Sweet Martha's Cookie Jar!

When I read the news, I'd thought "Sweet Martha's Cookie Jar" was just another family-friendly exclamation of surprise, along the same lines as "Jumpin' Jehosophat" or "Great Googly-Moogly."

(The latter is an habitual phrase I picked up from an Iowa combat engineer who refused to swear, even when he was in harm's way. I think the cartoon character Mr. Magoo was the originator, however.)

I'm not yet a patron of the Minnesota business that apparently just donated and sent 10,000 cookies downrange to Iraq, but, rest assured, I soon will be. After all, you can also support the troops ... by supporting those businesses ... that do their darnedest to support the troops.

Yeah, that sentiment is danger-close to a certain MAJ Frank Burns quote: "It's nice ... to be nice ... to the nice." But you get the idea: Vote with your dollars. Or cookies. Or whatever ammunition you have handy.