Last year i had this New Year's Eve message for you all:

What a year it's been. i almost hate to see 2004 go. But it's time to celebrate an even more exciting year to come. Wow, 2005 already!

Have a great NYE everybody! Be safe. You know the drill: designate a driver and don't forget to bundle up when you're out in the weather. Don't want to start the year off with a nasty cold.

Thanks for all your many kindnesses this past year, and for just stopping by to read my nonsense. i love you all and i'll see you next year!

i think 2006 will be a lot more exciting, both personally and for current events to write about. Good luck to all of you in the new year too! i look forward to continuing this electronic relationship we got going.

Until next year!

XOXO

Posted by: annika at 06:57 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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1 Happy New Year to you, too! And I'm glad that your bandwidth allocation was increased. I'd list this accomplishment on your resume (right below your target shooting results).

Posted by: Ontario Emperor at December 31, 2005 09:29 PM (c8fdo)

2 Happy new year, and may the Golden Calf of Borneo wave its mystical tail over your lovely head.

Posted by: Kyle N at January 01, 2006 05:01 AM (1tnBV)

3 An electronic hug and kiss? Blech, tastes funny.

Posted by: Casca at January 01, 2006 12:48 PM (2gORp)

4 Happy new year, darlin'!

Posted by: Hugo at January 01, 2006 01:00 PM (Yu24L)

5 Happy New Year, dude. Kevin

Posted by: Kevin Kim at January 01, 2006 02:06 PM (1PcL3)

6 Happy New Year, Annika!

Posted by: Tuning Spork at January 01, 2006 07:34 PM (oEIFu)

7 Happy 2006, annika!

Posted by: d-rod at January 01, 2006 11:24 PM (amgi+)

8 Ake ome, Annika! [Happy New Year!]

Posted by: Amy Bo Bamy at January 04, 2006 07:16 AM (Wz2Gp)

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Starting tomorrow, California teens will be subject to two new laws.

Thanks to the passage of Assembly Bill 646, children can no longer put holes in their heads without parental permission. The measure by Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, R_Lancaster, bans body piercing of a minor without a parent being present or sending notarized consent.

Assembly Bill 1474 Bans new teenage drivers, their first year, from driving between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. unless accompanied by an adult 25 or older or traveling to school, work or to a medical appointment.

On the other hand, you can still kill a baby anytime you want without telling anyone, so it's not all bad news for the kids. And really, it's all about the kids ain't it?

Posted by: annika at 05:23 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Seems like the blog was gone for a while. We're back now.

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Dear Peter Jackson.

i love what you guys are doing with claymation these days, but three hours of watching a monkey grimace is a bit much, don't you think?

your fan,

annika

p.s. i mean, there's only so many ways an ape can make a sad face, you know what i mean? Geez, Roddy McDowell figured that out back in the seventies.

thanks again,

annie

p.p.s. The dino stampede was nice, but Spielberg already did one. Remember? Plus, i don't think a .45 caliber tommy gun is going to do much against a velociraptor, let alone a brontosaurus an apatosaurus, except make it madder.

luv ya,

a

p.p.p.s. Me again. Sorry, i just don't get the whole "girl loves monkey" thing. You know, Adrian Brody may not be the handsomest dude out there, but he does have a certain charm. At the very least, a cute blonde with a nice figure like Naomi Watts, shouldn't have to settle for a simian.

nika

p.p.p.p.s. i thought about my last p.s. and i should have added that i did find myself having feelings for the big furry primate by the end of the deal. Why'd you have to kill him?

byee

p.p.p.p.p.s. Who knew Jack Black could carry a whole picture? Oh, and if you wanted to cast Nicole Kidman, but she was unavailable, you couldn't have found a better facsimile than Naomi Watts. There were moments when i thought i was looking at Nicole for a second. Interesting that the two of them grew up in Australia and are actually close friends.

yours truly,

nika

p.p.p.p.p.p.s. The biplanes looked totally fake. It kind of ruined it for me. Biplanes move a lot slower in real life than you showed them. Maybe most people wouldn't notice that, but i'm kind of a biplane nut.

ceeya,

babs

p.p.p.p.p.p.p.s. i swear this is the last one. i thought the original KK was overrated. i've actually heard it referred to as the "greatest American film" ever, which is ridiculous. Like nobody's made a better movie since 1933? Come on. Your remake certainly was better. And you outdid the De Laurentiis version too. (But then De Laurentiis's sucked.) In all honesty Peter, i think you are a modern day DeMille. Keep making epics, you're good at them. i'll keep seeing them.

This King Kong was like three movies in one. The first hour was a trip through depression era New York. Nicely done. i love imagining what different periods of history looked like, and you really brought it alive for me.

The second hour was an action thriller, with monsters and lots of creepy-crawlies. It was fun, although it almost succumbed to the "Temple Of Doom" syndrome (too much action) in places. Not to worry though, i figured i could afford to miss at least one perilous escape to go relieve my bladder, and i was right.

The third act was the tragedy. No surprises there, and it may have been the weakest part of the movie. Like i said, the whole gorilla - blonde love association thing is just not believable. They must have known they couldn't have a future together. i mean, how would they do it? It's a stretch.

But overall, i'd give your KK a 3 stars on the Netflix scale ("liked it"). Definitely worth seeing, although it's an hour too long.

luvs,

annie bananie

Posted by: annika at 08:11 AM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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i love my new Nano. It's the perfect size. If it were any smaller, you wouldn't have anything to hold on to. If it were any thinner, you might bend it. And it's so pretty, it's like a work of art. When it finally craps out i'm going to sell it on eBay for a profit. i wish i had kept my original Walkman, i could have made a few bucks off it.

Interestingly, i just got done listening to "Night Prowler," by AC/DC, which ends with the words "nano nano." How cool is that?

Posted by: annika at 03:57 PM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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1 I went snowshoeing with my Nano today, and I can testify that it works down to 15 degrees. Although you have to charge it more often at lower temperatures. The Nano is a work of art.

Posted by: Jake at December 26, 2005 04:08 PM (r/5D/)

2 Merry Christmas Annie, I bought my wife and son Nano's. I would agree that they are terrific! (My family and the Nano's) However that is not why I'm commenting... (I'm putting the comment here because I can't find a email button anywhere on the page, I figured it must be a linux/mozzilla thing with my system) Now that you are out of school and you have actual time on your hands, wouldn't it be appropriate for a little Jepordy action? Drake

Posted by: Drake Steel at December 26, 2005 11:27 PM (N0d08)

3 My cousin got one for christmas, and WOW it was realy small. Too small for me, I am sure I would lose it or destroy it somehow. I also think that cell phones are mostly too damm small. Its like you have to have doll hands to use them.

