UPDATE: Toxic Phobos-Grunt Reentry Imminent (Crisis Over – See Below)

After a long delay in the posting of the late-Saturday NORAD tracking fit for Phobos-Grunt, internet watchers were beginning to worry that the spacecraft had already broken up in the atmosphere about a day before most predictions.  That vigil ended just a few hours ago.  One thing that can be concluded from this update, other than the vehicle being intact, is that the orbit decay trends are continuing fairly smoothly.  You probably won’t hear this elsewhere, but that may indicate that ROSCOSMOS has not been completely straight about the tank material housing the toxic propellants.  If it were aluminum as stated, the tanks likely would have ruptured after more than a day of being engulfed by plasma, especially since the vehicle seems to be flying in a tanks-first attitude.  The propellants would have been scattered by now, dramatically decreasing the mass of the vehicle, and causing a spike in the decay rate.  This apparently hasn’t happened.  The vehicle seems to have held together so far, and that’s a bad sign.  In my opinion, it supports the suspicion that the tanks are really titanium, which will probably survive the reentry all the way to the ground.

Where will the Phobos-Grunt spacecraft crash and when?  The timing generally agreed upon by most in the space community is during the day on Sunday, January 15, but the breakup times vary from roughly the earliest time this website predicts, 13:13 UTC (a very unlucky time, apparently…) to about 22:00 UTC Sunday night.  In any case, the ground tracks during this period will closely resemble those in this Russian language plot provided by ROSCOSMOS:

Here’s what the day will look like roughly, using Greenwich (UTC) time unless otherwise noted:

Rev#1: Crosses into Northern Hemisphere at 0:38 UTC.

Rev#2: Crosses equator at 2:05 UTC and passes over LA at 6:15 pm. (about 2 hours ago.

Rev#3: Crosses at 3:32 UTC and traverses Canada.

Rev#4: Crosses at 4:59 UTC and flies over New Hampshire at 25 minutes after Midnight, local time.

Rev#5: Crosses at 6:26 UTC and flies over Chicago and North Carolina

Rev#6: Crosses at 7:53 UTC and flies over Seattle at 12:17am local, and Texas roughly 2:24am local.

Rev#7: Crosses at 9:20 UTC and traverses Pacific rim over water.

Rev#8: Crosses at 10:47 UTC and flies over Sri Lanka at about 4pm local and Tierra del Fuego 7:42am local.

Rev#9: Crosses at 12:12 UTC and sims show the first good chance of final plunge at Tierra del Fuego at 13:13 UTC, 8:13am Eastern US time.

Rev#10: Crosses at 13:40 UTC and flies over Saudi Arabia, Russia and TDF.

Rev#11: Crosses at 15:07 UTC and flies over Cairo, Russia, Tokyo and TDF.

Rev#12: Crosses at 16:34 UTC and flies over Africa, Greece, Chile and the Amazon.

Rev#13: Crosses at 18:01 UTC and flies over the Amazon, French Riviera, Italy, Queensland and Peru.

Rev#14: Crosses at 19:27 UTC and flies over Paris, Indonesia and New South Wales.

Rev#15: Crosses at 20:53 UTC and flies over Columbia, London and Chennai.

At the current time, based on the NORAD tracking state from Saturday night, the Grunt’s most likely prediction is for a touchdown very near northern Japan, descending from the northeast at 15:39 UTC, which is 10:39am Eastern US time.

This prediction is made with a +/-6 hour uncertainty, and the following locations are considered to be at low-but-finite risk: Japan, Egypt and the Middle East, Caspian and Black Sea Areas, South America, West Africa, Greece,  China, Southern Russian, Hawaii, Oceania, French and Spanish Rivieras and Northern Italy.  At the current time, North America, most of Russia, South Africa and Scandinavia appear to be at very low risk.

This information is for general interest and is based on information publicly available with no guarantee of accuracy.   Please consult your local authorities for public safety and hazard information.

Final Update:  The official Russian pronouncement places the flying fuel-tank down in the Pacific off the southern coast of Chile. Their estimated down time was 10:45pm Moscow time, or 17:45 UTC or 12:45pm Eastern US time. If you look at the rev list above, that would put it just before Rev#13 of the day, just after it had passed south of Japan, across the South Pacific and just before it was to fly across the Amazon, Atlantic, Gibraltar, the Spanish and French Rivieras and Italy. If you locate Gibraltar on the map above, you can follow the blue line backwards across the Atlantic and South America to where it apparently took the plunge.

Is this really where it went down? Nobody knows until fuel tanks start washing ashore at Santiago or debris shows up somewhere else. It’s hard to say, really, since there were no tracking facilities that could see it after it flew over Russia that last time. So who knows? But if you’re in Chile or Japan or Africa, and you see a round metal thing on the beach that looks like a beach ball, don’t use it to put your coconuts in!

Why I’m Retiring Our Stars and Stripes for a While

Old Glory has always flown proudly over Grunt Manor, and for good reason.  The family has ever been all about God and Country, and those under our roofs have served and fought for what America represents.  We have unapologetically supported the U.S. Military and those who serve in its four branches, and that never wavered throughout the Vietnam years.  Especially not then; certainly not now.

You can believe that the current Eagle Scout patriarch of the family took great care in folding up the Stars and Stripes recently, and reverently placing it in a flag box, then shelving it for long-term storage.  I meant no dishonor to the flag of our nation.  Quite the contrary.  I mean to fly it again someday, when it’s waving might not be fraught with scandalous mixed meaning.  Until then, I intend to keep flying the yellow Gadsden revolutionary war flag, itself a perfectly good American flag.

You see, while the Stars and Stripes represents much that is good, it is also the flag under which our armed forces and intelligence services are systematically deposing world leaders and replacing them with governments controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood.  This is not my opinion.  It is simple fact.  In the U.S. State Department, under that same flag, we are actively supporting Taliban leaders and helping them sell poppy crops and heroin that supports their twisted cause.  In very recent months, in Afghanistan, our own government may have actively turned against even its own most selfless and courageous soldiers, and purposely allowed them to be carelessly killed in untenable situations to give comfort and support to Muslim leaders.  Those leaders continue to slaughter Christians by the thousands across Africa, and their blood is on our hands and on our flag.

Here at home, the most successful space agency on the planet, NASA, has been fatally crippled by the White House under that same flag, and given, as it’s principal task, the job of making muslim nations more proud of their imaginary contributions to science.  As we speak, thousands of advanced tactical weapons are in the hands of dangerous drug lords in Mexico, placed there by our own Department of Justice, for the purpose of undermining our Constitution.  In Libya, twenty-thousand tactical missiles were allowed to fall into the hands of Islamic governments and terrorists across the Middle East by our State Department.  In these countries, the Stars and Stripes have mixed meaning, indeed, and it is difficult to separate the flag from the President who commands the armed forces and wields his power without budgetary constraint or Constitutional legitimacy.

That’s right.  I said it.  He was elected, but he plainly never satisfied the Constitutional requirement to be a natural born citizen, as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court in the binding Minor v. Happersett decision which has been conveniently ignored by Congress.  There’s a very grave reason why that requirement is in the Constitution, and I believe we are seeing the consequence of ignoring it now.  For this reason alone, I believe Lieutenant Colonel Terry Lakin did the right thing in refusing to serve under this illegitimate commander in chief.  I would likewise refuse to serve under this administration in any capacity.  And so, neither can I fly the same flag that flies over the White House and Congress.  It’s time for a revolutionary American flag again.  May it only be for a short time.

Toxic Phobos-Grunt Reentry Expected Within Days

The launch of the Phobos-Grunt probe from Kazakhstan on November 8th marked the first Russian Mars mission in 15 years.  Space experts now say that underfunding of the ambitious project may have doomed it from the start.  ”Way too ambitious, and way too underfunded, to reach its goal,” says space law attorney Michael Listner, who writes for The Space Review.  All went well for the spacecraft during the launch and injection into a parking orbit around the Earth, but the failure of an orbital boost stage doomed the vehicle to a slow decay through the Earth’s atmosphere until it reenters in mid-January.  The photo at left was taken by Netherlands astrophotographer Ralf Vandeburgh last week through a telescope, and it’s compared to a ROSCOSMOS photo of the craft prior to launch.

