Polliwog's poliblog

He Will be Sorely Missed

2012-03-01T08:48:00.001-08:00

Best
Reporter
Ever.
Indefatigable
Torch
Bearer.
A
Rare
Talent.

Stolen from LincolnTF commentor at AoSHQ and Althouse.

Parade

2012-01-28T17:56:00.000-08:00

I'm so thrilled to see that AoSHQ is reporting that the St Louis welcome/ thanks parade for our returning veterans had about 100,000 attendees.

If I were a better person I would have been there with my children as well. Unfortunately, I'm terrified of driving in actual St Louis city limits and, as Son had a prior commitment, I let me talk myself out of going.

I'm particularly happy that the response was so good since there was snow on the ground and somewhat slippery roads this morning.

Thank You Veterans

2011-11-11T19:43:00.001-08:00

I feel ill

2011-11-09T13:19:00.000-08:00

Just knowing that I was at State College when an assistant coach was molesting young boys and that the bastard was allowed to retire and start a foundation for troubled young boys instead of going to jail like any normal person makes me feel sick.

Happy birthday America!

2011-07-04T12:25:00.000-07:00

And may there be many more.

This is the first year we read the Declaration of Independence and I think I want to make a tradition of that. In fact, I'm a little embarrassed that it's only the first time instead of already being a tradition.

The kids and I also listened to patriotic songs on Theresa in Ft Worth's blog that she'd kindly linked to the AoSHQ. Later we'll be maintaining a tradition I just learned dated to the very beginning of the nation by setting of fireworks and enjoying the municipal display, weather permitting since it's threatening to rain again.

A year ago today

2011-06-15T23:58:00.000-07:00

Today makes one year since John passed away. There have been so many times this past year that I've told him how glad I was that he hadn't been forced to see what is becoming of our country. The on-line antics of the representative from New York, who doesn't need his name in print any more than it already is, are just the last in a long line of things that I'm glad John is well out of.

From a purely personal perspective I would certainly prefer he was here to protect us and be the responsible party, and I know that was what he had wanted to happen as well. The world is a lot scarier place without him.

Am Isriel Chai!

2011-05-14T12:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Independance Day to Israel. May peace reign over Jerusalem.

Administration say whaaat!?

2011-05-08T13:41:00.000-07:00

Sorry, my kids have been watching Hannah Montana and I'm afraid it's rubbing off on me no matter how hard I try to prevent that.

Anyway, it's a legitimate question given that it seems like it's a rare twelve hour interval that passes without some major revision of what started out as wonderful news a week ago. In one way though this week has served to confirm my general world view. What is still certain after all the re-writes is that the SEALs are a remarkable and extremely competent group of men, and this administration is made up of a remarkably incompetent group who can. not. stop. talking. even when it serves only to reveal their own incompetence.

So much

2011-02-22T11:04:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a long time mostly because there's so much happening, both domestically and internationally, that it's pretty overwhelming. I find myself filled with sorrow for those who just want to live their lives as best they can but are being bombarded, some literally and some legislatively, by those to whom it is simply not possible to give enough.

But is that Crazy?

2011-01-27T13:21:00.000-08:00

The radio news this morning was reporting that in the days before his attack the Tuscon child-killer researched, on his computer I presume, the laws regarding capital punishment. If this is accurate, then using the traditional method of determining insanity, which I don't know if the courts still do, he is clearly not insane as the only reason to look up the laws would be that he knew full well that what he was doing was against the law. The only sticky point might be that there's a difference between knowing that an action is against the law and knowing that it is wrong. A disturbing trend I've noticed, that I think is a sign of the general narcissism of the culture, is the number of people who agree that an action would be wrong if done by another but feel that in their own, special case the same action is perfectly justified. What I'm trying to get at is that a disturbing, though I don't know how large, portion of the population doesn't have a sense that their behavior is wrong and may well then qualify as insane under the traditional rule and, while I don't know where the line should be drawn, I also don't believe that the protection of an insanity plea should be granted to such people.

