The main suspect in the shooting of 4 police officers in the Seattle-Tacoma area has been shot and killed.  Kinda wish that he could have been hauled into a court to answer for his crimes, but if it had to be, it had to be. 

Let the lawsuits begin!

I can hear it now:

“Why did they have to kill him?”
“Why didn’t they just wound him?”
“He was a good guy.  He didn’t do nothing!”

What’s the line in Vegas on when the first ambulance chaser from the ACLU or something files in federal court saying that the police executed this guy in cold blood and violated his civil rights? 

Putting a jar of pre-peeled garlic cloves into the food dryer and attempting to dry them overnight will cause your entire house to be vampire proof.

It will also get you up out of a warm bed at 2 AM to move said food dryer out to the porch.  Now the neighborhood is safe from the undead fiends.

That is all.

I’m taking a look at the headlines after a good dinner, and the following things pop out as “news” that I couldn’t care less about:

• Tiger Woods drives his car into a tree.
• Serena Williams gets a slap on the wrist for acting like a 3 year old
• Chelsea Clinton is getting married
• Artists in Colorado want their green energy to come from somewhere they can’t see it.

And that’s just a smattering of the inane, the insane, and the pointless headlines that are on all of the news sites this evening.

Look, I understand that hard news needs to be leavened with human interest stories and some gossip.  But it doesn’t even take a slow news day for stuff like this to be on the Internet equivalent of a front page.

How about we reserve the news sites for actual news, and leave the fluff like athletes behaving badly, twits marrying twits, and hypocrites being hypocrites either to scandal sheets or to linked pages from the main page?  I’d like to cut down on the cycles it takes to filter out the garbage and get to what is important.

Just a couple of quick thoughts on the sad news about the policemen who were murdered this morning.

First, my families prayers go out to the families devastated by this senseless crime.  Families of cops have to understand that bad things may happen on the job, but no-one expects it to happen when there is no apparent danger.

No-one knows the details yet, so most of the commentary about it, including mine is speculation and ill-informed speculation at that.  Take this with as much salt as you like:

• The slime who did this had to be targeting at least one of the officers.  No innocent bystanders even got scratched, according to all accounts. 
• This is the second time in recent memory that someone killed in the Northwest.  What is going on?
• If this continues, will we start devolving into the same situation as we see in third world countries where the police have to look at all citizens as potential killers, not because they’re paranoid, but because it’s prudent?
• I sincerely hope that the other customers in the shop cooperate and provide all the information they can in finding the killer.  It will worry me almost as much as the actual killings if they don’t either because they don’t want to get involved or because they’re afraid for themselves.

Anyway, I hope they catch the mutant who did this and he or she spends a long time in a dark place.  When the wolves realize that it’s easier to get the sheep after killing the sheep dogs, we all have reason to worry.  The justice system needs to teach those who might think this is a good idea that it’s not worth their lives.

For the police officers out there, I hope this remains a rarity, and I always pray for your safety.

Just got back from dinner with family in Indiana.  It was great to see everyone.

I’m thankful that my family is together, safe, and healthy.

I’m grateful that the Irish Woman and I both have good jobs.  We are more fortunate than a lot of people this year, and it’s not due to anything special about us.

I’m thankful that my children all go to good, safe schools. 

I’m thankful that my children are growing up in this country.  I’ve been all over the world, and I’ve seen wonderful places and terrible places, and there’s no other place on the planet that I would want to raise my family.

I’m thankful for everyone who is foregoing their Thanksgiving with their families to keep me and mine safe.

And I’m grateful that I am able to keep doing this as long as y’all will read.

And here’s your moment of snark, a wonderful picture of Thanksgiving in Kentucky:

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!  Be safe, and God bless!

OK, we’re 3/4 of the way through the season. 

Green Bay at Detroit – Green Bay.  It’s a Thanksgiving tradition to watch the Lions lose before dinner.
Oakland at Dallas – Oakland.  Hey, maybe we’ll win two in a row for a change.
New York Giants at Denver – Denver
Miami at Buffalo – Miami
Seattle at Saint Louis – Seattle
Indy at Houston – Indy, but this is going to be a close game.
Cleveland at Cinci – Cinci
Carolina at New York Jets – Carolina
Tampa Bay at Atlanta – Tampa Bay
Washington at Philadelphia – Washington.  Hey, it could happen
Kansas City at San Diego – Kansas City
Jacksonville at San Fransisco – Jacksonville
Chicago at Minnesota – Vikings!!!!
Arizona at Tennessee – Arizona
Pittsburgh at Baltimore – Pittsburgh
New England at New Orleans – New Orleans

I went 8 and 8 this weekend.  Overall, I’m 85 and 75 for the season.

Didn’t get to see much football this weekend because of hunting.  What did I miss?

Saw this over at My Life is Average:

Today, I was going to my friend’s house, and we were in the car with her step-father. My mom called my cellphone to ask where I was, and I told her I was in a car. She asked who I was with, and I replied ‘Some guy who offered me candy and a good time.’
From the front seat, my friend’s step dad yelled, “I told you to shut up back there! Don’t make me tie you up!” Best step-dad ever.

 I have to remember that one.  It may come in handy.

On this day in 1991, Freddie Mercury died due to complications from AIDS.  He had only publicly acknowledged his sickness the day before, and his death was quite a surprise to me.

I had been listening to Queen for years, but because I didn’t pay attention to the British tabloids, I had no clue that he might have been ill.  I thought that Queen wasn’t touring in the United States for other reasons, and when I was transferred to Germany in 1991, I looked forward to possibly seeing them in concert.  That’s what I get for being an oblivious 20 year old, I guess.

Freddie Mercury was a consumate performer and songwriter.  Yes, he was a controversial public figure, but his talent outshines all that.  His music has seen me through good times and bad, through joy and pain, and is a frequent feature in my life.  As time goes on, Queen’s music will continue to be played.  It’s beauty and intricacy will carry it for decades.

This song in particular rings true to me:

And I think Freddie would approve of this little tidbit of fun:

It was released yesterday, and I don’t think the timing is coincidental.

A scientist came up with a synthetic version of the active ingredient in marijuana, and now the government is reacting to people using it to get high.  More laws are sure to be on their way, with  a corresponding increase in enforcement budgets.

Here’s an idea:

How about we stop worrying about people using a freaking naturally occurring herb to get intoxicated and use the money and manpower to do something constructive?

I didn’t start out believing in marijuana legalization, and I’m not quite sure how I got here. Maybe it’s because of all the time and money that’s spent fighting this drug, and not seeing any results. Maybe it’s the proven therapeutic qualities of it as a pharmaceutical. Maybe it’s just because I’m tired of the government putting its nose into every aspect of our lives, usually without any good reason. 

I’m not calling for legalization of other drugs like cocaine and heroine.  But I have decided that enough is enough.

We should legalize cannabis, and then regulate and tax it like we do with tobacco and alcohol.  Yes, it’s not good for you unless you need it for a medical reason.  But it’s not the government’s place to stop me from doing something unhealthy unless it can hurt someone else.  And let’s stop worrying about people using a substance that hasn’t been banned.  We have too many banned substances as it is, we don’t need to add more.