Senseless Slaughter

Four dead Marines. An injured police officer. Two others injured. Two shot-up military facilities and another dead terrorist hooking up with his virgins in paradise. Why do I suggest that the shooter might have been an adherent of Islam? His name, just released, is Muhammed Yussef Abdulazeez, age 24, born in Kuwait.

Yes, the U.S. Attorney in Chattanooga has announced that investigators are treating the attacks as "domestic terrorism." I have heard it reported that the FBI will now treat the attacks as domestic terrorism until they know it isn't international. How very decisive of them. I wonder if they had to clear that position with the White House?

As with the slaughter at Ft. Hood, these shootings took place at a "gun free zone."

This absolutely ignorant, patently absurd policy of making military facilities "gun free" must be repealed.

Our military members are trained and trained and trained in the use of firearms! If anyone can safely carry, and take out a rampaging shooter, our military can. Tragically, they now clearly appear to be unarmed sitting ducks for anyone that has access to an App that will locate the 20 nearest "gun-free" commercial zones. Yep, there's an App for that.

Just Google "ISIS tweets warning" and you won't believe the number of links that come up relating to Twitter-delivered threats to the military and American cities. With information like that on hand, there is no question that our military members with the bullseyes painted on their chests need to be armed with sidearms, at the very least.

Rest in peace, brave Marines.

And burn eternally in hellfire, Abdulazeez.

Hillary's Pants Spontaneously Combust Courtesy of Judicial Watch

So. Hillary knew nothing about the Benghazi attacks on September 11, 2012, other than some American film critical of Mohammed caused a few annoying problems in northern Africa.

Not according to documents obtained by Judicial Watch from the Departments of State and Defense. The whole Obama Administration knew something was afoot, and they knew it ten days in advance of the slaughter.

Liar, liar, pants on fire. That's not an attractive look, Ms. Presidential Candidate.

I Wonder What the Prize Will Be?

I. Am. Speechless. And I'm rarely speechless.

When I just heard this news on the radio I really thought someone was quoting an article from The Onion. But no. It seems to be something that's actually going to happen. On the taxpayer's dime.

General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, announced today the establishment of an Essay Contest to honor Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz who passed away last week. This contest will take place at the National Defense University (NDU). Defense.gov reports:

“This is an important opportunity to honor the memory of the king, while also fostering scholarly research on the Arab-Muslim world, and I can think of no better home for such an initiative than NDU,” Dempsey said in a statement announcing the competition.  

The competition will focus on issues related to the Arab-Muslim world and is designed to encourage strategic thinking and meaningful research on a crucial part of the world. The program will be in place at NDU for the next academic year . . .  .

To HONOR a man who reigned over a nation that beheads people and treats women like chattel in the twentieth-first century.

Now, don't get me wrong. I have no objection to NDU students engaging in scholarly research concerning the Middle East or Muslim nations in general. Such endeavors have led to important policy measures in years past about our relations with, and approach to, emerging powers such as Russia, China, and the like. After all, as GI Joe informed us, "Knowing is half the battle."


To do so, however, to "honor the memory" of a beast -- and he was a beast, regardless of his "friendliness" toward the United States -- is distasteful at best, and Lord only knows how bad at worst.

But, should we be surprised by this development?  Remember this?

No envoy to the recent multi-nation march in Paris. No envoy to Margaret Thatcher's funeral. No envoy to the funeral for the first two star general killed in action in Afghanistan. But, Obama cuts short a trip to India to "pay his respects" to this pig. Pay something anyway.

Oh, pardon me. I'm certain the term "pig" is offensive to the deceased.

Good.

AAAAGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's Tuesday

This is more pleasant to contemplate than Muslims, radical or otherwise, or the White House, or GEN Patraeus, or Attorney General Holder. Especially Holder.

Or Ohio State. Shoot -- I just detest Ohio State. Anyway -- stay warm!