Since He-who-doesn't-need-to-see-his-name-in-print-anymore-than-it-already-is didn't enter an insanity plea the whole thing may be moot. Then again, entering a plea of not guilty when a couple dozen people saw you gun down a bunch of innocent bystanders doesn't sound real sane either. Or rather, it sounds like "playing the game" and, no matter how disturbing his expression may be, I believe that truly insane people can't play the game since they don't know there is a game to play.

I am a terrible citizen

2011-01-25T16:36:00.000-08:00

I must be since I have no plan at all to watch the State of the Union address. The last one was so bad, not that I watched it either, that I plan on watching a movie with my kids, sending them to bed, and then watching more episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer while working on my mom's very late Christmas present. I may keep up with what's happening by reading Ann Althouse's liveblog, but that's as close as I plan on getting.

Drat

2011-01-24T19:16:00.000-08:00

I missed the fact that the past weekend was the National Right-to-Life observance. I had really wanted to see about participating in any local events, particularly with the news that has come out of Philadelphia this week, but lost track of time, and days.

Squee!

2011-01-19T22:49:00.001-08:00

I have my first follower! A very kind Moron, of the AoSHq variety, has taken pity upon my humble postings. I hope this means that I'll post more, the whole "someone out there's listening thing" you know.

I wonder if this is the time to admit that I mostly use the blog as a way to organize my reading material?

Well, That's One Prayer That Didn't Get Answered

2011-01-13T15:33:00.000-08:00

Not that I expected it to. Once again an Ace of Spades Headquarters commentor gracefully condenses my feelings, this time about the tragedy in Arizona.

"I am saddened for the families who have lost so much, I mourn for the stupidity that has taken hold of America, and I'm seething with anger at those who are trying to make political hay out of this whole tragedy. I am completely disgusted" runningrn

There were trolls blaming Palin on AoSH in less than an hour of the shooting and we continue to find out which of those in the "news" industry are no better. I also mourn the threat to our society and rights that is being built on the bodies of the innocent.

Tuscon shooting

2011-01-08T14:11:00.000-08:00

Prayers for the familes of the victims who didn't make it as well as for full recovery for the injured. Prayers also for the Republic that this tragedy not be politicized and used to further divide us.

Edited to reflect plural nature of deceased victims.

Thank you

2010-11-11T14:23:00.001-08:00

A grateful "Thank you for your service", to all those who have, or are, put their lives on the line to protect our nation. Thank you so much.

Happy birthday to you!

2010-11-10T07:24:00.001-08:00

Happy 235 birthday to the US Marine Corp. Heartfelt gratitude to the men and women who put it all on the line to keep us free.

When the veil falls

2010-11-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

This is a comment left by "guest" at Jawa report in response to a post about another comment threatening to cut off the fingers of infidels.

You arrogant, nasty kaffir do not learn do you?

Just remember your freedom of speech is very limited these days. We seek to limit it even further. If you try to slander AL MUJAHIDEEN, just remember you will recieve a swift response which will leave you in many sleepless nights MASHALLAH.

Allah(SWT) tells us to strike FEAR into the hearts of dirty kuffars and force them into submission to the one true humble compassionate and merciful god ALLAH. Next time you slander Muslims and Mujahideen just remember that Allah is the BEST PLANNER and may be
sending one of his humble and loyal Mujahid ,and inspire them to be proper Muslims by sending them on martyrdom missions SUBHANALLAH ALLAHU AKBAR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Since cut and paste wasn't working I had to count exclamation points to get a full quote and there are eighteen.

So, the response to the "slander" that Muslims use violence to control people is...to threaten to use violence in the hope of controling future actions. I think this calls for more than a ROPMA. it's more like ROPMFA.

Able to post again-Not that there will be a noticible change

2010-10-18T18:29:00.000-07:00

It's lovely to access my Blogger dashboard again after several months of my computer refusing to acknowledge it existed due to "cookie" issues. I did all the cookie tinkering suggested but none of it worked. When I suddenly couldn't get to my e-mail either I was getting really desperate so I pretty much clicked and unclicked every possible cookie control in IE8. Of course that means I have no idea why my e-mail became available again, and since I figured I couldn't get anymore frustrated with Blogger than I was, I decided to try my luck again. Voila, and wonder of wonders, after trying to get to the dashboard at least once a week for the last couple months it worked easy as could be.

