategic maneuver.

Indeed, as Glenn would say. And then there's this link on what really happened to the oil-for-food money...

Ain't that a kick in the pants?

Posted by Sarah at 10:01 PM | Comments (1)

HULK

This is when I let out a huge incredible-hulkish growl.
Germany to Drop Charges Against 9/11 Plotter

Posted by Sarah at 09:33 AM | Comments (1)

July 18, 2004

DEFINITION

According to Garrison Keillor, the definition of a Republican is

...hairy-backed swamp developers and corporate shills, faith-based economists, see-through fundamentalist bullies with Bibles, Christians of convenience, freelance racists, hobby cops, misanthropic frat boys, lizardskin cigar monkeys, jerktown romeos, ninja dittoheads, the shrieking midgets of AM radio, tax cheats, cheese merchants, cat stranglers, taxi dancers, grab-ass executives, gun fetishists, genteel pornographers, pill pushers, chronic nappers, nihilists in golf pants, backed-up Baptists, Crips and Bloods of the boardroom...

Wow, those are some fun descriptions. Though try as I might, I just can't fit myself into any of those categories, despite the fact that I have met many cats that I would've liked to have strangled. If he added war cheerleaders and clueless fucktards, then I'd fit right in...

(Via Powerline)

Posted by Sarah at 10:25 AM | Comments (7)

July 17, 2004

SEMANTICS

I found this blog post via Annika's comments section, which made me think of this post I read a long time ago. Do we need to pay more attention to the semantics of this war?

Posted by Sarah at 03:53 PM | Comments (0)

July 16, 2004

TERROR

I read about this story on a billion blogs today. I finally read the whole thing, and my stomach is a mess. I felt scared to death.

Oh yeah, Mama, don't read it. I'll never get you on a plane in September.

Posted by Sarah at 02:17 PM | Comments (8)

PERMISSION

Den Beste has a good post about the difference between "Can I?" and "May I?" At the end he touches on persuading vs bullying; what I want to know is why so many in this world point a finger at the US as the world's bully, when France is the one telling other nations to shut up...

Posted by Sarah at 07:20 AM | Comments (0)

COOLER

Lileks is also cool.

I hate this; God I hate this. But I don’t have any longing for normalcy, as Noonan put it the other day, because normalcy was a delusion, a diaphanous curtain draped over the statue of Mars. Nor do I want a time out, a breather, an operational pause. I want to cut to the chase. I want Iran in the hands of its people and leaning to the West again, I want Lebanon independent of Syrian rule, I want Syria isolated and cowed, Arafat dead and buried in the land of his birth – or Paris, symbolically – and the Saudi Civil War done and over with pragmatists in power. I'd like this all tomorrow please.

Noon is fine, if it works for everyone else.

Posted by Sarah at 07:00 AM | Comments (2)

July 15, 2004

JENSEN

I read Robert Jensen's article Stupid White Movie: What Michael Moore Misses About the Empire via Hud. I certainly don't agree with many things in this article, but at least Jenson and I can find some common ground:

And what of the analysis of Iraq? Moore is correct in pointing out that U.S. support for Iraq during the 1980s, when Saddam Hussein's war on Iran was looked upon favorably by U.S. policymakers, was a central part of Reagan and Bush I policy up to the Gulf War. And he's correct in pointing out that Bush II's invasion and occupation have caused great suffering in Iraq. What is missing is the intervening eight years in which the Clinton administration used the harshest economic embargo in modern history and regular bombing to further devastate an already devastated country. He fails to point out that Clinton killed more Iraqis through that policy than either of the Bush presidents. He fails to mention the 1998 Clinton cruise missile attack on Iraq, which was every bit as illegal as the 2003 invasion.

Jensen lost me when he spoke ill of the military, which is not surprising given my admitted knee-jerk love of all things camouflage, but at least I could read the article and try to see his point.

Posted by Sarah at 09:15 AM | Comments (2)

READ

Kerry vs The War

Posted by Sarah at 07:22 AM | Comments (0)

July 14, 2004

READ

Two Johns, Two Positions

Posted by Sarah at 07:26 AM | Comments (0)

July 13, 2004

WINDOW

Hey, look! I'm in CPT Patti's window!
(right side, bottom left corner)

Posted by Sarah at 09:56 PM | Comments (0)

WMDs

A good NY Post article, via DGCI:

The report condemns the CIA for overstating the intelligence it did have on Iraq's weaponry. But it doesn't claim that the CIA actively discarded or disregarded contravening evidence. There was almost no evidence that Saddam did not possess weapons of mass destruction until after the war was won and we began looking for them.

I know I've become a linker lately; the truth is that I don't have time for anything else. In fact, I should be grading papers right now instead of reading the NY Post. (I also don't have anything new to say that hasn't already been said elsewhere, but that's a different issue altogether.) My friend here, known for throwing hilarious fake tantrums, grumbled at me yesterday because I never come knit or sew with her anymore; I have a half-made quilt that's been sitting there for over six weeks. She's right; I don't do much of anything anymore except work, teach, grade, and try to get some sleep while other people's dogs are keeping me up all night. Only two and a half more weeks of this school term though, and then I get a break until October.

Posted by Sarah at 09:16 AM | Comments (0)

July 12, 2004

QUOTED

Hey, CavX made the big time! What have I been telling you guys all along? He's top dog.

Posted by Sarah at 10:04 AM | Comments (0)

July 11, 2004

LIAR

Joseph Wilson is a liar. I wish the President would be more pro-active in pointing out stuff like this.

Posted by Sarah at 07:55 AM | Comments (14)

July 10, 2004

LOATHSOME

Ugh. Double ugh. Is it November yet?

Posted by Sarah at 06:49 AM | Comments (2)

July 08, 2004

LIAR

Michael Moore is a liar. But you knew that already, didn't you? Lileks wants to make sure you don't forget that Moore lies off-screen too.

Mmmm. Screed.

Posted by Sarah at 09:34 AM | Comments (0)

July 06, 2004

SNAFU

You should read all of Iraq Now today. Just keep scrolling. I especially liked the reference to the Offspring. And my husband said that no one he knows in the military actually uses the word "snafu", despite its frequency in movies.

