Parse the Sentence

This is a partial re-run from July '03, for the benefit of Mssrs. Kerry, Bush, Feingold and McCain.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Subject: Congress
Verb Phrase: shall make no
Direct Object: law
Adjective Clauses:
* respecting an establishment of religion
* prohibiting the free exercises thereof
* abridging the freedom of speech
* of the press;
* the right of the people to peaceably assemble
* to petition the Government for a redress of grievances

Conjunctions: or; and

Exercise 1
By use of conjunctions and adjective clauses, there are actually six sentences contained within the above single sentence. Can you find them?

(a) Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.

b) Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion.

(c) Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech.

(d) Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of the press.

(e) Congress shall make no law abridging the right of the people to peaceably assemble.

(f) Congress shall make no law abridging the right of the people to petition the Government for redress of grievances.

a short drop and a quick stop

Consistency in John Kerry

At the website Stolen Honor, there is a clipping of a gentleman named James Warner from a to-be-released documentary of the same name.

"essentially, he accused all of us of being criminals . . . "


" . . this naval officer admits that you are a criminal, and that you deserve punishment . . ."

"these words prove that you deserve punishment"

"first of all, he was an officer . . in a combat unit . .with an M16. so he was armed. A US or Naval officer, armed, seeing someone doing something clearly illegal - he has an obligation to stop it . . You were armed, you had the ability to stop these things, why didn't you stop it?"

He was saying we done these things, things he knew to be false . .he burned up his band of brotherhood.

" . . . He has always opposed everything the US Armed Forces had to do . . if his judgement is bad, and it is consistently bad . . always, when the judgement is bad, it is in favor of our enemies and against the United States . . ."

Marines Are From Mars, Iraqis Are From Venus
Major Ben Connable
First Marine Division G-2
30 May 2004

When something is very, very, very worth reading, it's harder to come up with something to say about it. Just go read. Both parts.

BAD WORDS

In 2000, Harry Browne was my man for the top political position in the US of A. Didn't like his open immigration policy, but at that time it was possible to be naive enough to think it wasn't that important.

Then Sept 11 happened, and I was relieved that Bush, not Browne, was in office. I started leaning heavily toward Bush, based on (a) his clear-eyed view of the terrorist threat;
(b) his acknowledgment that the US has, in the past, supported dictators through expediency, and his declaration that we would no longer do that, even if it seemed in our best short term interest to do so. People, that was ,major, gutsy, and long overdue.

Then the Campaign Finance Reform Act reared its ugly head. Bush said - I could swear he did? - said he wouldn't sign it. HE SIGNED IT!.. HE KNEW IT WAS UNCONSTITUTIONAL, AND HE SIGNED IT!

ugh.

The Supreme Court pissed on its duty and us, and didn't throw it out.

Well . . the Libertarians have no one; lessee what the dems come up with . . .

Gawd help us, the backstabbing sonofabitch Kerry.

Do the Libertarians have anybody yet? Oh, Badnarik, a willfully blind fruitcake re: terrorism . .

Oh, well, maybe Bush isn't so ba. . What? He's doing what??

This column by Gary Aldrich puts it succintly:

"Establishment politicians on both sides of the aisle are annoyed that ordinary groups of citizens can impact their carefully crafted election scenarios. They have become spoiled, petulant, and powerful. They don’t like surprises, and, yes, there is a brotherhood of political operatives who hang together regardless of party."

Who'm I gonna vote for? People, we're in genuine trouble. Both Kerry and Bush are against the Bill of Rights.

My inner wild-eyed maniac thinks it's time to give politicians a short drop and a quick stop.

That's Despicable

My little ol' computer just flagged a virus for me - sent via email with the fake header 'FoxNewsComments.'

Does whatever bozo sent this out honestly think he'll accomplish anything beyond deepening contempt for so-called 'liberal' element? Does he think he's some sort of warrior, for pete's sake?

snort!

"Sayeed, is it your will to detonate this day some C-4 on the public way where walk many infidels which is a stink in the eye of the Almighty?"

"Afendi, most assuredly not, for by the Prophet's beard, the hated nation of our enemy has brought forth and set against us a person fairly sloppin' over with GRAVITAS!"

Flamberge, smart and deadly. A very complicated
attacking weapon, mainly used for throwing down
horse men or cutting pike heads off. (Please
Vote)


What sword would you use (info and pics on swords as well)
brought to you by Quizilla

Simple Sail

mmm - if you kayak, take a gander at a simple sail rig.

No measurements listed, but maybe it doesn't matter too much. I don't know what a 'timber rod' is, I searched but some are 2" round, some are curtain rods, some seem to be 2 x 4 . .?

Probably a PVC pipe and a rectangle of sailcloth would work.

hmmmm.

