Ours vs. Theirs

Just sayin'...

Sarah and Trig Palin

Great pics of Sarah and Trig.

Check out many more here.




Update:

I ♥ SARAHCUDA!

That's awesome! Someone just wrote that in a reply at Ace's place.

H/T: Ace

You can draw your own conclusions...

VFF at the "Bush Legacy" bus.

Go over to Gateway Pundit and see what some Liberal Traitor had to say about our troops. Vile and disgusting. Like the true traitors they are.

Proud parents.

The proud parents: Chuck Heath, left, and his wife, Sally, react, in their home in Wasilla, Alaska, as Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain announces that he selected their daughter, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, to be his vice presidential running mate Friday Aug. 29. 2008.

H/T: Flopping Aces

UPDATED to add:

Sally, a former school secretary, said her daughter’s appointment as McCain’s running mate last week came as a bolt out of the blue. She and her husband had just returned from an aborted reindeer-hunting trip when they heard the news:

‘My husband and I were going to an abandoned gold mine near Gunsight Mountain, a few hours away.

‘Cellphones don’t work out there, so we would have missed all the fun, but when we got near the cabin, the creek was swollen from heavy rain. We couldn’t get through, so we turned around and headed home.

‘Around 4am, Sarah’s husband Todd called and said, “Turn the radio on.”

‘I was half-asleep and said, “Honey, is everything OK? Is Sarah all right?”

‘I turned on CNN and saw that John McCain was about to announce his running mate.

It still didn’t click. Sarah didn’t breathe a word of this to me or anyone in the family.

‘Our phone rang again and it was Sarah. She said, “Mum, are you sitting down? Now, Ma, don’t get all stressed, but McCain is about to announce I’m his vice-president pick.”

‘I started shaking and didn’t say anything. She said, “Ma, are you OK? Please, is this OK with you and Dad?”

‘I shouted into the phone, “Yes, yes! Go for it!” I nearly fell off the sofa. I have not stopped smiling since.’

Pretty good article.

H/T: John Lott

Just wanted to start the day off with a happy thought...

You know you're in trouble when...

Even Liberals make fun of the O'Bamessiah!


H/T: Hot Air

What they fear is what we love!

Curt at Flopping Aces posted about some environazi website and all the things that Sarah Palin's done, which are all things they hate.

Funny how everything they hate are things we're for.

Heh.

* Opposed a statewide ballot initiative to prohibit or restrict new mining operations that could affect salmon in the state’s streams and rivers
* Has pushed to build a natural-gas pipeline from Alaska’s North Slope
* Got the state legislature to pass a bill to provide each Alaskan $1,200 to help with energy costs
* Sued the Interior Department over its decision to list the polar bear as a threatened species
* Has proposed eliminating Alaska’s gas tax
* Has pushed to open Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling
* Has created a committee to forge Alaska’s climate-change strategy, and has made Alaska an observer (but not a member) of the Western Climate Initiative
* Opposes a windfall profits tax on oil companies
* Was the ethics commissioner of the Alaska Gas and Oil Conservation Commission from 2003 to 2004
* Lifelong angler and hunter
* Husband is an oil production operator for BP on Alaska’s North Slope
* Started Alaska’s Petroleum Systems Integrity Office, an oversight and maintenance agency for the state’s oil and gas equipment, facilities, and infrastructure
* Chairs the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, a multistate panel “that promotes the conservation and efficient recovery of domestic oil and natural gas resources while protecting health, safety and the environment”
* Believes intelligent design should be taught along with evolution in science classes

It just keeps getting better and better...

McCain-Palin '08

This is why we'll win in November:

I guess they fail to see the irony...

From Fox News, the official statement from Obama spokesman Bill Burton:

Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency.

But it's perfectly okay to have a former state senator with zero foreign policy experience as president.

This is going to be really fun!

H/T: LGF

AWESOME!

Sarah Palin is a fan-fricking-tastic pick! I don't think he could've made a better choice. I don't see how McCain can lose!

I'm pretty happy right now...

McCain/Palin '08





Maybe the title of this post should be:

"Our VP candidate is hotter than yours!"

Veteran Info...

I went in to the VA today to make sure that my VA ID was still valid and that I was still enrolled.

I found out that OEF/OIF vets can now receive free VA health-care for five years after their service. It was two years and then it was extended to five.

If any vet hasn't enrolled with the VA yet, go do it. Bring a copy of your DD214 and they'll get you squared away. If you aren't near a VA clinic/hospital, you can do it on-line.

You served, so make sure you're taking advantage of benefits available to you.

Semper Fi!

The second best news I've heard all week.

The only thing I hate worse that pedophiles, is Liberal pedophiles.

Enjoy your time being Tyrone's BFF!

Former talk show host sentenced to more than seven years in prison

By Howard Mintz
Mercury News
Article Launched: 08/28/2008 11:52:46 AM PDT

With his sobbing family looking on in a San Francisco courtroom, former KGO radio host Bernie Ward today completed his tumble from one of the Bay Area's most popular liberal voices on the local airwaves to a pariah caught up in the world of online child pornography.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker sentenced Ward to seven years and three months in federal prison, calling the disgraced celebrity a "troubled individual'' whose downfall is a "personal tragedy.'' Ward now must turn himself in to U.S. Marshals by noon Friday to begin his prison term.

Ward declined to comment after the hearing, where his family and friends sat in the gallery, his wife and son in the front row clutching each others' hands. Ward hugged his family when he emerged from the courtroom and walked away with his lawyer. Before the sentence was handed down, Ward spoke briefly to the judge, saying, "I regret the harm this has caused my family, my friends, and this community.''

The 57-year-old Ward pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of distributing child pornography, the result of an investigation that was triggered by his online chats with an online dominatrix who turned him in to police when she grew concerned about images he had of young children. The former Roman Catholic priest and father of four went into federal court in San Francisco knowing he would be headed to prison for a minimum of five years under strict federal sentencing guidelines for child porn cases.

In fact, the hearing highlighted the harsh penalties defendants now face when convicted of downloading child porn onto their computers. Even Walker said he was "not at all convinced'' that sending defendants such as Ward to prison is the best way to address the societal problem of child porn proliferating on the Internet. Ward is one of the mounting numbers of defendants in the Bay Area and across the country facing federal convictions for child porn. A recent Mercury News analysis found that child porn prosecutions in the federal courts have jumped from just a few dozen in the mid-1990s to thousands per year in the nation's federal courts.

But federal prosecutors urged Walker to sentence Ward to nine years in prison, describing his conduct in recent court papers as "amoral, universally unacceptable and aberrant.'' The government's court documents alleged that Ward possessed images of sex acts on children as young as three years old, and revealed his online exchanges with the dominatrix in which he discussed his sexual attraction to children.

"These images depicted these minors suffering the most horrific torment,'' Steve Grocki, a Justice Department lawyer who led the Ward prosecution, said to Walker. "He traded in the currency of human suffering.''

Under his plea agreement, Ward admitted sending dozens of porn images via email. But his lawyer urged Walker to impose the lowest possible sentence, saying Ward began downloading the images as part of journalism research that went awry, spiralling out of control when he began drinking heavily. Doron Weinberg, Ward's attorney, told Walker the child porn downloading "spanned a brief period in an exemplary life.''

