Interesting headlines . . .

. . . today at the Washington Times. Actually, I think the word fascinating would be far more accurate.

One headline reads US Airways seeks imam-suit dismissal. You know the story behind it, I'm sure.

After a Muslim conference, a group of Imams made a big show of doing their required prayers before all boarded the same plane. Once on board, they pretty much acted like jackasses demanding that they be allowed to sit where they wanted to rather than in their assigned seats, would not stay seated, and some demanded seat belt extensions they had no need for or intention of using. Their actions spooked the passengers and flight personnel so badly that takeoff was delayed so that the Imams could be ordered off that particular flight for questioning. Although allowed on a later flight, the Imams filed a law suit charging discrimnation.

I remember wondering when I read the initial coverage if the Imams were just trying to see how much they could get away with on the plane. Were they testing the waters, perhaps, to provoke a response and see what security measures might be in place.

Sounds far fetched, I know, but then again so did a 2004 story about 12 Middle Eastern musicians and their manager and the disruptions they caused on their flight. The passengers were called hysterics by officials because it was just musicians, after all, including one that was frequently likened to Elvis Presley in several, subsequent news reports.

It took a Freedom of Information request by the Washington Times to finally learn that the inspector general's report confirms terror dry run, and reveal the clusterfuck that the government was trying to hide.

Oh, and those 12 Syrians and their Lebanese-born manager, some of whom were already on watch lists, were all here on expired visas.

Also on the front page, is an image of Dubya in Glynco, Georgia, yesterday where he gave a speech on immigration reform before future U.S. Border Patrol Agents at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.

A lot of Americans are skeptical about immigration reform primarily because they don't think the government can fix the problems.

Gee, I wonder why. A lot more Americans don't trust it to, either.

In Memory

My Buddy

(Gus Kahn and Walter Donaldson, 1922)

Life is a book that we study.
Some of its leaves bring a sigh.
There it was written, my Buddy,
That we must part, you and I.

Nights are long since you went away.
I think about you all through the day,
My buddy, my buddy,
Nobody quite so true.

Miss your voice, the touch of your hand
Just long to know that you understand,
My buddy, my buddy,
Your buddy misses you.

Miss your voice, the touch of your hand
Just long to know that you understand,
My buddy, my buddy,
Your buddy misses you.

Buddies through all of the gay days,
Buddies when something went wrong;
I wait alone through all the gray days,
Missing your smile and your song.

Nights are long since you went away.
I think about you all through the day,
My buddy, my buddy,
Nobody quite so true.

Miss your voice, the touch of your hand
Just long to know that you understand,
My buddy, my buddy,
Your buddy misses you.

Quotable Quotes

"[The Comprehensive Immigration Bill] goes way beyond amnesty.

"In the case of amnesty, for example, if someone stole an automobile you would forgive them for stealing the automobile.

"In this case, the individual has stolen the automobile, we forgive them, let them keep the automobile, and then write them a blank check . . . in the tune of about $400,000 of benefits that they will receive that they will not pay for over the course of their lifetime.. . .

"It's Christmas for illegal immigrants." -- Robert E. Rector, Senior Research Fellow, The Heritage Foundation on May 27 broadcast

BEWARE OF THE DOG!

You've been warned!

The Granddog is guarding the house couch when Herself and Da Kid are out.

Quotable Quotes

"[T]he temporary worker program actually means temporary. It is not a vehicle for immigration. It is for people to come here for two years, work and return home. They can renew that for a couple more times, but each time has to go home for a year." -- Sen. Mel Martinez, (FL R) and RNC Chairman, addressing the national committee May 19

"The idea that the program is just a "guest worker" program is an illusion. The idea that these tens of millions of illegal aliens who are coming over here just to work will ever go home is ridiculous. After 10 million, or 20 million, maybe even 50 million immigrants come to the United States under "guest worker" visas, how are you ever going to get them to leave?" -- Jim Gilchrist, Founder of The Minuteman Project

5...4...3...2...1

Molly Goettsche and Nicole Moin, two student researchers at Connecticut College, decided to find out if "dropped food that spends less than five seconds on the floor - the so-called five-second rule - is still safe to eat because rogue bacteria need more time to taint it."

More here.

Tagged. I'm it.

Gek's gonna pay for this one. Big.

1. Add a direct link to your post below the name of the person who tagged you. Include the city/state and country you're in.

