Sympathy Post....Sort of

(click photo to enlarge)

See that little girl with the bag on her arm? That's the daughter of the Mrs. and yours truly, she's Daniella, swimming in the Pacific Ocean off of Guayabito's Beach just north Puerto Vallarta. Just 10 minutes before they were to leave the town of Tequila for Guayabito's Beach, Daniella fell off a chair and broke her wrist..... still went. Last July as we were making the annual trip to Tequila, Daniella fell from her bed and broke her same arm just above the elbow. 3 weeks after her cast was removed and 1 week before we went to Puerto Lobo's south of Rocky Point, she fell out of our van and broke her leg. 3 straight vacations, 3 straight broken bones! She's a trooper.......with brittle bones.....Dr. time.

See the gentleman holding her? That's El Negro, mi suegro, Cap'n México and all around Renaissance Man.

See that little guy rubbing his eyes and experiencing salt water for the first time? That's the next Brian Urlacher, my 3 year old boy Derrek.

Been on a Bender Lately......

.........the working kind, it's all good.

Placing your political career in front of your nations security and future is what they're all about........read here.

excerpt:

Democratic Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina admitted that he is worried that the Surge may work in Iraq and ruin Democratic Party plans to impose a timetable for a surrender. Clyburn is the Majority Whip — No. 3 man in the House — and he said that if Gen. Petraeus has a positive report in September that would be “a real big problem for us” (Democrats).

That's real leadership I tell 'ya..

National Review has a nice symposium......here.

VDH has an excerpt from the above.......

"The irony is that should President Bush endure the hysteria and furor and prove able to give the gifted Gen. Petraeus the necessary time — and I think he will — his presidency could still turn out to be Trumanesque, once we digest the changes in Europe, the progress on North Korea, the end of both the Taliban and Saddam, and the prevention of another 9/11 attack. How odd that all the insider advice to triangulate — big spending, new programs, uninspired appointments, liberal immigration reform — have nearly wrecked the administration, and what were once considered its liabilities — foreign policy, the war on terror and Iraq — may still save it."

Today in History....July 31

On this day in …


* 1777, the Marquis de Lafayette, a 19-year-old French nobleman, was
made a major-general in the American Continental Army

* 1919, Germany's Weimar Constitution was adopted by the republic's
National Assembly

* 1945, Pierre Laval, premier of the pro-Nazi Vichy government,
surrendered to U.S. authorities in Austria; he was turned over to
France, which later tried and executed him

* 1948, President Harry Truman helped dedicate New York
International Airport (later John F. Kennedy International Airport)
at Idlewild Field

* 1957, the Distant Early Warning Line, a system of radar stations
designed to detect Soviet bombers approaching North America, went
into operation

* 1964, the American space probe Ranger VII transmitted pictures of
the moon's surface

* 1972, Democratic vice-presidential candidate Thomas Eagleton
withdrew from the ticket with George McGovern following disclosures
Eagleton had once undergone psychiatric treatment

* 1987, Iranian pilgrims and riot police clashed in the Muslim holy
city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, resulting in some 400 deaths,
according to the Saudi government, which blamed the Iranians for the
violence

* 1991, President George Bush and Soviet President Mikhail S.
Gorbachev signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in Moscow

* 1997, in Brooklyn, N.Y., police seized five bombs believed bound
for terrorist attacks on New York City subways by practitioners of
that "religion of peace"

* 2002, a bomb exploded by practitioners of that "religion of
peace" inside a cafeteria at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem,
kills nine people, including five Americans

* 2006, Cuban President Fidel Castro temporarily ceded power to his
brother, Raul, after gastrointestinal surgery

Today in History....July 27

On this day in …


* 1789, President Washington signed a measure establishing the Department of Foreign Affairs, forerunner of the Department of State

* 1794, French revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre was overthrown and placed under arrest; he was executed the following day

* 1861, Union Gen. George B. McClellan took command of the Army of the Potomac

* 1866, Cyrus W. Field finally succeeded, after two failures, in laying the first underwater telegraph cable between North America and Europe

* 1953, the Korean War armistice was signed at Panmunjom, ending three years of fighting

* 1967, in the wake of urban rioting, President Lyndon Johnson appointed the Kerner Commission to assess the causes of the violence, the same day black militant H. Rap Brown said in Washington that violence was "as American as cherry pie."

