Discuss...

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 10:52 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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It looks like the soldiers that were captured were, in fact, murdered.

Another long and informative bit on the Brits from Michael Yon.

On another front, a US Navy destroyer pounds Islamist positions in Somalia's Puntland. (HT Murdoc)

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 10:47 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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So I run across this....

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 01:56 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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First, few pieces of advice for those  who find themselves ahead of me in line


Mc Donald's does not have a buffet...no...really...I'm not lying, and neither is the cashier.

No matter how many times you ask....if the cashier at the 7-11 says they don't have those "little cherry flavored cigars" they really don't.

The Lotto...you cant loose if you don't play.....you can't loose really big if you don't get about a hundred tickets from the ticket lottery machine when theres only one line open.

If there is only one diesel pump, and all other pumps are empty....it is just rude to park your gasoline powered car in front of the diesel pump...

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 11:52 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Via EagleSpeak comes news that the Hospital ship Comfort is underway to provide medical assistance throughout Latin America.


Instead of rushing to a crisis, as it did in New Orleans and the Persian Gulf on recent deployments, the ship is beginning a carefully choreographed 120-day tour of Central and South America that will take it to 12 countries with varying medical and humanitarian needs.

First announced by President Bush during a visit to Latin America in March, the mission is as much about diplomacy as medicine and has caused the ship and the Navy to recast the vessel's fundamental function.

Whereas past deployments called for crewing and equipping the Comfort as a floating emergency room for treating war casualties or disaster victims, the ship's commanders have essentially scrapped the old rulebook and outfitted the vessel as a delivery vehicle for routine medical services on land, from vaccinations and eyeglass distribution to dental checkups and minor surgeries.
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Not much coverage of course, it's the wrong sort of news. But it is something to take note of. There is much to be annoyed with regards this administration, but there is frequent evidence that hearts are in the right place.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 09:35 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Heh....Googlebot.



HT: Jane Galt

(Actually  image is NOT of a googlebot nor is it in any way affiliated with Google. It is in fact a Daelek, a hyperevolved Skarran  with no conscience that manipulates its machines via computer assisted teleoperation , observes the world via an all seeing eye and is determined to rule the universe...the confusion is  therefore understandable)

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 09:06 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Wonderduck has watched the dub of  Haruhi...so we don't have to.

 
I've seen 2 and a half episodes.                   

I will say that I think the decision to present the show in order (as opposed to broadcast order) is one of the more ill-conceived of the last several years.

Still  what I have seen is quite intriguing and  there is a subbed version!
                                 
Update: In a related Post at Chizumatic Stephen Den Beste has thoughts on bunny suits and marriage....no really.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 08:13 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Warning: Angry, utterly off the reservation, Brickmuppet vent...

OK, consensus is this is a parody.....but the fact that one must scratch ones head and wonder is damming enough. The fact that this moronitron  is one of the 3 loose screws who raised his hand to say "I am an IDiot " is more damming.

OK perhaps I'm being too harsh ...after all, the Williams Jennings Bryan types were historically left leaning Democrats (New Dealers early progressives and such) before the were effectively purged from the party in the early 70's when that party took a hard turn even farther left.

The Faustian bargain that the Republicans made at that time was actually more rational and principled than it seems with 20/20 hindsight. That is, many of the social libertines were not (and are not) just about going out and spreading social diseases but also intensely hostile to all people of faith...anyone they felt was influenced by the 'false consciousness' of faith and generally hateful and intolerant of religion in general and Christians in particular. The deal the Republicans made was "Vote for us.We acknowledge your right to exist" which was a far better deal than the Dems were offering.

Of course the problem with the Williams Jennings Bryan types is that they pretty much originated the concepts of big government in this country. While some social standards and arrestor switches must be in place for a Republic to work, the idea of government mandating morality is not really compatible with the concept either....and from the temperance movement to the pledge of allegiance to gun control to federal welfare to the Scopes trial to the drug war...Christian "progressives" always initially led the way ...

So the outcome was predictable.

3 of the 12 presidential candidates, Brownback,  Huckabee and  Tancredo can raise their hands to say that they don't believe in science, or they don't understand it in any way...and say with a straight face that they represent the "real" conservatives.

No...I'm not being too harsh...

I've really got MORON'S ON MY TEAM!!

That debate was months ago.....but the Grand Old Party has been on an auto cannibalistic binge for some time . The Instapundit has been cataloging "The Bizzare Republican Death Wish " for over a year.

However, I think he's a bit backwards on this...the tone deafness and condescension of the White House has actually been far surpassed by the kneejerk nativist idiocy of the Jacksonian wing of the party...in many ways a subset of the WJB immigration from the Dems.

The Jacksonians have many admirable qualities...attention span and tolerance are not counted amongst them. They do have a very forthright policy on those who they consider to be potential threats to their nation . It can be summed up as "Hulk Smaaash!!!!"

