The Silent Thud

I was just working on my homework upstairs when I heard a loud thud. I knew what it was right away so I ran into the boys room and there was Jacob, not on the floor like I had expected from him falling out of bed, but more just hanging there in mid air. His arm and head where touching the floor but his body was suspended in air and his legs where caught up in his covers still up on his bed. He was just peacefully hanging there completely silent still asleep. Like a content little bat :-)

Sorry I didn't think about getting a picture of it until after I had gently placed him back in bed. Maybe next time.

A DEADLY KINDNESS

A DEADLY KINDNESS By RICHARD MINITER - New York Post Online Edition: Postopinion

The high-minded critics who complain about torture are wrong. We are far too soft on these guys - and, as a result, aren't getting the valuable intelligence we need to save American lives.

The politically correct regulations are unbelievable. Detainees are entitled to a full eight hours sleep and can't be woken up for interrogations. They enjoy three meals and five prayers per day, without interruption. They are entitled to a minimum of two hours of outdoor recreation per day.

...Call it excessive compassion by a nation devoted to therapy, but it's dangerous....

...Other cells pass messages from leaders in one camp to followers in others. How? Detainees use the envelopes sent to them by their attorneys to pass messages....

...No expense (is) spared for al Qaeda health care...

...Of Gitmo's several camps, military records show that the one with the most lenient rules is the one with the most incidents and vice versa. There is a lesson in this: We should worry less about detainee safety and more about our own...

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When these terrorists capture innocent non-military Americans they take care of them by beheading them. When we capture people actively involved in murdering Americans and plotting to destroy our country we give them the royal treatment with full health care. This is outrageous and is endangering innocent American lives. These lawyers and others who think
protecting the rights of terrorists is a higher priority than protecting Americans will have innocent blood on their hands when we get attacked again. Unfortunately I doubt even then they will take this war seriously.

My two kids wake me up multiple times in the middle of the night, I never get a full nights sleep. Up until a year ago I didn't have health insurance and was paying for my health care out of pockett. I am lucky if I get 30 minutes outside a day let alone 2 hours. These guys are living better than me!

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Update:

Speaking of the lawyers... Here is what one had to brag about.

'We have over one hundred lawyers now from big and small firms working to represent these detainees. Every time an attorney goes down there, it makes it that much harder to do what they're doing. You can’t run an interrogation and torture camp with attorneys.'

http://www.motherjones.com/news/qa/2005/03/ratner.html

Can you OD on Antacid?

I am working on it.

Rio Karma

Sometimes my MP3 player knows me like a close personal friend other times it is a stranger throwing random songs at me like rocks trying to provoke me.  Today it is a brother handing me the right songs in the perfect order to comfort, inspire and motivate me.  Yesterday I left work a little early feeling like I could do no more...of anything.  Today I went into work feeling the same and wondering how I would make it through another day of toil and playing catchup.  But with the selective combination of Arrested Development, U2, Waterdeep, Foo Fighters and Pedro the Lion I now have the strength to press on.

At least it is Friday... back to work now.

The Religion of Peace

I think it is ironic when someone criticizes Islam for being violent and Muslims become outraged and respond with violence.

Pope comments explosive in Mideast: analysts

Not to say that all Muslims are violent, but stuff like this sure doesn't help the image of Islam.

The "Fluffy Planet"

Come on, so this big ball of helium and hydrogen gets called a planet, but not Pluto? Where is the justice.

Astronomers find distant, fluffy planet

Our Day At The Air Show

Our Day at the Air Show

Sep 9, 2006 - 14 Photos

Air Marshals

I think being an Air Marshal would be one of the coolest yet boring jobs ever. On the one hand not only do you get to carry a concealed gun, but you get to carry one on to a plane!! Plus you get heavily trained in close combat. On the other hand you have to sit on a boring air plane for hours and hours on end doing nothing but "blending in". I wonder if you get free flights? That could be the one thing to tip the scale in favor of being an air marshal... I would probably never get hired though because I believe to much in profiling.

Riverside Park

Riverside Park

Aug 20, 2006 - 7 Photos

Here are pictures of the boys downtown at Riverside Park playing in a fountain.

Act locally, think globally: Shop Wal-Mart.

Why I am happy to be a proud Wal-Mart stock holder.  Just doing my part to help the poor ;-)

TCS Daily - Forget the World Bank, Try Wal-Mart

"Even without considering the $263 billion in consumer savings that Wal-Mart provides for low-income Americans, or the millions lifted out of poverty by Wal-Mart in other developing nations, it is unlikely that there is any single organization on the planet that alleviates poverty so effectively for so many people."

