Gray Tree Frogs...

...are kind of neat little slimy critters. They have some neat shades of gray in a blotched pattern on their backs, and the shading depends a lot on their mood or the temperatures. They also have white bellies with really vibrant yellow markings along the belly at the sides and onto bottom inner sides of the back legs.

I have one now, have had it for about 2 1/2 years now. I would not have it at all had it not plopped on the ground, after falling or jumping out of a tree, and landing right in front of my feet. That was at my daughter's college a couple of years back; I had just dropped her off for a new semester, and this guy decided he wanted to come home with me for the ride. I have had him ever since. No name or anything like that, I usually do not name animals that will not come when called like a dog, or at least show some signs of affection like a cat.

I spent about 2 or 3 hours today taking down the vivarium I have kept him in for these couple of years. The plants were not doing as well as they once had, so I figured the soil could use some changing. I bought a couple of new plants; cleaned out the tank, put in fresh soil over a bed of gravel na d some activated carbon, put in the two new plants and two of the old ones, made sure to put back the small earthworms that had been living in the old soil, and there it is.

The plants should grow out somewhat more over time. I have another tank that is just about overgrown with Golden Pothos. This one has the pothos (those little vines on the cork in the center, I just kept a bit of it as it grows fast), and it also has two plants completely new to me. The one on the left has nice roundsih broad leaves on which I am sure the frog will love to cling with its sticky toe pads. The other also has somewhat pointy broad, and more colorful, leaves on which it can climb as it pleases.

The frog looks pretty content in its newly decorated home, if frogs can be content. I think the added color gives the whole setup a nice touch. My wife even liked it, and she does not like any of my reptilian or amphibian pets.

These guys make fairly easy to care for animals, though they are not really conventional pets. Sure you can pick them up and hold em, but I don't usually do that for a couple of reasons. First of all, why bother since the frog gets no enjoyment out of being picked up, not like peting a dog or a cat. Second, when you pick them up, it removes some of the protective slime from their bodies. So, for the most part, I only pick him up when I clean out his tank, or show him off to someone.

These frogs live in trees, far above the ground, here in the northeastern USA (and in some other parts of the USA out to the midwest and from Texas up to Canada). Since they live in the forest, they usually get a fair deal of mositure in their environment. They can hide in crevices in the bark of trees, in the crotches of tree limbs, and so forth where moisture will be held in the event of drier times. In captivity they need to be kept moist with a daily, or every other day, spray with a misting bottle. I also keep a small bowl of water in with mine, this has to be cleaned out often and replaced with fresh water. I use water right from the tap. I am not worried about the water being chlorinated or having flouride in it as many natural sources of water are likewise; and I have never seen any ill effects with frogs that are native to NY State while usuing local tap water. If you keep one though, and are concerned, then let the wayer stand in a bowl overnight and the chlorine will evaporate out of the water.

They feed on insects in the wild, and require the same in captivity, although they will take easier to obtain insects in captivity than ones you would need to catch to feed them their natural diet. Crickets, and waxworms are easily obtained at pet shops and they love both. Earthworms are also eagerly taken, and are readily availble at bait shops. They will come to the tank bottom to feed on them. I also give it mealworms or superworms now and again too, and sometimes a bug from the backyard. I try to feed mine a varied diet.

As for temperatures, I keep mine in the low to mid seventies. Into the mid eighties would be okay during the day, and as low as the high sixties at night is fine. The lighting I use is for the plants not the frogs. A regular day/night cycle of light is fine for the frog; although I tend to keep the lights on a late spring light cycle all year to enhance plant growth. About 14 hours of light. I only use a flourescent light, one that is suitable for plant growth, so it does not increase the temperature in the tank as would an incandescent bulb.

To get one of these frogs, you can try to buy a captive bred one at a Reptile and Amphibian Show, or maybe over a website like www.kingsnake.com; or you can catch one yourself (where allowed by law). At the time I caught mine, it was the open season on frogs in NY State, and I had a hunting and fishing license, so I was covered. Since then it has been well fed, and aparently content to live the life of Reilly at our house.

Putting the tank together anew was a relaxing way to spend the last day of the year for me. Hope you enjoyed your day too. Happy New Year. Who knows what the new year will bring for you - maybe a new found interest in the hobby of keeping reptiles and amphibians.

All the best,
Glenn B

An Alleged Video of Saddam Hussein's Hanging...

...has surfaced at http://one.revver.com/watch/130549. I found this link at FoxNews.com under the confusing headline of Redirect @ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,240257,00.html

I don't understand why Fox would headline this as Redirect. They do understandably explain it is an alleged, and very graphic, video of the hanging, the whole shabang.

Now, this video is very poor quality, but it is indeed very graphic, and if genuine then it shows the man actually being hung. It is purported, by Revver.com. In fact Revver says this on their website:

This video shows Saddam Hussein being hanged from the vantage of a witness using his or her cellphone. This shows almost everything -- except for the snap of the neck, viewer discretion advised.

It looks to me like it maybe just that, as if taken with a cell phone. It looks, to me, as if the person taking the video was either a terrible camera person, or quite possibly quite nervous and not wanting anyone to realize he/she was making a video (since the camera jumps around so much and often looses sight of Hussein).

If it is discovered to be a real video of what actually took place when Saddam was hanged, I see very little to further prevent the authorities in Iraq, and the media, from releasing higher quality shots. I think as many people as possible should see the video, the higher quality ones of Hussein meeting his end. Sure this will inflame some, make others happy, and other things like that; but it will also have a more far ranging impact. It will show the fate that awaits those who do things as did Saddam Hussein, it will show that tyrants are not gods, not above the law, and must answer to their crimes as should any man, it will show that they too need to pay for their crimes with their lives if their crimes were capital offenses. If done often enough, to the many heinous murderers in our world, it might actually become a deterrent. Hangings, and other executions should be public, and viewing at least a few in a lifetime should be encouraged (and no I do not mean mandatory but do mean encouraged) for all of the citizenry who have attained a certian age.

All of the best,
Glenn B

Someone finally charged Nifong...

...and it is about time they did so. I have not spoken out on this before, although tempted to do so here many times.

Then this CNN headline caught my eye today: Charge could kick Duke prosecutor off case, and can be found at CNN.com @ http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/12/29/duke.lawyer.ap/index.html

The manner in which this guy has handled the prosecution of the four Duke University students for rape charges is, in my estimation, both reprehensible and quite possibly criminal.

That all of the charges were not dropped outright after the long withheld/hidden DNA evidence surfaced showing absolutely no sign of DNA from any of the 4 Lacrosse Team Members, but did show samples from at least a few other men, when the alleged victim said she had not had sex with anyone except her boyfriend in over a week (as I recall) was bad enough. When she then suddenly changed her story to say that she was now not sure that any of them had actually penetrated her vaginally, that should have made the whole thing as clear as Crystal to any prosecutor who was actually doing his job, especially since she had apparently insisted all along that they had vaginally penetrated her, that is up until the time absolutely none of their DNA was found inside her or on her - but the DNA from others was found. Well it should have made it clear as crystal, but it did not do so for Nifong. That he decided to drop rape charges and then charge the lacrosse players with sexual assault and kidnapping (as I recal) was unbelievable at best, and possibly criminal at worst, and just muddied the waters even more than before.

