Hey, I got my answer! Different state, but hey, a question answered is a question answered. And a funny irony at that.
My German roommate just informed me that Europe is horrified by our capital punishment and I laughed and said, "Interesting considering their history with guillotines and such." She laughed and said, "Yeah, that's why."
Ah Europe. We have so much fun talking about foreign affairs. I highly recommend hosting an exchange student or friend from another part of the world. Highly informative, and very fun. I'm sad to see her go in about two weeks.
I've got two days to get a massive amount of work and shopping done before I get down and dirty in Mississippi. This trip has been more costly than other missions trips I've been on because I've needed to buy so many supplies and clothes specifically for it. I'm quite tired of spending money, but I keep reminding myself that everything I'm buying is a gift to that area....the glass is half full.
So, I haven't had much time to read anything past headlines, so I thought I'd post those headlines and give my reactions to them. Here goes:
1. Ohio execution is 999th in U.S. since 1977--Who's gonna be lucky number 1,000?
2. Will 'Memoirs of a Geisha' alienate Asia?--Well, they're already pretty far away as it is. Not sure how we could alienate them anymore.
3. Teen with Peanut Allergy Dies After Kissing Boyfriend--See kids? Kissing does lead to death.... (That's awful.)
4. Cunningham Quits House in Bribery Flap--Aaaaaagh!! Why?!!? (Don't get me started on how angry this made me.)
That's all I've got for now. Back to work.
I'm not entirely sure why I've never heard this before, and my utter disbelief and horror in this story is not because I was unaware of the BBC's completely leftist perspective. But, honestly, a reporter cried over Arafat?
Let's review some of the momentous and highly appropriate situations in which reporters cried:
1. The Hindenburg disaster
2. 9/11
I don't think we need to go on any further to say crying over "the frail man [Arafat]" belongs nowhere on that list.
Naturally, the station has given her the symbolic slap on the wrist by "sanctioning" her. Now if only they could add "firing," or "dropping her sorry carcas," I might be satisfied.
I suppose it's always appropriate to do a post mortem account of holiday cheer with extended family. However, I'm not inclined to do so today, for whatever reason. Or, I'm not in the least inclined to write an extensive recounting of yesterday's Thanksgiving activities. I will say that a good time was had by all, and that the food, as always, was excellent.
Holidays always seem to bring to the forefront of my mind that titillating notion of "what could be." What could be is perfect merriment, non-dysfunctional relations and spiced cider. Though the latter would really only seem fitting on a cold night. (What in the world is going on with 80 degree Thanksgivings?!) I had a wonderful time but left saddened by the state of my youngest cousins, whom I love dearly but worry greatly for their future. They're the most beautiful girls I've known and are not even given the opportunity to merely nibble on the morals and principles that I've been so fortunate to feast upon my entire life. I'm left to pray; and pray I will.
But no more holiday woe. We've now officially entered the season of crazed, maniacal, soccer mom shoppers. I've not left the house today for fear of confronting such wildebeests. I cannot brave the "after Thanksgiving sales." And what do you really save that you've lost in sanity? Fifty dollars? Thank you, I'll pass.
My trip to the ravished Waveland, Mississippi, has been moved by one day. I now leave on Thursday, December 1 (my parent's 26th anniversary) and return the 8th. I'm very excited. I will, at some point, have to exit the premises to buy a few items necessary for my trip, such as heavy duty, leather work gloves; bug spray with 25% DEET; and ear plugs. (When you're rooming with people from all over the country, there's no telling what might go bump in the night. It took only one missions trip for me to learn that blocked nasal passageways of fellow missionaries could keep me up all night.)
I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving, or a bearable one at the least. :) It's a fast track to Christmas now. Don't let time steal away too quickly. Enjoy these 30 days as much as possible.
The fetching Portia of Belmont...
In the endless continuum that is my blog template creation, an update has been born. My "About" page is finally fitting to this site. I can't say it's a comprehensive bio for I am terrible at writing about myself. I can edit/proofread/perfect other's papers like nothing you've ever seen, but I had to pay someone about $150 to help me write my entrance essays to law school. It's that pathetic, folks.