Posted by: Kyle N at December 27, 2005 02:53 AM (SNE/6)

4 Hooray for ipods!! My boyfriend suprised me for Christmas with a video one. I love it!

Posted by: Amy Bo Bamy at December 27, 2005 07:37 AM (Wz2Gp)

5 "Nano Nano"? An obscure Mork & Mindy (Robin Williams) reference?

Posted by: reagan80 at December 27, 2005 08:12 PM (c1eNa)

6 I went snowshoeing with my Nano today, and I can testify that it works down to 15 degrees. You must have really small feet!

Posted by: Jim Treacher at December 27, 2005 11:06 PM (/fbjZ)

7 Just to clarify, Mork said Nanu Nanu. In the alternative universe, Mark and Mandy was the TV show in which Mark said Nano Nano. And I thought it was a writing thingie. Personally, I got an iPAQ for Christmas. Though I haven't found a use for Pocket Word yet.

Posted by: Ontario Emperor at December 28, 2005 12:07 AM (lENLy)

8 Am I the only one who thinks that Robin Williams is beyond tedious?

Posted by: Kyle N at December 28, 2005 04:56 AM (9+XxV)

9 I plan to be the last person in the world with an ipod...or i-anything, to be honest...although my gf may give me a run for that honor. I admit I admire Apple's design strategys, except for the one that they used on their 2-button mouse. Whoever thought of that hover-your-finger-and-press-the-whole-mouse-down idea needs to have his testicles, or her breasticles, run thru a wringer.

Posted by: Victor at December 28, 2005 08:17 AM (L3qPK)

10 No, Kyle, you aren't the only one. Robin Williams is a has-been like Jim Carrey and Jerry Lewis. Most people don't even find them funny anymore. I loved how Williams got a chilly reception from the troops a couple years ago when he made a crack about Bush's IQ.

Posted by: reagan80 at December 28, 2005 10:00 AM (gBlPv)

11 LMAO, i just got that joke, Treach!

Posted by: annika at December 28, 2005 10:10 AM (E3kjp)

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Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah, everybody!

Posted by: annika at 12:15 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Now there's a problem with warrantless radiation monitoring? How could anybody possibly object to that?

i give up. i really give up.

Why don't we just propose a new law next year to quiet all the critics? The Unconditional Surrender Act of 2006. It might look like this:

<sarcasm>

AN ACT

To restore the United States of America to the safety of its pre September 11, 2001 status. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

TITLE I

Section 101 FINDINGS

Congress makes the following findings:

(a) Life in the United States of America was easier when we didn't realize that there were people out there trying to kill us.

(b) Protecting the citizens of the United States from future terrorist attacks necessarily requires that difficult choices be made.

(c) Certain interest groups, including the news media, are very quick to criticize any every action taken by a Republican president, no matter how sensible such action may be.

(d) The elected members of the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America lack the collective guts to do the right thing in the face of media criticism or opposition by various nut-jobs such as Michael Moore or Cindy Sheehan and their ilk.

(e) By returning to a strategy of doing nothing and ignoring its enemies, Congress can invite a future attack on the territory and citizens of the United States of America.

(f) Such a future attack can be blamed on the President of the United States of America, thus allowing the Senate and House of Representatives to escape blame and responsibility therefor, and making it more likely that a change of political party control will occur in the executive and legislative branches of the government of the United States.

Section 102 SENSE OF CONGRESS

It is the sense of Congress that:

(a) People who have nothing to hide, generally do not complain about surveillance as much as those who do.

(b) People who oppose the use of the United States military are generally louder than those who support the United States military.

(c) Critics in the media, academia, and the entertainment industry will be satisfied only when the government of the United States gets out of the way of the people who want to kill us.

TITLE II

Section 201 USE OF THE UNITED STATES MILITARY

(a) Effective immediately, all operations by all personnel of the United States Department of Defense shall cease.

(b) All personnel and equipment under the authority and control of the United States Department of Defense, and located outside of the territory of the United States of America, shall be returned to locations within the United States of America as soon as practicable, and in no event later than thirty days from the date of enactment of this law.

(c) Hereafter, the use of any personnel, equipment or assets under the authority and control of the United States Department of Defense shall be limited to either of the following:

(1) The distribution of food, medicine and currency to the heads of state, or their representatives, of the following countries only: Albania, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Brunei, Chad, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Egypt, Gambia, Guinea, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, the Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates, Yemen. For purposes of this subsection, the phrase "heads of state or their representatives" shall include warlords and/or members of the executive branch of the United Nations General Assembly.

(2) The evacuation of American citizens under violent attack or after release from hostage captivity in the above listed countries.

Section 202 FOREIGN POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES

(a) Effective immediately, all diplomatic relations between the United States of America and the state of Israel shall be severed and all diplomatic officers withdrawn and returned to their respective states.

(b) The 1949 Recognition of the State of Israel by the United States, is hereby rescinded, revoked and withdrawn.

Section 203 HOMELAND SECURITY

Effective immediately,

(a) The United States Department of Customs and Border Protection shall be renamed the United States Department of Welcome and Transit.

(b) Every person located within the United States of America, or within any of its territories or possessions, either now or at any time in the future, who is not already a citizen of the United States, shall be deemed a citizen of the United States with all the rights pertaining thereto. Citizenship conferred to any person under this section shall:

(1) automatically extend to all members of said person's family, whether located within or outside the territory of the United States, and

(2) shall remain irrevocable in perpetuity, regardless of any criminal acts, including treason.

(c) No person travelling on a commercial airliner within the United States of America shall be searched or in any way impeded or delayed from entry into any airport terminal or airplane, unless he or she:

(1) is over the age of 70 years, or under the age of 10 years, and

(2) cannot claim ancestry from any of the countries listed in Title II of this Act, Section 201, subsection (c)(1), and

(3) is not carrying any weapon, explosive device or apparatus for remote detonation of an explosive device.

(d) No interception of any electronic communications by anyone shall ever be conducted upon anyone, ever, for any reason whatsoever.

