Family-Friendly Quality Togetherness Time

70s style

We used to go here a lot when we were growing up; it was just a few miles from The Mountain.

Fond memories of Sunday brunch. Waffles. Blueberry syrup. Whipped cream.

And Bunnies with big fluffy tails.

I had no clue what was going on.

Pop Quiz!

How many DEMOCRATIC White Hood types can you think of RIGHT OFF THE BAT?

Chris Matthews Calls Republican Party “The Grand Wizard Crowd”

After arguing with MSNBC contributor and former chairman of the RNC Michael Steele over Mitt Romney being a “flat-earther,” Chris Matthews called the Republican party the “Grand Wizard crowd.”

Michael Steele called out Matthews, who eventually doubled-down on his remark.

“I resent that. What is this ‘grand wizard’ nonsense?” Steele asked.

“I should say the far-right party,” Matthews retorted.

“Are you saying that we’re the Ku Klux Klan? Give me a break. Don’t go there with me on that,” Steele warned.

“Okay. Great. Good. Thank you,” Matthews cracked. “There’s none of those problems over there. All those birthers out there.”

“Oh my gosh,” Steele could be heard saying.

Video at the link if you’ve a strong stomach.

Imagine, If You Will, That You Are a Young Marine Corps Lieutenant

…who stops the fellow caught red-handed burying the bomb meant for your troops ~ harm not a hair of a single civilian’s precious head as they rush to aide the insurgent ~ and YOU…are the war criminal.

Don’t you love “Rules of Engagement” that don’t permit “engagement”?

Shifting guidelines prompt calls for ROE reform
Second guesses on front-line decisions can jeopardize careers

The Afghan man captured on a grainy surveillance video was a known insurgent. And there he was — again — digging a hole for a homemade mine beneath a well-traveled dirt road in Helmand province.

Several Marines in a nearby combat outpost watched the video feed closely, but a decision on what to do fell to 1st Lt. Josh Waddell, executive officer of India Company, who was running the command post on the afternoon of Nov. 1 for 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines.

Waddell, 25, sprang into action, calling his battalion headquarters to get authorization — what military lawyers call “positive identification” — to launch a strike. From there, he hurriedly issued orders to ground patrol units, sniper teams and aircraft hovering nearby, coordinating a complex operation to kill or capture the enemy.

The insurgent was surrounded by a village full of women and children, so Waddell’s decisions required the kind of nuanced judgment call that has become a hallmark requirement of today’s often murky counterinsurgency missions.

Waddell opted against calling in the helicopter gunships. Instead, he ordered a sniper team to home in on the insurgent. The first sniper shot was high and off-target, sending the man sprinting across a patch of farmland. But other shots struck his leg and stomach. The man dropped and rolled into a ditch for cover.

Waddell had a split second to decide on his next move. And the choice he made — to fight rather than stand down — put him in one of the thorniest dilemmas faced by leaders in today’s wars: the rules of engagement…

…An order to fire

When Waddell saw some civilians hoist the wounded insurgent onto a nearby tractor, the young Marine saw a tactical retreat. He ordered his snipers to fire at the tractor’s engine block, to disable it until a Marine foot patrol could arrive to detain the man.

What a lawyer later saw were civilians conducting a medical evacuation — and firing on them was a potential war crime.

Waddell ultimately ordered his snipers to cease fire after more civilians, including a child, gathered around the tractor.

In the end, the insurgent was found dead from his wounds. No civilians were injured.

Nevertheless, the incident made Waddell a target for months of investigations. His commander, Lt. Col. Seth Folsom, later said he acted “recklessly” and showed “poor judgment.” Although Waddell did not break any international laws of war, he violated the “tactical directive in effect at the time.”

The young officer was relieved from his job as company XO. Folsom later gave him a searing “unsatisfactory” on a fitness report, saying Waddell was “not recommended for promotion with his contemporaries…

Is it any wonder they come home wounded, both physically AND mentally?

Read the whole thing.

It will make you ill.

Usually…

…this song has me in tears because of the poignancy…

H/T Sissy Willis

The Price Has Been Chopped

But I’d still have to axe permission to buy it

FALL RIVER, Mass.—The house where Lizzie Borden lived out her life after being acquitted of charges that she used an ax to kill her father and stepmother is on the market.

Spam Of The Day

This is perfect for a shower, and it looks so tasty!

Somebody peeking in my window again?

Oh

…yeah. Happy Birthday, ya big, green lug.

That’s one of the prettiest pictures I’ve ever seen.

