Associated Press
By Alotta Ganja

Quacks on Crack! Season Goes Up in Smoke

Eugene, OR – As many as eleven University of Oregon football players and coaches have been arrested in the largest marijuana related arrest in the Northwest say state officials. The results of a two year investigation into the university’s athletic department connection with Columbian crack cartel lead authorities to a conduct a sweeping, ninja-like pre-dawn raid at over twenty local residences, including those of the head coach of the football program and student housing for the team. University officials released an official statement which simply read ‘Dude. Whoa… That was a total buzz-kill’ However, speaking on condition of anonymity (the source actually couldn’t remember their name), one source close to the story whose name rhymes with ‘Spike Mellottie’ stated that in fairness to the players and staff, they didn’t know that ‘pot’ was marijuana, nor did they know that it was actually illegal. For the record, the university offers a PHd (aka Pretty High Degree) in Hempology and offers courses titled; ‘What’s so Whacky About the Whacky Weed’, Sticking it to the Man, ‘Cannabis, The Man and ‘You; A life of MTV’, and ‘Honest Officer, That Ain’t My Bag! (I just found it)’ are some of the many courses students have to choose from.

Despite the enormity of the arrest and pending suspensions of the coaching staff and players involved, sports analyst are unanimous in predicting an Oregon rout over the visiting, and ever-struggling University of Arizona Wildcats who visit the Pot-Haven Mecca of Eugene this Saturday. Critics of the Wildcat program report that just this week Arizona actually lost a scrimmage against itself earlier and didn’t even realize that they had a game Saturday against the MaryJane Ducks. The Arizona coaching staff has requested that anyone in the greater Tucson area (illegally or legally) who would like to play quarterback please contact a university official. They indicated that both starting and back-up rolls are available. They prefer someone with at least Pop-Warner experience (any position) but will accept anyone that can sustain repeated hits to the head.

2004 Game video of Duck players attempting to ‘smoke’ the artificial turf at Autzzen stadium first alerted a staff security guard to what he believed then to be ‘a potential problem.’ In a characteristically secretive and deceptive move, the Whitehouse spokesman Tony Snow said he was ‘disappointed with the actions of those involved’ but said the President denied any direct responsibility. Critics of the Bush Administration cite this as just another glaring example of the failure of the No Child Left Behind bill. They also noted that most of the players arrested where African American, just like we saw with hurricane Katrina, and said this is just another reminder of how going into Iraq, which has nothing to do with Al Queda, was a mistake.

Polls show that this latest scandal will likely propel the Democrats to unprecedented election wins in 2008. Every electable, and non-electable city, state, federal position is expected to be won by Democrats. In fact, the election wins are projected to be such epic proportion that the Jr. Senator from Massachusetts, John F. Kerry will likely be anointed to lead the communist country of North Korea. Citing his 90 days (‘earning’ one medal every 11 days) experience in Viet Nam, the Jr. Senator said ‘It’s about $%$#% time I was legitimately picked to, you know, lead a nation.’

The Jr. Senator also reminded us that he was for giving North Korea nukes before he was against it and expects to be greeted as a liberator when he assumes power in 2008. At which time he intends to promptly surrender to his good friends the Chinese and redeploy all US forces from the Peninsula to New Orleans. The former VN war hero also stated that he loved the popular TV show Mash, but promises to vigorously investigate the tough-minded, but affable Colonel Potter for War Crimes whom he said did not have a plan for winning the Peace.

B-o-r-i-n-g! That’s with a capitol ‘B!’ I love history (especially WWII), Clint Eastwood’s spaghetti westerns, and his movies generally speaking, but Flags of Our Fathers was (nearly) un-watchable! And this coming from a guy, who the night before had watched four straight hours of the history channel!

What made the fim so boring was a combination of little or no character development, poor story telling, and really, the story that was told wasn’t that interesting; or it at least wasn’t exciting. Significant yes, exciting no.

The movie focused extensively on Ira Hayes, even though the story was told from the perspective of the son of the supposedly  main character. It was as if the son was re-telling a story about Ira from the perspective of his father; very twisted and incomplete. This is because… that’s what it was. Needless to say, this circuitous means of story telling left this history lover wanting… If you're going to make the story about Ira Hayes, great! But they didn't even play the Johnny Cash song, 'Ira Hayes.' That song conveys at least as much if not more information than this long (10 hours?), boring movie.

