Interesting Google Search

Google search the word "waffle", and look at the first entry that comes up...

More Good News

Just an update on Dad... He spent a lot of today sitting up in a chair, talking and watching a little television. He's still in ICU, but could make it to a regular room as early as tomorrow. His progress is good!

More Interesting Stuff

Stuntmen To Capture Falling Space Capsule
Using helicopters and flying nearly 2 miles above the ground, Hollywood stuntmen will attempt to catch a falling capsule jettisoned from an orbiting satellite.

Botox For Beagles?
A veterinarian in South America is offering plastic surgery for pets.

The Law Doesn't Apply To Jocks
A University of Maryland football player was acquitted by a judge of assaulting a cop, even though the judge said he believed the player was "guilty as sin." The idiot of a judge didn't want to ruin the jock's football career.

King Regis
Apparently the Guinness World Record people have decided that Regis Philbin has spent more hours on TV than anyone in history. My money was on Steven Seagal (his sorry movies are on ALL the time!)

I'm Not Obscene, I'm Just Drawn That Way
Spike TV to air adult cartoon Howard Stern: The High School Years.

Forget The Car, Just Steal The Engine
In West Virginia, thieves stole the engine out of a woman's Mustang sitting in her yard.

A Classic Mistake

Never give an opponent something to hang you with...

Every speech, every commercial, every piece of campaign literature supporting John Kerry's presidential bid mentions his time in Vietnam. Kerry has made those four months and 12 days (from more than three decades ago) the experience he seems to believe qualifies him to be Commander-in-Chief. By putting his Vietnam military experience out there, though, he opened the door for public scrutiny and investigation of that record. And did it ever come.

Now that Kerry's record is being dissected and studied, a clearer and more truthful picture of his time in 'Nam is coming to light. The trouble for Kerry... the picture isn't too flattering. Kerry's fellow Swift Boat officers from Vietnam have spoken out in loud, strong numbers against him. They contradict the story he tells about his service, and they challenge him to prove his claims. I've mentioned their TV commercial previously (which everyone should see).

Kerry is now trying to silence his critics. He has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) over the Swift Vets commercial. He's called on President Bush to condemn the ad and demand it be pulled.

This is so typical of the flip-flopping Snator from Tax-achusetts. He wants to run on his military record, but wants to prohibit any investigation or discussion of that record.

Friday Funnies

"Something's Not Right In Who-ville"
Seems an Oregon man thought it'd be a great idea to extort the widow of Dr. Seuss. He threatened to release drawings of the characters in graphic poses is she didn't pay the man $2.5 million. Do they serve green eggs and ham in the pokey?

Governor Joe?
Actor Joe Piscopo considering a run for Governor of New Jersey. Believes his acting career not nearly as embarassing as Jim McGreevey's extra-marital fling.

Day By Day

I thought things were going well on Monday with Dad, but I wound up having to return to Atlanta that night. I'm back now, for at least a day or two. Things are improving for him day by day, and hopefully will continue to do so.

Never Forget Why We're Fighting

It's been almost three years since the September 11th attacks, and longer since the attacks on the USS Cole, the embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the first bombing of the World Trade Center, Pan Am 103, Beirut...

With the passing of time, the tragedies of the past seem to take on a more distant, unreal feel. We forget the outrage we felt, the anger, the desire for justice. I believe that's an insult to the families of those affected by these tragedies. We must never forget. Blogger Forty-Something wants us all to remember, and he's got a fantastic reminder of why we're fighting, and why we MUST win. (Thanks for Wild Bill at Passionate America for the heads-up.)

I'm Back... For Now

The surgery itself went very well. The liver is healing fine, and has already begun regrowing. There was a complication, however, during recovery. Dad developed some breathing issues, and they are still with him. He's still in the ICU at Emory, with a way to go yet. Doctors and family are all optimistic. To quote his surgeon, "He's not critical. Just guarded. His lungs just need healing and strengthening."

Thank you all for the prayers and good wishes. For those who visited, special thanks!

While he's at this stage, there isn't much I could do. I'm having to burn vacation days to be with them, and I have only a few left. So I'm back in Macon for a while, trying to get some work done. I'll also be posting on here (as time permits).