If I had ever worked with a prosecutor, in my law enforcement career, who did something along these lines, I may have arrested him myself; and if not, well I certainly would have reported him for what I would have believed to have been ethics violations. I think this guy saw his name in the headlines as the new prosecutorial star, saw his face on the TV news in the same light, saw himself as winning the next election - all because he saw those 4 young men were convicted prematurely in his mind by way of his own prejudice. His job is to see justice done, not to railroad anyone. As far as I am concerned, Nifong is a sham, not worth one penny that they pay him, and I think his election results should be negated, and he should be recalled and barred, and placed in jail if found guilty of prosecutorial misconduct. Throwing him off the case is only a start, and certainly does not appear to be enough. The state of NC will probably wind up paying big time settlements to the 4 lacrosse players, I believe, some of it should come out of Nifong's own pockets, and the alleged victim's too.y Yah that is right, I don't believe either one of them to be at all credible in this case, and think both should pay for it if proven to have concocted (individually or by way of conspiracy) the charges against the 4 young men.

All the best,
Glenn B

An Add on to my wish how Saddam Hussein...

... should spend his afterlife.

Below in my original post about the execution of Saddam Hussein, I wrote this:

If I believed in the devil, I would even toast Satan in the hopes he would take considerable care of Saddam's soul for eternity.

This morning, I saw a picture of a half naked and really beautiful looking young maiden (as in virgin, or at least that was what came to mind), and a thought came to me. Now I would like to add a little bit to the above sentiment:

With any luck, Satan would be able to figure out how to smuggle Saddam Hussein into heaven, in the form of the absolutely most beautiful heavenly young virgin of all; and then leave him there for all eternity. The thing is he would be left in heaven with the curse of being eternally instantly renewable as a virgin after each time one of the murderous dirtbag Muslim fanatics, who supposedly achieve Muslim heaven through death after killing innocents of other religions, have their way with him. Yes that would be my wish for how Saddam Hussein should spend eternity, if only the devil listened to me when I toasted him just after I thought of that one. Who knows, maybe he has listened, and Saddam Hussein is making a bunch men very happy in heaven.

Edited at 0037 12/31/06 to add: One of my buddies said he did not get it, so let me explain just in case someone else does not. It would hurt awfully bad after the first few hundred times the regular way, and what with all those fanatics blowing themselves up to get their virgins in heaven, good all femm Saddam appearing as the most beautiful, and as an eternally renewable virgin, would be getting more than his/her share. Of course though that still really skirts (no pun intended) the intended meaning, you see if he was put into heaven as a beautiful, eternally renewable virgin, that means he'd be getting it in the... Oh, let's just say he'd be getting a lot of Greek attention for eternity. Ouch, bloody ouch.... (if you don't get that, you are just tooooo nice).

Yeah, I know, I started off by saying if I believed in the devil, I would toast him in hopes he would take care of The Butcher of Baghdad. Well I am covering all bases; so hopefully he heard me when I raised my glass to him.



All the best,
Glenn B

Saddam Hussein, One More Quotable Quip...

...about him, that I find irresitable to repeat here, is to be found in the article Saddam Hussein's Brutal Reign Ends in the Gallows on FoxNews.com @ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,240117,00.html:

The quip was made by a man who lost 26 members of his family to the Butcher of Baghdad's death squads; a man who then was brave enough to come forward to testify against Saddam Hussein, and a man who was brave enough to act as witness to the execution:

"everybody wanted to make sure that he was really executed. Now, he is in the garbage of history,"

(Jawad Abdul-Aziz)

Some people just have a way with words.

All the best,
Glenn B

A Quotable Quip about Saddam Hussein...

...if ever there was one worth quoting, was reported on by CNN.com at: http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/29/hussein/index.html

Saddam's body is in front me. It's over.

Click on the Image. (Image courtesy of Thomas T.)

Let me just add that it also has been reported on Foxnews.com, and on the BBC.com, that Iraqi television has reported Saddam Hussein was hanged. The BBC report had it happening just before at 0600
12/30/06.

Time for a celebratory drink now that The Butcher of Baghdad is dead, a nice 100 proof Rumple Minz. I will raise my glass in honorable memory of all the innocents he killed (estimated at up to one million by some). I will also toast and honor his captors, his prosecutors, those who were brave enough to give testimony against him, his judges, and his executioners. If I believed in the devil, I would even toast Satan in the hopes he would take considerable care of Saddam's soul for eternity.

I know it will not put an end to things in Iraq, but it put an end to a vile, murderous, thug - justice was done. As Michelle Malkin noted on her site: Sic Semper Tyrannis.

About the only other thing I can think of to say is: Good Riddance Dirtbag!

All the best,
Glenn B

Theodore Roosevelt on the Americanization of Immigrants

The following piece is, in essence, yet another of those things that I receive from time to time in my email. I had read it before, and thought that the claim in the email that this was from a speech by TR in 1907 seemed incorrect, and I also thought the wording was not quite right. So, I did a bit of checking. I discovered that many a website incorrectly attributes this to a speech made by President Roosevelt in 1907, that it should be correctly realized to be a letter he wrote in January 1919 some months after WWI and even closer to his own death, and that the example in the email to me was an abbreviated version.

I decided to reprint the full version of President roosevelt's letter about the Americanization of immigrants here. It was the last written piece, of a political nature, known to have been penned by President Theodore Roosevelt; and though it was written a long time ago, it still has a resounding amount of logic to it. The words he wrote, ever so appropriate then just after WWI, are just as applicable to immigrants entering our nation today. I believe the piece to be timeless in its nature as it regards immigrants coming into, and becoming part of, the United States of America.

The version below, was found at: http://67.19.222.106/politics/graphics/troosevelt.pdf; and the link to it was found at Snopes.com (and I note that Snopes.com did not have the complete version as the letter at the provided link appears to be).

January 3rd, 1919

Dear Mr. Hurd:

I cannot be with you and so all I can do is to wish you God speed. There must be no sagging back in the fight for Americanism merely because the war is over. There are plenty of persons who have already made the assertion that they believe the American people have a short memory and that they intend to revive all the foreign associations which most directly interfere with the complete Americanization of our people. Our principle in this matter should be absolutely simple. In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here does in good faith become an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with every one else ,for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man's becoming in very fact an American and nothing but an American. If he tries to keep segregated with men of his own origin and separated from the rest of America, then he isn’t doing his part as an American. There can be no divided allegience here. Any man who says he is an American but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile. We have room for but one language here and that is the English language, for we intend to see that the crucible turns our people out as Americans,of American nationality, and not as dwellers in a pollyglot boarding house; and we have room for but one soul loyalty, and that is loyalty to the American people.

Faithfully yours,


Mr. Richard K. Hurd,
59 Liberty
Street,
New York.

Note, I printed it just as it appeared in the letter, or at least I tried to get the spacing (which got messed up when I published here), punctuation, and even mistakes (such as "pollyglot" just the same. One other note, when TR wrote the words: "soul loyalty", I believe it was a play on words to mean both 'a loyalty of the soul or spirit', and a singular or 'sole loyalty', but that is just my hunch.

Now that you have read the above you can, whenever someone challenges strictly reformed immigration policy including removal of illegal aliens from the USA and the Americanization of legal aliens, reply with wisdom that transcends the ages about the particular subject.