Female Concealed Carry

Here's a female holster maker with a useful discussion of women's holsters, courtesy of Pax at The High Road.

Hmmmm. Wonder if this is useful?

Harold Fish's court date has been moved to Sept. 27.

The chow dog, Hank, who was nearly destroyed before the shooting when it bit a police detective's leg, and who was the catalyst for the whole thing, has been adopted. Isn't that sweet.

Bragging and Backstabbing

I was all set to make a little post saying that it wasn't the bragging lies of Kerry that bothered me so much, as it was the backstabbing.

If Kerry's lies along the 'Christmas in Cambodia' line were simply male puffery, I figured o well, he's not the first male to pump himself up and won't be the last. What really, really, gives me tummy aches is that a large portion of Kerry's lies were then used to slander his fellow soldiers. It's one thing to lie to make yourself look good, and another to lie to make someone else look bad. Both types of lies indicate weakness, but there's something especially nasty in Kerry's unjustified abuse of others - the more so since those others lack an equivalent platform in which to be heard.

but - the instapundit's dad points out a potential danger inherent to the braggart that I would not have foreseen. It sounds pretty plausible, given Kerry's history.

Heroes of the Revolution

when Liberals speak their mind it unfortunately limits the conversation

P.S. For the life of me, I can't remember who I stole this link from.

Sometimes ya gotta realign your troops.

Silly Blogspot

I'm missing archive months, but as compensation a 'search this blog' link has magically appeared.

Silly blogspot.

Something to Read

I've got another 'kinda' blog: Old Books. At the moment, it has only one old book on it, a self-published genealogy account on "The Gallogly Family/The West Family." This was published in 1926 and covers the Galloglys and Wests of Morrow County, Ohio from their migration from Ireland and England, respectively, to the states and their lives in the Ohio practically-frontier.

It may be of interest to genealogists with Morrow County ancestors, and to those curious about life in the early and mid 19th century.

She related that she and her brothers and sisters took the greatest delight in dressing in their parents' clothing, during their absence from the home, and holding religious services - the only festivities their young lives knew. One day this girl was dressed in her mother's best black silk dress - reserved for the most solemn occasions - and her brother was arrayed in his father's broadcloth suit. In all this glory they proceeded to the back of the orchard to hold "preaching." Just as the services were opening, one of the children screamed: "Oh, there's Old Rennison!" Away they went pell-mell, leaving bits of silk and broadcloth on thorns and briars just as their father and mother drove into the yard.

Uncle George was maligned. People believe that an inward grace will have an outward expression. Uncle George lived unto himself and suffered the consequences.

It has a different flavor than anything written today.

I may add other books other books at some point, like We Thought We Heard the Angels Sing, and perhaps some others that are old and will be lost if not archived somewhere.

Prayer List

August 16th is Harold Fish's court date. Say a little prayer.

Target Practice

The BackRoad Blog has the coolest target ever.

Congratulations, Iraq!

hat tip to commenter Mary at The Anti-Idiotarian Rotweiller.

Livin' Like A Refugee

I'm baaaack! Did you miss me?

I've been under mandatory evacuation due to Hurricane Charley. Thank God, I've a couple of friends on high ground who graciously invited me and my cats to stay. That's friendship!! So I packed up the cats, the water, the gun, the jewels, clean underwear, and headed for the hills.

For some reason, we barely slept or ate at all. I guess we were all running on adreneline or somthing, getting ready for what we expected to be major. We scurried like mad to secure their house against the winds, and were just about finished when the storm turned.

It was major for many people, and Charley may still hit the Carolinas with a vengeance. If you have any leftover money, send it to the The Salvation Army. The web-based donation form has a comment box if you want to specify your donation for the hurricane.

I've been very, very lucky. 12 noon yesterday, I had resigned myself to being homeless. Then the storm turned, and now a whole lot of other people are homeless. If Charley had done what I wanted it do, it would have stopped on top of Cuba just long enough to take out Fidel, then dissipated. Damn hurricanes never listen to me.

Sometimes I wonder if Fidel didn't actually die about 10 years ago, and they just have an automaton imitation, like Abraham Lincoln at Disney World. Nobody would know. I mean, come on, you think somebody like Danny Glover could tell the difference between a human and a Disney automaton? Pu-lease.

Ok, I'm tired and raving.

Anyway, here's the useful part of this post:

How to secure your home with plywood

Ingredients
Muscles. Lots and lots of muscles
lots of friends, with muscles
plywood
tap-ons (special screws) 1/4" x 2 3/4" with hex-heads
powerful drill - you really need at least two electric drills.
masonry bits and wood bits to drill 1/4" holes
T-square
carpenter's measuring tape
better eyes to measure with than I personally possess
ladder
the funky little whazzit that goes in the drill to screw in the hex-heads


Have extra bits because you'll wear them out.