Since spacecraft reenter the Earth’s atmosphere all the time, this would not be very newsworthy except for the unusually heavy load of toxic propellants on board this vehicle.  Reports vary somewhat, but indications are that there may be as much as 11 tons of hydrazine-derivative fuel and nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer on board.  Both of these are extremely deadly to humans whether dispersed in the atmosphere or in direct contact to the skin.  Due to the enormous quantity involved, there is some concern about where, exactly, the vehicle may reenter over the surface of the Earth.  Predictions have been complicated by autonomous thruster activity on board the vehicle that raised the orbit for a while in November before going silent.  This threw off early predictions of a mid-December reentry and delayed the spacecraft’s death plunge until at least early January.  Precise predictions of reentry locations are unlikely to be published, even though they are now becoming identifiable.  Most of the planet, everything between +/- 51.4 degrees of latitude, falls under the regular ground traces of Phobos-Grunt, and could potentially see some debris.  As for the reentry date, the Russian space agency has predicted January 10-21, 2012, and other experts agree with that estimate.  The current prediction of the spaceflight101.com site is January 15, 2012 at 14:00 UTC +/- 18 hours, as of the very end of the day on the 9th.

The proprietor of this website has done a preliminary simulation, and the official Blog of Monte Cristo prediction at this time is for January 15, 2012 at about 1:00 UTC, which is just after Midnight, early Sunday morning in Western Europe, which is the vicinity of the reentry according to my crude analysis.  This shouldn’t be taken too seriously, because we are 5 days away from the likely burn-up, but the current simulation shows the vehicle’s final flight over France, the island of Corsica, humorously over the uninhabited island of Monte Cristo itself (I’m not kidding), and then finally being scattered over the City of Rome.  If the Spaceflight101 prediction is more correct than mine, then the reentry could occur later in the flight, perhaps over the Pacific Ocean, or potentially anywhere else on the globe.  I should note, however, that their predicted reentry time was 21:00 UTC until just a few hours ago, and they’ve been revising their time earlier, toward mine.  I’ll continue to revise my predictions over the next few days, using much better atmosphere models.  I guarantee that the predicted location will change, and at any rate, given my track record, I think I can say that the safest place on the planet is probably Rome, at this point.

The actual danger of this reentry should not be blown out of proportion, because all spacecraft are most likely to come down over water, and very little of the vehicles survive the fiery descent, anyway.  However, many heavy pieces do survive and strike the ground, like the debris from Skylab that rained down across the Australian outback, or pieces of the UARS satellite that very likely fell over Washington State and Canada, despite the official claim that it happened entirely over the Pacific.  One of the particular concerns with Russian spacecraft is that they contain a lot of titanium, which is strong and light and is almost impervious to the heat of reentry.  Titanium is abundant in Russia, and is frequently used for fuel and gas spheres like the one pictured above that was recovered in Africa.

Clearly, the enormous mass of dangerous propellants on board Phobos-Grunt, combined with the possibility that they are stored in indestructible titanium tanks, makes for a real concern.  Most sources are reporting that the tanks used on Phobos-Grunt are made of aluminum due to cost-cutting measures taken during construction.  This would be good news, indeed, if true.  Aluminum tanks would not survive reentry.  No one is questioning the veracity of this claim, which almost certainly was only discussed after the reentry became a certainty, but one could question it, right?  Since space lawyers have indicated total Russian liability for any damage, there is plenty of reason to think that the tank material is a sensitive topic, at risk of being … manipulated.

So the danger of this particular reentry cannot be completely wished away. In fact, it’s somewhat reminiscent of a James Bond dilemma in Moonraker, in which he had to risk his life to shoot down reentering spheres containing nerve gas.  In the real world, atmospheric entry of hypergolic propellants like Phobos-Grunt’s is usually avoided at all costs.  If possible, all of it is exhausted by thruster firings in orbit.  In the case of the defunct Phobos-Grunt, that can no longer be done.  So we wait.  And watch.

More reading: www.spaceflight101.com, www.heavens-above.com, www.space.com.

Subversive Angel Stories

In our modern world, with its unspoken assumptions of materialism and skepticism, believing our own eyes, or the eyes of those dear to us, can be a subversive act. Paradoxically, we keep silent about the experiences that touch us most deeply; it is the most superficial of things that we readily talk about.  Writing about miracles, C.S. Lewis revealed that he only ever knew one person who claimed to see a ghost, and that individual refused to believe it, preferring instead to imagine that it was the product of some bad marmite on the morning toast.  A strange tyranny of the mind it is, that robs us of the freedom to believe in what we see or what we know well to be.  For myself, I prefer to recognize that nothing that is real in this world can be proven.  Gravity itself, is only a tale told most convincingly by my senses and confirmed by close friends whom I trust, just waiting to be broken by contradicting evidence yet unavailable.  So why not speak of those experiences that offer a glimpse of a more complex reality than one that is only physical or material?

The following is a collection of first or second-hand angel stories told in good faith by me or those I know and trust.  None of these have been published before, to my knowledge.  Some are life-altering or profound in their potential for mischief.  Others are simple and almost casual in scope.  All of them have positive aspects involving encouragement, healing or spiritual transformation.

Never Summer Triumph – by Grunt:  There was a time recently when our family of 5 found itself finally settled in a smallish Colorado town after many moves, a new job, two births in the last two years and countless other challenges that all young families face.  It was a time of welcome stability and breathing room, and peeking out from under the fog of our exhaustion, we were determined to do something extravagant to celebrate. Compared to the expensive foreign vacations of our friends, our plan was very modest, but to us it was a tired parent’s dream fulfilled.  We rented a cabin in a lodge resort nestled on the glorious shores of Grand Lake near Rocky Mountain National Park.  Most important to us, the resort was like a gated stockade, surrounded on all sides except for the water, so our children would be able to run around without fear of traffic.  As long as we kept an eye on them by the sandy beach, we would be free to relax, finally, amid the natural splendor of the Rockies, and enjoy a few margaritas in deck chairs, with feet in the sand.

I know this sounds pathetic, really, but we were not the typical 90′s couple who waited until their late 30′s to marry and have children.  We married young and had babies without regret, accepting the consequences stoically.  But the consequences took their toll.  We had, both of us, never much help or respite either in working through school or paying bills or raising children, even though that was mostly our choice, having moved far from family while chasing jobs.  In the Summer of 1998, we found ourselves intact but exhausted and desperate.  I was still recovering from a particularly stubborn depression that had lasted for years.  My wife was in better shape, but like many couples, we both looked to this vacation for healing.

After looking after everyone else, there was one thing that I wanted for myself on this trip, and it was a big deal to me.  I wanted to summit a mountain again.  As a young man I’d spent whole seasons in the backcountry of the Rockies as a ranch hand and trail builder, and it was a rugged joy that I wanted to glimpse again, if only for a day.

Halfway through our week, my wife arranged to handle the kids for a whole day, and I left pre-dawn on my mountain bike.  The target was a peak deep in the Never Summer Wilderness near the Continental Divide, but the trip had to be a sprint over a considerable distance in order to make it work.  Timing was everything.  If I showed up too late to start the hike at treeline, there would be no summit.

The dim, pinkish light was barely enough to view the road by as I flew up the Kawuneechee Valley, crossed the Colorado River and started the steep ascent of nameless jeep trails that reached into the various timber clearcuts of Arapaho National Forest West of RMNP.  I pushed hard to gain altitude as the sun crested the Divide and gloriously lit up the Valley behind.  Some of the logging roads wound gently though majestic stands of pine and aspen, and others cut cruelly straight up the ridges, becoming dry cascades of boulders and ruts, littered with the shattered remains of red tail light lenses from countless jeeps making too much contact with the trees and rocks.

After emerging, muddy, from the alpine bogs near treeline, I finally summited the ridge that marked the boundary of the Never Summer Wilderness Area, which was marked with a double-post wooden sign at this point.  Here the bike would dry out in the sun, locked to the sign for the rest of the afternoon.  Hoofing it was all that was allowed within the WA, and I gladly hit the ground running in great spirits, now surrounded, above treeline, by the splendor of the Never Summer Range.  Hours passed as I topped out on first one and then two false summits along the ridge.  I paused on the top of the second, surveying what I knew must be the target peak, and drew myself up for the final ascent.  Plunging into the saddle between the peaks, I scrambled up the far side, but as the day passed, I became increasingly nervous about the time.  I would make it to the top, but I was concerned about my wife.  She was a worrier, and I didn’t want to think about how she would handle a few hours delay after nightfall, this being pre-cellphone.

In the brilliant late afternoon sun, I staggered onto the summit and beheld something I didn’t expect.  Looming up behind the top was the true summit, past yet another saddle.  I was standing on another false summit, and I was utterly crushed.  I threw myself down on the alpine turf and, after guzzling some water, stared at the sky in defeat.  All the old fears and bitterness came flooding back to me.  I wanted this little accomplishment to hold me over through the coming months of endless office work, and I genuinely feared the depression that had dogged me for years.  I must have begun praying quietly, pathetically, as I sat up and began staring at the mountain I would not touch.

