So the illegal immigration supporters want all immigrants to boycott work on May 1st. That doesn’t make much sense to me, but I guess the idea is to get as many people on board their cause as possible.

Recent polls have shown a waning support for this effort among the immigrant population. Good for them. The kids skipping school are only hurting themselves – most of them are just happy to have an excuse to play hooky; the sad thing is they’ll be used in the head-count that will supposedly demonstrate how effective this little protest will be.

Here’s how I’m going to celebrate this date:

I’m going to clean my toilet. I may even field-day the head at work, or at least supervise some junior Marine doing it. [grin]
I’m going to go shopping and buy something made in the USA – preferably somewhere other than Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and definitely California. I realize this doesn’t guarantee it’ll be something made by legal citizens, but it’s the thought that counts here.
I’m going to take my own trash out at the end of the workday (I generally do this anyway).

I’m also going to take my cue from other bloggers by posting the following:

O say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming!
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there:
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause, it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Any other words, in any other language, is not the National Anthem of the United States of America.

My ancestors were immigrants to this country. Legal immigrants. Their names are recorded in the rolls of Ellis Island. They learned English (the German half, at least had to learn), they worked hard, and they melded into American society. I have nothing but respect for anyone, from anywhere in the world, who follows in the footsteps of my great-grandparents and embraces life as an American citizen.

I have nothing but contempt for those who circumvent the system, impose unjust burden on American society and honest, hard working people, and then demand rights and benefits which they are in no way entitled. I’ll happily clean my own toilets if that’ll help reduce the “demand” for underpaid, illegal labor.

A little commentary from http://www.coxandforkum.com Cox and Forkum

This sort of thing, when it happens on the left coast in places like Seattle, or San Francisco, it’s generally passed off as the desperate gasp of some dying hippie mentality. When it happens in North Carolina, it just makes me want to kick some punk’s ass.

So how does North Carolina, home to some of the nation’s http://lejeune.usmc.mil/mcb/index.asp finest http://www.seymourjohnson.af.mil/ military http://www.bragg.army.mil/ bases, draw such a crowd of piss-ant, unpatriotic, non-supportive, hate-mongers like this? I have no idea… but when the counter protests begin, I’ll be happy to drive over and share my thoughts on the matter.

newsobserver.com | Two ROTC buildings vandalized

Vandals staged attacks early Wednesday on the buildings used by the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at N.C. State University and UNC-Chapel Hill, echoing similar assaults on three Triangle recruiting stations last month.

As before, vandals sprayed anti-war slogans and profanity, splashed red paint and claimed responsibility with a mass e-mail message to area media outlets.

Various sources, image from http://www.michellemalkin.com Michelle Malkin

A fine demonstration of the ignorance of religious “rites” that otherwise modern people are forced to adhere to because of their beliefs. How do superstitious* muslims deal with the obvious discrepanies between the demands of their “faith” and the reality of space travel? This should be fun to watch pan out.

Conference on how to practise Islam in space

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – How do Muslim astronauts pray in space? Malaysia’s National Space Agency is holding a conference to consider such questions as the country prepares to send its first citizen into orbit.

A nationwide competition in the majority-Muslim country has narrowed the field to four astronaut candidates, three of whom are Muslims.

Two will eventually be trained and sent into space by Russia, and Malaysia’s space agency — or Angkasa — said it had been scratching its head over how Muslim rituals could be carried out properly.

Performing ablutions for Muslim prayers with water rationing in space and preparing food according to Islamic standards will be among issues discussed, said Angkasa’s director-general, Mazlan Othman.

“So far, Angkasa has not discussed these matters with Russia because the candidates have not been decided and the needs of Malaysian astronauts have not been determined,” Mazlan was quoted as saying by the state Bernama news agency.

“We have to make preparations to discuss with Russia when the time comes,” she added.

Amusingly enough, these fruitcakes assume Russia is going to bend over backwards to provide for the illogical demands of their religion. I hope the Russians have the intestinal fortitude to just tell them “no”. On the other hand, if these issues aren’t resolved, perhaps the result with be “no muslims in space”… that can’t be a bad idea.

The comments over at http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=20184_Islam_in_Orbit LGF are simply hilarious.

* By the way, I don’t reserve the term “superstitious” for muslims – it also covers christians, budhists, scientologists (actually, they’re better described as simple whackos), and anyone else that seeks to validate their existence based on fiction.