Posted by Sarah at 02:29 PM | Comments (12)

FULFILLED

Blueshift satisfies my request for photos of corn and junk cars in the Midwest!

Posted by Sarah at 07:45 AM | Comments (3)

July 05, 2004

LINKS

I have some papers to grade, so here are some links in the meantime:

Iraq Now points out the win-win nature of the 12 chemical shells the Poles found.

The sister of one of the pilots killed at the Pentagon crash has some words for the American public regarding the 9/11 commission.

And watch Saddam play a rousing game of Paper Rock Scissors (via Smash).

Posted by Sarah at 10:11 AM | Comments (1)

July 04, 2004

REIGN

I have seen discussions of whether President Bush -- reputation for being a complete idiot -- meant to say "reign" or "ring" in his note. I think he said it exactly right.

Posted by Sarah at 09:01 AM | Comments (2)

FREEDOM

It's the perfect day to watch my favorite commercial again.

Posted by Sarah at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)

July 03, 2004

TESTIFY

Good lord, what a nightmare.

MORE TO GROK:

Apologies for being vague: the reason I think it's a nightmare is because the US might have to testify on behalf of that monster. Not because I'm hoodwinked.

Posted by Sarah at 02:45 PM | Comments (3)

CHINA

One Hand Clapping has a moving entry on the current events in China and the power of one man. I've said it before: would that I had an ounce of his conviction.

Posted by Sarah at 09:44 AM | Comments (0)

DEUCE

Wow. Yesterday's LGF (2 July) was a doozy. I laughed, I gasped, I ohmygoded. If you didn't see it all, go back. And follow links. And adopt the phrase "the deuce" into your vocabulary.

Posted by Sarah at 09:24 AM | Comments (2)

July 02, 2004

EVERREADY

Carla's right: this cartoon brings a little smile to my face. So does this story.

Posted by Sarah at 09:40 PM | Comments (0)

June 30, 2004

MATE

Tim Blair's teaching the Iraqi bloggers Australian.
There's your cultural cross-pollination.

Posted by Sarah at 09:45 PM | Comments (0)

LYING

I thought this article on the morality of lying via Instapundit was very interesting. Food for thought.

As is this weary post on why blogging is taking its toll. I can relate; I spent two hours writing an email to a friend about why I will not be seeing Fahrenheit 9/11.

And I experience this regularly at work, on a military post of all places:

For some reason, it's OK to wax polemic for a half-hour at a time if you are dissing Bush, but non-Democrats must stay in the closet.

Posted by Sarah at 02:50 PM | Comments (0)

June 29, 2004

SHOES

My friend and I just went and raided our post's thrift shop for SGT Hooks' Operation Shoe Fly. Expect a box soon, Hook. If anyone else has old shoes in the closet or ten bucks to spend at the Salvation Army, Afghani children could use the footwear.

Posted by Sarah at 10:42 AM | Comments (0)

NUTJOBS

I find it hysterical that the DU nutjobs think that the transfer of sovereignty was moved up two days to distract people from Fahrenheit 9/11.

Posted by Sarah at 08:52 AM | Comments (26)

June 28, 2004

TWISTED

I thought Muslims weren't supposed to kill other Muslims...
This Muslim soldier went to jail for refusing to fight.
But these guys don't seem to have a problem with it.

Posted by Sarah at 04:38 PM | Comments (2)

June 26, 2004

SLEEPY

For some reason, my body just decided to reject sleep last night. I got in bed at 2315. At 0120 I took a Tylenol PM and read for half an hour. At 0300 I was really starting to get mad. At 0445 my friend's dog (I was puppysitting again) woke me up with his snoring. At 0550 the dog wanted to play. And my alarm went off at 0630 to go in to work.

So all the blogging I can muster today is that you might be interested in this and this.
And make sure to watch this.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Posted by Sarah at 03:16 PM | Comments (0)

June 25, 2004

SAD

I read this today in the comments section on another blog. It's part of a longer rant I won't bother with.

The first iraq war was a mistake. Iraq (former babylon) used to be one of the richest most prosperous countries in the world and was the center for trade in the middle-east. The british during there imperialism invaded and took over kuwait which later gained sovereinty. This left Iraq with no access to water and they lost all there trade and the country went to shit. To add salt in the wounds oil was discovered in 1978. So to the Iraqi people a piece of their land that had had owned for 1000's of years was taken from them causing their economy to colapse.
Now I am in no way saying Sadam was right in his methods but you must understand the culture. Sadam came into power by killing the former leader as did he and so on. When you rule a country like this you must rule it with fear. At any moment he could be overthrown. We can't contemplait this because we haven't lived that way for thousands of years.

Wow. I can't help but think of the wonderful Onion parody a few years back. Point (college student): Nigeria is a land filled with culture. Counterpoint (Nigerian): Get me out of this hellhole. We have to accept a violent dictatorship and the invasion of Kuwait because it's their culture. That's appallingly depressing; I think it's the worst thing I've read in a comments section in a long time.

This person describes himself as "well educated and professional", but I have to wonder about that, considering the wealth of spelling and grammar mistakes throughout.

Unfortunatly people regard US people in that malice. Its your government that people hate. They rule by econimic oppression. Who dares to stand up to them. The UN can't who can. So its no wonder 9/11 happened. Unfortunatly it envolved thousands of innocent people.

Posted by Sarah at 04:02 PM | Comments (8)

June 24, 2004

ANGUISH

If it wasn't gangs and it wasn't drugs, then what could have possibly made someone shoot an OEF and OIF veteran after an argument? I have a guess, and it makes me want to cry.

Posted by Sarah at 04:08 PM | Comments (0)

KAL!

Kalroy is back! Hmm...I guess I should say "Kalroy is here" instead, since it's funnier. Whatever. Anyway, he's back from his Ultra-Secret Mission that started in January, and he's already calling bullshit on Noam Chomsky.

I missed you, Kal. Welcome back.

Posted by Sarah at 08:43 AM | Comments (5)

June 23, 2004

NOTES

I decided to do my favorite thing before I go to bed: read Notes From the Olive Garden. Again.
Still laughed my fool head off, even after all this time.

