We got back from the trip on Tuesday, completely exhausted. Our flight had been cancelled and we had to get another one, on which the passengers were packed like sardines. We did get to see Ice Age 2: The Meltdown on the flight.

My left ear failed to clear after the descent into San Francisco when we arrived on the 12th and my left tonsil has been killing me ever since. Yesterday was the first time I was able to look down my throat with a flashlight and lo and behold my left tonsil is covered with large white spots! I went to the doctor who did a throat swab. The swab was negative for strep, but they will send it to the lab to be cultured anyway just to make sure. If it is strep, they’ll call me and let me know to pick up some antibiotics. Otherwise it’s just pharyngitis which is doctor speak for “sore throat”. He gave me some vicodin for night time to help with the pain so I can sleep. Fun, fun, fun.

Otherwise we did have a lot of fun on the trip. I am posting a few photos below and they are in thumbnail version so downloading the page won’t be a bother for those on dial up. Just click a photo caption to see a larger version.

Radio Equalizer readers here for the “anti-Bush weirdness” that Brian refers to: please see the post below this one or click here.

Really Big Redwood on the Avenue of the Giants:

Carson Mansion in Eureka, the most photographed building in California:

Drive Thru Tree, I’ve left a person in for perspective. We had a rental convertible PT Cruiser and felt like we only just squeezed through. We would not have been able to get through with our Yukon XL. No way, no how:

The ocean off of Humboldt Bay:

A little weirdness in Willits (talk about stuck in the sixties):

I am in San Francisco after all…

I took this as we were walking around looking for dinner on Wednesday evening.

Today we’re going to drive up the coast to Redwood Country. We’ll be back in San Francisco on Sunday evening just in time for our Alcatraz tour!

Brit Hume just announced that Robert Novak announced that he got Valerie Plame’s name from Joe Wilson’s Who’s Who entry.

Novak has been informed by Fitzgerald’s office that his part of the investigation is complete and now Novak can talk. He has been silent on this at Fitzgerald’s request.

Hume will interview Novak tomorrow on Special Report.

so others will like us…

On June 30th on Fox News’ Dayside program, they were discussing the NYT’s “release” of the SWIFT story and SCOTUS’ ruling in Hamdan. The guests were Kristen Powers (Democratic Strategist) and John Leboutillier (Former NY Congressman currently of Newsmax). I couldn’t believe what he said.

At one point they were discussing Gitmo and a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll that showed that 43% of respondents thought it was fair to hold detainees without charging them and 44% who thought it was not fair. Mr. Leboutillier’s comment was as follows:

Well Mike, you know, my view on it is, I think we all believe in a system of how to charge criminals – and these are criminals. And there’s something un-American about taking people, not trying them and just locking them up wherever. Now the worry I have is – next week, next month, next year – what if some American soldiers are taken – by some terrorist group – or some country – and they don’t charge them, they don’t give them back, they just say. “Ah, we’re keeping them for as long as we want.” We have lost our ability to say, “you’re wrong for doing this.”

I hadn’t posted on it yet because I was busy with other things for the last 11 days. Big weekend was coming up, final week of my current class, planning a trip to San Francisco that we leave for tomorrow.

I’m sorry. When I first heard this, I TiVo’d it because I needed to have it so I could transcribe it. The quote seemed so very outlandish to me. And this is a Republican saying this. The first thing I thought back on June 30th had to do with his “worry” about

… next week, next month, next year – what if some American soldiers are taken – by some terrorist group – or some country – and they don’t charge them, they don’t give them back, they just say. “Ah, we’re keeping them for as long as we want.” …

What about Kristian Menchaca and Thomas Tucker? Their bodies were found not 10 days before.

Now, just yesterday, the terrorists have released video of the horrors that they have perpetrated upon our brave soldiers. Rusty at The Jawa Report has the video.

We’ve been nice Mr. Leboutillier. Terrorists aren’t nice. They never will be nice. Even if we let every single detainee, held anywhere, go. Right now. Terrorists would still terrorize. Even if we left Iraq and Afghanistan right now. Terrorists would still terrorize.

That was the first thought. The second thought was criminals?. These people aren’t criminals. They’re terrorists.

This is IMDb‘s Quote of the Day, from the movie Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Imagine Jimmy Stewart’s voice as you read this…

JEFFERSON SMITH

You see, boys forget what their country means by just reading The Land of the Free in history books. Then they get to be men they forget even more.

Liberty’s too precious a thing to be buried in books, Miss Saunders. Men should hold it up in front of them every single day of their lives and say: I’m free to think and to speak. My ancestors couldn’t, I can, and my children will. Boys ought to grow up remembering that.

Happy Independence Day Everyone!

Letssaythanks.com, this is a website by Xerox where you can choose from many postcard designs (by children)
g
personalize the card and it will be printed and sent to a soldier, sailor, airman or marine serving overseas (anywhere overseas, not just war zones).

This is really cool.

Yeah! See the “first post” here.

UPDATE!

Rusty has written a post here too.

After nearly two weeks of fighting a cyberterrorist attack launched by
Turkish Islamists, and then wrestling with a new server, The Jawa
Report is back!

We promise to continue the reporting the news the only way we know
how–with mediocre analysis & plenty of offense. If that’s just a
little bit more than Islam can allow, then to quote Kos, screw them.

Read the rest!

Hang Right Politics is dedicating a page to remarks made by Democrats in defense of the Cut and Run, Cut and Jog, Cut and Powerwalk, and/or Cut and Stroll positions.

Please go take a look and leave any others in the comments. The page will be updated on a regular basis…

Click on image to be taken there…

UPDATED

The New York Times runs a front page story on bank data being used to help find terrorists. This is published in the print edition this morning and online last night.

Last night, the Attorney General announced indictments against 7 suspected terrorists in Miami who are thought to have been planning attacks on both the FBI’s Miami offices and the Sears Tower, America’s tallest building, in Chicago.

The conspiracy theory? They were sitting on the story, waiting for something that could be construed as favorable to the administration, so they could publish this as counter-point.

At the press conference today with Tony Snow (transcript will be and video are available here later), the questions were all about the banking leak, nothing about the Miami 7.

Someone Bob Sellers* on Fox News noted that the bank story was front page in the Gray Lady, but the Miami 7 story was buried somewhere in the 20s.
(*thanks to Kim Preistap @ Wizbang who also noted this)
Shows you where their priorities lay doesn’t it?

UPDATE! Kim Priestap has a good roundup on the banking story here.

Good manners will open doors that the best education cannot.
– Clarence Thomas

He’s 58 years old today. Still young.