Blind, Deaf and Dumb; Human Rights Watch Sets Sights on Walmart

'ok I thought the photo apt, on the blind, deaf and dumb theme not sure what girl number 4 is animating though' -kevin

NEW YORK—Wal-Mart's exploitation of weak U.S. labor laws interferes with workers' rights to organize and violates the human rights of its employees, according to a report by Human Rights Watch, an independent nongovernment organization.

In a 210-page report released Monday, Human Rights Watch said Wal-Mart uses an arsenal of sophisticated tactics—some of which it says are illegal_ aimed at thwarting union organization and creating a climate of fear for its 1.3 million U.S. workers.

The Human Rights Watch study was based on interviews with 41 current and former Wal-Mart workers, managers, labor lawyers and union organizers between 2004 and early 2007."

So, apparently, one of the most pressing human rights issues today is the evil Walmart. At least according to the Left's great bastion of moral authority, Human Rights Watch. It must be true; they did interview a whopping 41 current and former employees of Walmart (out of a current 1.3 MILLION) together with the always unbiased union leaders. My local Walmart SuperCenter has more than 41 workers in the grocery section alone, but whatever. I'm no human rights expert.

While I agree that the fluorescent lighting is an affront to women (as are most of their fashion offerings), I tend to think there are more egregious violations out there. The stoning to death of women perhaps? Beheadings? Sharia Law? The lobbing of rockets into Israel? The Iranian Mullahs? The seeming epidemic of radio-active poison deaths in Russia? Al Gore?

No, no. Walmart. Walmart not unionizing is far worse. Not only that, but they cloak themselves in a " climate of fear", for goodness sake. Far, far more insidious and evil. By the by, I thought the fear deal was Bush's bag? Does Karl Rove now work for Walmart and is he wielding his wizard's wand of fear there?

Even Hillary Clinton is in on the act. During the Democrat Presidential Debate, and I use that term loosely, she said when asked about Walmart:

"as they grew much bigger, though, they have raised serious questions about the responsibility of corporations and how they need to be a leader when it comes to providing health care and having safe working conditions and not discriminating on the basis of sex or race or any other category. Brian, this is all part, though, of how this Administration and corporate America today don't see middle class and working Americans. They are invisible. They don't understand that if you're a family that can't get health care, you're really hurting."

Pardon me while I pick myself up from the floor where I am literally curled into a ball in fits of laughter. That is really amusing coming from a woman who, until recently and then only in order to carpetbag, never lived in a home that wasn't paid for directly by the public coffers. Who paid for NOTHING on her own, except for, perhaps, her personal fleet of private detectives. The same woman who came up with the almost incomprehensible, totally impractical and roundly rejected HillaryCare health plan. Gee, Hillary, Walmart offers $4 prescription drugs and is now adding affordable Health Clinics to all their SuperCenters. I think they win. (Yes, I do harbor an intense hatred for Hillary Clinton that is almost palpable. And I loathe her pantsuits with an unhealthy passion. They offend me as a woman).

But I digress. I suppose the point of my rambling is that I would just like to know exactly why anyone pays the slightest bit of attention to this group. This is the same group that whined and wrung their hands over Saddam's trial. It wasn't "fair", they complained. Somehow, I think the close to a million people killed in his vicious acts, including mass genocide, would beg to differ. All told, to little old me, this group is as worthless, inept and inane as the United Nations. But that's another story.

Brian Williams and the Seven Dwarfs: Highlights from the Democrat Presidential Debate

Yes, I know there were 8 candidates in attendance, but I am discounting Senator Dodd as irrelevant. So, I'll concentrate on the other 7. Details may be sketchy because, as some know, I had to invent a drinking game for myself in order to sit through the entire 90 minutes. My rules were to drink each time the phrases "civil war", "redeployment" or "the American people have spoken" were uttered, which meant that I was fairly trashed before the midway point.

The clear winner to me, albeit through a tipsy haze, was Senator Gravel who played the role of Grumpy. Grumpy, who clearly dislikes all the other candidates and most everything on Earth, and who made that refreshingly apparent, offered 2 of the best lines of the evening. To wit, "Why do we spend so much money on the military? Who are we afraid of?" (by the end of the evening I had amended my personal response to "Um, you?") and "I feel like a potted plant over here". Wrong, sir. At least a potted plant creates its own carbon offsets. Or at least I think it does; I'm a little confused by the whole offset/footprint thing. I don't do well with indulgences.

