Prayers for AWTM

I think Army Wife Toddler Mom and her family need some prayers if you feel up to it.

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Wichita: Abortion Capital of the World

I'm not sure how much more I can add to that statement. Apparently there's some billboards up that are trying to help Wichita to advertise that fact. The Wichita Convention and Visitors Bureau says, in response, "we're moving ahead and growing as a progressive city."

So apparently, according to these people, abortion = progressive. Huh.

I wonder if "Progressive Auto Insurance" should change their name to "Killers and Death Insurance." Well, since liberals/socialists/leftists/the press want to change the meanings of words, we should be consistent, shouldn't we?

Posted by: Ogre at 04:06 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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NC Lottery Heats Up

For those not following the information in North Carolina, the lottery may or may not start at the end of this month. There are many questions concerning the passing of the lottery bill, and a hearing was held yesterday to attempt to have a judge rule on the constitutionality of the passing of the law that created the lottery.

John Hood, of the John Locke Foundation, gives an interesting analysis of the upcoming decision -- the judge has promised to make his decision sometime this week. The state's primary argument in contending that the law was passed constitutionally is that the lottery is NOT a tax:
If it is impossible for government to tax a voluntary purchase, what is a sales tax? A gas tax? A beer tax? A cigarette tax? I would be shocked if the state prevailblockquoteblockquote>
So those who claim that the lottery is a voluntary tax, am I then allowed to buy gas and NOT pay the tax on it? Can I ignore the sales tax because it's "voluntary?" Not without getting locked up.

The state argument is twofold -- they first claim that the lottery is a voluntary tax, and then they claim the lottery is not a tax, it's a fee. That's a favorite tactic of the Democrats in North Carolina -- they claim everything is a fee and then say that they don't raise taxes.

However, to be a fee, a service has to be provided. That's clearly not the case with a lottery ticket -- because only a portion of the cost of the ticket is being used for the lottery itself. In other words, the lottery costs 65 cents -- including all costs for actually running the lottery and all payouts -- but you pay $1 so the state can collect 35 cents -- for doing nothing.

Clearly the state is in the wrong here. The lottery is a tax. Sure, it may be a tax on the poor and the stupid, but it's a tax all the same. The Democrats, in their zeal to pass this lottery, very clearly violated the state constitution. This week we will find out if the state is ruled by the constitution or by Democrat whim.

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Jim Black: Does he represent you?

Jim Black is the current speaker of the North Carolina House. He is currently being investigated by various authorities and groups, including the state board of elections and the federal government for crimes. All investigations are currently sealed and private. Mr. Black refuses to resign.

The Winston-Salem Journal has a good summary of just ONE of the things he did -- in 2003 there were more Republicans elected to the State House than Democrats. Jim Black personally convinced Richard Morgan, elected as a Republican, to switch his party before the actual session started. This gave Black a majority in the House and control of the legislature.

Then, in January, 2005, a brand-new state position was created with a salary of $45,000. It was created by Jim Black's chief of staff and he told the division where the job was created that they needed to hire Richard Morgan. And the salary funds were allocated to the "Department of Cultural Resources" personally by Jim Black.

In other words, Jim Black literally gave Richard Morgan a $45,000-a year job for switching parties and voting for Jim Black to be speaker of the House. So, do you support that kind of watching over your taxpayer dollars? Do you really trust a person who does that?

The Democrats in North Carolina do, because they're more interested in power than in being good, right, moral, or anything else.

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Death Penalty End-Run

The anti-Death Penalty, or pro-Criminal groups continue to attempt their end-run around the actual legislative process to complete their goal of saving the lives of every pre-meditated murder they can find. They've joined the battle in North Carolina by now claiming a doctor is breaking the law by attending the execution of a convicted criminal.

However, while the article goes on with the usual crap about violating "to do no harm" (never mentioned by the same people who support Dr. Kevorkian), it never actually mentions WHAT law it is that the doctors are supposedly breaking. Then again, this groundbreaking news presented by the Charlotte Observer says that these claims come from "a national medical office."

