Google Maps.  Unbelievable.  If you have Firefox, zoom in, type anything at all and Google maps will search and find anything in its database with that name in the space you are looking at.  From, where else, Metafilter.

Feast your eyes on the owners of the blog the Black Republican, a conservative blog.  I first went there because of my interest in conservative African Americans.  They even have a category entitled Race and Prejudice.

If the country ain’t gung-ho enough for you yet, read these two stories from Thursday:

Marine General: It's 'Fun to Shoot People'

Thursday, February 3, 2005 Posted: 4:16 PM EST (2116 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A three-star Marine general who said it was "fun to shoot some people" should have chosen his words more carefully, the Marine Corps commandant said Thursday.

Lt. Gen. James Mattis, who commanded Marine expeditions in Afghanistan and Iraq, made the comments Tuesday during a panel discussion in San Diego, California.

"Actually it's quite fun to fight them, you know. It's a hell of a hoot," Mattis said, prompting laughter from some military members in the audience. "It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right up there with you. I like brawling.

"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil," Mattis said. "You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them."

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/02/03/general.shoot/index.html

'Adopt a Sniper' Fund-Raiser Shot Down

Thursday, February 3, 2005 Posted: 5:10 PM EST (2210 GMT)

CHICAGO (Reuters) -- A Catholic university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has blocked an attempt by Republican students to raise money for a group called "Adopt a Sniper" that raises money for U.S. sharp-shooters in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The students were selling bracelets bearing the motto "1 Shot 1 Kill No Remorse I Decide".

"Clearly the rhetoric of that organization raised some questions and we had some strong objections as a Jesuit university," Marquette University school spokeswoman Brigid O'Brien said Thursday.

I know its been a while since I've been posting regularly but Mrs. RM and I have been pretty busy this last month.  Our son, William Thor Madson, was born December 30, 2004 in Knoxville, TN.  Baby and parents are doing really well and you may see more of this guy sometime in the future.

Best Wishes from The RM Family

Here's what I found the most sickening, and even one good thing, about the president's State of the Union address last night:

1) His remarks about constitutionally banning gay marriage. This is a HATE CRIME, and I think a president ought not participate in that.

2) His constant praise for FDR -- whose great plan for the poor, Social Security, Bush plans to ruin for the gain of the wealthy.

3) The teary theater of that KIA's mother hugging the Iraqi voter. How hard did they have to look to find a pro-Bush Iraqi?

And the one thing I liked about it was his again saying there should be a Palestinian state. He's said that all along. But it should be noted he hasn't lifted a finger about it in four years, and really it's the biggest sore spot in the minds of all the Middle East.

Are we racing toward war with the Ayatollah? Here's a list of everything Bush has said about Iran in all his State of the Union addresses (Clinton, in 2000, was the only other post-Cold War president to mention Iran, in 2000. See below):

2005: Today, Iran remains the world's primary state sponsor of terror -- pursuing nuclear weapons while depriving its people of the freedom they seek and deserve. We are working with European allies to make clear to the Iranian regime that it must give up its uranium enrichment program and any plutonium reprocessing, and end its support for terror. And to the Iranian people, I say tonight: As you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you.

2004: America and the international community are demanding that Iran meet its commitments and not develop nuclear weapons. America is committed to keeping the world's most dangerous weapons out of the hands of the most dangerous regimes.

2003: Different threats require different strategies. In Iran, we continue to see a government that represses its people, pursues weapons of mass destruction, and supports terror. We also see Iranian citizens risking intimidation and death as they speak out for liberty and human rights and democracy. Iranians, like all people, have a right to choose their own government and determine their own destiny -- and the United States supports their aspirations to live in freedom.

2002: Iran aggressively pursues these weapons [of mass destruction] and exports terror, while an unelected few repress the Iranian people's hope for freedom.

2001: (Inaugural address, no mention)

2000 (Clinton): We must meet this threat by making effective agreements to restrain nuclear and missile programs in North Korea, curbing the flow of lethal technology to Iran, preventing Iraq from threatening its neighbors, increasing our preparedness against chemical and biological attack, protecting our vital computer systems from hackers and criminals, and developing a system to defend against new missile threats, while working to preserve our ABM missile treaty with Russia. We must do all these things.

As some diligent readers of this blog know, J. Scott Barnard is probably our most conservative commenter.  His comments are always welcome as an antidote to our generally centrist ravings.  But even he must be dismayed by what the White House had to say today to L.A. Times reporters about their plan to “fix” Social Security by privatizing it:

In a significant shift in his rationale for the accounts, Bush dropped his claim that they would help solve Social Security's fiscal problems — a link he sometimes made during last year's presidential campaign. Instead, he said the individual accounts were desirable because they would be "a better deal," providing workers what he said would be a higher rate of return and "greater security in retirement."