Cut the plywood about 6" bigger around than the window you want to cover. Using the wood bit, drill holes 3" in from the edges and 1' apart, all the way around. You can use a cordless drill for the plywood.

Put your strongest friend on the ladder with your strongest drill, fitted with the masonry bit.

Then a couple other people put the plywood in place and hold it there while Muscles drills holes into the masonry with the masonry bit. It works fastest if somebody on the ground can hold two drills - one with the masonry bit and one with the whazzit to put the screws in. This person can hand up drills to the ladder person while keeping one foot or a fanny on the ladder to keep it steady.

You must have a real, electric drill for the masonry. Even if you have a masonry bit, you will need serious human muscle and strong electrical power to drill holes through concrete. Probably wood frame house are somewhat easier to board up.

Go round and round the house, up and down ladders, hauling humongous pieces of plywood, tripping over extension cords in the rain with your hand full of drills, until you are all thoroughly exhausted and all the windows are covered.

Make sure you leave one door uncovered so you can get back inside.

Have some cold pizza, because the electricity is shut off.

whew!

And you know what? If the storm turns and all your hard work turns out to be unnecessary, you won't regret it one bit.

I'm glad to be home.

P.S. If you have cats, make sure you have extra cat litter in your SHTF box. That's the one thing I had to make a last minute run for.

Be safe.

P.P.S. My brother left a message on my phone while I was a lost and forlorn refugee. "Hi! Just calling to make sure you're still alive. If you're not, can I have your stuff?"

He's getting cut out of the will.

: )

P.P.P.S. Yes, you DO have to put the screws in only one foot apart. I KNOW a screw in each corner will hold up the plywood in ordinary circumstances, but hurricanes aren't ordinary. You also have to get every screw in TIGHT, all the way. Quit bitching and do it. You might want to start a little earlier than we did, tho.

News Anchors and Yams
A tale of star-crossed lovers

Once there was a sweet potato. She wanted to marry Dan Rather, but her parents forbade the marriage.

Why?

Because Dan was only a common tater.

HA HA! GET IT?

Kerry Ad

A young friend sent me this link to a Vietnam Veterans Against the War Ad, circa 1971. Unfortunately, my computer is such that the ad immediately shrinks and I can't read it. Whatever it says, it must be the straw that broke the camel's back, because my friend says "Kerry is crazy! I am sure as hell not going to vote for him."

I'm curious! gosh-darned modern technology.

the Truth Laid Bear tries to step back from the Kerry/Swift Boat Veterans situation and see an average viewer response. I suspect he's right, with the exception of "Unless Kerry's campaign manages to completely discredit the Swifties --- which seems increasingly unlikely --- the campaign is over; Kerry is done . ."

My own hunch is that if the DNC and/or Kerry campaign attacks, they had damn well better attack the facts, and not the people. This is a group of Vets we're talking about, not a bunch of Whoopi Goldbergs and George Soroses with umpteen gazillions of dollars. Attacking ordinary folks who've served their country would probably not sit well with all us other ordinary folks, whether we've formally served our country or not.

Kerry stated that, if elected, he would 'defend America as he did in Vietnam.' (rough paraphrase)

Ya know something, Mr. Kerry? That's exactly what I'm afraid of. You'll spend the first four months preening yourself and getting good photo ops, then you'll turn around and stab your country in the back, just like you did to your military co-workers. You'll take office in January, and by April you'll be down at the Hague, testifying against your country.

Nobody Reads Comment #148

So I'm reposting my response to Steve Gilliard's hissy fit here. Kevin Baker at The Smallest Minority has been following it, and he does a great job of calmly speaking with moonbats, but I am so tired of being slandered by the left that I thought I'd jump in. Not the anyone will read #148 . . but gee whiz, guys. Deconstructing a t-shirt?!?


I'm utterly floored by your reaction to this shirt. It's as if we have completely different dictionaries.

Suppose the shirt had a bunch of different birds on it, and was favored by bird-watchers? Suppose it had a variety of CD album covers, and was worn by music lovers. People, this may come as a shock to you, but gun owners are human too.

Are you also outraged by all the take-offs on the 'Got Milk?' commercials?

I have never heard the term 'monkey' as being synonomous with 'nigger.' If you are consorting with people who use that sort of language, I suggest you get a better class of friends. I read Frank J. quite a bit, and I assure you that when he talks about monkeys, he's talking about the furry little beasts with tails, not human beings.

I resent the aspersion that all gun-friendly people and all conservative people are rascist.

You have a terrible prejudice against gun-people and/or conservatives, that is making you see horrible things and appalling intentions where none exists.