All that to say, tell me what you think.
On a more festive note:
Happy Thanksgiving to ALL! I can't believe it's already here.
In less than two weeks, I depart for Waveland, Mississippi to assist in hurricane relief. I just didn't want to keep throwing money at charities, though I know they'd appreciate it. I wanted to see what my money could and should do. So, I'm going with my church that has been sending teams virtually every week since it's all happened.
The people in the area we will be attending to never expected the type of devastation that's happened to their neighborhoods. If you click on the link, you'll see a letter I'm sending to possible sponsors describing what we will be doing.
We need to raise $700 a person, and there are at least 7 of us, so that puts our total at an obvious $4900.00. If any of you want to help and actually know what you're money is going toward, let me know. I'm going to set up a paypal button as soon as possible. I'm very excited about this trip.
"With so much recent devastation in the world, many prominent Christian leaders have rightly concluded that this might be the church's finest hour. It has been the church, believers from all over the country, that has so faithfully and selflessly responded to the recent Hurricane Katrina disaster. As I watched the relief efforts, I desperately wanted to be a part of them. I gave money to good charities, but never felt it was good enough. Now, I have the opportunity to go myself and help those who have been ravished by Mother Nature, but have a greater Father God who cares for them.
I leave for Waveland in two weeks, on November 30. My team's purpose in going is two-fold. We will be participating in food and supply distribution. The system that is at work in Waveland is really quite amazing, and we would go to help in their very effective distribution test.
Our other purpose in going is to help in the task of preparing homes for rebuilding. Most of the homes that were wiped out by the hurricane were left in awful disarray. The homeowners need to strip their homes down to the studs and foundation to begin the process of rebuilding, but there is so much debris, mold and just plain muck on their homes from the floods that it is going to take an enormous amount of work to clean what's left of their homes. That's where we come in. We will be getting down and dirty cleaning filth from walls and clearing out lost possessions.
For a team of 7, we will need to raise $4900. We don't have long to do so. Would you prayerfully consider supporting us as we go to help the good people of Mississippi.
The task that lies ahead of our fellow Americans is great. I am not content to simply give more money, I want to see how it's at work. This is the best possible way of doing so. For those who partner with us, I will be sure to send pictures and write detailed accounts of the great things that happened on our trip.
I had intended to see Pride & Prejudice on Friday night, apprehensions of Keira Knightley's ability to carry off Elizabeth Bennet still in tact. However, it isn't a wide release yet, so it was sold out and my friends and I saw Shopgirl instead. I have to say that I might agree with Captoe. The movie wasn't as much about gloves as I thought, BUT I still think that sales might increase slightly. They are a rather glamourous accessory that is presently neglected.
Shopgirl was interesting. I thought the characters were great, the script was great and the cinematography was quite innovative. I actually haven't seen creativity with the camera like that for some time. However, if I recommend it I know I'll get more than a few Christians harping on me because of the sexuality in the film. There isn't any sex, necessarily, just things leading up to it, including a not so flattering shot of Clare Danes from behind. It looked like an attempt at an oil painting gone bad.
But the movie made me think. It was a sad topic--a girl trying to find love--but the characters were so well written and thoughtful that I enjoyed it. I wouldn't say, "Rush out and spend your $10 on the movie right now," but I would say it's a worthy rent.
Saturday, I did see Pride & Prejudice. Now, in this movie, the cinematography is just plain beautiful. Of course, England is a rather easy subject. You know how in some movies the sex or violence or language is just gratuitous? Well, in this movie, the English manors and hillsides were. At some point I turned to my friend and said, "I hate the English and their stupid mansions and their stupid rolling green hills." I meant it. I thought, "Alright! I get it! My city's hideous!" It was beautifully shot.
I don't think this Mr. Darcy holds a candle to Colin Firth or especially Laurence Olivier, but he did grow on me and did just fine. It would be difficult to go too wrong with this film since the material is so great to begin with. Keira, as suspected, wasn't quite the fiery queenlike Elizabeth I expected, but I have no complaints. She was just fine. Donald Sutherland was a rather odd pick for Mr. Bennet. He's to grandpa, Gandalf-esque to play dry, witty, slightly bitter Mr. Bennet, but he was great, as usual.
