Happy New Year!

I hope everyone has a Happy New Year. Have a good time, but remember not to drink and drive. 2006 already.

Predictions 2006

Here are some predictions for 2006:

1) Oscar for best movie - Walk the Line

2) Congress - Republicans will hold on to control of both houses, but will lose seats.

3) U.S. Supreme Court - Alito will be confirmed, no attempt to filibuster. Another Justice will leave by the end of the year.

4) Rose Bowl - USC will beat Texas by at least 13 points.

5) SuperBowl - Denver VS Seattle, Seattle wins

6) Sen Clinton is re-elected with better than 60% of the vote

7) When the election is finally held, Mayor Nagin loses in New Orleans

8) The U.S. economy will continue to thrive, and the mainstream media will continue to ignore it.

9) Both France and Germany will enter a recession.

10) The U.N. will continue to ignore the Oil for Food Scandal, Bolton will continue to make the UN institute incremental reforms.

11) Israel will bomb Iran. The UN will condemn them and Israel won't give a shit.

12) There will be more rumors of a coup in North Korea, but they will be false.



more to come......

Day By Day

I just added the daily cartoon Day By Day to the bottom of my blog. (I can't fit it at the top without screwing up my sidebar) If I did it right, it will update automatically with the new strip each day.

10 Worst Americans

There is a current blog challenge to name the 10 worst Americans of all time. OK, here are mine, in no particular order.

1) George Soros - I believe his influence on American politics has been disastrous. When you combine this with his international market manipulations, there can be no doubt that this is a truly evil and selfish human.

2) Joseph Kennedy - Made his money as a drug smuggler (rum from Canada during prohibition) and then multiplied it by taking advantage of people going bankrupt during the Great Depression. He was a facist, and he foisted the whole Kennedy clan on us.

3) John Walker - Cold War spy. Caused huge amounts of damage to the US because of greed.

4) Jane Fonda - Hanoi Jane. A Traitor who aided our enemies, and a wacky leftist on top.

5) Benedict Arnold - Sold his country out because of ambition and pique.

6) Jimmy Carter - A complete failure as a president. Allowed the birth of the modern Islamic terrorist movement. Appeased the Soviets. I had some admiration of his efforts with Habitat for Humanity, but his incompetent meddling in international affairs since then overshadows what good he has done.

7) Michael Moore - An example of the worst of the modern media. His propaganda ranks up there with the worst of the NAZIs and the Communists. Hates the America that gave him the lifestyle he induges in. Reinforces the worst prejudices of European elites about the US.

8) Roger Taney- First cabinet officer to be rejected by the Senate. As fifth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court authored the second worse decision ever handed down by the Court, the Dredd Scott case. (worst was Roe V Wade)

9) Margaret Sanger - founder of what became Planned Parenthood. Believed strongly in eugenics and was a racist. (She would be very pleased by the millions of minority children aborted in the last 30 odd years) Member of the Socialist party.

10) Jesse Jackson - race whore extraordinaire.

Michael Crichton's views on lefty Chicken Littles

Check out this speech by Michael Crichton. Now I am about 50/50 on his books, but I can really get behind this speech. Make sure all your lefty and eco wacko friends read it.

Gun Control

On Fox News right now, there is a Canadian politician blaming gun violence in Canada on the lack of gun control in the United States. That's a load of crap, but from the Canadian point of view it makes sense.

First you have to realize that Canada is a captive of the Old Europe philosphy of controling the people. For centuries the elites in Europe have maintained power by controlling the people. There is a reason why it was illegal for peasants to own weapons. This was to prevent them from rebelling against their lords. At the time of our revolution, it was still illegal for most Europeans to own weapons. Our Founding Fathers recognized two things. 1) Our ability to rebel from the British Crown was largely based on the fact that a large percentage of the colonists were armed and familar with guns. 2) An armed population would be able to resist a despotic government. (especially when you take into account the fact that they expected there to be no standing national army.) They wanted a population that would be unable to be controlled by an elite ruling class. Because of this they purposely guareented the right to own a weapon in the Bill of Rights. Furthermore, if you examine their expectation of no standing army, and a dependence on a citizen militia for national defence, they intended this Right to include military grade weapons.

Secondly, you have to realize that the left views people as basically good unless corrupted. Thus someone who uses a gun to commit a crime is less to blame for the crime than the gun that allowed them to do so. This may seem nonsensical (and it is) but it is truly how most of them think. The right understands that there is evil in the world, and people intent on harm. We realize that if the gun was unavailable, than a different weapon (say a knife, bat, broken bottle or fist) would have been used instead.

Lastly I will simply point out that areas that have liberal gun laws (and isn't that a strange phrase politically? as opposed to Liberal Gun laws) , especially those with concealed carry permits, have less gun violence than areas with strict gun laws. This is a documented proven fact. For instance, the old West (as opposed to the misnamed Wild West) was not all that violent a place. We have been conditioned by the media (of the time as well as modern times) to believe that there were shoot outs and gun battles all the time. This isn't true. The truth is the violence was confined to a fairly small, self-selected group. People were more polite and considerate then, perhaps largely because rudeness could result in a duel or gun fight.

Millionaire Entertainers

For most of modern history, parents would do anything to prevent their child from becoming an entertainer. It was a very low status and low paid job. Then thanks to technology came mass media, and for the last sixty years, entertainers have become millionaires, and obtained high status.

Now technology is threatening to return entertainers to their previous status. Digital copying and digital downloads circumvent the system. Cable, satellite and the internet provide cheap access to content producers and huge choice for content consumers. Big business knows this too, which is why they are so adamant about internet violations and copyright laws. But there is no law, and no reason that entertainers have to be millionaires. I will shed no tears if actors started getting tens of thousands of dollars intead of millions for their movies, and the same for singers and their albums.

Visas? We doan Need No Stinkin' Visas!! Pt 8

President Fox of Mexico has been blasting the House plan ( I misspoke earlier, the Senate has not passed it yet) to build 700 miles of fence along the border this week. As far as I am concerned, that is the best argument in favor of the fence. Unfortunately neither of my Senators are likely to vote in favor of it. But if you are reading this and live in a State with Senators who care about illegal immigration, write them and call them to tell them to support this measure. And while you are at it, tell them you are opposed to any guest worker program also.

New Program for Kids

Has anyone checked the tempature in Hell lately? It must be getting chilly down there, because the city of Washington D.C. has just done something that I endorse 100%.

They have just started a program that pays poor Grandparents raising their grandkids the same amount of government aid that a foster parent would receive for raising the child. This keeps the child out of the clutches of the government, and with their family where they belong.

Fantastic Four

OK I just saw the Fantastic Four. Pretty good movie. The acting and special effects were worlds better than the aborted 1990's version. (it was never released, it was possible to get a hold of bootlegged versions though) Reed was not how I envisioned him. The actor was too short and too young. I'd kinda pictured Reed Richards as maybe Robert Reed from the Brady Bunch. (he was still worlds better than the 90's version..that guy reminded me of Dana Carvey) The rest of the FF were OK (mmm...Jessica Alba.....), but Dr. Doom just didn't work for me. I'm not sure offhand who could have done it better though. I happened to see Daredevil a week ago on TV also. Not bad, I actually think Affleck made a good DD and Garner was pretty good as Electra. (haven't seen her movie yet though) All in all, I think Marvel's heroes have transeferred over to the big screen better than DC's. ( I absolutely hated the Superman movies) I'm still waithing for my Preacher movie........

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

I just saw the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I know the movie got crappy reviews, but I liked it. I'm not a real big fan of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, but I thought they worked well together as a team. Some actors just work well together like Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, or Hepburn and Tracy. I liked the Vince Vaughn character too. I was disappointed that there was never a True Lies 2, and I'd like to see a sequel to this one.

Rush's Greatest Hits CD (no, not Limbaugh!)

I tend to buy a lot of Greatest Hits and compilation CDs to listen to in my car. Someday I'll get the energy to burn my own CDs instead. Today I bought Rush's The Spirit of Radio. I have to say, it's one of the best Greatest Hits CDs I've ever seen. It's got almost all of their big hits, and even the filler songs are among their better ones. Best $10 I've spent in a while.

LA Dodgers 2006

Let's see, a new GM, a new manager, Furcal, Lofton and Garciaparra. Well at least someone noticed how crappy things were last year. I still don't trust the ownership, but at least he's doing something. He just better not screw around with Chavez Ravine.

Visas? We Doan Need No Stinkin' Visas!! pt 7

Congress finally seems to be paying attention to our porous border, and actually voted to fund the construction of more barriers between the US and Mexico. So how does Mexico react? They try to compare it to the Berlin Wall!!! First of all they can shut the hell up. It's none of their business, and if they were maintaining the border and not openly encouraging their citizens to cross illegally, this wouldn't be necessary. Fox and the Mexican government actually seem to believe that they have a right to send their poor flooding across our borders. Secondly, the Berlin Wall was designed to keep people in, not out. For the analogy to work, Mexico would have to be building the wall. Then to compound the outrage, Mexican officials pledge to interfer in our internal politics to try and defeat the wall. I repeat my call....we need to immediately change our immigration laws and resident alien policies to mirror those of Mexico and tax the hell out of money transfers to Mexico.

Maj. Tammy Duckworth

Christmas has come early for the Democrats. I just saw retired Maj. Tammy Duckworth on This Week on ABC. I am predicting we are all going to be seeing and hearing much more from her. She was a Reserve copter pilot in Iraq and lost both of her legs. She is now planning on running for Congress as a Democrat. She is very well spoken and a critic of the Iraq War. Her message is reasonable, logical and potentially palatable to the American people. She will be more effective for the Democrats than either Murtha or Sheehan.

