On Jury Duty

(Image from:  12 Angry Men)

Today starts my first day of jury duty.

So I'll be off-line for the rest of this week, and possibly next week, depending on how the court schedule and jury selection turns out.

And no, I won't be posting any juicy details here on this blog.  I'd rather not be on the receiving end of our justice system! :)

I'm sure the world won't stop burning during my hiatus, although I wish it would.

As I'm sure we all do.

Best wishes to all of you!

Obama Unbound (by Reality)

(Image by Chip Bok)

 

Since we're still in "SOTUS Week,"  I thought I'd do one more "Dear Leader Addressing the Masses" meme.

This post's title is an homage to Jackie Gingrich Cushman's article:  A Speech and a President, Unbounded by Reality.

Jihadists Marching to the Same Tune as O "Turns the Page"

(Image by Michael Ramirez)

Our Dear Leader may have "turned the page," on the War on Terror--and just about everything else--but as I've posted before--the world continues to burn. 

 

Mark Steyn gives us a good run-down of Obama's foreign policy foul-ups in his Morning After the State of Before article.

 

Since Mark mentioned "...some Iranian-backed chappies were overrunning the presidential palace and taking Washington's "key ally" hostage..." the NYT warns that a fragmented Yemen could pose a danger to the US.

But one would never guess such dire conditions existed on the Arabian Peninsula base on Our Dear Leader's State of the Union (SOTUS) Address.



(Image by Lisa Benson)

 

Ferguson Finale?

 

Earlier this week, Eric Holder's Department of Justice decided no civil rights charges will be filed against Darren Wilson. 

 

One would think this would put the entire Michael Brown Shooting to rest. 

 

Instead, the announcement touched-off another round of outrage on Twitter.

 

Let's hope the rage remains on-line.

 

But with folks like Al Sharpton, not to mention Eric Holder and Our Dear Leader, stirring the racial witches brew, you never know when another outrage will be concocted.

 

 

Superbug Strikes Seattle Hospital

(Image from:  Resistance to Antibiotics: The Spread of Superbugs in The Economist)

 

The Seattle Times reported an outbreak of multi-drug resistant superbugs spread by contaminated medical equipment infected 35 patients at Virginia Mason Hospital, between 2012 and 2014.

KIRO 7 TV also picked up this story.  

 

 

O Has Terrorists "on the Run"

(Image by Glenn McCoy)

Our Dear Leader isn't just springing inmates from Gitmo:  One Al-Qaeda operative was released from a civilian prison. 

In these ways, Obama wants to demonstrate that the War on Terror is over. 

(Image by Glenn McCoy)

The problem is:  Our jihadist enemies aren't following "The Narrative."

SOTUS Circus

(Image by Glenn McCoy)

Last night I took part of The Diplomad's advice and avoided watching O's State of the Union (SOTUS) address.  I didn't get a chance to watch American Sniper, but I intend to.

 

Townhall has provided a run-down, with plenty of links, on Obama's State of Disunion.

(Image by Gary Varvel)

Not to mention the surrealism of demanding "better politics."  (Again with lotsa links).

Seahawks Superbowl Bound!

Starting off the week with some good news for a change:

This past Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks pulled off an amazing down-to-the-wire win against the Greenbay Packers for the NFC Championship in overtime.

My wife and I had to run several errands that day, but we turned on the TV when there was 6:53 minutes left in the game and Greenbay was leading 19-7.  The Seahawks made a spectacular come-back, but Greenbay didn't quit, scoring a field goal, tying the game 22-22.

All it took was a few minutes into overtime for the Seahawks to score a touch-down and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, with a final score of 28-22.

Here's the nine biggest moments of the game.

Now the Seahawks will face the New England Patriots, who defeated the Indianapolis Colts during the AFC Championship Game, in Superbowl XLIX.

To say us 12th Man fans are excited to see the Seahawks return to the Superbowl is an understatement...

(Image found on Etsy)

Celebrating Martin Luther King Day

Islamic Hacktivism Struck the Pentagon

(Image from The Daily Beast)

 

While the world was focused on who was attending--or not attending--the Paris Street Rally Summit, a group claiming to be from the Islamic State hacked into some of the Pentagon's social media sites.  But rest assured, no classified data was compromised.

 

Yet.

