Snakes in a Mini-Mart!

Reasons 457 and 458 why I opted not to move to Arkansas-
Poor copy writing skills of the local media and dumbass crap like this.


Bandits Use Snakes in Robbery

FORREST CITY, AR - This isn't the first time Leake's Kwik Shop in Forrest City, Arkansas has ever been robbed. But it was the first time robbers used baby pythons to rob the store clerks.

"We screamed and ran. I threw the stool we were sitting on and ran to the back. And she yelled if you don't get those snakes out of here, she'll call the police," says Bethany Hatcher came face to face with the pythons.

Hatcher says when she and another clerk ran to the back of the store the four robbers grabbed her car keys from behind the counter. A car she's only had for a day.

"At nine o'clock I saw my car in reverse. Squal tires and I was on the phone with the police immediately," says Hatcher.

Forrest City Police say the car was later spotted south of the city in Lee County, Arkansas.

Sheriff's deputies there spotted the car. A high speed chase led the suspects back to Forrest City into this public housing complex where they crashed the car.

The four suspects were found next door to Betty Brunt. "When the boys come in there they all went in there went under a bed and whatever, in the bathroom and stuff."

Police rounded up four suspects which includes a 15 year old. One of them, 26-year-old Kendrick Coleman has already spent time behind bars for robbing the very same Kwik Shop in Forrest City.

"Some of them I watched grew up and that's what hurts you. I've worked there for 12 years. Twelve years, you don't think someone will do you like that," says Hatcher.

'Squal tires'?.

And You Think You Have Bad Days?

Holy Crap! This front page story from our weekly rag caught my eye. I can't imagine how horrible this mom feels.
(But I would like to know just how the heck the kid got out of the car in the first place! The back windows in newer cars don't roll down enough to allow a little kid to squeeze out...I thought. Or maybe mine were just exceptionally big for their age.)


A 5-year-old boy injured Friday in an accident on his way to school was listed in good condition Tuesday at St. John’s Regional Hospital in Springfield.

According to Ozark County Sheriff Raymond Pace, Kaden Gilpin, 5, fell from the 2002 Mercury driven by his mother, Amber Gilpin, as she backed out of the driveway to take him to school.

“She said he was not secured in the vehicle and somehow fell out and the vehicle rolled over him,” Pace said. “When she saw he was injured, she got him back into the vehicle to rush him to the clinic. After turning on Smokey Road, she had a second accident.”

According to a report by Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Jim Britt, Gilpin lost control of the vehicle, ran off the road and overturned.

Efforts to get emergency medical assistance to the boy were hampered by another crash, which occurred on Highway 160 on the hills west of the Tecumseh Bridge. Although there were no injuries in the collision between a pickup and cement truck, the highway was blocked for a time, which kept emergency personnel from getting through until a wrecker could move one of the vehicles.

“By the time we got through, someone had brought the mom and boy to that point by private vehicle,” Pace said.

In the meantime, Air Evac had been called out of West Plains and picked up the child for transport to St. John’s.

Pace took the mother and another child to the Sheriff’s Department, and Ozark County Ambulance transported Amber Gilpin to St. John’s in Springfield, as well.

How "Inconvenient"

Earth's Formerly Thin Ozone Layer Is Recovering

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Earth's protective ozone layer, which was notably thinning in 1980, may be fully recovered by mid-century, climate scientists said on Wednesday.

Ozone in the stratosphere, outside the polar regions, stopped thinning in 1997, the scientists found after analyzing 25 years worth of observations.

The ozone layer shields the planet from the sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation, but human-made chemicals -- notably the chlorofluorocarbons found in some refrigerants and aerosol propellants -- depleted this stratospheric ozone, causing the protective layer to get thinner.

Read the rest here.


Oh and don't tell this guy...might make 'im mad.



(Jeez! I hate when he does that!!)

Good! Then It Wasn't Just Me...

During Dub's speech yesterday there was some very weird crosstalk going on over the audio on CNN. I turned up the volume to hear what was being said- I did manage to hear something about a sister in law who was a control freak. I admit I was pissed and laughing all at the same time.I wondered if anyone else caught it.

They did.

HT: LGF

The Richest Poor Folk in the Universe

The Census Bureau released some stats this week about overall income of Americans and revised the "poverty line".
Congratulations- some of y'all got a 1.0% increase in earnings...don't spend it all in one place, now.
Across the board, whether you're white, black, brown, red or blue, and you be one of the po' folk, well, the situation "remained unchanged" as these kind of departments are fond of saying. The "poverty line" income now is just a few hairs below 19,000 bucks a year for a family of 4. The headline for the Census press release includes the phrase "Poverty Up"...but if it's unchanged, then how can that be? Damn staticians! I imagine it's there, I read the thing, but with only one cup of coffee in me so far, I may have missed it. Oh well, never claimed to be a real egghead...but I am an expert on poverty...been living in it all of my adult life-according to government standards. Could have fooled me.

These regular press releases by the Census geeks would always get my husband in a lather and he'd take the bait. Holy Crap! Dan Rather just told him to his face that he was a low rent loser! He'd boo-hoo about how we were living below the poverty line and rant about how that just wasn't right that a hard working American guy was busting his chops all day long for what? To live in POVERTY?!
Oh, the outrage! Oh! The humanity! It's communism, that's what it is!
In my husband's mind any evil or wrong thing in the world was 'communism'- I always thought it was kinda cute how he'd holler that out. Nine times out of ten, whatever situation he was getting up in arms about usually had no bearing or connection to communism whatsoever, but I guess that was the only label he knew. But in retrospect, at least when it came to the government stats he may have been close to the mark, in a way, at least as far as how those figures would be manipulated to suit the cause of the whichever political party could find advantageous.

So anyway, there he would be, in the Laz-e-Boy, frothing at the gibs about how we're so broke we can't even pay attention and how his children are, according to the government, just 2 steps away from eating lead based paint chips and being bitten by rats and that his lot in life ain't no better now than some migrant black sharecropper in the 30's and how in America that just ain't right and blah, blah, blah then I would have to step in and pull my Cher/Nicolas Cage/Moonstruck scene to bring him back to earth:

(*WHAP!*)"SNAP OUTTA IT!"

"Babe, Look at what we got...
You just found out about this shocking news on a color TV, one of 2 that we own.
We also have 2 VCRs AND satellite service for those same 2 TVs.
You're sitting in a nice recliner, in a nice house with 3 bedrooms AND indoor plumbing with a flushing toilet AND electricity to every room in this house, which by the way, we OWN, not rent. And we even have some acreage.

We have a refrigerator in the house that's fairly well stocked and you have one in the shop. We have a chest freezer out back that's big enough to hold 5 of your relatives, drawn and quartered and it's 3 quarters full with all manner of meat, pot pies, frozen dinners, popsicles and so on. The back porch pantry is a virtual 'mini-mart'...any time you're hungry there is not a lack! Night or day there's something to munch on here.
We are not starving.
We have a microwave, a blender and even one of those fancypants Kitchenaid mixers. I have enough pots and pans and dishes and drinking glasses and silverware to whip up chow for us and a bunch of your friends. And I even have a kitchen sink to wash up all those dishes afterwards with HOT RUNNING WATER.

