WASHINGTON - During the final allied offensive of the Korean War, Master Sgt. Woodrow Wilson Keeble risked his life to save his fellow Soldiers. Almost six decades after his gallant actions and 26 years after his death, Keeble will be the first full-blooded Sioux Indian to receive the Medal of Honor.

The White House announced this morning that Keeble will receive the Medal of Honor posthumously in a ceremony scheduled for 2:30 p.m. March 3.

Keeble is one of the most decorated Soldiers in North Dakota history. A veteran of World War II and the Korean War, he was born in 1917 in Waubay, S.D., on the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Reservation, which extended into North Dakota. He spent most of his life in the Wahpeton, N.D. area, where he attended an Indian school. In 1942 Keeble joined the North Dakota National Guard, and in October that year, found himself embroiled in some of the fiercest hand-to-hand combat of World War II on Guadalcanal.

Guadalcanal

"Guadalcanal seemed to be on his mind a lot," Russell Hawkins, Keeble's stepson, said. "His fellow Soldiers said he had to fight a lot of hand-to-hand fights with the Japanese, so he saw their faces. Every now and then he would get a far-away look in his eyes, and I knew he was thinking about those men and the things he had to do." At Henderson Field on the South Pacific Island, Keeble served with Company I, 164th Infantry - the first Army  unit on Guadalcanal.

"I heard stories from James Fenelon, who served with him there, and he would talk about how the men of the 164th rallied around this full-blooded Sioux Indian whose accuracy with the Brown Automatic Rifle was unparalleled," Hawkins said. "It was said he would go in front of patrols and kill enemies before his unit would get there."

The Sioux have a word for that kind of bravery, according to Hawkins - wowaditaka. "It means don't be afraid of anything, be braver than that which scares you the most." Keeble personified the word according to fellow Soldiers, and earned the first of four Purple Hearts and his first Bronze Star for his actions on Guadalcanal.

Korea

Keeble answered the call to arms again when war broke out in Korea. He was a seasoned, 34-year-old master sergeant serving with 1st Platoon, Company G, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Division.

According to eyewitness accounts, while serving as the acting platoon leader of 1st Plt. in the vicinity of the Kumsong River, North Korea, on or about Oct. 15. 1951, Keeble voluntarily took on the responsibility of leading not only his platoon, but the 2nd and 3rd Platoons as well.

In an official statement 1st Sgt. Kosumo "Joe" Sagami of Co. G said, "All the officers of the company had received disabling wounds or were killed in action, except one platoon leader who assumed command of the company." The company's mission was to take control of a steep, rocky, heavily fortified hill.

Hawkins recalled how the man everyone knew as "Woody," described the terrain. "We were driving through Colorado on a trip, and Woody was pointing at something out the window," Hawkins said. By that time, Keeble had suffered seven debilitating strokes and lost the ability to speak.

"I pulled over and realized he was pointing at a large, rocky cliff with an almost sheer drop. I asked Woody if that was what it was like during that battle in Korea and he nodded, 'yes,'" Hawkins said. "It wasn't quite a straight drop down, but you could get up the hill faster on your hands and knees than on your feet."

Sagami wrote that Keeble led all three platoons in successive assaults upon the Chinese who held the hill throughout the day. All three charges were repulsed, and the company suffered heavy casualties. Trenches filled with enemy soldiers, and fortified by three pillboxes containing machine guns and additional men surrounded the hill.

Following the third assault and subsequent mortar and artillery support, the enemy sustained casualties among its ranks in the open trenches. The machine gunners in the pillboxes however, continued to direct fire on the company. Sagami said after Keeble withdrew the 3rd platoon, he decided to attempt a solo assault.

"He once told a relative that the fourth attempt he was either going to take them out or die trying," Hawkins said.

"Woody used to tell people he was more concerned about losing his men than about losing his own life," he added. "He pushed his own life to the limit. He wasn't willing to put his fellow Soldiers' lives on the line."

Armed with grenades and his Browning Automatic Rifle, Keeble crawled to an area 50 yards from the ridgeline, flanked the left pillbox and used grenades and rifle fire to eliminate it, according to Sagami. After returning to the point where 1st Platoon held the company's first line of defense, Keeble worked his way to the opposite side of the ridgeline and took out the right pillbox with grenades. "Then without hesitation, he lobbed a grenade into the back entrance of the middle pillbox and with additional rifle fire eliminated it," Sagami added.

Hawkins said one eyewitness told him the enemy directed its entire arsenal at Keeble during his assault. "He said there were so many grenades coming down on Woody, that it looked like a flock of blackbirds." Even under heavy enemy fire, Keeble was able to complete his objective. Only after he killed the machine gunners did Keeble order his men to advance and secure the hill.

"When I first started hearing these stories I was amazed that a man of Woody's size (more than six feet tall and 235-plus pounds), could sneak up on the enemy without being noticed," Hawkins said. "So one day, I was out helping him mow the lawn, and I asked him how he did it. He just shrugged his shoulders.