Davey and Goliath

Remember the old Davey and Goliath shows? As I was flipping through the channels I landed on the Hallmark channel, and they had a new Davey and Goliath. OK, not that big a deal, but they were snowboarding! Apparently the people making the new version are much more hip than the guys who made the older version.

By the way, the commercial was for a Captain and Tennille CD collection.

Time Man of the Year

Time has named the trio of Bono, and Bill and Melinda Gates as the Man of the Year. Well that's better than I expected. I expected Murtha or Zarqawi.

The trio are getting the award for their charitable efforts in Africa.

I personally believe it should have been the American fighting man, or the average Iraqi voter.

It may be another ten years.......

It's been two days, so I can finally bring myself to write about this.

I was recently nagged by friends, family and colleagues into making an appointment to see a doctor. It's been at least ten years since I last saw one. So I made an appointment to get a physical in a January. In the mean time, I developed a case of celluitis (fancy word for skin infection) and thus made an appointment to get it looked at. "Well", the Doc said, "since you are here, we'll just do the physical now."

(What???!!! I haven't had time to build myself up mentally and emotionally for this.)

So the Doc throws me one of those hospital robes that doesn't even come close to covering me and says, "strip down to your skivvies!" He leaves and gives me privacy while I strip down (which makes no sense given what's coming up). He comes back a few minutes later, takes an oral history, listens to my heart and lungs etc, and then orders, "stand up and drop your skivvies!" (What no dinner first?)

He then precedes to give me a hernia test and "examine" (read feel up) my testicles. OK, I've had that done before for sports, but how many 40 year old teachers get hernias? Now I hear the dreaded command: "Turn around, bend over and put your elbows on the bed!"

Damn. I can't believe it has come to this.

He then proceeds to insert his finger in my rectum while telling me to relax. RELAX? What the hell was he talking about? Thankfully it was over quickly and he informed me that my prostrate was in great shape. (yeah, but how about my dignity Doc?)

All in all, it was the most action I've had in years, but he hasn't called me since.

I feel so used.

Earthquake!!!!!!

We just had a noticable earthquake. It didn't feel like much here.

Mayor of New Orleans pt 5

I have just read that the governor of Louisiana has postponed the election of a new Mayor in New Orleans indefinitely. The excuse is that there are no polling machines left. This is bullshit. They could borrow voting machines from other places. The real reason is that most of the sheep like Democratic voters are gone. The poor, welfare dependent blacks that the Democrats depend on are dispersed around the country, and the racial demographics have changed so that New Orleans is now majority white. Which means Nagin would be out on his ass, and Blanco is preserving his job until he can move a bunch of guareenteed Democratic votes back into the city. This is outrageous, and if I lived in New Orleans I would definitely be fileing a lawsuit.

Time to Halt the Gravy Train pt 3

A Judge has just ruled that the Katrina evacuees get to stay in hotels paid by FEMA until Feb. 7! That's over FIVE MONTHS! The number of rooms is down to only 41,ooo. OH boy, I guess that's progress. Let me give you a hint, these free loaders aren't going to get out until we make them, and then they are going to scream racism as we do it. And I want to know now just how long they are going to get rental assistance once they finally do find a place to live. If my house burns down tomorrow FEMA isdn't going to put me up in a hotel for five months and then pay my rent.

Tookie Williams Pt 3

As I type this, Tookie is currently being executed. I take no joy in that fact. But I do feel satisfaction. This is just. My only regret is that it took 20 years.

My Mom was on a jury that sentenced somebody to death on Friday. She is 59 years old. I find it perverse that the scum so sentenced has a significant chance of outliving her. Justice delayed is justice denied.

The Producers

I just saw a clip of the re-make of The Producers on Inside the Actor's Studio. While I really like Matthew Brodrick and Nathan Lane, they are nowhere as near as good as Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel were in the original. I just saw "the blanky" scene, and it just seemed awkward to me. I will go and see the movie because I missed the play, and the original movie is one of my favorites.

Tookie Williams Pt 2

It's almost 7:00 P.M. on Sunday Dec. 12 and the governor still has not made an announcement about Tookie Williams. I am becoming increasingly concerned that the Governor is going to grant a last minute clemency. If he does, he abandons his Republican base, and might as well run as a Democrat, as he seems to want to do.

Edit: 6:00 PM 12/12/05 The Governor did the right thing and denied clemency at noon today.

Heisman Trophy

Reggie Bush wins the Heisman in a landslide! That's two in a row, three in four years and seven total.

Now if we can just convince Reggie or LenDale to stay another year.........

Richard Pryor Dead

Richard Pryor died today at the age of 65. He was a hell of a comic. He was a very blue comic, but spoke truth. He built on the legacy of Redd Foxx and Bill Cosby and lead the way for Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock. I just found out that he helped to write my favorite movie Blazing Saddles, and was originally suppossed to play Sheriff Bart, but Mel Brooks couldn't get the movie made with him in it. He had a tough life, was controversial, and made many personal mistakes. May he rest in peace.

Tookie Williams

Tookie Williams is a sociopath who should have been executed twenty years ago. You don't kill sociopaths for punishment (although I believe in the death penalty as punishment), or as deterrence (although if the death penalty was carried out more often it would serve as a deterrence), but as a public safety measure. You kill sociopaths for the same reason you kill mad dogs, because they are a threat to the public welfare. If williams were granted clemency, he would go into the general prison population where he would be able to kill again. We should execute Williams for the same reason we want to kill Osama Bin Laden, because he is dangerous.

The Continuing Case Against CNN

It was just asserted as fact on CNN that the administration outed Valerie Plame to punish and intimidate her husband Joe Wilson. This is such bull crap. 1) It has not been established that the administration leaked Plame's identity, either purposefully or accidentally. 2) There is significant evidence that Wilson in fact leaked her identity. 3) Her husband is a proven liar and vocal opponent of the administation as is (sadly) much of the CIA.

Neither Wilson nor Plame or heroes by any stretch of the imagination, but the MSM and the left insists on gloriying them.

Keep it up CNN, soon Ted Turner, Hanoi Jane and Babs Streisand will be the only ones watching you.

Dead Pool 2006

Well I've made my Deadpool picks for 2006. I sucked hard in 2005. I only scored the Pope and Eddie Albert. I'll post my 2006 picks inJjanuary when you guys can't copy them.

Mayor of New Orleans pt 4

I'm flipping through channels, and I see Mayor Nagin on channel 7 talking to George Stephanopolis. And it's the same old story....hand out demanding money, blaming everyone else but himself for what happened. Why is this man still taken seriously? Why is anyone still listening to him? He's taking a couple of cheap shots at Republicans. He's blaming the President and Congress, but nothing about his failures and the failures of Gov. Blanco. If this man had a shred of decency or honor, he would have rersigned and slunk off into obscurity long ago.

Terri Garr

I just saw on TV this morning that Terri Garr has Multiple Sclerosis. I don't know if this is common knowledge or not, but it is the first I have heard about it. It saddens me, because I have always loved Terri for her attitude and personality. She was always bright and full of energy. She seems to be dealing with this well however. MS has not only crippled her, it has robbed us of a great one.

College Football pt 2

1) Texas is extremely over rated. Their competition has been very weak this year. Also, Texas keeps their starters in all game, USC pulls it's starters miud way through the third quarter half the time. I think USC is going to steam roller Texas in the Rose Bowl.

2) When Reggie Bush wins the Heisman, it will mean that USC's 2002 team had three Heisman winners on it's roster....Palmer, Leinart and Bush. I'm pretty sure that is the first time that has happened. Edit: I am wrong. Reggie was still in high school when Palmer won it. But if White does the smart thing and comes back next year......

3) USC had a 3,000 yd passer, 2 1,000 yd rushers, a 1,0000 yd receiver and a 900 yd receiver with a good chance to become a 1,000 yd receiver. Again I believe this is unprecedented.

Commercial Actor

That kid in the Capital One commercials with David Spade must have a hell of an agent. He also appears in the NFL attire commercials and in an Enterprise Rental Car commercial. I can't remember another commercial actor featuring so prominently in three different ad campaigns at the same time.

Refilling Oil Fields pt 2

The issue is coming up again. First I read a post at a blog called Never Yet Melted. This had some links to articles I didn't mention in my earlier post. I wonder how long it will be until the main stream media investigates?

Visas? We Doan Need No Stinkin' Visas! pt 6

Well the pandering party has come up with a new one. First they told us they were not illegal aliens, they were undocumented workers. (of course the reason they were undocumented is because they are here illegally, and many of them are not workers but are instead dependents) Now we learn that ignoring their crime and giving them citizenship is not amnesty, but is instead an "earned transition". (earned how? By breaking our laws and coming here illegally?) (hat tip: The Corner) The article goes on to say that there is little support for mass deportations of the 11 million illegal aliens. First, I'm willing to be there are significantly more than 11 million people here illegally. Secondly, I am perfectly willing to see mass deportations, and I know I am not alone. People also need to understand, this is not a white v Mexican thing either. Increasingly blacks and legal Hispanics are becoming just as much, if not more, frustrated with the situation. If something is not done soon, it could get really ugly.

Possible Iraqi Pullout

The mainstream media and the Democrat party are collaborating in an attempt to reproduce our treachery at the end of the Vietnam War. But what both of them are forgetting is that this war is not the same type of war. As far as the terrorist forces are concerned, this is literally a war to the death. They see mercy and restraint as weakness. They will definitely see a withdrawal as a cut and run. And it will only encourage them. They won't be content with torturing and slaughtering their own citizens like the Communists in Indochina were. They will follow us home and slaughter us here. Let me, and hopefully the Republican party, make this clear: It will be totally the fault of the Democrats and the media. The Democrats have been sabotaging our national defense for political gain for sixty years. This will be the worst and most dangerous example of it yet. And we haven't even talked about the disastrous effect it will have on our military yet. It took our military a generation to recover from the effect our retreat from Vietnam had on it, this will be even worse.

