On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs

This is a LONG read but well worth it. I received this via email and it was credited to LTC (RET) Dave Grossman, author of "On Killing."

"Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so because honor is, finally, about defending those noble and worthy things that deserve defending, even if it comes at a high cost. In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or as always,even death itself. The question remains: What is worth defending? What is worth dying for? What is worth living for?" - William J. Bennett - in a lecture to the United States Naval Academy November 24, 1997

One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me:

"Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident."

This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another. Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year.

Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.

Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.

I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin's egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful.? For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.

"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf."

If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.

Let me expand on this old soldier's excellent model of the sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. We know that the sheep live in denial, that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids' schools.
But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid's school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard, and so they chose the path of denial.

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, can not and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheep dog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.

Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn't tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, "Baa."

Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.

The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them. This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door.

Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Remember how many times you heard the word hero?

Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed right along with the young ones.

Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." When you are truly transformed into a warrior and have truly invested yourself into warriorhood, you want to be there. You want to be able to make a difference.

There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population. There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious, predatory crimes of violence: assaults, murders and killing law enforcement officers. The vast majority said that they specifically targeted victims by body language: slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself.

Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I'm proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs. Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the hijacking. When he learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd dropped his phone and uttered the words, "Let's roll," which authorities believe was a signal to the other passengers to confront the terrorist hijackers.

In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers - athletes, business people and parents. -- from sheep to sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground.

There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men. - Edmund Burke

Here is the point I like to emphasize, especially to the thousands of police officers and soldiers I speak to each year. In nature the sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are wolves. They didn't have a choice. But you are not a critter. As a human being, you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision.

If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust or love.

But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior's path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door.

For example, many officers carry their weapons in church. They are well concealed in ankle holsters, shoulder holsters or inside-the-belt holsters tucked into the small of their backs. Anytime you go to some form of religious service, there is a very good chance that a police officer in your congregation is carrying. You will never know if there is such an individual in your place of worship, until the wolf appears to massacre you and your loved ones.

I was training a group of police officers in Texas, and during the break, one officer asked his friend if he carried his weapon in church. The other cop replied, "I will never be caught without my gun in church." I asked why he felt so strongly about this, and he told me about a cop he knew who was at a church massacre in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1999. In that incident, a mentally deranged individual came into the church and opened fire, gunning down fourteen people. He said that officer believed he could have saved every life that day if he had been carrying his gun. His own son was shot, and all he could do was throw himself on the boy's body and wait to die. That cop looked me in the eye and said, "Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself after that?"

Some individuals would be horrified if they knew this police officer was carrying a weapon in church. They might call him paranoid and would probably scorn him. Yet these same individuals would be enraged and would call for "heads to roll" if they found out that the airbags in their cars were defective, or that the fire extinguisher and fire sprinklers in their kids' school did not work. They can accept the fact that fires and traffic accidents can happen and that there must be safeguards against them.

Their only response to the wolf, though, is denial, and all too often their response to the sheepdog is scorn and disdain. But the sheepdog quietly asks himself, "Do you have and idea how hard it would be to live with yourself if your loved ones attacked and killed, and you had to stand there helplessly because you were unprepared for that day?"

It is denial that turns people into sheep. Sheep are psychologically destroyed by combat because their only defense is denial, which is counterproductive and destructive, resulting in fear, helplessness and horror when the wolf shows up.

Denial kills you twice. It kills you once, at your moment of truth when you are not physically prepared: you didn't bring your gun, you didn't train. Your only defense was wishful thinking. Hope is not a strategy. Denial kills you a second time because even if you do physically survive, you are psychologically shattered by your fear helplessness and horror at your moment of truth.
Gavin de Becker puts it like this in Fear Less, his superb post-9/11 book, which should be required reading for anyone trying to come to terms with our current world situation: "...denial can be seductive, but it has an insidious side effect. For all the peace of mind deniers think they get by saying it isn't so, the fall they take when faced with new violence is all the more unsettling."

Denial is a save-now-pay-later scheme, a contract written entirely in small print, for in the long run, the denying person knows the truth on some level.

And so the warrior must strive to confront denial in all aspects of his life, and prepare himself for the day when evil comes. If you are warrior who is legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the bad man will not come today. No one can be "on" 24/7, for a lifetime. Everyone needs down time. But if you are authorized to carry a weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath, and say this to yourself...

"Baa."

This business of being a sheep or a sheep dog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-sand-sheep and on the other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one end or the other. Most of us live somewhere in between. Since 9-11 almost everyone in America took a step up that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few steps toward accepting and appreciating their warriors, and the warriors started taking their job more seriously. The degree to which you move up that continuum, away from sheephood and denial, is the degree to which you and your loved ones will survive, physically and psychologically at your moment of truth.

A-6Dude


Blue Martini
2 parts of Bombay Blue Sapphire gin or Vodka
1 part of blue curacao
dash of dry vermouth.

Shake over ice till COLD and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with an olive.

A Few Good Men - My Day At Work

Since retiring from the Navy I have found myself in the mysterious world of sales. For the first six years I sold software and for the last four I have been selling services (people). It’s a completely different mentality than flying jets in the Navy.

Out here there are two sides of the equation – those of us that bring in revenue (sales reps and Business Developers) and those that depend upon that revenue (Finance and Accounting – F&A). I'm a Business Developer.

Here is a meeting I had today with them set to the tone of the movie "A Few Good Men".

F&A: “I still need clarification on this expense report.”

Me: "You want answers?"

F&A: "I think we are entitled to them!"

Me: "You want answers?!"

F&A: "I want the truth!"

Me: "You can't handle the truth!!!"

Me (continuing): "Lady, we live in a world that requires revenue. And that revenue must be brought in by people with elite skills. Who's going to find it? You? You, Ms. Finance and Accounting? We have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom.

You scoff at Business Development and you curse our lucrative incentives. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what we know: that while the cost of business results are excessive, it drives in revenue. And my very existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, drives REVENUE!

You don't want to know the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at staff meetings ... you want me on that call. You NEED me on that call!

We use words like Long Term Agreements, Productivity Improvements, discounts, Just In Time, global purchase agreements. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent negotiating something. You use them as a punch line!

