Have I hit the wall? I used to hear the older softball players talk about it and dismissed it as a myth. Maybe I shouldn't have been so skeptical. The blob of BEN GAY I smeared all over my calf is beginning to burn! The calf injury occurred when I collided with one of the gals from our sponsor(s) co-ed team. I also twisted my ankle. I don't ever complain about the injuries but I am little concerned about this ominous start (and the sun burn).

I'm listening to the Millions Soundtrack. I like the song "Black Out" by Muse (maybe it's just the moment). I also have what I hope is a fantastic article sitting on my desk called, Secrets of an urban terminal: An offbeat, gritty glimpse into Seattle's King Street Station. I could very easily live in an airport, train station or mall.

I watched Invasor win the the $6 million Dubai World Cup on ABC this afternoon. I also read an article on Dr. Haywood in the Northwood Idea which I will scan and post as a PDF.

A little blue...

I lent Stephen Super Computer™ [PAPERMILL] so he can play WOW. In an expression of gratitude he helped me wash/clean my car.

Bear are I started to build a house. We found this model at the train show in Fairfield. It's old. It was manufactured by POLA in West Germany. I will eventually post pictures...I botched the paint job and had to find the same model on eBay to replace the poorly painted parts. The appeal of this particular house was the working garage and we each found appropriately scaled cars to park in the garage.

Less than two weeks until the premier of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters!!!

"Yes. Playing is for pleasure."
- Master Shake

Walt Disney World Trivia
Which of the following statements about Liberty Square is true?
a.) It was part of Walt Disney's original plan for EPCOT and was to have had actual residents.
b.) It was initially conceived as a side street off of Disneyland's Main Street, U.S.A.
c.) It was not supposed to have had any attractions, only The Hall of Presidents, shops and restaurants.
d.) It was to have been a single attraction about the United States, similar to The American Adventure in Epcot.

Other awful trivia...

I keep EVERY receipt and spent part of Saturday night organizing them (it's tax season). In the months between 10.3.06 and 4.1.07 I spent $287.10 at Starbucks. If the trend holds I'm on pace to spend about $600.00. I have many, many problems. On the other hand, I haven't spent a dime on alcohol or cigarettes.

Labels: weekend

"...Otherwise, they just sit around talking till everyone’s dead – see Darfur, Rwanda, etc – and it’s too late to do anything even if you wanted to."
- Mark Steyn


Mark Steyn predicted the future of Western Civilization in America Alone. DEM appeasement may [emphasis on may] extend our existence but everything (and I mean everything) the DEMS fight for is illegal under sharia law. What I find so sinisterly humorous about the situation is that by abetting the terrorists they're actually accelerating the demise of their own progressive UTOPIA. The old manufactured fear that the oppressors (Christians and Republicans) would "round up" lefties in the middle of the night will soon be relaced by the real threat of burqas.


Smart and insightful Americans who can pull themselves away from American Idol or the latest breaking news segment on Anna Nicole know that "youths rioting in Paris" is code for Muslim insurgents in Western Europe. They also know what's going on in places like Minneapolis and Detroit. Unfortunately, all we can do is watch as lefties in Oregon defecate on the flag, Al hyperventilates over lightbulbs and carbon footprints and Rosie blames 911 on the government.

Labels: end times

"I seem to smell the stench of appeasement in the air."
- Margaret Thatcher

"What this whole conservative movement thing is all about. There are ideas bigger than us and they have consequences. And wherever you fit into that movement – in whatever way you can fit in and try to explain or inspire or publish or broadcast those who do … it’s important that you’re doing what you do, wherever you best fit in. It’s important that those guys who are on the frontlines have someone back here doing that. It’s important we’re not all indifferent to what’s going on in the new Congress. It’s important that we’re not all letting the conventional read of the scandal of the moment —whatever it is at a given time — stand. These are necessary things when done right."
- Kathryn Jean Lopez

Labels: the good guys

A little gift. FREE Desktop Wallpaper. I found this design in print collateral published by NEENAH PAPER. It's from a pamphlet called, "Defining the future: A guide to Neenah's environmental direction and industry definitions".

