Whether they said it or not, whether they really plan it or not...

...the word has gotten out, even if only rumor, and it does not matter at all in the one up-man’s-ship of the New Cold War whether this is a real threat or not. Now it is up to Iran to make its move.

Of course I am talking about Israel denying, a report in the TimesOnLine, that Israel has drawn up plans to attack Iran's nuclear processing sites with nuclear weapons. The denial can be seen in this article Israel Denies Claims It's Preparing Nuke Attack on Iran at FoxNews.com @ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,242261,00.htm

The original TimesOnLine article: Revealed: Israel plans nuclear strike on Iran can be seen at TimesOnline.co.uk @ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2535310_1,00.html

It is all very interesting, and it is quite intense stuff; maybe more intense for the youngsters of today than for us almost over the hill old grumps; but we older folks have all lived through times like these before - yes terrorism running amok, war casualties mounting (much worse than the current one), and a Cold War making us all dirty our panties now and again as our knees shook with fearful anticipation of Armageddon. The Cold War has come and gone for us, but maybe has been born again - and the younger folk among you are new to it as it is new to you. Right now though, let me say, the reported threats in the articles sound a lot like Cold War Rhetoric. Although I must also point out, as history has shown, a lot of the rhetoric of the first Cold War came all to close to: the buttons actually being pushed on both sides, the missiles flying, and the bombers bombing - all with nukes.

Let's hope all this amounts to is rhetoric, but if ever a country needed to be nuked, you can bet it would either be Iran or North Korea. No I am not advocating nuclear strikes if there would be another way to disarm Iran's nuclear capabilities; but if it comes down to the utter destruction of Israel, or to the destruction of Iran's nuclear capabilities, I would opt for the second option. Same would hold true for North Korea if they threaten Japan, or another country, with nukes.

All the best,

Glenn B

Light Ranting...

...will be it for this weekend, and I'll not get a chance to post anything else until tonight. I was out all day yesterday, and when I did get home, I had stuff to do that kept me away from the computer. It will be much the same today, at least until this evening when I'll try to get back to my usual self again with a bit of ranting, moaning, complaining, or philosophizing once again. Until then - later for you.

All the best,
Glenn B

"No More Mr. Nice Guy"...

...is exactly what the USA, and for that matter the rest of the non-Muslim world, should be telling to the Muslim world; and it is about time that when we say it - we mean it. People need to awaken to the reality that the followers of Islam are either hell bent upon the conquest of the rest of the world either by conversion or by killing and destruction, or that they acquiesce to the wishes of those within said faith who strive for such. Sure, there may be a small handful of the faithful of Islam who speak out against the terror tactics espoused by al-Qaeda and other such Islamic groups (note I did not say Extremist Islamic Groups - if only because they seem to me to be the norm and not the extreme for Islam); but for the great majority it seems apparent that they either outwardly take part in Islamic terror tactics, outwardly support them, secretly support them, agree with their tactics, or sheepishly keep quiet and do nothing to stop them. There are very few indeed who actually do anything to fight them. As I see it, this all amounts to supporting terrorism, and religious or not it is still terrorism that needs to be squashed.

This phenomenon of supporting the terrorists either actively and outwardly, or by way doing nothing to stop them, is not one that is limited to those of the Islamic faith. There are many of other faiths, and of other belief systems such as atheism, who do likewise. In the case of those who are not Muslims, the strange thing about it is that they who do nothing are offering themselves up to these Islamic terrorists as the lambs ready for slaughter. With actual lambs, I can understand them coming willingly to be slaughtered. They just do not know better, they are dumb animals after all. With people, it should be another thing. We are, after all, beings with a higher intelligence. Isn't it then about time that we use our intelligence to recognize the threat before us, and then to neutralize the threat, to do away with it to the point where it is absolutely no longer a threat? I think so, and I am flabbergasted that the rest of the world apparently does not yet realize it is time to do so.

Of course there are some in the world who realize this, and who have gone at it with some determination. The current president of the USA is one person who has done so, but even he is swayed by public opinion from many who are squeamish about facing down our enemy; many who apparently have become so comfortable in their squeamish ways of life as to wish for nothing else than to close their eyes to the problem and hope it goes bye-bye. The truth of the matter is a bit different though. The problem is not a fantasy boogie-man, it is not a daydream or a nightmare - it is real and it wants us dead and out of the way. No matter how much you hide your head in the sand, the beast is still going to gleefully rip you apart if you are not willing to defend yourself. Hiding will not help, ignoring the problem will not help, trying to shift blame for the problem to others rather than those truly responsible will not help. The only thing that will help, is a swift, concentrated, effort to destroy the enemy. This effort may be bloody. It may well cause us great loss of life, but if done with an unflinching determination, well then it will cost our enemy more in our enemy's utter defeat. What we, as a nation need to do, is to literally stop being Mr. Nice Guy, and start allowing our military, our intelligence agencies, and our law enforcement to do what needs to be done regarding terrorism - that is to literally terminate our enemy in order to preserve ourselves. It is not just we who need to do so, it is the rest of the world that needs to realize such and join us in achieving this goal.