Kucinich, a close second favorite, played the role of Dopey, as usual, with another good line...."there is no War on Terror". And he has actually filed Articles of Impeachment papers on VP Dick "Cross me and I'll take you hunting" Cheney. "Nuff said.

Sleepy was played by John Edwards who appeared to doze off when asked "Who is your moral leader?". After a full 12 seconds of painful and rather embarrassing silence, he awoke, sadly, to squeak out "uh.....my lord?" (the word Jesus is as taboo as nappy headed ho, apparently) and "oh yeah.... my wife too". Snooze.

Joe Biden, who usually nearly tears limbs off of Senator Charles "Cheese" Schumer in a battle for camera time, in an ironic twist took on the role of Bashful. In answer to a question with regards to whether or not he'd be able to curb his propensity to windbaggedness (word?) and gaffes, he answered a pithy "yes". That was pretty much his main contribution for the night.

The Messiah, aka Barak Obama was Happy. Not only because he caused me to drink the most, but also due to the mindless look of blissful ignorance on his face, which matched his answers. He answered almost every question with "the American people have spoken", "unlike this administration" or "we need non-faulty intelligence". Hint, Happy: Bush ain't running again.

Madame Hillary took on Doc. She, admittedly, appeared the most prepared. Which isn't all that surprising since she's been an accomplished actress her entire married life. Playing the role of a loving, heterosexual wife and all. Plus, she already knows how to say things like a Vast Right Wing Conspiracy with a straight face.

Governor Richardson was Sneezy, as he simply stood there, slightly trembling yet frozen in place like that overly coked-up guy at every party who stands in the corner with the "Stop looking at me! Why am I here? I want my Mommy" look on his face.

Well, that's really all you need to know. The rest was excruciatingly insipid with the post-analysis done by Chris Matthews and good old Olby being far more entertaining (Olberman kept talking about the "so-called" War on Terror. Priceless). Next up, the Republican Debate on Thursday. My drinking rules for that one will be to drink each time the phrases "family values", "I personally hate abortion... But" and "surge" are offered. Luckily, I've stocked up on wine.

When Harry Met Allies

There is much debate in Britain right now as to whether Prince Harry, a young man so pointless that the world's most eminent scientists are still trying to prove conclusively that he isn't in fact just a massive fart, should go with the Army regiment he serves in to fight in Iraq. In my opinion he has more cause to go than any other member of the British Army, on the grounds that of the two things he joined to protect, 'Queen and Country', at least one of them is his grandma. If people joined the Army to fight for the protection of 'David Whitehouse's Grandma and Country', I'd be in Iraq too. It's only fair.

There are those that argue he shouldn't go however. They believe that whilst his fellow soldiers are out fighting in the desert, Prince Harry would provide a better service to the nation sitting at home in a massive pile of diamonds, eating wild boar fed on gold and the testicles of peasants. They say that it would be a national disaster if he were to get taken hostage, or worse, killed. Thankfully, Abu Zaid, a senior member of the insurgent militia in Iraq, has made this promise:

"We will be generous with him. We will return him to his grandmother, The Queen, but without ears".

You can't beat an insurgent with a sense of humour. I imagine their television comedy is a sight to behold. Besides, if Harry's ears grow anything like as big as his dads, a man who is looking more and more like his own Madame Tussauds figure left too close to a radiator, he'll probably be thankful.

That's enough about the armed forces, I'll leave that to the experts. Or if they're not around, Kev.

Oh, and in unrelated news, Hugh Grant, a man blessed with all the charm and charisma experienced when finding six arses in your breakfast cereal, has been arrested for throwing baked beans at a member of the paparazzi. Read that sentence again... it's the single most British thing that's ever happened in history. Ever.

A drunken French election Keira Knightley epiphany

Yesterday after the first round of the French elections it became apparent that the far right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen, a huge angry testicle in glasses, won't be the next President of France. French politics doesn't normally concern me, but this man's questionable attitudes towards topics that have the power to worsen the way of life of many, many people are, well, largely abhorrent. If I came home one day and found him in my kitchen I'd go and stand in the garden. If I came home one day and found a framed picture of him in the kitchen, I'd go and fetch a spade from the garden and use it to smash the framed picture to a million tiny pieces. Only then would I question the sanity of someone who would not only frame a picture of a Jean-Marie Le Pen, but then have the gall to leave it in my kitchen. I hope that if one day the planet Mars crashes into the Earth it lands directly on his car. And I hope that when it does it's wearing a massive, planet-sized t-shirt that says 'Jean-Marie Le Pen has a head that looks a bit like a huge angry testicle', just so that we can all look at the pictures and laugh about it together afterwards.

