What's the latest on the Walter Reed counter-protest?

Just as we reported, here on the VRWC, two short days ago, the extreme left is making new inroads to wild and crazy behavior, not seen since the beginning of the Vietnam War, thirty-five years ago. Again, with the cutting edge of journalistic endeavor, we offer the latest on this Code Pink, (catchy name, don'tchathink??), protest/vigil, outside the Walter Reed Medical Center, just outside Washington, D.C.

You will have to decide for yourself if these folks have a grip on what it means to be an American Patriot.

I'm sure I cannot make it, but I bet my good friend Marc Morano, who broke the story of antiwar demonstrators at Walter Reed will be there.

Marc was on Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes" night before last. Here's a partial transcript of the interview/debate he had with Code Pink's Laura Costas, who defended the antiwar group's protest at the hospital.

HANNITY: All right, Laura and Marc, hang on one second. I want to give our audience a bigger picture of what's going on here, Marc, because, clearly what's happening here is Code Pink and the protesters are backtracking because of the video that you've had, the pictures that you've taken, and what you've been able to report.In fact, they can now say it's a vigil all they want, but when they have signs that say "Impeach George Bush," "Maimed for Lies," "Enlist Here and Die For Halliburton," I mean, these are guys in the hospital back from war. They often have life-threatening wounds.

COSTAS: And they might be abandoned by the V.A. by the time they get out of there.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: This is for Marc Morano.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTAS: Who are you telling who it's about? I'm there on the corner almost every Friday night. I know what it's about.

MORANO: Well, I talked to Kevin Pannell, one of the wounded soldiers, a double-amputee who lost both legs in Iraq last year. He said he tried to ignore these protesters at first, until he saw some of the outrageous things. One of the things he said he saw was caskets out there, mock caskets.

COSTAS: No, no, I'm sorry, that never happened.

MORANO: I have another protestor, counter-protestors saw black wreaths hanging on the fence.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: I want you both to be quiet. I want to get a question in here. Marc, wait a minute, because we have the video. They can say this is a vigil all they want. But we have the video.MORANO: It's an argument over semantics.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Wait a minute. Both of you, please. We have the video, "Maimed for Lies," "Impeach Bush," "Enlist Here and Die for Halliburton." And you know, Laura, you can deny this all you want, but soldiers are literally fighting for their lives and you don't have enough respect for them...

COSTAS: My brother was over there. My brother was over there.

HANNITY: You are exploiting -- you are so extreme.

COSTAS: Excuse me, I'm not exploiting anyone.

HANNITY: You have no respect for those guys that are trying to heal in that hospital.

COSTAS: No way. We are supporting them. We would like for them to have all the benefits that they need when they leave Walter Reed.

HANNITY: Then why don't you say benefits and stop putting up signs that say "Impeach Bush."

COSTAS: We do that. We do that.

HANNITY: Why are you politicizing the war in front of guys that suffered for you?

COSTAS: This war is absolutely political. It's absolutely political.

HANNITY: So it's not a vigil; it is a protest.

COSTAS: It is a vigil.

MORANO: The veterans I spoke with aren't upset about whether you're for the war or against the war. It's about location, location. Why are they in front of a military hospital, timed for maximum exposure on Friday night . . . .

There you have it, loyal VRWC readers. Now you can make an intelligent decision as to the validity of demonstrating outside the medical facilities where our brave soldiers are being treated for the wounds received in their heroic efforts.

God Bless,
Dan'L

How the Euro-Weenies work:

Remember when the government of Italy paid a reported sum in the millions to buy the release of that communist journalist sometime back??

In doing that, the government of Italy probably paid for the next 10,000 roadside bombs that killed our soldiers.

In negotiating with terrorists, they encouraged them to take more hostages, and put a price on the head of every one of our fighting men and women. Thanks a bunch.Well, they've done it again.

Today we get word that Italy's Red Cross treated four insurgents (or Islamic terrorists, as the more correct term applies) and hid them from the United States in exchange for the freedom of two kidnapped aid workers.

The insurgents were even smuggled through U.S. checkpoints by the Italians.

Such hospitality for the enemy!!

The worst part?? Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi signed off on the entire deal. Some ally, huh??

This is the difference between the way the United States, Britain and Australia handle terrorism and the way the Euro-Weenies and the rest of the world does it.

Islamic terrorists are low-life scum that must be killed as fast as possible.

To negotiate with them, to give them any legitimacy or any upper hand just makes the job 100 times more difficult.

This is why terrorism has become so widespread, . . . . because it is tolerated. It really makes you wonder just who are friends are these days.

By the way, . . . it's not wise to bring up this news event, . . . or even this topic, among your friends who may be members of the Democrat Party.

God Bless,
Dan'L

I'm sorry, . . .

This "Letter of Apology" was written by Lieutenant General Chuck Pittman, (right, center), US Marine Corps, Retired: "For good and ill, the Iraqi prisoner abuse mess will remain an issue. On the one hand, right thinking Americans will abhor the stupidity of the actions while on the other hand, political glee will take control and fashion this minor event into some modern-day massacre. As a retired member of the Proud United States Marine Corps, I humbly offer my opinion here:

To those who would criticize my country, . . .

I am sorry that the last seven times we Americans took up arms and sacrificed the blood of the best and brightest of our youth, . . . it was in the defense of Muslims (Bosnia, Kosovo, Gulf War 1, Kuwait, etc.).

I am sorry that no such call for an apology upon the extremists came after 9/11.

I am sorry that all of the murderers on 9/11 were Islamic Arabs.

I am sorry that most Arabs and Muslims have to live in squalor under savage dictatorships.

I am sorry that their leaders squander their wealth.

I am sorry that their governments breed hate for the US in their religious schools, mosques, and government-controlled media.

I am sorry that poor Yassar Arafat, (may he RIP), was kicked out of every Arab country and high-jacked the Palestinian "cause."

I am sorry that no other Arab country will take in or offer more than a token amount of financial help to those same Palestinians.

I am sorry that the USA has to step in and be the biggest financial supporter of poverty stricken Arabs, while many of the insanely wealthy Arabs blame the USA for all their problems.

I am sorry that our own left wing, our media, and our own brainwashed masses do not understand any of this (from the misleading leftist vocal elements of our society like radical professors, Dan Rather, CNN, Salon.com, Move-on.org, and the NY TIMES).