What's the difference between a nerd, a geek, and a dork?

I have personally been called all three of the below throughout my life but I would have to say the only one that is close to accurate is "Geek"  except for the whole biting heads off of chickens thing and as of yet nobody works under me.  I say "as of yet" b/c once my diabolical plan is complete the entire world will work for me... (to be said with an evil laugh following it)  Good ol' Yahoo always answering those deep hard hitting life questions.

Ask Yahoo:
What's the difference between a nerd, a geek, and a dork?

We've been called all three, and to be honest, we always assumed they meant the same thing. However, according to the cool kids, there are differences.

Official definitions for nerd, geek, and dork each use the words "inept" and "foolish." Nerds have the added distinction of being "unattractive." Ouch. While it's hard to argue with the dictionary, we sought out definitions from the Internet at large.

According to Whatis.com, nerds are people of above-average intelligence who place little importance on their appearance. Nerds are often aware of their status, but they don't mind. In fact, many take pride in the putdown, as it means they're smart and not wrapped up in superficial worries.

Geek is a more specific term. Back in the day, geeks worked at carnivals, and (according to the dictionary) "bit the heads off live chickens." Thankfully, the term now has a different connotation. Like nerds, geeks are smart, but they tend to focus more on technology. As Urban Dictionary explains, these are the people you make fun of in high school and later work for as an adult.

Being called a "dork" is the biggest insult of the three. There's no way you can spin it into something positive. After all, even the dictionary writes that dorks are "stupid" people. And to make matters worse, dorks assume they're cool. Oh, and they smell, too.

So, to sum things up, if someone calls you a geek or a nerd, thank them. If someone calls you a dork, consider going back to school and investing in some new deodorant.

A Rising Tide Lifts All Ships

OpinionJournal - Outside the Box
Rising Tide
Tax cuts are good for everyone--and everyone knows it but Washington Democrats.

Here are some quick quotes from this great article:

Mr. Bush signed the most recent tax cuts into law in the spring of 2003. In the past 33 months the size of America's entire economy has increased by 20%--or, as National Review Online's Larry Kudlow put it, "In less than three years, the U.S. economic pie has expanded by $2.2 trillion, an output add-on that is roughly the same size as the total Chinese economy."

In the 2 1/4 years before the 2003 tax cuts, economic growth averaged 1.1% annually; in the three years since it has averaged 4% per year, and in the first quarter of this year it was 5.6% on an annualized basis. Inflation-adjusted per capita GDP has grown 7.8% from 2003 through the first quarter of this year.

Incomes are up too. As Stephen Moore noted in The Wall Street Journal, "the percentage of Americans earning more than $50,000 a year rose from 40.8% to 44.2%" between 2002 and 2004. As for very wealthy families, the portion of total income "captured by the richest 1%, 5% and 10% of Americans is lower today than in the last year of the Clinton administration."

The evidence is so obvious and the conclusion that tax cuts are good for America is so apparent I can only surmise that the Democrats in Washington do not truly want what is best for our nation.

Email is the new snail mail

BREITBART.COM - E-Mail Losing Its Clout

"E-mail is so last millennium. Young people see it as a good way to reach an elder _ a parent, teacher or a boss _ or to receive an attached file. But increasingly, the former darling of high-tech communication is losing favor to instant and text messaging, and to the chatter generated on blogs and social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace."

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"...Adults who learn to use IM later have major difficulty talking to more than two people at one time _ whereas the teens who grew up on it have no problem talking to a bazillion people at once," Boyd says. "They understand how to negotiate the interruptions a lot better."

WMD's in Iraq?

Maybe this is the real reason so many want us to cut and run.  They are afraid we will find more of this.  So much for there not being any Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq.  I am sure this won't change anyone's mind though.  It is hard to see the truth with blinders on (or at least with a heart filled with hate for President Bush).

BREITBART.COM - Hundreds of chemical weapons found in Iraq: US intelligence

"Since 2003, Coalition forces have recovered approximately 500 weapons munitions which contain degraded mustard or sarin nerve agent," said an overview of the report unveiled by Senator Rick Santorum and Peter Hoekstra, head of the intelligence committee of the House of Representatives.

"Despite many efforts to locate and destroy Iraq's
pre-Gulf war chemical munitions, filled and unfilled pre-Gulf war
chemical munitions are assessed to still exist," it says.