Not One Penny

Robert Goodloe Harper is credited with coining the phrase, "Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute". Taking that thought and running with it, there are a few people who are organizing a petition drive. But the pennies, in this case, are going to be denied to any Republican member of the Congress who supports any resolution, non-binding or otherwise, that criticizes the commitment of troops to the war in Iraq. (Note to Chuck Hagel, you are already cut off).

I have already signed on. I ask my readers to consider doing the same. I'll go one better on the pledge. I WILL actively work against any Republican up for reelection who votes for a resolution - like Chucky "Dead to me" Hagel did. If our politicians are too stupid to see what kind of message they are sending to the world with their grandstanding, then they do not have the best interests of this country in mind and do not deserve to stay in office. The only way to attract a politician's attention these days is to threaten their pocketbook.

Do so at once if you care about the troops.  

The petition is here at least temporarily. I'll update the link if it changes.

And Chucky, I owe you some photoshops. They'll be along directly.

UPDATE: Regular readers know that I have a very personal stake in this. Unlike a lot of the well known bloggers out there, I have a son serving his second (and extended due to the surge) tour of duty in Iraq. That is not a slam on anyone, by the way, simply a fact. My son is there. And I take actions by our politicians that undermine or endanger our troops very, very, very personally. My son is doing his duty faithfully. It is unfortunate that some here at home would rather play partisan politics than do theirs.

UPDATE: Others: Democracy Project, Captain's Quarters, The Jawa Report, Riehl World View, Instapundit, Bill Hobbs,  Drumwaster's Rants, Wizbang, Flopping Aces,

UPDATE: Thanks to Hugh Hewitt for the link. Do take a look around while you're visiting. Please also click this link.

UPDATE: An important column at the Opinion Journal today as well, please take a look.

Castro “Almost Jogging”: Chavez

(T)Hugo Chavez, ever the optimist for his role model, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, says that the maximum leader is walking. In fact, he may be jogging says Venezuela's dictator-in-progress.

Chavez said he was pleased to hear from Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage that the 80-year-old Cuban leader was making a recovery. Lage, after meeting with Chavez, said: "We will have Fidel and we will have Raul for a lot more time."

Their hopeful remarks came less than a week after Chavez said Castro was "battling for his life."

"Lage told me that Fidel walked I don't know how many minutes yesterday," Chavez said Wednesday, noting he suspected Castro was watching his speech on television. "He's walking more than me, almost jogging. Maybe he's walking while watching us."

Chavez has regularly reported in generalities on Castro's health since July 31, when the Cuban leader announced he was temporarily stepping aside while he recovered from an operation and was provisionally ceding power to his brother Raul.

Chavez held up a letter and said, "I'm going to show you something, for those who say that Fidel is dying, that he can't talk, that he can't move."

The TV camera zoomed in on the letter and on Castro's signature in black ink. "Look closely at the strokes of the signature. We are extremely happy, Fidel, about the news of your recuperation."

Pretty poor proof of life, there, (T)Hugo. But we highly recommend Castro go for jogging in a big way. That should get the rest of the stuffing out pretty quick. That way he can get down to his next line of work. Maximum panetela for Satan. Eternally.

Georgia On My Mind

Not the one Hoagy Carmichael had in mind, either (which wasn't written about the state anyway). Authorities in the Republic of Georgia are reporting that a man was caught trying to sell a small amount of Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU). That would be what is also known as "weapons grade" uranium. The quantity was only about 3.5 ounces, but the man reportedly said he had access to a lot more where that came from.

WASHINGTON - Republic of Georgia authorities, aided by the CIA, set up a sting operation last summer that led to the arrest of Russian man who tried to sell a small amount of nuclear-bomb grade uranium in a plastic bag in his jacket pocket, U.S. and Georgian officials said.

The operation, which neither government has publicized, represents one of the most serious cases of smuggling of nuclear material in recent years, according to analysts and officials.

The arrest underscored concerns about the possibility of terrorists acquiring nuclear bomb-making material on the black market, although there was no suggestion that this particular case was terrorist-related.