The reason these groups have to continue to attempt to bully people around, including doctors, nurses, and judges, is because they have an idea that is simply not accepted by the vast majority of people. If the majority of people agreed with them, then the legislatures could, and very quickly would, simply pass a law that outlaws the death penalty!

Really, it is that simple. But the pro-muderous criminal groups simply do NOT have the support of the rest of the people -- so they use any and all tactics they can to force their views upon everyone else. If we didn't want the death penalty, we have legislators that can make that a reality. Clearly, we, as a society, DO want to kill those who have committed such serious crimes that they simply cannot be "rehabilitated."

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Warning Label: Ogre

Ah, you need some silliness to offset the cesspool that is government:

Ogre Look out for the

m HOLE

Username:

From Go-Quiz.com

(Found at Pirate's Cove).

Posted by: Ogre at 08:07 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Guard Our Borders!

This week's Guard our Borders blogburst contains some very important information about legislation that could pass the US Senate that will very seriously undermine our nation and it's national identity. Please read and take action:

CALL TO ACTION!

On Thursday, March 16, the Senate Judiciary Committee told their staff to meet behind closed doors to construct an immigration bill that would include provisions from the Kennedy-McCain bill. Known as S. 1033, the McCain-Kennedy bill includes an amnesty for illegal aliens, a massive "guest" worker program that leads to citizenship, and an estimated one million additional permanent immigrants each year.

Millions of illegals to become citizens?

Kennedy-McCain immigration reform bill likely to pass Senate committee after recess: more...

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Jim Black: "Alleged" Lawbreaker?

Is $8000 greater than $4000?

It seems to me to be a rather simple question. Maybe it's the computer person in me, but when I look at the question, I only see one possible answer, and absolutely no way for there to be any other answer. Apparently the Hendersonville Times-News and the North Carolina State Board of elections disagree.

The State Board of Elections (Democrat) have found that Jim Black's campaign gave $8,000 to Rep Earline Parmon's election campaign. State law clearly limits donations from one candidate's committee to another committee to $4,000 in each election. I'm not sure how it can be in doubt that the law was broken. However, no one seems to want to admit it:

"The campaign of House Speaker Jim Black appears to have violated campaign contribution limit" -- Hendersonville Times-News

"They appear to be over the limit." -- Gary Barlett, executive director of the state board of elections.

"the contributions appear to be excessive" -- John Wallace, Jim Black's attorney

Why won't anyone admit it? JIM BLACK BROKE THE LAW. There, I said it! Why won't anyone else? Perhaps because they are absolutely terrified of what he will do to them. He has too much power and uses that power to crush those who oppose him.

And the response of the Democrats (who also cower in fear at Jim Black's feet)?

"I sure hope they're looking at some of the contributions on the Republican side." -- Alma Adams, Democrat who illegally received $4,500 from Black's campaign.

And you wonder why I keep calling the North Carolina Legislature an utter and total cesspool.

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More Lottery Woes

Marshall Lancaster, writing in the News and Observer says that the judges in North Carolina should rule on laws based on their potential outcome -- and NOT on the actual legality or constitutionality of the laws. In other words, if a law is bad or illegal, but getting rid of it would cost money, the law should be left alone.

His argument is about the North Carolina Lottery. This week a superior court judge is scheduled to hear the lawsuit that has been filed that claims the lottery was passed illegally. I'm opposed to the lottery, but I also happen to agree that the law was clearly passed unconstitutionally. To claim otherwise, as the Democrats and Mr. Lancaster do, is to claim that the lottery will not raise any money for the state.

But that doesn't matter to Mr. Lancaster -- instead his primary reason that the judge should not rule against the lottery is because it will cost some money. He's more worried that the lottery commission would not be able to pay back the money they've already "borrowed" from the state -- and the state would have no way to recover that money (I'm cheering for that outcome).

He also complains that school systems that are "counting on" that money will have to turn to taxpayers for their money. Like most liberals, he cannot even conceive of the most logical alternative -- STOP SPENDING SO MUCH MONEY!

