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December 31, 2005
If I had to choose. . .
I choose this to represent 2005:
Click the picture for an explanation.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 10:16 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 23, 2005
What's a Coypu and what does it have to do with Katrina and Rita?
I know this isn't going to fit very well into peoples desire to shift blame for what happened in New Orleans from the local government to the federal government, but I still have to point it out.
For decades upon decades a fuzzy little rodent named the Coypu has been burrowing into the levees of New Orleans. The levees offer ideal habitat for these little creature's dens and because they undermine levee systems, damage wetlands and eat crops, the state of Louisiana and her neighbors have classified the Coypu as "vermin". Locally, these rodents are referred to as nutria, and they are as common as sight in New Orleans as a squirrel is in hardwood forests. The nutria of New Orleans couldn't ask for a better habitat in which to thrive than the soft soil banks of the canal and levee system. The canals offer them room to swim and provide protection from land based predators as well as food, while the levee banks provide den space and the concrete walls atop the interior levee system ensure that human molestation is kept to a minimum.
As a youngster, I played often along the canal and levee system of New Orleans, the levees and canals defined my cohorts "territory" and I can't say how many times that rather than go to the park, I'd be down at the canals throwing rocks across the canal or running up and down the levee banks. I also can't say how many times I stuck sticks down "nutria holes" in the levee bank and scattered the little critters lounging on the canal banks into to the water as I approached.
An individual nutria will burrow a four foot diameter hole underneath the levee to make its den, they'll tunnel from 4 to 150 feet in before they carve it out. Multiply this by the thousands upon thousands of nutria living within the canal and levee system and you're left with levees that resemble swiss cheese more than they do the earthen dams they are intended to be. As I watch the investigations go forward into the levee breaches in New Orleans, I can't help but think that no one is really mentioning or considering the nutria and the damage they continually cause to the levee system. It's not like it's a secret that the nutria damage levees, the parishes and levee boards have been battling the critters for decades, but now they are mainly silent about them. I can only assume that the powers that be (mainly the media) is looking for anything they can find to blame the federal government (or man in general) and deflect attention from anything that may be considered natural causes or deficient local administration, management and animal control. I also think that because there's no direct evidence at the 17th St. and London Ave. canal breaches (hint hint: The burrows were washed away) that a policy of groupthink is setting in and people aren't seeing the forest for the trees.
I think that honest historical analysis will account for nutria undermining of the levees even if the investigations now don't consider it. I also think that building the new proposed levee system incorporating more rock and concrete, rather than just the soft dirt so loved by the nutria, will mitigate the problem of nutria undermining levees. I still don't agree with the current path the government is taking in the rebuilding of the levee system and New Orleans (I'll get to that another day), but I think that by reducing the amount of prime nutria habit along the levee banks by incorporating more concrete and rock is a good first step, just don't forget that these little critters can dig underwater folks, and given the opportunity, they will. So I hope this is taken into account.
Now I know that people will disagree with me, and that's fine, but anyone who's lived along the canals and levees of New Orleans know what the nutria do and they know how many there are. I always looked at the nutria as cute and fuzzy little buggers, but in the context of Katrina, they're evil little bastards that definately had a hand in weakening the levees and if you do the math, the nutria have removed a significant amount of soil from the interior of the levees. Hollow spaces within a levee seriously weaken the structure not to mention the erosion activity when these dens fill and drain from rainfall and pumping, storm surge and pumping, etc etc.
I'm not saying that nutria are the ONLY factor in the levee breaches, because that would be a foolish assertion, but I will suggest, and local levee boards and parrish commissions agreed with me (before the storm) that they are a significant contributing factor to levee failure and breaching. I'll also point out that the nutria (which is not a native species) are frequently cited as a MAJOR FACTOR in wetland destruction, and we all know that the South Louisiana wetlands and marshes are instrumental in sucking energy out of a storm (but we also know that blaming man for wetland destruction is much more fun than blaming an invasive little rodent eating everything in sight and digging holes in levees).