Posted by Sarah at 10:28 PM | Comments (2)

June 22, 2004

WATER

Wow.

Posted by Sarah at 10:18 AM | Comments (6)

CREED

Robert Alt offers a funny yet frightening look at the inconsistency of the Left.

(Thanks, Bunker. Bubba will be mad that I posted it too, but I think all those tidbits juxtaposed summarize the chaos the Democrats currently represent.)

Oh, and Drill Sergeant Rob's post is mighty good too.

Posted by Sarah at 09:49 AM | Comments (8)

June 21, 2004

WORRY

Lileks echoed my current worry!

Sometimes the disconnect between the editorial page and the real world is so vast I wonder whether we can ever agree about anything any more.

Read the whole Bleat. He writes better than I do.

Posted by Sarah at 08:16 AM | Comments (0)

June 14, 2004

FLAG DAY

Happy Flag Day, everyone.

flag.bmp

UPDATE:

Crap, I really am as dumb as hammers.
Happy Birthday.

Posted by Sarah at 04:17 PM | Comments (9)

June 07, 2004

DEBATE

I have never read the Harry Potter books nor seen the movies, but I thought that this debate between Mrs. du Toit and James Hudnall over Harry Potter vs. The Lord of the Rings was very interesting.

Posted by Sarah at 02:36 PM | Comments (6)

June 06, 2004

HERO

Joe Beyrle is a Hero. For both sides.

Posted by Sarah at 09:29 AM | Comments (0)

June 05, 2004

BRADBURY

Ray Bradbury is pissed that Michael Moore used Fahrenheit 451 to name his movie. Anders has translated the details.

Posted by Sarah at 07:42 PM | Comments (1)

RAP

OK, even those of you who don't like rap have to go listen to this. It's footage from Michael Tucker's movie, in which a Soldier raps about life in Iraq. It's a huge download, but I hope everyone can see it. That's pure talent.

(Thanks, Blackfive.)

Posted by Sarah at 10:53 AM | Comments (0)

CUSSING

Best Friend says my husband swears more than anyone he knows. He's obviously never met these folks. They need a good ol'fashioned mouth washed out with soap...

Posted by Sarah at 10:16 AM | Comments (1)

June 04, 2004

GROTTO

I meant to link to this the other day, but I said I wasn't blogging, even though I really was blogging, but saying I wasn't blogging was cure enough for what ailed me, so in my pseudo-not-blogging I didn't point this out. Whatever.

Amritas points to an article about some Holocaust survivors who lived in a cave in Ukraine for a year.

Posted by Sarah at 07:27 AM | Comments (0)

June 03, 2004

SPELLING

Just found this old article: Soldier - and That's With a Capital 'S'
From now on I will make a conscious effort to use this spelling change.

Posted by Sarah at 03:25 PM | Comments (1)

June 02, 2004

ROUND-UP

A couple of military links this morning:

1. If you can't get rank and unit structure right, what else are you getting wrong?

2. Check out the photo album of Smiles from Iraq.

3. Smash's contact says no way it was a wedding party.

4. And, John Kerry, this one is for you...

craigfin.gif

Posted by Sarah at 10:34 AM | Comments (0)

May 28, 2004

REWRITE

Wow. Paris airports authority remove all mention of collapsed 2E.
I guess they threw it down the Memory Hole. Scary.

(Thanks, Merde in France.)

UPDATE:

Seb says it's not true.

Posted by Sarah at 10:30 PM | Comments (1)

TORTURE

An Iraqi who was in prison under Saddam Hussein weighs in on Abu Ghraib:

Ibrahim Idrissi has mixed feelings about the recent uproar caused by the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib under the US occupation. "As a humanitarian organization, we oppose this," he says. "But these are soldiers who have come to Iraq to fight, not to be prison guards. It was to be expected. Of course, if there are innocent people in there ... it is possible, I guess, that some of them are innocent."

If Idrissi seems a bit callous about the fate of the Iraqis in US-run jails, he has probably earned the right to differ. He recalls a day in 1982, at the General Security prison in Baghdad:

"They called all the prisoners out to the courtyard for what they called a 'celebration.' We all knew what they meant by 'celebration.' All the prisoners were chained to a pipe that ran the length of the courtyard wall. One prisoner, Amer al-Tikriti, was called out. They said if he didn't tell them everything they wanted to know, they would show him torture like he had never seen. He merely told them he would show them patience like they had never seen."

"This is when they brought out his wife, who was five months pregnant. One of the guards said that if he refused to talk he would get 12 guards to rape his wife until she lost the baby. Amer said nothing. So they did. We were forced to watch. Whenever one of us cast down his eyes, they would beat us."

"Amer's wife didn't lose the baby. So the guard took a knife, cut her belly open and took the baby out with his hands. The woman and child died minutes later. Then the guard used the same knife to cut Amer's throat." There is a moment of silence. Then Idrissi says: "What we have seen about the recent abuse at Abu Ghraib is a joke to us."

(Thanks, Hud.)

Posted by Sarah at 05:04 PM | Comments (2)

May 27, 2004

INTERVIEW

Amritas pointed out a great interview. I don't even know who Jon Schaffer -- or Iced Earth -- is, but I really like him.

Posted by Sarah at 09:17 PM | Comments (1)

May 26, 2004

BOOS

Oda Mae always shoots me good stuff in the morning:
Doctorow's Malpractice: Hofstra students use boos responsibly

Posted by Sarah at 06:45 AM | Comments (1)

May 25, 2004

MISLEADING

If you didn't see Iraq Now's comparison of misleading media quotes on Instapundit, you should read it.

Posted by Sarah at 10:00 PM | Comments (2)

ANONYMOUS

It has been a while since I first read the Americans Anonymous webpage, but thanks to Amritas I returned to it this evening. What a great site.

(Oh and yes, despite what I said before about using my French to read things in the original, I'd give anything to not speak French today so I wouldn't be able to understand this magazine cover.)

Posted by Sarah at 09:49 PM | Comments (1)

May 24, 2004

TIM

Look, we may not get Tim's research and voice for much longer, so if you're not spending a few minutes every day scrolling through everything he unearths, you're missing out.

