Unky Greg's Place

Wild, Wonderful West Virginia

2005-08-04T15:11:00.000-04:00

There is a WONDERFUL post from Peggy Noonan over at WSJ's OpinionJournal this afternoon. Here's a taste:

When you are from the Northeast, the talk always goes inevitably to the niceness of the people. "They're real," as a new resident of Charleston, the state capital, told me. People are nice in the Northeast, too, but there seems a particular dignity and humility to West Virginians. Because it has been left so alone by history, so hard to get to and get out of, West Virginia's people seem to be largely what they were, of Scots-Irish descent, and have remained vividly so.

She's writing about her very first visit to West Virginia, where my father lived as a child. Although I've never lived there, I definitely still feel the roots.

Thanks, Peggy. We Mountain Staters need to feel some love from the outside world sometimes.

I've Been Blogrolled!!!

2005-08-04T10:45:00.000-04:00

Okay, for a blog that turns a week old tomorrow, I'm pretty excited.

But I'm MUCH more excited about WHO blogrolled me.

Regime Change Iran.

Check these people out. They are risking a lot more than just their reputations by blogging - with their internal dirt on the mullahs, these are the people risking their lives.

For Freedom. For their own, for their people, and for the entire world that wants to live free from the terrorist threat.

If you've surfed in here from them, welcome. You're among friends.

Welcome To The Blogosphere!

2005-08-04T10:36:00.000-04:00

Uh, oh. Somewhere else that I'll have to go every day.

Michael Barone, columnist extraordinaire and editor of The Almanac of American Politics, has started his own blog at U.S. News & World Report.

I've linked him on the blogroll.

Check this guy out. He knows more about the workings of Washington - and, in fact, the whole country, one Congressional district at a time, than just about anybody.

SO Glad I Never Had This Professor

2005-08-03T16:10:00.000-04:00

This one pretty much has to be read to be believed.

http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=18967

Warning: Some salty language - but only quoting what the professor said in class.

Sample:

During the semester that followed, Professor Vocino made numerous sexual
comments and gestures towards myself and other male members of the class.
On the second day of class, Professor Vocino asked me, in front of the class,
whether I was uncomfortable knowing that he thought that I was “hot.” I
answered in the affirmative. Further along in the semester, as I entered
the class with my shorts on, Professor Vocino noted that I had nice legs.
To that, I responded that though they may be nice, they were unfortunately
hairy.

A few times during the semester instead of giving the
usual educational assignments, Professor Vocino asked me, and a few other male
members, to try “making out” with other males and tell the class how it
felt. While observing an outside student walk by the classroom with
baggy-style jeans on, he offered that he wished men would wear tighter pants
because he liked “bums.” Often Professor Vocino would ask members of the
class for hugs. In fact, he did an “experiment” to see how people reacted
to the intrusion on their personal space. This “experiment” consisted of
class members standing as close as they could to each other. He ended the
“experiment” with students, again mostly male and including myself, standing as
close to him as they felt comfortable.

During the semester,
Professor Vocino spent much time on the subject of sex, or in his words,
“f***ing”, often asking students if they were sexually active; if so, how much,
with who and when. It was a frequent occurrence for Professor Vocino to talk
about “d***” and all of the actions that one can do with said body member.
It should be noted that one entire class was devoted to the topic of
masturbation.

This was a POLITICAL SCIENCE Class - theoretically on "Political Philosophy: Plato to Machiavelli." The professor assigned a little Machiavelli, but nothing else of substance - "His reason for leaving out Plato? 'I don’t like the Greeks.'”

I find that last part a little hard to believe.

Bearing Witness to the Truth

2005-08-03T12:03:00.000-04:00

The Blogosphere is abuzz this morning with the news of the murder of Steven Vincent, a freelance reporter whose articles appeared in the New York Times and National Review Online, among others. Neither an anti-war activist nor a pro-Bush cheerleader, he reported on the abuses of various sides, lately focusing on Shi'ite fundamentalists in Basra attempting to impose Islamic rule.

A quick snippet from his last piece for the NYT, from last weekend:

"An Iraqi police lieutenant, who for obvious reasons asked to remain anonymous, confirmed to me the widespread rumors that a few police officers are perpetrating many of the hundreds of assassinations — mostly of former Baath Party members — that take place in Basra each month. He told me that there is even a sort of "death car": a white Toyota Mark II that glides through the city streets, carrying off-duty police officers in the pay of extremist religious groups to their next assignment."