Last Post For A While

Dad's surgery is tomorrow morning, and since this is a more intense operation the recovery will be longer and a bit tougher. I'll be spending more time with him, so this blog will be out of my mind for a while. If all goes well, maybe I can update things in the middle of next week.

Thanks for all your kind words and prayers about him! See y'all soon.

Don't Mess With Family

Okay, so they might be very, very distant cousins. I still don't like people going after my "kinfolk".

A family in Britian has their seven-foot fir tree, which they decorated for Christmas, cut down and stolen in the middle of the night from their front yard. (The article features a picture of my long-lost relatives!)

More On Kerry's Vietnam Past

I've mentioned the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth before. They're the former Swift Boat officers who served alongside John Kerry (for four months) in Vietnam. They don't exactly like Kerry, and the take great offense at the liberties Kerry has taken with the truth about his time in the service.

Now, they've come out with a scathing television commercial. They pull no punches. It's a fantastic commercial that shatters any "legacy" Kerry has from his time in Vietnam. I wonder just how much airplay this spot will get. This is the current link to it (hopefuilly it will work for a while):

http://www.swiftvets.com/anyquestions.mov

It's also currently playing on the front page of their web site, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

Another Reason Bush Must Be Re-elected

In his new book, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL) writes that, during President Bush's second term, the Republicans will push for the elimination of the Internal Revenue Service. The book, "Speaker: Lessons From Forty Years of Coaching and Politics," discloses a plan by President Bush and the GOP Congress to replace the burdensome federal income tax with a national sales tax.

Great news, and another reason President Bush must get a second term. I've been a huge supporter of a national retail sales tax for a few years. An excellent place to learn more about the idea of this "Fair Tax" is at the website FairTax.org

In his Federalist Papers, Number 21, Alexander Hamilton writes that the fairest route for raising money for the government is based on consumption.

"There is no method of steering clear of this inconvenience, but by authorizing the national government to raise its own revenues in its own way. Imposts, excises, and, in general, all duties upon articles of consumption, may be compared to a fluid, which will, in time, find its level with the means of paying them. The amount to be contributed by each citizen will in a degree be at his own option, and can be regulated by an attention to his resources. The rich may be extravagant, the poor can be frugal; and private oppression may always be avoided by a judicious selection of objects proper for such impositions. If inequalities should arise in some States from duties on particular objects, these will, in all probability, be counterbalanced by proportional inequalities in other States, from the duties on other objects. In the course of time and things, an equilibrium, as far as it is attainable in so complicated a subject, will be established everywhere. Or, if inequalities should still exist, they would neither be so great in their degree, so uniform in their operation, nor so odious in their appearance, as those which would necessarily spring from quotas, upon any scale that can possibly be devised.

It is a signal advantage of taxes on articles of consumption, that they contain in their own nature a security against excess. They prescribe their own limit; which cannot be exceeded without defeating the end proposed, that is, an extension of the revenue. When applied to this object, the saying is as just as it is witty, that, 'in political arithmetic, two and two do not always make four.' If duties are too high, they lessen the consumption; the collection is eluded; and the product to the treasury is not so great as when they are confined within proper and moderate bounds.This forms a complete barrier against any material oppression of the citizens by taxes of this class, and is itself a natural limitation of the power of imposing them."

Hamilton says that a consumption-based system is most fair because we all have control over our purchases, and thus have control over how much, or how little, tax we pay. The wealthiest will make more purchases and will pay te most in taxes. The poorest, who purchase the least, will pay the least in taxes.

A consumption-based tax, such as a national retail sales tax, is applied to final purchases at the retail level regardless of the purchaser. The wealthiest pay the same sales tax on their items that the poor would pay on theirs. There are no loopholes for those who can hire the best accountants. You buy more, you pay more. You buy less, you pay less. Hence, a "fair tax".

Of course, it will take nothing short of a miracle to get this done. You can imagine what the hard-left libs will have to say about such a proposal. They will use lies and distortions of truth to argue against it.