 

Some folks were wondering if the Islamic State was the real culprit.

 

(Image from The Daily Beast)

 

No matter who did this, or whether or not classified data remained secure, the security state isn't all that secure.

"Free" Community College For All

(Image by Glenn McCoy)

 

A week ago, Our Dear Leader announced a proposal for providing free community college. 

This "freebie" is estimated to cost taxpayers $60 billion--and the students will still have to pay for books, room & board and "fees."

Ann Coulter explains why college is so expensive in the first place, along with being loaded with a lot of "empty intellectual calories."

(Image by Lisa Benson)

O the No-Show

(Image by Michael Ramirez)

 

I have mixed feelings about the Street Rally Summit Meeting that took place in Paris last weekend. 

On the one-hand, I agree with The Diplomad, that this was merely Progressivism on Parade.

But on the other, since President O is supposedly the leader of the Free World, and a Progressive to boot, he should have gone.

Instead, everyone was wondering:

(Image by Jerry Holbert)

 

Apparently, instead of golfing, (which was my first guess), O was watching football.

 

But even if O did go, VDH points out what the real scandal of the Paris Street March was.

 

Meanwhile, as the 3 million issues of Charlie Hebdo sold out before dawn, the day it was issued, most media outlets still pixilated-out the front cover. 

 

Britain's Sky News demonstrated its dhimmitude by profusely apologizing when a Charlie Hebdo writer displayed the cover on air.

 

 

(Image by Bob Gorrell)

 

All this self-censorship left Mark Steyn wondering:  Where's the lead in the pencil?

 

 

(Image by Steve Breen)

Crusading Against the Cartoon Jihadists

(Image:  Cover of tomorrow's Charlie Hebdo Magazine)

Charlie Hebdo will be printing 3 million copies of it's latest issue with Mohammed on the cover.

Since I can't afford $500 for a copy on e-Bay, I'll have to settle for posting the cover image here.

Still Silenced Over Islamic Jihad

(Image by Michael Ramirez)

 

The President of France and Our Dear Leader have one thing in common:  Neither one will acknowledge the political-religious ideology behind last weeks murders in and around Paris.

They're not the only ones.  Many on the left suffer from "Hollande Daze."

Book Review: Willie and Joe--The WWII Years

 

With our on-going issues with Islamic terrorists, I think it's about time to honor those who've fought, and still fight, our nation's wars. 

 

I've always admired Bill_Mauldin's work, but I've only managed to read about the antics of "Willie and Joe" in a sporadic manner. 

 

Then, several weeks ago, I stumbled across a paperback copy of Willie and Joe--The WWII Years at Half Price Books for about $20.  I almost didn't buy it.  This hefty tome of life-on-the-front weighs-in at 704 pages, and just over five pounds!

 

I decided my bookshelves could stand the strain and I'm glad I didn't pass up this 5-star deal.

 

Willie and Joe--The WWII Years is chock full of drawings and cartoons, like this Pulitzer Prize winner:

 

 

Although as a former US Air Force Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) member, my personal favorite is this one of our hapless heroes at an Observation Post (OP)--attempting to call artillery fire on a target that's just a little too close for comfort:

 

 

Willie and Joe--The WWII Years, contains a wide-range of Mauldin's works, from his submissions to 45th Infantry Division camp paper, to some of the demobilization issues faced by veterans re-integrating back into civilian life.  The bulk of the work though, centers on Willie & Joe's wartime experiences.  There's a footnote for every cartoon, which provides some background information to help the reader understand the nature of each vignette, and the humor behind it.

 

A short biography of Bill Mauldin can be found in the front of the book.  Despite being a tad over 700 pages, Willie and Joe--The WWII Years, is a quick an enjoyable read.

 

The book has earned a 4.7 out of 5 stars rating on Amazon.com:  48 x 5-stars, 8 x 4-stars, 3 x 3-stars and a solitary 2-star rating.  Of the 3-star raters, one thought the book was repetitive, another thought this wouldn't "...mean much to younger people..." (and he's probably right), and the last wrote an enthusiastic review, but was going to give the book to his son.  The lone 2-star rater was disappointed in the quality of Bill Mauldin's early work.

  

But whether you find Bill Mauldin's work disappointing or not, he set the standard for another generation of military cartoonists, like the anonymous Doctrine Man to follow.