"What is profoundly sad is that Bernie Ward is a good man," Weinberg told the judge.

Dozens of Ward's supporters wrote letters to the judge, extolling the talk show host and urging leniency. At the same time, groups aligned against child abuse have pressed for the harshest possible sentence for Ward to make an example of him in the fight against online child porn.

Ward filled KGO's airwaves for three hours every night, an outspoken liberal who took on the Iraq war, conservative causes and President George W. Bush. He also hosted the station's "God Talk'' show on Sunday mornings, now hosted by San Jose State professor Brent Waters, who plans to discuss the child pornography issue on this Sunday's show. KGO fired Ward after the child porn charges came to light.

Get a tissue...

You might not agree with his politics (and sometimes I do), but there's no way you can deny that George Bush isn't a good person, unless you're a Liberal Moonbat, like the disgusting pieces of human garbage that we see in Denver right now.

They actually believe that George Bush is no better than Adolf Hitler.

Scum. They don't deserve to carry Shawn Murphy's jock-strap.

The Value of Service
Commentary by Lt. Col. Mark Murphy
354th Maintenance Group deputy commander

EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska -- I learned a big lesson on service Aug. 4, 2008, when Eielson had the rare honor of hosting President Bush on a refueling stop as he traveled to Asia .

It was an event Eielson will never forget -- a hangar full of Airmen and Soldiers getting to see the Commander in Chief up close, and perhaps even shaking his hand. An incredible amount of effort goes into presidential travel because of all of the logistics, security, protocol, etc ... so it was remarkable to see Air Force One land at Eielson on time at precisely 4:30 p.m.--however, when he left less than two hours later, the President was 15 minutes behind schedule.

That's a big slip for something so tightly choreographed, but very few people know why it happened. Here's why.

On Dec. 10, 2006, our son, Shawn, was a paratrooper deployed on the outskirts of Baghdad . He was supposed to spend the night in camp, but when a fellow soldier became ill Shawn volunteered to take his place on a nighttime patrol--in the convoy's most exposed position as turret gunner in the lead Humvee. He was killed instantly with two other soldiers when an IED ripped through their vehicle.

I was thinking about that as my family and I sat in the audience listening to the President's speech, looking at the turret on the up-armored Humvee the explosive ordnance disposal flight had put at the edge of the stage as a static display.

When the speech was over and the President was working the crowd line, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see a White House staff member. She asked me and my wife to come with her, because the President wanted to meet us.

Stunned, we grabbed our two sons that were with us and followed her back into a conference room. It was a shock to go from a crowded, noisy hangar, past all of those security people, to find ourselves suddenly alone in a quiet room.

The only thing we could hear was a cell phone vibrating, and noticed that it was coming from the jacket Senator Stevens left on a chair. We didn't answer.

A short time later, the Secret Service opened the door and President Bush walked in. I thought we might get to shake his hand as he went through. But instead, he walked up to my wife with his arms wide, pulled her in for a hug and a kiss, and said, "I wish I could heal the hole in your heart." He then grabbed me for a hug, as well as each of our sons. Then he turned and said, "Everybody out."

A few seconds later, the four of us were completely alone behind closed doors with the President of the United States and not a Secret Service agent in sight.

He said, "Come on, let's sit down and talk." He pulled up a chair at the side of the room, and we sat down next to him. He looked a little tired from his trip, and he noticed that his shoes were scuffed up from leaning over concrete barriers to shake hands and pose for photos. He slumped down the chair, completely relaxed, smiled, and suddenly was no longer the President - he was just a guy with a job, sitting around talking with us like a family member at a barbeque.

For the next 15 or 20 minutes, he talked with us about our son, Iraq , his family, faith, convictions, and shared his feelings about nearing the end of his presidency. He asked each of our teenaged sons what they wanted to do in life and counseled them to set goals, stick to their convictions, and not worry about being the "cool" guy.

He said that he'd taken a lot of heat during his tenure and was under a lot of pressure to do what's politically expedient, but was proud to say that he never sold his soul. Sometimes he laughed, and at others he teared up. He said that what he'll miss most after leaving office will be his role as Commander in Chief.

One of the somber moments was when he thanked us for the opportunity to meet, because he feels a heavy responsibility knowing that our son died because of a decision he made. He was incredibly humble, full of warmth, and completely without pretense. We were seeing the man his family sees.

We couldn't believe how long he was talking to us, but he seemed to be in no hurry whatsoever. In the end, he thanked us again for the visit and for the opportunity to get off his feet for a few minutes. He then said, "Let's get some pictures." The doors flew open, Secret Service and the White House photographer came in, and suddenly he was the President again. We posed for individual pictures as he gave each of us one of his coins, and then he posed for family pictures. A few more thank yous, a few more hugs, and he was gone.

The remarkable thing about the whole event was that he didn't have to see us at all. If he wanted to do more, he could've just given a quick handshake and said, "Thanks for your sacrifice." But he didn't - he put everything and everyone in his life on hold to meet privately with the family of a Private First Class who gave his life in the service of his country.

What an incredible lesson on service. If the President of the United States is willing to drop everything on his plate to visit with a family, surely the rest of us can do it. No one is above serving another person, and no one is so lofty that he or she can't treat others with dignity and respect.

We often think of service in terms of sacrificing ourselves for someone in a position above us, but how often do we remember that serving someone below us can be much more important? If you're in a leadership capacity, take a good look at how you're treating your people, and remember that your role involves serving the people you rely on every day.

Read more about Shawn Murphy here. You'll be glad you did.

H/T: Blackfive

The BEST news I've heard all week!

This is FANTASTICALLY AWESOME!

This guy was a probationary Police Officer with Riverside PD and got fired because of this fishing expedition by a prosecutor looking to make a name for himself.

Hopefully Riverside PD will do the right thing and re-hire him, but doubt thy will. It's not very PC to re-hire an accused murderer.

Will this Marine's life ever be the same, after this witch-hunt? Hopefully...

He'll need your prayer, if you're so inclined.

Jury acquits former Marine in killing of Iraqis

UNION-TRIBUNE
8:06 p.m. August 28, 2008

Former Marine Staff Sgt. Jose Luis Nazario walked free from a Riverside courtroom Thursday after a civilian jury acquitted him on charges of killing unarmed detainees four years ago during one of the fierces battles of the Iraq war.

The jury took six hours over two days to find Nazario, 28, innocent of charges that he killed or caused others to kill the four men in Fallujah, Iraq, on Nov. 9, 2004. The verdict left Nazario in tears. His mother, family and friends cried, and spectators applauded so loudly the judge smacked his gavel in a call for order.

“It's been a long, hard year for my family,” Nazario said, standing outside the courtroom. “I need a moment to catch my breath and try to get my life back together.”

The trial broke new legal ground in several ways.

It was the first time a civilian jury has judged whether the actions of a former military service member in combat violated the law of war. And it was a rare case – perhaps unique – of a trial for a killing in which there was no physical evidence of the crime, nor was any specific victim identified.

The case against Nazario rested primarily on the accounts of his former comrades, including two who have been found in contempt of court and now face jail terms for refusing to testify. Other former Marines testified during the five-day trial that they did not see Nazario kill the detainees, but heard the gunshots.

“It's the verdict we hoped and prayed for. It's the verdict we felt was morally correct,” said Joseph Preis, of the law firm Pepper Hamilton in Irvine, one of four lawyers who represented Nazario.