The only great disappointment, as far as the story is concerned, that I have is that the director left out the scene where Lady Catherine gives her approval of Ms. Bennet to Mr. Darcy. Because that was left out, a newbie would think that Lady Catherine was just a royal biotch. Because she was in the film. I was upset since it didn't resolve hers and Elizabeth's interchange.
Other than that, that is a movie I recommend spending $10 on. I saw it with two girlfriends and one of my girlfriend's parents. Her dad is very much a photography buff and a man's man, and he walked out saying, "Wow, that was not a chick flick in the slightest. I really enjoyed it."
So there ya go, gentlemen. See Pride & Prejudice and rent ShopGirl. And don't come back complaining about the latter. Or do. I don't mind. :)
My Prediction:
Glove sales will rise rapidly after the release of Steve Martin's Shop Girl.
Watch and be amazed. It will happen.
I'm never wrong.
As if California hasn't already proven it's one of, if not the, most liberal state of the union, we've got a movie coming up that all the naysayers of Prop 73 will love! That's right, a comedy about an unplanned teen pregnancy.
There's so much to be said there. But to start, what is this nonsense about "unplanned pregnancies?" Correct me if I'm wrong, but should it be a surprise to anyone engaging in sexual activities that pregnancy is the most likely outcome? Other than a guaranteed STD.
Teen pregnancy is a tremendous problem in the United States that shouldn't be glorified in a film. I'm not a huge fan of censorship, but I am of good taste and moral/social obligation. Hollywood knows the power it has over young minds, and making light of teens sleeping around isn't something that should be allowed. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I'm sure James Dobson and others will rally a huge boycott of the movie and the press will skin them alive. What else is new?
God help us. It looks like Prop 73, the parental notification for a minor's pregnancy, isn't going to pass. Only 40% of precincts are reporting, but it still doesn't look too good. Prop 74, teacher tenure, isn't looking good either. This is unbelievably disappointing. Our state needs tremendous help when people don't believe it's a parent's right to know if their well, "loose" teenager is killing her baby.
Sorry....had to write it. I know it's not poetry, but it's true. If your daughter gets herself knocked up, well, that's your first problem. She goes to kill her baby? You absolutely have a right to know.
Tell me why liberals campaign that a parent has a right to talk to their child about using drugs and cigarettes, but when it comes to abortion...hands off mom! And dad? Don't even think about it.
Oh Lord...help us.
There is still time, but I'm not entirely hopeful. I do hope, however, that I'm wrong and it turns around.
I'm a baaaaaad cotillionette. Today was Cotillion Day. Unfortunately I got wrapped up in a number of other things and just didn't even have a second to post about it. Visit our dear Not a Desperate Housewife. You'll love her site.
As many a reader (if there are such things) may know, I am a tutor. I help students in various subjects, but my favorites, by far, are English, literature, history and critical thinking. Tonight I was able to conquer the Odyssey with one student and great poetry with another.
Poetry is a phenomenal tool, I've found. Not only does the memorization of poetry help students in English, it also improves their reading comprehension and test taking ability. It also breeds character and teaches good writing, at least with the type of poetry I make my students read/memorize. On the other hand, bad poetry can do great harm to a student, making him believe that pseudo spiritual, new age nothings are worthwhile thoughts.
I wrote a searing letter to a second grade teacher once for introducing bad poetry to her class. I tutored one of her pupils and was furious when I read the poem she had to analyze. Not only was it utter trash but it also dealt with highly inappropriate and extremely politically correct material. It was basically a poem touting all types of lifestyles as acceptable, making sure the reader knew that no one one was a failure, even the teenage girl who was pregnant. Okay, second graders just learned that Santa doesn't exist. You're going to tell them that getting pregnant out of wedlock is an acceptable behavior? Needless to say, I not only gave the teacher a piece of my mind, I gave the parents some too for allowing the teacher to continually circulate this drivel.