"I joked with him and told him those soldiers must have been blind or old or something, because he would never be able to sneak up on a young guy like me." Hawkins said he continued to mow then was startled when Woody popped up from behind some bushes near him. "He could have reached out and grabbed me by the ankles, and I didn't even know he was there!" Keeble had slid on his back behind the brush. Although Hawkins was not positive, he believed Keeble might have used a similar maneuver when attacking the pillboxes.

Keeble's selfless acts on that rugged terrain in 1951 did not come without a price. According to Sagami and other eyewitnesses, he was wounded on at least five different occasions by fragmentation and concussion grenades. "His wounds were apparent in the chest, both arms, right calf, knee and right thigh and left thigh." Sagami cited blood at the wound locations as evidence.

Hawkins said 83 grenade fragments were removed from Keeble's body, but several others remained. "You could tell that the wounds bothered him sometimes, but he never complained."

Sagami wrote in his statement that Keeble did not complain on the battlefield either. "At no time did he allow himself to be evacuated during the course of the day. Only after the unit was in defensive positions for the night did he allow himself to be evacuated."

According to Hawkins, every surviving member of Co. G signed a letter recommending Keeble for the Medal of Honor on two separate occasions, once in November 1951 and then again in December that same year. On both instances, the paperwork was lost. Keeble was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross Dec. 20, 1952 for his actions in Korea, not the Medal of Honor his men believed he deserved. He also earned the Purple Heart (First Oak Leaf Cluster); Bronze Star (First Oak Leaf Cluster); and the Silver Star as a result of his heroics throughout his tour in Korea. He was honorably discharged March 1, 1953.

Life after the Army

Even after his discharge, Keeble never severed his ties with the Army, Hawkins said, and was a champion for veterans and their causes. "He was always going to different veterans events and he supported the Disabled American Veterans organization. He would wear his uniform in parades, and was the first in line for any type of fundraiser."

Though Keeble knew of his unit's failed attempts to award him the Medal of Honor, Hawkins said he never sensed any bitterness from him. "Whenever someone would bring it up, he just shrugged. He wasn't there to get medals; he was there for his men and his country. He enjoyed the small things in life, and concentrated on what he had, not what he didn't have."

Those who didn't know Keeble the Soldier saw him as a kind-hearted, gentle man full of humility, according to Hawkins. "Woody was a very upbeat person. If you didn't know his war record, you'd think he was just a happy-go-lucky guy. His glass was always half full, never half empty."

In later years, Keeble fell on hard times and was forced to pawn all his medals. He had one lung removed, and in the months and years following the surgery suffered more than a half dozen strokes that Hawkins said eventually left him speechless. "But his mind remained sharp, and he was the same man inside."

Keeble's family was presented with a duplicate set of medals in May 2006, and they, along with his uniform and other memorabilia, are housed at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks.

Long Road to Medal of Honor

The family's battle to upgrade Keeble's Distinguished Service Cross to the Medal of Honor began in 1972, when both Woody and his wife, Dr. Blossom Hawkins-Keeble, were still alive. According to Hawkins, the family unknowingly started off in the wrong direction. "We thought the paperwork had been lost, but were unaware that it no longer existed. It didn't just get lost on the battlefield, it never made it off the battlefield." When the family finally realized this fact, they sought the support of the Sisseton-Wahpeton tribe and gathered recorded statements from the men who served with Keeble.

The team soon learned that since the statute of limitations for awarding the Medal of Honor was three years from the date of the heroic action, it would literally take, "An Act of Congress," to realize the goal. Beginning in 2002, the tribe involved senators and representatives from North and South Dakota. Armed with written evidence, eyewitness accounts and letters from four senators supporting the effort, tribe officials contacted the Army, which reviewed the evidence and concluded Keeble's actions were worthy of the medal. Finally, on March 23, 2007, North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan introduced a bill, cosponsored by Senators Kent Conrad (ND), Tim Johnson (SD) and John Thune (SD), authorizing the president, "To award the Medal of Honor to Woodrow W. Keeble for his acts of valor during the Korean conflict." Congress passed the bill in early December 2007.

Hawkins will represent Keeble in a White House ceremony March 3, where he will accept the Medal of Honor on his behalf.

"We are just proud to be a part of this for Woody," Hawkins said. "He is deserving of this, for what he did in the Armed Services in defense of this country."

Hawkins added that this victory is as important for the Sisseton-Wahpeton tribe and North and South Dakota as it is for Keeble and his family. "We are all extremely proud that Woody is finally receiving this honor. He epitomized our cultural values of humility, compassion, bravery, strength and honor."

He added that Woody was the embodiment of "woyuonihan," or, "honor," always carrying himself in a way so that those who knew him would be proud of him. "He lived a life full of honor and respect."

Hawkins said his feelings about Keeble echo those of all who knew him. "If he was alive today, I would tell him there's no one I respect more, and how he is everything a man should be: brave, kind and generous. I would tell him how proud I am of him, and how I never realized that all this time, I was living with such greatness."
 

