Age of Hooper (The)

2008-09-25T00:54:00.004-04:00

I've moved to Wordpress. New posts will be found at: http://ageofhooper.wordpress.com Thanks~

2008-05-12T12:38:00.000-04:00

I ALMOST NEVER post stuff I myself don't produce, but this one is just too good to pass up. THE PUPPETS! THE PUPPETS! THE PUPPETS! Here's the link that explains it all: The Reformed Pastor Enjoy!

2008-04-15T20:54:00.001-04:00

RON PAUL RALLY, SOUTH LAWN, US CAPITOL, WASHINGTON DC: APRIL 15, 2008 [*sigh*] So this is what it's come down to. Yeah, OK ... we're all listing a bit to port [or is it starboard]. It's been a long day. First ... this. [urf] Then work, then ... taxes. With a nice Cabernet in between. To deaden the pain. Sorta. I won't even mention traffic. I have to say ... this was one of the smallest, most jejune turnouts that wasn't an ANSWER protest I've ever seen. And that's saying a lot. It bore a pathetic and striking resemblance to church [*blurp*] barbecues I used to attend with my thank-gawd-ex-wife. Except fewer kids. ... or not. I'm guessing that "Hope for America" can somehow be fathomed as emanating from this and other like get-up. Perhaps we can all "be a part" of "it". Or not. For some impenetrable, abstruse reason "costuming" was prevalent at this event. I was, thankfully, no part of "it". It was a nice day, though. DC in the spring is just lovely. Then it's tax time. I hate taxes. Which is something I and the Paulans have in common. I think it has something to do with working around the Federal Government for years and years [and more years] on end. I can see, literally, where my tax dollars go ... a privilege denied those "beyond the beltway" ... and it ain't pretty. I can't help but think, come April 16, as I deal once again with another brickheaded apparatchik: "Ah, yes ... my tax dollars." I had a buddy once who said that I should be proud to pay so much in taxes ... it means I'm doing extremely well! I suppose I should assume the same attitude when people key my car or try to break into my home. Wow! I must be doing well! Thanks! He is an awfully clean looking bloke. What can one say. Then we have the seriously disturbed ... ... and the disturbingly serious. ... as we end on the inevitable coda of an inscrutably held and slightly dissonant chord. Be sure to check out other coverage of the rally at This Ain't Hell. Jonn and I met at the rally and had some laughs.

2008-04-11T21:00:00.009-04:00

FREE SPEECH IN AN AGE OF JIHAD, APRIL 10, 2008: NEW YORK CITY I took this image [left] well after the conference. My lovely spouse Julia and I just finished a fulfilling dinner at Shun Lee ... a great Chinese restaurant near Lincoln Center ... and were combing the streets of East Side Manhattan ... when she looked up and pointed out the moon. Yes, we're that type of couple. I thought that the moon was beautiful, the building was gorgeous and the sky perfect so I snapped it. Somehow, I also think the crescent moon juxtaposed against a part of the Manhattan skyline a highly appropriate image to cap the day. I wasn't able to get any video of this conference. The material I did get ... Mark Steyn's luncheon address ... is probably copyrighted material and I'm awaiting permission to post. It's about 45 minutes long and, sadly, only audio. But who wants to watch a talking head for 45 minutes anyway? And the fact is I want to use all of it, which would put me well beyond the bounds of fair use. Believe me, it's well worth the wait. I checked the audio and it's highly entertaining and of OK quality. I didn't have any problem understanding every word, though there are some crowd noises and some inevitable glass tinkling [it was a luncheon after all]. Mark Steyn's people got back to me and have referred me to Roger Kimball of the New Criterion. I haven't heard back from him. The Conference took place at the Princeton Club on West 43rd Street. I guess the Columbia Club is only "In Residence". I'm not sure I would have advertised that. It's one thing to take second billing ... quite another to do so "In Residence" I would think. This is me with Robert Spencer, Director of Jihad Watch and author extraordinaire. OK, you can't really see me, but that's my hand. I'm standing beside him. Really. I cropped myself out ... as I'll explain below. I know, I know ... I can almost hear my half-dozen loyal readers lament. "Again with the hand." What's with the hand? The fact is ... that that's it ... that's all you're gonna get. A hand. My hand. This time my right hand. Live with it. Look, I meet a lot of pretty nefarious creatures at the "events" I normally cover. Some real head-choppers. I was even followed by some after an anti-Israel protest last year. Emes. Then there's Code Pink. I've been followed by a couple of them, too ... but for what seem to be highly different [but almost as deeply disquieting] motivations. [shudder] Now, it's true: both Code Pink's Medea Benjamin and her tanless toady Brian Becker of ANSWER know me by sight, but I still like to maintain at least some anonymity. Nice hand, though, huh?
Here's the interior of the room the conference took place in. Nice. I'm trying out my new Canon Rebel XTi, so if there's a lack of consistency with these photos ... that's why. I did a lot of experimenting. Mostly I hate using a flash, so I tried a number of settings to avoid that. Not all the results were good. The photo [above] is OK, I think. I used the flash with this one. This is Roger Kimball, Editor of the New Criterion and the Moderator for the first panel. I try to not miss an article by him if I can help it. Ezra Levant was there, of course. He and I and my lovely wife had a very nice and somewhat lengthy conversation near the end of the conference ... touching on many subjects; from the conference to raising kids. Frankly, Ezra's just about the most personable and agreeable person I've ever met. I can see now just how angry he must have been during the Canadian "Human Rights" Commission kangaroo court for him to lose his cool to even the small extent that he did. He's a real mench. Here's a nice photo of him speaking with some other attendees after his panel presentation. Mark Steyn showed up about half way through the first panel and stood quietly near the back ... very close to where my wife and I were seated. I approached him and asked him if I could take a photo and he agreed ... the photo didn't turn out well, though, so I'm not including it. Blast. This photo was taken during the luncheon before Mark spoke. I think this was the heavy-hitter table. As I said above, I have his complete speech in audio. It's about 45 minutes and I think the whole thing is worth hearing. However, this event was a private event and using all 45 minutes is well well beyond "fair use", so I don't feel comfortable posting it without permission. I contacted his people and they got back to me pretty quickly and referred me to Roger Kimball. I contacted him but by that time is was in the late afternoon, so I don't expect to have any answer before Monday. The fellow in the foreground Steven Emerson, Director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism. We sat at the same table. Robert Bork was there for the final panel. He is, of course, a firm defender of the First Amendment, but he reminded us that even Justice Holmes' "Marketplace of Ideas" dictum has it's limits. He reminded us that Holmes himself fought during the Civil War and was wounded four times. Holmes, more than many, knew that there are times when the civility of political debate breaks down and everyone needs to recognize that they are in a struggle ... and like any struggle there will be winners and losers ... and that we all need at those times to hunker down and do our duty and fight hard for what we know is right. It's time for us to recognize the struggle that we're in and work for victory. I had the opportunity to meet other bloggers at this event. Here's Pam Geller of Atlas Shrugs. I also had the privilege of meeting Judith Weiss of Kesher Talk, though sadly I didn't get a good photo of her.

2008-04-08T18:08:00.001-04:00

Free Speech in an Age of Jihad Libel Tourism, “Hate Speech,” and Political Freedom The lovely Julia Flyte and I will be driving our convertible to New York City tomorrow under hopefully sunny skies to attend a seminar. Said seminar will be this Thursday ... hosted by the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and The New Criterion. The subject is "Free Speech in an Age of Jihad Libel Tourism, “Hate Speech,” and Political Freedom". Mark Steyn will be the Luncheon Keynote Speaker ... his topic: “The Dimming of Liberty: Legal Jihad and the Criminalization of Resistance.” Perhaps there will be seething on the street. One never knows ... one can but hope. Should prove interesting. I'm sure to have some photos. Perhaps video. Check back!

2008-02-01T12:51:00.001-05:00

A PERSONAL POST My father was recently interred at Arlington Cemetery with full military honors. Here are a few photos. As usual, just click on any of the photos to get a larger, higher resolution view.

This [above] is the honor guard and marching band outside of the Old Post Chapel in Ft. Myer, waiting for the casket to be loaded onto the caisson. When we left the chapel after the services, we saw the honor guard and marching band for the first time. We could hear the band occasionally during the services ... it lent an unexpected and indescribable air to the event. When I first saw the honor guard, I was incredibly moved and a little awestruck. Dad had always said he wanted full military honors at Arlington, but I never really knew what that meant until now. After a few minutes I remembered I had my camera [I've made it a habit to carry it around and it's small enough to fit in almost any pocket]. What follows are the few photos I managed to tick off as we marched through Arlington to the final grave site. My family and I accompanied the caisson.

The pallbearers in dress uniform marched with us. It was difficult to get a good shot showing just how long this procession was. Click on the image at top to get a better view. The marching band moved in front, followed by the honor guard, then the caisson and the pallbearers. Our family was immediately behind. Behind us followed the limos and cars. I know that this is personal stuff, and I debated for a long time whether or not to post it. I think that I want you all to know, as I indicated above, that not everything here in DC is lunacy. There are still strong pockets of sanity and goodwill here. I think that this is a good year to remember that, and to do our best ... all of us ... to preserve it.

2007-12-27T23:54:00.000-05:00

SUDAN SUNRISE Somewhere between the death of my WWII veteran father [11/8/07] and today, I was honored by Sudan Sunrise when they asked me to video their conference on Sudanese reconciliation. The above video is the result. Much trouble, much work, much juggling of priorities and necessities. I hope and pray that the end product is worthy of the subject.

2007-10-01T02:26:00.001-04:00

FINAL POST: "TROOPS OUT NOW" PROTEST MARCH, SEPTEMBER 29, 2007 Just a short note with some video ... here [above] are some brave souls who faced almost constant taunts, threats, and outright theft from Leftist thugs and Jew-haters to stand for what they believe. A part of their tale is told in the video below, along with the whole insane juvenile acting-out that happens when a bunch of spoiled suburban kids try to take control of the traffic pattern of a major city. Enjoy. Keep scrolling down for more coverage and more video.

2007-09-30T12:14:00.001-04:00

"TROOPS OUT NOW" MARCH AND ACTION, WASHINGTON DC: SEPTEMBER 29, 2007 Well, at least she got the symbol right. Usually these folks just end up carrying around ads for Mercedes-Benz. Still, given the probable average income of the families these kids spring out of the confusion is to be expected, I suppose... Q.E.D. **** UPDATE **** Here's some video. More will follow. UPDATE: I've posted Part 2 of the above video: Click Here **** Of course, an over-abundance of left-wing-academic indoctrination isn't the only thing that sets these folks apart. There's the other, paranoid simpleton village-idiot side of the coin. I, at least, know how to spell "News" ... This guy for instance ... I couldn't figure out if he was just some sort of village-idiot type who wandered into the protest, or is in fact ... [for example] ... a well-respected professor at some university earning tenure. The line can be pretty fine sometimes. Check the shoes. With ever step he desecrates the flag. Nice, huh? Then again, there are legions of those who simply want yet another excuse to display their foul-mouthed narcissism. And they're damn proud of it! There were puppets, too. Sorta lame. Check the "Visit Cuba" t-shirt, though. There were the subtle ironies, also ... ... some of which simply escape the protest community. There were meditation circles ... ... and suburban-guilt ridden Mumia partisans. Many of the costumes I see on these marches repeat from one protest to the next so I won't bore either you or myself with that repetition. These, though, were new. At least to me. "Oil" and "Imperialism" were big themes at this protest. Just how many of these folks wonder how devastating it would be to both our economy as well as their own personal lives if "oil" ever got either cut off or made prohibitively expensive? Just how do they think all that organic food gets to their local Safeway anyway? Ron Paul supporters have gotten pretty common at these events. The funny thing is ... no one is quite sure how to react to them. There was a lot of dancing at this one. I will, as usual, make a video documenting the "musical" aspects of this march. Please check back. You'd be surprised at how many very young children you see at these things. Or perhaps you wouldn't be. I always am. And what, I ask you, would a protest march be without ... the CHE! Cripes ... I knew a kid in middle school that looked just like this. I hated that kid. I think he's pumping gas now somewhere in Mississippi. Or he's a lawyer. Fidel himself made an unexpected cameo appearance. Something fairly new ... the Chavez supporter. We also had our fair share of unrepentant communists. This was a whole family. You see a lot of that at these marches. It's part of the whole "red baby" syndrome. Sorta like any other religion, Communism gets handed down from one unquestioning generation to the next. These people are probably indistinguishable from your neighbors in every other respect, and hold down nice jobs. As with any religion, consistency of belief doesn't matter here ... at least not on a day to day basis. For these folks attending protests is probably akin to taking communion. These folks [above] were actually selling a very cool looking t-shirt with this logo on front. Kinda expensive for a protest-march shirt [$20] but I almost got one ... except that just as I was about to the cops shut them down. I'm not sure why. Video to follow. Otherwise ... until next time!

2007-09-29T23:28:00.000-04:00

AN AMERICAN FLAG BURNS ON CONSTITUTION AVENUE, WASHINGTON DC, SEPTEMBER 29, 2007 About half-way through the planned march, a group of anarchists broke away from the main march and blockaded Constitution Avenue near the intersection of Constitution and Third St. I'll have further video on the action later. As a part of their "action", though, they burned an American Flag. Here's the video of the burning:

2007-09-29T20:10:00.000-04:00

I'M BACK! WOW AM I BACK!

I've got [as you can well see] Breasts not Bombs, flag burning anarchists, more music, and much much more! I've got about 2 hours of video to process, along with several hundred photos I need to sort. I plan ... for now that is ... to do at least three videos on 1) Breasts, 2) Flags, and 3) Music. Breasts comes first. Check back! For full coverage of the march and other insanities please click here. **** UPDATE **** Here's a YouTube Video ... it's mercifully short. It's live ... even if a splash image doesn't appear yet.

I've got the Flag Burning video up ... **** UPDATE October 15, 2007 **** Well, YouTube has taken down the Breasts Not Bombs video. Here's the same video, just not YouTube: **** UPDATE **** OK, OK ... I know you all have been clamoring for more ... here ya go ...

2007-09-29T09:25:00.000-04:00

I'M OFF! They're congregating on Capitol Hill so I'll join them there. Then we march to the White House. That's the reverse of last fortnight's march, so I suppose there's at least some novelty involved in this. I suppose. Another day of rest spent running with and amongst the bedlam. I'll be back after a few hours, a couple of drinks and a nice cigar. See you then!

2007-09-26T19:58:00.000-04:00

GREAT MOON-WALKING MOHAMMAD! Didn't these guys JUST HAVE one of these things?!? Bryan over at Hot Air just emailed me: "Communists, Iranian stooges and assorted Mumia hangers on. What else do they have to do on a Saturday?" You said it brother. And I'll ... *groan* ... be there too.

2007-09-23T18:37:00.000-04:00

Hillary Clinton on Darfur: April, 2006 I've been transferring my video and photo archives over to an external hard-drive today and I came across this old video I took during a Darfur Rally, related to Simon Deng and his experiences. The video was taken in front of the US Congress, on the West Lawn in April, 2006. Here's my previous post on that event, which includes more video. Party wise, I don't have a dog in this fight. I thought it would be interesting to put this all on the record. Personally, I think she comes across pretty well, at least on this issue.