Jury forewoman Ingrid Wicken said the panel of nine women and three men – only one of whom had served in the military – found Nazario not guilty because there was not enough evidence against him.

“I think you don't know what goes on in combat until you are in combat,” said Wicken, who hugged Nazario's sobbing mother, Sandra Montanez, following the verdict.

The charges were filed under a law passed in 2000 to provide a venue for the prosecution of civilians who commit crimes overseas, particularly on military bases.

“This verdict will cause civilian prosecutors in other parts of the country to give pause before filing similar cases,” said Gary Solis, a former military lawyer who is now in the Georgetown School of Law. “I don't believe the law was enacted for the purpose of having civilian jurors assess the conduct of troops under fire during battle.”

The trial was held in Riverside, where Nazario was working as a probationary police officer until his arrest in August 2007. He was subsequently fired.

Preis said Nazario visited the police department immediately after the verdict to see about getting his job back.

“We have every confidence that they'll do the right thing,” Preis said.

How to fix the budget: "Kalifornia Style"

YGBFSM!

This is the typical Liberal solution to not having enough money/power.

Tax everyone into oblivion. WTF!

Beware the law of unintended consequences...

California Ballot Initiative to Impose 45% Income Tax, 55% Wealth Tax & 36%-54% Exit Tax

A California activist is trying to gather the 694,354 signatures needed to place a tax initiative on the ballot that would:

* Impose a new 35% income surtax (in addition to federal taxes and the existing 10.3% top state rate) -- 17.5% (on all of the taxpayer's income) when income exceeds $150,000 (single) or $250,000 (joint), and an additional 17.5% (again, on all of the taxpayer's income) when income exceeds $350,000 (single)or $500,000 (joint).
* Impose a one-time 55% wealth tax on assets exceeding $20 million held by a California resident or held in California by nonresident.
* Impose an exit tax of between 36.5% to 54.3% on both income and unrealized appreciation in asset values over $5 million when a resident dies or leaves California.

H/T: Ace

Less Hippies - More Stick-Time!

I had to post this because it's so damned AWESOME!

Too bad the video quality sucked so bad.

Hopefully more great "hits" to follow...


H/T: Outlaw 13

Awaiting O'Bama's mythic speech...

I think it'll look something like this:


H/T: LGF

More news you won't hear from the MSM...

Very interesting polling numbers from Rasmussen re: GWOT.

Voter confidence in the War on Terror is at the highest level ever recorded since Rasmussen Reports began regular tracking in January 2004. Fifty-four percent (54%) of American voters now think the United States and its allies are winning the war. The previous high-water mark for optimism--52%--was reached a handful of times in September and October 2004.

Optimism about the situation in Iraq is also at an all-time high. Forty-eight percent (48%) now expect the situation in that troubled country to get better over the next six months. Only 17% expect things to get worse. In addition to being the most optimistic assessment ever recorded, these numbers reflect a remarkable turnaround over the past year. Last August, just 27% thought things were going to get better while 47% were pessimistic.

Looking longer term, voters are evenly divided as to whether history will judge the mission in Iraq as a success or failure. Thirty-eight percent (38%) offer an optimistic assessment while 41% say the opposite. Seventy-three percent (73%) of Republicans think history will look kindly on the effort in Iraq while 63% of Democrats disagree. Unaffiliated voters are divided on the question.

These numbers also reflect an amazing turnaround over the past year. In August a year ago, 57% thought history would judge the U.S. mission in Iraq to be a failure. At that time, just 29% thought it would be viewed a success.

President Bush isn’t getting any credit from the changing political environment. Just 30% rate President George W. Bush’s handling of the situation in Iraq as good or excellent while 47% say he has been doing a poor job.

Voters remain divided on whether or not the country is safer today than it was before September 11, 2001. While 41% of voters believe it is safer today, 40% disagree.

As always, there are substantial gender and partisan differences on all questions dealing with Iraq and the War on Terror.

While 46% of women say the U.S. is winning the war, 62% of men agree. Nearly a quarter of women (24%) think the terrorists are winning, while just 14% of men agree.

On a partisan basis, 82% of Republican voters say America is winning the War on Terror, just 34% of Democrats agree.

Fifty-one percent (51%) of unaffiliated voters say the U.S. and its allies are winning.

Traitors.


H/T: Instapundit

Paying it back...

I wrote about this last month. As I said, I worked with Eric at the Main Jail over 10 years ago.

The surviving families (of Joe and Kevin) and Eric got their settlement from Turbomeca.

This is what Eric did with some of his:

Helicopter crash survivor set with Mercy trauma donation

By Niesha Lofing - nlofing@sacbee.com
Last Updated 9:30 am PDT Tuesday, August 26, 2008

A Sacramento County sheriff's deputy who survived a helicopter crash that killed two of his fellow deputies is planning to make a "major donation" to benefit the Mercy San Juan Trauma Center this morning.

Eric Henrikson, 31, was the lone survivor in the July 13, 2005, helicopter crash near Lake Natoma. Deputies Joseph Kievernagel, 36, and Kevin Blount, 29, were killed when the helicopter slammed into a hillside and rolled down a ravine. The deputies were responding to a burglary call in Folsom.

Henrikson said he would announce the donation alongside his mother, Dee Wilkerson, Mercy San Juan President Brian Ivie and other hospital administration and staff at a 10 a.m. news conference at the medical center.

The amount of the donation will be made public at 10:30 a.m., said Bryan Gardner, a Mercy spokesman.

Henrikson asked that some of the funds be committed to specialized education for trauma nurses, with the remainder to benefit trauma areas with the greatest need.

"What they did for me was a miracle," Henrikson said in a written statement. "I know how committed the people at Mercy San Juan are to the Trauma Center and that they have an excellent program. But if something I can do can make it even a little better, then I want to be there for them the way they were there for me."

Last month, Henrikson, along with the families of the fallen deputies, settled their civil suit against the company that manufactured the helicopter's engine.

Turbomeca, a French manufacturer, was accused in the suit of supplying a defective part that reportedly caused the helicopter crash. The suit alleged that the company knew of the mechanical problem - a diaphragm in the engine's fuel control unit that had been installed incorrectly - but did not warn those flying the aircraft.

Sacramento County also filed suit against the company. That lawsuit is pending.

This article came out this morning and they haven't updated it as of this posting.

Eric donated $250,000 To MSJTC.

There's no amount of money that can pay someone back for saving your life, but this is a pretty great start.

Well done, Eric.

Great video here.

Eric Henrikson hugs Mercy San Juan nurse Diane Morrison during a January 2006 gathering. Henrickson survived critical injuries suffered in a July 13, 2005, helicopter crash, receiving treatment at Mercy San Juan. Two other Sacramento sheriff's deputies ere killed in the crash.

Awesome!

Human exoskeleton suit helps paralyzed people walk

Tue Aug 26, 2008 1:14pm EDT
By Ari Rabinovitch

HAIFA, Israel (Reuters) - paralyzed for the past 20 years, former Israeli paratrooper Radi Kaiof now walks down the street with a dim mechanical hum.

That is the sound of an electronic exoskeleton moving the 41-year-old's legs and propelling him forward -- with a proud expression on his face -- as passersby stare in surprise.