Finally he complains that contractors who are already spending money on the lottery will also sue the state. I'm not sure why he won't consider that the judge can just as easily tell the contractors to get lost because there is no lottery...

So, even though the legislature is clearly exceeding their constitutional authority, we shouldn't stop them because it would result in the state spending less money. Me, I support stopping the state spending money any way I can, so I certainly support stopping them when they break the damn law!

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Mandated Virtual Visitation

It's being reported that North Carolina doesn't have enough laws and has too much money (that they took from the taxpayers and workers of North Carolina). Well, that's not exactly what the headline of the article reads, but it's what is very clearly implied.

This article talks about "virtual visitation" -- court-mandated "visitation" between children and parents. Of course, with technology advances and the internet (thanks, algore), parents and children can already do this, whether they're divorced or not.

However, that's not good enough. Supporters of this idea would require a new law so that judges could order people into virtual visitation. Oh, and what about the poor? Well I'm sure the state government will be more than able to provide them with the services. I guess free internet is going to be another perk rewarded to people who get divorced...

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MT vs. WP

Wow.

I think I know now why I like Moveable Type over Wordpress. One word: documentation.

I have been searching for over an hour in the alleged documentation for Wordpress, including their "outdated" Wiki and their Codex. They really suck. Try searching for "comment" -- you get nothing. Seriously. If you try and find information about working with comments, it doesn't exist, according to their seach.

And if you manually start paging through the pages, you can finally find SOME information about comments. However, if you want something really, really simple -- like the number of comments on a post -- you cannot get it. Sure, you can DISPLAY it, but you cannot actually GET the number. That seriously stinks.

Using MT, this would (and did) take me a few seconds to find the information and use it. With WP, I still have not found how to do it, even after searching and attempting crap for over an hour. From what I can find in their manuals, the only way to actually get the number of comments is to actually loop through them and and count them yourself. Damn, that sucks.

But hey, if you know how to do it, please do let me in on the secret, because apparently the developers of Wordpress don't know.

Posted by: Ogre at 07:28 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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I'm a ... what?

Ogre has been award a cool and awesome honor from the Feline Theocracy. We have been awarded the title of

Monsignor of the Breweries

We are truly honored and am sure fully deserving of the title. And we (yes, that IS the royal "we") are quite sure it has nothing to do with this picture that the Ogre can neither confirm nor deny having anything to do with this picture:

Posted by: Ogre at 09:46 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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M:i:III

PARAMOUNT PICTURES TO PREMIERE “M:i:III” TRAILER
ACROSS MTV NETWORKS;
‘ROADBLOCK’ TO GIVE AUDIENCES EXCLUSIVE LOOK
AT SUMMERÂ’S HIGHLY ANTICIPATED ACTION-THRILLER

Trailer to Premiere on MTV Networks on March 16; Debuts in Theaters the Next Day

HOLLYWOOD, CA, March 14, 2006……Paramount Pictures will premiere an exclusive look at this summer’s most highly anticipated action-thriller, “Mission: Impossible III,” as Tom Cruise introduces the new trailer across MTV Networks on Thursday, March 16, it was announced today by Gerry Rich, president of worldwide motion picture marketing for Paramount Pictures. The film, starring Tom Cruise and directed by J.J. Abrams, the creator of “Lost” and “Alias,” opens in theaters nationwide on May 5, 2006.

The trailer will air simultaneously on MTV, MTV2, VH1, CMT, BET, and Spike TV during the 10pm-11pm block on Thursday, March 16, one day before it runs in any movie theater. The exclusive material will also be available on the Internet at mtv.com, mtv2.com, vh1.com, cmt.com, spiketv.com, and at iFilm.

Commenting on the announcement, Rich said, “Tom and J.J. have come through with an amazing action movie and we think viewers across MTV networks will agree that ‘M:i:III’ is the first must-see event film of the summer. When you’ve got the goods, it’s exciting to be able to share it with the audience in a special way. We’re thrilled to be pulling out all the stops with our partners at the MTV Networks.”