I have neither the time nor inclination to explain myself to people who rise and sleep under the very blanket of revenue I provide and then question the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you" and went on your way. Otherwise I suggest you pick up a phone and make some sales calls. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to!"

F&A: "Did you expense the lap dances?"

Me: "I did the job I was hired to do."

F&A: "Did you expense the lap dances?"

Me: "You're goddamn right I did!"

A-6Dude


Key Lime Martini Recipe

Graham cracker crumbs, for rimming the glass
2 lime wedges
6 Tbs. vanilla flavored vodka
¼ cup key lime liqueur
2 Tbs. pineapple juice
2 Tbs. heavy whipping cream

Pour the graham cracker crumbs into a shallow dish. Rub a lime wedge around the edge of a martini glass and roll the edge in the graham cracker crumbs. Chill the glass for 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

Combine the vodka, key lime liqueur, pineapple juice and cream in a shaker. Fill the shaker half full with ice and shake until COLD. Pour into prepared martini glass, garnish with a lime wedge and serve immediately.

This was not plagiarized. This was composed using repeatable best practices. They're just words.

Supreme Court Rejects ACLU Challenge to Wiretaps

This is why it is important to have a constructionist majority on the court. Score one for the good guys! Check out the article.

A-6Dude

Vesper:
3 measures of Gordon's Gin
1 measure of vodka
1/2 measure Kina Lillet
lemon peel for garnish

Shake over ice till COLD! Strain into a COLD martini glass and garnish with a lemon peel.

Obama and Che?

A Houston campaign office for Barack Obama displaying the Cuban flag with murderous thug Che Guevara superimposed.

Maybe he didn't know about this but has anyone heard of him telling anyone to take it down? I'll reserve comment until I hear the answer to that.

A-6Dude

Real Life Quotes - Funnier Than Fiction

Have you ever spoken and wished that you could immediately take the words back... or that you could crawl into a hole?

Here are the Testimonials of a few people who did....

FIRST TESTIMONY:

I walked into a hair salon with my husband and three kids in tow and asked loudly, "How much do you charge for a shampoo and a blow job?" I turned around and walked back out and never went back. My husband didn't say a word... he knew better.

SECOND TESTIMONY:

I was at the golf store comparing different kinds of golf balls. I was unhappy with the women's type I had been using. After browsing for several minutes, I was approached by one of the good-looking gentlemen who worked at the store. He asked if he could help me. Without thinking, I looked at him and said, "I think I like playing with men's balls."

THIRD TESTIMONY:

My sister and I were at the mall and passed by a store that sold a variety of candy and nuts. As we were looking at the display case, the boy behind the counter asked if we needed any help. I replied, "No, I'm just looking at your nuts." My sister started to laugh hysterically. The boy grinned, and I turned beet-red and walked away. To this day, my sister has never let me forget.

FOURTH TESTIMONY:

While in line at the bank one afternoon, my toddler decided to release some pent-up energy and ran amok. I was finally able to grab hold of her after receiving looks of disgust and annoyance from other patrons. I told her that if she did not start behaving"right now" she would be punished. To my horror, she looked me in the eye and said in a voice just as threatening, "If you don't let me go right now, I will tell Grandma that I saw you kissing Daddy's pee-pee last night!"

The silence was deafening after this enlightening exchange. Even the tellers stopped what they were doing. I mustered up the last of my dignity and walked out of the bank with my daughter in tow. The last thing I heard when the door closed behind me, were screams of laughter.

FIFTH TESTIMONY:

Have you ever asked your child a question too many times? My three-year-old son had a lot of problems with potty training, and I was on him constantly. One day we stopped at Taco Bell for a quick lunch, in between errands. It was very busy, with a full diningroom. While enjoying my taco, I smelled something funny, so of course I checked my seven-month-old daughter, and she was clean. The realized that Danny had not asked to go potty in a while. I asked him if he needed to go, and he said "No."

I kept thinking "Oh Lord, that child has had an accident and I don't have any clothes with me." Then I said, "Danny, are you SURE you didn't have an accident?" "No," he replied. I just KNEW that he must have had an accident, because the smell was getting worse.

Soooooo, I asked one more time, "Danny did you have an accident?" This time he jumped u p, yanked down his pants, bent over, spread his cheeks and yelled "SEE MOM, IT'S JUST FARTS!!"

While 30 people nearly choked to death on their tacos laughing, he calmly pulled up his pants and sat down. An old couple made me feel better, thanking me for the best laugh they'd ever had!

LAST BUT NOT LEAST TESTIMONY:

This had most of the state of Michigan laughing for 2 days and a very embarrassed female news anchor who will, in the future, likely think before she speaks. What happens when you predict snow but don't get any! We had a female news anchor that, the day after it was supposed to have snowed and didn't, turned to the weatherman and asked: "So Bob, where's that 8 inches you promised me last night?"

Not only did HE have to leave the set, but half the crew did too they were laughing so hard!

Real life is way funnier than fiction.

A-6Dude

Pina Colada Martini
1 part Vodka
1 part Malibu Rum
1 part Pineapple Juice

Shake over ice until very COLD! Strain into a chilled martini glass

The 11 Rules of Reality – Mandatory Posting for all Schools

This is supposedly attributed to Bill Gates as part of a speech he gave to a high school recently. I cannot verify that but it matters not. Whomever wrote this hits the nail on the head.

But as the story was given to me, Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a high school about things they did not, and will not learn in school. He talked about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world. Here are the 11 Rules of Reality:

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

If you can read this - Thank a teacher!

If you are reading it in English -Thank a Vet!

A-6Dude

Spiced Apple Martini

2.5 parts 10 Cane Rum

2 parts Apple Juice

splash of Amaretto

2 pinches of ground cinammon

cinammon/sugar mixture

Cinammon Stick

Shake rum, apple juice, amaretto and ground cinammon over ice till COLD! Strain into chilled martini glass rimmed with cinammon/super fine sugar mix and garnish with a cinammon stick.

The Party’s Over?

I live in Loudoun County, VA. It’s ranked one of the fastest growing and richest (whatever that means) counties in America. I like it here. It is close to DC (45 miles) and yet, far enough from the DC area to be a great place to live.

