Take Five

Bakabakashii Poritishans'

2009-11-15T21:38:00.000-08:00

You know you’re really skating on thin ice when you resort to ”Nixon did it too”.... ---JR

Emperor Akihito and President Nixon lean in toward each other in greeting

H/T to SondraK

It's A Cultural Sensitivity Thing, Something Like That

2009-11-15T20:29:00.000-08:00

This is too much fun.

More Evening Brain Therapy

2009-11-14T22:28:00.000-08:00

World class pianist and humorist, Victor Borge.

Oba Mao Mania In China

2009-11-14T21:45:00.000-08:00

"The Chinese internet has been flooded with pages and pictures praising Obama and comparing him to Mao Zedong."

It seems Obama is huge in China, with comparisons between America's dear leader and the ruthless mass murderer who destroyed the Chinese economy and cultural institutions during his absurdly misnamed Great Leap Forward and subsequent Cultural Revolution.

H/T to SondraK at American Thinker

Saturday Evening Therapy

2009-11-14T19:52:00.000-08:00

Just becuz...You know...

~click~

Dog Watching...

2009-11-14T11:39:00.000-08:00

Man's best friend welcoming home soldiers.

It's worth repeating

H/T to SondraK

Just Don't Eat The Yellow Snow

2009-11-14T11:19:00.000-08:00

Insult or compliment? There is Obama toilet paper in Japan...

How Low Can He Go

2009-11-14T10:56:00.000-08:00

This photo will get Democrat President Obama a lot of approving nods in Japan this weekend, especially among the older generation of Japanese who still pay attention to the royal family living in its downtown castle. Very low bows like this are a sign of great respect and deference to a superior.

To some in the United States, however, an upright handshake might have looked better.

Mama always told me to bow low.

@SondraK and HAP

"I May Be In Jail, But I Am Somebody"

2009-11-13T21:25:00.000-08:00

Stone: Do you think it’s fair to send people to jail who don’t buy health insurance?

Pelosi: … The legislation is very fair in this respect.

The eyes are the window to your soul. And it says, "Vacancy." For real...

Paratrooper Mother Pleads With Obama To Act Now

2009-11-13T21:01:00.000-08:00

As family and friends mourn a fallen U.S. paratrooper on Veteran's Day, his mother made an emotional plea to President Barack Obama that it's time to either bring home the troops or end the war in Afghanistan.

The body of Benjamin Sherman, 21, was recovered in Afghanistan Tuesday.

"It's time we do something. This has gone on too long. They either need to come home or we need to end it," a tearful Denise Sherman said.

~click~

Shit or get off the pot..

Quotes of the Day

2009-11-13T17:21:00.000-08:00

The Obama administration's decision to try self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his alleged co-conspirators in the city that suffered the worst attack on U.S. soil presents monumental legal challenges and risks to U.S. national security, legal experts say, not least of which include establishing a trail of evidence and ensuring public safety in New York.

President Visits Wounded At Fort Hood

2009-11-07T14:16:00.000-08:00

No, not Him ... the Hitler one:

Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, visited wounded soldiers and their families near the site of the worst mass shooting on an Army post in the United States.

The Bushes made their private visit to Fort Hood's Darnall Army Medical Center on Friday night. Bush spokesman David Sherzer said in an e-mail that the couple thanked Fort Hood's military leaders and hospital staff for the "amazing care they are providing."

{This is just too good not to copy as is}. Hat Tip to DougM at SondraK.

I miss him too....

Saturday Morning Brain Therapy

2009-11-07T08:39:00.000-08:00

The best kind....

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

The 11/3 Project

http://www.thedailyshow.com/

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

Video of the Day

2009-11-06T15:20:00.000-08:00

Tugs at your heartstrings, it does.

EMBED-Tricked On Halloween - Watch more free videos

H/T to SondraK

Police Sgt. Kimberly Munley Hailed For Taking Down Fort Hood Gunman

2009-11-06T14:23:00.000-08:00

Via Daily News:

The hero cop who ended the bloody rampage at Fort Hood by pumping four bullets into the crazed gunman even though she was wounded is known for her toughness, friends say.