"I never dreamed I would walk again. After I was wounded, I forgot what it's like," said Kaiof, who was injured while serving in the Israeli military in 1988.

"Only when standing up can I feel how tall I really am and speak to people eye to eye, not from below."

The device, called ReWalk, is the brainchild of engineer Amit Goffer, founder of Argo Medical Technologies, a small Israeli high-tech company.

Something of a mix between the exoskeleton of a crustacean and the suit worn by comic hero Iron Man, ReWalk helps paraplegics -- people paralyzed below the waist -- to stand, walk and climb stairs.

Goffer himself was paralyzed in an accident in 1997 but he cannot use his own invention because he does not have full function of his arms.

The system, which requires crutches to help with balance, consists of motorized leg supports, body sensors and a back pack containing a computerized control box and rechargeable batteries.

The user picks a setting with a remote control wrist band -- stand, sit, walk, descend or climb -- and then leans forward, activating the body sensors and setting the robotic legs in motion.

"It raises people out of their wheelchair and lets them stand up straight," Goffer said. "It's not just about health, it's also about dignity."

EYE CONTACT

Kate Parkin, director of physical and occupational therapy at NYU Medical Centre, said it has the potential to improve a user's health in two ways.

"Physically, the body works differently when upright. You can challenge different muscles and allow full expansion of the lungs," Parkin said. "Psychologically, it lets people live at the upright level and make eye contact."

Iuly Treger, deputy director of Israel's Loewenstein Rehabilitation Centre, said: "It may be a burdensome device, but it will be very helpful and important for those who choose to use it."

The product, slated for commercial sale in 2010, will cost as much as the more sophisticated wheelchairs on the market, which sell for about $20,000, the company said.

The ReWalk is now in clinical trials in Tel Aviv's Sheba Medical Centre and Goffer said it will soon be used in trials at the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute in Pennsylvania.

Competing technologies use electrical stimulation to restore function to injured muscle, but Argo's Chief Operating Officer Oren Tamari said they will not offer practical alternatives to wheelchairs in the foreseeable future.

Other "robot suits", like those being developed by the U.S. military or the HAL robot of Japan's University of Tsukuba, are not suitable for paralyzed people, he said.

You've gotta be kidding!

This is completely retarded.

Kentucky Politician's Bad Joke About Girls Lands Him in Jail

Monday, August 25, 2008
HARLAN, Ky. — Politicians are known for lame jokes. But when Otis "Bullman" Hensley tried a generations-old Appalachian jest on a woman and two girls at the grocery store, the family thought it was downright criminal.

Hensley, who earned notoriety for oddball antics as a longshot gubernatorial candidate, spent three days in jail in this eastern Kentucky coal town last week after being arrested over the wisecrack.

"Jay Leno makes jokes every night and makes millions," Hensley said in his thick Appalachian accent. "I make one joke and go to jail."

He could have faced as many as 10 years in prison, but a charge of attempted unlawful transaction with a minor was dismissed on Monday.

The ordeal began last week when Hensley's wife sent him to a local grocery store to buy ground beef. While there, Hensley encountered a woman with her two nieces, ages 11 and 13. "I offered to trade her a fattening hog for those girls," Hensley said. "I meant it as a joke. I've said it a million times. Most people get a kick out of it."

The woman didn't laugh. Instead, the family obtained a warrant for Hensley's arrest from the local prosecutor, claiming the comment was intended to entice the children into illegal sexual activity.

On Tuesday, the girls' father accepted an apology from Hensley and shook hands with him in a Harlan County courtroom. The man declined to discuss the case with reporters afterward.

Prosecutor J.D. Smith asked the judge to dismiss the charge, saying both sides want to put the matter behind them.

"He absolutely meant no harm," Smith said of Hensley. "It was a joke to him."

Appalachian scholar Loyal Jones said the jest Hensley made has been around for generations and actually is intended as a compliment.

"I've heard many variations of that," said Jones, retired director of Berea College's Appalachian Center. "You might hear 'That's a good looking boy; I'd trade you a pocket knife for him' ... Political correctness has ruined country humor."

In Kentucky, citizens can obtain arrest warrants simply by filing a complaint with local prosecutors. Defense attorney Karen Davenport said no investigation is necessary for police to make an arrest when the charge involves an alleged sexual offense.

In the Hensley case, Davenport said, the arrest was unwarranted because he had done nothing criminal.

In the last two gubernatorial campaigns, Hensley traveled the state with a giant Fiberglas bull on which he attached a sign proclaiming that, if elected, he would "chase the bull out of Frankfort." He received 3.3 percent of the vote in 2003, his best showing.

Seriously, WTF!

H/T: The Sniper

Less Hippies...More Stick-Time!

Stay tuned for more great stuff from DPD!


More Hippie pics here.

Here's the ad O'Bama doesn't want anyone to see...

And he's gone to the US DOJ to try to get it pulled.

Change you can't believe in.


H/T: Michelle "the monster" Malkin

Remember the Kursk?

I was looking through Bring the heat, Bring the Stupid and saw this pic of the Kursk.

(See more pics here.)

It brought back memories of this particular incident.

It happened on/about 8-12-2000 (the day after my birthday).

I left on an Air Force trip early on the morning of the 14th. We flew from Travis to Hill AFB in Utah to pick up some stuff. After that, we were supposed to fly that stuff to Ft. Hood and then eventually go to Hawaii and yonder.

As soon as we landed at Hill, our whole crew were summoned to Base Operations for a call from TACC (Tanker Airlift Control Center), the big puzzle palace at Scott AFB that controls all Airlift and Tanker assets in the USAF. It was very out of the ordinary to get an urgent call like that.

It turns out they wanted to know if we'd be willing to go on a mission to help rescue the Kursk. It would've involved immediately flying down to San Diego to pick up the DSRV and then doing a double A/R (aerial refueling) to someplace in Russia to deliver it there, so that they could help get to the crew.

We would also have to waive our Crew Duty Day (12 hours of flying) in order to do it. We were dressed/packed for Hawaii-Japan-Korea-weather and not for (presumably) cold Russian weather. We didn't care, we all immediately said that we'd do whatever we needed to do to try to help those poor guys that were dying in a sub 350' below the surface, thousands of miles away.

TACC told us to standby, while they tried to coordinate everything.

We waited for about four hours before TACC came back and said that everything was a no-go, Russia didn't want our help.

Those poor bastards never had a chance.

Bummer...

Where we're at...

This is fantastic!

An empty-suit from Chicago that hangs out with Terrorists and convicted felons for President and a serial-liar with bad hair plugs for Vice President.

Or.

A guy that's served his country honorably in the military (spending 5.5 years in a POW camp) and a yet to be determined VP, hopefully Romney.

Touch choice.

I still can't believe O'Bama was stupid enough to pick Slow Joe Biden for his VP.

Stunning.

It looks like my wish has come true!

O'Bama and Biden

This will be fun...

Conventions of Contrast.

Theirs:



Ours:



Wow.



Photo's Courtesy of HotAir

O'Bama vs. McCain: The Conclusion

I'm pretty sure this is what the election is going to look like:


H/T: Ace

Barry O'Bama is a POS!

And a damned liar.


H/T: Gateway Pundit

Barry O'Bama falling like a rock.

Last week Barry O'Bama was ahead of McCain in projected electoral votes by 298 to 240.

