Mongo The Rabbit

I was pointing out Mongo the Rabbit to my nephew. He lives out back in an abandoned bee hive, being the only rabbit around with a condo. He is an incredibly large cottontail, larger than most swamp rabbits and could probably kick any jack rabbit’s ass he wanted.

My nephew, of course, did not understand why he was named Mongo. Kids…

For those who seek enlightenment and understanding of giant rabbits, I give you Mongo!

Democrats Attack McCain For Saving Americans $6 Billion, Claim Outsourcing Is Bad

Funny how the anti-war Democrats are jumping all over Senator McCain for stopping the deal that Boeing was hoping to get for an Air Force tanker. I find it so funny how Democrats flip flop on issues so consistently. It’s the one thing in America you can always count on besides taxes.

McCain claims he saved American taxpayers $6 billion and Democrats are upset about it because it means the contract will be fulfilled by an overseas company. Democrats are soooooooooo upset about it being outsourced.

How come these same Democrats are not upset about illegal immigrants taking American jobs and artificially depressing wages in this nation? How come these same Democrats are not upset that American farmers are moving their farms south of the border rather than pay decent wages to Americans? How come these same Democrats are only too happy to support the outsourcing of IT and manufacturing jobs overseas?

Senator McCain does those same things, however. So why are Democrats upset with him? They appear to be on the same side on nearly every issue, and McCain is a political cuddle-buddy with Hillary Clinton after all. What gives?

Apparently Democrats only get upset when it is contracts that provide jobs for their constituents building war planes to help out in the wars they condemn that are threatened by outsourcing. And all this time I thought liberals and Democrats loved the French.

Whatever the case, Boeing’s unethical practices brought the contract to an end, and the blame is ultimately that company’s. But, I’m only too happy to watch McCain and Democrats attack each other. Neither are doing anything really important or useful for Americans.

Hillary Overstates Experience, Suggests Bill Will Have Say In Foreign Policy

Hillary Clinton has laid claim to a lot of foreign policy experience, and yet she never made any decisions on the record it seems. What she has done amounts to lobbying and nothing more. To hear her tell, though, she is responsible for all things good at the end of the 20th century.

However, many are disputing her view on the matter.

Take a look at the issue in a article that points it out. Then ask yourself this: if she did have as much of an impact on her husband’s Presidency as she claims, shouldn’t we expect that he will have as much or a greater impact on her decisions and foreign policy since he has even far more experience that she did then?

Or, are we to believe that this woman who cries on the campaign trail when talking about her hair, who called half of Americans wrong when they were right in pointing out the truth that her husband cheated on her, and who stood by meekly and let her husband lie to her and dishonor our highest office…will somehow not allow her husband to participate or dictate or influence foreign and domestic policy?

I think someone and that someone’s supporters believe they did far more than they ever did. And as to qualifications for being Commander in Chief, do we want a woman who married a draft dodger who let bin Laden go, sold out our forces in Somalia? If she had such an impact on her husband as President, it only stands to reason she was behind his failed policies as well. Do we want a draft dodger’s wife who–like Jane Fonda–insulted our fighting men and women and participated in rallies in the Soviet Union (when that nation had forces in Viet nam) while our soldiers were dying overseas—and yet from a position of power voted for a war in Iraq…which she now says is wrong?

If Hillary were to be elected, there won’t be any change at all. In fact, it will be Bill Clinton’s policies all over again…after all, apparently she was so deeply involved in shaping them, and–no doubt–they shaped her. Does that mean we can expect the same weak approach to combating terrorism that her husband took?

Tripp Isenhour: Jackass Pro Golfer Kills Hawk In Fit Of Rage

I say they tie this worthless punk to a pole at a driving range and let people have at him.

What an absolute worthless excuse of a human. I wouldn’t piss on him if he was on fire. He’s just like Michael Vick. Both those punks need their ass kicked.

Update 1: I forgot to mention that the entire crew on location are a bunch of spineless cowards with no redeeming moral quality either. You just stand by and watch someone kill a protected bird of prey for no reason because you’re afraid of saying something…to a frigging golfer? What kind of nation of cowards do we live in? I think they ought to bring charges against the entire crew as accomplices in the incident.

Update 2: You can go over to ESPN’s golf section and see just how many other golfers share his pathetic attitude for yourself in the comments on the story on that site. You’ll have to sign up for an account. There are plenty of other golfers that are just as worthless as he is.

NATO Fears Over Dutch Film About Islam?

Dutch MP Geert Wilders will soon be releasing a film about Islam that has NATO worrying about repercussions. You may recall that Net access was blocked in Pakistan recently because of a video with Mr. Wilders appearing on YouTube talking about the film?

