Smoke on the Water

Observing Tradition

As most folk look back on their three-day weekend, courtesy of observing Memorial Day on a Monday, I thought it fitting to perhaps evoke one more rememberence of those who gave all in their service.

For today is the Traditional Memorial Day.  From when our National Holidays weren't all about us, but about those to whom we give tribute.

Often, it is when we return to our normal grind, that we look back on an event, a moment or a memory; only then to fully appreciate that which is observed through the perspective of time. 

So, as you look back on your weekend, look also to those whose sacrafice bought you that time.  Reflect on your freedom, bought by their service, their blood and their honor.

And join once more, In Rememberence.

Pfc Chad Hill salutes at evening retreat.

25th ID, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii

I think that the greatest tribute we can render to the fallen, is to quite simply, live the American Dream in their honor.

And no, I don't mean shopping, spending, buying and the like.  I mean ensuring that their heritage is passed down to our young.  I mean seeing to it daily, that the values and ideals which fostered the founding of this great Nation are instilled in every mind and heart.

To those who gave all, we can give but faint measure of effort.  But we can give our complete and utter committment to their memory, and in so doing, help ensure the future of this great Nation.

Give now this service to their memory, in their honor.

And as you live your week, your month and the months to come, every now and then, stop and raise that tankard of ale by your grill, smile, and toast them in the Spirit of America which they died to help preserve for each of us.

They'd not want us to be endlessly maudlin and 'ever in mourning for them.  Fact is, I think if we were, they'd rise and kick our asses for not quite getting what it is they fought for.

Life.  Liberty.  The Pursuit of Happiness.

Go be Americans, and shine, people!  And long may we wave.

That, is the tribute.

For Love of Country, '06

Originally published for Memorial Day in 2004, this remains one of my favorite, most heartfelt works.  And every word of it rings true, even today.

I will leave this post up through the Memorial Day weekend.  And, I have something to follow for the traditional Memorial Day, which comes this Tuesday, May 30th.

For Love of Country

And of our fellow man.

In the face of this electoral season's acrimony, it behooves us all as Americans to every now and then declare a truce, step back from the brink and to take stock of this awesome Nation of ours.

Of all of ours.

Be you Raving Liberal or Vast Right-Wing Conspirator, this time is not about you. Or about me.

It is about Them.

It is for The Fallen.

Each year the soldiers of the Third United States Infantry Regiment ("The Old Guard") take part in the ceremony called "Flags In." Just before Memorial Day, each grave in Arlington National Cemetery is decorated with a small American flag.

The flags remain in place until the conclusion of the Memorial Day Weekend when they are all removed. It is the only time during the year when American flags are permitted at all gravesites in the Cemetery. The "Flags In" detail took place this year on Thursday, 27 May 2004.

Personally, I believe deeply that we lose something vital to our survival as a Nation when we forget the blood of patriots.

Words, symbols, heated rhetoric and clever argument all pale when measured against the brilliance of the white of marble, the emerald carpet of living grass borne over they who rest beneath, forevermore.

And the fields and fields of flags upon each, bearing quiet witness to the precious, eternal value of that sacrafice.

Dignity, honor, respect and a day of rememberence is all that they ask now of us.

Especially, rememberence.

So, this weekend, set aside if only for a day, thoughts of (D) or (R). Rail not against your fellow American, nor wish harm to him, his party or his creed.

Not on this day.

The men and women in those graves are no longer Democrats or Republicans. They are still and eternally though Americans, and are forevermore worthy of this day given but to them.

Honor the Day. Honor Them.

From their dark and silent graves, they give more honor to our Nation than any one politican, party or officeholder dares ever imagine.

Dignified beyond words, with nobility above the highest offices of government, these silent warriors speak loudly of what it is to be American.

They did not die for the Republicans. Nor for the Democrats, Greens or Libertarians.

Whether in combat, or fifty years later surrounded by only the memories of comrades long since passed, the men and women resting forever under those flags once marched proudly under that banner. They have earned nothing less than the unqualified respect of a grateful Nation, and her grateful people.

The last full measure of devotion is an awesome, terrible thing. Yet, magnificent; and it is upon the altar of their sacrafice that we enjoy the freedom of the greatest Nation in the history of the world.

Stand and salute, and remember them.

For our own sakes, and especially for theirs.

REMEMBER THEM!

Freedom is Beautiful

Why is this woman smiling?

Let her tell you in her own words.......

"On a final note, I must clear up a misconception about this conservative. I can’t speak for others, but I don’t push the “colorblind” idea because I think it’s stupid. We couldn’t ignore differences if we tried. That’s not the way God made us. He created a truly diverse universe that is beautiful and awesome. It’s various colors, shapes, and sizes are pleasing to the eye. I won’t pretend we’re all the same except for skin color. We are all part of the American culture, but each of us is also part of a sub-cultural group. These have much in common, but they also have their differences."