Today, he's behind by 264 to 274.

He's lost 34 electoral votes in ONE WEEK!

It's only going to get worse.

The only hope for the DemocRats is for a Hillary coup d'etat at the convention.

H/T: Ace

But what about "Global Warming"?

Oh that's right, it's now called "Climate Change", so the loons don't look like liars when things don't pan out the way they said!

This year so far coolest for at least 5 years: WMO

Reuters - Wednesday, August 20 05:18 pm

LONDON (Reuters) - The first half of 2008 was the coolest for at least five years, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said on Wednesday.

The whole year will almost certainly be cooler than recent years, although temperatures remain above the historical average.

Global temperatures vary annually according to natural cycles. For example, they are driven by shifting ocean currents, and dips do not undermine the case that man-made greenhouse gas emissions are causing long-term global warming, climate scientists say.

Chillier weather this year is partly because of a global weather pattern called La Nina that follows a periodic warming effect called El Nino.

"We can expect with high probability this year will be cooler than the previous five years," said Omar Baddour, responsible for climate data and monitoring at the WMO.

"Definitely the La Nina should have had an effect, how much we cannot say."

"Up to July 2008, this year has been cooler than the previous five years at least. It still looks like it's warmer than average," added Baddour.

The global mean temperature to end-July was 0.28 degrees Celsius above the 1961-1990 average, the UK-based MetOffice Hadley Centre for climate change research said on Wednesday. That would make the first half of 2008 the coolest since 2000.

"Of course at the beginning of the year there was La Nina, and that would have had the effect of suppressing temperatures somewhat as well," Met Office meteorologist John Hammond said.

"But actually La Nina is showing signs of moving towards a more neutral state."

The weakening of the La Nina effect over the last few months could see the global mean temperature creep up again in the latter part of the year, he added.

The past decade ending in 2007 was the hottest since reliable records began around 1850, according to the WMO. World temperatures are about 0.74 Celsius (1.2 F) higher than a century ago.

The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a group of hundreds of scientists, last year said global warming was "unequivocal" and that manmade greenhouse gas emissions were very likely part of the problem.

The WMO releases its final figures for global temperature and ranking for 2008 in December.

Biggest. Scam. In. History.

Idiot of the day.

There's no reason for this happening. It's called a "Negligent Discharge" for a reason.

It wasn't bad enough that he had an ND, then he leaves the gun where 8-10 prisoners had access to it and then ran away!

FAIL!

He should be fired.

Accidental gun discharge at courthouse injures 2 when Marshall removed gun from locker.

Monday, August 4, 2008- Questions surround an incident Monday morning at El Paso's Federal Courthouse.

A Deputy U.S. Marshal's gun accidentally went off in a hallway on the 3rd floor of the courthouse just before 11:00 AM.

The bullet struck the Deputy U.s. Marshal as well as a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Marshal's service will only confirm the gun accidentally discharged, though we are not yet being told how or why.

Both the Deputy Marshal and the Border Patrol agent were taken from the building in stretchers.

They were each loaded into waiting ambulances and driven to the hospital. Both suffered only minor injuries.

Shocker of the day...

Scientists are SO smart...

Petite, leggy women with big busts are the most sexually attractive, study reveals

Small women with long legs are the most sexually attractive to men, scientists claim.

Females such as Scarlett Johansson, Raquel Welch and Marilyn Monroe with short slender bodies, large busts and slim limbs have the ideal body shape, according to research.

Dr William Brown, of Brunel University, which carried out the study, said: 'We found that shorter, slimmer females with long slender limbs and larger breasts are more attractive.'

Body symmetry is important to what men and women find aesthetically pleasing in each other, the research suggests.

Previous studies had demonstrated that those with facial features that are symmetrical - so the left and right sides of the face match - are more attractive to the opposite sex.

Gun Control works!

Just ask these guys:

The Class of 2012

The yearly Beloit College Mindset list:

This month, almost 2 million first-year students will head off to college campuses around the country. Most of them will be about 18 years old, born in 1990 when headlines sounded oddly familiar to those of today: Rising fuel costs were causing airlines to cut staff and flight schedules; Big Three car companies were facing declining sales and profits; and a president named Bush was increasing the number of troops in the Middle East in the hopes of securing peace. However, the mindset of this new generation of college students is quite different from that of the faculty about to prepare them to become the leaders of tomorrow.

Each August for the past 11 years, Beloit College in Beloit, Wis., has released the Beloit College Mindset List. It provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college. It is the creation of Beloit’s Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride and Public Affairs Director Ron Nief. The List is shared with faculty and with thousands who request it each year as the school year begins, as a reminder of the rapidly changing frame of reference for this new generation.

The class of 2012 has grown up in an era where computers and rapid communication are the norm, and colleges no longer trumpet the fact that residence halls are “wired” and equipped with the latest hardware. These students will hardly recognize the availability of telephones in their rooms since they have seldom utilized landlines during their adolescence. They will continue to live on their cell phones and communicate via texting. Roommates, few of whom have ever shared a bedroom, have already checked out each other on Facebook where they have shared their most personal thoughts with the whole world.

It is a multicultural, politically correct and “green” generation that has hardly noticed the threats to their privacy and has never feared the Russians and the Warsaw Pact.

Students entering college for the first time this fall were generally born in 1990.

For these students, Sammy Davis Jr., Jim Henson, Ryan White, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Freddy Krueger have always been dead.

# Harry Potter could be a classmate, playing on their Quidditch team.
# Since they were in diapers, karaoke machines have been annoying people at parties.
# They have always been looking for Carmen Sandiego.
# GPS satellite navigation systems have always been available.
# Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic bottles.
# Shampoo and conditioner have always been available in the same bottle.
# Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.
# Their parents may have dropped them in shock when they heard George Bush announce “tax revenue increases.”
# Electronic filing of tax returns has always been an option.
# Girls in head scarves have always been part of the school fashion scene.
# All have had a relative--or known about a friend's relative--who died comfortably at home with Hospice.
# As a precursor to “whatever,” they have recognized that some people “just don’t get it.”
# Universal Studios has always offered an alternative to Mickey in Orlando.
# Grandma has always had wheels on her walker.
# Martha Stewart Living has always been setting the style.

Get all of them here.

H/T: Ofc. Smith

Denny Crane for President!

Nice!


H/T: The Sniper

McCain vs. O'Bama: Shootout at Saddleback

I finally watched the Saddleback Civil Forum last night.

It was worse than I was lead to believe. McCain wiped the floor with Barry O'Bama.

I can't believe how good McCain was and how pitifully inadequate O'Bama was. McCain was knowledgeable about every topic covered and commanded the topic. O'Bama rambled and equivocated with every answer. His inability to speak without a teleprompter has to be apparent to even his supporters.

I don't think there's been a weaker candidate in the last forty years.

This isn't a great video, because it doesn't include some of the good stuff that McCain said, but it's a decent representation of the good stuff.



My favorites from this debate:

WARREN: Well, you just took the -- I had that question later on but now we don't have to ask it. What's the most gut-wrenching decision you've ever had to make? And what was the process that you used to make it?