You have a truck that's paid for, I have a car that's paid for. True, neither one is brand friggin' new, but they run. You have your Panhead out in the shop, which, by the way, also contains just about every tool Craftsman makes and you have a bigass tool chest taller than me to store all those in! You got 4 rifles for hunting and a gob of fishing and camping gear. You have a jonboat out back...on a trailer! You have every video that Van Damme cat has out and I have never said no to buying any other vid that strikes your fancy. The kids have every Disney flick out in their library. We have books up the wazoo and your motorcycle magazine subscription is always renewed.

The kids have shoes, I have shoes, you have shoes...hell, you got more shoes than me!
The only time our kids run around unclothed is when they are playing in the wading pool. We all have clothing suitable for all seasons. When it's cold we all have more than one coat to choose from. Ok, so it's mostly yard sale and thrift store stuff BUT WHO CARES!? We have it. I don't see the younguns complaining. And toys...? Oh, let's not even go there!

Every room in this house has some sort of furniture-we are not sleeping on flour sack pallets on the floor. We even have complete sets of bedding and sheets for our beds.
The couch is second hand, but it's comfy and clean. We even have a table to eat our meals at...with matching chairs!

We have a phone...actually 2, cuz you have one out in your shop. We even have a computer and are online. In the winter we stay warm without worry, in the summer we have air conditioning and ceiling fans.
I have a washer and a dryer. All of us are never without clean clothes and when was the last time we ran out of toilet paper?
We have never had the power turned off, we have never been late on our bills, we've never been threatened by foreclosure...and we do it all on your 'poverty' wages!
Good God, honey, if this is the government's definition of POVERTY then I don't think I could handle to be middle class, it would be too overwhelming to my senses!!"

That'd usually shut him up. Until the next time they'd trot out the stats. And then I'd have to ramble off my spiel again-making adjustments for any new accquistions.

Now to be fair I really think we were in the minority. Overall, the cost of living here in the Ozarks was so low, one could do more with the money-as clearly we did. In this area we were not alone. Most of us hillbillies were ignorantly living in "squalid, abject poverty" and never even knew it half the time...because we had so much stuff!
Heard something the other day about a guy saying that if he had to chose a country to live in, he'd chose the country where the poor are fat. There's really only one place in the world like that.
And I'm living there.

Project 2,996 Quota Met!

Last night, just around midnight, the final name was assigned.

Thank you to all those who signed up.

To fully appreciate the magnitude of this project, here is the list of victims and the corresponding bloggers honoring them.


On a personal note, I'm now beginning to feel somewhat anxious about my post. I have yet to even start, but the whole weight of this thing is getting to me. My person has only the barest of details available. This will be challenging. From what I've been able to find out, she was a classy gal. I am not. Hence my anxiety. I'm reluctant to seek out her family. Not out of laziness or shyness, but rather privacy. Yet on the other hand, if a total stranger were to approach me and ask about my husband, I would talk for hours, laughing and crying all the while, and not be offended in the least. And so I'm torn. I know everyone deals with loss differently. Her family may not even want to go back there. I don't want to offend and yet, like everyone else involved in this project, I want to properly honor their memory and do a good job, as best I can.

If you are on this project, how are you going about composing a proper memorial?

I Get The Sense This Isn't Satire...

Wuzzadem seeks out the meat n potatoes average Joe's thoughts on the 9/11 anniversary and winds up in a thicket of moonbattery.

Oy Vey, Y'all!

Hell, I've Done That!

(Well, except for the crashing part. Doug the Slug was an excellent driver, but not when he'd been drinking, of course.)



Woman Crashes When Teaching Dog To Drive

BEIJING (AP) — A woman in Hohhot, the capital of north China's Inner Mongolia region, crashed her car while giving her dog a driving lesson, the official Xinhua News Agency said Monday.

No injuries were reported although both vehicles were slightly damaged, it said.

The woman, identified only be her surname, Li, said her dog "was fond of crouching on the steering wheel and often watched her drive," according to Xinhua.

"She thought she would let the dog 'have a try' while she operated the accelerator and brake," the report said. "They did not make it far before crashing into an oncoming car."

Xinhua did not say what kind of dog or vehicles were involved but Li paid for repairs.

Calling All Soon to Be Former 'Infidels'

Dr. Rusty over at the Jawa Report is declaring a "Carnival of Conversions" in light of his recent admission to embrace the religion of kablooey.

I guess the deal is to post your own tale of coming to the light, (whether of your own molition or, uh, gently persuaded,) and send 'em the link. No details just yet over there.

Hmmm, well, that would make my decision to wear a burqua this Halloween that much easier!

(It is the most scariest costume I can think of right now.)


UPDATE: Well,that didn't last long!

Nasrallah's "Secret" is Out!

(Many versions of this pic are making the rounds, but what struck me was the dopey, happyass, deer in the headlights look of the Nasrallah poster-kinda reminded me of that "Bob" guy...so my task became obvious, a tuck here, a little crop there...Just trying to start anyones Monday with a laugh.)

Ambivalence

Mr. Freakazoid, 2006-John Karr, finally transported to Boulder, Co. to await a court appearance on Monday and all of CourtTV, CNN and all the usuals hold their collective breaths-but not their tongues.

Tom Cruise gets dumped by his studio.

Media gearing up for the first annual Katrina guilt-fest & company picnic. Finger pointing will be back along with the ever popular 3 legged race.

And in a related story...Ernesto churns away in the Carribean, rampant paranoia ensues in the Gulf states.

Time to break out this oldie, but goodie to express my mood this weekend:



(I apologize for having to resort to crudity, but my 'give a damn' error pop-up that I wanted to use wouldn't load right and run-even though it is a .gif like the f***o'meter.)

This Guy Needs to Get Out More

A strange pictorial of what one can do with simple common sports accessories. No explanation on the page...just pics.

Captions, anyone?

teh Debmentia

Man, I'm glad I didn't have any money riding on this. I was just darn certain that this textbook crazy loon would try to do herself in before any charges were filed.

What I find really amusing is that it wasn't all those intolerant, hatefilled, warmongering, Rovian Mind Bending, McChimpy lackey facist rightwingnut legions of conservative bloggers that pressed charges against her and got her plopped in the slammer- it was her esteemed peers. She was unleashing her own special type of "teh crazee" on fellow academia! The oh so tolerant, loving, feeling, compassionate and understanding pony-tailed lefty types. I guess even the most lofty higher beings who are so much more intelligent and enlightened than us Neanderthals have their limits, too. Who knew?!

Well, at least she's an equal opportunity loon.

If you're interested, (and who doesn't enjoy a good trainwreck now and then?) you can follow "teh crazee trail" here and here. Both have enough links to make for a nice daytrip to the asylum.


(Note: the link under "Busted" on the DHDF site doesn't work-the page has been pulled, but one can still get the gist.)