Now you may be wondering exactly what has brought on this rant at this particular time. Well, I submit to you that you read the following article: Al Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri Calls for Jihad in Somalia at FoxNews.com @ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,241739,00.html. While the title of the article can give you a good clue as to what prompted me to write this piece, let me point out a quote or two from the article that are of great significance:

"A Web video of Al Qaeda's No. 2 leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, surfaced Thursday and called on Muslims throughout the Middle East to wage a jihad against Ethiopian forces occupying Somalia."

Okay we have all heard stuff like this before, but as history will show, we have certainly not yet done enough to answer such a threat. These types of threats are made again and again, and for some reason we keep ignoring them, or at least act as they are not pertinent to us regarding our own survival. Several years ago, it was the USA who was the great Satan, and we were threatened. Then we were attacked. Then we responded with a counter attack, but apparently not with sufficient force or determination; you see if we had been sufficiently determined I am pretty certain we would have won by now. Much of the rest of the world hesitated to join us, and they who did also seemed to lack the necessary resolve to end the threat. While we have hesitated, while our allies have waffled, our Islamic enemy continued and continues to attack us, continues to attack our allies, continues to attack they who are neutral to us, and even continues to attack some of our enemies. Our Islamic enemies are not particular about who they attack, so long as their brand of Islam will win out in the end. That would be a brand of Islam that led to the attacks on 9/11, and that conquered and enslaved the population of Afghanistan. It is a brand of Islam that makes statements such as the following quote, words reported by the above linked article to be those of al-Zawahiri calling upon other Muslims to fight non-Islamists:

"You have to use ambushes and mines, and raids and suicidal attacks until you rend and eat your prey as the lion does with his prey,"

Read that, then think about it, then read it again and think some more about it. Then take a good look at a map of the world. When looking at that map try to think of all the countries on the map that have had: Muslim insurgencies, or Islamic terrorist attacks in the past 25 years, then go back 50 years, then keep going back to the birth of Islam. After you think of the ones that you can think of, then go to news archives of any major news reporting service and do a search for Islamic violence throughout the world. The amazing thing that I think you will discover is that Islam, seemingly since shortly after its inception, has been a religion that has sought to spread itself around the globe, and that it has consistently done so by violent means. Not only have they done so by violence, but the violence used is often extremely cruel and abhorrent in that it targets innocents instead of just other combative forces. Each time another group of people be it religious or national is conquered by Islam, it seems that the bodies of those who opposed Islam are piled high. Islam continues this today, it continues its apparent goal of world domination at any cost to those who oppose Islam, and don't get me wrong because by oppose I mean those who have different beliefs than do Islamists. You will not escape by hiding your head in the sand of your own belief system whatever that may be.

Since the track record of Islam seems to be the same for hundreds of years, you would think the rest of the world would have made some unified concerted efforts to stop the threat, yet such is not being done effectively. It really is time to not only say: 'No More Mr. Nice Guy'; it is time to get down to the nasty business of a real war, and attack and destroy our enemy's ability to destroy us. It is a matter of our survival. They, who are not Muslims, have realized this in Somalia and Ethiopia. Some, but few other nations are making at least a weak effort. Some of us in the USA have come to the same conclusion, but we are yet way too divided on the issue despite the continued ranting and worldwide violent actions of Islamic terrorists, and despite the acquiescence of the rest of Islam to stop them.

I don't know how to convince all of those threatened that if we do not terminate the threat, the threat will no longer be a threat, it will instead be a victory for our enemies, and we will be the defeated. I do know I can do my small part by giving you my thoughts on the matter here. You can do your part too, you too can try to wake up those who have buried their heads in the sand, give them a good figurative kick in their asses to bring them around to reality and remind them often of the enemy whose only goal seemingly is our conquest by conversion, or our destruction, at any cost.

All the best,
Glenn B

Reading The News Is Becoming a Chore...