Tom Cruise returns as Special Agent Ethan Hunt, who faces the mission of his life in “Mission: Impossible III.” Director J. J. Abrams (“Lost,” “Alias”) brings his unique blend of action and drama to the billion-dollar franchise.

Paramount Pictures presents a Cruise|Wagner production, “Mission: Impossible III.” The film is directed by J.J. Abrams, from a screenplay written by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci & J.J. Abrams, based on the television series created by Bruce Geller. The film is produced by Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner. The film also stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Billy Crudup, Michelle Monaghan, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Keri Russell, Maggie Q, and Laurence Fishburne. The film is not yet rated.

Paramount Pictures is part of the entertainment operations of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIAB), one of the worldÂ’s largest entertainment and media companies and a leader in the production, promotion, and distribution of entertainment news, sports and music.

To view the trailer, click the image below:

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Good Ole Boy Government

In case you weren't completely convinced that the state of North Carolina is 100% ruled by the good ole boy network, note the recent activities of Governor Mike Easley, Democrat.

He has a personal relationship with one Charles "Nick" Garrett, Jr. He then tells the North Carolina Council of State to vote to give him a lease (on a port). Mr. Garrett also somehow won a lucrative license tag franchise (state-mandated profit levels), despite the DOT suggesting he should NOT get it.

This is a big problem in government. A government run by one party (the Democrats) will only give money away to their friends and allies. Of course, they can only give this money away after taking it from the taxpayer.

How to stop this? There's two ways. The first thing is to implement term limits. This won't stop the immoral governor, as he's already term limited. However, it will stop his pals and allies in the legislature from going along with him and giving him huge piles of cash to give away.

Second, reduce government. Why does government need to run a marina? Why should government be able to take money from working people to give to non-working people? That's wrong. If you reduce government, you reduce the money involved, and you reduce the corruption.

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The Saint Patrick

According to the History channel:

Taken Prisoner By Irish Raiders
It is known that St. Patrick was born in Britain to wealthy parents near the end of the fourth century. He is believed to have died on March 17, around 460 A.D. Although his father was a Christian deacon, it has been suggested that he probably took on the role because of tax incentives and there is no evidence that Patrick came from a particularly religious family. At the age of sixteen, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were attacking his family's estate. They transported him to Ireland where he spent six years in captivity. (There is some dispute over where this captivity took place. Although many believe he was taken to live in Mount Slemish in County Antrim, it is more likely that he was held in County Mayo near Killala.) During this time, he worked as a shepherd, outdoors and away from people. Lonely and afraid, he turned to his religion for solace, becoming a devout Christian. (It is also believed that Patrick first began to dream of converting the Irish people to Christianity during his captivity.)

Guided By Visions
After more than six years as a prisoner, Patrick escaped. According to his writing, a voice—which he believed to be God's—spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland.

To do so, Patrick walked nearly 200 miles from County Mayo, where it is believed he was held, to the Irish coast. After escaping to Britain, Patrick reported that he experienced a second revelation—an angel in a dream tells him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Soon after, Patrick began religious training, a course of study that lasted more than fifteen years. After his ordination as a priest, he was sent to Ireland with a dual mission—to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish. (Interestingly, this mission contradicts the widely held notion that Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland.)

Bonfires and Crosses
Familiar with the Irish language and culture, Patrick chose to incorporate traditional ritual into his lessons of Christianity instead of attempting to eradicate native Irish beliefs. For instance, he used bonfires to celebrate Easter since the Irish were used to honoring their gods with fire. He also superimposed a sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the Christian cross to create what is now called a Celtic cross, so that veneration of the symbol would seem more natural to the Irish. (Although there were a small number of Christians on the island when Patrick arrived, most Irish practiced a nature-based pagan religion. The Irish culture centered around a rich tradition of oral legend and myth. When this is considered, it is no surprise that the story of Patrick's life became exaggerated over the centuries—spinning exciting tales to remember history has always been a part of the Irish way of life. )

Thank you, Saint Patrick.

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Saint Patrick's Day continues...

See you later! I'm going searching for these now...

