Brutally Honest

My nearby neighbors in Richmond could use your prayers

A couple of days ago, I wrote about our visit to Richmond on the Harleys.

Little would I know that less than 24 hours later, the very area that we visited in downtown Richmond, some of the very roads that we traversed on our way into and out of the city, would be devastated.

The Richmond Times Dispatch has a picture montage that I find incredible, especially when I realize that I was on or near some of these very streets just the day prior.

Pray for those affected and consider giving, if moved, to help.

Silver lining in a Hollywood cloud

Ron Silver's acting career is likely over:

Even though I am a well-recognized liberal on many issues confronting our society today, I find it ironic that many human rights advocates and outspoken members of my own entertainment community are often on the front lines to protest repression, for which I applaud them but they are usually the first ones to oppose any use of force to take care of these horrors that they catalogue repeatedly.

Under the unwavering leadership of President Bush, the cause of freedom and democracy is being advanced by the courageous men and women serving in our Armed Services.

The President is doing exactly the right thing.
That is why we need this President at this time!

I am grateful for the chance to speak tonight to express my support for our Commander-in-Chief, for our brave troops, and for the vital cause which they have undertaken.

And let's hope to see Ron Silver in a movie theatre, a sitcom or a television drama soon...

Hey Ron, Mel Gibson may have something for you, I understand he knows a thing or two about getting around the radicals in tinsel town.

Thanks to Owen at Boots & Sabers for the tip.

On a roll

I have found that having a growing blogroll leaves me little time to blog myself. It's something that the time manager in me will have to deal with in some form or fashion, and sooner rather than later.

But I confess that one person I will continue to go to regularly is David at Not Perfection.

He truly is a kindred spirit in many ways, but also someone with keen insights in two areas I find myself most interested in, politics and religion and he frequently blogs with both in mind.

Take his take on God and politics:the fallacy of the left:

No one of credible Christian faith claims to speak for God. The left’s fallacy is that if a person has faith in Christ, they must believe they speak for God when they invoke Christ or the Father. Nothing could be further from the truth. We all must turn our lives and our will over to God and try our best to understand his will for us. We are engaged in the world and cannot divorce ourselves from that involvement. When we act, we can believe we are acting as the Holy Spirit intends for us to act. This is not the same thing as faith. Our faith is the wellspring, our actions are the beliefs (as we understand them) we put into practice. Our faith may lead us to canvas for Kerry or canvas for Bush – such are the human filters of belief. It may very well be that God’s intention for individuals actually leads them in opposite directions such as this.

Something I don't understand but see every day. I know people I see to be close friends who are spiritual people, decent people yet, in my view, see things far differently than I do. And oh by the way, I see myself as a spiritual and decent person as well (albeit perhaps, like David, far less than perfect about either... and far less perfect about much more).

But I digress... the topic is David, and his being on a roll.

He has two posts on last night's speeches at the Republican convention.

This one excerpting Rudolph Giuliani's address:

I say that today more than ever: thank God that George Bush is our President. President George W. Bush has already earned a place in history as a great American President... We need George Bush now more than ever.

On September 11, we came face-to-face with people that hijacked not just airplanes, but a great religion...

Since September 11, President Bush has remained rock-solid. It didn't matter how they ridiculed him... they ridiculed Churchill... they ridiculed Ronald Reagan... I call it principled leadership. Put leadership at the core of our [election] decision.

And this one excerpting John McCain's address:

There is no avoiding this war; we tried that and we paid dearly... I commend to my country the reelection of President Bush.

He promised our enemies would soon hear from us, and so they did, so they did...

President Bush made the difficult decision to liberate Iraq... our choice wasn't between status quo and war.

The mission was necessary, achievable and noble. For his unflagging resolve, President Bush deserves not only our support, but our admiration...

I urge all of you who regularly visit, and those that stop by only once or twice, intentionally or by accident, to make Not Perfection a part of your regular reading habit... you will not regret it.

Just trust me... would I lie?

"It's like [bleepin'] 9/11 never happened."

It's been a long day after a short night and as much as I'd like to blog on current events, I don't have the energy...

... but Cox and Forkum say it better with pictures than I could with words anyway... Click on the image and see for yourself...

... and good night all.

Of Bikes, Barbecue, Bugs and Beauty

Mrs. Brutally Honest and I attended our first Harley Owners Group (H.O.G) National Rally, held in nearby ('bout 60 miles) Richmond.

Of course getting there and back was half the fun. Although coming back was a bit more fun than getting there.

Joe, a coworker (and flaming liberal... hates Bush... thinks Michael Moore has something to say... etc) met us at Charles City (about halfway to Richmond) on Route 5 and escorted us the rest of the way in. The problem? Joe's been bikin' for considerably longer than the Mrs. and I and he rode a tad faster than we were accustomed. We were literally, at times, hanging on for dear life. He was leading the way, and Mrs. BH was between he and I. He finally got the message that we weren't happy about going so fast when I fell back about half a mile or so and simply refused to go along like a... a... well... a moonbat outta hell.