For reference I'll leave you with a few links so you can investigate and make descisions for yourself. I may return to this topic in the future, but for now, I'll just end here.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Nutria website
Wetlands Damage (from the above site)
Survey of Nutria Herbivory Damage in Louisiana
Jefferson Parrish looks at Nutria Damage to Levees mitigation
Times-Picayune article cites undiscovered "nutria holes" a factor in levee failure.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 1:00 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Boy, I sure hope. . .
That Daschle runs for President, then we'll have plenty of opportunities to point out THIS.
Thanks Captain.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 12:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 20, 2005
What the hell???????
There's been an EARTHQUAKE in Louisana? Talk about insult to injury. I guess it wasn't that big a deal though, the affected area is made of soft alluvial deposits so there's plenty of soft wet ground to "buffer" the quake.
It is damn strange though.
The quake's epicenter was approximately halfway between New Orleans and Baton Rouge and about eighteen miles down.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 7:44 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Ya know what. . . .
If one day I pick up my phone when it rings and there's a terrorist or Osama bin Hatin' or just some nutcase from Ghanna on the other end of the line wondering if I've got all the explosives in place or am willing to host terrorists in my garage or let them hide under my bed:
I DAMN WELL HOPE THE GOVMIN'T IS LISTENING TO THE CONVERSATION!!!!!!!
That's what it comes down to for me. If they're tracking down a terrorist or they're trying to bust up a terror cell, I say PLEASE LISTEN IN on my phoneline when they call. Sure it may be difficult to explain why Akhmed Jong Castro called my phone, but I'll be happy to cooperate with the authorities to catch the bastard. Also, if they listen in and I never know about it because just after they ask to camp out in my garage and I tell them to "Go to hell", I'll be happy to have given the NSA guy a smile.
Yet another non-issue from the NYT/MSM/Dhimmicrats cabal that wants to do everything they can to make sure we get whacked again.
I say, if you're tapping a terrorists phone and he calls an American, HELL YES, tap that Americans phone then come down hard on the traitor with both feet. If that American cooperates and helps bring some terrorist bastards to justice, then give that American a pat on the back and say "Well done."
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 6:13 PM | Comments (2)
December 19, 2005
A few days late, but still worth it. . .
Michael Yon, for those of you who don't know, is an independent reporter in Iraq. He went over as an embedded reporter on his own chops the first time and has redefined what a blog-reporter can be. Since his original stint during the invasion of Iraq, Mr. Yon has picked up sponsorship from The Weekly Standard who offered him "affiliation with independence" (find out more about the embed process at this post of his).
Currently Yon is the front-runner for Time Magazine's Photo of the year with his photo "In His Arms" which deserves the top spot as it's one of the most moving pictures of the war IMHO. You can view the Time nominees and vote here.
Other bloggers have made the jump from "citizen jounalist" to "citizen foreign correspondent" or "citizen war reporter", namely Michael Totten (who's still freelancing pieces in addition to his blog) and Bill Roggio who blogs and writes for ThreatsWatch, but it's Mr. Yon who's on top of the heap.
Rather than just pumping up Yon, Totten and Roggio, this post has another purpose, Yon put up a flash presentation from the Iraq Elections on his site that he says:
"The video was not attributed, and I saw no information regarding the authorship to ask permission to run it. Apparently the author sent it out to be distributed by the winds"
So I'm adding my own little gust of air to the hopeful storm that this video represents and present it here:
Spread it around, you can "right click and Save As. . " here to download it and send to friends or post it wherever you can, no need to link back to me, but if you want to throw Michael Yon a link, it'd be appreciated. The world needs more of reporting like his.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 9:17 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 18, 2005
Clap. . . Clap. . .
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 11:16 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
It wasn't a flood, it was multiple floods. . .
People talk of "Katrina fatigue", a sense that people are tired of talking about it, or want to deny it in the hopes it will all just go away or someone else will handle it. Unfortunately there is not magic fairy that will come by and restore New Orleans to its former somewhat dingy glory. Also unfortunate is that people simply have no real understanding of what happened to New Orleans and the Gulf Region with this storm. Nor do many people want to truly understand what happened; they instead want to live in a more comfortable state of being where they can blame events on human failings and grander schemes guilt and conspiracy. Whatever you think of that is fine, my opinions have been stated in the Katrina archives, but right now I want to address one particular issue that people don't seem to realize.