I am sorry the United Nations scammed the poor people of Iraq out of the "food for oil" money, so they could get rich, while the common folk suffered.

I am sorry that some Arab governments pay the families of homicide bombers, handsome sums of money, upon their death.

I am sorry that those same bombers are brainwashed thinking they will receive 72 virgins in a place they call "paradise."

I am sorry that the homicide bombers think pregnant women, babies, children, the elderly and other noncombatant civilians are legitimate targets.

I am sorry that our troops die to free more Arabs from the gang rape rooms and the filling of mass graves of dissidents of their own making.

I am sorry that Muslim extremists have killed more Arabs than any other group.

I am sorry that foreign trained terrorists are trying to seize control of Iraq and return it to a terrorist state.

I am sorry we didn't drop a few dozen Daisy Cutters on Fallujah.

I am sorry every time terrorists need to hide, they find a convenient "Holy Site."

I am sorry they didn't apologize for driving a jet into the World Trade Center that collapsed and severely damaged Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church - one of our Holy Sites.

I am sorry they didn't apologize for flight 93 and 175, the USS Cole, the embassy bombings, the murders and beheadings of Nick Berg and Daniel Pearl, etc..etc.

I am sorry Michael Moore is American; his heft, alone, could feed a medium sized village in Central Africa.

Yes, America will get past this latest absurdity. We are punishing those responsible because that is what we do. They will pay a heavier price here, than they would, over there.

We hang out our dirty laundry for the entire world to see. Then, we move on. That's one of the reasons we are hated so much. We don't hide this stuff, like all those Arab countries that are now demanding an apology. Deep down inside, when most Americans saw this reported in the news, we were like - so what? We lost hundreds and some of our lesser troops made fun of a few prisoners.

Sure, . . . it was wrong, . . and, . . sure, it dramatically hurts our cause, . . . but until they were captured we were trying to kill these same prisoners. Now we're supposed to wring our hands because a few were humiliated? Excuse me?

Our compassion is tempered with the vivid memories of our own people killed, mutilated and burnt amongst a joyous crowd of celebrating Fallujahans. Before that, they were dancing in the streets on September 12, 2001, and we should never forget that.

If you want an apology from this American, you're going to have quite a long wait! You have a MUCH better chance, . . . and far less wait, . . . if you set off NOW, in search of those seventy-two virgins.

Chuck Pittman,
Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret)
Semper Fi

Laci Peterson Murder Case Lies Costs PI His License

By SUSAN HERENDEEN
MODESTO BEE STAFF WRITER

A private investigator stands to lose his license and has been ordered to pay a $2,500 fine for passing himself off as a police officer while poking around Modesto, looking for leads in the Laci Peterson murder investigation.

The punishment for Scott Bernstein of Wesley Hills, N.Y., includes three years of probation; he may be able to make arrangements for supervision on the East Coast.

In Stanislaus County Superior Court on Monday, Bernstein, 47, pleaded no contest to one felony count of impersonating a police officer, after a prosecutor dropped four felony counts and five misdemeanor counts.

Bernstein is due to return to court Friday to discuss the terms of his probation.

Deputy District Attorney David Radford said the negotiated sentence avoided the cost and time of a trial, which was scheduled to begin Tuesday and was expected to last a week.

"He probably wouldn't have received much jail time anyway," he said, noting that Bernstein did not have a criminal record.

Attorney Robert Wynne of Fresno, who withdrew from the case shortly before Bernstein entered his plea, said he believes his former client was charged because prosecutors wanted to protect their case against Scott Peterson.

"He just got his nose in the wrong case," Wynne said of Bernstein.

The private investigator, president of Falcon Investigations Inc., could not be reached for comment. Under New York state law, the felony conviction makes him ineligible to hold a private investigator's license.

The case began when Lt. Mark Smith, an investigator with the district attorney's office, spotted Bernstein on Court TV.

The private investigator was holding up booking photos of local residents while talking to host Catherine Crier.

Such photos are routinely released to the media if a defendant is incustody. If a defendant is released on bail or on his or her own recognizance, the photos are controlled documents that can be given only to sworn officers who present credentials and sign a form.

The district attorney's office filed charges against Bernstein in August, during the third month of Peterson's double murder trial in Redwood City.

Peterson was convicted and sentenced to death for killing his wife and their unborn son, Conner.
Bernstein at first faced 11 counts accusing him of impersonating an officer, fraudulently using a badge, and simulating an official inquiry from June 24 to July 9, 2004.

In April, at the conclusion of a preliminary hearing, Judge John G. Whiteside held Bernstein to answer to 10 counts. They stemmed from three incidents, according to Smith and nine other witnesses who testified during the hearing.

Those incidents involved:

BOOKING PHOTOS -
Bernstein received 12 booking photos from the Sheriff'sDepartment because clerks believed he was a federal agent. Someone claiming to be with the "U.S. Fugitive Task Force" faxed a request for photos before Bernstein showed up at the counter to collect the mug shots. Bernstein allegedly flashed a badge upon arrival.

INTERVIEWS -
Bernstein allegedly wore a badge when he approached Evelyn Taberna at her Modesto home, and Taberna's daughter Sarah Taberna at work.

Mother and daughter believed that Bernstein was a Modesto police detective working on the Peterson case. One of the booking mugs that Bernstein received was of Sarah Taberna, who had pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property after police found blank checks - belonging to Scott and Laci Peterson - in Taberna's possession.

PAWN SHOP VISIT -
At The Pawn Shop in Modesto, Bernstein allegedly wore abadge that read "New York Fugitive Task Force" and said he was working on a national sting operation. He was interested in a Croton watch that was similar to one that Laci Peterson tried to sell on eBay, an online auction site. The store owner called police because inquiries about the Peterson case made him nervous.

Radford said Bernstein's plea of no contest was for impersonating a police officer at The Pawn Shop.

The deputy district attorney said both sides agreed to focus on that count when they negotiated the deal.

"It didn't really matter which count it was," Radford said. "The outcome would have been the same."