Everybody draw Mohammed day

2010-05-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

(((:~{>

Image shamelessly cribbed from Zombie who has every known historical representation of Mohammed, many of which were created by Muslims in a calmer era, In an archive here http://www.zombietime.com/mohammed_image_archive/ . Zombie also has a thoughtful post on the necessity of pushing back, gently at first, against those who try to control our actions through treats of violence which is here http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=1527. Both are worth a look.

Wow. Bizarro World indeed

2009-10-09T17:05:00.000-07:00

This comment from poster Miss Marple on Ace of Spades is one of the best articulated responses to the deeply irresponsible choice for Peace Prize.

In this world are people who work daily, toiling in obscurity, to help the poor, the helpless, the oppressed. There are people who have undergone torture in order to stand up for minorities. There are men and women who have brought education and hope to the backwaters of this world. There are all over this world unsung heroes who care for the least among us.The Nobel Committee has chosen to ignore all of these unknown saints and instead grant the prize to someone who has accomplished nothing, who has helped no one, who has already been awarded with worldly power and wealth, and yet, eerily reminiscent of Cain, is not his brother's keeper.If George Bush had been nominated two weeks into his first term and awarded this prize (in the alternate universe where people actually like America) he would have been embarrassed and refused it. I would stake my life on this. Are you not ashamed? He will be taking that million dollar prize from people who would do great good with it, and who deserve to have their efforts recognized.For shame. This is an evil action, not because Obama is elevated, but because so many good people were ignored.

Of course, by the time Bush reached this point in his first term he'd already had to deal with the worst attack on American soil since Pearl Harbour.

Happy Independence Day Honduras!

2009-09-16T19:12:00.000-07:00

Apparently today is Independence Day for quite a bit of South America but Honduras deserves special recognition in its ongoing struggle to preserve its Constitution against a wanna-be dictator and, sadly, what was once the greatest republic going.

Thank you so much Honduras for showing that the slow, quiet slide into socialist despotism isn't a forgone conclusion if those who love a country are willing to take a stand. Gracias and best of luck.

Ted's Dead, and they buried the womanizing scum at Arlington

2009-08-31T07:40:00.000-07:00

When I heard that Ted Kennedy had died my first reaction was "finally!" Not so much personally about him, and I never felt satisfaction at his having cancer, but because it may mean that the whole Camelot myth could die a well deserved and belated death along with him.

Now that I've learned more about his life I am glad he's dead, hope it was painful, and wish it had happened a long time ago. I'm certainly don't qualify as a feminist by the modern definition, but the thought of that man walking free because of his power and name after treating so many women like objects throughout his life makes me ill. The only thing worse is that those who do qualify as feminists have no problem with the sexual assaults and general harassment that would have them screaming for any "lesser" being to be fired and preferably jailed for life.

Can't always be brilliant

2009-08-14T19:20:00.000-07:00

No scintillating observations today. I do notice that POTUS has taken Air force One out for a little spin around the nation again. Apparently he's hoping personal appearances will convince the rabble that his arguments for changing the medical system are sound. It may help if those arguments extended past "trust me I know what's best for you."

To make something perfectly clear - I like Sarah Palin

2009-08-11T18:29:00.000-07:00

Not particularly timely I have to admit. It probably would have been more to the point to have mentioned that before elections. I did mention it to the flesh-and-blood real-world types at the time at least.

Sarah is my hero in many ways. I am about the same age she was when she joined her local PTA and decided to become more active in the politics of her community. I have four children, which is the number she had when she got her start. Mostly, it's the fact that in many ways she is an "average" wife, mother, and citizen who decided to do something about the corruption she saw around her. To me that embodies the spirit of our nation's founders. I want to be worthy of their legacy and Sarah both convicts me of my lack of action and gives me hope that if the "average" people take a stand there can be change.

#Iamthemob

2009-08-10T11:22:00.000-07:00

While it probably is true that everyone has a healthcare/insurance story, I find it difficult to believe that everyone has a nightmare as some members of congress are reported to have said. All I know for sure is the experiences of myself and my family and I'm fairly certain none of us would like to trade our experiences for those of another country's healthcare.