The first thing I noticed was a figure climbing the sheer face on the North side of the peak.  It surprised me at first because I had passed no one the entire day, but it was not really surprising to come across a climber in the mountains, even a free-climber like this one, on a technical face.  Strangely, though, he was wearing a parka with the hood up, so his face was hidden.  This was unheard of.  No one climbed like that on a sunny, warm day.  And it was a strange white parka with black accents.  This was clearly a tourist, and the idiot was going to get himself killed.  But suddenly, I stopped worrying about the tourist.  It occurred to me that I could see this guy so clearly, so very near the summit, that it couldn’t be that far, even though it had seemed a mile away at first.

I grabbed my pack and started running down to the saddle and up the other side.  By the time I summited for real, it couldn’t have been more than a half hour from when I’d noticed the climber.  I was exhilarated.  And confused.  How could the peak have been so much closer than it seemed?  Suddenly it seemed very important to find the climber who had led me to make the decision to commit.  This particular peak is very pointy and bald and completely smooth, except for the sheer face on the North side.  I could see with a glance that there was no one within view for miles in any direction.  Ultimately, I looked down the face, and the truth hit me.  This was not a rock face that was climbable by anyone, even technical climbers with equipment.  It was some of the most rotten igneous rock I’d ever seen – far too crumbly to attempt foot or handholds without setting loose showers of talus.  And it was nearly vertical for a thousand feet.  No one had been there, no one at all, and I stuck around far too long afterwards just making sure.

The descent that evening was one of the most joy-filled of my life.  Not only did I have a happy puzzle to contemplate, but I had to learn how to make a fast mountain bike descent through the trees over many miles without breaking my neck.   It was a new trail bike, and I had only been a road bike driver before that.  I believe it was the first time I’d ever done anything dangerous out of the chute with no fear or anxiety whatsoever.  And it was good.  When I pulled into camp just before sunset with bugs in my teeth and a big goofy grin on my face, my young wife smiled the most beautiful smile at me and handed over our new-born son.  Then she handed me a cold bottle of beer and asked me to come watch the sun go down over the lake.  Then it got better.

Mysterious Montana – by Sharon:  In 1993, I picked up my elderly aunt in Fargo, ND to take her with to Montana to visit my mother (her sister).  As we drove, we shared so many wonderful memories regarding how God had blessed our families over the years. She and her husband had thought so much of my Dad, and she shared some stories about that.  Then she talked about how she and her husband, in their retirement years, had often spent days driving around the back roads of Montana (yeah, I know—that means most of the roads in Montana)….this was WAY before cell phones.  They were often in very isolated areas, and while they tried to be wise about the maintenance of the car so they wouldn’t get stranded, it happened one day, of course.  They were pulled off on a desolate and isolated stretch of country road 50 miles from nowhere, unpaved, no traffic at ALL.  Her husband worked on the car for some time, and they were getting a little concerned.  But he kept working at it and thought he would get it fixed. (He wasn’t all that handy about vehicles, so they were concerned.)  They always trusted God for His care in their lives and this was no different.

After he had worked some time, a man driving a truck came by, saw their situation, and pulled over and got out.  He walked to them, just asking what the problem was, etc. and made conversation.  She said he was wearing normal country/farm clothing, was a tall and fine looking man, and spoke to them so kindly.  Then he said he would stay there until they were sure the vehicle was ready to go again.  So after a bit, my uncle did indeed get it running, checked it out and it seemed all was back in order.  So my aunt was still standing and talking with the kind gentlemen, while uncle slammed the hood down, picked up his tools and made ready to start it up to leave.  She explained to me that she was standing about 20 feet from their car talking with the man.  He just said, “Well, it looks like you folks are ready to go.”  He turned to get back into his truck.  She began to walk toward the car to join her husband, and after a couple of steps, turned to call “Goodby” and “thank you” one more time.  There was no truck there.  There was no man there.  There had been no sound of a truck leaving in the 2-3 seconds intervening.  So there ya go: an angel with a truck. (don’t know if it had a gun rack–probably not)

God’s care for us is so fine. So very, very fine.

Guardian Angel Co-Pilot – by GFCandInThatOrder:  I was driving home from work after a long hot day and traffic was ok.  Traveling at 55mph on the highway, I approached this intersection where there was a stop sign for those who wanted to get on or across the road.  There was traffic on all sides and this particular car was stopped at the stop sign waiting to make a left turn onto the highway to go the opposite way I was traveling. Having the right of way I continued and when I was about 35 feet from the intersection, this car pulled out right in front of me.  The driver then saw me and froze right in the middle of my lane leaving me nowhere to go as there was another car waiting for me to pass through the intersection, another on my right immediately behind the car that had just pulled out and another car going in the opposite dirrection doing about 55mph.

What happened in the next second of my life seemed to transpire over an excruciatingly long length of time and doesn’t seem possible.  I saw everything extremely clear unlike anything in normal senses.  All the cars in their places stopped and I saw the looks on everybody’s faces as I stomped on the brakes and the sound of tires screeching was above everything else.  I heard breaking glass, things banging and people screaming out all in turn.  I remember every word and smell and sound and it seemed that I was moving at a quick pace thinking of a thousand decisions all at once and making them.  Everybody else was almost completely still while I made many decisions.  I saw an area about 7 feet wide between cars and released the brake pedal so I could swerve around the car immediately in front of me and then slam the brakes again to get just the right angle to whip around another car.  As soon as I passed about 50 feet through the intersection everything went through warp speed and I literally saw stars as everything went back to its normal speed.

My passengers in my one-ton van were all disheveled, screaming and then awestruck at how I had just done what I had.  To this day I am spellbound at God’s great mercy and for my guardian angel Bingo who is constantly by my side working overtime.  Also, I’m amazed at the lives that were saved that day and this awesome mind and body that God made.   All was nearly instantaneously done while I was exhausted and tired.

Sylmar Quake Guardians – by Sharon:   The epicenter of the 1971 Sylmar Quake in the San Fernando Valley was about 5 miles from our house in Van Nuys.  My husband and I struggled to get through the hallway to the bedroom where our 3 and 5 year old sons were.  He got down by one bed and put his body over the one; I got down by the other and did the same.  When things finally stopped, the whole world within 30 miles was pretty shook up; lots of serious damage; loss of life (my cousin was an RN at the Olive View Hospital where one whole end of the building fell off).  No one went to work that day. We spent the day gathering our wits mostly.  The next day, our oldest son said, “Mommy, are those men coming back?”  I responded like most parents who are tired of trying to answer mysterious questions, and gave a non-answer, because I had no idea what he was talking about.  But he persisted, “Mommy, aren’t those men coming back?”  When I realized he wasn’t going to drop it, I said, “What men?”  He replied, “The men who came to the house yesterday.”  Ah! Now I can really be “parental” because I knew no one had come to our house the day of the quake.  “No, J, there were no men at the house yesterday.  Remember–after we got up from the quake, we went to the park.”  “No, Mommy, I mean the men who were there DURING the earthquake.” (goosebumps right there)… and I questioned him very, very quietly, because I didn’t want to lead his answers,…..so I tried to ask casual and curious-like.  “I don’t remember. What did they look like?” (He’s a little exasperated now….)  “Mommy, they were the great big men wearing the white dresses.  One of them stood at the end of E’s bed and one stood at the end of my bed.”

So I explained to him, of course, that they were the angels that God sent to take care of him and his brother.  Later on, I explained to him that often people standing around those who are being cared for by angels don’t see the angels, and that was why I didn’t understand what he was talking about.

Angel with a Catcher’s Mitt – by Grunt:   Years ago we had an 18 month old son who was getting into a lot of trouble toddling around.  He and his older brother (3 years old) were at my sister’s place while my wife was helping paint a second story room. Inexplicably, the 3-year-old demanded that both women come downstairs and deal with 2 strange men who were standing in the courtyard outside the front door.  Only problem was: no one was visible there.  The women searched the courtyard while the kid insisted they were RIGHT THERE.  ”Can’t you see them?”

The gals were deeply disturbed by this because they wanted to ignore it as a childish game, but he was deadly serious, and I note that he’s never done anything like it before or since.  Hesitantly, they climbed the stairs and resumed painting.  Within minutes, the 18 month old suddenly climbed an appliance blocking the window and threw himself through the screen of the window 2 stories over the ground level courtyard, directly over where the invisibles had been standing.  The women FLEW down the stairs and rushed to the side of the crumpled child who was gently sobbing on the ground.