*********************************************************

In cases like this, an entire profession suffers the consequences of the actions of one loose cannon. In this particular case, an overzealous investigator, whose talents were above average, allowed the fame and fortune of a case set upon by massive media coverage, (and the associated dollars), to override his good sense, and caused his profession, himself, his company, and his career, irrepairable damage.

Scott Bernstein needs to reflect on the money that took him from Wesley Hills, New York to Modesto, California, and caused his demise, because he knew how to get the Law Enforcement Agencies to release certain sensative materials. He needs to reflect on the effect of his actions on the vast numbers of honest, hard-working investigators, who would never consider doing such things, upon the promises of some television producers, whose typical honesty and character is usually found, at levels far below that of most attorneys, and used car salesmen.

Scott, we wish you well, but we also wish you'd had your thinking cap on, during the escapades that led to your demise. Please find another way to earn a living, once your probation is completed.

God Bless,
Dan'L

Anti-War Protests Target Wounded at Army Hospital

By Marc Morano
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
August 25, 2005

See Marc Morano's Video Report

Washington (CNSNews.com) -- The Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the current home of hundreds of wounded veterans from the war in Iraq, has been the target of weekly anti-war demonstrations since March. The protesters hold signs that read "Maimed for Lies" and "Enlist here and die for Halliburton."

The anti-war demonstrators, who obtain their protest permits from the Washington, D.C., police department, position themselves directly in front of the main entrance to the Army Medical Center, which is located in northwest D.C., about five miles from the White House. Among the props used by the protesters are mock caskets, lined up on the sidewalk to represent the death toll in Iraq.

Code Pink Women for Peace, one of the groups backing anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan's vigil outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford Texas, organizes the protests at Walter Reed as well.

Some conservative supporters of the war call the protests, which have been ignored by the establishment media, "shameless" and have taken to conducting counter-demonstrations at Walter Reed. "[The anti-war protesters] should not be demonstrating at a hospital. A hospital is not a suitable location for an anti-war demonstration," said Bill Floyd of the D.C. chapter of FreeRepublic.com, who stood across the street from the anti-war demonstrators on Aug. 19.

"I believe they are tormenting our wounded soldiers and they should just leave them alone," Floyd added.

According to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, nearly 4,000 individuals involved in the Iraq war were treated at the facility as of March of this year, 1,050 of whom were wounded in battle.

One anti-war protester, who would only identify himself as "Luke," told Cybercast News Service that "the price of George Bush's foreign policy can be seen right here at Walter Reed -- young men who returned from Iraq with their bodies shattered after George Bush sent them to war for a lie."

Luke accused President Bush of "exploiting American soldiers" while "oppressing the other nations of earth." The president "has killed far too many people," he added.

On Aug. 19, as the anti-war protesters chanted slogans such as "George Bush kills American soldiers," Cybercast News Service observed several wounded war veterans entering and departing the gates of Walter Reed, some with prosthetic limbs. Most of the demonstrations have been held on Friday evenings, a popular time for the family members of wounded soldiers to visit the hospital.

But the anti-war activists were unapologetic when asked whether they considered such signs as "Maimed for Lies" offensive to wounded war veterans and their families.

"I am more offended by the fact that many were maimed for life. I am more offended by the fact that they (wounded veterans) have been kept out of the news," said Kevin McCarron, a member of the anti-war group Veterans for Peace.

Kevin Pannell, who was recently treated at Walter Reed and had both legs amputated after an ambush grenade attack near Baghdad in 2004, considers the presence of the anti-war protesters in front of the hospital "distasteful."

When he was a patient at the hospital, Pannell said he initially tried to ignore the anti-war activists camped out in front of Walter Reed, until witnessing something that enraged him.

"We went by there one day and I drove by and [the anti-war protesters] had a bunch of flag-draped coffins laid out on the sidewalk. That, I thought, was probably the most distasteful thing I had ever seen. Ever," Pannell, a member of the Army's First Cavalry Division, told Cybercast News Service.

"You know that 95 percent of the guys in the hospital bed lost guys whenever they got hurt and survivors' guilt is the worst thing you can deal with," Pannell said, adding that other veterans recovering from wounds at Walter Reed share his resentment for the anti-war protesters.

"We don't like them and we don't like the fact that they can hang their signs and stuff on the fence at Walter Reed," he said. "[The wounded veterans] are there to recuperate. Once they get out in the real world, then they can start seeing that stuff (anti-war protests). I mean Walter Reed is a sheltered environment and it needs to stay that way."

McCarron said he dislikes having to resort to such controversial tactics, "but this stuff can't be hidden," he insisted. "The real cost of this war cannot be kept from the American public."

The anti-war protesters claim their presence at the hospital is necessary to publicize the arrivals of newly wounded soldiers from Iraq, who the protesters allege are being smuggled in at night by the Pentagon to avoid media scrutiny. The protesters also argue that the military hospital is the most appropriate place for the demonstrations and that the vigils are designed to ultimately help the wounded veterans.

"If I went to war and lost a leg and then found out from my hospital bed that I had been lied to, that the weapons I was sent to search for never existed, that the person who sent me to war had no plan but to exploit me, exploit the country I was sent to, I would be pretty angry," Luke told Cybercast News Service.

"I would want people to do something about it and if I couldn't get out of my bed and protest myself, I would want someone else to do it in my name," he added.

The conservative counter-demonstrators carry signs reading "Troops out when the job's done," "Thank you U.S. Armed Forces" and "Shameless Pinkos go home." Many wear the orange T-shirts reading "Club G'itmo" that are marketed by conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh.

"[The anti-war protesters] have no business here. If they want to protest policy, they should be at the Capitol, they should be at the White House," said Nina Burke. "The only reason for being here is to talk to [the] wounded and [anti-war protests are] just completely inappropriate."
Albion Wilde concurred, arguing that "it's very easy to pick on the families of the wounded. They are very vulnerable ... I feel disgusted.

"[The anti-war protesters] are really showing an enormous lack of respect for just everything that America has always stood for. They lost the election and now they are really, really angry and so they are picking on the wrong people," Wilde added.

At least one anti-war demonstrator conceded that standing out in front of a military hospital where wounded soldiers and their families are entering and exiting, might not be appropriate.
"Maybe there is a better place to have a protest. I am not sure," said a man holding a sign reading "Stop the War," who declined to be identified.

