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Helen Thomas, Lynne Stewart, a vat of anchovies and me ... indeed!
-Glenn Reynolds
Check out Pooklekufr: The Kafir Constitutionalist ... because, Lord knows, with a name like that, it's gotta be good.
/Smuckers spokesman
I don't have much to say about the Oscars or anyone involved in them except for this:
Clint Eastwood will be 75 in three months. SEVENTY FIVE. Wow. Just wow.
Today is my parents' 36th wedding Anniversary. Congratulations, folks.
Some terrific news out of the Middle East as the Syrian puppet government has resigned and it appears that the people of Lebanon might be able to drive out their Syrian oppressors with a minimum of further bloodshed. Not coincidentally, President Bush has been calling for exactly this for some time (and made a point of addressing the Syrian occupation of Lebanon in the State of the Union Address). What does this mean? Well, check out this reaction from one anguished DUer.
A man in some middle-of-nowhere village in Pakistan has slept with the wife of another man. So what happens? Does the man who helped break marriage vows get 40 lashes? Does the adulterous wife pay a penalty (well, actually, if she isn't stoned to death she's ahead of the game)? No and no. The man who did the horizontal tango with the wrong woman has to pay a fine ... about $3,000 ... and, oh yeah, one more thing ... give his neice, who is two years old, to be married to the offended man. Of course, they'll wait until she's 16 before this girl is subjected to forced marriage to and stste-sanctioned rape by a man 33 years her senior. They're not barbarians, you know. Well, actually, let's rethink that. Here is the last paragraph from the article:
Despite their unofficial status, illegal and out-dated customs still prevail in Pakistan. Four months ago in the same area, a four-year-old was killed by her tribe after being declared "kari" or defiled by rape.
Yeah, I'd say that is an "illegal and out-dated custom." Actually, on second thought, only the MSM would use such terms to describe the vicious, cruel, mysoginistic, knuckle-dragging barbarity that is entirely commonplace in much of the Islamist world.
This is an interesting story, not merely for the fact that Syria, a pro-insurgency Ba'athist regime, has assisted in the capture of a Ba'athist insurgency leader, but for the pattern that's emerging.
Let's review:
President Bush calls for elections in Afghanistan.
Critics scoff at the notion of Afghanis risking their lives to vote; predict a bloodbath.
Result: Afghanis, including women, go to the polls in record numbers in a largely peaceful election.
President Bush calls for elections in Iraq.
Critics, including John Kerry, Hillary Clinton and virtually every left wing and far right wing talking heas, scoff at the notion of successful elections, predicting a bloodbath and frightened Iraqis sitting at home.
Result: Iraqis vote in numbers that put virtually all Western elections to shame. The elections are nearly completely bloodless in spite of the desperate efforts of terrorists.
President Bush makes clear that rogue nations that have or attempt to develop WMD's will not be tolerated.
Result to date: Lybia has voluntarily abandoned an advanced WMD program and turned over all WMD related materials to the U.S.
President Bush calls on Saudi Arabia to introduce democracy into its nation.
Result: Saudi Arabia holds its first elections.
President Bush calls on Egypt to expand democracy within its borders.
Result: Egypt institutes reforms that will allow for legitimate presidential elections.
There's more, of course, but the bottom line is that there is more democracy in the world today then there was four years ago and the trend seems to be going in the right direction. There's also more hope.
Ah, well, maybe someday, generations from now, anti-Semitism will not be an issue. Then again, I bet some optimistic Jew was saying the same thing in Egypt about 3,500 years ago.
Meanwhile, people are finding new and interesting ways to be anti-Semites. In Iraq, where there are practically no Jews, the people are up in arms because the government has extended the traditional Friday weekend to Saturday. The objection? Saturday is a "Zionist holiday." I kid you not. Workers insisted on working and students insisted on going to school (and even threatened to murder teachers who failed to show up to teach) because they did not want to be like the Jews.
Well, where others might see tragic hatred and bigotry, I see a golden opportunity. The International Jewish Conspiracy should immediately declare all days of the week and every hour specifically as holy Jewish holidays (except for Tuesdays from 2:00 a.m. to 4:33 a.m. ... wouldn't want anyone to starve ...). We'll turn Iraq, and maybe the rest of the Middle East, into hyper-productive societies in no time. They'll make the Japanese look like shiftless sloths by comparison. Well, until the bigots drop dead from exhaustion ... and wouldn't that be a shame.