Libs will say a national sales tax benefits the wealthy, because they no longer have to pay income tax. That argument doesn't wash for various reasons.

• First, they will pay the same tax percentage for all their purchases (homes, cars, yachts, groceries, etc.) that lower-income families pay.
• Secondly, it would do away with tax-shelters, loopholes and other means by which accountants have helped taxpayers avoid paying their "fair share".
• Third, a national retail sales tax would actually benefit the lowest income earners by exempting the basic necessities, and providing a monthly rebate for those estimated costs to each and every family determined by Health & Human Services to be living in poverty.

Hastert says, "People ask me if I'm really calling for the elimination of the IRS. I say I think that's a great thing to do for future generations of Americans...By adopting a sales tax... we could begin to change productivity. If you can do that, you can change gross national product and start growing the economy. You could double the economy over the next fifteen years."

Rep. John Linder (R-GA) has been a vocal supporter of a national retail sales tax, along with Rep. Steve King (R-IA), and Herman Cain, Georgia businessman and past candidate for the U.S. Senate.

"I believe that we need to stop tinkering with the 54,800 pages of Internal Revenue Code and IRS regulations," said Congressman Linder. "We are only creating a temporary fix to the fundamental problem that our tax system is flawed and needs to be overhauled. It should be abolished and replaced with the FairTax, a simple national retail sales tax."

King campaigned on the proposal during his first run for Congress in 2002, and has said he believes the measure would pass if President Bush were to get behind it during his second term. He also believes that once taxpayers understand the ramifications of the change, they will embrace it.

"We need to stop taxing productivity. As Ronald Reagan said, whatever you tax you get less of. I believe we should give taxpayers a one-year moratorium on withholding tax and let them keep everything they earn while trying the Fair Tax. Do that and they will never go back to the old system."

The only way such a progressive, meaningful and beneficial change to our tax system can occur is by supporting President Bush now and in November. If you are unfamiliar with the idea, look into it. I guarantee it will open your eyes.

More Great Economic News

The latest survey on the state of the American manufacturing industry shows the June-to-July period as the 14th consecutive period of "rapid growth". The Institute for Supply Management purchasing managers' index (PMI), based on a survey of industry supply executives, shows American factories to be in the longest continuous stretch of rapid growth in more than 30 years. Key findings include increases in new orders, accelerated production and employment gains.

Further proof of the strength and growth of our economy. To quote the theme song of Queer Eye, "All things just keep getting better."

Great Words From Zell Miller

This comes courtesy of OpinionJournal.com....

SEE Y'ALL IN NEW YORK
BY ZELL MILLER

Twelve years ago, I delivered one of the keynote addresses on the first night at the Democratic National Convention in New York. It was a stinging rebuke of the administration of George H.W. Bush and a ringing endorsement of Bill Clinton. This summer I'll again be speaking in New York, but it will be to the Republican Convention that renominates George W. Bush.

Many have asked how I could have come so far in just over a decade. Frankly, I don't think I've changed much at all. At 72, I don't feel much need to change my opinions. Instead, the reason I didn't attend the Democratic Convention in Boston is that I barely recognize my party anymore. Most of its leaders--including our nominee, John Kerry--don't hold the same beliefs that have motivated my career in public service.

In 1992, I spoke of the opportunity and hope that allowed me, the son of a single mother growing up in the North Georgia mountains, to become my state's governor. And I attributed much of my success to the great Democratic presidents of years gone by--FDR (a hallowed man in my home), Truman and JFK. The link these men shared was a commitment to helping Americans born into any condition rise to achieve whatever goal they set for themselves.

I spoke of Americans who were "tired of paying more in taxes and getting less in services." I excoriated Republicans who "dealt in cynicism and skepticism." I accused them of mastering "the art of division and diversion." And I praised Bill Clinton as a moderate Democrat "who has the courage to tell some of those liberals who think welfare should continue forever, and some of those conservatives who think there should be no welfare at all, that they're both wrong."

Bill Clinton did deliver on welfare reform, after a lot of prodding from the Republicans who took hold of Congress in 1995. But much of the rest of the promise I saw in his candidacy withered during his two terms in office.