But Luke and the other anti-war protesters dismissed the message of the counter demonstrators. "We know most of the George Bush supporters have never spent a day in uniform, have never been closer to a battlefield than seeing it through the television screen," Luke said.

Code Pink, the group organizing the anti-war demonstrations in front of the Walter Reed hospital, has a controversial leader and affiliations. As Cybercast News Service previously reported, Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin has expressed support for the Communist Viet Cong in Vietnam and the Nicaraguan Sandinistas.

In 2001, Benjamin was asked about anti-war protesters sympathizing with nations considered to be enemies of U.S. foreign policy, including the Viet Cong and the Sandinistas. "There's no one who will talk about how the other side is good," she reportedly told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Benjamin has also reportedly praised the Cuban regime of Fidel Castro. Benjamin told the San Francisco Chronicle that her visit to Cuba in the 1980s revealed to her a great country. "It seem[ed] like I died and went to heaven," she reportedly said.

MOVE OVER, CINDY: BUSH SINGLES OUT OTHER MILITARY MOM

Wed August 24, 2005
16:53:27 EDT
NAMPA, Idaho --

President Bush today took direct aim at Cindy Sheehan, the anti-war protester who has set up camp near the Bush's Texas ranch and purports to speak for military moms who, like her, have lost a son in the Iraq war.

Speaking to hundreds of Idaho National Guardsmen, the president singled out military mom Tammy Pruett of Pocatello, Idaho, whose husband and five sons have all served in Iraq."

Tammy has four sons serving in Iraq right now with the Idaho National Guard: Eric, Evan, Greg and Jeff. Last year her husband, Leon, and another son, Aaron, returned from Iraq, where they helped train Iraqi firefighters in Mosul."

Tammy says this -- and I want you to hear this -- 'I know that if something happens to one of the boys, they would leave this world doing what they believe, what they think is right for our country.'

"And I guess you couldn't ask for a better way of life than giving it for something that you believe in. America lives in freedom because of families like the Pruetts.

"The crowd, made up mostly of military family members, broke into cheers and chants of "U-S-A! U-S-A!"

Newsflash: Drudge Reports that Anti-War Protesters have targeted wounded veterans at Walter Reed Hospital

August 24, 2005
21:20:05 EDT

Anti-war protestors besieged wounded and disabled soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C, a new web report will claim!

CNSNews.com is planning to run an expose on Thursday featuring interviews with both protestors and veterans, as well as shots of protest signs with slogans like “Maimed for a Lie.”

The conservative outlet will post video evidence of the wounded veterans being taunted by protesters, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

Developing late, . . .

******************************************

The VRWC will have it for you, right here, later today, as this story breaks. Stay tuned for pictures and links to the video, when it becomes available.

God Bless,
Dan'L

WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT TO TURN ON THE TV & HEAR GEORGE W. BUSH GIVE THE FOLLOWING SPEECH:

My Fellow Americans:

As you all know, the defeat of Iraq regime has been completed. Since congress does not want to spend any more money on this war, our mission in Iraq is complete.

This morning I gave the order for a complete removal of all American forces from Iraq. The timetable for that removal will remain secret, for obvious reasons. This action will be complete sometime within the next 3000 days. It is now time to begin the reckoning.

Before me, I have two lists. One list contains the names of countries which have stood by our side during the Iraq conflict. This list is short. The United Kingdom, Spain, Bulgaria, Australia, and Poland are some of the countries listed there.

The other list contains everyone not on the first list. Most of the worlds nations are on that list. My press secretary will be distributing copies of both lists later this evening. Let me start by saying that effective immediately, foreign aid to those nations on List 2 ceases immediately and indefinitely. The money saved during the first year alone will pretty much pay for the costs of the Iraqi war. The American people are no longer going to pour money into third world Hell-holes and watch those government leaders grow fat on corruption. Need help with a famine? Wrestling with an epidemic?? Call France. In the future, together with Congress, I will work to redirect this money toward solving the vexing social problems we still have at home.

On that note, a word to ALL terrorist organizations. Screw with us and we will hunt you down and eliminate you and all your friends from the face of the earth. (Thirsting for a gutsy country to terrorize?? Try France, or maybe China.)

To Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Yo, boys. Work out a peace deal now. Just note that Camp David is closed. Maybe all of you can go to Russia for negotiations. They have some great palaces there. Big tables, too. Ask nice, and I'll send Condi, but only as an advisor.

I am ordering the immediate severing of diplomatic relations with France, Germany, and Russia. Thanks for all your help, comrades.

We are retiring from NATO as well. Bon chance, mes amis.

I have instructed the Mayor of New York City to begin towing the many UN diplomatic vehicles located in Manhattan with more than two unpaid parking tickets to sites where those vehicles will be stripped, shredded and crushed. I don't care about whatever treaty pertains to this. You creeps have tens of thousands of unpaid tickets. Pay those tickets tomorrow or watch your precious Benzes, Beamers, and limos be turned over to some of the finest chop shops in the world. I love New York. I've not forgotten the support they gave me, after September 11, 2001. This will releave at least a little of their already heavy tax burden. Let it not be said, that I forget, when folks favor me.

A special note to our neighbors. Canada is on List 2. Since we are likely to be seeing a lot more of each other, you folks might want to try not pissing us off for a change.

Mexico is also on List 2. President Fox and his entire corrupt government really need an attitude adjustment. I will have a couple extra tank and infantry divisions around. Guess where I am going to put em?? Yep, border security. So start doing something with your oil.

Oh, . . . by the way, . . . the United States is abrogating the NAFTA treaty -- starting NOW. We are tired of the one-way highway.

It is time for America to focus on its own welfare and its own citizens. Some will accuse us of isolationism. I answer them be saying, "darn tootin." Nearly a century of trying to help folks live a decent life around the world has only earned us the undying enmity of just about everyone on the planet.

It is time to eliminate hunger in America.
It is time to eliminate homelessness in America.
It is time to eliminate World Cup Soccer from America.

To the nations on List 1, a final thought. . . . "Thanks guys. We owe you and we won't forget."

To the nations on List 2, a final thought. Drop dead. God bless America. Thank you and good night.

<>

If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English, thank a soldier.