* 1974, the House Judiciary Committee voted 27-11 to recommend President Nixon's impeachment on a charge that he had personally engaged in a "course of conduct" designed to obstruct justice in the Watergate case

* 1980, on day 267 of the Iranian hostage crisis, the deposed Shah of Iran died at a military hospital outside Cairo, Egypt, at age 60

* 1996, terror struck the Atlanta Olympics as a pipe bomb exploded at Centennial Olympic Park, killing one person and injuring 111.
(Anti-government extremist Eric Rudolph later pleaded guilty to the
bombing.)

* 1997, United Auto Workers approved a deal to end a six-day strike at a General Motors parts plant that forced four assembly plant shutdowns and threatened GM's entire North American production

* 2006, Floyd Landis' stunning Tour de France victory just four days earlier was thrown into question when he tested positive for high levels of testosterone during the race (Landis has denied cheating)

Today in History....July 26

On this day in …


* 1775, Benjamin Franklin became Postmaster-General

* 1945, Winston Churchill resigned as Britain's prime minister after his Conservatives were soundly defeated by the Labour Party.
(Clement Attlee became the new prime minister.)

* 1947, President Truman signed the National Security Act, creating the Department of Defense, the National Security Council, the CIA and the Joint Chiefs of Staff

* 1952, King Farouk I of Egypt abdicated in the wake of a coup led by Gamal Abdel Nasser

* 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal

* 1956, the Italian liner Andrea Doria sank off New England, 11 hours after colliding with the Swedish liner Stockholm; at least 51 people died

* 1971, Apollo 15 was launched from Cape Kennedy

* 1986, kidnappers in Lebanon, practitioners of that "religion of peace", released the Rev. Lawrence Martin Jenco, an American hostage held for nearly 19 months

* 2002, the Republican-led House voted, 295-132, to create an enormous Homeland Security Department, the biggest government reorganization in decade

* 2006, in a dramatic turnaround from her first murder trial, a jury in Houston found Andrea Yates not guilty by reason of insanity in the drowning of her children in the bathtub; she was committed to a state mental hospital. ALSO: A thinner but combative Saddam Hussein returned to his trial for the first time since his hunger strike and hospitalization.

Why Haven’t Democrats Taken Better Advantage Over the Anger at a Lame-duck Republican President?

For this answer, let's hear it from the man.......and frequent dinner guest at my home Mr. Victor Davis Hanson .........well not quite frequent......actually he's never been to the Gringo pad.....but Mr. Hanson, if you ever come across my blog, I've got a R/T airfare and some fine Méxican food waiting for you right here in the Valley of the Sun..........Phoenix, AZ.

First, things are not quite as bad as they first look. Americans are frustrated over Iraq, but not quite sure that we can precipitously leave—or that Iraq won’t be stabilized.

Last year the Democrats wanted new tactics, more troops, a change in command, and a new defense secretary—and got all that with the surge, Sec. Gates and Gen. Petraeus. If the Sunni insurgents of Anbar keep turning on al Qaeda, and the government can achieve some compromises—Iraq could devolve into something like present-day Afghanistan: messy and an irritant, but far better than the alternative of either a Taliban theocracy or Saddam-like dictatorship.

For all the shrill rhetoric about the excesses of wiretaps, the Patriot Act, renditions, and Guantanamo, the Democrats for now won’t end these security measures. It’s hard, after all, to complain too much when al Qaeda hasn’t attacked us in six years. House Speaker Pelosi didn’t help the Democrats’ case by flying to meet with Bashar Assad, the Syrian dictator who helps terrorists to murder democratic reformers from Lebanon to Iraq.

On the economic front even with climbing gas and food prices, overall inflation remains relatively low. So is unemployment. There are no longer cries of a “jobless recovery.” Interest rates are tolerable. The stock market has reached all-time highs. Most displeasure is over others doing better, rather than not doing well yourself.

Illegal immigration is still a hot button issue. But recent beefed-up enforcement, some economic progress in Mexico, and worries about deportation have made it harder to cross the border. And the public is optimistic that there will be a lot more, not less, border enforcement.

And Something Else…

There is a second reason why the Democrats should be careful. Most of the corrections for Mr. Bush’s perceived mistakes are not necessarily liberal ones. A lot of anger over the war—the first pullback from Fallujah, the reprieve given Moqtada Sadr, the restrictive rules of engagement—is voiced from the political Right: talking loudly while carrying a small stick.