More...

Nidal Hasan: Ft. Hood Shooter Participated in Homeland Security Disaster Preparation

2009-11-06T13:53:00.000-08:00

Via Gawker:

The gunman who killed 12 people today at Ft. Hood appears, based on current media reports, to be Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan who was listed as a participant in a Homeland Security Policy Institute's presidential transition task force last year.

The task force was not officially affiliated with the White House. It was a project of the Homeland Security Policy Institute, an independent thinktank housed at George Washington University, aimed at drafting policy recommendations for the incoming Obama administration.

According to the task force's May 2009 report [pdf], a "Nidal Hasan" from the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine was a task force event participant. Other participants included Senate and House staffers, Department of Homeland Security officials, Defense Department officials, and reporters for Politico, the Washington Post, and the London Times.

FRIDAY MORNING UPDATE: Daniel Kaniewski, the institute's deputy director, confirms that Hasan attended task force meetings as an audience member, and stresses that he was not a member of the task force. "All of our events are open to the public," Kaniewski says, "and when someone RSVPs we put their name in the [report] so everyone knows who was in the room." He says institute staffers recall Hasan attending at least one task force event, and that he RSVP'd for several. "We do recall him speaking at one of our events as an audience member," he says, "but none of us recall what he actually said. Generally, our events are attended by people in the homeland security community, and Hasan had a very legitimate reason to be there. He was a fellow at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences."

The Arrogance Of A President

2009-11-06T11:56:00.000-08:00

Obama takes up to three minutes to thank staff members and to give a big "shout out to Dr. Joe Medicine Crow - that Congressional Medal of Honor winner" with a smile and a wave, before giving his condolences and comfort to soldiers and their families in the mass murder at Fort Hood.

But instead of a somber chief executive offering reassuring words and expressions of sympathy and compassion, viewers saw a wildly disconnected and inappropriately light president making introductory remarks. At the event, a Tribal Nations Conference hosted by the Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian affairs, the president thanked various staffers and offered a "shout-out" to "Dr. Joe Medicine Crow -- that Congressional Medal of Honor winner." Three minutes in, the president spoke about the shooting, in measured and appropriate terms. Who is advising him?

Anyone at home aware of the major news story of the previous hours had to have been stunned. An incident like this requires a scrapping of the early light banter. The president should apologize for the tone of his remarks, explain what has happened, express sympathy for those slain and appeal for calm and patience until all the facts are in. That's the least that should occur.

Update: According to Blackfive, "most media outlets are cutting out the weird intro."

Terrorist Attack At Fort Hood: Killer Shouts, "Allahu Akbar!"(God Is Great!)

2009-11-06T10:24:00.000-08:00

Fox News Reports:

The Army psychiatrist suspected of being the lone gunman in a horrific massacre at Fort Hood in Texas took a "very calm and measured approach" to carrying out the mass shooting, the commanding general said Friday.

Survivors of the rampage that killed 13 and wounded 30 said the suspect, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, shouted "Allahu Akbar!" — "God is great!" in Arabic — before opening fire, base commander Lt. Gen. Robert Cone said.

AP Update:

His name appears on radical Internet postings. A fellow officer says he fought his deployment to Iraq and argued with soldiers who supported U.S. wars. He required counseling as a medical student because of problems with patients.

There are many unknowns about Nidal Malik Hasan, the man authorities say is responsible for the worst mass killing on a U.S. military base. Most of all, his motive.

...But, more recently, federal agents grew suspicious.

At least six months ago, Hasan came to the attention of law enforcement officials because of Internet postings about suicide bombings and other threats, including posts that equated suicide bombers to soldiers who throw themselves on a grenade to save the lives of their comrades.

They had not determined for certain whether Hasan is the author of the posting, and a formal investigation had not been opened before the shooting, said law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the case.

More...

Videos: Thousands March In D.C. - "Kill The Bill!"