La Shawn has been on my blogroll, and a daily read of mine about as long as three years or so that Smoke on the Water has exisited.  And believe me, she's clearly one of the smartest and most insightful voices in any media, much less the blogosphere.

If you're new to Smoke on the Water, my archives are only mildly entertaining.  Enjoy 'em if you've the time.  But La Shawn's works ought be required reading, and I earnestly urge you to do so.  You'll find it time very well spent.

You'll learn a lot about the beauty of freedom...complete and total freedom, from a truly beautiful lady.

God Bless you, La Shawn, and keep up the good fight.

The Art of the Rant

With apologies to GMC's marketing slogan.

This is a Professional Grade Rant.!

"You want to really turn yourself into an icon against established religion? You want to hear your name whispered in awe of your bravery? You want to become a crusader against dogma and the establishment? Go ahead, because there’s your chance. Stand up, just for once in your miserable, useless life, to something and somebody likely to actually strike back rather than shake their heads in pity."

"But of course you won’t do such a thing. That would require actual bravery and, as we all know, the only “bravery” exhibited among the feckless, “progressive” cowards is the kind that doesn’t involve any actual, you know, risk."

That was written by a trained and experienced Professional.  Caution, do not attempt to imitate, serious inadequacy and subsequent embarassment may occur.

All kidding aside, thanks, Misha.  What you said has needed saying for a long, long time.  And I don't think anyone ever has, nor shall, ever say it better.

Now, if only someone would give her a copy to read?

Endangered Species

Though not on the E.P.A.'s Endangered Species List, the RINO, a.k.a. Republican in Name Only, surely merits a spot on that roster.

Espeically given that some of them can't seem to understand the difference between a United States Citizen and and an Illegal Alien.

Illegals granted Social Security

By Charles Hurt
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
May 19, 2006

The Senate voted yesterday to allow illegal aliens to collect Social Security benefits based on past illegal employment -- even if the job was obtained through forged or stolen documents.    

"There was a felony they were committing, and now they can't be prosecuted. That sounds like amnesty to me," said Sen. John Ensign, the Nevada Republican who offered the amendment yesterday to strip out those provisions of the immigration reform bill. "It just boggles the mind how people could be against this amendment."    

The Ensign amendment was defeated on a 50-49 vote.

Here's what needs to be our new Endangered Species List, as reported by Allah.  Notice that we're only discussing erstwhile Republicans here.  Note also, these also tend to be the RINOs on the wrong side of the 2nd amendment, Campaign Finance Reform *gag, spit!* and many other conservative imperatives.

Brownback (R-KS)
Chafee (R-RI)
DeWine (R-OH)
Graham (R-SC)
Hagel (R-NE)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Voinovich (R-OH)

I have no heated anger towards these RINOs.  Fact is, I have an ice-cold dismissal of them as anything other than obsacles to the restoration of National Sovereignty; obstacles to be swept away in every possible election.

Well, they can understand getting their asses voted out of office, which is a goal I wholeheartedly endorse.  No, no yelling or screaming needed; merely don't send 'em one red cent.  That, and get some true Conservatives to run against them in the primaries, no matter the odds.

And that's what is going to seperate US from THEM.  If we can't get behind a constructive solution for RINO REPLACEMENT REMEDIES, then we've got some shaky ground under us while we rant and rage.  That same energy, placed behind a winning conservative candidate would be far more effective, anyway.

Point is, these RINOs do not, and will not "hear us", no matter how loud or angry we get.  The only thing they "hear" is empty campaign coffers and the echo of a losing vote tally in their campaign headquarters.

No matter how well the fine-tune their rhetoric between now and their next elections, never forget them who for who and what they are. 

By being Republicans in Name Only, they dishonor Republicanism, their constituents and this Nation.  If they want to be on the side of the socialist left, I'm sure the democrat party would welcome them with open arms.

And I for one, say Good Riddance.

Come November, I'll see you at the polls.  BE THERE!

Us, or Them?

UPDATE: 10:30pm CST.      Welcome Instapundit guests!

And it seems I've some in agreement, and some comments and links which are just howlers.  A bit late tonight for me to fully respond to the comments (and hate mail), but I'll give it all a good run through tomorrow morning.  Until then, keep the cards n' letters coming.

Remember this though.  I'm just as committed to:  1.  The Fence.  2. NO AMNESTY.  3. Militarization of the border, as needed.  4.  Instantly deporting all illegal alien felons.  5.  Cutting off the "carrot", i.e; the social services which support so many millions of illegal aliens.  6.  No "fast track" to Citizenship, other than that which any Legal Immigrant must accept.

