A U.S. Marine from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, 1st Battalion 5th Marines pauses briefly in the heat to rest with his heavy pack filled with mortar equipment, ammunition, food, and water in the Nawa district in Afghanistan's Helmand province Saturday, July 4, 2009.

Obama leaving the white house to play golf in Virginia July 4.

~To whoever might care - Yahoo is shutting down all 360 blogs as I'm sure you're well aware. I've had a lot of trouble with this blog and I don't see any reason to think their new Profile blog will be any different, so I'm not going to bother at this point to switch over. This has always been my mirror, my main blog is at Piglipstick. I must have an animal fetish :-) ~

Sarah Palin Turns Pro

"I wish Hunter S. Thompson had lived to see this.
As Hunter said, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Sarah Palin makes Mark Foley, the congressman who sent filthy emails to pages look almost normal. She makes David Vitter, the senator who was hanging out with hookers, look almost boring. She makes Larry Craig, caught hitting on a cop in a men's room, look almost stable. She makes John Ensign, the senator who was having an affair with a staffer, look almost humdrum (and compared to the rest of the GOP whack-jobs, he is). And she makes Mark Sanford, the governor with the Latin lover, look positively predictable.
It was an almost impossible mission, but in resigning from office with 17 months to go in her first term, Sarah Palin has made herself the bull goose loony of the GOP.
Let's stipulate that if there is some heretofore unknown personal, medical or family crisis, this was the right move. But Gov. Palin didn't say anything like that. Her statement was incoherent, bizarre and juvenile. The text, as posted on Gov. Palin's official website (here), uses 2,549 words and 18 exclamation points. Lincoln freed the slaves with 719 words and nary an exclamation; Mr. Jefferson declared our independence in 1,322 words and, again, no exclamation points. Nixon resigned the presidency in 1,796 words -- still no exclamation points. Gov. Palin capitalized words at random - whole words, like "TO," "HELP," and "AND," and the first letter of "Troops."
Gov. Palin's official announcement that she is resigning as chief executive of the great state of Alaska had all the depth and gravitas of a 13-year-old's review of the Jonas Brothers' album on Facebook. She even quoted her parents' refrigerator magnet."

~To whoever might care - Yahoo is shutting down all 360 blogs as I'm sure you're well aware. I've had a lot of trouble with this blog and I don't see any reason to think their new Profile blog will be any different, so I'm not going to bother at this point to switch over. This has always been my mirror, my main blog is at Piglipstick. I must have an animal fetish :-) ~

Honduras Coup General Was Charged in 1993 Auto Theft Ring

"General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, who appeared on stage this week with Honduran coup “president” Roberto Michiletti, and who ordered the kidnapping and forced deportation of P resident Manuel Zelaya last Sunday, was charged with grand auto theft in 1993, Narco News has learned. On February 2, 1993, the front page of the Tegucigalpa daily El Heraldo included this headline: “Eleven Members of the Gang of 13 Go to Prison”: “Eleven individuals arrested for their alleged participation in the theft of 200 luxury automobiles… were sent to prison yesterday… (including) Colonel Wilfredo Leva Caborrea and Major Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, accused as alleged participants…”

~To whoever might care - Yahoo is shutting down all 360 blogs as I'm sure you're well aware. I've had a lot of trouble with this blog and I don't see any reason to think their new Profile blog will be any different, so I'm not going to bother at this point to switch over. This has always been my mirror, my main blog is at Piglipstick. I must have an animal fetish :-) ~

Finally a tasering case where the electrocution is taken as seriously as it should. It also illustrates the cavalier attitude some, if not most, cops hold towards using their deadly toy. In a saner world there'd be congressional hearings and the torture device removed from police forces nationwide, but this isn't a sane society.

Waffle House waiter sues over Taser incident

"Daniel Wilson, the 22-year-old waiter, spoke publicly about the encounter Wednesday at his attorney’s office in Snellville. The incident has already resulted in the arrest of Cpl. Gary Miles, 33, and the resignations of Sgt. Christopher Parry and Sgt. Joey Parkerson. None of the officers could be reached for comment this week because their phone numbers are unlisted.
Wilson said all three officers were regular customers at the Waffle House at 2725 Grayson Highway in Loganville.
He said the restaurant provided police with free food.
Wilson said the officers often pointed the red laser from their Taser at him playfully. They would do so when Wilson picked a song they didn’t like on the jukebox or when telling him not to mess up their order, Wilson said.
“It was uncomfortable, but they are my customers and they tip pretty well,” Wilson said. “I just thought they were being foolish.”
Then on Feb. 16, Wilson was chatting with Parry and Parkerson when Miles sidled up behind him. Without saying a word, Miles zapped him with the Taser, Wilson said.
“I remember feeling the pulse go through my body,” Wilson said. “It hurt.”
Taser stun guns deliver a 50,000-volt electrical current capable of incapacitating a person. The weapon can fire barbed probes a distance of up to 35 feet, or it can be used in “drive stun mode” when pressed directly against a suspect. Gwinnett police checked the data recording from Miles’ Taser and found it was fired for one second at 2:48 a.m. on Feb. 16.
Miles told investigators that he only “spark tested” the Taser near the employee’s back “just to scare him a little bit,” according to the internal investigation file.
Parry, 41, and Parkerson, 39, witnessed the employee being shocked but did not report it. They laughed along with Miles, Wilson said. The sergeants later told investigators they didn’t realize the Taser made contact with Wilson’s body.
Wilson said he remembers telling Miles in the presence of the other officers, “Hey, you actually tased me.”
Wilson again sought an apology from Miles a few days later for accidentally stunning him. He said Miles replied, “Who says I did it by accident?”