The most interesting aspect of the evening was the demographic of the audience as it was largley comprised of senior citizens. I can’t recall ever seeing such a crowd other than at the early-bird special at Denny’s. The members of the ‘Greatest Generation’ were no doubt coming to relive a part of their life, and remember those that were lost during that epic conflict. It was this compulsion on their part to be here that I found most intriguing about the film.

I tended to watch these people watching the movie as much as I watched the movie. I was curious to see their reactions to various aspects of the movie and tried to imagine what they were thinking. The older ladies tended to flinch and cover their faces during every attack or violent scene. The mem tended to stare stoically ahead, absorbing every boring detail. At least one guy wore a Us flag patch on the shoulder of his  jacket. Proud then; proud today. I doubt that anything John Kerry says about anything matter’s a lick to these guys.

Immediately following the movie the gentleman seated to my right said to his wife in a somewhat indignant tone, ‘What? No applause? That’s it? Nothing?’ The people who came to see this movie, likely the only movie that they’ve gone to see on a Friday night the past 20 years, stayed until the final credit stopped rolling. I was more than a little surprised that their wait wasn’t rewarded with some recognition by Clint Eastwood of the sacrifices that were made by the millions who fought and of those who never made it home. Only today, can a war movie be made without honoring the war or the warriors who fought it.

As I sit here writing this, I’m thinking that I missed my chance to thank that gentleman sitting two seats from me... So, next time you’re at your work, look around for these ‘seasoned citizens’ as Rush calls them. Chances are there’s a hero right in front of you, day-in, day-out, who wouldn’t mind a little 'applause.'

 

As a golfer with a lifetime vannity handicap of 16, and who's in love with the 'long ball' and playing from the tips, I've played my share of 7400-plus yard courses. Including one 269 yard par 3 over the ocean (240 yard carry) in Hawaii (Mana Kae); cleared the water, still made tripple. Granted, I've taken a lot of liberties with my scoring on these courses, but, but that doesn't mean that I haven't learned a thing or two about playing courses/lenghts beyond one's abilities (or comfort level).

If a par 4 is 440 yards, it's a very long and difficult hole. However, if you play it as a par 5, it becomes a very short and easy par 5 (of course, it's actually a bogey, but no worse). And maybe you make a putt and salvage par; but you need to gurard against making a 6 by going for the green in 2 with a shot that has less than 30% chance of succeeding.

Take Toka Sticks hole eight one for instance. It's a very long hole, with a well guarded green. It's imperative that you have a good angle into the pin in order to have any chance at chipping it close to the pin. This is a hole that you should play for bogey, and hope for par. It can't be any longer than 450 from the Blue tees. Say you duff a drive 150. Who cares? You only need to cover 300 yards in your next two shots. Moreover, you should be trying at this point to hit your ideal layup distance to maximize the chance that your third shot can be aggressive. Therefore, having duffed the drive 150, now being 290 from the hole, you need to hit a shot 170 yards to leave yourself a relatively short (120 yard) shot into the green. You can hit your hybrid, 3-wood at this point. You just need to make sure you hit it to the left side of the fairway in order to give you a better shot at the pin.

Now that you're laying up at a comfortable approch distance of 120 yards, you need to determine whether or not you really can attack the pin. What if you miss-hit your shot slightly left or right? Will it be in trouble, resulting in double or tripple bogey? If so, just aim for the fat part of the green, two putt and take your bogey. No shame making bogey on the number 2 handicap hole.

What we hacks tend to do, is try too frequently for the spectacular shot (less than 30% success rate) without considering the consequences of a slightly miss-hit shot. There's no reason to go for a green/pin where you're more likely than not to end up in trouble. This applies for long par 3's as well. Playing from the tips, it's not uncommon to see par threes in excess of 200 yards. I'm looking to essentially lay-up, or minimize the affects of a miss-hit, make a chip and a putt to save par. If we were to only bogey the eight most difficult holes on the course, that's an 80 without requiring hitting the ball well!