Nine Guys Finish Last

Little David Archuleta's winning performance of ''Imagine'' made all the other men singing tonight look like also-rans, but we saw reason for some of them to hope

DAVES ARE NUMBERED David Hernandez (left) and David Archuleta are our top two picks for the night

All About

By Michael Slezak

He has the eyes of Bambi, only darker and perhaps 11 percent more earnest. When the camera catches his broad, open, guileless grin, you can kind of understand how a mother feels the first time her baby looks up at her and smiles. And when he sings — oh, that voice! — grandpas (and Paula) grab their handkerchiefs and dab the corners of their eyes, remembering simpler days when ''nice boys and girls'' were the toast of the airwaves.

The judges adore him. The tweens in the audience can't stop screaming for him. And, perhaps most remarkable of all, he doesn't give off that whiff of creepiness that too often clings to youthful performers — you know, the forced maturity, the soulless ambition, the ability to come up with a polished but uninteresting sound bite the minute the cameras start rolling.

In fact, as David Archuleta closed tonight's episode of American Idol with a beautiful, slowed-down rendition of ''Imagine,'' I jotted a single word on my notepad: ''Inevitable.'' And while that's an adjective I hate to use only halfway through the second week of the season 7 semifinals, it's one I cannot ignore, either. So, what the heck, let's confront it:

Is David Archuleta's season 7 Idol victory simply inevitable?

Maybe, but I sure as hell hope not!

It's not that Little David — and we'll call him Little David for now to distinguish him from the other two Davids left in the competition — doesn't seem like a genuinely nice kid, or that he didn't offer a unique, pitch-perfect arrangement of a John Lennon classic, or that he hasn't shown more star quality and stage presence in two weeks of performances than all the other male contestants combined.

It's just that a 13-week victory march isn't going to make for a very compelling season of my favorite television program. In other words, just because the waiter is pushing the Archuleta special with every fiber of his being doesn't mean I don't want to look at the entire menu. And let's not forget, this time last year, Idol's sixth season looked like an epic showdown between Melinda Doolittle and LaKisha Jones, and they wound up finishing third and fourth respectively.

So while it's true that none of the nine other dudes matched Little David's ''Imagine'' tonight, a few of them performed well enough to keep themselves in (distant) striking range of the adorable front-runner. Now all David Hernandez and David Cook (and maybe Jason Castro, Danny Noriega, and Michael Johns) have to do is hope that Little David's voice isn't quite finished changing (and for the worse) or that TMZ is about to reveal the kid is secretly managed by Dina Lohan.

And anyway, even if it's going to be the season of Archuleta, let's just be thankful that there's a real race heating up for the five other spots reserved for male finalists. After his uninspired and rote ''In the Midnight Hour'' kicked off last week's show, tonight we got a very special edition of How David H. Got His Soul Back — which he provided by covering the night's coolest number, ''Papa Was a Rollin' Stone,'' with a vigor and intensity that managed to convert even Simon into a fan. Okay, it's true, there were a couple of rough patches, especially in David H.'s lower register, but the growling, dramatic way he ended the number was a nice (and rather grown-up) contrast to the teen-dreaminess that seems to be defining the season. If there's a workmanlike, Elliott Yamin-ish contestant in the field who might outlast some of his more buzzed-about rivals, I'd put my money on David H. Plus, bonus points to the guy for choosing funky, up-tempo numbers two weeks running.

Whilst he probably will have little affect (or effect) on the race this time, this cannot be a happy prospect for Dems!

Man, this guy just won't go away!

Pie Face Russert had him on MTP for a reason though.

And he's a Dem through and through.

Hmmmmmmmm..................................

I love one word associations on blogs.

Example:

Food

Next Poster:

Cook

 Next Poster:

Books

And so on. Its really fun and you may learn somehting about yourself as well as fellow posters  ;=)

and you cannot be wrong...... and they usually go down an interesting twisting road!

(it would be better if there were a quote function on this blog - so it is clear the word being  "associated" though)

ONLY  "RULE":

ONE WORD ONLY!

(good for us PDA'ers)

The facts your liberal friends need to hear
By Jonah Goldberg

Liberals, perhaps more than anyone, believe that we should be vigilant against the threat of fascism. Now, they also believe that fascism can only come from the Right--I think they're wrong. But, what liberals - and everyone else - very much need to understand is that whatever direction fascism comes from, it's popular. Fascism succeeds in democratic countries because it convinces people that it's the wave of the future, it's progressive, it's young, it's vital, it's exciting. Fascist promise to fix what's broken in our democracy, to heal our wounds, to deliver us to promised lands. So if you think fascism comes from the Right, fine. But at least keep in mind that it won't sell itself as dull, or uptight, or old-fashioned.

Let me take a moment to give you a concrete sense of what I mean.

Fascism appealed to youth activists. Indeed, the Nazis and Fascists were in major respects youth movements. In 1931, 60 percent of all German undergraduates supported the Nazi Student Organization. "Their goal," the historian John Toland wrote of the young idealists who fed the Nazi rise to power, "was to establish a youth culture for fighting the bourgeois trinity of school, home and church."