Please welcome fellow operatives Scaramouche and Photios to the blogroll. Their logs are outstanding and you should check them out.
Yeah, I know ... saying "trouble brewing in the Middle East " is like saying "smog detected in Los Angeles" but this might be something more ominous than the usual grizzly fare as nations and armies may get pulled into the maelstrom. You recall the latest mass murder in Tel Aviv? Well it seems that this time Israel is not particularly interested in laying the blame at the door of the Palestinian Authority, with which it has an extremely delicate and brittle cease-fire. Furthermore, it is not interested in just blaming Islamic Jihad, which took credit for the carnage (though I wouldn't sell any of their leaders life insurance). Instead, Israel is blaming Syria, which has problems of its own in Lebanon. Israel won't boycott Syria since they do no official business. Israel won't withdraw its ambassador because it has none in Damascus. Israel won't file a complaint with the UN because for the UN, it's just a few more dead Jews. What might Israel do? History gives us a hint.
It is worth noting that the fact that Israel is blaming Syria and the PA is actually going out and arresting people for the latest atrocity is a VERY hopeful sign.
"Respect" was blaring throughout the apartment at 8:00 in the morning, which is an ungodly hour on a Saturday. I tried to figure out who could have turned on the stereo. I suppose msbhivin could have come in to pick up more stuff but I wouldn't think that she'd be blasting music when she knew I would be asleep. I couldn't figure it out. So I stumbled out of bed, threw on some pants, in case msbhivin or one of her friends was there, and stumbled into the living room. The stereo was blasting and there he was. Rumsfeld, lying by the stereo looking very, very satisfied. Then he walked purposefully to his empty food bowl, swiped at it with his paw and stared at me.
Bastard.
This painting, entitled "Beata Beatrix," is by the 19th century English painter and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti (his father was an Italian exile). The title refers to the death of Beatrice in Dante's Divine Comedy but the actual subject, painted from memory, was Rossetti's wife Elizabeth Siddal, who had died the year before he painted this:
As usual, plenty is going wrong in the world. Islamist murderers continue to murder Israelis, Canada has decided to leave itself and America's northern flank unprotected (read the very last sentence of that article ... the leftist attitude is that "maybe if we don't try to defend ourselves, the bad people will leave us alone ... how did that work out for Belgium, again?), an American court has ruled that a woman should be denied food and water until she dies (mass murderers get more humane ends than this innocent woman) ... like I said, lots going wrong, as usual.
Let's take a look at what's going right. The aforementioned Canada is deporting loathesome Holocaust Denier Ernst Zundel to face prosecution in Germany for his neo-Nazi and Holocaust-denying activities. Zundel is a piece of filth who wrote a book entitled "The Hitler We Loved and Why" and who has been spreading neo-Nazi hatred for decades.
Australia, which may well be America's steadiest ally after Israel, has outlawed the al-Zarqawi terrorist organization. Now, I don't know exactly what took so long but better late than never (and "never" is where 98% of the world is stuck right now).
Speaking of al-Zarqawi, Iraqi forces have captured Talib Mikhlif Arsan Walman al-Dulaymi, also known as Abu Qutaybah, who was one of al-Zarqawi's chief lieutenants. And how happy am I that the Iraqis and not the Americans captured this guy? No Iraqi soldier is going to go to prison if things get a little rough for Mr. Qutaybah (I just tried to pronounce that and it came out "gtbubh", more or less) while he's discussing where his boss can be located.
Iraqi forces also captured Mohamed Najam Ibrahim, who was a mass-murdering terrorist leader. Now he's another guy who will be made to talk about his friends and family (he and his brother murdered people together).
Finally, do you recall that President Bush addressed Saudi Arabia and Egypt specifically in both the State of the Union Address and his opening remarks on his Europe trip, saying that they needed to institute democratic reforms? Well, as I noted earlier, the first vague glimmers of democracy are starting to shine through in Saudi Arabia and now it looks like someone in Cairo might have been paying attention.
I was cleaning out old e-mails just now when I noticed one that I had missed from BlueStarPR. It seems that The San Francisco Chronicle decided to help teach children to spell ... and, oh, yeah ... to hate Israel. Watch for this in your local paper.
