Friday, June 30, 2006

I am so sleepy…

Wendy
Tag:

Must Read: Ledeen on Iranian Influence in Iraq Theater

(Via Rantburg)

It isn't (just) Ba-athists killing our troops in Iraq. There are a substantial number working for Tehran. This piece by Michael Ledeen details the nature of Iraqis, Iranians, Shi'ite Iraqis who fled to Iran during the Iran/Iraq War, and a schism within Shi'a Islam.

(Cross Posted at Potbelly Stove)

Saturday, June 24, 2006

I Don't Miss Him Already

This one floated right under my radar: Norman Mineta has resigned as Secretary of Transportation.

Mineta, who served in the Clinton cabinet, was sort of a poster boy for George W. Bush's "New Tone" in Washington. (And a fat lot of good THAT's done for him. I would have been for waving buh-bye to every last holdover from the Clinton Administration. But that's just me.)

Perhaps now we can stop with the politically correct airport searches of Cub scouts and grandmothers.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Beagle Saves Man

This post at On Tap blog shows why it is that beagles really aren't "dumb". Willful? Yes. Selectively deaf? You betcha. But dumb? Not necessarily.

Excerpt:
Not only are beagles darn cute, make great cartoon characters, and prevent nasty diseases from ruining our farms and killing our livestock, they can also save your life...
Read it all here.

Another One Bites the Dust

Zarqawi's assistant and a liason between Al Qaeda in Iraq and the tribes south of Baghdad is now toast, too.

The Rantburg story points to a story in the Khaleej Times. The comments section at The Burg has a link to some before and after pix of one Mansur Suleiman al-Mashhadani.

A story yesterday had armed gangs of foreigners high-tailing it out of Iraq toward Syria. I wasn't familiar with the source of the story, but it is linked here. It really is a strange time for Democrats to redouble their "run-away!" efforts, isn't it?

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

A Midsummer's Eve

Sundown, Illinois, Midsummer's Eve, 2006Another fine evening. Tag:

Where's Trodwell & Co. Gone?

Once there was a very cool blog up in Canada. I'm not going to link to where it was, since someone is squatting on it now.

But it was the home to Trodwell, Pianoman, a Disaffected Minion and a Carniverous Beaver. I miss those guys. Anyone know where they've gone?

UPDATE: Rather than delete the post, I'll just update it with this link to North American Patriot--who also has hung up the keyboard. They're out for good. Or at least for the foreseeable future. I'm sure the next time Canada decides to veer back to the Libranos, Trodwell & Co. will be heard from in some forum.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Zark's Dead

The headline is over at Rantburg. We got Zarqawi.

I fully expect videos to be delivered to the Arab satellite news networks showing him alive and well, but with no particular way to date them. Then perhaps some audio tapes that could well have been pieced together from older statements which attempt to make him look alive since he's "talking" about current events.

UPDATE: FoxNews.com has it here with a big photo and the word "Dead".

BBC has the story here.

Drudge makes with the big headline, but no flashy-thing as of 0639.

Here's Christopher Hitchens's piece (via The Hugh Hewitt Show, linked from RadioBlogger.com). From the piece comes this interesting tidbit:
Nick Berg's father, a MoveOn type now running for Congress on the Green Party ticket, has already said that he blames President George Bush for the video-beheading of his own son (but of course) and mourned the passing of Zarqawi as he would the death of any man (but of course, again).
I'm guessing that would make for an interesting campaign ad if anyone needed to bother to advertise against a Green Party candidate. If it were me, I'd be blaming the guy with the knife on the video, but then I'm not suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome.

Monday, June 05, 2006

It's Almost the 6th of June and You Know What THAT Means...

No, not the Mark of the Beast. That's not 6-6-6 anyway, it's 600+60+6 and it refers to Nero Caesar.

No. It means...
It was the dark of the moon on the sixth of June
And a Kenworth pullin' logs
Cab-over Pete with a reefer on
And a Jimmy haulin' hogs
We's headin' for bear on Eye-one-oh
'Bout a mile outa Shakeytown
I says, "Pigpen, this here's Rubber Duck
And I'm about to put the hammer down"
Yup. Convoy Day!

Facts about Convoy...
...There was no C.W. McCall. It was a pseudonym for Bill Fries, who cowrote the song with Chip Davis. (Yes, THAT Chip Davis!) And then there was the film that starred Kris Kristofferson and Ally McGraw and directed by Sam Peckinpah (yes, that Sam Peckinpah.) I haven't seen it in more than 20 years, and I don't think I want to see it now for fear that my general good feeling about it will dissipate in a cringe.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Places I Never Thought I'd Find Myself: Lynchburg, VA

As we headed down US-29 en route to High Point, NC for some serious furniture buying (see also: here), my lovely bride and I stopped off in Lynchburg, Virginia to eat. As we pulled into town, I remembered why it was I had heard of Lynchburg. It is Jerry Falwell's hometown, and Liberty University figures prominently, and I noticed a sign for Jerry Falwell Airport, as well, though we apparently didn't pass it.

As we pulled into the area close to Liberty for reasonably-priced eats, the kids walking around looked pretty much like any other college crowd. I'm not sure if I expected everyone to wear choir robes or what. Maybe it isn't all that different...but then, there it was, parked next to us outside a Mexican restaurant next to a big movie theater: a minivan covered with Bible verses and small, pictorial vignettes. I tried to get my camera phone ready, but sadly it was too dark, and the minivan was pulling away.

Now, I'm all for encouraging bold evangelism, but I've got to say, an over-the-top decoration of one's vehicle doesn't strike me as a good way to go. To paraphrase Hank Hill: You aren't making Christianity better, your just making your van look ridiculous. Too harsh?

As of Today...

...I am no longer on the payroll of the Lazy M. It's been a little strange getting paid to NOT work for a company, but if that's the way they want it, I'll take it. Thankfully, it hasn't precluded me from doing productive work elsewhere. Two pay checks at the same time: it's a good gig, if you can get it.

Some time in the next few weeks I'll get a massive severance check. And for that I wrote on my whiteboard at the old office: "So Long and Thanks for the Fabulous Cash and Prizes." Some of those are here and here.

Since there's still going to be some left over, I'm debating between the DeWalt DW735 and Ridgid TP1300 13" thickness planers. The Ridgid has been hailed in years psat as a good unit, and it costs $100 or so less than the DeWalt. However the Ridgid brand has been sold to the same parent company that owns Ryobi. Not sure if the unit still compares. Anyone know?