Sir George has an excellant post up at the Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler about the deeper ramifications of the Schiavo case. I concur with him completely. As usual, George clearly and brilliantly makes his case.
It DOES matter that we stood on the side of life.

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BP's largest oil refinery in Texas experienced a massive explosion this afternoon,with residents living as far away as 5 miles feeling the side effects of the explosion.

There is no word yet on the total number of fatalities, but at least 29 refinery workers were hospitalized. Say a prayer for the recovery of those injured and that the total number of fatalities is low.

There is no hint of the cause of the tragedy as of yet. I pray that it wasn't a result of a terrorist action, and find it frightening that such a speculation has to come to mind immediatly, before an investigation has even begun to be organized, but that is the reality of the times we live in.

I know it sounds crass to bring up the commercial aspects at this time, but I can't help but wonder how this incident will affect national gas prices, given that we just lost a large segment of our refining capacity. At one time we had over 150 large refineries, but due to the actions of some of the loonier environmentalist groups, that number has been brought down to around 20, with any proposed new facilities facing almost insurmountable roadblocks into ever becoming reality. This event should serve as a warning to us just how vunerable we are to relatively small scale actions in one of the most vital sectors of our economy. Putting too many vital eggs in one small basket is tantemount to societal suicide.

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Charles Krauthammer has a great op-ed piece on the Terri Schiavo case, and I find that, as usual, he lays it all out in a clear and logical manner. His concluding suggestion is one that I believe should be seriously considered for the future.

It's often been said that hard cases make for bad law, and this one certainly hasn't been an exception to that rule. When the Congress intervened in what was essentially a states law case, it's the lip of a very slippery slope for all of us.
However, I can see where the main Florida State Court judge was arbitrarily using only one side's "evidence" in making his decisions, and I don't see any other venue where succor could have come from. As Mr Krauthammer stated, we're faced making a choice between a legal travesty and a human tragedy,
Mr. Krauthammer was correct when he said that no matter the result, there is no good outcome to this case.

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I woke up after 4 hrs sleep after driving 14 hours straight, and have been up for 12 hours now....I was hoping that inspiration would hit, and I would be making a Great Post; the kind of post that keeps readers coming back for more,and telling all their friends to "go READ this!". Alas, I haven't come up with a single blessed idea worthy of the title. So I'm going to go into random existential mode and se if my sub-concious may be working better than my for-brain.

Let me see.....Terri Schiavo....everyone is talking about the poor woman, and all sides are wrong in some items,and right in others. I'm appalled with the whole situation. I don't believe that Congress should ever have gotten involved, but I don't think the courts in Florida acted correctly either.

Terri Schiavo is NOT on life support, she was merely being fed and hydrated through a gastro tube. There is enough evidence to show that her husband worked against her best interest for years, not providing any rehabilitative care, despite being awarded a large sum of money in a mal-practice suit to provide just such care. There really is no concrete evidence that Terri would have wished to starve to death rather than continue on in her present state, other than the word of her husband, and a few family members, indeed, we really don't KNOW her true present state, due to the fact that Mr. Schiavo has refused to allow any brain scans to determine the level of brain activity. There are far too many unanswered questions to allow this farce to go on. Secondly, even if euthanasia was warrented; to kill a person in this manner is just too terrible to contemplate, and make no mistake, this IS the killing of a person, not the cessation of "heroic measures" of life support.

If the Government proposed the same method to execute a convicted felon, the same people crying "to let Terri die" would be up in arms at the "cruel" method chosen to execute a deserving criminal.

I am worried that the nose of the camel is in the tent when the federal Government starts intervening in what should be decided at the State level, but the State courts have shown themselves as being ill-equipped to handle tough cases such as this too, with vital testimony from interested parties not being allowed into evidence, and the unsupported testimony of NOT-disinterested parties to hold sway without regard to medical testimony to the contrary...in fact, some of Mr. Schiavo's "expert medical testimony" came from doctors that NEVER even examined Terri in person, just vidio footage and incomplete medical summeries. (incomplete, since Mr. Schiave refused to allow any tests that might contradict his wishes to allow Terri to die) Thats inexecusable.
I don't know the total answer, but where there is this much confusion, I would think it wise to err on the side of life.