So when you practice, practice your wedges!!! 50, 60…120 yards. These are the money clubs (and of course putting). Last thought; don't 'ruin' your shot before you even swing. Meaning, make sure that you're thinking good, positive thoughts (no negative thoughts - only positive). Tell yourself that you're going to make a good swing, and then make it! The ball will go where it goes, but for crying out loud, make a good swing!

That evil genius Karl Rove is single handily surgically removing the entire Democrat Presidential ticket from the past two elections! First they came for Joe Lieberman, and nobody stood up for him; then they came for John F. Kerry and he was forced to be for not apologizing before being for it.

How does he, the Evil Genius Karl Rove (EGKR), do it? How does he make Mr. CT blue-state (100% abortion rating), 90% Ted Kennedy voter alignment, etc. become the red-state-headed step child of the left? For the moon-bats, it looks like, ‘you’re either with them, or you’re against them, unless you were against them before being with them, unless after you were with them you were always really against them but scared by their anti-Americanism, or you were loudly against them or…’

Half of the 2000 and 2004 Democratic tickets for the most powerful position in the world, the President of the United States has officially been asked to ‘stay away’ from the party! That leaves Gore (mad scientist) and that other guy with the ‘hair.’ Where is he anyway? What's Hillary doing anyway? Measuring curtains?

Perhaps becoming the Democratic nominee for President is too much emotional strain for these nuanced-minded liberals. Just imagine what would have become of these men had they actually became president... Look no further than Jimmy Carter!

That's how you make a terrorist! And liberals think 1) we're not at war 2) Iraq is responsible for creating terrorism? The video at this site is must see TV.

Like the terrorists today, during WWII the Japanese were similarly brainwashed to believe that the Americans would do unspeakable things to them (probably read too much Sy Hersh) to the extent that thousands of Japanese citizens hurled their children and themselves off cliffs as Japanese forces were defeated on Okinawa.

Yet, for liberals, it's simply 'The Oil Stupid' oh ya, and US foreign policy. If only we would be 'nice' and embrace Global Warming initiatives, the world would be a peaceful place and terrorist would become doctors and firemen.

Oh! It was a joke! Of course, it’s so obvious and hilarious if you’re not too dense (a.k.a. un-nuanced) to get it. It’s a classic. John F. Kerry, The Jr. Senator from Massachusetts just botched the punch line. Give him a break.

Allow me to refresh your memories. I’m sure you’ll remember the joke once it’s stated properly. It goes like this:

A mullah, a CNN news correspondent (well call him Wolf) and a Jr. liberal Senator (well call him John F. Kerry) walk into a bar. The bartender asks them what they’d like to drink. The mullah proudly declares that alcohol is forbidden by Allah (Peas be upon him), calls the taverns occupants intolerant and hateful for not being considerate of his beliefs and calls for the destruction of Israel.

Next the bartender asks the serious looking newsman what he’d like to drink. The newsman, Wolf, responds by telling everyone in the bar the up-to-the-minute serviceman death toll in Iraq and noting each of the days ‘talking points’ from the DNC. As if that isn’t enough, he repeats this same act every 30 minutes and calls it 'news' each time.

After waiting patiently for what seemed like 24 hours of non-stop regurgitation by the ‘news’ man, the bartender approaches the French looking Jr. Senator. Kerry assumes an air of royalty unfamiliar to the patrons of this tavern, raises his nose to the ceiling and dawls in some foreign sounding tone “You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”

HA! Get it? This joke killed them at the Code Pink rally!!! We’re just fortunate that he’s allegedly on our side.

Listening to JFK's 'apology' (noted below via Townhall) reminds me of a classic scene from the movie Animal House. In the movie, the Delta fraternity is on 'trial' for their latest toga party (in violation of their double-secret probation). The character nicknamed Otto mounts a defense that is strikingly similar in rhetoric, passion, and absence of logic as is Kerry's.

First here's Kerry's 'defense' of his remarks:

“If anyone thinks a veteran would criticize the more than 140,000 heroes serving in Iraq and not the president who got us stuck there, they're crazy. This is the classic G.O.P. playbook. I’m sick and tired of these despicable Republican attacks that always seem to come from those who never can be found to serve in war, but love to attack those who did…

It disgusts me that these Republican hacks, who have never worn the uniform of our country lie and distort so blatantly and carelessly about those who have…

These Republicans are afraid to debate veterans who live and breathe the concerns of our troops, not the empty slogans of an Administration that sent our brave troops to war without body armor.