As a matter of fact, it might be a good idea to send a copy of that letter to our elected officials, citing it properly, and then including our own ideas on the subject, so that our politicians get the idea that only immigrants who will obey the laws of this nation, and who truly show that they want to become Americanized, and then become good U.S. citizens, should be permitted to remain within our borders for any amount of time.

I do not believe I have ever heard it put better than in this letter as penned by TR.

Faithfully yours,

Glenn B

On a U.S. Citizen Becoming an Illegal Alien by Anon.

Today I received one of those emails, from my friend Gerry S., that just has to be shared with anyone who will read it. I obviously do not have the email addresses of those of you who read my rants, so I figured to post it here. Here it is; and remember that after you read it, you may want to pass it on, not only to friends, but also printed and signed and in a stamped envelope addressed to your elected officials:

Becoming Illegal (From an Iowa resident to his senator)

The Honorable Tom Harkin
731 Hart Senate Office Building Phone
(202) 224 3254
Washington DC , 20510

Dear Senator Harkin,

As a native Iowan and excellent customer of the Internal Revenue Service, I am writing to ask for your assistance. I have contacted the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to determine the procedures for becoming an illegal alien, and they referred me to you.

My primary reason for wishing to change my status from U.S. Citizen to illegal alien stem from the bill which was recently passed by the Senate and for which you voted. If my understanding of this bill's provisions is accurate, as an illegal alien who has been in the United States for five years, all I need to do to become a citizen is to pay a $2,000 fine and income taxes for three of the last five years. I know a good deal when I see one and I am anxious to get the process started before everyone figures it out. Simply put, those of us who have been here legally have had to pay taxes every year so I'm excited about the prospect of avoiding two years of taxes in return for paying a $2,000 fine. Is there any way that I can apply to be illegal retroactively? This would yield an excellent result for me and my family because we paid heavy taxes in 2004 and 2005.

Additionally, as an illegal alien I could begin using the local emergency room as my primary health care provider. Once I have stopped paying premiums for medical insurance, my accountant figures I could save almost $10,000 a year. Another benefit in gaining illegal status would be that my daughter would receive preferential treatment relative to her law school applications, as well as "in-state" tuition rates for many colleges throughout the United States for my son. Lastly, I understand that illegal status would relieve me of the burden of renewing my driver's license and making those burdensome car insurance premium payments. This is very important to me given that I still have college age children driving my car.

If you would provide me with an outline of the process to becoming illegal (retroactively if possible) and copies of the necessary forms, I would be most appreciative. Thank you for your assistance. Your Loyal Constituent,

(Insert Your Name)

Get your Forms (NOW)!! Call your Internal Revenue Service 1-800-289-1040. Please pass this on to your friends so they can save on this great offer!!!!

That was it, in its entirety as sent to me. I have to admit, I find it woderfully written and quite amusing, but I also think that if enough of our elected officials received this letter, they may get the point. My copies will be in the mail today to Senators Clinton and Schummer and to Representative McCarthy.

All the best,
Glenn B
rr

Maybe You Know Him - Please Take A Look...

..at the picture to see if you can identify the man shown. He has been a patient at NY Presbyterian Hospital since October. He gave them a name - Norman Smith - and address in Fresh meadows, NY, but no one there knows him. A bit more info can be found at:
http://www.1010wins.com/pages/152863.php?contentType=4&contentId=264445

I know it is a long shot that one of my few readers will recognize him, but hey you never know until you give it a shot.

If you do reconize him, the hospital can be contacted at: (212) 305-2222.


All the best,
Glenn B

More Anti-Gun Balderdash from New York - reclassifying years old crimes as homicides based on deaths today

NEW YORK — Gangs, drugs, easy access to guns and a disturbing tendency among young people to pull guns to demand respect were among the causes authorities cited in trying to explain this year's increase in murders in New York and many other major cities after years of decline.

The above is from the artcile: Murders Are Up In New York, Other Cities found at: http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Dec28/0,4670,MurderToll,00.html

I believe the truth of the matter to be that young thugs would not be quite so ready to pull guns on good citizens, or to try to rob them or otherwise commit acts of violence against them, if they believed the good citizen was likely to be armed for self defense with a handgun. It only makes sense, and it has been proven correct in many communities wherein the good people are allowed to carry concealed firearms for self defense.

Of course there can be a reason other than unarmed good citizens, in places like New York, that account for this so called spike in violent crime. New York, according to this same article, which almost immedaitely seemingly contradicts itself as to the cause of the spike in crime, has reclassified a large number of deaths as homicides.

• The spike mostly reflects an unusually large number of "reclassified homicides," or those involving victims who were shot or stabbed years ago but did not die until this year. Thirty-five such deaths have been added to this year's toll, compared with an annual average of about a dozen.

This is a purely ultra leftist ploy to try to get people to think that gun violence is on the rise. You see what New York City officials are doing is, in essence, saying: 'Hey Joe Schmoe was shot 35 years ago, and he just died this year. Let's say that his death was directly due to the wounds he received 15 years ago." Now mind you, as far as I am aware, there is no direct cause and effect over this 35 year period. It is not like Joe Schmoe was in a hospital in a coma all that time directly because of a gunshot wound. Rather my understanding is that: Joe Schmoe developed some form of physical ailment after being shot, and he later died, as a direct result of that ailment, and that ailment was maybe indirectly (and I mean indirectly in a big way) related to the wounds he received back then.

Let's say Joe Schmoe, typical NYC working guy, lost a lung when shot many years ago by some thug during a robbery. Yesterday, he died of some breathing related disease that killed off his remaining lung. Aah, there it is says New York, he died due to being shot 35 years ago, because if he still had his other lung he would be alive. They do not consider that if he had his other lung, it too would most likely have been effected by the malady from which Joe really died. They try to make this death out to be directly related to the gun shot, which it is obviously not. I may have that wrong, but that is how it was described to me. This is typical New York City balderdash, and is probably supported whole heartedly by that ultra leftist Democrat (except when it comes to his making money) in Republicans garb, Mayor Bloomberg. What insanity, what rabid anti-gun lunacy, what out and out balderdash, but I expect little more from the rabid anti-gun crowd!

All the best,

Glenn B

The Reported Outrageous Tom Brokaw Comments About Gerald Ford's Children...

... are covered marvelously, as she usually covers any topic, on Debbie Schlussel's site @
http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2006/12/most_inane_tom.html The comments had to do with Gerald Ford's sons allegedly bringing dates into the White House, and maybe even to the Lincoln bedroom. It was, in my opinion, tasteless, but I would not expect more from Brokaw. One has to wonder if he is stoned when he makes comments like these.

It comes as no surprise to me that the ultra whacko liberal media, or should I just say the mainstream media (mainstream for the media anyhow), would come out with something as disrespectful as the remarks made by Brokaw virtually immediately after the death of a U.S. President, and one who was impeccable in character at that. If Brokaw really said that, he should be ashamed of himself, and he needs to apologize post haste. Of course, 'should be' and what he probably 'will be' are very likely far apart as I figure he is most likely proud of himself for being a flagrant mud slinger.

All the best,
Glenn B

It Is About Time That Some Nation Gets It Right...

...in the war against Islamo-Fascism.

As per the article Ethiopians take key Somali town, found on the BBC.com at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6211573.stm:

Ethiopian troops and Somali government forces have taken the strategic Somali town of Jowhar from Islamist militias.