I'm going to leave you with a little anecdote, true story, of Things My Mother Taught Me. My mother, btw, is past-president (2x) of her local chapter of the Women's Republican Club.

I was a wee little child during the race riots of the '60s. I believe I was about 4 or 5 during the Alabama riots, which were televised on TV. Quite a puzzling thing to a little kid -

(me) Mom, what are those people fighting for?

(Mom) They're different colors, and some of them don't like people of different colors.

(me) but why did God make people different colors, if they're going to fight about it? Why didn't He make everybody the same color?

(Mom) Well, think about a world where all the flowers are the same color. What if trees and bushes and grass were all the same shade of green? Wouldn't that be boring? It's the contrast of a green tree against a blue sky that brings out the beauty of both. If everything was the same color we wouldn't - we'd still have beauty, but we wouldn't recognize it.

(me) But if God made things different colors for fun, why do people fight about it?

(Mom) because some people are stupid. Don't you be one of them.

Celebrate diversity - in all things

WMD found in Iraq:

The following is an excerpt from a newsletter sent out by Henry Hyde's office. Henry Hyde is a represents Illinois' 6th District in the House of Representatives.

On May 15, a roadside bomb was found containing chemicals that, when combined, form sarin nerve agent. In June, U.S. weapons inspectors uncovered at least 10 artillery shells filled with banned chemical weapons. So far, 8,700 weapons depots have been found in Iraq, containing 1 million tons of arms.

Grand Jury linked Saddam to Al Qaeda: During the Clinton administration, a Federal Grand Jury issued an indictment against Osama Bin Laden, detailing a long-term conspiracy to attack U.S. facilities overseas and to kill Americans. The indictment states that Al Qaeda reaached an agreement with Saddam to work cooperatively in weapons development, including chemical and nuclear weapons.

Local Kennel Owner Sues over Abbreviated Name

This bad pun is making the e-mail rounds.

SANTA FE, NM (ARP)-- When Mrs. Ima M. Hocksy , owner of Horus Kennel of Santa Fe, New Mexico, sent the registration and check for her new puppy, Bigley's Fatima of Horus, she had no idea she would be involved in a lawsuit many months later with the North American Kennel Club, after the organization failed to even return her letters and phone calls.

The N.A.K.C. apparently had put in place a new rule about registered names not being any more than 10 letters and spaces. "We felt the names were getting too long and out of hand. This was costing our organization a lot of money. We also installed new software that would automatically shorten names if one was submitted on a registration exceeding the 10 space rule. All this was outlined on the bottom of the form. We can't baby-sit every person who doesn't take the time to read through the forms. Mrs. Hocksy has always been free to send in another $35 and request a name change." says Mr. Greedly, at a press conference on Tuesday.

Simon Reemdem, attorney for Ima Hocksy, told us that his client should not have to pay another $35 to the N.A.K.C.. And they should not have to accept the horrible, registered name that the N.A.K.C.'s new computer selected for their puppy, Fatima.

"Our clients paid for, 'Bigley's Fatima of Horus'. There is no
way our clients can live with a puppy registered as "Big Fat Ho". We're sticking to our guns, here."

The Daleks Return!

I'm sure you will be as relieved as I was, to know that the differences between the producers of Dr. Who #9 and the Terry Nation Estate have been resolved, and Daleks will once again invade the civilized galaxy.

"The Sun newspaper, naturally, is claiming "victory" in their "campaign" to bring back the Daleks (obviously unaware that they likely had nothing whatsoever to do with it)"

Tin Foil Curtains

I like to shop by mail. You get twice as much shopping for your time - once when you send in your order, again when you receive your goods. Plus you never loose your car when shopping by mail.

Sometimes I don't read the description quite as closely as I should, which is how I ended up with tinfoil curtains. They're solar shield curtain liners, or something like that, to cut down on heat invasion/loss depending on the season and which way you put them up. They're billed as 'metalized polyethelene' but they look like tinfoil to me.

Anyway, I got 'em and put 'em up on the side windows. I feel too sorry for my neighbors to put them on the street-side windows. Ugly as sin, but they seem to work.

So now that my home is protected by tinfoil, will I stop receiving evil VRWC conspiracy rays? In a few short weeks, will I have traded my guns in for tofu? Will I blog from under a pyramid, humming Kumbaya? If so, what will I do with all that meat in the freezer?

Stay tuned . . .

Female Concealed Carry

I just got a couple of blouses from Deva that work well with a gun on the waist and yet aren't hideously ugly. The silly Deva website doesn't have direct links to the shirts, but search for Victorian blouse (long sleeved and frilly) and/or summer top (short sleeved and casual).

Because we can't wear oversized t-shirts all the time!

Update But for those times when you do wear a t-shirt, you can't do better than Kalashnikitty! Hurry - offer ends August 12th!