There's not much room for nuance there....not much patience for a Marshall Plan or the rebuilding and extended painful years of action that this long war requires.

Certainly not much compassion for starving people who come into this country....as their ancestors did...searching for a better life.

The President is actually doing something admirable with this immigration thing. Reynolds and others are right....the administration has not sold it to the base...communication is not his strong suit....but it is fairly certain that the "base" Reynolds is referring to are the Jacksonian wing of the party who simply will not be persuaded.

  As is often the case, both sides have points.

In particular, the assimilation worries of the Jacksonians are actually valid given the moronic multiculti idiocy exhibited by the left for reasons ranging from naiveté to extreme bad faith. A nation as diverse as ours MUST have a common language. Likewise, controlling ones borders is one of the basic responsibilities of any nation. Finally the extremes of the American left and extreme Mexican nationalists (who are socialists...an odd  combination with unsavory results historically ) consider the southwest US to be rightfully Mexican Territory and actively support the idea of shifting demographics to help Mexico reclaim the territory. A decent overview of this from a fringe site is here....which is fitting linkage because the movement in question, while real, is quite far on the fringes of the Latino community...It seems to have far more support from the fringes of  the US Lefty Professor set and thuggish Che' wannabees than actual Mexican immigrants...who came here because they desperately want to be in...not Mexico boys and girls....but the U.S.A.
. They are likely NOT coming to spread the dysfunctional misery that is currently the USM over twice its current area.....as they'd just have to walk farther to get out of it again.

Of course,  if we make them feel sufficiently unwelcome....well....anythings possible...
...oh wait...

    Numbers are funny things...the NUMBERS of immigrants are truly scary, until you correct for proportions in relation to the current US population. IF we can get a handle on who's coming in, turn back those who are crooks or contagious,  we will be stronger  for their  entrance...for one thing they do work.

That "If" is a big one....
I do think that more needs to be done in border enforcement and would support something as robust along the border as the great wall of China... which the Chinese built long ago with nothing but stone knives, bearskins, and coolies...we now have Bulldozers, Backhoes, and...immigrant Latino laborers...so there is no excuse for this chain link fence silliness.

As I understand it the new point system gives a great deal of weight to English language skills...a vast improvement over the current situation which is  what makes this immigration thing not just compassionate but fairly good for the nation...It is not perfect...no creation of man ever is...but it is a step forward and as good as we could possibly get with a Democrat congress...and far better than we had any reason to hope...the crucial assimilation provisions are likely to be the first targets of the Dems...for who every solemn deal is but one step towards Socialized everything and what they believe will be the fulfillment of Marx's prophecy and  leftist utopia...er..."this time fer shur"

Thus to ensure this immigration deal is actually a good thing one would hope that the Republicans would get back to their stated principals and get fricking electable....

Alas....

I'VE GOT MORONS ON MY TEAM

 The Republicans came to power in '94 to end the wasteful, corrupt pork heavy Democrat majority. They did a good job at first, the Contract with America set laudable goals, some actually visionary and many signed term limits agreements...many of those honored those agreements, or, if given congressional leadership positions, only extended their agreements by 2 or 4 years before going back to real jobs.....those that remained  were not so enamored of reform....

The Republican party is a far more diverse tent than the Dems are now, the  Moralizing Populists and the   Jacksonians are often at odds with each other and  with the more libertarian Goldwater wing of the party, which has been the overarching idealogical base of the Party since the '60s....one of the basic tenets of that wing is that the USA is a REPUBLIC...there are very specific limits on what the federal government can do and that there are things local that the congress has no business funding directly as it becomes just too effing corrupting....

  Which is how we got on the Bridge to Nowhere....

The Republican congress of the early naughts, self purged of the thrifty contract with America true believers, managed to bloat the federal budget beyond all reason. The POTUS, trying to keep bipartisan support for a long, difficult and necessary war vetoed NOTHING in hopes that this terribly expensive tribute would buy support...the Dems reacted as they did in the '70's, ....a predictable outcome of appeasement throughout the ages...of course the Republicans also added bridges, ethanol boondoggles and a zillion poorly overseen projects of increasingly dubious merit, for the veto pen was never raised. They became addicted to the power of deciding who would get their favor and wallowed as pigs in the favors of those eager to win it.

The Goldwater wing....disgusted....stayed home....(we'll show them a lesson!) The Democrats were swept into power and, unsurprisingly, have, in 5 months proved the Republicans pikers in the corruption department...

No the voters who demanded adherence to their parties principles were not the morons here....it was the Party Leadership....where, apparently no lesson was learned.

I am truly in the stupid party....

The only alternative is vastly more unsavory. 

I'm in Hell....

Thanks to the mighty and wise Pixy for the Heliocentric link.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 08:01 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Yes this has been repeated often throughout cyberspace....but it does bear repeating
            
Latest UNSPEAKABLE cruelty in the 1st comment to this timely, insightful and socially relevant post.

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 04:00 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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