...and not very enjoyable for me lately. It is not because I find it difficult to read because I now wear eyeglasses, nor that the news is boring or otherwise uninteresting. The fact of the matter is, that at least in my opinion, I find many of the news articles written today to be less than pleasurable to read because they are, in my opinion, written so poorly. Allow me to provide a link to an example of what I mean at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6230809.stm, which is a link to an article Somali militia 'still in hiding' appearing on the BBC.com. The article is, in essence, about the hunt by government forces for Islamists in Ethiopia and Somalia. It is a subject that interests me greatly, yet this article just had me shaking my head because of how it was written. Read it yourself, and see if you can guess what it is about this article that bothers me.

Done reading yet? Okay, if finished, now let me explain my discontent. The article is written in bullet format. Their is not a single paragraph from what I can see; instead there are bullets - or single sentences that give bits of stand alone information. Reports like that, ones that use a bullet format, are often used in government circles in order to quickly brief superiors about ongoing events. They are, or should be, backed up by in depth reports. Reports in the written news media should be, in my opinion, in depth reports, not bullet reports. Bullet reports just tend to show me a lack of writing ability on the part of the reporter, a lack of being able to cover a topic in depth, a lack of being able to take all the points of interest in an article and put them together in a story line that flows from one point to another in a connected, and literally well done, sort of way. This is usually done by writing in composition format, with liberal use of the invention called the paragraph. This is the type of article with which I am most comfortable, the type I find most enjoyable to read, and the type which seems to show that the author has actually used some literary skill to write.

Why is it, I wonder, that the media has turned toward use of bullet style reports is beyond me. Don't they think that more than a sentence or two at a time can hold the attention of the reader? Or is it that the crop of reporters and writers today find it difficult to write anything longer than a sentence at a time, that they cannot hold their train of thought long enough to connect things in a paragraph? I ask those questions in all seriousness. I mean, just look at the article to which I supplied the link, it is made up almost entirely one sentence length bullets. There is one, by my count, two sentence bullet - one part of that whole article that is longer than just a single sentence, and that part has a whopping two sentences! I think none of them even barely qualify as a paragraph.

Don't get me wrong; there are times that the bullet format should be used, but the time to use such a format is not, in my opinion, in a lengthy article or other composition. Bullet reporting is quite useful during time of emergency when all the niceties need to be cut away and the point needs to be reached immediately. Bullet style reporting is also great when there is limited space or time to report for reasons other than emergency; for example on radio news shows, on television news when some runs down the headlines, in print when their is limited space to report on a subject, and so forth. It just irks me when I see this type of reporting used on a daily basis in full length articles.

Of course not every news report is written like the one to which I linked, but all too many of them are being written like that, it seems to be a growing trend. It is certainly not just limited to articles found on the BBC either. I have read similar articles at CNN.com and at FoxNews.com, as well as in local newspapers. I don't know where the writers who write like this learned to write, but my bet is they did not get the same type of education that I was given by Dominican nuns in grammar school, and by Franciscan brothers in high school. Had I tried to hand in compositions written like this when I was in grammar school, or in high school, my knuckles would have been raw, and I would have stayed after class, each day for a week, writing compositions using paragraphs, in order to tell a story in a seemingly coherent and flowing format.

I guess times are changing, but my preferences will remain the same at least with regard to the styles of writing I prefer to read.

All the best,
Glenn B

God Has Spoken To Pat Robertson,...

...at least according to Pat Robertson. In what is claimed to have been a divine revelation, God has allegedly told Mr. Robertson of impending disaster in the USA in 2007. As per a report: Religious Broadcaster Pat Robertson Predicts Horrific Terrorist Attack on U.S. in 2007 at FoxNew.com @ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,240841,00.html, Mr. Robertson reportedly claimed that God told him there would be a terrorist attack in 2007 that would "result in "mass killing" late in 2007". Apparently God also told Mr. Robertson that "major cities and possibly millions of people will be affected by the attack". Of course he does not divulge the type of attack, such as will it be nuclear, biological, chemical or conventional; you would think God would have told him that important little bit of information so we could prepare; but I guess not.

The Fox article goes onto give Mr. Robertson’s track record, I believe only in part, as to his past predictions of, relative to when the predictions were made, future world events. For example they say that in 2004 he predicted that George W. Bush would "easily" defeat Kerry in the elections. Bush won a close one as I recall, but he did win. The thing is that I predicted that one myself, so did lots of other people, and I did it to the best of my knowledge without divine intervention. Heck I had a 50/50 chance, actually even better than that since Kerry was such a loser even before the elections.

The article also points out that Robertson predicted, in 2005, that George W. Bush would appoint conservative judges to the courts. Wow, was that really a prediction for which God had to waste his precious time in divulging the info. I mean, doesn't Pat Robertson think that God has a better way of spending his time than divulging such absolute no brainers to him. Then again, maybe that was not a divine revelation, maybe that was just a prediction that Pat Robertson made on his own. In which case, I would ask: doesn't Pat Robertson have a better way to spend his time than to predict absolute no brainers?