Wanda at Podunt Post has her own post on Terri Schiavo....we don't agree on much, but I'm gratified to see that we basically agree on this, with her interesting addend that she sees just how bad this makes the Democrats look, something I hadn't even considered untill I read her post. Considering her views, this is a major breakthrough; she didn't even call us repugnicans! (Your journey to the Dark Side has begun Wanda! LOL)

Right Wing Rocker has a post up on how he feels about the 2nd Amendment. It's all been said before, here and on many other blogs, but thjis is a topic that it seems MUST be kept hot to keep our freedoms alive.

Mamamontezz shows her writeing prowess with a little prose poem as an ode to Spring. (and you wonder WHY I married her? How could I not?)

Here's a picture of Lord Spatula and Mamamontezz doing the live-blogging updates for those of the VRWC that couldn't attend the Blogfest in person.

And here's a shot of those of us who made it to Lord Spatula's apartment for the "train wreck Stew" (which was DELICIOUS, btw!)

Thats Lord Spatula in the forground, with his pooch,Next row, from the left is that ever so Humble Devil Dog (the second smartest man I've ever talked to!), LC Beth (thanks again for the great job you did organizing!), the ever witty Zippo the Pirate (We have GOT to get together and party soon!), Me (Thanks for lending me the weapon El Capitan!)
Next row, Eric, long suffering, but ever cheerful husband of Denita 2D, El Capitan, a man large both in stature and in intelligence, Denita of the 2 Dragons(GREAT Tat!)and her son Zane, the Indefatiguable, The most High Emperor Darth Misha l (may praises be forever heaped upon his name!), Random Numbers(interesting to discuss any subject with) and his forbearing wife (darlin', you NEED to get a blog!), and last, but certainly NOT least, Mamamontezz, the love of my life.

Well it ain't much, but thats all I could dredge up for now....maybe the juices will flow more freely (and coherently) with a little more sleep.

I just want to say to ALL the attendees at the Blogfest, thank you from the bottom of my heart for the kindness and courtesy You showed to Mama and I, and Special Kudos to Lord Spatula and LC Beth for their fantastic job in organizing and keeping the event as wonderful as it was.

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Well, Mamamontezz and I got safely home after a long, but enjoyable drive lasting from 6:30 PM Sunday to 8:35 AM Monday. She even let ME do all the driving! For those of who don't know Mama, thats...unusual, to say the least.

We had an INCREDIBLE time at the Blog-fest, everyone there went out of their way to make us feel, not just welcome, but like a part of their extended family.

All Kudos to Beth and Lord Spats for a truly wonderful experience being had by all.

I finally found a cowboy hat that really fits, as a memento of the event.

The only disappoinment was that Kim du Toit and Connie couldn't get away to put in an appearance, but hopefully, maybe next year...

One of the highlights for me was to finally meet Misha for the first time in the meat world; he was even more of a gentleman than I had thought.

Sometimes you meet people in person you have only known on-line and are disappointed with the reality, but I must say that EVERYONE who attended was even better in person.

To that one person who knows who he is, that item for the boat-anchor computer has been ordered, and should arrive in a week or so. I am eternally grateful for your kindness and generosity.

I'm going to bed and sleeping for an extended period....more to come later.

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Well,Mama and I arrived in Dallas at 2:45 AM last night after a 14 hr drive. It would have only been 12 3/4 hrs, but the highways in Dalls are, to say the least, confusing to this neophyte from Indy. Bur we madw it safe and sound, and the people are even better than I would have believed.

I probably won't be posting untill Monday after our return to the Hoosier state.

In the meantime, check out the blogroll and support the 'sphere....

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Kevin at The Smallest Minority has a great post up on Firearms/ammo "fingerprinting" and why it's a program that shouldn't be enacted in law....for the best of reasons; it just DOESN'T work.

Where it has been enacted, it is a program that has cost upwards of $16 Million dollars, without a SINGLE crime having been solved. The technology doesn't work, can be easily fooled, and is a massive drain on scarce law enforcement resources. Let's just hope the politicians have the sense to stop throwing money down a rathole.

