Posted by: Delftsman3 at 05:48 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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> An unemployed man is desperate to support his family
> of a wife and three kids. He applies for a janitor's job at
> a large firm and easily passes an aptitude test.

> The human resources manager tells him,
> "You will be hired at minimum wage of $5.15 an hour.
> Let me have your e-mail address so that we can get you in the computer. Our
> system will automatically e-mail you all the forms and advise
> you when to start and where to report on your first day."


> Taken back, the man protests that he is poor and has
> neither a computer nor an e-mail address. To this the manager
> replies, "You must understand that to a company like
> ours that means that you virtually do not exist. Without an e-mail address
> you can hardly expect to be employed by a high-tech firm.
> Good day."

> Stunned, the man leaves. Not knowing where to turn
> and having $10 in his wallet, he walks past a farmers' market
> and sees a stand selling 25 lb. crates of beautiful red tomatoes.

> He buys a crate, carries it to a busy corner and
> displays the tomatoes. In less than 2 hours he sells all the
> tomatoes and makes 100% profit.
> Repeating the process several times more
> that day, he ends up with almost $100 and arrives home
> that night with several bags of groceries for his family.

> During the night he decides to repeat the tomato
> business the next day. By the end of the week he is getting up
> early every day and working into the night. He multiplies his profits
> quickly.

> Early in the second week he acquires a cart to transport several boxes
> of tomatoes at a time, but before a month is up he sells the cart to
> buy a broken-down pickup truck.

> At the end of a year he owns three old trucks. His two sons have left their
> neighborhood gangs to help him with the tomato business, his wife is buying
> the tomatoes, and his daughter is taking night courses at the
> community college so she can keep books for him.

> By the end of the second year he has a dozen very nice used trucks and
> employs fifteen previously unemployed people, all selling tomatoes. He
> continues to work hard.

> Time passes and at the end of the fifth year he owns
> a fleet of nice trucks and a warehouse which his wife supervises,
> plus two tomato farms that the boys manage. The tomato company's payroll
> has put hundreds of homeless and jobless people to work. His daughter
> reports that the business grossed a million dollars.

> Planning for the future, he decides to buy some life insurance.
> Consulting with an insurance adviser, he picks an insurance plan
> to fit his new circumstances. Then the adviser askshim for his
> e-mail address in order to send the final documents electronically.

> When the man replies that he doesn't have time to mess with a
> computer and has no e-mail address, the insurance man
> is stunned, "What, you don't have e-mail? No computer?
> No Internet? Just think where you would be today if you'd had all of
> that five years ago!"

> "Ha!" snorts the man. "If I'd had e-mail five years ago I would
> be sweeping floors at Microsoft and making $5.15 an hour".


> Which brings us to the moral.........................


> Since you got this story by e-mail, you're probably
> closer to being a
> janitor than a millionaire.

> Sadly, I received it also.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 12:13 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Liberal bias in the media? What Liberal bias?.

Obviously the writer of this article is simply unable to grasp the importance of nuance /sarcasm.

Many on the left fail to see just what all the fuss is about in these kinds of stories, but the fact is that words DO have meaning, and the WAY you present the facts can alter the meaning of those facts in the mind of the viewer/reader.

Thats what the term "Nuance" is all about. That the Left can complain of the Rights lack of "grasp of nuance", and then deny it's emplyment in stories slanted in their POV within the same breath is simply astounding to me.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 07:10 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Dale, of Mostly Cajun, has a post demonstrating the difference between the true American spirit, and the nanny state culture all too many people have found themselves engulfed by in the aftermath of Katrina and Rita.

As a side note, Dale himself lost almost EVERY material possession he owned in the aftermath, including his four cats. He knows wherof he speaks. He's an embodiment of his contention.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 06:02 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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There's a new "Progressive" group blog called Wingnut Watch, and I happened to catch it being born!

I have the distinct feeling that I probably won't agree with most of the views of the authors, but as they say "know your enemy", so I've added it to my roll in the Left side list.

Hopefully they may be new enough not to follow the DU pattern and just delete/ban any commenters that won't drink the Kool-Aid.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 03:42 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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THIS must be what the Left means when they say "It's about the liddle ch'illun".

Wonder if they'll be satisfied that they forced a company to diversify at their whim... All I know is, IF they DID pull any strong arm tactics on a day care center, they'd better watch out for the deadliest animal on earth, a parent that feels their offspring is being threatened..especially the female parents. You think PMS is bad, "you aint seen nuthin yet, bubba"!

