I got back to my apartment last night and it was around 50 degrees. I thought the gas had gone out because there was no pilot light. I finally determined that for some mysterious reason, the pilot light blew out. I relit it and waited for the apartment to get warm.

Well, the pilot light went out again. I got a wood skewer and lit it, pointing it towards the pilot light. Well, don’t you know it, the main gas kicked on at that moment. Let’s go over this again. I have a stick with fire on it, in the area where a flammable gas is coming out in copious amounts.

There was a soft woomph, followed by a Ka-WOOSH, and a big tongue of flame came out and licked my face like a big St. Bernard. Finally, a big *BANG* that rattled the furnace and me too. A whole bunch of soot shot out all over me and the floor.

Thanks be to God that I didn’t even have a singed hair, and beyond having to clean out my shorts I was fine. I had the sensation of the flame on my face and in my nose for the rest of the night to remind me just what I had been through.

I thought you could use the laugh. And the warning.

As always, Friday is VDH day. Please read The Mind of Our Enemies.

Things in the Middle East are hard precisely because the stakes there are gargantuan. But so are the rewards: The sanctuaries and patrons of murderers, suicide bombers, and terrorists are shrinking with the destruction of the Taliban and Saddam Hussein. Autocracies like Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Syria are terrified of consensual government in Iraq precisely because they are aware of its implications for their own deprived citizens.

Read it all.

Congress is getting ready to drag the CIA over the coals for not being right about Iraq’s WMD.
Hill Probers Fault Iraq Intelligence.

While the CIA is getting all of the blame, it should be Bill Clinton who has to answer these questions. Along with his massive cutbacks of the military, Clinton also cut back HUMINT (Human Intelligence) for the CIA. HUMINT is actual agents on the ground in said countries. These assets take years to develop. Clinton looked at it as a prosecutor would, as in the manner that these sources be from trustworthy people. You just can’t have it that way in the real world of clandestine intelligence. You get your best information from the people in the middle of everything, and those are the people doing evil. You take that information and cross check it against other sources to make sure that the information is correct.

The committees, working separately for the past seven months, have determined that the CIA relied too heavily on circumstantial, outdated intelligence and became overly dependent on satellite and spy-plane imagery and communications intercepts.

That is all they had to work with, because that was all they had, courtesy of Clinton.

It is much better to have a false positive than a false negative. I would rather have said and acted on the belief that Saddam had WMD when he really didn’t, rather than say he didn’t when he really did.

Rep. Porter J. Goss (R-Fla.), …said…”Did the analysts fumble? I don’t think so. They just didn’t have enough pieces of the puzzle.”

Again, no HUMINT to give the real picture.

My internet connection was out from before I got up until I left to see the family. I just got back and it’s up, but now I am backed up with other research, so no time for witty remarks today. Maybe one tonight if I can make time.

Sorry.

I am serious when it comes to core values, because our core values (or lack thereof) defines who we are.

But there are also other things that define us, namely our sense of humor. Mine is somewhat…odd to say the least. Which is why I like Despair.com

I’m sure you’ve seen these hanging in your office or workplace somewhere. The breathtaking picture, the inspiring quotation. These are called Successories. I present to you Demotivators:

This really disheartens me. In Online Auctions, Misspelling in Ads Often Spells Cash.

This is the story about people who misspell words when trying to sell them on eBay and other on-line auction houses. But I see this all the time when reading my message boards. People who don’t care how they spell, simply because they didn’t put enough time into re-reading what they wrote and checking for errors.

Myself, I am a terrible speller. While I have a voluminous vocabulary, actually spelling the words is sometimes a challenge. That’s why I run every thing I write through a spell checker. Whenever I post to my message boards, no matter how long or short the message, the software provides a spell checking option and I am all too happy to take advantage of it. Every post here is spell checked twice, and words not in this dictionary are confirmed at dictionary.com.

When I see writing that is misspelled, bad grammar, IM language (or all three), I deduct 20 IQ points from the message. If the author does not take the time to care and make sure that they are clearly communicating what they are trying to say, why should I care about what they are trying to say?

I know English is one of the most complex languages on the planet. There, their and they’re. To, too and two. Lose and loose. And the list goes on. The bad news is I see this kind of stuff increasing every day.

Make sure your kids learn the proper application of the language, it will make a deep difference in their life. People who clearly communicate make it a lot further in the world than those who don’t. It doesn’t matter what the message is, even garbage will make it a lot further correctly spelled and proper grammar over a superior idea that isn’t clearly communicated.

