What has happened to the department stores? They are horrible!! Simply a mess! Items in these stores are there for purchase, but instead are laying on the floor, boxes ripped up, and worse! Does the management or staff give a darn? There was a time I wondered how these companies would stay in business, with Kmart falling apart financially as it has, I guess that question is/was answered. (more…)

Caution: Do Not Walk on Tracks

Patricia M. Frankhouser filed suit on Nov. 4 seeking damages in excess of $30,000 from Norfolk Southern Corp. (search), according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Last January, Frankhouser was hit by a train as she walked along railroad tracks in her hometown of Jeannette, Pa., a southeastern suburb of Pittsburgh.
Amazingly, she came away from the encounter with only a broken finger, some cuts and, according to the lawsuit, “pain.”
Apparently, however, the incident was traumatic enough for her to hire a lawyer.
“Defendant’s failure to warn plaintiff of the potential dangers negligently provided plaintiff with the belief she was safe in walking near the train tracks,” Frankhouser’s suit asserts.
It goes on to state that Norfolk Southern, based in Norfolk, Va., should have posted signs warning passersby “of the dangers of walking near train tracks and that the tracks were actively in use.”
Nowhere in the filing does it say whether Frankhouser heard the train coming, why she failed to get out of the way or even whether she was walking alongside or in between the rails.
Her attorney did not return the Tribune-Review’s call.

Also named in the suit are the woman’s parents, for failure to contribute genetic material responsible for intelligence, common sense, and probably good looks too…

Excited about our move to Colorado.. and looking at the Calendar events, I already have found what I want to do for Christmas & New Years… and I am so excited about this too, this is how I always wanted to spend the holidays!

Here is what I plan for Christmas:
“Torchlight Parade and Fireworks, caroling around the bonfire at the base of Winter Park Resort and is highlighted by Santa Clause following a procession of torch-bearing skiers under a spectacular fireworks display. Christmas Eve interdenominational church services after the fireworks”

Here is what I plan for the New Year:
“New Year’s Eve Snowmobile Ride to near the top of Cottonwood Pass to see the fireworks on Pike’s Peak. Chili supper”

This just has me so geared up and ready to roll.. Looking forward to this move!!

For years I had been a Simpson’s Fan… since the Tracy Ulman days… it was a funny and creative creation, that was more realistic then most shows out there… it was awesome!! THEN…. (more…)

Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye.

Others may carry the evidence inside them: a piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul’s ally forged in the refinery of adversity.

Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem.

You can’t tell a vet just by looking.

What is a vet?

He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn’t run out of fuel.

He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.

She - or He - is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.

He is the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn’t come back… at all.

He is the Quantico drill instructor who has never seen combat - but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other’s backs.

He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.

He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.

He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb of the Unknowns, whose presence at Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor lies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean’s sunless deep.

He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.

He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being - a person who offered some of his life’s most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so that others would not have to sacrifice theirs.

He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.
———-
Thanks to Repatriate, hat tip to Rebel Yell.

Evidently French photographers can act like they are French Military once in a while.
From Captain’s Quarters:

Q - Is it preferrable to report from an embedded military unit, or do you prefer to roam about the city without their protection? I presume the quality of reporting is better if you aren’t chained to a branch of the military, but it certainly seems much more dangerous to move about Iraq without their security. …
A - Unfortunately, it is impossible to roam about the city without protection. The only way we can cover this offensive for now is with the military. I should note that the insurgents offered embed spots to us as well. Only a French photographer took them up on it. He was detained by US forces yesterday as he fled his embed.

I can’t believe that they had to detain a photographer because he ran away.
Guess they just can’t take hanging with the… uhhh, what unit was he embedded with? The Coast Guard out of San Diego? That can’t be right!

Rather than the pathetic losers going to therapy at weresorry.com (and pathetic, and smell funny, and wear french stuff like berets and easy-off white t-shirts), I support the We’re Not Sorry web site.
Lots of good normal people who savor victory.
And even better, lots of photoshopped art gallery pics which are hilarious…
Thanks Dizzy Girl!
BTW, my picture is on page 10. I’m the one with the most firepower on the entire site as far as I can tell. Lots of people with firearms posing, but AFAIK, I am the only one sitting on twenty thousand pounds of high explosive.

