Bushisms; Latest Terrorist Plot; The Shed - Finished at Last; Saturn and the Rings

From NO QUARTER: "I thought the Iraqis were Muslims!”

"Former Ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith is claiming President George W. Bush was unaware that there were two major sects of Islam just two months before the President ordered troops to invade Iraq," Raw Story reports on the revelations in the new book, "The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created A War Without End," by the son of the late economist John Kenneth Galbraith.

Galbraith reports that the three [Iraqi Americans] spent some time explaining to Bush that there are two different sects in Islam--to which the President allegedly responded, “I thought the Iraqis were Muslims!”

Small wonder, with such a pathetically ignorant president, the United States is succeeding only in growing hatred and terrorism, even as Dear Leader thinks he's spreading democracy.

A very informative article on Islam can be found at Wikipedia - Islam.

When President Bush described a war against ‘Islamic fascists,’ some American Muslims became very angry.

In our collective relief at having dodged a bullet this week, some of us may have missed the rhetorical bomb in our midst. Just hours after Tony Blair announced the arrest of two-dozen Britons on charges that they were planning to blow up planes using liquid explosives, President Bush made remarks of his own, thanking British authorities for their swift work and assuring Americans that their safety was his primary concern. “This nation is at war with Islamic fascists,” he said somberly, “who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation.” Our terrorist enemy has been described in so much colorful language by so many, one more escalation in terminology may have been easy to overlook.

In a Word...Incompetent

The single word most frequently associated with George W. Bush today is "incompetent,"and close behind are two other increasingly mentioned descriptors: "idiot" and "liar." All three are mentioned far more often today than a year ago. ("Arrogant" and "Ass" are the next two most negative terms.)

One can not help but wonder if the UK constabulary is correct in it's recent intelligence of the most recent terrorist plot. Alas, there have been times within the last year, in which their intelligence has not been accurate.

One may also ask what are the reasons and causes for such fiendish plots. What fuels this compelling hatred of the UK and the US? Could it have anything do with our past actions?

After several more arranging and re-arranging of the blocks for the floor of the shed, I finished Wednesday. Or at least I was able to curb my obsessive-compulsive need to do anything else with it.

At the end of the day, I was able to spread sand over the surface to fill the spaces between the blocks - a significant aid in creating a more stable floor.

Thursday I felt so drained that I opted not to do much outside.

Friday, at long last, I was able to move assorted items from the carport to the shed: lawn mower, weed trimmer, edger, ladders, window screens, two portable tables and a variety of tools.

I also moved a tool holder from the carport storage room to the shed. This is a really great idea: a three-foot plastic container that provides two rows of slots for holding tools. Ooooooppppps! Once I moved it into the shed, I realized there was not enough headroom to place or remove tools. The carport storage shed has a ten-foot ceiling; the shed, about six-feet at the peak.

Since I was in a cleaning mode, I decided to throw out some of the pieces set aside for a garage sale. Plus some other things that have fallen into the junk category. I know that if I place something by the street, it will be gone in a couple of hours.

To the street went the old, old screen door; the old, old replaced door; an ancient vacuum cleaner; an aluminum walker; a cat-scratching post, totally boycotted by my tribe; an electric fan; two umbrellas; a faux ebony cane; two plastic stools; a rusty saw; and a long-handled device for picking up debris without the need to bend over.

When I looked out this morning, everything was gone except for the vacuum cleaner.

Last week, I'd bought a piece of clear plastic to cover the roof of the shed. (25 x 20 feet, I think.) For a 10 x 9-foot shed, that was overkill. So this afternoon, I wrangled it onto the lawn and split it into two 10-foot sections. Then cut these down to a length of 12 feet.

Then came the hard part: trying to position them on the roof. On the first try, I recognized I had the sections criss crossed. Then I found out one of the corners of the roof kept snagging the plastic. I'd planned on using some metal clamps to hold the plastic in place. But I found out that wouldn't work; so I resorted to placing bricks along the edges of the roof.

The final, final task was the re-hanging of the doors. Both doors were slightly bent in a number of places. So I had to push and pull and squeeze and contort, but they both at last snapped into place.

Sixty-days have passed since the bankruptcy hearing, so I've decided to move forward with some initial deacquisition.

The lady next door and I have talked about selling my Saturn several times. Wednesday, I told her I was ready to sell. She in turn is waiting for a check to arrive.

Thursday, I thought I did something on Thursday besides lunch, I visited several jewelry stores to see what I could get for the three rings mother left. I didn't have any luck until the fourth try. I quickly found out that jewelers are more interested in larger stones as estate items. Mother swore that one of the stones was worth a lot. Which, unfortunately, as I've learned, means nothing. From what I've read jewelry usually sells at 10-15 percent of appraisal value.

I left the rings for a price quote. And I'll check back Monday. PAX!