Today, it's the Democratic Party that has mastered the art of division and diversion. To run for president as a Democrat these days you have to go from interest group to interest group, cap in hand, asking for the support of liberal kingmakers. Mr. Kerry is no different. After Hollywood elites profaned the president, he didn't have the courage to put them in their place. Instead, he validated their remarks, claiming that they represent "the heart and soul of America."

No longer the party of hope, today's Democratic Party has become Mr. Kerry's many mansions of cynicism and skepticism. As our economy continues to get better and businesses add jobs, Mr. Kerry's going around America trying to convince people that the roof is about to cave in. He talks about "the misery index" and the Depression. What does he know about either?

And when it comes to taxes and services, you'd be pressed to find anyone more opposed to the interests of middle-class Americans than John Kerry. Except maybe John Edwards. Both voted against tax relief for married couples, tax relief for families with children, and tax relief for small businesses. Now Mr. Kerry wants to raise taxes on hundreds of thousands of small-business owners and millions of individuals. He claims to be for working people, but I don't understand how small businesses can create jobs if they've got to send more money to Washington instead of keeping it to hire workers.

Worst of all, Sens. Kerry and Edwards have not kept faith with the men and women who are fighting the war on terror--most of whom come from small towns and middle-class families all over America. While Mr. Bush has stood by our troops every step of the way, Messrs. Kerry and Edwards voted to send our troops to war and then voted against the money to give them supplies and equipment--not to mention better benefits for their families. And recently Mr. Kerry even said he's proud of that vote. Proud to abandon our troops when they're out in the field? I can hear Harry Truman cussing from his grave.

I still believe in hope and opportunity and, when it comes right down to it, Mr. Bush is the man who represents hope and opportunity. Hope for a safer world. And opportunity for Americans to work hard, keep more of the money they earn, and send their kids to good schools. All the speeches we heard this week weren't able to hide the truth of what today's Democratic Party has become: an enclave of elites paying lip service to middle-class values. Americans looking for a president who understands their struggles and their dreams should tune in next month, when we celebrate the leadership of George W. Bush.

It's Official

Shannon and I are engaged! I gave her the ring yesterday, and she accepted. We'll be getting married next summer, possibly the end of June. Great things really do come to those who wait.

Questions For PETA

Dear PETA
Doctor Michael S. Adams, in his column at townhall.com, asks some great questions of the animal loving folks at PETA. My favorite: Do PETA members eat animal crackers?

(By the way, I consider myself a member of a group also called PETA... People Eating Tasty Animals)

Wicked Car Crash

This is an amazing video of an auto accident in Dayton, Ohio. It was captured by a traffic camera, and it shows one of God's miracles in action. A pedestrian is caught in the middle of the accident, and although badly injured, he actually survives. It's rough, but worth seeing. Also, snopes.com delcares it to be completely real.

John Kerry And An Hour Of JFKrap

All right... I've just endured nearly an hour of mindless drivel, punctuated by raving idolization and cult worship from several thousand fatuous myrmidons.  Fifty-five or fifty-six minutes of self-grandizing and condescension.  It's an hour of my life I'll never get back.  Let's look at some of hte crap that was shoveled...

"We are a nation at war - a global war on terror against an enemy unlike any we have ever known before."
 
Yep, John, a war that you voted for, then voted NOT to fund.

"They say this is the best economy we've ever had."

Actually, the Republicans say (correctly) that it's the strongest economy in the last 20 years.  Those figures come from all economic indicators:  job growth, home ownership, new home starts, total employment (more jobs in the U.S. now than ever before), etc.

"We're the optimists. For us, this is a country of the future. We're the can do people."

Give me a break.  All we've heard from Dems the last year or so is how we've been lied to and mislead by the Bush Administration, our jobs are being shipped overseas, poverty is becoming rampant, the economy is terrible, Iraq is turning into another Vietnam, the whole world hates us, we are fighting terrorism alone, the Patriot Act is going to strip us of all our liberties, the Republicans want to roll back civil rights, Bush is ruining this nation's education system, we're too dependent to foreign oil, oh no - the Republicans want to drill for oil in the U.S., etc., etc., etc.....   Yeah, that sounds real optimistic all right.  Idiot.