Back to "Normal"

"Today is Aug. 23rd, Do you know where your Imam is?"



We got our annual missed the schoolbus crisis over and done with this morning. A little early in the school year this time, since the younguns have only been back for about a week now. It normally happens sometime in October or November. This time the triple failsafe collapsed on all levels- my youngest failed to set her alarm, my eldest drifted of to slumber without setting her alarm and even myself, the bastion of stability, routine, reliability and regularity even overlooked pulling the stem on my clock en route to the bed after my nighttime oblations. So when my eyes fluttered open at about 6:55 a.m. this morning and the realization that it was Wednesday, not Saturday hit about a nanosecond after, the household erupted in a mad scramble as I loudly shouted: OHCRAP!OHCRAP!OHCRAP! and leapt out of bed. This was instantly followed by shrieks of panic from the now wide awake spawn.

The bus was idling outside and politely tooted it's horn.

I quickly wrapped a robe around me and stepped outside to wave him on.
Dangit! I really, really didn't want to drive all the way into town first thing in the morning...but crap happens. But it is nice to know that my younguns can get dressed and ready for the day in less than 7 minutes if they have to.

************

The part time gig in town is going well, so far. The dance studio's year is getting off to a slow start, not a lot of registrations yet. That is cause for concern, but I hope once the school year gets settled in it'll pick up. Nothing makes you appreciate your own kids more than having to keep other people's kids in check.
An unspoken part of my job is to keep these unruly hoardes somewhat contained and controlled in the lobby while they wait for the folks to pick them up. One of the biggest instigators is, of course, the instructors own child. This fact is meaningless to me, I'll jump on his ass just as quick as any other kid there if he gets squirrelly-which he always does. Luckily, we'll only be blessed with his overwrought ADD antics one day a week.

**********

The 27th is the last Sunday of the month and that means I'm on tap to teach the adult class at church. Ugh. Here it is Wednesday and I'm just now cracking the quarterly open to study up on the lesson. Normally I get started on Monday. I've been draggin' my feet.

Once again, it's on Paul and Corinthians. That has been the focus for this whole quarter. It'll be a tough one for me, because at the risk of being labelled a blasphemous heretic, quite honestly I have a hard time getting worked up about Paul because I think he was full of baloney. I think too many Christians elevate him to almost Christ-like levels. That bugs me. I'm also of the opinion that he interjected too much of his own biases into his missives. He was just a guy who due to his prolific writings, divinely inspired or not, got lucky and made the cut.
And yet, entire demominations seem to hang their hats and salvation on what he says, not what Christ says.So that's my blind spot...my thorn in my side, to use his words. Once you get past the Gospels in the New Testament, my enthusiasm wanes. Why? Good question, I dunno. I'm a bad, bad believer, I reckon. If by some weird happenstance I get struck down with my own little road to Damascus epiphany any time soon, I may change my stance. But for now, Paul just don't trip my spiritual trigger like he does for so many others. I just have a time going along with the whole divinely inspired stuff, some of his writings could have been, but I remain ignorantly stubborn.

My real love is the Old Testament. I much prefer reading that than to about 75% of the New Testament. I think I can profess to being a Christian even though I doubt Paul's writings. It's called Christianity...not Paulianity. I believe the accounts of what Christ said and did and believe that He was the fulfillment of prophecies. Paul does deserve his props, afterall he suffered immensely for what he believed- had the crap beat out of him untold times, did a lot of time in the joint, suffered the scorn and hatred of his Hebrew brethern who considered him a traitor to his faith and culture and so on-one doesn't do that unless they are 100% about what they believe. And yet...I still can't get behind this guy.

Worse thing is-I really can't cite any particular chapter and verse to back my opinions about Paul. I guess it's just purely selfish obstinace. I just get sick of all the emphasis on the writings of this guy. Maybe I just ain't been taught right.
But, I'll keep my opinions to myself and go along with the program. I think can bite my tongue for an hour. Although, I just know I'll have to toss in some mild editorializing. Not enough to get the bluehairs up in arms. I do think some of his stuff has value-I just can't say I believe him on EVERYTHING, unlike so many of our Christian bruthas and sistahs.
Yeah, yeah...I know- delicatessen Christian. Picking and choosing what they like and discarding the rest. Not kosher. Oh well, maybe so. But that's my problem.

I don't think I'm gonna get burned at the stake for that.

We don't do that anymore, do we?

Dude, Where’s My Apocalypse?

Not meaning to swipe Misha's post title-But dan-um, it's a funny one.
Anyway, His Lordship weighs in about the 22nd and as always says exactly what we were thinking, but much more entertainingly in his usual 'rottie' style:

"It’s August 22nd and we’re all still here. Which leaves His Imperial Majesty with about 2,000 cans of Campbell’s Chunky and enough bottled water to fill a swimming pool or two and absolutely nothing to do with it. OK, so the day isn’t quite over yet, but it’s beginning to look suspiciously like the 12th Monkey has decided to stay at the bottom of his well, refusing to come out to check his shadow."

The rest here.

A Bedtime Story for the 22nd

Compliments of the evil geniuses at The People's Cube.

Funny-I had no idea that C.C. Moore had plagerized our now classic holiday prose from the mythical tales of the middle east! Who knew?!

Here's just a sample, from "T'was the Night Before Miraj":

..." With my finger on the trigger, I almost let loose a round
When a flying Bourak then landed on the ground.
Then, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But the Twelver himself, and the Prophet, right here!

With Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, so wily and slick,
I knew in a moment it wasn't a Jew trick.
More rapid than katushas his rockets they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, hijacked a plane!

"Now Hamas! now, Hezbollah! now, Ba'athist and Sunni!
On, Shia! On, PLO! we're all freaking loony!
To the Zionist state! to the Wailing Wall!
Now kill the Jews, kill the Jews, kill the Jews all!"...


We're still here...so dangit, I guess that means I'll have to pay that Visa bill afterall!

"So Long! ...And Thanks for All The Fish!"

The clock has started...in just abit it will be sunset in the middle east.
Let's see what the day brings, eh?
Man, and my antivirus subscription runs out today! I think I'll wait a few hours before renewing.
And I'm suppose to start my new job in town this afternoon.
Jeez, is my timing good or what?

If anyone's interested, there's a End of the World live thread over at Free Republic. Entertaining as always.

Hope to see ya on the flipside, y'all!

Alright, Now That's Just Getting Personal!

Weeding out the spam filter today yielded some more of those goofball subject line junkmails. Now they're getting kinda insulting-as if being called a tree fungus or whatever it was last time wasn't enough- now they are questioning my spirituality!
Here's the 2:

"Your Order, non-Hinuduized"
"Your Money, Non-Moslem"

Anyway, I was amused...is hinduized even a real word?

Seeing how this is the last weekend of life as we know it, I've opted just to hang with the younguns and just "be".

Which is really a nice way to spend any Sunday,regardless of the circumstances.

