Don’t make excuses. Take responsibility, not just for your successes, but for your failures, as well. The truth is, no matter how hard you work, you won’t necessarily ace every class … or succeed in every job. There will be times when you screw up, when you hurt the people you love, when you stray from your most deeply held values.
“And when that happens, it’s the easiest thing in the world to start looking around for someone to blame. Your professor was too hard; your boss was a jerk; the coach was playing favorites; your friend just didn’t understand; your wife … well, I’ll discuss that with Michelle. We see it every day out in Washington, with folks calling each other names and making all sorts of accusations on TV.
Well, this is a new one for me. Apparently a reporter from the Associated Press decided he wanted to see the Gulf oil slick in a new way, so he, er, dived right in. Literally.
I jump off the boat into the thickest patch of red oil I’ve ever seen. I open my eyes and realize my mask is already smeared. I can’t see anything and we’re just five seconds into the dive…
The oil is so thick and sticky, almost like a cake batter. It does not wipe off. You have to scrape it off, in layers until you finally get close to the skin. Then you pour on some Dawn dishwashing soap and scrub. I think to myself: No fish, no bird, no turtle would ever be able to clean this off of themselves. If any animal, any were to end up in this same puddle there is almost no way they could escape.
It’s actually a very interesting narrative, but there’s a very good reason none of his colleagues would dive without wearing Hazmat suits.
I’m all for getting to the heart of a story, but I think this is taking it way too far. Especially if you’re somewhat of a klutz, as this reporter apparently is; turns out after getting out of the water, scrubbing for half an hour to get clean, he fell back in and was slimed again.
Just watched an interview with international attorney Michael Griffith describing the Peruvian prison system. Not pretty:
Seems to me, Joran, that the following might be a good metaphor for the situation in which you’ll soon find yourself…
Except that there will be no John Willliams score, no dramatic rescues, no heroes, and you’ll be all alone…
Joran, by your own word, you arrogantly, callously, murdered the beautiful daughter of a very important man. It is what it is.
My honest advice Mr. Van der Sloot? Find a way to kill yourself now. Because if you don’t, you’re going to wish that all you’d have to deal with is a pack of velociraptors.
Drews Brees announced on Fox News today that the New Orleans Saints will raffle off one of their Super Bowl Rings to benefit the victims of the Gulf Coast oil spill. Read more here.
It’s all too easy really… too simple. In a way, it’s too Shakespearean… “Two houses both alike in dignity…” But there “The Bard’s” story ends, and Joran’s own tragedy begins.
On May 30, 2005, American teenager Natalee Holloway disappeared from Aruba while celebrating her high school graduation. In short order, it became quite apparent that Dutch national Joran Van der Sloot was a prime suspect. As time, lies, and his father’s influence (Paulus van der Sloot was a powerful lawyer in training to become an Aruban judge) slithered by, it became painfully obvious that Joran was guilty as hell (just think O.J. Simpson or Teddy Kennedy). Many believe that the only thing that kept Joran out of jail was his daddy’s influence.
Fast forward five years to the day of Natalee’s disappearance… Once again young Van der Sloot murders a young woman. (He just confessed.) But this time, the role of Important Father has swung 180º. Papa Van der Sloot is dead, and the father of the murdered victim (Stephany Flores Ramirez) is none other than Ricardo Flores, a retired race car driver, powerful businessman, and twice Peruvian presidential candidate. Just as before, Joran Van der Sloot’s fate lies in the hands of an influential paternal figure, but this time Joran isn’t smirking. The plot thickens.
In 1979 Peru signed on to the “Pact of San Jose, Costa Rica” and in doing so virtually abolished the death penalty. However, the Peruvian government did reserve the right to kill terrorists. Depending on how one defines “terrorist” (serial killer?), and how much sway Mr. Flores wields, Young Joran may face Old Sparky (or its Peruvian equivalent) yet.
And there you have it. Modern Shakespeare in all its ignoble irony… Ultimately of course, the importance of the fathers in the tale will dim to nothing. It was too simple… And ultimately Joran Andreas Petrus van der Sloot will meet a gruesome end, one way or another. But perhaps, just perhaps, he should have pondered these words:
…[W]e petty men
Walk under his huge legs and peep about
To find ourselves dishonourable graves.
Men at some time are masters of their fates:
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.
It’s the week-end… and frankly, I need an escape from all the bad news about Oil Spills, a rude, impudent former Beatle (time to call it quits, sir Paul), a President who’s legacy will be measured in how much damage he caused, bad umpiring, a middle east in… well, you get the idea.
So there I was trolling on youtube when I came upon some old friends of mine. And I thought to myself, “Here… HERE’S one thing that’s still right in America: Real Music. I’m talking songs with lyrics and melodies that will still be around in 50 years or more. Peformers who have set the mark so high for others, they improved the art form for all.
This was filmed during a recording session for an Album called “Stars and Stripes” that the Beach Boys recorded in Nashville back in the ’90s with many of the day’s country stars joining them on new versions of some old favorites.
