I just want to let everyone know that I’ve copied the wonderful VelvetHammer and moved Sunflower Desert to here. I realize it’s a little messy, but I don’t want to go through the importing again so, I’m just taking the plunge. Don’t expect much for a couple of weeks. We’ll be going out of town for a week and then work will keep me really busy for at least a week — getting caught up.

Have patience with the new blog. My experience is minimal — but I’ll keep trying. (Not sure how long I can play the newbee card, someone just let me know when I wear it out!)

In the meantime, thank you for all your thoughts and prayers as we lay Ted’s father to rest this upcoming week. It will be nice to see Tieki Rae on Sunday night again. Poor girl, something always seems to happen when she’s away from home. It’s just been a challenging year, but God’s grace always gets us through. For that we are grateful.

Take Care and see you over at Conservablogs!

Ted’s dad went home to be with the Lord early this morning. He was blessed to be at home with his wife of 59 years and two daughters as he made his journey to heaven. He had turned 87 years old on July 4th.

Therefore, we will be back to traveling again and I’ll be in the process of figuring out how and where to bring Tieki Rae back to. The services will be in southwest KS.

I look forward to returning and will see you all when I get back.

One of the great things about Comment of the Week is that it’s FRIDAY!!

While I had plenty to choose from, Totaltransformation came in today and left this great comment on the Michael Vic/Dog Killer post.

Did you hear, Michael Vick released a statement. Here, I’ll repost it.

“To my legion of adoring fans. I am so sorry that I let you down. Not with the whole dog fighting thing, I mean regarding my abilities (or lack thereof) on the field. Between all my injuries caused by my failure to actually throw the ball (an odd thing since I am a quarterback), and my frequent confusion over whether I am the Atlanta Falcons quarterback or their running back, I haven’t played many complete seasons since I started with this team.

In addition, I know my stats have been pretty mediocre (except for yards on the ground, which are quite impressive FOR A QUARTERBACK). Also, I know that I frequently do incredibly stupid things like flipping off my fans and letting dog fights occur on my property. But can’t you forgive me? After all, it isn’t like I killed my wife.

Speaking of that, perhaps if I hung out with O.J. you guys might appreciate me more. Kind of like how when average looking girls have an ugly friend they look even better- but this would be more about morals than looks. I mean, seriously, do I have to hang out with O.J. and Pacman Jones in order to look like a half way decent and respectable quarterback? If that is what I must do, then I guess I must. As long as it doesn’t involve throwing the football, I hate doing that.

Well, I am off to the Golf Course to help O.J. find the real killers. Maybe I will get lucky and they will be responsible for all those dog fights too?!”

[The above was satire…as you could have guessed]

While I’m certain that we can all agree that what Vic is accused of is horrendous, we can also count on TT to leave a brilliant comment.

Ready to play? Here’s a guideline refresher:

1. Go back to your own wonderful blogs and find a comment that you think should be honored here.
2. Come back to this post and paste the comment.
3. I encourage you to link back to your own blog and even the commenter’s blog if you like.
4. If your comment gets thrown in the dreaded moderation queue for having two links, I will bravely tread in there and release it.
5. Rules are meant to be broken. Play, comment, and just have a good time — after all it’s FRIDAY!!!!

UPDATE: at the new Sunflower Desert

UPDATE: From CNN:

This is not the first time the highest-paid player in the NFL has been presented in a negative light.

He has been accused of transmitting genital herpes to a woman and using the alias Ron Mexico so he could get treated secretly for the ailment. He earned the ire of his hometown fans after flipping them the bird after a Falcons loss.

He was criticized for missing a chance to speak on Capitol Hill about after-school programs. And earlier this year, authorities investigated Vick after confiscating a water bottle with a secret compartment containing a substance that Miami airport authorities said looked and smelled like marijuana.

A National Football League spokesman said the latest allegations against Vick would be reviewed under the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

Seriously, if the Falcons keep this jerk, well then, they deserve to lose over and over again.

Michael Vic. If he’s guilty, what a loser. I’ve got no patience for this kind of idiocy. They’ve apparently been gathering evidence for quite a while. This post is from May 2007.