Posted by Sarah at 10:39 PM | Comments (0)

SUSPENSE

Wanna feel your heart pound? Read this soldier's story, via Belmont Club.

Posted by Sarah at 07:25 AM | Comments (4)

May 23, 2004

NOPE

No wedding party. Thanks, Oda Mae.

(No time to blog: I have been slacking majorly this morning and still have 11 final papers to read.)

Posted by Sarah at 12:26 PM | Comments (1)

May 22, 2004

WMDs

(Via Hud) No one really cares about the WMDs after all.

(For those who get rap references, there's a WMDeezNuts joke out there somewhere...)

Posted by Sarah at 01:17 PM | Comments (2)

HORSE

The newest installment in my segment called Dead Horse Beating is from James Hudnall; he says everything that I learned this morning about prison scandals in one succinct post.

Posted by Sarah at 01:13 PM | Comments (0)

May 21, 2004

BLAME

And here I thought we couldn't blame anything else on President Bush...

(Thanks, Dave.)

Posted by Sarah at 07:06 AM | Comments (3)

May 19, 2004

SCROLLING

It was a red-letter day at Tim's: he's got loads of feel-good stories. Heroes who fight back despite holes in their arms, soldiers from our post who capture the bad guy instead of shooting him, Iraqis who can tie their shoes, and so on. Go start scrolling...

Posted by Sarah at 10:29 PM | Comments (0)

May 18, 2004

YAY

Yay! Our guys got 'er done...

Posted by Sarah at 09:28 PM | Comments (0)

DEAD HORSE

I was walking through the blogosphere and I came upon a dead horse. I thought I'd beat it again, just to make sure the message got through. But this time it's really worth it...

Oh, and this was in the paper version of the Stars and Stripes yesterday: Something That Didn't Make The News

Posted by Sarah at 01:42 PM | Comments (0)

PACKAGES

Thinking of sending a package down range? A Kim du Toit reader has some advice...

Posted by Sarah at 09:18 AM | Comments (0)

May 17, 2004

TEN BUCKS

Ten bucks you won't hear about the sarin-filled IEDs or Saddams atrocities at Abu Ghraib on the TV.

(Thanks, Nighthawk.)

Posted by Sarah at 10:13 PM | Comments (1)

KNEE-JERK

Beth found a great article about a teacher's reaction to anti-Americanism abroad. I found myself nodding while reading most of it. I too was a teacher on September 12, and I endured my own share of knee-jerks in my ESL class that day.

Posted by Sarah at 09:35 AM | Comments (1)

GRRRRR

Grrrrr. Heart. Rate. Rising. Must look at the puppy. Or read Lileks; he makes me laugh out loud. "Don’t eat the cup this time." -- HA!

MORE:

But then I went to Merde in France and started scrolling down through all the political cartoons. Clenched teeth. However, the last cartoon puts everything in perspective:

higgins35006.gif

Posted by Sarah at 08:01 AM | Comments (4)

CROSSFIRE

I think the world of Mark Steyn. His new article was almost too good to pull out one quote, but I managed to pick one:

Back before 9/11, real crossfire was long ago and far away. Not anymore. And that's the problem: We still have a ''Crossfire'' culture in an age of real crossfire. We have the ersatz warriors, the ham actors of Washington -- Senators Kennedy, Levin, Leahy, Harkin and others too fond of seeing their names in print to mention -- ''calling for Rumsfeld's head'' at a time when America's enemies have already got Nick Berg's, and they're swinging it around on camera for the snuff video they'll be distributing as a recruiting tool.


Posted by Sarah at 07:56 AM | Comments (0)

May 16, 2004

SELFLESS

Jeremy Duncan is the poster boy for selfless service, not only to his country but also to his friends.

Jeremy Duncan returned from Iraq last June and will go back this August, but he will be giving new life here at home. He will be donating a kidney.

Posted by Sarah at 10:20 PM | Comments (0)

ABSENTEE

This better not affect my husband.

Posted by Sarah at 09:26 AM | Comments (0)

May 14, 2004

SKITSTÖVEL

To the Swede who thought it was real funny to make the "America's Dumbest Soldiers" webpage:

Vad fan gör du? Har du ett hjärta eller är du bara en jävla kuk? Du ä så jävla feg, att du har använt en mexikansk adress. Jag skiter i dig. Du är inte värd besväret.

Help me out, Anders. I don't even know enough swear words to do this guy justice.

Posted by Sarah at 10:23 PM | Comments (2)

THOROUGH

This appears to be a very thorough webpage, with lots of links for future reference, on the War in Iraq. I haven't looked through it closely yet, but I plan to this weekend.

Posted by Sarah at 05:27 PM | Comments (1)

ELOQUENCE

My friend and I talked at length yesterday about eloquence. I found some examples this morning of things I wish I had said.

Via Hoystory:

Nope, don't blame the Islamofascists. Don't blame the terrorists. They're just innocent victims of American imperialism.

Just how out of whack does your brain have to be to ignore the guy holding the blood-stained knife in one hand and the severed head in the other?

via Feste:

On that dreadful day all Americans became the falling man and today we are Nick Berg.

John Kerry is on Imus at the moment and his opening remarks? He says we are crushed under the burden of healthcare and gas prices. No, Senator we are crushed under the WTC. Kerry continues to say he can shift the burden for the war in Iraq to others, remove the target from our backs, he is a fool.

Via the very angry Banagor:

O, Pardon! for I am "stigmatizing" with "hatred" a "great religion" and "culture"! Well then, show me this great religion and culture! Show me the fruits of this wonderful world which the Left defends so wholeheartedly!

I will show it to you: it is a tape, grainy but recognizable, in which the full glory of Islam is pronounced by the brutal sawing off of a man's head and proudly shown off to the world.

And the even angrier Emperor Misha:

We cannot make them stop hating us, for the very simple reason that hatred is all that they have to offer to this world.

Well, let them hate us then, but let us teach them also to fear us more than they fear anything else. Let us show them, forcefully, brutally and without mercy that there are no worse fates imaginable to man than to cross us, that their much vaunted "anger" is nothing but a slight expression of displeasure compared with what they have awoken in us.