Yes, in Ethiopia and Somalia they know that the threat is real, and they are facing it down with force as required. Once again Islamic Fascists have tried to conquer another country and place it under Islamic law, but this time they have failed so far.

Jowhar is a former stronghold of the Union of Islamic Courts, and its loss leaves the Islamists with control of little more than Somalia's coast.

Just note the name of the Islamic group that sought to take over in Somalia - The Union of Islamic Courts (UIC). Can you imagine that there are left wingers in this country who support Islamists with every breathg, yet those same people constantly harangue conservatives and Republicans here at home! Isn't it clear yet, that the goal of Islamic fascists is to conquer the world, and that maybe this is the goal of islam itself? Remember we are the Infidels as per the Q'ran. We must be dealt with by conversion or the sword - that is unless of course - we fight back and kick their butts before they have a chance to win.

Kudos to those in Ethiopia who have realized this. Now if only they can get their own acts in order and do something else good for their people.

All the best,
Glenn B

He was an impeccably respectable president,...

...in fact there were no scandals in the Whitehouse of Gerald Ford that come to my mind right now.

He was a statesman and politician long before he became vice president or president.

He was the only president never to have been elected to either the position of vice president or president.

He was the president under whom the war in Vietnam ended, and he was loyal to our allies, even though that war was started and botched by others, he sensibly believed we should have seen it through:

"It has been said that the United States is overextended, that we have too many commitments far from home, that we must re-examine what our truly vital interests are and shape our strategy to conform to them..."

"I find no fault with this as a theory, but in the real world such a course must be pursued carefully. We cannot, in the meantime, abandon our friends while our adversaries support and encourage theirs.". (Do those complaints he mentioned sound familiar.)

His presidency had its controversy:

He was appointed to the vice presidency to replace Spiro Agnew who had left it in disgrace.

He took the presidential reins after the Nixon resignation.

He pardoned President Richard M. Nixon.

Very shortly thereafter, he pardoned the Vietnam war draft dodgers.

He had a very good outlook about government, later echoed by his intra-party rival Ronald Reagan:

"A government big enough to give us everything we want is a government big enough to take from us everything we have."

He helped tone down the nuclear threat.

He was a survivor.

He survived WWII in the U.S. Navy.

He survived media attacks that attempted to make him look as if he was physically bumbling and clumsy; yet all the while he was quite the adroit athlete. (Now as then, they in the mainstream media, do all in their power to distort the man at the helm when they do not agree with his policies. When they could not attack his impeccable character, they trumped up claims of his being physically clumsy, and sometimes apparently set him up to literally take a fall. )

He survived a Congress that was stacked in favor of the Democrats, and that had little regard for his views or his presidency; and he used his presidential veto 38 times while trying to do the right thing for the United States of America.

He survived two assassination attempts unharmed.

He survived a long time; he was the oldest living president, passing away at 93.

May the heavens receive him kindly.

My condolences to his family, loved ones, and to the nation; he will be sorely missed.

All the best,
Glenn B

My Own Merry Christmas To Me...

...or in other words the Christmas gifts I gave to myself.

This year I bought myself a few gifts while doing all of my othe shopping. About a week or so ago, I picked up a bottle of Glenfidich, 12 year old, single malt scotch; it came with two nice rocks glassses. I meant it as a gift for someone else at the time, then I found that person a better gift, so I kept it. Not a bad deal. The set cost the same as a bottle of it would have cost - without the glasses.

Then, a few days ago, I picked up a bottle of Jagermeister. It came in a "Pewter Shooter Pack" as per the box. Once again, a nice gift idea, but this one bought with myself in mind. The price of this one was the same as for a bottle of the stuff, without the pewter shot glass/stag's head bottle cover.
Then on Saturday, I bought myself a large Lava Lamp. If you don't know what is a Lava Lamp, well you are either too young, or old enough but not into the psychadelic scene (not that I ever was into it, I just liked the light).

Out of the three gifts, with which I exercised the liberty of self indulgence, I guess my favorite is the Pewter Shooter Pack from Jagermeister. The really neat thing about that is, I also got a bottle of Jagermeister from my sister and brother-in-law for a Christmas gift. I mean what could be better than one bottle but two.

Now allow me to enjoy the ambrosia of the hunt master.

If you have never indulged yourself during the Christmas season, or for your own birthday, or some other celebration - I suggest you give it a try. While being nice to others is nice, it is also a good thing to be nice to yourself now and then.

Merry Christmas and good night,
Glenn B

New Version of Blogger - have any of my readers, who also blog, switched to this?

I was just wondering if any of you who blog on Blogger, have switched to the new version? If so, what do you think of it? Is it better, worse, the same? Is there any real benefit to switching? What is the deal with having to have a Google account? Are you required to have advertisers under the new system?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Glenn B

Holiday Humor: Two Different Types of Season's Greetings - pick one to suit yourself

My friend Don S. sent me the following in an email, I'll bet you can figure which one of the two Season's Greetings were applicable to me.

For My Democrat Friends:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted Calendar Year 2007, but not without due respect for the Calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere . Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee. By accepting these greetings, you are accepting the aforementioned terms as stated. This greeting is not subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for herself/himself/others, and is void where prohibited by law and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.



For My Republican Friends:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Oh well, whatever. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND GOOD NIGHT

All the best,
Glenn B

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Before I hit the hay, let me say: Merry Christmas

I just finished wrappng the last of the presents, a few little ones and one pretty hefty one. I can tell you that lugging the weight bench in from the garage to the cellar, where I planned to assemble it, was almost hernia producing as it slipped when I tried to take it down the stairs. Once down there, I opened the box to assemble the bench, but when I read the directions I saw it requires some wrenches in sizes I do not have. So back up the stairs it went to lie in its box next to the Christmas tree where I draped a piece of wrapping paper over it (why waste the paper trying to wrap a box that big)! I would have had my son help me with it earlier, except of course since it is for him. That was it; so then I boomed out a hearty Ho-Ho-Ho (as I do each Christmas in the early AM, yes it is Christmas here already).

All done, I decided to pour myself a nightcap in the form of a dollop of Glenlivet on the rock (one big ice cube, so no not on the rocks). I am enjoying that between keystrokes right now. I needed it, and I do not usually say I needed a drink. It was a long but pretty nice day with the wife's mom and brothers over; and we also had three family friends over too, plus my daughter's boyfriend. Great food, lots of holiday cheerfulness, and a little holiday tension, but nothing major.

Today was the first Christmas Eve on which I did not go shopping in memory for many years. I cannot remember not shopping on Christmas Eve ever since I was about 8 or 9 years old or so. Oh well, I will resume the tradition next year.

I guess that is it for now, except to say again:

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL, whoever you are, I hope you enjoy a merry day today.

All the best,
Glenn B

A Sad Christmas Season Story, SFPD Officer Killed

At 0001 hours (12:01 AM), one minute into Christmas Eve, life support was removed from San Franciso Police Department Officer Bryan Tuvera. He was just 28 years old, and was a four year veteran of the SFPD.