Bottom line, these Republicans want to debate straw men because they’re afraid to debate real men.

Got that? Now here's Otto's defense of the Toga party:

But you can't hold a whole fraternity responsible for the behavior of a few, sick twisted individuals. For if you do, then shouldn't we blame the whole fraternity system? And if the whole fraternity system is guilty, then isn't this an indictment of our educational institutions in general? I put it to you, Greg - isn't this an indictment of our entire American society? Well, you can do whatever you want to us, but we're not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America. Gentlemen!

[Leads the Deltas out of the hearing, all humming the Star-Spangled Banner]

I’m confident that the moonbats would have hummed the Star-Spangled Banner had they known the tune... I blog, you decide:-)

Was he drunk or suffering from some rare botox side affect? Possibly both. When people such as Mel Gibson utter stupid hateful remarks while blindly-drunk, we're told it reveals what's truly in their 'heart.' When liberals causually toss out racial slurs or other thoughtless rants, we're told, well, we're not told anything, because it goes virtually unreported by the ODM (old-dying-media). So, what to make of John Kerry's most recent slap in the face to the military?

Drunk, sober, today or 40 years ago, one thing remains constant for John F. Kerry; he loaths the military. Whatever his reasons, we'll never know for sure. But reading stories of our country's finesest on milblogs such as Blackfive, I can't help but conclude that JFK despises the military because he knows that that despite his having had every 'advantage' in the world, they're better than he is! He knows it and they know it and I think it bothers him to the bottom of his empty, valueless-core.

Whether it's him trying to 'fit in' with reporters on the campaign trail by playing a friendly game of catch, trying to look cool, and looking anything but, or showing NASA how smart he is by wearing a bunny suit, he just doesn't fit in; and it bothers him. Life isn't a popularity contest. But JFK impresses me as someone uncomfortable with himself, and void of any inner compass or genuine friends. He's actually pathetic. His 'military,' social, and political 'being' are entirely about the 'ends justifying the means.'

Enough psyc 99, let us now listen to the Man himself,  Mr. 'I still have the hat' JFK explainjust how stupid he thinks are servicemen are:

“You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”

I'm surprised he doesn't think that they're too stupid to break down doors in the middle of the night to terroize women and children as he stated on CBS. Sad... And yet, there's a good chance that he'll somehow manage to win his parties Presidential nomination in 2008. He's nothing if not tenacious.

As Ann Coulter once stated, ‘liberals are wrong, even in hind-sight.’ I think this phenomenon can be explained by the fact that liberals don’t think that they have to live in the present, i.e. reality. For example, rather than state whether or not they want the US to prevail in Iraq (and consequently propose ideas to that end), they simply state that we shouldn’t have gone in the in the first place immediately followed by some equally obtuse Viet Nam reference. The merits of invading Iraq can be debated, but not to the exclusion of making an argument about what to do now. Wishing doesn’t make it so.

We supported the Saddam and the Taliban. So what? What does that have to do with desiring (and working towards) victory in Iraq and Afghanistan? Liberals make the exact same ‘argument’ about Israel stating that it should never have existed to begin with… Maybe, maybe not; But what does that have to do with acts of terrorism against it today? And Israel is by far the only ‘arbitrarily’ created state (see the entire continent of Africa and Eastern Europe for starters). Do liberal propose that we should hit the ‘undo’ button on Africa? Of course not. Their scorn is solely reserved for the sole democracy in the Middle East. Without which, the ‘worlds problems’ would dissolve. Who says the liberals don’t have a plan? It simple; get rid of Israel.

This living in the past mind-set reminds of a very nice bloke from The Bahamas that I met during a recent business trip to the UK. He said he cannot be friends with someone until they apologize to him for slavery! For the record, this gentleman was not 150 years old and therefore could not have ever been a slave. Excuse me? I asked him how far back in time does the ‘history game’ go? Why stop at 200 years? Why not 1000 years? And exactly how does focusing on either real or imagined transgressions in the past help one come to terms for a prosperous future? History is important only if one is capable of learning the lessons that it has to offer and understands how to apply them in the present.

