Michael Yon is an independent journalist who is embedded with our troops in Iraq. His most recent entry, ”Gates of Fire,” portrays the sheer heroism of our soldiers in combat against the Islamofascist Bastards. Just reading it reminded me of the words of President Bush which was the Call To Arms:

“Great harm has been done to us. We have suffered great loss. And in our grief and anger we have found our mission and our moment. Freedom and fear are at war. The advance of human freedom—the great achievement of our time, and the great hope of every time—now depends on us. Our nation—this generation—will lift a dark threat of violence from our people and our future. We will rally the world to this cause by our efforts, by our courage. We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail.”

Read it all and be thankful we have brave men and women who continue to defend our freedom and our way of life.

Well I found even more pictures to scan and post to the Gallery. Fortunately, some of these pictures didn’t have to be scanned per se, but come instead from my earliest Official Digital Camera, a Casio QV-770, so that reaches back a ways. Two photographs are also included, they are the earliest surviving photographs of my love for the hobby. I took a class for two years while I was in high school.
The Abstract, Cars, Monuments, and Construction 129 galleries have more pictures in them! In addition, I’ve added one picture to my About page, which shows where I was born.
Go ye and check them out. The Macker Commands It!

One more day to stay home and recover my voice, which has been shot since Tuesday. Here is a parody, complete with lyrics, that you can laugh your a** off to!
WARNING: Do Not Consume Liquids while listening to this song!

Here is what the Gold Star Families for Peace web page should really look like. Cindy Sheehan, this one’s for you!

Oz to Islamofascists: GTFO! Thus sayeth Australian Treasurer Peter Costello:

“I’d be saying to clerics who are teaching that there are two laws governing people in Australia, one the Australian law and another the Islamic law, that that is false.
“There’s only one law in Australia—it’s the law that’s made by the parliament of Australia and enforced by our courts. There is no second law.
“If you can’t agree with parliamentary law, independent courts, democracy, and would prefer Sharia law and have the opportunity to go to another country which practices it, perhaps, then, that’s a better option.”

Now watch as the Islamofascists within the Land Down Under go into “Rage and Seethe” mode. And it’s too bad our politicians can’t cut through the bulls**t and get to the TRUTH!

“We have a right to know whether there is, within any section of the Islamic community, a preaching of the virtues of terrorism...There’s a concern that a small section of the Islamic community could be the source of terrorism. We need the assistance of the Islamic leadership and the Islamic leadership needs our assistance.”

Unfortunately, Mr. Prime Minister, they will fight you tooth and nail. GO GET ‘EM!

If you remember the classic 1971 film starring Dick Van Dyke, you’ll appreciate the similarity....
EchoStar, the company which runs Dish Network, will offer any town which permanently changes its name to Dish free satellite TV programming for the next TEN YEARS!
The deadline for municipal entries is November 1. But one thing I noticed: while it may save the town residents a good chunk of change, is there any other economic benefit this challenge brings...like JOBS? One other little ditty...I always wondered how Truth or Consequences, New Mexico got its name. Wonder no more.

Even way back when, Bob Hope knew the score....
NOTE: Windoze Media Player required.

HAT TIP: Little Green Footballs

Three years ago I visited the CN Tower and photographed this picture of the glass floor on the observation deck:

The distance from this point is 1122 feet straight down to street level.
Now, imagine such a glass floor protruding 70 feet from the rim of the Grand Canyon. You’d be looking down about 4000 feet, down to the Colorado River!
That’s what a Native American tribe, the Hualapai, wants to build on its reservation near the South Rim. If/when built, visitors can pay $25 to go out on the horseshoe-shaped walkway. Compare that to the $20 visitors pay to go to the South Rim of the National Park. If they can pull this off (i.e. get an insurance agent to sign on to the project), then I just might go check this out!