2007-09-19T20:13:00.000-04:00

OK, I swear that this is my last 9/15 ANSWER/Code Pink anti-war protest blog post. But you must understand: there's a story here. After I created and uploaded my final video to YouTube I slapped my head in solipsistic disgust and said "Geez! I didn't use that great image of the Soviet flag being raised ..." [I really wanted to use that image. Damn ... I loved that image]. So I started to think what else I could use it in and ... voila ... the videos you see on this page. The reason there are two is that nothing I could do to the file would force YouTube and their conversion process to render the proper resolution ... everything I tried left the image way too lossy for my taste. So, what the heck I thought ... I'll just make my own Flash file and upload that into a webspace available to me and call it a day ... and damn the bandwidth issues. So, here's the good file: [I'm having some server issues, so the link may have disappeared for a while. It will return.] And here's the YouTube version if you start having bandwith issues: Please enjoy. I purposefully parodied Soviet-style propaganda imagery and timing. At least I tried to given the material and the fact that this was completely impromptu. For those of you who may think that the Soviet flag seen in the above-video was some sort of anomaly at these anti-war protests, or that the above-video doesn't illustrate a deep truth underlying these events, here [below] is one of the "official" Code Pink banners leading the march ... as for ANSWER ... well, just click on the "ANSWER" label at the bottom of this post to see all the other ANSWER events I've covered. You'll get the picture. Literally.

2007-09-17T00:18:00.000-04:00

FINAL 9/15 POST: AN ANECDOTAL COUNT ... No way was it 100,000

OK, I know that this is purely anecdotal, but I've heard the "100,000 attendees" count for the September 15th protest more than once [by ANSWER and their toadies] so I thought I'd put it to the test, along with my own count of 30,000 to 35,000 [tops]. After the march began and I had followed it for a while, I wended my way back to the beginning of the march seeking "musical" themes for inclusion in my blog and video. As you will note below [see previous posts ... especially the video] any fair observer will admit that I had an incentive to do so. If there was "musical" material to be had I would have it. I wanted it. Believe me ... I walked to the end of the march. I found the end of the march ... at the moment I reached it ... to be at or very near the intersection of what was once PA Avenue near the White House and 15th St, which runs just to the east of the Treasury Building. You can see the intersection in the above image ... taken from Google Earth ... and the theoretical end point of the march indicated by the red dot. [Click on the image itself for a higher resolution image.] As I had reached the beginning of the march and knowing for certain that no more material was to be had, I decided that I would race to the beginning of the march ... as I wanted to be among the first to "run the gauntlet" between the ANSWER crowd and the GOE crowd. I thought it would be good material as my video [below] attests. It took me ... and I timed it ... approximately 10 minutes to get from the first intersection noted above to the intersection of 13th and Pennsylvania, which is noted in the image as the final red dot marking the end point. According to Google Earth, there are 2157 feet in that path.

That measure can be, therefore, taken as an approximation of the length of at least the main body of the march ... slightly longer, in fact, as during the time it took me to quickly traverse the length, the first end point itself moved slowly forward while I raced ahead, while the final end point itself crawled forward. The march also halted briefly at some points. However, in the interest of fairness I'll ignore that. The difference would be minor anyway.

Now to the approximation of area.

Along 15th St. the march took up all the lanes, or approximately a width of 60 feet [see the image above] ... once it met PA Avenue moving east, it took up all lanes once again, or approximately, also, 60 feet in width. Therefore, for about half the march [from the beginning to the intersection of 15th St. and PA Avenue] the total area was nearly 66,000 sq.ft. and for the next half [from the intersection of 15th St. and PA Avenue to the intersection of 13th St. and PA Avenue] approximately another 66,000 sq.ft. for an [admittedly approximate] area of 132,000 sq.ft. Actually slightly less as there is an overlap at the turning point ... but as there was also a certain amount of bunching there too it probably evens out in the end. So for ANSWER to be correct, the marchers in that area would have to have been packed in at somewhat more than one [1] person per 1.3 square feet.

Try it. You won't like it.

Most people won't tolerate less than 4 sq.ft. of personal space, which puts an average density of around 33,000 people into the area described above. To be fair, some people may have attended the initial protest at Lafayette Park and didn't continue on with the march to the Capitol, while some may have joined the march somewhere along Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the Capitol. Which would put the total for the march between 30,000 and [tops] 35,000.

And that's MAX. The average density of marchers was actually way below that and there were huge gaps.

You be the judge.

2007-09-16T14:22:00.000-04:00

PROTEST CODA: September 15, 2007 Yes, that's just a hand. My own left hand, to be precise. It's holding the corner of a Code Pink banner on the Capitol Steps. Don't ask why. **** PLEASE NOTE: More photos and the two videos are in the post just before this one ... just keep scrolling down. **** I've tried to keep my anonymity in tact for these events. Sadly, it's become somewhat unravelled over time ... Medea Benjamin [Code Pink] and I exchange nods and smiles from time to time ... same goes for Cindy Sheehan and Brian Becker [ANSWER], among others. People are people, after all. Still, I've never shown an actual photo of myself on this blog and I'm going to keep that as a rule. This hand is about as close as I'll ever get. By the way, I've heard silly rumors that ANSWER is trying to claim 100,000 attendees at this protest. No way. 30,000 maybe ... 35,000 tops. I walked the march from beginning to end and from front to back. The videos I took are from various parts of the march and should be adequate testimony that there were no where near 100,000 people at this thing. That's not to say that 30,000 is anything to sneeze at ... it was a respectable showing. MySpace activity in and around DC must have nose-dived for those few hours. Here, of course, is a collection of "peace-scarf" wearers ... or, as I prefer to call it ... the "I'd Rather Be Killing Jews, But OK I'll Settle For Your Infidel Protest" scarf. QED. If you read the printing on this dude's t-shirt I think you'll agree it's somewhat less than "peaceful". Just to be clear. You can click the photo to get a higher resolution.

The shirt says "Enemy Combatant". I believe it.

And what would an ANSWER protest be without ... the Che? Sadly, these folks kept thinking I wanted a photo of them with their pre-printed signage. I finally had to insist ... just put down the signs: I want the Che! And how, I ask, could I conclude this dreary little tale without reference to Medea Benjamin and her sewing circle? That is, after all, where I began my 9/15 sojourn. Here's Medea herself at the end of the march ... at the "die-in" ... walking among the dead. Notice she is on her own two feet. And here, also, for your viewing pleasure, are other images taken that 9/15 morn as we waited for the festivities to begin. A lovely time was had by all. And, finally, just a reminder of what all this is really about ...

2007-09-15T19:40:00.000-04:00

MORONIC CONVERGENCE: September 15, 2007; Washington DC Puppets. Let's get that out of the way, shall we? Yes, there were puppets. Small and aging puppets. And stilt-walkers. That's new. Sort of. Once again, my video[s] will concentrate on the oddities ... especially the musical oddities ... present in these protests. Stuff you won't see otherwise. The speeches you can hear on C-SPAN, etc. and they're boring anyway. I'll probably have one video, however, dedicated to my walk between the ANSWER Protest and the Gathering of Eagles [henceforth: GOE] Counter-Protest. There was about a 10 foot corridor between them. I call it "The Gauntlet". **** CHECK BACK FOR VIDEOS **** **** UPDATE: SUNDAY 09/16/2007 **** Here's my second video: More Protest Music. It's still processing through YouTube so it may take a while until it actually works, though YouTube is getting quicker at approving these things. UPDATE: It's live ... go ahead and click! I think it's my best work. Hope you enjoy! **** FIRST VIDEO IS UP **** The last time we saw this puppet it was being blown to bits crossing Memorial Bridge. It is definitely the worst for the wear. I have a few words with the creator in one of the videos. Sticking with the jokes ... there was a small Ron Paul representation at the protest. Most people kept their distance. And of course, the ultimate joke ... Ramsey Clark ... was there in person. I got kinda close, ya think? Then there were the "normal" insanities one expects at ANSWER anti-war protests: These ... I have no idea where to even begin ... ... and then there was the just plain ugly. Or just plain stupid. Or, well ... er ... Then there are the surprisingly sentient and yet oddly insane ... and happy [!] ... jew-haters ... The Iraq Vets against the war marched ... Some folks got arrested ... And then the party ... well ... just ... er ... died. We wanted to ... well ... pull the plug on the whole thing ... ... but then Santa showed up again and everything was OK! YEAH!

2007-09-15T19:13:00.000-04:00

I'M BACK! AND SANTA'S COMING TO TOWN! No, not really ... but it was [in a word] insane. Or, to quote the final scene of the "Bridge on the River Kwai" ... "Madness! .... MADNESS!!" I'm sifting through photos and processing video. You know the routine, right? Check back!

2007-09-15T09:16:00.000-04:00

I'M OFF! Please be sure to check back at the end of the day ... at which time [subsequent several Knob Creek Manhattans (up) and a couple of Torano Cigars as an antidote to the insanity] I will begin to post the usual photos and video! See ya then!

2007-08-26T17:28:00.000-04:00

The confusing ironies of driving in DC ... Bumper sticker for a hybrid, right? Nah.

2007-08-21T23:40:00.000-04:00

MOURNING BECOMES ELEKTRA? Code Pink is having a "Night of Mourning" at Lafayette Park (just across from the White House) on, you guessed it, September 11. In a truly awesome display of bad taste, the quilting bee is encouraged to "Wear your We Will Not Be Silent shirts". If you don't already have one, you can obtain one here. The image to the left is what they are using to entice consumers, although enticement isn't precisely the word I'd use for my reaction to the gestalt. And, yes, that's Arabic. I kid you not. I'll try and make it, but I may have more important things to do. Like the groceries.

2007-08-21T22:41:00.000-04:00

MORONIC CONVERGENCE! When? September 15, 2007 Where? Washington DC Time? Time once again to comb out that pillow-matted hair, huff yourself some initiative, and tell dad that, yes, you will finally mow the south-forty. Crank up the Toro, folks, 'cause you're gonna need that extra cash: What's on? a die-in on hot DC September asphalt, followed by some serious fist-shaking, and workin' the protest babes. Yes: the ANSWER Coalition, along with Brian Becker and Team Tan-less have once again managed to impart just the right amount of zing into your suburban basement bong-smoke haze. I'm sure mom won't be busy that day ... she'll give you a lift to the Metro and a little extra change. She's like that. See you there.

2007-07-23T16:28:00.000-04:00

NEW EPISODE: IN WHICH CINDY SHEEHAN HAS A MAKE-OVER AND RUNS FOR CONGRESS ...

Cindy Sheehan, Medea Benjamin and the rest of their quilting bee managed to cobble together about 280 willing idiots today in order to march from Arlington Cemetery to Capitol Hill demanding that the Democrat controlled Congress begin Impeachment proceedings against George Bush. Never mind that we're deeply into the next presidential race and that Bush can't run for re-election and that in little over a year we'll have a new president anyway.

And if Nancy Pelosi doesn't start impeachment proceedings by 12:00 midnight tonight ... you guessed it ... Cindy's gonna run against her for her seat in Congress. Ya know ... I don't care ... either way that'll be just a riot. An entertainment extravaganza.

It was a long walk. I'll have video later.

911 "Truth" is about as predictable now at these events as steaming asphalt on a parking lot in Austin in July, so I won't even bother to comment on the above photo.

Well, I have to get to an important appointment and YouTube hasn't yet deigned to approve my video. So I'm putting the code up "naked" as it were. Yes ... "naked". Hopefully the code will be approved soon and the video will be available. I know it says that it's "No Longer Available". Read that to mean "Not Yet Available". Damn them. Until they approve it, that is. Hopefully. **** UPDATE: It's working **** Here's incontrovertible evidence of the Bush Administration busily denying these folks their Constitutionally protected rights while they cross the street. Safely.

Traffic in DC can be hell sometimes. The media ... though not overwhelming ... was certainly present. The non-partisan ACLU made its appearance. Red, bloody hands waving wildly near the Jefferson Memorial to innocent passers-by.

These folks would go wild whenever they got a supportive "honk". Never mind the hundreds of other cars rushing by with either no sign of acknowledgement or other gestures not suitable for prime-time. There was a counter-protest, also. Here's a view of a rare mixture of the two protests groups. Cindy bears the avatars of her success ...

Here's a new video of an old friend Rick Burnley ... Poet Laureate of Camp Casey. I took this in front of the Rayburn Building after Cindy, Medea, et al. retired within ... object: incarceration. They [the Capitol Police] wouldn't let me take my cameras, so I begged off. Enjoy.

2007-07-04T14:38:00.000-04:00

I rarely post other-party material. This one's from Breibart TV. I think that this message is important and should be heard. Especially on July 4. Especially because this is a 1st Amendment issue ... one of a growing and disturbing trend of attacks and potential attacks on that most fundamental of rights. WTOP is a local Washington DC radio station. Here's the link for WTOP's Website. Here's the contact page. Please do what you can to support Cal. **** UPDATE **** Jim Farley of WTOP emailed me: "We're keeping Cal."

2007-06-12T20:19:00.000-04:00

PRO-AMERICA/PRO-ISRAEL COUNTER PROTEST 6/10/2007 Here are some images I took from the counterprotest on 6/10. There weren't many people there, but then again they only started organizing two weeks before the event and it wasn't ... unlike the pro-Fascist rally [see post below this one] ... coupled with an official Convention. Highly impromptu. Most of the images speak for themselves so I'll leave them at that. If anyone asks why the US supports Israel ... it's probably because Israel supports the US. Duh. I should probably mention that June 10 was also DC's "Gay Pride" Day and that there was a huge event on the Capitol Mall to celebrate. It had far [far] better attendance than either one of these rallies. There was, however, some natural movement among the groups, although I didn't see a lot of gay couples in amongst the head-choppers on the Capitol Lawn. Here's and example of a gay supporter of Israel. "LGBT" means "Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Trans-gender" ... just in case you didn't know. I didn't. I had to ask. Is should also probably point out that the catalyst that brought on this counter-protest was an ad campaign instituted by the head-chopping Fascists wherein they purchased ad space announcing their "event" in the DC Metro. Very slick. Once the pro-Israeli/pro-Human forces got wind of it they bought their own ad space and a counter-ad-insurgency was begun. What you see at left is an example of that ad campaign. There's another one [about the same size and style] some photos below this.

2007-06-10T23:01:00.000-04:00

Pro-Terrorist Rally on US Capitol Lawn: June 10, 2007

Lamest Protest Rally ... Ever. There's a line from Woody Allen's "Annie Hall" where Woody and Annie are sharing their first glass of wine together on a rooftop in New York City, and Annie complains that she meets a lot of ... "jerks". Well, I meet a lot of jerks at these rallies ... true, some require more critical observation, some less ... This guy .... I think it was the keys. And the pathos. I mean really ... three signs? Or maybe it was the hair. Oh well ... This guy, then again, came a close second. I'm not really sure why. I do know it was close, though. *** The rally was marketed as:

The World Says No to Israeli Occupation March and Rally Sunday, June 10th 2007 2pm People around the world are joining together in a global day of action as “The World Says No to Israeli Occupation” to protest the 40th anniversary of Israel’s illegal military occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, and Syrian Golan Heights. In the United States, thousands of people from all over the country will converge on Washington, DC, from June 10-11, 2007, to send a clear message: The United States Says No to Israeli Occupation!

Those "thousands" ended up being about a thousand. Tops. That's "a" thousand, as in "uh" thousand. And that's counting the speakers. And I'm pretty sure that most of them were locals. Which means that the only people happy about this tonight is the ANSWER crowd. Finally someone has put on a protest more lame than their own. That must be a relief. I would think.

There were, as usual, packs of pathetic leftovers from the 60's.

How anyone who actually lived through the Carter presidency can look at a picture of that man without either revulsion or lapsing into a giggle fit I have no idea.

Luckily for me I missed most of the fiasco by living in another country.

I did, however, manage to get the tail end, viz: the Iranian Hostage Crisis. Now there was a well managed international crisis. Yep, Carter put us in solid with the Iranians.

