Author: Whiskey

Whiskey Returns

Greetings! It is I, Ed’s long lost partner, finally back at home at CQ. For those who might actually remember me, here’s a brief update on where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing:
– I’m engaged! I met a wonderful man while working abroad and we are getting married in November. (Yes mom, he’s an American.)
– I’m moving. Again. Because Mr. Perfect lives in Oklahoma and is professionally obligated to stay there for the time being, I’m leaving my job here in Texas and will be joining him in the fall. This brings me to the reason for my recent leave of absence:
– Bar exam hell. Since I’m just a baby lawyer and don’t qualify for reciprocity, I had to take the Oklahoma Bar Exam. All my fellow attorneys how miserable this was, and no, it is not better the second time around. I never realized how great I had it the summer I sat for the Tennessee bar; all I did was go to morning classes, do a few practice questions, and hang out by the pool the rest of the day. Not so when you have a full time job as a prosecutor! I spent all of my “free” time for the last three months listening to lecture tapes and answering questions about the legal ramifications of selling/buying widgets and who has title to Blackacre. Never again! Results come back 15 April and if I don’t pass I’m going into the catering business or maybe bounty hunting. Anything but another bar exam!
That’s brings us up-to-date. I’ll be blogging as much as possible given the time constraints caused by job hunting and wedding planning. Will also be traveling quite a bit for my current job and unfortunately will be headed to places w/out internet or even running water in some cases.
Bleg alert! I will be doing a little wedlogging, seeking advice on the logistics of matrimony. Some little girls grow up dreaming of the puffy white princess dress and how many bridesmaids they will sentence to wearing horrid pink dresses with really big bows. I played with GI Joe and dreamed of expeditions to China, so I don’t have all these preconceived wedding plans. I’ll try to label these posts accordingly, so if you have no interest and no pity, you can spare yourself!

Redneck Counterculture

Iowa Hawk has posted a hilarious paroday how blue state teenagers are rebelling against their parents by adopting a red state lifestyle. Here’s a taste:

“I’m not sure where we went wrong,” says Ellen McCormack, nervously fondling the recycled paper cup holding her organic Kona soy latte. “It seems like only yesterday Rain was a carefree little boy at the Montessori school, playing non-competitive musical chairs with the other children and his care facilitators.”
“But now…” she pauses, staring out the window of her postmodern Palo Alto home. The words are hesitant, measured, bearing a tale of family heartbreak almost too painful for her to recount. “But now, Rain insists that I call him Bobby Ray.”
Even as her voice is choked with emotion, she summons an inner courage — a mother’s courage — and leads me down the hall to “Bobby Ray’s” bedroom, for a firsthand glimpse at the psychic devastation that claimed her son.
She opens the door to a reveal a riot of George Jones CDs, reflective ‘mudflap mama’ stickers, empty foil packs of Red Man, and U.S. Marine recruiting posters. In the middle of the room: a makeshift table made from a utility cable spool, bearing a the remains of a gutted catfish.
“This used to be all Ikea,” she says, rocking on heels between heaved sobs. “It’s too late for us. Maybe it’s not to late for me to warn others.”

Iowa Hawk seems to be an equal opportunity humorist, laughing at the quirks of the rednecks and granola-eaters at the same time. Any blogger who can include “Foucault” and The General Lee in the same post is worth checking out!
Hat Tip: The Corner.

On the road again

I’m heading for home after work, so no blogging tonight. We only have dial up service in our town . . . you know where you use the phone and something called a “modem.” But I’ll suffer through and blog this weekend for those who don’t participate in the post-Thanksgiving shopping insanity!

The French Fought in Iraq . . .

. . . . . for the enemy. The BBC reports that three Frenchmen died fighting for the terrorists in Iraq. All were young men of Arab origin. (Note: This does not indicate a profile! We would never be so politically incorrect as to suggest such.)
At least a dozen other Frenchmen have traveled to Iraq to join the insurgency, but this report is probably grossly underestimated. At this rate, the only Frenchmen with military experience will be those making such a mess of the Ivory Coast and those fighting for the Islamofacists. Democrats will continue to insist our efforts are not legitimate without help from that courageous nation.

Atlantis Found?