The question is, had he got into power would I have been too apathetic to have protested about it? The answer is probably yes.

Meanwhile, in very probably unrelated news, it's my birthday today. I went out to celebrate it on Saturday and early on Sunday found myself in a very nice bar, which was also being frequented by the actress Keira Knightley, the incredibly attractive daughter of a duck and a broom. Normally I'm never particularly moved to stare at people, it's just rude, but because she's famous and I was drunk I was staring at her as I crossed the bar. This is why I walked straight into an enormous stuffed horse, an actual stuffed horse which I'd previously not noticed, and knocked myself unconscious. Friends reported later that Keira stifled a giggle. The horse was unharmed, if a little embarrassed.

Now, do I care more about looking at Keira Knightley than I do the election of tyrant in waiting Jean-Marie Le Pen? Secretly, yes I do. And if enough people are as stupid as me at 2am on a Sunday morning and become more interested in the faintest flickering of celebrity than they do much more important things, then one day someone like Jean-Marie Le Pen will get in. And by then it will be too late to go and stand in the garden. We'll all have been knocked out by a stuffed horse, sitting on the floor of a bar covered in booze and wondering where it came from like a drunken loser. And remember, the drunken loser never gets to go home with the pretty duck/broom lady. There is a lesson in that for us all. Probably, somewhere.

Religion of Peace; Not so peaceful when it comes to women

No longer can we remain apathetic, fooled into a false sense of security by our errant belief that such things can only possibly happen in far off places. It is here now; at home in the US. As in the UK and Europe.

Western Pennsylvania:

"A community debate over religious freedom surfaced in Western Pennsylvania last week when Dutch feminist author Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali refugee who has lived under the threat of death for denouncing her Muslim upbringing, made an appearance at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.

Imam Fouad ElBayly, president of the Johnstown Islamic Center, was among those who objected to Hirsi Ali's appearance.

"She has been identified as one who has defamed the faith. If you come into the faith, you must abide by the laws, and when you decide to defame it deliberately, the sentence is death," said ElBayly, who came to the U.S. from Egypt in 1976."

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the author of Infidel, came here to America after she had to flee the Netherlands under threats of death by radical Islamists. The reason? She spoke. She spoke about the atrocities committed against women under fanatical Islamic faith. She spoke out against the physical mutilation of women by radical Muslims. She renounced the faith. For that, she lived in constant fear for her life.

She came here, to America, believing she would be safe. She is now under 24/7 security. Yes, in America. The supposed Land of the Free where Freedom of Speech is an unalienable right. Apparently not, however, if you choose to say anything against radical Islam.

Where are the Feminists now? Why are they not holding rallies or at the very least speaking out against the Islamists who want to KILL Ms. Ali for the crime of speaking her mind? Are they too busy crying that the Supreme Court upheld a partial birth abortion ban? Justice Ginsburg dissented in that case and called the majority opinion "alarming" and accused the 5 man majority of sexism and paternalism. Barbara Boxer immediately set about decrying the decision as a danger to women. Well, Justice Ginsburg, I believe KILLING women for SPEAKING is a tad more alarming, sexist and paternalistic, don't you? Ms. Boxer, genital mutilation and death threats are a real danger, no? Does THAT not bother you?

In fact, the first American article I could find on Ms. Ali was a New Yorker magazine interview wherein the interviewer made snide comments about Ms. Ali's "conservative" ties in Washington and ended with a jibe at President Bush. Yes, that's right. The article was more concerned with trying to pin a politcal agenda on Ms. Ali than with the atrocities she suffered as a child under Islamic rule or the very real death threats she's been receiving for years.