Meanwhile, middle and lower class Germans were attracted to the economic and cultural populism of Nazism. The Nazi party began as the German Worker's Party. The Nazis economic rhetoric was eerily similar to John Edwards "Two Americas" talk. The Nazis promised to clamp down on Big Business - particularly department stores, the Wal-Marts of their day - and end the class struggle. Theodore Abel, an impressively clever American sociologist, gives us insight into why working class Germans were attracted to Nazism. In 1934 Abel took out an ad in the Nazi Party journal asking "old fighters" to submit essays explaining why they had joined. He restricted his request to "old fighters" because so many opportunists had joined the party after Hitler's rise. The essays were combined in the fascinating book Why Hitler Came Into Power. One essayist, a coal miner, explained "Though I was interested in the betterment of the workingman's plight, I rejected [Marxism] unconditionally. I often asked myself why socialism had to be tied up with internationalism-why it could not work as well or better in conjunction with nationalism." A railroad worker concurred, "I shuddered at the thought of Germany in the grip of Bolshevism. The slogan 'Workers of the World Unite!' made no sense to me. At the same time, however, National Socialism, with its promise of a community . . . barring all class struggle, attracted me profoundly." A third worker wrote that he embraced the Nazis because of their "uncompromising will to stamp out the class struggle, snobberies of caste and party hatreds. The movement bore the true message of socialism to the German workingman."

Nazism's appeal to the professional classes was just as strong. Raymond Dominick, a historian specializing in the history of German environmentalism, found that by 1939, 59 percent of conservationist leaders had joined the Nazi party, while only 10 percent of adult males had. Forty five percent of medical doctors had joined and roughly one quarter of teachers and lawyers had. The two groups of professionals with the highest rates of participation in the Nazi Party? Veterinarians were first and foresters were a close second. Dominick found a "unique nexus between National Socialism and nature conservation."

The Nazis and Italian Fascists won-over big business, cultural elites, the youth and the lower-classes because they portrayed themselves as heroically on the side of progress, protecting the environment and the poor. Fascists preached unity, togetherness and an end to division.

Liberals need to ask themselves where do they hear this rhetoric the most?

I'm not saying that merely being for the environment, the poor or national unity makes you a fascist. But what I am saying is that if you're concerned about spotting fascism on the horizon you can't just look at people you don't like. That's like only looking for your lost car keys where the light is good. Huey Long reportedly said that if Fascism comes to America it will be called "anti-Fascism." Liberals can still make their arguments that fascism comes from the right. But until they understand that wherever fascism may come from, it never arrives save in a form that the best and the brightest are willing to accept with open arms.

And if liberals don't know their history, they won't be equipped to spot it when it comes knocking.

Jonah Goldberg is the author of the New York Times bestseller Liberal Fascism.

We are so racially sensitive today we can't even have a sense of humor!

I finally figured WTF.

This is a 5th grade math problem. . This is not a trick question. This is a real math problem so don't say that a bus has no legs.

There are 7 girls in a bus

Each girl has 7 backpacks

In each backpack, there are 7 big cats

For every big cat there are 7 little cats

Question: How many legs are there in the bus?

I was struck last night, watching the Dem “Debate” that Obama calls the Taliban “tolly bon” and it sounds just like in the “Banana Boat Song” by Harry Belafonte. I wonder how long it will take for that to hit the airwaves (if it hasn’t already).

Anyway, for me at least, this and a few others will forever remind me of his campaign and in the future it may even apply to our new POTUS!

I had to wonder immediately who the “Commander” he was referring to re the “Rifle Co.” that I think he said should have had 39 members but due to diversion to Iraq only had 24. Thus they were short of ammunition and equipment. This made absolutely no sense to me, but not in the sense that Obama wanted you to think. What he said just made no sense in any context. But then I heard a woman commentator this morning gushing over how Obama proved he had credibility now as CIC.

Wow! I must be nuts!
 

Lest we forget how good our guys are!

http://shock.military.com/S...

Obama spent 45 minutes last night on his victory speech. I really listened to it. Wow!

This guy says govt will bail you out on your mortgage, give you money for college, give you free health care, in short – take care of you. If you make less than $200K/yr, he will take care of you. If you are a producer and make more, you will be burdened with all this.

I’m sure he appeals to those in the former group, and if they vote, he will coast to a general election victory slickern’ deer guts on a door knob!

His “Hope a Dope” strategy will sock it to “the man” and be better for us all! Those rich (white) producers will just take it in stride and pay for all this and still produce. I especially liked (after all the talk about GW and his administration dividing the country by questioning people’s “patriotism”) where he talked about dividing the country into “Patriotic Cos.” And “Non-Patriotic Cos.” ! Boy, talk about a non-dividing non-judgmental ethic!

The best part for me was though, after all this talk about Govt handouts, he then said “We Americans, you people, are a self-reliant people. You can and will take care of yourselves. You will be expected to take care of your neighbors, do public service, and not expect to leave everything to Govt!” {paraphrased by me}

Wow! This guy is an unbelievable Mussolliniesque load of contradictions vacillating between self-reliance and not just Big Govt but all-intrusive Govt cradle to Govt grave, but an out and out walking pantload of “progressive pablum aimed at assuaging that vast unwashed cadre of non-producer masses who yearn for:

H andouts
O stensibly
P urchasing
E asychairs!

