“America is not at war. The Marin Corps is at war; America is at the mall.”

Couldn’t agree more… 

Tyler Perry’s House of Payne will begin airing on June 6 @ 9/8 Central time on TBS.

Outstanding!!

If you have cable or satellite TV, you will be able to get House of Payne!!!

Tyler Perry sent out a new communication to alert everyone on his email newsletter (which are free; you can sign up on the first page), that his webpage has been re-done.

Tyler is busy, which is great for the rest of us!!!

You can’t help but see one of those amazing commercials for 300. It is a movie based on a graphic novel (a/k/a comic book) which loosely depicts the Battle of Thermopylae.

This battle took place between the Spartans (a city state of Ancient Greece) and the Persians around 480 BC. 

The Battle of Themopylae is an important battle historically in that so few (300) warded off so many. War historians study this battle because of the tactics utilized.

I used the commercial to go into the subject matter of Ancient Greece on how they had such an effect on our history and form of government. I started to talk about the different city-states and discuss how each one was different. I then mentioned The Trojans…

My daughter looked at me and said, “I thought that was a condom”…

I explained to her that the Greek Trojans came first; by several thousand years.

What else can you say?

If anyone ever questions the importance of Trademarks, just remember this: because of marketing Trojans are no longer historical figures…

That is amazing.

Less than 24 hours after President Bush addressed the Nation and requested bi-partisan support for his Iraq troop surge plan, a Senate panel rejected the plan.

On a bipartisan vote of 12-9, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a resolution expressing clear disapproval of Bush’s Iraq policy, a day after he asked Congress to give it more time to work. The vote is nonbinding, but supporters hope it will convince the president to reconsider.

In his State of the Union address to a defiant Congress on Tuesday, Bush insisted it was not too late to shape the outcome in Iraq with a new strategy. “I ask you to give it a chance to work,” Bush said in the speech, the first time he faced a House of Representatives and Senate both controlled by Democrats.

As my good “southern” bred friends and family would put it, ”they didn’t even let the body get cold”… 

Prior to President Bush’s State of the the Union address, that very same afternoon, General David Patraeus gave the following testimony:

General David Petraeus testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee. When asked if he could get his job done in Iraq without additional troops, he replied: “No, sir.”  When asked if a congressional resolution of disapproval of the “surge” could encourage the enemy, he said, “That’s correct, sir.”

So… what side are you on? What side are the Senators on? It looks like some Republican Senators, Warner and Hagel will vote on this “non-binding” resolution that Senator Biden was quoted as saying it was, “not an attemptot embarrass the president… It is an attempt to save the president from making a significant mistake with regard to our policy in Iraq”.

If you believe that, I guess you believe Paris Hilton is still a virgin….

My guess is that they are looking out for their political carreer as opposed to what is in the best interest of this country, i.e.: winning.

In today’s more “hip” vernacle, the question is:  Who’s your daddy?

You can let everyone know and maybe help avert disaster by taking the Pledge:

If the United States Senate passes a resolution, non-binding or otherwise, that criticizes the commitment of additional troops to Iraq that General Petraeus has asked for and that the president has pledged, and if the Senate does so after the testimony of General Petraeus on January 23 that such a resolution will be an encouragement to the enemy, I will not contribute to any Republican senator who voted for the resolution. Further, if any Republican senator who votes for such a resolution is a candidate for re-election in 2008, I will not contribute to the National Republican Senatorial Committee unless the Chairman of that Committee, Senator Ensign, commits in writing that none of the funds of the NRSC will go to support the re-election of any senator supporting the non-binding resolution

1. Take the Pledge/sign the Petition;
2. Contact your Senators and the Senate Republican leadership;
3. Tell at least 3 friends about the Pledge and refer them here to sign

I prefer we, as a country, as a people, win the war in Iraq. I believe in order to do this, we need to support The Surge, General Petraeus and the troops. 

If you are still unsure if the Surge is the right plan or not, take a look at where our troops stand; read this, Why Iraq Matters. It is written by an active duty officier and emailed it to Hugh Hewitt.Part I and Part II)

Jack Bauer’s 6th bad day has not disappointed!!