"1st Hez Savings&Loan" Doling Out Funny Money

Well, we saw this coming up the Hudson, didn't we?
'Member a few weeks ago that NBC news vid of the destruction in Lebanon that just ever so briefly showed amidst the rubble stacks of UNCUT American bills fluttering down the street? I saw it, betcha y'all might have too. There were some that caught that and questioned WTF?

Now we know.
Some are saying the cash the Hezzies are using to buy loyalty from the locals is real via their Sugar Daddy in Iran.
Maybe.
But when supply routes get alittle iffy, it's always nice to have your back-up stash handy. What do they care if it's kosher or not?

Makes it easy to buy stuff on your Total World Domination "wish list", too!

Counterfeiting has a long, grand tradition of being used to fugger up your enemies economy during war time. We all know about the Third Reichs gob of bogus British poundnotes. Funny money was used alot even during our own Civil War.
Sure, it's a world away, but sooner or later those worthless bills will filter stateside and then let the merriment begin!



HT: Hot Air

S' Family Tradition, Y'all!

Well, it's about time we had a story like this! Fer crying out loud, we are the Ozarks, afterall!
Howell county is the county just adjacent to mine.


I had to cobble this together from various sources, since none of the local papers who have online editions carried the story in their digital versions. The best in depth article I read was in a paper who doesn't archive their online version. So... you'll get the gist- This part is from the ATF site:


"Bradley J. Schlozman, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that two Howell County, Mo.men were charged in federal court today with operating an illegal still.
Wayne Pettyjohn, 69, and his son, Francis Dwayne Pettyjohn, 40, both of Howell County, were charged in a federal criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Springfield.

Todays criminal complaint alleges that law enforcement officers of the South Central Drug Task Force purchased suspected
"moonshine" whiskey in the course of an undercover investigation. Wayne and Francis Dwayne Pettyjohn allegedly operated an illegal still to make the untaxed spirits in Wayne Pettyjohn's barn, then sold the product to bars in the Howell County area. Neither Wayne nor Francis Dwayne Pettyjohn is registered as a producer or distributor of alcohol products.

After undercover law enforcement officers purchased moonshine from the co-defendants on several occasions, a search warrant was executed at the rural residence of Wayne Pettyjohn today and both defendants were arrested.

Schlozman cautioned that the charge contained in the complaint is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard E. Monroe. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the South Central Drug Task Force, the Missouri State Alcohol and Tobacco Control Unit, and the Howell County, Mo., Sheriff's Department."

***************************
Local newspaper accounts also add that agents are quoted as saying this particular still was one of the largest illegal units taken out of operation in the state in over 30 years.

Lab reports state that the 'shine tested out at almost 48% alcohol by volume.


An affidavit filed in the case states that undercover officers purchased more than a dozen bottles of moonshine whiskey from the Pettyjohns, who allegedly sold much of their product to county bars.
(Oopsy! Looks like a lot of local watering holes are gonna lose their liquor licenses!)

*************************
And then this nice little bit from the Kansas City Star, shows that the Pettyjohns knew the value of offering their clients "variety":

The Pettyjohns allegedly sold the product to bars in the area and undercover investigators purchased it for $10 a liter on several occasions, according to court documents. Authorities say they offered straight whiskey and grape, peppermint, strawberry, peach and apple pie flavors.


Grape and Apple Pie?... Mercy!

Oh Nevermind the Fanatics, The Cell Phones, The Lamebutt Judges Ruling on FISA, Iran, Etc...

HERE'S THE REAL THREAT TO OUR SAFETY!

Malicious and evil store mannequins!! They are everywhere!
Oh! The Humanity!


Calif. Woman Sues Over Mannequin Attack

A woman is suing the J.C. Penney Co. after an alleged run-in with a store mannequin that she says left her with a cracked tooth, a bloodied head and recurring shoulder pain.

Diana Newton, 51, of Westminster sued the Texas-based retailer last month in Orange County Superior Court, claiming she was cracked in the head by a legless female dummy at its Westminster Mall store.

Newton said the incident happened nearly a year ago in the women's department, as she was shopping for a blouse. The only one in her size was on the mannequin. As a salesclerk was removing the garment, the dummy's arm flew off and struck Newton's head, according to her lawsuit.

"I felt a burning sensation," she recalled.

Paramedics treated her bleeding scalp at the scene. Newton drove herself home, then had someone take her to a hospital for further treatment.

The blow also cracked a molar, which led to a root canal, she said.

The suit seeks unspecified damages.

A spokeswoman for J.C. Penney said the company doesn't comment on pending litigation.

HT: Freerepublic

(Dime to donuts somebody will object to the phrase "legless female dummy" being used in this AP article.)

I Was Thinking the Same Thing, Too, Vinnie...

about that loony old gal on the plane the other day, especially after reading the article last night he references in his post:
"The Lunatic/ Is in the Aisle"

By the way....what finally happened at the Tri-State airport yesterday?
The creepyass Mr. Rogers lookalike story was hogging the news.

A Plausible Scenario

One of our own-Lem, Master of the Hillbilly Ecosystem-has wrote a tale of horror that's too close to home.
Not exactly what I wanted to read first thing in the morning, even before my coffee, but holy cow!...it's good and drives home the point of the extremes these maniacs will go to.
Check it out..."A Very Short Story"

Thailand???... Bangkok???

Isn't that place like the Cabo San Lucas for the truly seriously vile pedos?
How far did you have to take it to end up getting busted on sex charges there?!
(I really don't want an answer to that.)

OK, my spidey sense is telling me that this creep may not be the actual perp, but he knows who is. Look for some major kidporn/sex slave ring bust in connection to this soon. I maybe wrong about Karr, but there will be many taken out along with him, betcha.

10 years of, at times, brutal speculation may or may not be answered soon.
But what really disturbs me and nauseates me is that this John Karr freak was a 2nd grade teacher!!!!
As in 7 and 8 yr. old kids!
Satan's gonna have to build on to that 'special place in Hell'-the damn place is getting crowded!

Mt. Soledad is Now Fed. Property!

Best friggin' news all week, folks!
At least for me. This issue has been close to my heart, since this huge cross had been my childhood "sentinel" growing up in San Diego.




A giant cross in San Diego that's been contested for 17 years by an atheist became the property of the federal government Monday with President Bush's signature.

Supporters hope the legislation transferring the 29-foot cross and war memorial it's a part of to the federal government will protect it for good. A series of court decisions have deemed the cross unconstitutional because it stands on public property.

"Just because something may have a religious connotation doesn't mean you destroy it and tear it down," said Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Calif., after an Oval Office signing ceremony attended by other cross supporters and Republican House members from San Diego who sponsored the bill.

"It's a great victory for our veterans," said House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.

But the legal fight that began in 1989 when atheist Philip Paulson sued San Diego over the cross is not played out yet.

Paulson's attorney, Jim McElroy, said he filed papers in federal court in San Diego last week to void the transfer and declare it unconstitutional.

"I don't think anybody really thinks the cross is going to remain on Mt. Soledad. It's been 17 years of litigation, and every court, every judge who's ever looked at it has ruled it's unconstitutional," McElroy said.