Hillary, British Redcoats, a parody of 24, and a reference to DRUDGE, the GOP Vixen has a summary of the latest South Park.

Did I mention the episode featured Britsh Redcoats?

I heard two segments this morning on the Baby Boomers on the Wall Street Journal Report (XM Radio). PBS will air a program this evening called "The Boomer Century" in which the viewing public will learn that Boomers; (a) attribute success to self-empowerment (I'm Okay, You're Okay), (b) distrust authority, (c) are comfortable with change, and (d) are idealistic.

The other segment was about the potential glut of McMansions that may flood the real estate market as Baby Boomers start to downsize. As they seek smaller homes, many first-time home buyers (families) will be forced out of the market as demand for smaller homes increases.

Political angle?

Certainly. Hillary is the quintessential Baby Boomer. As this generation slides into its dotage it will elect a representative to write its legacy (and to greedily protect what it has amassed).

Labels: generational conflict

Feeling a little nostalgic, I scanned this image of my dad and grandfather. My dad is a sharp looking guy.

My grandfather was a printer and a horse and train guy. There isn't a day that passes that I don't miss him. Men from his era, like Robert Moses and Walt Disney, are giants to me.

One of the reasons I still go to Belmont is to mingle with the ghosts of these giants. It is one of the few places you can go to do that.

More to come...

This is the headline at DRUDGE...

Fifty percent of adults would not vote for Clinton

Half of voting-age Americans say they would not vote for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) if she became the Democratic nominee for president in 2008, according to a Harris Interactive poll released Tuesday.

Nearly half of the respondents said that they dislike Clinton’s political opinions and Clinton as a person. Fifty-two percent of people also said that “she does not appear to connect with people on a personal level.”

Source

A ZOGBY poll had similar results.

Labels: clintons

***UPDATED***

Michelle has posted a video of a lefty defecating on the American flag.


Protesters in Portland, Oregon burn US soldier in effigy.



Here are some still images. There is a poster in the first still that reads, "STOP FUNDING ISRAELI APARTHEID".

What's the relationship between lefty anti-americanism in the US and the United Nations? This next video shows UN Watch director Hillel Neuer chastising the blatantly corrupt UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva and may shed some light on the question.



Gulf of Tonkin. Google it.

Here's the VP of Moonbattery talking about the British hostage situation with Iran.

Why should fate smile so kindly on this big bag of wind? She should be working at Borders with her "life partner" Janet.

Michelle Malkin has an entry on the despicable anti-war fable enablers at the New York Times.

It's been a banner week for the NUTROOTS.

Labels: end times

In the months preceding the elections the media ran a torrent of stories about the ever-escalating price of oil/gasoline. The hype was incessant. Now with the DEMS safely ensconced in power where are these daily reports? Where are the news segments about the desperate families whose members have been forced to find third or fourth jobs to supplement gas budgets?

Labels: democrats, left-wing media

...you may be suffering from eco-anxiety!

Melissa Pickett, an eco-therapist with a practice in Santa Fe, sees anywhere from 40 to 80 eco-anxious patients a month. They complain of panic attacks, loss of appetite, irritability and unexplained bouts of weakness, sleeplessness and "buzzing," which they describe as the eerie feeling that their cells are twitching. Pickett's remedies include telling patients to carry natural objects, like certain minerals, for a period of weeks. Making environmentally friendly lifestyle changes can also prove therapeutic, she said.

Source

The WSJ MARKETPLACE cover story on Friday was about MLS. The article was titled U.S. Soccer League Finally Hopes to Score. The most notable decision (the one that captured the headlines) was adding the "very sexy curb appeal" of David Beckham. But the league has also; signed an alliance with Germany's Bundesliga [top soccer league], reached agreement on a new tournament pitting MLS teams against Mexican clubs, signed a first-ever lucrative television contract, formed a partnership at a club level with one of England's most venerable clubs [Arsenal] and is allowing team-kit sponsorships/rights.

Other Soccer News

England doubtful for EURO 2008 finals in Austria and Switzerland?

Steve McClaren's side are five points adrift of group leaders Croatia after a goalless draw with Israel in Tel Aviv which means they have taken only two points out a possible nine.