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Geert Wilders has issued his "Delaration of Independence" in his first speech in forming a new political party. I find myself in total agreement with Mr. Wilders and wish him success in his venture. Placing freedom as the central core of your political philosophy is always the best course of action to take in IMHO. Freedom doesn't mean that you accept every conflicting idiology as equivilent, just that you give those conflicting idiologies a voice. Those that are the best will always rise to the top, AS LONG as the population is educated and aware, and stays involved.

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HERE'S an interesting little tidbit of information...Seems Saddam offered the head ot the UN Inspection team a $2 Million dollar bribe if he were to doctor his reports to the UN to "make them right".

The official did the right thing and didn't accept the bribe, and reported it to the Volker Commission. One does have to wonder though....how many of the Inspectors were offered bribe money, and did any accept.

And of course, the main question, WHY would Saddam have to bribe anyone IF he didn't have something to hide? I am more and more anxious to see if just maybe the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon just may be hiding some secrets that the world should know about..... Those truck convoys into Lebanon from Iraq prior to the invasion were carrying SOMETHING after all....and somehow, I just can't believe it was surplus foodstuffs for the beleagered Syrians occupying Lebanon.

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No, or light posting today, WHY? I just don't feel like it!

Update: Well, maybe just this one post, it's important. This article outlines some of the results if the GFW's Utopian Gun Ban in Britain™. Hmmmm....violent crime rate has risen 69 percent since 1996, with robbery rising 45 percent and murders rising 54 percent. I thought that if "guns were illegal it would stop violent crime"? Thats what all the GFW's trying to abrogate my 2nd Amendment rights keep telling me. Those "Unintended Consequences" of a "feel good" policy are a BITCH, aren't they? In the four years PRIOR to the ban, armed robberies had fallen by 50%. It was allowable to defend oneself at the time....could there be ANY connection? And in case you think that results of the British experiment is an anomoly, go google the crime stats in Canada and Australia, where they have tried to severely restrict or totally ban firearms in the same manner. I won't post those results here, you GFW's would just say my pick would be biased; do it for yourselves, with an open mind and no preconceptions, and I KNOW that the facts will show you that I am correct in asserting that MORE guns = LESS violent crime.

The number of privately owned guns in the United States rises by about 5 million a year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The number of guns owned by Americans is at an all-time high, fast approaching 300 million.

Meanwhile the FBI reports that in 2003 the nationÂ’s violent crime rate declined for the 12th straight year to a 27-year low.
Sure seems to be a connection there to me! Lets look into it just a little further...

As usual, most of the states with the lowest violent crime rates are those with the least gun control, including those in the Rocky Mountain region, and Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont in the Northeast. The District of Columbia and Maryland, which have gun bans and other severe restrictions on gun purchase and ownership, retained their regrettable distinctions as having the highest murder and robbery rates.

Yeah, I'd say there was a connection. I'm gratified that Indiana is a "shall issue" state, but I would wish to make it an unrestricted "free/concealed carry" state, like Vermont...Licensing is contrary to the language of the 2nd. Amendment; the granters of a license can all too easily take it away, thats "abridgement" in MY dictionary

Thanks to Kim duToit for the link.

UPDATE 3/10/05: What is the British Governments reaction to the rise in violent crime? Why, to start banning REPLICAS of guns and knives for teenagers! OF COURSE! Gee what insightful policy! /sarcasm off.
Anyone want to lay odds on when the meltdown will be complete?

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Here's yet another warning of the higher gasoline prices yet to come.

Funny, I thought we went to war with Iraq to get cheap oil? Or are the Moonbats of the Anti-American Left wrong YET AGAIN?

The price of gasoline is a complicated issue, but I do have some ideas on the matter of how we can help ease those costs.

1. BUILD MORE REFINERIES. We have all our eggs in one very small basket. At one time we had more than 150 large scale refineries, in the last twenty years we have gone down to 20 major facilities. and there hasn't been a new one built in that time. A major terrorist attack on just a few of those facilities could paralyze this country for a far longer time than the attack on the WTC did.

2. DRILL MORE DOMESTIC WELLS We have major reserves here in the US that haven't been anywhere near completly explored. Open up Anwar; there is an estimated 30 year supply at our current levels of consumption just in that one field. It's insane that we don't utilize it.

