Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Family Reunion 07 Selected Pics

A few pics from the 07 get-together at Judie's request. This is the only one I could find of Jim and family:


Jim, Judie, and Family.


Jerry, Alice, and growing family.


Bobby, Mary, and small portion of the Colorado contingent.


The Crowley Siblings minus Mary, Fran, and Pat.

Cousins!!!! What a good looking bunch! (all except that Delaney with the back sweater on, what's up with that hair anyway????)


The NE Dugans- and Mary's playmates.


Queen of the Universe
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I shrunk these for the web - if you want the full size, email me and I'll send them to you.

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Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Phrase Du Jour...

I was having a conversation with a friend today about gender roles/politics/history, and then came across this quote on Kim du Toit's website:

What feminism hath wrought is simple: if men are to treat women as equals, then they will treat them like men—or at best, they will not treat them like women.

He wrote a very interesting piece on the recent problem of men not wanting to get married.
Click-click

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Would You Wear These?


Hobbit Shoes!!! Just missing the hairy toes....



Sunday, February 10, 2008

The Plan To Destroy America

If this doesn't raise your hackles, your not an American!

I have a plan to destroy America
by Richard D. Lamm (Three-term Governor of Colorado)

I have a secret plan to destroy America. If you believe, as many do, that America is too smug, too white bread, too self-satisfied, too rich, let’s destroy America. It is not that hard to do. History shows that nations are more fragile than their citizens think. No nation in history has survived the ravages of time. Arnold Toynbee observed that all great civilizations rise and they all fall, and that “an autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide.” Here is my plan:

1. We must first make America a bilingual-bicultural country. History shows, in my opinion, that no nation can survive the tension, conflict and antagonism of two competing languages and cultures. It is a blessing for an individual to be bilingual; it is a curse for a society to be bilingual. One scholar, Seymour Martin Lipset, put it this way: “The histories of bilingual and bicultural societies that do not assimilate are histories of turmoil, tension and tragedy. Canada, Belgium, Malaysia, Lebanon all face crises of national existence in which minorities press for autonomy, if not independence. Pakistan and Cyprus have divided. Nigeria suppressed an ethnic rebellion. France faces difficulties with its Basques, Bretons and Corsicans.”

2. I would then invent “multiculturalism” and encourage immigrants to maintain their own culture. I would make it an article of belief that all cultures are equal: that there are no cultural differences that are important. I would declare it an article of faith that the black and Hispanic dropout rate is only due to prejudice and discrimination by the majority. Every other explanation is out-of-bounds.

3. We can make the United States a “Hispanic Quebec” without much effort. The key is to celebrate diversity rather than unity. As Benjamin Schwarz said in the Atlantic Monthly recently, “The apparent success of our own multiethnic and multicultural experiment might have been achieved, not by tolerance, but by hegemony. Without the dominance that once dictated ethnocentrically, and what it meant to be an American, we are left with only tolerance and pluralism to hold us together.” I would encourage all immigrants to keep their own language and culture. I would replace the melting pot metaphor with a salad bowl metaphor. It is important to insure that we have various cultural sub-groups living in America reinforcing their differences, rather than Americans emphasizing their similarities.

4. Having done all this, I would make our fastest-growing demographic group the least educated. I would add a second underclass, unassimilated, undereducated and antagonistic to our population. I would have this second underclass have a 50 percent dropout rate from school.

5. I would then get the big foundations and big business to give these efforts lots of money. I would invest in ethnic identity, and I would establish the cult of victimology. I would get all minorities to think their lack of success was all the fault of the majority. I would start a grievance industry blaming all minority failure on the majority population.

6. I would establish dual citizenship and promote divided loyalties. I would “celebrate diversity.” “Diversity” is a wonderfully seductive word. It stresses differences rather than commonalities. Diverse people worldwide are mostly engaged in hating each other–that is, when they are not killing each other. A “diverse,” peaceful or stable society is against most historical precedent. People undervalue the unity it takes to keep a nation together, and we can take advantage of this myopia.

Look at the ancient Greeks. Dorf’s “World History” tells us: “The Greeks believed that they belonged to the same race; they possessed a common language and literature; and they worshiped the same gods. All Greece took part in the Olympic Games in honor of Zeus, and all Greeks venerated the shrine of Apollo at Delphi. A common enemy, Persia, threatened their liberty. Yet, all of these bonds together were not strong enough to overcome two factors … (local patriotism and geographical conditions that nurtured political divisions …)” If we can put the emphasis on the “pluribus,” instead of the “unum,” we can balkanize America as surely as Kosovo.