He was shot, apparently on December 23rd, while trying to arrest Marlon Ruff. Ruff was a fugitive who had escaped, two years ago, from a minimum security facility, reportedly after having been convicted of robbery, and after having been convicted, previous to the robbery, on firearms charges. At the time of the robbery years ago, Ruff reportedly already was out on probation for the firearms crime. Yet, despite his becoming a repeat offender, despite a robbery conviction after a previous firearms conviction, he was in a minimum security prison camp. Amazing how criminals are allowed to walk, or are placed into minimum security facilities with multiple convictions on their records. I think it is time to get tough on criminals, especially on repeat felony offenders, and violent felons, and treat them like the dirtbags I beleive them to be. Let them do hard time for a long time. Letting them out on the street, or trying to rehabilitate them, or incarecerate them them in minimum security work camps just seem not to work, and all too often can lead to tragedies like this one.

Now though, Ruff will walk no more, nor will he ever escape again. This is thanks to Tuvera's partner who returned fire, and hit Ruff several times. Ruff died at the scene. As regards to Ruff, if the article reported it correctly, I can only say: good riddance; and good shooting to Officer Tuvera's partner.

More info can be found in this article: OFFICER WAS SLAIN BY ESCAPEE 2 YEARS ON THE RUN: Prison-camp fugitive died in S.F. garage after killing policeman. Read the article here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/12/24/MNGFHN5GCR1.DTL.

My hearfelt condolences go to the family, loved ones, and fellow officers of Officer Tuvera.
He was, and remains, our brother behind the shield.


With heavy heart,
Glenn B

A Different Type of Christmas Story...

...has unfolded due to the men and women of the United States Postal Service. As you all are probably aware, Colorado and Wyoming were socked with a blizzard that dumped feet of snow on them over the past few days. Because of the snowstorm, lots of things got backed up, like the airlines who cancelled all flights in the areas, the roads that were buried under feet of snow, the stores that just did not open, and so on. It was a bad blizzard. One of the other things that got badly backed up was the mail. There was just no way to make deliveries of packages that had not even arrived in the area yet due to no air service, and local deliveries were hampered also.

So what to do in a situation like that? Well the post office asked for volunteers, to deliver mail on a Sunday. Sunday deliveries are a very unusual thing indeed, at least nowadays. What made it even more unusual, of course, is that the particular Sunday for those deliveries is today - Christmas Eve 2006. So what do you think happened? Did they get a few volunteers to deliver the 300,000 packages that arrived in Colorado and Wyoming on this Saturday? No they did not!

I guess I could not blame anyone for not volunteering to work on Sunday, no matter what your religion, if only because it is usually a day off. Furthermore, I could not blame anyone who did not want to work on Christmas Eve either. I mean, how could I, or you, find fault with anyone for wanting to have this day off. So instead of getting a few volunteers to deliver the backed up, and soon to be late for Christmas mail, what did the post office get? They got 1,500 postal employee volunteers to deliver the mail, that is what they got. Whether they are getting overtime or not, can you imagine that!

Fifteen hundred postal service employees volunteered to in essence play Santa's helpers to get the delayed holiday mail delivered on time. According to the article 1,500 Mail Carriers Work on Christmas Eve to Deliver Blizzard-Delayed Packages in Colorado and Wyoming , found at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,238680,00.html, one of the mail carriers, Robin Smith, even delivered a big package addressed to GRANDMA.

"Smith said one elderly woman was overwhelmed when she knocked on her door and handed her a package.

"She looked very lonely and her car was buried" in snow, Smith said. "She was like, 'I didn't know I would see this.' I gave her a great big one. It was to 'Grandma.""

That is not all either. Tomorrow, 500 postal employees will continue to deliver mail in the blizzard struck area. That will be on Christmas day!

I tell you it chokes me up while I write about it. I think it will be a while before I complain about the U.S. Postal Service again! My hat, and my heart felt wishes for a wonderful holiday season, go out to the men and women of the U.S. Postal Service, today they certainly lived up to their image as seen in The Miracle On 34th Street when they delivered the mail into the courtroom and helped prove Kris Kringle was Santa Claus. Sure that was only a movie, but who would have ever thought the Postal Service doing such a nice thing, as what they did today, would happen in real life. Just wonderful, that’s what it is, just wonderful!

Merry Christmas to each and every U.S. Postal Service employee; no matter if you celebrate Christmas or not, I just truly hope each of you has a merry day tomorrow, especially all of you who volunteered to do this really nice thing.

Merry Christmas,
Glenn B

It's Christmas Eve...

...last chance for shopping for Christmas presents for this year anyhow. If you have not gotten her (or him, or them) the right gift yet, then get yee to a mall real soon. The stores around here have been opening their doors anywhere from 0600 (6AM) through about 0900 (9AM), and staying open late, though they probably will close early tonight. That should still give you plenty of time, if they open that early near you.

All my must do shopping is done, first time ever before Christmas Eve. I usually go out for quite a few things on Christmas Eve, but this year I'll only be looking for a few extras today, so to speak.

We have family (the wife's side) coming over later, and a couple or few friends too. Should be a nice afternoon and evening. As for me, it is about 0045 hours, time to hit the hay, so I will hopefully get up early enough to bake in the morning (since I slouched on that to/last night).

Enjoy the day.

All the best,
Glenn B

Was There An Inspiration For The Christmas Mouse?

By The Christmas Mouse, I am referring to the poem I wrote, it is a few posts, or so, down from this one. Sure there was an inspiration, real live ones at that. Yes, more than one, since I now have about 50 mice in my mouse breeding colonies. I also have a cat and 3 dogs, just like in the poem. In fact I was enjoying my second glass of red wine, when the thought hit me to pen a comical poem; but no - none of the mice got loose, and then got chased by my cat and dogs, and I really have never seen a mouse dressed in a Santa suit, I swear I have not!

I have seen some pretty neat looking mice though not in Santa suits, but rather in lots of color variations, and with variations of certain other characteristics such as short hair, long hair, curly hair, and nude (hairless). I've seen all of these because I have been breeding mice, on and off, for abut 20 years now. You already know that I keep snakes and other reptiles, as well as some amphibians too. Well, most of the snakes I have kept are rodent eaters, and one of the most convenient rodents to feed snakes is Mus musculus, the good old common House Mouse. While I breed some of them for food items for my snakes, I learned long ago that breeding and keeping mice is an interesting pursuit all its own. I now have quite a few that are never meant to wind up as snake food, but instead will lead good and long mouse lives, as far as mouse lives can be called long.

A few of the color varieties I currently have are pictured here. The top one above is an Agouti (at least I think it is). The next one down is a Dove (pink eyed, light dove gray color). The next one is a Fawn, with pink eyes (they can also have black eyes). Finally the last one shown, is a fawn with black eyes.


These guys make great and interesting pets for folks with limited space, who do not have the time to give to a pet like a dog. They are also good pets for children, from about age 8 on up, with adult supervision at least until the child is in the mid teens and well familiar with caring for them. They rarely bite, but of course they can bite. They can be a bit smelly, usually if you have a male in a group or even alone. Males have smelly urine, while females urine has little noticeable odor. If you want to keep a pet mouse, or pet mice, and don't want that male urine smell, then just keep females. They get along fine with one another. Domestic house mice are easy to care for. Keep em clean by cleaning their enclosure at least once per week (twice at most), feed em once daily, supply fresh drinking water in a gravity bottle, keep them in a secure cage or tank, and they make great inexpensive pets that will live about 1 to 1 1/2 years. Keep a male and female together, and you can develop your own seemingly endless supply of pet mice. Give em an exercise wheel and watch em go, go, go... Let em escape (accidentaly of course, never on purpose) and really watch em go - forever gone - especially if you also have a cat and three dogs. Yes, some of mine have escaped before, so I know!