That peanut growing, rabbit fearing anti-Semite was the nail in the coffin of my own naive leftism. He was leftism's reducto ad absurdum at its best. He still is. Perhaps more so.

I suppose I owe him for that.

One of the benefits of attending these rallies is one get's the truth raw.

I mean, none of this namby-pamby "two-state" crap.

Let's just drive those pesky Jews right into the Mediterranean. That'll fix everything.

The Capitol Building really is beautiful, isn't it? Hard to remember sometimes that Lincoln walked these grounds, along with most of the great men and women in our history.

At many points during the Civil War Union cavalry messengers would gallop across this very lawn with news from the front. The disaster of Chancellorsville ... the triumph of Appomattox. People crowded here on hearing the news from Pearl Harbor. VE Day, VJ Day were celebrated by thousands of cheering Americans, some weeping with joy. One can almost see them sometimes. That truth just adds to the pathetic tragedy that is today's left. Sometimes it just makes me want to weep.

Then I catch a glimpse of something that encapsulates so well everything they stand for ... a mascot ... an avatar of the irony and the comedy that is the warp and weft of today's left along with their pathetic, attention seeking neurosis. And I just have to laugh. Ah ... that's better.

More to come ... I hope.

**** UPDATE 06/11 8:45 pm ET ****

OK, the media and the organizers of this dead-end rally have obviously tried to pull their embarrassed butts out of the fire by claiming 5000 attendees. Now, while 5000 is still pitifully small, I want to enter into the record in the interest of full disclosure a group of photos I took at the height of the rally ~ 4:00 pm. I have put them together into a panorama. Please click on the image to get a larger, more detailed look. I have another 14 meg version on my computer here at 8500 pixels/2500 pixels if the media or anyone else wants an even better look. That ain't 5000. It may not even be 1000. Don't push it. **** UPDATE 6/12 8:15 am **** Just a few more photos for those who are in denial that this event was essentially leftist: Brian Becker ... National Coordinator for the ANSWER Coalition. The "Man With No Tan" He's holding the sign. The keffiyeh/Che convergence. This is the ANSWER table. The fellow to the left (!) is actually a decent enough bloke ... I've seen him at a number of these rallies and have spoken with him. Sad. He's the bloke in this video I took last year in front of the Israeli Embassy .... Medea Benjamin (to the left, appropriately), one of the founders of Code Pink and professional harpy to various and sundry legislative assistants ... along with some of her quilting bee.

2007-06-10T17:29:00.000-04:00

PROTEST/COUNTER-PROTEST on the Capitol Mall. ... This is getting to be a habit. Potty-mouth lefties vs. the occasional Lizaroid. What more could you want? Well ... you'd want more I'd be bound. However, Julia and I are going to a special fundraiser tonight and I won't be able to process this stuff as quickly as I would like, so I'll just leave you with these for now. Two rallies ... one Capitol. Two worlds. Here is a photo [left] from the pro-Israel rally just up the street. I'll be posting more on that later. Nicer folk. Plus the observation that, no matter what the media may be saying about the pro-terrorist rally on the Capitol South Lawn today ... and I hasten to admit that I haven't heard anything ... the attendance was ~ 1000 tops. And I have the photos to prove it. As you will no doubt see later. Plus, of course, some video.

2007-06-06T21:18:00.000-04:00

OK ... I know I've been a bit quiet for a while. Real life intervenes. However ... Mark your calendars. This, for starters, may be too good to miss: Teach-In at the 2007 Annual National Convention of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee WHERE: Omni Shoreham Hotel, Capitol Room, 2500 Calvert Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 WHEN: 10:15-11:45 AM Facilitator: Nadia Hijab, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Palestine Studies Ambassador Afif Safieh, Head of PLO Mission to the United States Sara Roy, Middle East Center, Harvard University Robert Malley, International Crisis Group, Former Special Assistant to President Clinton for Arab-Israeli Affairs, 1998-2001 Or, to paraphrase my dear dear friend Antoine: "Yum ... yum ... "

2007-04-16T16:32:00.000-04:00

the JIB Awards are in the nomination phase. I'm a nominee. Or at least this blog is. When the time comes, I'm sure I can use your votes. I have, as you all know, a fragile ego. I'll let you know. **** UPDATE 4/23 **** First Round Voting has begun! Please go here to vote for this blog. My category is "Best Right Wing Political Blog" and I'm in Group A. Thanks!

2007-04-05T20:36:00.000-04:00

KIBBUTZ SDOT YAM In the late 1970s I lived right next to Caesarea, Israel on a kibbutz that actually, at that time, owned the land the old city sat on: Sdot Yam or, "Fields of the Sea". I went to the ulpan there ... a sort of school where you learn to read and write in Hebrew. As about 75% of the books I read currently are either in Hebrew or Aramaic, I owe a lot to Sdot Yam. Here's a link to a large number of photos from the old Roman town of Caesarea which, during the Crusades, was rebuilt as a castle by, I think, King Louis of France. There are any number of Roman ruins all over the place (there were so many that the kibbutziks even used the fallen columns and capitals as benches and tables), as well as the remains of the Crusader castle. In this photo, if you click it, you can just make out some houses near the middle that belong to the kibbutz. The stacks in the background belong to, I seem to recall, a power plant which was just being built while I lived there. At that time there was only one stack. I used to take long romantic walks on the beach at night with my girlfriend. Heady days. Lots and lots of memories. Sdot Yam was founded as a kibbutz by Ben Gurion during the period when the British were refusing to allow Jews to enter the Holy Land. Because the old Roman seaport was still actually usable and all the land around it was and had been owned by Jewish groups, he knew he could settle the kibbutz without much trouble and then ships could come in at night, dock using the Roman wharf and off-load in safety. One of my friends on the kibbutz was a Norwegian sailor who helped in the operation (during WWII) and decided to stay. I'm getting all misty ... [snurf] ... Next year in Jerusalem ...

2007-03-28T19:39:00.000-04:00

SPRING IN DC. Well, it's spring in DC and ... the puerile insanity just continues. My real job took me up to Capitol Hill today [yes, I do have a real job] and, as usual, I ran into at least one delusional narcissist holding a sign. Another moron in a costume. .... displaying as you can readily appreciate, the standard leftist lack of any sense of design. Absolutely no concept regarding how to display a message. Not a clue how to take best advantage of one's canvas. And, as usual, I had my camera to record the meshuggener. Gevalt.

2007-03-19T09:39:00.000-04:00

PROTEST CODA: MARCH 17, 2007

I have no idea what to say, so I'll just let this one speak for itself. I wish I could use the Warner Bros. Cartoon exit music... Th-th-th-th-that's all folks!

2007-03-18T10:14:00.000-04:00

MARCH 17, 2007: ANSWER ANTI-WAR RALLY [Scroll down for more posts and video] As I said in my previous post ... while the American flag was prominent at the Gathering of Eagles rally, ANSWER and their fellow-traveller friends and thugs had their own flags. Here's a few. That Iraqi flag represents the insurgents and terrorists. Make no mistake. These ANSWER events aren't "peace" rallies. They're all for the "insurgents" killing American troops. That's OK. Don't question their patriotism. The funny thing is that this flag is the product of US industry. Plus, his daddy probably works for one of those dreaded conglomerates. Of course, now that I think of it ... that's probably what gets him so worked up. Nor are these things cheap. This number right here probably cost him his whole week's allowance. DC and vicinity is full of this type. I read an article a few month's back ... I think it was the New Republic ... talking about McLean VA [one of our more prominent suburbs] and how it's a nest of Republicans. Sheesh, I grew up in McLean and go back there quite often. I have no idea what he was talking about. The Kennedys live in McLean for cripes sake. All the kids there drive to Langley High School [my own alma mater] in brand-new BMWs while reading The Nation and complaining about CO2. The dreaded Keffiyeh was also prominent. Again ... no "peace" statement that. Killing Jews is OK. I'd like to believe that these people are simply naive. However, the more "rallies" like this I go to, the more I'm convinced of just the opposite. ANSWER is the worst. They were nothing until they co-opted the anti-Semitic, Hamas thugocracy and gave them a portal into their own list of fellow-travellers. These thugs know exactly what they're saying. And they're proud of it. Well ... at least he was warm. I spoke with this guy. No accent. Probably goes to High School in McLean VA or Potomac MD. What are they teaching those kids? What a putz. The outfit looked brand new. There are any number of hooka bars sprouting up in the DC area and you can always buy other accessories there as well, and sometimes some native clothing. Keffiyehs of course. OK ... I know that because I own a hooka. A nice one. Sue me. 911 "Truth" is a growing phenomenon at these rallies. Every time I go to one the contingent gets bigger and more vocal. Nicer posters, too. I think this one was professionally printed. Some thought (at least a little anyway) went into the logo as well as the choice of font. Good use of space. Readable from a distance. Good marks, all in all. Bravo. This one, too. Nice contrast. These people are beginning to learn, I think. In addition to these larger posters, there were gazillions of smaller ones ... all pre-printed and stapled to a wooden handle. People were walking the crowd passing them out. When I first saw them appear at the previous rally I was a bit taken aback. Not at the fact that there were groups willing to spread this odious message ... I was surprised by how many people willingly and appreciatively took them. What's happening to this country? Here's the rare "Truther" in a costume. Money was spent. Thought given. Energy wasted. There's always one or two costumes at every rally. I've given some thought myself to using costume as a disguise but then I thought ... what are you, an idiot? Still, one of these days I just might do that. Get right up to Brian Becker and the rest of the thugs. Might be worth it. In addition to their many obvious qualities, ANSWER protesters have a ... what's the word ... "jones" ... for a certain, er, epithet. They use it I guess for shock value. After a while, though, it just gets to be routine. Ah yes, another ANSWER rally. Another f*ck. This lady showed up with her "significant other" who was wearing something similar but significantly more tame. Is there something going on in Texas that I don't know about? I have family in Texas. I don't know any Texans who would find this amusing. Except, maybe, in Austin. Nicely done, though. A good size ... readable ... original imagery. The swastika is a bit small, though. Still, they don't have to be big to get the "message" across. Plus the "flag" gave him a chance to use red, which is always good as an eye-catcher. My guess is that he's either an art student or is dating one. Speaking of swastikas ... There's always one or two "Che"s. There were very few puppets at this rally. This one is a bit unusual. Please note the use of the "Fox News is evil" meme so popular now among the lefties. Don't dare disagree with these folks. Don't dare question their patriotism. This poor puppet critter was having a bad bad day. In addition to being quite cold, it was also a typically windy March day in our Nation's Capital ... which just gets even more windy when crossing a bridge ... like Memorial Bridge ... which is what we were crossing when I took this photo. The poor puppet was getting battered. Just battered. I don't think it survived the march. I could be wrong. Oh ... and never forget ... these are the intelligentsia ... the educated ones ... the smart ones ... the "reality-based" community. They've got it all together. They see through all the deceptions. They read the Times. They scoff at Fox News. If only they could spell.

2007-03-18T09:20:00.000-04:00

MARCH 17, 2006: GATHERING OF EAGLES [Scroll down for more posts and video] Ok, guys ... that wasn't funny. I mean, well, it was sorta funny. But not that funny. True story: these guys wouldn't let me into the Gathering of Eagles rally. Seriously. They called me names. I tried to explain to them who I am and what I'm trying to do, but no go. Is it my fault I need to "blend" when covering ANSWER? One of the marshalls explained patiently to me that ... while I had every right to protest the war ... I needed to keep to my own side of the street. Sheesh. And when I said (patiently) that I'm really on their side to begin with I thought the cops standing around were going to arrest me. Crimminy. I had to high-tail it back into moonbatland. I mean ... would you mess with these guys?! Other than that, though, I was very impressed with the Gathering. I did manage to get in by another route. A nice job was done by all. If we're counting numbers ... and I haven't seen any "official" count yet ... I'd say that the Gathering of Eagles and ANSWER were about even. 25,000 to 35,000 each ... give or take. I sorta felt sorry for Medea Benjamin and Code Pink, though. I think that they managed all of 10. That's a one (1) followed by a zero (0). Period. But that's not even counting Cindy Sheehan. So, OK ... what ... eleven. Tops. As you can see, the American flag was displayed prominently and proudly. The ANSWER blokes had their own flags. You'll see those in another post. Check back. The Gathering of Eagles rally was spread out ... a sizable crowd near the Vietnam Memorial where the speeches were taking place ... a lot at the Memorial itself ... a very large crowd at the Lincoln Memorial (seen here) just opposite the ANSWER rally and "commenting" [loudly] on the speeches there ... a whole gaggle at the entrance to Memorial Bridge ... and more down in front of the entrance to Arlington Cemetery at the end of the bridge. This is a picture of the line waiting to get into the Vietnam Memorial. You can't see much of it. It was a huge line. Normally one can simply walk into the Memorial, but for the "event" some tents were put up to screen people. Wise. The ANSWER crowd scoffs at the notion that they'd desecrate the Memorial but I know those people and I know better. Some, true, wouldn't hurt a fly. But there's a sizable number of them who are dangerous. You've got to watch your step. There are other, smaller Memorials and statues scattered around the mall nearby and each one had a group of Eagles keeping watch. Good job. This is another dude who called me names after I took the photo. He ... curiously ... told me to "enjoy it". I'm not sure what he meant ... and I certainly hope he didn't mean what I think he might have meant. But ... OK ... here it is and I'm "enjoying" it. He's holding an American flag (fluttering on the other side of the multi-colored Peace sign in the hands of the crazy lady standing next to him). The things I put up with.

2007-03-17T23:00:00.000-04:00

SO BRAVE All right. Here it is.... Gathering of Eagles .... I love you all. I did my best. Scroll down for more...

2007-03-17T21:55:00.000-04:00

Protest Music Protest Sounds or "music". Enjoy. Or not.

2007-03-17T17:04:00.000-04:00

ANSWER "End the War" Protest Rally: March 17, 2007 Ok, I'll begin with a joke. Cheap shot? Sure. Dig the heart shape as a "dot" over the i? Love it. Check back for more photos and video? You know the routine.

2007-03-12T22:33:00.001-04:00

It Begins ... March 17. Saturday. Another incompetent, ill-conceived, poorly run, walking, shrieking, fist-shaking menagerie of geriatric boomers, bullhorns, angry "youths", "Che" tote-bags and lefty beret-wearing "revolutionary" wannabes. The made-in-media, pseudo-anarchist "Revolution" of suburban poseurs once again rears it's unkempt, bed-matted head. These folks have to do something between bong parties in their parent's basement while dad cleans the gutters. And, yes, someone has to blog it. See you there.

2007-02-25T20:53:00.001-05:00

A Gathering of Eagles III Here's a fuller version of the Gathering of Eagles press conference here in DC at the National Press Club, February 22. It's almost 20 minutes long, but worth the watch. Things seem to be picking up steam ... this could get real interesting.

2007-02-24T22:30:00.000-05:00

Today's my first Blog Anniversary! Check here for my first post covering the rally in support of the Danish Government at the Danish Embassy here in DC, organized by Christopher Hitchens. It was during all the Mohammed Cartoons meshuggas. I had just bought my first camera ... a Sony CyberShot 7.2 MegaPixel (which has a video function as well as taking high resolution photos), and I trotted down to the Embassy to check it out and lend my own support. The video of Christopher Hitchens is at the bottom of the post, so keep scrolling. In between you'll see photos of both Hitchens and Andrew Sullivan who attended the rally. I'll repost the video here, too: Seems like more than a year. What a great time. Michelle Malkin kindly featured the post and off I went...this year's promising to be just as interesting. And then there's the election. Heh. I still use the Sony for most of my stills and some video ... now I'm generally using a Canon Elura 100 for most of the videos and a still-photo every now and then, though the resolution isn't great (compared with the Sony) when used for photos.