2009-11-05T18:10:00.000-08:00

Thousands of Tea Party activists descended on Washington Thursday to protest the trillion dollar health care bill and government spending, holding signs protesting Barack Obama’s agenda while aiming chants of “you work for us” at the Capitol building.

The gathering was organized by local Tea Party groups around the country, who are arriving in Washington this morning by the busload. Conservative leaders in Congress, led by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), have taken to the airwaves to encourage the activists to show up on the Capitol steps and demand meetings with members of Congress. The crowd is expected to grow into the thousands by noon, when Bachmann has promised to lead some protesters to a press conference inside the Capitol to express their opposition to the health care bill in person to members of Congress.

The arrived as early as 8:30 a.m., by bus, car and plane — from Bluffton, S.C., Des Moines and Dorris, Calif. — to rally with conservative lawmakers and possibly roam the halls of Congress.

Michelle O, First Ever First Lady To Appear On Reality Show

2009-11-05T16:32:00.000-08:00

Michelle Obama is to be the first presidential wife to appear on a reality TV series.

The First Lady will make a guest appearance on 'Iron Chef America' which features British cook Nigella Lawson as a judge.

The episode of the popular series, which pits well-known chefs against each others, has been filmed at the White House and will be aired in the New Year.

~food fight!~

Wind Beneath My Wings

2009-11-05T15:17:00.000-08:00

Mmm, Mmm, Mmm
A student with an “Obama” haircut at Wright Middle School in Madison, Wisconsin, listens to President Barack Obama speak as he visits the area, November 4, 2009.

H/T to SondraK

Breaking: Massacre At Fort Hood - 12 Dead, 31 Wounded In Shooting

2009-11-05T14:42:00.000-08:00

Fox News reports:

A shooting rampage Thursday afternoon at the Army's Fort Hood in Texas killed 11 and wounded 31 before the gunman was killed and two suspects taken into custody.

All three of the people believed to have carried out the shooting were soldiers, Lt. General Bob Cone told reporters Thursday evening, though the motive remains unclear.

Cone said witnesses reported seeing more than one shooter, but that couldn't be confirmed. The primary shooter used two handguns, he said.

The shooting took place 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the post's Soldier Readiness Center, where soldiers undergo medical screening before being deployed or after returning from overseas.

"We have a terrible, tragic situation here," said Cone. "Soldiers, family members and the civilians that work here are absolutely devastated."

More...

Happy Jack

2009-11-03T20:35:00.000-08:00

Republican takes VA by 18%.
Republican takes NJ by 5%.

@ Drudge

Rush Limbaugh on Fox News Sunday

2009-11-02T12:48:00.000-08:00

"Whether you love him or can't stand him, he is a major player on the American political scene."

I haven't listened to Rush Limbaugh on his radio show (yet). It's dh's opinion that although he agrees with Rush most of the time, it was his ego that turned him off. After watching the interview by Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, I have to agree. Somehow it leaves me with an uncomfortable feeling to think that one needs to pat themselves on the back, intentionally or otherwise. But I did agree 98% of the time with what Rush Limbaugh had to say about our President and the state of our country as it is today. Indeed....He's said most everything that concerns me everyday.

Child With Epilepsy Goes To Hospital After Getting Swine Flu Shot Without Parents OK

2009-11-02T11:05:00.000-08:00

School nurses mistakenly gave the swine flu vaccine to two students who didn't sign up for it - including a Brooklyn girl with epilepsy who wound up in the hospital.

"I was outraged," Naomi Troy, 26, told the Daily News after her 6-year-old daughter, Nikiyah Torres-Pierre, had a possible allergic reaction to the shot.

Officials at Public School 335 in Crown Heights called an ambulance to take Nikiyah to SUNY Downstate Medical Center when she fell ill following the arm jab.

...City officials have stressed the vaccine is safe and urged parents to sign up for it - though less than half have sent in permission slips.

Troy was waiting for advice from her family doctor on whether Nikiyah should get the shot since she takes medicine to control her epilepsy.

...Troy said the nurse - a Department of Health employee - tried to get her to sign a consent form, after the fact.

More...