This issue is too important to be polite, or to worry about politics. The Republicans have to be willing to talk in blunt terms about a withdrawal and what it will mean. They have to be willing to label the Democrats as the cads they are. The American people will support them, polls be damned. The American people know what is at stake here, and if the Republicans roll over and betray the Iraqi and American people they will not only be worthy of contempt, they will let the Democrats and the media off the hook.

Moonbat Thanksgiving

I just heard on CNN Headline News that the protesters outside Mr. Bush's ranch at Crawford Texas at a "typical Iraqi meal" for Thanksgiving. They did this to represent the deaths of Iraqi people at the hands of our country. Typical. While President Bush and millions of Americans were thanking and remembering the sacrifices of our servicemen, the moonbats were providing propaganda for our enemies and undermining support for our president, servicemen and country.

They should have been thanking God that they lived in President Bush's America instead of Saddam Hussien's Iraq. I believe in a loyal opposition. The moonbats have once again left the realm of loyal opposition and descended into the gutter of irresponsibly aiding and abetting our enemies.

Pajamas Media/OSM/Pajamas Media

There is a new conglomeration of blogs that has had considerable trouble so far coming up with a moniker. Apparently at this point they have settled on Pajamas Media, but given the events of the past week, that could easily change. Their website is here. Of interest is the fact that their URL still refers to Open Source Media, a previous moniker they were forced to change because it already belonged to someone else.

The past several days has seen many bloggers critique this new organization and its missteps. Some of these are bloggers I really enjoy reading. The Pajamas Media (PJ media?) folk have responded very defensively in my opinion. In fact, their reaction has seemed very high-schoolish to me. The Pajamas Media folk are some of the more prominent bloggers. If there was one common characteristic among them, it would be a rather rabid opposition to all things Islamic or Arab, and a sweeping endorsement of all things Israeli. I have read most of them in the past, and I expected better from them. In fact at several points they have been forced to admit that their critics (whom they have attacked) were right and that they did make significant mistakes.

I can see no real need for what Pajamas Media does. Apparently it is an effort to make blogging more profitable. Good luck, but frankly, in my opinion blogging shouldn't be about profit. You will notice I have no ads on my blog, but then again, I blog on a free site. If someone wants to take ads to pay for their costs, I don't really have a problem with that. But blogging should not be a profession. If you want to write as a profession, become a journalist. The news links they do are done better by Drudge and I think the site The Huffington Post has shown how ineffective conglomerations of bloggers are.

Well the next several weeks will show whether this idea will work, and will probably be full of infighting among bloggers on either side of the proposition. It'll be interesting to see if, and how, the mainstream media cover this contretemps.

Time to Halt the Gravy Train Pt2

I just found out how many hotel rooms FEMA is still paying for, three months after the hurricane. 52,000. That's right, you and I are paying for 52,000 hotel rooms because the people in them have refused to find a place to live after three months! Now they are pissed because we are telling them to find a place to live........even though we are still going to pay for it!

Yeah tell me again how forty years of welfare have helped......

Poseidon Adventure

The re-make for TV version of the Poseidon Adventure just started. Now instead of being a result of a huge wave, the disaster is apparently the result of a terrorist attack. Well it's starting off down hill...........

Terrible Terrel pt 2

There is talk about Terrel winning his arbitration case and returning to the NFL this year. I hope this doesn't happen. If it does, hopefully Philly will simply pay him and keep him on the inactive list. He is hoping that the Eagles will release him and allow him to go somewhere else. I would like to think that all the other teams are principled enough not to pick him up, but sadly that isn't true. This jerk has no concept of team, and is a cancer. The owners of the league should draw a line and show the players there is a limit to the misbehavior they are willing to tolerate.

Update (10:30 AM 11/23/05)

The arbitrator has ruled. Terrel lost every part of the case. He said not only can the Eagles suspend him for four games, but they can also put him on the inactive list and force him to sit at home the rest of the season. Sanity has prevailed!

College Football

Yet another amazing game from USC. What most people fail to realize is just how hurt their defense is. They are almost to the point of pulling fans out of the stands to suit up at DB. For most of the game last light they had two true freshmen playing inside linebacker. They started the year young and inexperienced on defense and a string of injuries has only made it worse. The fact that they are still undefeated is even more impressive. The time off between the UCLA game and the Rose Bowl will hopefully allow them to get healthy.

Until last night, I was firmly in the Leinart camp for Heisman. Not anymore. Reggie Bush truly deserves the trophy.

I wish Texas would lose one of their two last games, but I don't think it is going to happen. But after last night Penn State would probably go if Texas loses, and I think Penn State deserves their shot. Texas does not play a tough schedule, and they play in a comparably weak conference. Plus it would restore the Pac 10 v Big 10 match up to the Rose Bowl if Penn State went.

Time to Halt the Gravy Train

Hurricaine Katrina hit New Orleans On August 29, 2005. Due to a corrupt and incompetent local and state government, and to an irresponsible population, the tragedy was compounded.

This week FEMA announced that it would no longer pay for hotel rooms beginning on December 1, 2005. That's right, three months later, we are still paying for hotel rooms for those displaced. I wonder how many of these people in hotel rooms are from New Orleans, and how many are from Mississipi which was hit as bad or worse?

Predictibly, those still in hotel rooms three months later (Why not? They aren't paying and I bet they love the room service.) are now crying foul, and attacking FEMA. Now, let us be clear, FEMA isn't saying they are going to cut these people off. FEMA is still willing to pay for their housing. They just want them to move into trailers or houses. But that is too much trouble for these people to go through. Three months later and they can't be bothered to find somewhere to live! Even when the government is still going to pay their rent!

Now FEMA is showing signs of backing down from their deadline. Nobody has the moral courage to throw these bums out. Strike that, we aren't even throwing them out, just asking them to move!

Let's talk cold hard facts here. Most of these people have been living off government handouts for most, if not all, of their lives. Many of them are living better than they were before Katrina. They have no experience of providing for themselves. They are going to suck on Uncle Sam's teat for as long as we let them, and then go kicking and screaming when and if we finally do kick them out. Its time to start kicking them out, and/or forcing them to work.

That incompetent blow hard Mayor Nagin is flying to Washington D.C. every week (I wonder just who is paying for that?) begging for $250 billion dollars to rebuild his city. If that is what it is going to cost, let's send in the bull dozers and let it return to swamp. New Orleans isn't worth $250 billion of my tax dollars.

There is a so far unconfirmed story that the N.O. police force had 700 phantom officers. Supposedly the FBI is investigating. If this is true, it explains why the police commisioner retired so suddenly. It also would explain much of the incompetence of the N.O. police in dealing with Katrina. If this is true, people need to go to jail.

Dump the U.N.

I used to be a big fan of the United Nations. I participated in the Model United Nations both in high school and college. In fact in high school I participated in International MUNs in London and The Hague. I believed it played a vital role in managing the world's problems.

I did have some problems with the UN, like the fact that the US was paying far more dues than any other nation, and that the USSR had two votes in the General Assembly. But I thought in the balance that it did more good than evil. I no longer believe this.

The UN has become a cesspool of corruption. Third world diplomats enter the UN penniless and leave as millionaires and billionaires. Billions of dollars are wasted and stolen every year. Atrocities such as Sudan are ignored. The only useful services that the UN currently provide can be done more efficently by other NGOs.

Kofi Annan has finally destroyed the UN.

How Far They Have Sunk

You want to know just how bad things have gotten for the Dodgers since the O'Malleys sold the team? Today they hired a new general manager from the Giants. FROM THR GIANTS!!!!!!

Look this Ned Colletti might be a great guy, and a great GM. But he was working for the Giants!

One of the great imponderables of my early life was how Dusty Baker could have gone to work for the Giants. I put it down to a from of mental illness. But this.........

If he hires a Giant as the new manager.........well you thought the O.J. riots were bad.........

The best thing he could do is steal Mike Scioscia from the Angels, but since he just signed a new two year deal that isn't going to happen.

The frickin Giants..........

Lessons from Vietnam for Iraq

I just saw an interview panel on TV talking about Iraq. One of them said that perhaps we should pull out of Iraq, and used our betrayal of South Vietnam as an example of how it would work successfully. He said that our pullout did not result in a domino effect, (which is both wrong and right.....the dominoes of South Vietnam and Cambodia did fall) and thus it was a success. No one on the panel had the courage, knowledge or perspective to bring up the effect our withdrawal had on millions of Vietnamese, Laotians and Cambodians. The millions in Pol Pot's killing fields, the millions who died on rickety boats in the South China Sea, and the hundreds of thousands who died in the re-education camps should all weigh on our national conscience.

Does anybody believe that if we pullout of Iraq now it won't descend into civil war, dictatorship and opression? That millions of Iraq won't be killed and oppressed? We cannot abandon people seeking freedom.

Veteran's Day

Today is Veteran's Day. Thank you to all who have served, including my Dad.

Originally this was Armistice Day. The ceasefire to end World War I went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. That war was originally called the war to end all wars because of the carnage involved. Then thirty years later an even greater war began. One of the great wonders of the last fifty years of the twentieth century is that a third world war did not emerge from the wreckage of World War II. One of the biggest reasons for that was the courage and sacrifice of our men and women who served in our armed forces over that period.

Nov. 8 election pt 2

I've been pretty disgusted with the way that the unions have been behaving in this election cycle. Instead of debating the propositions on their merits, they have spent millions attacking the governor and turning this into a referendum on him. It only reinforces my support of Prop. 75, paycheck protection. I would certainly never have agreed to have my money spent this way, even though I side with the union on two of the other propositions. Add on to that the manner in which the union borrowed money and imposed an extra $60 a year for three years in dues without allowing the membership to vote on it.