Long story short: I was called from work to the hospital to find our child screaming his head off while being secured to a CAT-scan tie-down board.  Within an hour, the last trauma doctor shook his head and told us there was no evidence that this child had fallen at all, and we could go home.  He had no bruises of any kind, and no concussion.  Released from the doctors, he began to play as if nothing had happened.  That night we all gathered to eat take-out chinese and talk about what had happened.  During the meal the 3-year-old broke his silence to say how wonderful it was that “the angel” had caught his brother.  We looked at each other, and remembered that only the 3-year-old had been in a position, chasing after his brother and looking out the window, to see him hit the ground.  We questioned him endlessly, but he refused to say any more.

After that, I wondered often how a spiritual being could physically “catch” a child.  I was rewarded with an internal vision of St. Michael himself, bulging with muscles, and playfully wearing a catcher’s mitt and a big grin.  My reaction was that we certainly did not deserve the intervention of the greatest of all the angels, the great chief of the Lord’s hosts.  But then I remembered that my son (who fell) and I both shared the middle name of Michael, for a reason.  He’s now in his mid teens, and he’s the most devoutly Christian boy I’ve ever met.  We both continue to have a devotion to the good angel with the big muscles and a very good eye for falling children.

“Most Toxic Falling Satellite,” Phobos-Grunt, Almost Certain to Reenter by Mid-December

The first Russian interplanetary mission in 15 years, called Phobos-Grunt (or “Phobos-Ground” or “Phobos-Soil”) because it was destined for the Mars moon Phobos and it contained soil experiments, is now almost certain to be stuck in low Earth orbit until it reenters within the month.  The difference between this reentry and the other 2 large satellite reentries this year, NASA’s 6-ton UARS and the German 2.4 ton ROSAT, is that this vehicle was meant for a very lengthy journey away from the Earth.  As such, it’s radioactive power supply was of no concern, but that’s changed now that it will be dispersed in our atmosphere.  Of more concern to this Grunt is the 10 tons of deep-space storable propellants on board.

That’s right.  Ten tons.  That propellant is divided between fuel and oxidizer.  Unfortunately, the oxidizer is not harmless liquid oxygen, which cannot be used for long missions.  This more stable oxidizer, nitrogen tetroxide, is a highly corrosive acid and a very toxic chemical.  The fuel, unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine, is unfortunately one of the most toxic carcinogens known to man.  But people exposed to it rarely have time to die from cancer.  Exposure to even a drop or small amount of vapor means very quick and certain death.

Let me be clear.  There are ten tons of these substances neatly packed aboard this spacecraft.  I’m fairly sure that no object has ever reentered the Earth’s atmosphere before with this enormous quantity of storable propellant onboard.  Therefore, no one can predict whether it will all vaporize before it hits the ground.  Even the residue left on surviving pieces will be exceedingly dangerous if anyone comes in contact with it.  Let us hope for a nice mid-ocean breakup.

We Swore Oaths to Protect the Constitution. When Do We Start Doing That Exactly?

The US Constitution has been mangled beyond recognition, and what remains has been savagely misinterpreted and ignored.  Many of us have, as a consequence of military service, law enforcement jobs or other government service, taken sacred oaths to protect the foundational document of our great Nation.  But how do we fulfill those oaths?  How do we protect the Constitution against enemies, usurpers and oath breakers?  That question is harder than ever to answer, now that almost 40 years have passed since the US Supreme Court twisted this document in order to force genocide on the American people.  But one thing is becoming clear.  As Wild Bill says in this video, it is now more crucial than ever that we, who intend to keep our oaths, find a way to do so.

Treehouse Wall of Brilliance

Readers of the Conservative Treehouse blogsite may be tempted to forget some of the goofball things they’ve read there, or written there, in between the serious news and opinion.  I’m here to make sure that doesn’t happen.  Here are some of my favorites along with some of the more memorable wisdom over the past 8 months or so.  This is a continuing work, so expect embarrassing things to show up every now and then!

SundanceCracker: Balli! Balli! Balli! [I agree with whatever you say, just don't behead me. - in Arabic]  /  ”Honey, I’m taking the mini van to war”  Wife says: “How am I supposed to get the kids to their suicide vest fitting?!”  /  The check is missing within the “checks and balances”. Subsequently why would any administration fear lying when they know the lies will never be discovered, and even if discovered only a very small percentage of people would know the truth?  /  “Milo Gamgee-Took of Bywater” checking in.  /  You can’t fix stupid. Just can’t.  /  I DEMAND THAT FINCH RUN FOR OFFICE.  /  Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. [quoting Reagan] /This dude is off his humility meds or something…  He makes Obama sound like Ghandi…[on BOR]  /  If an elephant walks through your front yard, how many pancakes does it take to fill a canoe?  …I’ll never forget that lesson…. we drank many beers.  /  Time for a TEA Party revolt…. Taxation without feline representation will not stand !  /  I hope she makes him as unhappy as he makes us….  /  Obama Flied Chicken….. The Buckets are half white and half dark meat.  /  O’Donnell is the most ridiculous pontificator of stupid that ever actually survived from the planet of stupid pontificators.  /  I pray that in time a leader can really bring national attention to the insane selfish ideology that lies inherent within a Democracy, and then truely appreciate the magnificance of a Constitutional Republic.  /  Liberalism is a Mental Disorder. Period. !  /  ”Do not eat.” [quoting stenciled warning on Claymore Mines]  /  So quit yer bitchin Princess Ann of Coulterville.  /  Walk around long enough with a one legged man and sooner or later you are gonna end up limpin’.  /  Whiskey Tango Fungus!  /  It really must be horribly sickening to be a Westernized egyptian living in that nation right now. I cannot imagine how horrific it would be to know the freedom you are going to lose and be so seemingly helpless to stop it. Hey,…… wait……  /  In the silence there is lying.  /  Many people mistakenly believe if they ignore what they witness they will be spared. The opposite is true. You cannot fight evil with complacency or ignorance. You must be righteous in the face of it and fight back with the strength of a loving God supporting you.

ButchCracker:  God is soo good…sleep not so bad too.  /  Might have to rename as “Tree Fort”.  /  Rough life!!!!!!!!  /  Can also remove the paint off your car!!!  Or someones,,,jus saying….. [about vodka]  /  I take my God very serious, and our country, so was emphasis, not yelling, but who can tell!

Ad rem: Apocalypse Meow???? These people are certifiable! (They’re just trying to deflect blame from the wind turbines to defenseless kittehs.)  /  We’re in Palos Verdes.  Water on 3 sides and Democrats on the other. [from HillBuzz]  /  I personally would like my next car to come equipped with one of those cute pink assault weapons.  /  I’m starting to get labor pains….  /  ♪”Voulez-vous coucher avec moi….mon chat?”♬ [How embarrassing]  /  Confession time. If you’re all wondering where yesterday’s Open Thread is, wellllllll….I accidentally deleted it.  /  Happy Anniversary a**hole! … 15 is big metal chickens!!! [quoting the Bloggess from "This Chicken will Cut You!"]  /  Godwin’s Law…..  /  The ‘Regime’ must be thinking….”so many crises…so little time.”  /  ‘Til the bar closes Gracie. I keep a low profile…under the table.  /  Now….go make those boys a bacon sammich!  /  Yeah….”Now with more gun!”….for that smoked flavor.   /  I dunno….it’s just all a blur of late nights and bourbon these days.  /  Should I go for the young zombie or the old zombie?  /  In Russia, kitten take cigarette from YOU! [channeling Yakov Smirnoff]  /  Now…I’d like to have a ‘Caffe Mocha Vodka Valium Latte’…..to go please.  /  Molon labe baby!!!  /  BTW Weed…..what have YOU done for the USO lately?  /  Did you catch the ginormous WTF look on Lewis’ face? He’s sayin’ to his pal in the ‘thug’ shirt….”F-ing stupid hippies!”  /  Lord…I think these poor f-tards have gone beyond bat-shit crazy. They’ve somehow found a way to roll the guano and smoke it!  /  Sigh….beyond brain-washing….we’re into steam cleaning here.  /  ….and the cow she rode in on. [Moose]  /  So far this isn’t a primary, it’s a coronation.

