Friday Mix-up

I'm changing my way of doing things starting this Friday. Instead of ONLY posting cat pictures and ONLY discussing Mr Beautiful (seen below), I might just start posting random pictures and random thoughts about whatever--highly reflective, rants, praises, happy, mad. Whatever moves me at that particular moment.

This Friday's picture will stay with the traditional fat-cat Friday of the past:

Sleeping Beauty

It is 11:09 a.m. as I begin to type this entry. I am at work. I should have only been here for 9 minutes, though in actuallity I have been here for 2 hours and 9 minutes because I am a nice person who came in to provide coverage while Carla is out. This means that I have another 2 hours ahead of me. I don't really want to be here, but what am I going to do?

Next Friday will be much of the same. I am here from 9-12 next week, because I have an exam at noon. Then it will be off to Jefferson High School for high school tennis regionals.

It is raining. That makes me sad.

This week has been very draining for me. I've watched my friends struggle through a lot this week--studying for finals, hurrying to finish papers for history classes and English classes, worrying about grades, relationship problems, difficulties between friends back home, irritation at situations which are beyond the control of normal humans, and a multitude of other things. I myself have not struggled with much this week--my history paper was written rather effortlessly, I feel comfortable about most of my exams, I am not in a big rush to finish any assignments and Courtney and I are doing quite well, though she is in Florida and I miss her terribly.

Our old friend Mr. Williams is at it again. This time bashing--well, perhaps not bashing, but at least putting down--Romney. This greatly upsets me and most of us here at Shepherd, because we all love 'home' and miss it a great deal.

Although I do not agree with him on many of his views, I can understand where he is coming from. He doens't think Romney has much to offer him, and I can understand that. I sometimes feel that way myself, but I do not revert to tearing down the ole place because of it.

Listen, friends, I have something to say to you: If you cannot find what you are looking for in the place you are, seek it some place else. But remember that where you come from makes you who you are, whether you like it or not. If you only find negative in where you come from, perhaps it is because you only see negative in yourself. I think it is possible to part ways with your old home town on friendly terms--just simply say, "this is not what I need. It is good, but it is not what I need," and be on your way. Take the Toby Keith approach and say, "I ain't saying that's wrong, it just don't make sense to me," and be done with it.

As I said above, I do not blame Ross for his lack of interest in returning home because I often have my share of doubts, but there must be a balance between the old (home) and the new (wherever you are or are headed). Also, I think that it is important to leave on a 'happy note' because if--when--you find that you are never happy, no matter where you go, and you want to go home, you will not be welcomed with open arms, but instead rejected in the same rude way in which you rejected home. That will be a sad day.

I had intended to rant about stupid people who fight with each other and then make up and then break up and then make up whilst driving their roommate nuts, but I don't feel like getting into it. Maybe later or tomorrow.

Parti(san) Fever

Arlen Specter is a pain in the butt, but who said that was a bad thing? In the midst of disgusting partisan politics, Mr. Specter seems to be the only person in the Senate with any sense--or at least the only one willing to stand up and be a vocal pain in the butt about the situation.

I know, I know, six months ago I was saying that the man shouldn't be given the chairmanship he was awarded. However, it is America after all, so I am free to waffle like John Kerry.

Specter makes a valid point when he says, "I can't raise hell with Democrats for their party straitjacket if the Republicans are doing the same thing." As much as it laments me to agree with the man, who can argue against what he said?

I'm slightly torn on this issue of breaking the filibuster. On one hand, the Democrats are forcing this on themselves by being bull-headed about allowing a straight up or down vote for Bush's nominees, instead forcing a 'super-majority' to get these members through. This in itself is unconstitutional. However, stripping the powers of the minority party, even one as despicable as the current Democratic Party, is unconstitutional and therefore unacceptable.

This situation is avoidable if we simply refer to history and to the Constitution. The founding-fathers did not require the use of a super majority for approval of judicial nominees. The use of the filibuster in this manner is further proof of the growing partisanship of the democrats which, in turn, forces increased partisanship in the GOP. It needs to stop.

As Specter said, "Thought requires independence, not response to party loyalty or any other form of dictation. The lessons of our best days as a nation should serve as a model today for senators to vote their consciences on the confirmation of judges and on the constitutional/nuclear option"

As Specter says, this petty partisanship applies to both sides and needs to end on both sides.

More on this can be read at The Washington Times.

This is Pointless

I have nothing that I want to write about. Therefore, I shall just ramble...

It is a disgusting rainy morning. It's chilly. Though I thought I had eradicated all frogs from the fish pond outside my window, apparently a lone frog survived. Last night, he extracted his revenge: singing is green, slimy little heart out until the wee hours of the morning. That problem shall, with a bit of luck, be solved soon as 'Round II' of 'Frog-Hunt' will be underway at some point this weekend. For my leftist, environmentally savvy friends, fear not for I do not KILL the ugly little bastards, I just relocate them.

There is also some sort of awful bug out there. 'Bluuuuuuuuaaaahhhhhh'....'blllluuuuaaaahhhhhh' it's just awful. If I find him, he shall not be so lucky to simply be relocated, I shall, instead, crush him with by big foot.