***UPDATE***
Seems the tolerant left has sent so many death threats to the owner of we’renotsorry.com that he had to take the website down. They tracked down his home address and phone number. Beautiful people, the left, aren’t they?

The best thing I had while stationed in the Middle East during the Gulf War was phone cards. They were a bit expensive, but worth every penny. I probably would have came home with a lot more cash if it wasn’t for them. I was even single at the time, but most of my unit was married with children.
So please donate to the VFW Foundation’s Operation Uplink campaign. Help a soldier call his or her loved ones. It is better for them than anything else you can send.

1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the Tomb of the Unknowns and why?
21 steps. It alludes to the twenty-one gun salute, which is the highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary.

2. How long does he hesitate after his about face to begin his return walk and why?
21 seconds for the same reason as answer number 1

3. Why are his gloves wet?
His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the rifle.

4. Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder all the time and if not, why not?
He carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb. After his march across the path, he executes an about face and moves the rifle to the outside shoulder.

5. How often are the guards changed?
Guards are changed every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.

6. What are the physical traits of the guard limited to?
For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb, he must be between 5′ 10″ and 6′ 2″ tall and his waist size cannot exceed 30.” Other
requirements of the Guard: They must commit 2 years of life to guard the tomb, live in a barracks under the tomb, and cannot drink any alcohol on or off duty for the rest of their lives. They cannot swear in public for the rest of their lives and cannot disgrace the uniform {fighting} or the tomb in any way. After two years, the guard is given a wreath pin that is worn on their lapel signifying they served as guard of the tomb. There are only 400 presently worn. The guard must obey these rules for the rest of their lives or give up the wreath pin.

The shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep the heat and cold from their feet. There are metal heel plates that extend to the top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt. There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform. Guards dress for duty
in front of a full-length mirror.

The first six months of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone, nor watch TV. All off duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid
to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. A guard must memorize who they are and where they are interred. Among the notables are: President Taft, Joe E. Lewis {the boxer} and Medal of Honor winner Audie Murphy, {the most decorated soldier of WWII} of Hollywood fame.

Every guard spends five hours a day getting his uniforms ready for guard duty.

ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.

In 2003 as Hurricane Isabelle was approaching Washington, DC, our US Senate/House took 2 days off with anticipation of the storm. On the ABC evening news, it was reported that because of the dangers from the hurricane, the military members assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier were given permission to suspend the assignment. They respectfully declined the offer, “No way, Sir!” Soaked to the skin, marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that guarding the Tomb was not just an assignment, it was the highest honor that can be afforded to a serviceperson. The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24/7, since 1930.

To the United States Marine Corps!

Reading this at FoxNews:

Bush and the GOP Congress should pass a federal law  or even move for an amendment to the Constitution  that would make every law expire after three years unless it’s specifically re-approved by Congress.

We have too many laws. Every one of them in some way puts restrictions on our freedom. Forcing Congress to re-vote on each law would both ensure that the laws on the books are up-to-date and appropriate as well as give Congress less time to pass new ones.

Here’s hoping that we’ll look back and find that President Bush spent his second term using his reelection, control over Congress and the skills and talents of his subordinates in ways that limited the role of government in our lives instead of expanding it, as happened in his first term.

Damn, I have been saying this for years. That is why it is better when the government is deadlocked. It is harder to get things done. Whenever the government actually does something, it is usually bad news for the public at large…

The “big thing” going on now is the photo mosaics. Michael Moore posted one of George Bush, with the photos being made up of the soldiers who have died in Iraq. That actually has seemed to backfire on him, as many of the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and other supporters of the war are now proud of it, and feel that most of the dead would also be proud of the picture.
In response, people are now making pictures of Michael Moore. One was made completely out of asses. That is just funny…
But this one is more appropriate.
Jay Reding has one. Not so funny, but more important. Michael Moore, smiling and happy, only made up of the pictures of mass graves found in Iraq.

