A huge win Saturday for my Georgia Southern Eagles over our hated rival Furman, who just happened to be ranked number one in the nation in I-AA. With one game left (against Morehead State), not only are our playoff hopes brightened, but suddenly we're back in the hunt for the Southern Conference title. It'll take some help, but it could happen. The Eagles showed some of that good old option football that's won us so many national championships. Woo hoo!
Jack Kelly writes that, despite the wishful thinking of the Left and the carefully crafted reporting of the mainstream media, evidence does link Saddam to WMD programs and terror groups.
A rally was held by against the policies of President Bush in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Adults were urged to attend, and to hold their children out of school so they too might attend. I have no problem with that. I don't believe it's in the best interests of the kids, but parents have the right to make those choices.
You know there's a BUT coming, don't you?
It seems the Los Angeles Unified School District allowed more than 800 high school students to walk out of classes to attend the rally, sending staff and school police with the students. Public school buses were even used to transport some of the students.
That's right. Taxpayer funds were used, and public school staff took part. Think there's any chance they'd make staff and buses available for students to attend a pro-Bush rally? Yeah, right.
The U.S. Senate today approved cutting about $36 billion in spending over the next five years. Got to say, it's a nice start.
In a CBS News opinion poll released Wednesday night, President Bush's approval rating was given as 35%. As Noel Sheppard of the NewsBusters blog shows, the methodology for the poll is skewed against Republicans. Don't yell at me folks, the math backs it up...
NewsBusters reported Wednesday evening, a new CBS News poll pegged President Bush's job approval rating at 35 percent. Tom Bevan of Real Clear Politics posted an analysis of this poll's methodology at his blog last evening (hat tip from a NewsBusters reader named "Jsemby"). What his figures show is that CBS polled 46% more Democrats in its weighted sample than Republicans:
New CBS News poll out tonight. Highlights:
· Bush job approval at all time low of 35%
· Bush favorable rating at 33%
· Right track 27%, wrong track 68%
· Congress job approval 34%
· Congressional Dem favorable rating 41%, Congressional Republican favorable rating 35%
Now for the numbers behind the numbers. Take a look at the composition of the respondents:
Total Respondents (Unweighted) = 936
Republicans = 259 (27.67%)
Democrats = 326 (34.83%)
Independents = 351 (37.5%)Now look at the weighted sample:
Republicans: 223 (23.80%)
Democrats: 326 (34.79%)
Independents: 388 (41.4%)The result is a 35% job approval for the president, which is roughly 4-8 points lower than the other polls out right now.
To put these numbers in proper perspective, according to the November 2004 exit polls, the nation's current party affiliation is 37 percent Democrats, 37 percent Republicans, and 26 percent Independents. As such, the polling agency involved in this result fell 36 percent short in sampling Republicans while over-sampling Independents by 59 percent.
This demonstrates what many statisticians have been saying about polls for years: If you are trying to ascertain a certain answer to a question, all you have to do is ask the right people.
I've added a couple of new links to the menu over on the right. They are military blog: A Soldier's Blog and Major K. I wish I'd discovered these sooner, as they are great looks at what's really going on, and how are soldiers are getting by, in Iraq.
From Major K's blog, I feel compelled to share this post of his from October 11th. He lets us know how the activities of the Left affect the troops involved in the War on Terror. He pulls no punches.
Against All Enemies...
"I, _____ (SSAN), having been appointed an officer in the Army of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God."
-Oath of Office (DA Form 71, 1 August 1959)
I swore this oath in 1992, then a young Second Lieutenant. In the past few weeks as I watched and read about the latest round of war protests, I thought about Sun Tzu, the legendary Chinese Strategist, who made it very clear how important it is to "know your enemy" in order to be victorious. This war has many enemies and many fronts both at home and abroad. Iraq is only one, but over the past two years, it has become the centerpiece. As I listened to the same old slogans come from the same people like Jane Fonda, George Galloway and recent media darling, Cindy Sheehan, I am reminded of Tokyo Rose. I have had my fill of hearing enemy propaganda from my own homeland. I do consider them an enemy. They might as well be arhabi recruiters.When a Soldier is asked what he thinks of these protestors by a reporter, he will usually say something to the effect of, "I'm glad they have the freedom to do that in the USA. Most of the places we go, they kill people for things like that." What the Soldiers don't say, but overwhelmingly think is: "I wish they would quit working against us and abusing their freedom." I don't speak for all fighting men anymore than Cindy speaks for all of our parents. But I can tell you that I have spoken to more than she has, and very few of us here like her, and we wish she would honor her son, Casey's noble sacrifice. He truly was a hero.