2007-02-22T16:19:00.000-05:00

A Gathering of Eagles I attended the press conference for Gathering of Eagles, which is an event scheduled for March 17 ... concurrent with ANSWER's anti-war rally ... and is intended to protect the Vietnam Memorial from desecration by those thugs. The ANSWER rally starts at the Vietnam Memorial and ends at the Pentagon. At left is a photo of Larry Bailey, co-Chair of Gathering of Eagles. I'm processing some video. Richard "Dick" Becker, brother of Brian Becker ... National Coordinator for the ANSWER Coalition ... attended. We had a talk. Check back later! **** UPDATE **** Funny how Dick tries to dismiss the whole Gathering of Eagles event. Then again I just have to ask: if he is so unconcerned ... why was he there are the press conference? Just wondering. Here's an appeal by Larry Bailey to get people out for the rally: Here's the DC Channel 7 WJLA video on this subject:

Please make sure your flash player is up to date. Click here to update.

Dick Becker of course thinks that the spraypainting of the Capitol steps last month was a minor incident.

2007-02-18T21:56:00.000-05:00

For Presidents Day, here's a video taken from a 16mm film my dad made of John Kennedy's funeral here in DC. There's no sound. I was in 3rd Grade at the time ... it's cliche but it's true: I'll never forget that moment. It was recess and I was on the swing set. My teacher, Ms. Connor, came out onto a balcony overlooking the playground and asked us all to come inside. She was very serious and sad ... scary for a kid that age. I remember clearly scrapping my feet and halting the swing as quickly as I could: then getting in line quietly with the rest of my class as we climbed the steps into the darkened hall leading to our classroom. I'm not sure what happens at those moments ... the brain must have some sort of function where it can capture critical info even in retrograde and post it as IMPORTANT for future review. Certainly, no one knows instantly and for certain at the exact moment of impact that such things will come back to haunt. Anyway ... my dad caught this. A perspective you'll not see anywhere else, though not necessarily of any more import. Just another citizen journalist standing where no one else has stood, or could stand. It must be in the blood. I never noticed before, though, that the horse was so fractious.

2007-02-05T20:29:00.000-05:00

Blogger Meryl Yourish used (with permission and even assistance, of course) some of my audio for her podcast this weekend at Shire Network News. Click HERE. It starts between 1/2 to 2/3 the way through, though of course the whole podcast is worth the listen. And, no, I don't mind that she got my "name" wrong. Note the quotes and ignore the dramatic irony* ... especially you, Audrey.

*dramatic irony noun Irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a drama and is understood by [some of - ed.] the audience but not grasped by the characters in the play.

2007-01-28T19:47:00.000-05:00

Here's yet another video! [Requires Flash] [NOTE: I've taken down the original Flash version and left up the YouTube version below ... too many bandwidth issues.] This one highlights the speakers at the Code Pink pre-Rally: [please NOTE: this is not the "main event" or the speeches you can see on C-Span. This was taken about an hour or more before that at a smaller, though related, protest at the Navy Memorial near the National Archives.] Maxine Waters (D-CA) Sean Penn Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) Jane Fonda Eve Ensler Dennis calls for some 9/11 "truth" ... Ms. Ensler rendered a new "monologue" for the event. I tried to make it more interesting with a few "flourishes" of my own. I hope you enjoy. **** UPDATE **** Here's the YouTube version: Keep scrolling down for more! I've put up about 4 posts all together on the protest ... lots of photos and one more video. Enjoy!

2007-01-28T14:40:00.000-05:00

Here's the video! [Requires Flash] [NOTE: I've taken down the original Flash version and left up the YouTube version below ... too many bandwidth issues.] **** UPDATE **** And here's the YouTube version! The above video comprises scenes from the march itself.

2007-01-27T21:57:00.000-05:00

PROTEST RALLY: Washington DC, 1/27/2007 I'll begin with puppets. I'll also probably end with puppets ... so stick around. If you're a puppet fan. Although the rest of the puppet "magic" may not make it into this particular "update". I'm still processing the video. It's all in real-time, my friends. Almost 2 hours. **** UPDATE **** Video is up. Click HERE. Almost 2 hours of this crap to filter and sort, so it'll take some time. Plus I have to relive two hours of my life that I'm not really that anxious to relive. And after that, I've got to edit it all down to 10 minutes ... tops. Then process it as a swf file and then as a YouTube file. This is all going to take some time but ... I assure you ... I am doing all I can to make sure it is worth the wait. In the meantime, I'll amuse with some photos. Let's stay with puppets, shall we? Now this is, actually, a somewhat unusual puppet as far as puppets go. It's manipulated by three (3) puppeteers ... one in the middle controlling the general aspect and direction of the puppet ... with two others manipulating the arms (basically just up and down with limited motion to the side). You can make out the sticks they use for that if you look carefully. It's also taller than puppets tend to be. The reason for that is that the puppet itself is completely flat if you view it edge-on and is, therefore, lightweight ... yet sturdy enough to achieve the requisite height. Kinda creepy. This rather peculiar puppet was ... at least at this stage ... simply a bookmark for a place people could contribute to the "effort". It does make an appearance later on. Here are those two puppets in the first image as seen alone. Frankly, I'm not entirely certain what they are supposed to represent. I think the dude may be wearing some sort of military cover ... though the rest of him is far from kosher on that issue. The chick ... well that's anyone's guess. Maybe they're supposed to be farmers or something. You know ... the "people". The ones in the red states who hate Bush. Or they would if they were properly "educated". Maybe. 911 "Truth" was a big subject at this rally. I didn't manage to get everything ... but it was very pervasive. This particular sign was just about everywhere. This is just getting, well, supernatural. It's almost a death cult. There's going to be stuff re the "truthers" on the video when I get it done. "When". This particular guy was of a type we find quite often at these events. He knows he wants to be here. He knows he's got something to say. Something important. And ... yet ... he can't quite remember where the Art Supply store is. So he makes a quick dash to the CVS ... buys a Sharpie pack (on sale) with and assortment of red, blue and black. Too late he remembers the poster board. No matter ... he's got some 8.5x11 in the old Epson. That'll do. That'll do just swell. This type of dude is harder to pin down.

You don't talk to these types.

You just don't.

OK, here next we have an assortment of borderline anti-Semitic tripe that is just all too common in this environment.

This is a fairly typical selection.

You don't talk to these guys either.

I mean ... just look at that hat.

Now here's a group of folks you don't see when the MSM covers these kind of events. But that's why I'm here. They're everywhere. They probably comprise the largest force in these protests. You'd never know it, would you? You might guess it, true. But watching Katie on CBS you'd never actually know it. Would you? G-d I love my job. And then there's the inevitable "keffieh clutch". How progressive.

Here's some stuff I simply filed under "insanity". You be the judge.

2007-01-27T18:42:00.000-05:00

OK ... Let's get some of the obvious jokes behind us first. And, no, I don't mean Dennis Kucinich ... though we'll get to him later. No. What I mean is Sean Penn and his relationship (I use the term loosely [indeed! - ed.]) with Code Pink and "aspects" of the Code Pink milieu. [note: check HERE for updates] **** UPDATE **** Video is up. Click HERE. Now, before I begin let me reiterate here a moment. As I've said before: I like Code Pink. I think that ... in a "Protest" market ... Code Pink is actually quite brilliant. Mega kudos to Medea Benjamin and the rest of her sewing club. They've taken a long-honored American Tradition (the outraged pacifist) and put a Trademark stamp on it that would make John Deere envious. Bravo. I mean ... just look at this stuff! Could you find a better example of controlled chaos? Give your "followers" some simple rules and some simple examples and ... voila ... a coordinated protest rally. Purses, shoes and all. Brilliant. Masterful. So ... here's Sean (come to their rally [snap]) in all his smoky man-ness ... giving pearls of Penn manly wisdom in his manly measured tones. Hands swaggeringly (is that a word?) in his manly pockets before the manly mike in his manly shades. And ... you think this go unnoticed by these Code Pinkettes?? Just look at the photo on the left. "Click" it to get a better resolution. You tell me. I already have my own theory. And it's a darn good one. Ladies, ladies, ladies! Sure enough, after about an hour of this, Sean has just about had it. There there, Sean. There there. It will all be over soon. Ya know. I almost felt sorry for the bloke. Almost. One more thing ... a damned good-looking fellow. Some of these Hollywood types get kind of ... scary ... when you actually meet them and you see just how much the camera "forgives". Not Sean. And I got pretty damned close. Still. And that's just for the record. Also "just for the record" I'd like to say that Jane Fonda here ... aging moonbat loon that she is ... doesn't suffer from a close-up either. I mean, "Wow". And without that horrid pulled-back alien look of women who have had one face-lift too many and end up looking like the grasshoppers in "A Bug's Life". Nice. I think that the first movie I saw her in was "Cat Ballou". I was a pre-teen (all of 10 or 11 when it came out) and I fell instantly in lust. The toad standing next to her is Eve Ensler ("author" of the Vagina Monologues). Hence the wart. OK dudes ... hold on to your seats (or coffee mugs or beer bottles or whatever). This is Dennis Kucinich and ... his wife. How in the name of all that is holy and just did this happen? Dennis was a particular favorite with this crowd. I wouldn't count him out in the next Presidential race. Really. He's got a lot of appeal with the base. I was actually quite taken aback. And who ... who ... could complain about his wife? I mean I don't know if she's some sort of air-head moron or simply a gold-digging power leech. But all she has to do is keep her mouth shut and, like, who cares? Did I mention that the Code Pink rally was simply a sideshow of the Main Event? I didn't? Well ... it was. The title of this bit of a side show was (har har) "Women Say Pull Out!" I thought we where SUPPOSED to make love, not war. No matter. I have much video to get through and process (about 1.5 hours actually) with a lot of drums and puppets and stilts and other insanity I'm sure you will all enjoy. Please check back! Click HERE: Updates are up!

2006-12-26T21:42:00.000-05:00

Here's an oldie but a goodie. I recorded this over this summer at the White House during a Code Pink rally.

2006-12-12T17:00:00.000-05:00

I swear I can't make stuff like this up. ANSWER is having a sale. Here's a part of the pitch:

"Give an antiwar gift this holiday season. For a limited time, we are making available the beautiful and compelling End Occupation T-Shirts for 50% off. Also if you make a purchase totaling $40 or more you'll get a free VoteNoWar Campaign shirt. The half-off t-shirt reads "End Occupation! No to Colonialism in Iraq, Palestine, Haiti, Afghanistan and Everywhere!"

They come in baby sizes, too. I kid you not.

2006-12-05T08:58:00.000-05:00

Welcome PowerLine readers (and thank you, Scott, for such a nice compliment!). Scroll down a few posts for the "Imams On A Plane" pray-in post. For the complete collection of my various and sundry videos on the wacky, crazy mixed-up goings-on here in DC, please visit my archive site: AGE OF HOOPER (VIDEO).

2006-11-30T11:29:00.000-05:00

Imam Mahdi Bray seems to be "in the news" a bit these days as a result of the "Imams-on-a-Plane" incident [see my earlier post] and his interview with Michelle Malkin on the Laura Ingraham radio show. Here's a video I made earlier this year of a short talk I had with the Imam in front of the Israeli Embassy here in Washington DC. The "protest" in the pipe at the time was directed against the Israeli government. It was at the start of their incursion into Gaza as a response to the kidnapping of Cpl. Shalit. We chatted shortly after the formal "protest", which was sponsored in part by our old pals and commie-poseurs at ANSWER. I really wish the Imam [who seems at least in person to be a decent enough bloke] wouldn't hang out with those thugs. I say that the Imam seems to be a "decent enough bloke" ... and perhaps that's simply because we're both Virginia "homeboys" and share some sort of bizarre semi-Southern, Shenandoah Valley based commonality. There are those who disagree with my assessment. Please check this LINK at Jihad Watch for more information on the Imam. Perhaps I'm being naive ... I don't know. That's why I'm posting the video. I report, you decide. While I agree with almost nothing he says in the video, I must say that he comes across (to me) as sincere and is frankly a breath of fresh air when compared to most other people I meet at these events. I usually either have to deal with smug T-Shirt emblazoned "philosophers" and coffee-shop leftists, "Che"-wearing poseurs, ANSWER thugs, grim-faced radical Islamists and al-Qaida types or (worse) completely clueless middle-aged or teenage (there's almost no in-between) suburban "concerned citizens" and Code Pinkers who would be better off learning the actual lessons of Vietnam and the 1960s as opposed to their own romanticized versions of those lessons. It can be quite draining.

2006-11-29T19:59:00.000-05:00

WOW.

"Speeding toward pale, icy Dione, Cassini's view is enriched by the tranquil gold and blue hues of Saturn in the distance. The horizontal stripes near the bottom of the image are Saturn's rings. The spacecraft was nearly in the plane of the rings when the images were taken, thinning them by perspective and masking their awesome scale. The thin, curving shadows of the C ring and part of the B ring adorn the northern latitudes visible here, a reminder of the rings' grandeur."

Click HERE for high res. Click HERE for Cassini-Huygens home page and more photos.

2006-11-27T13:43:00.000-05:00

Fellow-Travellers arrive at Reagan National Airport. Imam Omar Shahin of Tucson AZ managed to cobble together an "inter-faith" pray-in today at Reagan National Airport ... early. 8:15 am. I had to get up at 5:30 am to make it in time for this. For this. **** UPDATE **** Here's the video! [Requires Flash] [click the "play" button] I'm uploading to YouTube and will post that when processed. **** UPDATE **** Here's the YouTube version: The things we do to keep you informed. It [the "pray-in"] was a classic example of modern media manipulation and propaganda ... hardly anything there was actually what it seemed to be. I'll be posting one of my own videos on that subject later ... for now I'll leave you with a few photos. There was, of course, the standard media-swarm. G-d forbid they miss an opportunity to display their "courage" and "concern". More on that in the video. I swear that one of these day's I'll point my video camera into this crowd and allow you all a quick snapshot of the type of things these guys talk about. On the other hand, it's probably just about what you'd expect so why bother running the risk of becoming a pariah. Still. A lot of my old friends showed up ... among them Imam Mahdi Bray, who is the executive director of the Muslim American Society (MAS) Freedom Foundation. I have to admit that I have a grudging affection for Imam Bray ... I'm spoken to him and have seen him at a number of these protest rallies ... and he does seem to be a genuine fellow of peace and a devout Muslim. Perhaps I'm being naive, given his reputation elsewhere ... but I've never ... personally ... detected any animosity from him nor have I heard first-hand anything beyond what I could classify as more than just common left-wing spittle [which, perhaps, I've become just too used to]. Too bad he hangs out with these types and ANSWER thugs. I suppose it's a living. A devilishly handsome bloke, though. This guy showed up, too. "Rabbi" Arthur Waskow. He's a Reconstructionist. I know that doesn't mean much to the non-tribal readers. Frankly, it doesn't mean much to the tribe, either. It's all very confusing. Suffice to say that it qualifies as "Jewish", but just to the left of Unitarian.

**** UPDATE: 11/29 **** I've just been informed that our friend Waskow here has left the already wacky Reconstructionist movement and has merged into the barely sentient "Jewish Renewal" movement [which, frankly I had never even heard of] ... talk about a slide into darkness. This is the best they could get? This is sort of like getting Jim Jones to stand up as a representative of the Vatican.

