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Aug 30, 2004

John McCain - Great American 

Transcript of McCain Speech at RNC
"Our choice wasn't between a benign status quo and the bloodshed of war.

It was between war and a graver threat. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Not our critics abroad. Not our political opponents.

And certainly not a disingenuous film maker who would have us believe that Saddam's Iraq was an oasis of peace when in fact it was a place of indescribable cruelty, torture chambers, mass graves and prisons that destroyed the lives of the small children held inside their walls."

Meanwhile, Jabba the Disingenuous shows us that he is, in fact, what we always thought... a LOSER.


UPDATE: Rudy Giuliani - Great American
"It doesn't matter what the media does to ridicule him or misinterpret him or defeat him.

They ridiculed Winston Churchill. They belittled Ronald Reagan.

But like President Bush, they were optimists; leaders must be optimists. Their vision was beyond the present and set on a future of real peace and true freedom.

Some call it stubbornness. I call it principled leadership."

UPDATE II: FRANK J. - GREAT AMERICAN... and a funny mofo
* When Bush gives his speech, have him seated at a throne atop a pile of the skulls of our defeated enemies.

* You might have to adjust the teleprompter for that last one.
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Aug 26, 2004

Quick question 

Who sponsors Olympic Speed Walking?

From personal experience, I say Taco Bell and Charmin... but maybe that's just me.
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Aug 24, 2004

What being a Marine is all about 

Should I rant on this? 

I probably should, but I just don't have the strength for it anymore. The New York Daily News broke the story, but if you want to see the good stuff, check this out:

FrontPage magazine.com
Some 46,000 New Yorkers are registered to vote in both the city and Florida, a shocking finding that exposes both states to potential abuses that could alter the outcome of elections, a Daily News investigation shows.

But OHHH... there's more:

Of the 46,000 registered in both states, 68% are Democrats, 12% are Republicans and 16% didn't claim a party.

Please excuse me while I feign shock...

Alright, time for some quick math.

46000 x .68 = 31280
46000 x .12 = 5520

31280 - 5520 = 25760

That means that - based STRICTLY on party affiliations - the Dems could have gained as many as 25,760 votes in Florida by voting twice. "Vote early, vote often"?

I'm not gonna go too high and right on this one. I could, but I'll refrain. However, if we are to assume this is true, that would mean that Bush won Florida by over 26,000 votes, not 500. (I don't have the numbers for New York, but I won't go so far as to make the assumption that he would have won there too.) Think any lefties will shut up now about how the 2000 election was "stolen"?

Yeah... me neither.
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Aug 23, 2004

Only a few million more hits and I win a toaster! 

For those of you who pay attention to these things, I just went over 25,000 hits according to the good folks at Sitemeter. The lucky recipient of nothing more than my gratitude got here via Sitemeter (funnily enough), while looking at the GarageofXanadu Sitemeter Report.

Confused?

Why?

As we all know, the Garage of Xanadu, was directly connected to the Blog of Xanadu (prior to the re-model... the Garage now has a pool table in it, but there's a lovely Carport of Xanadu), and the blog - of course - morphed into:

QUIBBLES and BITS!

So, thanks to J Fielek for either sending over, or actually BEING my 25,000th visitor!

w00t 2 U, sir.
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Time saver 

Blackfive beat me to the punch one more time. He posted the NY Times OP-ED that I had planned to put up. I blame it on his being a couple time zones in front of me... and the fact that blogger went scitzoid for a couple hours today. Anyway...

When critics of the war say their advocacy is on behalf of those of us risking our lives here, it's a type of false patriotism. I believe that when Americans say they "support our troops," it should include supporting our mission, not just sending us care packages. They don't have to believe in the cause as I do; but they should not denigrate it. That only aids the enemy in defeating us strategically.

Read the rest.

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Aug 22, 2004

Oh sweet mother of God... 

I didn't say it... 

Aug 16, 2004

"News Alert" my ass 

Is anybody else out there sick to damn death of every event on the face of the freaking earth being called a "Fox News Alert"?

