Today marks the 2nd day of the 12 days of Christmas. This is 2 turtle dove day. The question is, is there someone out there that actually gives this stuff?

From here. Joseph “Jumpin’ Joe” Beyrle, the only World War II soldier to fight for both the Americans and the Soviets, died on Sunday a hero for two nations. He was 81.

The wartime feats of Beyrle, a member of the 101st Airborne’s “Screamin’ Eagles,” still seem improbable.

After parachuting into Normandy on D-Day in June 1944, he was captured by the Germans. Battered and starved, Beyrle escaped from a Nazi prison camp and found Soviet troops advancing toward Berlin. He joined their ranks and fought for weeks, then was injured and taken to Moscow, from whence he eventually made his way home to Muskegon, Mich.

A place in history
Beyrle didn

I sit here at my computer waiting to go fishing. I have planed my trip to take maximum advantage of tide tables, moon charts, feeding graphs, and species migration patterns. I am the high tech angler. I do my research before I oil my reel (note: this is not a sexual metaphor). It

Check it out.

Thanks to the brilliant Michelle Malkin.

I am doing this as a gesture. I am posting the full text of The Declaration of Independence on this web site along with an invitation for the children in San Francisco to read it for the first time. As well, I am extending an invitation to each of us to re-read it, rediscover it. This is who we are as a people. This is where we came from. Although these 1,323 words could never be enough to define us, they were enough to inspire us to define ourselves.

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offencesFor abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands. He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Wandering Thoughts

As I wait to find out if I

Is it really hear? I was reading Helen’s post today and started thinking the same thing. In fact, the past couple of Christmases they haven’t really been joyous or Christmasy to me.

I too have done most of my Christmas shopping. Maybe its the fact that I’m not getting a Christmas tree because I won’t be here for Christmas? Or maybe its the fact that over the course of the past 5 years this time of year has had some dramatic changes? From the selling of my house in Louisiana where I spent so many years, the split of my x fiance and myself, and/or the lack of any significant other to actually buy a nice Christmas gift for in the past 3 years…

Anyway, this Christmas I am giving wetwired a makeover so to speak. New avatars, new design, and a moderate change to the color scheme. And those that are a part of wetwired are getting avatars - that haven’t had them before. Fnliii, Beerslinger, Di, etc…

Remeber TinTin? I do sorta.. well this is interesting… “MONTREAL (AFP) - Intrepid comic book reporter Tintin, who began his adventures 75 years ago, looks like a young teen because of a growth hormone deficiency and the effects of too many blows to the head, according to a study.
“This could explain his delayed natural growth, delayed onset of puberty and lack of libido,” reads the study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

The study was written by Claude Cyr, a pediatrician at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec, with help from two experts — his sons Antoine, 5, and Louis-Olivier, 7.

“We hypothesize that Tintin has growth hormone deficiency and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism from repeated trauma,” the study reads.

The researchers “identified 50 significant losses of consciousness in 16 of Tintin’s 23 books,” the report reads.

“Of these, 43 incidents involved head trauma with loss of consciousness representing grade three concussions. Tintin sustained 26 concussions resulting from a blow with a blunt object.”

Tintin lost conciousness eight times after being hit with a club, four times after explosions, three times after being shot, three times after being poisoned with chloroform, three times after car accidents, twice by falling and once due to mild dehydration, according to the researchers.

In the books, authored by Belgian author Herge (Georges Remi), Tintin never shaves, never grows taller and does not “exhibit signs of pubertal development,” according to the report.

Tintin first appeared in print on January 10, 1929, in a children’s supplement to the Brussels newspaper Le Vingtieme Siecle.

The lavishly drawn books have been translated into more than 60 languages and sold over 200 million copies around the world.

The boy with the cowlick hair, helped by his faithful dog Snowy and the foul-tempered Captain Haddock, battled drug-runners, mad scientists, spies, Latin American guerrillas and a myriad of shady characters.

His last completed adventure appeared in 1976.

Thanks to Dizzy Girl for the reminder.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -

Have an annoying cube or office mate? The perfect solution. Find that old guy with a pacemaker, and knock him off your chrismas list!

“Based off the popularity of the Lightning Reaction and Shocking Roulette we are proud to introduce the newest Shockaholic game. The package includes two remote control wireless tanks. The object of the game is simple: Located on the top of each tank are 6 lights. When you start the game they all light up. Each player has the option to pick a high or low voltage. If you choose the lower voltage, you not only will receive a lower shock, but each time you land a hit on your opponents tank you only extinguish 1 of his six lights. If you choose the higher voltage than of course you are a risk taker an receive a larger shock and you are granted a reward. The risk taker will able to extinguish 2 lights out of six for each time you score a hit on your opponents tank. The Tanks are radio controlled and wireless. They move forwards and backwards and run on tracks just the same as an ordinary tank. Each track runs separately via the controller’s left and right throttles, thus making the tank have the ability to make sharp turns. There are 2 tanks and 2 controllers per package. Object of the game is to make all 6 lights go out on your opponents tank, thus ending the game. How twisted and fun does this sound?