There wasn't ONE storm, there were TWO (or more in some areas), also there wasn't one flood that took down New Orleans, there were many. Perhaps the best illustration of this can be seen in this picture from my last trip.
Click to enlarge
Take a few minutes and look at the larger image, notice the water lines on the house. You may not be able to pick them out in the image, but there are no less than ten (10) standing water lines on that house. That represents ten different flood levels of STANDING WATER. Each flood level was the result of a particular event, whether it be localized flooding from rain, flash flooding from levee breaches, or multiple waves of flooding and standing waters generated by the storm surge. Also it's important to keep in mind that those are "STANDING WATER" lines, not "HIGH WATER LINES", judging from high water lines on two story structures and telephone poles, this little yellow house was completely under water at some point during the storms. (NOTE: This house in the West End/Lakeview area of the city. This photo was taken the first week of December.)
While the stories of human misery detailed in much false detail by our news media are certainly heart-breaking, the objective examination of the situation in New Orleans is even more devastating once you get close enough to wrap your head and heart around it.
There is very little left of New Orleans. That sentence hurts to write, but it's true. Certainly there were areas of the city that were spared, such as parts of Uptown and the French Quarter, and I guess it's a wonderful thing that many of the most important historical areas were saved, but the city itself, the areas that were the homes and businesses of the common people of New Orleans are almost completely destroyed. Hydraulic forces hammered and hammered and hammered away on the structures within the city, rising water and waves entered homes and then swirled furniture and other possessions around as if they were in a blender, then falling water did the same again, then another period of rising water, then falling, then rising again.
Imagine that you place a cup of milk, an egg, a wooden box and a roll of paper towels in the bottom of your bathtub, now take two five gallon buckets full of water and pour them both quickly into the tub. Chances are your egg is now cracked and yolk is flowing out, the milk is gone and there's a good chance that the glass is cracked, the wooden box is now careening around the tub in a circular motion, banging into the egg and the glass and the roll of paper towels has swollen up and weighs about 6 pounds or so.
Now imagine that 6 feet of water came rushing into your home in about a 15 to 25 minute timeframe, or event quicker, now drain out 3 feet, then add 4, drain 2, add six, drain 5 add 3 then let it all drain out. Were you able to picture the floodwaters coming in and throwing your belongings around haphazardly, could you imagine your mattresses swelling up with water and becoming 500 pound floating sledgehammers spinning around your bedroom? Were you able to imagine your refrigerator floating up slightly then falling over with a crash? How about the cleaners and chemicals under your kitchen sink mixing and reacting, producing poisonous slicks on the surface of the water and then coating everything? What about pictures floating off the wall, swirling around the house then days later the waterlogged frames swell and snap the glass sounding like a gunshot and sending shards of glass down into the piles of debris sunken under the water that's been standing for a week?
In a previous post I wrote about my visit into New Orleans one month after Katrina, I noted that there were no insects, no rodents, and hardly any birds at all in the city. Imagine if you will though, the scene during the floods themselves. Fire ants will form a ball of hundreds of thousands of ants that floats on the surface of the water until it touches something offering high ground, the millions of rats and rodents in the city came up out of the sewers and up into homes to escape rising water, along with dogs, cats and even humans, many were caught in attics as waters kept climbing eventually drowning en masse.
Now we can move on to the period after the waters receded, then the heat sets in, that famous New Orleans wet, sticky oppressive heat, cooking everything in the city (thank goodness Katrina didn't visit earlier in the season to add some 100 degree plus days to this period). Bacteria colonies flourish in the wet sticky debris piles, in the waterlogged carpet, in the mattresses and couches, and then the mold sets in. The evil and dreaded black mold of New Orleans, toxic by almost any standard begins to grow at each standing water line, then casting out spores with each heat wave, covering every wall and ceiling which in turn develop mold colonies of their own, the mold is literally covering everything now, having had 3 months to grow without much molestation.