There Just Might Be Some Hope Left After All

After yesterday's slaughter in Paris I think we've all been a little numb. We sit here, jaws agape, mind reeling, feeling impotent and violated by the deaths and injuries rendered, yet again, in the name of the Religion of Peace. Unspeakable evil. Today, the City of Lights and the world watched as the Eiffel Tower went dark in honor of the slaughtered.

Pretty moving.  But, wouldn't it have been just a teensy bit wise to arm the Paris gendarmes with something other than bicycles? Ah well. Judge not lest . . .

Anyway. The news today isn't all doom and gloom. No, indeed!  There is very good news on the horizon:  Barbara Boxer will be leaving the Senate after this term!  That tacky, nasty, condescending hypocrite will be slithering out of the Beltway to "go home."  After watching a hysterical video over at Lagniappe's Lair, I recalled a letter I wrote to the Senator a few years back after she stepped in the big middle of a fat faux pas, to-wit:

Senator Barbara Boxer
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

re: Your boorish behavior

Senator:

How high is that horse you're perched upon? What were you thinking when you, with a put-upon and exasperated tone of voice, challenged Brigadier General Michael Walsh's use of the respectful salutation, "ma'am," when addressing you? You stated that you "worked very hard" to acquire the title, "Senator," and preferred that you be addressed by that title. Well, la-ti-dah.

It's clear that you were not reared in a home that practiced and taught common courtesy, much less protocol. Perhaps you should study the State Department's protocol order of preference list, or that of the U.S. Army. In doing so, you would learn that, as a Senator, you outrank the good General in civilian affairs. He was giving honor and respect to you by referring to you as "ma'am," just as he would to a military member who outranked him.

General Walsh was doing your bidding, testifying to provide you with information about Gulf Coast restoration efforts. He was there at the invitation of your committee, so he was, in essence, your guest. Is this how you treat your guests? If so, I'm grateful that I'm merely a member of the great unwashed who will never merit an invitation to see you in action as a hostess; my husband is a retired Army officer, and I might be tempted by training and genteel southern tradition to refer to you as "ma'am." I wouldn't want to offend.

Your behavior, Senator Boxer, is that of the worst kind of feminist. Your behavior is the kind that causes the good ol' boys to smile and shake hands to your face, then laugh and refer to you by derogatory names in the men's room. Your kind of feminism makes it all the more difficult for young women to break into a "man's profession." I should know -- I watched your kind make it all the more difficult for me to gain the respect of my fellow attorneys a generation ago. I thought we, as a society, had grown beyond petty sniping between the sexes.

Or, instead of sexism, is it the military that is the subject of your disdain? Either way, take a breath and think before engaging your mouth.

Sincerely,

I got no reply, but I did get a blog post out of it!  So, when I saw this video, I chuckled all the harder:


Priceless. I can't wait to see her in the rear view.

Overload. Heading to the Deck.

So.

Human jackals are looting the crash site of the MalaysianAir passenger plane, shot down with missile fire by who knows.  There is escalated ethnic cleansing of Christians in Iraq by ISIS, without comment from the Obama administration.  On the same day, within hours of one another, two federal Circuit Courts issued conflicting rulings on Obamacare's individual mandate and premium subsidies, thus suggesting an expedited hearing by the Supreme Court on the law's future with a scary, unpredictable CJ Roberts in the fold. And my babiest baby has yet to recover emotionally from having to put her precious pup, Zeus, down.

And, it appears that chipmunks love to devour green cherry tomatoes.  Even those planted in containers. Alvin has ceased to be cute.

Have I mentioned how very peaceful is the view from my back deck when the trees are leafed out?

Thankfully.

Sage Advice

Dog Days heat has snuck up on us. Mid-90s with heat indices in the 105 range. That makes my brain go into sleep mode.

I can't think about the wave of  "migrants" poised at the border. I can't think about Lois Lerner skulking around DC, dodging a Contempt of Congress arrest warrant. I can't think about that guy who occupies 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I can't think about the impending robo-call onslaught that's getting ready to crank up for the mid-term elections. I can't think about the colossal number of days we have left before football season. I'm glad I don't have to think about World Cup soccer anymore for four years (seriously, have you ever seen a wienier trophy?). I can't think about Mysti maybe being expecting. I can't think about having to squeeze into a swimsuit next week.