Currently, NATO is concerned about how the upcoming release of the film will impact relations with Islamic nations. The Dutch government has also issued a heightened terrorism alert in anticipation of peaceful Islamic reaction. In Afghanistan, protesters are already calling for the government to expel Dutch and Danish troops and cut ties with those countries.

I for one am glad to see Mr. Wilders going forward with his plans. These days, Islamists use terror and intimidation of all sorts to silence any criticism of Islam or Islamic nations or anything related to their culture. It’s nice to see that Western democracies haven’t lost their spine altogether and that freedom of speech is still possible in places. Who would have thought you needed to be brave to be a cartoonist, after all?

Sadly, here in America, it is getting more difficult to criticize our own government or Islam. Laws passed under the guise of ‘hate crime’ and ‘domestic terror’ legislation are making it increasingly likely that being critical of the establishment in general and of those nations which our government considers allies—or critical to some political goal.

Really, all those anti-war protesters who want US troops to come home have to do is start posting cartoons of Muhammad daily. Soon, the furor will be such that all foreign troops will leave the Middle East. What a tragic pity that the solution is so easy and simple, yet the anti-war protesters would hypocritically rather let wars continue to be fought than offend the Islamic masses.

War is bad, terrible and killing should stop, the anti-war protesters cry! Unless, of course it would offend someone and upset them because it offended their peaceful belief in stoning and beheading. For the anti-war establishment, it’s much more acceptable to let a war continue and not offend people than it is to hurt someone’s feelings and save lives. As I’ve mentioned before, you never see anti-war protesters doing anything proactive between wars. These creatures only come out when it is convenient and they need to feel good about themselves.

Real peace activists don’t wait for the wars to begin to take action.

Sorry for the side trip, but back to the upcoming film release by Mr. Wilders. I wish him a safe life. The world needs more people willing to stand up to bullies—no matter what ideology they hide behind, and no matter what spineless governments are in bed with them.

The world is well aware of the brutality perpetrated by virtually every religion out there, and yet it is somehow a bad thing to point it out about Islam. Why is this? As the modern world well knows, you don’t want to upset those selling you the oil you need to grease the wheels of civilization.

But really, what’s the point of being civilized and having a government if you’re going to allow barbarians from far away lands to dictate what you can and can’t do in your own country?

I receive a lot of spam, both in WordPress comments and in email (though Akismet is improving and catching more of it). Just today, someone proudly proclaiming his Middle Eastern name tried filling my email with spam. It of course all just went to the junk folder and I had a good laugh at it. Most of the spam I get these days originates from IP addresses in the Middle East…more gifts from those peace-loving sorts I suppose. It’s hilarious how most of it is porn related spam. I guess there are a lot of Muslim men out there that really regret making their women cover up or something.

For those who think I only pick on Islam, you’re wrong.

As soon as I hear of Christians or Buddhists walking into Muslim communities and blowing themselves up I’ll take them to task just the same. As soon as I see or hear priests in the Vatican or the Native American Church calling for the extermination of a nation and its people, I’ll take them to task. As soon as native people living in the jungle along the Amazon start roadside bombings I will take them to task as well. As soon as I hear Taoists, Wiccans and members of The Hip Hop Church are stoning and beheading people, I’ll take them to task. As soon as I hear Jews and Atheists refusing to allow women to attend school, I’ll take them to task. As soon as Scientologists…wait…everyone already knows they’re creepy and strange, right?

In the mean time, since Hamas is still praising things like gunmen walking into schools and shooting civilians, it is no wonder that humanitarian conditions in Gaza are at a 40 year low.

Maybe if they had spent more time building a society than they spent building bombs and tunnels over the past 40 years, the Palestinians would have had a thriving nation by now? But why do all that hard work when you can riot, burn flags and cars, get angry at everyone in the world except your countrymen and your own leaders, and scream for heads over a cartoon, right?

Or, optionally, you can spend your time withdrawing from book fairs, accusing Israel of crimes against humanity…all the while hypocritically ignoring genocide in Darfur by Sudan’s peaceful Islamic government, right?

Syrian Man Beheads 15 Month Old Nephew In Saudi Arabia

Does it get any more insane than a man beheading his 15 month old nephew in a public market? There are no words suitable to react to this sort of thing really. It just gives civilized people one more reason to dislike the Middle East, everything in it and about it.

Gary Gygax Passes Away

The news that Gary Gygax passed away has had me reflecting on the past today. It made me quite sad to hear of his passing.

I and many, many friends over the years have played Dungeons & Dragons (mostly AD&D of course) and enjoyed it well into our adult lives. I started playing back in the 70’s as a kid—thanks to my older brother and his friends—when the first rule sets came out in small paper bound booklets, and continued playing with friends even when in the Army. I even played it with the kids of a friend I had played it with as a teenager—it was truly a transcendental game.

