Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) is Dead

Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) died today at the age of 77:

Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), 77, a Vietnam veteran who staunchly supported military spending and became a master of pork-barrel politics, died Monday at Virginia Hospital Center. The 19-term lawmaker died from complications of gallbladder surgery.

We’re taught not to speak ill of the dead…so, I’ll say this about him — from 1952 (when he first enlisted in the United States Marine Corps) until 1967, where he earned the Bronze Star with Valor device, two Purple Hearts and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry in the Vietnam War, John Murtha was a courageous and honorable man.

But, unfortunately, that was the last time Mr. Murtha and the word “honorable” could be used in the same sentence.

I talked to a lot of former Marines at work today; not one of them was sad that Murtha had died. And I share their sentiments. Murtha was a rare exception in this country — an ex-Marine. Murtha goes to his grave never having to answer for his slanderous and false accusations against the Haditha Marines, whom Murtha accused of cold-blooded murder of civilians.

So, he’s dead. I won’t mourn the loss. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s in hell right now trying to figure out how to get pork projects for his new district.

Hacked by the Azerbaijan Defacers

UPDATE II (Feb 8th p.m.) — Ok. The pedophile-worshiping pig fuckers got me again. But I’ll keep fighting ‘em and I’ll eventually figure out how to stop them.

UPDATE (Feb 8th a.m.) — Well, the hackers hit again this morning. Since I’m away from home and my files, it took a bit longer to restore my site.

Once I get home this evening, I’ll take additional measures to keep the hackers out. Oh, to the pig-fuckers behind this — I WILL NOT SUBMIT to you or Allah (piss by upon him).

_______________

My site was hacked earlier today by a group called the Azerbaijan Defacers. The result of the hack was to make all of my uploaded images to no longer display on the site.

I wonder if this has anything to do with the multiple images of a Quran being flushed down a toilet and a certain groups threats of what they’d do to me if I didn’t take it down?

Anywho…I found the offending hack file and have deleted it, so all should be working normally again.

Super Bowl Sunday: Saints vs. Colts

Who dat?

So, apparently there’s a big game on today…

Do you have big plans for the day? Heading out to a bar to watch the game? Hosting a party? Going to someone else’s house? Who are you rooting for? Or do you even care?

Me? I’ll just watch the game up in my man cave at home…

I’m a die-hard Texans and Titans fan, so I don’t really care too much who wins tonight’s championship game. I grew up just about 100 miles from Louisiana, so most of my friends seem to be rooting for the Saints.

I’ll probably end up cheering for the Saints, too, because:

1) Drew Brees — Besides being a nice kid, Drew was our neighborhood high school’s star QB (West Lake High School), so gotta root for the local kid to do well.

2) The Saints cheerleaders are hotter than the Colts cheerleaders:

Vs.

It’s not exactly scientific…but that’s what I’m going with.

Danica Patrick: Welcome to NASCAR Racing

Danica Patrick in her Go Daddy gear

The best looking driver in the history of NASCAR came in 6th place in her first-ever stock car race:

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The record will show that Danica Patrick finished sixth in her stock car racing debut at yesterday’s Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200, won by Bobby Gerhart. But that doesn’t begin to describe all that Patrick endured to achieve that result in the ARCA Racing Series opener at Daytona International Speedway.

The 27-year-old IndyCar Series star got quite an education in stock car racing – not to mention bump-drafting – in her first race in a fendered car.

Patrick, who started 12th, made a magnificent save after making contact with Nelson Piquet Jr. on Lap 54, spinning on the front stretch and sliding through the grassy tri-oval area. After dropping back to 24th, Patrick fought her way through the pack to run as high as fifth, before getting hung out in the draft and finishing sixth.

I’m a pretty big fan of NASCAR and stock car racing in general. I’m also a fan Danica Patrick. I’m not such a fan of open-wheel racing. So I’m pretty excited to see Ms. Patrick make the jump over to real racing.

Unlike this neck at RacinToday, who grades Danica’s first stock car race, whose grades and snarky commentary come across as a bit of a good-ol-boy not happy about some young ‘purdy thing racing in “his” sport:

Overall grade. B. Drove within herself and finished top 10. Probably did little to ward off her critics and enough to keep her choir singing.

He’s obviously in the “critics” circle.

Meanwhile, the Boston Globe calls her debut “impressive.”

Because no post on Danica is complete without the obligatory "posing on the hood of a car in a bikini" picture...

Yeah…I think “impressive” is a pretty good description…

Austin Judge Sam Sparks: No Longer Interested in Upholding the Law

An Austin judge is questioning the prosecution of immigrants citing costs as the problem:

U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks made the comments in an order filed Friday in the cases against three Mexican citizens who were charged with illegal re-entry after being found in Travis County
Jail.

