YOU MIGHT BE A LIBERAL IF . . .

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you know gender is a social construct, but have no idea where electricity comes from.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you think the "evil" of Stalinist regimes is overstated and the tyranny of the American regime is never stated enough.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you believe portraying Bush as the Joker is political satire, but portraying Obama as the Joker is racist.




You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . if you believe Glenn Beck is an extremist because Keith Olbermann told you so.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . if you think America is a cesspool of fat lobotomized WalMart Jesusbots who have the gall to question your patriotism.

Code Pink Activist

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you believe in the separation of Church and State; Mosque and State, not so much.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you believe that hurricanes are caused by people, and that crime is caused by the environment.

U.S. Marine Corps Recruiting Station, Berkeley California

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you think that treating all people equally, regardless of race, is racist.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you burn tons of carbon to attend a global warming conference that only sanctions the cleanest nation on Earth.




You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you believe in having dialog with your opponents, and that they'd better shut up during this dialog.




You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you think everyone would agree with you if they were open minded, and you refuse to listen to any other possibility.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you believe that a mosque should be built at Ground Zero, but Jews shouldn't build apartments in East Jerusalem.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . if all your political arguments contain the phrase, "It's Bush's fault."

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you believe that Pro-Life violates right of privacy, but you want to tell people they can't eat french fries.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you believe that immersing a crucifix in urine is fine art, but depicting the prophet Mohammed is insensitive.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you think the problem is that Obama is just too darn moderate.




You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you spend your day telling people that a border fence can't work, then drive home to your gated community.




You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you think Sarah Palin was too inexperienced to be VP but that Obama had plenty of experience to be President.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you think the Right needs to be rounded up in camps to prevent them from acting like Nazis.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you think credit card companies are evil when they lend money, and mortgage companies are evil when they don't.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you believe education is A) the single most critical key to our future, and B) impossible to measure.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you think people have too many kids, and that those kids need to pay for your Social Security.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you think the Government should be obsessed with race, but no one else should ever mention it.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you think banks earning money on interest is wrong, but paying interest to China on the national debt is just peachy.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you think subsidies are an entitlement, tax cuts are a gift, and liberty is a controlled substance.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you totally hate haters, and wish those violent bastards would just die.




You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you've ever worried about the threat of Tea Party violence during a Dick Cheney heart attack thread on Kos.




You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you are running low on Valium this weekend due to Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor Rally.




This priceless brilliance came to me via the Twitter phenomenon . . . S.L.

SCHMEISSER

Hugo Schmeisser, 24 September 1884 – 12 September 1953

Hugo Schmeisser was one of the most influential and prolific developers of weapons of the 20th century. Born in Suhl, Germany in 1884, Schmeisser followed the profession of his father. His weapons designs played a significant role in both World Wars, throughout the Cold War and up until this very day.



Schmeisser's most well known weapon, the MP-38/40 sub-machinegun


On April 3, 1945, American troops began to occupy the city of Suhl. Weapons manufacturing was completely prohibited during this time. Hugo Schmeisser and his brother Hans were interrogated for weeks by weapon expert teams of the American and British Secret services. At the end of June 1945, American troops evacuated Suhl and all of Thuringia.



Schmeisser's STG-44 in use on the Russian Front during World War II.

One month later, the Red Army assumed control over the area, starting a civilian works project to manufacture weapons for the Soviet Union. By August 1945, the Red Army had created 50 StG44s from existing assembly parts, and had begun inspecting their design. 10,785 sheets of technical designs were confiscated by the Soviets as part of their research. In October 1945, Schmeisser was forced to work for the Red Army and instructed to continue development of new weapons.

Schmeisser's brilliance impressed the Red Army, and he, along with other weapons designers and their families, were relocated to the USSR. Schmeisser's work while in Izhevsk (1946-1952) is shrouded in darkness.

General Designer of small arms for the Soviet Army, Mikhail Kalashnikov's design subordinates included the Germans Hugo Schmeisser, designer of the StG-44, and Werner Grüner (of MG 42 fame) who was a pioneer in sheet metal embossing technology in the 1950s.



Mikhail Kalashnikov, the man credited with creating the AK-47 assault rifle, which to this day bears his name

Beyond Kalashnikov's 2009 admission that Hugo Schmeisser "helped" design the famous AK-47, which strongly resembles Schmeisser's StG44, little is known of Schmiesser's life during this period, until 1952 when he and other German specialists returned home to Germany.




The StG 44 (Sturmgewehr 44 or "assault rifle model 1944") was the first modern assault rifle. Developed in Nazi Germany during World War II, it is considered the inspiration for the more widely known AK-47, or Kalishnikov post-WWII Soviet-designed assault rifle. (below)




Schmeisser's stay in the Soviet Union was extended beyond that of the other weapon specialists by six months. He finally returned home on June 9, 1952. Schmeisser died on 12 September 1953, and was buried in Suhl.

While the name of Hugo Schmeisser is known internationally, it is unknown to most Germans. The 50th anniversary of his death was honored by a ceremony held in Suhl, as he is recognized as one of the most important technical designers of infantry weapons of the 20th century.



Because of it's rugged durability and simple design, the AK-47 has been the most prolific assault rifle in the world for over fifty years.

THOR THURSDAY

For Valeria . . .

SIGHTING: FAKE SOLDIER WILLIAM CLARK

Regarding the phony wannabe William James Clark - I received this email just now:


Read your post on Blogspot and he was in our store in june and wrote a bad check for $700.00 our store is in Davenport Iowa. FYI


I'm not a lawyer, but it seems to me that check fraud to the tune of $700 is well into felony space - this may explain the FBI's interest in this individual.




Again, the guidance here is CAUTION: While there is no question he is delusional, there is no knowing the mindset of this disturbed individual AND he is known to travel armed. If you encounter this pathetic phony wannabe William Clark - stall for time if appropriate, and contact law enforcement.


STORMBRINGER SENDS


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CORRECTION: GRIZZLY BEAR

From yesterday:
I thought it was unbelievable a motorcycle could kill a beast that big - that's why I called it "INCREDIBLE" - turns out that grizzly was killed by a pickup truck, not a Harley. The encounter took place in Montana, in 2007. Here's the original story with some of the same photos.



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PORTRAITS OF THE FALLEN

An artist named Kaziah Hancock paints portraits of fallen soldiers free of charge for their families as part of Project Compassion. Video by KARE 11/ Minneapolis/ St. Paul.




The selflessness of this woman is second only to the selfless sacrifice of the U.S. servicemen she portrays in oils.

There are many artists in my family. I studied art myself, and made a living starving at it before I picked up soldiering as a trade. This is my qualified assessment; Ms. Kaziah Hancock has incredible talent. Kaziah's portraits possess amazing lifelike qualities; energy, character and charisma shine through. I am quite certain that these portraits go a long way toward easing the pain of loss for the families of the fallen.

It is with great pleasure that we present Kaziah's work here on Blog STORMBRINGER

- S.L.



NOTE: Since posting this, STORMBRINGER has become aware that Kaziah's started Project Compassion, an organization of volunteer artists who paint portraits of fallen soldiers. Kaziah has personally completed 634 pieces, while her organization has framed and shipped 1,700 portraits to family members.

God Bless Kaziah Hancock in everything she does . . .



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SHOULD ISRAEL BOMB IRAN's NUCLEAR REACTOR IN BUSHEHR?

An excellent post from our good friend in the IDF - DoubleTapper - that says it all:





In other DoubleTapper news, I apparently missed Jewish Barbecue Day, 12 August:



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