Most particularly, and recently, is the case of my 34 year old tobacco-free, non-drinking, drug-using, or any other health destroying habit doing, being diagnosed with oral cancer on his tongue. The GP who originally examined him, in the course of a different procedure, was concerned with a sore on DH's tongue that hadn't healed in three months. Within a couple of weeks DH was seeing an oral surgeon who figured it was probably an auto-immune issue but was willing to do a biopsy. Because DH wasn't able to relax enough for a biopsy with "laughing-gas" he was sent home with an antibiotic and a steroid as well as an appointment to see the surgeon again in a week if things hadn't cleared up. A week later I took him in, he was put under and the surgeon removed two spots and sent them into a pathologist and asked my husband to come back in a couple of weeks to discuss the results as the surgeon travels between three cities covering about 100 miles. The vast majority of this was covered by our insurance, the exception being that the surgeon, due to a communication breakdown, sent the samples to an out-of-network lab.

Because the schedule of the surgeon and husband didn't work out, DH asked for the results over the phone. Turns out it's really hard to get a doctor to tell you you have cancer on the phone, but it can be done. Naturally, this suddenly made it much easier for DH to find time to meet with the surgeon.

One of the first things we did, besides cry and pray a lot, was to call my sister who is a surgical PA in a practice in Minnesota. Her office was able to recommend someone in the nearest large town for DH's oncologist and she in turn recommended us to Dr. Bruce Smith as ENT surgeon. Both recommendations were very good, and once again they were in network as well. In fact, I've wondered if someone high up in DH's company has had cancer because the insurance and his company worked with us wonderfully every step of the way. By the beginning of February Dr. Smith had operated on DH's tongue and removed a thumb-sized section for further biopsy. In between there were CT scans and scopes checking DH's complete interior due to the strangeness of his having cancer. Everything came back as perfect which was an answer to prayer because given DH's history of stomach and bowel issues we fully expected there to be at least problems if not actual cancer.

The point of all of this is, within four months of a GP shaking his head in concern, my middle-class husband had two surgeries and many expensive tests and I seriously doubt that could have been accomplished by any but the very richest of citizens in any other country. Yes there were out of pocket expenses, but we had done our part by having a flex plan and saving money for emergencies. We also very much believe that God protected DH from further damage and protected our finances as well as we practiced turning to Him in a situation we couldn't control. Between insurance, personal responsibility, and trust in God our situation brought our family closer and greater long-term health to my husband.

I realize that there are probably many others who can say that their situation didn't work out so well but all I can say to that is "this country and this system, while undeniably imperfect, gives the vast majority the best chance of a good outcome." I don't want it broken to try to help a small number when there are other ways to be tried first.

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." -- Arthur Koestler

2009-08-10T00:16:00.001-07:00

This is the banner for a blog known as The Other McCain http://rsmccain.blogspot.com/and has been convicting me of cowardice since I saw it about a week ago. Another item I read in the same time-frame, I don't recall the source, mentioned that in general women seemed to avoid blogging on subjects that they felt would cause confrontation because the average women was much less comfortable in a confrontational situation than a man. I know that in my specific case this is true as I have wanted to keep politics out of my general blog for fear of the potential trolls that might be drawn to an otherwise practically unread blog.

As an intermediate step I had considered writing the whole truth of my observations and thoughts in my brand new, beautiful, magnetic closure, journal with my equally new, totally awesome, fountain pen that I love to write with. There was only one tiny problem. How is it any more bold and honest to write to myself in my very own private journal that might, if I am very very lucky, someday be read by someone else but will more likely end up in the trash at some future date? How does the fact that I support the people of Iran in their quest for more open and responsive government, or that I applaud the people of Honduras for apparently being the first in history to see the danger to their republic and do something legal about it make a difference when it is locked between the covers of my journal, no matter how pretty it may be? This is particularly the case as I don't know of any concrete help I can offer either people except to pray that justice prevails and they not grow weary in fighting for the truth to be known. How can I remain silent in the face of true heroism against real oppression?