God Bless,
Dan'L

American Legion Condemns War Protests as 'Visions of Jane Fonda'

August 24, 2005

Delegates to the American Legion's national convention in Honolulu, Hawaii, vowed Tuesday to use whatever means necessary to "ensure the united backing of the American people to support our troops and the global war on terrorism."

"The American Legion will stand against anyone and any group that would demoralize our troops, or worse, endanger their lives by encouraging terrorists to continue their cowardly attacks against freedom-loving peoples," said Thomas Cadmus, national commander of the 2.7-million-member organization.

While never mentioning Cindy Sheehan by name even though the "anti-war mom" has said she will soon return to Crawford, Texas, to continue her protest against President Bush and the war in Iraq, the group did point to another woman who gained fame by protesting U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.

"For many of us, the visions of Jane Fonda glibly spouting anti-American messages with the North Vietnamese and protestors denouncing our own forces four decades ago is forever etched in our memories," he stated. "We must never let that happen again."

Quoting Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Cadmus noted: "The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.

"We had hoped that the lessons learned from the Vietnam War would be clear to our fellow citizens," Cadmus stated. "Public protests against the war here at home while our young men and women are in harm's way on the other side of the globe only provide aid and comfort to our enemies.

"Understand that the terrorists they are engaging there would slit the throats of every American, adult and child, if they could," he added.

Resolution 3, which was passed unanimously by 4,000 delegates to the annual event, states:

"The American Legion fully supports the president of the
Untied States, the United States Congress and the men,
women and leadership of our armed forces as they are
engaged in the global war on terrorism and the troops
who are engaged in protecting our values and way of life.

The measure recognizes that the global war on terrorism is as deadly as any war in which the United States has been previously engaged and that the president and Congress did authorize military actions in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

"No one respects the right to protest more than one who has fought for it, but we hope that Americans will present their views in correspondence to their elected officials rather than by public media events guaranteed to be picked up and used as tools of encouragement by our enemies," Cadmus said.

"It would be tragic if the freedoms our veterans fought so valiantly to protect would be used against their successors today as they battle terrorists bent on our destruction," he added. "Let's not repeat the mistakes of our past.

"I urge all Americans to rally around our armed forces and remember our fellow Americans who were viciously murdered on Sept. 11, 2001," Cadmus said. "We must commit ourselves to stand united together to defeat terrorism once and forever."

The American Legion GETS it! Good for them! . . . and THAT'S good for America!

God Bless,
Dan'L

She's baaaaaaack!

Well, Cindy Sheehan is headed back to Crawford, Texas, and the media is in an absolute frenzy. Remember, . . . this is the woman who says that "Bush is waging a nuclear war in Iraq," and that "President George W. Bush is the world's biggest terrorist." She hates George Bush, . . . this means that the mainstream media loves Cindy Sheehan.

Here's another Cindy Sheehan comment to ponder. It's one the media has ignored. Speaking earlier this month to a reporter for CBS News, she actually called the Islamic terrorists "freedom fighters." That's right, . . . the very ones, who killed her son. Why don't we hear more about this??

Because it would completely undermine her credibility. Every journalist covering Cindy Sheehan as a grip on that hard fact. And, . . . the last thing they want to do, is discredit her.

So now Cindy is headed back to Crawford, to spew some more of the same kind of nonsense for days and days, all of which will be picked up, and carried on either page one, or as the lead story, by the mainstream media. I wonder why she came back?? Perhaps it was the promise of more Joan Baez concerts. Sheehan has become nothing more than a willing marionette for the left. That makes her a media hero. Remember that she NEEDS to be a media hero. It's all she has left.

Sad. Really sad!

God Bless,
Dan'L

ATF, Virginia Police Accused of 'Persecuting' Gun Shows

By Jeff Johnson
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer

August 23, 2005

(CNSNews.com) -- The federal agency that regulates U.S. gun dealers stands accused, along with at least three Virginia law enforcement agencies, of trying to shut down legal gun shows through alleged intimidation of gun buyers and sellers. The law enforcement organizations also allegedly broke the law by sharing gun buyers' information with members of the public.

Annette Gelles, owner of gun show sponsor Showmasters.us, told Cybercast News Service that at least 30 agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) along with nearly 500 Virginia State Police, Henrico County Police and Richmond City Police officers were assigned to the ATF operation targeting her gun show on Aug. 13 and 14 at the Richmond International Raceway and Fairground Complex, outside Richmond, Va.

Gelles said four marked police cars were stationed at the main entrance to the raceway parking lot and more than 50 marked and unlabeled but obvious law enforcement vehicles were positioned just outside the public entrance to the building. The officers' presence, Gelles said, was intended to intimidate her customers.

"It's just a persecution thing. It's not really an attempt to solve crimes or stop them," Gelles said. "It's their way of trying to get rid of gun shows. That's the only way you can explain that large a police presence at the gun shows."

Gelles said ATF Resident Agent in Charge Brian Swann told her that the officers were part of a "Virginia State Police, ATF task force" and represented the "same amount of force that we've used in all the shows." The only difference in Gelles' case, Swann told her, was that the command post was established at the site of her gun show.

Virginia State Police (VSP) spokeswoman Corinne Geller told Cybercast News Service that her agency does participate in a task force with ATF and other Virginia law enforcement agencies. As part of the agreement that created the task force, Geller said, VSP agreed to refer questions regarding its operations to ATF.

Richmond Police spokeswoman Kirsten Nelson e-mailed her response to questions about the apparent sting operation.

"I have done some checking and as I said on the phone, the gun show was not in our jurisdiction," Nelson wrote, "so I have no record of our officers' participation."
Gelles said the participation of Richmond Police officers in the operation has already been documented, by Richmond Police officers.

"My own Richmond City Police officers that are there, that I hire for my security purposes, told me that they saw 14 (Richmond City Police officers) on Saturday in plain clothes," Gelles said.
Lt. Doug Perry with Henrico County Police acknowledged that his department's officers took part in the operation, but he would not say how many participated.

"We wouldn't normally release that anyway. That's part of our operational plan, the number of officers involved," Perry said. "We're not on overtime when we're doing that so it wouldn't be public information."

One gun show exhibitor said he counted 72 uniformed and plainclothes officers and agents in and around the vehicles near the entrance to the building. Gelles claimed that an unidentified officer tried to stop the exhibitor from counting the number of law enforcement personnel present, but walked away when the exhibitor refused.