Source

Labels: soccer

However, to truly solve all of the problems associated with the automobile, we have to start thinking towards the long term. America has to move away from the car culture that has dominated since the end of World War II. Public transportation should be the number one concern of city planners and cars should only be a secondary concern. Huge investments should be made in new systems of public transportation such as subways and monorails -- not new highway systems. The car should slowly be faded out as the primary mode of transportation within cities because taking efficient public transportation and walking is clearly optimal. If these changes are made, then the health and overall quality of life for all Americans will greatly improve. If we begin to take these steps today, then the future will once again be bright and hold great potential as it did in those days following World War II before the arrival of the car culture.

Read more

Huzzah! The question is whether or not the change will come from the private or public sector and how radical it will be. The danger for proponents of small government is that a cadre of BIG government programs ALWAYS live well beyond their usefulness. We need men like Walt Disney (not the histrionics of Albert Gore and Barbara Boxer).

Make a 30-second anti-union film. Win money. What's not to love?

The Challenge
To show Americans the truth about today's union leadership, the Center for Union Facts challenges filmmakers to combine facts and humor in a 30 second commercial. Aimed at an audience that assumes—too often—union leaders are well-intentioned advocates, the ad should address organized labor leaders' deception, violence, harassment, intimidation, or discrimination from a unique angle.

H/T: NRO

Limestone Commentary
Some aspiring/ambitious filmmaker should just show images of Michigan. I would create a thirty second anti-Roger and Me. It's been almost two decades since Moore released his propoganda and the situation in Michigan has deteriorated frighteningly.

I think Mary Katharine Ham should submit an entry!

***UPDATE***

DRUDGE is reporting that British soldiers have been taken to Tehran. Ahmadinejad has also canceled a trip to New York to address the U.N. Security Council.

It has the unintended consequence of making Olbermann and Matthews look like partisan hacks...

Now only monumental idiots or outright liars could actually state that Iran was not killing American troops in Iraq. And only monumental idiots or outright liars could state that George Bush had just dragged Iran into the war via his speech. But these two treasonous partisan hacks, who have done all they can to encourage Iran and Al Qaeda to continue to kill American troops, strictly in service of their domestic political agenda of weakening the Bush Administration, did just that.

Read more

Labels: democrats, left-wing media

The good guys get it.

Here is the President on the DEMS slow bleed surrender strategy:

The purpose of the emergency war spending bill I requested was to provide our troops with vital funding. Instead, Democrats in the House, in an act of political theater, voted to substitute their judgment for that of our military commanders on the ground in Iraq. They set rigid restrictions that will require an army of lawyers to interpret. They set an arbitrary date for withdrawal without regard for conditions on the ground. And they tacked on billions for pet projects that have nothing to do with winning the war on terror. This bill has too much pork, too many conditions and an artificial timetable for withdrawal.

As I have made clear for weeks, I will veto it if it comes to my desk. And because the vote in the House was so close, it is clear that my veto would be sustained. Today's action in the House does only one thing: it delays the delivering of vital resources for our troops. A narrow majority has decided to take this course, just as General Petraeus and his troops are carrying out a new strategy to help the Iraqis secure their capital city.

Labels: the good guys

CODEPINK members were crying outside Pelosi’s office. When asked why, Rae Abileah, 24, said she was crying out of “outrage that this is all we can get from the Democrats,” referring to the Iraq supplemental funding bill, scheduled for a vote Friday.

Source

The President will speak @ 1:45 PM EST. White House says President will veto bill.

***UPDATE***

Examples of what the Democrats consider 'urgent' needs that are part of their Iraq Supplemental Funding bill:

- $25 million for payments to spinach producers
- $120 million to the shrimp industry
- $74 million for peanut storage
- $5 million for shellfish, oyster and clam producers

The good news- DEMS who ran and won in more conservative districts on a platform against pork have signed the bill! Here's the list of Blue Dog Democrats who have betrayed campaign pledges:

Nancy Boyda (KS-2)
Heath Schuler (NC-11)
Nick Lampson (TX-22)
Tim Mahoney (FL-22)
Harry Mitchell (AZ-5)

***UPDATE II***

Here is an explanation (via Power Line and GOP leadership) why Republicans did not make a motion to recommit the bill:

Republicans could have proposed a motion-to-recommit designed to cut both the Murtha-inspired "timeline for withdrawal" language and eliminating billions in unrelated spending.