(e) No person shall ever be arrested, investigated, kept under surveillance, watched or glanced at in a sideways manner if that person:

(1) is an immigrant from, can claim ancestry from, or ever spent time in a terrorist training camp in any of the countries listed in Title II of this Act, Section 201, subsection (c)(1),

(2) advocates or encourages any act of terrorism against citizens of the United States, or contributes money to any terrorist organization or enemy of the United States.

Section 204 TREATMENT AND INTERROGATION OF PRISONERS

(a) No person shall ever be taken prisoner by any member of the United States Military, or any agent of a United States intelligence service, or any officer of any law enforcement agency operating within the United States if such person has committed, planned or conspired to commit a terrorist act, or in any way taken up arms against the military forces of the United States or those of any ally of the United States.

(b) All persons currently in custody for the above listed acts shall be immediately and permanently released, without interrogation, and after a full meal.

(c) All persons so released shall be provided legal counsel, at government expense, for the purpose of pursuing civil recovery for torts committed upon them while in government custody.

i'm still trying to think of an acronymic title for this bill.

Posted by: annika at 05:01 PM | Comments (17) | Add Comment
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1 Two words: Fucking brilliant

Posted by: Blu at December 23, 2005 08:01 PM (hQHZ1)

2 A name for the bill? How about: "America Last"? or, "The Contract Against America"? Or, "In God We Distrust"?

Posted by: shelly at December 24, 2005 02:17 AM (6mUkl)

3 I hope you don't mind that I have forwarded this "bill" to every congress critter(I'm in Missouri, we talk like that!) I could think of!

Posted by: TBinSTL at December 24, 2005 02:52 AM (bYmT0)

4 If the Democrats ever get in, they will hire you to negotiate the surrender.

Posted by: Jake at December 24, 2005 06:47 AM (r/5D/)

5 i got one. How about the USA C.O.W.A.R.D. Act?: Control of Warlike and Republican Disfunctions

Posted by: annika at December 24, 2005 07:17 AM (TEscA)

6 Awesome, I'm linking it in my blog...

Posted by: Rob at December 24, 2005 08:52 AM (QFO16)

7 Annika, you fascist. I completely object to your proposal to provide Department of Defense personnel for the following activity: "The evacuation of American citizens under violent attack or after release from hostage captivity in the above listed countries." We absolutely, positively should NOT send violent military personnel into foreign countries under such pretenses. You're making the unwarranted assumption that the American citizens in the foreign country were peaceful people. Don't you realize that Americans in foreign countries are often threatening fascists, imposing Christianity and other Zionist movements on foreign nations? And you want to glamorize them by resucing these so-called "poor innocent" people? The governments of these countries are fully prepared to deal with problems within their own countries, and don't need Big Brother running in on some false pretense. And if the foreign government can't protect the American citizens, then...they were probably doing something bad anyway. With this one modification, I am fully prepared to support your bill, and hope it can be enacted soon after Kwanzaa. All praise to Doctor Oba Saint Stanley Tookie Williams, Ontario Emperor

Posted by: Ontario Emperor at December 24, 2005 09:38 AM (8Y5iE)

8 Annie, that's absolutely inspired! It's great to see you making the most of your brief respite from school!

Posted by: Matt at December 24, 2005 12:21 PM (mn52f)

9 How do I get on the list to get one of them there monitors in my neighborhood?

Posted by: Casca at December 24, 2005 12:43 PM (2gORp)

10 Casca, that's easy enough. Get a nuke from someone and store it in your back yard.

Posted by: shelly at December 24, 2005 08:23 PM (6mUkl)

11 That was excellent!

Posted by: Mark at December 25, 2005 11:03 PM (t4mqS)

12 Maybe you should give up. Nobody in their right mind is particularly concerned about the radiation monitoring. It was most likely dropped by the administration as a distraction. In your previous post you falsely implied that officers could not conduct electronic tapping without an immediate warrant. This is fasle, they had seevnty hours to get a warrant. They worked under roughly the same system as the DEA and the question is why police agencies were effective in doing this but intelligence agencies unable? Some reasoning has come out in recent speculations. It may be that the intelligence agencies were sampling huge numbers of messages looking for key words and patterns. These may have included many that were purely domestic. Obviously judges would be hesitant to warrant such searches. This would be a plausible explanation of why the administration claimed that the article was a violation of security. From a terrorist point of view the knowledge that agencies were listening in as soon as they had a lead with a 99.9% warrant approval rate within 72 hours is little different than knowing they didn't bother to get warrants, but if the terrorists believed we obeyed our own laws and did not engage in this mass sampling and data mining domestically though it was fairly well known we do it internationally then we might find a few things they didn't guard against. It is my suspicion that the terrorists are conspiracy buffs and do not believe we are much constrained by law. But I don't know. Personally I think the Bill of Rights is an important element of society, one which distinguishes us from other societies. Therefore I agree with the individuals who wish to study this more closely. You seem to despise this opinion, I suggest you go to a society where your idea of law and order is practiced. There are many of them.

Posted by: jen at December 26, 2005 03:55 AM (x/a7f)

13 You have built a strawman the size of Burning Man. I would suggest that you could address each of the issues in a rational manner, as sarcasm only works on those who already feel the same way you do. The "if you're not with me, you're against me" approach means all or nothing, which is not the way a democracy tends to work, even if the optimum answer is not perfectly achieved. Totalitarians crave more intelligence and power over individuals and organizations; libertarians strive to achieve greater freedoms, often to the other extreme. Each step towards a 1984 mindset is a step backward from democracy. However, a solution is needed. One way to reduce the turnaround in court-approved wiretaps would be to set aside a 24/7 judicial capability to provide instant review, tied into a collaboration system.

Posted by: will at December 26, 2005 06:17 AM (h7Ciu)

14 Since there are several active reactors within walking distance of my hooch, I'm certain that my neighborhood IS heavily monitored.

Posted by: Casca at December 26, 2005 07:49 AM (2gORp)

15 Jen, With all due respect, you have not a single clue about this topic. I'd suggest having a look at Powerline for a primer. In addition, perhaps you could provide just a single example of the type of country that engages in (Annika's) type of "law and order." Do you think these, yet as unnamed countries, review their programs every 45 days and confer with the legislative branch? Do you think that they put a self-imposed limited on their monitoring? And if any these country were trying to keep a program secret and it was leaked to the press, what would happen to the "leakers" and to the media people involved in publishing the report about the secret program?