And their voices were still as I recall from back in… well, tell you what: Let them run it by you. It’s a nice summer week-end; enjoy The Warmth Of The Sun… courtesy of the genius of Willie Nelson, Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys. (Eat your heart out, Paul McCartney).
If you enjoy this, I invite you to share this with others . This kind of music is getting harder to find. And this generation of artists are fading from the scene. Enjoy them while you can. Each generation has their “best” and this video represents the best of two different genres of the same era. Pretty damn cool, if you ask me.
YESTERDAY (or was it, perhaps, THE NIGHT BEFORE?), Sir Paul McCartney was feted at The White House by President Obama (well, SOMETHING had to lure him to GET BACK to the White House and certainly neither Memorial Day nor FIXING A HOLE in the Gulf of Mexico were cause enough to do it).
But throw a tribute for Paul McCartney for winning the Library of Congress Songwriter Award and… well, that’s all the HELP we needed to get THE FOOL ON THE HILL back to the White House. Seriously, does that really rank higher than Memorial Day or the Gulf Oil Spill? Yep, it sure does if you’re Barack Oh-Blame-Us.
And so it was, that they would all COME TOGETHER. Platters of platitudes and WORDS OF LOVE were served all around. Of course, Sir Paul serenaded MICHELLE. And, bless her soul, she seemed to still be proud to be an American (Sorry, I meant to save that for a Lee Greenwood posting).
Yeah-yeah-yeah, I could go on and on with more clever song title insertions, but let’s just get to the bottom line: McCartney should stick to what he does best: Writing SILLY LOVE SONGS. When it comes to that, Sir Paul was/is one of the best. Lord knows it’s been a LONG AND WINDING ROAD, since he first started performing ALL THOSE YEARS AGO.
Don’t get me wrong… I think McCartney richly deserves the songwriter’s award. But when it comes to politics, I think Paul should have just said, “Thanks for the dinner and the plaque.” and then just LET IT BE.
Unfortunately Sir Paul couldn’t keep his Beatle Boot out of his mouth, and resorted to a cheap shot one would expect from Team Obama. But there was “Beatle Paul” showing what an ignorant ass he has become I think Sir Paul… well, here… just LISTEN TO WHAT THE MAN SAID:
I wouldn’t worry about McCartney’s comment too much, however. Keep in mind, this was said by the man who thought he didn’t need a pre-nup when he married Heather Mills…
And for some great straight talk on the issue, check out
Michelle Malkin’s coverage of the event written by guest blogger Doug Powers (who managed to locate the best photo coverage of the concert. Do NOT miss it!).
Michelle’s guest blogger today, Val Prieto who absolutely nails itwith her guest contribution today… speaking for a lot of us, I’m sure.
One of our new commenters, sasoc, has written two outstanding posts on his blog, Mastersen’s Musings. (Actually, he has probably written more than two outstanding posts, but these are the first two I read, and they impressed me greatly.) The posts are entitled, “We Defend Our Culture or We Die as a Nation (part I here; part II here). I’m going to cull a few quotes for you to read, but both pieces are worthy of reading in full, and I hope you all will click over to his site and read them.
From Part I:
“Millions, or tens of millions, of poor Mexicans are a tragic group worthy of compassion, but not worthy of eviscerating our culture and surrendering our sovereignty. The Oath of Citizenship is a real thing, and legal immigration is a real thing, and assimilation is a real thing. They matter, and 20 million poor Mexicans crashing the gates and seeking to supplant our culture with theirs is not consistent with these ideals.
“To trade our astoundingly successful anglo-saxon culture (which has melted and absorbed ethnic groups from around the world) for one of poverty and political instability is quite literally insane. “
From Part II:
“People of all ethnic backgrounds have submitted themselves and their offspring to the American Way – and YES, there IS an American way – and that is the price of immigration. Read the oath of citizenship and you will see language about RENOUNCING from whence you came. “Renounce” is a strong word, and it is intentional…
“…Perhaps the ideals enumerated in the Declaration of Independence are merely transitory to you, or our culture of self-reliance, or our culture of ethical business dealing (very anglo-saxon if you’ve ever done business in other parts of the world). These should be left to be squeezed, diluted, and changed by foreign cultures in whatever tide of humanity seeks to take up residence here? You believe we should be “riders on the storm”, going whichever way the wind blows?
“If this is your belief, then our country will become something other than what Lincoln called the “last best hope of Earth”. It will be averaged down into the less successful, or downright failed, cultures of other places in the world.”
Let us hope that there are enough of us who still believe that America is the “last best hope of Earth,” who have the burning desire to keep her as such, and the unbreakable will to ensure that she continues to shine.
We can be extremely grateful that we have on our side such solid, articulate, intelligent, yes, and beautiful, Conservative women as Coulter, Palin, Bachman, and… Cheney. Liz, that is:
Posted by Alan Speakman 