I mean, all the news stations do this - but Fox is the worst offender as far as I can tell. And they get me every time.

-The lovely Laurie Dhue: "FOX NEWS ALERT!"
-Mike the Marine (moving closer to the TV): "OOH, OOH, maybe we blew up Osama!"
-The lovely Laurie Dhue: "Here we see Michael Jackson, in the 15 second long clip that we have of him walking from his bus to the courthouse. We've been playing it all day. .. And let's watch that again..."
- Mike the Marine (throwing things at TV): "GOTTDAMMIT!"

I don't give a rats ass about Kobe, Jacko, Scott Peterson, that new nutball Hacking, and most especially Martha Stewart. And it's not that I even think they're all guilty; I don't.

- Kobe Bryant: Dumbass. Getting raked over the coals for cash - but still a dumbass. Why would you cheat when your wife looks like THAT? Lousy husband, NOT a rapist.
- Michael Jackson: Weird as hell. May or may not be guilty. I don't care - just don't make me look at that freak anymore.
- Scott Peterson: Guilty as hell. Slimy as hell. And a TERRIBLE liar.
- Nutjob Hacking: Guilty as hell. Nutty as hell. Doesn't have brain capacity to lie.
- Martha Stewart: Guilty and stupid. If she'd kept those shares, she'd have MADE money by now. Her initial bailout only saved her something like 50 grand. She's worth MILLIONS. Dumbass.

As for the famous types, I can at least understand why the news keeps going back to them. Hell, they're famous. But the two wife killers perplex me. I mean, how many spousal murders are there in America in a year? It must be in the hundreds thousands. At least it was a couple years ago. I guess it's the flavor of the month or something. Like that rash of kidnappings was last year. Anybody remember that? Those were worthy of the "Fox News Alert!!!" too. Call me callous, but after weeks and even months of hearing nothing new, I don't need to be alerted to the fact that there's NOTHING NEW. Tell me when it's over... or don't... I don't give a shit.

Isn't there some other stuff going on the world? Hmmm? War on terrorism, ring a bell? Hurricane cleanup? Cat up tree? ANYTHING?!?

The only way I want another Fox News Alert to come out of this would be something like...
-The lovely Laurie Dhue: "FOX NEWS ALERT!"
-Mike the Marine (moving closer to the TV): "OOH, OOH, maybe we blew up... anything!"
-The lovely Laurie Dhue: "Here we see Michael Jackson, in the 15 second long clip that we have of him walking from his bus...
-Mike the Marine (throwing things at TV): "GOTTDAMMIT! NOT AGAIN!"
-The lovely Laurie Dhue: "Hey, I'm not finished!"
-Mike the Marine: "Huh?"
-The lovely Laurie Dhue: "As I was saying - leaving his bus on the way into Ceasar's here in Vegas to take part in the five man death match that's about to begin. Jacko, the two wife killers, Kobe, and the Dark Princess of Floral Patterns, will duke it out in a no-holds-barred cage match. Betting closes in 30 minutes. Five go in - one comes out. And that one may still be summarily executed via an explosive earwig... sort of a combination between 'Wrath of Kahn' and 'Scanners'."
-Mike the Marine: "SWEET!"
-The lovely Laurie Dhue: "Thought you'd like that."

That would be one of the most joyful, tear-filled days of my life.
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Aug 11, 2004

If I ran the world... 

Ever wonder what would happen if we REALLY pulled off the kid gloves and started kicking the ever-loving sh*t out of terrorists? Watch the news for what's about to go down in Najaf in the next couple days. But I digress...

What I'm actually going to talk about is fiction... but I hope to God that at some security level that I'm not cleared for and don't even know exists, something like this is going on.

Imagine what would happen if somebody organized a highly skilled spec warfare unit, pulling guys from Delta, the Air Force, Navy, and Marines. Imagine that this team was supported by a group of the most talented intel wizards ever assembled - guys who could find out who you were, where you lived, what your favorite color was, and how big your bowel movement was this morning - all because you turned on your cell phone (not USED it, mind you... just turned it on).