And I'm committed to voting out any RINO pacifist who wants to kowtow to Fox and the reconquistas.

What I've pointed out though in this essay, is that among ourselves, manners matter.  Or, at least they should, lest we be confused with our opponents on the left.

Now, on to your reading.  Welcome aboard!

A day and a half after the President's speech on illegal immigration and our Southern border.

In that time, I've made a pretty fair scan of the sites on my blogroll, as  well as many others which were linked by their own articles.  I've clicked-through to a whole lot of InstaLinks, and some from Drudge.  It has been to say the least, interesting.

Now, in my scant three years of manning the helm here at Smoke on the Water, I've never let up on reading what's out there, even though I've suffered some extended, self-imposed absences from this keyboard.  And in that time, I have formed many friendships, both purely online, and not a mere few which have become freinds in the coporeal world.

Some other site-authors and commentators exist out there who I'd never want to be friends with.  Or for that matter, even associate with.  Nor, with whom to be compared.

Kos, and his demented minions.  Atrios, for similar reasons.  And the entire cesspool which is the Democratic Underground....  a toilet long overdue for flushing.

What these sites and their leftist synchophants are famous for, is their never ending hatred of, and unreasonable anger towards, any and all things conservative; all things Bush!  And not a well-reasoned anger, or for that manner, any reason whatsoever.  It is enough that Bush breathes for them to erupt as the snarling pack of rabid curs that they are.

It is bad enough to read their ragings, ravings and rants.  One's head simply cannot comprehend how in their throes of hate, how any semblence of reason, logic or any sort of orderly thought process can be so lacking in an otherwise human skull. 

In fact, the mere style of their hate is their hallmark, and they're justly known for their lunacy, and well laughed upon by their betters from the universe of reason and sanity.  Moonbats, we call them, and rightly so.

But now, I fear for us.  For the conservative blogosphere's anger towards President Bush has begun to resemble the foam flecked frothy faced insanity of the left.

And I do not like the comparison.  We're better than that, and we're better than them.

Get this through your heads, my friends.  We've already made a difference, we've forced the issue and are beginning to see some traction in our direction.    I, too, don't think the President's speech was enough, but it was a start.  A wobbly start, admittedly, but would you have no improvements at all, or can you take a breath and pause in your intemperate rage long enough to realize, that it's a start?

Granted, it's not much of a start, and leaves much to be desired.  So, we'll just have to press on, relentlessly keeping the pressure on for those desires to be realized.  But we must do it in a manner in keeping with the ethos of our Tribe.

Hell yes, keep the pressure on and keep those cards, calls, letters and e-mails going to your congresscritters.  They need to know...hell, President Bush needs to know, that we're more or less politely, not going to let up just because a good start has been launched.  But we also cannot punish them for making a start, or elsewise, why would they find it reasonable to listen to us, if we but punish them for at long last, responding?

For the fools who oppose us, and the RINOS, well, that's what primaries are for.  Run some real conservatives against them, and keep hammering away on the issues.  Where it counts, which is only in the voting booth.

Keep the pressure on in the blogs, and with everyone in your life's reach.  And do so in a manner so as to be a credit to yourself, your politics and your tribe.

Dammit, do it as a Citizen that your fellow American can look to, and respect.  Not like the leftist assnuggets on the Hate Bush! side of the planet.

Tony Blankley opens "The Price of Secure Borders" with:

I've always found that avoiding insanity is useful in life — which in American politics sometimes puts one in the minority. As a second proposition I would argue that when in negotiations, if he with whom you are negotiating is moving in your direction, don't walk out of the room.

Of course, anything by the esteemed Mr. Blankely deserves the read the whole thing endorsement.

Blogrolled sage DANEgerous wisely points us to NRO columnist Jim Geraghty's ten-ring take on the subject.

...as I mentioned, what kind of lengths do you think the Democrats will go to in order to keep power once they’ve got it? Does the “Fairness Doctrine” ring a bell? You think Pelosi and Reid wouldn’t try that tactic to hinder conservative talk radio? How about McCain-Feingold 2.0, with a particular focus on controlling “unregulated speech” on the Internet and blogs?

Think the MSM was cheerleading for Democrats in 2004? How much more fair and balanced do you think they’ll be when their task is to defend Democratic House and Senate majorities AND elect President Hillary Rodham Clinton? My guess is, they’ll make the CBS memo story look accurate and evenhanded by comparison.

Think the GOP can prevail in close races once they’re out of power? Ask the members of the military who had their ballots in Florida blocked. Ask Doug Forrester how well his anti-Torricelli campaign worked when he suddenly faced Frank Lautenberg at the last minute. Ask Dino Rossi. Ask Democrat Tim Johnson if he’s glad the last county in South Dakota to report its results just happened to have enough of a Democratic margin to put him over the top in 2002.