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 09:26 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Here's a little something different for when you get bored reading..It's a little sick on one level, but yet, strangely compelling.

Or am I the only sick puppy out here?!?

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 06:43 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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A couple days ago, I was commenting in my favorite Progressive blogger's site when she left me the following question in the thread. I knew my response would be far too long to put in the thread, so I've responded to it here.

LC/IB, I'm curious, exactly what is it that you 'believe' we are fighting for over there? Is it freedom and democracy? If so, then you should read A Fist in the Hornets Nest by Richard Engel. You'd see just how much 'democracy' has really been attained.

Yes Wanda, that's EXACTLY what I believe we are fighting for....Most importantly, our own. I certainly hope that Iraq will come through the other side of this conflict with a political system closer to our own than has previously existed, but thats just a part of the strategy. Iraq and Afghanistan themselves are just part of a larger strategy. Neither country will ever be a carbon clone of US style democracy, nor should they be, but it's a historical fact that democracies have never attacked each other. We are trying to affect change in the entire Middle East, and founding an Arab style democracy is just the start in that continuing policy. By showing that it CAN work, it puts pressure on the surrounding countries to force change within their own borders. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Syria,Egypt,Iran, et al. We can't fight all these countries on a military basis (without resorting to nuclear; which NO one wants), but by providing an example of change in Iraq and Afghanistan; we are attacking, and hopefully effecting change, in those regimes.

You might say "what gives us the right to try to foment these changes", and my response would simply be "Our right to survive as WE see fit". These countries have been fighting a clandestine war against us, using the radical groups as proxies for over 20 years; we either wake up, and fight back in the best way possible, or we might just as well start issuing out the prayer rugs and bow five times a day to our masters in Mecca.

I'm gratified that you didn't resort to the old tired meme of "it's a war for oil". The fact is that oil IS a part of it. We depend on it now, and for the foreseeable future, to drive our industrial society. BUT we didn't begin this to steal Iraqi oil, if that were the case, we wouldn't be paying over $3. a gallon for it now would we? Stabilizing the region will ensure that we can trade for it on the open market. The prices will remain high, I fear, due to the increased demand/usage in China and India, but that will be a war fought on the (hopefully)level playing field of international competition. I still have faith that new energy breakthroughs will originate here, moving that field to new areas.

I've not read the book, so I can't comment on Mr. Engel's thesis.

Iraq is a country populated by the Shiite's, the Kurds, and the Sunni's. The hatred between these tribes is so intense there will never be a bridge strong enough to bring them together. There will always be one tribe that will be at war with the other two. This is a fact of life. Read up on your Iraqi history. Iraq will never be a democratic country for at least one of those tribes. Never.

The tribal differences are a serious problem in bringing Iraq into the democratic fold, but I believe that it can be overcome...it might take a generation to come to full fruition, but just dismissing the problem as insurmountable seems to me to smack of the "racism against little brown people" that Progressives are so fond at hurling at my side of the aisle.
You might take note that in our own history, there were similar enmities among various factions of the American population, some of them almost as intense as that between the tribes. IF the (Iraqi)constitution is crafted in the right way, and all parties can agree to submit to the rule of law essential to a functioning democracy, who are you to say that they are any less capable of doing so than we were?

If you STILL believe there were WMD's or that Iraq was somehow connected to Al Qaida, or 9/11 then you should try reading and watching something OTHER than FOX cable news. In fact even several of their news journalist have admitted they no longer believe there were WMD's or a connection between Iraq and 9/11 or Al Qaida.

We've been over this ground countless times, Wanda. If you would take a closer look at what made it into the 9/11 report, you will note that even in that politically charged, watered down, mishmash of results in the report state that Saddam WAS a prime financer/enabler of terrorism. And with some of the Able Danger information coming out, I believe that evidence will be strengthened. Salmon Pak WAS a terrorist training camp.

It's true that there is no evidence that Saddam was directly involved in the planning or implemetation of 9/11, and I've never claimed such. There IS, however an abundance of evidence that he and his regime had close contacts with Al Quaida, and a number of high level A-Q operatives resided in Iraq both before 9/11, and after the fall of the Taliban. Did the two groups like each other? Hell NO, but unlike the average Progressive, they can set aside their differences to progress against a common perceived foe. Should they ever reach the point that their foe is vanquished in their eyes, I have no doubt that they would turn on each other like two packs of wolves, but at the time, they both provided each other something they both wanted and needed, A-Q the funds and training areas to foment terrorism, and in return Saddam got "plausible deniability" of being a terorist himself. They were both using the other for their own separate goals, they were both aware of this fact, and managed to make it work. Some have denied the possibility on the grounds that A-Q is bgased in religion, and Saddam was a secular leader, but this really isn't so. A-Q is a political movement that couches it's terms in a religious framework, and has oft been noted, "politics makes for strange bedfellows".