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An Irish Blessing

I think this one has to be one of my all-time favorite Irish Blessings:

May those who love us love us;
And those who don't --
May the good Lord turn their hearts;
And if he doesn't --
May he turn their ankles
So we'll know them by their limping

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The Shamrock

So what's the story with the shamrock? Ah yes, it's another one of those things that the Christians stole from the godless atheists:

The trefoil or Shamrock, at one time called the "Seamroy", symbolises the cross and blessed trinity. Before the Christian era it was a sacred plant of the Druids of Ireland because its leaves formed a triad.

The well known legend of the Shamrock connects it definitely to St. Patrick and his teaching. Preaching in the open air on the doctrine of the trinity, he is said to have illustrated the existence of the Three in One by plucking a shamrock from the grass growing at his feet and showing it to his congregation. The legend of the shamrock is also connected with that of the banishment of the serpent tribe from Ireland by a tradition that snakes are never seen on trefoil and that it is a remedy against the stings of snakes and scorpions.

The trefoil in Arabia is called shamrakh and was sacred in Iran as an emblem of the Persian triads. The trefoil, as noted above, being a sacred plant among the Druids, and three being a mystical number in the Celtic religion as well as all others, it is probable that St. Patrick must have been aware of the significance of his illustration.

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PC Terms

No, it's not a Saint Patrick's Day joke, but it's nearly as silly:

HOW TO SPEAK ABOUT WOMEN AND BE POLITICALLY CORRECT:

1. She is not a "BABE" or a "CHICK" - She is a "BREASTED AMERICAN."

2. She is not a "SCREAMER" or a "MOANER" - She is "VOCALLY APPRECIATIVE."

3. She is not "EASY" - She is "HORIZONTALLY ACCESSIBLE."

4. She is not a "DUMB BLONDE" - She is a "LIGHT-HAIRED DETOUR OFF THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY."

5. She has not "BEEN AROUND" - She is a "PREVIOUSLY-ENJOYED COMPANION."

6. She is not an "AIRHEAD" - She is "REALITY IMPAIRED."

7. She does not get "DRUNK" or "TIPSY" - She gets "CHEMICALLY INCONVENIENCED"

8. She does not have "BREAST IMPLANTS" - She is "MEDICALLY ENHANCED."

9. She does not "NAG" you - She becomes "VERBALLY REPETITIVE."

10. She is not a "TRAMP" - She is "SEXUALLY EXTROVERTED."

11. She does not have "MAJOR LEAGUE HOOTERS" - She is "PECTORALLY SUPERIOR."

12. She is not a "TWO-BIT HOOKER" - She is a "LOW COST PROVIDER."

HOW TO SPEAK ABOUT MEN AND BE POLITICALLY CORRECT:

1. He does not have a "BEER GUT" - He has developed a "LIQUID GRAIN STORAGE FACILITY."

2. He is not a "BAD DANCER" - He is "OVERLY CAUCASIAN."

3. He does not "GET LOST ALL THE TIME" - He "INVESTIGATES ALTERNATIVE DESTINATIONS."

4. He is not "BALDING" - He is in "FOLLICLE REGRESSION."

5. He is not a "CRADLE ROBBER" - He prefers "GENERATIONAL DIFFERENTIAL RELATIONSHIPS."

6. He does not get "FALLING-DOWN DRUNK" - He becomes "ACCIDENTALLY HORIZONTAL."

7. He does not act like a "TOTAL ASS" - He develops a case of RECTAL-CRANIAL INVERSION."

8. He is not a "MALE CHAUVINIST PIG" - He has "SWINE EMPATHY."

9. He is not afraid of "COMMITMENT" - He is "RELATIONSHIP CHALLENGED."

10. He is not "HORNY" - He is "SEXUALLY FOCUSED."

11. It's not his "CRACK" you see hanging out of his pants - It's "REAR CLEAVAGE"

Posted by: Ogre at 06:05 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Erin Go Bragh

So you see this phrase all over the place on St. Patty's Day -- well, if you're anywhere around people from Ireland -- but do you know what it actually MEANS? more...

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