After writing this, the Death Car came for him.

Steven Vincent was not the victim of random violence or an IED nearby. I'll let NRO's editor Kathryn Jean Lopez describe:

"According to an e-mail from Vincent's wife sent on Tuesday night, Vincent and his Iraqi translator, Nour Weidi, were "snatched in front of a bank on Tuesday, August 2nd at 6:30 P.M. local time. Two men drove up, grabbed them, threw them in a car and took off. Nour dropped her ID on the street, which is how the British were able to figure out who it was." Hours later, the American embassy in Baghdad would confirm Vincent dead, and his translator seriously wounded. Vincent's body was found on the side of a highway. He had been shot multiple times in the head."

Please remember his name. Please pray for his family and for Nour Weidi, his translator, still alive bus seriously wounded.

Full Story here: http://www.nationalreview.com/lopez/lopez200508030843.asp

The Left Never Fails to Amaze - or Amuse

2005-08-02T10:01:00.000-04:00

Courtesy Michelle Malkin, we have these two letters to the editor printed in the San Francisco (where else?) Chronicle, in which one Judith Ross compares the Boy Scouts with Hamas Terrorists In Training.

Sun and fun with Hamas
Editor -- Regarding the article, "Hamas camp: Sun, fun . . . indoctrination" (July 31): The Hamas-sponsored youth camps are a double-edged sword.

These kids, like any, deserve the chance to enjoy the the camaraderie of youth while exploring their athletic, social and artistic abilities.

Hamas, by providing what would otherwise be a luxury for these kids, is getting away with feeding them a poison way of thought that will inevitably bring further sickness to the region.

Palestinian children as young as 11 have tried attacking Israelis. It makes me wonder: What would it take to get these kids to sing songs like "Kumbaya" around the campfire and put their bomb-making equipment away?

DASSI SHUSTERMAN
South San Francisco
-- -- --
Editor -- Yes, it is disturbing that Palestinian children are being taught to chant "Rifle fire! Raise it up!" in Hamas summer camps.

But, hey, we've got militaristic chants going in this country for our kiddies, too. On Sunday, President Bush met with the Boy Scouts, a gathering of 50,000, at their National Jamboree at an Army base in Virginia. Among other things, he went on about patriotism and military service.

Bush's audience had been warmed up by a man wearing an Army T-shirt who, as balloons with military emblems floated about, led the children in chants of "OO-rah" and "U.S.A.!"

Looks like we've got some of our own sun, fun and indoctrination.
JUDITH ROSS
San Francisco

Trackback: http://michellemalkin.com/mt/mt-MALKIN-tb.cgi/2574

Burn, Baby, Burn

2005-08-02T09:53:00.000-04:00

So - GWB has shown he has guts (again) and recess-appointed John Bolton as Ambassador to the U.N.

That shaking in the ground you feel is NOT an earthquake; it's merely the fear-induced tremors of the Koffing Anus and his ilk at Turtle Bay.

Things Are About To Get Interesting. Heh, heh, heh.

Wanting to Snatch Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

2005-08-02T08:38:00.000-04:00

50 House Dems, under the (snicker) "leadership" (snort) of Rep. Maxine "Shut Up" Walters, have formed the "Out of Iraq Caucus," calling for an immediate cut-and-run.

These people are BEGGING to stay in the minority! Don't they know there are more elections next year?

Full Details: http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/bminiter/?id=110007045

A Marine's Send-Off

2005-08-01T16:02:00.000-04:00

Blogger Peenie Wallie has a delightful story - verified as true - about a Marine bound for Iraq having a good-bye dinner with his family at one of Denver's fanciest restaurants, having no idea that the gentleman at the next table had arranged with the management to have the entire meal, including champagne, placed on his credit card.

To whomever this gentleman is, as they say Down Under, Good on ya, mate.

And to Marine Private Matt Hicketheir, just out of Basic Training and off to the Sandbox for a year, keep your head down and the flag high, and come back home safe to us with a Job Well Done.

Mercs Put Bounties on U.S. Law Enforcement

2005-08-01T15:38:00.000-04:00

Wow. That's all I can say. Wow.

According to this report in the Washington Times, Mexican army deserters, trained in the U.S. in narcotics-trafficking enforcement, have gone to work for the druglords they were trained to thwart.