Nicole (Sydney, Australia)
velverse (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
LB (San Giovanni in Marignano, Italy)
Selba (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Olivia (London, England)
ML (Utah, USA)
Lotus (Toronto, Canada)
tanabata (Saitama, Japan)
Andi (Dallas [ish], Texas, United States)
Todd (Louisville, Kentucky, United States)
miss kendra (los angeles, california, u.s.a)
Jiggs Casey (Berkeley, CA, USA! USA! USA!)
Tits McGee (New England, USA)
Kat (Ontario, Canada)
Cheezy (London, England)
Paula (Orange County, California, U.S.)
Jeff (Colorado, USA)
gekko(Arizona, USA)
Doyle, Northeast Florida

2. List out your top 5 favorite places to eat at your location.

Unlike most women who have babies when they give birth, I had an Eating Machine who ordered two extra large pizzas instead of crying when the doctor swatted him on the butt. As a result when dining out I'm not into gimmicks or fads. I want good food and plenty of it at a reasonable price, and since Da Kid has been known to munch on a table leg (or two) if he went too long between feedings, service had better be good.

Marco Polo Chinese Restaurant and Mongolian Barbeque (Jacksonville, Florida, US) — Order off the menu if you must but few do. Instead, for $7.99 you can make as many trips as you want to both their Chinese Buffet and Mongolian Barbeque. The latter is what makes Marco Polo a favorite. Load your bowl with raw shaved chicken, pork or beef, the fresh vegetables you prefer, lo mein or other items if you like, follow the instructions on the wall to create whatever "sauce" you prefer (or invent your own) and take it to the person behind the counter who cooks it for you while you watch.

Joseph's (Jacksonville, Florida, US) — Family owned and operated, Joseph's — a local institution — marked its 50th anniversary this year. They still make their own pizza dough and desserts, bake all their own breads daily and prepare their meals using fresh ingredients.

Their Eggplant Parmesan, my personal favorite, is the best I've ever had. Anywhere.

Famous Amos (Jacksonville, Florida, US) — Open 24 / 7 but their always-available breakfast is the main reason to go there. Famous Amos doesn't hire waitresses who don't come equipped with bulging biceps. Their country ham "slice" alone could feed an entire family.

Steffan's (Kingsland, Georgia, US) — Imagine a hole-in-the-wall in the middle of no- where, stuck in the center of big parking lot. But, you still have a problem finding a place to park your car because of all the big rigs and pickups. Inside, a juke box sits in one corner. Old swivel-stools along the counter. A couple of small tables are scattered here and there, but the one taking the most room has on it only a diorama of the hole-in-the-wall you've in.

Imagine, too, as only an example a mound of chicken fingers cut from breast meat into slabs then breaded by hand, a MOUNTAIN of crisp, thick-cut fries, HUGE slices of fresh tomato . . . and your waitress NOT understanding why you had absolutely no room for any of the desserts that are always included in that day's "$5.99 Specials."

Herself's Parent's House — You can't eat there but I can. And do. Regularly.

3. Tag 5 other people (preferably from other countries/states) and let them know they've been tagged.

Any volunteers? You KNOW there's a place or two where you live that only YOU know about.

FYI

Although Da Kid no longer lives here, I still get phone calls for him periodically.

One came in this afternoon with a recorded message first stating his name, then asking him to call 1-800-830-1925 regarding his debit or credit card.

Yeah, right, I thought. I've gotten calls like this before so I did what I always do. I STAR-69ed sure it would be another one where the number was not available because it was "outside your calling area," or if a phone number HAD been recorded, incoming calls were blocked.

Except not only had a number been recorded, it was the same number Da Kid had been asked to call.

So, I called it and found myself in a menu tree of something called The Risk Management Center.

Yeah, right, I thought. Since I've gotten calls like this before, the next thing I did was google 1-800-830-1925.

Oh oh, I thought as I called Da Kid at the station.

He thought, just as I had and still suspected as a possibility, that it was some skunk trying to extract information from him so they could hijack his debit card.

When he called, though, they didn't want any information. They already had it asking him only to confirm his name, and that he had a debit card with this particular banking institution.

Had he used his debit card today, they then asked, at a Mickey D's in Southeast Georgia.

Da Kid said he had.

Had he used the debit card today, they next asked, to pay for a $64 meal at a restaurant in Canada?

No, he had not.

"Didn't think so," said the person from The Risk Management Center. They'd already put a hold on the suspicious transaction and any further authorizations using Da Kid's debit card number until they heard from him.

Per Da Kid's instructions they reactivated the number just long enough for him to use it at a Wally World to get some cash, and then killed the number. Dead. Permanently.

So, if you receive a recorded message telling you to call 1-800-830-1925 about your credit or debit card, it's not from skunks trying to rip you off.

Call 'em back fast, 'cause they're trying to keep a skunk from doing just that.

Fire and Rain

Andrea was a bust. The half-inch of periodic rain that fell where I am came down gently giving it a chance to soak into the dust ground. "Anything helps," Da Kid had said. But said after the showers stopped while the gusting winds continued well into the next day, "This is the worst kind of storm with all the fires," because in the end all Andrea did was fan the flames.