Commander in Chief

There was another gratitous attack on Pres. Bush in tonight's show. We see Geena reading a book to some children when she is told of a crisis. She immediately asks the kids who would like to finish reading the book, and then jumps up to deal with the crisis. Fairly subtle, but a clear attack.

Here Comes Da Judge Pt. 7

So it's Alito. I don't know much aboput him yet, but Sen. Kennedy and the leftwingers seem to hate him, so he can't be too bad. His nickname is Scalito (little Scalia) which also bodes well. Looks like we might get the fight we've all been waiting for.

Life Sucks

I just started a four week vacation, after working on Saturday yesterday. So of course I wake up with a cold.

Here Comes Da Judge Pt 6

Harriet Miers has just withdrawn her nomination to the Supreme Court! Finally.

But now wait for the Democratic Underground moonbats to start saying this was the plan all along to distract attention from the CIA leak special prosecutor.

Now we await a qualified nominee. Probably another woman.

The BCS Sucks!

Coaches Poll
USC #1
Texas #2

Harris Poll
USC #1
Texas#2

Computer Ranking
Texas #1
USC#2

BCS Ranking
Texas #1
USC #2

So USC is ahead in two out of three rankings, including the two based on humans, yet they are still ranked second in the BCS. That is just plain wrong, and is further evidence that the BCS is still junk, despite trying to fix it the last five years. Football is about more than numbers, and the BCS should be scrapped after this season. USC clearly should have been in the championship game two years ago, but the BCS screwed them. The human system, the AP championship recognized this and gave USC their championship, thus splitting the championship with LSU in 2003. (which is exactly one of the things the BCS was supposed to prevent) If numbers were all that mattered, we wouldn't need to play the games. The only saving grace at this point is that the #3 team is so far behind that unless Texas or USC loses they should both play in the championship game anyway.

West Wing Pt 2

Well that went about the way I expected. Toby (Schiff) came forward when it was apparent the investigation was screwing everybody. By the way Garafalo's presence isn't as jarring/offensive as I feared it would be.

M*A*S*H*

Damn it! Another youthful pleasure ruined. I just can't watch the M*A*S*H TV show anymore. Knowing the politics of the stars and the writers has ruined it for me. That used to be my favorite TV show. Well I still have the movie (despite Donald Sutherland) and the books. The books are quite different from the TV show, and much more in the spirit of the movie. I would love it if someone made more movies based on the books. They would be something similar to the British "Carry On" movies. (another guilty pleasure)

Dominated!

The Illinois - Penn State is turning out to be a "classic". Illinois score first, a field goal. Penn State then score 56 straight points. IN THE FIRST HALF! Penn State fans must be killing themselves over the fact they lost last week. Let's see how badly Papa Joe runs up the score.

UPDATE: Joe did the classy thing and called off the dogs. The only two scores in the second half were a 77 yard Penn State interception return in the 3rd quarter, and a 2 yd Illinois pass play for a TD late in garbage time. 63-10 was the final score. Penn State should get to a BCS game, they deserve it.

Fight On! Pt 3

Well USC won again. Although if we lose any more Defensive Backs, Pete may ask me to suit up and play. UCLA is winning also. The USC-UCLA game is looking more and more important, and will probably decide the PAC-10 champ.

Nov. 8, 2005 Election

Well here's my voting guide:

San Bernardino City Mayor- I know Chas very well, in fact I've worked with him a couple of times , once he was my boss, once I was his. Eventually He might make a great mayor, but not yet. My vote goes to Jim Penman.

Prop 73- Parental notification for a minor's abortion -yes. If a minor can't get a tattoo without permission, then why the hell should they be able to get an abortion?

Prop 74 - Teacher probationary period extended to five years-no. But not because it extends the time needed for tenure. It also removes protections from teachers who already have tenure.

Prop 75 - Paycheck Protection-yes. There is nothing wrong with forcing the unions to get permission to give our money to politicians.

Prop 76- State Spending and School Funding-no. It gives too much power to the governor.

Prop 77- Redistricting-yes. The gerrymandering in Calif. is out of control. Out of 153 elections last year, the incumbent party won 153.

Prop 78 & Prop 79- no on both. The price of drugs is none of the State's business.

Prop 80-no. I will never support the State restricting the rights of customers.

Measure S- No. Libraries are good things, but San Bernardino already collects enough taxes. They just need to spend them better.

I Like It....

You know, I really enjoy the MNF highlights set to Tim McGraw every week. I'm glad they kept them around.

What a week for football, college and pro. Lots of overtime, tight games, last minute scores, and outstanding performances.

Fight On! pt 2

Wow. What an ending. It's what the game, and the rivalry, deserved. Another instant classic. Hopefully Notre Dame won't be dropped out of the top ten for this. They deserve to keep a high ranking. California and UCLA look like huge games, both should be in the top 15 at least when the game is played. If SC wins the national championship again this year, they will truly have earned it.


Edit: Oops. California lost to Oregon State today, and UCLA is losing 28-7 to Washington State. Oh well.

Edit 2: UCLA did come back to win in OT.

Fight On!

Back when the season first began, the USC-Notre Dame football game looked like a foregone conclusion. SC was a two time national champ with a Heisman trophy quarterback and two Heisman candidate running backs against a program fallen on hard times. But Weis has turned the Irish around, and SC has looked vulnerable the past couple of games. This is a throwback to the glory days of the SC-Irish rivalry, with both teams in the top ten, one having national championship hopes. Should be a great game. How about SC, 54-48?

Que?

Just when did October become Hispanic Heritage Month? Next question is: Why?

Here Comes da Judge Pt 5

Here is a great post. Writers all over the blogsphere are gnashing their teeth because we didn't write this first. There is an increasing groundswell against Miers, and the GOP elite would be wise to heed it.

Learn From My Mistake

If you are ever planning on spending a weekend being violently sick, don't begin the weekend with a large, extra sauce, pineapple, onion, pepperoni and sausage pizza. Trust me.

Commander-in-Chief Pt 2

Well, I just saw the second episode of Commander-in-Chief. It was marginally better than the first episode, in that we saw the first openly Democratic characters, and they were almost as offensive as the Republican characters. We also saw an almost likeable Republican character. (by the way, if I was 20 years younger, I would say that the older daughter was hot...)

Here Comes da Judge Pt 4

Harriet Miers? Harriet F'ing Miers? It's now official. The only good thing I can say about President Bush's second term is that a Kerry presidency would have been a complete clusterf**k.

Here Comes da Judge PT 3

Well, chief Justice Roberts was confirmed, 78-22. Those are not quite Ginsburg numbers, but Republicans have always been more accomodating than Democrats have been. Another interesting thing is that Justice Ginsburg has publically stated that Chief Justice Roberts did the right thing by refusing to answer all of the Judiciary committee's questions during his hearing. I really wish the White House had announced their candidate to fill Justice O'Connor's seat on Friday so it would soak up airtime this weekend, but it will probably come early next week. Here's hoping it's either Judge Luttig or Judge Rogers Brown.

Visas? We Doan Need No Stinkin' Visas! pt 5

Why is the Bush administration protecting illegal aliens who are convicted felons? This is getting more than absurd! Check out this article! There is a law that says that illegal aliens who are released from prison for serious crimes must be deported. (and why aren't all identified illegal aliens automatically deported?) A newspaper discovered that in Georgia this wasn't happening. So they asked the government for the names of these illegal alien felons to do some research on how bad the problem is. The first outrage is that the Bush administration refused to release the names. The second outrage is that a federal judge ( a Republican appointee at that) has refused to force the administration to do so, claiming that the illegal alien felons' right to privacy would be violated! 1) Most U.S. citizen felons have no right to privacy about their criminal record! This information is released all the time, on sexual offender lists, for back ground checks etc. 2) By definition, illegal aliens are not U.S. citizens and have no claim to Constitutional rights! If illegal aliens have the same rights as citizens, then what exactly does it mean to be a citizen? The government and our leaders better wake up and deal with the growing problem of illegal immigration soon, or you are going to see a huge backlash, both against the government and the illegal aliens. The longer the government waits, and the worse the problem gets, the uglier the back lash is going to get. I'm talking vigilante gangs rounding up and beating/deporting illegals ugly.

Commander-in-Chief

I've just finished watching the first 35 minutes of the new show. So far I've heard one obvious shot at Pres. Bush and a couple of veiled ones. Also, so far every republican character has either been mean, hostile and unfeeling. I;ve yet to see an obvious Democratic character. All in all, it appears to be a hack job, and anti-Republican , just like the West wing, but with none of the West wing's saving graces.

Somebody Needs to Lose Their Job!

OK...who was the mastermind who decided to move The West Wing to Sundays and schedule it against Sunday Night Football? Damn it! I better not find out.

Terrible Terrel

I just saw an interview of Terrel Owens by Michael Irvin. Now let me say right off the bat that I have always disliked Owens. I've always considered him a prima donna who plays for himself and not the team. He's a hotdog. He's a cry baby. This interview just confirmed things for me. You know why Terrel is so pissed at the Eagles? Because last year in their playoff run, they insisted that they could win without Owens, and had won without Owens the three years previous. This hurt poor little Terrel's feelings.... See what I a mean about crybaby? He was a prima donna receiver, on the team for the first year and the team was focused on trying to win a Superbowl. They had to tell themselves and everyone else that they could win without Terrel, and they had to believe it also. But Terrel is so self absorbed that he can't realize this, it has to be all about him. He symbolizes all that has gone wrong with the NFL.