WeeWeed:  That’ll prolly go over like a whore in church.  /  Give me a hint – how do we pull for Cheeseheads – I don’t have a tin-foil Cheesehead hat….  /  OMG! I forgot The Avengers!!  Diana Rigg was All-That-And-A-Bag-Of-Chips. I wanted to be her.  /  I’m never quite sure if it’s just me…..!  /  As for me and my horses, we shall drink beer.  /  I seem to be Flora Loamsdown of Deephallow!  /  I KNOW that joint!  /  I don’t get insurance if I kill him.  /  Death Whorealdo is on, so someone’s dead.  /  Q: “Dad, where’d you put Mom??”  A: “Oh, she’s in the sacred ammo-box on the mantle, there….”  /  I’m saving my best emails for THEM. And attaaaaaaaaaaaack waaaaaaaaaaaaatch.  /  I jumped everybody!! Do NOT piss me off. Called some bitch one of the Dixie Chicks.  /  I’ve spread enough hate and discontent for one evening!  /  Geez, I hope nobody misses and shoots the dog.  /  If they call you a raaaaccissss, watch their eyes when you call them a pedophile.  /  Thanks, Walter Cronkite, you Dick!  /  Even in the beginning of the sphere we dwell upon, there was bacon.  /  I’m one of the official corrupt administrators of this deviant, underground website. As such, I do whatever the hell I want to. But you cannot. Sorta fascist, ya know? “If you’re reading this – you ARE the resistance.”  /  Leave the gun. Take the cannoli…  /  How does one sit normally with “bottom implants?” Seems like ya’d just kinda roll over.  /  You iz a sick bastid, Grunt!!! Funny, but sick…..  /  I’m………………verklempt…………….  /  I think his group is “Clan of the Leftist Butt Tamales.” [ref to a favorite Scottish troll]  /  LOL!! Looks like a hairdryer!! Vidal Kaboom!! [ref to a .50cal handgun]  /  Never even got that far…… Teddy on the left tit sent me to the porcelain godz….. YAKKK!!!  /  They shoulda called their post, “Teddy On My Titty.” We’d have all still looked. [ref to photoshop of Arlen Specter with Ted Kennedy tattoo on chest]  /  OMG!!!! Apply for a patent. We’ll be rich. (She said, seductively….)

Sharon:  And we are no longer a sovereign nation.  /  ssssshhhhhhhhh…..zippy probably doesn’t know about North Dakota being a state yet, and we don’t want him to know. He’ll start shutting the Bakken down. (We’re about 10 miles from the ND border. I was BORN in North Dakota…just across the border from the Montana side…so my siblings always teased me that I wasn’t a real Montana because they were all born at home. That stung, I’ll tell you. That stung.)  /  I think The Left is a federal offense. Can we arrest them?  /  I used to assume that threats of exposure would slow liars down. Not with these people.  /  That’s why God gave puddies two paws….for a double face-pawm.  /  I’ll write a check. umkay? [for the national debt]  /  Elderly white women (heart) Ted Nugent  /  I do not know pumpkin ale.  /  ’tis more than a lass can bear.  /  And the Apostle Paul said it first, “If any will not work, neither let him eat.” Nuff said.  /  The Roman Satirist, Petronius (first century AD) said this about why deception thrives: Mundus vult decipi; ergo decipiatur. Here’s the translation: ”The world wants to be deceived, so let it be deceived.”  /  In the battle between good intentions vs. unintended consequences….UC always win.  /  Just imagine Meeshell saying, “Now ya brang me ma cheez sausage Grease ‘n Fries in th’ infiled, y’hear? And ah want mah plate refiled (yes, “refiled”) every 7 minutes.”  /  You call that rapus-interruptus. [on Chris Dodd]  /  The groupy-ness; the clubby-ness; the 60′s liberalness seeding the smoking rooms; the 70′s/80′s “I’ma be a journalist and change the world” smell; the in-your-face Alinsky-stink; the I-have-power-and-you-can’t-stop-me; and finally, the obama’s-got-my-back unspoken and sickening arrogance. Absolutely an edumacation. Irresponsible unAmerican goons with authority and visibility. No wonder our nation is begin to scream. Finally.  /  Pigs flying by my window at this very moment. FDR having to dig out sweatshirts as the unfamiliar chill accelerates.  /  DWS is an Obama Stepford Wife. … Talk about an unpleasant windup doll. These people just are not normal, politically or otherwise.

YTZ4Me:  These people are ANIMALS.  We do not yield,  we do not bend,  we do not SUBMIT.  This is America.  The land of the FREE, because of the BRAVE.  THIS is personal for me.  /  But wanted to share the good news: “Liberty Guerrilla” post continues to grow in readership, so far has been linked by: The Blaze (Glenn Beck), Instapundit (Glenn Reynolds), Legal Insurrection (William Jacobsen), and Doug Ross (Lauren’s Links, Director Blue).  /  Noo-no-no !!  I’ve actually had to deal with the Code Pinkos, who used to routinely protest at the gate.  Trust me, you don’t want them giving up their clothes.  There’s a group that a burqua would actually IMPROVE.

AFinch:  Are you telling me that the most intelligent president ever and his party of the smart people couldn’t outsmart a bunch of rubes from flyover country? Well then maybe those rubes should be in charge.  /  iowahawkblog BREAKING: PALIN EMAILED PHOTO OF NUDE CHILD; “SONOGRAM SHOWS EVERYTHING” CLAIMS NY TIMES  /  Umm, is that photo they’re using [on HillBuzz of KD] with the article another cardboard cutout?  /  Yuck–don’t contaminate the Goose with the chocolate (and vice versa).  /  Those Williams boys sure have some demons don’t they?  /  He!!, I may even throw my hat in the ring somewhere. I think I at least qualify for dog catcher–though I’d probably just end up with a house full of dogs.

GracieD:  I’m Sweetpea Loamsdown!  Bless your heart. You are truly clueless.  You would be hard pressed to find a Leftist woman who can catch, clean. and cook her own dinner! I can!  /  The man has no soul. May the fleas of a thousand camels find his crotch,and may his arms be too short to scratch.

Stellap: He took a “medical leave of absence”?????  /  I’ll have to look for the giant animals in my area!  /  Did you know the founder of PETA is a diabetic and uses insulin, which is – an animal byproduct?  /  This made me laugh! Who would you rather see naked – Scott Brown or Elizabeth Warren?  /  Might be til hell freezes over? [on how long comments remain in moderation]  /  “Dude, your pants are on fire!” Actual word-for-word testimony at the trial of the underpants bomber today.  Bomber said he thought he would arrive in Heaven and, instead, he arrived in Detroit.  /  Bastards! [on Union/OWS extortionists wanting Robin Hood Tax]  /  I had a Gremlin – what a POS! Do you know that a cigarette light and a radio were both options on the Gremlin?  /  What a shithead.  [Jesse Ventura]  /  Do you realize that just today Coyote has been called Sweet Pea, Sugar, and now Punkin’?  /  ”Do not go gentle into that good night.  Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” [quoting Dylan Thomas]

WaltzingMtilda: What would Walt [Disney] do?  /  OMG! Tammy Bruce just replied to one of my Tweets. I am…I don’t even know what all to say.  Which is actually kind of rare.  /  I actually have very serious and important thoughts on this subject, none of which I can post at the moment because of reasons I will not go into such as Coors Light.  /  DUDE. Aging hookers???? Good thing I had already finished my tea.  /  He just came upstairs and handed me a list of orders to call in to the pizza joint. I worked my butt off all day and now I have to do the cooking too???  /  All right, wiseazz.  Then I’m making you one of the most disgusting drinks known to man, a grasshopper!  /  What the hell is a Columbia Gorge? Sounds like it’s outside and possibly contains nature. I recommend you avoid.  /  Listen, motherf***er,…  /  Math is hard!  /  I suck at nature!  /  Am very, very disappointed in the internet right now.  /  Uh…was that out loud?  /  I will report this to the nearest moderator!  /  How dare you respond and react as a thinking person?  /  C’mon, I’m totally going to bed right now.  So make it quick…. OMG…that’s what she said.  /  So I’ve got that going for me. [quoting Bill Murray in Caddyshack, possibly without knowing it...]  /  Because I am a Conservative Bitch. And I WILL cut you.  /  Okay, so, just got back a bit ago from yet another planning meeting for the bridal shower from hell.  /  Ok, that’s fu*#ed up.  But I like it.  /  I had a Payday bar and a can of Coke instead.  I’m thinking maybe I should fib a little… [on her diet journal]  /  May I have your pawtograph?  /  Not me…I’m going for straight up indoctrination. [raising kids]  /  Oh, f*&k her. I love Zilla!!! She’s so awesome. [revised response after the Treehouse got snubbed by the 1st annual Zilla awards]  /  I admit nothing.  /  This is what I call a valid f*&king point.  Except I don’t say f*&king, because that would be cursing. Which is gross and wrong.