The left accuses President Bush on an almost daily basis of fear mongering. They claim he uses fear to influence us poor, stupid, gullible Americans. It is not President Bush that uses fear, but rather radical Islamists. The left falls for the very same tactic they accuse President Bush of using. Why else would they not speak out against the vile practices against Women? And children? And any and all "infidels"? They are afraid. They are afraid of what radical Islamists would do if anyone dared speak out against them. They see what happened when the Danish cartoons of Mohammed appeared in print, for example. They use the guise of political correctness to cover up the simple fact that they are afraid. They've stopped teaching about the Holocaust and the Crusades in some schools waving the banner of "too controversial; it might offend some students". Since when is the Holocaust controversial? We now must teach our children based on a madman's beliefs? So as not to "offend"?

It is time WE, the people, demand an end to the fear. Why are we allowing it? Because it doesn't affect us personally? That is where we are wrong. It does affect us all. And will affect us in ways we can't even fathom if we let it continue. Ms. Ali is not safe here........here in what I truly thought was the last bastion of freedom and liberty. I love my Country; The shining city on a hill about which John Winthrop wrote on his voyage here, looking for a land that would be free. Ronald Reagan spoke about that shining city. He said:

"after 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home."

Does that mean anything any longer? Will we let fear and false claims of tolerance destroy that shining city of freedom? I pray that we won't.

Ms. Ali gives us fair warning here and in her book, Infidel. I have to believe we will listen to Ms. Ali, and others, and heed their warnings.

Act 3 - Iran

The last Stoning in Iran was last week! Digging chicks into the sand unto their waist and pelting them with rocks is pretty damn depraved. What year is this 2007? Or am I meant to be on the Islamic calendar Hijrah year 1428, that’s sounds more relevant to their medieval sadomasachisms . It amazes me that in a world where the West is vilified for it actions against tyrant states that the United Nations with all its power and funding still refuses to take robust action against the governments that persist in committing atrocities against their own people. Its impotency (and I know I have served on 4 UN Operations) knows no bounds and acting against its voice indicts you to comparison of that of the tyrant States themselves. It pains me to realise that in the 62 years since the Holocaust I have witnessed genocide in both Bosnia and Rwanda and that the promises we made on the alters of sacrifice during the Second World War have not been honoured nor heeded. Should we have gone into Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein and his Bathist party? Yes, did we do it right. No, and is there ever a right or wrong way to do these things. No. Should we look to removing the Iranian regime and its follow up lunatic group the Republican Guard, Yes. Should we smash their insanely inhuman practices like we did with the Taliban in Afghanistan? Yes. Why? Because they are all finely linked, tuned into the same dynamic evil, one funds the next and supports the other, Iran is the world Islamic power and will continue to rise and corrupt Muslims in my country and yours and the four corners of the globe until they are stopped.

Never has the world seen a more psychologically brainwashed enemy that despite its humble beginnings from the Prophet Mohammed has risen to be the cancer of the planet, it shows no respect for women or children, its contempt for ‘infidels’ and other religions is unfathomable its disgust at capitalism, the very thing that has brought employment and prosperity to more people than any fascist or communist regime. Not since the third Reich and Nazi Germany have we seen such a manifestation. And it grows by the day. An enemy that will sacrifice itself in the execution of its evil. We are bound in the west by the rule of law and democracy, we are reasonable people, come talk to us, 2nd generation British Muslims post Second World War did not act as you are doing now! Why? What is your problem? Why won’t you conform to our ways in the UK and the US, why won’t you accept our generosity? We needn’t be in this situation; you left your Arab nations for a reason. If you don’t want to conform to our culture and ways, go home! Speak out against your regimes back in your places of birth, help us help them and together we could resolve so much of the worlds misery. Arab nations could be hugely powerful affluent economies, look at Dubai, look at the modern day Saudi Arabia. But instead you spout religious hatred and inspire a worldwide Jihad. Crazy, pointless and futile.

Where am I going with this…. Is the sacrifice of 3500 British and US Troops and the 50,000 Iraqis now dead in this mess worth it. Well let’s do some sums, the arithmetic is an imprecise venture. The largest number of deaths attributable to Mr. Hussein's regime resulted from the war between Iraq and Iran between 1980 and 1988, which was launched by Mr. Hussein. Iraq says its own toll was 500,000, and Iran's reckoning ranges upward of 300,000. Then there are the casualties in the wake of Iraq's 1990 occupation of Kuwait 100,000 deaths. Either way we have about a million people once we throw in a few Kurds that this f*****g lunatic had a hand in killing. I hate this bit. My point is on the grand scheme of things in the preposterous arrogance of weighing up human life against what if scenarios our losses and indeed future losses still spit out the same results. Rather we prevent him killing another million by what we have done than sat there limp like the French.