While normal attendance at her two-day show is nearly 4,000, Gelles said she attracted approximately 2,300 the weekend of Aug. 13 and 14, costing Showmasters.us more than $7,000.

'There's no way that's legal'
"They did something else, which is highly illegal," Gelles charged. "They did something called a residency check."

Gelles explained that, when gun dealers took the paperwork to the Virginia State Police on-site office to complete the background checks on prospective buyers, ATF agents copied the names, home addresses and telephone numbers of the applicants.

Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, told Cybercast News Service that he has received numerous complaints alleging that as handgun buyers were waiting for their National Instant Check System (NICS) background investigations to be completed, ATF was secretly conducting the so-called "residency checks."

According to the complaints he received, Van Cleave said officers were dispatched to the homes of the prospective gun buyers to speak with family members, asking for example: "Gee, did you know your husband was going to a gun show today? Do you have his cell phone number? Did you know he was buying a gun?

"If people weren't home they, in some cases, went to neighbors" to ask the same questions, Van Cleave said.

"I'm not an attorney but, I'll tell you what, in my opinion that would be a violation of federal law," Van Cleave said. "To go off on a fishing trip with that information, much less sharing information like that with neighbors, there's no way that's legal."

Title 18 Section 923 of the U.S. Code concerns the licensing of gun dealers and appears to support Van Cleave's position. It contains the following restrictions on the information collected during the process of a gun purchase:

"(g)(3)(B) Except in the case of forms and contents thereof regarding a
purchaser who is prohibited by [federal law] from receipt of a firearm, the
department of State police or State law enforcement agency or local law
enforcement agency of the local jurisdiction shall not disclose any such form or
the contents thereof to any person or entity, and shall destroy each such form
and any record of the contents thereof no more than 20 days from the date such
form is received."

VSP's Geller could not comment on the "residency checks," but said the ATF did not get gun buyers' addresses from her agency. "I can assure you, they weren't getting it from our records," Geller said, "because we don't take addresses."

In fact, the "Department of State Police - Virginia Firearms Transaction Record" form asks for the purchaser's name, date of birth, Social Security or driver's license number and citizenship status. No other identifying information, such as addresses or telephone numbers is requested.
But ATF Form 4473, the "Firearms Transaction Record Part I - Over-The-Counter," does request the purchaser's address. Those forms are kept together as part of a "buyer's packet" when the VSP form is submitted for the NICS check.

Erich Pratt, communications director for Gun Owners of America (GOA), told Cybercast News Service that these types of allegations against ATF are exactly why GOA members opposed the NICS background check when it was initially proposed.

"Whenever you force good people to jump through hoops before they exercise their rights, you give rogue bureaucrats a chance to harass decent citizens," Pratt said.

"We have a Bill of Rights because government does not always act in our best interest," he continued. "Rather than being spied upon, the American people should be the ones questioning family members and neighbors - not of gun owners - but of these rogue bureaucrats."

ATF agent allegedly 'got quite rude' with gun show customer
James Lalime, who works part time for a gun dealer, was attending the Richmond show on his own. He had brought two firearms and part of a third from his personal collection to offer for sale at the show, which is legal and does not require a federal firearms license (FFL) or local business license.

Lalime claims a man approached him and verbally identified himself as an ATF agent but did not show his credentials or badge.

"He was accusing me of running a business and telling me that I needed to get a business license if I was going to sell firearms," Lalime charged.

The agent allegedly had state police check Lalime's driver's license and learned that it was suspended. He said he was placed in the back of a police car and questioned by the agent while the suspension was investigated.

"He kept asking me all kinds of questions: 'How often do you buy guns? When do you buy guns?

When was the last time you bought a gun? How many guns did you buy the last time you bought guns?'" Lalime continued. "All that is irrelevant and I told him that. I said, 'That's my personal business.'"

Lalime was released when it was learned that his license was valid and the alleged suspension was caused by a computer error. He went back into the gun show and told Gelles about the encounter and she suggested that Lalime get the agent's name.

When he found the agent, who identified himself as Special Agent Brian McComas, Lalime claims McComas tried to intimidate him.

"He said, 'You know you're making a big deal about nothing,' and I said, 'No sir, I am not,'" Lalime explained. "Then he got right in my face, almost touching his chest to mine, in real threatening posture, and said, 'You're making a real big mistake.'"

Lalime claims Swann interrupted the confrontation and the two federal officers walked away.
"Once I got over the initial shock, it really made me angry," Lalime said.

ATF is 'out of the residency check business'
Gelles and her attorneys were in Washington, D.C., Aug. 15 to meet with ATF officials and seek an explanation for what happened over the weekend. After talking with several people in the ATF headquarters, Gelles said she finally spoke with a supervisor, whom she would not identify, who assured her that ATF "is out of the residency check business, effective immediately."

She was hesitant to give further details about the meeting in the event that a lawsuit is filed over the agency's actions.

In addition to the $7,000 she said she lost from reduced attendance at the show, Gelles added that she has already spent more than $12,000 in legal fees trying to prevent a repeat of the ATF operation of Aug. 13 and 14 and other previous incidents of what she considers improper agency behavior.

Van Cleave said his groups will be "watching in Virginia with a microscope to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again.

"If they do it again, we'll get active in contacting the ATF, the police and the media," Van Cleave warned. "If they break their word on this and start this crap again, then we will be in touch with the media."

After more than a half-dozen calls by Cybercast News Service seeking comment for this article, an ATF spokesman said the agency was "still gathering information" about the events of Aug. 13 and 14 and would not be able to comment until sometime on Tuesday.

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This story indicates that there just might be something out of control, when it comes to federal law enforcement efforts to justify their own existence, . . . . since the definition of national security has changed, . . . READ: September 11, 2001. I certainly hope that someone in the Bush Justice Department gets a grip on these guys, before they go so far over the lines of legality that they end up committing several million of our tax dollars to people whose patriotic toes they've trod upon.

God Bless,
Dan'L

Private Eyes Try Getting Tough on Congress

By Shawn Zeller, CQ Staff

In the popular imagination, American private investigators are thetoughest of tough customers, impervious to saps, slipped Mickeys andseductresses.