You don't win by losing.

And linked from the same DANEgerous post from above, this from Karl Maher.  In Buddhist Republicans, he writes:

I remarked somewhere, on this blog or the other one, that one of my earliest political memories was seeing a Vietnamese Buddhist monk on the evening news immolate himself. He seemed peaceful, in the Lotus position. Just another Karma-related fatality, though; didn't do much for Vietnam.

Well, tonight I have seen Republicans set themselves on fire. I don't really know what got the monk's toga twisted. But illegal immigration has really done it for Republicans. Check the Corner, where Kathryn Lopez has made an absolute ass of herself; check the open thread at Redstate, check the comment thread on your favorite conservative blog.......

Go and read what follows that, espeically his list of Bush accomplishments and milestones from five years in office.

So, does all of this make you think that I'm satisfied with the President's speech?  Well, I'm not. Nor am I happy with his insistence of the pursuit of a comprehensive Immigration Reform bill.  Not in the least.  I would far prefer to first secure the border, and then discuss what next to do.

But I am happy that immigration has found it's way onto the Executive Radar, at long last.  At least it's there, and it's our team fielding the ball.

Our job now is to not snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. 

And that's a real possibility, given the venal and ill tempered viperitude being vented by otherwise sensible opinionists, bloggers and even nationally syndicated columnists from the right.

Again, from Geraghty:

But apparently the Kos are not the only ones with an all-or-nothing mentality. Sometimes in life you have to use the West Coast offense, nickel and diming your way down the field instead of going for the long bomb. If I want a more conservative government, I get it by electing the more conservative of the two choices, even if he isn’t as conservative as I would like. I do not get it by sitting on the sidelines and pouting, and letting the less conservative guy take the reigns of power.

So I put it to you.  Are you going to act like the US, which as brought us so far, so solidly and so successfully, or are you going to act like THEM ?

It is said:  "That which we admire, that which we emulate, we become."

And I have long admired the the Conservative community, be it newswriters, authors, columnists, bloggers and friends.  It has always tended to attract the mature of mind, the responsible, the civil, the well reasoned and well spoken.  The Grownup Party, if you will.  I've always wanted to emulate the best of who, and what, we are.  But then of course, we always do seem to go from that lofty perch, and fire countless rounds right through our own feet.  The Stupid Party, and we may well deserve the title.

Conversely, I've always been struck by the childlike petulence of the left, with their immature logic, temper tatrums, their overwhelming and overreaching and over-loud pouting and shouting.  The Evil Party, and no more fitting a monniker can they ever wear.

It pains me that I find a significant few of the conservatives whom I admire, to be acting just like them.

I have seen the Stupid Party, and it is US!

UPDATE, 18 May 06,     Noon, CST.

Other blogs linking with this post:

The Other Side of Kim

The Anchoress

Kitty Litter

Gulf Coast Pundit

Lucianne "Must Reads of the Day" (18 May 06)

Dr. Sanity

The Anti-Idiotorian Rottweiller

The Democracy Project

Random Nuclear Strikes

Leslie's Ominibus

Supply Side Politics

plus, see those trackbacks!

Seventeen Minutes

I thought it might have taken a little longer, but seventeen minutes is what we got.

Given that 7 pm CST is when I start my drive home, I listened on the car's radio, and taking notes at 70 mph isn't highly reccommended.

Or for the faint of heart.

From my carefully and hastily scribbled notes:

The tone was about right.  I heard a serious President try to take on a very serious topic.

I did not hear a surefit of pandering to Vicente Fox, or Mexico in particular.  And that is what I had dreaded highly as the countdown to the speech came on.  Yes, there was the little diddy about "Mexico is our neighbor, and our friend", but that was delivered minimally, almost as an afterword.

A good point, delivered with reasonable force of conviction, and which I agreed with, was the President's declaration that we do not have control of our borders.  And of what the consequences of that loss of control has wrought in terms of our society.  For that, I say "well done".

On the issue of a fence, I am disappointed.  Though the President did mention a better barrier in the metropolitan areas, what I wanted to hear; what we needed to hear, was lacking.

What should have been said was that the United States would henceforth begin construction of the best wall the taxpayers can buy.  That the construction, starting in the metro areas and continuing as far as necessary, until the wall runs from the Gulf to the Pacific, or until Mexico gets the clue and commences with true border enforcement on their side of the frontier.

But he did mention the unmaned aircraft, and I might take that to include the aerostats which Doc and I discussed the other day.

With more time than seventeen minutes, perhaps he could have more strongly emphasized our Nation's history of legal immigration through Ellis Island, and even here in Galveston, Texas. 