So I would like to add a corollary to AC’s thesis regarding liberals and hindsight. That is, It’s the 60’s stupid! Unless, we need to go back to the 1100’s to illustrate how awful Christians are. The ink never dries in the liberal history books.

My trip was fabulous!!! i very much want to go back to scotland. England, me thinks I can do without another visit any time soon. I spent two days checking out the pubs in York! that was great. So much history. The Romans were the first to set up camp there around 71 AD while on their way to concurring scotland. Very cool. There's a wall (rampart?) nearly four miles long that encircles the original town, minster, abbey et al. You can walk the entire thing which allows for unrestricted views of the town and surrounding areas. The buildings are all 1700-1800s. it's fun to sit and enjoy a pint while thinking about all the BS that must have been said in there over the centuries:-) Oh, and I did manage to play the Belfry (51-41) while in Birmingham. Fun, but not that great of a course. The courses here in CT, MA and AZ are much nicer.

As fun a York and Birmingham were, Scotland was by far my favorite part of trip. I didn't have any hotel reservations; just a rental car with a GPS. Those gps things are fantastic! You can just enter a city, and ask it to show you nearby hotels, monuments, movie theaters, restaurants, gas stations, etc. It made traveling without any plan quiet easy and enjoyable. From York, I headed for Edinburgh which was about a 4 hour drive through little villages and hill-filled country side. It was a clear, sunny day for most of the drive. Beautiful country! I arrived on the outskirts of Edinburgh around 4 PM and saw a sign for a golf course. I figured who better to recommend a course than a golf pro? St. Andrews and Carnoustie were out because they were playing host to the Dunhill cup (no hotel rooms would likely be available, and the courses would be closed as well). I ended up talking with a guy at the course who recommended an area along the coast, where Tigers favorite course Murifiled is located. It was only about 30 miles east of Edinburgh, so that's where I headed.

These little villages along the way with their old houses, churches and the occasional castle made the drive very pleasant. Plus, much of the drive followed the coast. It was fun just cruising around taking in the sights. I ended up at Murifield, but couldn't get in. it is possible to play there, but requires more planning... Around 7 PM I started to think that I should find a place to stay. There was a really cool, old hotel overlooking an awesome true links style course (that I would play the following day), but I just missed out on getting the last room (the couple who got it was literally in front of me!). Using my handy-dandy gps, I rapidly made my way to 4 other B&B/hotels before finding a room. they were all really close to each other, so i wasn't too worrried. worst case, I figured that I would head towards edinburgh.

I ended up finding a room at a 1700-1800s little inn. it was nice and reasonable ($80). The hotels, which were very nice ran about $150!!! But at some point, one needs a bed and price is less of a concern... Any way, I chatted with the barkeep and he suggested a couple of courses. He said the nice one that I had admired earlier was a bit 'snobby' and that I would have a tough time getting on, and if I did, wouldn't like the company. He couldn't have been more wrong! I arrived at the course early in the morning and two members allowed me to play with them (members only in the morning), and even signed me in a guest so my cost was only $18 versus the normal $150!!! And following the round, they invited me in to the private club house and bought me two pints! Got to love the Scots! It was a great day. The course (North Berwick) was right along the coast, and the weather was perfect. It was tough to leave that place behind:-). That was Sunday, and my departing flight from Edinburgh was 5:40 AM. Since my flight was so early in the morning, I didn't really want to get a hotel. I figured that I just sleep at the airport.

After golf, I drove up and down the coast a little more, explored some castle ruins next to my hotel, and headed to edinburgh. What a huge, fun-filled city that is! I just explored one little area of the city, bought heather some earrings, and saw The Departed (good movie). It would have been nice to have about 3 days there to see more stuff.

I took some video and pictures, but they don't really capture things very well. i was especially disappointed that my pics of the golf course (north berwick) didn't come out better. i took them the evening that I arrived and apparently the lighting was insufficient:-( I probably enjoyed scotland more because I was able to spend more time talking with locals. The friends of mom and dad with whom I stayed with in Birmingham were very nice and gracious, but had a big 'anti-US chip' on their shoulder (i.e. envy) that dulled that experience somewhat.