Republican Leadership therefore decided that the Democrats - all Democrats, exclusively - should be held accountable for this inexcusable war supplemental. It sends the wrong message to our troops in harms way, sets timelines for withdrawal that increase the likelihood of their harm, and forces them to carry Democrat pork barrel spending to boot. No excuses for the voters back home - you are either for this bill or against it.

The Democrats had one choice on the floor - side with the troops or with General Pelosi. They chose the latter.

The GOP needs to pounce and this is great fodder for campaign ads in 2008!

How did your representative vote? Shays voted for the troops and against the DEM pork-laden cut and run plan.

***UPDATE III***

Here is Allah from Hot Air:

No one’s enthusiastic about the bill and it’ll die in the Senate or on Bush’s desk, but at least she [Pelosi] succeeded in asserting her authority. That’s the only thing that was accomplished here, not counting the fingerpointing that’ll start once the bill fails and both parties blame each other for not funding the troops.

A complete list of the sweeteners Nancy needed to get this DEM bill passed.

Labels: democrats, islamofascism, left-wing media

I. Exclusive: Embassies in Teheran prepare escape plans

Several foreign embassies in Teheran are updating their emergency evacuation plans should a Western or Israeli attack on Iran occur.

II. British Forces Held By Iran

The Government is demanding the "immediate and safe return" of 15 British sailors and Marines seized at gunpoint by Iranian forces.

III. Oil Prices Climb Above $62 a Barrel

IV. Has Iran Just Declared War?

Labels: islamofascism

The problem still exists (and it's getting worse).

German judge rules Koran allows wife abuse

BERLIN (AFP) - A German woman judge has refused a Moroccan-born woman permission to file for divorce by interpreting the Koran as allowing husbands to beat their wives.

Read more

A retreat by the DEMS will only by Western Civilization a little time...tick, tick, tick.

Labels: islamofascism

Pelosi skips town for big ticket fundraiser while Iraq vote looms.

Labels: democrats

In an effort to bring Canadian/California wisdom to Washington the DEMS are floating a bill to make incandescent light bulbs illegal!

Labels: democrats, global warming

Going mobile bitches.

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Labels: clintons

"I fully understand that Kyoto, as a brand if you will, has been demonized."
- Al Gore

What the hell does that even mean?

He also said the planet has a fever! Cowbell anyone?

Labels: global warming

"Once we've seen the last person leave Michigan, then I think we'll be able to say we've seen the bottom."

DETROIT (Reuters) - With bidding stalled on some of the least desirable residences in Detroit's collapsing housing market, even the fast-talking auctioneer was feeling the stress.

"Folks, the ground underneath the house goes with it. You do know that, right?" he offered.

After selling house after house in the Motor City for less than the $29,000 it costs to buy the average new car, the auctioneer tried a new line: "The lumber in the house is worth more than that!"

Read more

Michigan is exposed to a lethal cocktail of carcinogenics- unions, democrats, taxes and government protection. Instapundit calls it metastasizing socialism!

Labels: democrats, economics

Congress Job Approval Back Down Again This Month
January and February uptick appears to have dissipated

PRINCETON, NJ -- The modest uptick in approval of the job being done by Congress has dissipated for the most part after only two months. Congress job approval had risen over the last two months after the Democrats took over control of Congress in early January -- fueled in large part by a jump in approval among rank and file Democrats. This month, however, Congress job approval is back down to levels quite similar to where it was in 2006. Democrats have lost a good deal of the positivity exhibited in the first two months of the year after their party took over.

Source

PRAGUE – Czech President Vaclav Klaus said on Wednesday that fighting global warming has turned into a a 'religion' that replaced the ideology of communism and threatens to clip basic freedoms.

'This ideology preaches earth and nature and under the slogans of their protection – similarly to the old Marxists – wants to replace the free and spontaneous evolution of mankind by a sort of central, now global, planning of the whole world,' he added.

Read more

I'm not making this up...Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) called Al Gore a prophet.