MCCAIN: It was long ago, and far away, in a prison camp in North Vietnam. My father was a high-ranking admiral. The Vietnamese came and said that I could leave prison early. And we had a code of conduct. It said you only leave by order of capture. I also had a dear and beloved friend, who was from California, named Ev Alvarez, who had been shot down before me. But I wasn't in good physical shape. In fact, I was in rather bad physical shape. So I said no. Now, in interest of full disclosure, I'm happy I didn't know the war was going to last for another three years or so.

But I said no, and I'll never forget sitting in my last answer, and the high-ranking officer offered it, slammed the door and the interrogator said, "Go back to your cell. It's going to be very tough on you now." And it was. But not only the toughest decision I ever made, but I am most happy about that decision, than any decision I've ever made in my life.

WARREN:First, you've made no doubt about the fact that you are a Christian. You publicly say you're a follower of Christ. What does that mean to you and how does faith work out in your life on a daily basis? What does it mean to you?

MCCAIN: It means I'm saved and forgiven. We're talking about the world. Our faith encompasses not just the United States of America but the world. Can I tell you another story real quick?

WARREN: Sure.

(LAUGHTER)

MCCAIN: The Vietnamese kept us in prison in conditions of solitary confinement, or two or three to a cell. They did that because they knew they could break down our resistance. One of the techniques that they used to get information was to take ropes and tie them around your biceps, loop the rope around your head and pull it down beneath your knees and leave you in that position. You can imagine it's very uncomfortable.

One night, I was being punished in that fashion. All of sudden the door of the cell opened and the guard came in. The guy who was just -- what we call the gun guard -- just walked around the camp with the gun on his shoulder. He went like this and loosened the ropes. He came back about four hours later and tightened them up again and left.

The following Christmas, because it was Christmas day, we were allowed to stand outside of our cell for a few minutes. In those days we were not allowed to see or communicate with each other, although we certainly did. And I was standing outside, for my few minutes outside at my cell. He came walking up. He stood there for a minute, and with his sandal on the dirt in the courtyard, he drew a cross and he stood there. And a minute later, he rubbed it out, and walked away.

For a minute there, there was just two Christians worshipping together. I'll never forget that moment. (APPLAUSE). So every day.

WARREN: Related to that, America's responsibility in the world, religious persecution - what would you do in your administration to end -- put pressure on the Chinese and Iraq and all the other places, so-called allies of ours, that will allow - will not allow religious freedom, whether it's Christian or any other faith?

MCCAIN: The President of the United States' greatest asset is the bully pulpit. The president of the United States -- and I go back again to Ronald Reagan - he went to the Berlin Wall and said, "Take down this wall," called them an "evil empire."

Many said don't antagonize the Russians, don't cause a confrontation with the Soviet Union. He stood for what he believed, and he said what he believed, and he said to those people who were then captive nations, the day will come when you will know freedom and democracy and the fundamental rights of man.

Our Judeo-Christian principles dictate that we do what we can to help people who are oppressed throughout the world, and I'd like to tell you that I still think that even in the worst places in the world today, in the darkest corners, little countries like Belarus - they still harbor this hope and dream someday to be like us and have freedom and democracy.

And we have our flaws, and we have our failings, and we talk about them all the time, and we should, but we remain, my friends, the most unusual experiment in history, and I'm privileged to spend every day of my life in it. I know what it's like to be without it.
(APPLAUSE)

Like Hillary Clinton said: Barack Obama has a speech he gave in 2004.

There can be no starker contrast between these two candidates, than the forum at Saddleback.

Praise Him!

The baby was aborted and then pronounced dead.

I can only think that this is some kind of Divine miracle.

Wow...

Premature baby 'comes back to life'

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH Jerusalem Post

A couple from Kafr Yasif in the Galilee received the shock of their lives Monday when the wife's miscarried 610-gram fetus, which had been declared dead five hours earlier, was found to be breathing.

The baby girl, born during the 23rd week of gestation, still has an uncertain future. Hospital spokesman Ziv Farber said that any premature infant of that weight and age had only a 10 percent chance for survival. But five years ago, he added, "we had a baby weighing only 580 grams, and she survived."

The 26-year-old mother and her husband have a five-year-old son at home. When she gave birth after going into premature labor at the hospital, the doctor on the scene pronounced it dead and it was taken to the morgue.

The father, Ali Majdub, told Channel 2 that his wife realized the child was alive after asking to see her dead daughter one last time.

"When we unwrapped the baby to see her, she realized it was moving. I began screaming and ran with it toward the doctors," he said.

She was then rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit,
where doctors are fighting for her life.
The mother who miscarried on...

"I was in shock," the mother told Channel 2 last night. "I thought I wasn't hearing it right when they said she was still alive."

Dr. Moshe Daniel, the hospital's deputy director, said that in his 35 years as a physician, he had "never heard of such a case. It was like a medical miracle."

The hospital informed the Health Ministry, which will now decide whether to set up an internal or external investigating committee. Daniel speculated that the cooling effect of the morgue slowed the infant's metabolism, causing her oxygen consumption to be very low. There have been rare cases of people who nearly froze under snow "coming back to life," but there have been no reports of babies doing so.

UPDATE: The baby didn't make it. Bummer.

What an AMAZING athlete!

Congratulations to Michael Phelps and Team USA!

Dara Torres is effing HOT!

And she's MY age!

I've always thought she was hot, even "back in the day".

Too bad she's married.

Enjoy...

O'Bama thinks that America is "Evil"

There can be no starker contrast between the two candidates than this video right here.

O'Bama doesn't want to DEFEAT evil, he wants to CONFRONT it.
He also thinks America is evil.


H/T: Gateway Pundit

O'Bama tells us why he shouln't be President...

H/T: From all over the place

It's Caturday!

A permanent solution to a temporary problem.

I saw this story on the news last night and then read about on Xavier Thoughts today. He has a great post not so much about what Jake Baysinger did, but about the loyalty of his German Sheperd, Cash.

I won't cast judgment on what Jake Baysinger did, leaving his wife, son and dog, because my dad committed suicide when I was ten and it's only been over the last few years that I've gotten over being mad at him for leaving me. His family will never get over what he's done and he'll have to answer to God and eventually, to them.

Anyway, I thought this was a pretty great piece about his dog and a good (unrelated to the incident) video to go along with it.

On June 28, 2008, 25 year old Jake Baysinger of La Salle, Colorado was reported missing. An extensive search, on land and by airplane, was conducted by the Weld County Sheriff's Office, but they were unable to find Baysinger or his pickup truck. To grieving loved ones, that span of time can be an eternity. Each day spent wondering whether a husband and father was dead or alive is sheer anguish. Cash and her familyTo an animal guarding her master's dead body from scavengers in the wilderness, each day spent was just another day of complete devotion.

The body of Jake Baysinger was found August 10, on the Pawnee National Grasslands about 75 miles northeast of Denver Colorado. On that day, a rancher noticed a lone dog, and went to investigate. As he approached the German Shepherd Dog, she seemed relieved to finally see another human being. At her feet, the rancher saw why. She was still standing watch over her master's mortal remains. Emaciated and dehydrated from her six week vigil, the dog had apparently survived on mice and rabbits that came near. Though her body was weak from hunger and thirst, her will never wavered. No wolves or coyotes had disturbed the body of her loved one.

The cause of death was not immediately apparent but authorities found a gun nearby. The family was notified, and the dog was taken to the Humane Society Shelter in Weld County. On Monday, Baysinger's wife Sara and her 2 year old son Lane went to claim their loyal German Shepherd Dog, Cash. The Weld County coroner ruled Baysinger's death a suicide on Tuesday.