Ditto the nature of criticism of the economy. Americans don’t want new federal programs, higher taxes and more spending. Instead, they fault the Bush administration for its vast new entitlements, bloated budgets, and growing national debt. Again, the outrage comes mostly from conservatives.

On immigration, most Americans want a fence, strict enforcement of the law and more security. Hot-button issues like amnesty and guest workers can come later. In other words, the recent Bush immigration reform legislation, backed by most Democrats, was seen as too lax rather than restrictive.

In sum, most voters wanted President Bush to give the military more leeway on Iraq, balance the budget, and close the border. And they still can’t quite decide whether a Rudy Giuliani or Hillary Clinton would be more likely to do what the President did not.


So what will determine the next election? If Sen. Clinton or another Democrat can make the case that George Bush was too directionless on Iraq, spent too much money, and left the border wide open, she will probably win. But if Iraq calms down and Gen. Petraeus succeeds, while Sen. Clinton and others call for more taxes, more programs, amnesty, etc. then they will achieve the unlikely: three continuous Republican administrations.

This Date in Military History - July 25

anwsers in comments section

Question #1
On July 25th, 1866, who became the first man to be given the title 'General of the Army of the United States'?

William Sherman
Philip Sheridan
Ulysses Grant
Winfield Scott
George McClellan

Question #2
The July 25, 1814 Battle of Lundy's Lane was fought near what famous natural wonder?

Grand Canyon
Niagara Falls
Everglades
Yosemite Valley
Smoky Mountains

Question #3
Israel launched 'Operation Accountability' on July 25, 1993 against what neighboring country?

Syria
Jordan
Egypt
Lebanon
Iraq

Today in History....July 25

On this day in …


* 1866, Ulysses S. Grant was named General of the Army of the United States, the first officer to hold the rank

* 1868, Congress passed an act creating the Wyoming Territory

* 1943, Benito Mussolini was dismissed as premier of Italy by Victor Emmanuel III, and placed under arrest. (However, Mussolini was later rescued by the Nazis, ym"sh, and reasserted his authority.)

* 1946, the U.S. detonated an atomic bomb near Bikini Atoll in the Pacific in the first underwater test of the device

* 1952, Puerto Rico became a self-governing commonwealth of the U.S.

* 1956, the Italian liner Andrea Doria collided with the Swedish passenger ship Stockholm off the New England coast late at night and began sinking; at least 51 people were killed. (The Andrea Doria sank the following day, eleven hours after the crash.)

* 1963, the U.S., Soviet Union and Britain initialed a treaty in Moscow prohibiting the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, in space or underwater

* 1994, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin and Jordan's King Hussein signed a declaration at the White House ending their countries' 46-year-old formal state of war

* 1997, K.R. Narayanan was sworn in as India's president, becoming the first member of the "untouchable" Dalits caste to do so

* 2000, a New York-bound Air France Concorde crashed outside Paris shortly after takeoff, killing all 109 people on board and four people on the ground; it was the first-ever crash of the supersonic jet

* 2002, encouraged by a tapping sound coming up from the depths, rescuers in Somerset, Pa., brought in a huge drill in a race to save nine coal miners trapped 240 feet underground by a flooded shaft.
ALSO: Zacarias Moussaoui declared he was guilty of conspiracy in the Sept. 11 attacks, then dramatically withdrew his plea at his arraignment in Alexandria, Va.

* 2005, Israeli troops sealed off a Hezbollah stronghold and widened their control of southern Lebanon. ALSO: President Bush was visited at the White House by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who said he and Bush agreed that training and better arming Iraqi forces as quickly as possible was central to efforts to stabilizing his country

Bad News for Dems: The Surge Is Working

Don’t miss this report from an area in Baghdad where the troop surge has already worked, by Michael J. Totten: In the Wake of the Surge.

In related news..............

Democrats are in a panic over progress in Iraq.

Today's Military Trivia

Today's Trivia Subject: Famous Military Quotes (answers in Comments section)

Question #1
Who said, "A pint of sweat will save a gallon of blood"?

Ulysses Grant
Andrew Jackson
George Marshall
George Patton
George Washington

Question #2
Who said, "If there is one thing a dogface loves, it is artillery -- his own"?