But that's far from the worst of it.

They are, according to reporter Jerry Seper, offering $50,000 bounties for the murders of U.S. law enforcement agents, including Border Patrol agents.

I repeat: They are offering $50,000 bounties for the heads of U.S. law enforcement agents.

These mercenaries, called "Zetas," are active in Texas, Arizona, California, and Florida. A quick overview of their tactics:

"The number of assaults on U.S. Border Patrol agents along the 260 miles of U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona known as the Tucson sector has increased dramatically this year, including a May 30 shooting near Nogales, Ariz., in which two agents were seriously wounded during an ambush a mile north of the border.

"Their assailants were dressed in black commando-type clothing, used high-powered weapons and hand-held radios to point out the agents' location, and withdrew from the area using military-style cover and concealment tactics to escape back into Mexico."

Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin

The "British Race"

2005-08-01T12:55:00.000-04:00

Interesting post from John Derbyshire ("The Derb," pronounced "DAHb") about the archaeological / anthropological origins of the British people, up until recent (last 50 years) immigration.

The transformation of Britain. For evidence that it isn't, I offer the great news event of this month: the suicide-bomb attack on London. It has thrown the British into a flurry of self-examination, with many articles wondering why the British-born young Muslims who carried out those attacks had not assimilated into a British identity. Several commentators pointed out the most obvious answer: There no longer is any British identity, the multiculturalists and Europhiles having mocked, shamed, and legislated it out of existence.

Peripheral to this discussion, though not completely irrelevant to it, I note the following article from National Geographic that appeared this month, but which, given the NG's production cycle, must have gone to press before the attacks. The long and short of it is, that if you exclude the immigrants of the past 50 years and their descendants, the genetic makeup of the British people has changed very little since the end of the Ice Age 12,000 years ago.

[David] Miles, research fellow at the Institute of Archaeology in Oxford, England, says recent genetic and archaeological evidence puts a new perspective on the history of the British people. 'There's been a lot of arguing over the last ten years, but it's now more or less agreed that about 80 percent of Britons' genes come from hunter-gatherers who came in immediately after the Ice Age,' Miles said. These nomadic tribespeople followed herds of reindeer and wild horses northward to Britain as the climate warmed. 'Numbers were probably quite small — just a few thousand people,' Miles added. These earliest settlers were later cut off as rising sea levels isolated Britain from mainland Europe.

All the later arrivals that my school history books made such a fuss about — Celts and Romans, Saxons, Danes, and Normans — were just thin layers smeared on to that basic Ice Age stock. Notes another archeologist in this article: "It is actually quite common to observe important cultural change, including adoption of wholly new identities, with little or no biological change to a population."

In other words, the British are, genetically speaking, as peculiar and distinct as the Japanese, or the Andaman Islanders. To appreciate the irony here, you need to have observed the progress of multiculturalism in Britain. One of its chief supporting arguments has been that the British are, and always have been, a hodge-podge of different peoples mixed together, so that the notion of a British identity has no actual physical foundation. Apparently this argument is no longer operational.

Just one quick comment, certain to enrage many - maybe the English and (spit) French (spit) aren't so different after all - it said the Ice Age people came pursuing "herds of... wild horses." Although, unlike the current Horse-Munchers, at least the English could claim they left that behind with wearing only the skins of their kills.

Michael Ledeen: Spot On, As Always

2005-08-01T12:40:00.000-04:00

A mixed bag of good and bad news from Iran, the true terrorist heartland, in the latest from Michael Ledeen on NRO this morning. Here's the link, and here's a sample:

Ganji's Power
The other matter concerning the mullahs these days is the open challenge to the regime from their most famous prisoner, Akbar Ganji, now more than 50 days into his celebrated hunger strike against the regime. It is a thorny problem for the mullahs, for Ganji's willingness to sacrifice his own life on behalf of Iranian democracy has inspired people all over the world. Last week, the regime blinked, big-time. On Thursday, Tehran's infamous hanging judge Sayeed Mortazavi, entered the hospital to which Ganji had been moved from his prison cell, threw out all the doctors and nurses, replaced them with his own medical team, and sealed off the whole wing of the hospital. Since then, Ganji has been in near-total isolation. Some believe the mullahs intend to kill him, others are convinced that they are keeping him alive, and that whenever Ganji slips into a coma, Mortazavi's people hook him up to an IV, and bring him back, only to have him remove the tubes as soon as he recognize s what is happening.

