Well, my youngest is here! We picked her up from the airport yesterday morning...so I feel so Hap-hap-happy now that Christmas time is near! I want to wish all my fellow blogging mates and their loved ones:


See you all again in January! HO-HO-HO.... MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

We won't be seen to support the war, says M&S as it refuses to send gifts to British troops

Some prime examples of being a scrooge is alive and well at various department stores here in the U.K. in the giving season known as Christmas. The primary scrooge in this article in today's Sunday Telegraph is Marks & Spencers (M&S). Apparently, soldiers from the Royal Irish Regiment, who are are flying the flag for Britain in one of Iraq's most dangerous hot spots in Iraq (Baghdad), wrote to five leading stores back home and asked for some stocking-fillers to give the troops next weekend:

The 70-strong Royal Irish contingent is currently the only British Army unit serving in Baghdad. A source said: "Baghdad is a tough assignment so we wrote to the firms hoping that we'd get some high-class figgy puddings, mince pies, brandy butter and so on, just to make Christmas a bit special this year...."
"...it's a shame that some of our letters don't even seem to have been read properly. They seem to think we're charity fund-raisers - we're not, we're just looking for a few mince pies for our troops."

They wrote to Fortnum & Mason, who answered them with this letter: "As you will appreciate, there are thousands of registered charities in England and Wales, many of whom at some point or other write to us requesting our support. We cannot unfortunately respond favourably to every action."

The soldiers received a letter from James Norrie, the M&S customer services manager wrote: "We do appreciate that work like yours is very valuable but unfortunately it is simply not possible for us to support every request. Please be assured that community work is very important to us."

Representatives from M&S went on to write, "...we couldn't send anything out as it would look like we would be supporting the war in Iraq. To my understanding, we can't be seen to be supporting the Labour Government's war."

Helen Megaw, from the John Lewis Partnership, said: "We cannot find any trace of the letter from Baghdad."

While Richard Gray, a spokesman for Harvey Nichols, said: "We have no knowledge of any receipt of such a letter."

A spokesman for Fortnum & Mason said food parcels had been sent to other units serving in Iraq but the request from the Royal Irish Regiment had arrived too late.

Last night, Marks & Spencer (M&S) tried to backtrack on its earlier comments and an official spokesman insisted that the company did not have a view on Iraq and would reconsider the troops' request.

"We have no stated policy on the war and we never have done," she added.

"The phrasing of the letter was an unfortunate mistake and the letter was dealt with incorrectly. We are apologising. It will be reviewed as a new request."

John Lewis, Harvey Nichols, Fortnum & Mason, and especially Marks & Spencers (M&S) ~ all of you are just fucking pathetic. I hope you all choke on your Christmas puddings and minced pies you stingy, tightass piles of...oh BAH-Humbug to the lot of you!

Shame on you!!!

Simon sez..."Santa..."

This is a very novel Santa site. Try it out for fun!

Now this is what going to polls should look like.

Iraqi voters line up outside a polling site in Barwana, Iraq, on Dec. 15, 2005. Iraqi citizens are voting to elect Iraq's first free, permanent parliamentary government.
DoD photo by Sgt. James P. Aguilar, U.S. Marine Corps.

A little girl clutches an Iraqi flag as her parents vote in a polling booth at the Al-Kunaytarah School in Jurf as Sakhr District, Iraq, on Dec. 15, 2005. Iraqi citizens are voting to elect Iraq's first free, permanent parliamentary government.
DoD photo by Lance Cpl. Michael J O'Brien, U.S. Marine Corps.

I find both of these photos awesome in their own right. I love the little girl's shy smile, knowing that she will remember the young American Marine who took her photo for the rest of her life. And look at the lines of people waiting to go vote! Western democracies eat your heart out. I don't think we in America have seen such lines since early times in our history, and as far as Western Europe, when's the last time you have had such a robust turnout for an election?

That wonderful aroma in the wind that is blowing from the direction of Iraq is the sweet smell of a perfume called Democracy.

What a slam-dunk!

Kudos to Mike over at Mike's America (whom I fondly call "lowcountry" because he lives in a beautiful part of South Carolina) for getting on to the BBC News Americas' Media react to Bush Iraq speech.

"The site Mike's America - run by a former staffer with the US Environmental Protection Agency, hit out at the Democrat response to the speech.

"Once again, a point by point recitation of our goals, our methods, how they have adapted to events and a response to his [the president's] critics.

"And the Defeaticrat response? More of the same defeatism which paralyses that political party from offering anything constructive at a time of war."

I find it exciting that someone went out of their way to pick up on Mike's comments on his blog. Someone out there is definitely keeping their pulse on how many are feeling, not what is just being reported.

Notice who Mike is shaking hands with? Sigh...my hero, President Reagan.

Again, kudos to you, Mike. You deserve it!