Posted by Sarah at 10:02 AM | Comments (0)

May 13, 2004

BACK

Tim's back up and running, and he has several wonderful posts today. Go read all of them.

Posted by Sarah at 03:30 PM | Comments (0)

MONSTERS

I relate very strongly to Michele's story:

Maybe their well will dry up some day. Maybe there will be less and less followers of Islam who view their religion as an excuse to murder and more of the kind who want peace and prosperity. Maybe they will kill themselves off in all their attempts to kill us. Maybe moderate Muslims will stand up and be heard and drive the terrorists out of their holes and into a hail of machine gun fire. Would I care about their deaths? Nope. Not at all. They aren't human. They are monsters. Die, monsters, die, as my son used to say in his sleep.

So my son, an eleven year old who already knows too much about the world, happened to see part of the video yesterday as he watched the news. He was devastated and horrified. He took Nick Berg's death very personally. We discussed the matter, discussed about terrorists, about good v. evil.

He asked can't we just drop a bomb and kill them all?

And I realized, as I explained to him the best I could why we cannot do such a thing, that what he said is absolutely an eleven year old way of dealing with things. We are not eleven. We are adults.

Ok, then how come I keep whispering die, monsters, die in my dreams?


Posted by Sarah at 08:14 AM | Comments (0)

May 10, 2004

DEAD HORSE

If Abu Ghriab were a dead horse, I would be beating it, but I wanted to point out something reader Oda Mae brought to my attention. Omar from Iraq the Model interviewed someone who used to work at Abu Ghraib.

Posted by Sarah at 04:59 PM | Comments (5)

May 08, 2004

BEASTLIE

I'm very much against putting money in the pockets of Hollywood entertainment types who badmouth our country or our President. However, at the rate we're going, the only CDs I'll be able to own will be from Kid Rock and Toby Keith, and the only DVDs will be episodes of Frazier...

Posted by Sarah at 09:19 AM | Comments (0)

April 30, 2004

LINKS

A couple of links:
Lileks is good today, especially if you're one of those recovering young people.
And be prepared to cry when you read the story of CPL Chance Phelps.

Posted by Sarah at 10:14 AM | Comments (2)

April 29, 2004

FALLUJAH

Tim has a good post today about what's going on in Fallujah, from a military strategy standpoint.

Posted by Sarah at 08:35 AM | Comments (1)

April 28, 2004

LINK

I'm way too young to know anything about the Vietnam era, which is why I found Mrs. du Toit's new post quite interesting. Have a look.

I spent all night last night up sick, so blogging is the furthest thing from my mind. I'm skipping German and crashing tonight. More tomorrow.

Posted by Sarah at 04:02 PM | Comments (1)

April 26, 2004

KETCHUP

Catching up on the weekend:

Check out the lame demonstration against Caterpillar in Peoria. My mom said no one even noticed.

Read about Drill Sergeant Rob's hero.

Check out the making of a good news story.

Posted by Sarah at 07:19 AM | Comments (1)

April 23, 2004

UNEMPLOYED

If all soldiers wrote as well as Drill Sergeant Rob, I'd be out of a job. Thanks, Bunker.

Posted by Sarah at 07:16 AM | Comments (1)

April 21, 2004

UNCLE TOM

Found via Annika: a wonderful post on the term Uncle Tom. May I just say how nauseated I was when I saw the uncle tom slurs on Kos last week? This post is a much better reaction than I would have done -- mine would've had too much swearing and punching.

MORE TO GROK:

Yeah, it's a lefty blog, but it's a really good post!

Posted by Sarah at 04:09 PM | Comments (3)

SADDAM

There he is! I was wondering when we'd hear more on Saddam.

Posted by Sarah at 07:36 AM | Comments (1)

WISE MAN

A buddy of Amritas' started a new mu.nu blog called Rishon Rishon, and I really like how he came up with the name for it.

Posted by Sarah at 07:27 AM | Comments (1)

YEP

Wow. On a bad day, I think I could have written this article.
People are beautiful, the world stinks

Thanks, LGF.

And I thoroughly enjoyed this informed fisking of Michael Moore.

Thanks, Synthstuff.

Posted by Sarah at 07:06 AM | Comments (2)

April 20, 2004

P-TOWN

Ye-ah, P-town is in the house! (Sorry -- silly me, trying to "represent".)
Too bad I don't know this Marine from my hometown.

Posted by Sarah at 03:12 PM | Comments (1)

April 19, 2004

LIES

Read Greyhawk.

Posted by Sarah at 10:08 AM | Comments (1)

ALLY?

Sometimes I worry about my husband getting killed in Iraq. Thank god I don't have to worry about him getting shot by someone who's supposed to be on the same side.

Posted by Sarah at 09:58 AM | Comments (3)

MERC

When Kos said "screw 'em", he ticked a lot of people off. He ticked Deskmerc off enough that he's considering becoming a mercenary. Does anyone know how we can help him?

Porphyrogenitus is joining the Army and Deskmerc is becoming a "merceneries" (as Kos spells it). There are men of honor and action in the blogosphere.

Posted by Sarah at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)

April 15, 2004

LINK

The French Connection, found via the comments section of a new-to-me blog, Random Observations. I had heard about Hussein draining the Iraqi marshes, but I had never heard it connected to the French before.

NRO: You accuse France of actually encouraging genocide — it seems like an outrageous charge.

Timmerman: It's a very specific charge, made by Hoshyar Zebari, who is now the Iraqi foreign minister. Zebari was referring to the massacre of the Marsh Arabs who used to live in the Howeiza marshes along the southern border between Iran and Iraq. In the mid-1990s, at the urging of the French, who worried about sending their oil engineers into the area, Saddam drained the marshes — an area the size of the state of Delaware — turning the rich, fertile homeland of this ancient people into a dust bowl. Then he sent in the Republican Guards, massacring thousands of civilians. Why? To make the area safe for French oil engineers and French oil workers.

Posted by Sarah at 02:48 PM | Comments (1)

April 13, 2004

CARTOON

This is so true.

Posted by Sarah at 03:43 PM | Comments (2)

BIG STORIES

I'm not sure of the weight of these two stories, but the two articles on the main Stars and Stripes page look significant to me: Abizaid asks for two brigades’ worth of firepower to quell unrest in Iraq and U.S. to stop patrols after 50 years, give more duties to S. Koreans.