It's a tough situation for Khamenei, who knows — as do all Shiites — that dead men can be much more powerful than the living. A martyred Ganji could inspire a new revolution — it would not be the first time in human history — but a living Ganji would expose an unexpected weakness in the black heart of the regime. What to do? One indication that Khamenei wants a living Ganji came a couple of days ago, when a large pro-Ganji demonstration in Tehran was permitted to go forward. And Khamenei may also be alarmed at the support for Ganji from some of the country's grand ayatollahs, most notably Montazeri (to whom Ganji directed an appeal for the impeachment of Khamenei), who, although under house arrest, remains a powerful force.

If we were determined to support freedom in Iran, we would expand our welcome support for Ganji to the other political prisoners now dying under torture in that suffering country. Indeed, one of those little pockets of freedom has given us the opportunity. A week ago, a judiciary oversight committee in Tehran issued a blistering report about the systematic violations of human rights by Iranian judges and jailers. The report cited torture and beatings, illegal wiretapping, solitary confinement in spaces as small as three square feet, detentions without charges for long periods of time, brutality against female prisoners, and so forth.

Remember that name, Akbar Ganji. One way or another, he'll be making history shortly.

Jimmeh

2005-08-01T11:45:00.000-04:00

Lots of activity around the blogosphere this morning about Carter's asinine comments on the War, Gitmo, etc... A war, of course, we are in in no small part due to his actions in Iran circa 1977-80.

Carter, who won the same Nobel Peace Prize as such then-living saints as Yasser Arafat and Gen. Giap, is going on (and on, and on, and on...) about what he calls the "Unnecessary and unjust" war in Iraq.

As Emperor Darth Misha says, "Listen, we don't give a good f*** how many rusty nails he has somebody else pound into a "Habitat for Humanity" for him while he looks on admiringly with his watery, bloodshot ancient peep holes, it is never, EVER going to make up for his disgusting defense of a sick tyrant who gassed thousands of women and children.
"'Unjust' our Imperial A**.

"Go tell that to the children of Halabja, Iraq.

"Oh no, that's right."
(picture of gassed children)

"YOU CAN'T!"

Of course, the FORMER President gave this speech, as he gives all his anti-U.S. rants, on foreign soil, in this case Birmingham, England. No surprise there.

As the man said, Jimmeh, "Don't go away mad.

"Just Go Away."

Trackback: http://www.nicedoggie.net/mt/mt-tb.cgi/5991

Welcome Back

2005-08-01T11:43:00.000-04:00

Okay, it's Monday. When the tech guy starts out the week opening your computer with a screwdriver, you know it will be a slow start to posting. But I WILL.

Please be patient. Thanks.

Speaking of German Prostitutes...

2005-07-29T16:45:00.000-04:00

Well, Gerhard Schroeder has finally chased us out. The London Financial Times (read here) reports that the Pentagon announced today the closure of 13 U.S. bases in Germany.

Affected: 6,100 U.S. troops, 11,000 family members, 1,000 U.S. civilian employees, and 1,000 German employees over the next year. No word on the ripple effects to the German economy and its already-10% Unemployment Rate.

Smooth Move, Gerhard. Good luck getting THOSE votes ever again.

Apropos of Nothing....

2005-07-29T16:03:00.000-04:00

I just really wanted to post this photo.

No, "Those Shirts" isn't advertising here (YET), but after the discussion of this beauty on the Rott this morning, I just wanted her here.

Welcome, Brendan Coffin!

2005-07-29T15:30:00.000-04:00

Congrats to NRO contributor / attorney / Red Sox fan Shannen Coffin, whose (Russian) wife just delivered their new son, Brendan Romanoff Coffin, a hefty 8lbs. 13 oz., today.

I Know This Is LATE...

2005-07-29T15:15:00.000-04:00

REALLY Late. But this is one of the finest online essays I have ever read.

This is from NRO's Larry Kudlow, official Economic Whiz, back before 9/11, when we were all concerned with shark attacks (kinda like today) and whether or not Congressman Gary Condit (D-CA) murdered his intern/lover.

This WASN'T what I expected from Kudlow, in which he writes very plainly about his struggles with alcohol and substance abuse.