He definitely needs talit-wearing lessons. I assure you ... it's an art and this "rabbi" doesn't have the beginning of a clue. Here's a link to his web site. About what you'd expect. He's a friend of Cindy Sheehan's so I suppose that makes him a good Jew to keep around, just in case. Like now ... when they actually need one. Hold the phone! Who is this distinguished, full-bearded gentleman stepping up to the mike in his expensive suit? Could it be the Reverend Graylan Hagler of the United Church of Christ? What's that he's saying about America? What's that he's saying about the Jews and getting along together? My word, but he seems to be a reasonable bloke! Mon dieu! It is! It is the Rev Hagler! Now, where have I seen him before? Ah ... now I remember ... more on that [later] in the video. Heh. It pays to go to more than one of these.

2006-11-16T18:01:00.000-05:00

This was a video I made on February 24, 2006 in front of the Danish Embassy in Washington DC. We were meeting together to express solidarity with Denmark and free-speech during the "muslim cartoon" insanity. At the end of the rally, Hitchens got up to give a short address and I decided to test the video setting on my new Sony MegaPixel. I posted the video and it quickly spread around the net ... it was my first attempt at "videoblogging" and, luckily, I hit a home-run. I've finally given up on Google Video and am now, one by one, transferring all of my archived videos over to YouTube. I don't know what I was thinking ... that when Google purchased YouTube they would somehow merge their databases? Perhaps that's in the works but I certainly haven't been notified. As it now stands, YouTube is the standard for web-video and that isn't likely to change any time soon. That's where all the viewership is and all the action. Funny, when I made this video ... just February of this year ... YouTube didn't even exist.

2006-11-14T23:53:00.000-05:00

ADL in Concert against Hate. Living in Washington can indeed be fun and interesting ... from time to time. When I'm not, that is, stumbling over crazy fishwives with bullhorns shouting squeaky inanities in front of the White House. At times I do manage to avoid all that and take in some of the really positive offerings on display in DC. They do exist. Tonight was one of those real treats and an opportunity to rub shoulders with honest History, both from the past and in-the-making. Tonight was the annual "ADL in Concert Against Hate" at the Kennedy Center. My wife, Julia, and I were privileged to attend. Tonight the ADL honored four people with their annual Ina Kay Award, recognizing "individuals for extraordinary acts of courage in confronting intolerance and injustice, extremism and terrorism." I was extremely honored to meet once again with Simon Deng and thank him ... again ... for speaking out against the Muslim Jihad of Racial and Religious Extermination currently underway in the Sudan against both blacks and Christians ... especially Christian blacks, but the odd Muslim black is often thrown into the fire as well. Islam is, as we are all constantly reminded after all, an egalitarian religion. He gave me a hug. A good one. At the age of 9, Simon was kidnapped and sold as a slave to an Arab Muslim family in northern Sudan. Yes, this still happens. His first day with his new "family" he was shown a photograph of a man who had his hands and feet chopped off. His masters explained to him that that was what was in store for him if he escaped. Yep. 9 years old. "Religion of Peace". Through a fortuitous coincidence, and after many years in captivity, he managed to make his plight known to a traveler from a village near to where he was born. The traveler found his family, who were naturally astonished to discover their son still alive. A cousin managed to help him escape. Simon has since become an American citizen and has dedicated his life to fighting slavery and bringing awareness to the rest of the world of the genocidal Jihad happening to his people today. Tomorrow, too. His story is one we should all remember. Another recipient of the Award was Ruth Halimi, the mother of Ilan Halimi who, you may remember, was brutally murdered by a gang of Muslim thugs in Paris, February 2006. Here she is pictured [right] with her daughter. Ilan was kidnapped and tortured for weeks merely because he was a Jew. His body was left on the roadside, naked and severely burned by, among other things, acid. He was found, but died on the way to the hospital. He was 23. Ruth Halimi has become a forceful voice in France against anti-Semitism and terrorism. In that environment among the growing hordes of the coming Eurabia, hers is an example of truly undaunted courage. Ruby Bridges was another of tonight's honorees. Perhaps you remember her from the famous Norman Rockwell painting "The Problem We All Live With", pictured here. In 1960, a Ruby Bridges was 6 years old and became the first black child to integrate the New Orleans public school system. I myself was but a wee nip of 5 ... but I remember clearly the turmoil of those heady days ... and this situation in particular. We were both starting school at about the same time, after all. Ruby [pictured here, center] was not well received her first year. In fact, all 500 of the school's white parents withdrew their children rather than have them endure the unendurable ... and actually attend Elementary school [sing songs, listen to stories, paste, and draw and color flowers and rainbows and horseys] with a girl sporting her skin color. Hard to believe now, but 46 years make a lot of difference at times. Additionally, all the school's teachers resigned rather than face the appalling task of actually teaching her ... all except one. Mrs. Barbara Henry [left, in the floral dress] who remained with Ruby, and taught her for the entire year, just the two of them alone in her classroom. Alone in the entire building as it turns out. The entire school year. I had the honor of speaking with both and shaking their hands. How often does one get the chance to do that? A further honoree, not pictured here [I couldn't for the life of me get a decent photo of the woman who was there to represent him, Stephanie Chang] was Vincent Chin who was brutally murdered in June of 1982 in Detroit because he was an Asian. At the time, the US car industry was going through one of its periodic depressions due to forced unprofitability because of insane Union [UAW] demands; and Japanese car makers ... and by extension Asians as a whole ... were the community scape-goats -- a perception encouraged by the United Auto Workers union itself. The UAW, in their zeal, in fact organized "official" anti-Japanese "PR events" like the smashing of Japanese-made cars with sledge-hammers and baseball bats. The UAW distributed bumper-stickers with slant-eyed smiley faces on them. The list goes on. Vincent was killed by two unemployed UAW autoworker thugs, Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz. They beat him to death with a baseball bat, crushing his skull. Probably a left-over from a "PR event". One witness said that they swung the bat like a major-league player going for a home run. Oh, and ... not that it makes much difference, but just for the record ... Vincent's parents were Chinese. And he worked for GM. For a variety of reasons, the court system was unable to bring the murderers to justice. Ooops ... I'm sorry, I forgot ... as I recall they were fined something like $3700 and given 3 years probation in the initial trial. Quoth the judge: "These aren't the kind of men you send to jail . You fit the punishment to the criminal, not the crime." I think they also had to pay court-costs. My guess, close to $700 more ... give or take. His mother, a legal immigrant, became a tireless voice against bigotry and formed the American Citizens for Justice. Following the aquittal of Ebens and Nitz from Federal charges on a technicality after years of court battles, she moved back to China ... yes, China ... in disgust and dispair. Bravo, UAW ... bravo.

2006-11-09T23:37:00.000-05:00

When Democrats once ruled ... a long time ago ... in what seems like a galaxy far far away. I'm re-reading James MacGregor Burns' Roosevelt: The Soldier of Freedom and came across an interesting passage. Roosevelt gave a speech near the end of WWII to the Foreign Policy Association regarding the form and purpose of the proposed new "United Nations" and just what would be needed from it in order to "keep the peace" after the war. He said:

"Peace, like war, can succeed only where there is a will to enforce it, and where there is available power to enforce it. "The Council of the United Nations must have the power to act quickly and decisively to keep the peace by force, if necessary. A policeman would not be a very effective policeman if, when he saw a felon break into a house, he had to go to the Town Hall and call a town meeting to issue a warrant before the felon could be arrested. "So to my simple mind it is clear that, if the world organization is to have any reality at all, our American representative must be endowed in advance by the people themselves, by constitutional means through their representatives in the Congress, with authority to act. "If we do not catch the international felon when we have our hands on him, if we let him get away with his loot because the Town Council has not passed an ordinance authorizing his arrest, then we are not doing our share to prevent another world war ..." emphasis in original

I think that today's Democrats would have called him a "cowboy" and questioned his commitment to privacy and citizen's [in this case criminal's] rights. Still, let's see what they can do with their new toys. Now's their chance to show us all that they are still the grown-up party of Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy, or at least can find their way back to it. I don't hold out much hope. Believe it or not, there were war critics then as well; made worse by the fact that, in 1940, Roosevelt had made a pledge to the mothers of America that their sons would never be sent into any foreign war. He never backed down, though, on his decision to go to war when he did. Roosevelt again:

"I am sure that any real American -- any real, red-blooded American -- would have chosen, as this Government did, to fight when our own soil was made the object of a sneak attack. As for myself, under the same circumstances, I would choose to do the same thing -- again and again and again ..."

Remember, too, that the main focus of the war from the beginning was Germany, the famous "Atlantic First" policy ... against a country totally innocent in the attack on Pearl Harbor.

2006-11-08T15:06:00.000-05:00

A cloudy day in DC. I decided to take a jaunt down to the White House today just to check what's going on ... and who did I run into but the ever-present Cindy Sheehan. Had a nice little talk with her, which I'll post below in a low-resolution video. Why "low-resolution" you ask? Simple. I set my camera's video to a low-res setting for a specific purpose and "forgot" to set it back. Chalk it up to experience. Won't happen again. When I got there it was only Cindy, one other Code Pinker and a bull-horn. What more could one want? Interestingly, while Cindy and I were talking she got a phone call from someone telling her that Rumsfeld was resigning, so I got her reaction. In low-res. Sheesh. Soon enough the crowd began to grow by the slow addition of the regular bunch of nuts and hippie geriatrics. It never got larger than a handful. I had a long, enlightening talk with one of them. I'll be posting that, too. In low-res. Ugh. Here's the Cindy video [above]. YouTube FINALLY processed it through. Notice that part of the way through she gets the phone call announcing Rumsfeld's resignation. I'm still processing the other video. Sorry again about the low-res. Won't happen again. [Cripes al'mitey.] **** UPDATE **** Here's a conversation I had with Cindy's "Poet Laureate" Rick Burnley. Apparently there may be a "plan" in the works to re-take power. Plus, the Republican election-theft-squad seems to have been asleep at the wheel on this one. Go figure. Yet, beyond all the crazy rhetoric he seemed a likable enough bloke and claimed to be a veteran, so I'm including the entire video. The poem is priceless and worth the wait.

[One more thing I've got to say to this dude's credit. When I interviewed him he directed his answers to the CAMERA and not to me ... that's real nice and shows a creditable amount of experience and awareness of what's going on vis-a-vis the media. Kudos, dude. Kudos. Nuts ... but kudos.]

**** NEW UPDATE **** Im processing these into YouTube now and will have those versions up as soon as they are available ... that should solve the bandwith issues at least for now.

2006-11-08T00:06:00.001-05:00

Golden Night on Saturn

Saturn's B and C rings shine in diffuse, scattered light as the Cassini spacecraft looks on the planet's night side. The southern hemisphere is lit by sunlight reflecting off the rings, while the north shines much more feebly in the dim light that filters through the rings and is scattered on the northern hemisphere.

Cassini-Huygens is currently orbiting Saturn at a distance of over 1.5 billion km from Earth.

2006-11-07T14:16:00.000-05:00

Just got back from voting. Here's the video re the Kos reaction to the Iranian anti-Jewish cartoon contest that's floating around the web now ... just in case you haven't seen it yet, that is. Remember the enemy. Get out and vote.

2006-10-16T21:22:00.000-04:00

OK, I got yet another standard email from our unhinged friends at ANSWER today ... basic stuff: "U.S. Out of Iraq Now! We Are the Majority! End Colonial Occupation from Iraq, to Palestine, Haiti, and Everywhere!" ... blah blah. This [left] was included in the body of the email. I swear I wish I could make up stuff this good. But then I'd probably be making money doing this. There's an irony in there ... I just know there is. I hardly know what to say. Er ... "Resist capitalist exploitation of the ignorant masses"? The hoodie is $40.00 and only comes in medium, large, x-large, xx-large, xxx-large. They're out of xxx-large. You can probably guess why ...

2006-10-16T17:48:00.000-04:00

Google Earth is replacing a lot of its low resolution overviews with some higher resolution stuff. This is one of the newer images. It's of Kibbutz Beit Kama in southern Israel, between Beersheva and Kiryat Gat. Clicking the image will make it larger. I lived here from 1976 to 1977. Some stuff has changed, but surprisingly little, at least from this perspective. I lived in one of the buildings near the center at the bottom of the image. I worked primarily in the Pardess (orchard) growing and picking oranges, grapefruits and lemons. Lots of great, great memories. Really, one of the happiest times in my life. If any one else has memories of this kibbutz, or if you were there around the same time, please contact me. Between 1978 to 1979 I moved to another kibbutz farther north, S'dot Yam. Sadly, the Google Earth image of that is still very low-res.

2006-10-10T17:42:00.000-04:00

Well ... our mind-bogglingly incompetent friends at ANSWER have requested that we contact Columbia U President Lee Bollinger and express our "support" for the ANSWER thugs who disrupted the Minuteman event at the University. Somehow or other they have managed, by sheer dint of Freudian projection, to make themselves be the "victims" of their own blatant assault on the First Amendment and simple decency. They even kindly offer a link so that we can send a message to Bollinger. We can even "personalize" it. Heh. Here's the link: Click HERE So, send Bollinger a note, courtesy of ANSWER! Have fun!

2006-09-19T16:00:00.000-04:00

I've been crazy busy with a number of projects ... nothing to do with the blog. I notice that Darfur is once again in the news ... here are some videos I made earlier this year on that subject:


Simon Deng, a former slave from Sudan, speaks about his life and his troubled country in a speech on the West Lawn of the US Capitol April 5, 2006.

The chairman of the American Anti-Slavery Group speaks about the Arab-Muslim jihad against blacks, both Christian and Muslim, ongoing in Sudan. Speeches by Elie Weisel (Night, etc.) and Paul Rusesabagina (Hotel Rwanda) ... made at the Rally to Stop Genocide, Washington DC, April 30, 2006.

2006-09-15T11:17:00.000-04:00

Muslims to Pope: How DARE you imply that Islam is a religion of violence?!? ... er

2006-09-08T15:10:00.000-04:00

One of my themes for this, and perhaps the next, election cycle will be what I perceive to be a slow yet steady re-alignment of the modern Jewish vote away from what was once a solid Democrat block toward the Republican Party. There are many reasons for this ... divisions over the War on Terror and the political fate of Israel being only two of them. Another is the growing anti-religious bias that is becoming increasingly mainstream in the Democrat Party. On that issue Jewish voters are finding themselves increasingly allied with the Christian Right, among others. In light of this, I attended a political rally last night for two new Republican candidates here in Maryland ... both Jewish ... Jeff Stein [left] here's his campaign website ... who is running in Maryland's 8th District. Michael Moshe Starkman [right] here's his campaign website ... who is running in Maryland's 4th District. **** UPDATE **** Both Jeff Stein and Moshe Starkman have moved on to the general election. The video [above] is the first "installment" in this series and serves as an introduction to the theme. In it, Rena Cohen of Books for Israel encapsulates the thought process currently underway in the community far better than I. I'm currently processing a video comprising both Jeff Stein and Moshe Starkman. Please check back.

2006-09-05T10:07:00.000-04:00

A Short History of IslamoNazism courtesy In the Bullpen For your afternoon viewing pleasure. PLEASE NOTE that I should have some new stuff of my own up by the end of this week regarding a very interesting congressional race near where I live in the DC area. While we're at it, here's another collection of infomercials and kiddy-shows brought to you by the "Religion of Peace". Know your enemy. Enjoy.

2006-09-01T15:40:00.000-04:00

Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) encourages anti-US demonstrations ... Not much going on right now ... though there are a number of demonstrations scheduled for later this month. I'll report on them as they come up. It's a soggy day today so I thought that I'd reprise a video I made earlier this year, (some of which was re-broadcast on Fox News Hannity & Colmes) in which we hear Father Louis Vitali remark on a conversation he had with Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) about the war in Iraq and the need for people like him to take to the streets. And remember that Reid is the Minority Leader in the Senate ... and would probably be the Majority Leader if (C"V) the Democrats take the Senate in November. Election day isn't that far off, after all.