And Tim takes the NYT to task for claiming the Armed Forces is losing their monopoly on news to troops.

Posted by Sarah at 03:35 PM | Comments (1)

LETTER

A powerful letter written upon the liberation of the Mauthausen concentration camp. Even today many people still recognize Americans as a sign of good. I know they do.

Posted by Sarah at 07:16 AM | Comments (0)

April 12, 2004

SNOTTY

I completely related with what Andrew Sullivan called the snooty liberal self-parody.

"I was sitting in therapy describing an in-law I like, and quickly heading for a "but." "He's a loving, caring, selfless man -- but his politics are all about hatred," I said. "He's not educated, and more significant, he's ignorant -- he actually listens to Rush Limbaugh."
I waited for a "Whoo boy!" or a sympathetic smile, but my shrink just stared at me, expressionless.
"I assume you're not a Limbaugh fan," I ventured, assured that this woman, so nuanced in her thinking, couldn't possibly be a Dittohead. She was so reasonable that I couldn't imagine her getting off on Rush's demented tirades. She didn't seem square enough for his politics, and I was certain no hate radio fan was capable of her intellectual sophistication. Besides, she was an educated urban Jewish professional, and Rush's audience consisted largely of white suburban males.
She held my gaze a few excruciating seconds longer. "Actually, I am," she said. My moral compass began spinning wildly. I was suddenly sitting with someone new. The levelheaded sage in whom I'd confided for nearly a year had been replaced by an off-the-rack ideologue.
There were five minutes left in the session, and I felt like running. "Well, this could devolve into a whole political discussion, so I'll just finish the story," I rallied.
For the next week, I struggled with an overwhelming sense of betrayal."

It's an article in Salon by a woman who doesn't trust her shrink anymore because the shrink likes Limbaugh (don't bother registering; it's not a whole lot longer than this, and just more snotty). I've dealt with this before, when a friend told me she couldn't believe I leaned Right because I was so interested in other cultures and points of view.

And the Right's supposed to be the intolerant side.

MORE TO GROK:

Wow. Annika got slammed for no reason.

Posted by Sarah at 10:19 AM | Comments (3)

ROLL OVER

Nelson Ascher says the insurgents are expecting us to roll over like Spain did.

But, though they’re repeating over and over again their tired routine, there’s no sign that America will behave like Europe and I think that it is this very difference in the behavior of the Europeans and Americans that mystifies the Islamic radicals. As it happens, they’re much more acquainted with the European mentality than with the American one and that simply because so many of them were born or have been living among Europeans. Thus they have arrived to the false conclusion that the US was nothing but Europe writ large.


Posted by Sarah at 07:19 AM | Comments (0)

April 10, 2004

HEAT

This is either the husband or the best friend.
I told you they'd bring the heat.

Posted by Sarah at 06:16 PM | Comments (0)

April 08, 2004

BEAT

Read Blueshift and Annika today.
That's all I can muster right now...

Posted by Sarah at 08:56 AM | Comments (0)

April 07, 2004

GOOD WORK

After reading this, it really made me feel better to read this.

Keep up the good work, Tim.

By the way, everyone, CPT Patti is scheduled to come home this weekend...

MORE:

Or perhaps she's not. Poor Tim.

Posted by Sarah at 08:03 AM | Comments (0)

April 06, 2004

CATERPILLAR

My parents live in P-town, so this is probably something they should be aware of. Maybe they could go stage a counter-demonstration. Dang, I wish I were home right now!

Activists will protest the use of Caterpillar bulldozers to destroy Palestinian homes, at the company's annual stockholders meeting April 14 in Chicago. An "International Day of Action Against Caterpillar" demonstration will be staged April 23 at corporate headquarters in Peoria.

Posted by Sarah at 10:36 AM | Comments (1)

April 04, 2004

CAV X

If you're not reading Cavalier's Guardian Watchblog, you should be. I found Cav via the comments section at Right Wing News months ago, and everything he's written has been high quality. His post from this weekend refuting all of the attacks on President Bush is phenomenal. Go read it.

Posted by Sarah at 08:26 PM | Comments (1)

MERCENARY

One of those "mercenaries" Kos derides speaks out on what he does and why he does it. When you want to serve your country, you'll do whatever you can.

Posted by Sarah at 10:15 AM | Comments (0)

March 31, 2004

CHERNOBYL

How sad I feel after looking at these photographs of Chernobyl, via Annika. But life is not always about feeling comfortable, and these photos deserve attention.

Posted by Sarah at 02:26 PM | Comments (3)

March 30, 2004

ASTUTE

An observant reader sent me a great link. Take that, European Jerk.

Posted by Sarah at 10:02 AM | Comments (0)

AMERICA

I'm proud to live in the same America as Tim and Smash.

Posted by Sarah at 07:32 AM | Comments (0)

March 29, 2004

WHITE

I almost cried I laughed so hard. Thanks, Rocket Jones. Also thanks for pointing me in the direction of a surprising article by Jimmy Walker.

I work 13-hour shifts today and tomorrow, and after I get off work I sit in German class for three hours. I'd love to blog, but my splitting headache says otherwise.

Posted by Sarah at 04:23 PM | Comments (0)

March 27, 2004

LAWYER

Figures that Saddam would have a French lawyer.

And do we have to throw the no-WMDs-yet paragraph into every single article?

Posted by Sarah at 10:07 PM | Comments (2)

LINK

Thank the lord for Victor Davis Hanson...

Nor do we have anything to apologize about to the Europeans. We liberated the continent, sent it billions in aid, protected it from Soviet Communism, supported the EU and German reunification, created NATO in part to keep internal peace, intervened in Kosovo to stop more European genocide, and have well over 100,000 troops there still to protect it sixty years after it nearly destroyed itself. We no longer expect gratitude or even memory of the past, but we do expect maturity and not the patronizing lectures from a Spanish or French foreign minister who should know better — given the respective histories of their countries and our own during the last century.