One of my current fifth grade students has a hard time reading aloud. She tends to get ahead of herself in her head and the words don't come out as they're supposed to. I'm making her memorize poetry as a small part of the solution to this problem. The poem she's working on? One of my favorites, and a classic, Emily Dickinson's "If I Could Stop One Heart From Breaking." Now this is literature; short and sweet, but still great poetry:
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
Parents, make your kids memorize good stuff. It stays with them, I assure you.
This site bears the name of one of Shakespeare's most courageous and intelligent heroines. To find out more about Portia, click here. As for the contributors to Portia Rediscovered:
Portia, the blog mastermind, has been blogging about politics and pop culture since 2004, due in part to the influence of Blog Father Hugh Hewitt. She holds a B.A. in Communication Studies, with an emphasis in Rhetorical Criticism, from Cal State Northridge. She is currently beginning a graduate program at her favorite Pac-10 school where she will receive her M.S. in Education in 2008.
A multi-faceted blogger, Portia has been a public speaker, teacher, worship leader, travel junkie, and bookworm for about as long as she can remember. Though she wishes she could add "concert violinist" and "linguist extraordinaire" to the list.
She believes strongly in personal responsibility, good citizenship, and maintains an unwavering devotion to the pursuit of goodness, truth, and beauty.
Mutti, aka Dee, considers the greatest accomplishment in her life to be raising three kids who now love and serve God and country. She and her husband Bill met during the crest of the Jesus Movement at Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa in the '70's. For the last 19 years, she has taught art to K-12 students in private, public and charter schools. Her great passions now are her rose garden, collecting old and rare books, serving with her husband as lay counselors in church and mentoring young moms once a week through a Bible study at their church. She is also an admitted Little Green Footballs addict.
Portia considers her one of her all time greatest influences and role models.
MacStansbury, Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran, and internet mogul, proprietor of The Blorg, and an 18-year computer junkie. His evil tendrils run far and wide, and his reign of terror is well known for it's evilness.
This site wouldn't be what it is without the genius tech support of John Stansbury, or as we all affectionately call him, "Mac." He has a far more comprehensive bio here. In addition to evil, he has a wide array of nicknames. He's also graduated from college, with a degree in Public Relations, and a variety of minors garnered of his 27 years in college (it felt like that, anyways).
His occasional wit and ability to resize images are invaluable to Portia Rediscovered's Public Relations team. The team, PRPR for short, is after one thing: high quality images that will get downloaded by people in Google Images, and hotlinked all over God's greatest gift to mankind, MySpace. If there's nothing we'd rather do, it would be surfing MySpace all day long.
Religion of Peace? Coulda fooled me.
It is well worth it to note how Yahoo fails to mention the word "Muslim" in any of the captions. Not that anyone should be surprised that our media is once again covering for Islam. Also worth noting? You can't find a single picture of the actual "rioting." It's all aftermath shots. They'll show Argentinians rioting, but we can't show the Muslims doing the same...no...that would be...honest. We don't do honest.
Can't we just say it? Muslims are burning and pillaging the poorest neighborhoods in Paris. They've torched a disabled woman, burned over 500 vehicles, and it appears they don't plan on stopping anytime soon. The imams in France have encouraged this behavior. Chirac and the rest of them need to grow some spines and deal with it.
For more info, go to Little Green Footballs.
I teach an ESL class once a week. When I started, I had no idea what I was doing. I had tutored non-English speakers before, but I'd never formally taught the subject.
I was volunteering at a completely not English related event, not to say we were speaking another language, but it didn't have to do with the English language, per se.
But, I digress. The woman I was paired with was co-owner in a business that employed a number of Latin workers and they had wanted to provide an ESL class for their employees for years but hadn't found someone to do it. And along came me.
I started teaching the men in mid-August, and though I'd like to think that they've vastly improved their chances for career advancement, I have a slight suspicion that I've been the one that's changed more than they. Because I'm a member of a church that has a Spanish speaking congregation of over 8,000, I'm a bit more in tune with issues of immigration and the Latin community than the typical white suburbanite female. However, nothing compares to really knowing people who struggled for months just to make it across the Mexican border in hopes of pursuing the American dream. And you can ask every single one of them. That's why they came.
