GCotW

This week, it's Gratuitous Cats, as my downstairs neighbor's two young kitties have a peep at the outside world through the window screen....

Memories...

...can really mess with your mind.

Especially the good ones.

Which is as far as I want to go with this topic.

Oy!

Bad news from Reuters....

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Marijuana is not kosher for Passover, a pro-cannabis advocacy group says, advising Jews who observe the week-long holiday's special dietary laws to take a break from smoking the weed.

The Green Leaf Party announced Wednesday that products of the cannabis plant have been grouped by rabbis within a family of foods such as peas, beans and lentils that is off-limits to Jews of European descent during Passover.

Actually, I'm not sure it's kosher any time unless grown under rabbinic supervision.

That gives me an idea, but we probably shouldn't go there....

A random day...

...Where The Ghetto Meets The Sea.

My mind is still a bit numbed from its ordeal yesterday, so the only thing to do was head out and put 5 more miles on the ol' walking shoes.

Sadly, there wasn't much to photograph. Just your average warm, sunny day....

Still, I feel the need to snap off a shot or two every time I go out, so if you're really bored, have a look at a couple of birds in a pine tree...



And a Still Life With Duplex, Cars and Dandelions...

Unbelievable...

...that some people never learn the lessons of history, but far from unexpected.

The Times of London ran an interesting story today. Here's the meat of it:

European foreign ministers failed last night to back Britain in a threat to freeze the €14 billion trade in exports to Iran, as the hostage crisis descended into a propaganda circus.

....

EU foreign ministers meeting in Germany called for the sailors to be freed but ruled out any tightening of lucrative export credit rules. The EU is Iran’s biggest trading partner. British officials are understood to have taken soundings on economic sanctions before the meeting but found few takers.

France, Iran’s second-largest EU trading partner, cautioned that further confrontation should be avoided. The Dutch said it was important not to risk a breakdown in dialogue.

Okay, I'd expect this from the French. They have a long history of profiting from trading with people who then overrun their country, followed by appeals to other nations -- mainly the USA -- to bail their butts out of trouble.

And perhaps the Dutch have forgotten some hard-learned lessons from the 1940s.

Similar motives of financial gain -- combined with growing Soviet-era attitudes toward the USA -- led Russia to torpedo meaningful action against Iran at the UN.*

Much as "peace-loving" Americans and Brits may dislike the idea, we are getting closer by the moment to the day when we will have to go up against Iran militarily.

My hope is that we will make the war short and decisive. I'm not sure Bush, Congress, Blair and Parliament know how to do that. In fact, I'm pretty sure they can't do it. They'd better learn, pronto.

We need to learn from France's example what happens when you talk and talk and talk to an enemy that doesn't listen.


*If one assumes -- mistakenly -- that the UN is capable of any meaningful action, that is.

If I was a Democrat...

...I would be ashamed of the people who supposedly represent me in Washington.

PARENTHETICAL NOTE: I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican....

Most particularly, I would be ashamed of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the so-called "Speaker of the House," who in reality speaks for no one but a spineless minority united by irrational hatred of Jorge Bush and a willingness to sell out any principle for political power.

This lede appeared on an Associated Press story today:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will visit Syria, a country President Bush has shunned as a sponsor of terrorism, despite being asked by the administration not to go.

No rational person who has the slightest knowledge of the Middle East can deny that the Syrian leadership supports terrorism, is bent on destroying Israel, and would love nothing more than to see us fall into the fire with the Israelis.

I suppose I should not be surprised, given her maniacal desire to see this country surrender to the terrorists, no matter how many of her fellow citizens she places in danger by doing so.

And then, as icing on the cake, there was this, also from the AP:

Members of the House left Washington on Friday for their two-week spring break without weighing in on the international crisis tormenting the nation's closest ally: the capture of 15 British sailors and marines by Iran.

The omission by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is being noted by some Republicans, who say they should have gotten the chance to join the Senate in denouncing Tehran's bold actions.

So: On one hand, Pelosi is in a mad rush to trot off to the Middle East, where the Syrian leaders (who, like many of their ilk, know a willing dupe when they see one) will no doubt giver her a warm welcome, after which she will return and coo about how awful Bush is for not trusting them.

On the other hand, when faced with the despicable acts of Iran's Mad Mullahs, she can't be bothered to allow the House to express its anger.

If I was a Democrat, I would demand her removal from her Speaker's duties. In fact, I would demand her removal from Congress.

I believe many who support some of her views are honest in their beliefs, misguided and foolish as I think they may be. Support for telling the terrorists in advance that we're going to turn tail and run is bad enough, but there are surely some whose support for that would vanish if they really understood the horrific risk it poses for our military and, in fact, our own citizens here at home.

Pelosi knows damn well what she is doing. She has forgotten that, before party affiliation and an egregious lust for power, she is supposed to be an American first.

Or she should be.

She is not, and every day she is allowed to continue her near-traitorous wielding of authority brings us a step closer to disaster.

Therapy session...

Talked to my friend M. on the phone today. We talked about business for maybe half an hour, with good results. She has a skill I lack and is willing to apply some of it to getting more of my work sold. Gotta love someone like that.

And I was able to give her some advice about a situation she's in, so it wasn't all one way.

Sometimes, it's just good to talk with someone who gives a damn.

As mentioned before, M. is a close friend of R.B., with whom I spent the best years I've ever known. I fully intended to bring her up in the conversation, if only to see how she's doing these days.

M. beat me to it by getting into that subject first.

Because I instinctively trust M. and always have -- and because my emotions have been piled up behind a wall for more than five years -- I heard myself, to my horror, letting out the whole truth. I told her what I found good about R.B. and what bothered me about her (which, as it turns out, M. understands).

And I heard myself telling her more.

So now she knows and, in some limited way, I suspect R.B. will soon know, what I have not told anyone for all this time. Apart from the crawling-over-broken-glass-to-get-back-to-her bit, that is. M. will keep that to herself.

I intended to say more here, but the conversation drained me. I don't feel much like trying to sort it all out now.

Besides, I have to package up some samples of my work to mail off to M. and get it to the post office before 5:00.

That's as good an excuse as any for ending this entry.

Back to normal...

...as "Lucy" and "Girl's" primary feeder and affection-giver is back home.

Now it's just us two elderly males.

I must say the two kitties were happy to see me when I went over to return H.'s keys. They should have been; I cheated and gave them more treats than they're used to getting. I hoped H., who is a bit new-age-y and gives them only "natural" food and filtered water, wouldn't notice. She didn't.

I'm a bit depressed. Taking care of the "girls" was the most fun I've had this week.

There are none so blind...

...as those who refuse to see what is right in front of them.

Here's an example: According to this source, Sen. Dianne Feinstein has resigned her post on the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee. Why did this shrill, holier-than-thou liberal quit?

Very simple: she has, for years, successfully sought out, and voted for, government contracts that directly enriched her billionaire husband, and her little multi-million dollar schemes have finally started coming to light.

Just as bad -- maybe worse -- is her knowledge of the pathetic treatment wounded veterans have been receiving from military hospitals and unwillingness to deal with them, since companies her husband has in his stock portfolio were in charge. After all, her committee is tasked to have oversight on military "quality of life" issues.

I'm sad to say that Feinstein is one of the troika of despicable loudmouths from my state -- the others being Barbara Boxer and Nancy Pelosi -- who rant loudest about "ethics" and who promised that when their party took over Congress (as it, of course, has) we would see honesty in government.

So much for that.

All of them -- along with other politics-before-honor congresscrooks -- voted for the treasonous get-out-of-Iraq spending appropriations that let terrorists know when we will start and complete the process of ending our military presence there. All of them howl about Jorge Bush's failings, wasting time -- and our money -- investigating everything he has done in order to hound him out of office.

Yet they are no better.

Are the elite media making a fuss about Feinstein? Are there calls for her to resign and face prosecution as there were for Republicans caught with their fingers in the till? No.

For that matter, Rep. William Jefferson, who was caught with $90,000 in bribery money and videotaped committing illegal acts, still keeps his Congressional seat. And Harry Reid, who was involved in more than his share of shady deals, is still a Senator.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Ted Kennedy is still lurching around free, never having been brought to justice for his crimes. Heck, I can't even count the number of times he's be re-elected since he drove off that bridge with Mary Jo Kopechne in the passenger seat of his car....

Believe it or not, though I disagree with roughly 99% of their policies, I'm not singling out the Democrats, except to point out that their big talk about ethics, accountability and morality has as little substance as similar assurances from, say, John Gotti.

Someone should rein in Bush and his gang. But that someones -- or, more properly, someones -- need to have clean hands.

If the percentage of crooked, amoral greedheads was as high in the general population as it is in Washington, we couldn't build jails fast enough. But since they are elected officials, they believe they have a right to act like smoothed-out versions of street thugs.

And we, sadly, never get worked up enough about it to demand major changes.

Perhaps we need a fourth branch of government, the sole job of which would be to oversee -- and deal with -- the egregious excesses of the other three branches.

Finding people to run it would be easy. All we have to do is pick people Congress and the president don't approve of, people who actually believe in the law's applicability to all, whether common burglars or the much more sophisticated crooks in D.C.

I'm no believer in socialism or communism, but...

...I think something needs to be done to straighten out our flawed capitalist system.

Between overseas outsourcing and the push to bring in millions of new slaves -- sorry, low-wage workers -- from Mexico, Corporate America is destroying the lives of many hardworking people to keep shareholders happy.

Consider this, as reported today by Bloomberg News:

Circuit City Stores Inc., the second-largest U.S. electronics retailer after Best Buy Co., fired 3,400 of its highest-paid hourly workers and will hire replacements willing to work for less.

The company said its eliminating jobs that paid ``well above'' market rates. Those who were fired can apply for the lower pay, company spokesman Bill Cimino said today. He declined to give the wages of the fired workers or the new hires.

Later in the story, another source is quoted as estimating that experienced Circuit city works make something like $11/hour.

And then, this:

Chief Executive Officer Philip Schoonover was paid $8.52 million in fiscal 2006, including a salary of $975,000.

This is the standard pattern these days. Companies shut down research and development departments, close outlets, fire employees, set up operations overseas and chop services, all of which makes stock prices rise.

Again, I am a big supporter of the capitalist system. What I find abhorrent is the dominance of Wall Street and company shareholders who, eager to increase income right this moment so they can turn a short-term profit on their stocks, are willing to hurt workers and, in the long run, damage the competitiveness -- and viability -- of the companies they "own."

Certainly, any good company should try to keep waste to a minimum. An $8.5 million annual compensation package for a CEO is waste, in my opinion.

But if current trends continue, the number of people in this country to can afford to buy anything beyond basic survival needs will dwindle to a point where sellers of "luxury" goods will have no market.

If indeed sacrifices must be made, they should begin at the top.

But in our current greed-driven system, they don't.

I have no answer to the problem -- not a practical one, anyway -- and am certain government should not meddle.

Maybe this, like so many problems we face, can't be dealt with without a miracle, in this case corporate executives accepting sensible compensation and putting the good of their companies and employees ahead of the stock market.

As I said: only a miracle can fix this.

When both sides are wrong...

...we need to demand wholesale impeachments before the idiotic behavior of both Republicans and Democrats destroys the country they are pledged to serve. A good example is the wrangling over funding the costs of the war in Iraq.

First, consider Jorge Bush. from the day he announced that he was sending in the troops to "git" Saddam Hussein, he has made mistake after mistake. Leaving aside his stated rationale for getting into this mess -- I'm not convinced by either his original reasoning or the attacks on said reasoning by his political opponents -- he has conducted the war in an irresponsible, wasteful way. I don't so much care about the waste of money, which is bad enough, but find the waste of some 3200-plus American lives unconscionable.

Memo to Jorge: If you don't have the guts to treat a war as a war, and take all possible measures to prosecute it successfully, speedily and with maximum care taken to protect the lives of our military, then don't go to war. It's that simple.

On the other side, we have the "peace-loving" Democrats who, in their zeal to strip Bush of his remaining powers, are convinced that the best way to end the war is to let the enemy know we're leaving their territory soon. Never mind that they can, in essence, go on vacation until we leave and then resume their violence unchecked; this is a move for "peace."

Led by the disgusting duo of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, the Democrats are doing what they always do, which is to wrap their hatred of Bush and typical political power-grabbing in a pious cloak.

The evidence is clear for anyone who looks for it. How, for example, did they convince Congress to adopt a war-budget/surrender measure that could be considered traitorous because it gives aid and comfort to the enemy?

Bribery, that's how.

According to information gathered by Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), Pelosi's minions added bribes of some $21 billion in non-military "pork" to buy the votes of some members. Among the bribes: $283 million for the Milk Income Loss Contract program; $74 million for peanut storage costs; $60.4 million for salmon fisheries; $50 million for asbestos mitigation at the U.S. Capitol Plant; and $25 million for spinach growers.

Not to be outdone, the Senate leaders are lining up even more bribes. CAGW found these examples: $24 million for sugar beet producers; $20 million for reimbursements to Nevada (Harry Reid's state) for "insect damage"; $3.5 million for guided tours of the Capitol; and $3 million for sugar cane producers.

Bribery is against the law, everywhere but in Congress.

Never mind that Bush's wimp-out policies have wasted American lives; never mind that the Democrat-led Congress's surrender mania will result in the needless loss of even more American lives. Special interests will be happy, wallowing in unearned loot doled out by a benevolent Congress.

And Bush will talk about how the Democrats "lost" the war -- a nugget of truth there, if you add that they are merely finishing the job he has been doing -- and the Democrats will pontificate about "peace" and "doing what the people want."

I can't believe "the people," with the exception of far-left loons and Bush's pompous apologists, want any part of what's being done. And if I'm right, we'd better start making our "wishes" known, pronto.

My first threesome!

Yep, for the next couple of days it's me and...

Lucy...



...and "Girl"...



A neighbor had to go out of town and asked me to cat-sit. They're sweet kitties, but each is jealous of any attention the other gets -- that's why I couldn't get a good shot of them together -- and both hunger for affection, because they're missing their "owner."

But what the hell. It's rare for me to get any lovin' from one female these days, let alone two.

Gotta take what I can get....

And my cat doesn't care. He knows he's Number One on the Feline Hit Parade.

Reaping what was sown.

The bitter harvest from decades of so-called diplomacy, appeasement, "understanding other cultures" and timidity is as about to be taken in. Sadly, those few who see what is happening are apparently powerless to avoid catastrophe.

There is no better illustration of the stupidity of politicians than the situation with Iran. All the resolutions and noble words of the United Nations have exposed that organization for the powerless waste of space and assets that it is. The Iranian leaders, like many despots before them, simply ignore the UN and go about their merry way. When the inevitable disaster strikes, UN delegates will wring their hands and say, "but we told them not to do that!"

And now, with the Iranians' latest act of war, the capture of 15 Royal Navy sailors and marines who were going about their duties outside of Iran's territorial waters, we see how far the rot has spread.

Tony Blair is reportedly "upset." Stern words have been spoken to the Iranian ambassador to the UK. The EU -- which some have begun to refer to as the "EUssr" -- has asked Iran to free their hostages.

So continues the pitiful behavior of alleged "statesmen" that began with Neville Chamberlain kowtowing to Hitler, FDR caving in to Stalin at Yalta, Truman's indecision in Korea, the JFK-Johnson-Nixon "limited-war" follies in Vietnam, Carter's shameful inaction against Iran after American hostages were taken, Clinton's wimp-out against various terrorists and the sordid performance of both Bushes, father and son, in Iraq.

PARENTHETICAL BEFORE YOU-LEAVE-A-COMMENT THOUGHT: I know it's easy to sit here at a desk -- or at an even fancier desk, surrounded by fawning minions, in Washington or London -- and advocate sending others off to die. If you understand what I am about to say, I think -- at least hope -- you will conclude that I am less enthusiastic about doing so than most of our modern presidents are and have been....

The basic problem is simple. Diplomacy has become some bizarre game, laden with arcane etiquette and choreography, not a way for nations to resolve differences. It's all about dialog, about misplaced trust that others play by the same rules; it is a strange dance so divorced from reality that its players forget those whom they are there to serve.

Chamberlain, Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Carter, Clinton and the two Bushes have, in combination, set up rules of warfare and international relations that will, if not reversed soon, lead to an unimaginably destructive future war. It seems Tony Blair, the UN and the EU have all been infected by the same disease that made these men shameful sell-outs.

Our Congress carries a share of the blame as well. Had the Democrats and Republicans who are scheming for a withdrawal from Iraq set a timetable for Bush to get the job done effectively rather than advocate retreat in the face of his ineffective management of the war, we would not face another humiliation like the one we suffered in the last days of the war in Vietnam.

The answer, as I see it, is to establish some basic principles for dealing with those who make themselves enemies. It begins with belief in ourselves, a far cry from modern-day liberals' hand-wringing, always-apologetic guilt trips and mad desire to "see the other side" of every issue, no matter how dangerous that other side may be.

After that, we must embrace an old concept of war: at one time, military and civilian leaders understood that war was a last resort but, once begun, it had to be prosecuted until the enemy lost all ability to wage war.

Much as we might like to think otherwise, there is no such thing as a "precision" war with carefully selected targets destroyed with minimal loss of life or "collateral damage." Would Germany or Japan have surrendered in 1945 had the Allies not demonstrated a willingness and ability to wipe both nations from the face of the earth? I think not.

By the same token, would they have started the war knowing we would inflict maximum destruction on them? Same answer. In reality, they looked at our diplomats and heads of state, saw weakness, and attacked.

Good generals used to understand that. Unfortunately, when FDR appointed Eisenhower, a "political general," as Supreme Commander in Europe, the war effort was slowed dramatically by Ike's desire to keep all his allies happy, and war has never been the same since.

A well-trained, well-equipped military not hamstrung by nation's political structure could have finished GW Bush's "war on Saddam" in days. His father's war against Iraq, if carried to its logical conclusion, would have rendered Junior's war unnecessary.

Likewise, if the Iranians didn't realize they were facing weakness in the form of Carter, Bush, Blair and the UN, they would not have taken hostages. In fact, they would not be waving the nuclear threat in our faces.

At this point, the only way to straighten out the mess left to us by past appeasement is to announce, then order, then carry out a fierce, destructive and rapid response to the current situation.

Conflicts of this kind can only be resolved on the basis of strength. The more willingness to defend what we believe is right we display, the less force we will ultimately have to use.

As far as imposing "democracy" on Iraq, or Iran, or any other country, it's none of our damn business. No one fought the British on our behalf during the Revolution; it was a home-made effort led by people who wanted to establish a free and independent nation. Those in other lands who wish to emulate us need to at least show a willingness to start the ball rolling on their own before we offer aid.

You may think I'm advocating rampant militarism; I'm not. What I believe we must do is convince those who consider themselves enemies -- and that includes China, North Korea, several Middle Eastern nations and Russia -- that we are always open to discussion and working out our disagreements up to a clearly defined point. After that, they oppose us at their own clearly defined risk.

The best way to avoid war is to make it clear that if war starts, we will show no mercy on the enemy.

It is time for our leaders, here and in the UK, to show some courage. Given their track records, I'm not optimistic.

GCotW

I don't know how she manages to stay as clean as she does after lounging around on the dirt all day...

Connecting the dots.

I've never been a big fan of conspiracy theories, primarily because those who tout them most aggressively seem to be members of the tinfoil-hat brigade or have other agendas I can't buy into.

But I've been reading a lot of material about the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, and am not liking what I read. The list of proponents -- people like Jorge Bush, the president of Mexico and a cadre of corrupt loons in the USA, Canada and Mexico -- make the idea suspect enough to warrant adding this to the ever-growing list of criminal indictments of our so-called "leaders."

The SPP's detractors claim that the ultimate goal is to merge the USA, Canada and Mexico into a single unit, with a single currency, single external border and a mishmash of laws drawn from all three nations applying to all. They claim that it is primarily designed to make Mexico "equal" to the other two by funneling jobs and money there and by giving Mexicans free access to our jobs and resources.

I think they're right.

Follow a little conspiratorial trail here with me:

-- Jorge Bush orders that American citizens be jailed for upholding our laws (e.g. Jose Compean, Ignacio Ramos, Gilmer Hernandez) while applying a "five-strikes" rule to illegals;

-- Jorge Bush pushes for opening the borders;

-- Jorge Bush orders free access to our roads for Mexican trucks;

-- A "NAFTA Superhighway" is being planned to link Mexican ports with the rest of the continent, bypassing American ports and providing work for Mexicans at the expense of Americans;

-- Despite the Democrats' primal need to rage at Bush for any trivial misstep (as well as some major screwups), they remain completely silent on these issues.

In fact, Democrats are a big part of the coalition that wants to grant amnesty to all 20-plus million illegals in the country now and add a "guest-worker" program on top of this that, between "workers" and their families, will add a million or more poorly-educated, poverty-stricken migrants to our population each year. Many Democrats are major supports of SPP, just like many Republicans.

In the meantime, all those who have followed the rules and want to come here legally -- and who, in many cases, have education and job skills -- are S.O.L. They can wait....

Where do these actions lead? To SPP.

Interestingly, while you might think our Constitution mandates Congressional action, if not Constitutional amendments, to sell out the country, implementation is being done without any public notice, without laws being passed. The politicos have learned that they can do what they want, and by the time anyone gets around to challenging them, the deed will be done. The "comprehensive immigration reform" proposals are meant to speed up the process of integration.

I tend to believe that a major motivation for becoming a politician (along with greed) is a need to impose change on people who don't want or need it, to build new power structures from which control can be enforced. Along with this comes a need to play Robin Hood, taking from the rich (well, some of them; cronies and campaign contributors are exempt) and give to the poor, while simultaneously enriching those who belong to the corrupt inner circle of "leaders."

The Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations and Club for Growth (among other groups) are filled with people who have Big Ideas about building One World. Which they, of course, would dominate. They look at the European Union -- and, for all I know, the old Soviet Union -- as a model for the future.

PARENTHETICAL THOUGHT: I have known a few committed Communists, who did what they could (which wasn't much) to lead the USA down their path. Amazingly, none of them saw themselves as factory workers or tractor drivers if their dreams came to pass. Nope; they'd be the ones in charge. So much for "egalitarian" political movements....

Fortunately, not all of our elected officials are as blinded by greed and ambition as Jorge Bush and his handpicked sellouts, Pelosi, Kennedy and the rest of the traitors in Washington who support the North American Union concept. Sixteen members of the House of Representatives -- including the sanest man in Washington, Dr. Ron Paul, have introduced a bill aimed at killing off SPP.

Read about it here.

Nancy Pelosi will surely do her damndest to sweep this under the rug as she works to extend her power to the entire continent and keep her fatcat limousine-liberal supporters happy.

The worst aspect of all this is not the sight of corrupt politicians from three countries banding together to enrich themselves and their friends at the expense of hardworking citizens. We've seen that often enough.

No, the worst part is that they believe in this nutcase notion that we will somehow be better off if we give up sovereignty and funnel our wealth to Mexico.

No one whose mind is so twisted should be allowed to hold political office.

It's time for mass impeachments in Washington (and maybe Ottawa) and mass resistance to SPP and all who support it.

Unless, that is, you like the idea of sacrificing your rights, jobs and possessions to foreigners whom your political "leaders" consider more deserving than you.

Things you didn't want to know...

...especially if you eat Twinkies!

I heard the author of Twinkies, Deconstructed being interviewed on the radio earlier today. In the course of writing the book, he traveled around the country in search of the points of origin for everything listed among the ingredients that are combined to make the popular little "snack cakes."

In case you're curious, the book's chapters are named after all the building blocks of a Twinkie. They're listed on the website.

Aren't they cute?



Though it has been a long time since I ate one -- decades, in fact -- I somehow have a memory of both the taste (excessively sugary) and texture (not far from partially solidified Styrofoam). Ugh.

Still, it's amazing that something made up largely from rocks, chemicals bombarded by carbon monoxide and hydrogen, and other oddball raw materials has any taste at all. And not surprising that the nutritional value is virtually nil.

The perfect thing to wash down with a McDonald's no-milk "shake!"

A random kind of morning...

...Where The Ghetto Meets The Sea.

I have neglected my walking, so went out this morning to put four more miles on the ol' feet. Despite some cloud cover, it's quite warm today; lots of people were out enjoying it.

But I had to say it was difficult to find anything worth aiming the camera at. Maybe I'm too familiar with what's around to see here?

It's not as if I saw anyone doing anything too strenuous. Some were floating...



While others were walking...



And others were simply watching...



Not a very interesting day so far. I don't mind, though.

Bittersweet...

...is the word for today.

Early this morning, I heard from someone I haven't talked to in almost six years. It was a happy telephonic reunion.

But also sad. This person and her husband were, and are, close friends of R.B., the woman I should never have let out of my life, the woman who, despite some problems we had (for which I have to take more than half the blame), never stopped loving me, never betrayed me.

I have never stopped loving her. I looked elsewhere later after she was gone, and was taken advantage of. That's something sweet R.B. never did, would not have done, could not do.

Her name came up, obliquely, while I was talking with M. today. I bit my tongue, didn't ask what I wanted to ask, didn't say what I wanted to say. Whether I can hold back when I talk to M. again next week, I don't know.

The rest of the day has been full of memories. Good memories, but tinged with regret and loss.

Interestingly, R.B. was the only woman in my life for whom Hobbes formed an attraction.

Speaking of Hobbes: he is back to his old self, happy and more energetic than he has been for quite a while.

I stopped by the vet's this afternoon to pick up some "prescription" food for him. Everyone there wanted to know how he was doing...he made a lot of friends during his stay.

Somehow, I can't help wishing he could be reunited with R.B. Me, too....

Too angry to write...

...and the reasons have to do with numbers:

-- 65. That's the number of days Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean have been in jail for the heinous crime of enforcing our country's laws;

-- 20,801,119. That's the number of illegal aliens residing in this country right now according to this site, which bases its data on verifiable statistics;

-- 455. That's the approximate number of Senators and Representatives who are, even now, pushing their pathetic pro-illegal-alien, pro-open-borders agenda. A new amnesty bill was offered up in the House today that will ensure all the 20,000,000-plus a free pass and a "path to citizenship"...all you need to know is that the late Ted Kennedy, head of the illegal-alien cheering section, approves of it;

-- 400,000. That's the number of additional foreign "guest workers" who will be permitted into the country each year -- along with their families -- under terms of this traitorous legislation.

-- too high to put a number on. That's the cost to American citizens and legal residents in increased taxes and crime, lower wages and lost jobs.

You can thank Reps. Jeff Flake and Luis Gutierrez for this latest piece of infamy. But they alone are not to blame; a long line of co-conspirators, from Nancy Pelosi to Jorge Bush are pushing this as hard as they can under orders from their corrupt masters in Mexico City and corporate greedheads looking for slave labor.

I hope Americans wake up before it's too late and let the "servants of the people" know that rewarding illegal behavior, punishing Americans for upholding the law and turning our nation over to an endless flood of new immigrants (while those who have taken the legal path to citizenship wait and wait) is not only unacceptable and intolerable, but clear grounds for impeachment of all involved.

Just as illegals don't deserve amnesty for unlawful acts, neither do the scum in Washington.

Currying favor with the Lord!

According to Bill Handel, a new controversy is brewing in the world of Big Religion.

Churches that maintain "prayer lines" for people to call when in need of spiritual solace are getting some complaints from their flocks. Care to guess why?

It's because the churches are outsourcing prayer lines to call centers in India.

Gimme a a-men!

One of the biggies in this "business" is called India Prayer Solutions of Mumbai. Complaints against their services include listening to an "associate" reading prayers -- haltingly -- off a "cheat sheet" and Hindu employees having trouble keeping the number of deities in their prayers down to the Christians' one God.

Having had to deal with Indian call centers regarding computer and ISP questions, my sympathies are with those calling in. If "Darren" or "Jane" can't deal with issues of dropped connections and misbehaving computer programs, how good can they be with matters of faith?

Come to think of it, the next time AT&T gives me grief and I'm feeling sad, maybe I'll call a prayer line and kill two birds with one stone. So to speak.