Proposition 74

We have a special election coming up here in California in November. One of the more contentious issues is Proposition 74. This would extend the probabtionary period of new teachers, and make it easier to fire experienced teachers. It is yet another case of the wrong solution to a real problem. I am the first to admit that there are bad teachers out there. Hell, my school got rid of two teachers just last year. But that is just it, we were able to get rid of them without Prop 74. The real secret about firing bad teachers is that it takes effort, and many administrators aren't interested in doing the work required. There also comes the problem that if you fire a bad teacher you have to replace them. At my school last year, we had a teaching vacancy all year that was filled with long term subs. This year we currently have another teaching position still unfilled. If we could attract more, and better, teacher applicants it would be easier to get rid of the bad teachers. Another part of the problem is apathy from the parents. To the best of my knowledge the school received only one complaint all year about the position that was filled by long term subs. That is simply unbelievable. You can bet if I had a kid in a class with a long term sub for that long, I would be down in the office every week until they filled it or moved my kid. The real problem with public education in California today, that no one is willing to voice, is the numbers of illegal immigrant children in our schools. You want to improve education in California? Then solve the immigration problem.

Double standard

I just say an ad for Axe bodyspray. It has been on a while, but something just struck me about it tonight. In the commercial, a young man (seemingly high school?) comes to pick up his date. He has used the Axe body spray beforehand. His date isn't ready, so her Mom invites him in. As he enters, she evidently gets a sniff of his body spray. The Mom then comes onto him aggressively. So what's so wrong with that, right? Well imagine the gender roles were reversed, and it was a father, and a young girl come to pick up his son. How likely do you think it is that commecial would run more than once?

The City of New Orleans

The more you read about New Orleans, the worse it sounds. What a cesspool. Maybe we shouldn't rebuild it.

Mayor of New Orleans pt3

I'm beginning to think this guy might actually be insane. Here is his latest brainchild:

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 4 - A day after two police suicides and the abrupt resignations or desertions of up to 200 police officers, defiant city officials on Sunday began offering five-day vacations - and even trips to Las Vegas - to the police, firefighters and city emergency workers and their families. ...
Mr. Nagin, who has been demanding more federal assistance for days as his city struggled with despair, death and flooding, said he had asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to pay for the trips but the agency said it could not. He said the city, therefore, would pay the costs.

Not only is he sending the very people who failed him and his city on a vacation, he is spending money that is going to be desperately needed to clean and rebuild his city to do it! And he actually had the gall to ask the federal government to pay for it!

Visas? We Doan Need No Stinkin' Visas! pt 4

Check out this quote from President Fox of Mexico:

He said his country shared the pain of the hurricane. An estimated 140,000 Mexicans were affected, he said, and 70,000 are unaccounted for. But now, he said, the contributions of Mexican workers could be more important than ever.
"The reconstruction of that city and of that region is going to require a lot of labor," Mr. Fox said of New Orleans, Mississippi and Alabama. "And if there is anything Mexicans are good at, it is construction."

That son of a bitch is actually using the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina to argue that we should allow more Mexicans to come to the US! The article the quote appears in is full of his crap. Apparently, he is angry that the US has not changed its immigration policies to allow more of his citizens to come here. He is also angry that US officials actually expect him to control his side of the US-Mexican border. Damn it, I'm getting closer and closer to being in favor of mass deportations and stationing the army on the border. If not, let's just face reality, invade Mexico and make it part of the US so we can fix the place, because they are never going to do it on their own.

Here comes da judge...pt2

FoxNews has just announced that Pres. Bush is going to elevate the nomination of Judge Roberts to a nomination as Chief Justice. The good side of this is that it means that there will be a Chief Justice in place when the court convenes in October. It also means that apparently Justice O'Connor's backdoor in her resigniation may take effect, and she may remain on the Court until a different replacement is confirmed. I don't think that that is a good idea. Watch the left now insist that her spot be filled with a female "moderate" (read liberal) to preserve the Court's "balance". I would have preferred that Judge Roberts' nomination go forth, Justice Thomas elevated to Chief Justice, and a conservative named to replace Justice Thomas. President Bush's decision is going to make things harder for him, not easier.

Mayor of New Orleans II

I'm sitting here watching Mayor Nagin on 60 Minutes blame everyone but himself for the misery in New Orleans. He actually literally said that the law should have been ignored regarding the use of federal forces in a state. Let me say that again: He is pissed because the president did not violate the law and Louisiana soveriegnty. It was a total softball piece. No one asked him about the buses he didn't use to evacuate his citizens. No one asked him about not having adequate supplies in the Superdome or his failure to maintain order there. No one asked him about his failure to follow the New Orleans disaster plan. No one asked him about the fact that he spent the first two days of the disaster in Baton Rouge rather than his own city. No one asked him about the failure of his police department to maintain order, or about his police officers seen looting stores. No one asked him about his police officers resigning, or simply failing to show up for duty. The same problems that have caused so much misery this week happened almost exactly one year ago during Hurricane Ivan. Nothing was done to correct them, no lessons were learned. Mayor Nagin, the bulk of the guilt lies with you. Update: Mayor Nagin's latest remarks: "If the CIA slips me something and next week you don't see me, you'll all know what happened."

Have you no Decency pt 2

On the Chris Matthews show just now, they actually tried to blame President Bush for pork barrel politics! They also brought up the highway bill, and the fact that the Corps of Engineers asked for $100 million and only got $40 million for the New Orleans levees. 1) The levee that failed was in perfect working condition, and had recently been refurbished. 2) The levees had only been designed to protect against a category 3 storm. Katrina was a 4. 3) Even if they had gotten the whole $100 million, they couldn't have spent a dime of it yet.They are also bringing up the whole race thing again, saying that this wouldn't have happened in a White area. 1) It did happen in the White areas, its just that the news channels aren't showing us those pictures. 2) Those people could have been saved if their city government (made up almost exclusively of Black people) had sent those buses into the neighborhoods and forced the people out. Norah O'Donnell just brought up the fact that 50% of the children in New Orleans are in poverty. What she didn't say, and I bet is true, is that the vast majority of those children are in single parent families. Basically this whole program was an attack on the president and the right.

Have you no Decency?

Chief Justice Rehnquist has not yet been buried, and the corpses of the people of New Orleans even recovered yet, and already the leftwing loonies are exploiting Hurricane Katrina in their efforts to attack President Bush and his judicial nominees. Lanny Davis was just on Fox News saying that President Bush should recognize that in this time of crisis after the hurricane that he should nominate someone who will "pull America together". Just who does Lanny and the loonie left suggest? How about: ex-President Clinton, Prof. Tribe, Jesse Jackson, Sen. Kennedy, Ralph Neas, Eleanor Smeal or Dan Rather? How about the Democrats and the loonie left recognizing the need to "pull America together" and ending their baseless, lying, and ceaseless attacks on President Bush's judicial nominees? Sen Dodd has already said he thinks Justice O'Connor should stay on the Court, so that President Bush won't have to replace Chief Justice Rehnquist right away. He is either too stupid to realize, or too partisan to admit, that Judge Roberts has been nominated to replace Justice O'Connor, not Chief Justice Rehnquist, so if she stays, he doesn't get seated. There will have to be hearings anyway to replace Rehnquist as Chief Justice, even if we don't fill his seat on the Court immediately.

New Orleans again

I'm watching another Louisiana politician (this one some Congressman) blaming the chaos and horror of New Orleans on the Federal government and president again. Damn it, the problem was caused by the incompetence and corruption of New Orleans and Louisiana politicians. Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin had to be coerced by the president into issuing the mandatory evacuation order on Sunday. Bob Schiffer was just pontificating about how could we expect the poor of New Orleans to evacuate when they had no money and owned no cars? How about using the city and school buses? It was the local and state government that allowed those buses to be submerged rather than use them to evacuate New Orleans. It was the arcane politics of New Orleans that managed the levees inefficently. (although the one that failed was in perfect working condition and recently upgraded) It was the New Orleans PD who couldn't, or wouldn't, maintain order. It was the Governor and her staff that was slow in coordinating with the federal government. Go to this site, and read Gen. Blum's remarks about the New Orleans PD, and even though he is trying to be PC, and stay out of the blame game, the quotes are devastating. Compare the response in Mississipi, hit just as hard as Louisiana, and in Louisiana. The main difference? Competent leadership versus incompetent leadership.

Fox and Friends

I've been watching this show more lately due to insomnia. And one of the co-hosts...Julian Phillips is really getting on my nerves. (and he appears to be getting on Co-host Brian Kilmeade's nerves for the same reason) He has made several remarks defending the actions of the looters, minmizing the actions of the thugs who terrorized New Orleans, supporting the corrupt New Orleans PD and excusing the monumental stupidity of those who ignored the mandatory evacuation order. This guy has got to go, the sooner the better.

Here comes da judge...

CNN has just announced the death of Chief Justice Rhenquist. Wow, watch how ugly things get now! I really hope Pres. Bush nominates Justice Thomas as Chief Justice. Either way...the hearings for Judge Roberts this Tuesday just got much more interesting. Neas, Smeal and the rest of the leftwing loonies are seeing their biggest nightmare come true. Now all of their blathering about Roe V Wade being in danger might actually be true.

Refilling Oil Fields

It has long been established thought that oil is a fossil fuel. That is, oil comes from ancient plant and animal life that has been transformed by time, heat and pressure into oil. Well, it turns out that the only scientific evidence for this theory is the presence of fossilized microbial life in oil.

It seems that there is a competing theory about the nature of oil, and it accounts for the presence of these life forms. This theory is that oil is produced continuously deep beneath the Earth's surface, and constantly rises to resevoirs near the surface. There, colonies of microbial life develop, similar to the ones that develop around the hydrothermal vents deep in the ocean. In both cases these life forms feed of the hydrocarbons and don't require light or oxygen.

It turns out that the Soviets had been researching this new theory for decades during the Cold War, and it is now beginning to develop support in the West. If this theory is true, we will never run out of oil...it is truly a renewable resource.