Damned If This “Angry” Lad Doesn’t Look Like Somebody’s Kid I Know

I’m just trying to remember who…

Suspect: I Beat Up White Man Because I Am Mad About Trayvon Martin Case

Maywood, Ill. – Alton L. Hayes III, a west suburban man charged with a hate crime, told police he was so upset about the Trayvon Martin case in Florida that he beat up a white man early Tuesday.

Hayes and a 15-year-old Chicago boy walked up behind the 19-year-old man victim and pinned his arms to his side, police said. Hayes, 18, then picked up a large tree branch, pointed it at the man and said, “Empty your pockets, white boy.”

The two allegedly rifled through the victim’s pockets, then threw him to the ground and punched him “numerous times” in the head and back before running away, police said. Hayes and the boy are black; the victim is white.

That “hate crime” stuff won’t stick. Zimmerman made them do it.

Ouch!

This is going to leave a mark

Some outstanding players took the field for the Red Sox. Unfortunately, most of them were among the about 200 retirees who strolled to their positions during pregame ceremonies marking the anniversary.

Yankees beat the Red Sox.

All is well.

It’s a Howlingly Bad Video

But I’ll put it up anyway.

H/T Instapundit

2014 Can’t Come Soon Enough

When we’ll have a chance to finally retire Frank Lautenberg

TRENTON — The war of words between Gov. Chris Christie and U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg is getting uglier.

One day after Lautenberg and Christie’s right-hand-man at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey traded insults during a contentious hearing in Washington over toll increases, the governor took his shot today, calling the longtime Democratic senator “an embarrassment to the state.”

Christie was asked to comment on Wednesday’s testy exchange between Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni and Lautenberg, who called the hearing to discuss the “fairness” over raising tolls last year.

At one point during the hearing, Baroni, who was appointed by Christie, pointing out that as a former Port Authority commissioner, Lautenberg had taken advantage of a board perk and crossed bistate bridges and tunnels for free at least 284 times.

“Senator, it is impossible to argue fairness in tolls if you don’t pay them,” Baroni told the 88-year-old veteran lawmaker.

Lautenberg became enraged, telling Baroni the matter was “a silly thing to bring in here.”

…Lautenberg’s conduct during Wednesday’s hearing, Christie said, was “an embarrassment to the state and the United States Senate.”

“He fed at the trough for 24 years,” Christie said of Lautenberg. “A multi-millionaire who brags about how rich he is couldn’t go into his pocket to pay for tolls? Couldn’t go into his pocket to pay for parking at Port Authority facilities? And that is the guy who is going to a paragon of virtue — who is going to judge the Port Authority?”

Tolls are for the 99%, right?

I wonder if Lautenberg trained the folks at the GSA?

I know I’d certainly be surprised, shocked even, if he threw some of that schweet government biz ADP’s way.

What An Amazing Young Lady

And I have to say her parents are pretty damned awesome too

A first-grader who was born without hands has won a national penmanship award, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

…Annie writes by wedging a pencil between her arms, the same way she feeds herself and even paints her toenails, the newspaper reports.

The national award is one of two given to students with disabilities — the other went to an Ohio student with a visual impairment.

But no one even knew there was a special category for the disabled until after Annie had won top penmanship honors among all students at her school and the entry was forwarded to the state competition.

God I Love The Interwebs

(via HotAir)

Perhaps It’s “Fi-Dough” or “A Little Something I Whipped Up In the Lab”

#ObamaDogRecipes is trending hotter than an open bag o’ Beggin’ Strips on Twitter right now and these were my entries. WHY, you ask?

Well, like that ancient story about Mitt Romney’s much loved Seamus and his car carrier vacation trip atop the station wagon, somebody who LOVES to repeatedly bring that very story up now has his OWN canine tail tale that’s (howyousay) awkward…

“With Lolo, I learned how to eat small green chill peppers raw with dinner (plenty of rice), and, away from the dinner table, I was introduced to dog meat (tough), snake meat (tougher), and roasted grasshopper (crunchy). Like many Indonesians, Lolo followed a brand of Islam that could make room for the remnants of more ancient animist and Hindu faiths. He explained that a man took on the powers of whatever he ate: One day soon, he promised, he would bring home a piece of tiger meat for us to share.”

Yep, that’s Barack Obama, writing about his childhood with his stepfather Lolo Soetoro in Indonesia, from Chapter Two of his bestseller Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.

