Japanese Racism?

Are you a racist if you simply look down on everybody*?
*blondes excluded, of course.

Terrorists? Pshaw!

The EU is concentrating on the important things:

“The EU’s objective is to substantially reduce the number of people in Europe affected by noise by 2012,” Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said in a statement.

Funny, that’s Osama’s objective, too.

We…

…have seen the LIGHTS! They’re on and we’re astounded. I think all our experiences hurricane wise, colored by Bertha (07/96 CAT2) and Fran (09/96 CAT3) in N.C., were forever altered by the beast that that was Ivan. This was also our first experience with the western edge of a hurricane (we have always been beaten up non-stop in the northeastern quadrant) and, while it had it’s moments, compared to what’s been our norm? We were lovin’ life. FEMA contractors fix up a bitchin’ roof ~ proof positive our neighbor’s complete coverage and our two smaller spots still intact, after 100+ mph winds. Our local utilities learned from Ivan, replaced and upgraded their equipment and we had power late into the storm, have power/cable now and never lost the water, cell phones or landline. Outstanding job all around and one feels ever more confident moving into a pretty active season with a bullseye on one’s derriere. Ya know, since there’s already a new Tropical Depression on it’s way and, if it gets a name, it will be ‘Emily‘.
Should we be worried…???

The Squid Terrorist…

…stops by, while making his rounds of the neighborhood.

We got a full report of who lost what. Great to have a salty bosun’s mate next door.
Kudos again to Gulf Power, Southern Bell and People’s Water Co. for keeping the lights on. This is aMAZzing!

Oh My Gosh

This is so macabre. I just switched to the Weather Channel, just as the radar was on. There’s the swirl of the first part of the eye wall and they’ve got their damn goofy music. Lalalala. What a hoot. I think Jim Cantore did this. He’s always wanted to be at the dead center and got his wish on us. Pffft! He must pay me back for causing me distress with sexual favors.

Damn

It’s getting close to crunch time and we’re still ground zero. They’re even saying ‘Perdido Key’, which just SUCKs, since we’re 6 miles as the SUV drives from there.
On the upside, I’d like to thank FEMA for the tarp jobs they did. On the downside, I hate being one of the folks they practised on. Our neighbors across the street still have theirs so I’m hoping our smaller patches hold up as well. Cingular is still full signal, something they WEREN’T as ATT, we still have water and (Bless your little pointy heads Gulf Power!!) juice in both their lines and Southern Bell’s. Rock on!
UPDATE: Ol’ John Ed Thompson, the weatherman for Fox10 Mobile
has to be the best crisis weather guy I’ve ever seen. We listened to him during Ivan and his delivery was straightforwrd and honest. I adore him. He’s just said that Dennis has taken a slight jog to the east and (for the moment) they’re thinking landfall in an hour or so a little east of Pensacola Beach and then Gulf Breeze. Now we’re 10 miles WEST of dowtown, so I think that might be better for us, marginally. So of course it won’t happen. There’s an hour to go yet. The other good news is the central pressure is up 9 mb’s to 939, so it may poop out a mph or so yet. That also is a lovely thought.

Forget It

They won’t come in.

Scottie Blogging, brought to you live…
You saw it here, folks.

Pics

Gusts are whistling, trees are bending, rain’s a drivin’ and the house is starting to creak a bit. Our visitor has picked up speed, praise JEsus, so won’t be able to get any stronger if he keeps this up. The Squid Terrorist has run a power line off his big honkin’ generator under the garage, so when the lights go out, we’ll still have the fridge. We WILL be boarding up the inside of the front door, and have sandbags inside and out to strenthen the door and try to keep the driving rain out from under it. I was a soaked towel wringing fool during Ivan. Now, I have to go get Major Dad, who’s on the porch. Ebola’s asleep. What a surprise. Power’s been burping, so this might be our last ‘wish you were here’ update for a while. Love you guys!!

Blech

His ugly old eye is already on our short range radar.
We’ve got the place as fortified as humanly possible, all things considered. And there’s a blessing in that the worst winds are in a tight little band, so whoever gets clobbered will catch it good, but it won’t be the massive swath Ivan cut.

Blue Skies Shining at Me

Nothin’ but blue skies…

…do I see. It’s great while it lasts and I’ll take it.

Birmingham, England

They’re evacuating the center of the city.
Wow, stay tuned folks.

BAStard!!

The graffiti says:

Pelican Soup Taste Good
PAY THE RANSOM

Okay, you heartless cretin. TAG!!

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Hey, The Soviets Had Purges Too

Heh.
“Reality based”. Snort.