But private eyes now fear they may be meeting their matchin Congress.

The detective industry says legislation aimed at redressing identitytheft and data breaches among companies collecting consumer data couldput it out of business. The proposal, by Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter , R-Pa., would erect barriers to ready acquisition of Social Security numbers -- and that, in turn, would enormously complicate missing-persons and witness-location work, two mainstays of the detective trade.

The bill (S-1332), which Judiciary panel Democrats Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont and Russell D. Feingold of Wisconsin are co-sponsoring, would bar the sale or purchase of any Social Security number without its holder's consent. Similar language is in a bill (S-1408) by Gordon H. Smith, R-OR, that the Senate Commerce Committee approved last week. (Story,p.2125)

In May, representatives of the National Council of Investigation and Security Services (NCISS) -- the private detectives "trade group" met with databrokers and agreed to lobby against provisions limiting investigators' ability to purchase the numbers. D.C. lobbyist Lawrence Sabbath is leading the charge.

Sabbath singlesout Rep. Pete Sessions , R-Texas, as the investigators' top ally.

Sessions also helped bounty hunters and bail bondsmen to get business-friendly provisions in a House immigration bill this February -even though that language later died in conference.

Large database companies, such as LexisNexis Group and ChoicePoint, sell partial Social Security numbers to private investigators, but not to the general public.

But the law surrounding their sale is murky, and some companies will sell full numbers to anyone.

Investigators also hired Washington PR man Joseph Ricci to boost their image in Washington.

Last month, the investigators hosted an "ID Fraud Summit" at a hotel in Washington with representatives from the Secret Service and the Justice Department.

Among the participants was John Stoll, who was convicted of child molestation in California and served 20 years in prison before a private investigator discovered information that exonerated him.

But consumer groups are mounting their own PR campaign in support of theSpecter bill.

They say uneven state licensing rules -- some don't require licenses at all -- are reason enough to prevent the investigators from buying the numbers. They also point to cases such as that of Amy Boyer, a New Hampshire woman killed in 1999 by a stalker who obtained personal information about her from an Internet-based firm run by a P.I. in Florida, or Rebecca Schaeffer, a television personality who was killed by a stalker who had purchased driver's license information from an unlicensed investigator from Arizona.

Without a law closing off much of the traffic in identity data, dvocates say the status quo will deteriorate. P.I.s "are virtually unregulated in too many states," says Edmund Mierzwinski of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. "There's no question that there will be massive datamisappropriations."

Source: CQ Weekly

An Open Letter to Cindy Sheehan From the Proud Father of a U.S. Marine

By Brantley Smith
Posted On August 21, 2005

Dear Mrs. Sheehan,

By your actions over the past two weeks it is clear that you missed an important aspect of Civics 101: "With rights come responsibilities."

You certainly have the right to voice your opinion against the war in Iraq and the President's policies.

You even have the right to camp outside the President's home in Crawford and demand he meet with you.

Your status as a mother who has lost a child in the war also gives your words and actions a credibility and a larger audience than otherwise would be the case.

Now that your supporters have given you a broad forum from which to be heard, making you a national figure, its time you considered your responsibilities to all of us. I have a daughter set to deploy to Fallujah in two weeks and I have a serious concern with how your irresponsible and short sighted actions might impact on her. She is, after all, a volunteer, like your son, and she is going in harm's way because she believes it is her responsibility to protect your rights and freedoms.

Well meaning people like you always seem to forget the law of unintended consequences and in your vanity and arrogant self-righteousness never bother to think through what it is you are trying to do versus what you may actually accomplish.

I am here to inform you, Ma'am, that you will not change the policy of our government by sitting outside Crawford making a spectacle of yourself in the name of your rights to free speech; what you will do is provide more propaganda for our enemies and cost the lives of even more brave and selfless American warriors.

How long do you think it will be before you become a star on Al Jazeera? For all I know, it may have already happened. One thing is certain, though, and that is that your actions and words will further embolden a ruthless and evil enemy and more American blood will be shed and some of it will be on your hands. I pray that my daughter will not be one of them. If she is, then I will hold you and those like you partly responsible. Yes, my daughter's fate will depend mostly on her own courageous decision to serve, but only the most naive among us can deny the impact our own words and actions here in America have in a world grown smaller by the revolution in communications technology.

I am sure you believe that you are serving some great cause by putting our servicemen and women in more danger and that you can, by your irresponsible exercise of free speech, help end a policy you disagree with. Your emotion may be compelling but the reality is that you will not set in motion any process that will change or undo what has been done. The war will go on because to end it now would dishonor the sacrifice of all of our fellow countrymen who have died in the cause of fighting terrorism. Rational Americans will not allow that. Too much is at stake.

Unfortunately, shallow and irrational ones, such as yourself, will continue to put the lives of our sons and daughters in danger by aiding and abetting an enemy who sees propagandizing in the mass media as its main weapon in a war it could otherwise not win standing on its own wretched and evil justification of radical Islam, or by force of arms.

You, Ma'am, have joined forces with an evil you neither understand nor apparently have tried to comprehend. You direct your anger toward our country while the enemy plots to kill and maim the innocent. You make a mockery of responsible free speech while thousands of young men and women fight desperately to preserve your safety. Instead of honoring your son's sacrifice you are inspired to comfort an evil enemy.

You clearly do not understand the challenge we face as a nation and have not tried to put it in historical perspective. It is a sad fact that it is those of your thinking that have led us to where we are today. Decades of appeasement to these haters of everything we hold dear has cost thousands of American lives from Beirut to New York and in dozens of other forgotten places.

Remember Lockerbie? The Achille Lauro? The USS Cole? We as a people were dragged into this war, much like December 7th, 1941, and we must fight and win it wherever the enemy hides and against whomever would support him.

Make no mistake about Iraq. It is both a legitimate and crucial campaign in this much larger, global war of radical Islam's making. These people hate us for who we are, not what we have done. We did not bring this on ourselves, as many would have us believe, by our policies and actions abroad.

We brought this on ourselves in 1775 when the Founding Fathers embarked on a course of freedom, tolerance, and liberal democratic and social ideals. These haters of all we hold dear strive to destroy forever a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people" that Abraham Lincoln hoped would never "Perish from the earth". They would replace it with an oppressive world theocracy unlike anything modern history has ever seen for its ruthless disregard for personal freedom and liberty.