Heh.

Anyway, Joe (I do like the guy, there isn't anyone friendlier, despite his liberal leanings) took us on a mini-tour of Richmond before leading us to the fairgrounds where the Rally was being held.

There we saw, literally, a sea of Harleys. Lined up in rows as far as you could see. Literally thousands of Harleys. A thing of beauty.

We paid our fees at the gate and said goodbye to Joe. He rides a Moto Guzzi and isn't an official H.O.G. member and this event was a members only thing... Joe was feeling a little like Michael Moore at a Bush rally... so I don't think he minded high-tailing it out of there.

Heh.

We checked out the traveling Harley museum, a private collection of vintage Bikes, booth after booth of Harley paraphernalia, a stunt show (really wild) and we ate fair food (jumbo barbecue, mega-sized order of fries and of course, a diet coke).

A few hours later, we found our way to the Rollin' on the River Street Party, found Joe once more hangin' out at the Blues stage listening to a good (and talented) friend of his, and had a Strawberry Smoothie before hitting the road for home.

It was on the way home that we encountered the majestic beauty of a full moon rising in the east, framed between the trees lining either side of Route 5, as the sun set behind us. If you can picture a country lane, at dusk, the wind in your face, the sky crystal clear and blue, the love of your life on her bike in your rear view mirror and the rumble of a Road King Classic's powerful Twin V's between your legs... well... I think it's the closest thing to heaven this side of... um... heaven.

Oh... the bugs... yes, I referenced that in the title of the post.

What of the bugs you say?

Well... there is a downside to biking.

We left Richmond within an hour of sunset. Unfortunately, taking the scenic route home meant that we'd be on the road longer than an hour. It soon became quite dark on the Colonial Parkway.

As you're probably aware, bugs are largely nocturnal, which for those of you who sing paeans to Michael Moore's intelligence, means they come out at night.

Oh do they come out at night.

Today, Mrs. Brutally Honest and I spent a great deal of time cleaning the bugs off of the windshield (some call it a bugshield and now I know why), the front forks, the crash bars, the headlights, etc, etc.

I guarantee we killed thousands of bugs last night and this doesn't count the hundreds that bounced off of our helmets, legs, arms, etc.

The Harley and her rider. Weapons of mass destruction to the bug community. I understand they've petitioned the UN to send inspectors and have asked Bush to send troops.

Heh.

The Definition of Sick - A 9/11 Toy

This leaves me speechless:

Small toys showing an airplane flying into the World Trade Center (search) were packed inside more than 14,000 bags of candy and sent to small groceries around the country before being recalled.

Lisy Corp. (search), the wholesaler that distributed the candy, said Friday that the toys were purchased in bulk from a Miami-based import company.

The toys came in an assortment purchased sight unseen from L&M Import (search) in Miami and included the toys depicting the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the twin towers, whistles and other small toys, said Luis Pedron, Lisy's national sales manager. The invoice said the toy was a plastic swing set.

"I hate to blame the importer. He probably did not know what he was getting. He brings them in 40-foot containers. But whoever made it knew exactly what they were making," Pedron said.

Pedron said Lisy did not notice the small plastic figurines until two people complained, but there is no mistaking what the toys represent: At the bottom of each is the product number 9011.

Whomping Willow: You can lead John to school...

Don't miss this butt Whomping.

Trust me, just don't.

CitizensUnited.Org - A must visit

The good people at Times Against Humanity have turned me on to CitizensUnited.Org and more specifically, their Interactive Media Center page.

Do go there now and check out their ads.

The John Kerry - Priceless ad is... well... priceless.

What are you waiting for? Go... now...

Cox & Forkum: HaTikvah

Cox and Forkum give tribute to the first Olympic God medal for Israel.

We've created a lot of cartoons on the negative aspects of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. We wanted to create a cartoon on a positive note for a change. Our congratulations to Fridman and Israel for its first Olympic gold medal.

A very, very cool thing.

Click on the cartoon and go read their entire post.

John Kerry - Finagler

Reynolds, The BlogmasterJam of the Blogosphere made me chuckle with this post referencing this Bob Novak column.

Opines Reynolds:

"KERRY REQUESTED A PURPLE HEART," says Admiral Schachte. The wound was accidentally self-inflicted, he says. ("'Kerry nicked himself with a M-79 (grenade launcher),' Schachte said in a telephone interview from his home in Charleston, S.C. He said, 'Kerry requested a Purple Heart.'")

That's not malfeasance or anything, but it certainly plays to his image as an opportunist who worked the system to get out of combat as soon as possible. ("John Kerry, reporting for duty -- until I can finagle a way out of here!")

That pretty much sums John Kerry up for me.

And we want this guy for our commander in chief?

Not I.

You?