Memorial Day 2010

Words can’t express how grateful I am to the brave men and women who served, and then died, while protecting my freedom and the freedom of hundreds of millions of my fellow Americans. May we never take that freedom for granted, and may we cherish our troops who are currently fighting for us overseas. Say a prayer for them today.

I wanted to share a two-part video that was uploaded about an hour ago from Camp Leatherneck in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The Marines there had a Memorial Day ceremony, and I thought it’d be much more valuable to post than a speech from a politician.

From the video description:

“Scenes include the morning presentation of colors, a speech by Maj. Gen. Richard Mills, a 21-gun salute, the playing of Taps, an invocation, remembering the fallen and service members paying final respects.”

Hate Mail of the Day

Just sent to me in response to my “Zombies Attack BP Gas Station in Manhattan!!” post yesterday:

Hey Nick….I got a newsflash for you…we are ALL animals you fool! And I am one of those people who cares less about humans than I do about whales and shrimp. We created this mess, its our fault! The creatures of the ocean did not do this. I dont give a rip about those humans who died on the rig. Reap what you sow. Greed Kills suckers!

Lovely.

Quote of the Day

“You know, I thought when we elected a black president, we were gonna get a black president. You know, this is where I want a real black president. I want him in a meeting with the BP CEOs, you know, where he lifts up his shirt so they could see the gun in his pants. “We got a motherf—ing problem here?” You know, shoot somebody in the foot.”

I’m glad to know Bill Maher’s definition of a “real” black man is a thug who keeps a gun in his pants, talks like a gangsta, and then shoots people. You stay classy, Bill.

Oh, by the way, I’m tired of hearing the, “But he’s just a comedian!” defense from the Left. If you have serious newsmakers on your show on a daily basis, as Maher does, then you should be held accountable for what you say. Same goes for Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

CA-Sen: Fourth poll in a row shows Fiorina up big

From a new USC/LA Times poll:

Fiorina: 38%

Campbell: 23%

DeVore: 15%

Head-to-head matchups with Boxer:

Boxer 44%, Fiorina 39%

Campbell 45%, Boxer 38%

Boxer 46%, DeVore 37%

Campbell’s lead over Boxer just proves he’s the most Liberal Republican in the race. As most people know, the more Conservative you are in California, the less well you poll. These results clearly show that in this race.

And THIS explains why Chuck DeVore has remained in third place in every poll while Fiorina has surged into the lead:

BP: Our ‘Top Kill’ Procedure Has Failed

Oy.

From Fox News:

BP admitted defeat Saturday in its attempt to plug the Gulf of Mexico oil leak by pumping mud into a busted well, but said it’s preparing yet another method to fight the spill after a series of failures.

BP PLC Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said the company determined the “top kill” method had failed after after it spent three days pumping heavy drilling mud into the crippled well 5,000 feet underwater.

“This scares everybody, the fact that we can’t make this well stop flowing, the fact that we haven’t succeeded so far,” Suttles said. “Many of the things we’re trying have been done on the surface before, but have never been tried at 5,000 feet.”

It was the latest setback for the company casting about for ways to stop the crude from further fouling waters, wildlife and marshland. A 100-ton box placed over the leak failed after ice-like crystals clogged it, while a mile-long tube that sucked more than 900,000 gallons of oil from the gusher was removed to make way for the top kill.

Suttles said BP is already preparing for the next attempt to stop the leak. Under the plan, BP would use robot submarines to cut off the damaged riser from which the oil is leaking, and then try to cap it with a containment valve. Officials say the cutting and capping effort would take at least four days.

So oil will continue to gush to the surface of the Gulf for at least the next four days. Wow.

From BP's video feed: the gushing oil well.

Rasmussen: 74% of Americans Have Favorable Opinion of U.S. Military

To the 26% who don’t: You can get out.

Seriously.

From Rasmussen:

This Memorial Day, nearly three-out-of-four Americans (74%) have a favorable opinion of the U.S. military, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Just 12% hold an unfavorable opinion, and 13% are not sure.

These figures have held steady for the past two years.

Thirty-five percent (35%) of Adults say they have a relative or close friend currently serving our country in Iraq or Afghanistan, down nine points from a year ago.

Forty percent (40%) also say they’ve lost a relative or close friend who gave their life while serving in the military. Fifty-two percent (52%) have not lost a relative or close friend in the line of duty.

We owe our freedom to the men and women that have selflessly put their lives on the line (and layed them down) for us.

God bless our troops.

Zombies Attack BP Gas Station in Manhattan!!

All pictures from the AP:

This one’s my favorite:

The woman on the left seems a bit too worried about her hair. No lack of commitment from the woman in the middle, however…

Anyway, here’s the story behind the mess you see above. Per the AP:

Protesters chant slogans covered in a mixture of water and paint resembling oil during a demonstration at a BP gas station in the SoHo neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York, Friday, May 28, 2010.

Super.

Meanwhile, the rest of us were at school or working…

Obama at yesterday’s presser: “The easily accessible oil has already been sucked up out of the ground.”

Mr. President, as Congressman Joe Wilson would say, “You lie!”

Or maybe you just conveniently forgot about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska…

Charles Krauthammer, also a proponent of drilling in ANWR, writes in a new column:

There will always be catastrophic oil spills. You make them as rare as humanly possible, but where would you rather have one: in the Gulf of Mexico, upon which thousands depend for their livelihood, or in the Arctic, where there are practically no people?

All spills seriously damage wildlife. That’s a given. But why have we pushed the drilling from the barren to the populated, from the remote wilderness to a center of fishing, shipping, tourism and recreation?

Hear, hear.

Rasmussen: Murray 48, Rossi 47

From Rasmussen:

Making it official hasn’t changed the numbers. Republican Dino Rossi is now formally challenging incumbent Democrat Patty Murray for the U.S. Senate in Washington, but the two candidates remain virtually tied as they have for months

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Washington finds Murray with 48% support while Rossi earns 47%. Two percent (2%) prefer some other candidate in the race, and four percent (4%) are undecided.

That’s essentially unchanged from earlier this month.

In fact, the results of a Murray-Rossi match-up have been close all year. Since January, when matched against Rossi, Murray’s support has stayed in the narrow range of 46% to 48%. During the same period, Rossi has earned 46% to 49%.

Any incumbent who  earns less than 50% support at this stage of a campaign is considered potentially vulnerable. However, Washington is a Democratic leaning state which should provide a boost for the incumbent Democrat. Murray was reelected with 55% of the vote in 2004.

More data from the poll:

– Murray carries both male and female voters in the state unless Rossi is the Republican in the race in which case both demographic groups break roughly even.

– Voters not affiliated with either major party favor Rossi.

– Fifty-two percent (52%) in Washington support repeal of the health care bill and 46% are opposed. This reflects a slight uptick in support for repeal from earlier in the month.

– Fifty-two percent (52%) of all voters in the state favor a law like Arizona’s in Washington, while 39% oppose such a law. Fifty-four percent (54%) believe police officers should be required to check the immigration status of anyone they stop for a traffic or other violation if they suspect that person is an illegal immigrant. Thirty-four percent (34%) oppose that requirement.

President Obama Says “Uh” A Lot…

I mean A LOT.

226 "uh's" in 52 minutes of answering questions during his press conference earlier today.