This year, my oldest daughter has started watching it with me. She is so psyched!! So, that has been a real pleasure for me.

This past week has not disappointed!

While I thought the first 4 hours were not bad, they weren’t like last year’s start. I mean, how do you compete with the assassination of a President in the first 4 minutes of a program? That is hard to beat!

But this past week’s episode was amazing!

First of all, one of my favorites, Bill Buchanan a/k/a LTC McQueen to me, is now married to the Homeland Security gal from last season, Karen Hayes… good. good, they are moving along from last season and going on with their lives.

It looks like one of the main terrorists is Dr. Bashir! I didn’t think he had it in him to be a warrior type. He used to wince when he played darts with Chief O’Brien! He made a deal to help us track down the “real” terrorist (as opposed to him). As I explained to my daughter, “he may be a terrorist, but he’s our terrorist!”

Anyway, the best part of this week was the conjunction of several universes: Jack’s family, the Bluetooth group and conspiracies galore…

Dr. Zefram Cochrane is Jack’s Dad? (If he is a bit evil, he may be closer to Capt. Dudley of LA Confidential.) The Bluetooth leader/pupet master of President Logan in Season 5 is Jack’s brother? I’m surprised the universe didin’t rip and fall into itself or form a wormhole right through my TV and suck me into some alternate universe!!

-SNAP- (That was my brain.)

No wonder Jack has this deep seated sense of patriotism; he was obviously rebelling against the established Bauer family values. It explains why he can torture enemies of the state…

Speaking of which, how’s this: “Hey bro! Haven’t seen you in a while; where’s dad!!!! (while he is putting a plastic bag over your head!) This is for screwing up my Star Wars actions figures! This is for betraying our country!!” (I was going to post a picture, but it is a bit too graphic…)

Anyway, I didn’t think things could get any ”crazier” than a Nuke going off; but then again, there is nothing like family nukes going off!

Side Note: Jack needs to get his fully loaded manpurse back or he is toast!

Extra Side Note: So, is his nephew really his son? Only time will tell…

I’ve been under the weather; and with the weather we have had lately, that is saying alot!

I have some sort of problem with my inner ear. It means that I feel like I am constantly on a merry-go-round or big seagoing ship or at its’ worst, a carnival ride that goes around real fast and pins you to the side or floor. Then there are other times that I feel just fine. It comes and goes.

It is very hard to focus for any period of time because of it. There is so much I want to say or write and I just don’t have it in me to do so.

I’m hoping that it will get better soon.

Thanks!

Today was a sad day.

Yes, it was beautiful and mild, not too hot or cold. But it was a sad day, nonetheless…

Why? We put Christmas away for another year. More specifically, we put the Christmas decorations for another year. Everything looks prettier and happier with the decorations up, especially lights. When they are gone, the house just doesn’t seem quite so happy… nice… fun.

I’ve thought about leaving the tree up for a year or the lights (inside of course; the homeowner’s Association wouldn’t allow us to keep them up outside . But if I did leave them up, maybe they wouldn’t seem so special or pretty?

So today was “put away” day. None of the kids wanted to help. Everyone else had something “better” to do…

I understand. I really do; this is not a job that is fun.

So I wrapped up breakables in the newspaper. I began to think while I was doing this: What will next year be like? Will my children still be OK? Will my husband? Will I have the same job? Will my husband? Will the economy be OK or tanked?  Who will die in the next year? Who will be sick? Who will be well? Will we be here?

Or will everything be just like it is now? A return to status quo?

I know nothing ever remains in status quo, I know something will be changed, but what?

That’s always the questions, isn’t it?

Every fragile item wrapped in the paper became a low tech time capsule. Democrats took office this week (there was much rejoicing!)… Iraq… Terror threats… Israel…. Nuclear bombs…

We’ll see what these headlines will be like next year when I unwrap them for their contents to be put up for the season… Perspective is always interesting…

In the meantime, I will go to bed knowing that the house is picked up and we are set for another year of life…

Anticipation of change is always difficult especially when you have no idea what the change will be…