Posted by Sarah at 07:51 AM | Comments (3)

March 26, 2004

WITTY

NotDeskmerc is just as witty and biting as Deskmerc:

I grow tired of the finger pointing over who is to blame for 9-11, and I haven’t even really listened to any of it. Just listening to people talk about listening to it is enough to make me want to read the Food and Wine section of the paper, instead.


Posted by Sarah at 12:17 PM | Comments (2)

BLEAT

I sent the new Bleat to my co-worker in an email since we were talking about Clarke yesterday and he gets his info from those horrible articles at MSNBC. I shock myself with my newfound gutsiness...

I'm also wearing my new Home of the Free t-shirt today.

Posted by Sarah at 08:35 AM | Comments (2)

March 25, 2004

CHILLS

Bunker tries to help us grok the life of a soldier.

Posted by Sarah at 05:34 PM | Comments (1)

SPECTRA

Blueshift responds to my a priori post.
I must say that the more I read about current events,
the less strongly I feel I can believe in the goodness of people.
But the more bloggers I meet,
the more I believe in the goodness of some.

Posted by Sarah at 09:53 AM | Comments (4)

March 24, 2004

CANDY CANE

I like the new An American Soldier blog run by Drill Sergeant Rob. He answers questions about Basic Training that are funny. My favorite bit so far:

I'd like to make a complaint. My little sister is in Jackson right now and she called to tell me about all the fun and "privlidges" she has. So, when you get a chance, tell C company, x/xxth Inf Reg, 3rd Platoon that they are a candy cane unit.

I deleted the unit to protect the guilty. No they are not a candy cane unit. The proper military term is a candyass unit. And yes...they are. Don't worry, we already make fun of them enough. Unfortunately there are big differences in units here as far as how easy or tough the training and discipline is. There are even differences between Companies and Platoons. My unit has a pretty good reputation compared to a lot of units here. And my Platoon is definitely one of the most disciplined in the Battalion. I can't help what other commanders and Drills let their soldiers get away with. I am still going to do my best to turn out tough, disciplined, highly trained, physically fit, morally sound soldiers.


Posted by Sarah at 08:23 PM | Comments (0)

March 23, 2004

LAMBAST

If there's a bad blog post lambasting France, I've never seen it! Thanks, Kim.

By the way, Kim brings up National Piss Off Michael Moore And Buy A Gun Day on April 15th. After reading his blog for a couple of months, he's basically convinced me: I want to learn to handle a weapon. I realized the day my husband deployed what an irrational fear I have of weapons. I flinched every time my husband and fellow soldiers slung their rifles over their shoulders, even though I knew they were not loaded. In fact, I realized as my husband was showing off his pistol that day that it was the first time in my life I had ever touched a weapon. I have this hold-it-like-it's-a-baby-chick attitude about weapons that I'd like to overcome. Kim has convinced me that people should know how to respect weapons, and I want to learn that skill.

But we're in Germany, and guns are a strict no-no over here, so we'll have to wait until 2006 before I can even learn about weapons. Once we get home, maybe Kim can give me some pointers.

Posted by Sarah at 09:25 PM | Comments (10)

WOW

Wow. Wow.

Charging people money for being wrongfully imprisoned.

Wow.

Posted by Sarah at 11:24 AM | Comments (2)

March 22, 2004

ANOTHER THINK

Hi. Sorry, wore myself out yesterday.

Big news, eh? Saruman is dead. Good riddance. If you think I'm going to feel any solidarity or sadness for these people, you've got another think coming.

What does that expression mean, anyway?

You know, I don't really feel like blogging tonight. I feel like chillin', watching a movie and then reading some 1984 before bed. I think I will.

More tomorrow.

Posted by Sarah at 06:56 PM | Comments (3)

March 20, 2004

BIRTHDAY

Ed's birthday was Thursday, and his children wrote him a blog post that made me smile. My favorite bit:

Dad, I am trying to be the Man of the House while you are gone and it is hard. Mom will not listen to me. I am trying to grow up and do your job and do not want it any more. Come home and take your job back, please. I love you. Happy Birthday.

Posted by Sarah at 07:58 AM | Comments (0)

March 19, 2004

RICH

Oh, this is rich. Germany wants our help getting a seat on the UN Security Council.

As Schröder himself said, "Es gibt Fälle, in denen die bewusste Nicht-Beteiligung auch Ausdruck verantwortlicher Politikgestaltung ist."

Posted by Sarah at 09:01 PM | Comments (1)

KING

Victor Davis Hanson is awesome. I'll read anything he writes, but I have been especially impressed with this interview with him. I'm even printing it and mailing it to the husband.

Good bit:

A final example: the President has raised domestic spending by 8% per annum, lavished funds on health care and education, offered near amnesty to illegal immigrants from Mexico, appointed a plethora of minority judges, cabinet officials, and administrators, and committed more AIDs relief funds than all prior administrations put together-and is still hated by our Left, simply because his demeanor, accent, religion, and even appearance don't validate the aristocratic Left's rhetoric about sex, class, gender, and the other. It really is a make-believe world in which a Barbra Streisand, Gore Vidal, or Arianna Huffington cheaply sound off from their estates about some purported cosmic evil fostered by poor deluded Americans hooked on K-Mart and NASCAR.

That's what I was trying to say yesterday. Naturally Hanson says it better.

Posted by Sarah at 07:14 AM | Comments (1)

March 18, 2004

NETHERLANDS

Via Amritas I found a run-down of life in the Netherlands. It sounds almost identical to Germany, except for a few minor details.

-- Here, Americans are the only ones who ask for tap water in restaurants. The Germans I know think this is disgusting, and a waiter in an area that doesn't have many Americans will stare at you incredulously when you ask for it. "Why don't you get bottled water?" they ask. Uh, because it costs nearly four bucks -- more than the beer -- and the tap water tastes fine to me.

-- In Germany, you are responsible for celebrating your own birthday. You provide the cake and the party and you pick up the bill. My co-worker says she often has to take 10 people out to dinner on her birthday. I made her a cake this year, and she said it was the first time she could remember where she didn't have to make her own cake. I don't like that tradition at all. I laughed when I tried to imagine what would happen in an American company back home if an employee brought in a huge cake for his own birthday! Ha.