 

  

The Sir Robins of Free Speech

(Image by Glenn McCoy)

Yesterday, Michelle Malkin called-out the media cowards of the Cartoon Jihad for refraining to post pictures that are getting people killed by Islamist terrorists.

Mark Steyn threw down the Free Speech Gauntlet at the lamestream media and said screw your hashtag solidarity.

Here's Mr. Steyn on The Kelly File discussing how the big media outlets abandoned their free-speech posts and left the staff of Charlie Hebdo to fend for themselves.

Our Dear Leader, who can't bring himself to call the shootings in Paris Islamic-related, apparently--once again--does not have a strategy for fighting Islamic terrorism.

At least he's not calling it "workplace violence."

Yet.

(Image by Chip Bok)

Getting back to hashtag solidarity, it looks like #BringBackOurGirls hasn't thwarted Boko Haram.  A few days ago, the terrorist group attacked the Nigerian town of Baga.

Breaking News: Two Stand-Offs in France End in Police Assaults

Three gunmen in two stand-offs were killed by French police.  Sadly, three hostage were also killed.

Drawing Ire Over Satire

(Image by Robert Ariaill)

As the search continues for the Charlie Hebdon attackers (at the time I'm writing this), Associated Press is scrambling to get in front of the story by declaring they won't use deliberately provocative images.

Ceding our freedom of speech to terrorists enables their cause.

(Image by Glenn Foden)

Lindsey Graham, reminds us we're in a religious war, that this isn't a cartoon problem. 

Even Bill calls-out the "moderate" Muslims.

Breaking News: Suspects of Paris Shooting Cornered w/Hostage

Two of the three suspects, brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi, are holed-up in a print factory and have taken a hostage.

Obama Taking a Bow at

Apparently, Obama's staffers missed an obvious clue when scheduling his grand-standing tour about the resurgent auto industry.

The site for Our Dear Leader's speech--a hybrid car assembly plant--has been closed.

Breaking News: Gunman Kill 12 at Satirical Newspaper Office, Paris, France

(Image from:  Courrier International)

I never heard of Charlie Hebdo--until a few hours ago.

I came back from the gym to see the headline:  12 Killed in Shooting at Satirical Newspaper Office in Paris before I even started fixing breakfast.

While making their escape, the gunmen killed a police officer (Warning--Graphic Content).

There are several videos embedded in the RT News article.

Tragically, the years various French governments spent appeasing terrorist groups have availed them nothing.

And of course, some media outlets, in addition to the who said Charlie Hebdo was "...just being stupid...", are engaging in self-censorship.

Unlike Charlie Hebdo's late editor, Stephane Charbonnier, who said he'd "...rather die standing..." than live on his knees.

Well said, and rest in peace Stephane.

Speaking of quotable quotes, remember when Our Dear Leader said:  The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam?

Mark Steyn adds his two Francs.

Keep in mind the staff at Charlie Hebdo didn't just satirize Muslims.  Scrolling through this Google-search of images show Charlie Hebdo was an equal opportunity offender (Warning--some images are NSFW).

Protesters Parade Through Cafes and Award Ceremony

(Image by Glenn McCoy)

The selective memory and lack of common courtesy isn't winning the "Black Lives Matter" Mob very many new recruits.

Over the weekend, some of these clowns crashed an award ceremony for a 100-year-old veteran in Portland, OR.

Meanwhile, in New York City, the disrupted diners trying to enjoy their Sunday brunch.  Greg Gutfeld points out:  As the murder rate drops, it's clear black lives matter.

Closing Gitmo Goes Against Americans' Grain

 

Our Golfer-in-Chief is still driving to close Guantanamo, despite the majority of Americans who continue to oppose such a move.

 

The Obamacare Tsunami

(Image by Michael Ramirez)

Since the Not-So-Affordable Healthcare Act is the "law of the land," I thought I'd start 2015 off with a story in this very subject.

Michelle Malkin gives us a rundown of Obamacare's Annus Horriblis. 

But it looks like the tsunami will crest--in various ways--sometime this year.

In the meantime, I guess we're suppose to just smile and take our medicine...

(Image by Steve Breen)

Happy New Year!

(Image from Happy New Year Celebrations)