Today I had planned to get up early and catch Sebastian in a few good pictures, but I was lazy and didn't feel like getting up until 9. As such, I am just using an old picture of him, but it doesn't matter, because he's still a beautiful man haha. A big stretch, as he shows below, is always great.

Nothing quite matches the power of a good 'stretch.'

I really don't know if I'll post over the weekend or not. I have a lot to do (actually, that's a lie, I only have a paper to write and some notes to review) but I don't know if I'll really have the urge to write. We'll see.

Have a nice weekend, all.

I'm Telling the Pope

A new Pope was elected today. Wow. That's something I have never, ever said before. Here's the story from AP:

Cardinal Ratzinger of Germany Is New Pope

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, a longtime guardian of doctrinal orthodoxy, was elected the new pope Tuesday evening in the first conclave of the new millennium. He chose the name Pope Benedict XVI.

Ratzinger, the first German pope in centuries, served John Paul II since 1981 as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In that position, he has disciplined church dissidents and upheld church policy against attempts by liberals for reforms. He turned 78 on Saturday.

It is a great relief to know that a conservative Pope was elected. I think that this, coupled with the fact that he served Pope John Paul II, means that the new Pope will maintain the churches stance against gay marriage, against abortion, etc. etc. This means that I can tattle to him about the naughty kids here at Shepherd.

This week is GLBT Week. That's, Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual-Transgender week. It's disgusting, it's annoying and I hate it.

The buildings are plastered with garbage about how you should 'be an ALLIE, not a hater.' ALLIES is an acronym for something something something alternative lifestyles something something else. I don't know what it stands for completely, but it's something about 'alternative lifestyles.' When you become an ALLIE, you pledge to work for 'diversity' and 'understanding' and 'gay-rights' and 'fighting hatemongerers who oppose gays' and all that crap.

Also on one of the buildings is a big announcement about a 'drag show' to support 'alternative lifestyels.' Gosh, I wonder if that means 'drag show' as in a 'drag-racer car show.' Probably not.

I'm not a 'hatemongerer' or a 'hater' just because I don't sign the stupid petition about how I support gays. I don't support gays. I don't hate them, but I don't support them!

The youth minister at my church preached this Sunday, and he did a great job! He was talking about the culture that we live in today and about how hard it is on a lot of kids. This is true. He said that, as a Christian, it is not our job to hate gays--as a Christian, we CANNOT hate gays or anyone else for that matter. But, he also said that it is wrong and it is a sin. He said that we are to love people struggling with homosexuality and offer to support them and pray for them, but we are in no way, shape or form to tell them that what they're doing is 'ok.' I think he makes a good point.

TODAY'S MORAL: Again, I find myself saying, "if you don't agree with us completely, then you are evil and wrong and should be protested." If I don't say that it's ok to be gay, I am a 'hater' and should be stopped. That's absurd. Remember, never challenge what a leftist or a liberal says to you, just follow blindly and shake your head.

'Do you WANT me to bit you?'

It's finally friday... cat time ;) This week's image is a happy one. As you can see below, Sebastian doth rejoice each time I come near him. From the bent ears and lazer stare, it's easy to see what a happy kitty he is! Just be careful, he WILL attack.

'Just put the food in the bowl, you don't need to touch me'

I'll (probably) be out of commission this weekend. I've got a LOT of work to do, so maybe I'll be back on Monday, but probably not until Tuesday. 'Yall have a great weekend!

Damn Propaganda Machines

As a person who believes that since we can't exterminate leftists, we better learn to live with them, I am often seen visiting their natural habitat: a small, uppity coffee shop in Shepherdstown. Now, while this place does provide a mean cup of Columbian Supremo and a delicious pastry or ham and swiss sandwich, there is never a short supply of leftist ideology being discussed.

When this much American hating, Communist loving brain power (or lack there off--you might think of it as a black hole of sorts, which sucks in every single last droplet of reason and sense), there is bound to be interesting, philosophical debate which, though it is impractical and therefore will never truly amount to anything, is bound to aggravate even the most moderate conservatives (also known as American Loving, Commie distrusting smart folk).

As I sat observing the Leftist in his home arena, I found it difficult to turn my attention away from the deeply 'intellectual' conversation which was now transforming into a full blown love fest for the murder-factory built on the blueprints of Marxism as interpreted by Lenin and with the man power and 'go-get-'em' work ethic and ruthless efficiency of 'Uncle Joe' Stalin. The following is a reassembled tid-bit of the conversation:

Young Man: "These history classes at Shepherd are the most biased things you'd ever hear! I hate modern European studies because these right-wing professors refuse to show the goodness of the Soviet Union. If people like these professors would be fair and balanced, the Marxist Revolution could be completed."

Older Woman: "Biased has nothing to do with it. It's just that these folks are happy with living in a socially injustice world."

I know that things like this should be ignored because, as we have seen in the attempted construction of a crazed Socialist controlled nation, 'Utopia' (if that is really an accurate description) building is impractical, impossible and best ignored. However, this amount of ignorance is disgusting and highly disturbing.