-- Recycling is equally serious here. I am required to recycle since I live on post, but I completely agree with the policy. Not because I'm some tree hugger, but because the American government has to pay the German government for every pound of refuse they dump in Germany. This amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, which is another good reason why our military should get the heck out of dodge. I try to be meticulous about recycling so I'm not wasting taxpayer dollars, but sometimes I get annoyed: separating glass by color is just busywork.

-- You can also pay your bills at the German bank here, but they charge you a three-Euro fee. Added up monthly over three years, that comes to an extra hundred bucks you're forking over for nothing, but most people just go ahead and do it. I set up a special account here just for our German phone bill so we don't have to pay the three Euros. I'll keep that for myself, thank you.

Posted by Sarah at 05:26 PM | Comments (5)

March 17, 2004

LGF

Little Green Footballs is chock full of good stuff today and yesterday. Go over there and just keep scrolling.

Posted by Sarah at 08:34 AM | Comments (0)

March 16, 2004

SKILLS

Today I noticed that I had a good number of hits from the comments section of an LGF post. Curious, I checked it out. Seems Amritas has called on my Swedish language skills to investigate how the explosives that detonated in Madrid came from Sweden.

Hur säger man "bring it on" på svenska?

Posted by Sarah at 09:44 PM | Comments (0)

March 15, 2004

CAV

I've been too busy to read CavX for the past few days, and it seems I've missed out. He always picks up on the nuances that I miss:

Wait a second... am I missing something here? Everyone's concerned that al-Qaeda may be behind the attack on Spain because they're angry that Spain was our ally in Iraq? I thought that the Liberals and other anti-liberation groups have been insisting for a year that al-Qaeda may have been in Afghanistan, but had nothing to do with Iraq. Why are they suddenly concerned that al-Qaeda committed an act of terrorism in Spain because of its involvement in Iraq, without mentioning Afghanistan? According to Liberal doctrine, Osama bin Laden hated Saddam and wanted him removed for ideological reasons.

Holy crap, he's right. And these are the people who accuse our President of twisting facts around to fit his cause...

Posted by Sarah at 04:20 PM | Comments (1)

LINK

A very sane article out of Seattle, via Bunker.

Posted by Sarah at 04:02 PM | Comments (1)

FED UP

Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks 1-77 gets too much attention from Stars and Stripes. Scroll down to Servicemembers unrecognized.

Posted by Sarah at 06:44 AM | Comments (1)

March 14, 2004

GIMMICK

Hey, SGT Hellerman, you totally stole my gimmick! I'm the one who peeks out of the tank, got it?

(Fun article on tanks. But you have to look at the photo on Sunday, because there's no permalink for the main page.)

Posted by Sarah at 08:29 AM | Comments (3)

March 13, 2004

HOOT

Bunker's boys sound like a real hoot. He posted a great photo today of his son making mischief in Iraq.

Posted by Sarah at 07:31 PM | Comments (3)

March 12, 2004

OUR ALLY

spainflag.jpg

Posted by Sarah at 07:42 AM | Comments (1)

March 11, 2004

CONSTITUTION

For those of us who get a headache at the mere thought of trying to read the new Iraqi constitution but still want to know what's in it, Den Beste's our man. Naturally.

Posted by Sarah at 07:30 AM | Comments (2)

March 09, 2004

CHIEF

The Chief may be home, but he's turning right back around and heading to Iraq again. At least it will get him away from the godawful tv.

Posted by Sarah at 09:55 AM | Comments (0)

March 08, 2004

GRUMPY

Tim's getting grumpy. And when he gets grumpy, he writes well. Check out War is Hell and Debunking Senator Kerry's Comments.

Posted by Sarah at 09:07 AM | Comments (0)

BEST

Go over and read the Best today. Teaser:

The events of the last two years make clear that there's no such congruency between broad "global" interests and the best interests of the people of Iraq, since so much of the globe argued in favor of policies which would have left Saddam in power and seemed to do everything possible to prevent the invasion. Broader inclusion of the UN and other forms of "global consent" in the post-invasion process would have seriously damaged its credibility.

MORE:

And look, Kerry fisks himself!

Posted by Sarah at 08:50 AM | Comments (1)

March 07, 2004

TOFU

The Best is back in full form, connecting tuberculosis and terrorism, and Kerry and tofu. For only the second time in my life, I beat him to certain punches: he also discusses how quitting the war now will lead to more serious consequences down the road. Welcome back, maestro.

Posted by Sarah at 09:00 AM | Comments (3)

March 03, 2004

ASSUMPTION

What's that old saying? When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me? Somebody assumed big time about Baldilocks...

Posted by Sarah at 08:58 AM | Comments (4)

GASP

Oh my god! Explain to me again how Islam claims to be the Religion of Peace? I'd wager these kids might disagree...

(Not for the weak of stomach.)

Posted by Sarah at 07:24 AM | Comments (2)

March 02, 2004

PORK PORK PORK

Kim du Toit has only been here a few days, and he's already sick of pork and schnitzel. Think of how we feel, Kim!

Posted by Sarah at 07:44 AM | Comments (5)

March 01, 2004

WEEKEND LINKING

Some good links that popped up over the weekend while I was busy fighting with HTML:

Nelson Ascher has an interesting analysis of Tony Blair. Many Americans seem to prefer Blair to Bush, so I found Ascher's point of view was really interesting.

Scrappleface clowns the United Nations, and Parkway Rest Stop found us a permission slip for next time.

David presents a graph of applications for asylum filed by Iraqis in Germany; do you think the number has risen or fallen since we intervened?

Stars and Stripes explains why our servicemembers wear a patch with a "backwards" flag. I wish this article had come out about 8 months ago when I saw my first one; I had to do some major research to learn why.


Also last night I was watching the Simpsons and caught the tail end of a military news brief. It was about some soldiers who organized an Iraqi talent show under something called the Freedom and Democracy Program. I saw clips of young Iraqis playing the guitar and dancing, but when I went to find more information online about this, there were no links anywhere. Nothing. I couldn't find a single thing about this. The only reason I know it happened is because I get military TV programming. Sad.

Posted by Sarah at 09:30 AM | Comments (1)