And so to the questions those liberal minded peoples ask. Why did the US and the UK invade Iraq and Afghanistan, for oil? For revenge? To liberate? The answer. Because no one else had the courage to. Bi-products of this could be stopping a nuke landing on Israel or the removal of three militant, evil and disgusting regimes that neither knows humility nor mercy. It’s not now its not next year, one day, just one day someone’s children will thank us.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Edmund Burke (1729-1797),

I say, let history be our judge. Statescraft is tough and its always about the wider picture, you dont have to agree but you should try to understand.

Why you should never divorce a Beatle

In Britain, the tabloid press hate Heather Mills McCartney, the doe-eyed dancing uniped. They say she is a money grabbing liar, a malicious former glamour model and prostitute. They have picked her out and vilified her. She is a hate figure, and the people of the UK have responded in kind.

The trouble is, the people don't know why. This is the influence of the gutter press. In fact, if you were to go onto the streets of England and ask a random passer by why they hate Heather Mills McCartney, 36% of the public would blame her for the Virginia Tech massacre, 44% the war in Iraq, 12% the break up of The Beatles and the rest wouldn't have the brains to resist shitting into their own teapot if a magazine told them it was cool. Frankly, I'm surprised every morning when I wake up and look at the front cover of the newspaper to find that she hasn't beaten a disabled child to death with her plastic leg.

As far as I can tell, her only real crime is falling our with Sir Paul McCartney, a man who it's impossible to look at without thinking of your embarrassing uncle dancing at a wedding, smoking a joint with his cool nephew, being sick on his shoes and getting carried home by his furious wife. One things for sure though... if she does get her hands on his millions come the divorce she'll no doubt act like a typical woman and spend it all on shoe. That's my best joke by the way.

Other tabloid hate figures include Pete Doherty, who looks like the end result might if the people who work at Jim Henson's Creature Workshop decided to make a giant muppet based upon a potato. They don't hate him because he's a yellow-fingered drug addict with a piss-weak claim to musical talent, they hate him because he gets to sleep with British fashion icon Kate Moss, which is a bit like having sex with a really attractive exercise bike, but a British fashion icon nonetheless.

Have you spotted a trend yet? That's right, the British hate people who get to have sex with British icons. It's why we don't particularly like Prince Charles (a man whose face is part horse, part scrotum) and it's why we never got on with Yoko Ono (the world's luckiest koala bear). And it's why Heather Mills McCartney should stop answering back, take the money and go and live quietly in a huge mansion somewhere with her good foot in her mouth. Against the British tabloid press, you just can't win.

Simon Says...

Simon Cowell, the only man alive to have both a short back and sides and a centre parting at the same time, has been accused of 'rolling his eyes' on American Idol while one of the contestants paid tribute to the victims of the shootings at Virginia Tech. Simon took time out from shitting money to refute the claims. The oddly-shaped pop impresario said that he couldn't hear what was being said on stage due to microphone issues, and was actually rolling his eyes because he was discussing said contestants dismal performance with fellow judge Paula Abdul, a woman who looks like a lion might if it became human for a day.

The story makes the front page of the BBC news website and countless others no doubt. Meanwhile, 32 families and countless friends mourn their loss, the world keeps turning, and some pigshit-brained oxygen thieving media moron smugly pats themself on the back for managing to spin out a horrific tragedy by attaching a half-baked celebrity gossip story to it.

They remain blissfully unaware that somewhere in deep space the devil has manifested itself as an enormous arse the size of the moon and is currently wiping itself on their soul for all eternity.

Celebrity Passport Confiscation

In the sticky grip of summer, 1997 seemed like a good time to change the world. Tony Blair's reinvigorated Labour party swept into power. Princess Diana died, which isn't a good thing of course, but it seemed as though a shift in the structure of the monarchy was afoot. These were exciting times. As it transpired, all that really occured was that florists made lots of money and Helen Mirren grimaced her way to an Oscar ten years later doing an impression of an elderly woman sucking piss from a thistle. Oh, and we all got a day off work.