Omar Bradley
Dwight Eisenhower
Chesty Puller
Audie Murphy
William Westmoreland

Question #3
Who said, "I never knew what to do with a paper except to put it in a side pocket or pass it to a clerk who understood it better than I did"?

Braxton Bragg
Don Carlos Buell
Ambrose Burnside
Abner Doubleday
Ulysses Grant

I'll resume my regular "Today in History" feature tomorrow as well as my Military Trivia feature......just been a 'wee bit busy lately.

A True Winner

A True Whiner

Today's Military History Trivia

Answers in Commenst section

Question #1

Shakespeare's play Richard III dramatizes the dynastic intrigues of the English monarchy during what war?

Seven Years' War
Hundred Years War
Norman Conquest
War of the Roses
Glorious Revolution

Question #2

From what Shakespeare play does the line, "Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war" come from?

Julius Caesar
Hamlet
Richard III
Macbeth
King Lear

Question #3

The play Henry V culminates with the English victory over the French at what battle of the Hundred Years' War?

Crécy
Poitiers
Orleans
Sluys
Agincourt

Bat Ye'or On The Evil Of Islam

From FrontPageMag

Since Muhammad was a prophet, a legislator and a war leader, legislation and politics are united in the service of the religious expansion and domination of Islam. The ultimate goal is to impose Islamic rule over the whole world. In this perspective, Muslim political doctrine divides the world into two eternal enemies: the land of Islam (dar al-Islam) and the land of war (dar al-harb) inhabited by the infidels which must – in the end – be conquered by Islam. Between them no peace is possible, but only temporary truces in case Muslims are too weak to conquer them. This is the doctrine of jihad which is a comprehensive legal system of war based on theology that regulates every aspect of Muslim behaviour toward non-Muslims. Jihad is a religious duty incumbent on Muslims, individually and collectively, and this is preached regularly by imams in sermons worldwide.

Jihad covers several fields: military actions, terrorism, abductions, ransoming, enslavement, and armistice conditions, the jihad by the pen – that is to say, propaganda – and the jihad of the hearts, which means corruption. Jihad has been waged for thirteen centuries against non-Muslims and huge geographical areas have been conquered and their population subdued, enslaved, deported or massacred. The non-Muslim population targeted by jihad is given a choice: conversion to Islam or the payment of a ransom to the Muslim authority and recognition of its sovereignty. If they refuse both they will face war. After a land has been conquered and its population accepts to submit and pay a tribute for its security this population becomes a dhimmi people. It is “protected” by a pact of submission, called the dhimma. Protected from what? From the jihad onslaught. Non-Muslims dhimmis are protected only as long as they pay the tribute, which is a poll-tax, and submit to oppressive and discriminatory shari’a regulations.

Islamic law covers the rights and obligations of dhimmis in great details. This has been the subject of my research. I call dhimmitude the Islamic system of governing the non-Muslim peoples subjected by jihad. This system is linked to jihad and like jihad it is a theological, political and legal institution. Dhimmitude is, in fact, the peaceful continuation of jihad because it is dhimmitude that destroyed the massive non-Muslim majorities that were conquered.

It is Bat Ye'or's opinion that we are now living in a period of reactivated jihad and dhimmitude and that this has become self-evident to even the most skeptical observer.

New Feature On Joe Gringo....Daily Military Trivia

Answers in comments section


1. On July 19, 1979, the Sandinista army ended the Somoza family's 43-year hold on power when it entered what country's capital city?

El Salvador
Guatemala
Nicaragua
Costa Rica
Belize

2. The British Navy defeated the Italian Navy at the July 19, 1940 Battle of Cape Spada. What island is Cape Spada located on?

Cyprus
Crete
Sardinia
Sicily
Corsica


3. Lady Jane Grey -- after authorities ruled that her ascension to the throne was illegal -- was replaced on July 19, 1553 as England's sovereign by what female monarch?

Mary I (Bloody Mary)
Mary Queen of Scots
Elizabeth I
Matilda
Victoria

Only 3 more....., not too worry, it won't last long...... Go A-Rod!

Is The Surge Working? An Interview With General Petraeus

Heard this on the way home yesterday on Hugh Hewitt , Iraq is not a breeding ground for terrorists, but a burying ground. General Petraeus, from Hugh's interview with him yesterday, read it and pass it on.

**Joe Gringo Exclusive**

Global Warming Is For Realsies! Been going on for 400,000+ years. Oh that Algore........ he 'shore is something.