I Was Gonna Fisk This Guy

Wunder Kraut had a post up the other day about an article that one James Carroll of the Boston Globe wrote on July 5th. Typical damp washcloth stuff, really, tying together how evul Bushy McChimphitler and crew are now with the sordid past of the US and showing how it’s really part of our national character:

But what about today? In assessing post-celebration realities of the national moment, it may help to recall that America has never been an innocent nation, which is seen in its having constantly sought to appear as one. Indeed, the planting of the flag in self-affirming virtue is how the hallowed standard comes most readily under fire. The most poignant honoring of the flag of which I know is the US Marine Corps Memorial in Arlington, the magnificent bronze rendering of the famous Joe Rosenthal photograph of five weary leathernecks and a Navy medic raising the flag on Iwo Jima. That statue, not the Mussolini-like showcase of plinths, pillars, wreaths, and fountains that now despoils the Mall, should be the nation’s memorial to World War II.

Neat, huh? “We are all New Yorkers” becomes “We are all fascists.”
He also shows that he is quite the erudite fellow by casually tossing in phrases like “…how high-flown American ideals square with the quotidian reality of what the nation is becoming.” I know I want to sleep with him now.
But I just got too disgusted to really shred him the new one he deserves, and in the course of following the links on this story I came across a comment on Wizbang that’s one of the funniest things I’ve ever read:

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Dateline Pensacola

Stores are laid in.

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Ken, I Wasn’t Chasing Them

Honest.
Cute little devils that they are, though…

Keep These Folks In Your Prayers

This can get real ugly. CAT 4, 135 mph already and “expected to strengthen.”
Anyone in the path get out now if you can, and for those of you whom Uncle Sam wants to attend meetings in the path…for God’s sake do all you can to be safe.
Update:

RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT DATA INDICATE MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE
INCREASED TO NEAR 150 MPH…240 KM/HR…WITH HIGHER GUSTS. DENNIS
IS A STRONG CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. SOME
WEAKENING IS FORECAST AS DENNIS MOVES OVER CUBA…BUT IS EXPECTED
TO REMAIN A MAJOR HURRICANE AS IT EMERGES OVER THE STRAITS OF
FLORIDA AND THE SOUTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO TONIGHT.

Get out of his way.
Now.

Whither Now?

Following the lead of Nightfly, the ever clear-sighted Mark Steyn weighs in. Read all of it, but especially the summation:

This is the beginning of a long existential struggle, for Britain and the West. It’s hard not to be moved by the sight of Londoners calmly going about their business as usual in the face of terrorism. But, if the governing class goes about business as usual, that’s not a stiff upper lip but a death wish.

These are serious times, and we have a long struggle ahead, and there will be many bumps in the road. We must reaffirm our resolve and seriously crack down on these groups. Now.

Yet Another Swilling First

How they seem to pile higher and deeper. It’s a burden, really, fame and all that. We are Numero Uno, FIRST PAGE, first entry on Google. As our swath continues it’s inexorable slice and dice toward Media Domination (and a Fox News analyst job), please tuck your tushie and join us at the Swill, should you be one of the millions searching for bushy mcchimphitler. Bellissimo!

Spot on!

An excellent op-ed in the Disturber today (our local bird cage liner)by Bill Ward, below for those who do not wish to register…

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Show Your Appreciation Of All Things British

Emily, as always, is brilliant.

From An Elderly British Gentleman On The Street

“No, I’m not going to change anything. That’s the point, isn’t it? If you let it change your life you let these evil, cowardly, despicable people win.”

You do indeed, dear sir. You do indeed.

Amazing how things digress these days…

even on the places you would not expect it to. Jeeze, can’t even enjoy my hobby without the weenies screwing it up…

Rudy Can’t Fail

Turns out Rudy Giuliani was in London this morning:

“I was right near Liverpool (St) station when the first bombing took place, so I could hear the sirens and then kept hearing reports of different bombing, in different parts of the city.
“As we were walking through and driving through the streets of the city, it was remarkable how the people of London responded calmly and bravely.”
He said the hearts of New Yorkers would go out to Londoners.
“We feel a tremendous empathy with them. I think every New Yorker would join me in saying we feel we very much understand what you are going through,” he said.
“This is a difficult time, but the people of London have responded in the exactly right way, with bravery and by moving forward.
“The emergency services people appear to have responded as if they have been very, very well trained and as if they were expecting attacks, they seem to be prepared for it.
“In a strange way a lot of our response to September 11 was modelling ourselves as much as we could on the people of London during the Second World War and the incredible way they withstood the attacks during the battle of Britain.”

Quite a refreshing change from the Galloways of the world.

George Galloway, As Expected

Tim Russo has Gorgeous George’s recation to the murders today in London:

George Galloway says: “We argued, as did the security services in this country, that the attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq would increase the threat of terrorist attack in Britain. Tragically Londoners have now paid the price of the Government ignoring such warnings.”

It really is beyond words, except for these: He’s on the other side.
(hat tip to the Blogfaddah)
Update: More from George –

We urge the government to remove people in this country from harms way, as the Spanish government acted to remove its people from harm, by ending the occupation of Iraq and by turning its full attention to the development of a real solution to the wider conflicts in the Middle East.