He wrote that like many of the defendants prosecuted under the federal illegal re-entry law, the men had no significant criminal history. He says it has cost more than $13,350 to jail the three.

Sounds like it’s time to replace Judge Sam Sparks and find a judge who is more worried about upholding the laws of our state and our Nation than he is with budget:

If you want to know how stupid this idea is, just replace “immigrants” with the criminal of your choice:

• An Austin judge is questioning the prosecution of child molesters citing costs as the problem.
• An Austin judge is questioning the prosecution of car jackers citing costs as the problem.
• An Austin judge is questioning the prosecution of kidnappers citing costs as the problem.
• An Austin judge is questioning the prosecution of bank robbers citing costs as the problem.

Sounds absurd, doesn’t it?

What part of “these people are criminals” does this judge not understand?

The (Note So) Daily Dog: Hiking Behind the House

While our nation’s capital is getting hammered by up to 2′ of pure white Global Warming, we had a nearly perfect day here in Austin. Sunny, light breeze, perfect blue skies, temps in the low 60s or so.

Took Otis and Angus out behind our house for a hike to enjoy the day — Jersey couldn’t join us as he just had his family jewels removed yesterday afternoon, and is still recovering from his surgery.

This is the hill top behind our house...we have to hike up about 100' from our back door.

Our house is the left of the above image…about 100 yards away, and mostly straight down hill.

Our house as seen from the creek that runs through the back of your property

There’s a small wet weather creek that runs through the back of our property. The entire creek bed runs down through the canyon through a series of steep drops through a limestone creek bed, which results in several scenic waterfalls and amazingly crystal clear water:

Otis and Angus exploring the creek and playing in the water.

Here’s Angus running through the creek bed about 15′ down below the ridge I’m standing on:

Angus playing in the creek behind our house

There is an 8′ drop in the creek right behind our house….no more than about 50′ from our back porch…which results in a small waterfall into the pool of water (3-4′ deep) below, which is very loud and soothing while sitting on the back porch:

Hard to get a good picture of this drop off in the creek bed because of the lighting

And another smaller drop and pool just a bit up-creek:

Angus coming back from a dip in the small pool of water at this small waterfall

The amazing green belt directly behind our new house is the main reason we moved way out…to have immediate and unimpeded access to green space to run and hike with the dogs.

Not News: Leif Garrett Arrested for Drugs

Stop me if you've heard this one: teen idol turned heroin addict...

And in Saturday news that doesn’t matter:

1970s teen-star Leif Garrett was arrested in Los Angeles for heroin possession:

The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said that he had drugs with him so he was arrested. This is not the first time that he is in trouble with the law, over drugs. His drug problems go back to almost 2 decades. And in 2004, he even had to go to a treatment facility in California, as he had violated his probation. He has been battling drug abuse for many years now. In 2006, he was also arrested for possessing heroine, and he was even sentenced to 3 months behind bars, after he opted out of his drug treatment.

In the 1970s’ he was a popular youth icon, and was also made the cover model of numerous teen magazines like the Tiger Beat. He sand songs like “Surfin’ U.S.A.” and “The Wanderer,” which were quite famous too. And in 1998, a number of his hit songs were made into a compilation, and an album was also released titled ‘The Leif Garrett Collection.’

Which is weird, because he doesn’t look like a typical heroin user. Oh…wait…

Obama: What the Hell is a Corpse-Man?

You see…this is what happens when:

1. You let other people write all of your words for you, and you merely read them from a teleprompter. You’re bound to not know what some of those words mean, or how they are pronounced.
2. A man with more disdain for than knowledge of our Military is elected to be their Commander in Chief.

He didn’t mispronounce corpsman just once, but twice. UPDATE: Oh hell…listening to the entire speech, he said it three times.

As John at Power Line notes:

What is significant about this is that “corpsman” is a military term. Obama knows little or nothing about the military; it is as though he said “col-o-nel” instead of “kernel.” There are corpsmen stationed in the White House, but, after more than a year, Obama apparently doesn’t know who they are, what they do, or how to pronounce their job.

And this is the guy that the Left claims is the smartest man EVAH!? Learning to properly say Pahkeestahn and Tahleebahn was important to him, why wasn’t this?

What an abysmal embarrassment. God forbid he actually ever needs one of those corpse-men that he so disdains to save his life.

___________

OTHERS:

Neo-neocon:

Obama’s “Corpsman,” however, is a far more idiosyncratic blunder. Although a small one, it is not entirely trivial, because it is almost perfectly emblematic of some of the deeper divisions between left and right. Perhaps Obama’s supporters might even consider it to be a badge of honor, because it is evidence of Obama’s career in academia—his bookishness rather than his real-life experience—as well as his ignorance of all things military. These are traits shared (and in some ways admired) by many in the left.