2006-08-16T12:45:00.000-04:00

I've received my fair share of comments regarding the August 12 ANSWER demonstration ... most of the worst [some really dark stuff] on the YouTube site, some generally positive stuff on the comments to the posts, and some on both sides by email. Let me speak plainly ... I don't usually answer or even attend to shrill, anti-Semitic rants. Nor do I engage in debates. Unless, of course, I'm bored and in the mood. (Heh.) I'm old enough and experienced enough to know my own mind. I generally don't care what others think so I have no incentive to try and convince them that they may be wrong or illustrate an alternate perspective. I simply take a "so be it" attitude to the duped and obvious "fellow-travelers". There are of course exceptions. I received an email today from someone I have met a few times and who, I am certain, is a gentle, intelligent individual and a devout Muslim. The email is representative of most of the more reasonable comments I've received and which I've been tempted to address. However, if I engage in a debate with everyone who emails me I wouldn't have much time for anything else. After some consideration, though, I've decided that this particular person deserves a reply, and I've decided to address his email in lieu of all the others. Here, absent his return address, is the text:

Charles: I met you a couple of times in July filming our protests outside the Israeli embassy. I thought you were an objective individual, but I guess I was wrong. I'm appalled by some of the material you're putting on your blog. The march on August 12 was not an anti-Semitic event. It was an effort to get our government to realize the negative effects on our country that unconditional support for Israel's actions is having. We are not advocating any violence against Israel or Jewish people, many of whom are good friends of mine. You are perpetuating stereotypes and contributing to the problem, not helping to resolve it.

Here's my reply: Frankly, I, also, am appalled by most of the material I'm putting on my blog. Most of it makes me sick. If I seem to be making light of it ... well, that's just my way. The sad thing is I'm not making any of this up. None of the photos are staged or altered, though some have been cropped to highlight the material. If the march on August 12 wasn't supposed to be anti-Semitic then you, the organizers, need to do some serious housecleaning. I have documented obvious examples of anti-Semitism present at the march. And if you want to know what "anti-Semitism" is, don't ask yourselves ... ask a Jew. Those are authentic photos. Those people were there and they were real. If you don't believe that they represent the message you want conveyed, then ask them to leave and form their own separate march. So, while you yourself may not be advocating any violence against Israel, many of your comrades are. Talk to them, not to me, because they are the problem. I'm not "contributing to the problem", I merely point the problem out. If you want to remain in denial regarding that, then so be it. And please, spare me the "some of my best friends are Jewish" line. That's a typical cop-out and camouflage for anti-Semitism. I don't believe that you yourself are a Jew hater, but that's no way to engage me in a conversation. I wish you well and I sincerely hope that you take what I'm saying to heart. If you, as a devout Muslim, abhor the Jew haters then start doing something about it. Until then, I'll continue to document the problem for the rest of the public. **** UPDATE **** Hitler, The Mufti Of Jerusalem And Modern Islamo Nazism Hat Tip for video: LGF **** UPDATE **** Then there's this from the ADL:

At the rally in Washington DC, which was the largest event, one speaker declared: “from this podium I salute Hezbollah,” which prompted loud cheers from the crowd. Children danced at the protests while adults chanted in support of Hezbollah and the bombing of Israeli cities. One popular chant declared: “Nasrallah, Nasrallah; the martyr is the beloved of Allah; the Zionists are the enemy of Allah.”

Nope. No Jew Haters here, folks. Nothing to see. Just move along, folks. Move along.

2006-08-14T17:38:00.000-04:00

More Protest Detritus:

Here's some more pro-terrorist flotsam from Saturday's ANSWER demonstration.

**** If you're looking for the video of this demonstration, scroll down ****

First for some personal recurring lefty protest nightmares and issues. Stuff I just hate. "Reality-based Community" indeed.

Check this one out. Forget the message for a moment and concentrate on the swastika.

Don't these people do any research? As far as I'm concerned, this is as bad as any spelling error. Worse, actually. With spelling errors, we all hit the wrong key every now and then. Sometimes, in all the excitement, our eyes and brains just skip over entire words. While I think it's kinda funny from time to time, I can also kinda forgive it. Kinda.

But, I mean, what does it take to open a book ... any book on WWII ... and just look at a Nazi swastika and check your work? Of course, why should I expect these types to actually fact check?!?

These are the same dudes that spelled Israel "Isreal" [see below] ... same lame yet probably pricey print job.

It doesn't take much. Just a little effort folks. This is far more common and, given the context much much worse.

Let's forget for a moment that these were made from glitter stickies purchased, no doubt, at their local Michael's. Set that aside for a moment. Why can't these "peace lovers" get the peace-sign right? Don't they ever see one? Why do they constantly confuse it with Mercedes-Benz? I swear there's at least one of these at every peace rally. This has got to stop. Here's yet another assault on simple spell-checking habits.

Why is this difficult?

What's wrong with ... before you leave the hospital ... just taking that one last (it could be longing ... that would be OK) look at your masterpiece BEFORE you reveal it to the world?

Or penciling your message in lightly before setting Sharpie to pavement?

I mean really ... what's wrong with that?

Am I asking too much?

Well ... at least they caught it this time. I'll give them that.

Mel Gibson, by the way, is now a real hero with this crowd. Amazing.

Don't let people confuse you by claiming that this was some sort of "peace rally". Here's an example of what was really going on. In other words, organizations that shoot at Jews are OK. The problems begin when those pesky Jews begin to shoot back. Speaking of pesky ... since when do radical religious groups become associated with the "Workers World Party"? What every happened to the "opiate of the people"?

Of course, you know, Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Ladin could never have cooperated on anything because, well, Hussein was a secularist and Osama a fundamentalist. Those never go together. The new pantheon of lefty heros. This chick (right) was actually kind of cute in an odious sort of way. If you watch the video [scroll down] you'll see her arguing that Hezbollah never hides behind citizens. Nope. Not ever. Israel at least knows the value of real estate. If you have access to a certain area then you use it to best advantage. Sheesh. Here we have yet another example of lefty "nuance". On the plus side, she did manage to use space well and that's a pretty good use of color. The lettering could have been more distinct but with this crowd you take what you get.

These are the type of wares typically sold at these demonstrations. Notice the top row. Don't forget that ANSWER is simply a front group for the Communists. They're still out there and, frankly, with anti-Semitism and Muslim extremism they seem to have hit their niche. Like that's a surprise. ... and you can always get those hard-to-find books. Visa, Mastercard and American Express welcome, of course. Aren't these the folks with thoughts too "nuanced" to fit on a bumper-sticker? Chuh. Che was surprisingly rare at this demonstration. I guess that ANSWER figured he wouldn't be much of a sell for most of the Muslim audience who are, I assume, mostly merchants who might even have a few Cuban buddies. For you youngsters out there, 1-2-3-4 W.D.W.Y.F.W. translates to: 1-2-3-4-We-Don't-Want-Your-F*cking-War. That's a 60's Vietnam throwback. Kinda makes me nostalgic, actually. Graced, by the way, with a real peace sign. It's not like these people don't have examples they can draw from, you know. This guy was very reluctant to reveal the Che. But he finally did come out, slowly from behind the sign. Creepy. Are they reading this blog? There's mounting evidence ... more pre-printed signs and a distinct absence of puppets. I wonder. OK, I may be making an ass of myself here and I'm by no means a mathematician ... but, really, what's the point? As it is, and assuming of course some biases on her part, doesn't this approach one (1)? Does she want the equation to approach zero (0)? That would mean more X and Y and less PB and LB. The greater the bias and sedation of the UN the more likely a cessation in hostilities? I assume that when the "price" is zero then it means the war's worthless and hostilities would or should cease. If so, then it's bought at a price of fewer casualties. So fewer casualties makes it "worthless", right? Yet, the more casualties the greater the "price". Does that make it "worth it"? And at the parallel price of greater "bias" and a less active UN? Of course it could also mean less of both but that's not terribly logical. As each factor lessens (assuming they lessen equally), the equation still hovers around either one (1) or whatever it was to begin with. Even if each factor became almost infinitely small it would still hover around one (1). Is that her point? Does she want the "price" to be a large number? That would mean more PB and LB and less X and Y. So she want's a more active UN and less "bias" along with greater Muslim casualties? That would make the war a "price" that's "worth it"? I don't get it. Just how anyone can see "The Lord of the Rings" as supporting the leftist agenda I just can't imagine. Yet they do. And I know ... his "Middle-Earth" is different, sorta. Yet not. He's definitely making a reference. And, by the way, anyone who's actually read the books knows that it's "Saruman". What a bunch of freaking illiterates. 'Til next time folks!

2006-08-13T04:02:00.000-04:00

Here's the video from yesterday's ANSWER demonstration in front of the White House. **** UPDATE **** August 15 YouTube seems to be doing some maintenance, so the video may not be available for a while. Check back!

2006-08-12T19:34:00.000-04:00

OK. Let me start off with kudos where kudos are due. ANSWER hit a home run with this one. Brian ... you're the man. Ironically, it took a bunch of hyper-religious Muslims and anti-Semites with a message that they (the anti-Semites) just needed to share to pull their (ANSWER's) atheist "peace loving" commie asses out of the fire. And life is full of ironies. Still, I've made fun of ANSWER in other posts on this site (deservedly so!). And, while I don't regret that, this particular rally was a real doozie. Brought me back to my Vietnam days. Bravo. The attendance was probably in the range of 30,000. Mostly bused in but no matter ... numbers speak. 30,000 is significant in any language. Except perhaps Italian. Right. Down to business. ... Speaking of ironies ... let's start with this. Where to begin ... Let's start with the image itself. I don't know. "Bush Loyalists" OK. Did we need to be so graphic? Was there a gentler way of illustrating our point? Perhaps. What really gets me here is this is my second photo of this sign. My first was pretty run-of-the-mill "do you mind if I take a picture of your poster" full-frame example of the depths to which these folks will descend. Then ... I noticed. These people wanted a "family" portrait. They were posing. This is a family. This was a moment. I have no idea what to say. I couldn't help but oblige. Next. We're staying on a theme here folks ... trust me on this. I told this guy I was taking a photo ... hence the shit-eating grin. That sign? Wow. What perhaps you don't realize is that he has a wife ... and a child. That's his "better half" with the "Cold Blooded Killers" sign. Adorable child in between. It was a weekend "outing". Cute, mai oui? This is less unusual than you, as a rational human being, would likely suppose. Or wish. My job has certain benefits. It also has certain risks. Such as experiencing [sadly and at first hand] the reality of what you, thankfully, only experience as images. These people and their lovely child are real to me. I try to keep my sense of humor regarding these things. It's harder than you may think. Sometimes my gorge rises. OK. What you all should understand is that with a protest like this we suffer from an embarrassment of riches ... in other words ... where to next? One after another after another.... Sometimes we have the gift that just keeps on giving. ...Sign after sign after sign... This was the same guy, same bizarre preoccupation. He just didn't have enough hands. He proudly unshuffled these images for me. I unshuffle them for you. Enjoy. And yes... the last one offers any number of critique starting points. Every line a mine. I got quite lost. Share. When dealing with the ANSWER braintrust, one inevitably runs into examples of their superior spell-checking skills. I mean really, folks. If you're going to run a demonstration against something, learn how to spell it first. This sign was probably kinda pricey, too. Of course sometimes words just fail. Here's what I find sort of interesting about this one (in addition to the obvious)... Check the size ... this was printed using some sort of laser or ink-jet printer and the printer needed to be of the type that accommodates pages of these dimensions. That type of printer is not commonly found at the average American home. This guy probably paid to have this done. Can you imagine? The loneliness of the long-distance Jew hater. A common ... if often unspoken ... belief for these types. Frankly, I kinda think it's refreshing when they just put it all out there. I gotta say ... the balloons are an unusual touch. The text of this difficult to read sign is thus: "Frankly, we Support the Troops of the oppressed. And, to be blunt, only a petty minority of earth's inhabitants choose otherwise. Do the math. Join us." Worthy of the Third Reich. Speaking of which ...

2006-08-12T19:21:00.000-04:00

Question A: How many anti-Semites does it take to hold a rally? Judging from the turnout today in DC, I'd say between 25,000 to 30,000. In other words ... a lot. Hold on to your seats, folks ... this promises to be a rough ride. As usual, I'll post in stages ... this is just to whet the appetite as it were ... more later, including some video. Check back!

2006-08-12T15:57:00.000-04:00

2006-08-12T12:34:00.000-04:00

2006-08-11T12:09:00.000-04:00

While I gear up for tomorrow and what promises to be another madcap day with the ANSWER crowd, here's another short video from Aish.com for your viewing pleasure ... recapping the whole "fauxtography" kerfuffle. Short but sweet. Click HERE.

2006-08-04T09:56:00.000-04:00

I don't generally post material from other sites, preferring to present mainly original material. However, the following "One Minute Movie" from Aish.com, "Lebanon: Myths and Facts" presents the truth in such a succinct way that I thought it would help speed along the dialogue regarding Israel's actions and put to rest a lot of misconceptions in a very short period of time. Please click HERE for the movie ... it's very short.

2006-07-27T21:57:00.000-04:00

Noura Erakat Speaks Her Mind. Well, I just saw Bill O'Reilly interview Noura Erakat on tonight's No Spin Zone. She was pretty clever dodging his questions ... especially on the issue as to whether or not Israel has a right to exist. Here's a short portion of her address to the D.A.W.N. anti-Israel Rally 7/26/2006 in which she states that "Palestine has been occupied since 1948." That puts her squarely in the arms of those who want to see the entire state dismantled. The 1967 borders are the recognized starting point for negotiations (supposedly) by all parties willing to negotiate. "1948" translates roughly as "into the sea". Dodge this. And, yes, let's put it to rest and move on: she's quite a babe. A crazy lefty babe, but a babe nonetheless. Just to be clear.

D.A.W.N. at the Israeli Embassy

2006-07-26T03:02:00.000-04:00

Yet another in a long and seemingly endless line of spectacularly inept leftist protests. And yet ... no puppets. I actually think I'm beginning to miss those guys ... **** UPDATE **** I thought I'd illustrate the insanity here for non-DC residents. The two blue circles are the start and end points for the march. We started at the blue circle to the right, which is the corner of Van Ness and Connecticut Avenue, NW. The blue circle to the left is where the Israeli Embassy is located. A direct line between the two is indicated by the yellow arrow ... about a quarter of a mile. And yet the pink arrows show our actual route of about 1.5 miles. Like I say in the video, that would sort of make sense if the route followed a heavily populated commercial district with lots of eye-balls. But, as you'll see if you watch the video ... this is just a quiet residential area of tony houses, trees-lined streets and barking dogs, typical for those who want a quiet, suburban-like setting away from the urban bustle. It was totally deserted. Who's the audience here? Do these people give any thought to their end product? Even the long northward march up Connecticut Ave. was just random apartment buildings, with a sprinkling of small shops. Go figure. Scroll down for more photos!

2006-07-26T01:22:00.000-04:00

"Funeral Procession March" to Israeli Embassy. **** Looking for pictures of fat Cindy? Scroll down. **** OK, I'm tired and in a bad mood, so we'll start on a low note ... Believe it or not, this is the same sign ... front and back [see below]. What the heck is this guy saying? Love your enemies? Axis of Slaughter!? Choose a message folks ... it doesn't matter which one ... and stick with it at least for the duration of the protest. Interestingly, this is the side that the dude chose as his "front". At least he walked this side forward throughout the march. I'm assuming that, even in this dude's misguided world, that means front. Just a wild assumption. Here are the coffins. Nice. Lefties love this stuff.