All the best,
Glenn B

The Transformation of Glenn

Yes it is still me as can be evidenced by the same fat neck and crow's feet around the corners of my eyes. Still though, I have to admit that the barber did a pretty good job handling his shears, and chopping away at my mane - so husbands beware - your turn may be next if your wives see these photos. My wife was pretty happy with the results. Now if only I would lose a few pounds, like 40 or so, she would be a lot happier, and so would I.

Oh well, all things in moderation, so a little improvement at a time, I guess. This particular improvement will make for all that better Christmas get togethers with our families because Linda will be happy that I shaped up a bit.

Besides going to the barber shop today, I got virtually all of my shopping finished. Of course, for me it isn't Christmas unless I shop on Christmas Eve, so I will be out again tomorrow getting some little odds and ends, for extra special (but not necessarily extra expensive) presents, that happen to catch my eye. You know, maybe a nice piece of lingerie for my wife, a good book for my daughter Celina, and a gadget of some sort (like the hunting or shooting sort) for my son Brendan.

Speaking of Brendan, since I was out so long shopping, he decided to fire up the barbecue, and he cooked the bear meat I had in the fridge. It was ever so delicious - both the marinated piece and the plain piece he saved for me. A great meal to which to come home, I assure you; MMMMM - mmmm GOOOOOOOOOD!

If I am up to it tonight, I just may bake an apple strudel. If not that ambitious after all other have hit the hay in our house, I may make an apple pie and a loaf of bread for tomorrow's breakfast. Got to stay in that holiday spirit and get something like that done. Hopefully my lack of a good night's sleep last night will not have me crashing before I bake at least one delectable.

All the best,
Glenn B

The Wife Told Me To Get A Haircut

Yes that is me, a photo I just took a few minutes ago. Scary isn't it; or would repulsive be a better word?

So my wife told me I need to get a haircut and clean myself up for Christmas Eve and Christmas. I can't imagine why she would think so, I think I look just - well how should I say it - I look just like me. It may not be the best I have looked in a while, but then again I guess 4 1/2 hours of sleep last night can help do that to a person.

Oh well, Linda does not want to hear about me missing sleep, or any other excuses from me, she wants me to get myself a haircut, and probably expects me to trim my mustache, and shave the rest of my mug.

I guess, that in the Christmas spirit, I should do just that. So I am about to be off to the barber for a trim. Hopefully he will not be the Sweeney Todd type! I'll post an after picture later on today, once I have had my 'makeover' to please my wife. I tell ya, the things a husband will do for she who must be obeyed. Oh well, off to the barber for me, later for you.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays,
Glenn B

Not A Whole Lot of Blogging Today...

...as I have to get my Christmas shopping done today and tomorrow. I just have to shop right up through Christmas Eve or it isn't Christmas for me. I also have to barbecue some Black Bear back-straps for my son and me. The wife and daughter don't want to eat any more of it, something about Smoky The Bear, or maybe Yogi and Boo-Boo; and that is fine by Brendan and me - more for us. Half of them are marinating in the fridge right now, the other half will be barbecued plain. Mmmm, goooooooooooooood!

If I get the chance though, I'll blog some tonight, but I maybe busy baking an apple strudel, so who can tell. For now just enjoy that silly poem I just wrote, and maybe some of my older stuff (yeah I know its not all that old, only been at it since August).

All the best,
Glenn B

The Christams Eve Mouse

THE CHRISTMAS EVE MOUSE

by Glenn Bartley, 12/23/2006

The Christmas Eve mouse, crept through my house, searching for a treat,
The family cat, slept soundly on its mat, dreaming of a mouse to eat.
The three family dogs, all slept like logs, in bed with mama.
I still awake, some wine did take, and sat alone in my pajama.

Was that a squeak, or just a leak, of steam that started all?
It mattered not, no matter what, it had commenced the brawl.
The cat awoke, as if at the last stroke, of the midnight knell.
It clamored straight, with bounds great, hoping a mouse to fell.

This of course, created a great source, of clamor and of clatter.
No command spoke, but the dogs awoke, to see what was the matter.
Down the stairs, as if chasing hares, they ran away at full speed.
Along the hall, as if heeding a call, to answer a primal need.

Startling the cat, who had been nosing a hat, that had fallen from hook on door.
Who sought the source, the mouse of course, who scurried under hat on floor.
Then the cat loudly meowed, and the mouse was wowed, and it ran fast away.
The dogs gave chase, toppling a vase, bought as a present for Christmas day.

Then the cat it sprang, as if with a bang, and pounced underneath the tree.
The mouse was there, the cat missed by a hair, and the mouse ran up to me.
On my face was a frown, but soon a smile as I looked down, and I saw so cute,
The beast was all dressed, as by now you may have guessed, in a Santa suit.

For a measly crumb, the beggar had come, with an empty bag o’er his back.
I scooped him up, and gave him to a crumb to sup’, and another for his sack.
Back on the floor, he stayed a moment more, then made some sort of sign.
Then on that strange night, I saw such a sight, a sight so very fine.

A family of mice, all looking so nice, all adorned in Christmas clothes,
Came out into the light, it was a wonderful sight, I saw before my nose.
Each wriggled its tail, and without fail, each bade me a Christmas Merry.
I felt fine, as I drank more wine, wondering if was made of a magic berry.

Then away they crept, and soon I slept, the rest of the eve through.
Was I dreaming a dream, that to me did seem, just too much of a real lu-lu.
Well when I awoke, not a word dare I spoke, about what me had befallen
If my wife dear, heard this as I have told here, the nut house she’d be callin.

An Essay On Internet Begging

Internet Begging is a subject that I really do not fully comprehend. Its not the fact that people use the Internet as a way to try to gain money through begging or otherwise asking for it, without selling a service or a product that confuses me; it is more the fact that people readily part with their money when scoundrels at worst, and people who really don't need the money at best, ask/beg us for ours. I have been guilty of this myself - no not begging for it in some underhanded way - but rather giving it to those who apparently have done just that!

Now don't get me wrong. If someone is truly in need of the money, and I do mean IN NEED OF, then I find nothing wrong with their asking for it. If they offer us something in return for the money we give them, then it is all the better to their credit as having some scruples in the matter. For example, if a blogger, who blogs for us every day, or close to daily, amuses or gives us interesting writings that we feel are worthy of recompense when that person needs the money - then fine - I see nothing wrong with it.

Heck, I do not even see it as all that bad if someone asks for money who just wants more of it to buy things that are luxuries, that is so long as the person asking for it makes it quite clear to potential benefactors that this is why they are asking, and that the beggar gives us something worthwhile in return such as a great blog. At least that type of beggar is being honest. While I might not give to someone who has money and asks for more just to buy more toys, so to speak, I don't necessarily consider that type of person to be a scoundrel just because they asked/begged for the money.

The thing is though that there are evidently many on the Internet who ask or beg we give money to them, and ask we donate by way of things like Pay Pal links on their sites or blogs, or by sending checks or money orders through the mail, who obviously either REALLY DO NOT NEED the money, or who do not use the money toward the end for which they claimed it would go - YET THEY CLAIM THEY ARE POOR, OR THAT THEY ARE IN DIRE NEED OF FUNDS.