If more appeasement is your answer for an alternative policy, spare us. We have suffered enough from cowardice and inaction.

An historical analogy screams to be let out here. It is one of two men, both named Chamberlain. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, a school teacher turned soldier in the American Civil War, found himself in the crosshairs of history on a warm July day in 1863 on a small hill in Pennsylvania. Commanding the 20th Maine Regiment on the extreme Union left at Gettysburg he was in a most perilous position. Should he fail to hold against a strong Confederate attack, the Union could be lost.

You see, he was serving in an increasingly unpopular war at home against a resurgent enemy, and for a President fighting for his political life. Colonel Chamberlain, stoic but determined, refused to yield. His small regiment held against an onslaught of Confederate attacks, an action many historians believe turned the tide of the war. He was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

The other half of this analogy focuses on Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of Great Britain in the years preceding World War II. His story is widely known. Through his policy of appeasement and a lack of moral courage, he handed Adolf Hitler much of Europe. Which side of history have you chosen, Ma'am?

Your son died in the service of freedom and my daughter will go in harm's way to protect and preserve it. Honor their sacrifice, Ma'am, by exercising it responsibly.

I will pray with you and I will grieve with you but I will not stand by silent while you needlessly and arrogantly endanger the life of my daughter and her comrades in arms. Please bless us with your silence and go home.

Brantley Smith
Proud father of a United States Marine
Tullahoma, TN
email: usmcengr@aol.com
*************************************************************

God Bless you Mr. Brantley Smith. Thank you for your son's service to our country. Thank you, and your family, for your sacrifices and your patriotism. Thank God you get it, as well as the hundreds of others just like you, who get it, too. Thank you all, so very much!

God Bless,

How Public Schools Have Changed

Aug. 17, 2005

by Phyllis Schlafly

Parents are on the warpath about the way 63,000 public schools are now starting their fall term in August, some even in hot July. Thousands of parents have organized Save Our Summers campaigns, and protests in Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and Florida have hit the national media. I wish them well with their demands for schools to return to their traditional post-Labor Day opening.

But I also wish those parents would show as much concern about what is being taught in the classroom. The largest teachers union, the National Education Association (NEA), held its annual convention this summer in Los Angeles displaying its usual favoritism toward the gays and the feminists, hostility to parents, and support of liberal causes. The badges worn by the delegates included messages bashing President Bush and supporting gays and lesbians.

There is a Conservative Educators Caucus within the NEA membership, but all its proposals were buried in committee except one on academic freedom, which the delegates voted to send back to committee without allowing any floor debate.

The NEA convention handed a big victory to its large Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus by easily passing its proposal calling on the NEA to "develop a comprehensive strategy" to deal with the attacks on gay curricula, policies and practices by what the NEA calls "extremist groups" (that's the NEA's term for parents). A delegate who asked for respect for ex-gays was loudly booed, while the delegates cheered the speaker who pronounced that there is no such person as an ex-gay.

Resolutions passed by the NEA convention that have nothing to do with education included a call to boycott Wal-Mart, statehood for the District of Columbia, affirmative action, opposition to private accounts in Social Security, opposition to capital punishment, gun control, "single-payer health care" (i.e., government medicine), and endorsement of the International Criminal Court and the UN Declaration on Human Rights.

NEA resolutions pertaining to education called for the teaching of global, multicultural, suicide, environmental, and bilingual education. Somehow, resolutions about the need for improvement in the teaching of phonics or basic math didn't make the cut.

NEA resolutions endorsed all feminist goals, including abortion, Comparable Worth, the Equal Rights Amendment, and taking over the baby-sitting of children "from birth through age eight." The gay lobby's influence extends even over these infants, whom the NEA wants to provide with "diversity-based curricula" and "bias-free screening devices."

In another manifestation of hypocrisy about educational diversity, the NEA resolved that "homeschooled students should not participate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools." At the same time, the NEA demands that homeschooled students should be taught only by persons who are "licensed" by the state and use a curriculum approved by the state.

About a third of NEA members are estimated to vote Republican, and there is a Republican Caucus within the NEA. However, the powers-that-be running the NEA launched a coup this year and took it over (so that "Republican" NEAers will be able to bash Bush), after which three-fourths of the real Republicans quit and joined the Conservative Educators Caucus.

One of my readers recently sent me a book published by the NEA in 1951. It provides a look down memory lane of what public schools used to be a half century ago. Called "The American Citizens Handbook," this nearly-600-page book was intended to promote good citizenship among public school students. It includes essays on citizenship, brief biographies of "heroes and heroines of American democracy," and reprints of historical documents that are the "great charters of American democracy."

The book unabashedly celebrates old-fashioned virtue and patriotism. One section entitled "A Golden Treasury for the Citizen" offers passages suitable for memorization by children. This NEA civics handbook embraces "the creation of national unity" and "Americanization" as explicit tasks for the public schools. The book states, "It is important that people who are to live and work together shall have a common mind -- a like heritage of purpose, religious ideals, love of country, beauty, and wisdom to guide and inspire them."

Numerous Old and New Testament selections are included, including the Ten Commandments and the Lord*s Prayer. The Golden Rule, the Boy Scout oath, national songs and uplifting poems appear along with geography facts and a household budget.

"The American Citizens Handbook" is a stunning contrast to the radical resolutions adopted by the NEA at its convention this year. In one comical action by the 2005 NEA convention, the delegates defeated New Business Item #1 calling for conducting a "survey of members and potential members to determine the extent which NEA resolutions affect membership."

Apparently, NEA members don't want to know how hurtful these radical resolutions are to their own membership. It's no wonder that NEA membership is not increasing.

Nothing better to do, . . . . (than make you think!)

The Washington Post's Mensa International Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the English dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing of one letter, and supply a new definition.

Here are this year's {2005} winners:

1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.

2. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

3. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

5. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stop bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

6. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.

7. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

9. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

10. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.

11. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

12 Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

13. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

14. Glibido: All talk and no action.

15. Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

16. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

17. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

18. Caterpallor (n): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you are eating.

Enjoy your Sunday, knowing I'm out there, working my tail off, to earn a living, . . . .

God Bless,
Dan'L