You’d think maybe the NFL might have had a talk with him when rumors were flying. But I think they were too busy with churches in Indianapolis. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of the NFL but apparently they have no control over gangster type activity, therefore, it’s much easier to lay down the law with churches wanting to have SuperBowl Parties than it is to control the numerous thugs within their organization. Ever hear the saying money don’t buy class?

(CNN) — Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick faces criminal charges and a possible prison sentence for allegedly participating in an enterprise that trained pit bulls for death matches in which spectators bet on the outcome, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Vick, 27, and three associates were indicted by a federal grand jury in Richmond, Virginia, on a conspiracy count alleging they bought and sponsored dogs in an animal fighting venture and traveled across state lines to participate in illegal activity, including gambling.

According to the indictment, dogs that didn’t show enough fighting spirit, or that lost matches, were put to death by a variety of methods, including shooting, drowning, hanging and electrocution. Prosecutors allege that on one occasion earlier this year, Vick participated in killing eight dogs.

A National Football League spokesman said the allegations against Vick would be reviewed under the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

“We are disappointed that Michael Vick has put himself in a position where a federal grand jury has returned an indictment against him,” said spokesman Brian McCarthy. “We will continue to closely monitor developments in this case and to cooperate with law enforcement authorities.”

If convicted of both portions of the conspiracy charge, Vick could face six years in prison and a $350,000 fine, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

No arrest warrants have been issued, and Vick and the other defendants — Purnell Peace, 35, of Virginia Beach, Virginia; Quanis Phillips, 28, of Atlanta, Georgia; and Tony Taylor, 34, of Hampton, Virginia – have not been taken into custody, said Jim Rybicki, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg.

A judge is expected to inform Vick and the others of the charges against them Wednesday and make arrangements for them to turn themselves in, Rybicki said.

Vick, a standout at Virginia Tech who was the first player chosen in the 2001 NFL draft, is one of pro football’s highest-profile and highest paid players. In 2004, he signed a 10-year, $130 million contract with the Falcons.

Makes me think the $350,000 fine won’t hurt too much.

The dogfighting investigation began in April, when authorities found 54 pit bulls on property Vick owns in Smithfield, Virginia, about 30 miles west of the Norfolk area where he grew up.

There was no immediate comment from Vick on the indictment. He had previously said that while he had a kennel operation on the property, he had no involvement in, or knowledge of, a dogfighting ring.

But the indictment issued Tuesday charges Vick was intimately involved in the operation, known as “Bad Newz Kennels,” and that he bought the Smithfield property for $34,000 for the purpose of going into business with Peace, Phillips and Taylor.

Between 2001 and April 2007, Vick and his associates bought and trained pit bulls and hosted dogfights at the property, and dogs were also taken to locations in at least six other states to participate in fights, prosecutors said.

The owners of the winning dogs collected purses that ran into the thousands of dollars, and spectators also placed side bets on the outcome, prosecutors said. After one of the “Bad Newz” dogs lost a fight in March 2003, Vick personally paid $23,000 to the winning dog’s owner, who is now a cooperating witness for the prosecution, the indictment said.

According to the indictment, an unidentified associate from Bad Newz Kennels admonished another participant at a dogfight who yelled out Vick’s name during an event in the fall of 2003 — a participant who is also now cooperating with prosecutors.

The indictment also alleges that Vick and his associates “rolled” some of their dogs — testing them in short fights to determine how well they might fight. Dogs that failed the test were killed, prosecutors said.

While most of the dog killings noted in the indictment were allegedly carried out by the other defendants, Vick himself participated in the killings of eight dogs in April, according to the indictment. The animals were killed “by various methods, including hanging, drowning and slamming at least one dog’s body to the ground,” the indictment said.

Remember this lack of class shown by Vic? He was sorry though:

First and foremost, I would like to apologize for my inappropriate actions with fans today. I was frustrated and upset at how the game was going for my team, and that frustration came out the wrong way. That’s not what I’m about. That’s not what the Atlanta Falcons are about. I simply lost my cool in the heat of the moment. I apologize and look forward to putting this incident behind me.

Six years in prison? That seems ridiculous to me. Thugs that commit these kinds of atrocities need not ever see the light of day as far as I’m concerned. I’ll be shocked if Vic ever sees the inside of a prison over this. And, if he does, the likes of Jackson and Sharpton will certainly be crying racism.