As I read this story, I could not help but wonder. Knowing the purpose of his trip, why did Jake Baysinger take his dog with him? Did she comfort him in his last minutes of personal desperation, not knowing what he might do? Or did she just routinely ride with him in the truck, and her insistence on going delayed his lethal purpose? Did he throw a ball far out into the tall grass for her to retrieve before he put the gun to his head? Did she hear a loud crack reverberating over the grass from her master's location, or was she forced to watch? Did she know his reason for the gun? If Jake Baysinger had known the absolute devotion of his dog, and no doubt the devotion of his young son, would he have still committed suicide? Would he have cared enough to live for those who would give their lives for him? Would be that we were all worthy of the devotion of two year old children and German Shepherd Dogs.

"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.
You are his life, his love, his leader.
He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.
You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion." - Anonymous

Ernie Borgnine FTW!

Link: sevenload.com

Great news from NOLA

New Orleans cops cleared in bridge shooting

By MARY FOSTER, Associated (with Terrorists) Press Writer

NEW ORLEANS - A judge threw out murder and attempted murder charges Wednesday against seven New Orleans police officers accused of gunning down two men on a bridge in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

In quashing the indictments, District Judge Raymond Bigelow agreed with defense arguments that prosecutors violated state law by divulging secret grand jury testimony to a police officer who was a witness in the case.

Survivors of the Sept. 4, 2005 shootings have said the officers fired at unarmed people crossing the Danziger Bridge to get food at a grocery store. Ronald Madison, a 40-year-old mentally disabled man, and James Brissette, 19, were shot and killed by police; four other people were wounded.

The officers acknowledged shooting at people on the bridge, but said they did so only after first taking fire.

Katrina struck on Aug. 29, 2005. In its aftermath, levees broke, flooding 80 percent of New Orleans. Chaos gripped the city, and looting was reported in some areas. Rescuers said they thought gunfire was directed at them.

Later investigation revealed at least some of the shooting was by residents trapped by floodwater trying to attract the attention of rescue parties.

Sgt. Kenneth Bowen, Sgt. Robert Gisevius Jr., Officer Anthony Villavaso II and former Officer Robert Faulcon Jr. each faced first-degree murder and attempted murder charges in the case. Bigelow also threw out attempted first-degree murder charges against Officer Mike Hunter Jr. and Officer Robert Barrios and attempted second-degree murder charges against Officer Ignatius Hills.

Faulcon resigned from the police force; the other officers were assigned to desk duty after their indictment.

Bigelow also said Wednesday that prosecutors had wrongly instructed the grand jury, and that grand jury testimony by three of the officers was used against them improperly.

The case was the latest in a series of high-profile, emotional criminal prosecutions tied to Katrina that have fizzled.

Here's my token picture of when I flew into NOLA on the fifth day after Katrina hit (the day before the shooting in question, happened).

Support your local police...

I love it how people (usually Lefties) always complain about "racial-profiling"!

They refuse to recognize that there's a big difference between "racial-profiling" and "criminal-profiling". Very few cops do the former, but most cops do the latter. Do you know how difficult it is to recognize the race of someone when you're pulling them over ? Many times, it is. At night, most of the time it is.

Maybe Mayor Fargo can give them all reparations or something...

Sacramento mayor apologizes to victims of racial profiling

By Ryan Lillis - rlillis@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo called a report showing that black motorists are pulled over by city police more frequently than other drivers "very disturbing" and apologized to those who have suffered from racial profiling.

During a tense – yet sparsely attended – City Council meeting Tuesday at which the report was presented, city officials said the Police Department needed to become more diverse and communicate better with the community.

The council session was the first public debate on the report, which was conducted by an outside consultant and released last week. Three town hall forums are scheduled this week.

The report, based on police traffic stops over a six-month period, found that black motorists were twice as likely to be pulled over in the city as non-black drivers, but no more likely to be cited.

It also found that black and Latino drivers were asked to get out of their cars more often than Asian and white drivers. Latino motorists also were patted down "at a significantly higher rate than would be expected," the report stated.

Asian and white motorists were stopped less often than would be expected.

"I want to offer a very sincere and heartfelt apology to those that have suffered from the profiling that has been done," Fargo said. "I want to apologize to those citizens who feel they haven't received equal treatment or protection."

Fargo said it was time for city and police officials to work with the community "to find solutions" to the issues raised by the report.

Police Chief Rick Braziel said that process has begun. He said many officers in his department received racial sensitivity training this year before the study was conducted because of perceptions within the community that officers were profiling motorists based on race.

"We need to not only enforce the law, we need to have equal treatment and equal enforcement," Braziel said.

The chief said the department needs a way to compile feedback from those who are stopped and needs to coordinate better with advocacy groups to hear about trends in profiling when they pop up. The department also "needs to look like the city that we serve."

Mark Tyndale, vice president of the city's police union, said the study's methodology was flawed because it did not fully take into account the reasons why many of the traffic stops were made.

The report noted that during the study, 58 percent of the suspects were described in bulletins sent to officers as African American.

"I don't want it to get to the point where our officers are fearful to go into those communities and fear they're going to get retaliation from the council and everybody else who seem to think these officers are doing something wrong," Tyndale said. "Please do not sell our officers short."

Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell said acknowledging that racial profiling exists does not prevent the police from doing their jobs.

"We have a problem here, so we need to figure out a solution to the problem," she said.

You know its bad...

...when the Liberal bird cage liner The Washington Post says you're FOS!

· Drilling is pointless because the United States has only 3 percent of the world's oil reserves. This is a misleading because it refers only to known oil reserves. According to the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service (MMS), while there are an estimated 18 billion barrels of oil in the off-limits portions of the OCS, those estimates were made using old data from now-outdated seismic equipment. In the case of the Atlantic Ocean, the data were collected before Congress imposed a moratorium on offshore drilling in 1981. In 1987, the MMS estimated that there were 9 billion barrels of oil in the Gulf of Mexico. By 2006, after major advances in seismic technology and deepwater drilling techniques, the MMS resource estimate for that area had ballooned to 45 billion barrels. In short, there could be much more oil under the sea than previously known. The demand for energy is going up, not down. And for a long time, even as alternative sources of energy are developed, more oil will be needed.

· The oil companies aren't using the leases they already have. According to the MMS, there were 7,457 active leases as of June 8. Of those, only 1,877 were classified as "producing." As we pointed out in a previous editorial, the five leases that have made up the Shell Perdido project off Galveston since 1996 are not classified as producing. Only when it starts pumping the equivalent of an estimated 130,000 barrels of oil a day at the end of the decade will it be deemed "active." Since 1996, Shell has paid rent on the leases; filed and had approved numerous reports with the MMS, including an environmentally sensitive resource development plan and an oil spill recovery plan that is subject to unannounced practice runs by the MMS; drilled several wells to explore the area at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars; and started constructing the necessary infrastructure to bring the oil to market. The notion that oil companies are just sitting on oil leases is a myth. With oil prices still above $100 a barrel, that charge never made sense.