The insects and rodents that survived the storm are coming back, with a vengeance. The debris fields which stand four stories tall and cover thousands of yards are the Mardi Gras and Bourbon Street of New Orleans rat population and breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other insects that notoriously infest the city. Biology is reclaiming New Orleans faster than intrepid human souls can reclaim it.
I write this to preface future posts I'm working on regarding New Orleans. I needed to my interpretation of what physically happened in the city down and out there because it's central to my position which will be outlined in future posts that simply holds that New Orleans cannot be repaired, but rather must be rebuilt, BUT not as its former self as Mayor Nagin is trying to do. The damage to the city is too great to repair; wholesale demolition must take place in areas like the Ninth Ward, New Orleans East and Lakeview. The current strategy of allowing people to willy-nilly come in and gut their homes and begin rebuilding without a plan is doomed to failure, and even making matters worse as resources are diverted and supplies misused.
People need to realize that this wasn't a flood like the mid-west experiences, this was salt and fresh water, this was wave action and successive periods of rising and falling water, then all rinsed and repeated again. Everyone knew this was coming one day and everyone knew that a Category 4 or 5 storm would effectively destroy the city, and effectively, it has. I support rebuilding the destroyed New Orleans, just not all of it, and not in the same way.
I see a future New Orleans very much similar to Manhattan or San Francisco where a small densely populated area is supported by outlying communities where Manhattan has Queens and The Bronx, and San Francisco has Oakland and Marin; New Orleans will have a West Bank and a North Shore. A smaller geographic footprint for New Orleans can be defended against storms easier than the sprawling city that built itself in a bowl and then expanded to build on the swamps around it.
The truly MASSIVE levees needed to protect the city (don't rely on just rock and concrete armor New Orleans) will require significant uses of eminent domain (the non-Kelo, "for public works" kind) to get the real estate needed for their footprint and should be high enough and strong enough to theoretically protect the city from a Level 5 storm (although I'm not sure that's even possible).
The devastated areas of the Ninth Ward and New Orleans East should not be rebuilt or redeveloped into residences at all in my opinion, New Orleans East simply has no real protection from the Lake along the route I-10 takes and using that real estate to construct a series of levees and breakwaters, coupled with allowing nature to reclaim that area (with a little help) would go a long way to protect the city from future storm surges by sucking energy out of the storm and sucking up water like the marshy sponge it was intended to by.
Rebuilding the Ninth Ward should be focused on supporting the port and industry of New Orleans, with huge container yards and light to medium industrial facilities that can provide fuel for the city's economic engine. Putting peoples homes in New Orleans East and the Ninth Ward just doesn't make sense, it's one thing to lose a business' inventory to a storm, putting individuals in that situation just doesn't make sense, it's an invitation for another disaster.
I'll examine most of these topics and suggestions later in more detail as I flesh out more details and organize my thoughts more. I'm sorry there aren't any links here and maybe I'll add some later, but right now this is a "stream of consciousness" piece that I want to develop more as time goes on, but I felt I owed it to some of you to write this up and get it posted. So there you go, my evolving sense of what's going on down there.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 11:44 AM
A way you can help. . .
There are quite literally thousands upon thousands of ways you can help with recovery and rebuilding efforts in New Orleans and the Great Gulf Coast that were affected by Hurricane Katrina. You could simply donate cold-hard-cash to relief organizations, you could send care packages to victims still in hotels and shelters, you could even pack up the family SUV and head down to the region and lend a hand, BUT. . . I've got an easy one for you, and one you've probably not thought of. So here it is. . .
BUY SHRIMP!
Yes, that's right, buy shrimp. You see, just like the movie "Forrest Gump", the Hurricanes destroyed much of the Gulf Coast fishin', shrimpin' and crabbin' fleets and just like the movie, those commercial fishing boats that are left are pulling in shrimp hand over fist.
There's a problem though, people aren't buying.