Oh, one question for the BlueStarPR folks: You know that I love you guys but I have to know ... did you misspell "spelling" on purpose?
I woke up this morning and the first thing that I thought og was the 1979 Steve Martin classic, The Jerk (no, I don't know why ... I don't pretend to understand how my brain works, when it does). Specifically, I was thinking about one scene and it's relation to the War Against Islamism. The scene was when Martin's dim protagonist is being shot at by a murderous psychopath who kept missing Martin and hitting cans filled with motor oil. In spite of the fact that Martin was being shot at, all he could see was that some madman had it in for the cans. Have a listen.
Now, it seems to me that there are some parallels here. The murderous psychopath is radical Islam, which has been shooting at us and, until recently, missing for decades. Martin's character is like the leftists, the sensitive Europeans (as opposed to the sensible Europeans) and other apologists for Islamism. They don't see the obvious explanation that's right in front of them ... that the madman is trying to kill them, and instead assign ridiculous motivations on to the madman ... "He hates these cans!!" ... "They are lashing out because of our economic imperialism!!" Lastly, there is the one voice of reason (appropriately played by the usually sensible Jackie Mason) who desperately tries to save the dimwit protagonist from his own stupidity by telling him that the madman has no interest in shooting the cans and is trying to kill him. He is like today's neocons, "right wing" bloggers and others who are shouting from every rooftop that the war isn't about ecoonmics or oil or our cultural sensitivity but that it is, in fact, a clash of civilizationswhere one side has decided that the other must be destroyed or subjugated (and then destroyed).
Willful blindness by much of Western society is as much a danger to its survival today as the Jerk's stupidity was to his life in the movie. I think that Jackie Mason would agree. Regardless, I will always be grateful to that movie for introducing me to the joys of cat juggling.
Wednesday has been a poetry black hole. A few poor, unwary souls have tried to post on Wednesdays but nobody lasted very long. Now, we have another vict ... um, volunteer to join the Axis of Poetry on its most trying day. Who is it, you ask? Why, DJ Groovy Slug, the young lady who called yours truly all of those unkind names just yesterday. Go ahead and visit her, welcome her to the blogosphere and to the Axis and reassure her that not everybody is as terrible as this "white man lawyer." 
The Kiss
I hoped that he would love me,
And he has kissed my mouth,
But I am like a stricken bird
That cannot reach the south.
For though I know he loves me,
To-night my heart is sad;
His kiss was not so wonderful
As all the dreams I had.
Sarah Teasdale
How else do you explain the fact that the veteran news anchor is hosting a 2 hour special on UFOs tonight? I think that he looked at Dan Rather and thought, "yeah, he made a complete ass of himself in front of the whole world and tarnished his professional reputation forever but man, would you look at the attention that SOB is getting? What can I do to give my career that Peter Arnett/Jayson Blair kick in the pants?" I wonder if he gave a thought to Geraldo Rivera (Jerry Rivers) and Al Capone's vault when he took this gig.
However tonight's show goes, it won't be worse than a documentary that I saw in 1996 called "Why Planes Go Down" hosted by Gillian Anderson. I don't know what bookie Anderson owed money to or what horrible blackmail compelled Anderson to host that tripe but man, that was the WORST show ever. It was I-can't-stop-watching bad. It kept telling of these virtually impossible horror scenarios (like babies becoming deadly projectiles during turbulence or fires in the cabin for no good reason) and gave helpful advice like "don't wear nylons while flying because they are extra-flammable." Even as I make fun of this documentary (which I am CONVINCED was secretly sponsored by Greyhound), it is worth noting that I took the nylons advice to heart and have not worn a pair on a plane since that broadcast.
To 28 or so. I'm just sayin'. Or maybe just the IQ.
Update: My conversation with the young lady in question (on her blog) has taken an ugly and unexpected turn towards mutual civility. I hate it when that happens.