Then imagine that this wrecking crew of hell, death, and destruction had a blank check to go waste bad guys. No oversight. No bureaucracy. No reporting in with higher HQ. As a matter of fact, they're practically a "cell."

Oh, by the way... they're highly motivated. They ALL lost family members on 9/11, or the Cole, or Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie...

SUPERHAWKS: Strike Force Alpha

Right out of the box in the first novel of this series, Mack Maloney produces a story that both makes you cheer for payback, and cringe at the manner in which it is sometimes carried out. While he doesn't have the polish or technical expertise of Tom Clancy (who, by now has legions of guys fact-checking the specs that he uses in his books), Maloney still produces a kick ass ride. I couldn't put it down. I was back at Barnes and Noble buying his second book in the series (Strike Force Bravo) before I was even half done with the first.

For a specs and accuracy geek like me, some things were tough to swallow. Some weapons get mislabled, and some info seems to be out of date - probably pulled from places like globalsecurity.org which are hit or miss on both accuracy and recent updates. Some things are just pure Hollywood fiction (a Harrier cannot fire it's cannon while hovering, no matter what "the Governator" says).

But I got over it. And you will, too. Read this book. At $6.99, you can't afford NOT to read it. Then go have happy dreams about guys like this being blown to bits.
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Say wha? 

Ask anybody and they'll tell you that NOBODY loves news of the weird more than me. And damned if Fox didn't come through big time today. In one feld swoop they hit up all of the following:

Sightseers Get Unexpected Treat:
The captain warned passengers not to look up with open mouths while passing underneath the grated bridges over the Chicago River, reports the Chicago Tribune, or else they might get a "taste of Chicago."
At 1:20 p.m., the boat paused underneath the Kinzie Street bridge. That's when one, or maybe two, tour buses passed overhead — and emptied their sewage tanks onto the boat below.
Angry Citizen Takes Call of Nature to City Hall:
A man who believes the town crushed his sewer line says he'll use the bathroom in Town Hall every morning until the problem is solved.
Rock Musician's Microphone Causes Airport Scare:
A terminal area and several gates were closed briefly after a routine baggage screening detected the device, which raised concerns because of the wires and threading caps running through it. A bomb disposal robot removed it.
Job Applicant Accused of Stealing Sex Toy:
A sex shop planned to file an arrest warrant for a woman who allegedly left the store without paying for a toy but who left a good lead on how to find her: She had just filled out a job application.
But by far my favorite was this one:

Bull Runs for Its Life Into Emergency Room
"DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A bull escaped from a butcher's knife and took refuge in a hospital emergency ward, interrupting medical procedures for nearly 45 minutes, a news report said Sunday.
The big white bull tore away from a butcher as it was about to be slaughtered on a busy city street, and charged up a ramp into the emergency ward of nearby Dhaka Medical College Hospital..."

I enjoy fresh beef as much as the next guy, but WTF? IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET?! Sadly ol' Bossy didn't make it... "The frightened animal was then caught and returned to the butcher."

Here's to you big guy.

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Aug 8, 2004

To quote the immortal ZZ Top... 

"I'm bad, I'm nationwide."

Yes friends and neighbors - DSL is up and running and blogging shall commence immediately! Or sooner even!

Once I get my hous situatid... just gotta move all these boxes outta the way so's I cansee the screeenn... danm typoos.

I shal retrun!!!!1
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Aug 1, 2004

Just a little bit longer... 

I've said it before and I'll say it again: the Marine Corps can sometimes be SOOO inconsiderate of my blogging needs...

Not much time last week for blogging - but then you probably already noticed that. But whatcha gonna do, right? They say go to work, I go to work. Then I come back to my hotel room, drink a beer, go to bed, get up the next day and do it all over again... I love this sh*t!

No, really... I DO.

Anyway, bear with me a little while longer here folks. I've finally found a house and my stuff shows up on Wednesday. Hopefully the DSL connection will be up and running by next weekend and then the blogging may return in full swing... or it may not...

Hey, when you're part of Mother Green's Killing Machine ya never can tell...
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