I also own a house here (well, the bank does for a bit longer). Like every other part of the country we are experiencing the effects of the housing slump. New building permits are down and my house has decreased in assessed value by almost $200,000 in the last 2-3 years.

Granted, the housing boom had the value of my house somewhat inflated but nonetheless that is a significant drop in value. I am not worried. I don’t have plans on moving anywhere in the next 5-10 years so I know that the market will cycle back up again.

Aside from the fact that I cannot make as much profit on my house were I to sell it right now, the County Government can’t make the amount of money off of it either, based on the declining value of the assessment. So, instead of saying that we (the County Government) will have to do with less and figure out where to cut expenses (government giveaways, that is), they just presented a proposed fiscal year 2009 budget that would require a 25.6-cent increase in the real estate tax (up to a bit over $1.26 per $100 of assessed value).



If the board of supervisors approves the budget as it is being recommended it would mean a 13.6 percent increase in the average homeowner's tax bill, an increase of approximately $640 (mine would be higher).



"The party's over," Chairman Scott K. York (I-At large) said. "The party that we've had over the last few years is probably over for a little while." Scott, there has been no party.

But the last election we had in November brought back a Democrat majority to our Board of Supervisors and guess what happens when you let Democrats have power – we get higher taxes and more government spending on things that aren’t necessary or a priority.

Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, 2008-2011

Front Row (l. to r.): Jim Burton, Vice-Chairman Susan Klimek Buckley, Chairman Scott K. York, Sally R. Kurtz;

Back Row (l. to r.): Kelly Burk, Stevens Miller, Eugene Delgaudio, Andrea McGimsey, Lori Waters

Just like in the 2006 elections, in our local elections last November I heard plenty of people say that they wanted to teach the Republicans on the Board a lesson and vote them out of office. These aren’t Democrat friends I am hearing say this, these are so-called Republicans. I guess they haven’t been paying attention to what that philosophy did to us in the state and federal elections in 2006. Perhaps they think that a Democrat controlled government can better decide where my money should be spent that I should.

But, they did it and now they are already complaining. And what happened?

As expected, the Board of Supervisors is proposing a $27 million increase in spending for general government programs and an $81 million increase in school spending. With a few other proposals we get $99.6 million increase in local tax funding which represents an overall 12 percent increase. They called the upcoming budget cycle a "balancing act between affordability and the public need".

I think they are right there. But what they need to do is manage the government the way they would manage their household finances (without the benefit of a credit card or a loan). Our taxes are their salary/income. Just like any family out there with those constraints (no credit cards, etc), they should have to budget and save to do thing they want to do. This will force them to do a much better job prioritizing and allocating where money is spent – just like we have to do at home.

But they don’t. They just say I need a raise (more taxes) and then try to figure out how to spend more so that they can ask for another raise. Even with the large increase in the tax rate, the County says that the proposed budget does reflect an amount of fiscal restraint. They don't define what that amount really is though.

In anticipation of the upcoming budget, county departments found $5 million in cost savings in their current budgets. You can’t tell me that there was only $5 million in cost savings to be found. They knew that assessments were going down. They have for the last three years. Knowing that, why did they keep adding to the expenses they have?

But we’re told that of the $31 million county departments identified in ‘new’ resource needs by county departments, only $4 million are included in proposed budget. I used to be in the government. I know how that game is played. You ask for 4 to 5 times what you really want knowing that you’ll be lucky to get 20% of your request, which is about what you really needed in the first place.

There is an $81 million increase in the school operating funds for fiscal year 2009. This represents a 5 percent increase per student, but school system leaders and members of the school board are still hoping they can get full funding of their proposed budget. Every election we have there is a school referendum for new schools and rehabbing old schools. Every single election!

But what does our County do? They (the Dems) want ‘slow growth’. We can’t grow too fast. And at the same time, they don’t do anything to bring in some industry to broaden the tax base. I am hoping that they are smarter than I am but it seems to me that we should be trying to attract a larger business tax base. I’m not for unfettered growth but we should be looking at what we want his county to look like in 25+ years and follow a plan to get us there.

But the Dems in charge now are going to do little more (at least this is the indication) than go down their ‘slow growth’ road, increasing services and raising our taxes to fund their fiscal irresponsibility.

Try doing that with your home finances – do what you can to prevent your income from increasing and then start spending more. The problem with that analogy is that at home we have credit cards and other ways to do this (however irresponsible those ways are). Even so, we can still get in trouble at home with few ways to get out of it.

The County just increases taxes. I wish I could just go to my boss and demand a pay raise that he couldn’t refuse.

There was some reality/sanity in the discussions, though. Some supervisors indicated they were not convinced that the school is still growing at the projected rate of 3,000 new students annually. Supervisor Jim Burton (I-At large) said he did not understand why the number continued to be high when the number of building permits given in the county has continued to decrease over the past few years. Good point, Jim!

"Appears to me now for many, many years, the number of school children was related to the number of building permits, and now it appears unrelated," he said. "I don't understand that and I would hope that we would get a good explanation for that."

We probably won’t, Jim. It’s not about fiscal responsibility. It’s about growing the services we provide and taxing anything that moves to pay for it.

Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling) also said he would like to see an overview of the fiscal year 2008 budget and how the previous board arrived at its decision. He also asked if it was possible for the board to get a listing of how different tax rates could be achieved. "It would help board members and the public to have some of those options for a lower tax rate," he said."We have to recognize the tax rate, the ability to pay is a lot about the affordability, the ability to live in Loudoun County," York said. "We have to be well aware that things are serious. It's going to take some restraint on our part."

Sounds good, York. But you won’t do it. You will do everything to grow the government instead of minimizing it. We all want nice cities and safe environments to raise our families. But we also need to able to afford to live there too.

Perhaps the county entities should be forced to do business the way commercial companies do.

I would rather see the following: put a stop on all non-critical growth funding and identify every organization that receives tax money. For each of them I would develop a return on investment (ROI) metric that they must meet. If they don’t meet it then they lose money. If they continue to fail to meet the metric then they lose all funding. I don’t mean to make this simplistic but the discipline is sound, and sorely needed.

