Moving
If anyone is interested, I have moved over to http://piratescove.typepad.com/piratescove

While I have enjoyed using Tripod, the search bar that pops on the left with porn links was annoying, and embarrasing. I was tempted to go for the plan here that gets rid of ads, but, I wanted trackback capability. The tools and layouts are awesome on Tripod, and it is actually easier to do HTML changes, but, want that trackback thing, which was more important then a personalized name.

Not unexpected, but the NJ GOP is asking for McGreevey to step down now, and lawsuits are being prepared, according to multiple articles. This one is from CNN.

Is this playing politics? Certainly. So is his decision to wait till November 15, which would make sure that it wasn't the people of NJ who have the chance to elect a replacement. Whether it is a Donkey or Elephant who wins, the People should make the decision, not the pols.

Kerry's a Blowin in the Wind
According to matt Drudge, , Kerry's story on Christmas in Cambodia is now changing:

TOUR OF DUTY author and John Kerry historian Doug Brinkley is rushing a piece for the NEW YORKER: to set-the-record-straight on Kerry's Christmas in Cambodia tale, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

Kerry has turned to author Brinkley for a "modification" after it was exposed that Kerry was not in Cambodia during Christmas of 1968, as he once claimed from the Senate floor.

The Brinkley piece for the NEW YORKER will now say that Kerry was not in Cambodia during Christmas, but rather in January, publishing sources tell DRUDGE.

I wish this were a joke, but it seems consistent with Kerry to change with the wind. So the story he has been telling for decades is all of a sudden incorrect? How can the Kerry campaign spin this in a positive way? If the info in the book was incorrect, why has Kerry been telling this story for decades, instead of correcting it? It is in the Congressional Record, of course. This would show what a weasel he really is, and how unprincipled.

Kerry cannot possibly reconcile his comments for over 30 years, made BEFORE the release of Tour of Duty, by blaming them on Brinkley. Either Kerry lied first (most probable), or Brinkley was mistaken, at which point Kerry should have corrected Brinkley, or at least ket his yap shut.

Don't know about y'all, but, if someone misquotes me, I let them know. And, at the worst, if someone writes something about me that I do not find harmful, but is incorrect, I would keep my mouth shut. More often, I would correct it.

Christmas in Vietnam (?)
One part of Kerry's story about Christmas in Cambodia that doesn't make sense to me (not that much of his story makes sense) is why there were lots of South Vietnamese soldiers celebrating Christmas. While there are certainly Christians in SV, the predominant religion of the time there was Buddism, and still is.

The French missionaries brought Catholicism to SV, but it was a minority who followed.

Please Give for a Worthy Cause
There are people out there who need our help, over here.

Swift Boat Veterans
Everyone has discussed the SBV's, and their allegations about Kerry. You can find some great articles at Instapundit, QandO, Captains Quarters, and many others, as well as the Swift Boat Veterans website, which I have added to my links of interest.

On a separate issue, the Left has made an enormous effort to discredit the over 200 Swifties, while believing the testimony of Kerry (who has been shown to be a liar regarding his Christmas '68 "revelation") and his Band of Brothers. The Swifties have been maligned by the left. But, consider:

"I do not believe John Kerry is fit to be Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of the United States. This is not a political issue. It is a matter of his judgment, truthfulness, reliability, loyalty and trust -- all absolute tenets of command. His biography, 'Tour of Duty,' by Douglas Brinkley, is replete with gross exaggerations, distortions of fact, contradictions and slanderous lies. His contempt for the military and authority is evident by even a most casual review of this biography. He arrived in-country with a strong anti-Vietnam War bias and a self-serving determination to build a foundation for his political future. He was aggressive, but vain and prone to impulsive judgment, often with disregard for specific tactical assignments. He was a 'loose cannon.' In an abbreviated tour of four months and 12 days, and with his specious medals secure, Lt.(jg) Kerry bugged out and began his infamous betrayal of all United States forces in the Vietnam War. That included our soldiers, our marines, our sailors, our coast guardsmen, our airmen, and our POWs. His leadership within the so-called Vietnam Veterans Against the War and testimony before Congress in 1971 charging us with unspeakable atrocities remain an undocumented but nevertheless meticulous stain on the men and women who honorably stayed the course. Senator Kerry is not fit for command."

-- Rear Admiral Roy Hoffmann, USN (retired), chairman, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth

Does a US Admiral's voice carry weight? I would say, unnequivicolly, yes.

I was able to listen to a conversation between Jerry Agar, a local radio host on WPTF 680 in Raleigh, and Steven Gardner. The man was lucid, and very believable. The stories he told were amazing, and, if the Left would listen, and look for the truth, they would realize the reality of the man they are planning to vote for.

Furry WMD`
Mood:  caffeinated
Did you see that in the paper the other day about those carp in the Mississippi River jumping into boats and bonking fisherman in the head? It's true. They're called big head carp, they're from Asia and they're attacking and severely injuring many fisherman.