ZurichMike:  FABULOUS (and I rarely use that word — no, really!). /  I agree, G8rMom7, and color me just a little impressed that you know what that is. LOL! [on the term "beard"]  /  Statistically, 6 out of 7 dwarves are not happy.  /  Please heave this galumping buffoon off the political stage.  /  Once or twice she wore something understated and elegant, but that’s the exception, not the rule for the First Gunny Sack.  /  Michele Obama, Aunt Esther, James Brown in drag. Is there a difference? Discuss.  /  It’s all about the pork fat.  /  It was hard to distinguish Michelle from Chewbacca, as the First Lady was wearing a strapless gown.

ITookTheRedPill:  These idiots don’t seem to understand that Cordoba was the capital of the CALIPHATE, and the goal of the Cordoba Initiative is to re-establish a world-wide caliphate.  /  Ann is filling the vacuum that has been left by the emasculation of males in this country. There are plenty of males, but so very few true men.  /  Santa Paws…Yeah, but when the cat decides he doesn’t want you to pet him anymore, he turns into Satan Claws…  /  And the victim of the crime of rape does not get healed of that hurt by becoming an accessory to another crime…  /  Everything about Obama’s (in)eligibility has been highly suspicious.  /  What would Putin do?

IAmDagny / Ann Barnhardt:  Satan is, at the end of the day, a coward, and so are his minions.  /  Please ignore them, and no, you may not touch them.  /  I’ve probably ticked even one or two of you conservatives off with this post. [understatement alert]  /  I am permanently disqualified from . . . pretty much everything outside self-employment.  /  Any woman who has a child at home already has a 168 hour per week job. It’s called “Mommy”.  /  I think I scare the piss out of them. And that is as it should be.  /  It is completely right, it is completely normal, and it is completely healthy to be afraid of things that are dangerous and present a threat to you. This is why I am afraid of muslims.  /  I love you too, but DO NOT show up here unannounced.  /  I cited the Treehouse on my list of top blogs at iOTW.  /  I’m very fragile like that. Just so you know. [wink]  /  Romney is about as much a conservative as Barbra Streisand. Romney is just prettier.  /  Woodchuck Hard Cider is the nectar of heaven. Light, bubbly, beer-like booze made out of APPLES. Dude. It’s like liquid pie.  /  I’m telling you, the stupid is STRONG with these people. What the hell kind of religion is built upon screwing over the diety? Oh, yeah – a “religion” that isn’t a religion at all, but a stupid, evil totalitarian political cult that uses faux-religious myths and motifs to control its cognitively damaged slaves. THAT kind of “religion”

Jennifer H:  Obama is a complete illiterate.  /  I can’t even watch him speak any more. Obama brilliant? Smart? – no, whoever started that myth is still laughing at the American Electorate.  /  I hate the left, what outright hypocrites and liars they are. [ok, this isn't funny.  It's just true and I like it.]  /  A covenant was broken here today, … the entire western world and the “rule of law” has been ‘Hiroshima-ed’ without even a peep.

Solaratov: Trust in G-d, but tie your camel tight.  /  And, to make your own vodka……..  /  Did anybody else notice that Frances Fox Piven looks an awful lot like a zombie?  /  Zombies? Head Shots!!  /  Laugh at their dependence on the ‘race card’. Never! Never! take their use of it as a serious subject. Laugh at them and ridicule them unmercifully.  In fact, the one “good” thing about a communist takeover would be being able to watch as all of the clowns like o’donnell ended up in front of a firing squad. They forget that the useful idiots are always the first to be disposed of as ‘inconvenient’, after the revolution.  /  Finally!! Scotch in a can!  /  If we have to live under communist rule, I’d rather have an actual MAN as dictator than the little boy.  /  Personally, I never trust air that I can’t see. /  Laws are for the commoners – NOT for one such as our usurper-in-chief.  /  Politicians are like rats. What they steal for themselves is miniscule compared to what they destroy in the process.  /  The politics as usual, go along to get along, watercress sandwiches and white w(h)ine spritzer crowd seems to find ol’ Mitt ‘conservative enough’ for their tastes. /  The only things you find in the middle of the road are a yellow stripe and dead chickens. [quoting Margaret Thatcher]

TNWahm:  Many an opportunity is lost because a man is out looking for four-leaf clovers. -Irish Proverb  / I’m Rosie Danderfluff.  /  A group of us always went to the “Golden Arch Supper Club.”  /  Here is a video of my worship pastor and his family. They were driving down the freeway in Memphis and a snake came up out of their hood.  /  I’ve often thought that Palin was the Esther of our time.  /  Why do people say “grow some balls”?Balls are weak and sensitive. If you wanna be tough, grow a vagina….Those things can take a pounding. [quoting Betty White]  /  “When I joined the military it was illegal to be homosexual, then it became optional and now it’s legal.  I’m getting the hell out before Obama makes it mandatory.” [quoting soldier friend]

Garnette:  First of all, why is it that the bullies are crying the loudest about how horrible bullying is?  /  Reminds me of the Tucker, except that car was before its time and this one (Chevy Volt) seems to be one that was created by committee.  /  To me that is the problem, the C level make short term decisions to make themselves look good without regard to the long term future of a company and then move on to another company to do the same thing for a bigger paycheck.

MRM:  Well I will go on record as saying that I like you guys a lot better than many people I have actually met!! (points finger at libs down the hall at the office)  /  He’s like a parody of Frazier! without the humor. [on BOR]  /  Those are some dead, soul-less eyes. [BHO]  /  I still wish Donald Trump would start a network…maybe the Koch brothers…..? now that would be fun!  /  I didn’t know until tonight that Steve Jobs was adopted. Just think what the world would have missed had he been aborted instead.  /  His constant presence is NOT helping with my Øbama Induced Tourettes (@#$%^%&(%#$#!!!)

ZMalfoy:  Mind you, He’s not a tame lion . . .[on Aslan, at the HTR]  /  Someday, my prince or lesser noble will come. Until then, I’ll have to keep my wits and knives sharp.  /  oh, yeah. The pastiness gives me away as a Celt. But, if I got a spray tan and learned the language, I could pass. I do like tacos. . .  /  Well, Lame cherry has a rep for being. . . opaque.  /  Deo gratias quod Dies Veneris est!  /  In places where everclear is illegal,…  /  I got a tinfoil stetson, fedora, beret, clonche and a top hat. Which do you prefer? ~_^  /  Yes, I suppose that makes me a female chauvanist piggy. I accept this. I like the shape of men. I blame God.  /  In times to come, I suspect that this era will not be known as the “Information Age”, but the “Age of Deceit.”  /  You don’t mess with the nuns. . . most hardened criminals even know that. . .

Auntie Lib:  Put me down as Lily Bramble of Willowbottom. What a hoot. I guess these are our noms de guerre, right?  /  What a great thread! Sure wasn’t expecting exposes on wines, vodka, other miscellaneous spirits, and the talents of conservative women all smushed into one conversation when I clicked on “Move”. In my world “move” is a four letter word.  /  Hank Johnson is the perfect description of “Ineptocrat”.  /  We have a fight ahead of us, kids.

Patriot Dreamer:  Some men just want to watch the world burn. [quoting Alfred from Batman - from HT]  /  I’ve watched “V”, and they don’t care about globull warming!  /  Bourbon + bacon. What’s not to like??  /  He sure seems awful blood-thirsty to me. What happened to all the rainbows? [on BHO]  /  Awww, he was so poor. [also BHO]  /  Wonder if those on The Spew will be talking about who can use the n word vs. who can’t again today. Sheesh!  /  It’s the most open and transparent Administration evah!  /  If you took the Intercontinental railroad, how long would it take you to get to Asia from North America?  /  Are you epantsipated from your electronic devices yet?  /  I guess the price of broccoli is “too damn high!” [in NYC, like the rent!]  /  I prefer my double-dip to be chocolate chip! [on DD recessions]  /  BACON! (Goes great with guns & coffee!)  /  If Progs. didn’t have double standards, they’d have no standards at all.  /  All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.  /  Is it just me or is that a creepy pic at Drudge right now of Voldemort? [ref to Obama]  /  Where are Super Genius Wile E. Coyote’s transcripts? What is he hiding?  /  Tolerance apparently is a one-way street. [with liberals]  /  Separation of church and state … except when they do it.  /  I tried to get you the day off for my birthday. Did it work? [to another Army civil servant, on PD's birthday, which also happens to be MLK day (I think it worked)]  /  The really sad thing is that the GOP will go all out against one another but not against the Dems. They are their own worst enemy.