I think it’s time for the state to impose local tax caps. Many other states have these in place. Loudoun is beginning to border on New Jersey and New York property tax burdens at 1.21% In NJ (the highest in the nation the average around 1.5% of market value.) "

So again, to you that elected the new Board of Supervisors with their promise of fiscal responsibility, this is what you got.

The reality is that the party isn’t over, and with the way the new Democrat controlled Board of Supervisors wants to spend, I think their party is just about to begin.

A-6Dude

Fudge Swirl Martini

1 part Chocolate Vodka

1 part White Chocolate Liqueur

1 part Vanilla Vodka

Shaked ingredients with ice until very cold. Strain into chilled martini glass rimmed with cocoa powder.

A Dirty Martini

This site was not started to be only me opining about issues of the day. I want to make sure I balance it a little with other topics about which I am passionate.

So, today, I will talk about martinis (my wife, my kids, cigars and scotch and other passions will come in later posts).

The Dirty Martini is the namesake drink of my blog site. It is my favorite martini.

Martinis were an American invention. There are several theories about the origin of the martini. The most accepted account is that the Martinez (the original name for the drink) was most likely invented in Martinez, California, where a plaque commemorating the birth of the martini can be found on the north-east corner of the intersection of Alhambra Avenue and Masonic Street.

The current day martini is a descendant of the Martinez, an older, sweeter cocktail consisting of two ounces of sweet vermouth, one ounce Old Tom gin (a sweetened variant), two dashes maraschino cherry liquid, and one dash bitters, shaken with ice, strained, and served with a twist of lemon. The earliest known reference to the Martinez is found in The Bon Vivant's Companion: Or How to Mix Drinks (1887 edition), authored by "Professor" Jerry Thomas, the head bartender at many famous watering holes, including the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco.

Thomas had a client who took a ferry from the Occidental Hotel on Montgomery Street to Martinez, then the state capital of California, every morning. Thomas mixed him the Martinez to keep the morning chill off, and named it after his client's destination. Distilled spirits in the 1800s were not regulated as they are today, and were sold at cask strength—upwards of 135 proof. Over time, the strength of the spirits decreased and smaller quantities of mixers were needed to make them palatable. Now it is more common to see a martini made with little or no vermouth.

Today we also see that Vodka has replaced Gin as the predominant ingredient in a martini. Purists, however, still believe that a true martini is made with Gin and not Vodka. Personally, I like them both but I lean toward Vodka as my main ingredient.

Here is the thing about martinis: as with any other drink you make the key to a great cocktail is the use of QUALITY ingredients. Life is too short to drink cheap booze, unless your budget can only afford the call brand varieties.

Using the lesser quality ingredients can be somewhat rectified by the next most important ingredient in making a martini – make it COLD! When I shake my martinis I do so until I can no longer hold the shaker in my hand. I mean that literally.

Next, I like to chill my cocktail (martini) glasses in the freezer. You may also chill one by adding ice and water to a glass but I find the freezer just makes it taste better. There is something about the martini glass fogging up after I remove it from the freezer that makes the anticipation of the martini more heightened.

I have a spread sheet with almost 700 recipes that I have been accumulating since 2000. When I see and interesting recipe I add it to my list. There is no way I will be able to drink all of them (without a liver transplant) but they’re fun to collect.

The last element of a martini is the garnish. In that list of recipes I have garnishes that include lemon twists, orange twists, olives (with a variety of stuffing’s), chocolate syrup, candy canes, various rimming sugars and the list goes on. I also purchased some stainless steel martini olive skewers in the shape of swords. They are cool!

Another thing I have found is a lady named Tracy Lolita Yancey that designs themed, hand painted martini art glasses. On the bottom of the glasses is a recipe to try. These are way cool and make great gifts for the martini lovers in your life.

So, here is the namesake recipe for my blog site:

The Dirty Martini
3 parts Vodka or Gin (make them the best quality you can afford)
½ part dry vermouth (personally, I either use a vermouth spritzer, or swirl the vermouth in glass and drain it, or use no vermouth at all)

Olive brine

Olives (either pimento stuffed or bleu cheese stuffed – and stuff the bleu cheese in yourself. Don’t buy the bleu cheese stuffed olives that are stored in oil)

Add the vodka or gin and your vermouth preference to a shaker filled with ice. Shake it until you cannot hold the shaker in your hand anymore. Strain into your very chilled martini glass. Add 2-3 tsp of olive brine (more or less to taste) and garnish with your olives.

Find a place to sit, relax and enjoy! You earned it.

A-6Dude

Useless Idiots

Hillary and Obama lovers, take note of your party. This is why most Americans don’t trust the Democrat Party with the defense of this country. The House of Representatives left for a full week of President’s Day recess without authorizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) reauthorization, a law that permits the government to monitor terrorist communications. The law will expire tonight. Thank you for your service to our country.

Even though President Bush pleaded with the House to quickly pass the Senate version of the bill that was agreed upon with bipartisan support, the House Democrat Leadership refused to call a vote on it. Instead of doing something to help protect this country, the Democrat leadership (if you call it that) decided to have a debate that led to charges of contempt of Congress against White House aide Josh Bolton and former White House counsel Harriet Miers for refusing to answer questions before the House Judiciary Committee.

Contempt of Congress???? How about we charge them with Contempt of America? Or, impersonating an American? YGBSM!!!

In the middle of a war against our civilization, the Democrat leadership would rather let a critical capability used to defend this country lapse so that they can charge two administration officials with contempt? This is not leadership, this is TREASON!

Yesterday, President Bush warned in a press conference, “Failure to act would harm our ability to monitor new terrorist activities and could reopen dangerous gaps in our intelligence,” And if you don’t think the enemy is ready to exploit this gap you are gravely mistaken.

Just when I think the Democrat Party cannot act any more ‘anti-America’ they prove me wrong. After it was found that the Bush administration had engaged in covert surveillance activities with cooperation from phone companies like Verizon, AT&T, and BellSouth, a debate has erupted, largely on party lines, over whether or not to protect those companies from prosecution under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Disputes over the phone companies’ decision to cooperate with government requests has resulted more than 40 multi-billion dollar lawsuits. This is a collossal waste of time and money!

Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell wrote in a Washington Post op-ed today, "We are already losing capability due to the failure to address liability protection."

Do you hear that America? National security should not be a partisan issue but time and again the Democrat Party tries to thwart us from protecting ourselves.

The Senate version of FISA reauthorization would grant immunity to those phone companies, but liberal Democrats in the House were staunchly opposed to doing so. Democratic Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Rep. Silvestre Reyes (Tex.) wrote in a letter to President Bush on Thursday, “I see no argument why the future security of our country depends on whether past actions of telecommunications companies are immunized.”

Of course you don’t, Congressman Reyes, anyone that helps defend the country IS your enemy. I don’t know any other conclusion to draw.

Thank God for one intelligent Democrat. Senate counterpart Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D.-W.V.), chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, urged his Senate colleagues to vote in favor of the immunity provision in the Senate bill.

On the Senate floor Thursday, Rockefeller said that without FISA reauthorization, "the quality of intelligence we are going to be receiving is going to be degraded. It is going to be degraded. It is already going to be degraded as telecommunications companies lose interest."

House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi argued that a FISA lapse “does not mean that surveillance activities will cease.” WHAT??? Madam Speaker, read the law!

If FISA is not reauthorized, the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence would be stripped of power to authorize new certifications against foreign intelligence targets, including international terrorists, abroad. This removes a very valuable source of intelligence against these terrorists.

After the current FISA bill that permits the government to quickly obtain communications records expires, the law will automatically revert to a previous version that requires the government to prove probable cause of terrorist communication before communications may be monitored. In a world where actionable intelligence is of great importance, the anti-American party again proves that they are not the people to trust with the security of this country. They keep crying about our civil liberties being eroded.

And here is a question I have been asking for so long: Exactly what civil liberties have I relinquished? Perhaps their 60's LSD trips are returning.

If after listening to Pelosi you don’t get the clue that she does not give a damn about the security of this country, then perhaps you, too, are experiencing the same flashbacks as the 60's burnouts. The Democrat Party does not care about securing America - they are too busy burning incense on the alter in hopes of a recession; praying for more doom and destruction anywhere so they can blame the current administration; and hoping that they can find anything to prove their worth - even dipping down to MLB investigations in congress to let us know that they are on top of everything.

Everything but our security – the Useless Idiots!

A-6Dude

Chocolate Pharaoh
1 part B&B liqueur
1 part white chocolate liqueur
1 part Disaronno Originale

Shake over ice and strain into a COLD cocktail glass. Garnish with chocolate shavings.

Boulder, CO Experiencing the Effects of a Rocky Mountain HIGH!

Boulder's elected leaders are expected to decide next week whether to draft and vote on a resolution calling for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. For the past few weeks, activists have been showing up at Boulder City Council meetings, carrying signs, handing out "impeach" pins and asking City Council members to take up such a resolution. Similar measures have passed in cities across the country, including Detroit and Telluride.

By activist, I think they mean unemployed hippies.

Liz Robinson, one of the organizers of the effort, said people hoping to see impeachment proceedings have given congressional Democrats — who won a majority in the fall of 2006 — plenty of time to act. “But since they haven't,” she said, “locally elected officials should take up the slack. Whether or not it's the city's business directly, like potholes, I feel this affects all of us. We're the ones who are paying the taxes to support this administration's depredations, especially the war."

Liz also feels that impeachment proceedings would be worth doing even if they only put the last few months of Bush's eight years in office at risk. She said, "We need to send a message that this all matters to us, whether it's last-minute or not."

Is this what geriatric hippies do in retirement?

The group appears to have some support among the City Council, although it's not clear if it has the five votes it would take to get a resolution drafted and subsequently debated. City Councilman Macon Cowles (right) wrote in a memo to his colleagues that he'll likely make a motion at the Feb. 19 meeting asking that a resolution be drafted. "I believe that these citizens deserve a hearing," Cowles wrote to the council.

This isn’t the first time Boulder has weighed in on matters far outside the city's physical boundaries. In 2006, the council approved a resolution calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, and in 2003, the council passed a resolution opposing the invasion.

Liberals are a good example of what inbreeding does.

They are always on the wrong side of issues. It’s like a disease.

Deputy Mayor Crystal Gray (left), who helped draft the 2006 resolution, said Boulder has a tradition of debating big-picture issues. "I'm a believer that the council should be responsive at the level of local government to issues that the residents raise, just like the Iraq war resolution," she said.

Crystal, perhaps after you geniuses impeach Bush and Cheney you can eliminate hunger in the world. Or better yet, stop global warming by holding your breath. Think of the hot air that will be eliminated.

Thank God that there is at least one sane member. City Councilman Ken Wilson (right) said he's not on board. During a recent retreat, the City Council agreed to priorities ranging from fixing structural problems in the budget to doing better land-use planning. That doesn't leave much time for issues over which the city doesn't have direct jurisdiction, he said. "We did not identify national issues as a priority for work by council and staff. We are already seeing scheduling problems trying to address our priorities and the immediate needs of the city," he said. "Hours spent discussing national issues will reduce the amount of time we can spend on city issues."

Not only that, Ken, you aren’t elected to worry about national issues.

And Liz, in case you forgot your civics lessons from so, so long ago, Article 1, Section 3 of the United States Constitution says, "THE SENATE shall have the SOLE POWER to try all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two thirds of the members present." (Emphasis mine)

Once again we have liberals that think they are more important than they are. Why else would a bunch of pompous government officials waste time and Government money for something which they have no authority?

There have to be other issues of importance to the citizens of Boulder that are more relevant to their city, and are actually within their jurisdiction. Or, has the "recreational" brain-fry damage of the 1960s taken its toll?

Or, maybe, it is that they are trapped out there in the thin air (Boulder’s elevation is 5,344 ft above sea lever). Air does get thinner at higher altitudes.

They must feel trapped like cornered rats. They have the mountains on one side of them and reality on all other sides. And since this city council can’t seem to grasp reality they have no place to go but into the higher elevations where the air is even thinner.

As a result, they must be experiencing the effects of oxygen deprivation. How else can you have a city where Ward Churchill, an anti-Semitic, anti-American professor is considered a hero while a president and vice president who free two nations from dictators and create democratic societies should be impeached?