The blogs have had a huge effect on the nation during the election season. Many in the mainstream media (MSM) are blaming them for the defeat of Kerry. In other words, they’re jealous. Hehhheh.
But personally, I think this was the peak. I’ve noticed since Wednesday an almost complete shutdown of commentary. This was to be expected of course, everyone is simply exhausted. But I don’t think blogging will be the same. They will become more mini-news rather than pure commentary. I hope not, but we shall see if many of the high draw bloggers retire sometime over the next year.

Reading about the first felony convicted spammers really made my day. 3 years in prison? Not bad, its a start. I think that the sentence should include never using a computer again. Never, or back to the buttpounders in cell block B.
And I mean no touching a MAC machine, fax, TV remote control, oven with a digital clock, automatic coffeemaker, or even a pet that has a RFID in it…

This is a rather creepy story that belongs on a CSI episode…

A Russell County fifth-grader is convinced bones found in her home last weekend belong to a mysterious friend who told her about being chopped up years ago.

Hat tip to Candy Universe…

Dogtulosba is off to “somewhere in SW Asia.”
Fight well and stay safe… We all send you our best wishes…

Dizzy Girl gets all my gloating done for me.
Especially to the

Sign Thieves, GOP Headquarter Vandalists, and Tire Slashers: Thank you for lighting a fire in the ass of EVERY Republican in this country. Thank you for reminding us what we were up against. Thank you for giving us a reason to stand in line for four hours. Not only was our vote against Kerry, it was also against you.

The election is over. High turnout, high feelings. But once again, despite the right wing being the “fascists”, I checked the news every day for all the reports of the union halls getting burned to the ground, and teachers getting thrown in jail. Funny how that didn’t happen.

In 2000, a small plurality (48%) of a minority (38%) of eligible voters wanted Al Gore, but the Electoral College said otherwise.
Thus, 4 years of “Bush wasn’t elected.”
2004: A majority (51%) of a majority (60%) of eligible voters want George W. Bush reelected.
Kerry doesn’t concede, and lets loose the baying hounds of lawsuits!
Where is the outrage from every democrat? Why won’t they apply the same rules to this year that they have applied for the last 4 years? Why aren’t there marches telling Kerry to concede based on the democratic will of the people?

Oh wait, thats right, because they are generally hypocrites solely interested in gaining power.
Hahhah… they lost more of the Senate too…

I am awake and checking the results.
Bush is ahead everywhere, leading the popular vote by 3%. Since that is clearly what the democrats favor, and not that fake electoral vote thing, why won’t they concede?
I see states with 100% reporting, with Bush ahead by 2-3 points, that CNN, ABC, etc., won’t call.
Bush is ahead in Ohio by over 100,000 votes
Capital Hill Blue is already pointing to a complete W victory. Here’s the commentary:

When the votes were counted, George W. Bush won both the popular vote and the Electoral College, becoming the first President since his father to win a Presidential election with more than 50 percent of the vote.
Once the hangover clears, Democrats will scratch their heads and wonder what went wrong. Why couldn’t they beat a President saddled with an unpopular war, a stagnant economy and enough voter anxiety to keep an army of psychiatrists busy for the next decade?
Some, of course, will claim the election was stolen, just as some Republicans would claim if Kerry had won. They can piss and moan about Ohio and file all the challenges they want but it won’t change the outcome. The Republicans won. They lost.
But, in the end, the Democratic process won, even with the odds against them. They did it with sheer numbers - more than 120 million votes cast.
Bush won because he sapped votes from traditional Democratic strongholds: Hispanics, Catholics and women. Even Catholic John Kerry could not pull more than half of the Catholic vote.
And religious conservatives turned out in droves to vote for Bush. Exit pollsters found “moral values” played a much larger than expected role in voter decisions.
For the first time in too many elections, a majority of those qualified to vote actually did so. For the first time in too many years, a majority spoke. Depending on your point of view, Democracy either triumphed or subverted the process.

But since the Dems paid so much money for the lawyers, they have to get something for their money. So they are suing 51% of the population in the US for voting differently than the disaffected minority.