Biologists claim the roar of boat motors agitates and excites these carp and they jump towards the sound but I think these biologists are naively missing an obvious connection. Fish are attacking fisherman. For the fish it's get them before they get you, kill or be killed. Even if these fisherman are practicing catch and release, that's a very painful, embarrassing experience for any fish and apparently they have had it.

What about the increase in mountain lion attacks? Great White sharks moving closer to shore? Moose have been showing up in towns and stomping on people. A squirrel was in my living room last spring. Am I the only one that sees a pattern here? People, wise up! The other animals are against us. It doesn't take a genius to see there's an inter-species conspiracy to thwart the urban expansion of man.

How do the squirrels fit in? Surveillance. They spy on what we people are doing in the cities and report back to the bigger species out there on the front lines.

And taken together these other species represent walking, we hope not yet talking, scratching, biting weapons of mass destruction. And if these other species can convince the insect world, for example a well known anti-human group like the killer bees, to join up our way of life and our democracy could be history.

The skeptical may ask why would these other species want to hurt us? Obviously, they hate us. They are jealous of our way of life. We swim in chlorinated, safe environment pools, then towel off and have an adult beverage. They are stuck eating sludge in the Mississippi, a river polluted by guess who: their mortal enemy man. And to top it all off we eat them.

This invasion of Asian carp is no accident. This is stage one of their well planned attack. We ignore the obvious at our own peril.

We can no longer sit back and wait for them to attack us. It's time we adopt a new doctrine regarding these other animals. We have to wipe out any and all species who are a lined against us, wherever they are. We can not rest until every big head carp, great white shark, mountain lion, moose and squirrel and any other species that associates with them are defeated.

If the U.N. wants to get involved fine, if not we can do it alone. Of course the British will show up, they always do, but we will fight to protect our way of life. And if you don't agree, you're an unpatriotic idiot who hates America.

Little does of humor, courtesy of comedian Tim Bedore

Quick Hit
Mood:  bright
Looks like all those countries (France and Germany) love Kerry and Hate Bush. Wasn't aware that they were eligible to vote in the US. However, and more to the point, doesn't look like any of them want to help the US in Iraq, whether it is Kerry or Bush, according to the LA Times.

Lots of great info, good read. Take a gander.

However, do hate to post this paragraph:

One German newspaper, the conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, suggested Europeans were in for a rude awakening if Kerry becomes president. Under the headline "The Big Kerry Illusion," the newspaper said Kerry would diverge from Bush, but any hope that he would more fully embrace the "global village" was "wishful thinking that will get a cold shower."

I do believe that they understand what the "anybody but Bush" crowd doesn't.

Kerry's Iraq Plan
John Kerry's Iraq "plan," such as it is, is sure not winning over many converts. Considering that it is really only a souped up version of President Bush's plan, it sure hasn't made any friends. His whole "I can do better" rhetoric has gone by the wayside. As has already been pointed out a few days ago, his plan is actually a step back.

And now we have the slightly liberal USA Today taking shots at his "plan."

"....But the result is that with the election just three months away, Kerry has done little to separate his views from those of President Bush."

You don't say. Looked to me like Kerry got ahold of the Presidents pre-war plans and just re-released them (Berger?).

Kerry's main difference with Bush, and one he underscores, is that he would be better able to get other countries to help by returning to a more traditional inclusiveness. Involving allies heavily in everything from reconstruction to discussions on Iraq's future, Kerry says, is the way to bring more international troops to Iraq, lessen anti-U.S. hostility and start bringing U.S. troops home

Germany has already said "no way, no matter who is President." Spain? They have already cut and run. France? Don't even go there. That leaves Russia, who respects strength, and China. Need I say more?

The UN is already scared to become involved. And, where were all these international forces when we went into Afghanistan? No France or Germany. They said "hey, we feel bad, but you can forget any help with anythign military."

The only possible way to retain their help would be to give them a piece of the Iraq pie. Both France and Germany declined to help, defamed the United States, and were shown to have violated UN Resolutions, as well as being involved the the OFF scandal. If the only way to gain their help is to bribe them after we have already done the hard work, well, to hell with them.

Tax Code a mess?
Mood:  d'oh
H.R. 1308, Tax Relief, Simplification, and Equity Act of 2003 (Introduced in House) is just another example of how far removed the tax code is from reality, and how difficult it can be.

SEC. 503. REPEAL OF EXCISE TAX ON FISHING TACKLE BOXES.

The is a problem when the US House takes up the issue of taxing tackle boxes.

However, they did slip this nugget in:

SEC. 102. SUSPENSION OF TAX-EXEMPT STATUS OF TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS.

Too bad that this has been kicked around in the House since March 2003, with no substantive progress.