Links:
http://www.csun.edu/~vcgeo005/Energy.html

http://www.rense.com/general54/ssust.htm

http://www.rense.com/general63/refil.htm

http://www.rense.com/general63/staline.htm

http://www.geotimes.org/june03/NN_gulf.html

Mayor of New Orleans

I just heard the mayor of New Orleans doing a radio interview on CNN. He was ranting and raving and using profanity. He seemed to be blaming Pres. Bush and the Louisana Governor for the chaos in New Orleans. He was saying he didn't want to see anymore press conferences until the streets of New Orleans were full of soldiers. Well I have a couple of questions for the mayor. Just where in the hell are your police? From all accounts, probably watching the newest movies on their new DVD players and wide screen TVs rescued from the flood area. The noteriously corrupt N.O. police department has completely failed to maintain order, and there are eyewitnesss accounts of them participating in the looting. Mr. Mayor, things wouldn't be so chaotic in New Orleans if you had done your job correctly.

By all accounts La. Governor Blanco has completely failed the test of this crisis also. The people of New Orleans and Louisana have been poorly served by their elected leaders.

UPDATE: Now Fox is reporting that New Orleans police officers are refusing to patrol the streets and are instead turning in their badges. I guess all the best stores have already been looted. They can't even keep order in the Superdome. There are reports of multiple rapes and murders......in the Superdome......... after they searched the people going in! They can't even control the damned Superdome!

Looters

They need to be stopped immediately. But I don't think they should be shot. I think they should be hung, and left there hanging from the lightposts as a warning. Fucking scum.

Katrina and the Waves

There is a significant chance that much of New Orleans could get wiped out in the next 24 hours. We're talking third world disaster type damage and deaths. This could get very ugly.

UPDATE: 4:40 P.M. - Looks like gasoline is going to shoot up. I expect $3.00+ for the lowest grade tomorrow morning here in SoCal. This hurricane is going to screw with all of us.

Fantasy Football

I am in 2 ESPN leagues (1 cash), 4 Yahoo leagues, a Yahoo Pro Pick'em, a Yahoo College Pick'em, a Yahoo survival league and an offline cash league.

I'm going to be going nuts on Sundays this Fall.

UPDATE: I drafted my offline team tonight. There is no bench, and you can protect your players when you drop them for their bye week. (no one else can draft them before you have a chance to get them back the next week) The points are geared exclusively around touchdowns (no points for yardage) and you get more points the longer the scoring play. It was a 7 team league, and I drafted first, snake draft. My team follows:
QB: Marc Bulger
RB: L. Tomlinson
RB: B. Westbrook
WR: Randy Moss
WR: Terrel Owens
TE: A. Becht ( I had Antonio Gates until I was informed he was suspended for the first week, I'll have a chance to get him in week 2)
K: S.Janikowski
D: Carolina (pure defence, no special teams, and points scored against special teams and the offence don't count)

If there had been room, I had a chance to get Torry Holt also...he went in the fifth round.

I plan on winning this league.

Lack of posting

Things have been crazy at work, and I've been a little under the weather. I've even stopped doing Les Nessman for a while.

Visas? We Doan Need No Stinkin' Visas! Pt 3

Well this is disgusting. It is quite clear that not only is the Mexican government encouraging its poor to come to the United States illegally, it is teaching them how, and spending money to help them. They are literally publishing a how to manual, teaching them how to enter the U.S. illegally. Now comes word that they were paying for transportation to help move potential illegals to areas where it is easier to cross the border. When is our government going to stand up for our country? The Mexican government is openly helping its citizens violate our laws. In my opinion, all U.S. funds going to Mexico must be immediately embargoed until the Mexican government decides to behave responsibly.

Nature's Fireworks

We had some pretty impressive lightning storms last night. They woke me up around 3:30 A.M. I stayed awake, worrying about the power going out and nuking my alarm clock. I finally got about another hour of sleep before I got up in the morning. Hopefully this means that the oppressive heat is about to break.

San Bernardino - Fast Food Capital of the World

Not many people know that San Bernardino is the Fast Food capital of the world, but it is. First, the original, and still the greatest, fast food chain, McDonald's was founded here, on 14th & E streets. (sadly, the original building no longer exists, but there is a modest fast food museum there now) Early customers of McDonald's included the men who founded the fast food chains of: Taco Bell, Taco Tia, Del Taco, Naugles, Baker's and Der Weinerschnitzel. The man who operates the Sizzler chain, and has more Kentucky Fried Chicken francises than anyone else was also inspired by the original McDonald's. San Bernardino really should do more to develop and market this historical feature.

My new favorite football coach

Andy Reid of the Eagles has just become my new favorite football coach. Somebody has finally stood up to that prima donna crybaby Terrel Owens.

ANWR

The issue of drilling for oil in the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve is coming up again. The opposition for it is based on the idea that it will hurt the Alaskan ecosystem and harm wildlife. If I recall correctly, these were exactly the same arguements that were made to oppose drilling for oil in other parts of Alaska and against building the Alaskan oil pipeline. So why don't we simply take an unbiased look at how the ecosystems and wildlife of those areas has been effected. I really don't know for sure, but I have the sense that the pipeline has actually helped increase the number of caribou. One thing that leads me to believe that the ecosystems have not been hurt, and if anything helped, is that the opponents of ANWR aren't bringing up any horror stories of the Alaskan wilderness being destroyed by these earlier efforts.

Slippery Slope to Hell

I am strongly opposed to gay marriage. I think it greatly damages the institution of marriage. I consider marriage to be one of the foundations of civilization. I think the rapid rise in the number of divorces (at about 50% presently) is one of the symptoms of the decline of our civilization. I have always argued that one of the reasons to oppose gay marriage is the precedent it will set for other prohibited marriages. ( I should note that I do support a system of civil union for both heterosexual and homosexual committed relationships) The supporters of gay marriage have always denied that it would set a precedent. Well, I am sad to say I have been proven right. As this article shows, there is already a case, Muth v. Frank, that is attempting to argue that incestuous marriages between consenting adults should be legal. They are using the exact same language that the arguments in the gay marriage cases use. How long do you think it's going to be before a polygamist uses the language to argue that polygamy should be legal and protected? I predict the very next time a polygamist is arrested.

We started down this slippery slope forty years ago with the two Connecticut
birth control cases that first created a "right" to privacy. Along the way we have coarsened society, killed millions of babies and begun the destruction of the institution of marriage. It's not too late to go back. I hope.

Monday Night Football

Yeah it's back! Boo...it's a typical boring preseason game.

Gender Selection

I have written several times about the problem of gender selection, but up to now I have been concerned with China and India. It is commonly believed that there are over 100 million missing women because of gender selective abortion. There are millions more men in those countries than women, because of the common practice of aborting female babies. I can't see how these millions of extra men won't lead to armed conflict in the future. The best result would be the conflict occuring between the two. Unfortunately I see them instead attacking Russia and Pakistan respectively. Or the two could collude and attack Australia. If the depopulation of Africa continues I predict both of them will claim lands in Africa.

Now, the practice is coming to America. While I don't expect the same degree of selective abortion, even one is morally repugnant. The only bright side is the prospect of watching the feminists argue in favor of a woman's right to abort their daughter simply because she is female.

Multiculturalism

Read this article, and then tell me all cultures are equal. Not only is this bastard trading his daughter for political gain, he is bribing his opponent openly to get out of the race. These cultures are still mired in the barbarism of the dark ages, they are NOT equal.

The Final Frontier Pt. 4

Discovery is scheduled to land tomorrow. Here's hoping all goes well and everyone is safe.

Update: The landing has been postponed 24 hours at 2:04 A.M. my time.

Air America

I haven't posted about the scandal at Air America on purpose. Frankly that bunch of political hacks isn't worth the attention. But the fact that the mainstream media isn't covering this is. Can you imagine the coverage if it had been a conservative taking illegal loans from a charity that serves children and the elderly, causing it to lose $10 million in government funding and nearly driving it into bankruptcy?

Tucker Carlson has a regular panelist on his show who has a slot on Air America. As far as I know he hasn't asked her yet about this scandal. Why not? This has just jumped to number 1 on the list of evidence of bias in the mainstream media.

Hiroshima

Yesterday was the 60th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. I was pleasantly surprised that no one made that big a deal out of it other than the History Channel. Which is exactly the way it should be. We shouldn't be proud of dropping the bomb, but it was nothing to be ashamed of either.

Strange New World

The new school year has just started out at work. We lost all three of our administrators last year. (2 retired, one got a new job) This means that we are having to adapt to a whole new staff. (as an aside, we got a new District Superintendent halfway through last year, and the new prinicipal is his guy) So far so good. I'm the Social Studies Dept chair, and I'm finding it a much harder job than in years past. Part of it is the fact that I am the only 7th grade Social Studies with any experience and one of the positions is filled by a sub, so I have to provide extra support. I am not too thrilled with my teaching assignment either. I have 5 classes, all Social Studies. I am not ELL trained, but I have 2 ELL classes this year. One is level 4/5's which isn't too bad. There are 30 students in that class. The other is a sheltered group of level 3's. There are only 21 students in this class, and it can only have a max of 30. These kids are much harder though. Their English skills are somewhat limited. Plus they have been tracked together for years, so they have a practised routine set up. I have a class of 30 in which ten of them are leadership students. This class should be OK and it's my last period. The other two classes are "normal" kids. One of these classes has 37 students in it. Basically they are the kids that are left over when you pull out the AVID students (who tend to be much more motivated), the special ed students, the ELL students and the Leadership kids. So basically they turn into dumping grounds for the unmotivated and the discipline problems

The Final Frontier pt. 3

Who knew about America's shameful racial past when it came to our space program? Go to this site and watch the movie. I'm glad I did. Another window on America's past has been opened for the bright light of truth to shine in.


(This one is really funny guys!)