Thanks for being the sole reader of my 'blog' (Provisional Thoughts). You're a wonderfully captive audience:-)

Posted September 23, 2006
 

No excuses. The European team has great golfers. But are they better golfers than the Americans? No way. It’s not even close. A quick comparison of Major Championship wins, PGA Tour wins, and earnings is precipitously in the US favor. Then why, pray tell, has the US been getting absolutely annihilated in the Ryder Cup the past decade? For the answer to this tiring question, all one has to do is to examine the faces of Monty and Tiger following good and bad shots. Neither changes much. Tiger is a sour puss. Monty is smiling. The Europeans are a great team. We have great players. The great Team win’s 9-10 times.

 

Collin Montgomery, who may be as the best European player in the history of the Ryder Cup player, yet he has never one a major PGA Championship event. Moreover, his meltdowns in clutch situations are epic with his most recent failure occurring at the 72^nd hole of the 2006 US Open. Needing only to make par from the fairway on a par 4 to win, he made double bogey and missed a play-off by one stroke. Then there is Tiger who is arguably already the best player to have ever played the game. He has won one 12 Major Championships, and is touted for his ability to make the critical putt, or execute the impossible shot when absolutely required.

 

So what accounts for Monty’s Ryder Cup Success and Tiger’s lack thereof? The answer is simple; fun. Monty has fun while Tiger has none. Rarely, even when playing well does Tiger ever look like he’s having fun. He looks miserable – always. This is true today, but it was even more pronounced early in his career. He reacts to victories with relief rather than joy. Even after well executed shots, he looks angry (hyper pumped-up) rather than happy. It’s a visceral emotional rollercoaster that leaves his ‘teammates’ in pieces. Tiger’s not unique among the US team for this reaction.

 

Golf, as played in the PGA is an individual endeavor and largely played within one’s own mind. On the PGA, a player’s actions, reaction and consequences thereof, are limited to that player’s paycheck for that tournament; that’s it. Nobody else in the field is impacted by how a player reacts to poor shots or missed putts.

 

Monty hit numerous horrendous shots in the opening day of the Ryder Cup, including two shots into the water and hitting a simple lay-up into the rough. Did he care? Of course he did. But, rather than throwing a temper tantrum and acting as if he never misses a shot, he laughs it off, and jokes with his partner and the crowd. He affords the same courtesy to his partners as well. And by the way, he made a critical putt on the last hole and won the match – nobody will remember the ‘bad’ shots. Conversely, those playing with Tiger play with the fear of ‘letting Tiger down.’ Who would you rather play with? Which would be more fun and hence allow you to hit your best shots? The Europeans have fun playing and beating America. If they loose, oh well. They’re only Europe. But if they win, they’ve defeated the ‘arrogant Americans’ who think they’re better at everything (because we are).

 

Attitude is everything. It’s a cliché as old as the game, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Having fun and relaxing are central elements to playing one’s best golf. This is especially true in team events. The US team, typified by Tiger doesn’t have fun. Having fun is not what made this the best country in the world. We’re the children of immigrants who knew nothing but hard labor and literally built this country. We value hard work and winning. We’re winners, and we will work hard to do whatever it takes to win! Unfortunately for us, successful team golf is predicated upon a team’s ability to truly enjoy playing with each other, having fun and allowing one’s best golf to flow from that. The US team doesn’t need to practice more, they need to have couple of pints and enjoy kicking some Euro-behind!

In many ways, Iraq was in the same situation as Lebanon but on a much more grand scale. Just as the Lebanees had to endure the war initiated by the Hezbozos, the people of Iraq were forced to bear the brunt of the ‘Global Communities’ effort to ‘contain' Saddam. Saddam shot at our airmen (hence attacked our country) on a daily and the US delivered  ‘aproportionate and measured’ responses in much the same way as Israel. And predictably, the results were the same; those in power remained in power, and those who responded to attacks (the US and Israel) were condemed by the 'World.'

Whether through sanctions, tommahawks or Screaming Eagles (F-15s), Iraqis were systematically pummeled, and the tyrant Saddam remained defiant and empower. Morevover he emerged stronger than ever in the eyes of the fabled ‘Arab Street’ following each US response. 