Today I came into possession of an essay by an Army officer serving in Iraq. This man has spent considerable time in the Middle East dealing directly with Arab and Muslim men and he makes some observations regarding Arabs and Arab culture. It is an outstanding and insightful essay and, therefore, extremely politically incorrect. For that reason, I can only post a few excerpts. It is my hope that, at some future date (maybe when he is back in the U.S.A.), I will be able to post more. Enjoy:
The original essay is well sourced with supporting documentation, footnotes and specific page cites for every source quoted. Like I said, I'd love to someday post the whole thing or at least more of it. The analysis of subjects like Muslim womens' rights, the influence of the teachings of the Koran and comparison to the New Testament and others is excellent and detailed.[ ... ] Islam is now – as it was at the time of the Battle of Tours, the sack of Constantinople, the sieges of Vienna, the Barbary corsairs, and the Bulgarian Horrors – once again the main political, military, cultural and (above all) spiritual enemy of Western civilization.
I was particularly taken by the analysis [Ed. note: analysis contained in an underlying text being discussed by the author] of how Arabs are like Orientals, emphasizing not sin but shame. The concepts seemed near indistinguishable to me, until I read this excellent quote from an article by Hisham Sharabi and Mukhtar Ani:
It is significant than an Arab child is conditioned to feel shame instead of guilt. He is made to feel ashamed because others see him as having acted wrongly, not because he inwardly regrets having done wrong and judges himself accordingly. In such conditioning, the capacity for self-criticism (self-condemnation) is not cultivated; instead a reflex to social pressure and criticism is developed. Shame is formed by what the individual thinks others think of him, rather than by what he thinks of himself.
This explains much! No wonder there’s an “Arab street” but not an “American street” or even a “French street”! No wonder there’s a reflexive, non-rational public opinion in Arab countries, no wonder Arab societies are so easily manipulated by their governments or ﺍﻠﺠﺯﻴﺮﺓ. They’re conditioned to be herd animals, with the family, the clan, the (Arab) nation, and the Islamic ‘umma as different echelons of the herd.
Combine this with the deliberate choice by Arabs to ignore facts, and these are people we are never going to be truly allied with.
[ ... ]
An Arab will rarely admit to an error openly if it will cause him to lose face. To Arabs, honor is more important than facts (emphasis original) [Ed. note: quoting underlying text].
[ ... ]
Where is the convergence of values if the populace of that neighboring country considers my populace not a separate people with a separate religion but enemies of God. Where is the convergence of values when that populace views the border between us as not a line between two countries or even two nations but the frontier between God’s realm and ﺪﺍﺮﺍﻠﻬﺮﺐ (‘dar al-harb’, the house or region of war).
[Ed. note to Cox & Forkum: Yes, the cartoon was in the original essay that was sent over from Iraq. Thought you'd want to know that.]
Nor does this apply equally to Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and other faiths of the world, as the multicultural weenies would have us believe. The lust to conquer and subject others, whether Muslim or not, to Islamic rule, is unique. [ ... ]The Crusades are often offered up as proof of Christians behaving the same way, and the politico-economic purposes surely did exist. But the Crusades were a counterattack – an effort to strike back at the inveterate enemy after more than 400 years of Muslim assault on Christendom. Alas the knights of Outremer were four centuries too late, and not yet strong enough, to more than ephemerally restore Christian lands and peoples lost to Islamic invasion and oppression.
Good news out of Israel where Shin Bet captured Wasim Mantsur, 29, a Fatah Tanzim member involved in bombing and shooting attacks in the Nablus area, as well as two other terror suspects. Fatah ... isn't that the same group that is influencing major decisions in the Palestinian government? Yes it is.
Now the real question is how long will it be before Israel releases this would-be mass murderer? I bet it's long before "Palestine" releases a 24 year old man who was sentenced to life with hard labor for trying to help thwart would-be mass murderers.
The baby is now doing much better and should make a full recovery.
Time to lighten the mood a little. Here is something bright and cheerful to start your day with: This, appropriately, is "Morning," an 1821 work by German romantic painter Casper David Friedrich:
R.F. Burton sends a letter from Saudi Arabia that is posted on Victor Davis Hanson's website. Even if you think that you have a grasp of what we and the world are facing in the War on Terror, this is worth a read. Understanding this letter means understanding that what we are engaged in is, at its core, a war between civilizations or, more accurately, a war between progressive, enlightened civilization and a force that seeks to snuff it out of existance. Read the relatively short letter before reading the following comment, which I originally posted on LGF:
The tragedy is that, in many ways, this is so much worse than what we faced in Nazi Germany or anywhere else. The horror is so commonplace, so deeply ingrained over many, many generations, that it's going to be very, very difficult to scrape it out of all of the ugly, dark crevices of Arab life. Even if there are elections. Even if they eventually have a parliament and women voting and official religious tolerance. Even if everything is bright and shiny on the surface, just below the surface, behind closed doors, fathers will continue to murder and maim their own daughters and women will continue to be raped and bought and sold and treated with less dignity and consideration than household pets because of an insane ethic of "honor" among inadequate Arab men.