Thank God they’re so open-minded. So open-minded, that is, that their gray matter is falling out.

The Boulder City Council

Back row: Macon Cowles, Suzy Ageton, Lisa Morzel, Angelique Espinoza, Deputy Mayor Crystal Gray

Front Row: Matthew Appelbaum, Mayor Shaun McGrath, Ken Wilson, Susan Osborne

And since when does a man sit while a woman stands?

A-6Dude




A drink from liberal Mecca

California Martini
3 ounces Vodka
1/2 ounce Red Wine (see, only a liberal would put red wine in a martini)
1 tablespoon Rum (Dark)
4 dashes Orange Bitters

Shake with cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

Is the MSM Vested in America's Defeat?

General Vo Nguyen Giap

General Giap was a brilliant, highly respected leader of the North Vietnam military. The following quote is from his memoirs currently found in the Vietnam war memorial in Hanoi:

"What we still don't understand is why you Americans stopped the bombing of Hanoi. You had us on the ropes. If you had pressed us a little harder, just for another day or two, we were ready to surrender! It was the same at the battles of TET. You defeated us! We knew it, and we thought you knew it. But we were elated to notice your media was definitely helping us. They were causing more disruption in America than we could in the battlefields. We were ready to surrender. You had won!"

General Giap has published his memoirs and confirmed what most Americans knew. The Vietnam war was not lost in Vietnam -- it was lost at home.

The exact same slippery slope, sponsored by the US media, is currently well underway. It exposes the enormous power of a biased media to cut out the heart and will of the American public. Who is the real enemy?

A truism worthy of note: Do not fear the enemy, for they can take only your life. Fear the media far more, for they will destroy your honor.

Is the MSM vested in America's defeat?

A-6Dude

Great Ceasar's Martini
3 oz vodka
1/2 oz dry vermouth

Shake with cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an anchovy-stuffed olive.

Update: Berkeley Backs Off On Banning Marines

In an update to my earlier post, yesterday the Berkeley Mayor (pictured left) apologized to Marines over the recruiting center flap that occurred recently. I wonder if it would have occurred if the six Republican senators in Washington had not devised a plan to yank $2.3 million in federal funding for Berkeley programs. Or, perhaps the backlash by real Americans that love and support the men and women who serve to protect our freedoms.

In addition, two city council members vowed to soften their stance on the issue as well. Doesn’t that just make you warm all over?

At their Tuesday council meeting, leaders will discuss scrapping a letter that might be perceived as targeting the center or the Marines. The letter said that the recruiting center was not welcome in Berkeley and that the Marines were “uninvited and unwelcome intruders.”

In the world of liberals nothing is more uninvited and unwelcome than freedom and those that secure it. Well, maybe an opposing viewpoint would be more unwelcome. That might be a toss up!

I won’t rehash my previous post on this but I am glad to see that the Berkeley City Council is backing off, even if I don’t believe that they are really sincere.

"That letter will probably be pulled back and maybe more moderate language will be put in place which is appropriate I think," said Berkeley mayor Tom Bates.

MAYBE more moderate language will be put in place? Ya think? How about getting rid of all of it if you’re really sorry?

Berkeley City Councilman Laurie Capitelli (right) had this to say: "Subtly stated in the resolution is perhaps an impugning of the soldiers fighting for us in Iraq and other places and that was never the intention but that really needs to be cleared up. As I walked to my car that night I realized I regretted it and I had made a mistake." SUBTLY STATED?

I have learned in the business world that one rarely apologizes. Instead, one ‘regrets’. So Councilman Capitelli, since ‘perhaps an impugning of the soldiers’ was a regrettable action how do you make up for it? You people are way too wrapped up in your hatred for anything good about America. And unless the six Republican senators in Washington had threatened to take punitive action you would have continued your unpatriotic letter.

But I take comfort knowing that Mayor Bates and the city didn't mean to offend anyone in the armed forces and feel that the focus should have been on the war not the troops.

Your TRUE colors came out Tom. You liberals always say you support the troops but not the war. I have always thought that was a BS statement and this action shows what you really think about the troops. And worse, mayor, you claim to be a retired Army captain. You disgust me and dishonor those that have served and are still serving if that is true.

And it took the threat of losing federal funds for schools, water ferries and police communications systems to get your attention. The Republican plan would give the funds, intended for a school lunch program, UC Berkeley and ferry service, to the Marines instead. Now there is a good idea! But knowing the Marines, they would have donated it to something for the city like Toys for Tots , or something like that.

Bates went on to say, "We apologize for any offense to any families of anyone who may serve in Iraq. We want them to come home and be safe at home." How about apologizing to the Marines too? Let me get this right: spit on the Marines and apologize to their families. Give me a break!

Even better, Council members have said they would replace the "intruder item" with words expressing their support for the troops but not the war in Iraq. Don't waste your time, no one believes it anyway, much less you worms.

"Patriotic American taxpayers won't sit quietly while Berkeley insults our brave Marines," said one of the senators. Last week, as I said in a previous post, the council passed resolutions giving Code Pink a place to park out front. In doing so, the city is giving the group a place to continuously protest the Marines.

"What we're doing is we're announcing a bill that we intend to get on the floor to strip transportation from the city of Berkeley," said East Bay Republican Assemblyman Guy Houston. "What they have done in Berkeley is they have set aside a parking spot and in my opinion a public right of way, a public transportation corridor, specifically for a private organization -- in this case Code Pink -- to harass and annoy the United States Marine Corps and their recruiting efforts. We think that playing around and having an agenda with the public right of way is subject to ramifications. There is $2.3 million in proposition 1B transportation dollars. We think that should be in jeopardy." Amen!

Don’t get too giddy over the ‘regrets’ by the city council. Others on the Berkeley City Council seemed quite firm on their stance and Sen. Barbara Boxer and Rep. Barbara Lee said they plan to fight the Republican bill. I would expect that. But where is there rebuke of the city's actions?

And Code Pink announced they would have what they called a "24-hour peace-in" leading up to Tuesday's city council meeting. They will have a lot of company. A group of pro-troop protesters will also be there too.