( Uh, by "anybody", I reckon you mean just yourself and your client?)

The bill signing "smacks of election-year politics," he said.

(I'm rubber-you're glue....)

Paulson, a Vietnam War veteran, contends that the cross, dedicated in 1954 in honor of Korean War veterans, excludes veterans who are not Christian.

(Oh Pul----leeeeeeze! Surely you can come up with something better than that?)

Rest of the story here at Yahoo

Atomic Sarcasm

SandMonkey has written a fan letter to Nasrallah.
And offers alittle advice, too.

HAHAHAHA!!!!

Official Hog Roast Results

Well, the votes have been carefully tabulated by hand and machine and Lem and his crack team of election officials have declared the winner in our Hog Roast.
The Offishal TeeVee Show of the Hillbilly Ecosystem is:
The Andy Griffith Show.

Thanks to all of you who voted and put in nominations. And if your favorite didn't make it...well, y'all just didn't vote enough times, I reckon.
(nudge-nudge, wink-wink.)

Lamestream Media Returns toTheir Vomit Like Dogs

I dunno about y'all, but I'm getting fed up with the newsbabes & newsdudes all asking the same question to the rotating crop of experts concerning the recent terrorist round-up.
"Is it Al Queda?"
"Is there an Al Queda connection?"
"Were there Al Queda ties?"
"Do you know if these suspects were part of Al Queda?"
Ad Nauseum.
I never thought anything could surpass the ridiculousness last summer of Wolf Blitzer asking every reporter on the scene of the Katrina chaos "Is there any looting?" That bit was classic! After a few days of phrasing that question every possible way, he was kinda bummed when they would tell him,Uh... No.
But this has gone on for 72 hours now just about and y'know what?

DO WE REALLY GIVE A FLYING SHRIEKING FRIG IF IT IS OR ISN'T??!!!

At this point in time, the club membership is irrevelent. Al Queda, Hizballah, The Goon Squad of the Moon God---Whoever--They are all part of the same team!
These are people who want to KILL US ALL!!
ALL. OF. US.
As in the Christian/Judeo world.
In the most brutal and horrific ways possible.
These are Islamic Facist Terrorist who want to kill us all. Period. The union affliation is of no concern.

Honest to God, folks...If you are unfortunate enough, by some twist of fate, sometime in the immediate future to be on a plane that they just happen to get on board and blow a hole in- would your last thought be as your broken body plummets down to the sea to be splatted into a million pieces upon impact: "Gosh! I wonder if this is Al Queda related?"

Yeah...that's what I thought, too.


---------------------------------------------
And in Related News:
Shorty has a blog!
No shit, this ain't a parody.
Well, who knows? I got this off a Reuters feed, so, ya know, it could be dicey.


Sez the article: "But he admitted his opening blog, which runs to more than 2,300 words in the English version, was too long. "From now onwards, I will try to make it simpler and shorter," he wrote."

HaHaHa! Welcome to Blogville, Shorty!

P.S. His server is turning to toast as fast as a nuclear bomb...good luck getting through if you try.

Dead Castro Celebrates Birthday, Tells Chavez: "Pull My Finger!"

Well, Happy Birthday, El Comandante. Honestly, you had us all fooled. We thought you were well on your way to being a festering mass of rotted flesh. Damn the luck!
But maybe we were half right...since you said to your oppressed masses who were praying for your demise to be prepared for some "adverse news".

Maybe those prayers will be heeded and that you are indeed hopelessly infested with cancerous malignant cells which are devouring your lower intestine and colon as we speak. So perhaps just your lower half is turning into a festering mass of rotted flesh.

The free world can only hope.
Have a nice day, Bud...may it be just one of a few you have left!

My Own Special Tinfoil Hat

Last night as I let the doggies out for their bedtime whiz, I sat on the porch and gazed up at the moon. A few days ago it had been full, but now was waning. I got to pondering the events of the past few days. My thoughts wandered to this recent thwarted terrorist caper and how the word according to some sources was that Aug. 16th was the supposed date to launch that plan. Why the 16th? That's almost a full week before Shorty McShort-Shorts day of reckoning, Aug 22nd.

Now I admit, I am but a humble ig'nert hilljilly and not too savvy about other cultures. I'm only as smart as what I read. I ain't edj'ucated by any means. But as I understand it, the Muslim calendar, much like the Hebrew calendar goes by the moon. Theirs are more accurate than our fugged up method of leap years and '30 days hath September...'. So I thought there might be somesort of connection.

I looked up the moon phases for this month. The 16th showed nothing real revelatory. It was at the halfmoon stage. But it was the phase on the 21st/22nd that caught my eye.



Coinsidence? I'm thinkin' not. What better way to show that the 'Moon God' approves of your actions that day than to be just right at that phase which is the sacred universal symbol of their Moon Goon religion? Now the experts are all saying that the 22nd is significant and that's the date that everyone is buzzing about, but in one of the articles that's fueling this speculation, I noticed this:

"August 21, 2006 (Rajab 27, 1427) is known in the Islamic calendar as the Night of the Sira’a and Miira’aj, the night Prophet Mohammed (saas) ascended to heaven from the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on a Bourak (Half animal, half man), while a great light lit-up the night sky, and visited Heaven and Hell also Beit al-Saada and Beit al-Shaqaa (House of Happiness and House of Misery) and then descended back to Mecca.…”

According to the phase chart I saw, the 21st is when it looks the most like their cresent. But that is geared for central North America. I dunno if one has to factor in time changes and the international dateline into all this or if a Muslim 'day' starts at sunset, like the Hebrews ancient way of calculating a day-hey, I'm a moron as I have said. Anyway, I'm just tossing this out there. A mind is a terrible thing.

I could be just talkin' outta my butt again.
I do that alot.

There's a Reason They Say " War is Hell"

And Grim (interesting moniker,considering the subject matter) has wrote an heartwrenching essay on just why that is and the heart hardening we must do for the sake of civilization. It's the unpleasant truth.
It's required reading, I'd say.

Stick around for the comments below his post, those are equally thought provoking.




Now, I really must go...have to see Olmert accept his Chamberlain award.

For Once a Legitimate 'FW:' Email ! Spread the Word, Please!

The other day I got an email forwarded to me by the usual suspects. These normally go straight to the trash, since they all just urban ledgends, mis-information and just, well...crap.
This one is the rare exception and I would like everyone who reads this to go check it out yourself and participate. I ran past Snopes.com and it's for realsies. I think this is a marvelous idea and great corporate p.r. This program was unknown to me.

"Let's Say Thanks" is a website featuring patriotic postcard drawings by kids. The sponsor is Xerox. What you do is choose a design, add your sentiments of gratitude and Xerox will send it to any service person in Iraq...no charge! Xerox will cover all the postage. What a nice and simple concept!

They are also still accepting drawings by kids up to age 12 to add to their selection. So if you have kids, grandkids, neighbor kids, neices, nephews and so on, get 'em busy!
Mine have cranked out about half a dozen already to send. This is the most blissful quiet I have enjoyed all summer!