Mr. Robertson is quoted, in essence, as telling us that sometimes he misses in his predictions but has a good track record nonetheless. This comes right after the article tells us that Mr. Robertson got it wrong on a prediction about Social Security, him saying the president's version would be voted in, yet it was defeated. The article ends up telling us that Robertson also predicted storms, maybe a Tsunami would hit the U.S. coast in 2006. No Tsunami, but we did have storms on both coasts as I recall, even heavy ones. We also probably had storms even in Hawaii. Can you imagine that, storms hit our coastlines, and this was a prediction made by Mr. Robertson, this time again based upon divine revelation. It is mind boggling (at least to me) that God is telling things like this to Mr. Robertson isn't it? I mean aren't there many more important things that God should be telling him to tell us.

Now I will not suggest anything about the nature of these alleged revelations to Mr. Robertson, nor will I suggest anything about Mr. Robertson's character. I will let you decide on those things for yourselves. Yet, I will ask that if you wanted to build a track record on predictions, in order to suck in a lot more people and make them believe that God really communicates with you on a regular basis, for whatever ultimate goal, what would you do? Would you make a large number of predictions that were virtually sure things, like about an upcoming election result which the polls indicated, as I recall, would be won by the guy he predicted would win? Or more certain still would you predict that a conservative president would nominate/appoint conservative federal judges? Or maybe you would predict, with even more certainty still, that storms would hit our coastlines? Note that when predictions were made on things less certain like the outcome of the vote on Social Security, and about a Tsunami hitting our coastline, the predictions were wrong, about the only uncertain one was the election result for the presidency, and there was a 50/50chance there - either George W. Bush or someone else.

How does Mr. Robertson get over those seeming inaccuracies in his predictions? He basically says he has a good track record anyway! Well, wait a minute, what is he implying, if anything? The implication I see, or at least the conclusion at which I could arrive is that either: God is fallible, or that maybe God is giving incorrect information to Mr. Robertson (as in lying), or that Mr. Robertson is mistaken in his understanding of God’s word, or that Mr. Robertson is just plain full of himself!

You know, the prediction about the terrorist attacks in 2007 may come true. Then I suppose Mr. Robertson will inflate his chest, and say something like: 'You see, God told me so. God talks to me. I am special.’ Then the money probably will roll into his coffers more and faster than before. The thing is though that many have been predicting such a terrorist attack in the near future, many saying it will come this year - even me. A big terrorist attack may or may not come this year. Chances are, if the terrorists remain in business, and we remain their enemies, then yes another attack will come sooner or later. It will probably be horrific. It will probably affect many, many people. It has all been predicted by others, based upon less than divine revelation - just read the news each day, or look at reports from government agencies, and see what experts in the field have to say, and then listen to the terrorists themselves - their short term goal is a big attack.

No, predicting such does not require divine revelation, not for me, not for you, and not for Mr. Robertson. One has to wonder why God is using his divine time making predictions about things that we already expect to happen. I guess it is God's secret, just a divine mystery of faith, or at least a secret of Mr. Robertson's.

All the best,
Glenn B

So here I am...

...sitting in my office, on Tuesday January 2, 2007. When I got here today, I came in and went straight to my desk. I kind of noticed things were quiet around here. I figured some people were still burning up their use or lose vacation time, so it would be a light day. Then I went around to see some co-workers, and that is when it hit me - a feeling that somehow I was in a Twilight Zone episode. A few to 5 minutes walk revealed there was no one in more than half of the office (yeah took awhile, pretty big office). I started to wonder had I somehow come in on the 1st, the holiday, but I knew that was not right since I had stopped at my bank earlier in the day – heck there was that Twilight Zone music playing in my head again. I was a bit at a loss and was about to check with the office security guys who are always here, when I saw another agent. He clued me in, and man did I ever go suddenly from being in the zone to feeling like a loser. That was because the other agent told me today had been declared a National Day of Mourning for President Ford, meaning federal employees got the day off, to mourn - I guess.
I had been out on sick leave on Friday and had not gotten the word.

Oh well, far be it from me to waste each and every cent the tax payer is paying to me, I decided to stay and get some work done. Not many chances to have a workplace atmosphere like the one I have today - almost no one to pester me, and almost no one for me to pester. Maybe if I am lucky they will throw me a bone in the form of an alternate day off this week, that would be nice but I am not holding my breath waiting. So as it turns out, at least you have the consolation of knowing that at least two employees of ICE/DHS were at work today earning your tax dollars - me and the guy who told me we were supposed to be off. Now back to work for me...

