Brutally Honest

Suicide bomber a handicapped child

This is beyond evil:

Iraq’s interior minister said Monday that insurgents used a handicapped child as one of the suicide bombers who launched attacks on election day.

Falah al-Naqib told reporters in Baghdad that 38 attacks were carried out on polling stations in Iraq on Sunday and that one of the suicide bombings was carried out by a disabled child.

“A handicapped child was used to carry out a suicide attack on a polling site,” al-Naqib said. “This is an indication of what horrific actions they are carrying out.”

He gave no other details about the attack, but police at the scene of one the Baghdad blasts said the bomber appeared to have Down Syndrome.

If this is confirmed to be true, it's the most despicable thing imaginable. 

Iraqis are giving the Main Stream Media the finger

While Scrappleface reports things as they truly are:

Iraqi Voting Disrupts News Reports of Bombings

(2005-01-30) -- News reports of terrorist bombings in Iraq were marred Sunday by shocking graphic images of Iraqi "insurgents" voting by the millions in their first free democratic election.

Despite reporters' hopes that a well-orchestrated barrage of mortar attacks and suicide bombings would put down the so-called 'freedom insurgency', hastily-formed battalions of rebels swarmed polling places to cast their ballots -- shattering the status quo and striking fear into the hearts of the leaders of the existing terror regime.

Hopes for a return to the stability of tyranny waned as rank upon rank of Iraqi men and women filed out of precinct stations, each armed with the distinctive mark of the new freedom guerrillas -- an ink-stained index finger, which one former Ba'athist called "the evidence of their betrayal of 50 years of Iraqi tradition."

Journalists struggled to put a positive spin on the day's events, but the video images of tyranny's traitors choosing a future of freedom overwhelmed the official story of bloodshed and mayhem.

UPDATE: From around the 'sphere.

Smash:

WE WHO LIVE in the bright light of Liberty have an obligation, to stand up for those who are struggling to escape from the shadow of Tyranny.

We ignore this obligation at our own peril.

Vanderleun:

The Continuing American Revolution in an Age of Globalization. Over 200 Years Old. Still Freeing Slaves.

RightThinkingGirl:

Continuing on his sourpuss theme, John Kerry said on NBC's "Meet The Press", "It is hard to say that something is legitimate when whole portions of the country can't vote and doesn't vote."

Early reports indicate that the Iraqi turnout is about that of the American turnout was on November 2. Somebody should tell that to John Kerry.

The reason for all this negativity on what is one of the greatest days of Iraqi history is one of the great mysteries of the Democratic party. They have set themselves up so that good news for the USA is bad news for them, and bad news for the USA is good news for them. The success of the vision of George W. Bush for a free, democratic Iraq is a crushing defeat to their anti-war stance. Free Iraqis would invalidate almost every argument they've given for not going to war in the first place. Yet if Democrats had their way, Saddam would still be in power today. Instead of exercising their democratic rights, it would be business as usual in Iraq: mass graves, torture, and terror.

This is not just a great day for Iraq. It's a great day for America - and for George W. Bush.

Let's Try Freedom:

I think we may just be winning.

Uptown  Girl:

From tears to laughter the joy of the Iraqi people cannot be denied as they make history by casting their votes in their first free election.

Stones Cry Out:

It's a glorious morning. The news from Iraq is better than I think anyone, even the Bush administration, expected. I'm about to leave for Sunday service, but Kerry is on Meet the Press. Both Russert and Senator Kerry still don't get it... Iraqis get it... Their neighbors are getting it... When will the left get it?

Think Sink:

Amen, brothers, amen.

God Bless Iraq!!!

Death to tyranny, long live freedom!!!

Day by Day - Chris Muir:

Cranky NeoCon:

No doubt those people praying for a Tet offensive or writing the whole thing off as an American Imperial misadventure will be unswayed. But today, something in the neighborhood of 65% of the 14 million eligible voters just told the world that they want democracy.

Today, I am going to be a misty-eyed optimist. Tomorrow, I'll probably read that over seven million Iraqis are actually CIA operatives.

A Political ad with meaning

In some tangible way, this ad playing on Iraqi TV, ought to speak to all of us:

An Iraqi Elections Broadcast

The following is an Iraqi election broadcast that was broadcast on Al-Arabiya (Dubai), January 2, 2005. An old man rounding a corner into an alleyway looks up and sees young, masked militants facing him down. A couple joins the old man. Slowly, more and more people join the old man. Voiceover: On January 30, we meet our destiny and our duty. We are not alone, and we are not afraid. Our strength is in our unity; together we will work and together prevail. Those joining the man now outnumber the militants. He nods and they move forward. The militants run away. Written on screen: Don't worry about Iraq. We are its people. We will allow no one to deprive us of our rights. For the building of Iraq: Peace, freedom and democracy. The heroes of Iraq. With props to Mike at Cold Fury.  Is Ted Kennedy listening?