My personal highlight of this time though was percussive arsewit Phil Collin's assertion that if Labour did get into power, he'd emigrate to Switzerland. What had Switzerland done to deserve this? Nothing. Literally... nothing. They've never done anything at all. Collin's meanwhile proved once and for all that he was a tit of some incredible magnitude.

I was reminded of this recently when aged one-trick-pony Sean Connery, a man who looks increasingly like a grey owl at the point of climax, stated that he'd only leave his castle made entirely from gold in the Bahamas to move back to his native Highlands if Scotland voted for independence at the next election. That's not just a good reason not to vote for independence. It's a good reason to nuke the Bahamas.

The question is, which celebrity would you most like to see not only stop talking politics publicly, but also ram their passport right up their arse?

Poor Hillary Has No Friends

Hillary Has One Senate Endorsement

"Sen. Hillary Clinton is said to be among the hardest working and most respected senators, so say the media spinmeisters.

But so far, Sen. Clinton has won the endorsement of just one senatorial colleague in her bid to run for president, according to The Hill newspaper.

The lone Clinton supporter is, not surprisingly, Sen. Charles Schumer, her fellow Democrat from New York.

Hillary has also won the endorsement of 26 members of House of Representatives. But here's another interesting factoid: of the 26 House members backing Clinton, all but five are from her home state of New York.

Hillary’s base of congressional support appears narrow and shallow when compared to other presidential candidates who have backing that is far more diverse."

Full article here


For some reason, this strikes me as hysterically funny. The one who was to be crowned Madame (or Comrade) President with ease, can't even get her fellow Democrats to back her. Guess they are all hedging their bets. Or else they have more brains than I thought and can't stand her either. Can't say as I blame them, either way.

Free Advice for you, Ms. Rodham hyphen Clinton: Get a personality, lose the cankles and stop pretending you are from Selma, Alabama.

April is the Cruelest Month

April is the cruelest month. T.S. Eliot's words ring very true today.

I'm generally positive and content; outraged only when I know we are capable of better. But at times the world pains me. Today is such a time.

My thoughts and my heart are with all who senselessly died today and with their families, who will have a hole in their hearts, a missing piece, each day forward without their loved ones.

Why I don't like Feminist/Sensitive Men

So, since I blathered on regarding why Feminists aren't my cup of tea, in the interest of equality, I will offer Feminist/Sensitive men the same courtesy.

Enough with the "feelings". If I want to discuss feelings, I'll call my sister.

The fact that you care more about my uterus and its "rights" than I do is kinda gross.

You don't open doors for me out of fear of offending my independent sensibilities; I'm offended that you think I want to heave open my own door. Some of them are heavy and since I'm partial to heels, I'm always slightly off-balance.

When watching a sad movie, I need to be able to cry on your shoulder and not the other way around. Men should only cry in public when drunk and melancholy. Or while watching Remember Me by Lizzie Palmer. If that doesn't make you at least teary-eyed, you must be a heartless bastard.

Reciting poetry is not good foreplay. It isn't even bad foreplay.

Your political stances don't wash. You rant and rave at injustices for women in America, yet you want to have conversations and dialogue with people who actually DO subjugate women, treat them like chattel and stone them to death for things like, oh, walking on the street alone.

There is no need to constantly validate my feelings. I already know they are valid. As should you, so please stop asking me to validate yours.

I don't feel all empowered when you expect me to pump my own gas. Be a man and pump it for me. Show some respect.....it could mess up my manicure. Plus, it's stinky.

Be an alpha male once in a while and make a decision. I'm not George W. Bush and, thus, feel no compelling urge to be the "decider" all the time.

Those icky little socialist beards.

Cheney is sexy. Alan Alda is not.

Got Kleenex? You'll need them. Troops Video

I've no comments, for once. Only tears.

Please watch the entire video. And never forget.

Remember Me, by Lizzie Palmer

Michigan Governor Stealing Private Donations to Vets

Please read the article here

Yes, that is right. Not only is she cutting money to our brave veterans, but she is freezing PRIVATELY DONATED funds. Not only is she in charge of tax dollars, but she is also in charge of charitable donations. What world is this?

The Democrats in Michigan, after 2 received a nice free trip to California courtesy of Apple, want to provide free Ipods to all schoolchildren in Michigan. Yet, they want to take away money, privately donated no less, from Veterans.

I am sickened by this. I also won't hold my breath for it to be reported on CNN, MSNBC et al.