And on the topic of assimilation, he did fair in his endorsement of English, but again, just a bit short.  Until we make English the absolute and official language of these United States, we'll not turn the burner up under the Melting Pot which President Bush so aptly invoked.

The best moment though?  The end of "Catch and Release".  Perhaps his most forceful point of the entire speech, and which must be put into force at once.

Though the President did not flesh-out just what he would do about the tens of millions of illegal aliens already here in the U.S., he did address the issue.  But I flat out disagree with him that paying a fine and going "to the back of the line" isn't amnestey.  It is nothing less than amnesty, albiet with a price.

So, let's say he gets his way on that.  Will we see the unceremonious ejection of illegal aliens who are found to have not "paid their fine"?  Will we have the nerve and guts to instantly deport those who don't step up and even try to work with the program?

That's what worries me.  If we haven't had the guts to do it for the past forty years, I'm not sure that the will exists to do it in the next ten.

But if we're to survive as a Nation, we must do exactly that.

And finally, what I wanted to hear the most, I heard not at all.  The President missed a prime moment to invoke shame upon those hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens and their socialist motivators, who dared flaunt their numbers in the streets of our Nation.  My words would have been "How DARE you!", in these United States of America!

But, all in all, I give the speech a "7".  A "B-minus" if you will. 

I'm relieved that I'm not as infuriated as I'd feared I would be.  I'm just mildly annoyed right now.

But I'm sure that once the Senate gets back into play, there'll be plenty of fury to go around.

A Sucker Bet

I'll be watching President Bush tonight, as he speaks to the Nation from the Oval Office.

Though I wish for an uncompromising message in support of enforcing our immigration laws, frankly, I'd be astonished if the President actually came through on that.

So instead, I'm braced to endure listening to some mealy-mouthed apologetic for what is likely to be, and remain, an unsolved problem.

Until, that is, we place a substantial wall along our Southern border.

Anyone want to take odds that I'm wrong?

See me after the speech.

Speed Traps

Given the state of hysteria from the screeching class, and their MSM progenitors in regards to the hue and cry over the NSA's ongoing tracking of civil phone records,  I thought I'd take a moment and shine a bit of light on the topic.

In order to draw some comparisons of the NSA's telephony traffic data mining to some other widely accepted practices, let's look at something we're familiar with seeing in daily life.

The police officer who monitors the speed of traffic via radar.

What happens when an officer is running radar at the side of the road?  Well, let's break it down.

Each and every car in the lanes under observation is hit by the radar beam.

Each and every car's licence plate may be visible on the video from the patrol unit's dashboard video camera and recorder.  Those recordings may be archived for later review.

Ninety Nine point Nine-ish percent of all traffic passing that officer's radar, unmolested.  And most of them were in fact, speeding.  But not egregiously, and so proceed on their merry way. 

And why no complaints about an invasion of privacy?

Let's look at that.

The cars are not on private property.  Rather, they're rolling along a public thoroughfare.  The mere fact of their presence on those roads is public knowledge.  And, if they're travelling along the highways equipped with (for example) Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) cameras, a record of each car's transit is created.

Now, even though I'm rather opposed to police cameras in terms of general street level monitoring, I do understand the benefits of such on the freeways and other primary traffic routes.  And records from those records can be used for many practical and valuable applications.

Visual analysis of the tapes can reveal factors which create choke points for the flow of traffic.

Data capture software applied to the same tapes can count the number of cars in any given moment, or over any measured period of time.

From those tapes, traffic patterns can be decuced, and when changes to the roadways are considered, certain extrapolations, projectoins and predictions can be made.

And certainly, more nefarious patterns can be detected.  Such as the small percentage of drivers who selfishly drive their cars on the shoulder of the road to cut ahead of traffic, or who cut through a corner gas station to avoid a pesky traffic light.

Not only can those patterns be identified, but so also can the cars be positively I.D. by their license plates.  And by extension, so can their registered owners.

And still, no cries about a Right of Privacy?

Well, no.  Not insofar as a mere recording of that which is clearly observable on a public highway.

Now, if our Officer Friendly were to single out a particular car from those streams of traffic for exceeding the speed limit, no privacy is yet lost.  A bit of anonymity perhaps, but nothing more.  And if nothing more than the brief transaction of a license check and a citation written occurs, then the only erstwhile privacy lost was that which was not truly private, i.e; the driver and his car's interior being visible to Officer Freindly as he performs his duties.

It is those parts of the car's interior which are not in plain sight, which enjoy the same extended presumption of a Right of Privacy as one's home.  But that which is in plain view is possessed of no such right.