COMMENTS ON THIS BLOG ARE CLOSED THE SAME POST CAN BE FOUND HERE AND REASONABLE COMMENTS ARE WELCOME.

Okay, this is one happy man today. Ted has wanted a Harley for years and today was his day. We found a 2001 1200 Custom Sportster on our way to the post office this morning. I had to send a package to Tieki Rae, so her dad owes her big time! If not for that package needing to be mailed, we might have missed Ted’s dream bike:)

He just sold his Goldwing this week because it was a little heavy to move around since his elbow injuries. This bike has a big motor, yet is lighter weight to maneuver.

Congrats Ted!

I couldn’t resist putting the last picture up of Ted and his riding buddy checking things out

Oh this is rich. China tries to kill our pets with tainted ingredients, we crack down on food imports coming from China, and now China says our imports are tainted. What, are they in pre-school?!

First of all, the idea that we would accept any food products from this human rights abusing nation blows me away. After accidentally buying farm raised shrimp from China last month, I watch labels closely and will not feed my dogs anything coming from that country, let alone eat it myself.

Ever wonder what chicken producers do with all those left over chicken feet? You’re about to find out.

Oh and kudos to China for executing the former head of its drug regulation. Now that’s taking a bite out of crime. Maybe we should ask the advice of China as to what to do with our Congress critters when then misbehave and take bribes? Just kidding of course! (Kind of)

China Claims U.S. Meat Imports Tainted

By ANITA CHANGBEIJING – China has suspended imports from several major U.S. meat processors, the latest indication the government may be retaliating as its products are turned back from overseas because of safety concerns.

Frozen poultry products from Tyson Foods Inc., the world’s largest meat processor, were found to be contaminated with salmonella, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said on its Web site Friday.

The agency said other imports barred by China included frozen chicken feet from Sanderson Farms, Inc. found to tainted with residue of an anti-parasite drug, as well as frozen pork ribs from Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. containing a leanness-enhancing feed additive.

A spokesman for Cargill denied the agency’s claims, while officials at Tyson and Sanderson Farms were not immediately available to comment.

China’s food and drug-safety record has come under scrutiny in recent months following the deaths of cats and dogs in the United States and Canada blamed on tainted Chinese pet food ingredients. Worries at home and around the world have heightened as a growing number of Chinese products are found tainted with dangerous levels of toxins and chemicals.

Beijing has taken significant steps in recent days to clean up its product safety record, including executing the former head of its drug regulation agency for taking bribes, and banning the use of a chemical found in antifreeze in the production of toothpaste.

Officials also have vowed to better integrate its fractured regulatory system, which currently splits responsibility among at least six agencies. The blurred lines often enable the country’s countless illegal operations to escape detection.

As China works to improve its food safety conditions, authorities also have prominently announced rejections of imports, apparently to turn the tables on critics and show it is not the only country with food export safety problems.

It was not clear whether the latest import bans covered only the products in question or if they extended to all of the companies’ imports. A duty officer at the AQSIQ on Saturday said he did not know any details.

Mark Klein, a spokesman for Minneapolis-based Cargill Inc., disputed the Chinese inspectors’ findings and said the company hoped to resolve the issue by working with U.S. and Chinese officials.

“We’re proud of our products and our processes, and we’ll be delighted to talk about them with all concerned,” he said.

Cargill is the parent company of Wichita, Kansas-based Cargill Meat Solutions Corp., the second-largest beef processor in the U.S.

Messages seeking comment were left with two spokesmen for Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson. A voicemail seeking comment was left at Laurel, Miss.-based Sanderson Farms Inc.

Beijing has previously rejected shipments of substandard orange pulp, dried apricots, raisins and health supplements from the U.S.

A service of the Associated Press(AP)

Well, I have to admit, I have plenty to choose from. What a crazy blogging week. Once again, ALL comments are appreciated (except for the porn spam crap) but there can only be one winner per week. Well, actually, there’s more than one winner because you guys are suppose to post a favorite comment from your own blog here too. Remember? Okay, please feel free to link back to your post and even to the commenter’s post.