The type I am speaking about often complain about not having jobs, about being down and out financially, about having sudden financial hardships, and so on. You know what I mean - don't you. For example someone may say that they are between jobs and their vehicle just got smashed up in an accident by an uninsured driver, and they themselves did not have collision insurance. So they ask/beg us to help them out. This of course could be on the up and up; but all too often it seems like a low down trick the get us to donate. All too often the guy has been between jobs for years; yet all to often the guy is spending money like it was dust in the wind.

Yes the persons vehicle may have gotten whacked and destroyed, yes the person maybe between jobs, but if you read their other postings you come to learn that they have recently and repeatedly done extravagant things that must have cost lots of money, and they are soon planning to purchase a luxury item that will also cost a lot of money. That is ballsy, but some are even more brazen that that. In fact some of them routinely boast about the extravagant life styles they lead by way of showing pictures of luxury purchases, or by way of trip logs of their vacations, or by way of showing pictures of their beautiful homes, and so on and also boast about the great paying jobs they have! Can you imagine that, being so brazen as to boast about how much money you earn, and then still begging for money - but some do it - all the while telling us how badly they are in need of it, the it being our money.

It is pretty disgusting when you stop to think about it. You really have to, or should, wonder - where in Hades are they getting the money for these luxuries. You should also be wondering why in Hades are they not using the money they would need to spend on extravagant items on the badly needed vehicle instead – that is at least the vehicle they claim they need so badly, and for which they claim there is a shortage of funds. Why are they not using their own money more wisely? Well because they are, in my opinion, scoundrels - dirty rotten scoundrels at that. They seemingly live by the credo of a man who was quite possibly one of the most reprehensible connivers of all time- P.T. Barnum, who was reputed to have said: "There's a sucker born every minute". Or maybe they live by this one, a sentiment expressed by W.C. Fields, in one of his many acting roles, when he said: "If we should ever separate, my little plum, I want to give you just one bit of fatherly advice: Never give a sucker an even break". Well, guess who is that sucker my friend – the you and I who give dishonest scoundrels our money – that’s who!

There is also another saying: "A Fool And His Money Are Soon Parted". Sure, it is nice to be charitable, but charity should be given to those who truly are in need of it. After all, need is part of the basis for charity. It is also said: "It is Better To Give Than To Receive", and that may be so, but I would rather give to someone who deserves receiving rather than to someone who is trying to connive me or swindle me out of my money. I don't need to play the fool for a scalawag. I don’t know about you and your money, but my money has been honestly earned, and I have lots of bills of my own, as well as a few desires that cost money to fulfill. I spend my money on my wants though usually only when my needs have been fulfilled. I spend my money on other people’s needs usually when I can spare some of mine, often interfering with me obtaining things I desire. I even sometimes give to others when sparing my own money means doing without some of my needs, but then only so long as I believe the other person is in dire need of assistance.

I have in the past, made the mistake of giving to those who really did not need it though they begged for it as if they did, yet they spent money on unnecessary items with reckless abandon. I played the fool for them, I was the sucker of the moment. From now on though, I will be a little more careful about how I give my money to those who beg for it by way of the Internet blogs. My money was hard and honestly earned, and while it is not hard to spend it, I intend it to go toward honest ends either when I spend it, or donate it to those in need.

All the best,
Glenn B

Winter Solstice...

...is upon us, or should I say happened yesterday. That means the sun was furthest from the equatorial plane. What does that mean to us, not much except that now, in the Northern Hemisphere, the daylight hours begin to grow longer. Some people find that hard to beleive, that is there is actually more daylight each day, but it is true even if only by seconds on some days, or a minute or so on others. It takes a while before it becomes readily apparent that indeed the sun is shining upon us longer each day; yet even the ancients knew this to be true - at least those who had nothing better to do than pay attention to such things insteasd of doing an honest day's work.

I for one kind of like to remember this is what is happening each time the Winter Solstice rolls by here in the northern half of our world if only because it is a bit uplifting for me. It hints of Spring being on the way, even though it also means that official Winter has just begun. Stay warm, and here is wishing for a white Christmas.

All the best,
Glenn B

Let's Hope The Brits Have Got It Wrong...

...and that they have gotten it wrong because they have done a great job of rounding up terrorists.

What I am hopeful they have wrong is this:

"It will be a miracle if there isn't a terror attack over the holidays in London,"

Let's hope that miracles really do happen.

The quote came from an article that I found through a link at www.MichaelSavage.com, the artcile being:

London Braces for Attack; 'Miracle' If There Isn't One

The article itself, is located at ABCNews.com @ http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/12/london_braces_f.html, and accroding to it the British have been feverishly working an investigation of terrorist activities, involving six "active plots", that to date of the article (December 21) has aparently resulted in some arrests. Yet, they are, or were, still seeking 18 suspected terrorists, all working together, and all believed to be potential suicide bombers. They believe the attack being planned, is planned to be much larger than the attacks on the British subway system last year, and they think it will come before January 1. Yes folks, I got that right, as per the article, they think it will happen. Not very promising for the Brits.

Hopefully they have got that last part wrong. Hopefully they will have arrested, all those involved before any of them get to pull it off.

If it is going to happen, my guess would be it will either happen today, or on New Year's Eve. Today is a big shopping day (at least here in the US and I imagine also so in the UK), and the last day for working blokes to be at work before the holiday. That means the city streets and subways, and buses will be full of decent ordinary folks, and they would all be prime targets for dirtbag, Islamo Fascist, terrorist suicide bombers. It is imperative that the British citizen keep alert, and ready to take some action in the face of danger should it take place. Hopefully some of them have, in some way, prepared themselves and will have an action plan should bombings take place. Even more hopefully, the British authorities have done a bang up investigation, and have already eliminated the immediate threat. Then, beyond almost all hope, the British will have awakened to the fact that Islam is, at the very least, the tool of the enemy, and at the very most is the enemy, and they will deal with it accordingly.

Here is hoping they, the good British Citizens and other good folks in the UK, stay safe from terrorism, now and always.

All the best,
Glenn B

The Preservation Of Man and Drinking Over The Holidays

I do not know who wrote the words below, but I can say they are words with a certain amount of wisdom to them.

The Preservation Of Man

author: anonymous

The horse and the mule live thirty years,

And nothing know of wines and beers.

The goat and sheep at twenty die,

With never a taste of scotch or rye.

The cow drinks water by the ton,

And at eighteen is mostly done.

The dog at sixteen cashes in,

Without the aid of rum or gin.

The cat in milk and water soaks,

And then in twelve short years it croaks.

The modest, sober, bone dry hen,

Lays eggs for nogs, then dies at ten.

All God’s creatures are strictly dry,

They sinless live, and swiftly die.

But sinful, ginful, rum-soaked men,

Survive for three score years and ten.

And some of us, the mighty few,
Stay pickled until we’re ninety two.

While the above is funny, and has some truth to it, we should not forget what alcohol to excess can do to us. Remember if you drink this holiday season, do so responsibly. I know all we drinkers who also are drivers may sometimes drink too much and then drive, but make an effort to avoid such since it can at best be embarrassing if you get caught, and deadly if you mess up. Best of all make sure if you drink, and need to get somewhere by car, that you have a designated driver to keep you and others safe this holiday season.