While many of us have questioned the wisdom of coming here at one time or another before our arrival, I can say that most everyone that I have spoken to and commiserated with has become a believer in the mission since arriving here inspite of the cost. How we execute the mission can often be the subject of much debate and discontent, but seeing the kids run to our HMMWV's, or cleaning up after a VBIED that has killed numerous innocents has a tendency to make one believe in the mission. This is what I think of when I have the urge to gripe - the mission. Through all the tactical errors, diplomatic mistakes, corruption in the interim government, and fallen brothers, the mission remains constant. It is the among the most sacred things we have here.
While mistakes are made, and bad seeds do bad things, I do not see the value in wallowing in public pennance. Bad things happen in wars, on all sides. But the amount of good we are doing and attempting to do here far outweighs them. I think everyone has seen enough pictures from the Abu Ghraib scandal, and yes, the arhabi do use them in their propaganda. How is giving them more going to help anyone except them? I have distant, vague memories of the ACLU being a good organization that stood for justice. What happened? They have become a disgrace.
I received an e-mail from someone who asked how best to support the troops if he was against the war. My response is this. Pray for a swift and victorious conclusion. The die has been cast. The war has been enjoined. The time for protests was before the shooting started. If we stop before we are finished, we will cause the deaths many thousands more and have yet another war to fight, bloodier, and not too far down the road. The first battle of that war, may again be on our home turf. By all means, vote your conscience. Write your Congressman. Discuss your views with your friends. Better yet, donate to a charity like Operation Iraqi Children, but please don't be a propaganda pawn of the arhabi via the nearest media outlet.
This is a monumental undertaking. It is worthwhile. It is frustrating and painful. It is at times irritating and annoying. It is good and right. It will take time. No one said it would be easy.
Author Peter Schweizer has a very interesting new book, Do As I Say (Not As I Do). Basically, it delves into the apparent hypocrisy of many of the far left's leading voices. Some of the juicier tidits...
Filmmaker Michael Moore has declared that he owns no stocks, isn't a shareholder in any companies. But Moore's tax returns show that he actually owns hundreds of thousands of shares of stock, including 2,000 shares of Haliburton.Of course, this stuff isn't exclusive to the liberal Left. It's just so much more fun when it's them!
Ted Kennedy favors racial set-asides on federal contracts. But when it came to his own investment in an entire city block of Washington, DC, he got his political friends to help him waive an affirmative action set-aside.
Nancy Pelosi has made supporting labor unions a cornerstone of her public career. Yet the vineyards and hotels that comprise her $35 million fortune have one thing in common: they won't use union labor.
President Bush has nominated federal appellate Judge Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice O'Conner. A pretty good choice, too. Blogger Keith Burgess-Jackson looks at what kind of battle to expect, and why it's important to fight it.
Sounding like a man who's planning another run for president, John Kerry delivered a speech recently at Georgetown University. It's mostly the same old song and dance from the '04 loser. He's even showing a little bit of the John Kerry we last saw during the campaign.
On the subject of American troop presence in Iraq:
"When they could have listened to General Shinseki and put in enough troops to maintain order, they chose not to. They were wrong."Then later:
"...Our military presence in vast and visible numbers has become part of the problem, not the solution. And our generals understand this. General George Casey, our top military commander in Iraq, recently told Congress that our large military presence 'feeds the notion of occupation'".So which is it? Did we send in too few troops or too many? You can't have it both ways. Oh yeah, it's Kerry. As the Wall Street Journal's Best Of The Web puts it, "Apparently Kerry was for more troops before he was against it."
This story of political correctness run amuck comes from the U.K. Seems British banks are banning piggy banks because they might offend Muslims, who view pigs as unclean animals.
"The next thing we will be banning Christmas trees and cribs and the logical result of that process is a bland uniformity," the Dean of Blackburn, Reverend Christopher Armstrong, said. "We should learn to celebrate our difference, not be fearful of them."
To his credit, one Muslim member of Parliament recognized the nonsense of the ban, saying, "I doubt many Muslims would be seriously offended by piggy banks."
A British researcher says it's possible that people alive today could live 1,000 years or longer. He has a simple, seven step procedure. One of the steps... cure cancer. Sounds simple enough.
A mysterious object found in a Davenport home, which prompted a visit by the local bomb squad, turned out not to be a bomb. Instead, it was a device that was supposed to scare off aliens believed to be living under the ground. The device had been left by a previous homeowner, who got it from a friend of a relative.
About the friend: "He's an astrologer who believes aliens live under the ground... He was a little off his rocker."
Do ya' think?
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said his department aims without exception to expel all those who enter the United States illegally. It's about time the problem of illegal immigration was addressed this way. Of course, Chertoff saying this and the practice actually being done are two totally different things. The article correctly mentions that this idea lies in sharp contrast to the U.S. policy on illegal Cuban immigrants, which permits those who actually reach U.S. soil to stay in the country. Still, it's a great start if it holds true.
Here's an educated, positive editorial about the Fair Tax, courtesy of yesterday's Gainesville Sun.