I fear that the oil will run out before real civilization flourishes among those people ... and once the oil runs out that pathetic sandbox will revert quickly to the Hobbesian state of nature that it is now barely hovering above.
Hat tip: LGF reader greenmiler.
Recently, the wife of a soldier serving in Iraq got the dreaded visit. An army officer came knocking on her door to tell her that her husband had been killed in Iraq. Except that her husband was alive and well. The person who came into her home was an imposter. He was just some sick, sadistic scumbag who decided to spread some random grief to a stranger and her family. He delivered his little tragedygram and left, probably giggling to himself.
What do you do with someone like this, once you capture him? What's the proper punishment for this kind of malevolent, hateful ghoul? In a just world a man who does something like this ... who maliciously attacks the family of a soldier in a time of war ... would end his days with his legs twitching five feet above the earth. We don't live in that world, though. We can only hope that this man, this soulless husk on two legs, spends many years in prison ... well, that and that maybe, somehow, some military families have a few minutes with this waste of skin and organs before the authorities arrive to carry him away.
I just discovered a great blog called Morning Java. Funny, politically incorrect and containing pictures of bunnies eating oranges. What more could you want? It's going on the blogroll (which, oddly, is the one thing that Morning Java doesn't have ...), and not just because Krista said nice things about TDB (though it certainly didn't hurt).
I just noticed that The Daily Blitz is listed among the top thirty syndicated PunditDrome blogs. I am, frankly, shocked (but gratified) that TDB was included in the top 30, given that TDB traffic doesn't begin to approach that of Little Green Footballs, A Small Victory, WizBang, Daily Kos, Scrappleface and most, if not all of the other blogs on the list.
That said, I have a favor to ask of my more artistically inclined readers. TDB needs a logo if it's to be cool like the big kids. If you can think of one or help design one, you'll have the undying gratitude of a man and his cats.
Update: As Scott ferguson of PunditDrome points out, we're not quite there with the big boys. Rather, TDB is on page 2 ... the Triple-A / NFC / ABA of the PunditDrome lineup. The second thirty. Still, to be the company of Vodkapundit (mmm ... vodka ...), Iraq the Model, Tim Blair and the other well known blogs on that page ... well, it's really, really nice. As you may have noticed, PunditDrome is now on the blogroll. Aside from the fact that I have surfed Punditdrome in the past to get a quick survey of what the leading blogs are saying at any given time (it is VERY useful for that), TDB knows better than to bite or ignore the hand that pats it affectionately on the head.
Since Paul Brooks of the Times-Herald Record recently referred to an LGF reader as an "operative" I thought that all of us LGF operatives should have badges so that we can flash them at hapless moonbats and make them understand that our lizardy wrath is official and backed by the full weight and authority of LGF law. Here is what I came up with. Are you an LGF operative? Will you promise to tell the world if some idiot politician makes a ridiculous statement or a gaggle of moonbats gather to call for peaceful reform? Tired of being undercover? Post the badge on your blog and let the moonbats know that long, scaly claw of LGF Moonbat Control can reach them wherever they lurk.
A young American Muslim man was indicted this morning in Virginia for conspiring to assassinate President Bush. From the article:
A former Virginia high school valedictorian who had been detained in Saudi Arabia as a suspected terrorist was charged Tuesday with conspiring to assassinate President Bush and with supporting the al-Qaida terrorist network.
Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, 23, a U.S. citizen, made an initial appearance Tuesday in U.S. District Court but did not enter a plea. He claimed that he was tortured while detained in Saudi Arabia since June of 2003 and offered through his lawyer to show the judge his scars.
The federal indictment said that in 2002 and 2003 Abu Ali and an unidentified co-conspirator discussed plans for Abu Ali to assassinate Bush. They discussed two scenarios, the indictment said, one in which Abu Ali "would get close enough to the president to shoot him on the street" and, alternatively, "an operation in which Abu Ali would detonate a car bomb."