"... on behalf of the middle class who deserve a champion..."
 
JFKerry, the WEALTHIEST man to ever  run for President, a champion of the middle class?  Who in the heck does this moron think he's kidding?  He knows NOTHING about the middle class.  Zero.  Nada. 
 
"... for the brave men and women in uniform who risk their lives every day..."

... who overwhelmingly support President Bush and the war on terror.

"And what can I say about Teresa? She has the strongest moral compass of anyone I know. She's down to earth, nurturing, courageous, wise and smart. She speaks her mind and she speaks the truth..."

Ask her again what she meant by "un-American."  Oh yeah, she never said that.  Even though whe's on tape saying it, and hundreds of people in attendance heard her say it, she didn't really say it.  She said she didn't.  She also didn't tell a reporter who asked about the comment to "Shove it!"  Just dang!

"Saying there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq doesn't make it so."

I guess you were wrong on that one too, weren't you?  But wait... I forgot, we did find several shells filled with sarin nerve gas.  Liters of it, enough to kill thousands.  Guess you've forgotten about that too, huh?  Typical.

"Saying we can fight a war on the cheap doesn't make it so."

You, JFKerry, voted against the $87 billion to support our troops.  You tried to deny the troops the funding they needed, not President Bush.

"I defended this country as a young man..."

For four months and 12 days, until you conned and "battled" your way into three purple hearts and bugged out.  (See previous entry about Kerry's fellow swift boat officers and hteoir opinions of Kerry.)

"We will add 40,000 active duty troops." 

How?  It's a volunteer army.  Where will you come up with the additional troop strength?  You've already castigated the President for calling up National Guard and Reserve troops.   So where are you gonan get them from?  Idiot.

"We will provide our troops with the newest weapons and technology to save their lives... We need a strong military."

This from a man who voted against every primary weapons system our military is using today.  By the way, in Kerry's comments about the miliatry and the war in Iraq, he sounds like he believes the military is using obsolete weaponry, with untrained and ill-prepared soldiers, being overmatched by their enemy.  Makes me wonder how someone wanting to be Commander-In-Chief can seem so uneducated about our fighting men and women and their resources.

"Strength is more than tough words."

Sometimes it's making a tough decision and doing something that not everyone agrees with, just because it's the right thing to do.  Much like Iraq.  Jerk.

"You don't value families by kicking kids out of after school programs and taking cops off our streets, so that Enron can get another tax break."

Nice, a qiuck and simple way to get some cheap applause, by mixing two disassociated issues.  By the way, the ENTIRE Enron mess took place under President Clinton's watch.  Ass.

"You don't value families if you force them to take up a collection to buy body armor for a son or daughter in the service."

Again, YOU voted against the $87 billion funding for our troops in battle.  Jerk.

"Health care is not a privilege for the wealthy, the connected, and the elected - it is a right for all Americans."

Sorry, but I think I missed the "right to health care" the last time I read the Constitution.  Will someone please show me where that's at? 

I'm sorry, I just can't go on.  It's late, and I'm sick to death of this whole issue. 

Too many people in this country are too stupid to think for themselves, to work hard for the things they need, or to take responsibility for their lives themselves. 

If you believe government should take care of you, make sure you have a job, make sure you have a doctor, and make sure you get paid a decent wage... then you're too big of an idiot to do anything but vote for Kerry. 

If you believe the government should take money away from people who work harder than you and make more money than you, and then take care of you with that  money, then you have absolutely no sense of personal pride or self-worth.

If you believe all Democrats are looking out for you, and all Republicans are trying to stick it to you, then you deserve whatever comes your way.  Keep looking to the sky.  Your Democrat leaders say it's falling, so be prepared.

Most importantly...

... if you believe there's a God above
... if you believe in the Ten Commandments
... if you believe in the Golden Rule
... if you believe that life begins at conception
... if you believe we are responsible for the choices we makein our lives
... if you believe you know what's in your best interests better than the government does
... if you believe terrorists pose a threat to this great nation

then please, please, please think long and hard before you vote for JFKerry.  Don't make a mistake you'll regret later.