As for me, I have a case of beer, a teenaged bottle of Glenlivet Scotch with two nice rocks glasses, a bottle of Jagermeister, a bottle of Irish Cream liqueur, and a few bottles of wine. What more could I need? Oh yeah, maybe I could use a bottle of Vodka or Gin. Will I be getting sloshed? No sir or ma'am, not me. I may get a bit loose, but certainly not at all if I am driving. So I quite happily can say, I will be home on Christmas Eve with not an inch to drive. Instead of a drive, I may have a rocks glass of Scotch, and a beer or two, for my enjoyment before me. As for my Christmas Eve guests, they will be allowed limited intake of alcohol if they are driving - very strictly limited unless they have a designated driver.

As for Christmas Day, that will be another story. I'll be driving to my sister's house. So, I'll limit myself, none before I get there, and once I get there to one or two drinks, both finished off at least a few hours before I have to drive back home. That is unless of course my wife or daughter want to be my designated driver; then I may have three, but no more. No need to ruin a good party, or the whole holiday season, by getting sloshed and stupid; and definitely no need to wind up running someone down and ruining many lives just because you felt like getting sloshed. Those my friends are words of good advice, and I intend to heed them - so should you.

Stay safe over the holidays, and do your part to help along the preservation of man by not killing anyone because you were driving while drunk.

All the best,
Glenn B

Is Santa Claus an Illegal Alien???

Santa Claus is an illegal alien who exploits child labor, therefore he should be subject to new laws in Hazelton, PA that seek to keep illegal aliens out of that community.

This was in essence what Mr. Colmes, of Hannity and Colmes fame on FoxNews.com, had to say about it. If you want to see exactly what he said in his attempt to lambaste the mayor of Hazelton, PA, and to discredit the new anti-illegal alien law in Hazelton, then please go to FoxNews.com's video page @ http://www.foxnews.com/video/index.html and look for the video: Is Santa Claus an Undocumented Worker.

I was truly disgusted by Mr. Colmes' exploitation of Santa Claus, and his attack on those who would rid our country of illegal aliens, and I let FoxNews know about it by sending FoxNews Feedback, Mr. Colmes, Mr. Hannity and Mr. Bill O'Reilly an email telling them about my outrage. If you feel the same way as do I, why not send them some feedback too. If enough of us do so, I am prety certain Fox will take some action on this.

Here is a copy of the letter that I sent to them:

Dear Fox News,

I honestly have to ask, has Mr. Colmes lost his mind? I ask because I just saw the video clip of him questioning the mayor of Hazelton, PA about the town's stance against illegal aliens. Mr. Colmes, with straight face and apparent leftist zeal, asked the mayor if he thought Santa Claus should be banned because Santa is an illegal alien and because he uses child labor in the form of elves. First of all, are you telling me that Mr. Colmes, anti everything on the right, truly believes in Santa Claus? Secondly, even if only meant as satire, Mr. Colmes' cold hearted attack Santa Claus, and his attack of the mayor of Hazelton by exploiting Santa Claus to his own ends was disgusting. Even though it was obviously satirical, it was of such poor taste even as satire, that I am considering ceasing to watch Hannity and Colmes, a segment of Fox news that I have enjoyed for years. Mr. Colmes should be ashamed of himself, and he owes the children of America, the Mayor of Hazelton, legal resident aliens, and Santa Claus an apology, and quickly at that.

Sincerely
and with best wishes for the Christmas Season,
Glenn Bartley

Feel free to use a copy of that if you decide to voice your outrage over Mr. Colmes lamentable exploitation of Santa Claus to attack the mayor of Hazelton over the mayor's local efforts to rid our nation of the scourge of illegal aliens.

All the best, and happy hoildays,
Glenn B

What movies will you watch over the holidays?

There are lots of movies out there to choose from which one can enjoy over the holidays whether you chose to watch one for the holiday spirits of it or otherwise. Over the years, some of my favorites have been: It's A Wonderful Life (although I have not seen it in years if only because it played about 20 times within a week one year a few years back), Bell, Book and Candle with James Stewart and Kim Novak (I have not seen this one in years either but would gladly watch it if it plays), The Miracle On 34th Street (the old version), The Bishop's Wife (yes the one with Cary Grant and David Niven); and there is my all time favorite Christmas Season movie: The March of the Wooden Soldiers with Laurel and Hardy. Those were movies I grew up with around the holidays, and most were old already when I was young.

There are more modern ones that are pretty good too. A Christmas Carol with Patrick Stewart was pretty good, and The Santa Clause was very amusing, then there also was the now classic Home Alone - one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. All of these, and many more, can be great to watch over the holidays. Yet this year I think I will have nothing to do with any of them, unless that is I get to see Bell, Book and Candle. Other than that one movie, I have a plan to watch something different this holiday season.

I am pretty sick of the current crop of the holiday film offerings old and new - but especially the newer ones. Many of the newer ones are remakes of classics, that just don't have what the originals had going for them - classic original plots and good acting. For example the remake of The Bishop's Wife, called The Preachers Wife - was absolutely terrible with its piss poor acting (yes I know Denzel can act, but not in this one); and it trashed the memory of the original as far as I am concerned. Some remakes can be better than the originals, or at least as good, but not many reach that milestone. As for others that are good movies, heck some of them get played over and over and over and over again, until I cannot stand watching them anymore.

So, I have decided to do something a bit different for movie entertainment this year. For starters, I think I am going to sit back, probably Saturday night, and watch 'The Thing From Another World' (more commonly referred to as The Thing). Yes, I am talking about the original, not the crappy remake. This is one of the all time classic science fiction movies of my youth; and a pretty good movie at that. No it does not have the greatest actors in it, but the ones in it do a darned good job anyhow. Nor does it have all the glitz, or fantastic special effects of a movie of today, but the acting those actors did back then makes up for not having all the modern explosive special effects. I think that is one reason actors do not, for the most part, act as well today as they did years ago - the actors today have all those special effects to make up for their poor acting skills; or maybe if decent actors, then not to make up for a lack of skills, but rather that interfere with their acting skills. I appreciate movies with good plots, and with good acting; if they have glitz or special effects thrown in - okay; but please don't make me watch a movie where the special effects are better than the plot or the acting.

Well, that is the number one movie on my list this Christmas weekend. After I watch that, I think I may change gears a bit and watch The Paleface with Bob Hope. It is one of the funniest movies ever, and a western at that. I have a few more on my list of possibles, such as: Casablanca or Key Largo both with Humphrey Bogart, Topper with Cary Grant, Zulu with Michael Caine, and one of my other all time favorite comedies Arsenic and Old Lace with Cary Grant. There is just something about all of these movies that moves me, and it is great acting and great plots. If I get an urge for something more modern, maybe I'll throw a copy of The Usual Suspects with Kevin Spacey, or The Fifth Element with Bruce Willis, into the DVD player.

Whatever I watch, it will not likely be a Christmas movie, that is unless one of the stations runs: Bell, Book and Candle, or maybe with some great luck for me they will show: The March of the Wooden Soldiers. If so, I hope I realize they are on, and that I get to see ether or both all the way through.

What are you going to watch, why not leave your choices in the comments section. Thanks

All the best,
Glenn B