A "Mom-ism"

I know just the thing to lift my mood!
Another little funny story about Mom.
Israel being in the news brought it to mind.

Mom had a bad habit of getting her words tangled. Most times we all could translate in our heads what she meant, but it was for the most part pretty funny, anyway.
OK, here's the backstory set-up to this:
My folks were friends with a couple whose oldest son fell in love with a Jewish gal.
He converted, they got married and both wanted to move to Israel. His parents were cool with this, they loved their new daughter-in-law. The son's name was Alan. His mom's name was Charlotte. My Mom and Charlotte would talk almost every morning on the phone.

Dad came home from work one day and after changing into his afterwork wear (Navy PX t-shirt and sansa a belt shorts) he plopped into the sacred Laz-E-Boy and got busy looking over the evening paper. At some point he asked Mom, "So...anything new today, Ma?"

"Oh Yes!" Mom was chomping at the bit to tell him the news. "Charlotte called today and you know her boy Alan...? Well, him and his gal are gonna move to Israel next month and they're gonna go live in a hibachi !"

Just yet another time when I thought I was going to have to perform CPR on my Dad from him laughing so hard.

A Challenge for "Cookie"

Well, jiminny crickets, Cookie at the Cook's Shack took me up on that tag thing and his answers are amusing as I reckoned they would be. But he had to get a a good natured dig at me, saying my blog was "weird". Well, I haven't really posted anything lately that I could construe as weird but I just saw this and it it screamed "post me!"

So, Cookie...got any good recipes for THIS? :

Norway's Food Safety Authority has instructed a grocery store to close after finding ten year old mutton in the freezer section.

The local shop in Bugøynes, Finnmark in northern Norway also, unsurprisingly, lacked satisfactory hygiene routines, NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting) reports.

"They will have to get an internal control routine in place if they want their approval back, and it will have to be in writing," Anne Ingeborg Bye of the FSA told NRK.

The shop is still open since closure cannot take effect until the next inspection, but NRK spotted no signs of marked improvement. The station found pork ribs a year past their sell-by date in the store's freezer.

The locals were unruffled by the news. One customer said that no one had gotten sick from the shop's meat, and there was just too much "hysteria" around sell-by dates.
(This from a people who thrive on "lutefisk".)

From the Aftenposten news site.

My first thought was Is the meat 10 yrs. old or was the mutton sheep that age at slaughter? Makes a big difference. Well, maybe not...mutton's nasty no matter what! Just a matter of translation, I reckon.

Success Has Gone to His Head

...or maybe I should say Infamy?
Mr. Green Helmet has a blog now. Somehow that does make me feel just a teensy tiny bit better today.

Not that anyone asked or nuthin'....

"And I Was Gonna Just Post Some Silly Stuff this Morning..."

Y'know, for once I'd like to wake up and see that NOT A DAMN THING happened overnight that was a threat to the security of this country and the rest of the NORMAL world!

Jeezuz H on a crutch! We got Egyptian "students" unaccounted for, Israel's in the fight for it's life via a proxy/distraction war with Iran and Syria, the 5 year anniversary of 9/11 is coming up oh and speaking of Iran...Shorty McShort-Short Dinnerjacket is braying and mewing about how the world will get their answer about their nuclear program on the 22nd of this month.
And now THIS!

Can I hear an "OY VEY!!" y'all?

Alright, screw it...I was never much of a Randy Newman fan, but I think his tune "Political Science" is needed here to lightened the mood:

No one likes us
I don't know why.
We may not be perfect
But heaven knows we try.
But all around even our old friends put us down.
Let's drop the big one and see what happens.

We give them money
But are they grateful?
No they're spiteful
And they're hateful.
They don't respect us so let's surprise them;
We'll drop the big one and pulverize them.

Now Asia's crowded
And Europe's too old.
Africa's far too hot,
And Canada's too cold.
And South America stole our name.
Let's drop the big one; there'll be no one left to blame us.

Bridge:
We'll save Australia;
Don't wanna hurt no kangaroo.
We'll build an all-American amusement park there;
They've got surfing, too.

Well, boom goes London,
And boom Paris.
More room for you
And more room for me.
And every city the whole world round
Will just be another American town.
Oh, how peaceful it'll be;
We'll set everybody free;
You'll have Japanese kimonos, baby,
There'll be Italian shoes for me.
They all hate us anyhow,
So let's drop the big one now.
Let's drop the big one now.

It's Zombietime Again! (and Some Much Needed Housekeeping)

Our favorite Zombie boy has once again strapped on the research armor and done a bang up job recapping the latest 'fauxtography' scandals and gives a few theories as to why this has happened. Are we being played by Reuters? Is Reuters being played? Are they just tools of the Hezzballah? Etc., etc., etc.
An excellent article-go see! It even has circles and arrows and paragraphs.

OK, now onto boring stuff...since the word is we only got 2 weeks left to enjoy life as we know it, I reckon I'd better get this bloghouse of mine cleaned up a dab. So I got some questions: What's the deal with the really insanely long blogrolls being compressed into frames now on some other blogs? And how does one do that? Please clue me in!

Also, My Automatic Moonbat has apparently flew the coop. Anyone else having trouble with theirs? Is it migration time for those beasties? I understand that they go to Venezuela for the winter...isn't it a bit early? Hmmmm, global warming, perhaps?
There's a few other items on my side thingy that aren't behaving properly that I need to figure out, so I'll be in the bar if you need me....

UPDATE: Well, if that don't beat all! I should have suspected as much...

Double Tag Team

About 2 weeks ago I got tagged by Pamela at The Dust Will Wait and as much as I like these kinda things, it hit at a bad time. I actually did try to finish it in a timely manner, but y'know how that goes...
Then just the other day I got tagged again, this time by my favorite redneck, Patrick at Born Again Redneck. So now the pressure was on. Just gotta get these puppies answered and posted, so here we go.
We'll start with Pam's first:

1. The book nearest me –
"Junie B. Jones and Her Big Fat Mouth"
One of my kids' books.

2. Stretch out your left arm, what do you touch? –
The cool breeze of the window a/c!

3. Last thing watched on television? –
"The Lost City", about the Oak Ridge facility during WW2. As I watched it I kept wondering 'What has happened to our moxie?' This generation could never pull off such an effort today, in such a short time, no matter how noble the cause. Sad. Still, it was a fascinating program.


4. Without looking what time is it?
9:15-ish

5. What is the actual time?
9:18 pm. I have an excellent internal clock.

6. With the exception of the computer what can you hear?
Your computer makes noise? Oh...sorry, back to the question-the steady ticking of the cheap clock in the family room and some hens clucking about outside. The kids are still asleep-it won't be this quiet for too much longer.