· Drilling is environmentally dangerous. Opposition to offshore drilling goes back to 1969, when 80,000 barrels of oil from an offshore oil well blowout washed up on the beaches of Santa Barbara. In 1971, the Interior Department instituted a host of reporting requirements (such as the resource development and oil spill recovery plans mentioned above) and stringent safety measures. Chief among them is a requirement for each well to have an automatic shut-off valve beneath the ocean floor that can also be operated manually. According to the MMS, between 1993 and 2007, there were 651 spills of all sizes at OCS facilities (in federal waters three miles or more offshore) that released 47,800 barrels of oil. With 7.5 billion barrels of oil produced in that time, that equates to 1 barrel of oil spilled per 156,900 barrels produced. That's not to minimize the danger. But no form of energy is perfect or without trade-offs. Besides, if it is acceptable to drill in the Caspian Sea and in developing countries such as Nigeria where environmental concerns are equally important, it's hard to explain why the United States should rule out drilling off its own coasts.

It would've been nice if they'd have covered the "It'll take 10 years to see any results!" meme.

Land of the fruits and nuts...

Ah yes, Global Warming...

Highway 50 plan may not be green enough for state

By Tony Bizjak - tbizjak@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, August 13, 2008

In what appears to be a California first, state highway officials are shelving a major Highway 50 widening plan in Sacramento until they can study whether the expansion will contribute to global warming.

The state Department of Transportation announced Tuesday it will not fight a Sacramento court ruling that the agency conducted an incomplete environmental review for a project that would add lanes on the congested Rancho Cordova freeway.

For commuters in the fast-growing Highway 50 corridor, it means no new freeway elbow room – if any at all – until at least 2014.

The added lanes, planned between Sunrise Boulevard and Watt Avenue, would be designated for carpools, buses and high-mileage vehicles during morning and afternoon commutes.

The freeway already has carpool lanes between Sunrise Boulevard and El Dorado Hills, and Caltrans officials have talked of extending carpool lanes into downtown Sacramento.

The court ruling, issued in July by local Judge Timothy Frawley, marked the first time a California court ordered a study of greenhouse gas emissions for a transportation project, highway officials said. Scientists consider transportation a key source of greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming.

Ironically, Caltrans had billed the project as environmentally sensitive because the lanes would encourage people to double up in cars or take transit, but the lawsuit came from the environmentalists.

The Environmental Council of Sacramento and Neighbors Advocating Sustainable Transportation contend that adding new lanes could encourage more car use and pollution. They challenged Caltrans to show otherwise.

In his ruling, Judge Frawley concluded the California Environmental Quality Act requires Caltrans to do more detailed analyses. He wrote that, in order to comply with the law, Caltrans also must look into whether more transit, such as buses and light rail, could serve a similar purpose as a widened freeway.

ECOS representative Eric Davis called Caltrans' decision to comply "fantastic."

"We want to have all the facts out there so we can get the public in Sacramento thinking about whether this is the direction we want to go," Davis said. "Do we want to build (big road) projects like we did in the 1950s, or do we really change our region?"

Jody Jones, Caltrans' Sacramento area district head, said the studies will be slow but hopefully won't derail the project.

"We'll be breaking new ground," Jones said. "It is going to take some time, a year to a year and a half."

The court ruling is limited to the Highway 50 expansion project, officials said. However, Jones said the Sacramento district office also will conduct greenhouse gas emission studies on future freeway-widening projects, such as planned HOV lanes on Interstate 5 between Elk Grove and downtown Sacramento.

Jones said Caltrans still hopes to build a seamless HOV network on Sacramento's core freeways, with HOV-only flyover ramps at major interchanges.

"Caltrans still believes that has tremendous benefits for mobility in the region," Jones said.

Caltrans officials said they also are reviewing the local court ruling to determine whether they should conduct more detailed environmental reviews on future projects elsewhere in the state.

State Attorney General Jerry Brown applauded the ruling and Caltrans' agreement to comply.

"This should quiet some of the more misguided critics who have been claiming the (California Environmental Quality Act) did not require analysis of greenhouse gas impacts," Brown said.

Although the ruling is limited to one project, it offers an indication of the role state agencies likely will play as California attempts to meet its mandate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

The Governor's Office recently asked the state Air Resources Board to come up with guidelines next year for agencies such as Caltrans on how to conduct greenhouse gas emission studies.

Biggest scam in history.

Ridiculous.

Interview w/ Edwards' Baby-Momma

For whatever reason, it isn't working here.

Check it out here.

One of the strangest interviews I've seen...

This is very strange. It's from an appearance by Katherine Harris on the Hannity and Colmes Show from back in 2006, when Katherine Harris was getting ready to run for Senator.

Is it just me, or is KH BLATANTLY showing of her "goods"?

Don't get me wrong, they're very nice "goods", but dayum... Notice how she's trying to give "the look" too.

She's definitely part Iraqi. I think she may also be drunk.



I wonder what Tonya Reiman would have to say about this interview...

That's one way to do it...

That'll teach her!

Not sure I agree with his methods, but he definitely screwed her over.

I've got to think there's a way he could've still screwed her over, but been alive to enjoy it.

Businessman uses Aston Martin to decapitate himself in horrific suicide as revenge against his ex-wife

By Luke Salkeld
Last updated at 12:43 AM on 08th August 2008

A businessman decapitated himself in his sports car to get back at his younger wife for leaving him, an inquest has heard.

Gerald Mellin, 54, taunted his estranged wife Mirrielle, 33, with threats of suicide.

He even showed her the rope he was going to use, which he kept in the boot of his open-top Aston Martin DB7.

The court heard that the day before his death Mrs Mellin had been awarded an extra £100 a week in maintenance from her former husband.

Mr Mellin had then sent her a text message which read: 'Congratulations XXX.'

It was the last time she heard from him.

The businessman tied one end of the rope to a tree, then climbed into his Aston Martin and wrapped the other end around his neck.

He then drove the £90,000 car into a busy main road, forcing other drivers to watch his horrific death. Yesterday Mrs Millen, a mother of two, told the inquest: 'We had split up and been to court.

'He wanted me to walk away from the farmhouse and the business and leave me with nothing.

'We met in a pub after a court hearing and he started having a tantrum. As we made our way back to our cars he opened the boot and said: "There's my rope, that's what I'm going to kill myself with."

'I told him to grow up and give me the rope. But he just laughed.'

Mr Mellin owned the gym and sun tanning centre where his wife had worked as a beautician.

The inquest heard the pair had both been married before their wedding in 2002.

They split up five years later, and Mrs Mellin continued to live in their luxury farmhouse in the village of Crumlin, near Neath, South Wales. She told the court: 'Our marriage was horrendous most of the time. After we split he phoned me and said he wanted to do a deal with selling the business.

'He had been to see an accountant but the way he did it was all wrong. I said it was about time we stopped arguing and started behaving like adults.

'That was when I met him in the pub and he showed me the rope.'

The inquest in Swansea heard that after her husband's death she discovered he had cancelled a life insurance policy which would have paid out to her.

She said: 'He ran up an extortionate amount of debt. I've got to sell the farmhouse now, just to pay the debts.'

A suicide note was found in Mr Mellin's pocket detailing his funeral wishes.

The cause of death was given as decapitation. Recording a verdict of suicide, Coroner Phillip Rogers said: 'I'm satisfied this was a deliberate attempt by Mr Mellin to kill himself.'

Here's the object of his disaffection: