That Was The Week That Was

And one heck of a week it was.

There was a bombing at the Boston Marathon;

The Mets got snowed out in Minneapolis and again in Denver--twice in mid-April (and these weren't little bitty snow storms, either); gun control legislation was voted down in the Senate;

The President of the US went ballistic at the Senate for its daring to uphold the Constitution and the Second Amendment while in the background the Vice President appeared to be on the verge of tears (or maybe it was just gas);

There was a huge explosion at a fertilizer factory in West, Texas;

A wild man hunt in and about the Boston environs for a couple of Chechyan brothers whose names no one could pronounce (they had difficulty with Chechyan, too) who were reportedly responsible for the bombing at the marathon;

Those same brothers shot a cop at MIT; one brother got killed in the ensuing chase while the other tossed explosives at the pursuers before he disappeared in a suburban neighborhood causing tens of thousands of folks to be told to lock their doors and stay inside;

Then, finally, tonight, Suspect #2 was found hiding in a canvas covered boat in someone's backyard.

And through it all, the mainstream media and a good portion of the opiners on the interwebs got nearly every single detail WRONG as they rushed to report what was going on.

The weather, not wanting to be left out of the mayhem, interrupted things at the Aerie a bit Friday night. After a lovely, but windy day, we were treated to a period of havoc starting around 5 PM. A thin but long squall line moved through just ahead of a cold front. Warnings of heavy winds, tornado watches, thunderstorm warnings, and torrential rains were constantly being broadcast over the emergency TV band along with the annoying “Beep…Beep…Beep.” We got only the winds and the rains between 5 and 6 PM. The rest developed to the east of here.

Following the Mets on the computer Friday night, I rejoiced when Ike Davis and Lucas Duda both went deep with solo homers in the sixth inning. Talk about your Miracles!

I would have been ecstatic to listen to them do it again in the 8th, but the power went out at around 9:30 PM and stayed out until 10:30 PM. Why? I don’t know. The storm had long past and any winds were mere memories. Apparently it was a local thing as we were the first to call it in and lights were still shining a short distance down the hill.

To top it off we got two calls from our alarm company asking if everything was all right. The first came at 11:15 PM when the power had returned 45 minutes previously, but they wanted to make sure we knew it was out and ask if we needed any assistance. The second came at 2:30 AM to let us know it had come back on and ask if we needed any assistance. I appreciate their diligence and concern, but I would have liked an uninterrupted night’s sleep too.

Is it any wonder I needed to stop at the liquor store today for more bourbon? [UPDATE: Completely forgot about the mail that tested positive for ricin sent to a Senator and the President by an Elvis impersonator. Yeah. One heck of a week!]

From the Aerie, May 2, 2011

Not much to report today.

The rains didn't come as predicted (that's a good thing). Seems the weather that was supposed to cause some drenching today broke up into isolated and widely scattered rains (almost) none of which hit here.

The sun actually came out for a few moments this afternoon (another good thing).

And, it seems, a group of Navy SEALS gave Osama bin Laden the old heave-ho from both this mortal coil and the deck of a U.S. warship. That's a Very. Good. Thing. Though I would have preferred a little old 7th Century justice in this case. Dragged through the streets. (Broadway in Manhattan would have been my choice.) Head on a pike. (Ground Zero is available.)

As to the last item:

Clarence Darrow once said, "I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." (Earlier on Facebook I attributed a similar quote to Mark Twain but have been unable to verify that.)

Twain DID say, "I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying that I approved of it."

******

Terry spent the better part of the morning fielding phone calls from SAGA members wanting to sign up for the Smocking Arts Guild of America national convention. She had one of her EGA friends here to help enter data into the web site from people who had mailed their forms in to here. I set up a couple of spread sheet to keep track of the financial end of things once they had finished processing the information about classes and such. From 9:50 AM (a couple of early birds--registration didn't start until 10 AM EDT) until 1 PM the phone was ringing off the hook. Remind me to never, ever volunteer for a phone bank!

Now that the first day is over, things will slow down considerably. Many of these women wanted to be sure to get the classes they wanted during the convention and so were in a rush to get things done--yesterday. They didn't not want to be closed out of the classes. (As it was, by 1 PM five of the classes were closed.) Yeah, they could have done it all themselves online, but there were those with special vouchers and others that didn't trust (or understand) PayPal.

I should have either gone turkey hunting or to Cabela's. Maybe tomorrow.

Oh. Wait. Tomorrow (May 3rd) is Terry's birthday.

If I went to Cabela's tomorrow, she would want to go. And then I would have to buy stuff for her. (She got all the cool stuff from Cabela's last time.)

Okay. Maybe Wednesday!

******

Roads around the Bolt Hole continue to be in rough shape according to the pages of the local news sources. Oh, I could get there, but the route would be--shall we say--circuitous. I'm in no hurry, especially since the forecast for the next couple of days is rain, rain and--oh yeah--rain.

******

Well, that is all for now from this little bit of Heaven. Time for one more little toast to the Navy SEALS before I head off to bed. I read that they pulled a number of computers and flash drives from Osama's hidey hole--if you can call a mansion a hidey hole. Got to be some pretty nervous people in al Quida--and Pakistan. I wish them all a peaceful and long--a very long--sleep (well, maybe not peaceful).

September 11, 2010

Nine years and counting.

May we, as a nation, never, ever forget.

I know I won't.

Love him or hate him, The Nuge makes a point

Sometimes a celebrity uses his or her status to say/do the right thing. In this instance, Ted Nugent makes a statement that resonates with me as Memorial Day approaches.

Every day is Memorial Day

We owe America's warriors who gave their lives for freedom
We owe it to these brave Americans and their families to win this war with our honor intact, not to telegraph to the enemy when we are packing up and leaving the battlefield. I'm no military tactician, but announcing when we are leaving the battlefield is analogous to putting an ad in your local newspaper to let all local punks and thugs know when you are going on vacation so they can plunder your home.

I stand with most Americans demanding a victory strategy, not an exit strategy.

When we commit our troops to war, we must make a commitment to them and their families that we will achieve total victory through the application of total war.

You got that right, Ted!

Why bother?

Why have a freakin' show trial if...

"Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is going to meet justice and he's going to meet his maker," said President Barack Obama's press secretary, Robert Gibbs. "He will be brought to justice and he's likely to be executed for the heinous crimes that he committed in killing and masterminding the killing of 3,000 Americans. That you can be sure of."

What is to be gained from going forth with a silly show trial if the Justice Department and the President have already determined the outcome?

Stand the bastard up against a wall. Give him a cigarette and then let him hear these three words: "Ready. Aim. Fire!"

And, since the new Obama budget has an item for $200 million to help cities defray the cost of security for these show trials, VIOLA! You've just saved $200 million for the cost of a few rounds of ammunition. (Hell. You could probably raffle off slots on the firing squad and make money on that, too!)