The sonic boom is the Israeli army's latest weapon of choice employed over the Gaza Strip as retribution for rockets fired by Palestinian resistance terrorist groups into Israel.

Low-flying F-16 fighter jets break the sound barrier above populated areas, creating thunderous shock waves which shake buildings, break windows, blow off doors, and cause widespread panic, fear, and hysteria.

According to Eyad Sarraj, a Palestinian psychiatrist, the attacks are...resulting in an array of psychosomatic effects ranging from anxiety attacks, seizures and nausea to nosebleeds and miscarriages.

'Repeated attacks of that kind have resulted in widespread bedwetting...in both children and adults.'

(P)roponents of the tactic argue it is a relatively benign military response compared to what the Israeli army could do to Gaza - that in the end, it is nothing more than noise.

From the Orange County Sheriff's office.*

An elderly Florida lady did her shopping and, upon returning to her car, found four males in the act of leaving with her vehicle.

She dropped her shopping bags and drew her handgun, proceeding to scream at the top of her voice, "I have a gun, and I know how to use it! Get out of the car!"

The four men didn't wait for a second invitation. They got out and ran like mad.

The lady, somewhat shaken, then proceeded to load her shopping bags into
the back of the car and got into the driver's seat. She was so shaken that she could not get her key into the ignition.

She tried and tried, and then it dawned on her why. A few minutes later, she found her own car parked four or five spaces farther down. She loaded her bags into the car and drove to the police station. The sergeant to whom she told the story couldn't stop laughing.

He pointed to the other end of the counter, where four pale men were reporting a car jacking by a mad, elderly woman described as white, less than five feet tall, glasses, curly white hair, and carrying a large handgun. No charges were filed.

If you're going to have a Senior Moment, make it a memorable one!

Approximately 235 years ago, our forefathers came together to create a common government for the thirteen newly independent states. This government, a republic, was limited in scope and power by its constitution. It was also supposed to be a federation or federal government of the existing state governments, subordinate to them, as opposed to a national government which would be above and superior to the state governments. Somewhere in our history, the system failed and the federal government exercised a prerogative or power not provided for in our constitution. At this point, our constitution's amendment procedure failed, which meant that the constitution had failed in its entirety and unknown to those who should have been concerned, it was on this day that our Republic died. The stage was now set for our federal government to transform itself into a national government not bound by constitutional provisions or considerations.

Once the dam of our Republic had been broached, no matter how minor and innocuous the break, what followed was inevitable and preordained. The trickle would become a stream, the stream would grow into a river, the river into a torrent, and finally...continue

BUHRIZ, IRAQ - It was nearing midnight as Pfc. Nicholas Outen and his platoon moved silently down an alley in this Sunni enclave of canals and palm groves, on a night of raiding houses with the Iraqi police. The patrol paused, and Outen had just crouched at a street corner when a large blast threw him backward.

'I saw a flash and a boom and was smashed against the wall,' recalled Outen, 20, of Baltimore. His shoulder was ripped by shrapnel from a bomb that exploded 15 feet away, killing an Iraqi policeman. Five in Outen's platoon were wounded, including his team leader, Sgt. Nathan Rohrbaugh, who lay bleeding on top of him.

The Nov. 17 attack would draw together an already tightknit platoon, now on its second tour in Iraq. For Outen, it was doubly significant: On the same day that he became eligible for a Purple Heart, he reenlisted in the Army.

Across Iraq, U.S. soldiers risking their lives daily in combat are also re-upping by the thousands, bolstering the Army's flagging manpower at a time when many young Americans are unwilling to serve.

Since 2001, the Army has surpassed its retention targets by wider margins each year, showing an unexpectedly robust ability to retain soldiers in a time of war.

While the force is facing a shortfall in recruitment of new soldiers, it raised its retention goal this year by 8,000 people and still exceeded it, with nearly 70,000 soldiers, or 108 percent of the target, choosing to stay in the Army. continue...

Your period comes every month, but Xmas comes only once a year. So bring that menstrual joy to this holiday season with these tampon tree decorations. From a string of tampon lights to a star at the top of the tree, feminine hygiene has never been so festive!

A conference report by Senate and House negotiators to extend for four years provisions of the USA Patriot Act includes a comprehensive anti-methamphetamine package restricting the sale of products containing ingredients needed to cook the drug and providing new tools to police and prosecutors to combat dealers.
Sens. Jim Talent, Missouri Republican, and Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat, said the Combat Meth Act -- together with anti-meth measures championed in the House -- were included in the Reauthorization Conference Report filed Thursday.

Interstate 10 is open again after a 5-hour closure due to a crash involving a semi-truck that rolled over.

The truck's trailer split open, dumping a load of lettuce that covered both eastbound lanes and one westbound lane, DPS officers said.

The crash happened around 8 a.m. near Marsh Station Road. One person was hurt, but the injuries were non-life threatening.