Alas, I have to make a decision, and this one just made me chuckle. I love it when Velvethammer starts schooling the trolls that come along. And school she did in the Happy Independence Day thread:

Marcas – If only you’d allow other countries to have independance (sic) too!

Pardon me, but you have a lot of nerve dissing the US when all the while you support chavez. What hypocrisy.

And if you feel the need to question our love for watermelon, then you will never get it, and must not have ever eaten it.

I mean the girl tops it off with a smiley rolling its eyes . How great is that? I am very thankful for the good blogging friends I have that help keep the trolls in check.

Now, get busy and come back with your favorite comments left on your own blogs. I know they’re out there because I’m reading them everyday.

Happy Friday kids!

Racy Cell Phone Clips, Longing and Waiting, for Men of Ramallah Seeking Love

I looked and looked, hoping I could find someone blogging on this so that I wouldn’t have to. Oh well, you can’t win them all. So, here it is:

By MATT GUTMAN

RAMALLAH, West Bank, July 12, 2007 —

The four men are huddled over a cell phone screen. Its faint color splashes over the stairwell of a dingy shopping center in Ramallah, the de facto Palestinian capital.

In the 30-second video, a man pressures a young woman to perform a sex act. She appears to be a conservative, veiled Muslim, but grudgingly complies. The men watching shift their feet anxiously, being caught watching the clip would bring immediate disgrace.

The men, all in their late 20s, all considered middle-class professionals, watch with eyes sprung open, and with apparent self-disgust. It’s the closest thing to sex they’ve ever had.

I’m sorry, but they must not be counting livestock?

In a place where tradition prohibits premarital sex, young, frustrated men are increasingly turning to outlets like cell phone pornography. Some unmarried men seek out Ramallah’s few prostitutes, but the vast majority remain virgins, bursting with pent-up sexual energy, until their wedding night.

Cell phones are selling at a blistering rate. Ramallah is packed with cell phone shops, offering not only the newest Nokia models but accessories like leather holsters and shiny, new touch pads. And the Palestinian Telecommunications Co., the primary cell provider in the West Bank and Gaza, has grown to become the largest stock traded on the Palestinian Securities Exchange, according to the PSE Web site.

Suhaib, 28, is a researcher for the Palestinian Authority. “When I first watched it,” he said after leading this reporter back into a cafe, “it made me desire more and more and more. I felt ashamed by it, and I only watched each video once.”

Marriage Prospects

Some of the porn comes from Ramallah and East Jerusalem, typically forwarded from acquaintance to acquaintance. Some of the clips come from as far away as Kuwait.

Unlike his friends, Suhaib is getting married in January. He’s lucky. He’ll marry his cousin, who is 14 years old. The family connection, he says, worked to his benefit.

“Because she’s my cousin, they gave us a good price of $4,000 for the dowry. That’s considered an average dowry these days,” he said.

Okay, that’s all I’m posting. You’ll have to go here to read the rest of this crap concerning the sex lives of your every day terrorist.

Because of the small population of our great state, Wyoming only has one US Representative, Representative Barbara Cubin. She catches so much flack from the left and local media (really one in the same) in this state that it’s disgusting. She has the same GOP values as our 2 male Senators, yet, I believe simply because she’s a female, the left go after her. After all, the demonRats are ultimately the party of hypocrisy and usually pick on who they see as most vulnerable.

Currently, Mrs. Cubin is by her husband’s side as he has been gravely ill for several months and now his condition has been declared critical. You might think that her critics could give it a rest at a time like this, but you might want to keep in mind that they are the party that has been known to celebrate personal tragedies of the opposing party.

Well, here’s an example of what I’m talking about. It’s a letter to the editor of the Casper Star Tribune. I’ll tell you this much, Representative Cubin does not miss votes that matter, so to speak. So, take what the writer is saying with a grain of salt and keep in mind that this woman wrote this attack just a few days ago, during a time when Mrs. Cubin is at her husband’s side, while he fights for his life. Nice:

Editor:

Good grief! — $165,000 a year (The Sheridan Press, Friday, June 15); $13,750 a month; $79.33 an hour (assuming 2,080 hours per year). This is what “Representative” Barbara Cubin is paid (not earns).

We, the folks in Wyoming, have one representative. For five of her seven terms she has ranked in the bottom 10 percent of all U.S. representatives in showing up to vote.