Labels: global warming

"Though our clothing is changed, yet we scorn a powder-puff;
So at you, ye bitches, here's give you Hot Stuff."
- Ned Botwood

Labels: the good guys

K-LO posted this email over at NRO:

Good press conference by Bush, he finally got mad. He was firm, aggressive, and, frankly, pissed off. He's been the punching bag for too long. I'd compare his performance to a fighter who is sick of getting hit and decides to throw a few haymakers. I liked it. Defiant, assertive, and full of vigor. His message to Leahy...Up Yours. Good Stuff.

The blogger with many visions wrote months ago that the media has already written the narrative for his legacy. The President has nothing to lose by digging in an taking these DEMS to task. This is pure political grandstanding by a bankrupt party. They are bereft of new ideas and continue to spew and recycle a purely authentic anti-Americanism.

Here is Ace...

It's time to go to war with these people. The Democrats, the media, all of them. "Fuck you and the horse you rode in on" should be the operating premise of the administration from this point on, and Bush should begin engaging in the most ruthless of political tit-for-tats, ordering his inferiors to not spend a dime of money for earmarked projects in Democratic districts, etc.

Read more

Huzzah! I think the base is fired up!

View the opposition here and here. Can someone explain the ovaries thing to me?

**UPDATED**

Here is Power Line...

No Reason to Give an Inch

Kudos to President Bush for standing up to the Democrat bullies on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The last thing he should do is accord any credibility to their hyperpartisan "investigation" of the firings of a handful of U.S. Attorneys.

PoliPundit pleads with the President to act this way for the next two years.

Labels: the good guys

"They always blame America first." That was Jeane Kirkpatrick, describing the "San Francisco Democrats" in 1984. But it could be said about a lot of Americans, especially highly educated Americans, today.

Where does this default assumption come from? And why is it so prevalent among our affluent educated class (which, after all, would seem to overlap considerably with the people being complained about?).

What they have been denied in their higher education is an accurate view of history and America's place in it. Many adults actively seek what they have been missing: witness the robust sales of books on the Founding Fathers. Witness, also, the robust sales of British historian Andrew Roberts's splendid "History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900."

Read more

Labels: clintons, democrats

I have to get something off my chest. Last week I'm staying at a hotel in Austin and my room had a complimentary copy of Men's Journal. The letters to the editor were in regards to a previous cover story on EXXON (and global warming). No big deal...If you want to sell anything these days all you need to do is mention carbon offets, etc. What was absolutely ludicrous was that the SAME magazine featured a story about the top fifty (or hundred) boy toys, and strewn about this list were dozens of giant eco-killers.

My flight from Texas had a complimentary copy of Amercian Way with Sigourney Weaver on the cover. The interview was complete tripe. In it she waxed poetic about Paris and all of the fine restaurants, four-star hotels and wonderful and amazing shopping (she uses lots of words like amazing and wonderful); it's OKAY though that she's fabulously wealthy because she buys lots of used (er, second-hand) crap from Paris flea markets. There was also this bizarre stuff about selling property under duress when Mitterand came to power? What did I miss? Was Mitterand like Pol Pot or was this Sigourney's way of apologizing for her parent(s) infantile fear of socialism? Maybe it's a tacit approval (wink-wink) of socialism?

Some time ago the public learned that William Bennett had a gambling problem. We also learned about some preacher in Colorodo who was abusing narcotics and enaging in lurid activity. The left (and their friends in the press) worked themselves into a frenzy like a bunch of caged chimps. The idea is that a conservative needs to be held to a higher standard because otherwise he's a hypocrite and a scoundrel. If that's true the reverse must also be true for those with a more leftish persuasion. If we apply the same standards people (and things) like Sigourney, Captain Al, John Edwards and Men's Journal are all guilty of hypocrisy. On one hand, John Edwards speaks for the son of man, only to live in a house with square footage galore.

Labels: democrats

This is for the "do as I say not as I do" file...

Tennessee mine enriched Gore, scarred land

CARTHAGE, Tenn. - Al Gore has profited from zinc mining that has released millions of pounds of potentially toxic substances near his farmstead, but there is no evidence the mine has caused serious damage to the environment in the area or threatened the health of his neighbors.