Yep, the cavemen are the downfall of our civilization, with their fires and everything.... melting glaciers and all, thanks guys, you Geico dudes had it coming to you.

Melting glacier causes flood.

A flood of biblical proportions cut the British Isles off from mainland Europe sometime between 450,000 and 200,000 years ago, according to a new study.

The research, based on three-dimensional sonar mapping of the English Channel, provides the strongest evidence yet that a catastrophic megaflood broke a land bridge that once connected what is now Britain and France.
"It is probably one of the largest floods ever identified," said Phillip Gibbard, a geographer at the University of Cambridge who wasn't involved in the study.
At its peak, the flood would have discharged water at a rate of about 264 million gallons (a million cubic meters) a second, gushing at speeds of up to 62 miles (100 kilometers) an hour, the researchers say. This is roughly equivalent to ten times the combined flow rate of all the rivers in the world.
...
The flood also marooned many animals and plants, so those species gradually evolved into different forms than their mainland cousins.
And humans appear to have avoided the newly made island altogether, leaving it unoccupied for over a hundred thousand years.
...
The great flood could help explain why Britain remained an uninhabited region for a large chunk of the archaeological record.
"There seems to be a large gap in the evidence for human occupation [of Britain] during cold and warm phases from about 180,000 until about 60,000 years ago," said Nicholas Ashton, an archaeologist at the British Museum in London.
...
"It wasn't until 60,000 years ago," Ashton said, "that humans—late Neanderthals—had the technological capabilities, such as more effective clothing and shelter, to survive the cold conditions."

The Religion of Baking Children

This is a new one, not the article from Michael Yon a few days ago, though it is linked.

It turns out that the recent case of an Iraqi boy being baked by al-Qaeda and "served" to his parents is a repeat performance of what Muhammad's own companions had done.

Officials with the Barnabas Fund, an international Christian group working to help persecuted Christians, particularly those in Muslim-majority contexts, then confirmed Yon's report aligns with one of their own reports about such an atrocity.
And a researcher for the Barnabas Fund cites what he says is the foundation for such barbarism.
The researcher said the story is common to history books that include the story of Mohammed ibn Abu Bekre, a contemporary of Muhammad. The connections are these: Mohammad ibn Abu Bekre was the son of Abu Bekre, the first adult male to believe in Muhammad. Mohammad ibn Abu Bekre also is the brother of Aisha, Muhammad's 9-year-old wife.

The history stories recount, according to the Barnabas Fund researcher: "When Abu Bekre divorced the mother of his son Mohammed, Ali (the fourth Caliph) took her as a wife. Later Ali as Caliph appointed his stepson and the son of Abu Bekre, the brother of Aisha, the beloved wife of the prophet, as the governor of Egypt."

However, after five months, a rival Caliph army invaded Egypt to take it back from Ali, and they killed Mohammed ibn Abu Bekre, the history books say.

"Then they put his body (corpse) in a dead donkey, then they roasted the donkey and sent it as a gift to Aisha," the history books say. "From that day on Aisha never ate roasted food."

The researcher said this specific information comes from Ibn Kathir's history book, "al Bidayah wa-Nihaya," but the story is common to Islamic history books if they include a reference to Mohammed ibn Abu Bekre.

A Christian website, Muslim Hope, also documents the story with minor variations. In this version, Mohammed ibn Abu Bekre was executed, and the body then was put "in the carcass of a donkey, and then burned."

Robert Spencer of JihadWatch told WND the account is from Islamic tradition.
"He was put in the skin of a dead donkey and burned," he said. "It is absolutely true [that the events are part of Islamic history]."

The Barnabas Fund said its sources inside Iraq confirmed "a toddler was kidnapped in Baghdad in October 2006. The mother could not afford to pay the ransom, and so the kidnappers killed the child. They returned the body to the mother. The little child had been beheaded, roasted and was served on a mound of rice."

Nice. Read the entire article...Baking Children, A Muslim Tradition

Joe Mensa.....Thought of the Day, Tomorrow and Everyday

Coming from Bill Kristol, this is stuff we love to hear...."Why Bush will be a winner.