Just last month a large cache of chemical weapons was discovered in Iraq...I suppose that you believe the "Insurgents" developed and manufactured them? We've found artillery shells containing Sarin and VX...granted, they were old, but then again, according to the Saddam regime, supposedly they had been destroyed. An entire wing of aircraft was found buried in the sand... What else is hidden? Saddam had almost 16 months to transfer his illegal weapons to other countries, or hide them. Saddam's own NBC scientists stated that even the programs that had been "shut down" could have been restarted and going full tilt within a matter of months, should Saddam believe it safe to do so.
Personally, I'd rather not play that kind of Russian Roulette with a state sponsor of Terrorism.

If you think we're fighting over there so that we don't have to fight over here, your delusional. Incidents of terror are UP worldwide since we invaded Iraq. No, there hasn't been another attack here in the US, but there was a seven year lull between the first attack on the WTC in 1993 and 9/11.

And how many other incidents against American resources/facilities in that 7 year lull? The fact is that other than IED's and raids in Iraq and Afghanistan, no American assets have been beset since the start of hostilities.

It's true that Britain, Spain and Indonesia have been the victims of loathsome acts, and there have been reports of thwarted attempts in Australia. Which only goes to prove that we are dealing with an implacable enemy that we either defeat, or be defeated by.

BTW...just WHY did A-Q commit those acts in Indonesia!?, a country with a 99% Muslim population, and not involved in the hostilities? What the Left has failed to realize is that we have been at war with these groups for almost twenty years, it was only after 9/11 that it became an "open" war, indeed the first time the general population even became aware of it at all. Read the stated goals of A-Q, of creating a worldwide Caliphate, and you might come to realize that there is no negotiation that will stop them (at least for any longer than it takes for them to regroup and rearm)

Even the so called "moderate" groups such as C.A.I.R. talk among themselves of replacing the Constitution with Shar'ia Law. (They say in a "peaceful manner", once all us backward infidels see the light.) And time and again we've found that many of these "moderate" groups are channeling funds to Hamas, A-Q, and Islamic Jihad.

So for all we know the plans are in the making for another, even more deadlier attack right here at home. Then what will you say?

The question is not IF there will be another terrorist event in America, but rather WHEN. We could pull every soldier out of every other country in the world tomorrow, and that attack will still come. I only hope and pray that our covert intelligence agencies are up to the task of forstalling as many as possible, but sooner or later, it WILL occur, and then we can only hope that enough citizens have made whatever preparations they could to fend for themselves for the time it will take for authorities to be able to help the situation, and that the Local/State/Federal response will work better than the Katrina fiasco did.

What is it going to take for you to admit this has been an unnecessary, unmitigated war against a country that NEVER committed a single act of war or aggression against the United States?

I would say that firing on US patrol planes on an almost daily basis during the cessation of hostilities between GW 1 and 2 were all acts of war. Thats just me of course...I realize that Progressives may hold a more "nuanced" view of that...

And remember that there was never a peace treaty signed at the end of GW1, merely an agreement to suspend hostilities as long as Saddam complied with the terms laid out; he never did fully comply with those terms, OR the 16 UN resolutions in that period.

If Saddam was an evil bastard, then he was an evil man WE helped create.

If we created him, then it's our responsibilty to take him out as well, No? Can't have it both ways.

The soldiers in Iraq aren't fighting for freedom, democracy, or to protect Americans.

I obviously disagree with that statement for all the reasons I've outlined above.

They are fighting to stay alive.

Thats what ALL soldiers have done since the beginning of time, and will probably do untill the last trump calls.

One day at a time.

Redundant to the above, and same answer as above.

They are understaffed, overworked, underpaid, and forgotten.

Good work Wanda, you're three for three! I would contest the "forgotten", at least insofar as my circles go. Yours, I can't speak to.

Lip service doesn't count. If you REALLY care about THEM, then do something to help them come home.

I want them home as much as you do Wanda, I've lost far too many friends already, but I have this problem with bringing them home before the job is done. Soldiers know the job they have to do, and all the "Jakes" notwithstanding, I believe that the greatest number of them want to finish well too.