According to the indictment, Abu Ali obtained a religious blessing from another unidentified co-conspirator to assassinate the president.
More than 100 supporters of Abu Ali crowded the courtroom and laughed when the charge was read aloud alleging that he conspired to assassinate Bush.
. . .
Um, wow. I really, really hope that the FBI has a good picture and ID on every one of these "more than 100 supporters" . . . and their families and their co-workers and their pets. Now maybe Ahmed Omar Abu Ali is completely innocent but I know that a federal prosecuter would generally be very loathe to bring a high profile indictment like this if he didn't have some evidence to back it up. The idea that a man accused of plotting to murder the President of the United States would have a courtroom full of supporters in Virginia is mind-boggling. Like I've said repeatedly before, the war is not just out there. It's here at home too.
Edit: What would you like to wager that because of his allegations of torture this man becomes the next Mumia of the Left and that leftists and their supporters in the media, both mainstream and otherwise, concentrate more on the allegations of torture than on the allegation that he sought to murder the President?
Update: A much more complete article from Fox. An excerpt:
Sometime around September 2002, Abu Ali allegedly returned to Saudi Arabia and told an unnamed co-conspirator that he was interested in joining Al Qaeda. The indictment alleges that Abu Ali intended to become a planner of terrorist operations like Muhammad Atta and Khalid Sheik Muhammad.
Abu Ali allegedly decided at one point to go to Afghanistan to take part in a violent jihad against American military personnel there. He applied for a visa to travel to Iran as a means to enter Afghanistan but his application was denied, according to the indictment.
Abu Ali also received money from another co-conspirator and Al Qaeda member to buy a laptop computer, a cell phone and books, the indictment says. Abu Ali is said to have purchased all the equipment.
At some point, this alleged Al Qaeda member who gave him the money discussed with Abu Ali establishing an Al Qaeda cell in the United States. Abu Ali received training in weapons, explosives and document forgery from Al Qaeda members, the indictment says.
According to the indictment, Abu Ali obtained a religious blessing from another unidentified co-conspirator to assassinate the president. One of the unidentified co-conspirators in the plot is among 19 people the Saudi government said in 2003 was seeking to launch terror attacks in that country, according to the indictment.
He was arrested in Saudi Arabia on June 9, 2003.
The indictment lists some of Abu Ali's possessions as of June 16, 2003:
-- A six page document regarding surveillance by the government and private entities and how to avoid the surveillance;
-- An undated two-page document praising Taliban leader Mullah Omar and the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001;
-- Audio tapes in Arabic promoting violent jihad and the killing of Jews;
-- A book written by Al Qaeda official Ayman al-Zawahiri.
. . .
Before Tuesday's court appearance, more than 600 family members, friends and acquaintences of Abu Ali signed an online petition, which sent to the State Department, saying his detention in Saudi Arabia was unjust and demanding his release.
They signed a petition? Outstanding!
Update: A copy of the indictment.
The moronic smoking ban was bad enough but now Michael Bloomberg and some other idiots want to take "The Big Apple" out of New York City. That's right. They want to change the official city nickname from The Big Apple to unweildy and corporate sounding "The World's Second Home." That is, quite possibly, the dumbest and most artificial nickname I have ever heard. First, New York City isn't anybody's second anything. It's New York Friggin' City and if it's not FIRST, you must be talking about something out on Long Island. Second, it's a damned mouthful and entirely useless as a nickname. If people say "I'm going to the Big Apple," everybody, all over the world, knows what you're talking about. Who's going to waste the breath to say "I'm going to the world's second home" and who on earth will understand them? Second home? It sounds like where you go on weekends when your parents are divorced. Finally, "The Big Apple" is not a term thought up by some hack in an ad agency. It's been around for nearly a century (I remember a jazz musician in New Orleans telling me that since the 20's musicians used to say that there are lots of apples on the tree but when you were playing in New York, you were playing in The Big Apple). Check out the poll in the first link for all you need to know about how popular this idea is and will be. New Coke was a marketing masterstroke compared to this stupidity.
Jessica Alba says she's done sleeping around ... the tragedy is that I hear she was just getting to the "J"s.
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