"Given the serious consequences of the detonation of an improvised nuclear explosive device, even small numbers of incidents involving HEU (highly enriched uranium) or plutonium are of very high concern," said Melissa Fleming of the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency.

Details of the investigation, which also involved the FBI and Energy Department, were provided to The Associated Press by U.S. officials and Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili.

Authorities say they do not know how the man acquired the nuclear material or if his claims of access to much larger quantities were true. He and three Georgian accomplices are in Georgian custody and not cooperating with investigators.

Georgian attempts to trace the nuclear material since the arrest and confirm whether the man indeed had access to larger quantities have foundered from a lack of cooperation from Russia.

Merabishvili said that he was revealing the story out of frustration with Russia's response and the need to illustrate the dangers of a breakdown in security cooperation in the region.

A message left with the press office of the Russian Embassy was not returned. A duty officer at the Russian Foreign Ministry told The Associated Press that there was no one authorized to comment on Wednesday night.

The man reportedly was operating out of the Russian-backed breakaway regions of Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. This is not at all a good development. The fact that the Russians will not cooperate - at all - is also not a good thing. It would be a good time to remind folks that there are other players in the world besides the United States.

More about HEU here.

UPDATE: ABC coverage here. Looks to be the same story, but link may be more permanent than Yahoo News.

Zap!

The US Military today unveiled a brand new weapon that comes right out of Buck Rogers. An honest-to-goodness ray gun. If hit by the beam, a person feels as if they are about to catch on fire, but the sensation, as scary as it is, is non-lethal and in fact does no real damage at all.

A remote control hotfoot.

MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. - The military calls its new weapon an "active denial system," but that's an understatement. It's a ray gun that shoots a beam that makes people feel as if they are about to catch fire.

Apart from causing that terrifying sensation, the technology is supposed to be harmless — a non-lethal way to get enemies to drop their weapons.

Military officials say it could save the lives of innocent civilians and service members in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

The weapon is not expected to go into production until at least 2010, but all branches of the military have expressed interest in it, officials said.

During the first media demonstration of the weapon Wednesday, airmen fired beams from a large dish antenna mounted atop a Humvee at people pretending to be rioters and acting out other scenarios that U.S. troops might encounter in war zones.

The device's two-man crew located their targets through powerful lenses and fired beams from more than 500 yards away. That is nearly 17 times the range of existing non-lethal weapons, such as rubber bullets.

Anyone hit by the beam immediately jumped out of its path because of the sudden blast of heat throughout the body. While the 130-degree heat was not painful, it was intense enough to make the participants think their clothes were about to ignite.

The report does not mention if the weapon was demonstrated by Buck Rogers and Wilma Deering. Raytheon could have had a lot of fun with that.

Fearsome Felon Flies Free

British authorities are desperately searching for one of the masterminds of the Animal Uprising™ who escaped from one of the British animal prisons (cunningly disguised as a "zoo" to avoid terrifying the populace). The felon, one Florence "Pinkie" Flamingo, is thought to be the mastermind behind the recent rash (or rashers, as the case may be) of bad bacon that has broken out in Britain lately. (Being pink, Pinkie has an in with the pigs).

LONDON (AFP) - Keepers at a British zoo are in a flap about a flamingo missing since it was blown away by the storms that battered Europe last week.

Florence, a pink Chilean flamingo, was caught unawares by a sudden gust on January 15 and was blown clean out of Drusillas Park zoo near the southeast English coast.

The flamingo was sucked into the air and dumped in a nearby field — and despite a number of sightings since, worried zookeepers have failed to recapture her.

"It is agony for us," a park spokeswoman told AFP on Wednesday. "She was seen earlier today but (she) is still at large."

Managers have offered annual membership and entry passes for the zoo for information leading to the safe recapture of Florence, who was born at the park in 2004.

But despite their best efforts Florence — who has had her wings clipped — has so far managed to give them the slip.