Rep. Charles “Doc” Anderson (R) — Another Tax-Cheating Politician

Now that you mention it, he does look like the kind of guy who might forget to pay his taxes...

Texas State Representative Charles “Doc” Anderson (HD-56 R) owes about $60K to the Internal Revenue Service. While I agree with the local Democratic Chair in calling for Anderson’s resignation, I thought part of this press statement was indicative of the normalcy of tax cheats in the Democrat party.

McLennan County Democratic Chair John Cullar is calling for Anderson’s resignation. Anderson is currently serving his third term in office.

On Thursday Cullar  issued this statement: “Doc Anderson’s failure to pay his taxes is more than an honest mistake. Once, maybe even twice-could be an honest mistake. Doc’s consistent failure to pay his taxes reveals a pattern of careless or incompetence, and proves he is unfit to represent us in the Texas legislature.”

You know…I’m 41-years old. Been paying taxes since I was 16-years old. And not ONCE have I ever forgotten to pay my taxes. I think it’s quite telling though that not paying taxes is so rampant in Democrat politics (see: Obama’s entire cabinet for reference), that Democrat leaders openly admit that failing to pay taxes “once, maybe even twice,” is perfectly normal and acceptable.

Shouldn’t we hold our elected representatives to a little higher standard than that?

Embarrasing Corrections for the White House

Most transparent administration EVAH!

A story on Page 1 of Tuesday’s Telegraph quoted a White House official explaining that a Q-and-A session with dozens of teenagers in Nashua High School North on Monday was “off the record.” However, the explanation about the talk being “off the record” was, it turns out, also “off the record” and should not have been quoted.

It’s almost like nothing is on the record with this President (and I’m not just talking about his own school records and transcripts).

Obama’s Q&A with Hand-picked Cowardly Democrat Senators

Earlier this week, GOP Senators met with President Obama for a little back-and-forth. All of it televised by C-SPAN. By all measures, it was a good exchange, and something that the President should have been doing much earlier in his single-term Presidency.

Compare that to the coward Democrat Senators who were hand-picked (for their pliability and complicity) to have a little Q&A with President Obama, most (but not all) of which was televised.

Senators did not want to press Obama on healthcare reform in front of television cameras for fear of putting him in an awkward spot.

Cowards. Sheep. Losers.

The entire lot of them.

“There was a vigorous discussion about that afterward with some of his top advisers and others,” Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) said regarding the healthcare discussion.

“I think people were probably aware that there was no easy answer and this is being broadcast on live national television and didn’t want to put him on the spot,” Bayh said.

Yeah…God forbid we put The Won on the spot to discuss his biggest policy issue and the focus of his entire (failed) first year in office.

During his introductory remarks, the president urged lawmakers not to give up on healthcare reform.

No doubt those introductory remarks were read from TOTUS. But the Senators knew that TOTUS — and thus Obama — didn’t have any more details to read from his Teleprompter, so they let him off the hook.

But this admission from Obama is perhaps the most telling:

“We’ve got to make sure that our party understands that, like it or not, we have to have a financial system that is healthy and functioning, so we can’t be demonizing every bank out there,” Obama said.

Like it or not. Sadly, it should go without saying that EVERY Senator should LIKE a financial system that is healthy and functioning. But the truth is — and Obama knows it, too — is that there are a lot of Democrat Senators (and Congresscritters) who hate free markets and capitalism.

It’s just a bit surprising to hear the Democrat President come right out and acknowledge it.

A Little Honesty in Self-Grading

Honesty in grading

Abby Rapoport at the Texas Tribune has an excellent report posted today about the Texas Department of Transportation’s five-person Transportation Commission who gave themselves a grade of C, on their best day.

State lawmakers have their own special vocabulary for describing the Texas Department of Transportation: Intractable. Defensive. Secretive. Broken.

Bill Meadows knows what they’re getting at. “I don’t think we are fully succeeding,” says Meadows, a non-combative voice on the five-member Transportation Commission. “On our very best day we probably are getting a ‘C’.” If you listen to state legislators, even that constitutes grade inflation.

It’s a good piece, and if you’re interested in Texas transportation policy and issues, I’d recommend you go read the entire piece.

However, as soon as I read the first paragraph, my mind immediately replaced “Traffic Commission” with “President Obama,” who recently graded himself a B+ after his first year as President.

As in, President Obama’s first year was defined by being: Intractable. Defensive. Secretive. Broken.

Whereas our Traffic Commission gave themselves an admittedly inflated C, our President, who has had a much worse year than our Traffic Commission gave himself a B+.