I've taken a more holistic approach to teaching them English. I'm not only interested in them understanding and speaking my native language fluently, but I also think it's important for them to understand American English and American culture. We've done brief studies of our country's origin, history, government, economic system etc. I've acquainted them with American poetry and now we're studying American idioms and customs. Every culture has it's own strange cliches and buzz words, and I don't want the men to be lost when they hear ours. It's not only been fun for them to learn, but it's been fun for me to get a greater idea of where some of our strange phrases come from. Here are a few examples of things we discussed this last week. These are excerpts from a book called Do You Really Know American English? by William C. Harvey:
*~*For Native Americans, the hatchet carried the same symbolic significance as did the sword for the European settlers. In order to secure a treaty with a warring tribe, a colonial representative had to attend a ceremony where the local chief would literally "bury the hatchet" as a sign of peace. In modern times, the expression suggests that one is willing to end a dispute and stop the fighting for good.
~*~Using light and sticks, fifteenth century nocturnal hunters used the technique of "beating around the bush" in an effort to stir birds out of their nests. They had to be clever and careful, which is why the phrase describes a cautious, evasive person who refuses to come to the point.
*~*"Thrown for a loop" is an aeronautical expression that refers to being suddenly knocked out of a flight pattern and forced to use a looping maneuver in order to recover. Today, it means to disorient someone by doing something totally unexpected.
And there's plenty more where that came from. More American fun later.
Since it's a moderately sized fishbowl, this thing called the right-wing blogosphere, I would not assume that you hadn't already heard about this fundraiser, and quite possibly you've already given money to it through another site.
Right now, blogs all over the U.S. are competiting against one another to raise funds for a program that would greatly assist soldiers who have been severely wounded in battle. This is from the Project Valour-IT site:
I'm raising money for the Marine Corps team...cuz them Jarheads are the hottest. Sorry, Mac, had to say it. Semper Fi fellas.Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, provides voice-controlled software and laptop computers to wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand and arm injuries or amputations at major military medical centers. Operating laptops by speaking into a microphone, our wounded heroes are able to send and receive messages from friends and loved ones, surf the 'Net, and communicate with buddies still in the field without having to press a key or move a mouse. The experience of CPT Charles "Chuck" Ziegenfuss, a partner in the project who suffered hand wounds while serving in Iraq, illustrates how important this voice-controlled software can be to a wounded servicemember's recovery.
If you can even spare the smallest amount, it would greatly help the men who have sacrificed so much so that we can live in the freedom we are so accustomed to enjoying. Please help, if you can. Click on the paypal button bellow to donate.
Grazie.
Help a soldier out. And make me look at least decent....give give give :)
Who is Portia? Portia is quite possibly one of the most brilliant of the Shakespearean heroines. In Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Portia is a beautiful young woman in search of a husband. Her father has just passed away and had certain stipulations about the process by which a suitor would become her husband. Being a woman with a deep sense of duty and honor, she abides by her father's rules, but with a certain flair that only she could possess.
In the play, Antonio, a friend of Portia's finds himself in debt to a Jewish money lender named Shylock (you probably know him from his famous "If you prick us, do we not bleed" speech). Shylock is technically entitled to a pound of Antonio's flesh if Antonio cannot come up with the money, which, of course he cannot due to some unforeseen nautical issues. Portia masquerades as an attorney and begins with an argument full of pathos, appealing to the court and Shylock to show mercy. However, when that doesn't go over too well, she bends the law to such an extent that the court has no choice but to forgive the man's debt. Mercy didn't work, so she gave them the law.
In case you hadn't read it, her famed beckon for mercy:
The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
That, in the course of justice, none of us
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much
To mitigate the justice of thy plea;
Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
Must needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant there.
This all begs the question, is this site named Portia Rediscovered because the site owner fancies herself her modern day archetype? Not one bit. But it's a noble pursuit. The contributors to this page love great writing, brilliant arguments and beautiful things. Portia seemed like a good fit. But you can be the judge of that.