One of our sources heard from a friend who had it on good authority from their barber who had overheard it in a train station from a guy who had been eavesdropping that the felonious fowl had carved new flight feathers out of a bar of soap. That intelligence may be a bit inaccurate. So be on the lookout, faithful British readers. But be aware that Pinkie is considered armed - er - winged - and dangerous.

Right For The Wrong Reasons

A couple of days ago news came out about the latest "last taboo" to be crossed, that of beastiality. A movie on that subject premiered at the Sundance Film Festival (which really should considera name change substituting "Filth" for "Film" given that they also promote films involving child rape.) Well, it seems Belgium is about to outlaw sex with animals. But not out of respect for human decency or morality. Those reasons were dismissed out of hand. They are doing it to protect the animals.

On Tuesday, however, a majority in the Health Committee of the Belgian House of Representatives, which can introduce bills without the approval of the Senate, deemed that intercourse between men and beasts is harmful for the animals and decided to prohibit it as part of the new Animal Welfare Act.

In future, Belgians who copulate with their dogs or cats, or rape their rabbits, risk a jail sentence of six months to one year and a fine of €1,000 ($1,300). While Belgian legislators are no longer concerned about public morality at least they care about animal welfare…

Ok, it's not the right reason if you will, but it is at least doing something about it.

The Pork Shall Inherit The Earth

Or at least the US Senate. Democrats in the Senate have blocked a vote on the Gregg amendment that would have at least exposed some of the most egregious pork stuffed merrily into unrelated bills.

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell issued the following statement on Wednesday after the Senate Democrats blocked U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg’s A Second Look at Wasteful Spending amendment from coming to a vote:

“Democrats campaigned for the last two years on reform, yet blocked a commonsense measure designed to do just that. Twenty Democrats currently in the Senate supported a similar measure when it was proposed in 1995, yet today they refused to allow even a simple yes-or-no vote. Americans demanded reform and we owe it to them. If we are going to continue to pass real reforms, we must put politics aside and get to work.”

I signed on to Porkbusters a very short time after it was formed. I did so not because of partisanship but because pork barrel spending is bad for this country and bad for our political system in particular. And Porkbusters is actually very non-partisan if you look at the roster.  The fact that Senators like Robert Byrd have been feathering their nests with pure pork for years should be something to be ashamed of. Byrd is proud of his status as the king of pork. The Democrats who blocked this need their names publicized. Then those of us on either side of the political spectrum in this country who despise pork should heap as much scorn on them as we can.

UPDATE: Looks pretty much like a clean sweep. All the Democrats appear to have voted against cloture.

A Kerry Out Moment

No, we're not having Chinese for lunch. John "Unlucky Hat" Kerry has dropped out of contention for the 2008 Democratic party nomination, according to the Associated Press.

WASHINGTON - Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democrats' losing presidential candidate in 2004, does not intend to run again in 2008, a Democratic official said Wednesday.

This official said Kerry intends to seek a new six-year term in the Senate.

Kerry plans to disclose his political plans in remarks on the Senate floor later in the day, according to this official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid pre-empting a formal announcement.

We'll sure miss having Kerry to kick around, though. Ok, it was no real challenge, he made it so easy, but we had some nice photoshops planned. Oh darn.

UPDATE: Hometown Boston Globe coverage has more about it:

Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, plans to say he will remain in the Senate to recommit himself to efforts to extricate the United States from the war in Iraq. His decision to stay out of the presidential race reflects a realization that he would have had an uphill climb in capturing the Democratic nomination, given the other party heavyweights who are already in the race, according to the officials, who spoke to the Globe on condition of anonymity.

Scientists Discover Obvious

And it only took them three whole years to figure out! We're so proud of them. After three long years of trial after trial after trial after trial German scientists have reached the stunning conclusion that sloths were given their name for a reason.

They couldn't get their sloth to move.

The sloth, named Mats, was remanded to a zoo after consistently refusing to climb up and then back down a pole, as part of an experiment conducted by scientists at the University of Jena's Institute of Systematic Zoology and Evolutionary Biology.

Neither pounds of cucumbers nor plates of homemade spaghetti were appetizing enough to make Mats move.

