At the clear risk of being illegitimate and reprehensible, I say President Bush, Vice President Cheney and others in their administration lied outright and deliberately deceived Congress and the American people in order to gain support for the war on Iraq.

“What is not legitimate — and I will again say is dishonest and reprehensible — is the suggestion by some U.S. senators that the president of the United States or any member of his administration purposely misled the American people on prewar intelligence,” Cheney said.

And he thinks we’re stupid. He really believes we are all stupid.

Have you noticed that often when they show a movie on TV, they roll the credits really fast, and shove them off to the side, while they start a commercial?  I think this sucks.  I think a film is a work of art – for better or for worse – and that if it’s worth showing, it’s worth giving the people who worked on it due credit.  

“The blaze began Friday in foothills above expensive homes but none of the homes had burned and none was in immediate danger, fire officials said.” [Link]

I really wish the media would stop this, referring to homes as “expensive” when they’re threatened or destroyed. First of all, there’s no such thing as cheap real estate in California; everything here is expensive. And this isn’t the only place where that’s true. Those aren’t mansions in Ventura, they’re just houses that happen to be in a fire zone. Secondly, my home is no more important to me because it’s expensive than yours is to you, if you live somewhere less expensive. A home is somebody’s home, where somebody lives. It’s their biggest investment and the center of their life, whether it cost fifty grand or fifty million. The fire doesn’t care what it’s worth, and neither should we.

“If you want to win a battle, burn your ships.”


… food for thought, huh?

The Fresno State – USC game just ended. What a game, huh? Did you watch it? Those Valley boys played their hearts out, and really gave the Trojans a run for their money. It was one of the best games I’ve seen in a long time. Fresno dominated the first half, and though that wasn’t so much the case in the 2nd half, they still put up a hell of a fight. If not for turnovers, I think Fresno could’ve won. That would’ve been something, to beat the #1 – undefeated – team, and end USC’s huge winning streak.

I don’t usually watch football alone. It’s not much fun. I’ve always watched with my Dad and my grandfathers, so watching alone takes the whole thing out of context. But my cousin’s son plays for Fresno, so I thought I’d check it out. That was him fielding the kickoff with 3 minutes left. Took a big hit and I’ll bet he’s sore tomorrow.

I hope the Fresno guys don’t feel bad about not winning the game. It was a helluva fight. Winning isn’t everything, it’s only one of many things. And I do believe in moral victories.

In case you missed the roshambo link I posted last night, here it is again.  If you miss this, you’ve missed … something.

A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, “Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.”

The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man’s mouth water.

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.

The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, “You have seen Hell.” They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man’s mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.

The holy man said, “I don’t understand.” It is simple” said the Lord, “it requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other. While the greedy think only of themselves.”


[Received by e-mail from a friend today.]

I’m watching Rep Barney Frank on MSNBC, saying that our troops should get out of the way and let the Iraqi army “fight their own battles.”  He says it’s not right that American troops are doing most of the fighting.  

Wait a damn minute.  Who started this misbegotten roshambo?  Not the Iraqis, that’s for sure.  We’re fighting a war against Terrorists that happen to be in Iraq, and in the process we’re fighting a collateral war against Iraq.  We’re fighting them over there, so we don’t have to fight them over here, remember?

Seems to me, the Iraqis have every right to take cover and leave our cheese in the wind.

So it goes, we make what we made since the world began.

That photo of Dick, two posts down, just caught my attention.  He’s a scary scary man.  Especially here in my little home office, with the lights out.  Looks like something that just heaved out of a Harry Potter scene, dragging his cloak soaked in unicorn blood, and wearing tight shoes.  

“Gobbins, fetch me a snifter of single malt, before I step on your head,” the vice president hissed.

He who should not be named, never should’ve been elected.

Where’s my invisibility cloak?  The games’ afoot!

Both of Tasha’s little birthday movies are online now. You can find them on this page, called rainbows.

The second one, out on the bluffs, is 13mb. The first one I posted before was only 3. So it will take longer to download it. If you want to keep a movie and watch it again, right click on the link and select Save Target As … .

Cheney calls war critics ‘dishonest, reprehensible’

It proves Cheney doesn’t even understand the nature of democracy. It is the patriot’s duty to question and criticize the government. Especially on the matter of war. What’s wrong with these guys?

It’s been three months since my very precious best friend Tasha let me slip off her leash, and ran ahead to wait for me in the clearing to which all of this joy and suffering must lead.  So I have something special for my constant readers:  A short movie of Tasha, eating a cookie on her 15th birthday, August 6.  

She is lying on her blue towel, which she called Binky, surrounded by birthday packages. You’ll hear me wish her Happy Birthday, in a slightly baby-talkish voice, and my folks saying something silly in the background.  Not really sure what.  They didn’t know I was shooting digital video.

If you like this, let me know in Comments.  I have another video – Tasha at her favorite place overlooking the beach, shot later that day.  I could post that too.

I really did – do – love that dog.  She was amazing.  

Here’s your link.

You’ll need Quicktime, which you can get free at Apple.   And Quicktime, unlike Windows Media Player, does not start automatically.  You have to click the Play button.