From The Disaster News Network:

The lightning-sparked Bugaboo Scrub fire, which began Saturday in the Okefenokee Swamp and jumped into northern Florida forcing evacuations Tuesday in the small town of Taylor in Baker County, had grown to more than 40,000 acres.

No buildings were burned in Taylor and authorities said it appeared the fire would skirt the town. The fire forced the closure of several roads in the area and had spread to about 500 acres.

Firefighters in Florida continued to battle an 18,000-acre blaze in Bradford County, which they said was 20 percent contained, and a 2,000-acre fire in Alachua County. They said there was a possibility the two fires could merge. Numerous roads in the region were shut down due to the fire.

About 1,000 people were evacuated in Bradford County but about half were allowed to return to their homes Wednesday. One home was reported destroyed there.

A wildfire burning at the Flagler-Volusia County border was reported 50 percent contained. It had scorched some 6,800 acres. In Collier County, 13,000 acres had burned and one home and two mobile homes were destroyed. The fire there also forced the closure of a portion of Alligator Alley and Florida's Turnpike. Lake County reported two large fires, one at 2,600 acres which was only 15 percent contained, the other 850 acres with 55 percent containment.

The Bugaboo Scrub Fire -- the one that started in Georgia last Saturday and crossed the state line into Florida Tueday -- is now larger than the southern component of the Sweat Farm/Big Turnaround Fire.

Not that they are often right, one of the local weatherjerks just reported a likelihood of rain on Sunday.

I don't know about anyone else out there, but I can't think of a better present for Mothers Day.

GIVE ME AN "A"

GIVE ME AN "A"!
GIVE ME AN "N"!
GIVE ME AN "D"!
GIVE ME AN "R"!
GIVE ME AN "E"!
GIVE ME AN "A"!

Mama thed . . .

Mama thed I wath a good boy. Thee kept thaying that all the way there and all the way home again, and tho did everybody there while they . . .

Mama tellth me it'th my Annual Everythingth. I'm thure you don't know what that ith, but trutht me. It'th really yucky.

They thtick thingth in me and up my . . . in there. And then whut.ever it is they thuck IN there, they wiggle it around for a while before they take it out.

I'm glad to be home again.

I'm exthauthted.

Decisions. Decisions.

I'm glad -- thrilled even -- that I grilled that batch of chicken wings yesterday for dinner 'cause I don't know how I could possibility do that today, now that I know what today, May 4, is.

You mean you don't know! Shame on you!

Today is International Respect for Chicken's Day!

United Poultry Concerns is pleased to announce our Third Annual International Respect for Chickens Day, May 4. We urge everyone to do an ACTION of compassion for chickens that day - from writing a letter to the editor to tabling at a local mall to showing the movie Chicken Run to going vegan - for life.

What are people doing for chickens on International Respect for Chickens Day?

"I'm planning to leaflet at an outdoor concert." - Laura Mungavin, Atlanta, Ga.

"The Chickens of the World Need Your Help" the organization's website . . . uh, crows?

Oops. Sorry about that. Wrong kinda bird. Anyway . . .

"We want to restore chickens to their leafy green world," says Karen Davis, president of United Poultry Concerns.

I'm willing to help out, but I haven't quite decided in which way yet.

Do I fix a chicken pasta salad and put it in a bed of lettuce, or toss a boneless skinnless chicken breast on the grill and then snuggle it in some lemon-seasoned, steamed broccoli?

Quotable Quotes

"From 1990 to 2005, the increase in the number of people living beneath the government's poverty line (now about $20,000 for a family of four) was 3,365,000; the increase in the number of Hispanics living below the poverty line over the same period was 3,362,000.. . . [M]uch of it was illegal [aliens]. -- Robert Samuelson

What a difference a year makes!

After parading around in major U.S. cities carrying their Mexican flags and yelling demands, to really show us what's what, last May 1 illegal aliens staged a much publicized protest to prove just how much we really need them.

But since that didn't work, this May Day -- the communist day of celebration -- the illegal aliens decided to try something else.

Well, not really.

They're still marching and protesting saying that just 'cause they broke the law as soon as they came into the U.S. illegally, it's really just so mean of us to to hurt their feeling.

Angry over recent raids and frustrated with Congress, thousands of people protested across the country Tuesday to demand a path to citizenship for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants. -- Washington Post

I suspect 27-year-old Russell De Ocampo Nevado had his feeling hurt, too. As a matter of fact, I'm fairly certain he did when Marliano Alberto -- speeding, driving drunk and on the wrong side of the road -- killed him in a head-on collision.

Marliano Alberto is an illegal alien.

As I said, what a difference a year makes.