Now I understand that in the immediate aftermath of the Hurricanes, prices skyrocketed as wholesalers rode out the supply shortages, many restaurants changed their shrimp sourcing from Gulf Coast suppliers to overseas suppliers to keep tasty prawns on menus and many consumers simply stopped buying.
Many facilities for processing and cold storage of seafood were destroyed during the Hurricanes, Mississippi's production and storage facilites were reduced by 50%, virtually all of New Orleans production and processing was lost (although it's coming back fast) and even Alabama had it's fleet reduced and facilities closed. Each affected state suffered losses in their fishing fleets as boats at their moorings were tossed (in some cases miles) inland.
All that's changed now as fleets and facilities come online, and now, there's a glut in the Gulf Coast shrimp and fish markets. The few processing plants that remained open are now silent, because cold storage has been maxed out and there's no place to send processed seafood (read: people aren't buying gulf seafood). Boats with full holds are forced to dump or hold up to half their catch because there's no where to safely offload and process seafood. So even with reduced capacity, demand and supply are still out of whack while Americans consume foreign seafood over Gulf Coast products.
Now far be it from me to discourage importation, exportation and global food markets, but if you want to lend support to the Gulf Region, an easy way to do it is simply to BUY MORE SHRIMP. Ask at your local grocery seafood counter "Where are you getting your shrimp from?" If they say Southeast Asia or someplace other than the Gulf Coast, ask if they have any from the Gulf, look for Gulf Coast processors in the frozen seafood section, or suggest that your local grocer source out some Gulf Coast providers for their fresh seafood. Prices are dropping rapidly as these producers try to recapture market-share and rebuild the Gulf Coast seafood industry.
With the Holiday Season upon us, we're all cooking for family and laying out the big spreads, so why not throw some Gulf Coast Shrimp in the mix and help out our Gulf Coast fisheries and shrimpers.
--Jason
PS I know that some of you may say that helping out the Louisiana shrimpers, crabbers and fishermen is not really "helping after Katrina", but rest assured, it does help. Putting this industry back to work helps the economic engine in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast roar back to life. While many land based industries are clogged with traffic snarls due to damaged roads, debris and the destruction of facilities, the bounty of the gulf remains right there. Fishmen literally harvest cash from the sea and that that cash gets pumped right into the Gulf Coast economies, provided someone buys it (that's us).
Supporting the fishermen (and women) also supports a large support industry and provides tax revenues that leverage out to buy goods and provide services throughout the region. Too often people think that the best way to help with recovery is to donate cash, and that's simply untrue, re-developing the industry is much more effective a way to help the region, and the only way to re-develop the industry is to buy their products. So when you're doing your holiday grocery shopping, pick up some Gulf Coast seafood (think shrimp) and while you're at it, thow a couple of bottles of Tabasco and some Community coffee (if you can find it) in your shopping cart and remember that you're doing your part to help the Gulf Coast recover.
-JC
Posted by JasonColeman at 10:01 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Just for fun. . .
There's not alot "fun" to say about Katrina or it's aftermath, but you have to look on the bright side sometimes and other times you just need a laugh to get through the day. So to start off a series of posts about Katrina, New Orleans and how things are progressing, here's a little tune to start with. . .
Downtown Got Run Over By Katrina (.wma format - 2 megs)
Before anyone writes me hate mail saying how insensitive this is, GET OVER YOURSELF. They're playing this on the radio in New Orleans and no one there is offended, so you shouldn't be either.
UPDATE: From commenter, Lenrose Fears:
"Downtown Got Run Over By Katrina" is performed by the Pascagoula High School Boys' Impact Show Choir from Mississippi. Please give them credit. For more info on the song, go to www.kicker108.com and read all about it. Oh, yes, CDs will be available for purchase soon, so BUY one and help out the boys' choir.
Thanks for the info Lenrose, let me know when CD's go on sale.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 9:14 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
December 14, 2005
Back. . .