So, if our intrepid Officer were to observe some contraband lying in plain sight in that car's interior, then a transformation occurs.  With the introduction of probable cause to the situation, then the mechanisms of law become available for the State to assert it's right as empowered by the Constitution.  Officer Friendly, securing either the permission of the driver, or the permission of a duly empowered Judge via a properly issued warrant, may then intrude on the driver's privacy.  And so, the search begins in earnest, leaving no corner or crevase of the car unexamined.

It is in much the same manner that the NSA's data mining operation is likely conducted.

The hundreds of millions, even tens of billions of records of all calls made in the U.S., even in a week's time, would be impossible for any number of people to individually review.  It simply cannot be done.

But pumping those records through an intellegently designed relational database can, much like the aforementioned highway studies, reveal patterns.  Some of those patterns can shine the light on particular "cars", or in the NSA's case, specific phone numbers, either as call originators or as receivers of multiple calls from other suspect numbers.

It is from the sifting of billions of those records that certain numbers reveal themselves as having pattern-links to phones which are known to belong to people with links to the shadowy world of terrorism.

Call detail records are the equivalent of seeing millions of cars pass by a parked police cruiser.  And the software which is looking at those records is the equivalent of a speed-gun's radar beam.  Nothing more.

Fact is, I'll wager that your company's PBX came from the manufacturer with a call-accounting package as part of the deal.  I've know this, because I've been the corporate buyer of such on more than one occasion, and I've been on the paid consultancy side of the fence on a few other deals.

Companies, and especially call-centers, use call accounting software to track all manner of telephony trends.  Peak calling times, calls to or from the most heavily trafficed area codes, average call duration, shortest and longest calls, most calls to or from a given extension; the possibilities are nearly endless.  They also find and identify phone abuse by their employees, of times resulting in disciplinary actions or termination.

The NSA's data-mining program is a Call Accounting Program, writ large.  But it is no more invasive than the police radar beam, only looking at the exterior of hundreds of millions of calls as the zip along the wires. 

Looking at the traffic data reveals nothing of the interior of those calls, which would be the actual conversations.

Yet, it is not until a suspicious call-pattern is revealed that an NSA type agency will hand over it's probable cause to a more active, investigative and enforcement agency, such as the FBI.  Who will then use that probable cause to secure a warrant from the FISA court, allowing the Feddies to then finally, actually and not until then...  listen in on the calls to and from the number(s) in question, in order to further determine the nature and scope of, if any, terrorist plots and schemes.

For a more scholarly and experienced view of the constructs of the actual Data Mining, I urge you to go and read Mr. DuToit's extremely well done pimer on the topic.  You really do need to do exactly that, if you haven't already. 

Note that none of this requires any names, nor the content of the calls—that would be the privacy of the thing, and that’s where it seems that the NSA, if they’re telling the truth, has been quite circumspect.

But what this data gives the smart analyst is that when you establish that (357) 243-3006 belonged to Abdul El-Bomba, who received a call from his brother Aziz, a known member of Hezbollah in Syria, you now have the ability to focus only on all the calls Abdul made and received, to see who was calling him and whom he was calling. That would be a couple hundred calls, out of the (literally) tens of billions of records you’ve collected.

Be it on a Public Highway, or a Public Utility, the exterior of your private conveyence is not a private fact.  It is rather, a freely observable matter of public record.

Really, it's not hard to understand.  Except for idealogical lefties.  And the only thing it seems they understand these days is their hatred of All Things Bush.

I salute the NSA for doing their job, and doing it damned well indeed, as evidenced by over four years with no further terrorists successes since that fateful September day in 2001.

Due in no small part, I'm sure, to their Data Mining programs, which the howling assmonkeys of the left would love to see canceled.  They've already wrought great damage to the programs with their coordinated publicity, tipping the U.S.'s hand to the jihadists.  I wonder what classified asset they'll betray next, and when?

Females & Firearms

This evening, our local (Houston, TX) ABC affilliate runs a special segment on their 10pm news, focusing on Women With Guns.*

*if they post this segment as a video on their site, I will update that bold with a link

I watched this couple minutes of airtime with rapt attention, and here are a few observations:

The segment opens with some women who can damn well shoot!  At what appeared to be seven or ten yard distance, the groups being fired, live on camera, averaged no more than four inches with no flyers.  This, with both S&W (or Taurus?) snubbies and a full-sized Glock in 9mm or .40 S&W.   I could not I.D. the handguns beyond those quick takes.

Featured are normal, sane, respectable women who are CHL holders.  To me, the students appeared to be late '30s~mid '40s suburbanite types.  Either professionals or housewives.  Or, of course, both.

The report citeed Texas Department of Public Safety  stats  of 247,000+ CHL holders, of which 44,000+  are women.  And if I heard it right, that that female percentage is the fastest growing segment of the class.  Which, was reported if not approvingly, at least not derisively.