Read the whole thing, please. Thanks.

I Got Posted in The Corner!!!

2005-07-29T13:50:00.000-04:00

Not bad for my first day. I sent Kathryn Jean Lopez an e-mail yesterday that she has posted - alas, anonymously.

The discussion was on nicknames for followers of particular NRO writers - Jonah Goldberg's G-philes, John Derbyshire's Derbites, etc., so I wrote up a quick list and sent them in.

NICKNAMES [Kathryn Jean Lopez]From e-mails:
Thomas Hibbs - Hibbsters
Ramesh Ponnuru - Mesh-Heads
Jack Dunphy - The Secret Police
Byron York - Yorkies
VDH -- Athenians? Danaans?
Jim Robbins - The Robbinators

"Jack Dunphy" is an anonymous LAPD officer who writes under an assumed name for reasons that QUICKLY become obvious.

She deleted my nickname for poster / sit-com Executive Producer Warren Bell, "Bell-Ringers" or "Hunchbacks."

But before these were posted Ramesh (an old acquaintance - yes, I'm name dropping, here) posted that he preferred "Ponnuruvians." I can happily live with that.

UPDATE: Apparently, "The Robbinator" has caught on, albeit for Jim Robbins himself. Appropriately so.

...And There's Some of that Cold, White Stuff up in Alaska, Too.

2005-07-29T11:43:00.000-04:00

Prostitutes in Germany?! Perish the thought!

CNN reports the building of a mega-brothel in Berlin for the 2006 World Cup, with 60 rooms, "whirlpool, sauna, cinema, buffet restaurant and a staff of 100 prostitutes." All within an easy walk of the World Cup Stadium. Oh, joy.

So, book your flights now. It'll only cost whatever they charge in Euros, plus the penicillin shot, HIV "Cocktail" treatments, your divorce lawyers' fees, etc., etc., etc., ...

And maybe your immortal soul.

Just thinkin', is all.

(Hat tip: Drudge)

Justice Delayed...

2005-07-29T10:57:00.000-04:00

Okay, two nights ago I had dinner with my dad, who had the See-BS Evening snort "News" snicker, guffaw on - only reason I watched it. Had a delightful little story about a family who burned down a trailer where their daughter was brutally murdered in 1988. They bought the trailer and the land it sat upon, and the local fire department was happy to help them out. So far, so good.

""It's there. It's a presence every day,' Ken Metzler of the Fremont County Fire Department, said of Eaton's house. Burning it down, Metzler said is 'Cleansing it. Cleansing it by fire.'"

The scum in question, one Dale Eaton, "tortured her for six days then stabbed her six times. He's now on death row."

Well, that's just great. This happened 17 years ago, time in which Eaton's had three hots and a cot. So Why Is This Maggot Still Alive? (Apologies to any insect larvae out there - you are nothing like this waste of perfectly good organs.)

Whole Story: Read For Yourself.

A Challenge to the Slaves Of The Prophet

2005-07-29T10:46:00.000-04:00

Hey, Raghead gang - try this one on for size. Might be $50,000 in it for you - and yes, that buys lots of goats and C-4.

Just go to www.faithfreedom.org/challenge.htm where you simply have to disprove some challenges made about your beloved Mahound.

He has a few things to say about your Allah (may Bees Pee Upon Him) and your Pedophile Prophet you might want to consider. Enjoy!

(Thanks to His Imperial Sith Awfulness, The Rott.)

MISSING.......PLEASE HELP!

2005-07-29T10:01:00.000-04:00

This is a photo of Cheryl Ann Magner.

She has been missing since the beginning of June. She was last seen in Marin County, Ca.
Please ,anyone who has seen this 17 year old girl please call 415-472-2994. This is her mother's phone number...please do not call unless you have information that would be helpful.Or call the San Rafael police dept. @ 415-485-3000 or www.srpd.org
Any information or help would be greatly appreciated by the family.

Greetings!

2005-07-29T09:52:00.000-04:00

Hi! I don't know if anyone will EVER see this, but I've been meaning to start this for some time.

I'm your Unky Greg. I'm finishing up law school at an undisclosed location on the East Coast, and my ultimate blogging goal is to be blogrolled at the Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler, where I am known as LC (Loyal Citizen) Gregorian.

I hope to have some stuff up before long - please be patient.

-UG