According to Reuters, an American researcher claims to have found the lost city of Atlantis in the waters off Cyprus:

Robert Sarmast says a Mediterranean basin was flooded in a deluge around 9,000 BC which submerged a rectangular land mass he believes was Atlantis, lying about 1 mile beneath sea level between Cyprus and Syria.
“We have definitely found it,” said Sarmast, who led a team of explorers 50 miles off the south-east coast of Cyprus earlier this month.
Deep water sonar scanning had indicated man-made structures on a submerged hill, including a 3-kilometer-long wall, a walled hill summit and deep trenches, he said. But further explorations were needed, he added.
“We cannot yet provide tangible proof in the form of bricks and mortar as the artifacts are still buried under several meters of sediment, but the circumstantial and other evidence is irrefutable,” he claimed.

Now I’m no marine archaeologist and can’t analyze this report. But I’ve been facinated with the legend since I was 8 years old and discovered a book about Atlantis in my elementary school library. I read that book cover to cover (probably when I was supposed to be doing math homework or improving my atrocious cursive) . . . twenty years later, I’m still intrigued!

Rice Gets the Nod

ABC reports President Bush will nominate Condoleezza Rice to replace Colin Powell as secretary of state. I think most of us expected this announcement, and I believe it’s a good move, overall.
Addendum from Ed: Whiskey and I agree on the selection of Dr. Rice, which is also being reported by the AP. She’s up to speed, she knows the players, and will provide powerful representation for George Bush overseas — more so than Powell, who was assumed to be at odds with Bush’s policies on the use of American power in Southwest Asia.
One of the big tasks ahead of Dr. Rice mirrors that of Porter Goss at CIA: cleaning out the partisan career bureaucrats that have acted to defeat Bush’s foreign policy. Bush has apparently decided not to simply acquiesce to the inevitability of only middling control of State, which has been the reality for both Democratic and Republican administrations for years.

Going home

My 10 year high school reunion is this weekend, so I’ll be packing and driving back to Arkansas tonight. My parents only have dial-up (the horror!) so posting will be light for me this weekend.

Sarin nerve gas found in Fallujah

CQ reader Jeff Miller has alterted us to Glenn Reynolds’ post on sarin gas in Fallujah. According to NPR’s Anne Garrels, a reporter embedded with a Marine unit in Fallujah, the Marines found a suitcase filled with cannisters labeled “sarin nerve gas.” You can listen to her report here. No word yet on how many cannisters were found or the origin of said weapons. Looks like some of Saddam’s “nonexistent” WMDs didn’t make it to Syria after all. (Hmm . . perhaps they did leave the country but have been imported back.)
I’m not surprised the terrorists had a nerve agent. I’m only confounded by the fact they didn’t either use the weapons against the Marines or take them with while fleeing the city. Must have been in a real rush to get out of there. Or they have more stashed away somewhere.
In the immortal words of Matt Drudge: Developing . . . .

If you can’t beat ’em . . . .

Despite President Bush’s election victory, destructive attacks on the GOP continue. Last night, a mob vandalized the North Carolina Republican headquarters. According to the AP (emphasis mine):

A police officer reported Friday night that about 100 people wearing masks and gloves were walking down a street near the headquarters, police Capt. D.S. Overman said.
Officers investigating that report found a second group “vandalizing and damaging” the GOP headquarters, said police Maj. D.R. Lane.
The vandalism was a “planned and orchestrated event,” police spokesman Jim Sughrue said.
“This is not a political statement,” Sughrue said. “A political statement is what we made Tuesday. This is a crime.”
The officers found several spent fireworks, poster boards with slogans and spray-painted expletives on the walls. At least two windows were broken and police said it appeared that the vandals tried to put incendiary devices inside the building.

This is yet another example of the left attempting to enact a Kristallnacht. And they call President Bush Hitler and all conservatives Nazis.
UPDATE: CQ reader HCQ points out that Powerline has http://www.powerlineblog.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/8593 on the post-election violence.
UPDATE: CQ reader Bounty Hunter point us to this post about an SUV which was vandalized by a young liberal. Ironically, the high school senior drew swastikas on the vehicle and wrote “Bush is Hitler.”