7. When did you last step outside?
Just about 30 minutes ago to let the chickens out.

8. Before this survey what did you look at?
My chickens.

9. What are you wearing? –
That's kinda personal...if you were some guy on the phone, I'd hang up on you right now!
But if you must know, an old oversize Harley Davidson shirt and flannel shorts (summer 'jammies)


10. Did you dream last night? –
Oh, I'm sure I did-recalling it is the tough part!


11. When did you last laugh?
About 10 minutes ago. It was an inside joke. Only my dogs get it.

12. What is on the walls in the room?
A coat of the oddest shade of purple known to man. I'm remodeling, so all photos are off the walls for now.

13. Seen anything weird lately? –
Why yes, my normally subserviant hens have taken to fighting back when a rooster tries to chase them down! They peck and kick and stand their ground and resist the amorous assaults. Power to the Pullets!... Right On!


14. What do you think of this quiz?
I'm shocked at the number of questions!


15. What is the last film you saw? –
"Dead Man's Chest"
I feel yet another major Depp obsession firing up. Happens all the time.*sigh*

16. Tell me something we don't know.
I'm ambidextrous.

17. If you could change one thing about the world, what would you do.
Taken Mohammed's credibilty away. So that everyone who heard his message of a new faith would just say "Yeah, right...you loon...giddoutta here!" Barring that, it would have been nice IF the Bay of Pigs boondoggle had been actually successful.

18. Do you like to dance?
Yes, but I do it badly I'm told.


19. George Bush?
Which one? Dub or his Daddy? I was always partial to Barb. Nice lady, down to earth class.

20. Imagine your first child is a girl –
She was. So now what do I do here?


21. Imagine your first child is a boy-
I would praying for guidance because he would be a wild handful in his teens I suspect. Or a total dork. Either way, one of us would be miserable!


22. Would you consider living abroad? –
I’m already a broad. ; ) I liked that answer... so I'm keeping that-but unlike you,Pamela, I wouldn't want to try spending a day with a dang meat puppet twixt my legs! Eww. But back to the question: A solid, resounding No!

23. What would God say to you when you reach the pearly gates? –
"And you're here because....?"


23. 6 people who will do this quiz-
Jeez, do I even know 6 people???!! I'm afraid this tag will die an early death at my hands.

(I'll put my taggees at the end of this post,and then the victims can decide which tag to participate in)
***********************************

Now, on to Patrick's tag-it has a bookish spin:


One book that changed your life:
"Animal Farm". Had to read that in jr. high and it made me realize just how the world really works. I think every kid MUST read that-more than once. Now more than ever.

One book that you've read more than once:
"Timeline". Hollywood, as usual, bungled it. The ending in the book was sooo much more darkly satisfying.

One book that you would want on a desert island:
Just about everyone will say the Bible. But I'm going with "Gone with the Wind".
Of course, I cannot possibly imagine myself being in such a predicament, so this is a hard one. But 'GwtW' is my knee jerk response.

One book that made you laugh:
"A Generation of Swine" by Hunter S. Thompson, but actually just about everything he wrote makes me laugh.

One book that made you cry:
"What Dreams May Come". I started reading this about 2 years after my husbands death. Bad choice, I still can't finish it. One day, maybe, but still not now.

One book you wish had been written:
"Everything You Know is WRONG!" Subtitle: 'A book for aspiring Liberals'.


One book you wish had never been written:
"The Communist Manifesto". But if Marx hadn't had scribbled down that claptrap, some other idiot would have. I have a ying/yang kinda notion of how the universe works. There will always be evil in the world, the trick is to keep that evil in check.

One book you are currently reading:
"Overseas Diary (India, Burma and WW2)". I found this in the library while continuing research on Dad's Navy days and strangely enough, it was authored by a man who lived right here in town! Thought that was interesting.

One book you have been meaning to read:
One??!! Jeez, I'm so behind there are gobs I'd like to read...can't enumerate them here, much less just single out one. But I will say, I'm looking forward to reading that copy of "The Rice Paddy Navy" my uncle will be sending me.

OK...My Tags:
Cookie at The Cook's Shack
Bonnie at Simply Bonnie
Gayle at My Republican Blog
Lem at Hillbilly White Trash (but I get the feeling he ain't into these silly games!)
John at Alpaca Burgers
Pamela at The Dust Will Wait (Yes, I know she tagged me first, but I'd like to see what her answers would be to Patrick's tag!)

Now Everyone's Trying to Get In On the Act!

Couldn't resist.

HOG ROAST TIME!

The choices are tacked up on the garage wall at Lem's.
Git on over an' vote, dangit! Only blogroll members, please. Dead relatives and passer bys are not eligible. Sorry, we gotta have some standards!

We're electing an offishal TV show for the Hillbilly Ecosystem

(I just might have some muffins baked up later for y'all,too. Bring your own suds and tater salad... bottle rockets are optional.)

Photochopping 4 Dummies

Tired of your nine to five drudgery? Do you envy those beautiful jet set types who flit from place to place around the globe, always where the action is?
Do you have absolutely no morals or scruples whatsoever?
Does the thought of being able to manipulate public opinion give you a big fat chubby? Were you on the stagecrew in high school or college? Do you have a flar for the dramatic?
Do you have rudimentary computer skills?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then it's time to consider a career in "Mass Media Propaganda"!

Reuters News Service and Associated Press are always looking for a few good hacks. (Reuters, a name you can trust. "When We Don't Like the News-We Create It!")
Both major news organizations are sponsoring a special online school for those who might just have the stuff great photojournalists are made of. But this field isn't just for anybody- Oh no, sirree. You must have the right skills in composition and elementary Photoshop to be a real live news propagandist.
Access to a digital camera helps too.

In the course "Mass Media Propaganda" you'll learn all the needed skills in demand at any major news outlet. Don't just sit on the sidelines, wishing you could be in the thick of cultural upheaval. Make the news of tomarrow-today! Don't let the facts and ethics stand in the way of you soon becoming one of the stellar opinionmakers of our times. Once you know all the tricks, tweaks and insider info you too can be a stringer for a major news organization, hustling from one major global hotspot and tragedy to another, manufacturing outrage at a moment's notice!

Just view this simple online tutorial in basic Photoshop (a key component in any photog's toolbag!) as taught by Professor D. Frogman and see for yourself how easy a career in modern news photojournalism can be!

Do it now!

Operators are standing by!


HT: The Lovely, as aways, ( but her new blog pic sucks, imo)-Michelle.

"Have *Reefer, Will Travel" (Mr. Green Helmet, unlidded)

(*Lest anyone think I'm up to no good, 'reefer' is trucker slang for a refridgerator truck.)

The wait and speculation is over!! For weeks now and in some cases, years, folks have been speculating on the identity of that fellow known to everyone as "Green Helmet". He's been the hardest working man in Hezballah, always there whenever disaster (whether real or contrived) hit, tirelessly and selflessly pulling the grim remains out of rubble and wreckage and hoisting them up for the carefully orchestrated photo-op. The guy's everywhere! He's in Beirut, he's in Tyre, he's in Qana. What dedication! My God, how does he do it?!

Dude....you are sooooo busted!