7. Then I would place all these subjects off-limits–make it taboo to talk about. I would find a word similar to “heretic” in the 16th century that stopped discussion and paralyzed thinking. Words like “racist”, “xenophobe” halt argument and conversation. Having made America a bilingual-bicultural country, having established multiculturalism, having the large foundations fund the doctrine of “victimology,” I would next make it impossible to enforce our immigration laws. I would develop a mantra –”because immigration has been good for America, it must always be good.” I would make every individual immigrant sympatric and ignore the cumulative impact.

8. Lastly, I would censor Victor Davis Hanson’s book “Mexifornia” –this book is dangerous; it exposes my plan to destroy America. So please, please–if you feel that America deserves to be destroyed–please, please–don’t buy this book! This guy is on to my plan.

“The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum.” –Noam Chomsky, American linguist and U.S. media and foreign policy critic.



America is a great Country, no doubt about that. HOWEVER, we are not a society filled with an enlightened people who have achieved self-actualization. In many ways, we are the same as many other peoples now and in the past. To think differently is ignorant and self-destructive. To think we are above the lessons of history, recent and more distant, is societal suicide.

Friday, February 08, 2008

Where Did the White Man Go Wrong???


Indian Chief 'Two Eagles' was asked by a white government official:

"You have observed the white man for 90 years. You've seen his wars and his technological advances. You've seen his progress, and the damage he's done."

The Chief nodded in agreement.

The official continued: "Considering all these events, in your opinion, where did the white man go wrong?"

The Chief stared at the government official for over a minute and then calmly replied.

"When white man find land, Indians running it, no taxes, no debt, plenty buffalo, plenty beaver, clean water Women did all the work, Medicine man free. Indian man spend all day hunting and fishing; all night having sex."

Then the chief leaned back and smiled

"Only white man dumb enough to think he could improve system like that."

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Berkeley Backlash is Building


I don't usually post politically oriented material here, but being a veteran I do follow the news regarding the services pretty closely. This situation in Berkeley is amazing and would make a good read, if it wasn't unfortunately true! Michele Malkin has been following the story very closely, and Senator Jim DeMint is doing what he can to let these wackos know the difference between political activism and, as the SanFansicso Chronicle editorial board puts it:

Berkeley’s leaders have taken the worthy notion of political protest and shoved it over the cliff. While playing up arguments of free speech and organized protest, the council has loaded the deck with insulting language that denigrates the military and embarrasses the anti-war cause.

So what is the Senator's plan? Hit them where it really hurts: in the wallet. Here is his recent post regarding this issue:

Over $2 million was secretly tucked away for Berkeley earmarks in the 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill, projects that were never voted on or debated. I do not believe a city that has turned its back on our country’s finest deserves $2 million worth of pork-barrel projects. So, I will introduce legislation to revoke the funding. Included in the $2 million worth of pork are some particularly wasteful projects. One earmark provides gourmet organic lunches to schools in the Berkeley School District. While our Marines are making due with MREs of Sloppy Joe and Chili with Beans, the organization Chez Panisse is getting federal tax dollars to design meals that promote “environmental harmony.” Chez Panisse’s menu features “Comté cheese soufflé with mâche salad,” “Meyer lemon éclairs with huckleberry coulis” and “Chicory salad with creamy anchovy vinaigrette and olive toast.”

Are we to understand that the city that has been home to many of the country’s most rich and famous cannot afford to pay for its own designer school lunches?

Another $975,000 earmark is for the Matsui Center for Politics and Public Service at U.C. Berkeley, which may include cataloging the papers of Congressman Robert Matsui. Is it really necessary to tax the paychecks of Marines so we can earmark nearly $1 million for a school that is already sitting on a $3.5 billion endowment?

Let me be clear, my bill does does not cut off all federal funds to the city of Berkeley, though I am sure most Americans would feel that is justified. My bill merely rescinds wasteful earmarks. Berkeley is free to compete with other towns and cities across America for merit-based federal grants.

Actions have consequences. When the Berkeley City Council decided to insult the Marines in a time of war, it was a $2 million decision. Especially in a time of war, we cannot just allow cities to play insulting games at our troops’ expense while continuing to shower them with congressional favors.

There is also a petition to let the Berkely city council and Mayor know of the Country's outrage regarding their actions against the Marines.
Shame on the Mayor and City Coucil of Berkely for allowing our Service Men and Women to be treated this way!!!

Sign the petition here: http://www.moveamericaforward.org/index.php/MAF/Petition/Berkeley2008/



Quotes Du Jour...

New study shows Earth's 'fever' contagious;

Mars asks planets to kick 'Greenhouse Mary' out of solar system

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Tasered victim at John Kerry's speech to receive Purple Heart
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San Andreas Fault in California preemptively renamed George Bush's Fault

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