I am not only another year older today, I’m another decade older. Funny, I don’t feel older, in fact, I feel younger than I remember feeling a decade ago. Could have something to do with the lighter level of responsibility on me since retiring from active duty.

To celebrate, I uploaded a picture of myself to MyHeritage, a site that uses facial recognition software to match features and show you what famous people you closely resemble (for free!).

Here are my top ten:

61% Elena Dementieva (Russian tennis player (female))
60% Marlon Brando (actor)
58% Jon Stewart (comedian/host)
58% Terence Stamp (actor (English)
57% Michael Jordan (basketball player)
56% Franz Kafka (German author)
55% Tony Danza (actor)
55% Mel Gibson (actor)
55% Elvis Presley (peanut butter and banana sandwich eater)
53% Robert Redford (actor)

The picture I had handy was fairly old, I’m going to try with a more recent picture and see if the results are the same. I expect it will, but it seems like a good test!
Read more »

I watched the episode last night, and I actually believed it was a South Park prank… turns out it was Comedy Central caving in to the fear of islamic violence.

Freedom of religion also means freedom from religion. When this nation figures that lesson out, maybe we can stop burying our heads in the sand. Meanwhile, the religion of terror wins again. How many more straws can this camel bear?

Media Blog on National Review Online

I’m not sure if it’s been reported yet, but for what it’s worth, I just got off the phone with a Comedy Central spokesman. I asked him about last night’s episode of South Park in which, at a moment right before the prophet Mohammed was supposed to make a cameo, the words, “Comedy Central has refused to broadcast an image of Mohammed on their network” appeared on the screen.

I asked him whether this truly was Comedy Central’s decision or whether this was just another gag (with South Park, you never know). He said:

They reflected it accurately. That was a Comedy Central decision.

Just in case there was any confusion, that settles it. Comedy Central censored the image.

http://michellemalkin.com/archives/004982.htm Via Michelle Malkin

Update: Comedy Central’s official response, via http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=20110_South_Park_Censorship-_A_Matter_of_Fear LGF
Read more »

I’ve never read Dan Simmons, but after reading this little creative essay, I want to find more of his work. It’s well worth the time to click over and glimpse a grim future we seem ill prepared to face.

Dan Simmons – Author’s Official Web Site

The Time Traveler appeared suddenly in my study on New Year’s Eve, 2004. He was a stolid, grizzled man in a gray tunic and looked to be in his late-sixties or older. He also appeared to be the veteran of wars or of some terrible accident since he had livid scars on his face and neck and hands, some even visible in his scalp beneath a fuzz of gray hair cropped short in a military cut. One eye was covered by a black eyepatch. Before I could finish dialing 911 he announced in a husky voice that he was a Time Traveler come back to talk to me about the future.

Thanks to http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=19960_Simmons-_Message_from_a_Time_Traveler LGF for pointing this one out!
Read more »

Here’s one:

McKinney Case Goes to Federal Prosecutor

McKinney, 51, scuffled with a police officer on March 29 when she entered a House office building without her identifying lapel pin and did not stop when asked. Several police sources said the officer, who was not identified, asked her three times to stop. When she kept going, he placed a hand somewhere on her and she hit him, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

McKinney issued a statement of regret for the incident, but no apology. At a press conference Friday, she and her lawyers declared that she was a victim of inappropriate touching and racism and said they were considering pursuing civil action against the officer.

[...]

Her supporters tried to minimize the incident _ which they called political, not criminal _ but they also suggested it was an example of racial profiling. They called publicity surrounding the episode a distraction that is being used by “her enemies” to keep the congresswoman from performing her elected duties.

Apparently this bitch thinks slapping Capitol Police Officers is something she was elected to do. Lovely.

Or maybe this is what she was talking about?

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/8442213/detail.html McKinney Admits Misusing Taxpayer Money

WASHINGTON — Rep. Cynthia McKinney admits that she broke government rules by spending money to fly a celebrity to Atlanta.

Channel 2 Action News has uncovered documents showing McKinney, D-Ga., spent about $1,000 of taxpayer’s money to fly singer Isaac Hayes to Georgia to help dedicate a new office in Atlanta.

The money came from a fund members of Congress are supposed to use for office supplies.