The propaganda that he speaks of is, I believe, the fact that at least one professor (my very own History prof. Dr. Anders Henriksson) explains in great detail that the Utopia built in Russia was constructed and maintained by the systematic taking of land, property and business and the murder of, what some historian believe to be, close to 30 million (MILLION) people...but we're the ones living in a socially injustice world. Go figure.

The conversation then turned quickly to why this type of system is better than our own:

Young Man: This sort of change needs to take place in our country. If we were run like the Soviet Union, we wouldn't have illegal wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. We wouldn't be contemplating an invasion of Venezuela, and we wouldn't have to worry about idiots being elected.

Illegal wars in Iraq? No. I don't suppose the Soviets ever attacked Iraq. But they certainly attacked Afghanistan. Nevermind their legal murder of the 30 million above mentioned individuals. Nothing illegal going on there. Disgusting. Just disgusting.

We sure wouldn't have to worry about idiots, or anyone for that matter, being elected because there are no elections. On the bright side, we wouldn't have to put up with morons like this young man either, because he would have been shot on the scene for talking negatively about the Regime.

Oh, and when did the Pentagon draw up war plans for Venezuela. Apparently I missed that press briefing.

Today's Moral: Apparently it is illegal to destroy evil regimes which sponsor terrorist attacks on America in countries like Afghanistan. It is illegal to topple a regime who hates and openly supports the destruction of America while subsequently freeing millions of Iraqis. It is not, however, illegal to seize people's private property. Nor is it illegal to murder 30 million people. This Never-Never Land that leftists believe communism can build is highly disturbing and highly false. No such thing will ever exist in a land of socialist totalitarianism(or any totalitarianism for that matter). No such thing can exist in a nation that hates religion and denounces/bans the practice of Christianity.

Dark Lord of the Starchy Root Vegetable

This is the coolest toy in the world, and since I am too lazy (and drained, but mostly lazy) to post anything serious today, I thought I would share a picture of the coolest toy in the world...DARTH TATER.

This combines two of my favorite things: StarWars (more specifically Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith) and the classic 'Mr. Potato-head' to make the ultimate form of childhood entertainment.

For anybody who loves me a whole lot and wants to spend approximately 14 dollars, please feel free to buy me one and have it shipped to Shepherd or just deliver it in person.

'Mr. Tater-head...I am your father'

Get used to hearing about StarWars because as the date for the release of Episode III draws closer, you can bet that I'll be yapping about it. Until then...May the Force Be With You, Always ;)

Whoda Thunkit?

There's been much talk concerning declaring English as the official language of the United States. As always, the US Legislature is slow to action which has left much of the action lying in the hands of the individual states. With that in mind, whoda thunk that WEST VIRGINIA (a state whose people, including myself, speak what some might consider a crude form of English which I call 'hickish') would be one of the first states to protect English as our national (or at least state) language.

WV lawmakers, lead by Democrat Billy-Wayne Baily (leave it to West Virginia to have a lawmaker with a hyphenated name), recently declared English the offical language for all official state documents taking a step in the right direction.

While I don't agree with the way it was done, sneaking it into a bill about Parks and Rec. in local government, I am happy to see the bill in place. English is an important part of American society and should most definately protected by law as the Official Language.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Two days after the end of the legislative session,
state lawmakers are discovering something few were aware of: They voted to
make English the official language of West Virginia. The language amendment was quietly inserted into a bill addressing the number of members that cities can appoint to boards of parks and recreation. Among mundane details about record-keeping, the amendment adds the provision that "English shall be the official language of the State of West Virginia."

You can read the full story here: W.Va. Makes English Its Official Language

Bearskin Rugs

Blogger is a pain in the butt. The only thing worse is it's counterpart 'Hello' by 'Picasa' which is the program you MUST (and I stress MUST) use if you wish to post images. Well, it doesn't seem to support posting multiple images as one post. Instead it posts them as seperate things, so until I get it figured out, I'm stuck posting just one image instead of the sequence I had planned.

Sebastian, I think, has the right idea. Rainy days like today do inspire a laziness which is not easily overcome.

It may LOOK like a bearskin rug, but it's actually just a napping fat-cat.

A Tower of Faith and Goodness

Although I myself am not Catholic, and I don't know a lot of people who are, my thoughts and prayers go out to people of all faith as Pope John Paul II, a tower of faith and goodness, holds on to the last breaths of his long life of service in Christ.

Pope John Paul II

Like I said, I'm not a Catholic, but I still feel like I myself am losing someone who has played some part in my life that I don't even know about. There, I think, will be a large void in me upon the passing of the Pope.

Again, my thoughts and prayers go to the Pope, his followers, and the world as this tragic event comes to a close.

Fat Cat Fridays

A couple of other bloggers use Fridays as a sort of 'free' day to post pictures of their animals. With a stack of things to write about, but the drive to write about none of them, I decided to start my own Friday tradition. We'll see how it goes. Without further introduction, here is Sebastion, or, as I call him, 'Fat.'

The Beast looks up from his obviously compfortable bathing position.