Here we have an example of "nuance" from the left. No sense making broad, unsupported statements.

OK, let's talk racism ... Kofi = black = "houseboy" Condi = black = "housegirl" Yup.

Good start ... rotten finish. Do you sense a pattern? Anyway, shouldn't that be "Bush Only Has a Road Map to War"? Or am I being picky...? I'm not sure what to make of this, but at least it's original ... that's saying a lot with this crowd. Why is Israel spelled backwards? I hate small, unreadable signs. Who are you communicating with? Hobbits? I had to get pretty close to take a good picture of this, and with this crowd you never really know how they'll react. I hate that. I never did figure out what those were photos of. Bodies maybe ... lefties just love to show dead children. Dead non-Jewish children, that is. Takoma is DC's version of Berkeley. Once again ... unreadable past three yards. Decide who your audience is, folks, and focus. This is actually pretty good, lefty-sign-wise. Visible. To the point. OK use of color. No extraneous punctuation. OK use of irony, though without much humor. Which is, frankly one of the trademarks of lefty protests. Devoid of humor. Just devoid. Not terribly original, either, but we can't have everything. AIPAC sorta qualifies as a cheap-shot in this crowd. As a connoisseur, I need more, frankly. This was the lead "banner" displayed at the Embassy. How hard is this? Come on, folks ... if you're going to make a sign you want the world to read then MAKE A SIGN THE WORLD CAN READ. Sheesh. Oh, and finally ... just in case we forget what exactly is the "geography" of this entity they call "Palestine" ...

2006-07-25T20:48:00.000-04:00

CODE PINK: "Camp Al-Maliki" Went down to the Iraqi Embassy to check out how "Camp Al-Maliki" was going. Apparently the idea is that they'll stay until they are granted a meeting with the Prime Minister. Chuh. Actually, folks, there's a certain amount of progress here ... at least they recognize al-Maliki as the actual Prime Minister. Last time we were here these same ladies were denouncing the whole Iraqi government as a group of stooges for Bushitler McChimpyburton. Take what you can get. I'd say six CP's ... seven tops. er ... wasn't Cindy Sheehan supposed to be on some sort of diet ... er ... fast? Nothing more to see here, folks ... just move along. **** UPDATE **** The person who disrupted al-Maliki's address to congress today looks suspiciously like Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink. Here's my photo of her from "Camp al-Maliki" yesterday. I guess the PM never came out for that photo-op. **** FURTHER UPDATE **** Why, indeed it was! I thought I recognized that raspy little voice and lifeless hair! Thanks Michelle!

2006-07-25T16:28:00.000-04:00

2006-07-23T18:26:00.000-04:00

A quick breather... A beautiful Sunday drive today ... Julia and I just took off in the convertible and headed west. We landed here, at a place called Edward's Ferry, on the Maryland side of the Potomac. It was where the GAR crossed the river heading north, following Lee's juggernaut Army of Northern Virginia, during what became the Gettysburg Campaign. Until that time, Lee's army had won almost every engagement with the Union army and Lincoln was in a desperate state, changing Union commanders after almost every battle ... every disaster. Public opinion was moving solidly against the war and against the Republican Party. The Europeans were energetically trying to find a way to recognize the Confederacy and mortally wound the United States government. Less than two months before crossing here, within the span of just two (2) days, May 2 - 3, 1863, the Union army suffered 17,287 casualties at the battle of Chancellorsville. The nation was staggered. Even the eventual, costly victory at Gettysburg did little to change that. And worse was yet to come. The Union soldiers that crossed over this very place were dispirited and beaten beyond imagining. You can almost still hear the creak of saddle leather and the shuffle of dragging feet. One of the benefits of living in the DC area is the enormous amount of history that surrounds the place. Living here is a constant reminder of the multitude lessons from American History. The C&O canal runs along the Potomac from Georgetown (DC) to Cumberland (MD), about 186 miles. This is the section just adjacent to Edward's Ferry. The Potomac river runs about 75 yards to the right of the photos. As you can see, most of the canal has decayed to almost nothing. Still, if you want, you can actually hike the length of the canal (a trail ... part of the original towpath ... runs along the lip of the canal) and camp. A really beautiful, quiet place. This coming week should be interesting ... I have two "events" I intend to document. Today was a real breath of fresh air. Just wanted to share.

2006-07-20T03:22:00.000-04:00

ANSWER strikes back. Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water ... The fun of living in the Nation's Capital just knows no bounds. Another incompetent, ill-conceived, poorly run, walking menagerie of geriatric boomers, bullhorns, angry young losers, "Che" tote-bags and lefty beret-wearing "revolutionary" wannabes rears it's unkempt, bed-matted head. Maybe we'll even get a puppet or two. These folks have to do something between bong parties in mom's basement. You just know I'll be there ...

2006-07-19T15:01:00.000-04:00

I just got back from the Israel Rally. Here are some quick photos for your viewing pleasure. I did get some interesting video ... especially of the Israeli Ambassador's speech. As an aside ... let me say it was nice to be among adults. Lefty rallies (vastly more common and much, much funnier) generally boil down (both physically and intellectually) to a grotesque, surreal and dour variety of high-school pep rally. This rally was smooth, professional and intelligent. Bravo lads. Plus ... no puppets. **** UPDATE **** Here's my video of Ambassador Daniel Ayalon's address to the Solidarity with Israel Rally, today, in Freedom Park. For a higher definition version of the video click here. There's a brief incident where the view is blocked by a sign. It soon passes. [I'm trying YouTube here ... not sure if I'll stick with it] Please check back ... I'll have to process the stuff and then post it. That usually takes a couple of hours. Most of the rally was pretty tame. I'd say there was a crowd of about 4,000 people there. There was a lot of pro-Bush feeling in the crowd. A lot. I managed to get an interview with this bloke. His sign says "True Muslims support Israel". Interesting. I'll post the video of my interview soon. Please check back for updates. **** UPDATE **** OK, I'm going to try YouTube on this one ... let's see how it works.

2006-07-18T15:29:00.000-04:00

Iran's Hizbollah says ready to attack US, Israel

"They have been trained and they can become fully armed. We are ready to dispatch them to every corner of the world to jeopardise Israel and America's interests. We are only waiting for the Supreme Leader's green light to take action. If America wants to ignite World War Three ... we welcome it," he said.

Well, if Supreme Leader is anything like Fearless Leader ... I'd say it's time to call in the boys from McKeesport (Moose and Squirrel) and start this ball rollin'. See ya'll tomorrow at the rally!

2006-07-17T11:52:00.000-04:00

In the DC Metro Area: The Jewish Community Relations Council is holding a rally of Solidarity with Israel this Wednesday, July 19, at noon at Freedom Plaza (Pennsylvania Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets in North West). I'll be there, of course.

2006-07-14T19:57:00.000-04:00

Another ANSWER Fiasco. This is getting to be a habit. I feel so conflicted ... **** UPDATE **** VIDEO is finally up ... scroll to bottom of post. ***** What the heck is wrong with the left today? Ok, I know ... but really ... I mean it. What the heck is wrong with these people? Heck, in my day Nixon just needed to sneeze and we'd've had 20,000 on the streets. Angry. No problem. What a bunch of incompetent lefty jerks. Or is that redundant? Given the events of the past few days, I attended this rally with the fully formed expectation that people would "take to the streets" and finally .. finally ... we'd get something interesting. OK. Here's the street. Where are the people? Don't get me wrong, of course ... I'm not lamenting the lack of attendance at these events. In the long run, the fewer the better. But really, my job (such as it is) would be much easier if these people were more interesting. As it is, this is all they can come up with. I'm beginning to feel un-needed. Most of the speeches were bland beyond imagination. I did manage to get ONE (1) good video of a dude just dripping with anti-semitism. I'll be posting that later. On another note: there's something deeply ironic about this photo [above] ... I can't really pin it down. It has something to do with the orange sign in the background I think. If anyone has a clue, please let me in. I did manage to get one sorta interesting photo. Here's an old Code Pinko holding a sign with ... well ... someone of a different faith. Strange bedfellows. OK, here's the video. This guy just drips with anti-Semitism. Please note ... the "poem" he leads of with is ... his own. I'll let him speak for himself. Regarding Darfur, please check here and here and here for Elie Weisel et al. I'll let you judge for yourselves.

2006-07-14T16:47:00.000-04:00

2006-07-11T09:09:00.000-04:00

FAST or FAST ONE? It's easy for the public to be unaware of the fact that behind each of these "events" is an agenda ... well supported by a generally invisible media stationed out of range and a office full of public relations reps, satellite feeds, and politicians. Part of my purpose here is to expose that connection. We each of us need a set of decoder rings in this Orwellian world, and a constant awareness of just where the lie begins and ends. Sometimes the liars themselves give us a clue. Here's a quote from Cindy's blog at Political Affairs: Marxist Thought Online:

I find traveling out of the country very challenging being on a fast. When I was on a layover in Madrid on my way to Venice, Italy yesterday, the closest thing I could find to a smoothie to get a little protein was a coffee with vanilla ice cream in it.

Sounds tough. And remember, this is only what she admits to in public. Please also note the tag-line for the blog site that hosts Cindy's "thoughts":

Marxist Thought Online

Remember that when others try to feed you the Orwellian lie that these are "well-meaning" folks, or that they are simply expressing "their disenchantment with the US" or that they aren't aware of what they are doing and saying, or that there isn't any connection between anti-war protests and Communism. Let's remember, too, that this publicity pack-hound is going to fast until the troops come home:

The Troops Home Fast is a moral response to an immoral act. We can, and must be, morally strong so we can feast on the day that the last troop is brought home from the war crime in Iraq.

We'll see. **** UPDATE **** Michelle Malkin at Hot Air tries on Cindy's Fast

2006-07-09T08:33:00.000-04:00

Photo Flotsam from ANSWER: July 6, 2006 I didn't take many photos at this rally. There weren't that many people ... and those that were there tended to be, frankly, rather colorless. Plus, most of the signage was pre-printed. I think they're starting to catch on. However, leave it to the "intelligentsia" when going it alone. They rarely disappoint. Here's a dual-purpose Code Pink/ANSWER number [above]. Too bad permanent markers don't have spell-checkers. But you'd think that these folks would make at least one quick scan of their work before displaying it to the world. Especially on subjects which, given the context, the author is implying at least some knowledge and familiarity. Here's the masthead on this old standard-bearer. Sadly predictable. My guess is that these three buttons serve the wearer in an interchangeable way for any given lefty protest rally ... a quick shift of emphasis serving three major themes. Today, it's the Palestine theme. On Monday, I'd wager that the Code Pink peace symbol graced the forward position (the lack of text on the button makes it useful against any US incursion, so this was a nice investment). If the gathering is just basic general lefty Bush bashing then the Secede button takes a prominent role. Kinda admirable in a creepy sorta way. Here's an interesting variation to the type of slapdash design nightmares we've come to expect from leftist placard research-and-development. This one is actually laminated ... and it ain't small. Money was spent ... some pride in workmanship displayed. Plus a bit of foresight. It's been rainy lately. That type of planning is a bit unusual in this crowd. That's all, folks. Until next time ...

2006-07-06T20:28:00.000-04:00

Just got back from the ANSWER "Justice for Palestine" rally at the Israeli embassy in DC. Got some good photos and some great video. I'll be processing it and posting as available. Check back. Included will be a confrontation (me and him, mano a mano) with this bloke, Brian Becker, National Coordinator for the ANSWER Coalition and ... wait for it ... FOUNDING MEMBER of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. He's a dick. Videos are up. Please scroll down. **** UPDATE **** Requires Windows Media Player OK, here's the first video. There's much more to come. I'm just titling this one "First Bloke" or "A Little Bit of Honesty". Please enjoy and check back. This is not the confrontation promised above. What's the "little bit of honesty"? Why, a frank admission by one of the protest's organizers (ANSWER) that, in their pathetic anti-Semitic universe, the entire land of Israel is "occupied". Which is too bad ... I sorta thought the guy doing the talking was generally OK. **** SECOND VIDEO **** Requires Windows Media Player Here's the second video. THERE'S MORE TO COME. I'm titling this "What's Jazz?" "What's Jazz" is a reference to one of my favorite quotes: Louie Armstrong (the great late jazz musician) is asked by a reporter; "What's Jazz?" To which Louie replied ... "Brother, if you have to ask, you'll never know." The speaker in this video (above) asks a "fundamental question" to which the answer would be about the same. Please enjoy (it's very short) and check back. I have yet to get to you-know-who. **** THIRD VIDEO **** Requires Windows Media Player OK, this video is presented mostly de rigueur. It is the complete speech by our ANSWER head-honcho commie (mentioned above) Brian Becker. Never let it be said I didn't let the little anti-semitic pinko have his say. Frankly, it speaks for itself ... volumes. And, yes, it is a bit long. After the speech I had a few follow-up questions to certain points he brought up. The next video will be his reaction to my questions. Check back. **** FOURTH VIDEO **** Requires Windows Media Player OK, here's me and Brian Becker mano a mano as promised. Background: the rally was breaking up and a number of the protesters had spilled out on to Van Ness with their placards. I ran down to the street to get a photo (it was something different in an otherwise blindingly boring and orchestrated protest). Brian Becker showed up next to me while I was taking the photos. I had my video camera ... off ... in my other hand. I asked Brian if he would answer a few questions ... he immediately began asking me about who I was and what I was doing there, somewhat belligerently. I finally got a brain and turned on my camera. Here is the list of questions I had made notes on during his speech: 1. You say an Israeli soldier has been "taken prisoner". What do you mean by that? 2. You mention the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Under what circumstances do you believe they were imprisoned? 3. You claim that these prisoners are "routinely tortured". What evidence to you have for that? 4. You imply that Israel needs to fall back to its 1948 borders. Who else is calling for that? 5. You want every Palestinian prisoner in Israeli jails to be released ... even those demonstrably terrorists and murderers? 6. Do you really believe that US aid to Israel isn't a campaign issue in US elections? 7. You say that "some of the worst anti-Semites are in the Government". Who? 8. How is Israel functioning as a Colonial entity to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, Bahrain, UAE? 9. The Iraqi occupation has killed 200,000? Where do you get your figures? 10. Who, in your experience, accuses the ENTIRE Arab people of terrorism? 11. You say "Palestine will be free". What, in your opinion, is "Palestine"? He answered none of the above. Pointedly. What a putz.

2006-07-04T08:49:00.000-04:00

A CODE PINK 4th of July, Washington DC. Scroll down for video and more photos (many more)! Ya gotta love it ... This isn't Kansas anymore, Toto: these people live in a world where these things are worn proudly. **** UPDATE **** I just got back from delivering my raw footage for the video below and the Code Pink march as a whole, etc. to Fox News here in DC for possible inclusion in a segment of Hannity & Colmes. **** UPDATE **** They did end up using the stuff with Cindy Sheehan. I was really surprised ... the video quality was great (they used of course the raw file off the DV) ... **** UPDATE **** The video is up at Fox. You can view the entire segment at Expose the Left.