3. STOP MULTIPLE FORMULATIONS OF GASOLINE We are currently using upwards of 15 different formulations of gasoline to comply with regulations in different parts of the country. This is costly to do, as a refinery has to be readjusted for each formulation, resulting in a week or more loss of production in switching between formulations, not to mention the costs incurred in making the physical switchover. Decide on the best compremise formulation that suits the country best as a whole and stick with it. At most, have only two or three formulations. There have been many cases where there has been a spot scarcety in one area of the country and a glut in another, and we can't equilize the needs due to differences in the formulations.

4. ENCOURAGE RESEARCH IN ALTERNATIVE FUELS President Bush has been the first one to actually earmark federal monies for this type of research, but even his additions are modest, to say the least. There is no physical reason that we couldn't switch to an almost 80% Hydrogen economy within ten years, at the state of the technology today. What we need is the political will to foster such a move. New technology will only increase the attractiveness of alternative fuels.

5. BECOME MORE POLITICALLY AWARE Many of the Moonbats laud their political representatives as the champions of the environment, but take a
closer look at the policies that those representatives have championed, and you will see that, for the most part, those policies have increased the costs of production without any significant gain in helping the environment, and as is the case with Senator "Splash" Kennedy, an alternate (wind turbine) energy production plant was blocked in the Cheasepeak Bay because it just might ruin the view from his compound. (as an aside, just HOW does a trust fund baby that has never worked a real job in his life and has a lackluster academic/legislative achievment record become a hero of "the little guy"? Try to join him in his compound and see how much he REALLY cares about you!)

6. SHOW THE TAXES PAID ON EACH GALLON OF GASOLINE Most people would be truly astounded at just how much they are paying. Those taxes may be necessary to fund roads, transportation programs, etc. etc., but it is only fair that the public KNOWS just how much they are actually paying for those goals.

Without accountability, there is no oversight, and without oversight, the possibility of fraud and graft is all too high. You can't hold someone accountable if you don't even know just how much he is taking from you.

I'm sure there are other actions to be taken as well, but thats my rant....for now.

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As always, Mark Steyn combines humor and plain common sense to bring light into the darkness of international Real-politic.

His target of opportunity this time is Bashar al-Assad, the dictator of Syria. And, as usual, the target is properly trounced.

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If you want to reasonably have no fear of speaking your true thoughts, you must have an equalizer to ensure that you can defend your beliefs. Bravado is all well and good, indeed, a healthy ego is necessary in being competant to defending oneself, but bravado will only carry you so far. In the end you also need a means to back up the bravado.

In the United States, we do this by living under a system of law where all are judged equally, and by allowing free citizens the means to defend themselves against those that would disregard the law. In the end, true freedom is only achieved, and maintained, by those willing to fight for it, at the cost of their own life, if need be. The Rule of Law is the equalizer, and the Second Amendment is the gaurentor of the rule of law.

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1 What a great illustration for your comment! Way to go! Must pirate photo...

Posted by: ZiPpo at March 08, 2005 07:44 PM (P7XXv)

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The Dutch Report has an interesting Poll on the state of the satisfaction of the Dutch people with how the way things are going in their country. The results are, to say the least, revealing and discouraging at the same time.

It certainly puts to rest the meme from some of our homegrown Idiotarians that everyone in Europe is so much "better off than we are". The mere fact that Dutch emigrations are at the highest levels since 1954 should be the final nail in the coffin of that particular meme.

The destination country for the largest number of emigres is Australia. A yearning for wide open spaces and opportunities for personal achievment and the perception of the availibility of those two factors are the main reason for Australia and New Zealand being the most popular destinations.

The reason most cited for leaving? The feeling that the massive influx of Muslim emigres to the Netherlands has reduced the public safety, and that the government has contributed to the problem.

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While making my daily excursion at Kim DuToits, I read the best explaination of what the 2nd Amendment REALLY means; and by a "baby" member of the Nation of Riflemen, no less!

It's heartening to know that the young are starting to realize just what the 2nd Amendment really means, and have not been totally corrupted by the GFW's that are attempting to convert us into a nation of subjects rather than the nation of citizens that we are.

Here is Eugene A's statement:

If youÂ’d asked me two months ago what a rifle was, I would have said it was a device that fires a bullet. ThatÂ’s it, it is nothing more than a mechanical means to load a cartridge, hit a primer, and propel a bullet in such a way that it flies straight and true.