His biggest pitfall now is the myopic push in Congress to abandon the Iraqi people, betray 3,500 American war dead, and endanger our national security, the lives of millions in the region, and the lives of future Americans in the wars that will ultimately follow a rapid withdrawal. Failure and disaster induced by Congress will be ascribed to him.

h/t Jules Crittenden

Meet Grant Austin Taylor

Uh....this kid has a future

SRV lives on.........12 yrs. old? Wow.

You best make it past 1 minute 30.

Good chance won't post again until next monday, may skin one out, taking the Mrs. and the little Joe's to Tequila, Jalisco via the old school travel means...........as in driving......a smooth 1300 miles into the teeth of the Sierra Madres in the state of Jalisco, leaving tomorrow around 3pm. Then fly back monday noon, they'll stay for a month, I'll fly back down August 3rd stay for a week and we make the drive back. I'll have some cool photo's, etc

Michael Moore/Cindy Sheehan Freedom Fighters Kill 13 Schoolchildren

Yet another suicide bombing- this time, on a NATO patrol in a marketplace.

The bomber struck around 9 a.m., when children usually arrive at a nearby primary school for a second shift of classes. Schools in Afghanistan often serve three rotations of students.

"Some of the children were walking to school while other children were selling goods in the market," said Gen. Abdul Qassim Khan, the provincial police chief.

He said the bomber detonated his explosives outside a pharmacy as the Dutch patrol entered the market, a central shopping area for people from nearby villages. Seven shops were destroyed.

Heroes.

h/t Jawa Report

I hate to say it, but I will anyway, a few more incidents like this is just what we may need.

Highly unlikely to happen considering their close ties w/ Iran, but a billion strong Chinese jihad.....or how ever many Chinese they over there nowadays........ would very much help in laying a serious ass-whoopin'.

Feminazi Spaniards at work.....cows running over cows.......man, I'm totally for this.

The Al Gore Jihad

Now that Live Earth has come and gone, what did it accomplish?

Well, it showed us that those who participated have their priorities effed up.

Global warming is the biggest threat we face?

How about the Global War On Terror? If rock singers and TV stars want to do something constructive, why don't they have a series of shows against jihad?

Put together a worldwide benefit/concert/whatever to educate the world and show that Muslims must understand that a death cult has taken root in the heart of their religion, feeding off it like a cancerous tumor...... such as fighting an enemy that bakes children, stuffing their mouths with apples and serving them to their families, decapitates babies, kids, men and women that disagree with their violent idealogy, as Michael Yon reports on "Bless the Beasts and Children".

Sounds good, of course, it ain't gonna happen. They'd rather work themselves into a lather about the ozone layer than confront the number one clear and present danger to our lives.

Quote of the Day

“America gives a better life to the ordinary guy than does any other country. Let’s be honest: rich people live well everywhere. America’s greatness is that it has extended the benefits of affluence, traditionally available to the very few, to a large segment in society. We live in a nation where “poor” people have TV sets and microwave ovens, where construction workers cheerfully spend $4 on a nonfat latte, where maids drive very nice cars, where plumbers take their families on vacation to the Caribbean. Recently I asked an acquaintance in Bombay why he has been trying so hard to relocate to America. He replied, “I really want to move to a country where the poor people are fat.” — Dinesh D’Souza, in his column “What’s So Great About America?”

Tagged

For Zion's Sake got me......... 8+ factoids, things about me:

1). For those who have read my bio, yes I can talk backwards, and pretty fast too. Started when I was about 12 or so, sitting at the dinner table when my dad said..."ssap eht tlas dna reppep.....esaelp", we all looked at other like my dad had flipped, my oldest brother and myself ran with it. When I was on radio station 93.3 KDKB in Phoenix (once weekly stint), got a huge response when I sang "Start Me Up" by the Rolling Stones backwards.

2). Passed the test to obtain PGA players card back when I was a decent golfer, I now play to figure out how to hit the next shot from a rather difficult spot.

3). Along with younger brother, Gringo Grande, invented and designed this.

4). In 1994 I hitch-hiked from central Guadalajara (México) to a town named "La Venta de Astillero", a lady dropped me off there and within 1-2 minutes I boarded a full bus....on this bus is where I met the Mrs.

5). High jumped 6'5" my senior year in high school, went to Boys State my junior year.

6). Pulled a guy from a burning car that was involved in a car accident about 4 years ago. The poor guy's left thigh swelled up twice its size, when he looked down at it, he passed out, don't know what happened to him after the ambulance took him away.