Hmmm...it seems as though televangelist Pat Robertson makes at least one brazenly stupid statement on the air ever year. Last year he called for the destruction of Foggy Bottom with a nuke, and Colin Powell wasn’t too happy about that.
Now he goes on the air again and openly calls for the assassination of Hugo Chavez by American spooks:

“We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability.
“We don’t need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It’s a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with.”

While I agree we should get rid of him, here’s another case of STFU! Thanks a lot Pat for tipping our hand and giving him another reason to stay in bed with Comrade Fidel. Can’t you just stick to your Day Job and Save Our Souls!

I may have missed the 4-hour miniseries on the National Geographic Channel, but the preview for “Inside 9/11” is enough for me to plunk down the cash for the DVD.
So when does it go on sale?

Betcha thought I was referring to Cindy Sheehan again eh.
Nope. Not this time.
Although she was the main subject of Mark Steyn’s latest column, what really pissed me off is this little revelation:

“The problem for the Democratic Party is that the Cindys are now the loudest voice: Michael Moore, Howard Dean, Moveon.org, and Air America, the flailing liberal radio network distracting attention from its own financial scandals by flying down its afternoon host Randi Rhodes to do her show live from Camp Casey. The last time I heard Miss Rhodes she was urging soldiers called up for Iraq to refuse to go—i.e., to desert.

This is TOTAL BULLS**T! The damn Donks continue to foment dissension in the ranks while we are at WAR! It’s high time we reactivate the Sedition Act of 1918 and use it to start throwing some people into the Slammer. Starting with Randi Rhodes!

A New Blog is setting sail on the seas of History. Its name is Voyages of the ArgoKnot and it already looks to be quite deep in content, which is why I’ve already added it to my Blogroll.
Welcome Aboard, Plato!

About an hour ago I was browing a web site I visit frequently, and on that site (fortunately it is not a blog) I found a thread which asked users if, if they had the President’s ear, what they would like to ask him.
One particular user posted that he wanted to “...stick the business end of a gun in the President’s ear.”
My shock at seeing this statement in that thread quickly changed to righteous wrath; while a lot of people on that particular web site do not approve of the President’s policies, to even allow a single user to threaten the President in such a matter is, to put it bluntly, CHILDISH and STUPID! I telephoned the United States Secret Service and reported the thread to an agent, who took my information down, thanked me, and told me that they would take it from there.
At this point, I will continue monitoring the thread in question to see exactly what happens. And I do not regret reporting this at all. I Did My Duty as a Citizen of the United States.

When I first found out about the web site touting actor Christopher Walken for President in 2008 I thought it was a joke.
Turns out that it is just that, a joke, which disappoints the Saddam LA Times. Says Mara Buxbaum, Walken’s publicist:

“The person who put this together was just trying it as a hoax, I presume. My take on it is it sounds like the person who put this on the Web took his role...in ’Wedding Crashers‘ too seriously and now wants him to run for the presidency.”

Are the Democrats that hard up that they still have to look for a token candidate to take on Shrillary? Guess so...nice try.

I saw this story over at WND and thought “Gee, haven’t I seen this before?”

WASHINGTON – When authorities tried to arrest a terrorist discovered unloading an improvised nuclear weapon in the port of Charleston, S.C., the bomb was detonated, killing 10,000, injuring 30,000 and exposing as many as 100,000 to high levels of radiation.

Brought to you by NBC way back in 1983 with a movie called ”Special Bulletin.” In it, anti-nuclear scientists threaten Charleston with their own homemade 10-kiloton fission device, and demand that the US Government dismantle all the warheads stored in the state of South Carolina. When their demands are not met, and just before the deadline, a Nuclear Emergency Search Team attempts to disarm the bomb, fails, and it explodes.
During the entire run of the movie, NBC ran a disclaimer at the bottom of the screen: THIS IS NOT REAL! Yet thousands of people called in to NBC wanting to know more about the “siege” in Charleston.
Relating back to Sudden Respond 05: as the saying goes, “If you want peace, prepare for war.” How true even in this day and age.