Posted by: Blu at December 26, 2005 09:32 AM (hQHZ1)

16 im hopelessly confused by jen's comment, and i re-read it a few times before giving up. Here's an idea for next time: Topic Sentences! Try mixing them into each paragraph. It makes things so much easier for the reader. As for will, it never ceases to amaze me how humorless the left is. "sarcasm only works on those who already feel the same way you do" Yeah, annnnd??? Your point is???

Posted by: annika at December 26, 2005 11:43 AM (cTN3y)

17 Priceless. I don't jump into political topics too much, I usually let my buddy Rob do the talking. Jen, try spell check. It works wonders on those who have the brain capacity of a 5 year old.

Posted by: Eric at February 23, 2006 09:28 AM (PZk13)

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Mark Steyn:

These days, whenever something goofy turns up on the news, chances are it involves some fellow called Mohammed. A plane flies into the World Trade Center? Mohammed Atta. A gunman shoots up the El Al counter at Los Angeles airport? Hesham Mohamed Hedayet. A sniper starts killing gas-station customers around Washington, DC? John Allen Muhammed. A guy fatally stabs a Dutch movie director? Mohammed Bouyeri. A terrorist slaughters dozens in Bali? Noordin Mohamed. A British subject from Hounslow, West London, self-detonates in a Tel Aviv bar? Asif Mohammed Hanif. A gang rapist preys on the women of Sydney? Mohammed Skaf.

Maybe all these Mohammeds are victims of Australian white racists and American white racists and Dutch white racists and Israeli white racists and Balinese white racists and Beslan schoolgirl white racists. But the eagerness of the Aussie and British and Canadian and European media, week in, week out, to attribute each outbreak of an apparently universal phenomenon to strictly local factors is starting to look pathological. "Violence and racism are bad," but so is self-delusion.

For more background on Sydney's problem, see The Rise Of Middle Eastern Crime In Australia.

Via A Western Heart.

Posted by: annika at 08:11 AM | Comments (23) | Add Comment
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1 Abdel Rahman al-Rashed, a Saudi journalist in London said this: “It is a certain fact that not all Muslims are terrorists,” he writes, “but it is equally certain, and exceptionally painful, that almost all terrorists are Muslims. ... We cannot clear our names unless we own up to the shameful fact that terrorism has become an Islamic enterprise; an almost exclusive monopoly, implemented by Muslim men and women.”

Posted by: Jake at December 22, 2005 11:07 AM (r/5D/)

2 It's almost comical listening to the Left make excuses for the world's Mohameds--no matter how obvious the culpability while simultaneously being willing to blame GWB and Right for everything from hurricanes to the cost of gas.

Posted by: Blu at December 22, 2005 11:25 AM (hQHZ1)

3 Blu: After almost 50 years of holding the reins of America, the Democratic Party has become the dissident minority. The transformation of the former Blue Dog Democrats of the South to Republicans has changed the fate of the party dramatically. Literally overnight, The Contract with America and Newt Gingrich changed the course of America. Those who once held ALL the gavels now hold NONE. Can you blame them for being frustrated? Their ideas, or lack of them, have brought them low, and they refuse to believe that is is they who have caused their own demise, thus, it is necessary to blame someone else. The only place they can turn is to George W. Bush. They are desperate; if they lose the elections in 2006 and 2008, they will indeed become the PERMANENT minority. It is frightening to them, and they assume the stance of desperate losers. But the real losers are the people of America who are harmed by their obstructionism and foul tactics.

Posted by: shelly at December 22, 2005 01:06 PM (6mUkl)

4 While not every Italian is a member of the Mafia it is a certainty that every member of the Mafia is an Italian. Wanna bomb Sicily? You folks are simpletons of the most dangerous type: those that believe their own bullshit and are willing to burn the sacred texts of their culture to kindle the bonfires to incinerate their enemies. What's left when the fire is out? The extent that we protect the sanctity of our liberties in times of stress is inversely proportional to our understanding and committment to the ideas that make our liberty possible. Yours is the kind of thinking that has led time and again to the rise to power of the fellows that promise order and timely trains. Shelly, still wish Judge Luttig was on the short list? The egrigious crimes of this administration will not even be suffered by those professing allegience. Or how about the "breathaking inanity" of GWB's beliefe that ID be taught in schools as just another theory? He is rapidly becoming the Chuck Wepner of politics. Your wagon is tied to a team of madmen dashing towad the rim of the canyon and you don't have the sense to even look for the keys to you handcuffs. Good riddence to bad garbage.

Posted by: Strawman at December 22, 2005 01:12 PM (0ZdtC)

5 The distinction, though, Strawman is that nobody would argue with your clever little statement about Italians and the mafia. It is self-evident and only a fool would argue differently. In the case of Muslims and terroism, there are many, many fools despite the self evident fact of Abdel Rahman al-Rashed's statement. And as far as I know, the Italians never flew any planes into our buildings---(didn't you know it was those evil Jews who did that?)---nor have they committed themselves to wiping out Western Civilization. So, I feel confident that there is no need to bomb Siciliy. However, if any new intelligence shows up that directly links the Italians to 9-11 then I'm certain that we will have Sicily in our cross-hairs. God, you're an idiot.

Posted by: Blu at December 22, 2005 02:45 PM (hQHZ1)

6 Strawman: "Yours is the kind of thinking that has led time and again to the rise to power of the fellows that promise order and timely trains." No, your thinking consisting of ignoring threats or refuse to face reality that has caused the wars and millions of deaths. Europe and FDR ignored the threat of Germany's growing military in the 1930s. They refused to disarm Germany and even refused to arm to act as a deterrent to Germany and Japan. Thus Germany and Japan felt they could easily conquer the world. This failure of a Democrat who thinks exactly as you do resulted in WWII that caused 60 million deaths. When Clinton took office, Al Qaida was a gleam in Bin Laden's eye. He had initial successes against the US because of Clinton's cowardice and refusal to face reality. 6 attacks later with Clinton still ignoring the threat resulting in Al Qaida becoming a world-wide, well-funded organization. Because Clinton thought just as you do, Al Qaida has killed thousands and thousands of innocent people around the world. Democrats are only good at causing millions of people to die.

