I'm a liberal pagan living in West, Texas. Yes. That West, Texas.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

GAY? SMAY who cares.

Pentagon survey finds troops, their families don't care if gays serve.

An internal Pentagon study has found that most U.S. troops and their families don't care whether gays are allowed to serve openly and think the policy of "don't ask, don't tell" could be done away with, according to officials familiar with its findings.
Details on the survey results were still scare Thursday, with the Pentagon declining to discuss the findings until after December 1, when it rolls out its own plan for repeal.
The officials who disclosed the survey's findings spoke on condition of anonymity because the results had not been released.(Associated Press)


http://myfivebest.com/five-famous-soldiers-that-were-homosexuals/

I found this very interesting.


Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Augustus von Steuben
Maybe you are not familiar with this guy’s name. He is often put in the back of the history books when it comes to other soldiers during his time period. However, this Prussian aristocrat and military officer served as Inspector General and Major General of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He is credited with teaching the Continental Army the essentials of military drill and discipline, and helping to guide the United States towards victory against the British. He wrote the Revolutionary War Drill Manual, the book that became the standard United States drill manual until the War of 1812, and served as General George Washington’s chief of staff in the final years of the war. He originally served in the Prussian Army, before he was forced to resign because of being homosexual. Since he was a soldier, he attempted to sell his services in Austria, Baden (part of the Holy Roman Empire), and France – who suggested he talk to Washington. George didn’t have a problem with this sexual preferences and hired him on to train the troops at Valley Forge. If he hadn’t, we might still be a colony to Great Britain.

Lieutenant Colonel T.E. Lawrence aka Lawrence of Arabia
This British Army officer is renowned for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916-18 during World War One. The extraordinary work he accomplished with the Arab nomadic tribes, his ability to understand and relate to their culture, and his vivid written descriptions of the events led him to be internationally known as Lawrence of Arabia. Lawrence’s public image was due in part to American journalist Lowell Thomas’ sensationalized reports of the revolt, as well as Lawrence’s autobiographical account in Seven Pillars of Wisdom (1922). Lawrence was able to achieve these goals since he understood the Middle East. Prior to WW1, he was an archaeologist who studied in Egypt, Lebanon, and throughout the Mesopotamia regions. He was well-spoken and able to speak fluently in English, French, German, Latin, Greek, Arabic, Turkish and Syriac. He helped to create an insurgency within the Arab regions against the Ottoman Turks that eventually led to the collapse of that empire following the war. While he never publicly stated he was a homosexual, he wrote about it in his book and letters. None of it stopped him from being on the winning side World War One.

Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. Caesar was born into a patrician family, which claimed descent from the son of the legendary Trojan prince Aeneas. While Caesar was married a couple of times, in the writings of the time, we know that he had an affair with King Nicomedes of Bithynia (part of northwest Asia Minor on the Black Sea). While this was generally acceptable at the time amongst Roman nobility at the time, it still caused him some grief from his critics. It did not, however, stop Caesar from taking over Gaul and becoming one of the most notable military leaders in history.

King Richard The Lionhearted
Also known as King Richard I, he is the famous king that is mentioned in the famous Robin Hood tales. He is also the King who led the Third Crusade against the great Sultan Saladin and brought victory for the Christians. Of his sexual preferences, there have been conjecture over whether or not he had a relationship with the King of France, Philip II. There are writings on him sharing the same bed with Philip, though some historians claim that this was just a medieval “photo opp”. He and Philip led their armies into the Holy Land to reclaim lands that “belonged” to the Christian world and made their way into the history books. No matter what his sexual orientation, Richard’s military contributions and prowess on the battlefield cannot be questioned. He is considered the epitome of everything about chivalry.

Alexander The Great
He was everything that is considered in a great general. Leaders have been studying his tactics for centuries. And…he occasionally had a homosexual encounter. Alexander III of Macedon was 20 years old when he took the throne and created one of the largest empires in ancient history by the time he was 32 years old. Although his reign was short-lived, the cultural impact of his conquests lasted for centuries. Alexander was known to be undefeated in battle and is considered one of the most successful commanders of all time. By the time he was finished building his empire, Alexander had taken control of Greece, Macedonia, Persia, Egypt, Asia, and India. He only stopped because his men had grown weary of war and wanted to return home. Alexander was married twice, but his greatest relationship was with his friend, general, and bodyguard Hephaestion, the son of a Macedonian noble and leader of the famed Companion Cavalry. When Hephaestion died of typhus, eight months before Alexander’s own death (also possibly from typhus), he was devastated and planned on creating monuments and petitioned the oracles to grant Hephaestion divine status.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

BOROWITZ REPORT.