ABC’s Stossel Condemns Networks for Hostility to Conservatives talks about the rampant left-wing bias present in the mainstream media today.

“Leftist thinking is just the culture that I live in and the culture the reporters who populate the mainstream media live in,” he said. “Everybody just agrees: more safety regulation, gun control, higher taxes. Who could not want that? Everybody around here wants that. Anyone who disagrees is seen as not just wrong but selfish and cruel. If I try to discuss this with my peers, I get blank stares.”

He added, “The press is so filled with hatred for capitalism that someone who advocates for free markets rather than government control is a conservative and a problem.”

As you can plainly see, I am not “just wrong,” for my conservative views, but selfish and cruel as well. I cannot compete against that. There is no room to agree to disagree. The only consensus that can be reached is on their terms.

We cannot destroy Liberalism, we can only defeat it every day. We must bring the facts to the people and let them make up their own minds. Once someone has taken on the religion of Liberalism (and it has been talked about it here there is not a lot you can do. The very definition of belief is belief despite facts to the contrary. All we can do is rescue the unconverted before they get in too deep.

I wrote about this kid who started a Conservative Club at his school. I even entertained the notion to advertise in his newsletter. I’m glad I didn’t. Teenager’s Conservative Club Causes Uproar.

The kid has made some rather inflammatory statements that do not belong with (at least my) Conservative viewpoint.

In the newsletter, Bueler calls for a crackdown on “every Muhammad, Jamul and Jose who wishes to leave his third world state to come to America, mostly illegally.”

This country was founded on immigration. We are the only country where everybody else wants to come. I respect that desire. You can be an American anywhere in the world, as long as you want to be free to do what you want to do, and are willing to sacrifice your life for that ideal.

Bueler defended his inflammatory rhetoric, saying: “We feel that liberalism is a mental disorder and they attack family, faith and country and military. And these are bullies we’re dealing with and we need to fight against them and this is why we’ve come out so strong.”

I do not condone this. I have been accused of my Conservatism stemming from my mental illness and it just isn’t true. The United States is a wonderful place because you are free to express your views. You may be wrong, but you are free to be wrong without the police busting down your door in the middle of the night to drag you away to a mass grave.

You refute Liberals by confronting them with facts. The bad news is the true Liberals will ignore the truth when it’s staring them in the face. The best you can do is convince the (small L) liberals who are following because of cute soundbites or the conviction that they “are doing the right thing.”

Liberals will always attack “family, faith and country and military.” That’s part of their job description. I wouldn’t have it any other way. It keeps me and other Conservatives on our toes.

I posted on this last Monday, and I am continuing the listing of my core values.

If you don’t have rock-solid core values, things that you never violate, then what can be said about you?

You should be proud to post your core values on your wall where everybody can see them. But coming up with them is not easy. This is where I aim to help. I posted one of my core values last week, here is another.

Be Responsible.

Do the right thing. When faced with a decision, it is necessary to make it. When choosing options, look for the one that does the most good. This can be determined by the difficulty of the option. The best choice will most likely be the hardest road to take. The easy choice might have short-term gains, but it will most likely have long-term negative consequences. Avoid that at all cost.

More next week.

I found this article in the NY Post, Teachers Cheat.

“I’m sorry if it’s shocking for laymen to hear. Scrubbing is something we do to help the kids get their asses out of high school,” a Manhattan English teacher said unapologetically.

At least this teacher had the guts to say it, but had to do it anonymously.

This is what really scared me:

“The students of the school benefit because they pass. The school benefits because the pass rate is up,” said a Staten Island high-school staffer, who, like others, requested anonymity.

The students do not benefit if they are passed when they are really sub-standard. It makes the teachers and school system look good, but it hurts the student because they don’t have the full tools the school system says they have.

All it does is turn out another adult who has a wonderful level of self-esteem, but not much else beyond that. Which is not what the American job market is looking for. They are looking for people who have a good grounding in math and the ability to think analytically. They look for people who have a command of the language and are able to effectively communicate their thoughts by spoken word and on paper.

Too bad the workforce doesn’t get what it needs.

I had a major attack yesterday, 3 hours of crying, whimpering, rocking, banging my head, etc. My thoughts were out of control and whipping around like a merry-go-round at 100 miles per hour.

During these episodes, when my mind and body are overwhelmed, one of the thoughts that bounce around is, “Is this really happening to me? Can I control this, or am I just weak? Why can’t I be like John Nash and control my “mental illness” through willpower alone?”