Come on “palpable progressive pinhead pablum”! We NEED you! NOW!
 

Stupid Black Men

by Larry Elder

Every day, we hear it from the Left and the "civil rights" establishment: life is unfair for black Americans. Even decades after the end of segregation, they still have to labor under staggering burdens of racism and inequality. Try as they might to get ahead, they’re being kept down by "the man" -- and the answer, of course, is more affirmative action, more racial preferences, and more guilt-tripping of the American mainstream.

Larry Elder has had enough. In Stupid Black Men: How to Play the Race Card -- and Lose, the top-rated radio host and bestselling author fearlessly challenges the race-baiters who always grab the lion’s share of media attention -- as well as piles of public money -- in America today: the ones who rail against racism as the root of all problems, and yet end up hurting precisely those they claim to be helping.

Stupid Black Men is frequently hilarious as Elder exposes example after infuriating example of the wrong-headedness of the black entitlement establishment and its political and cultural allies: politicians on the make like Hillary Clinton with all their smugness and hypocrisy, self-righteous entertainers like Danny Glover, shamelessly demagogic "religious leaders" like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, and others who -- abetted by what Elder calls the "mainscream media" -- keep stories of black victimization always in the headlines.

Larry Elder reveals:

• Media malpractice: the shameful willingness of the liberal media to provide a megaphone for baseless, outlandish charges of racism

   

• How, aided by a willing media, a desperate Democratic Party and guilty white liberals, angry, finger-waving black Democratic politicians get a pass on the same behavior that would fry their white counterparts

   

• How the black race-baiting establishment has skillfully portrayed opposition to affirmative action as a racist desire for minorities to fail

   

• Jesse Jackson's double standard: how he rushed to condemn radio host Don Imus but never condemned Nation of Islam hate minister Louis Farrakhan even when he made death threats on Jackson's behalf

   

• Apologies we'd like to see: what Jesse Jackson, Kanye West, Andrew Young, Donna Brazile, Hillary and Bill Clinton, Senator Charles Schumer, Harry Belafonte, Jimmy Carter and others ought to be saying about their shameless race demagoguery, pandering, and even racism

   

• How baseball great Frank Robinson surprised a reporter who expected him to utter pious platitudes about the "plight" of blacks in America

   

• Why the Democratic Party needs the flame-throwing, racism-under-every-rock crowd to keep black voters focused laser-like on race and racism

   

• How a small shift among black voters could have enormous consequences –- and spell the end of the Democratic Party

   

• The 1879 booklet that still holds relevant and useful advice for black Americans

   

• The contradictions of Barack Obama: how he preaches personal responsibility while simultaneously echoing race-hustling liberals –- and the two fatal weaknesses that undermine his candidacy

   

• The dirty secret of why obviously and consistently corrupt black politicians keep getting reelected

   

• What was wrong with President Bush's 2006 address to the NAACP -- and what he should have said

   

• Hurricane Katrina: American racism in all its splendor -- or government sloth and ineptitude at all levels?

   

• How talented teachers who demand that students meet certain standards of behavior often get slapped with "racism" charges

   

• Incompetent, race-baiting black professors like Cornel West: how they repel criticism by charging racism

   

• Al-Qaeda: actively recruiting among black Americans in prisons

   

• Signs of hope: the growing chorus that sees through and condemns the shameless antics of those who irresponsibly cry racism

By BEN WALKER – 15 hours ago

NEW YORK (AP) — Good ol' Snoopy, a champion at last. Barking and baying up a storm, Uno lived up to his name Tuesday night by becoming the first beagle to win best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club.

The nation's new top dog was clearly the fan favorite, and drew a roaring, standing ovation from the sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden when he was picked.

Uno got right into the act, jumping up on handler Aaron Wilkerson and confirming his other title: noisiest in show. Years from now, he'll be known for the "ah-roo" heard 'round the ring.

"He's a people's dog, a merry little hound," Wilkerson said.

The only dog consistently listed among America's most popular breeds for nearly 100 years, a beagle had never won in the 100 times Westminster picked a winner. That changed when judge J. Donald Jones pointed to this nearly 3-year-old package of personality.

Uno was numero uno, beating out two perfect poodles, a top Sealyham terrier, a sleek Weimaraner, a lively Australian shepherd and a sprightly Akita.

"We knew he was going to be No. 1. I didn't know he'd do it this fast," Wilkerson said.

Uno celebrated by chewing on the microphones of reporters who tried to interview his winning crew. Those had to suffice for the yellow, soft duck that's his favorite toy.

"He's perfect, he was a 10," Jones said. "He does cuteness well."

More than 169 breeds and varieties were represented at the 132nd Westminster Kennel Club event, and the competition brought 2,627 entries.

Barks echoed around Madison Square Garden as the crowd cheered its favorites, among them a Neapolitan mastiff that lumbered around the ring, a Chihuahua that spun in circles and a miniature pinscher that plucked a piece of food off the green carpet without missing a beat.