Two massive white mountains of leftover rock waste are evidence of three decades of mining that earned Gore more than $500,000 in royalty payments for the mineral rights to his property.

Read more

Labels: democrats

Posting will resume next week.

"I can't see from down here I can't."

- Zoidberg

Lyrics, lyrics, lyrics...Come one, come all!

Come on you raver, you seer of visions,
come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!

I was backstage in Pomona
and that's the way I like it
She told me about the winds from Santa Ana
and that's the way I like it

I can still hear the trains out my window
from Hobart Street to here in Nashville
I can still smell the pomegranates grow
and I don't know how hard this wind will blow
or where we'll go...

Labels: weekend

...will anthropologists link the source to BDS?

The Democrats have never had any answers on Iraq or the larger war on terror. It's just that now, they're going to have a harder time avoiding that fact.

We all know what the Democrats oppose in the war, but after all this time, do we know what they are for?

Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., right, accompanied by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., discuss the war in Iraq during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington Friday, March 9, 2007. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)

They are against the war in Iraq, and they are opposed to most of the tools the administration has used to prosecute the war on terror. They are against much of the Patriot Act, the NSA domestic surveillance program, the trial of enemy combatants in military tribunals, tough interrogation techniques, Gitmo and Bush's harsh language against the "evildoers."

They are against "unilateralism" when they mistakenly think Bush has employed it (in the build-up to the Iraq attack) and against multilateralism when Bush is obviously employing it (Iraq and North Korea).

Read more

Labels: democrats

There is something profoundly wrong when opposition to the war in Iraq seems to inspire greater passion than opposition to Islamist extremism. There is something profoundly wrong when there is so much distrust of our intelligence community that some Americans doubt the plain and ominous facts about the threat to us posed by Iran. And there is something profoundly wrong when, in the face of attacks by radical Islam, we think we can find safety and stability by pulling back, by talking to and accommodating our enemies, and abandoning our friends and allies. Some of this wrong-headed thinking about the world is happening because we're in a political climate where, for many people, when George Bush says 'yes,' their reflex reaction is to say 'no.' That is unacceptable.

Joe Lieberman

MoveOnOutofMichigan.org
High taxes lead businesses to flee the Wolverine State.

Comerica Inc. was founded in 1849 in Detroit and the Detroit Tigers play in Comerica Park, but this week the bank holding company announced it is moving its headquarters to Dallas--where, it said, the bigger growth opportunities are. Consider it one more vote of confidence in the state the national expansion forgot, and especially in Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm's economic agenda.

The Governor says all of this is essential to close an $860 million budget deficit, but the levies are part of what has become a vicious cycle for Michigan: Poor growth causes lower revenues, so raise taxes, which leads to even poorer growth, so raise taxes again. The state has lost some 362,000 jobs since 2000 and the jobless rate in December was 7.1%, second highest in the country after Katrina-ravaged Mississippi's 7.5%. The national rate is 4.6%.

Read more

Labels: democrats, economics

Democrats Seek Withdrawal of Troops From Iraq in 2008

March 8 (Bloomberg) - House Democrats said they will seek to force the withdrawal next year of U.S. combat troops from Iraq, a proposal that President George W. Bush's aides immediately said he would veto.

Bush would veto the Democratic plan, White House spokesman Dan Bartlett said.

``The administration would vehemently oppose and, ultimately, veto any legislation that looks like what was described today,'' Bartlett said aboard Air Force One as Bush headed to Brazil at the start of a five-nation visit to Latin America.

Read more

Labels: democrats, left-wing media

DEMS hoping for a fresh face/candidate in the 2008 election will need to wait until 2016. It appears as if the NY TIMES (under the guise of reporing) is turning their sites on Obama. Jim Geraghty opines:

If Obama really didn't know about his investments in companies that would benefit from his legislation, it's a remarkable coincidence, as these weren't really two widely known or widely held companies. It's just really bad luck on his part.

It's playing fairly big - front page of the New York Times, the AP has a version out.

Couple this with the real estate mess referred to in these paragraphs and you end up with a bit of mud on the shoes of the Obamessiah, The Chosen One Sent To Save Washington From Itself.