"I was under the impression that we have the right of free speech," said Xanne Joi of Code Pink. "To me, I thought free speech meant you get to say what you want without recrimination." Xanne (what kind of name is that, anyway), all freedoms come with responsibilities. That is something you liberals seem to forget. Actually, in your morally relative paradigm no one should have to be burdened with any responsibilities. I think freedom of speech ends at libel and slander and things like that.

Berkeley City Councilman Gordon Wozniak (right) extended an olive branch to the Marines. He went to breakfast with a recruiter Thursday morning. Wozniak said he does not support the harsh language of the letter to the Marines originally authorized by the city.

"Berkeley is supposed to celebrate diversity and free speech and we welcome homeless people here. We welcome illegal immigrants. We give them sanctuary. We should welcome the Marines. I mean they're basically dedicating their lives to protect their country."

That’s right, Gordon, they’re protecting this country so you spineless pansies can ‘say what you want without recrimination” and ‘welcome illegal immigrants’. And that may totally sum up the way liberals think…let’s welcome illegal immigrants to our city but get rid of the Marines. YGBSM!!

Ann Cooper (below) with the Berkeley Unified School District wants both sides to play nice.
"Senators sitting 3,000 miles away are trying to take food away from the children of Berkeley," said Cooper. "Why? Because the Marines and the city aren't playing nice -- and that's just not OK."

No, Ann, it’s the city that’s not playing nice. The Marines aren’t out there counter protesting Code Pink or the fact that you’d rather have illegal aliens in your city than United States Marines. They are going about their jobs protecting invertebrates like you with Honor, Courage and Commitment – qualities you liberals cannot fathom and certainly don’t possess.

A-6Dude

NO Martini recipes for you liberals today!

Is America Ready for Socialism? Hillary is!

Hillary Rodham Clinton is DANGEROUS. Today she said she might be willing to garnish the wages of workers who refuse to buy health insurance to achieve coverage for all Americans.

Watch out! This isn't a 'might be willing' statement. She is broadcasting her punches and if you don’t see it, you deserve to be hit. This is a stunning revelation for the presumed nominee for the Democrat Party. She usually speaks in vague terms but this is as blunt as she can be.

And this is not the way to run a Republic. This is blatant socialism. She is finally revealing what she really stands for, and she is not for choice – except when it comes to killing unborn babies.

Hillary has criticized presidential rival Barack Obama for pushing a health plan that would not require universal coverage. In the past, she has not really specified the enforcement measures she would use, but when pressed on ABC's "This Week," she said: "I think there are a number of mechanisms" that are possible, including "going after people's wages, automatic enrollment."

Of course, Hillary said such measures would apply only to workers who can afford health coverage but refuse to buy it, which puts undue pressure on hospitals and emergency rooms. With her proposals for subsidies, she said, "it will be affordable for everyone."

As I said, she is DANGEROUS for America. This would be worse than any ‘supposed’ violation of our rights by the Bush administration. I’ve always beleilved she was a Socialist but for her to put it out there so openly is just remarkable.

First of all, I don’t want the government involved in health care. Take a look at Canada and Great Britain, or any other country with government run health care. I don’t want the government deciding what treatment I can get and when I can get it. And I don’t care if it’s FREE! But of course, it’s never really free.

Hillary…what if I can afford it but prefer to pay as I go? How are you to determine that I can afford it anyway? You can’t do it by salary. A person living in Arkansas that makes $100,000 a year enjoys a much higher standard of living that someone with the same salary living in the Washington, DC area.

Maybe I have other things that my hard earned money needs to be spent on rather than your ridiculous universal health care. You have no clue as to what priorities I must set each day for the money I make.

This is a dangerous precedent and I guarantee you it won’t stop here. Once she is able to do this, she will expand this to other socialist agendas.

I hope you see what she just revealed about herself.

Hillary Clinton is a Socialist.

Are you ready for socialism?

A-6Dude

For Hillary:

The Witch's Whiskers Martini
1 part Gin
1 part Dry Vermouth
1 part Sweet Vermouth
1 part Orange Juice
½ part Orange Liqueur
2 dashes Bitters

Shake ingredients over ice and pour into half salted cocktail glass. Float bitters on top.

Berkeley Declares War on Marines

Among the classifications that liberals use to describe conservatives and republicans are: intolerant, narrow-minded, racist, sexist, bigoted, homophobic and mean spirited, and the list goes on. Basically, we are not tolerant of alternative and different points of view.

Here’s what I’ve noticed about liberals: the very same people that accuse us of being any one or more of the above adjectives exhibit those traits FAR beyond that with which we are said to do. It starts with their intolerance of any opposing viewpoint and spreads out from there.

So, we shouldn’t be surprised by a story coming out of Berkeley, CA today. It appears that the local government wants the Marines out. We’re not talking about a Marine Corps base or airfield or supply depot. We’re talking about a recruiting office. The recruiting office opened in Berkeley a little over a year ago. They were quietly doing their business of recruiting volunteers to become Marine officers. That is, until about four months ago when Code Pink began regular sidewalk protests against these baby killers.

Then, the Berkeley City Council passed a measure by a vote of 8-1 to tell the Marines their downtown recruiting station is not welcome and "if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome guests."

Who would make better guests then? Perhaps Osama bin Laden or three or four of his followers? Or maybe they could turn the place into a day worker site. As long as it’s something that is against America I’m sure it will be acceptable.

The council also voted to explore enforcing a city anti-discrimination law, focusing on the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. This is where they expose their hypocrisy. Remember the tolerance and inclusion that they say we don’t exhibit? Well, I don’t see it on display by them either. In fact, I see bigotry, intolerance, discrimination and absolute un-patriotic behavior.

Liberals are HYPOCRITES! They are all for tolerance and diversity as long as you are agreeing with them. Just ask the liberal that keyed my car during the 2004 election because I had a Bush sticker on it. I had to check my Webster’s dictionary to make sure I new where to send the updated definition of tolerance to for inclusion in their next edition.

Then, in a separate 8-1 vote, the council voted to give protest group Code Pink a parking space in front of the recruiting office once a week for six months and a free sound permit for protesting once a week.

Now, I wonder if they would have voted to give a pro-war group that same type of privilege to protest in front of City Hall. Or, would they give Pro-Life group the same deal to protest in front of a baby killing clinic.