Formally known as K-Run's Park Me in First, Uno came into this competition wagging his white-tipped tail with 32 best in show ribbons overall. Yet he was surely an underdog — make that an Underdog — because no beagle had even won the hound group since 1939.

But Uno fixed that, breezing in the 15-inch breed judging on Monday morning and taking his group several hours later. So while other dogs tried to reach the final ring Tuesday, Uno spent the day going on a brisk walk around Manhattan and taking a nap underneath his warm, fuzzy blanket.

But when it came time to show, Uno was as precocious and precious as ever.

With fans calling out his name and clapping, he soaked in the cheers as he paraded around the ring, the cheers becoming more thunderous with every step. And when he made his final stop in front of Jones, Uno went to town, baying over and over.

Even when he returned to sidelines as other dogs were judged, Uno kept going. Quite a win it was for Eddie Dziuk of Columbia, Mo., and the other three co-owners.

"My sister called me today and said she's always turned off the dog show on TV because she's tired of all those poodles winning," Jon Woodring, one of the other co-owners, said earlier in the day. "But she watched last night. I think Uno winning would show that an everyday dog can do it."

Longtime dog expert David Frei, the paw-by-paw announcer for USA Network's coverage of the Westminster Kennel Club show, went even further.

"If he wins best in show, I'll rent him an apartment in New York City because I'll be traveling with him all year, so many people will want to see him," he said. "If he won, it would be the greatest thing for our show."

Better get that first rent check ready — Uno is here to stay.

No hound of any kind had won at Westminster since 1983, and a toy poodle that began the night with 108 best in show prizes stood in Uno's way.

It was an upset in the show world, where wire fox terriers usually wobble off with the prize ribbon. Sort of like the boy-next-door becoming president — that's how it was to see an everyday backyard pet earn the silver bowl.

With pleading, golden-brown eyes, Uno certainly looked like the picture of man's best friend.

Exactly why beagles hadn't done better at shows was somewhat of a mystery. Some say that they're so common, they don't stand out in the ring. Others say they're hurt by being an "honest dog" — as in, they're not a masterpiece carved with a pair of clippers.

Jones did not realize he'd made history by choosing the first beagle at Westminster.

"I had no idea," he said.

February 08, 2008

Another Liberal Admits to Liberal Media Bias

 

 

When groups like Media Matters accuse the media of being "right wing" they're revealing less about the media than they are about their own political leanings. Some people are just so far out in left field that even second base seems pretty far to the right.

So, when former Crossfire host Bill Press starts complaining about the liberal media, you know the mainstream media is now playing short-stop somewhere between Hugo Chavez on second and Fidel Castro on third.

larger view

A Thank You Letter from a Navy SEAL

Sophisticated Mexican groups plot abductions

By Tony Manolatos
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 6, 2008

Organized, well-financed and violent Mexican kidnapping cells are targeting a growing number of U.S. citizens visiting communities popular with San Diegans and other California residents.


Last year, at least 26 San Diego County residents were kidnapped and held for ransom in Tijuana, Rosarito Beach or Ensenada, local FBI agents overseeing the cases said yesterday. In 2006, at least 11 county residents had been kidnapped in the three communities.

“Some of the 26 were recovered, some were hurt and some were killed,” said agent Alex Horan, who directs the FBI's violent-crime squad in San Diego.

“It's not a pleasant experience. Victims have reported beatings, torture and there have been rapes. . . . Handcuffs and hoods over the head are common,” he said.

When contrasted to the 40 million border crossings made every year at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the kidnapping numbers are small. Most of the victims have business interests or family members in Mexico.

But authorities said anyone planning to visit Mexico should be cautious.

Kidnapped The number of San Diego County residents kidnapped in Tijuana, Rosarito Beach and Ensenada rose sharply last year:

2008: 2
2007: 26
2006: 11
2005: 10
Source: FBI San Diego office

“I would certainly be concerned,” Horan said.

The U.S. Consulate in Tijuana issued a travel advisory last week that said U.S. citizens living and traveling in Mexico should be extra vigilant.
Gunfights and other violence linked to drug cartels have increased in Baja California, and more Mexican citizens have been kidnapped lately.

While some of the groups suspected of kidnapping Americans are connected to drug trafficking, most aren't, Horan said.

He described the kidnapping groups as sophisticated operations similar to terrorist cells, each with a boss and clear divisions of labor. Usually, one group is involved in scouting, another carries out the kidnapping, a third holds the victim and a fourth handles the ransom.

“They know who they're going after. I think they have a list,” Horan said. “These are kidnapping cells. . . . That's what they do. They do kidnappings all year long.”

While the FBI wouldn't say what the ransom demands are, or how often they're paid, agents said money is driving the increase.

“This is not about terrorizing people or retaliating. This is about making money, and obviously this is good business for them,” Horan said.

The scenario that fits about 90 percent of the FBI's kidnapping cases starts with a middle-class family with no criminal ties, who live in communities such as Chula Vista, San Diego and National City.