All the best,Glenn B

Internet Sales...

...are something I would prefer to do rather than do Internet begging. I just cannot see myself posting a link to my PayPal account so that my readers, who feel in a giving mood, will send me money for nothing. Yeah, I guess I provide a sort of a service with this blog, but certainly not one worth your money. Besides that I don't need to beg, ask, or wish for it right now anyhow.

Instead of begging for money though, I do find myself, at times, willing to try to earn something by way of selling things I have on hand. No, not like in a business, just like in selling things which I own for which I have little use, or like in a hobby paying for itself. Sort of like selling your old gold clubs, or a painting you no longer want or never liked (but were stuck with until Aunt Ethel, who gve it to you, passed away), or something of which you have more than one and need only one, and so on. What I do is try to sell things to be able to fund my hobbies.

So, since I keep and breed snakes, I sell baby snakes, or try to do so. Since I keep and breed fancy mice, I would sell them to if I could find a buyer. I also like to go to tag sales (in essence estate sales, or complete contents of home sales - not garage sales) and buy things that catch my eye. Sometimes I keep em, sometimes I sell em so I can buy something else. I have also sometimes sold firearms, ones I no longer want for the most part, and in order to buy another. Now and again I sell something else I have on hand. I do not ever expect to become a millionaire by selling through online auction houses such as Ebay.com, GunBroker.com, or my own hobby related site http://hometown.aol.com/gbarthgwt/liherphobbyists.html (especially not that one since it has not produced a single sale for me in well over a year).

In order to get those sales accomplished, I use the above sites for the items I sell. Ebay is probably the best known of them. The thing I like about Ebay is just that, it is well known, therefore it is well used, and if you have good stuff for sale it usually sells quickly. The thing I do not like about Ebay is that they refuse to allow you to sell certain items through use of their service. For example, while I can sell many firearms accessories, and even some gun parts, via Ebay, I cannot sell a firearms using Ebay. Nor can I sell live animals over Ebay.

For firearms sales, heck for most firearms related sales, I use GunBroker.com. I used to also use AuctionArms.com, but to me, it seems GunBroker.com gets the job done better.

As you can see, for trying to sell baby snakes and such, I use my AOL homepage. Not much luck there, but there is lots of competition. I do better selling at local reptile shows, but sure don't sell many there either. Most of the snakes I have bred then are either traded or given away. This year though, I will have to pay some sales tax to NY State as I did sell a few snakes at the New York Metro Reptile Expo, in White Plains, NY. I probably owe the stae of NY about $15 - $20 in sales tax at about a .0850 tax rate (varies based on where the sale was made in the state). So, no I am not getting rich, but these sales, especially the sale of the baby snakes, do help me get money to fund my hobby -when I can sell them. I actually pay sales tax to NY State on most of the items I sell, like those baby snakes. I am not really in business; but in order to sell at the reptile expos, you are required by the show organizer to have a tax ID number, therefore the state winds up getting its bite. I am not too certain though that I am required to pay sales tax on personal items I sell on Ebay, such as the old text books I am trying to sell in order to recoup some money I spent at college over the past few years (yes old timers do go back to school just like Rodney Dangerfield). Heck, I was already taxed on the books, but I guess I'll have to check to see if I get double tapped.

Besides paying for the items I want to sell, and then paying taxes of the sale amount, I have to pay for auction listing fees, auction end of item fees (a commission based upon for how much the item sold) and so forth. It is not usually all that much, since I sell things that don't cost all that much. Registering for the auction sites is pretty easy. I also registered for payPal so i could send and accept payments by credit card, they act as a sort of credit card payment broker for those of us who do not hvae the ability to process credit card payments (to bad I cannot take or make payments on guns though them).

I am trying to sell some items right now. I have ongoing auctions at Ebay and at GunBroker, and I still have a couple of snakes for sale on my own site. If you are interested to see what I am selling, please go to these links:

My Auctions At GunBroker:
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/SellerAuctions.asp?User=26544

My Auctions At Ebay:
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZgbarthgwtQQhtZ-1

My Auctions at LI Herp Hobbyists:
http://hometown.aol.com/gbarthgwt/liherphobbyists.html

Of course, all of this also costs me my time, and effort, sometimes my gasoline and other travel money, but since it is a hobby sort of thing, and is fun for me, the expense is okay - especially if I recoup some of the expenses by selling something. Maybe someday I'll find that one in a million antique at a tag sale, and I'll make my million on Ebay or at Sotherbies, but I tend to doubt it.

All the best,
Glenn B

Here Is Wishing That

You Enjoy a Happy and Safe New Year

With Your Loved Ones

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