Banditos

When this happened 90 years ago, we sent units of the U.S. Army to the border and into Mexico to deal with Pancho Villa and the bandits. The forces were lead by Gen Pershing. The expedition was not entirely successful due to limitations placed on it by Washington D.C., but it did set a precedent that we should now follow. Only this time we should simply wipe out the drug cartels and smuggling operations, most of which operate openly in Northen Mexico.

John Bolton Appointment

It has been announced that President Bush will appoint John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations in a recess appointment. Good for him. The Democrats have refused to allow an up or down vote in the Senate because they know he won't kiss the U.N's ass. It's time to get tough with the UN, and John Bolton will do that.

Visas? We doan need no stinkin visas! Pt 2

Well. This is been brewing for a long time. It is looking more and more like immigration is going to be a, if not the, key issue in 2008. It is interesting to note that the political leaders of the black community are more intersted in cutting deals with those in favor of illegal immigration than they are in representing the true views of those they are supposed to represent. Things have been getting uglier and uglier in California between Blacks and Hispanics, and it is driven by illegal immigration and the increasing militancy of those who seek to impose Atzlan on the US Southwest.

King Fahd has died

This has been a long time coming. Things could get interesting in Saudia Arabia. There are two distinct factions in the Saudi royal family. One is pro-western and the other is pro-radical Islam. Throw in a growing minority in favor of replacing the system with a constitutional monarchy and shake. This is a very important time for Saudi Arabia.

MTV's The 70's House

Oh my God! This show has instantly become my guilty pleasure. I caught it by accident surfing this morning. I miss the 70's. And the hostess Dawn? She's got a Dana Delaney thing going on.

Questionable content?

My entry for 100 Words or Les Nessman was denied because of questionable content. I will post my original entry below, and then the changes I made to make it "safer". It was still denied. Perhaps someone could tell me what is so questionable about the entry? The prompt was the word "chef".

Damn. "Bonding night". That meant no poker or baseball for me. Instead I'd have to watch something she would enjoy also. At least it meant I'd get some sex out of it. We started flipping through the channels, but couldn't agree on anything. Finally we came to the Food channel. "Let's try this," she said. The commercial ended, and Iron Chef America began. OK, I could deal with this, at least it was competitive. "Tonight on Iron Chef the secret ingredient is...... eyeballs!" She ran from the room retching. Thanks Fear Factor, for ruining TV and my love life.

I removed the word "Damn" from the front of the post, and replaced "sex" with "bedroom action" and it was still rejected.

UPDATE:
OK. It turns out "poker" is the hang up. I put "damn" back up front, took out "bedroom" and changed "poker or" to "Friday Night" and the story posted.

100 Words or Les Nessman

Oops. My entry for yesterday was late. I was so damn tired after my second day back at work that I feel asleep when I got home. Then some friends called and nagged me to go out for a night of dancing and drink. So I didn't submit my entry until this morning. I think it was one of my better ones also...I can easily see it extended into a short story or novella. Who are the clan, and why are they exiled from Earth?

My Female Robot......

Those darn Japanese. look at what they have invented now. How long do you think it's going to be until someone crosses this with a real doll? Civilization is doomed! There are going to be generations of boys who will never leave the house again.

I know I'm not the only one who thought of the credit card commercial when they were reading this article....

Alanis Morissette

I was never a big fan of Alanis. I found Jagged Little Pill to be strident and her personality turned me off also. Well I'm watching VH1 right now and I'm amazed. Either she has grown up in the past ten years, or I have changed. She has a new look that I find very attractive, and a much mellower personality apparently. She has done a new acoustic version of Jagged Little Pill that I much prefer. I'm still not likely to go out and buy it. This newer version proves that she does have a very good voice, and is one of the few singers who doesn't need all the machines to sound pleasant. Kudos, I have to give credit where credit is due.

The Final Frontier pt. 2

I just watched the live launch of shuttle Discovery. Great Launch. The new camera mounted on the fuel tank gave some great shots. Good luck and may your God be with you.

Visas? We Doan Need No Stinkin Visas!

If an American citizen legally moves to Mexico, they are not allowed to own any land. It is literally against the law. However if a Mexican illegally comes to the US, we'll give them a loan to buy a house. Any and all banks engaged in this practice must be punished economically. American citizens must pull their money out of these banks, switch their loans to a new bank, and otherwise refuse to do any business with these banks.

The Final Frontier

An official from NASA has just come on TV and announced that the shuttles will be retired in 2010. Now there is nothing wrong with that in and of itself. The shuttles were an expensive and dangerous compromise, trying to be a jack of all trades, and not expert at anything. However, there has to be a follow on of some sort, and I haven't heard of any. There have been persistent rumors of an Air Force operated space plane called the Aurora. This plane supposedly flies into space and lands like a plane. Given the fact that the SR-71 technically flew into space, and the success of a private space plane this year, I find it entirely plausible that the military has a manned vehicle capable of flying into space. If not, they must develop one. The U.S. has no traditional rockets capable of flying men into space, and I don't believe the French Arianne is capable of manned flight either. This would leave manned flight capabilities in the hands of the Russians with their Proton rockets, and the Chinese who are currently developing a rocket based manned space flight capability. For reasons of national security, national presitige and economic reasons, we cannot allow this to happen. We must explore and exploit space, it is our future. If we can operate and maintain a scientific outpost in Antartic, we can do the same on the Moon. If our government does drop the ball, then it is vital that NASA and the government get out of the way, and allow private interests to begin to travel into space and begin to develop an infrastructure.

100 Words or Les Nessman Pt. 2

So far I've managed to submit a story for each prompt. (one was an essay and not fiction, but then I've submitted two for some of them) Some of the prompts have been brutal. Some of my entries have been total crap. One or two of them have been pretty good I think. I know I'm one of a very few besides the featured authors to submit an entry each day.

Strike of the Left Wing Moonbats Pt. 2

Anita Hill has slid from beneath whatever rock she was hiding under in order to put her two cents in on Judge Roberts' nomination. Guess what, she's opposed to it. There is talk that when Chief Justice Rehnquist retires, President Bush will nominate Justice Thomas to replace him. I certainly hope so. I would love to see Prof. Hill and the Democrats try to resurrect the accusations she made when Justice Thomas was first nominated to the Supreme Court. I dare you (and the Democrats) to compare the allegations (and the Democratic reaction to them) made against Justice Thomas in 1991 to the allegations (and the Democratic reaction to them) made against President Clinton in 1994. The allegations made against President Clinton were much more credible than the ones against Justice Thomas. The allegations against President Clinton had contemporanous confirmation, came from multiple women, and were much more serious than those against Justice Thomas. Not one allegation against Justice Thomas was proven true, and President Clinton was forced to admit to not only having adulterous sex in the Oval office with an intern (much more serious legally than sexually harassment) , he had to admit to lying it about it under oath. However the feminists and leftists reacted completely differently. Plus, Paula Jones was willing to go to court to prove her allegations, and Prof. Hill attempted to anonymously smear Justice Thomas. So bring it on Anita, I'd love for you to lead the fight against President Bush's nominees.

Blog Roll

I'm too stupid to figure out how to do this the right way (on the side) but here is a list of blogs I read every day: The Corner Day by Day Michelle Malkin Hog on Ice Gut Rumbles Right Wing News Captain's Corner Roger L. Simon a small victory RedsugarMuse Kirbside Musings (my brother's blog) The Immigration Blog 100 Words or Les Nessman

Strike of the Left Wing Moonbats

Greenpeace has produced a new ad that apparently is for use in the UK. In the ad PM Tony Blair is a prostitute that is picked up by Pres. Bush, taken to a motel, and performs oral sex on the president. At the "climax" of the ad, PM Blair is covered with oil.

Way to go. This certainly raises the level of discourse.

Mr. Kirby (My current screensaver)

This is one of my toons in City of Heroes. It's my screensaver. This is supposed to represent me. (it's pretty close facially)

Different Worlds

I just had a conversation with a hard core Democrat. Now, I am by no means a hard core Republican. In fact if there was a viable alternate, I wouldn't be one. I am a classical liberal (way different from a modern liberal) I am more of a Federalist, or a Whig. I am however adamantly opposed to the modern Democratic party and what they stand for. What amazes me is how the right and the left live in totally different worlds. There is no objective truth any longer. (partly because of the left's insistence that objective truth does not exist) When you can no longer agree on the facts, rational discourse can no longer occur.

I am becoming increasingly fearful about the future of our republic.

Supreme Court nomination

Let the games begin!

Pres. Bush has nominated John Roberts.

At first glance this looks like a great pick. But I predict this one is going to get ugly, almost as ugly as the Bork and Thomas hearings.

Now if only Justices Stevens and Ginsburg would retire, we could have some real fun.

Betty Nguyen

I have been on a very weird sleep cycle lately. One of the unexpected benifits of this was my introduction to Betty Nguyen. She is by the far the best thing CNN has going for it right now. I actually watch CNN when she is the anchor. Of course, that is usually at 3:00 A.M. my time.

Kill me Now Pt 2 (The return of Ebonics?)

This is unbelievable. When will we learn? Here are some comments I left on a blog talking about this issue.

1) I am a graduate of Cal State San Bernardino (CSUSB) and I got my teaching credential from CSUSB. This type of thinking is typical of the Sociology and Education professors there. I was once forced to pay for and attend an Anti Defamation League conference on multiculturalism in order to pass an Education class there. I currently live in San Bernardino, and will certainly remember this program when the School board elections come around again.
2) I teach 7th Grade Social Studies in a neighboring school district. The curriculum for 7th grade Social studies is comparative cultures. I have had parents complain that I do not teach Black History. When I inform them that I do not teach U.S. History, but do teach about West Africa as part of my curriculum, they are unsatisfied. Because I do not tolerate misbehavior, and fail students for not doing their homework, I am constantly accused of being racist. (Despite the fact that my two closest friends, both fellow teachers, are Black men married to White women) I dread the day my district tries to force me to teach a similar curriculum as the one in San Bernardino.