2006-07-03T23:30:00.000-04:00

Two Videos: OK, first we have one of the Code Pink speakers and anti-war activists, Father Louis Vitali, who spoke with Harry Reid (D-NV) in Las Vegas and then again in DC. Harry Reid doesn't like this war ... not one bit. Harry Reid wants people to "take to the streets" regarding Iraq. Literally. Otherwise ... or so he says ... they (viz.: Senate Democrats) will have no "spine" on the issue. They need a "spine". Harry Reid apparently loves Code Pink. **** UPDATE **** I just found out that our friend the priest here is quite the active chap. Here's a photo from Zombie of the same bloke with the caption: "Father Louie Vitale, a Catholic priest, exiting the stage area after giving a speech in which he made pronouncements "in the name of Allah." Cripes ... now why doesn't that surprise me? This is great. A group of kids comes to DC for a July 4th visit. Probably something they and they're parents have saved up for for some time. An important moment. What do they find while visiting the White House? Why, Code Pink of course. But not just Code Pink ... an angry and taunting and puerile Code Pink that chooses to taunt these children with a bastardized version of God Bless America. Taunt and point. Nyahh Nyahh. What happens then? As Bulwinkle would say ... "Just listen!" **** UPDATE, July 7 **** I got contacted once again by the producers of Hannity & Colmes on Fox. Apparently they are going to use portions of my video (above) of the kids singing in response to Code Pink's taunting on their show tonight. **** UPDATE, post H&C **** Well, they obviously changed the direction of the segment. However, they did use my footage, taken earlier at the Gandhi statue. Same song, different place, different situation. I generally take 1 to 2 hours of footage at these events. I only end up using less than 15 minutes. Scroll down for more Code Pink!

2006-07-03T20:17:00.000-04:00

CODE PINK ... again. I and my intrepid colleague Julia Flyte just got back from today's Code Pink "Troops Home Fast" ... fast. As in "not eating". On the 4th of July. If that isn't treason I don't know what is. Most of the usual suspects were involved. Cindy, of course ... (we're on 'nodding' terms now, G-d love her) ... with some geriatric additions! Let's start with: Daniel Ellsberg! Can you believe it!? I mean ... Daniel Ellsberg!! In the flesh! This guy was an old lefty traitorous commie faux-patriot flake when I was but a nipper in High School. And there he is still! Daniel Ellsberg!! (I know you're jealous). G-d life is weird. I couldn't believe this guy was still sucking breath. Sad, though. I figure his life is sorta the perfect paradigm for lefty 60's types who just won't let go. Heck, I should know ... I'm an old lefty 60's type myself ... but then I had a family and started a business and actually grew up as opposed to sitting in my patchouli smelling apartment dreaming of those acid trips with Sandy on the beach and re-reading old Tom Hayden manifestos. Those were nice ... no doubt ... and Tom was one heck of a writer, but time moveth on, dude. And just look who you're walking around with now! Sandy? I think not. Not even in her heyday. Then we have: Dick Gregory!! You young whippersnappers may not know this, but this guy used to be fat and funny. Really. By the way, that "Free DC" chapeau is typical of a peculiar species of DC moonbattery. Just for you collectors. Speaking of collectors, you all who read this blog on occasion know that one of my passions is protest signage ... so let's get that over with right now. Here we have a classic example of left-wing humor. They don't seem to be able to help themselves. I suppose that it's all that "free love" stuff. Believe me ... you get what you pay for. Note the use of the colon ... that may or may not have been Freudian. Probably was. Interestingly, this seems to have been "finger painted". I'm not sure what to make of that, but I do find it "interesting". In a Freudian kinda way. This being Code Pink, the sign randomness was kept to a minimum. Here we have a small, barely readable sign even from a few paces. What are these people thinking? I keep the fingers to give you, my dear readers, a sense of the scale. Tiny. It had a reverse side ... even less readable if that's possible. We're going to be marching down Connecticut Avenue, dude, and then camping out on Lafayette Park. This thing would be invisible and off-putting at a yard sale. Jesus would have bombed the crap out of Rome. He told me. The inevitable Rachel Corrie reference ... I think we'll be seeing a lot of this in the next few months. This guy claimed to be an Iraq vet. I don't know ... maybe he is. Is that an official issue kaffeyeh? This was great and the subject of a VIDEO I'll put up after I process it. At the end of the march, at Lafayette Park, as Code Pink was milling and getting photo ops this group of young band musicians from Michigan (I think) came by for their White House visit. The Code Pinkers started to sing a bastardized version of God Bless America. These little heros started singing and completely drowned them out. It was priceless. Check back for the video. Video is up!

2006-06-21T17:21:00.000-04:00

I can't help but be amused by ABC News' naked attempt to co-opt its "viewers" into the whole Global Warming meme:

Witnessing the impact of global warming in your life? ABC News wants to hear from you. We're currently producing a report on the increasing changes in our physical environment, and are looking for interesting examples of people coping with the differences in their daily lives. Has your life been directly affected by global warming? We want to hear and see your stories. Have you noticed changes in your own backyard or hometown? The differences can be large or small--altered blooming schedules, unusual animals that have arrived in your community, higher water levels encroaching on your property. Show us what you've seen.

Who says there's a liberal media? But I took the bait. The case: I was driving around today in my convertible and I thought, "Wow it's hot! It's like ... 90 degrees! On the first day of summer! In Washington DC!! This can't be right! I mean ... I remember it being hot when I was younger, OK, but maybe I've been duped by Bushitler-Halliburton-Rumsfeld propaganda rays emanating from my 50" flat-screen while watching Fox News. Let's check it out!" Luckily for all of us, the Farmer's Almanac actually has a website with historical weather data back to 1973 ... just the year I graduated from high school. I would have been in pretty bad shape then -- June 21, 1973 ... probably still laying semi-naked in a field near Great Falls in the aftermath of a major graduation summer kegger ... so perhaps my memory of the heat is jaded. Let's check: June 21, 1973: MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE: 90.0 F Hmm ... and what about today, June 21, 2006? From Weather.com: 89.0 F, feels like 87.0 F I guess my memory isn't that bad after all. Perhaps it's getting colder? Which is, ironically, exactly the scare-meme these same people were trying to sell back in the day, viz: global-cooling, a new ice-age, etc. Too bad we have long memories.

2006-06-01T13:51:00.000-04:00

"Reality-Based Community" ... doesn't it just make you want to cry? Me ... I'd like a little less snow, actually. I hate snow. Put me in for less snow. Is this what we're to expect from the Dem's this fall in re campaign slogans? Viz: "A chicken in every pot and no tornados north of Tulsa"?!? "Win with Democrats! No rainfall after 10:00 pm in most areas!"!?!? Believe it or not, this is a two day affair ... started yesterday and the "vigil" continues until midnight tonight. Drudge reports that the beginning of this two-day fiasco was, well, un-inspired. And remember ... the thirty people who showed up were probably the organizers and their friends/family. That makes yesterday's showing pathetic at best. Today was simply an embarrassment. A sad, gloomy, muggy embarrassment. Nothing but unpopulated pre-fab signs stuck in standard office-building landscape planters. Nice going. Don't expect any video. There's no video. There was nothing TO video, apart from the occasional random candy wrapper blowing along the pavement. If I could have put the sound of crickets into this picture you'd have a better idea just how bleak this was. Maybe the occasional tumbleweed. One lone bloke. Gotta dig the sandals. He's well provided with water and duct tape, so there's that I suppose. I understand the water (true to June DC weather, today is a scorcher) ... the duct tape I'm not so clear on. Maybe he plans on making more signs. When everyone shows up. Eventually. I'm sure that he thinks that this array of vests speaks for itself. Sad to say, dude: no, not even a smidgen. Not even aesthetically interesting. Just a little thought and effort, folks, goes a long way. I can only imagine that this guy is going to pack up and move out before rush-hour and just bag the whole "midnight" thing. **** UPDATE **** By the warts of Mohammed! Brit Hume just mentioned this fiasco (not this blog ... but rather the above-described catastrophe) on Special Report on Fox!!! Why?!?

2006-05-21T19:51:00.000-04:00

Protest Flotsam. PLEASE NOTE: if you're interested in the video of the ANSWER protest and/or the Che pictures, etc., please scroll down to the previous posts. They're still up. OK, here are some other random lunacies I came across during my tour of duty with ANSWER this weekend. It ain't pretty. Hold the phone! ... Palestine? OK, leaving that off for the moment, let's begin. Take these two signs for instance. I won't critique the style ... at least not too much. In fact, we're starting on a high note here. These are actually fairly well done as far as home-made lefty protest signs go. If you look closely at the originals you'll see that the letters were penciled in before the permanent marker hit the pavement so to speak. In other words, these were planned beforehand. That's pretty unusual with this set. They tend to make signs the same way they ejaculate ... too quickly and without thought to consequences. The use of color is OK ... sort of enough to draw the eye without being too confusing with regard to the message. The change in typeface is acceptable and even adds to the message by highlighting the main players and points. Bravo. What really bugs me, though, is the syntax. These idiots thrive on a miniscule set of cliched words and phrases. "Long Live Solidarity and Friendship between the Peace-Loving Peoples of Soviet Russia and the Third Reich" etc. A funny problem for people who tout their supposed creativity and wear their specious brand of non-conformity and "intellectual independence" on their sleeve. Ugh. OK, this one's just plain ugly. The guy carrying it was ... oh, say late 50's, early 60's. He should know better by now. First ... the material. Styrofoam. Bad choice. It looked flimsy and I was always waiting for it to just fly away with the first breeze. It made me nervous. Anyway, pink doesn't do anything to further the message. It just ends up looking like something you'd get with a Protest Barbie outfit. Second ... give some time to planning. Not simply the placement of words and the use (or mis-use in this case) of type. I'm talking about simple grammar. Write it down first on paper. Follow your draft carefully. I've sorta gotta hand it to ANSWER in the way they tried to control the look and feel of this event. Not nearly as overwhelming as a Code Pink rally, but still they tried to keep the randomness to a minimum. Pre-printed signs abounded. This is one of them. Kinda reminds me of those old Soviet era posters with Uncle Joe Stalin seated among rapt, muscular children sporting hammers and the like. Heck, I like to remember collectivization as a state-run family weight-loss program for pudgy Ukrainians. I think Stalin thought of it that way too, the old bastard. Saddam Hussein liked to have his photos with kids too ... just before he dropped them and their parents into the industrial shredders. Actually, I never noticed this before. Chavez has something of the pedophile about him. Sorta sporting that far-off NAMBLA stare. The kids seem to know all about it. Ah yes, the inevitable kaffiyeh clutch. That must explain the "Palestine" in the first photo. Funny I didn't see any of these guys at the Darfur rally. Watch out, Che ... competition is on the way! Never mind that this pose makes Chavez look something like a kinda toadish asian gay bottom-man. Just never mind that. Never let it be said that lefties don't keep up with modern events and currents in contemporary thought. Now here's a sign that just reeks cutting-edge, early 21st Century convictions and moral philosophy. "Bolshevik". I just want to weep. Dot Org. If that isn't pathos, I don't know what is. Hit bedrock. Keep digging. OK, now I'm completely lost. "Tendency"?!? Now this guy was a classic. There's at least one of these types at every one of these lefty rallies. I suppose it's the Reality Based Community moniker that keeps them coming. Anyway, I actually interviewed this bloke on video. Sadly, there was something wrong with the audio on that portion so I had to dump it. It was late in the day anyway and I think he was kinda tired. His theory ... sorry, his Amendment ... is that Washington DC should be cleaned out and that everyone who opposed the Iraq war should be placed in government ... and that the chain-of-command should start, naturally, with that individual to whom the war is the most odious. That being Rick Hohensee. The guy in the window. I kid you not. Oh, and one last image ... just to remind us ... in case we ever forget ... just who we're dealing with here and just exactly what they want and which "reality" the "reality-based community" is based upon.

2006-05-21T03:02:00.000-04:00

Requires Windows Media Player OK, here's the Video from the ANSWER "Hands-off Cuba, Hands-off Venezuela" protest rally. See more below in previous post. I'll be posting the "Che" gallery below as an update tomorrow. I'm bloody tired. **** ANOTHER UPDATE **** Just in case there was any doubt, the DC Councilman you see shouting "Viva Cuba" in the above video ... Jim Graham ... is, indeed, a Democrat. Just so we know. **** UPDATE **** My Che Gallery is finally up! As I said in the video, "Che" was, er, ubiquitous. At one point during the "speeches" I decided that the only way to save what was left of my desperate sanity was to troll the crowd and collect "Che"s. That I did and kept doing throughout the march. What you see here is not exhaustive of the Che phenomenon. There were many duplicates, for instance. I was also unable to get good photos of some. Still, I think I have a nice array here, fully indicative of the hero-worship this murderous, half-shaven, beret-wearing bastard induces in these morons and fellow-travelers. We'll start off with my favorite. I mean ... just look at this guy. A bar-bell mustache?!? And check the beret. And the pens. What was this guy doing ... signing autographs? Or were the pens there just in case he got that opportunity to collect a phone-number? Lord knows he's missed so many other opportunities ... can't let another one get away after all. Can you be more of a poseur? Then there's this one. This was more or less the "official" Che of the march ... endorsed by none other than ANSWER itself. A pretty standard Che, actually. I was a bit disappointed. Here we have the rare quadruple-Che. Here's a close-up on that sign. A happy, smiling Che. Maybe he just executed another family. He loved that kinda stuff. What a guy. The hard to catch flapping-Che ... The Floating-Che-Head-of-Death consumes South America. Little did we know that Che has his own fashion line ... ... complete with accessories. Rainbow Che, of course. There's something just really goofy about this one. Can't put my finger on it, though. That's all folks. I'll probably do another blog entry on this march pretty soon ... some more random insanity, etc. Maybe not. We'll see.

2006-05-20T19:07:00.000-04:00

OMG what a crock. What a pathetic crock. I attended ANSWER's "Hands-off-Cuba! Hands-off-Venezuela!" protest today. I did it because I swore, I SWORE, to keep you people up to date on the goings-on of this sort in DC (where else would you get it if not here?). And this is what I get ... six (6) freaking hours of guys and chicks like this. Two (2) hours of that marching (!!!) from Malcomb (or is it Malcom ... I've seen it both ways) X Park to the White House by a most circuitous route which took us past the "Cuban Interests" delegation or whatever, a short harangue at the Washington Post offices (they need to tell the TRUTH about Cuba!) and thence to Lafayette Park for some stunningly boring speeches. I'm exhausted. I needed two Manhattans before I could even think of approaching this. Was it worth it? Just look: "1917". Priceless. Freaking priceless. He even posed ... twice ... the first one he had his eyes closed. He and his buddies spent most of the time debating "dialetic materialism" or some other BS Victorian crock orthodoxy off in the bushes, trying (I think) to impress some equally geeky chick contingent (or committee ... whatever) with their commitment to scientific socialism. PFFFFTH. Actually, that's pretty much what EVERYONE at this protest was doing whenever they got the chance ... you never saw so many talkative idiots so willing to share their particular moronic epiphanies in bladder-wrenching monologues. It's like ... OK ... I think I smoked THAT joint circa 1974. And yes, this was another geriatric wasteland. Go figure. I do have about an hour's worth of video I need to sift through, so I won't have any of that up until ... er ... tomorrow I think. Please check back for updates. Don't get me started on the signage. At least there weren't any puppets. This was the worst of the bunch ... let's just get that over with. What happened here? Left-over Home Depot spray-paint on extra middle-school-project poster board? Some of the stuff was of this variety, although most of it was pre-printed. I think these guys are starting to wise-up. This guy came with a group of other Grizzly Adams "do-it-yourselfers". I'll include the other posters in the update. That little blob at the bottom-right is like a baseball-card sized photo of Bush with some text. How bloody superfluous. I'm just trying to get on the board here, folks. More to come. About an hour into this disaster I started collecting "Che" images. You wouldn't believe how many different ways there are to visually honor this murderous half-shaven bastard. I'll put my collection up as an update later on ... this is just to whet the appetite... Please check back. I even caught a sitting DC Councilman in the throes of "Viva Cuba" ... what a town. Statehood. Yeah.