A Bush aide, briefing reporters on the condition of anonymity, was more explicit, saying that the individual accounts would do nothing to solve the system's long-term financial problems.

That candid analysis, although widely shared by economists, distressed some Republicans.

"Oh, my God," one GOP political strategist said when he learned of the shift in rhetoric. "The White House has made a lot of Republicans walk the plank on this. Now it sounds as if they are sawing off the board."

That's right--even the White House now admits that its strategy to “fix” Social Security won't even solve the problem at all.  So if this isn't a solution--why even apply the fix?  Ask the money manangers of Wall Street.

Update: If you are interested in reading more from Scott, check out his conservative blog, Burton Terrace.  Just don't expect tons of posts this weekend--the Supa Bowl is in his home town of Jacksonville, FLA.

I was encouraged by the news coming out of Iraq yesterday, although I knew the cheerleading and overly optimistic numbers (you mean that 8 million voters figure is just a guess?) coming out wouldn't hold up at the end of the day.  Since most American journalists never really leave their hotels in the Green Zone, it may be awhile before we have the full picture, probably sometime after the next declared turning point in our occupation of Iraq.  As much as we have to applaud the Iraqi people (ie. Kurds and Shiites), I think we need to take a look at this post over at Kos before we start patting ourselves on the back too strenuously.

What comes around, goes around.....  

Today's headline in the Washington Times: Joy Explodes Across Iraq. 

It just takes a minute to think about what you are about to put on your front page, fellas.

Let's hear it for the Iraqis, who, despite the bungling of the last two years by the Bush Administration, seem to be hell-bent on taking the reins of their own country away from the idiots who have held it regardless of the dangers.

I miss the Ramones.

Cheney at Auschwitz:

Bonzo at Bitburg:

The torch passes.

This Iron Mouth Editor lives in Washington, D.C.  Here in D.C. rumors of a pending draft in April have begun to swirl.  Rumor has it that the draft will be from the ages of 22-37(?!) and that it will start in April.  If it happens, you heard it here first.

A letter from the Jarrar's:

Friday, January 21st, 2005
Good evening….
These are the days of Al- Adha’a Feast, I wish you many happy returns… and hope the next feast would arrive, with Iraq in the best condition, and all Iraqis would be in peace, security, and welfare. I see this as a far-off dream….but I shall never stop praying, working, and waiting, to fulfill this dream….
I cried on the eve of the Feast, while I was in my hotel room, at the Dead Sea, to attend a Conference about Iraqi Societies and their Funding. I remembered the preceding years, when were a whole family, Azzam and I, and the boys; Raid, Majid, and Khalid… we used to go shopping before the Feast, to buy new clothes, sweets, chocolates, and juice, to present to our guests… and Azzam used to distribute the “I’diaa = Feast Pocket Money” to the family members, on the morning of the Feast… then we would gather at the house of the elder brother, exchanging greetings, then, on the other days we would visit more friends and relatives…until the Feast vacation would end… but today…Azzam is in America, on business with a company, Raid is visiting the U.A.E. with his Fiancé, Majid is in Canada, I am in Amman, and Khalid is in Baghdad… I cried bitterly, sadly… I miss my family, my house, and my neighbors. I miss my friends and colleagues at work, my naughty cat, and everything there…
I do not know when I’ll be back, and when we will all gather again, in a secure, settled country, with a clear, shiny future.

Please Read: Across Baghdad, Security Is Only An Ideal.

Bush, today: 

And it's exciting times for the Iraqi people.

Iraqis Agree:

The second-in-command at the neighboring Iraqi Army base called Camp Chindit, Colonel Hassan Mazzid, thinks the real problems will not emerge until the results of the poll are released.

"We think some people want to win the election by force," he noted. "Some lists will succeed at the polls and some will fail. We think some who fail in the election might make trouble because, as you know, democracy is new to Iraq."

Shuffle Play Wisdom:
Commando - The Ramones

they do their best,they do what they can
they get them ready for viet nam

from old hanoi to east berlin
commando - involved again
they do their best, they do what they can
they get them ready for viet nam

first rule is: the laws of germany
second rule is: be nice to mommy
third rule is: don't talk to commies
fourth rule is: eat kosher salamis

Uncle Tupelo - Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down

If I was a religious man, I'd say were living in the end times.  Unfortunately we're not that lucky.