Look who the President has in his corner.

I shamelessly knicked this off of Drudge this morning; hopefully, the big guy won't mind. Thought it was pretty cool though.

BOXING PROMOTER DON KING: 'BUSH IS A REVOLUTIONARY'

CNN, THE SITUATION ROOM 4:00 PM EST

WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Don king is known worldwide as a big-time boxing promoter. But has also taken some new fights on recently...

You love George Bush?

DON KING; I love George Walker Bush because I think he's a revolutionary. He's a president that comes in with conclusiveness. What they're doing in tomorrow in Iraq is a demonstration of that for the vote for democracy. The fundamental process of democracy is freedom of speech, law and order, being able to have freedom, working with people and working and governing yourselves. George Bush is that. He included in...

BLITZER: Do you have any regrets supporting him? Take a look at that picture when you and I were there at the diner last year. Do you have any regrets supporting him as enthusiastically as you did?

KING: No, I don't. In fact, I want to support him more now because it seems like everybody is punching him. You know what I mean? But he's fighting back, and he's throwing great combinations. And I think he's the guy that is really a revolutionary president.

I think he's a president that cares about the people he represents, but doesn't compromise himself to the extent that he acquiesce and accommodate. He goes out there and says like it is, and tries to make things better. Inclusiveness, education, is fighting for that.

These are the things that many guys that don't fight for -- George Walker Bush is a tremendous advocate to America, a great president for the great American people, and he's decisive. He's doesn't equivocate.

Don King, being a well-known boxing promoter, has backed more than his fair share of boxers. Since King's career as a promoter spans three decades and includes more than 500 world-championship fights, I feel he knows who to back and who to dismiss.

And Mr. King backs President Bush. Now there's a smart man.

The Christmas mood is starting to creep in.

Christmas lights in Sofia : A pedestrian walks by Christmas decorations tree in downtown Sofia.
AFP/Valentina Petrova

That's Sofia, Bulgaria. Beautiful country. Lovely people.

Ho, ho....right.

Is anyone else out there just having a hard time getting into the holiday mood? We haven't got our tree yet, his father's present yet, friend's presents yet; hell, we haven't even bought the Christmas cards yet. My youngest daughter is arriving in eight more days. I think that's when I will feel like celebrating. However, if I wait until eight more days, it will leave us only four more days until Christmas ~ too little time to do too much work.

You know, it's not Christmas that is making me feel like a humbug. I love that day. I do. It's all the months and months and months AND months that seems to lead up to the 25th. Kinda makes one think of going through labor...again... and that left me worn out, wringing wet, and just purely exhausted.

Hmmm, now that I think about it.

It left him speechless.

We decided yesterday to go and join up with Cosco yesterday. I kinda had a feeling how much our cart of goodies would come to at the checkout counter having shopped at Sam's Club in the states quite a bit; however, since this was Krip's first trip to a bulk type of store, he was well....gobsmacked when they totaled up everything.

He's still stunned this a.m.

Looking on the bright side of things, we have enough laundry detergent to last us about 6 months.

Bongo, bongo.

As I'm writing this little monologue, I can hear the droning of FNC over the execution of "Tookie" Williams. I also can hear over the dialogue of the various reporters/presenters a sound of drums and chanting. For a moment there, I thought it might have been an overlay of a program that later would be shown about Africa before it dawned on me that no, it was in California and it was just some of the "peaceful" supporters there to continually announce this scum's innocence over his murdering of four truly innocent people 20+ years ago.

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Who I feel sorry for is the surviving families of those that "Tookie" murdered. They will forever be in hiding because they are deathly afraid that they will be hunted down and murdered in revenge for executing a ruthless murderer.

Funny, I just heard that "Tookie" left two sons behind. One is now currently sitting in some jail cell. I guess he didn't bother to read his father's book. Maybe the words were just too complicated.

19-25 December - Thank a Soldier Week.

U.S. Army soldiers from Task Force Strength and Egyptian soldiers give donated clothes to Afghan children during a joint humanitarian aid mission at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, on Nov. 17, 2005. Task Force Strength conducts humanitarian missions along with coalition forces to aid the Afghan people.
DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Jose L. Rodriguez, U.S. Army.

Marine Lance Cpl. John Paul Schilling and his military working dog Bosco search for weapon caches during an operation in Saqlawiyah, Iraq, on Dec. 5, 2005. Schilling and Bosco are attached to Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment.
DoD photo by Lance Cpl. Mark E. Morrow, U.S. Marine Corps.

Army Pfc. Janelle Zalkovsky hands out humanitarian aid items to local citizens in Thyad, Iraq, on Dec. 4, 2005. Zalkovsky is attached to the Civil Affairs Unit of the 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division deployed from Fort Campbell, Ky.
DoD photo by Spc. Charles W. Gill, U.S. Army.