KTRK's reporter showed a good center-pouch CHL ladies leather purse while highlighting a lady who carries at all times, and another who carries when she feels she needs to.

The report placed a strong emphasis on the fact that these women, and all CHL holders train ardently for non-violent dispute resolution.  The female instructor got that point across with no clouding whatsoever.

On air, that same instructor explained that many women are reluctant to handle a handgun in the beginning, but with some instruction, usually become better shots than the men.  (I already know this, having instructed some four dozen-ish women to shoot....  most respond to instruction much better than the average Joe at the range.)

And finally, this most unusual feature showed these ladies being happy, having fun, and with two couples being featured also.  One an instructor couple and a second just as a shooter couple...and they didn't make 'em look like Reba McIntyre types from Tremors.

All in all, this was how news ought to be presented.  Objectively and factually, with no sneer, spin or other coloration by the reporter. 

Of course, I'm sure that a buncha prune faced lemon suckin' anti gun fear mongering million mom march types will decend upon KTRK with heaps of e-mails and letters of scorn.  Count on them to berate KTRK for not "baaaaallllaanciinnngg" the segment with the obligatory Brady (panties in a) Bunch spokesweasel, or the usual lying VPC propagandist.

How much do you want to bet that those groups will scream for "equal time" to respond to the Females & Firearms segment?

Equal time, my ass.  After forty or fifty years of virtually nothing but a steady media anti-gun drumbeat, this one segment is but a grain of sand on our side of the scale, versus a dumptruck load of the same from them and their ilk over the years.

But the nature of truth being what it is, that one grain of sand will weigh heavily upon that scale.

Truth outweighs a lie, even a Big Lie.  All it takes is a few truth-tellers who just won't quit! This segment told a big truth, and in a huge way. 

I salute KTRK for their objectivity, honesty and courage in airing this feature.

I strongly encourage you to do the same.  They hear us in our uproar when we're slammed.  Let's make sure that they hear us in our praise when they get it right:

KTRK TV
3310 Bissonnet,
Houston TX 77005
Our Phone Number is (713) 666-0713

( their "contact us" page doesn't provide the e mail addy, it sends the mail internally via their webpage, but I'll send this post's permalink to 'em all the same)

Veloci-Fury

Such subltety. Such piquance.

Thus speaketh the Velocidude, and verily, he speaketh the truth:

".....And all this talk of Aztlan. Lookit, my little brown brethren: California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, that shit is not reverting to you. Ever. You have, in your attempts to sway the discussion, managed to infuriate 75% of the populace here. I, for one, won't buy a Subway sandwich a fucking mestizo makes without they shows a green card. We let you in here, we tolerated you, now you have pissed us the fuck off."

Believe me when I tell you this.....  that's not the hottest part of his screed.  I'd hate to see him if he really got pissed.

Read the whole thing, of course.  It's a thing of beauty, and you'd be nuts to miss out on it!

It Was True Then

And it is true now. 

Perhaps even more so.  Nintey-nine years ago,  Theodore Roosevelt made a declaration which should be engraved on a plaque and hung right beside  Emma Lazarus's famous prose on the Statue of Liberty.  Hell, given today's context, it ought to flat out replace that time worn poem.

Here's Teddy, and what he said in 1907:

"In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man's becoming in very fact an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Now then, contrast that with the reconquistas you see in America's streets today.  Tell me that proponents of a revolution to claim our Southwest as their Aztlan have America's best interests at heart.

They have only their own selfish interests, and childlike want the rewards of Citizenship without first having subjected themselves to the rigors of the legal process set for for the attainment of that great prize.

They wish to remain ignorant of American history, apart from American culture and even rebel at learning the de-facto Official Language of the United States of America.

Having no allegiance to America in the first place, their allegiance is not divided at all.  They remain allied to their homeland, wishing only to enjoy the fruits of American prosperity, without being first and foremost; American.

What they also don't understand is that America sees them marching in our streets.  America hears their arrogant demands.  America sees their Mexican flags, their communist placards and understands the disrespect being shown to the United States and her culture and laws.

And come November, we won't forget which politicians were on the side of the reconquistas, which elected officials cowed before the tens of thousands of people who cannot vote, and which representatives chose to represent them, rather than we who cast the legal ballots.

The reconquistas can make a great showing in our streets.

We can make an even greater showing in the voting booths.

Let us plan on so doing!

The Memory Hole

Mayday!  A signal of distress.

Though I've been largely absent from the Wide World of Blogging for a period of months, I've not been remiss in keeping up with my daily blog reads, a constant update of various news-sites and also broadcast T.V. and news radio.

Which is why I look forward with morbid curiousity to today's projected boycott of the American Economy from those who have no rightful place therein.