This might possibly have been burning up the blogosphere for some time now, but I've been somewhat detached from current events in the last couple of days due to job priorities.
This is the behavior I have come to expect from hard core democrats and liberals alike, but it never ceases to astound me even still. That blacks would call a successful black man an Uncle Tom and throw Oreos at him is really disgusting and shows a complete lack of intelligent thought. They espouse such ridiculous generalities like the ever popular and vague, "Conservative political philosophy is anti-black." How exactly? Well, if they could answer that they'd probably not be the morons throwing food at public figures.
I know it's been said hundreds of times, but if Republicans started calling Maxine Waters, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson and the like black faced Uncle Toms, Oreos, sell outs and monkeys, there would be no end in sight for the civil litigation. The media would have those Republicans on a stick lighting up their garden parties if that were to ever happen. But we allow black democrats to propogate racism because....why? We don't hold them to the standards we do normal, civil society? Why is it that time and time again liberals are allowed to engage in the most vicious character assassinations but if one republican calls a democrat a "girly man" we don't hear the end of it? I for one am sick of the vitriol. I'm tired of the hypocrisy and would love for once to witness intellectual honesty from a liberal.
Yeah, I know. I might as well wait for Ted Kennedy to send President Bush flowers and chocolate.
So, I have no idea what's going on with the trackbacks on my page. Like I said, we're still under construction. I feel terrible about them not showing up, so I thought I'd just list them all here:
MerriMusings trackbacks with The Cotillion--Portia Rediscovers Me!
Cake Eater Chronicles: Dance on Over
Annika's Journal: The Cotillion Ball
My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy (an honor to be pinged by the great Beth): Portia's Fair Speechless Messages
Absinthe & Cookies: It's Cotillion Time
Bobo Blogger: Cotillion!
Florida Cracker: Cotillion
CatHouse Chat: "I'm totally sick of this so-called "Religion of Peace"
There ya have it. It's like a whole other roundup. :) If you want to trackback to the actual round up post, do so, I'll get the email and post it up here.
Thanks for the feedback ladies! I'm happy you like the new site. Let me know if you have any suggestions. And if you're looking for a great designer, Tammy's the girl to go to.
There comes a time in every Cotillionette's life when Typepad just isn't good enough. Ever the frustrated patron of said blog host, I decided to follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before me and join mu.nu. Welcome to my new site. We're still doing cosmetic touch ups here and there, but let me be the first to say, kick your heels up, make yourself at home and enjoy the writing of some of the most brilliant women to ever grace the world wide web.
This week found the ladies of Cotillion covering quite a breadth of topics. Our women warriors, wonder moms and whimsical poets cover every possible issue this week. OddyBobo welcomes in the fall with tales of hay rides, pumpkin patches and falling leaves, oh, and nasty phone calls. You'll see. Speaking of nasty conversations, LittleMissAttila has one of her own. But not without it's basically happy ending, of course.
On the topic of Halloween, of which we hope you all aren't still recovering. MerriMusings dedicates her post to the topic of protecting your kids from those who might look forward a little too much to the pitter patter of little feet coming to the door for candy.
The Gray Tie continues the theme of keeping children safe, but this time it's from things much harder to control than whose doorbell they ring once a year. She tells the story of a little boy in her church named JJ, 5 years old, who has been diagnosed with a rare and inoperable brain cancer. While JJ's friends and family hold out hope that miracles do happen every day, and they've seen them even thus far in his case, it is still going to take a tremendous amount of funds to attain the medical treatment that just might alleviate the suffering of this little one. We have the opportunity to take part in seeing that end. The first logo on her site provides the opportunity to donate money to JJ's family.
Our Good Samaritans have spoken, so we'll turn the floor over to the ladies at the front lines raging against the machine that is the Mainstream Media. Women shouting from the rooftops, refusing to be silenced. 
Few women have dared to take on such giants as the NYTimes with the ease that MaxedOutMama so easily achieves. With one eye closed she fires back at our favorite yellow newspaper that makes it a priority to turn facts into fiction, so long as it supports their agenda.