I certainly feel weak and ineffective. I can’t control my own thoughts, and I must punish my body to give me something to hold on to in the maelstrom of my mind.

I used to be the master of my fate. Great things lay before me, and any setbacks were caused by my own recklessness and not anybodies malicious intent. I had a social life, I had a lot of friends, I used to do things. I had a wife and son.

Now, I am but a shadow of myself, afraid to even look at myself in the mirror. I have no social life outside of MW:DA, most of my friends and the people I interact with share my illness and I have no family to be with me. I am at best a visitor in my own home.

It is thoughts like these that make me want to hurt myself. It is the frustration that I am stuck where I am, frozen in place, unable to advance and nowhere to fall back to but death.

Sorry about the doom and gloom. The questions asked were mostly rhetorical. I know I am doing the best that I can under the circumstances. I am in this condition because my brain chemicals are severely out of whack and I am not “weak” for being unable to control what goes on in my brain. I am unable to advance my life because not only am I not ready to do so, but the welfare of my family comes first. As long as my family is dependent upon me for income, I can’t advance my life.

It’s hard to just sit here and know what I would have been If I had not sought help for a problem that wasn’t a problem. That a bottle of little pills ruined my life and future, a life that I will probably never get back.

Thanks for listening.

Poor May Not Be So Poor, After All

According to a recent study by the Heritage Foundation (search), 46 percent of the technically “poor” live in their own homes, most with more living space than the average person in Paris, London or Vienna. While 73 percent own at least one car, 30 percent own two or more, and 76 percent have air conditioning. Also, according to the study, 65 percent have a washing machine, 97 percent have a color TV and 78 percent have a DVD player or VCR.

I am most certainly considered poor, as I only make $800 a month. But for that money, I have a TV and VCR, a computer and a cable modem hookup for it. I can eat three meals a day and I live in a clean apartment. I even manage to sock some money away every month into savings.

While I might be poor according to some government bureaucrat, my life is comfortable and stable. I am not rich, but I do not live in squalor. I am lucky for my luxury and I am thankful for it.

I am saddened this day. Captain Kangaroo Dies at 76.

I was one of the millions of children who spent time with him and was wonderfully entertained. He didn’t talk down to us, everything wasn’t coated sugary-sweet. He treated us with respect, and I shall miss the man greatly.

Good Night Bob.

This article is a thoughtful read, Success of GOP Stifles Conservatism

It’s an article about how the GOP isn’t as Conservative as they purport themselves to be. And I believe it to be true.

Veteran conservatives are reminding the White House that, as one of them puts it, “the Republican Party did not empower the conservative movement. The conservative movement empowered the Republican Party.”

While Bush is wrong on a myriad of subjects such as immigration and spending, he is the best person for the job as far as the war on terrorism goes.

No candidate is perfect in all areas, they can’t be. There are too many special interest groups that will raise holy hell about him “abandoning” them because he doesn’t follow what they are saying.

I had a weird Geometry teacher in high school. Time and space does not allow me to delve into her weirdness, except for this: As a young lady, she was faced with three marriage prospects. She made a list of what she wanted and didn’t want in a husband. She gave points for the wants, took away points for the didn’ts and married the guy with the highest total. While you might marvel at her analytical approach to love, you have to admit it’s not a standard way of doing things. By the way, it worked. She had been married for over 10 years and two kids when I knew her.

While there are a good amount of single-issue voters, the majority picks who they vote for the same way as my Geometry teacher. It may not be quite as analytical, but the same principle applies.

This time on Better or Worse?:Should we believe the gloom of the Democrats?

And what about the locus of our purported catastrophe in Iraq? We cannot even compare the sniping, however wretched, to missiles raining across borders, no-fly zones, broken armistices, ignored U.N. mandates, U.N.-introduced food embargoes, massive foreign invasions, bounties awarded for suicide killings, genocide, destruction of the environment, and looting of oil revenues to buy imported weaponry. For all the chaos we supposedly created, we no longer have mass graves, but instead Shiites demonstrating for democratic elections and Kurds hammering out plans for a federal state. Instead of Baathists slaughtering students, the current controversy is whether to depose Saddamites from university faculties. And the full effect of the war remains to be seen, when the neighbors of Iraq will watch in horror at free elections and debates. It isn’t easy there, but when or where has the creation of civilization in place of barbarism ever been effortless?

As always, read the whole thing.