Posted by: Jake at December 22, 2005 04:37 PM (r/5D/)

7 Straw: Your gratuitous swipe at me drew no blood whatsoever. I never supported Luttig; I was always for Janice Rogers Brown (still am) and for several others not nominated, The Ediths, Collins, and of course Sam Alito. This war will not be decided in the courts. All the courts can do is delay and obfuscate the real issues. This war is being fought in the trenches, and we are so fortunate to have real men and women in those trenches, taking out the assholes one at a time. Were it only that you were in one of the trenches getting their skills applied to you on an up close and personal basis. The ACLU files suits and our boys and girls, the real ones, face the faceless enemy every day, every week, every month, 24/7. People like you are so concerned with their loss of power since the Southern Democrats finally admitted they were Republicans, that they cannot fathom losing the control of America. You root for us to lose, and rejoice when we have a setback. Take a good look at yourself, Mac. Do you really want America to win, or do you just want Bush to lose? I thought so. In the immortal words of Bart Simpson, "Suck my shorts".

Posted by: shelly at December 22, 2005 08:46 PM (6mUkl)

8 Strawman's mental masturbation about civil liberties tends to neglect the fact that civil liberties are meaningless when you are (ahem) dead. Good post, Annika. More please.

Posted by: Mark at December 23, 2005 12:46 AM (q4t6j)

9 Stawdog Must hate that goose stepping monster FDR who suspened civil liberties in WW2 or that Horrible Nazi scumbag Lincoln who did so during the civil war. Oh, BTW, ID is indeed simply a theory just as easy to prove as it is to disprove, so what pray tell would be so bad about teaching children that there exists such a theory which some people ascribe to? Only a radical extremist would call it a Breathtaking Inanity.

Posted by: Kyle N at December 23, 2005 03:38 AM (bEnmE)

10 Kyle, Just too dumb for words. Please give me the easy proof for ID? In six weeks of trial not one of the blowhard ID supporters could answer a single question concerning their attempts to prove ID. Not one experiment was attemted which could have an outcome that would support the "theory". It is not, you dolt, a theory. A theory has a hypothesis that can be put to a test, tested again and again. If the results match with statistical significance then we have some information about how the natural world works. We can then teach that description of the natural world since it will help those seeking the truth get closer tot their goal. Not truth, just a better undestanding of the natural world. Tell me where ID fits into this picture and rises above "breathless inanity"? And how GWB also rises above this descriprion. Shelly, You give me little room to sit when you tell me my options are only Bush loosing and America winning but that is like you give me my options and tell me I'm wrong . Your total vision of this struggle with the radical and hateful elememts of Moslem world, is simplistic and viewed through the yellow tinted lenses of DIck the dick President Chainy's glasses. I have never denied the struggle and the threat, although I don't preceive it as less pervasive. Yes 911 was a viscous thing, as has been all the bombings around the world over the last decade. Absolutly heinous acts of cowardliness. It is so easy for the RW to impune liberals as those who want AMerica to loose, or aren't supporting our troops, or doing things to give the enemy comfort but alas, it is not true, it is just the shrill debating posture of the side whoses only tool is a hammer and has a view of all problems as nails. You see SHelly, we disagree over tactics and stratagy and the definition of the enemy not whether or not there is an enemy. We disagree over the powers of the presidency and the value of what America can loose pursuing this enemy. We disagree over the motives of the men who are running this country and their honesty. You think raising a democracy is worth the new foreigh policy paradigm of "regime change" becoming acceptable. I don't. Was Saddam a bad man, sure. But talk like that is childish. Is killing 30,000 Iraqi's good? Is creating the playing field for a decades long internicine religious struggle in Iraq a good thing? Will a reasonable democratic government eventually be in controll of this country and the right of all the people and women protected? I doubt it. Will the establishment of this government lower the possibility of committed Islamic jihadists attacking America? Of course not. So whats the point? You think that whether Iraq and Saddam had anything to do with 911 and AL Quiada it was imperative that we retaliate and that Iraq was a good place to do it. I don't. I think it resulted in the deaths of far too many Americans and Iraqi's and was not an oppropriate place to confront the soldiers of Al Quiada, Yes, many Jihadists have joined the fray but SHelly, there are a billion followers of Islam on this planet, we cannot hope to eradicate those willing to become mujahadeem(sp). What we can do is create more or fewer of them by our policies. COnquering Iraq, IMHO, did more harm than good in this regard. True, those who come to Iraq to fight may be killed, and that's not a bad thing, but I think millions more are radicalized and will fight some day some where else. All in all a net gain for their side. I have a short day today and cannot get into all things we see differently but rest easy fella, I don't wish harm to come to this country or our troops. Have a nice holiday.

Posted by: Strawman at December 23, 2005 08:00 AM (0ZdtC)

11 Sure you do. You're just too intellectually dishonest to publicly admit your treason. After the first revolution we ran most of you people out of this country. That's why Canada is so confused.

Posted by: Casca at December 23, 2005 09:05 AM (y9m6I)

12 Sorry this doesn't have anything to do with the post, but...Merry Christmas Annika! Hope you and yours have a wonderful one!!

Posted by: Amy Bo Bamy at December 23, 2005 10:17 AM (Wz2Gp)

13 cASCA, why do you bother to put digit to key. (thankfully for you it doesn't take an opposable thumb to type) You are smug, angry and ignorant (I also wouldn't be surprised to discover you have stature issues) and with each key stroke you offer a new iteration. You are an arm-chair warrior who has sent no one packing except other peoples' sons and daughters with ill conceived policy, bad intelligence, and a cowards heart but hey, so has George Bush, our "breathlessly inane" commander. Remember Casca, the man to distrust is the one attempting to convince you of his honesty. The same is true of warriors.

Posted by: Strawman at December 23, 2005 10:23 AM (0ZdtC)

14 Strawman, You wrote the following: "A theory has a hypothesis that can be put to a test, tested again and again." In other words, others can take the proposed hypothesis and in testing it can come up with the same (i.e. repeatlable) results. Please send me a link showing where the hypothesis of evolution has been repeatedly tested time and again in a controlled setting thus proving the theory. I suspect that I'll be waiting...and waiting....and waiting. I'm not here to say evolution is absolutely not true, but those who believe it as 100% truth would be better served by showing some scientific humility. There are far too many gaps in the theory. While you may not believe in ID, the main intellectual force behind the movement, Phillip Johnson, pokes all sorts of holes in evolutionary theory as do a number of other competent intellectuals.

