Weekly Rants, Raves, and Whatever

*I see the news media have decided that: 1) The Iraq war is lost and the American people's support for the liberation of Iraq is "dwindling". No mention of the fact that the drive-by press has spent the last three years trying its best to undermine our efforts by spending all its time on alleged mistreatment of terrorists, our supposed low standing with the rest of the world, and how Arabs couldn't possibly maintain a democracy. No facts, just brag. 2) Hollywood knows more about how to fight terrorism than the experts in the military and our intelligence services. We've had to endure everything from Michael Moore's celluloid lies about President Bush, VP Dick Cheney, and the "neocons" (code word for Jews) in the Administration, to hearing Charlie Sheen's looney conspiracy theories re 9/11. This moron actually believes the Trade Center Towers were actually collapsed by a controlled explosion, and that the jets that crashed into the towers were not commercial airliners! Maybe something he picked up from Heidi Fleiss' ate the good parts of his brain. 3) Our military is made up of low-rent dropouts who couldn't get a job in the real world. This one is right out of the 1960s, when anti-war lefties claimed that only poor blacks fought and died in Vietnam. When the actual statistics from the military are examined, it shows a balanced mix of the population served, in proportions that accurately reflect the make-up of our nation. 4) Even though Dan Rather's "Guardgate" scandal of President Bush's military service was proven to be built on faked documents, Blather continues to insist the story is true, and his buds in the press continue to cover for him. Maybe they were ALL customers of Heidi Fleiss!

*A combined force of British, Iraqi, and US soldiers rescued a group of peace activists in Baghdad after obtaining information from a captured insurgent (Gee, I hope they didn't violate his rights. After all, aren't murderous thugs entitled to all the legal protections those thousands of Americans who were incinerated on 9/11 received? Oh wait, that's right, they were executed without due process!). In an ironic twist, the pacifists couldn't bring themselves to thank their liberators, instead expressing gratitude to Muslims who had called for their release. Too bad that didn't work for Danny Pearl.

*Hillary Clinton is gearing up for a run at the presidency in 2008. Just what the Democratic Party needs, Michael Dukakis in a dress! Bill felt our pain, Hillary just is a pain!

*Senator Russ Feingold wants to censure the President over the electronic surveillence controversy. I hope so. I can't wait to see politicians vote on a document that sanctions the President for protecting America from Al Queda terrorists. I think ol' Russ is gonna find himself mighty lonely when that poll is taken. As dumb as Republicans are, you just can't top Democrats when it comes to making jackasses of themselves.

*Let's end this week's diatribe on an up note. Here's to all the men and women of the United States military who sacrifice so much while the rest of us live the good life at home. While we're watching sat TV, going to ball games, and buying Hotzi's at QT, they're laying their lives on the line for us. Maybe someday they'll get the recognition they deserve, but I'm not sure we could ever adequately express it. God Bless America!

Justice Isn't Blind, Just Tired and Hungry!

I reported for jury duty on Monday at the St. Louis County Courthouse in Clayton, Missouri. Along with about 150 other Countians, I presented my summons, got my ID badge, and steeled myself for the bailiff's call that never came. Actually, the bailiff did come in once and call out about 25 names, but yours truly was not one of the chosen.
The rest of the day was spent reading a novel, getting up and walking around, commiserating with my fellow juror wannabe's, and buying snacks from the vending machines (I never knew I could eat that many peanut-butter crackers in the course of 8 hours). We did get to leave the jury assembly room for lunch, and in spite of the cold weather and blustery wind, I managed to waddle down to a little eatery on Bemiston called "The Market Bistro", where I got the best Taco salad I'd ever eaten.
Unfortunately, when I got back to the courthouse, I kept tripping the metal detector until I was about down to just my boxers and a smile before the damn thing stopped going "Bing!" every time I stepped through it. I made it back to the juror's room with time to spare, but it was touch and go for a while.
The rest of the afternoon was uneventful, to the point that when they finally released us at 4 p.m. we had to wake some of our fellows up so they could vacate the building before lockdown.
All in all, I'm glad I got the experience, but as long as I was there, it would have been nice to at least be interviewed for a case. Oh well, at least I made $10 for the day. Of course, I spent $15 dollars on lunch and junk food. Who says Justice is blind? Obviously, it's tired and hungry!

Trim Saw

I was at Sears at Mid Rivers Mall yesterday, cruising the hardware department while Mrs Merc Man and Grandma Gimlet searched the stores for bargains. I had won a AMEX gift card at my company's sales meeting, and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate my good fortune than by puchasing a new power tool. After much contemplation and drooling, I settled on a cordless, 19.2 -volt, 5 1/2-inch, Craftsman trim saw. Sweet! It runs up to 4500 rpm (no load speed) and is the perfect size for cutting molding, trim, etc, without the weight and hassle of a bigger, corded saw.
Only problem is, while searching for the perfect addition to my tool collection, I spied about 43 other must-have items that I don't currently own. To keep myself from becoming too despondent over that issue, I stopped at Borders to look around and stumbled on a CD of Marty Robbins' named "Gunfighter Ballads" that replaces an old LP I wore out after repeated playings. It is probably the best collection of cowboy-type songs ever, and was originally recorded in 1959.
Alas, Mrs Man and Grandma G came back empty handed. As for me, it was one of the best shopping experiences ever.