Well, I'm back from New Orleans, but not fully recovered yet. Expect a blogburst of pictures, video, commentary, bitching, ranting and raving starting tomorrow. I've got to finally get caught up on some sleep and get video and pictures organized, but have no fear, it's coming.
--Jason
PS - The Iraqis start voting in 10 minutes!!! YAY!!! Meanwhile, Nagin and Blanco are conspiring to ensure that people in New Orleans don't get to vote in February (more on that tomorrow).
Posted by JasonColeman at 9:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 8, 2005
Notice. . .
I may throw up a few things later today, but I'm getting ready to head down to New Orleans for a few days to help some family and survey the situation for myself once again. Check out my previous Katrina / New Orleans postings here. I expect to add quite a bit more commentary on the progress or lack thereof being made in New Orleans post Katrina when I get back. Today however is taken up with errands, packing, getting batteries charged and what-not.
More to come next week.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 12:01 PM
December 6, 2005
Weighing in on the "War on Christmas". . .
As an atheist, I occasionally get drawn into discussions/questions about the "War on Christmas" debate which seems to raise it's head every year round about this time (go figure?).
I'm not a Mike Newdow atheist, screaming to high-whatever to have "In God We Trust" removed from money and I certainly don't advocate the elimination of the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States (and to the Republic for which it stands). I'm more of an atheist who realized long ago that there were significant failings with regard to the belief in a supreme diety, this led to an examination of most of the major religions and then finally a rejection of the concept of a God-construct in general. I'm more of a "common sense" atheist, who realizes that I'm part of a team, and that team just so happens to have ALOT of Christians on it. I like my Christian teammates and while I don't necessary agree with their God-construct, I don't begrudge them for it, I don't want to try and convince them of my views on the subject, and generally, I just leave well-enough alone and work on my own belief system about what's right and what's wrong.
BUT. . . invariably when the "War on Christmas" debate popps up, people ask for my position, as an atheist, on it.
So here it is. I DIG CHRISTMAS, I mean, I really, really dig Christmas. I like the cheesy lights, I like the fun, family oriented movies (although we don't have any this year *frown*), I like Christmas sweaters on chicks, I like getting Christmas cards, I like the idea of putting a dying tree inside my house, wrapping it in lights, and trying to keep it from spontaneously combusting for a month as it dries out.
I also like Hanukkah, and the concept of the "Hanukkah Bush", I like the idea of Kwanza (although honestly I have no real idea what it's all about), I like the idea of Christmas carollers freezing their butts off going door to door singing off key. I even like the rampant consumerism and insane traffic at malls and department stores. I dig the chaos of the season in general.
I also like the Christmas "spirit" that puts more smiles on peoples faces and the random acts of kindness from total strangers. I like the Christmas stories and their messages of peace, love and joy. I like mistletoe and eggnog.
Ok, so do you get it now??? I'm and atheist and I DIG CHRISTMAS!!!!!!
So what's the point of this post? Ok, well here it is.
When people ask me for my opinion on the whole "War on Christmas" thing. I usually begin by asking the following question:
ME: Well, lets see, hmmm, well, what would you call a Christmas Tree if you didn't call it a Christmas Tree?THEM: Um, well. . . . A "Holiday Tree".
ME: Well, you see, AS AN ATHEIST, I have to strenuously object to the term "Holiday Tree".
THEM: Wha Wha Waht?
ME: It's simple really, you see, "Christmas Tree" means a tree you put up for Christmas, which is a day. That day happens to be December 25th, and to some people, that's an important religious date, and to others, it's a day off from work and a good opportunity to hang out with family you normally avoid, BUT the term "Holiday Tree" means alot more, and what it means is offensive to me.
**At this point I have to be very careful, because there's a real danger of the questioner's head exploding.**
ME: You see the word "Holiday" means "Holy Day" and I'm atheist. I can't support a "Holy Day Tree" or a "Holy Day Anything" because I don't believe in the concept of "Holy".