7). Played in the country's first organized Arena Football League (non-pro) as a Wide Receiver and Defensive End.........thank God I tore my cartilidge in my right knee and couldn't finish the season.....there was pain on almost every play.......those boys can hit....and I mean frickin' chickin' HARD!

8). I love to read, hate the hippie world, but dig '70's rock (country and blues as well), would rather drive than fly (hence the drive/trip to México in a few days), always hated dancing in clubs/bars, but like to tango with the Mrs.

Wanted: A Clear Thinking Democrat

Well, we finally have one.

Joe Lieberman lays out the case on Iran, but stops short of painting the full picture. Here’s his take on Iran at WSJ:

Lieberman is the clearest-thinking, most principled Democrat on Capitol Hill, which is why, technically, he isn’t one any more. He lays the case out against Iran well. Here are some things he didn’t say.

Read Jules Crittenden's take here.......

Folks.....Iran isn't interested in peaceful coexistence. Its interests lie in regional domination, and they will use every weapon in their arsenal to achieve it. Lieberman makes the case well in this essay, a must read for all.

Today in History....July 5

On this day in …


* 1811, Venezuela became the first South American country to declare independence from Spain

* 1830, the French occupied the North African city of Algiers

* 1935, President Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Act, which provided for a National Labor Relations Board, and authorized labor to organize for the purpose of collective bargaining

* 1940, during World War II, Britain and the Vichy government in France broke off diplomatic relations

* 1954, Elvis Presley's first commercial recording session took place at Sun Records in Memphis, Tenn.; the song he recorded was "That's All Right (Mama)"

* 1977, Pakistan's army, led by General Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, seized power from President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. (Bhutto was executed in
1979.)

* 1991, a worldwide financial scandal erupted as regulators in eight countries shut down the Bank of Credit and Commerce International

* 1997, NASA scientists brainstormed to fix problems that left Mars Pathfinder's robot rover stuck aboard the lander. ALSO: Cambodia's Second Prime Minister Hun Sen launched a bloody coup that toppled First Prime Minister Norodom Ranariddh

* 2006, North Korea test-fired seven missiles into the Sea of Japan, including at least one believed capable of reaching the U.S.
mainland. ALSO: Enron founder Kenneth Lay, who was facing decades in prison for one of the most sprawling business frauds in U.S.
history, died in Aspen, Colo., at age 64

A cool 117 degrees today here in Phoenix.........."yah, but it's a dry heat".....yah, so is my oven..... when I'm makin' a pizza.

Happy Fourth of July

Some swimmin', some of my nearly famous dry rub BBQ baby back ribs, some brew, some pickin' and tryin' to learn some more on the banjo, some hangin' with the Mrs., the 3 Little Joe's and most of all thankful to live free in the greatest nation on earth!

With Tony Blair Gone.......England Is Done

Gordon Brown has banned ministers from using the word “Muslim” in ­connection with the ­terrorism crisis.

The Prime Minister has also instructed his team – including new Home Secretary Jacqui Smith – that the phrase “war on ­terror” is to be dropped.

How the hell did this guy get into office?:

Where on earth is there leadership to lead the free world? The "leadership?" on the left totally bites, the Republican leadership is anemic, it's just disgusting and pathetic that leaders can't call a spade, a spade.

By far, the ultimate time waster......"I am a moron....watch me count to one million".

The Tiger Woods vs George Strait upate:

Tiger: 57 victories
George Strait: 55 # freakin' One Hits (#55 two days ago)

Today in History....July 3

On this day in …


* 1775, Gen. George Washington took command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Mass.

* 1863, the three-day Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, Pa., ended in a major victory for the North as Confederate troops retreated

* 1898, the U.S. Navy defeated a Spanish fleet in the harbor at Santiago, Cuba, during the Spanish-American War

* 1944, during World War II, Soviet forces recaptured Minsk

* 1962, Algeria became independent after 132 years of French rule

* 1976, Israel launched its daring mission to rescue about a hundred passengers and Air France crew members being held at Entebbe Airport in Uganda by practitioners of that "religion of peace"

* 1987, British millionaire Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand became the first hot-air balloon travelers to cross the Atlantic, jumping into the sea as their craft went down off the Scottish coast

* 1997, Lockheed Martin Corp. announced it was buying Northrop Grumman Corp. for $7.9 billion. (However, the merger fell apart when the Justice Department objected on antitrust grounds.)