And then, it gets even more telling about who these people are.

"I believe in the Code Pink cause. The Marines don't belong here, they shouldn't have come here, and they should leave," said Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates.

Mayor Bates, you are entitled to your opinions. And you are free to express them regardless of how idiotic you sound doing so. But do you know why you are able to say these things and make a fool of yourself? Because the very Marines that you so despise and want out of your city are the same ones that freely put their lives on the line so that you can express your 1st Amendment rights, you ungrateful piece of s**t!

And now Code Pink is circulating petitions to get a measure on the ballot in November making it more difficult to open military recruiting offices in Berkeley if they are near homes, parks, schools, churches, libraries or health clinics (read: baby killing clinics) or anywhere else that anyone of the very tolerant citizens of Berkeley might find themselves having to endure the offense of the presence of a United States Marine.

Code Pink has the right to protest. And though I don’t agree with them I wouldn’t begrudge them their constitutional right to protest, even against the very people that secure that right. But they are protesting the wrong people.

Marines, or any other service for that matter, do not determine whether or not we go to war or when. Their job is to execute policy. That policy is set by the government. The President decides on taking us to war and the Congress must approve it. Like it or not, that is what has happened.

So, if these sheep want to protest, they should be outside of the White House and Capitol letting the politicians that approved this war know what they think. Insulting and impugning the honor of the Marines that protect their right to protest is ludicrous and deplorable.

Some business owners aren't happy with the weekly protests. "My husband's business is right upstairs, and this (protesting) is bordering on harassment," Dori Schmidt told the council. "I hope this stops."

Dori, you have just as much right to counter-protest if you wish. Why not do it? At least you’d be protesting against the right people – Code Pink.

These people, the Berkeley liberals and Code Pink, have no honor or courage. As far as I’m concerned they can protest all day long. They are hypocrites and cowards and do not represent what is good in America.

But at least they are not trying to convince us they support the troops like their liberal counterparts in Congress.

A-6Dude

Here’s an appropriate martini for this post:
Pink Gin Martini
2 parts gin
Bitters to taste

Shake over ice until COLD and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a twist.

The Enemy’s Scorekeepers

In sports there are people that keep records of scores and statistics. They live and breathe this data so that they can publish for our consumption.

In the mainstream media (MSM) they also have people who keep scores and statistics. And just like in sports, there are consumers out there to digest it all. But the statistics that the MSM publish are not whether or not the home team won, or which left-handed hitter bats better than .300 on Tuesday evenings against a right-handed pitcher in a dome stadium while it is raining. To them it doesn’t matter if the home team wins, what matters is the Body Count!

In fact, there is no report of victory, only casualties.

The MSM just released a story that shows who they really are – they are the Enemy’s Scorekeepers!

The AP announced that as of January 31, 2008 there have been 3,942 members of the military that have died in Iraq since March of 2003. For the last almost five years the death count has been as keenly reported as the box scores for professional sports – without the mention of who won. The MSM have a fascination with death. They report it like a sportscaster reports scores of sports events, but without any pretense of objectivity. But at least it jived with the DoD statistics.

I wouldn’t have an issue with this so much if they did it out of, and with, respect for our fallen military members. If they would honor the sacrifice that these young men and women have given for our country and for others it might be different.

But they don’t. They live for the body count. These fallen men and women mean nothing to them. They are just statistics to be used to demoralize our troops and the American public, and to do everything they can to further their belief that America is bad.

And don’t think that the enemy doesn’t read this. They do so with the same fascination that we have regarding the outcome of our sporting events.

It also provides a service to our enemies. It let’s them know how they’re doing.

The American public has every right to know the cost of our actions here and overseas. If the MSM was doing this in an honorable and objective way it would be different. But they are in the business of selling newspapers and sensationalism sells.

And the way they report body counts is meant to achieve sensationalism. They treat the men and women that die in the service of our country as nothing more than a statistic to further the action line of the day – America is bad and is responsible for all of the world’s ills.

If the death count is so important then why aren’t they reporting the number of murders across the country each year with the same voracity? I know for sure it exceeds the almost 800 men and women that sacrifice their lives each year in Iraq. Wouldn't that make America look bad?

How about the tens of thousands we lose each year in vehicle accidents, or the 7, 000 or so we are said to lose to poor penmanship of doctors? Wouldn't that make America look bad?

Let’s put it in perspective. In 2007 there were 1,200,000 abortions in the U.S. That comes to about 3,288 babies killed per day. In any six hour period in America there are more babies killed (822 based on these numbers) than there are military members killed in Iraq in a year!

Why isn’t that body count making headline news? Does that make America look good?

All of those men and women we lose in Iraq are terrible losses. They leave behind fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, wives, husbands, kids, loved ones and friends. Their sacrifice is not in vain and it is worth more than a statistic to achieve a sensational headline.

How does Iraq compare to other places in the U. S. and the world relative to violent deaths? You can see from the chart below that there are more dangerous places in America. Even the MSM's hero Hugo Chavez's country is more dangerous than Iraq.

Based on the number reported to date, we have been averaging about 800 men and women dying in Iraq each year. In Vietnam it was more like 5,800 per year. And though every life lost in Iraq is terrible, isn’t the fact that we are losing less of our brothers and sisters a good thing?

One would think so. About a year ago (I think) the MSM did a report showing how advances in medicine are saving lives on the battlefield. What does this mean? It means that less of our men and women are dying in combat than ever before. That should be great news!

But, damn it, having lower body counts is not good for headlines. So they even spin that fact that we are saving more lives as a negative. They see that because fewer military members are dying, there are more wounded to deal with. And this puts a drain on our already failing health care system. You can’t win with these people!

The MSM used to be pro-American? Wouldn’t it be nice to see them that way again?

I’m not holding my breath. And just watch, the Enemy’s Scorekeepers will be gleefully reporting the build up to the orgasm they’ll have when they get to report the 4,000th fatality in Iraq.

A-6Dude

Churchill's Martini

2 parts Gin

Dry Vermouth

Pour Gin over ice in a shaker. Look at the Vermouth and shake the Gin until COLD! Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with olives.