…Hey, whatever you have to tell yourself, libs. Say what you want about Romney, but at least he only put a dog on the roof of his car, not the roof of his mouth. And whenever you bring up the one, we’re going to bring up the other.

Another great Tweet tonight:

“Obama would never put a dog on top of a car. Dries out the meat.”

Bring it on, Barry.

And dammit, I just had to school Axelrod when he attemped to correct us:

tree hugging sister
@treehuggingsis
In insulated thermos containers! #ObamaDogRecipes @davidaxelrod: How loving owners transport their dogs

Amateur.

Perhaps The Mayans Were Right

The world may in fact end this year

Strike threat at Hostess could kill off Twinkies

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread heads to court Tuesday to try to throw out its union contracts, in a battle that leaves the iconic baker’s future very much in doubt.

I’m not sure that a World Without Twinkies is a world worth living in.

“We Can NEVER Have Nice Things in the House With YOU Around…”

“…Bubba Earl!!”

Alabama’s $30K BCS trophy shattered

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A piece of history from the University of Alabama’s championship run was shattered on Saturday afternoon following the Crimson Tide’s annual A-Day scrimmage.

The Coaches’ Trophy from this season’s BCS national title was accidentally knocked off its podium and shattered by a player’s father whose foot got caught on a rug that sits beneath the trophy display. The Waterford crystal trophy was on display in the Mal Moore Athletic Facility halls, home to coach Nick Saban’s office and other athletic personnel.

What Does A Couple Billion Get You These Days?

Some funky glass

and a parking garage that holds 7,700 cars, for starters.

I’ll be heading there in early May for a business convention. I haven’t been to Atlantic City since a field trip in…2nd or 3rd grade I think.

I have no interest at all in gambling but I am curious just to indulge my inner voyeur for a while and have a meal or three at the new restaurants.

If I Were Obama, I Might Just Take the Man’s Advice

…if only a massive ego and corrupt machine didn’t stand in the way.

Heard Cartegena’s nice this time of year. Rooms’re cheap…

H/T Geraghty

“Well, EXCUSE Me!”

Or rather, “Swallow my excuses.”

Quite A Lot More Occupiers Camping Out

They’re clustered at the Corner of Wall and Broad.

I’m sure they’re loving the drought.

The CRUEL, VILE Practice of CORGI VACUUMING Must Be Driven From the Face of the Earth!!!

Here’s what the abomination looks like, so you’ll know it when you see it.

Twitter Quote of the Day

…speaking of disasters.

David Burge
?@iowahawkblog

Apparently, I’m supposed to be more angry about what Mitt Romney does with his money than what Barack Obama does with mine.

And don’t you ever forget it.

A Titanic Day

It’s been 100 years. I’m trying to figure out what to have for dinner tonight; Daughter has insisted that the meal include Iceberg lettuce.

One pretty cool bit of trivia that I never had heard before: when Titanic arrived in Cherbourg to take on passengers she was too large for Cherbourg’s dock so the passengers were ferried out to her on tenders that had been specially designed and built by White Star Lines for her and her Olympic class sisters.

And one of those two tenders still exists

She looks pretty damn good for 101.

Update: There’s bad luck.

And then there’s really really craptastic luck:

Violet Constance Jessop (October 2, 1887 – May 5, 1971) was an ocean liner stewardess and nurse who achieved fame by surviving the disastrous sinkings of sister ships RMS Titanic and HMHS Britannic in 1912 and 1916 respectively. In addition, she had been on board Titanic and Britannic?s other sister ship, RMS Olympic, when it collided with the protected cruiser HMS Hawke in 1911.

Imagine if she had dated this guy…

This Will Make You Cry

…through the huge grin on your face.

Crank it up when you watch.

Obama makes me PUKE.

Hell

…YEAH!

Michael “Flathead” Blanchard

1944 ~ 2012
A Celebration of the life of Michael “Flathead” Blanchard will be held on April 14th, 3 pm 8160 Rosemary St, Commerce City. Weary of reading obituaries noting someone’s courageous battle with death, Mike wanted it known that he died as a result of being stubborn, refusing to follow doctors’ orders and raising hell for more than six decades. He enjoyed booze, guns, cars and younger women until the day he died.

Goes on for a bit as he cracks on relatives and ends up…

As the Celebration will contain Adult material we respectfully ask that no children under 18 attend.

Aw…he DID have a sense of decorum!

Like they say over at The Daily Caller, where I first spied this,

“…we sure wish we could have known him when he was alive.”

Amen to that. Rest in peace…or whatever works for you, Mike!