DOGGIE HIJINKS IN FREDERICKSBURG!

Last night I was in the basement taking laundry out of the dryer and heard a godawful racket from upstairs. The next thing I heard was Linda laughing hysterically. Now you have to understand that Linda's two dogs like to troll in Gigi/Tim's litter box for whatever! So Harley was rooting around in the litter box and her HEAD got stuck in the opening. The next thing Linda saw was poor Harley running around the bathroom, flinging the scooper and the brush used to clean the floor against the walls, the vanity and anything else available to be assaulted by Harley's frantic attempts to get her head OUT of the litter box opening, then she ran down the hall, shaking her head from side to side, wearing ONLY the lid of the litter box and attempting to escape its grip! Eventually the lid of the litter box went flying free!

Meanwhile, Zeus had sensibly decided to absent himself altogether from the proceedings so this explains why I heard him hightailing it out through the doggie door for the safety of the back yard! The next thing I see, while still hearing Linda's over-the-top hilarity, is poor Harley (no longer sporting her new litter box chapeau) running downstairs and to me for comfort! I'm starting up the stairs and Linda appears to regale me with the whole story (laughing so hard that tears are running down her face), and now I'm laughing hysterically - and Harley (no doubt disgusted with our merriment) follows Zeus out the doggie door! Neither of them ever returned inside to eat their substantially ignored dinner!

I walked into my room and cowering in the corner of the room I spotted my 28-pound behemoth Sam who runs up to me chattering, as if to tell me "It wasn't my FAULT, Mom, honest!" I snuggled him and cuddled him and assured him that this time it was the D-O-G's fault! He looked quite smug about that! Sam really needs to have his own home - and soon!

Never a dull moment when you live with 3 cats and 2 dogs - all of whom consider the two female humans in the house to be either their concierge (the 3 cats) or their mommy (the 2 dogs).

IMPORTANT POST ON "SWEETNESS & LIGHT"

This story is far too important to be ignored.

NOTE TO OTHER BLOGS: Please link to this and get the word out and let's bombard HBO with protests (as usual).

THE ANTI-MILITARY SPEWING OF SCOTT THOMAS

It appears that Dan Rather (or Jayson Blair or Steven Glass) is writing a series of articles which are appearing in The New Republic under the psyeudonym "Scott Thomas". Sure takes a lot of intestinal fortitude to spew foul canards against our fine military under a PHONY name, doesn't it? Give John Kerry credit for this much - he did use his own name when he was telling utter falsehoods in front of the U.S. Congress in the 70s!

Here's a question for all y'all - Has ANY mainstream media taken note of the writings of Michael Yon who DOES write under his OWN name, from Iraq? Any other questions? Didn't think so.

There sure are a lot of pantywaists and morons on the Left - because they choose to believe this Scott Thomas nonsense. I do not.

THANK YOU THIRD WAVE DAVE!

Thanks for showing me to the site that contains great quotes from General George S. Patton. Here is one that should be fed intravenously to far too many members of the U.S. Congress:

There is a great deal of talk about loyalty from the bottom to the top. Loyalty from the top down is even more necessary and is much less prevalent. One of the most frequently noted characteristics of great men who have remained great is loyalty to their subordinates.

Our president consistently demonstrates this quality among his many other virtues. Would that our U.S. Congress did likewise. Unfortunately, far too many of them are lazy, lacking in basic common sense and/or venal to their cores.

ALL NIIIIIIIIGGGHHHHHT LONG!

Once against the Democrats in the Senate have proven to the American people how completely lacking in serious statemanship they really are! The all-nighter staged last night was just that - STAGED and driven by perception rather than the ACTUAL good of the country.

Memo to the American people: Are you watching these people? Aren't you glad you voted into office a bunch of crazed nitwits?

At least there were some Republicans who demonstrated that they still possessed cojones! My mixed feelings about John McCain are well known to everyone who reads my blog - but he stood up for his nation yesterday and for that I heartily thank him. Whatever waffling or peculiarities the Senator possesses (and I'm still thoroughly peeved at him about McCain-Feingold which gave the 527s inordinate influence), he has consistently and with absolute bravery stood up for the protection of our nation from Islamofascist goons and for that he deserves full and fulsome credit from all of us.

THE GOVERNORS OF CALIFORNIA AND FLORIDA "JUMP THE SHARK" ON NATIONAL TELEVISION

This morning the governors of California and Florida were on The Early Show on CBS (where else) to inform the nation that they aren't waiting for the FEDERAL government to get on board - they're going to be taking steps to reduce greenhouse gases in their own states immediately - if they can just force the EPA to go along with their measures. Their reasoning is (as Ahnold put it) that "thousands of scientists" agree that global warming is going to destroy our planet in a mere few decades and so they need to just hop right to it.

Once again, I must point out that a mere 25-30 years ago, we were busily being rushed into panic mode by the politicians and the media about a coming ice age. I must also point out that dammit - who ARE these "thousands of scientists" and why are they not willing to engage in an open and HONEST debate with the other thousands of scientists who think that the global warming religion is a bunch of bullshit?! I'm sorry - my name isn't Chicken Little and I am not going to go running around bleating in terror without some serious discussion by serious people (that does NOT include Al Gore, Whoopi Goldberg and Sheryl Crow - or any of the other looney leftwingers who have hopped on this bandwagon) that is out there for everyone to see so we can make up our OWN minds. How's that for a concept? Free discussion and free decision-making by us little people! Before the bill is presented in the form of horrendous taxes that accomplish just as much as some of these other "public welfare" programs have done - zilch!

HMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

Kitty points out that despite the fact that Senator McCain, of whom I am only mildly a fan, came back from his trip to Iraq with positive reports on what is happening there, the only thing in which the media seems to be interested is the turmoil in McCain's presidential campaign organization. And this surprises us because?