The family typically owns a business in Mexico and has relatives there. At least one family member, usually a man in his 40s, makes several personal and professional trips across the border.

While driving in Mexico, this person is pulled over by as many as 10 people posing as police.

They're carrying weapons, wearing vests and using police jargon. Within a minute or two, someone is shoving a hood over the victim's head and dragging him into a vehicle. His car is left on the side of the road.

“We've had victims held for days to months,” Horan said.

Not every victim is Hispanic, but there have been “very few cases where a tourist is targeted at random,” said Eric Drickersen, who supervises the FBI's border liaison office in San Diego.

Some of the kidnappings go unreported because people fear retribution, Drickersen said.

Ransom demands are almost always made over the phone. The cross-border communication gives the FBI its jurisdiction. But the agents need authorization from Mexican authorities before they can carry out an operation across the border.

Mexican authorities have been helpful, their U.S. counterparts said.

“They're cooperating, but we would like them to do even more,” Drickersen said.

A week ago, Mexican authorities rescued two female real estate agents who were being held in a Tijuana neighborhood. The women were kidnapped Jan. 19 by three men after showing a property in southern Tijuana, the Baja California Attorney General's Office said in a statement.

The men called in a ransom demand of $350,000, the statement said. Family members negotiated a payment of $27,000 and dropped off the cash, but the women weren't released.

Baja California state agents tracked down the vehicle used to pick up the cash. The driver led authorities to the women, and three men were arrested.

Both women are Mexican citizens, although one is married to a U.S. resident. She and her husband live in Chula Vista.

OK. This is a good idea for the local “institute of of higher learning cum social engineering”, cultivation and  "steering" of company and FBI agents.

We are far from being in dire straits. In fact, we were worse off 12 years ago.

Relevant Numbers on Federal Debt

$9,166,107,568,248.56December 7, 2007

The National Debt:

• <LI class=MsoNormal>As of December 7, 2007, the total outstanding debt was $9.166 trillion, which is approximately 65% of U.S. Gross Domestic Product. This amounts to a share of over $30,000 per citizen.
  <LI class=MsoNormal>The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) August 2007 baseline projects that the national debt will exceed $10 trillion in 2010 and will reach $12.870 trillion in 2017.
  <LI class=MsoNormal>The national debt can be divided into $5.175 trillion of publicly held debt (domestic and foreign), and $3.991 trillion of debt held by government accounts (trust funds), the largest of which is Social Security.
   
• Because trust fund debt is a matter of internal governmental bookkeeping, economists focus on the publicly held debt. It is this number that reflects the impact of federal borrowing on the economy and the budget.

Publicly Held Debt:

• <LI class=MsoNormal>The publicly held debt is currently $5.175 trillion, a historic high in nominal terms.
  <LI class=MsoNormal>A more important measure of the debt is its size in relation to the nation's economy, generally stated in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In CBO's baseline projection, accumulated federal debt held by the public will equal 35.9% of GDP in 2008.
  <LI class=MsoNormal>Roughly 90 percent of the publicly held debt consists of marketable securities--Treasury bills, notes, bonds, and inflation-indexed issues (called TIPS). The remaining 10 percent comprises non-marketable securities, such as savings bonds and securities in the state and local government series, which are nonnegotiable, nontransferable debt instruments issued to specific investors.
  <LI class=MsoNormal>By 2017, CBO projects publicly held debt to equal 25.2% of GDP. If materialized, this would approach a post-World War II low. Previously, its post-World War II high was 109% of GDP in 1946, and its post-WWII low was reached 24% of GDP in 1974.
  <LI class=MsoNormal>Under the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) Long-Term Budget Scenario, publicly held debt will be 62.7% of GDP by 2020 and 250.3% of GDP by 2040. The Long-Term Budget Scenario assumes discretionary spending grows with GDP and all expiring tax provisions are extended.
   
• Under The Concord Coalition plausible baseline, publicly held debt in 2015 would grow to $8.713 trillion or 44% of GDP. This scenario assumes that discretionary spending grows at the rate of nominal GDP, that continued operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are gradually scaled back to about a third the current level, and that all expiring tax provisions are extended with AMT relief.

Foreign Holdings of Debt:
 

• <LI class=MsoNormal>As of September 2007, foreign investors held $2.247 trillion (43%) of the publicly held debt. <LI class=MsoNormal>The amount of the debt held by foreigners is at a historic high. As of September 2007, foreign investors held $2.247 trillion of Treasury Securities, $1.440 trillion of which are held by official institutions. <LI class=MsoNormal>As of September 2007, Japan and China were the two largest foreign holders of treasury securities with $582.2 billion and $396.7 billion respectively.
   
• Foreign holdings of Treasury securities have increased by more than $1.049 trillion since 2000.