The war in my term of service was lost in the newsrooms and on the college campi; the soldiers won every battle they fought and died in despite the fact of being mis-micromanaged by polititians and not by the generals who should have been given the job, but the war was lost in the court of public opinion at home, making those sacrifices all the more painful.

I'd hate to see that repeated. That would spell, if not the end, the beginning of the end of this country, and I love her far too much to let that happen without doing whatever small things I can to prevent it. Even if all I can do is argue for what I believe in on my blog and in comments on other blogs.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 03:54 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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I was all set to esconce myself under my nice warm covers (with the door securely closed against the cat), when i saw this picture

and read the accompanying story at Beth's place.

All I can add is an echo to Beth's Semper Fi, Gunny... Carry on!

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 08:16 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The Virus is back, and needless to say stopping me from blogging to much; I just don't have the energy..

Acidman put up a good joke, even though it's an old one.

Sir George has one of the best fiskings of an Idiotarian over at the Rott that I've ever had the privilege to read, it's Whittlesque in it's length, but every phrase is pure gold.

Alli over at Fox Rants has a Gary Varvel cartoon up for those of us in the Hoosier state to mull over. This young lady recently joined the blogroll (#7 in the Empire list) and I find her to be quite a refreshing addition to the blogosphere.

The Lord and Tyrant (known as "Steve" to his friends)of Spatula City delivers a righteous clubatting™ to an Idiotarian columnist.

Got to go and tend to my aching/spinning/congested head....and the cat has some deviltry in mind for me too, I fear:

Apparently I haven't been seeing to her unvoiced needs in as promptly a manner as befits Her Majesty..... Last time I was remiss, I had to wash the sheets on my bed, as she pinedly left some reminders of my duty to her every whim.

Hope to resume REAL blogging soon. Take care and may whatever your conception of a higher deity is watch over you and bless you in all your actions.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 07:58 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Every cat owner wil be able to relate to at least portions of this exercise in inter-species communication by Mamamontezz:

Dear Cat,

We need to talk.

When I say to move, it means go someplace else, not switch positions
with each other so there are still two cats in the way. The dishes with
the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are
mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle
of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food
and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating
me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help, because I
fallfaster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king size bed. I am very sorry
about this. Do not think I will continue to sleep on the couch to ensure
your comfort. Look at videos of cats sleeping; they can actually curl
up in a ball. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other
stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking
tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to
maximize space used is nothing but feline sarcasm.

My compact discs are not toys for you and your friends to play with.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by
some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is
not necessary to claw, whine, and try to turn the knob, or get your paw
under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the
same door I entered. In addition, I have been using bathrooms for years
and I know that feline attendance is not mandatory.

The proper order is kiss me, and then go smell the other cat's butt. I
cannot stress this enough. It should be such a simple change for you.

Sincerely,

I just live here.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 08:48 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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This is the kind of story that makes me believe that for all his many faults and missteps, President Bush is still the honorable man I believed him to be when I first voted for him. It was a security person's nightmare for the President to do what he did, but I believe that the sentiments he expressed made up for that in the good will it engendered.

I've been involved with the local security details for visits by four US Presidents during my tenure as a LEO, and I can tell you from experience that something like this is a really big deal. For a president to break security to personally thank one of the "little people" in the manner he did speaks volumes about the character of the man

I once had the opportunity to shake President Ronald Reagan's hand in the course of a detail, and I can tell you that it is an experience I'll never forget. And that was just a case of being in the right place in the right time, it wasn't a determined break in security protocall to express graditude to one of those that was just there to do his job.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 07:03 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Wingless Angel sent me this today, it gave me a chuckle, hope you like it too.

A koala bear and a hooker go back to her place and they get
undressed.The koala bear goes down on the hooker for 3 hours
straight. She has multiple orgasms!!! After 3 hours he stops, gets
up and puts on his little koala clothes. The woman is hanging back
huffing and puffing from exhaustion. "Oh God that was great! Now I
need my money."

The koala bear just looks at her and shrugs.

Then the hooker says, "No, I need my money. I'm a hooker and this is how I make a living."

The koala bear just looks at her and continues to put on his
clothes. Then the hooker gets up and runs to the bookshelf, grabs a
dictionary and thumbs through it to "hooker." She hands it to the
koala bear and it reads:

HOOKER - person who has sex for money.

The koala bear turns the page to "koala bear" and walks out the
door. The hooker reads:

KOALA BEAR: Eats Bushes and Leaves."

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 05:11 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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