Fox News Estimates Jon Stewart’s Crowd at Seven People

Disappointing Turnout, News Channel Says

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) – The Fox News Channel reported today that the turnout for Jon Stewart’s “Rally to Restore Sanity” was underwhelming at best, with Fox sources estimating the total turnout at seven people.

“Our total count includes Stewart, [Stephen] Colbert, and what appear to be a few of their friends and relatives,” said Fox anchor Shepard Smith. “This has to be a smaller crowd than they were expecting.”

But immediately after Fox broadcast what it described as “live coverage” of the rally showing a nearly-deserted National Mall, viewers began to point out irregularities in the images being shown.

First of all, one viewer noticed that the live coverage of the rally was actually being broadcast a full twelve hours before the rally began.

Second, an expert identified the supposedly “live footage” of today’s rally as file footage from a Sunday in 1997 when the Mall was completely shut down for reseeding.

Even in the face of such evidence, Fox stood by its story, with Fox host Glenn Beck pointing out that the seven people in attendance were “largely elitists.”

“I was struck by how many correctly spelled signs there were,” Mr. Beck said. “That’s not my America.

Friday, October 29, 2010

HAPPY HALLOWEEN


Going to Strickly to be a judge for the Chili Cook-Off..don't think there is going to be that many..so I may live through it..will take pictures.
Then Halloween I'm going to drive around town and take pictures ...see ya later gaters.