Posted by: Blu at December 23, 2005 11:43 AM (hQHZ1)

15 Strawman: Do you feel that adding a pejorative name to every person with whom you disagree adds anything to the argument? You don't know a damn thing about any of us, but I know that Casca is a man who has been in harm's way and who has a son who is headed that way. What the Hell have you done that gives you some moral superiority over those of us who have been doing positive things our entire lives? I for one, am getting tired of your treasonous tripe and this is the last I shall bother responding to your inanity. Why don't you join someother blog where the people think the same as do you, and you can find some reinforcement for your feelings? No one around here really agrees with anything you say, nor do we believe that you have any intellectual honesty whatsoever. I earnestly impore others who share my thoughts to join me. To quote one of my heros, Darryl F. Zanuck, "Include me out".

Posted by: shelly at December 23, 2005 11:58 AM (6mUkl)

16 Blu, It is a fools gambit to suggest that scientists think there are no holes in such a complex theory and that it is 100% complete. That there are no holes in a theory as far reaching and complex as "evolution", is not surprising. It has many facets and covers an entire spectrum of natural science. To poke holes is not hard. ALL evolutionary biologists believe the fossil record and genetic data is incomplete and the effects and influence of various forces are hotly debated. No competent scientist ever says something as dull witted as "100% explanation". Only folks like you who start an aguments by putting words in someones mouth. It is quite another thing after poking a hole to come up with a cogent alternative. ID is not it. As a non scientist judge put it, the arguments for ID were "breathlessly inane" and patently motivated by relious belief. He said that because competent intellectuals as you call them could put NOTHING on the table that made a bit of sense as an alternative. Evlolution is universally accepted as the best explanation availabe and it has the automotive equivalent of a door misfitting by 2 mm on a Benz 600SL as "holes" in it. If Newton could have recorded the changes to the rate time pieces record at differing velocieties he would have had seen a falacy in his theory of gravity. He would review his data, review his experiments, rethink his premises, devise new experiments, collect new data and on and on. But, if after all that he settled on the HOG conclusion, he would have been the first to tell you there is no test for god's hand and you are going to believe it on faith or not at all. Blu, the HOG theory may be what you need to sleep at night but don't go calling it science or insisting it be taught to my kids. I am, as are my kids, able to sleep as they wait for the holes to be filled or a new theory devised to explain them. You on the other hand seem to have the intelectual acuity of the Mayan farmer who worshiped the priest who could predict the seasons and told him when to plant his crops. Cave dwellers couldn't explain fire either. If it pleases you that god is the answer to the difficult questions of our existance so be it, just keep it to yourself. Please don't involve my school system with the promulgation of your primative desire for answers to everything instantly. I saw a good tee shit the other day. it said "Fine, I evolved, you didn't"

Posted by: strawman at December 23, 2005 12:49 PM (0ZdtC)

17 Who said I believed in ID? I didn't. Nor did I suggest that it ought to be taught in science class. (Perhaps, you had me confused with another person.) I just asked for some perspective from those on the other side. By the way, have you even read any of the arguments presented by ID? If you have, then good for you. But, I doubt it. To describe these people as inane is just plain silly. I'd love to you debate Phillip Johnson and demonstrate just how "inane" he is. Unfortunately for you, name-calling doesn't win many points in a debate. Interestingly, despite the arrogance of the evolutionsists, there are very few who are willing to debate Johnson. Reason: he makes them look silly on stage. Now, don't misundertand me, winning a debate doesn't make a person right. (See Kerry v. Bush) It is ironic, though, that the evolutionsists are afraid to stand toe-to-toe with him. Have you ever noticed that you have a tendency of over-reaching when you debate? And if you feel really threatned you like to bust out the ad hominem fallacy. Please, Strawman, engage in reasoned debate. Writing that I have the "intelectual acuity of the Mayan farmer" is not exactly the sort of argument that's going to persuade anybody. (Although, I am impressed with your willingness to denigrate a "conquered" people.) Bit of trivia for ya Strawdude, I have two graduate degrees, which I suspect is two more than you have. So, your bitter and presumptuous rants about my intellect amuse me. I've spent years in and around higher education. So, I've come across my share of know-nothing blow-hards, who can do little more than parrot the words and ideas of other, better minds. Generally, these types undermine themselves. So, keep it up Strawdude.

Posted by: Blu at December 23, 2005 01:29 PM (hQHZ1)

18 Shelly, The name calling and death wishes always start with Casca. When people tell me my kind should be dispensed with I get a bit testy. I am sorry I get baited into replying in kind. I do not claim moral superiority but rather I claim that I will kill others with great difficulity and rue the day I must. Men like Casca and yourself seem to me to be far too complacent with the entire process of killing and far too assured that their government knows best. Putting ones self in harms way in the cause of destroying the freedom of others or subverting the will of another nation, or enacting the deceits of our current administration is not going to get me to salute. It does get my sympathies. Whatever Casca did or whatever his son will do they did of their own free will with their eyes if not their brains open. Nobody twisted their arm and no Iraqi seriously threatened America. This was a soverign nation of 15 million peole, run by a dictator no worse than many we have installed or supported elswhere, that did not need to be destroyed to be given "freedom". There were other choices and You wish to ignore them and engage in the purile rhetoric of GWB. What ever happened to patience, planning, intellegence and subversion? Why does America think only with guns? We are men and have an obligation to moral standards, ethical treatment of our fellow man, and decency toward all, be they christian, jew, moslem or other. The political agendas of the lying scum running our country demand that we do something other than follow orders. You may call it treason I call it something else. I have no illusions as to what people around here think but what is the point of sharing my thoughts with a group that shares my thoughts? Pretty boring, right? I have in fact heard many things around here that have given me food for thought and I argue vociferously against many who find the whole idea of the conflict wth radical Islam an abberation. It is not, as I said to you before, we differ less than you think about this matter.

Posted by: strawman at December 23, 2005 01:31 PM (0ZdtC)

19 I win a big pot on two pair (Q9) against a guy in Houston named Mohammad--nickname "Mo"--who sucks a sa Hold 'em Player, but supposedly plays a decent Omaha game. What does this prove? Nothing, really, other than the fact that this guy is one of the biggest Donkey players in the Houston club scene and when he shows up I know I'll be leaving up.