$185,000 to provide these honorable men and women with a little entertainment and recreation....not even anything extravagant. We are talking about things like donuts and trips to butterfly exhibits. Surely, surely they are entitled to this and far more. If anyone is entitled to anything, it is our Veterans. I'd go so far as to say they are the only people who are literally entitled. They have served us all and paid dearly for it, in ways that those of us who haven't served will never know.

Veteran Harold Ott said it best:

“They can give up their free lunches, and their free cars and their free gas in Lansing,” said volunteer Donald Kramer. “Put that money back in the veterans homes where it belongs. If it wasn’t’ for you veterans, Lansing wouldn’t be here and them people wouldn’t have a job.”

10 Reasons to love the South

In my case, specifically, South Carolina. Post your own reasons, too.

1. Waffle House & the fact that directions are given in regards to the proximity to a Waffle House
2. Simply add Bless your heart or Isn't that precious immediately prior to or after an insult and you absolve yourself of any offense. (bet it would have worked for Imus)
   
3. School vouchers are seriously on the table.
4. Easter Egg Hunt is called, shockingly, an Easter Egg Hunt and not a Spring Celebration with Bunny as it was called in my hometown in NJ.
5. Bar owners sued over the smoking ban in downtown Greenville. And won.
6. Bars outside of city limits post signs saying "We accommodate smokers".
7. Women dress up, coif and put on full make-up to do their grocery shopping. Vindication!
8. The Civil War is called The War of Yankee Aggression.
9. The right to bear arms is a given.
   
10. I get to call my husband "my baby daddy". Come to think of it, he isn't amused. Perhaps I should stop that. ..............nah.

One more step closer to Socialized Medicine

Well done, Senate Committee! What's the matter, competition working too well for you? The free market, such as Walmart offering drugs for $4, is peeing in your sand box?

Read more here

This guy nails it:

"This is not a debate about lowering the drug costs for seniors. That's already happening," HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt told reporters earlier. "This is a surrogate for a larger issue, which is government- run health care."

When are we going to stop these f*ckers

Another 4 young lives come home in body bags, in bits and unrecognisable to their families. Their bodies (parts) lumped into coffins and the weight made up with sand bags to give the feel of a full box!

Killed by Iran, killed by ordnance, IED's and explosives and weapons smuggled across the lawless borders.

My evidence in mitigation, not on the balance of probability but beyond reasonable doubt. Facts.

1. the continued development of nuclear material for the intended application of nuclear weapons
2. up to 1000 soldiers arguably killed by Iran (1000's more wounded and maimed)
3. recent illegal capture and interrogation of British Servicemen for 13 days whilst executing a UN Mandate in Iraqi territorial waters.

where will this all end? When will the UN and the international community take out sanctions against this tyrant.

Ex-UN Ambassador Bolton says Iran Emboldened after British Hostage incident

I know I might be alone here, but I like John Bolton. A lot. And I find myself agreeing with him more often than not.

However, I truly hope he is wrong now. In a recent article, he stated:

“Emboldened as Iran now is, and ironically for engagement advocates, it is even less likely there will be a negotiated solution to the nuclear weapons issue, not that there was ever much chance of one".

“Iran, sensing weakness, has every incentive to ratchet up its nuclear weapons programme, increase its support to Hamas, Hezbollah and others and perpetrate even more serious terrorism in Iraq.

“The world will be a more dangerous place as a result.

“The only thing risen from this crisis is Iranian determination and resolve to confront us elsewhere, at their discretion, whether on Iraq, nuclear weapons and terrorism.”

I hope he is wrong this time. But I suspect he isn't. And that is rather frightening.

Keep DEA Out of Health Care.

Bear with me here, please. First attempt, which is hindered further by the fact that I've been out of the "real" world & home with a toddler (now 4 years old) for the past 3 years, resulting in a tendency towards scatter-brained rambling.

Thanks to Kevin for the diversion from the mind-numbing exploits of Dora the Explorer et al., which also serves to slow the pace of my turning into some loon screeching in outrage at Wolf Blitzer or Bill O'Reilly on the TV screen as if they can hear me. For now, I can vent my outrage at y'all instead (moved to SC 2 years ago and still trying to master the use of y'all vs all y'all. Indulge me, please.)

Now, to the point of my rambling, my most recent peeve is the utterly ridiculous DEA raids on medical marijuana clinics. One such raid is described in this article located here.