So, I guess I'll just post something amusing that I stole from Facebook:

Heh.

Murphy Hits it on the Nose -- Obama-centric Foreign Policy

I am so angry and so frightened and so furious about the attacks yesterday on our diplomatic corps -- not to mention the murders of an Ambassador and his staff -- that I am tongue-tied.  I am so angry and so frightened and so furious that those attacks took place on the anniversary of 9/11 that I am red-faced.  So, since I can't clear my head enough to write about the whole thing, go over to Lagniappe's Lair and read Murph's take on those abominable (or perhaps I should say Obamanable) travesties.  Here's a little taste of Murph's post that is so spot on, and so very scary:

The reality is that they know exactly who they are messing with. They know that Barry Obama, for all of his willingness to use the power of the US Government against us citizens here to make us live as he deems proper, would sooner sell his wife and daughters in the Sudanese slave markets than risk making the world muslim community angrier at him personally.  And that last bit is important. Obama doesn't care if the world hates America as a nation; he has gone on record plenty of times hating it, too. Obama doesn't want the world hating him personally. It's always been all about him in his mind and that's how American foreign policy has been conducted since he took office. That's how we got to this point today and why it's only going to get worse for America until he's gone.

That's the heart of the matter, isn't it?  We're living with an Obama-centric foreign policy. 

I fear Israel will get tired of waiting around for the International Atomic Energy Agency to deal with Iran -- especially after being snubbed yet again by the White House -- and take drastic, irremediable action. 

In that case we may as well roll out Dr. Strangelove.

See you in the mineshafts.

The Shaking-My-Head, Not-a-Christmas-Post, Post

I understand that it's not past Thanksgiving yet, but this isn't really a Christmas post.  It's an "I can't believe the lengths some PC people will go to to pander to the religion of peace" post.  Are you ready for this?

The British Red Cross has banned Christmas from its fund-raising shops.  All 430 of them.  Because any celebration of the Christian holy day could offend Muslims.  For real.

This PC nonsense is so dumbfounding that it sucks all the oxygen out of the room.

I mean, seriously, their name is the Red CROSS!  You know, like the cross where Christ was crucified.

(The organization's symbol is a red cross on a white field, the inverse of the Swiss flag, where the International Red Cross was formed and is headquartered.  The Swiss flag's cross has its roots buried deeply in Christianity.  Shoot -- the crescent is used in arabic countries' flags and symbols, not to mention for the Red Crescent, and in arabic countries pretty much everything carries some sort of religious connotation.)

So, the fund-raising stores can't display Christmas trees or creches, but they can certainly sell Christmas cards to make a profit.  I wonder if they have to store the Christmas cards behind the counter like porn magazines.  Sheesh, give me a break.  I guess soon we need to be prepared for this:

Sorry. This whole thing has Moogie feeling rather peckish.

A Day When Guilt is a Good Thing

This has been a very successful day in the criminal conviction of soulless, waste-of-oxygen-type folk.

#1 -- in Little Rock, convert to Islam, Abdulhakim Muhammad, accused of murdering Army PVT William "Andy" Long and shooting PVT Quinton Ezeagwula outside an Army Recruiting Office in 2009, copped a plea on the eve of trial.  Muhammad will serve life in prison, without parole, on the capital murder count, and life on 12 remaining counts, to run consecutively.  For good measure, the judge also tacked on another 180 years on firearm enhancement counts, also to run consecutively. I doubt he'll be drawing another breath of open air, and that is fine with me.

In the sentencing phase, PVT Long's father testified, "After 2 years, 1 month and 25 days, I can tell you from my experience and expertise at being a father of a murdered son, there is no closure[.]  . . . It is a myth." 