I continue to proclaim that the 2008 Campaign began 12 seconds after the end of the 2006 election and that early start was about 8-12 months TOO DOGGONE SOON! If politicians truly wanted to engage the interest of the voting population, they wouldn't wear out their damned welcome with us!

Will Hillary Rodham Clinton, she of the ubiquitous pantsuit and the shrill, vicious temperament be the Democrats nominee? I haven't a clue in the world, although I certainly hope not. She does not possess any qualities that I want in MY president and many of the qualities she does possess are the very antithesis of my beliefs and ethics. She is the embodiment of the Marxist philosophy that the bigger the lie, the bigger the victory for your cause. Nuh-uh! And notice that I do not denigrate Mrs. Clinton's looks or gender. It is her CHARACTER that concerns me. Moreover, just what HAS this self-serving, smarmy creature actually accomplished for the State of New York during her tenure as their junior Senator? I've failed to find anything significant, other than the one vote with which I agree - the one authorizing the War in Iraq, a vote from which she has backed away ever since!

Senator Barack Hussein Obama is even LESS qualified than Mrs. Clinton (if that's possible), and the other candidates are either asinine (Kucinich) or unelectable (Biden).

The Republicans aren't offering much, if anything, to reassure their party. When Fred Thompson seems to be the last best hope, we are in serious trouble.

So what we have here folks is a situation that, to my mind, appears pretty doggone dire. I don't really like ANY of the declared candidates all that much. Can we vote "no" for President next year?

SNAPSHOTS FROM MY ROILING BRAIN!

Al Gore Is Really Pissing Me Off!

Instead of peddling junk science 24/7, maybe this incredible doofus ought to be staying home and doing some actual parenting? I'm just saying!

In additon, that incredible concert deluge over the weekend was annoying as hell. Yes, it's hot right now. People, it is JULY! It is ALWAYS this hot in July. I'm not denying that there might be some atmospheric damage, but I do not accept the doomsday predictions of the hysterics in the global warming non-conversation. And I call it a non-conversation because the acolytes of the new religion of global warming are not willing to consider the possibility that other scientists don't agree with their scientists. I also remember (one of the benefits of being old) that 20 years ago, we were worried about a new ice age!

Hypocrisy - Thy Names Are Bill and Hillary Clinton!

In an article published on July 6, 2007 (it has taken me a few days to calm down), Wes Pruden says:

"But the Clintons' record for never having shown shame for their
perversions and peccadillos remains unique, intact and unchallenged."

Let's see - there's the $250,000 Marc Rich pardon. As well as the other 240 pardons issued by Bill Clinton on January 20, 2001. And he and Senator Harridan-in-chief DARE to criticize a sentence commutation of a man convicted for having a bad memory in an investigation that should have ended months before the prosecutor even talked to Scooter Libby since he already knew who had released Valerie Plame's name (and who cares since she was NOT an undercover operative and thus not covered by the law). So yes, the pardon should have been issued, not a commutation, but President Bush did what he felt was right and of course, he's being pilloried for it.

Republicans

What a bunch of witless losers these renegade Republican Senators have become. I have long criticized Voinovich for being a RINO of major proportions. Ole Arlen is no better, maybe even worse.

One would have THOUGHT that those idiotic pissants in the Republican minority who are deserting their president under fire would have gotten a CLUE from recent activities of Al Queda in Great Britain!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY - A LITTLE LATE!

Independence Day was a little daunting. I don't like mid-week holidays so much anyway but this one was particularly annoying.

For starters - there are a lot of really fireworks happy idiots in this neighborhood and they started scaring the bejabbers out of the dogs on Sunday evening. Literally, Zeus couldn't stop panting and ended up sitting (all 70+ pounds of him) on Linda's lap for comfort. Eventually, he decided to seek comfort on MY lap! To say that this was a good news/bad news situation is a mild analogy. The bad news was that my lap went to sleep. The good news is that Zeus and I are now VERY good friends and this very timid boy has become very attached to me. Since I was already madly in love with him, this is definitely a good thing!

The noisy celebrations continued through last night, with the ensuing episodes of frightened doggies. Harley is made of sterner stuff than her brother, but even she was clearly frightened by the loud noises.

Add to that the thunderstorms that rolled through the area fairly frequently (but not nearly enough rain - at least here) and we had some seriously nervous animals.

Tim has no nerves I am convinced. NOTHING bothered him, dedicated as he is to maximizing lap time with any lap that makes itself available.

Sam, on the other hand, in his prior life was left out in the rain and storms far too often and he has a visceral need for my comfort that is truly touching. As cranky and difficult as my Sam can be, he is a complicated fellow who loves me without reservation. He may not be too terribly open to the friendship of others of his kind or dogs (or even Linda) but that is all out the window when it comes to me. And I truly hate seeing him so distressed because I am acutely aware that his history still informs his behavior, even though that happened in the first 16 months of his life and he has now had 4 years of my devotion and protection.

Of course, actual Independence Day followed my 65th birthday which happened on July 3rd. Every year on my birthday, I remember with love and no small amount of bemusement that immensely stubborn woman (my late beloved mother Irene) who did NOT want a 4th of July baby (too hokey, according to her) and thus, I was born at 11:56 p.m. on July 3rd. Do not discount my mother's enormous stores of determination. I love her and I miss her every day, but especially on my birthday.

Linda took me to dinner for my birthday at a marvelous Chinese restaurant named Chiang's Bistro here in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Fantastic food, superb service. This place is a keeper and to anyone who lives in the area - I highly recommend it. It's on Plantation Drive in Fredericksburg - Area 540, 373-9777. If you live in the area - go there. You won't be disappointed.