Check It Out...

Hogzilla
A hunting guide at a South Georgia plantation claims to have killed a 1,000 pound, 12 foot long wild hog. Quite a sight...




Justice For Cellphone Movie Patrons
She was rudely talking on her cell phone as the movie began. Police officer asked her to turn it off and be quiet. Boyfriend joins in, threatening to "hit the cracker in his head." Jailarity ensues...



Up For An Arctic Voyage?
An aunt and uncle of mine just came back from an Alaskan cruise. Sounds like great fun. This trip, on the other hand, hmmm..... A river guide who apparently believes there's a "hollow" place on the Earth has chartered a Russian Nuclear Icebreaker ship to explore the area. He's accepting reservations for up to 100 passengers. Cost: approximately $20,000 a person. Deposit required.

Ironic: Environmentalist Killed By Falling Tree
A Tulsa, Oklahoma lawyer and environmental activist was killed when a tree supporting his hammock fell and crushed him.

Kerry, Vietnam and the Truth

For a war he opposed, John Kerry sure is getting good mileage out of his 134 days in Vietnam. He would have the American public believe that his military service not only prepared him, but entitled him, to be president. The question many Americans have, though, is what his Vietnam record really says about John Kerry.

There's no better place to start than this website: Swift Boat Veterans For Truth

This website was created by Kerry's fellow swift boat officers to accurately portray the John Kerry they knew. The details aren't very flattering. For example...

• So far as they are able to determine, Kerry was the only Swift sailor ever to leave Vietnam without completing the standard one-year tour of duty, other than those who were seriously wounded or killed...

• Kerry went to unusual lengths to obtain a Purple Heart after being turned down by his own commanding officer, due to the fact that Kerry had come under NO enemy fire, and the injury was due to his own negligence. Also, the military physician who treated Kerry's "wound" stated, "I’ve seen worse injuries from a rose thorn."

• Kerry's fellow Swift officer Thomas Wright, who served on occasion as the OIC (Officer in Charge) of Kerry's boat group, contradicts that claim. Wright reports that he "had a lot of trouble getting Kerry to follow orders," and that those who worked with Kerry found him "oriented towards his personal, rather than unit goals and objectives."

• Kerry has lied for 30 years about the nature of actions his and other swift boats took, their missions, and meetings with commanders.

Many of the men who served alongside Kerry in Vietnam write about the man and their feelings about his conduct during and after the war.

Robert Elder: "John Kerry went home and began his atrocious betrayal of all of us by attempting to rally the American public against all we were trying to do. He went in front of Congress and accused us of unspeakable crimes, and in one final act of disrespect for himself, threw away his own heroism by throwing his medals over the White House gate. Most of us in that picture, and most of the other Swifties, have borne the pain of that betrayal all these years."

John O'Neill: "We resent very deeply the false war crimes charges he made coming back from Vietnam in 1971 and repeated in the book "Tour of Duty." We think those cast an aspersion on all those living and dead, from our unit and other units in Vietnam. We think that he knew he was lying when he made the charges... he is totally unfit to be the Commander-in-Chief."

Rear Admiral Roy Hoffmann, USN (retired): "His biography, 'Tour of Duty,' by Douglas Brinkley, is replete with gross exaggerations, distortions of fact, contradictions and slanderous lies. His contempt for the military and authority is evident by even a most casual review of this biography. He arrived in-country with a strong anti-Vietnam War bias and a self-serving determination to build a foundation for his political future. He was aggressive, but vain and prone to impulsive judgment, often with disregard for specific tactical assignments. He was a 'loose cannon.'"

Nearly all the people who knew him best in Vietnam, the people who know exactly what John Kerry was like under fire, refuse to support him. They use words like "unfit" and "bertayal" and "lying" when describing his character.

Go to the website and check into it for yourself. Make up your own mind. Ask yourself, is this the kind of leadership we need to fight the global war against terrorism? Is this the type man we need in charge of our miliatry? Do we really want a Commander-in-Chief that our own military won't like or respect?