Prosecutor Larry Jegley later told reporters, "Ultimately any plea resolution has to be OK with the victim and the victim's family, [t]he Long family is merciful beyond description. And they showed mercy to Muhammad. Muhammad showed no mercy to the victims whatsoever."

It's a shame that Muhammad was tried on state charges instead of federal, meaning that he'll serve his sentence in an Arkansas prison.  It would've been pleasant to contemplate him serving time in a nice Army-friendly federal pen.  Like Leavenworth, maybe.

#2 -- this afternoon in New Orleans, a unanimous jury found former state legislator and City Council member, Renee Gill-Pratt guilty of Conspiracy to divert public funds and to loot charities for personal gain.  The jury is currently deliberating about the amount of restitution Gill-Pratt will be ordered to pay.  Prosecutors are asking for the tidy little sum of $1.4 mil. Hopefully, there will also be an orange jumpsuit added to Ms. Gill-Pratt's wardrobe.  I'd say she could pull off orange, wouldn't you?

#3 -- with the third thing being the charm -- Bring On Maxine Waters!

Honestly, does she ever shut up?!?!  Anyway -- let's keep this roll going!

Winter and Discontent

I seem to be doing hit-and-miss posting recently!  Haven't even gotten to make my blog-rounds, but life seems to be calming down a bit now.  The last snowed-out houseguests left yesterday and made it safely home to Arkansas.  I'm slowly putting the house back together -- 9+ loads of linens over the last week! -- and I have now decided that while running a Bed & Breakfast may be good exercise, like aging, it ain't for sissies.

We've also had some uncharacteristically cold weather around these parts -- below freezing!  This is what greeted me this morning while forcing the 16 year-old shih tzu to go outdoors:

The Naughty Children Fountain may be icy on the surface, but they know how to keep the water flowing!

I'm not sure New Orleans birds know how to ice skate!  And check out the gardenias buds hanging out over the frozen water.  That poor bush is really confused.

At least the pipes have stayed intact.  KNOCK WOOD THREE TIMES!!!

I'm still trying to keep myself from throwing up over that wretched display of "look at me!" and "you should dial back the rhetoric" last night presented by the Young President (perhaps we should call him the Great Healer now that he brought Congresswoman Giffords back to consciousness with his very presence), so I won't even go there.  And here I thought he did a pretty poor memorial performance at Ft. Hood.  Egad.  At least he didn't distribute tee shirts to the mourners in uniform at Hood.  (Funny, until I googled "tee shirts at Tucson memorial" I wasn't aware that so many people were just as appalled as I was by the souvenirs of a Day with the Obamas.  There must be many great minds out there.)

I do find the blame-slinging in the Tucson slaughter intriguing.  We certainly couldn't hold Islam responsible for the slaughters at Ft. Hood or at the Recruiter's office in Little Rock, but we certainly could blame everyone on the right from Sarah Palin to bloggers for setting off that fruitcake in Tucson.

I guess I went there, huh.

Oh well, maybe I'm back!

Moogie Weighs in on the Ground Zero Cultural Center Faux Pas

Because I can't get this picture out of my head, even nine years later, I've been wrestling with the whole thing about the Muslim Cultural Center planned near Ground Zero in Manhattan.

My constitutional sensibilities scream at me about rights protected by the First Amendment -- those fundamental rights touching upon religion and association -- while the American in me screams to fight the mind-numbing insensitivity of the whole idea.

Part of me is incredulous that a group of Muslims, out of respect for an America still in mourning, would even consider opening the Center anytime near 9/11, while another part recognizes that the planned opening date is probably some sort of Ramadan thing.

So, I've kind of come to a reconciliation with myself that the plan is, at best, an exercise in bad manners. Those of you who come to visit here from time to time know that my southern upbringing abhors bad manners, although I typically don't stoop to compound the bad manners by correcting them in public (even though I might, on occasion, whisper about them behind my hand while rolling my eyes).

Therefore, that being acknowledged, I'll just close with: Yeah. What Charles Krauthammer said.