Interest on the Publicly Held Debt:

• <LI class=MsoNormal>Every borrowed dollar carries an interest cost. The most direct impact of public debt on the federal budget is, therefore, the amount of money taxpayers must come up with each year to finance past borrowing.
  <LI class=MsoNormal>Net interest in fiscal year 2007 was $238 billion -- roughly 9% of the federal budget.
  <LI class=MsoNormal>Spending for interest on the debt in fiscal year 2007 ($238 billion) equaled 20.5% of all personal income tax revenue and more than the entire federal share of the Medicaid program in fiscal year 2007 ($191 billion). <LI class=MsoNormal>During the 1980s and 90s, before the 1998-2001 surpluses, interest regularly consumed 13 percent or more of the federal budget a year, reaching a high point of 15.4 percent in 1996.
  <LI class=MsoNormal>For fiscal year 2007, outlays for net interest equaled ($238 billion) 1.7 percent of GDP. Its recent high point was 3.3 percent of GDP in 1991.
   
• Under GAO's long-term budget scenario, net interest costs will reach 2.9% of GDP by 2020 and 11.6% of GDP by 2040.

Trust Fund Debt:

• <LI class=MsoNormal>While trust fund debt does not have the same economic and budgetary effects as publicly held debt, it is nevertheless a relevant, if incomplete, indicator of future burdens such as Social Security, Medicare and federal government pension payments.
  <LI class=MsoNormal>As explained by the GAO: "Because debt held by the trust funds is neither equal to future benefit payments, nor a measure of the commitments of the current system, it cannot be seen as a measure of this future burden. Nevertheless, it provides an important signal of the existence of this burden." [1]
  <LI class=MsoNormal>As a technical matter, trust fund balances are credited with interest. However, trust fund interest is simply a credit of IOUs to the respective trust fund. It does not involve an outlay of federal dollars and thus has no economic or budgetary effect.
  <LI class=MsoNormal>According to the October 2007 Monthly Treasury Statement, the five largest trust funds are (by the close of the month):
  • <LI class=MsoNormal>Social Security's Federal Old Age and Survivors Insurance, $1.971 trillion. <LI class=MsoNormal>Federal Employees Retirement, $713 billion. <LI class=MsoNormal>Department of Health and Human Services Federal Hospital Insurance, $317 billion.
  • Social Security's Federal Disability Insurance, $212 billion.
  • Military Retirement Fund, $231 billion

Gross Debt and the Statutory Limit:

• <LI class=MsoNormal>The debt subject to limit is the maximum amount of money the government is allowed to borrow without receiving additional authority from Congress.
  <LI class=MsoNormal>The current statutory debt limit is $9.815 trillion.
  <LI class=MsoNormal>Congress has approved five increases in the statutory debt limit totaling $3.865 trillion since 2002.
   
• The most recent legislation adopted by Congress provided for an additional $850 billion increase in the debt limit occurred on September 29, 2007.

[1]GAO, http://www.gao.gov/new.item... target="_blank">Federal Debt: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions -- An Update, May 1999, p.12.

LINK

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

This'll stop her whining: booze bra

Could this be the reason Amy Winehouse seemed to have sprouted such a heaving chest when she left rehab yesterday?

For those occasions when booze just isn't allowed a wine-holding bra has been created for the ladettes of this world.

Be it a rock concert or simply a trip to the antique shop the women simply need to fill up the sports bra device with their favourite tipple and then once inside suck the liquid out of the special teat.

I was listening to the radio this morning (AM 1410) driving to check new tanks on "North 40" (160 actually) and I heard Dean Florez state that we need  "CHANGE" so he was stumping as it were for Obama. [He also stumped for his Momma]..

He stated  "We have had 8 years of Bush, 8 years of Clinton, and another 8 years of another Bush. Its time for a change!"

I'm certainly no political genius, but even I know better than that. I( heard another Dem a few days ago railing about how she hasn't been able to vote for anyone but a Bush or Clinton for 30 years, so he's not alone in convenient hyperbole I guess).

I've met Dean in Tulare and he's a bright, good looking, well spoken guy! But is he really that knowledgeable? He seems to be wherever there is a microphone but that's part of his shtick I guess.

I just wonder how good a legislator people think he really is?

(BTW, for those with an 08 zip [and Dean], Bush 41 only did one term)

Mine was the Clydesdale being coachec by the Dalmation.

Boy, if I were him I'd be loathe to do that!

Clinton "friends" don't have a long shelf life when they get in their way to the top.

Know what I mean?

(and I can see it now -- they'd find some cracker redneck patsy ala Junior Samples Oswald to blame it on and people would eat it up with relish!)

Sure neo-cons or just cons

Trash McCain for his McCain Fiengold, Immigration, Tax Cut votes.

You've grabbed the 18% of the times he doesn't vote lock-step with the conservatives.

OK

So either don't vote if he is Rep nominee or as I have heard some died in the wool "conservatives" say: I'll vote for Obama before McCain!"

Brill!

So you'll get the most liberal member of Congress (voted #1 recently) vs. someone who votes 82% Conservative (just because he's not 100%)!!

Brilliant!

or even Hillary will get in who is #10 on the liberal list as a Senator.

Can you say: "cut your nose off to spite your face?"

Stupid..........stupid.............stupid...... felony stupid!

Simple

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Works too!