Carly Fiorina’s Demon Sheep

I’m nearly speechless after watching this 3-minute long campaign ad from California Senate Candidate Carly Fiorina:

Unless the Fiorina campaign’s goal was to elicit actual out-loud laughter, then this is without a doubt The. Worst. Campaign. Ad. Of. All. Time.

Seriously. Not only should whomever’s idea this was be fired before the day ends…but regardless of what I might have thought of Carly Fiorina or her campaign before this ad, Fiorina deserves to lose the primary election now.

Based on nothing other than this ad itself.

Because any candidate stupid enough to chime in with, “I’m Carly Fiorina, and I endorse this ad,” is too stupid to be an elected leader in our country.

How exactly did this thing get made…there are some good attacks on her primary opponent’s record (Tom Campbell)…but then somebody decided that what this ad really needs is sheep. And then somebody else — obviously a Tom Campbell plant — chimes in and says, “Demon Sheep.”

Even The Onion and Saturday Night Live have to be sitting back going, “Wow.”

OTHERS:

Mary Katharine Ham:

You will remember when you first saw this ad, and I am happy to be just a tiny part of that story by delivering unto you Carly Fiorina’s attack ad about Tom Campbell, whom the ad tags a Fiscal Conservative in Name Only — a wolf in sheep’s clothing, if you will.

A wolf whose eyes glow red with the outdated technology of the original Terminator’s and who wears Rockports as he crawls menacingly through the pastures of California. Can we afford to ignore that kind of threat?

Rush Limbaugh Interview

From this morning on Fox And Friends.

Well said, Rush, well spoken.

America: Political Asylum Given To German Family

This isn’t about 1930’s Germany, where a violent tyranny was forcing citizens to flee to the U.S. for asylum, this is a 21st century story.

Uwe and Hannelore Romeike, along with their five children, have been granted political asylum by Immigration Judge Lawrence O. Burman, of Memphis, Tennessee.

The Romeike’s claimed in their asylum request that the homeschooling of their children, and their devout Christian faith, is what the German government was trying to suppress.

Judge Burman offered this statement in granting their political asylum:

“We can’t expect every country to follow our constitution. The world might be a better place if it did. However, the rights being violated here are basic human rights that no country has a right to violate.” He observed: “Homeschoolers are a particular social group that the German government is trying to suppress. This family has a well-founded fear of persecution… therefore, they are eligible for asylum…”

The article linked to above has some interesting insights and questions.
Such as:
Q-Why did the German homeschoolers not seek political asylum in Britain?
A-Because our rulers subscribe to the same tyrannical statist philosophy, is the answer.

Thanks to the slumber the EU citizens have been put into, the Lisbon Treaty passed recently, completing the grip on the EU member states that has been sought for decades, and resolving the set back of the failed EU constitution vote from a few years ago. Many warned of the Lisbon Treaty creating a EUSSR, and it appears they were correct.

While the EU states continue to persecute Christianity and individualism as a parallel society, they do nothing to halt or slow the creeping advance of the parallel society created by the massive immigration of Muslims, their Sharia law and Wahabi and Salafi mosques and madrassas.

In Mark Steyn’s outstanding book, America Alone:The End Of The World As We Know It, published in 2006, we were warned about the EU Gulag, and how America will be effected.

European and Islamic anti-Americanism, he explains, threatens to leave us isolated in the world: the global situation is rapidly reaching a point at which America will have to confront the enemies of civilization without help from anyone else. And when the world is divided between America and the rest, all those who don’t want to see the world shrouded in a new Dark Ages should hope that America wins.

The EU is lost as a foundational civilization, and America remains the last best hope for freedom loving men and women.

I take heart in the wisdom of Judge Burman, and his realization of how dire the situation is for free people living in the EU gulag.
It is incumbent upon us freedom loving citizens to resist the creeping statism that we see in our own country.

Freedom is the natural yearning of mankind, and it is, above all else, worth fighting for.

Kay Bailey Hutchinson Wins Runner up for 2009 Porker of the Year

Earlier this month, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) announced its nominees for 2009 Porker of the Year. Of the six candidates, there were 5 Democrats and only 1 Republican.

Well, the votes are tallied, and CAWG has named Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) its 2009 Porker of the Year. Tom Schatz, the group’s president, tells CNBC why the congressman topped the list.

Oh, the the sole Republican on the list? Our very own Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX), who came in second behind The Banking Queen.

Is it any wonder why Kay Bailey Hutchinson is recruiting Democrats to come out and vote for her in the March 2nd primary against Governor Rick Perry? Because she’s all but conceded that she can’t beat Perry without drumming up support from like-minded tax-and-spend Democrats.

Remember when you go to the polls on March 2, my fellow Texans: KBH has been voting WITH Washington since 1993.