Posted by: Roach at December 23, 2005 01:42 PM (FH3dM)

20 That's a damn good thing to know Roach. Shit Shelly, it's damn sweet of you to defend my honor, but there's no ground to be gained with the likes of straw. Truly, I'm sorry for deceiving him into thinking that anyone reads his bile. As for the rest of you folks, Merry Christmas, and the blessings of the season to you all.

Posted by: Casca at December 23, 2005 03:24 PM (2gORp)

21 Well, back from work so I will now destroy Strawmans straw arguments. You see jerk, ID can be proved just as much as it can be disproved, that is to say not at all. In fact ID does not go against the big bang, or evolution or anything else in science it merely says "It seems that an intelligence is as believable as randomness" Now, I am all for teaching children the TRUTH, and it is the TRUTH, that some people, in fact even some scientists believe this. So, that is what should be taught, that here is the accepted scientific theories, and some people think that randomness is not enough to explain it. If you disagree with this then YOU are an extremist and a censor. Furthermore, if you say that ID should not be taught because in your opinion it could NOT be true, then you are essentially saying that there COULD NOT POSSIBLY BE A GOD, and science simply cannot make that claim. Also, you would be in violation of the free excercise clause since that would not be neutral in regard to religion. See, its all really simple if your mind is not dumbed down with extreme left wing hatred.

Posted by: Kyle N at December 23, 2005 03:57 PM (rSfbK)

22 Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah to all of you. But I once again implore you, "Include me out" was a wise thought from a great man. There is a time for everything, and it is time to enjoy our lives and what blessings we have, because thousands of our sons and daughters are on guard in the blowing sands of Iraq eating MRE's tonight so that we can be free from attack by these murderous fanatics. So join me in a prayer please, for each and every one of them, that they soon return and have the satisfaction of having established a democracy in the center of the most chaotic part of the world that will surely change history for the better. God Bless all of our fighting men and women, and God Bless George W. Bush, and may God continue to Bless The United States of America.

Posted by: shelly at December 24, 2005 02:31 AM (6mUkl)

23 Kyle, Please spare me. Your post does nothng but prove onece again that those who support ID do so based on their deep seated regligious beliefs and nothing more. Read a little by Stephen J. Gould on this matter. He is far better at explaining the falacies of your construction than I am. Also, read the New Yorker article about the PA trial (about two weeks ago) and you will clearly see the disparity between the reasonable sounding statements of the ID proponents and their real agenda. A blight on our school system is what people like yourself would inflict if your all to reasonable but religious arguments were allowed to prevail.

Posted by: Strawman at December 24, 2005 05:35 AM (LuOXe)

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Excellent.

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Here's an old version of a Christmas Hymn, which is different than the one i'm used to singing.

Christmas Hymn

by Charles Wesley

Hark! how all the welkin rings
Glory to the King of kings!
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
Universal nature say,
Christ the Lord is born to-day!

Christ by highest Heaven adored,
Christ, the Everlasting Lord;
Late in time behold Him come,
Offspring of a VirginÂ’s womb:
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail thÂ’ Incarnate Deity,
Pleased as man with men to appear,
Jesus our Immanuel here!

Hail! the heavenly Prince of Peace!
Hail! the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Risen with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.

Come, Desire of nations, come,
Fix in us Thy humble home!
Rise, the WomanÂ’s conquering Seed,
Bruise in us the SerpentÂ’s head!
Now display Thy saving power,
Ruined nature now restore,
Now in mystic union join
Thine to ours, and ours to Thine!

AdamÂ’s likeness, Lord, efface;
Stamp Thy image in its place;
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love!
Let us Thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the Life, the Heavenly Man:
O! to all Thyself impart,
Formed in each believing heart!

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Mike Chertoff today:

I spent a lot of years as a line prosecutor at the Department of Justice, and as the head of the Criminal Division in this building. Many of the tools which we are talking about using in the patriot act against terrorists are tools that have been used for years in the decades against drug dealers, or people involved in white collar crime. And they've been used effectively and they've been used without there being a significant impact on civil liberties.

The question I ask myself when I hear people criticize roving wiretaps, for example, is, why is this something that we use successfully and prudently in the area of dealing with marijuana importers, but yet a tool that people want to deny us in the war against people who want to import chemical weapons or explosives. That makes no sense to me.

Why is it, for example, that delayed notification search warrants, which again, we use in all kinds of garden variety criminal cases, with the supervision of a judge, why should that tool be denied to our investigators when they're seeking to go into a house with a search warrant to see if there are explosives there, or other kinds of weapons that can be used against Americans.

[It's] Common sense [that] the tools that have been used without any significant impact on civil liberties in a wide variety of cases over the last 10 or 20 years, ought to continue to be available here against perhaps the greatest threat we face in this country, which is the threat of terror.

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After Kobe drops 62 on the Mavs in only three quarters, you gotta wonder if Wilt's record might be in danger. Wilt's 100 point game in 1962, for the Philadelphia Warriors, always seemed to me like a more unbreakable record than Hank's 755 or Maris' 61. Wilt's record survived all 3 Michael Jordan eras. But i think Kobe can, and should do it. Apparently, he took himself out of the game last night. If Kobe wanted to, against the right defense, he could get to 101. Unlike Wilt, Kobe is almost automatic at the line, and he's got the advantage of a three point shot that didn't exist in 1962. i'd love to see it happen.

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Germany has "secretly" released the Hezbollah murderer of an American Navy diver.

Apparently ignoring Washington's extradition request for Mohammed Ali Hamadi, German authorities have secretly released the Lebanese Hezbollah member who was serving a life sentence in the country for the hijacking of a TWA jet and for the murder of a US navy diver.

German prosecutors confirmed the release of Mohammed Ali Hamadi, now in his late 30s, to the Associated Press and said he was flown back to Lebanon last week.

Hamadi was convicted in 1989 by a German court of killing US Navy diver Robert Dean Stethem during the 1985 hijacking of a TWA flight diverted to Beirut. He was sentenced to life without parole. His sentence is one Germany reserves for the most serious and cruel crimes. It is difficult but not impossible to release someone who receives such a sentence after 15 years.

Two observations occur to me. One, this secret release is not so secret, is it? Nice to see that leaks are not something unique to the American government.

Second, this guy was supposedly sentenced to the worst sentence you can get in a place without the death penalty: life without the possibility of parole. Except NOW HE'S FREE!

That's kind of an argument for the death penalty, don't you think? At least in cases of international terrorism, where the continued earthly existence of the criminal becomes a blackmail opportunity for terrorists.

