After the Wedding of the Century yesterday, Blackfive suggested we go public with part of something that we are working on. Short version for now, but there is a chance to send one of us on embed for at least three months, and to maybe do some good things for the troops while that is being done. What we need are advertisers/sponsors who would like to have their organization thanked, linked, and possibly even their logo displayed on every post that goes up here (and maybe even at another well read site). To sweeten the pot, in addition to Sole, Prime, and Choice advertising/sponsorship opportunities, there is a way to obtain some tax advantages as well. Finally, above the embed, is the chance to sponsor some special events during that period of time. If you are interested in the possibility of being an advertiser/sponsor, drop me a line at wolf1 at laughingwolf dot goes here net and I can send full details including marketing demographics. LW

Guess the AP meant it when they said they aren't playing along with the fraud:Days after the U.S. officially ended combat operations and touted Iraq's ability to defend itself, American troops found themselves battling heavily armed militants assaulting an Iraqi military headquarters in the center of Baghdad on Sunday.Not sure what the seven "militants" hoped to achieve. They're all dead and they "made the papers" - if that was their goal they succeeded. But they wouldn't have without a White...

These guys are nuts.

BAGHDAD — Days after the U.S. officially ended combat operations and touted Iraq's ability to defend itself, American troops found themselves battling heavily armed militants assaulting an Iraqi military headquarters in the center of Baghdad on Sunday. The fighting killed 12 people and wounded dozens.(link) Don't you hate it, just hate it, when you go and declare an end to combat operations

Seems to me it is past time to re-clench the fist – this time with a big hammer in it: Iran is paying Taliban fighters $1,000 for each U.S. soldier they kill in Afghanistan, according to a report in a British newspaper. The Sunday Times described how a man it said was a "Taliban treasurer" had gone to collect $18,000 from an Iranian firm in Kabul, a reward it said was for an attack in July which killed several Afghan government troops and destroyed an American armored vehicle. […] In addition to the $1,000 bounty on U.S. troops, the unnamed man said Iran paid $6,000 for the destruction of a U.S. military vehicle. Full story here.

Stephen Hawking is a pretty smart guy, but when he starts running his computerized lips saying that God did not create the universe he chafes my cones. He has no earthly way of knowing that and he ought to stick to noodling about how things he can actually comprehend work. That got me thinking about the whole concept and so here is my view from between the believers and the unbelievers. I think the most arrogant thing a human can do is to state categorically that God either does or does not exist. The very idea that you could know with certainty that there is no Prime Mover or that you know exactly who that Prime Mover is should lead you to pause for a moment of self doubt. Recently there have been a spate of high profile atheists mouthing off about how religion is the refuge of small-minded fools who are simply trying to find meaning in their otherwise dismal lives. You would be hard-pressed to find a more annoying collection of overly-confident jackasses around. How in the Hell could anyone state with metaphysical certitude that there is no God. How can you prove that? And if you can’t prove it shouldn’t you speak with at least a caveat or two, maybe “I have seen no evidence that a God the Creator exists” that is a fair statement that pretty much encapsulates my beliefs. But to stand and ridicule believers when the only real basis for doing so is “I don’t believe your belief” well that’s horse crap. In the end they have no answer at all about where all that exists came from. A touch of humility would go a long way for these folks. Well it took less than a paragraph to dismiss the atheist argument. That said, I don’t think believers are in much stronger a position. Even if you only take the major religions, there are hundreds of millions of people who have completely irreconcilable positions as to who God really is. Muslims have Allah, Jews have the Old Testament God, Christians have Jesus- a God become man returned to God, Buddhists have, well Buddha- a man become a self aware God, and Hindus have a panoply of amazing God creatures. If any of these groups is right about who God really is then all the others are wrong. The question I have is why any of these Gods would have created so many unbelievers and the chaos and violence that has wrought. The rest at UJ.com

Imagine you come home from work one day to a notice on your front door that you have 45 days to demolish your house, or the city will do it for you.  Oh, and you’re paying for it. This is happening right now in Montgomery, Ala., and here is how it works: The city decides it doesn’t like your property for one reason or another, so it declares it a “public nuisance.”  It mails you a notice