"Mats obviously wanted absolutely nothing to do with furthering science," said Axel Burchardt, a university spokesman.

Sloths are so lazy that their coats often have a greenish tinge. That is because algae grows on them (honest). Sloths would actually be extinct by now, but they are just too lazy to die.

Stealth Squirrels Stalk Southsea

Showing once again that they just do not understand the danger facing humanity from the Animal Uprising™, the Brits are getting gooey about one of the shock troops. The Daily Mail reports that people in Southsea believe the Alpine storm trooper squirrel they spotted in their neighborhood is "cute".

Residents spoke of their surprise and delight today at spotting a rare albino squirrel scavenging for nuts in their back gardens.

The red-eyed all-white squirrel, which neighbours have nicknamed Snowy, was first spotted last autumn and is now a regular visitor alongside other normal grey squirrels in Campbell Road, Southsea, Hants.

Local resident Nausicaa Rufener, 35, said: "It was a real surprise to see Snowy, I've never seen anything like him before.

"He's really cute and the other squirrels don't seem to care that he's different. There doesn't seem to be any racism in the squirrel world - unlike with Celebrity Big Brother.

"We've called him Snowy because with the mild winter we've had up until now, we thought we wouldn't be getting any snow this year, so he's as rare as a snow shower round here."

One is surprised the paper didn't manage to work a global warming reference in somehow. They managed the Big Brother thing, after all. But nonetheless, the Brits miss the point. There is a snowstorm forecast for England and there will be plenty on the ground shortly. That is when they'll figure out that "Snowy" is only a scout. When residents are being dragged down and savaged by hundreds of camouflaged squirrels they won't think it's "cute".

Layers Of Perfeshnul Editorers

Forbes has an interesting little article on fame in the internet age. They list what they call the top 25 "Web Celebs" and have a slideshow of their picks. One of their picks is Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs. The picture they posted (now taken down and replaced with a graphic) was of Marty Peretz of The New Republic.

THIS is funny. In the world of Weblebrity© we are all just interchanable cogs in the machine.

Nifong Charged With Additional Ethics Violations

The North Carolina State Bar has added still more charges against Durham County District Attorney and well known Duke non-rape persecutor Mike Nifong. These charges are enough for Nifong's removal from the state bar. The words "prosecutorial" and "abuse" are now in play. It seems to be shipwreck day around here. First a schooner, now a career.

The new charges by the North Carolina State Bar against Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong were announced Wednesday and could lead to his removal from the state bar, according to a copy of the updated complaint.

Nifong's office arranged for a private lab to conduct DNA testing as part of the investigation into allegations three men raped a 28-year-old woman hired to perform as a stripper at a party thrown by the lacrosse team last March.

Those tests uncovered genetic material from several men on the woman's underwear and body, but none from any lacrosse player. The bar complaint alleges those results weren't released to defense lawyers in a timely fashion and that Nifong repeatedly said in court he had turned over all evidence that would potentially benefit the defense.

Nifong's actions constitute a "systematic abuse of prosecutorial discretion … prejudicial to the administration of justice," the complaint read.

Nifong is going to be lucky to escape criminal charges, if he does. I am willing to bet the civil suit against him is going to be positively biblical in proportions.

UPDATE: ABC News coverage here. Nifong's in trouble.

Endless Voyage

Two experienced SCUBA divers reported the discovery of an unusual shipwreck recently. They found a two-masted schooner at the bottom of Lake Ontario with her masts still intact sitting on the bottom as if she had sailed to that spot. The ship is eerily intact.