Menagerie:  Am I the only person who reads low brow crap? [at HTR]  /  The first time I read the Bible through, I thought the Isrealites were really thick headed and the Pharisees and Sadducees were really dumb. Second time, I thought “I have done some of those things.” Third time I thought “I am a pharisee”. [at HTR]  /  Do we have a corporate jet yet?  /  Jack was declared the world’s best selling whiskey, a record due in some significant way to my family.  /  Alas, due to the rigors of parenthood, and the resulting strain on the family budget, successive members of the family cannot as accurately trace their conception to this blessed amber liquid.  /  I also had an employee with a mullet once.  /  He’s [Obama's] not worth $38.50.  /  Does anyone else have tupperware (Mine’s mostly Dixieware – that would be butter bowls) that reproduces? You stack it in the cabinet, close the door, walk away, and apparently the little party starts. The next time you open the door, there is more there than there was, and it is fallen over drunk. Maybe I better check my Jack…  /  Every day we influence people and maybe we never even know it.  /  How I hate that term. [progressives] It really reflects that they know the evil they do, and actively try to couch it in phrases that sound so much better than the truth, which is “It’s all about me, baby! Move aside.”  /  I never doubt the quantity of stupid people, nor their capacity to act illogically.  /  Yeah, [my recipes] all start with “consume one glass of jack”. Really.  /  It is very cold here, and I have a bedroom full of retrievers.  /   I might know two people who got in a fight over a pan of gravy with a butcher knife and a meat cleaver. You just don’t bring a butcher knife to a meat cleaver fight when gravy is involved.  /  IMO, the words beautiful and leopard print do not belong in a sentence together.  /  What if we get a reality show in the Tree? Treehouse Wives…and the Dude? Lost in the Tree? Conservative Survivors? We will all be famous and rich.  /  “I am your mom. Your argument is invalid.” [quoting a very wise woman]  /  We have a saying here on Whiskey Ridge. If you won’t shoot your family, who will you shoot? [to protect your liquor]  /  Your superiority needs work.

PhillyCon:  Woo-hoo! Sometimes, the truth works like garlic against lies, distortion, and hypocrisy. [from HT]  /  Let me guess, Cowgirls, right? [to ElvisChupacabra]  /  … ignore the usual hateful, Lefty comments section.

Bijou:  Slam, Bam, Thank you, cute salesman!  /  Girls just wanna have…shopping!  /  Cholesterol be DAMNED!  /  BO (as usual) misunderestimated the mood of the people, in SPITE of the fact that the Dims got “shellacked” (his word) in November.  The people are mad as hell and they’re not going to take this BS any more.  /  I’m not clicking…that’s the most annoying video in existence.  KILL IT! Kill it with FIRE! [on RB Fri]

Freedom1781:  Ridiculous. Everything will eventually be a federal offense.  I hate the color orange, can we make wearing orange a federal offense? Oh, and I HATE when people pass gas in public, can we make that a federal offense? How about belching? That should be a federal offense. Let me drink a Coke and eat a banana and I could be arrested for loud public belching. Hey, what about eye rolling…Guilty!! Arrest me now!!  /  LAMO!! Y’all are giving me giggle fits!!!  /  Asked about the timing on Wednesday, press secretary Jay Carney said, “It is coincidental.”  Bullshit!

Wraith:  F*#% that. The truth is what it is, whether or not we wish to acknowledge it.  /  So she’s not running. It was never about one person. It was always about Freedom, Faith and Flag. I still love Governor Palin for all she’s accomplished, and I’m not changing my avatar either(so there. :p ).  /  I can’t prove that Matt[Drudge] and Mitt[Romney] are engaged in a secret and passionate affair involving darkened rooms in cheap motels, amyl nitrate, Wesson oil and possibly a goat…but that’s the rumor.  /  So when, exactly, do the adults stop listening to the fools and take back control?

RedGrandma:  Can we put to bed once and for all the myth of the “moderate muslim”?  /  My oh my. Someone should side by side these pics with the bright eyed, fresh faced, CLEAN Tea Party “extremists” “hobbits” “racists”. [On Occupy Wall Street Vermin]  /  The arrogance of the young who think they invented wasteless living through their phony green thing.

Otis P. Driftwood:  A representative from Israel began: ‘Before beginning my talk I want to tell you something about Moses: When he struck the rock and it brought forth water, he thought, “What a good opportunity to have a bath!”  Moses removed his clothes, put them aside on the rock and entered the water. When he got out and wanted to dress, his clothes had vanished. A Palestinian had stolen them!  The Palestinian representative at the UN jumped up furiously and shouted, “What are you talking about? The Palestinians weren’t there then.”  The Israeli representative smiled and said, “And now that we have made that clear, I will begin my speech.”  /  It’s not ebonics – just ‘bonics.

GFCInThatOrder:  AH forgiveness is the most powerful tool in the world! And asking for it is even better.  /  STFU and go hide under a bush somewhere and you only got some lime light off the backs of your parents anyway and we don’t want to hear any of your great “wisdom”. [on Meggy McCain]  /  As I always say to my kids, ”it’s the loaded girl that kills ya”.  /  I mean, if you are a female and promote islam, you are missing more than a few marbles.  /  After all, would I be outta line if I said Hitlerism with an “S” in front of it?  /  I take hope in the fact that the world, for the majority part, hates US, but hated He who came before US first.

G8rMom7:  The conference was great except I was scared to death when a bunch of the details of the Todd-Frank bill were revealed.   / I would probably start crying if I ever met her…like she’s the Beatles or something and it’s 1966. [about Sarah]  /  I’m a goofball.  /  What is so funny is the 37 million they talk about killing are the ones who have guns…and lets face it, these guys are wusses…I can’t imagine one of them going to Ted Nugent’s farm to try and kill him…good luck with that lametard.  /  Thankfully, their votes are just for show and I run a benevolent despotism in my house. But still…I wonder what color the sky is in their world.

NM Pancho / El Coyote: She’s in a rough spot…between a barack and a hard place.  /  I’m going to go kick skunks…  /  A man lives by believing something: not by debating and arguing about many things. [quoting Thomas Carlyle]  /  He had the chair-side manner of a drunk mechanic who just got done fighting with his wife, but he fixed my jaw and teeth really good.  /  Social Engineering is for…uh…like socialists and stuff.  oh…and commies.  /  We are being swindled. Hard.  /  RECALCULATING….!  / If you say “Jesus” backwards, it sounds like you are saying “Sausage”.  /  Ann is nothing but shrill krill swimming in an ocean of self-enamor. [on Ann Coulter, after the meltdown]

ElvisChupacabra:  John Page wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson (July 20, 1776), in which he stated: “We know the Race is not to the Swift nor the Battle to the Strong. Do you not think an Angel rides in the Whirlwind and directs this Storm?”  /  Really… I’m not sure the America of 2011/2012 deserves Sarah Palin.  /  Me and my sweet bride of 34 years eloped and married simply…sat us out on the patio covered with a candelaria roof, illuminated by those ubiquitous yellow “bug lights”. With a bottle of Carte Blanca beer, the check came to less than 5-bucks.  /  Gig ‘em Big Metal Rooster!!  /  It’s ironic that in order to succeed with Cloward-Piven, the very ‘capitalists’ who will be destroyed will fund the Manchurian Candidate’s hoped-for reelection.   /  I can see it now. The Red Phone rings… it’s Soros.  “Tell ze vife I need an optic, now! She must shop at Target. I need ze stock to drop so I can buy ze control!”  /  I wonder if they had to sedate those kids so they wouldn’t ask him any tough questions. You know, like, “My daddy runs a business. Have you ever run a business?” Or, “How many states are there?’ Or, “What language do they speak in Austria?” Or, “If Keynesian economics has been such a failure, why does your administration continue to adhere to its tenets?” Or, “If a train left Pittsburgh heading west at 45 miles-per house, and train left Cleveland heading east…”  /  She’s batsh!t crazy, perfect for the modern Democratic Party. [on Queen Sheila]  /  Fiction must conform to some element of probability, yet real life is under no such constraint. [quoting Mark Twain]  /  Corzine was a corrupt POS when he was governor, and he’s a corrupt POS still.  /  After all, what have Progressives EVER done besides fu*k sh!t up? You know, like the Constitution, for starters.  /  They say man is a social creature, but I think we need solitude to get to know that person inside all of us. Only when faced with ourselves, unhindered by the accoutrements of the world we’ve created for ourselves, can we meet and come to terms with the person we really are.  /  “Son, it’s that unloaded gun that kills you!”….Our Dad

Barnslayer:  Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God. [quoting T. Jefferson]  /  This would have been a perfect Napalm moment.  /  Hey Roseanne… every day you make Tom Arnold look smart.  /  The too polite, please everybody, high road got us screwed on both occasions.  /  You have many issues, that is obvious. I disagree with your tirade therefore I am an idiot. I’m fine with that. Why do you bother with this site? Read the posts regarding the various topics. See any name calling or vitriol? There are lots of like-minded intolerant intellectuals for you at the democratic underground. [best troll response, evah!]  /  Parasites attempting to kill their host. [on OccuPussies]  /  Sounds like he’s making a verbal down payment on a trip to GITMO. [on Leo Gerard]  /  The only thing Biblical about Pelosi is the fact that she speaks through the jawbone of an ass.  /  The double standard has become the gold standard. It belongs in the American Standard. (toilet joke. sorry, couldn’t resist).  /  Thank those wild and crazy Mennonites. Work hard, play hard. [On the naming of Intercourse, PA]  /  Give em’ each a ham sandwich and a glass of Manischewitz.