Now, after holding and experiencing what a Rifle is, I understand that a Rifle is not a means to propel a bullet. It is a specialized tool of death. It was designed, made, and built solely for the purpose of delivering death at long range.

It has no feelings, no emotions. What it does, however, is extend the good or evil of the man wielding it. He is no longer constricted to armÂ’s reach, he can extend good or evil for hundreds if not thousands of yards. And the rifle becomes just as good or evil as the person wielding it.

And the Right to Bear Arms means not the right to defend oneself, it is not the right to hunt animals, it is not the right to target shoot, not the right to fight off oppressive governments. These are all parts of it. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is the right to express yourself in the most powerful way imaginable. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is the right to steer your own course, the right to fight off oppression, the right to be the Sovereign and Powerful individual. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is the final guarantee of Liberty.

If you die fighting for Liberty, it means you will have died in Freedom, you will have died like a Man.

Kim, now I know what a Rifleman is, and the responsibility of owning a gun just became much deeper and much more awesome than I anticipated. That rifle in my safe is my Freedom, and I am proud to live in a place where I have that Freedom.

I would join with Kim in saying: "carve those words on your soul, in great stone letters."

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Ever since the Great Mblog disaster of '04, I've been trying to find some of my old links. Today I found yet another one: Doc Rampage, one of the really good guys.
He had a great post up on evaluating history that shows just why I think he's one of the "good guys". Glad I found him again.

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at 9:04 this morning, I hit the 10,000 visitor to my humble abode. I know that it might not seem like much to most people, but to me it's an affirmation that I do have some loyal readers; for which I'm profoundly greatfull. To make it all the sweeter, it was a referral from the Dutch Report who put me over the mark. Can YOU say "ironic"?!?

I've often told people that I would do this if I never got a hit, and I would, but let's face it, we bloggers are an egocentric lot, for the most part, and I'm no different. It does our ego good to know that people do have some interest in what we have to say, whether they agree with us or not.

Thank you all.

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I found this test and decided to give it try and see just how bad I am.....

Advanced

You scored 86% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 93% Advanced, and 66%

Expert! (WooHoo! I was more proficiant than I had believed!)

You have an extremely good understanding of beginner, intermediate, and advanced level commonly confused English words, getting at least 75% of each of these three levels' questions correct. This is an exceptional score. Remember, these are commonly confused English words, which means most people don't use them properly. You got an extremely respectable score.
Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it!

If you would like to test YOUR knowledge of English, here's the link:
The Commonly Confused Words Test

Test statistics:
Compared to users who took the test and are and in your age group:
100% had lower Beginner scores.
100% had lower Intermediate scores.
100% had lower Advanced scores.
100% had lower Expert scores.

With respect to Beginner, users aged 55 to 59 scored highest.
With respect to Intermediate, users aged 55 to 59 scored highest.
With respect to Advanced, users aged 55 to 59 scored highest.
With respect to Expert, users aged 55 to 59 scored highest.

I thought it was interesting to note that the most accomplished takers of this test were ALL over the age of 55. These people were educated in the days before air conditioning in the schools, the newest educational theories by the "professional educators" of the NEA, and in many cases never attended a facility of higher education.....So tell me, don't YOU think that our educational system might just benefit from taking a giant leap back?

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We got the word today that our IRS refund should hit our account by Monday; assuming that's not just another IRS tease, that makes it official, Mama and I WILL be at the Texas Blogfest 2005!

I am aquiver with anticipation of meeting a lot of great people that I've known only online so far, getting in some range time with people that appreciate guns as much as I do, and last but not least, quaffing an undue amount of adult beverages and swapping some great BS stories with other members of the VRWC.
If you can make it, sign up now, the more the merrier!

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Here's a course I wish had been availible to my daughter when she was attending Smith College, a lot better than that "dead/live white males and their oppression of women" garbage she was exposed to.

Acknowledging the differences between the sexes is NOT sexism, no matter what the bitter crones leading the feminist movement say. What about the areas where women have traditionally had an advantage over men? Notably in the family judicial system...

Women have come a long way in gaining equality, and I applaud those gains. Too bad that they had to give up so much in the process, and if ever they gain total equality, they will have given up everything....Alimony, excessive child support, "I'm just a weak woman" as a legal defense....

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