Crash Survivor {heart}s Family and Privacy

A not so final farewell... thank God:

He thought he was going to die.

He was having trouble breathing. As he lay wedged under a train seat and metal debris, with whatever energy he could summon and a heartbreaking economy of words, he scrawled a farewell in blood on the seat. "I {heart} my kids. I {heart} Leslie," he printed. The blood ink seemed to be running out as he got to the second sentence.

...

Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Carlos Calvillo said he understood why even strangers were moved.

"The fact that this guy in this situation had the amount of love he had for his family, and for him to realize 'I'm possibly going to die here' — how could any words explain it?" asked Calvillo, who watched as one of the rescuers speaking before the cameras choked up during his account of John's rescue.

"That moved firefighters as big and tough as we are," Calvillo said. "We're big teddy bears. It tremendously affected the guys in the 27th."

As it ought to.  Life is too short.  I seem to be getting regular reminders of late.  Hug your kids, love your wife, you really never know when it might be the last time.

Thursday night we attended the memorial service for our old neighbor's daughter-in-law.  In a moving testament of love and of God's presence, the husband left behind spoke movingly of his wife and how much she meant to him.  And he spoke eloquently of his anger at God (now passed) and of opportunities we are all given to love our loved ones.  He moved me.  As did this story of a train wreck survivor.

Life really is too short.  Are we making the most of it?

Everything you wanted to know...

... about Brutally Honest, and more than you probably cared to.

Check out Jennifer's History and Stuff and her interview (supposedly with reader questions) of yours truly.

I will entertain followup questions from one and all.  Just post them here in the comments section.

Does this not say it all?

Cox & Forkum: Open Season.

All you wanted to know...

... about yours truly, and perhaps more, will soon be up over at Jen's place.  I believe my interview gets posted on Friday.

Stay tuned.

They don't make 'em like this anymore.

A classic has moved on to what I only hope is his great reward.

Johnny Carson is dead:

Carson died this morning in Malibu, California, his nephew Jeff Sotzing told the Associated Press, without giving further details. NBC News reported Carson died of emphysema.

I can remember staying up with my Dad on occasion in my teens to watch Jonny Carson.

My dad was pretty crazy about the man and I found myself looking forward to those nights that I could stay up and watch Johnny with him.  He never failed to get us laughing.

And I continued to look forward to those rare times that I could stay up late and watch his show.  I would especially love his Carnac the Magnificent bits and thought that he was most funny when his monologue jokes would fall short or something would go wrong (apparently) with one of his many skits.

Of course, he had his share of marriages that fell short or went wrong as well.  Married 4 times, with each divorce seemingly costing him millions of dollars, Carson frequently made light of his marital problems and the money he spent to support his ex-wives, yet he did it in a way that I thought never belittled them.

He was, as they say, a class act.

Rest in peace Johnny.

UPDATE:  Lileks on Carson, as only Lileks can:

Lost in all the eulogies this week, I think, will be recognition of how unhip the Tonight Show was for a while. Not Lawrence-Welk unhip; it always had enough residual Vegas swank to keep it from becoming a relic from the grandpa demographic. But what had seemed cosmopolitan and urbane to a kid was fossilized and irrelevant to the know-it-all 18 year old. Everything had changed for you, but nothing had changed for them. The drunk jokes. Hi-yo. Doc’s fashion sense. Remarks about the band’s wild ways, or Tommy Newsome’s impassivity. Ed fargin’ Ames throwing the tomahawk – was it funny because he planted it the yarbles, or because it resembled homo erectus? Both? That was still funny, but you had to sit through a lot to get there. Get out of your car, cut off your Slausen – if you smiled at that, it was because you remembered how cool you felt the first time you knew that line was coming. But it wasn’t hip. Saturday Night Live was hip. SNL was now and the Tonight Show was most definitely then. Carson always did that golf swing. No one you knew golfed.

There's more... go read it all.

Faux VW Polo Ad - Offensive? Tasteless?

This one is making the rounds and some think it to be tasteless, crass, inappropriate, insulting, etc.

I think some people need to lighten up.

I find it incredibly funny and damned poignant.  If only we could ship an entire fleet of these things to the Islamofascists world-wide.

Take a peek and decide for yourselves.

H/T to Matt at BlackFive.

Much todo about... what exactly?

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on the evolution/creation science debate going on in Cobb County, a debate centered on whether the following disclaimer placed in science books (in the form of a sticker) violates the establishment clause of the 1st amendment:

"This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered."

I'm no legal scholar but at first glance I don't see anything wrong with the disclaimer. I don't see where religion is even mentioned or referenced. I'm not sure I understand what the fuss is all about.