Not suitable for persons under the age of 14. Do not use if you suffer from epilepsy or any similar or related illness. This is a novelty gift and is not intended to be used as a toy. Emits electrical shock. “

I found the link curtosy of Mike the Marine.

Memorial - we never forget

Check it out, its done very well.

It is almost impossible to know what truly lies within someone else’s heart. And when you have done that, then you and that person are connected or intertwined within each other.

Our biggest mistakes are that we assume all too often to know what is in another’s heart and we trust our assumtions. That is foolish.

So, Notre Dame managed to severely FUBAR their coaching situation this week.

See, Notre Dame- in theory, the last bastion of honor and pride in collegiate sports- threw away their entire reputation this week by firing Ty Willingham, the school’s first African-American coach. Willingham had a winning record overall, had led the team to a 10-1 regular season their first year and had gotten them to a bowl game again this year after a tough year last season.

(As a side note, he’s already getting a LOT of offers from other schools who will treat him a lot better than Notre Dame did this week.)

Notre Dame had never fired any coaches before the end of their contracts. In the last 70 years, no coach had served less than four years in the position. Notre Dame proved that in the end, winning was the most important thing just like any other college football program despite their holier-than-thou attitudes over the past few decades (pun intended).

Now, the school needed a coach. Notre Dame wanted Utah’s Urban Meyer, who managed to coach a team that hadn’t done anything in years to an undefeated season. Meyer has made it known that he wanted to coach at Notre Dame, and they knew this. They offered him 1 million a year to have the “honor” of coaching at Notre Dame.

Funny thing, though. That’s not the big money in college coaching, and the University of Florida knew this.

Today, Urban Meyer signed a 7 year, $14 million contract to coach at Florida (for those up in South Bend, that’s TWO million a year) while the Notre Dame Athletic Dept. is left with their thumbs firmly planted up their posteriors and their football team without a coach.

Gotta love idiotic moves from a bunch of hypocrites.

Out.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/master.asp
Claim: The County of Los Angeles has requested that equipment vendors avoid using the industry term “Master/Slave” in product descriptions and labeling.

Status: True.

Origins: Social
changes of our era have been accompanied by linguistic changes: as discrimination based upon race, gender, or physical condition has become less socially acceptable, we began to frown upon the use of pejorative terms associated with race, moved towards more gender-neutral usages of language (e.g., ‘chairperson’ instead of ‘chairman’), and replaced terms for describing the disabled with less stigmatizing ones (e.g., ‘mentally handicapped’ rather than ‘retarded’).

Subject: IDENTIFICATION OF EQUIPMENT SOLD TO LA COUNTY
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2003 14:21:16 -0800
From: “Los Angeles County”

The County of Los Angeles actively promotes and is committed to ensure a work environment that is free from any discriminatory influence be it actual or perceived. As such, it is the County’s expectation that our manufacturers, suppliers and contractors make a concentrated effort to ensure that any equipment, supplies or services that are provided to County departments do not possess or portray an image that may be construed as offensive or defamatory in nature.

One such recent example included the manufacturer’s labeling of equipment where the words “Master/Slave” appeared to identify the primary and secondary sources. Based on the cultural diversity and sensitivity of Los Angeles County, this is not an acceptable identification label.

We would request that each manufacturer, supplier and contractor review, identify and remove/change any identification or labeling of equipment or components thereof that could be interpreted as discriminatory or offensive in nature before such equipment is sold or otherwise provided to any County department.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation and assistance.

Joe Sandoval, Division Manager
Purchasing and Contract Services
Internal Services Department
County of Los Angeles

Note: You are receiving this email because you have registered with the County of Los Angeles. If you do not wish to receive future L.A. County Event news, simply click the link below, and update your registration information to remove email notification.
To verify that this wasn’t a hoax or an internal joke which mistakenly escaped to the wider world of the Internet, we called the Purchasing and Contract Services division for the County of Los Angeles, and they informed us that yes, they did issue this message, and yes, it was meant seriously. In May 2003, a black employee of the county’s Probation Department filed a discrimination complaint with the Office of Affirmative Action Compliance after spotting “master” and “slave” labels on a videotape machine, whereupon the Internal Services Department was obligated to issue notification requesting that vendors refrain from using the master/slave terminology.

Joe Sandoval, the Division Manager who issued the memo, told Reuters that his memo was intended as “nothing more than a request” and not an ultimatum or policy change:

“I do understand that this term has been an industry standard for years and years and this is nothing more than a plea to vendors to see what they can do,” he said. “It appears that some folks have taken this a little too literally.”

Sandoval said that he had already rejected a suggestion that the county stop buying all equipment carrying the “master” and “slave” labels and had no intention of enforcing a ban on such terms with suppliers.

“But we are culturally sensitive and we have 90,000 employees,” he said. “We have to take these things seriously.”
Whether this message reflects more a “socially progressive” change or one of the “needless discarding of the familiar and traditional” variety we couldn’t say, but