Money Well-spent

Taliban, criminals get $360 million from US taxes.


After examining hundreds of combat support and reconstruction contracts in Afghanistan, the U.S military estimates $360 million in U.S. tax dollars has ended up in the hands of people the American-led coalition has spent nearly a decade battling: the Taliban, criminals and power brokers with ties to both. 


I'm just glad we're paying them over there, so we don't have to pay them over here.

"We Have Come to Play Hardball, and We Have Brought Our Wiffle Ball Bats."

Good comments on Republican cowardice from Burt Prelutsky:

I'm afraid that when it comes to playing hardball, the Republicans simply aren't in the same division, let alone the same league, as Democrats. Partly that's because the liberals are in control of the MSM, so that when a liberal accuses conservatives of, say, setting out to starve your granny, he can count on the New York Times, the alphabet networks and the numbskulls on "The View" to provide him with a gigantic bullhorn and the world's biggest echo chamber.

But it is also the result of Republican politicians being as gutless as the kid who allows himself to be constantly cowed by the schoolyard bully. The mere notion of being called a racist, a fascist or a homophobe is enough to send them scurrying for cover like a flock of Chicken Littles. Heck, even I wind up wanting to see these punks pantsed, dumped into a trash barrel or given a well-deserved wedgie.

The sad political fact is that if you give a Democrat an inch, he'll take a yard. Give a Republican a yard and he'll resist taking an inch.

You Learn Something New Every Day

The Earth has 657 more barrier islands than previously thought, according to a new global survey by researchers from Duke University and Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C.

The researchers identified a total of 2,149 barrier islands worldwide using satellite images, topographical maps and navigational charts. The new total is significantly higher than the 1,492 islands identified in a 2001 survey conducted without the aid of publicly available satellite imagery.


This exemplifies how science is a useful tool for mankind -- a tool in constant need of sharpening. No matter how many times this tool of Man's fashioning proves that his knowledge has limits, he continues walking the Earth smug in the belief that he knows more than he actually knows. It's part of the human condition.

The World's Oldest Man Dies at Age 114

Here's are his secrets to a long life:


1. Embrace change, even when the change slaps you in the face. ("Every change is good.")

2. Eat two meals a day ("That's all you need.")

3. Work as long as you can ("That money's going to come in handy.")

4. Help others ("The more you do for others, the better shape you're in.")

5. Then there's the hardest part. It's a lesson Breuning said he learned from his grandfather: Accept death.

"We're going to die. Some people are scared of dying. Never be afraid to die. Because you're born to die," he said.

Can You Hear Me Now?

A few days ago I saw a young man riding down the side of a busy street on a bicycle, talking on a cell phone. I kid you not.

What's the world coming to? I couldn't tell you the number of times I've been cut off in traffic, or nearly run off the road, only to see some idiot jabbering on a cell phone as they blithely drove by, unconcerned that they came within a hair's breadth of causing a traffic accident.

What's next, children on Big Wheels with cell phones? A kid pulling a little red Radio Flyer wagon filled with kindergarteners with phones glued to their ears?

It's getting more ridiculous by the day.

I've said this before, but it bears repeating: the mass production and easy access of cell phones has transformed normal people into self-absorbed morons.

The Milky Way

Here's a larger version of this panoramic photo taken in the Canary Islands.

Happy April Fool's Day

Good Developments

I often decry the plethora of social and political ills plaguing the U.S. So here are a handful of positive turns of events in politics. We'll see what happens:

February 17: House votes to defund nine of Obamas "czars."


The jobs on the chopping block: White House-appointed advisers on health care, energy and climate, green jobs, urban affairs, the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention center, oversight of TARP, executive compensation, diversity at the Federal Communications Commission and the auto industry manufacturing policy.


This is nowhere near enough; but it's a step in the right direction.


*****


February 17: House cuts off legislative funding of Planned Parenthood.


*****


February 18: House votes for defunding of Obamacare.

Granted, this still has to contend with the twin hurdles of the leftist Democratic Party, and the Cypher-in-Chief, but the GOP must start somewhere. If we heap harsh criticism upon Republicans when they follow the mooing herd and shrink from their duty, then we should give them recognition and even praise when they take a principled stand for constitutional government.

Small steps forward are better than no steps at all.

Pimpi Longstocking

Sorry, guys. I couldn't resist.

Back in Action

Howdy, y'all. I took a short break from writing new posts during and after Thanksgiving; it took the feast this long to digest. I hope everyone's having a good December, so far.

I'll be playing catch-up for the next couple of days, commenting on recent stories in the news. I hope you'll bear with me, and maybe even find these posts entertaining or illuminating in some fashion.

A Belated Note: To the victims of the Japanese Empire's attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and to their families. We have not forgotten what you gave or what you endured.