Former ABC News anchor Chris Wallace, now host of "FOX News Sunday", discusses in an interview the tremendous amount of anti-President Bush sentiment he's seeing and hearing in the media. He says the questions he hears seem to almost always be slanted against the Bush Administration.
The last couple of days I've spent at the new house, getting unpacked and making the place more homey. I've also been doing a bit of yard work. Now the yard itself is nearly perfect. The previous owners kept it immaculate. Our next door neighbors have already told me that we have "a lot ot live up to" where the yard is concerned. The grass is nice and lush, and in a little less than an hour it can all be cut and edged. The backyard has a nice, young weeping willow which Shannon just loves. She's always wanted one in her yard.
Being out on the back porch, watching the squirrels playing on the fence or in the yard, and things all seem so right. It also helps bring on the feelings of ownership. This is OUR yard. OUR house. Sweet...
In a speech delivered to the The Media Center's We Media conference on October 5, 2005 in New York City, former VP Al Gore expounded on his views of the media's role in public discourse. It's a long, rambling, tiresome speech. I know, what else is new? Some interesting comments, though...
He talked about the "vividness and clarity" with which we (Americans) once talked amongst ourselves over "the problems and choices that we face." He says that "vividness and clarity", long lost, came back for a while in the media's coverage of the devestation from Hurricane Katrina.
I suppose he's referring to the (untrue) claims of tens of thousands of dead in New Orleans, supposedly left behind to die because of the color of their skin. Or the (also untrue) claims by New Orleans' mayor on national television of rapes and murders of women and children in the Superdome. Maybe it's the media's attempt to lay blame for all of New Orleans' mess on President Bush, while ignoring the facts (ooh, how the Left hates those pesky thinks!) that the mayor and Louisiana's Governor failed to act in a timely fashion to save their own people.
Then we get this quote...
Clearly, the purpose of television news is no longer to inform the American people or serve the public interest. It is to "glue eyeballs to the screen" in order to build ratings and sell advertising. If you have any doubt, just look at what's on: The Robert Blake trial. The Laci Peterson tragedy. The Michael Jackson trial. The Runaway Bride. The search in Aruba. The latest twist in various celebrity couplings, and on and on and on.I have to agree with the VP here. But, here's the thing... Most of the conservative people I know, whether family, friends or through work, couldn't care less about these things. Celebrity goings on, triels, etc. are of little or no interest to most of us. (I'm speaking for my own little circle now, not generalizing for everyone). Most of the people I know who talked about Blake, Laci, Jacko, Aruba, etc. are the same folks I know who read People Magazine, watch Entertainment Tonight and watch or tape soap operas.
...it is television delivered over cable and satellite that will continue for the remainder of this decade and probably the next to be the dominant medium of communication in America's democracy. And so long as that is the case, I truly believe that America's democracy is at grave risk.Allrighty, then...
Of course, I'm referring to to Cindy Sheehan. Here's a quote from her latest posting at Huffingtonpost.com
The war machine and the people who serve it in our government are getting a little afraid themselves of not being able to keep the industrial military complex rolling in the bloody dough, so George and friends have come up with a new enemy whose atrocities also can't be contained to borders and that doesn't wear a national uniform: The Bird Flu... Our new enemy of the state will be Birds who may be ill and we shall be very afraid every time we sneeze and pray that our government saves us from more imaginary threats.It could be funny watching to see what idiotic ramblings she comes up with next, if the woman herself weren't so pathetically disturbed. She needs help. Psychological help. Grief counseling. Something. Instead, the moonbats of the extreme Left are using her as a poster child for their causes. Sadly, the media is eating it up. Cindy is a victim of their games, but she's apparently too far gone to realize it.
Everything has gone about as well as we expected with the move. Last Friday, in the course of four rainy miserable hours, we moved from the old place to our new house. All the painting and preliminary work went well, with my father-in-law doing a fantastic job of getting hte house ready. The only issues we had were with utilities. We were without internet from before the move until sometime Sunday, hence no updates. We do have about 30 boxes in the house, with another 30-40 in the garage, but it's totally liveable now.
The move into the house has officially begun. My father-in-law is getting the painting inside finished, and we've started moving things from the old place to the new one. We did have a nasty little surprise the first time we opened the mailbox.
Nobody thinks twice about a mailbox. You either like the way it looks, or you don't. In this case, we did. So we didn't give it any more thought. Until we opened the blasted thing. A nice flowering vine was growing up around the post. It looked great, except that the vine had grown into the mailbox itself. Lots of vine tangled inside the box. Not a problem. But inside the box, with the vine, about a dozen big ugly cockroaches. Urgh! I absolutely detest these bugs, no the mailbox, it's post, and the ground around it are going to be drenched in some highly potent roach death liquid. They'll be sterile for years! The pretty vine around the mailbox... already gone. I pulled it, and the roach or two that were on it, and they've been disposed of.
I'm just glad I found them before my wife...