Look, we all can agree that there is a problem with the success of Black students in school. But it is my experience that this is a function of low expectations (from parents primarily), chronic misbehavior and a lack of effort. All of this stems from poor or lack of parenting. My Black students who have caring involved parents do very well in school. This year I had three Black students get straight As. One of them currently has a 4.0 GPA for both 6th and 7th grade. One of the things these three students had in common were caring, concerned and involved parents.

I stand by my previous assertion: 90% of the problems in Education can be traced back to parents.

Kill me now

KY body massage and personal lubricant!!!! We are now advertising KY jelly on TV? I'm not talking about cable, this was CBS. The mere fact that KY has an advertising budget big enough to buy commercial time on broadcast TV is staggering. I am way too old.

Dominance

We have two superb athletes dominating their respective sports today, both serving as symbols of America's greatness.

We have Lance Armstrong dominating the Tour de France for the seventh time in a row. No one else in the history of bicycling has dominated this premier event so well for so long. When you reflect that it comes after his diagnosis with testicular cancer that spread to his brain and lungs, it just becomes all the more special. Lance symbolizes the grit and pluck of America, the unwillingness to give up, the comeback against seemingly insurmountable odds.

We also have Tiger Woods. The multi-racial (but predominantly black) golfer dominating a sport that has always been a rich, white man's sport. He is a symbol of the fact that in America it is what you do, not who you are that is important. He also is a symbol of the melting pot (I hate the salad bowl analogy) of America.

Best of all, the two of them are doing what they do in Europe today, Lance in France and Tiger in the United Kingdom. They are among the best advertisements we have for America.

Bastille Day

Today is Bastille Day, the day the French celebrate their revolution.

I think it is very telling that Americans celebrate their revolution on the day they declared their independence by writing a letter to their former King. The French celebrate their independence on the day they set a bunch of prisoners lose from a prison.

Border Issues

I firmly believe that illegal immigration is the biggest problem facing our country today, bigger even than terrorism because of it's long term implications and threats. I am with O'Reilly on this one, the National Guard should be stationed on the border. Our local police should be arresting and deporting illegal aliens.

Now comes word that Mexico refuses to make improvements to border security unless we make concessions on illegal immigration. OK, you want to play hardball? Let's seal the border and start the deportations.

Many people make the claim that the only way to deal with illegal immigration is to help Mexico improve their economy. Mexico is not interested in improving their economy, and won't do so. Mexico is run by an elite ruling class that controls all of the political and economic power. This elite class is made up of wealthy families that have always controlled Mexico. They are doing fine in the current economic system and have no interest in creating rivals. They don't have to worry about revolution, because they send their poor across the border to the US. Plus they get the added bonus of the billions of dollars sent back to Mexico to help prop up the economy. If we ever want to change Mexico, we have to send the poor back, and let them suffer until they get pissed off enough to get rid of their ruling elite.

Gahrie?

My name is Gary Kirby, but I have chosen the nom-de-plume of Gahrie. Some people have asked me why.

Three years ago I did a google search on my name and the first reference to me was on the first page. There were several other Gary Kirby's out there.

Earlier this year I did a second google search. I looked through 60 pages and there was not one reference to me. Bummer. When I do a google search of my nom-de-plume, all the references are to me, except for one hit in Korean. (I presume, that one might be about me also)

Now I was under the impression that the name Gary Kirby was not all that common. The only other one I knew was my father. I was wrong. There are tons of Gary Kirbys out there, including an Irish Rugby player, a university student government president, a writer and a chemical engineer. I believe I'm not even the only Gary Kirby who is a teacher.

Gahrie is my last plea for individualism.

Supreme Court

Well now there are rumors that Chief Justice Rehnquist will retire today or early next week. This will create perhaps two more confirmations. (one for his role as Chief Justice and one for his spot on the Court) I strongly support Justice Thomas as the next Chief Justice.

What is more exciting is the rumors that Justice Stevens is talking about retiring. I find this hard to believe. There is no way he wants to let Pres. Bush replace him. However, he is 85 years old.

Imagine the horror of the left if Justice Stevens does retire and Justice Ginsburg dies (she has cancer) during Pres. Bush's term.

Some of the left wing wackos like Sen. Kennedy and the NOW gang might actually stroke out!

Bad luck charm

Well my streak of being a bad luck charm continued last night. The last ten Major League baseball games I have attended has seen the team I was rooting for lose. It's getting so bad, the Dodgers are considering paying me not to attend their games.

I went to an Angels game last night. The Angels are leading their division, had their 11 game winner ace pitching, at home where they have one of the best home game records in baseball; against the bottom dwelling Mariners, with a pitcher who has an ERA of 5.44 and an awful road record.

So of course the Angels lose 10-2.

I will say this though, the money spent renovating Anaheim stadium was well spent. The ballpark was clean, the staff pleasant and helpful, and the field was beautiful. Access on and off the freeway was relatively smooth. There were screens everywhere, and lots of activities to make it fun and exciting for families. I was very impressed.

The last time I had been to an Angels game it was still a dual baseball/football stadium. The expererience compared badly to a Dodger game. After last night, I have to say the Dodgers have serious competition for best ballpark in SoCal now. I still don't think they should tear down Dodger stadium and build a new park, but they can't sit back and rest on their laurels anymore.

Bombings in London

Like all right thinking people I heartily condemn the bombings. If there is a hell, there is a place waiting for those who did this.

Unfortunately, these attacks are nothing new for London. They've been dealing with terrorist bombs from the IRA for decades. Things will be back to normal by Monday.

The terrorists miscalculated here, the UK is nothing like cowardly Spain.

Google Earth

Google has released a cool new application called Google Earth. It's a free download, and really fun. (Especially if your mouse has a wheel on it...the zoom function is unreal!) The amount of definition you can get is eerie. And if this is what is available for free, just imagine what the government can do. They probably can read your newspaper over your shoulder from orbit.

Doonesbury

Does anybody think this strip is funny anymore? My politics have always been approximately 180 degrees from Trudeau, but I used to read his strips because they were at least funny. But they aren't funny anymore. Trudeau has fallen into the same rabbit hole that Al Franken did. They have become strident, politicized and hysterical. They simply can't believe that their guys keep losing, and the frustration just fuels their hate. What I find hard to believe is that some smart liberal, or hell even moderate, Democrat hasn't gone up to Trudeau, Franken and Moore and told them to just shut the hell up, they aren't helping anybody. Does anybody believe that any of those three are attracting new converts and winning votes for the Democrats? And by the way, where is the conservative strip to balance out Doonesbury on the comics page? Day by Day by Chris Muir would be a good start.

Happy 4th of July

Happy Fourth of July!! And for all of those leftists out there who like to say that the Declaration of Independence has no meaning, and is just dicta, take note of the fact that we celebrate our Nation's birthday as the signing of the Declaration, not the ratification of the Constitution.

The Declaration stakes our claim to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. Three notes. 1) Life comes first, because without the Right to life, no other Rights matter. One day, we will wake up and realize the horror of what abortion on demand is. Science has thrown the evidence of the crime in our faces. The unborn child is a human life, and becomes a human life far earlier than most people are willing to acknowledge. 2) It says the pursuit of happiness, not happiness. There is no right to be happy. 3) Also note the change from Locke's Life, Liberty and Property. This is no mistake. The change was made on purpose, to keep from giving the institution of slavery any legitimization, or provide slave owners with any argument to support the institution. In fact Jefferson's original version of the Declaration cites the impostiion of slavery in the colonies as one of the reasons for independence.

Tour de France

The Tour started yesterday, and Lance was his normal dominating self. He has already announced that this will be his last. Here's hoping he gets his 7 in a row.

This is just sad

This is disgusting and sad, not cute. In fact, it's a form of child abuse. Somebody has poisoned their child to hate the president of the United States. It's simple brainwashing, there is no way that a 12 year old could come to those conclusions on their own. But it is not unique. I teach 7th grade Social Studies and have to endure similar reactions once or twice a year when one of my students asks me who I voted for, or if I support the president. I work in a lower socio-economic community (in fact we have a large population of illegals and children of illegals) and almost all of the students groan and complain when they hear I am a Republican. When I challenge them to come up with a rational and logical reason to dislike or disapprove of President Bush they are unable to do so. All they know is that popular culture and most (but not all) of their parents dslike him.

I would not allow my niece or nephew to talk about the president this way in front of me, even President Clinton.

July 6, 2005
After reading some more of this author's entries on the Huffington Post site, it appears this might be satirical. All I can say, is I hope so.

Finally!

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has announced she is retiring!!! Finally!! She was one of the many Republican disappointments on the Supreme Court.

By all accounts she was a great person, and a superb lawyer. However as a Justice, she sucked. She was inconsistent to say the least. She had the unfortunate habit of believing that she knew what the Constitution said better than the men who actually wrote the document. I won't be sorry to see her go.

Republicans have had awful luck in appointing Supreme Court Justices. ( See Souter and Kennedy on the current Court.) So many of them get on the Court and turn into liberal activists. Pres. Bush needs to name a true Conservative and originalist in the tradition of Scalia and Thomas. If the Democrats kill the nomination, he needs to keep naming them until one gets on. I personally oppose Alberto Gonzales. If he wasn't so old, I would re-nominate Judge Bork myself.

Man, this could be an ugly summer, especially if Justice Rehnquist also steps down, and Justice Stevens in 85, he could die or retire at any time. (although I'm sure Stevens is going to try and last until the next election to try and give a Democrat a chance to replace him.) If Rehnquist steps down, he'll add two confirmation fights, one to replace him as Chief Justice ( I predict Justice Thomas) and one to replace him on the Court.