The schooner is sitting evenly on the bottom with both masts still in place and rising up approximately 70 feet above the lake bottom. The masts go though the deck of the ship which is all that keeps them in place as all of the rigging and sails have long since disintegrated. Deadeyes and pulley blocks can be seen lying on the deck in various places. Just under the bowsprit there is a scroll bow stem, almost taking on the appearance of a very plain figurehead. Upon close inspection, the scroll stem did not appear to have any other markings or ornamentation. Both of the anchors are still firmly in place on either side of the ship near the bow with their chain wound up on tightly on the windless. There are two openings to the hold of the ship. Both hatch covers were found to have been slid open to allow entrance to the openings in the hold, which is almost completely filled with silt. A double common bilge pump is located next to the main mast. The ship’s cabin is still standing, but pieces of the roof were found scattered nearby. This condition provided an easy access to view the interior of the cabin area. There appear to be several feet of silt inside but no visible indication of the contents of the cabin. Two windows are in the rear of the cabin and two smaller windows are on each side of the center companionway. A small cabinet can be seen secured to the rear wall between the two windows. A large tiller is located at the stern of the ship, with the long handle finding its last position to the rail on the starboard side. The stern railing curves upward at its center most point. The schooner has a square stern that is sloped forward, slightly angled at its base. In this area, the faint remains of a large raised oval decorative detail can be seen. The name of the schooner probably was painted in this area. The entire ship is encrusted with Zebra or Quadra mussels, but this +160-year-old wooden shipwreck, is one of the most beautiful, fully intact, commercial schooners that we have seen off the shores of Lake Ontario.

There are a number of really nice pictures at the link. The wreck has been identified as the Milan, a cargo ship that sank in 1849 while on a trip between Oswego, New York and Cleveland, Ohio carrying a cargo of salt. It is very unusual to find a wreck in this good condition. The wreck is in very deep water, well beyond the safety limits for recreational divers.

Pastor Gets Prison

An American court has sent a human accomplice of the Animal Uprising™ to prison for a year. The reverend Kevin Thompson was convicted of the crime of shark-running. Which is sort of like gun-running but with lots more teeth.

Kevin Thompson, 48, a Unification Church pastor in San Leandro, was one of six men charged with harvesting thousands of sharks smaller than 36 inches (91.5 cm), which are protected by law. The five others have also pleaded guilty.

In the sentencing, which took place on Monday, Thompson was also ordered to pay restitution of $100,000 (50,500).

According to the indictment, about 465 leopard sharks were sold to pet distributors in the United States, the Netherlands and Britain. Leopard sharks can grow up to about 6 feet (1.83 metres).

Note that the government was only able to account for a few hundred of the sharks. Frankly, Europe should be worried. According to one of our severely under-medicated sources, the animal overlords have perfected the fresh water conversion for leopard sharks. Of course, this same source assured us that Elvis was actually working in a grocery store in Zürich, so we aren't really sure about him.

More Silence

Jeff Jacoby, writing in the Boston Globe, notices another strange silence today. The silence of the Democrats who have declared their intentions to seek the presidential nomination on the subject of islamist terrorism.

Barack Obama launched his exploratory committee with an online video that mentioned the economy, healthcare, vanishing pensions, college costs, and the fractiousness of partisan politics. His only nod to national security was a passing reference to the war in Iraq, which he opposes. But 9/11 and its aftermath? The worldwide jihad? The global conflict between democratic freedom and Taliban-style repression? Not a word.

Hillary Clinton's highly praised kickoff video likewise included nothing about the overriding threat of our time. Her website does contain a speech she gave at the Council on Foreign Relations last October, but it is filled with vague rhetoric about diplomacy and international conferences and how we must address the "troubled conditions terrorists seek out." New Yorkers don't need to be told "that we are in a war against terrorists who seek to do us harm," Clinton says. But if she recognizes that the future of the civilized world depends on winning that war, she shows little sign of it.

What is true of Obama and Clinton is more or less true of Edwards, Richardson, and the others. The Democrats seem prepared to emulate John Kerry, who insisted in 2004 that "we have to get back to the place we were" before 9/11. Back, that is, to treating Islamist terrorism not as "the focus of our lives," but merely as "a nuisance" that we need "to reduce" — like gambling, he said, or prostitution.

Jacoby contrasts those silences with the stands of John McCain or Mitt Romney. This may be the single largest difference between the Republicans and the Democrats. One has to wonder if it will be the deciding factor. All of the Democrats who are rushing to see who can abandon Iraq the fastest may want to think really hard about their national security credentials and their importance in the next election.