The dispensary has been operating in the city through a business license for about a year. Voter-approved state law allows medical marijuana but conflicts with a federal law that restricts pot. Federal authorities can make arrests and file charges for selling the drug.

State rights be damned! The DEA will charge in to the rescue! While I am personally not a huge fan of pot (My short-term memory loss is bad enough plus I am vain and terrified of getting the munchies), I am awfully tired of Nannies getting their knickers in a knot over Grandma lighting up a little doobie or eating a "cookie" to help her cataracts. Or a chemo patient, who is having a hard enough time just surviving and is looking for some slight relief of his or her pain and nausea.

I say "Smoke 'em if you've got 'em", Grandma. Who knows, maybe toking up will also help her relate more to her grandchildren and isn't that a good thing? Anything for the children, right?

The butting in by the DEA also serves to strengthen my absolute horror at even the hint of nationalized health care. Can you imagine putting the Nannies in charge of ALL your health care? Of either party? But that's another rant, along with smoking bans, lack of school choice, people who confuse the right to bear arms with "but you can still hunt", John Edwards and Sanjaya. Not necessarily in that order.

Lori

Press to buy captured Navy personnel stories for six figured sums

Hm mm. I have been pondering this one. I have friends who have made a lot of money out of their book sales for deeds done behind them, mainly Special Forces tales of daring doe, in many cases rightly so, history needs to be told through eyes that live it. We all like a good heroes home tale. But. I cant help thinking its all gone a bit too far, that was until I figured this was a smart tactical move by our Government and Ministry of Defence. The publicity this will generate in all facets of the media and all of which that will be negative to the Iranian authorities has to be a good thing. These stories will include moments when weapons were cocked behind the blindfolded heads of the captured sailors and tails of hoods, shackles and solitary deprivation and sensory denial. This is great reading for all the liberal hacks back home reading the ever intellectually dwindling tabloid press. It bolsters our case immensly against the regime in Tehran.

But its still not morally right. I would never sell my secrets (and shit I have plenty) nor would I discuss the ordeal in detail for all to paw at. This story is not secretive and its not sensistive so does it matter that they tell their tale and profit. The worlds press has implied and inferred that these servicemen and woman did not act appropriately and pandered to the Iranians Early on, these guys feel they want to have their answers heard and their critics thereby answered, it is their free right as defenders of it to do so. I wasn't there I could not comment, their arrival in Iran would have been unnerving and highly concerning, they made the right decision to NOT engage the 6 heavily armed gun boats when all they had was assault rifles and 7 marines in a inflatable boat. discretion is the better part of valour i have learnt after years on service in conflict zones. The Iranians set out that day with a clear objective, capture British Servicemen and commence an international incident.

Under normal circumstances selling of stories would be wrong but I cant help thinking this is a important component of modern spin doctoring and diplomacy. Iran's behavior has not strengthened their position merely enlightened us further to the mockery they make out of their governmental power and statecraft.

Now guys, hand over some of the cash you make selling your holiday story to me, Ill spend it on worthy causes......

Kevin Godlington - Sunday

Kevin Godlington found reinacting Lawrence of Arabia, how gay.

OK, this is too much. Aside from being pegged to write, contribute, manage this Blog I also feel duty bound to share my bewilderment at finding pictures popping up on YouTube of Kev G. Whilst I am told by Kevin that its an old photo of desert bayonet training (is that what they call it in the British Army these days) I can't help but wonder why men need to strip to the waist and screw their faces up at each other. Unless of course there is more to it!

I think Kev you had an all over tan, pumped up in the gym, got a bunch of guys to pose with you and told everyone you were a soldier. Either way its gay! (don't panic people i have known Kev for many years, he won't have me killed just yet) although I am certain he may be having doubts about my invitation to write on his Blog.

In order to launch this blog properly I feel it only fitting to introduce some of the characters that will be writing here, they will no doubt add Bios at a later date. Topics will be varied and hopefully will the subsequent discussions thereafter.

myself Charlie Berton, US

Samantha Judge, Maxim Radio and Red Eye US

David Whitehouse, freelance writer and author UK

And the other Red Eye crew will no doubt contribute when they are not drunk and have a free 5 minutes.

So welcome and please start blogging. And if you feel generous, buy something or ask someone else to. Its about charity, I think!