Saddam in essence was a rouge state within a state. Given his passion for funding suicide bombers, it's inconcievable that he would sit idly by as Iran and Syria drive events. And as was the case in Lebanon, nothing short of a full-scale ground invasion could have possibly had any significant impact on changing the reality on the ground. 

The Iraqiis have been given an unprecedented 'gift' in the history of the world, the 'opportunity' for true freedom from an outside country. What they do with this opportunity is likely to take several lifetimes to understand. They've lived under tyranny that is simply incomprehensible to us in the US. This knowledge of ture horror, is what empowers them to fight the cowards that seek to replace Saddam with thier version of 'peace and stability.' They've been through 30 years of Saddam, faced the prospect of another 40 years of his sons rule, 8 years of war with Iran. They can and are handling the 'violence.' Unfortunately for those of us who would revel in seeing the vision come to fruition, this fight will take generations, not months to win. Life is always worth the wait.

When did we arrive in this alternate universe where Republicans spend like liberals and liberals view the government as a giant corrupt, power-hungry entity that will do anything (incuding slaughtering thousands of Americans - 9/11) to maintain it's grip on power? Moreover, the Democrats now view government as wasteful, ineffectual (Katrina, perscription drugs) and demand immediate results to validate continued support (Iraq).

If only liberals were capable of applying this new standard for immediate results to all (or any for that matter) of the precious programs that they hold so near and dear (affirmative action, welfare, education, healthcare, to name but a few)... How long have we been engaged in helping Iraq make the transition from dictatorship to a free society, reflective of the values and tolerance we in the US take for granted? Four years? And how long have liberals had a virtual monopoly on public education and how much money have we spent on it the past 10 years? Applying the same 'logic' that liberals apply to Iraq, we should expect kindergarden students to be spitting atoms and third graders working on that pesky cold fusion problem. But alas, what we actually have is 'hi-scruwl' students reading like third graders and kindergarders being arrested for sexual harrassment (another great triumph in liberalism)! Where's the outrage from liberals? Where's the demand for a new plan, deadline or an exit strategy? Chirp... chirp... chirp.

Unfortunately, for the liberal mind, the government's inherrent failures will all instantly subside when liberals are - big sigh - back in power. For them, the government isn't the largest organized labor union in country which is ineffecient by nature, but rather the terrible manifestation of one person. And of course, that person is the only person on the planet who liberals actually see as 'evil,' the President of the US, George W. Bush. For them, all will once again become 'right' with the government when 'W' is no longer president. And the spending that would ensue will leave of longing for the 'fiscally responsible (gag)' conservatives of this period. Now if terrorism doesn't worry you, that should!

Sadly, the majority of Republicans are not much better on the integrity front. Few are willing to stand firm in the face of MSM (a.k.a. liberal) opposition to the war in Iraq or speak out against the media's constant denegration of our military. Where's the Republican fortitude to overcome the obstructionists' efforts and pursuing a conservative agenda? Where's the demand for fiscal responsibility? With the exception of a demonstrable committment to fighting terrorism, their 'bark' is a 'meow' and their bite that of a gummy-bear.

With all the confusion surrounding republican and democrat politicians, there is one common, un-changed bonding agent; thier desire to stay in office at all costs. Clearly, the job must be too nice! Why else would otherwise decent people to act so awfully?

There You Have It! Wherever you go, there you are... I'd been thinking what a pity it is to have all this 'wit' with a relatively few number of people to share it with; or at least no simple method with which to dispense all that is 'great' to those who may care to hear it. So Blogsphere, here I come!

They, whoever 'they' are, say write about what you know. But alas, this is a family friendly sight, so I'll have to stick to topics including golf, beer, politics, liberals (some of my best friends are liberals:-)), movies, women and dogs to name but a few.

I have a terrible memory for many, if not most things; However, I never forget a teetime, a favorite beer or 'great' day. Therefore, one purpose of having a blog is to afford me the opportunity to write stuff down before I forget it. Speaking of which, before I forget, my sister needs to see the following movies:

• Dumb and Dumber
• Kicking and Screaming
• Old School
• Napoleon Dynamite
• A History of Violence

These are all hilariuos (except for 'A History of Violence' as the title implies) and well worth watching.

Welcome