Germany, an entire nation with no balls.

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"Former" is right. lol

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This movie thing is going to be harder than i thought. i couldn't find anybody to go with me tonight. i called Betty first.

"Which one did you have in mind?" she asked.

"How about Good Night and Good Luck?"

"Never heard of it. What's it about?"

"Edward R. Murrow."

"What's that?"

"Um, do you know who McCarthy was?"

"Sure, he was like some communist, right?"

"Um, not exactly."

Betty later claimed she was kidding. Anyways, she couldn't go because tonight was tae-bo night for her. i got stood up for Billy Blanks himself. Only in L.A.

Next, i called Lori. But she and her boyfriend are total homebodies. Even though they work in the business, the last thing they want to do after work is go see a movie.

My brother was a last resort, but if it doesn't involve a car chase, he's not interested. Also he got home late from his job and was too cranky and tired to go out again.

The one consolation to staying home was a big plate of my Mom's Labskovs stew, which we all ate while watching the latest Raymond DVD. What's my Mom's Labskovs stew like, you ask? Holy crap, as Frank Barone might say, it's awesome!

My parents are completely addicted to Raymond. They buy each DVD set the very day it goes on sale. i must say, i've gotten to appreciate the show a lot too. This latest DVD, of season five is the funniest so far. It's too bad they went and bought it because i still have no idea what to get either of them for Christmas.

Oh, on a completely unrelated topic, my car is angry with me. She's threatening to go on strike because i've been driving with the check engine light for the last oh 10,000 miles or so. So now she's started sputtering and coughing when i first turn her on. It's just a form of protest, but i'll have to placate her by taking her in to the shop this week if i can.

When the check engine light first came on i took her in right away because i heard that you should never drive a car with the check engine light on. i ended up paying the dealer $100 just so they could tell me it was the catalytic converter. Cool, i thought. i can ignore that, no problem.

i continued to ignore it for several reasons:

#1: from what i understand, the CC is made of solid platinum, and therefore costs about $50,000 to replace.

#2: i'm supposed to smog the car this year, so they will obviously insist that i fix the CC before they re-register me. i'm now late on re-registering, by the way. i just couldn't afford the smog check, the new CC and the fee all at once.

#3: until now, there was no discernable difference in the car's performance, except for the annoying orange light on the dashboard, which i got used to. Actually the light itself was not as annoying as having to hear every single passenger in my car say "hey, did you know your check engine light is on?"

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Not many people know that, for Catholics, some sort of penance is advised during the Advent season as well as during Lent. So this year i have decided that my Advent sacrifice should be to see ten movies in the next fourteen days.

i call it a sacrifice because the quality of Hollywood movies in recent years has not given me much hope that this will be an enjoyable experience. Plus, i intend to blog about each one, and lately, wringing a decent blog post out of my head has been a difficult task.

i am in Los Angeles until after the new year, so i will have the advantage of being able to see a lot of the limited release films that are already creating a buzz, such as Spielberg's Munich and Woody Allen's Match Point (a must see for me, since i love tennis.)

The boyfriend will be joining me next week, and he has indicated that he will help me cross the finish line on this goal, as long as "that cowboy movie" isn't one of the ten films.

i hope my Advent sacrifice, and the blog posts it generates, will be of some interest to you all. Besides, it's Christmas break, and what else have i got to do with my time? Otherwise i might spend it playing videogames with my bro, or eating and drinking way too much.

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Bush seems to have his own "no controlling legal authority" problem now. He's straining the war powers and the congressional use of force resolution to justify his domestic wiretapping without a warrant. Well, after one semester of Con Law, i think i have found a way out of this mess. Simply invoke the Commerce Clause. It means whatever you want it to mean, you can use it to do anything, and Courts love expanding it. Only problem is getting it to cover executive action, but i'll leave that up to Alberto. Let him earn his keep and give some good advice for once.

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Christiane Amanpour delivered the Democratic response to the president's speech on the Iraq War tonight. In a nutshell, she said we're losing.

Other democratic responses included the following:

Halliburton Halliburton. Bush spied, people died. Iraqis flying kites. Need specifics specifics timetable timetable pullout pullout. No WMDs.

blah blah blah blah zzzzzzzzz clunk.

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Last night at the grocery store i got into the wrong line. It was the express lane and i had only seven items.* i got in that line because the lady ahead of me looked like she had finished getting rung up, so i thought i was good to go.

i was wrong, because she was about to move into phase two of her $6 scheme.

The first thing i noticed was her voice, because she sounded so much like Roseanne Barr, that i truly thought it might have been her. She had bright cinnamon colored hair, cut in a bob, which temporarily obscured her facial features. When she turned in my direction momentarily, i realized it couldn't have been Roseanne, unless Roseanne had recently been involved in a horrible accident.

The lady's teeth were a disaster. Every other one was missing, and the remaining teeth were pointed in every direction except proper. She looked like a mako shark, it was quite an array.

The checker and in fact all of the grocery store personnel were beyond professional throughout the whole ordeal. i was really impressed by them. The controversy that developed involved a reciept that the lady wanted to apply to her purchase. The slip of paper apparently indicated a credit left over from a previous gift card purchase.

The lady said that she threw away the actual gift card after her last visit, even though it still had $6 on it, because a manager had told her she didn't need the card. This mysterious manager said that the receipt could be used instead of the card.

The checker explained that you actually had to have the gift card, and that he couldn't accept the receipt. The lady then began a string of expletives. If a manager said she could do it, she should be entitled to do it.

Of course the lady couldn't identify the particular manager, who apparently wasn't working that night. She also refused to go speak to any other managers unless they came over to her, while she held up the checkout line.

This was the key part of the scam. She needed to create an inconvenience to the other customers so the store employees would just give her the $6 so she could go away. After all, it was only $6, and look at all those people waiting.

Anyways, they opened another aisle and let me check out, so i never found out if the store caved-in to her demands or not. i hope they didn't.
_______________

* Pumpkin pie, Reddi-Whip, Kerns Pineapple-Mango juice, hot dog buns, six Anjou pears in a bag, vanilla ice cream, salsa

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i know what wills are, but what's a trust? i kind of zoned out by the middle of the semester in that class.

On the other hand, i am considering legally changing my name to "the evidence queen."

See that girl, she knows the F.R.E.,
diggin' the evidence queen!

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