Any time you can get the oddballs, jocks, popular kids, siblings and soldiers, parents and children, guys and girls together and enjoying something in common, it is a good thing.

It was such a shame, hearing preachers and naysayers claiming it was about devil worship and akin to being hooked on crack and other ridiculous assertions. The world is full of people willing to suggest anything that doesn’t fit their perception of what is proper is bad and a possible detriment to society.

Dungeons & Dragons brought out the best in everyone I knew who played it. For a lot of young people it was one way to cope with a world that made little sense growing up, parents that were not around or a less than pleasant home life.

Gary, you brought incredible numbers of diverse people a lot of enjoyment. You gave a lot of young people a way to find common ground. You brought millions together and showed them it was not only OK to be dreamers, but showed them the magic to be found in real life—by giving them the means to share their thoughts, hopes, dreams and ideas with others. Your wonderful game formed friendships and taught people how to work together and get along.

Yours was a gift of discovery and camaraderie, and it was truly magical.

Those of us who traveled the shadowy hinterlands of imagined worlds with companions that remained long after the last dice had been rolled and the pizza was all gone will not forget you. Even though we know that someday we, too, will pass on—we are not afraid. You taught us to love adventure and be bold in the face of the unknown, after all.

Rest in peace, Gary Gygax. You will be missed.

Have You Seen The Green Steam Engine?

I stumbled on the Green Steam Engine as I surfed aimlessly around looking at Stirling engine related topics. I just happened to click on a link while browsing the very interesting engine page of the Red Rock Energy website.

This thing uses a patented flexible rod transmission (which is an amazing concept) and generates considerable power in a small package. Just reading about it gave me all sorts of ideas.

Be sure to check out the many photos of it on the site. Alternative energy enthusiasts will probably find their minds racing. There is even a nifty diagram that shows how it can be used to distill water.

Oh, and be sure to check out IndianaRog and the Temple of Steam, and NASA’s Thermo-Mechanical Systems Branch—which is working on Stirling Radioisotope power for deep space use.

Gentoo Flavored SystemRescue CD 1.0.0 Now Available

I was just catching up on what’s new over on DistroWatch.com—as I hadn’t been in several days—and saw the news. This distribution has a wide variety of tools you need to repair and recover a system after a crash.

It is a bootable CD-ROM based on Gentoo Linux, so be sure to check it out: SystemRescue CD

It’s a great idea, really. I have been using a couple bootable Linux live CD’s with great effect even when recovering data on Windows systems. PCLinuxOS comes in handy for just that reason and is my personal favorite. I can boot a Windows system that has crapped out with a PCLinuxOS CD—and since it will readily recognize USB drives and FAT/NTFS partitions it is a simple matter to drag data in need of recovery to an external USB drive.

Then I can quickly go about doing what fixes Windows best…reformatting a hard drive.

Back to my point. Check out the SystemRescue CD distro!

Music 1.0 Dead From Obvious Causes

Well, as usual, the big players in the music industry lag behind the reality on the ground. Sort of like politicians. a recent article on Ars Technica by Nate Anderson takes a look at the recent roundhouse kick to the head that killed the music industry in its first incarnation.

Music exec: “Music 1.0 is dead” is a great article. Indie musicians have been changing the industry in ways that even the corporate giants cannot ignore, and—as the article points out—they have finally grasped that the old model is an untenable position.

Of course the talk is about Music 2.0 (is anyone else getting tired of the old model of versioning, by the way?) and new models. All good stuff, and focusing largely on technology and digital delivery.

They’re still missing the point. Knock the stupid versioning technology away, it is about music and that means it is about interaction. Call it Music 3.0 if you are stuck in that particular paradigm and you like to feel comfortable, but the model that needs to be embraced is still to come, and I have a pretty good idea what it will be.

In the meantime, enjoy how the realization that sometimes you can’t fight the tide and instead get swept along with it is impacting even the major record labels.

Props to The Kings of A & R, a great site that ought to be in your bookmarks, for leading me to both those great stories.

Leftist Lawmakers Praising McCain?

Time.com has an article, A Mexican Take on the Primary Race, which makes an interesting point:

Despite Mexicans’ traditional sympathy for the Democrats, Senator John McCain also has plenty of supporters south of the border, because of his track record on immigration. “There has been a lot of immigrant bashing in the campaign but McCain has not been part of it,” says Rep. Jose Jacques Medina, a leftist lawmaker who was an immigrant activist in California for more than 30 years. “It’s surprising, but the candidate with the best record on immigration is a Republican.”

(Source: Time.com — A Mexican Take on the Primary Race)

The Republican party is in deep trouble when the presumptive nominee is getting props from leftist lawmakers, don’t you think? Amnesty is popular though.

Russia just offered migrants amnesty in Moscow.