Notice that CNN pays scant attention to the sheer illegality of the presence of these protestors.  And CNN is not alone in thier deliberate ignoring of which groups align with and support the reconquestistas and their associates.

Orwell would recognize these re-writers of history.  He knew them well when he wrote 1984. 

From Chapter Four:

"What happened in the unseen labyrinth to which the pneumatic tubes led, he did not know in detail, but he did know in general terms. As soon as all the corrections which happened to be necessary in any particular number of The Times had been assembled and collated, that number would be reprinted, the original copy destroyed, and the corrected copy placed on the files in its stead. This process of continuous alteration was applied not only to newspapers, but to books, periodicals, pamphlets, posters, leaflets, films, sound-tracks, cartoons, photographs -- to every kind of literature or documentation which might conceivably hold any political or ideological significance. Day by day and almost minute by minute the past was brought up to date. In this way every prediction made by the Party could be shown by documentary evidence to have been correct, nor was any item of news, or any expression of opinion, which conflicted with the needs of the moment, ever allowed to remain on record.        ........."

Today, we have an entire generation who were educated by the U.S. Department of Education Ministry of Truth.  Who know nothing of the history of patriotism, naught of the Founding Fathers, other than their human flaws.  And who believe that they are educated, even though Politcally Correct Revision, Ver 5.1 concept of history bears as much resemblence to the facts as Rosie O'Donnel does to a Hooter's Girl.

I remind them of this:

"THE ONE WHO DOES NOT REMEMBER HISTORY IS BOUND TO LIVE THROUGH IT AGAIN"

GEORGE SANTYANA

The photograph was taken by a dear friend of mine.  It comes from near the entrance at Auschwitz.

Which brings me to the need to remind us all of some very important things. 

My generation pretty much has the benefit of having studied the pre-P.C. textbooks.  The ones where history was a recitation of fact, and not of leftist cant rewritten as such.  The generation before mine, many of whom have not yet passed, lived much of that history.  They still bear witness to the fire, fear and tears of those days, some sixty years past.

Neither their recollections, nor the books written of the fears of the 1930s, and the fighting of the 1940s has passed from their memories.  Or our archives, or my memories of having studied them.

Despite their best efforts, the left has not succeeded in passing our history down the memory hole.

And that bears mention today.

Today is May Day. 

A particularly noteworthy holiday in Communist Orthodoxy.  From Wikipedia:

Due to these left-wing overtones, May Day has long been a focal point for demonstrations by various socialist, communist, and anarchist groups. In some circles, bonfires are lit in commemoration of the Haymarket Riot usually right as the first day of May begins. ^{[citation needed]} In the 20th century, May Day received the official endorsement of the Soviet Union; celebrations in communist countries during the Cold War era often consisted of large military parades and shows of common people in support of the government.

So, as you watch the illegals parade by in their thousands, as you note the buisnesses shuttered by their erstwhile boycotts, do remember that the date they've chosen for their protest was not selected by accident.

We have seen their ilk before.  We have seen the hundreds of millions slain at their hand.

From Van der Leun:

"Its a litany that proves, once again, that there are some lies that lodge so deep in the hopes of man that they can never be killed no matter how many are executed to make the lie true."

Truer words have never been spoken.

On this May Day, do what the illegals seek to inhibit.

Do things.

Get a haircut.

Buy something you've been putting off.

Hire an American Citizen to mow your lawn.

Dine out, and tip dammed well in so doing.

Spend money.

Hire an American to to the job that an illegal just boycotted.

Write your Representatives, and tell them of your day.

Support the Minutemen.

Send the above recepits to your Representative.

Take a legal alien to lunch, and tell them thank you for abiding by our laws, and Welcome to the United States of America.

Tell the next illegal who says  "Si su Puede", that really, No You Can't, and tell them your next call is to La Migra.

Are you pissed that I've equated the reconquestistas with communits and nazis?  Well, the truth being what it is, sometimes hurts.

But it ain't my problem, friend.

The answers are there, just a wee bit down the Memory Hole.  I'd suggest you start diggin' for 'em, and that, soon.

Or would you prefer to live through history, again?

At the end of the trip, we turned to the kids and said: “One day, someone may say to you that this never happened. You are here to bear witness that it did. Never, ever allow those lies to take root and spread. Make sure your children know that this happened, too. This cannot be allowed to happen again.”

It.  Did.  Happen.

And any movement with communists, socialists or even national socialists workers (which is what the word "nazi" means), surely cannot be countenenced, much less trusted with the awesome and precious right of citizenship in these United States of America.

There is no accident of history in the First of May being the date of the reconquista's boycott.

Keep that in mind, and don't let it swirl down the memory hole.

And tell your Representatives..........

............NEVER AGAIN !