FRIDAY and EARLY HALLOWEEN



































Wednesday, October 27, 2010

WEST, TEXAS NEWS FOR 10-27-10

On top of the hassle of having to move for a week and then moving back in we also have the horror of the I-35 expansion. Judas priest..they have traffic backed up from North Loop 340 in Waco/bad to FM 1858 south of West. Which is our exit. Which means we won't be able to just take the exit to the apts. We'll have to drive further down, take the West exit and then double back..feck! I will be just a memory when they get done..10 years or so.
As usual The West Police Department, Volunteer Fire Department and West EMS are going to give away candy to area children starting at 6 p.m. Sunday. I'll try to go down there and take pictures. I always forget or am busy, so will try and get some pictures of the kids in their costumes.
Something new, the West Czech Inn is having handing out candy from 6-8 p.m. this Sunday too.
The little town of Penelope is having their annual Carnival this Saturday at their school. A turkey and dressing meal is planned for 5 p.m. along with Bingo and other games and a raffle.
West Middle School will have a Halloween dance on Saturday in the cafeteria. Admission is $5 and there will be a cash prize for the best costume. Wow, I remember us having school dances in the Cafeteria or the Gym. Long time ago.
Boy Scouts are still collecting cans at the back of St. Mary's Catholic Church. I still want to know what they do with the money.
There is a very interesting article on the front page of the paper about a couple from Axtell. They have a ghost hunting team. The Mclennan County Paranormal Investigations team. They are going to be in Leroy at the Leroy Bank. Which was part of a big scandal back in the 80's I think. The president and Bank declared bankruptcy and every one lost their money. Was really a shocker and a very sad story. The only one that did ok was the president and owner of the bank..Fancy that.
They said they have been to over 40 businesses and homes including The Hippodrome, Jasper's
s Barbecue, Waco's Civic Theater and the Dr Pepper Museum. Mike and Cindy Jacobus went to one house where the owner was being woken in the middle of the night by horrible screams and some of their smaller belongings were missing. They found 4 raccoons had broken in and were living behind the walls with a plastic bag full of their belongings. Jasper's barbecue had a shadow moving very fast and was picked up on the monitors. Civic Center had a white mist and doors slamming. The new owner of the Leroy Bank is going to remodel it and make a Lowe's Chicken Bank(really) and there have been sightings of something white passing by the windows and weird lights. Which reminds me of when I was a kid living in San Antonio and there was a haunted house out in the middle of no where. 3-story house and on the top level was a very strange and weird blue light. So me, soon to be Asshole #1, his sister and her boyfriend and (another long and even weirder story) my mother, went to check it out. It was so creepy, and my mother who kept hiding in closets and then jumping out at us had us scared shitless. We went up to the 3-rd story and we could see the eerie weird blue light shining under the door of the room at the end of the hall. We were shaking in our boots except for mother who kept making ghost sounds...'whoooo'
and "it's going to kill us all."..we finally got nerve to throw open the door and it was weird alright..in the corner of the room was a huge neon Lone Star Beer sign.
Any how after they rid the Bank of the ghosts and make it into a Chicken Bank, ole Babs and I will have to check it out.
Leann Laubert and Nathan Kaluza were married on October 16, at St. Mary's Catholic Church.
The best part of this story is they both work in Waco but will reside in West. Hot dang.
Ian Michael Volcik was born on October 6, weighing in at 8 pounds 12 ounces and 22 inches long.
West Knights of Columbus is having their 5th Annual Turkey Dinner on Halloween from 11a.m. to??? Turkey and dressing with all the trimmings for $7.00 They will also have uncooked dressing ready to freeze for Thanksgiving or Christmas available for purchase.
Strickly Country is having a Chili Cook Off on Halloween afternoon and I'm tempted to go and be a judge again. But my stomach keeps telling me no..nooo..nooooooooo.
West KC Hall is having Micky and the Motorcars on Nov.13. Wonder if that 's a oldies but goodies band?
West Trojan's football team pulled it together and won last 3 games. They are now tied for first place with Alvarado and have 2 games left. I'm not sure that Devin is playing as he hurt his wrist and has been having some health problems. He's also in deep shit for taking Inky's Jeep out with out permission or a drivers license and rolled and totaled it out. I told Anessa I would have killed him. She said the jeep can be replaced but Devin can't. I said the second I found out he wasn't hurt and was going to live? I'd have killed him.
the Lady Trojans volleyball team is going to play in Bi-District.
St. Mary's had their home coming and Alyssa Roznos and Nathan Chupik were queen and king.
The Texas Guitar Expo and Classic Car and Hot Rod show is planned for November 13 and 14 at West Fraternal Auditorium. There will be new and vintage guitars, accessories and music memorabilia along with live music. Tickets are $7 per day or $10 for both.
The Westfest membership meeting is on November 10 in the West Community Center. Fellowship is to begin at 6 p.m. with a meal at 6:45 p.m. and the meeting at 7:30 p.m. Applications requesting funding are to be approved at the meeting. Comments on the 2010 Westfest and suggestions for the 2011 even are requested. Babs pointed this out to me and said you want to see changes get involved. I want to go but I know I'll last about 30 minutes before I tell someone to fuck themselves. They don't like change and they don't realize that each year is going to have less and less crowds if they don't change. My big thing is considering that the parade we have is the largest parade per capita in the US, they should go out of their way to get some one noted to be the grand marshal. I think way back when they had Anne Richards as the parade marshal. I think because it's a Czech thing they should find some famous Czech to be the marshal. There are a bunch of Czech basketball players, tennis players and even actors. It wouldn't be so hard for them to have someone beat the bushes for some Czech that would enjoy coming to West and be reminded of their heritage. My first thought was Martina Navratilova. I don't think they'd care if she was gay or not. Most of the old farts still think it means really happy. Anyhow I'll let you know what happens.
West Food Mart has some good sales. Dr Pepper 3 12-packs for $9, and Boston Butt Pork Roast for $1.29 and 3-minute oats for .99. I love oatmeal. Community Grocery has cabbage on sale for 39 cents a pound..I love cabbage. I just like to boil it up and serve it with salt/pepper and butter. Hey, maybe I have some Czech in me. (don't even go there)
Ok..there is more news but nothing that exciting and I have to go watch the Rangers kick the Giants ass. hot diggy doggy.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...ROSE



Happy Birthday to Rose....a sweet loving lady. Wonderful wife, terrific mother and adoring grandma.
And the wife of my dear dear Nitty.

Monday, October 25, 2010