My friend Tom Graffagnino however, as is his style, has yet another poetic, and once again poignant, take on events:

"Ashtar's Lucky Mudders"
              or
("Macro-cadabra Fantasy")


Remove your shoes, son....
    Show some reverence.
Shhh!...
    This is where it all began!
Bow your head and tip-toe softly
Around this "Tree of Life", young man.


Take a deep breath, ...
   It's just Awesome!
Behold! Life's Holy Sacred Tree!
'Twas rediscovered, lad, by Darwin,
(But looks like Ashtar's Pole, to me!)


Today it's catalogued and studied,
Poked and stroked now endlessly....
Mother Oak of All Creation,
For Rising Saps! .....Fertility!


Today we call it Flawless Science,
'Cause Science like this can't be wrong!
If you're smart, son, you'll keep quiet...
If you're wise, ...
     Just play along.


Way down here...
     See, at the bottom?
Where the Trunk springs from the Earth,
Science-Priests call that "Ground Zero",
Where by Chance The Zoo was birthed.


Just one Itsy-Bitsy Microbe,
An Eentsy-Teentsy Protoplast,
That appeared...Alive! ....from nowhere!
It's Mama?....
Random Natural Gas.

They're not sure how that all happened,
But they're convinced that it's all true!
Maybe lightning struck a puddle?
BIG BANG! plus Time.....
     Turned into you!"

            *  *  *  *

They figured that out when they studied
Peppered Moths well-camouflaged,
That some guy glued to a tree trunk...
A Priestly Science Decoupage.

            *  *  *  *

Ashtar's now been Resurrected!
Come dance around her Sacred Pole!
Bough before her.....
   What's your pleasure?
Ahhh! ...Pagan Rites from days of old!


See Lab Dancers in High Places,
The Sacred Groves of Evo-Priests,
Conjure up their Evo-Magik...
Macro-cadabra !.........
Evo-Beasts!


Son, ...We're truly Lucky Mudders!
Watching Priests wish clay to life!
(Kinda sounds like an Old Story
About a Man... and Eve, his wife.)

           *   *   *   *

Yes, that's Darwin's "Tree of Life", son.
Disney World's the place to be!
Sacred Grove of Mick and Minnie...
The Magik Kingdom's Fantasy!


Look more closely in those branches...
Look way up high...most carefully.
See!? There's Goofy chasing Pluto!
And Tinker toying now with Smee!

But never mind those odd distractions!
It's really REAL, son,...
  It's all true!
This Disney-Darwin Tree's fantastic!
(And meanwhile.....
    Ashtar beckons you!)


Look!!  My Word!
......The Headless Horseman!
Did you see him wink and nod?
He's no Airhead!...
......He loves Darwin!..
And right behind him?....
Ichabod!

            *  *  *  *

There! Voila!...... Your Science Lesson!
Ain't Macro-Evolution neat!?
Magik Kingdom's Lucky Mudders!
By Time and Chance...
...We're made complete!

              *   *   *  *

So, God's Glory's now departed...
Sunk deep beneath the sediment.
Mankind's really nothing special ...
Fortuit-US...
Mere accidents!


There's no Plan, Design or Purpose...
Darwin's Creation Myth still stands.
See that Grin up in the branches?.....
.......The Cheshire Cat in Wonderland.

                 *   *   *   *

Lord, when hearts are born in darkness,
Should we really be surprised...
That we would hide from our Creator,
And shun your Word for Ashtar-Lies?


Lord , we thank you for Your Mercy,
Your Tree of Life... the Rugged Cross,
And the Grace You shed upon us...
Forgiveness at such awe-full cost!

---

    "Since scientists can never prove a particular scenario of human evolution...All these trees of life with their branches of our ancestors, that's a lot of nonsense." --Mary Leakey


     "[evolutionary naturalists]...have not a well-supported scientific theory but a form of magic that masquerades as scientific theory...This form of magic is the view that something can be gotten from nothing...The transformation of nothing into something may involve minor expenditures of effort. For instance, the magician may need to utter 'abracadabra' or 'hocus pocus', likewise the Darwinian just-so stories that attempt to account for complex, information-rich biological structures are incantations that give the illusion of solving a problem but in fact merely cloak ignorance....We have become so accustomed to this something for nothing way of thinking that we no longer appreciate just how deeply magical it is." --Prof. William Dembski (mathematician/ philosopher, Baylor University)

                                            *   *   *   *    *    *

    "It is absurd for the evolutionist to complain it is unthinkable for an admittedly unthinkable God to make everything out of nothing, and then pretend that it is more thinkable that nothing should turn itself into everything."--GK Chesterton

                                               *  *  *  *


    "In the beginning God...." --(Genesis 1: 1a...)