Ms. Cubin should at least show up for work, like the rest of working Wyoming is expected to do. She should be ashamed. And we should, too. Her only “performance appraisal” is provided by the voters.

KAY PEARSON, Sheridan

I cannot help but wonder if Ms. Pearson would rag on Senator Johnson regarding all the votes he’s missed? Does she think he’s a slacker?

I wonder what political party Ms. Pearson belongs to? I’ll let you find her name and who she donates to.

Still think there aren’t any Rats in Wyoming? Guess again! Remember, it’s the Tribune gearing up for ’08.

Check this little gem out. Written by the editorial staff at the Casper Star Tribune. Isn’t it cute how they don’t personalize it by signing on with individual names?

Star-Tribune Editorial Board

Vice presidents, once upon a time, had little to do beyond waiting for something to happen to the boss. Other than attending foreign funerals and occasionally casting a tie-breaking vote in the Senate, they rarely got into the game.

All that changed in 2000, when Dick Cheney went looking for George W. Bush’s running mate and found that the perfect candidate was (drum roll) Dick Cheney. He resigned from Texas-based Halliburton and rediscovered his Wyoming roots. From that election on, Cheney devoted himself to the task of making the executive branch answerable to no one.

The ironic twist in the latest Cheney controversy is the vice president’s contention that his office isn’t even part of the executive branch. Cheney certainly was part of the president’s team when he invoked executive privilege to hide the names of his secret energy policy advisers. But he apparently becomes a free agent when he’s asked to follow an executive order about the storage of classified data.

By declaring that his Senate powers make his office a legislative-executive hybrid, Cheney reasons that he doesn’t have to follow the rules for either branch. The backlash was predictable. Outraged Democratic lawmakers have threatened to cut funding for his office.

The effort probably won’t succeed. But this incident has inflicted further damage to Cheney’s already battered public image and makes us wonder: Whatever happened to the Dick Cheney who represented Wyoming so effectively in the U.S. House for more than a decade?

How could the man praised for his leadership as defense secretary during the first Gulf War become one of the architects of a second Gulf War that has gone horribly wrong?

Comedians used to make us laugh by suggesting Cheney, not Bush, was really running the show. But the joke isn’t funny anymore. It seems Bush either turned over many duties to his vice president, or looked the other way when Cheney grabbed them. Either way, the president can’t duck responsibility for his subordinate’s actions.

A solid reason exists for Cheney’s miserably low public approval ratings: His insistence on secrecy creates the impression he has things to hide. The vice president gets to pick most of his battles, and for the past six years they often have been about keeping information from the public.

The executive order Cheney refused to follow, by itself, is a fairly small matter that speaks more to arrogance than any potential security breach. But his laughable excuse struck a nerve with the public. Here is a man who believes he is so untouchable, he doesn’t even have to answer to the president.

The old Dick Cheney didn’t work exclusively behind the scenes. Republican fundraisers weren’t the only events that drew him out in public. Before Cheney became the Bush administration’s stealth warrior, most of us were proud that he grew up here and represented us. Even people who disagreed with his politics respected him.

There is still time for Cheney to mend his image before he leaves office in January 2009. But he needs to stop acting as though his decisions mustn’t be questioned, and accept that he has made mistakes. No matter how many times Cheney insists Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11, it won’t change the fact that he wasn’t. Too many people regret the Iraq war for anyone to buy Cheney’s argument that opponents want to abet terrorism. That’s offensive and insults Cheney’s own intelligence.

Wyoming people are loyal to their own, but the vice president needs to give his neighbors a better reason to support him. He’s running out of time.

LO Freaking L! Are they the biggest bunch of whining babies you’ve heard today? Maybe they could ask Elizabeth Edwards to call and get this straightened out. I say this because this editorial is written in the style of men who could use a woman to fight their battles.

There’s still time for Cheney to mend his image before he leaves office in January 2009? Umm … does the Casper Star Tribune Editorial Board get to decide if Cheney does enough to mend his image?

Other than attending foreign funerals and occasionally casting a tie-breaking vote in the Senate, they rarely got into the game. I guess they are thinking of worthless VPs such as AlGore. Then they turn around and want him to be President? Sweet.