What can one say about the NY Times? I used to read it. I read it through college. I read it after. I don't read it any more, because I can never tell whether I am getting news or what the NY Times editorial board feels the news ought to be.
A case in point (and a glaring one) is the NY Times' version of Corporal Jeffrey B. Starr's life and death. Corporal Starr left a letter on his laptop, knowing that it would be his last words if he were killed. He was killed. The NY Times wanted to write a different story....
Speaking of things left out in the MSM, Jane over at ArmiesofLiberation writes of the horrors faced by the people, specifically the journalists in Yemen. We hear about Yemen about as much as we hear about soldiers helping Iraqi citizens. Jane gives us a tiny glimpse as to why:
I am writing for the Western people who have the misunderstanding that Yemen is reforming, decentralizing power, and enabling expression of the popular will. Believe me, its not. Its moving in the other direction. So I'm exposing them.
Sisu strikes back at the army of democrats accusing the current administration of political corruption, somehow forgetting that their mascot Willy would leave a legacy of nothing but.
While we agree with Roger re "the infantile partisanship dominating American political life" -- today and throughout our nation's history -- we're still gagging at Lanny Davis's scare quotes attempting to gloss over the rampant Clintonian political corruption, from day one of the co-presidency, that was forever swept under the carpet with "I don't recall" and "It depends upon what your definition of is, is."
FloridaCracker goes after the whiners from Wilma. One lady had to go without hot coffee for not one, not two, but three days! The horror. I mean, what kind of country is this that won't get it's citizens who ignore hurricane warnings piping hot beverages?
She hasn't been able to get water since the day of the storm, and hasn't had hot coffee since the day before the storm. I've criticized FEMA a dozen times on this blog, but this, this is not FEMA's fault.
GirlontheRight reaches out to a soldier's wife who lost her job just after her husband was deployed. As if sustaining a household without her husband wasn't hard enough, now the poor woman is job hunting. But it appears that hope is on the horizon. It has to be with RightGirl blogging about it.
The force of nature that is our CommonSenseRunWild also chronicles the story of a soldier's struggle. (I've had some issues with this link. Let me know if it's working for y'all or not.)
Hugo Chavez is a thug with delusions of grandeur, but he's also a dope. And no matter how intelligent and calculating Ahmadinejad is, once you start diluting the brain pool with a rube like Chavez, it becomes clear that you just can't be taken seriously, in the world of genocidal maniacs.
Well, we're approaching the end of our weekly roundup. Zendo Deb over at TFS Magnum steps up swinging at the women who would be men, our very own American feminists.
Most of what I find distasteful about the feminist left is that they view the world through the eyes of a victim. Everyone else is responsible for my safety, for my situation, for my problems. I don't want to blame the victim, but make them aware that they have choices. You can take action to ensure your security.
And bringing it all home is RomeoCat of CatHouse Chat who echoes mine and a whole host of others' sentiments regarding the absurdity of those who would call Islam a "religion of peace." But only RomeoCat could dish it out this way.
These are incidents typical of militant, fanatical Islam. I realize that not all Muslims condone these actions, but I am gravely disappointed that these "moderate" Muslims do not rise up in fury and outrage at those who are "hijacking" their religion...
And until the more rational and peaceful factions of Islam rise up and vociferously and vehemently condemn radical Islam, and actively - and PUBLICALLY - work to stamp it out, instead of issuing irrelevant and impotent fatwahs... Well, until then, I suppose I'll have to see Islam as a bunch of mad barbarians intent on destroying everything that is different from them, won't I?
In her post she outlines many, many disgusting events that have occurred just recently at the hands of Islamic fascists. It is an absolute must read if you want to inoculate yourself against the sickness that is our own media's spinelessness in reporting the truth.
That about wraps it all up. Many thanks to Tammy at AMomandHerBlog for designing the page and working tirelessly on it during a move and with family obligations. And a big thank you to MacStansbury who rescues me time and time again from the lair of html and otherwise all around blogging ignorance.
Cross posted at Cotillion. Linked at my old pad.