So there you have it, and I'm not afraid to say it. Those that want to make issue of "Christmas" and choose instead to use the terminology "Holiday" are the most hypocritical of hypocrits in my book. Many of these so-called-atheists are merely attention-seekers or people pushing an agenda that they don't want to admit openly. So they hide behind a "multi-cultural" or "atheist" label and make proclamations that "Christmas Tree" or "Merry Christmas" should be changed to "Holiday Tree" or "Happy Holidays".
I'm sorry, but AS AN ATHEIST, the term "Holiday" is FAR MORE OFFENSIVE than the term "Christmas". Christmas means alot of things to alot of people, and it means different things to different people. For some it's all about Christ in the Manger, for others it's a Pagan Winter Solstice Festival, for some it's just a day off from work, and for others it's about a guy in a red suit who comes down your chimney and trades you a new bike for some milk and cookies.
But the word "Holiday" means "Holy Day", there's no other etymology for the term, and as a REAL atheist, I just can't support that.
So there you have an atheist's view on the "War on Christmas", now you can tell all those fake wannabe atheists and multi-cultural warriors to shut up, chill out, have some eggnog, love thy neighbor, be merry, wrap presents, smile and LEAVE CHRISTMAS ALONE!
--Jason
UPDATE: Welcome, Riehl World View, SondraK and Cake or Death readers, thanks for stopping by. The main page is here, and maybe, just maybe you'll be interested in my Katrina Photos and Posts and the Taliban Bodies Story.
-JC
ANOTHER UPDATE: Due to spambots, comments on this entry are closed. If you have something you'd like to add about this, please email comments to comments [-AT-] jasoncoleman.com. --Thanks
Posted by JasonColeman at 1:26 PM | Comments (14)
How to lose the world's best job. . .
Perhaps the best job in the world for a guy would have to be "Zip Feed Demolition Technician". Here we have, in video form, the fastest and most efficient way to LOSE THAT JOB:
Give it a few secs to load, then click the play button.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 8:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 5, 2005
Today's cup of coffee post. . .
is from the Ace of Spades HQ, which is quite the excellent blog to sit back and spend some time at.
So grab a cup of joe, sit back and have a read.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 6:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Rampaging gypsies????
That's a new one on me. Who'd have thunk it? Oh yeah, it's the French again.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at 5:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Is my neighbor trying to tell me something. . .
with this in his doorway?
Actually there's a bit of backstory here. It started with me (go figure) putting up a few Christmas lights on my house, mine were the first in the neighborhood, but nothing like this or this.
So my lights prompted my neighbor to go out and buy a small herd of those wire-frame animated deer for his front yard, and that's when things went downhill. Two nights after the wireframe deer appeared, another neighbor took some red Christmas lights and used them to create bullseye's on the deer. These were promptly removed (even though I thought it was hilarious) and a note was attached to the deer:
"Hey man, I've got kids, please don't vandalize the deer."
A day later, the Grinch appeared to grace our neighborhood.
Personally, I love the Grinch being around, and since my neighbors are rather an independent free thinking lot, he's actually quite the appropriate figure to grace "the hood."
--Jason
PS Sorry the pic is a bit blurry, if I can dodge his Rottweiller again I'll try to snag a better one.
Posted by JasonColeman at 5:11 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
December 1, 2005
De-Nile is a river in France. . .
Clive Davis (via da big guy) pulls out a quote from Dominique de Villepin that made me go "Ah-ooogha?"
"In France during the 2 weeks period of unrest, nobody died in France. So, I think you can't compare this social unrest with any kind of riots."
Um? Hmmmm. Seems to me that's playing a little fast and loose in light of this:
"The tough new measures came as France's worst civil unrest in decades entered a 12th night, with rioters in the southern city of Toulouse setting fire to a bus after sundown and pelting police with gasoline bombs and rocks. Earlier, a 61-year-old retired auto worker died of wounds from an attack last week, the first death in the violence. "
So? Was there a resurrection or something? Did I miss it?
--Jason
UPDATE: The deceased's name was Jean-Jacques Le Chenadec (via The Herald). Maybe someone in de Villepin's office should learn how to use Google News before they send their boss out to make statements that will make him look. . .um. . . French.
Posted by JasonColeman at 9:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