Now the big revelation isn't so much that 'gosh, you mean these pictures are staged??!'
Jeez, we knew that already...duh. Everyone and their dog knew that. The big revelation is that now we've busted them and have proof of their phoney baloney, sick n twisted propaganda and it's 'behind the scenes' biz. Most of us suspected that they were using bodies from other sources, but how pray tell were they sneaking them in...and in the blazing heat?
It makes sense that a mortician would be just the guy to go to. Now all the pieces are starting to fit.

Mr. Jradi...iffin y'all are gonna be the mystery man of Hezballah propaganda, it's always a good idea to keep your mouth shut. Talking to the press, even if you figured it was to further the cause and subsequent outrage just cost you an award. You'll never get to gaze at that gold painted dog turd sitting on your mantle for Best Supporting Actor in a Patently Staged and Faked Tragedy. You blew it, my man. You thought we'd never put 2 and 2 together, bet you think that we all think that all you Hezzies look alike, right?

Y'know, it just ain't gonna be the same, now that we have put a name to the face.

EU Referendum has Qana, the Director's Cut ! Great background piece reviewing Green Hel...uh, Mr. Jradi's latest work.

Reuter's Publishes "Corrected" Photo

Man, the wags at Freerepublic are having a field day with this!

(which is where I gypped this pic-someone is way more clever than I!)

Folks around the blogs are starting scrutinize other photos by Hajj...including the infamous "blue binky" pics that I questioned last week! All are drawing the same conclusions...it was an added prop.

Send in the Clones

Notice anything, uh, peculiar about this pic?

Look carefully...I'll wait.


Huh uh...Yeah...I notice that, too.

Jeez Louise, if "photojournalists" are gonna enhance their pics they hustle to the news outlets, ya think they could do alittle better job at photochopping.
I'm a stone cold rookie at it and even I wouldn't save a pic so sloppily done as that.

LGF has all the details and has done all the detective work.

It should be noted that this is the same photographer who shot alot of those "atrocity" pics at Qana. Or should we say altered?

Maybe he saw "Wag the Dog" one too many times...

(Another thing that occurred to me, and I may be talking outta my butt here, so forgive me-but I was taught that white or grey (or tan) smoke indicated that organics were burning, like wood, leaves, paper trash etc. and black or blue-black smoke indicated oil based matter or synthetics were involved, like asphalt shingles or plastics. Depending on the fire, you'll see examples of all those types of smoke in succesion, as in a frame home fire. But sometimes the color will stay consistant, fires are peculiar critters, but those are the rules of thumb as I know 'em and based on personal experience. Most of the bombing pics and vids recently show white to tan smoke. If this one was kosher (which it's obviously not) then why the blue/black smoke? Was there a oil storage facility right smack dab in the middle of all that?
Yeah...I didn't think so either.)

UPDATE: Michelle, LGF, FreeRepublic and all the usuals are all over this like, well, cloning tools on a doctored photo!
Reuters has issued a "corrected" photo to their outlets. But that even further muddies the water. Is this a cleaner, more pro photochop or is this the original before tampering? The buildings still look alittle clone-y.
My what a wonderful parallel universe those folks live in! What color is their sky, you suppose?

Weekend at Fidely's

(AP via Yahoo)

MEXICO CITY - The Cuban government has provided no details on Fidel Castro's health and released no pictures of the leader since it announced Monday night that he was having surgery and handing power to his brother.

Cubans were told in a statement attributed to Castro that most details of his health would be kept "a state secret" to prevent the island's enemies from taking advantage of his condition.

(Spoilsports!!!)

Further into the article:

In a piece that appeared Saturday in the Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional, columnist Fausto Maso was pessimistic about Castro's chances.

Under the headline "The Interminable Death of Fidel Castro," Maso wrote: "He will be able to live some time more, but in an operation like that at his age, up to a fourth of those who enter the operating room die and those who survive are left with their days numbered."

Yep, shades of Franco all over again.


"He's Dead, Jim!"

Pig Sitting

It's been a flurry of activity here at the Laughing Dog Ranch.
Summer is drawing to a close, back to school is looming, the neverending remodel is finally making some progress.
It's VBS time, too and naturally, I got pressed into service. I've been busy with my job for the week-that of "drama director". Just a fancy term for the poor schlep that's in charge of skits. So I've been working on scripts, modifying costumes, hunting up props...Ah! Acting!
I grumble and complain, but really I do like the gig. It's just a little stressful.
Not the dealing with the all the kids daily-but it's the other adults cause me stress, some are very set in their ways and a loud and enthusiastic being, such as myself kinda blows their mindset.

But tonite is the last day, and just when I thought we all could sleep in for once on Saturday I got an email from my pal Kathy, formerly of Hicks, Hounds & Halachah and fellow Hillbilly Ecosystemite. Actually it was her hubby. They have to take off for a few days and would I mind coming over to the farm and make sure the critters are alright? He's primarily concerned about his pigs. He's got a pair he's raising for the smokehouse.
OK, no problem. I'm just down the road a piece and I'm not too proud to slop hogs...or feed cats and dogs and cows and guinea pigs.

Except he insists I sing to the hogs while I feed. The theory being that he is training them for when he turns them out into the pasture later on this year.This way all he'll have to do is sing out at feeding time and they'll come running. He has even provided me the tune and words I should use.

So whatever happened to just plain "Suuuuuuuu-eeeeey-pigpigpig!"?

Now Kathy's almost better half is a renowned joker. And even though I understand this Palovian type method and I actually have heard of people who do sing to their livestock, I can't help but be a bit skeptical in this case.

I will be sweeping the general hog area for any hidden cameras and/or microphones.

And Now For Something Completely Different...

File under "Remind me to never piss this guy off!"

Hey! Who put that dead naked mole rat in my undie drawer?....OhMyGawd!
Gruesome tale of spurned hubby's revenge, here.


And in a related story...just for comic relief...depending on your gender.
File under "Shrinkage"
Don'tcha just hate it when that happens?

Where For Art Thou, Moonbeam?

Ok, girl...A jokes a joke, but it's not funny any more.
Put the bong down, go find a dive with wi-fi and check in will ya?

Yeah, I Know It's NPR, But...

I just found this article fascinating!

"Search Is on for Original Apollo 11 Footage"

I remember that night. Shortly after we saw Buzz bounce onto the surface of the moon, my Dad and I stepped outside and both gazed up in silence at that fat grey moon, high in the California sky. We stood out there for quite awhile...not saying a word.

Just one of those moments.

Stalin Needs a Bridge Partner

Word is El Presidente is ailing for realsies.
Please, Dear God, take this festering weasel now!
Let the free world awake with a smile on our faces as we enjoy the morning newsbabes & coffee.
Even if our joy is short lived...official sources say the reins of power have been turned over to his brother who is a bigger ass than Fidel ever was.

Was.

Damn, I just like the sound of that!


They're partying in the streets of Miami like crazy monkeys, so something's up.

A.M. Update: Looks like Castro's gonna pull a Generalisimo Franco.
Drats! One can only hope for prolonged suffering in this case.