A present selecting tip...

Apropos of nothing, here's a present choosing tip from B. B.

Man was going to a do for a 15 year old girl. Rather than take a guess at a present for the guest of honor, he went to Tiffany's and asked, "When the 15 year old girls come in here and exchange their presents, what is it that they want instead of what they were given?"

It would work at Target just as well.

One more from the littermate...

"Even when there were problems, I always learned something. Even if it was only something about myself. And it's not like I was left on the curb, well that one time but only four blocks from the house, and that was my fault, I wasn't paying attention. All in all, it was good for both of us."

Talking about the car she left behind her...

Getting into the war...

"This is where the real war is, a war worth fighting. I've never been to Afghanistan and I'm not going to Iraq. But they don't seem to be places that matter, not to me. Maybe, just possibly, we can win a war in Iraq, but sure as hell we're losing the war at our doorstep. You go up to the top of the block and look around. From that roof, you can see power and Parliament, you'll see where all the big people make their money... But if you look down by your feet, you'll see where the war is."

I've given some thought to trying to get directly into the Moslem war. I don't think I'd be much use, but there could be some way that I'd free up a real Marine to fight. But 37 is the sign up cutoff, and that's history for me.

But I've been realising that there are lots of wars going on, and that the one I'm in is still important. More important than the Moslem war, and essential to it. The greatest danger to any people is still tyranny. The Moslems can't conquer us. But our own domestic enemies can. I directly fight, or at least irritate, a major domestic enemy, crime. Crime is an insurgency, too. As criminals control more and more people's lives, all our liberties decrease. And crime will be a basis for our domestic enemies to impose more and more direct limits on us.

Moslems aren't killing, raping, robbing, and oppressing tens of thousands of us every year. Americans are doing that. I cannot imagine the level of peace and freedom and security we could have built at home for a tenth of the trouble and money we've spent on foreigners who hate us already, and who always will.

Just to start with, we could have built and staffed enough prisons so that we could honestly say, "If you kill, rape, rob, or burgle an American, we have a place for you."

Aaaanyway, what got me thinking about this again was the above quoted passage in a book, "Rat Run", a novel by Gerald Seymour, who is a marvellous observer. He has a social worker in a housing project say that, and it's true.

I finally got to say it!

I was in a bail hearing. I looked outside at the snow, and there was no way to stop...

"Your honor might want extra security in the court room."

"Why, General?"

"Because if these defendants get loose, we'll never catch them...

they have chains on!"

Thank you, I'm here all week. Be sure and tip your waiters.

Thank you SondraK, for the referral! I'll post daily, I promise!

My Littermate and condoms...

There are sixish billion people in the world. Although each is unique, not many can be the MOST of anything- fastest, stupidest, best dish washer, whatever.

My littermate is the world's largest....

volume buyer of condoms!

Alas, as she would ruefully say, not for personal use. But still, it's a distinction.

Vive Herouxville!

Non, you can't burn or stone women here!

The Herouxville standards.