Texan59: What kind of club do you have to join to find all of these wackjobs?  /  You are a brave man Grunt. Maybe not so smart, but you are brave!!  /  Hell hath no fury like a (news)woman scorned.  /  Gracie – your past means nothing to these people. They can find fault with Mother Teresa.  /  I have never heard a professional politician sound like a petulant 13-year old child. [O'Bozo]  /  About the only thing I would like for these lost souls to pass would be a kidney stone.  /  Please remember that arguing with an idiot is somewhat like teaching a pig to sing.  “Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig.”  /  Besides, I don’t think they have a finger wave for – OW, that sh!t hurts!!  /  Kinda reminds me of Grapes of Wrath at this point. [on the Texas drought]  /  The libtards should open up a pretzel shop.

JRD:  Wall Street has morphed into a debt creating monster. One that pushed for more and more spending on the part of government so that banks could make more money. It’s a never ending cycle…  Wall Street bought and paid for Obama. He was their boy. [at HTR]   /  I’d wear one of those hats before I wore any of the outfits Brunhilda Øbama wears any day. You couldn’t even catch me in a coffin dressed in any of Mooch-Hell’s clown clothes, just sayin.  /  You will be very pleased to know that my response drew a crowd and I got a round of applause. The spirit of freedom is alive in south Florida, Amen!  /  And after losing a valiant general like Andrew [Breitbart] yesterday we should all take an oath in his honor to walk through the gates of hell carrying a gas can to get this warthog elected! I know I have. Willard, the crybaby Boehner, and Murkowski’s buddy McConnell are all rats. I want to live in Realville not Ratville.

Gino:  Of course, like all American famiies they are the beneficiaries of a half million dollars in bank stock, have a million dollar home in Chicago and have friends that buy the buffer zone between their house and the abutters for a purchase price in excess of a 100K and then convey the property back to the Obama in a trust. [On the Poooor Obamas]

Ms. Tee:  I generally keep to myself when the fellas get into their political talk but I couldn’t let that type of false info go unchallenged. Plus, I know it really needles them to hear that kind of a rebuke from a youngish woman of color. hah!  /  I have to give dude the “side eye” on this one; he comes across as incredibly “b*tchy” and bitter. There’s nothing worse than a man whining about a woman…  /  Please tell me that you smacked that kid in the mouth!  /  Ok, which one of you snitched and gave the Romney campaign my number?! Dude’s called me twice in the last two hours. I just hung up on Chris Christie!

Michelle Hart:  I actually had to put gas in the masserati on top of everything else…GOD I HATE BEING POOR!!  /  Welcome to reality you tard!! [to the Wookie]  /  Honey it takes a lot of money to look this cheap!  /  But isn’t it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we older folks were just because we didn’t have the green thing back then?

Ivan Yurkenov:  The Obamas are mercurial, and the truth is immutable, and neither the twain shall meet.

Zauber:  May the schwartz be with you.  /  Good old Orin: Never count your Hatch until he chickens.  /  Zeez papers expired three veeks ago, you haf to come along.  /  Obama, in 2012, will not only sell out the Afghan people to the Islamic fundamentalists but for a short time when Aghanistan is in stasis post-surrender he’ll get to look like the Great Peacemaker here just in time for his November coronation.  /  If they ever open a Disneyland in the mid-East DO NOT take your kids.  /  Geez, a whole new aspect to national Talk Like a Pirate Day. Anyone know how to say “Avast ye infidel servants of the Great Satan” in Iranian or Somali?  /  Well, I did shoot a vacuum cleaner and a briefcase with an unloaded gun I was cleaning, but it was in self defense.  /  Fat chance there, but you keep trying to hammer that camel through the needle’s eye.  /  I await the next decade of national politics with anticipation and a lot of cold beer.  /  Michelle! Be quiet and get back in the limo!

Avram:  This humanoid’s [Jack Lew] appointment is another sign — as if more were needed — that they are doubling down on their path, which is an odious combination of Chicago-style corruption, crony capitalism and 60s style Marxism. Their motto? Psychopaths of the world, unite!

French Reader:  O’Donnell just sounds like a nazi puppet to me. Who pays him to express so much hatred ? [on Scary Larry]  /  And as more and more average people, I don’t like what Europe is becoming, with politics, rules and goals that I DO NOT AGREE WITH which are forced on us by some greedy super power whoses members gather somewhere in Brussels/Strasbourg.  /  By the way, I don’t think his inadequacy has something to do with growing up in Hawaii or even Indonesia.

Shalini:  But if it makes you feel better, it’s part of female psychology. We tend to disbelieve often simply because we feel the need to be told otherwise more often. [I knew it!]  /  Oops! It’s 3 AM here!!! I better go to sleep now though I feel like a little kid who believes adults are going to have fun after I’ve gone to sleep!!  /  God bless you all, lovely people! /  But swift was God’s help. Always.  /  Christianity isn’t about being nice to each other.  /  Weird, how truth, sometimes considered to be a friendship repellant, always shows you who can be really considered good friends.

Good Kathie:  Quick! Spit it out!!! [ref to an "Obama Cookie" with a bite out of it]  /  And I’m sure everyone noticed how quickly and piously Hillarity jumped on our Marines… [during the dustup over the Marines urinating on enemy corpses]

GruntOfMonteCristo:  If Ad rem leaps from a falling tree in the forest and sinks her jungle cat-like claws into the scalp of a terrified Politico journalist, is she still cute?  /  I don’t know, W2. Sounds kinda like a naughty hobbit barmaid name. You been hanging out at the Pony in Bree too much?  /  I checked [the hobbit name generator] for BHO, and it came up “Sauronus BastoMorte Douchebottom.” Weird.  /  Woulda been a lot simpler if O’Basterd had just sent SEAL team 6 after Bill and Bernardine!  /  Yes, she dropped by to unwind for some pinot and blackberry pie after doing a local radio show. She almost pulled her 9mm on our new asst pastor, though. I’ve GOT to remember to ask for her pistol when she comes in the door.  /  Well, expect Ad rem to take a 4-letter word and turn it into sweetness and light. Kinda like the anti-Obama.  /  What am I gonna use? John Frum and the cargo cults of SouthEast Asia?  /  NOW you’re playing the game right.  Whaaaa??  What the hell is this?  Green snot over ice?  All I can say is, you’re a terrible bartender, Tilda.  Just sayin’.  /  Not sure what that is, but I think it’s gonna hurt! Gonna need some Bourbon, stat!  /  So many Elvises, so little pumpkin ale…  /  Hey, that lizard is bifurcating that perfectly good porcine skin being! Save some for us!  /  Hmmmm. Reservatrolls. Are those the “backup” trolls that swing by for months doing drive-bys after we’ve chased away the primary trolls?  /  TreeTV, Smoking Gun(needs no alteration), World’s Dumbest President, Hawaii Five-7, How I Met your Blogger, Band of Bloggers, CSI: Ringgold(True Crime investigations of idiot liberals who stray up the “ridge of death”) [suggesting TreeHouse TV shows]  /  Hey, if it weren’t for hijacked threads, we’d have no threads at all!  /  But if I give you the money, how do I know you’ll really spend it on booze and not on comic books or anime plushies?

SJ Reidhead:  This is some of the sickest stuff I’ve seen in a long time. [I just put her in here because I think it's funny that any twisted person would think that the Treehouse is somehow a "sick" place.  Always thought this could be our motto.  Naaaaahhhhhh.]

The Admiral at Lake Minnetonka Liberty:  It’s a bunch of self-righteous, humorless idiots with blue blood running in their veins that take themselves way too seriously. Stuffed shirts.  Yeah, that goes for some of you whiney little girls at The Conservative TreeHouse.  [Again, sounds just like us, no?]