This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Author: Zero Ponsdorf

  • A puzzle! Maybe YOU can be a congresscritter?

    If you can figure this out I’d sure vote for you.

    This is via Drudge and I suspect most readers/commenters here have seen it, but it begs many questions that the TAH gang might be able to explain. I sure can’t!

    The super rich pay a lot less taxes than they did a couple of decades ago, and nearly half of U.S. households pay no income taxes at all.

    I highlighted the kicker.  Of course the tax exempt AP is trying to make a different point.  Those damn rich people and all that.

    Speaking of work… half of the U.S. household have no income? Seems to me either a bunch of folks are not working, OR they’re simply taking advantage of the same sort of things The Rich do?

    I’m a disabled Vet, and I’m paying a mortgage. OUR household pays Federal Taxes… What are we doing wrong?

  • Ramps…

    Just a note from the hills of WV.  Jonn will not likely get any of this since he’s a carpet-bagger.

    But this time of year two thing light up MY life.

    The first is the humble ramp. This is a simple sort of flora that will clear your head. Consider every non-pepper spicy thing you’ve ever eaten, then add The Ramp. I dunno if  it’s just a local thing, but I do know that over several decades here  only a very few non-hillbillies knew the name.

    Earlier today I was enjoying the scent of the wild onion. The Ramp is simply indescribable to the uninitiated.

    Then there’s The Morell.  Poems have been written about this one.

    So, spring means something here on my geezer ridge.

    YMMV

    A few ramps and a few Morels in a skillet with a bit of real butter will change your life. If you can find them?

  • For All of Us.

    A tune done by a FB friend and brother Nam vet. Oh yeah… Marine.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0I1lvmQTUU&NR=1

  • A’stan Bases – Policy or Missed Opportunity?

    Bill Roggio over at The Long War Journal has a post up that highlights something interesting.

    The Taliban have occupied a combat outpost abandoned by US troops in the eastern province of Kunar, and claim they will set up a headquarters there.

    In a video taken by Al Jazeera, a heavily armed group of Taliban fighters is seen marching up a road in the Pech River Valley. The fighters do not appear concerned about being targeted by Afghan or US ground or air forces.

    The Taliban group is then filmed inside what appears to be a combat outpost; HESCO barriers, sandbags, and other artifacts from ISAF forces are seen in the background.

    This could just be Taliban propaganda, but still raises questions. As several of the comments there note; this would seem a perfect opportunity the play Whack-a-Mole?

    A rather obvious question (even for 7th century goat lovers?) is WHY are there no sensors or other forms of monitoring left in place when our guys pull out. And maybe not booby traps (innocent 7th century goat lovers?), but some sort of remote demo as well?

  • Oh Boy

    I have mixed feelings about this Beeb story.

    A member of parliament from an Islamic party which promoted anti-pornography legislation has resigned after being caught watching porn in parliament.

    For one thing, I kinda like entertaining the idea that one of our congresscritters would do the same.  Imagine one of ours caught?? This dude stood up and took credit for his sin.  The dancing going on in DC would be bizarre.  This perp did say:

    “I will continue to work for my party. I’m also going to continue to better myself, by repentance, reading the Koran and asking for guidance.”

    I don’t give a rat’s ass about how some Islamic weenie might react.  I’d settle for most members of Congress simply swearing allegiance to The Constitution in public? Oh yeah, they’d have to actually read it.

  • Er, um, mumble…

    Bob Dylan to rock Vietnam in special concert.

    The iconic American folk singer and songwriter was set to play a special concert in the former Saigon on Sunday evening, where he’s expected to belt out some of his classic anti-war tunes, nearly 36 years after the Vietnam War ended.

    Dylan’s music during that tumultuous era helped define a generation, touching thousands of young people who took to the streets demanding that Washington stop the war in Vietnam.

    Maybe he’ll have Jane Fonda as a go-go dancer too?

    Added:  Rather than attempt to reply in the comments, I choose to amplify here.

    Whatever Dylan’s personal beliefs might have been a fact is that some of his music became anti-war anthems. However, much a like a gun and it’s wielder, there can be a disconnect of note.  He DID have the option of standing up and decrying their use had he chose to do so.

    Come you masters of war
    You that build the big guns
    You that build the death planes
    You that build all the bombs
    You that hide behind walls
    You that hide behind desks
    I just want you to know
    I can see through your masks.

    You that never done nothin’
    But build to destroy
    You play with my world
    Like it’s your little toy
    You put a gun in my hand
    And you hide from my eyes
    And you turn and run farther
    When the fast bullets fly.

  • Just a glimmer, but…

    Hico man acquitted in Westboro Baptist spitting trial

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Fayette County man was acquitted Friday of battery charges for spitting on a member of the Westboro Baptist Church during a protest outside a Catholic church last year.Billy Spade of Hico told the jurors that as the son of a deceased coal miner, he was offended by protesters holding signs that said “Thank God for dead coal miners.”

    But it was the sign that said “Thank God for dead Marines” that sent him over the edge.

    A roadside bomb killed a friend whom he looked upon as a little brother while he was serving as a Marine in Afghanistan, Spade said. So he took aim at Shirley Phelps-Roper’s sign and spat at it.

    Sometimes we hillbillies do the right thing.

    Senior Assistant City Attorney Gene Webb, who served as a prosecutor during the trial, told the jury to ignore Westboro’s message and focus on the act of spitting.

    “We have a victim who, I assure you, no one in the city agrees with [her] message,” he said, “but the Constitution of the United States protects their right to free speech, no matter how despicable it might be.”

    In defense of Spade, Kanawha County Public Defender George Castelle said Phelps-Roper’s actions and signs were carefully calculated to goad others into responding.

    “They were signs designed to make [Spade] angry. They were signs designed to provoke him,” he said. “They got what they wanted because they invited it.”

    Castelle noted that the counter-protesters, who numbered between 50 and several hundred, applauded Spade as he calmly left the scene with police officers.

    “Billy Spade is not a criminal,” Castelle said. “If anything, he’s a hero.”

    The jury deliberated for less than an hour before returning its not-guilty verdict to Municipal Judge Ann Charnock.

    Sadly, in light of the SCOTUS decision this is probably NOT over.

    [added] Looking at the comments I have to offer a further reminder akin to what Susan noted.  Nullification is a local phenomenon. This particular case has been de Facto  decided by SCOTUS. The civil/tort issues are way out of my purview.

  • Staying in Iraq?

    Gates: U.S. troops could stay in Iraq for years

    It would depend, he said, on what the Iraqis want and what Washington is willing to give.

    Time will tell, but there certainly are precedents. Personally, I dunno if it’s a good idea, or would even have a point. Said another way… Just what would keeping an even smaller force in Iraq accomplish? Who would it deter?

    In Korea the phrase ‘tripwire’ has been used with some accuracy, for instance. In Iraq I’m afraid ‘target’ would be the word?

    Gates added: “Well, I think that would be part of any negotiation,” Gates answered, “… whether it would be for a finite period of time, whether it would be negotiated that there be a further ramp down over a period of two or three years, or whether we would have a continuing advise-and-assist role that we have in a number of countries that just becomes part of a regular military-to-military relationship.”

    Let’s hope the NCA can approach any negotiations with a clearer focus than the recent past might suggest.

    Uncle Jimbo at Blackfive has weighed in.