It's almost as if someone wanted his reputation hit, to say "Hey, look, he's got scandals, too." But who could possibly have motive to do that? What kind of rival would do such a thing?

***UPDATED***

We should not be surprised that the media is now taking an interest in the candidates for the White House. But, I think it is very interesting that media organizations are really focusing on the bad right now and really focusing on potential rivals to the media narrative.

The media narrative, of course, is that John McCain is the Republican front runner and Hillary Clinton is the Democratic front runner.

Make no mistake, these media reporters are all part of the Clinton MachineTM dossier on Hillary's opponents. Everyone knows David Geffen was right about them. They'll stop at nothing to get Bill Clinton back in the White House -- and isn't that the funny part? These henchmen in the Clinton MachineTM are loyal to Bill, not Hillary. Hillary's just a means to an end, something she's spent her life being while basking in Bill shadow. And to get to the end goal, how many other bodies of Democratic rivals will litter the ditches on the road to the White House?

Labels: clintons, left-wing media

I wasn't going to post this screed (written yesterday), but Ann Coulter's article, "Shooting elephants in a barrel" just augments what I wrote 312%.

Most Americans wouldn't label themselves political junkies. They watch the nightly news with Brian Williams or read the local/national newspapers. If you read/listen long enough you begin to feel like you're pissing on your own soul. And it's all about money, ego and money.

Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame, gods of the BDS/CDS circuit, get book and movie deals...Tim Russert makes ungodly sums of money while spewing DEM talking points. The Dixie Chicks open their pie hole(s) and go on a Starbucks/NPR/NY TIMES victory tour...complete with movie (and now available on DVD). John Edwards lives in a home with enough square footage to provide shelter to three or four indignant families.

Edwards — who has drawn fire from some for his new $6 million, 28,000 square-foot mansion in North Carolina — says, "I think that Jesus would be disappointed in our ignoring the plight of those around us who are suffering and our focus on our own selfish short-term needs. I think he would be appalled, actually."

The DEMS investigate medical conditions at Walter Reed so sound bites on the evening news can make it look like they care for the troops. Meanwhile it's a strategic ploy to provide cover as they cut funds to end the war to appease radical special interest groups.

The Clintons are fabulously wealthy (infinitely more than the folks shopping at evil WalMart) and what human being could sit through her speech this weekend with that fake southern twang?

Labels: democrats, left-wing media, the good guys

Braves manager Bobby Cox, who turns 66 in May, said he may retire following the 2008 season.

With 2,171 victories, Cox in the fifth-winningest manager in MLB history. "I feel great. I still love it," he said. "But there comes a time when you have to think about doing something else."

Source: Rotoworld.com

Limestone Commentary
A grim reminder that things change.

Three words with the same meaning...Ugly when spoken in any tongue.

59 things that would have stayed secret
What they didn't want you to know: A list of intriguing facts disinterred by the Freedom of Information Act.

Politicians are spending £2.2bn a year of taxpayers’ money on private management consultants

Tony Blair spent nearly £2,000 of taxpayers' money on cosmetics over six years

The NHS has been giving girls as young as 13 contraceptive injections and implants that make them infertile for up to three years, in an attempt to cut teenage pregnancies

The Prime Minister took trips costing more than £1.2m over four years from 2002 on RAF jets allocated to the Royal Family and government VIPs, including those for holidays abroad

In 2004 the BBC paid £15.5m in staff bonuses when it was planning to cut more than 3,000 jobs

Illegal immigrants are getting into Britain by enrolling on university courses, obtaining visas and then failing to turn up to study

See more

Survey: Vista now in use on less than 1% of PCs
It ranked sixth in February behind Windows 98

Vista was being used on less than 1% of PCs tracked in February by Aliso Viejo-based Net Applications Inc., making it the sixth most-popular operating system. That puts it behind Windows 98, which is still used on 1.5% of computers.

Vista's exact share was 0.93%. Windows XP continued to lead, with 84.3%, followed by Windows 2000, with 4.8%. Mac OS X on PowerPC machines had 4.3%, while newer Intel-based PCs running OS X had 2.1%

Read more

**UPDATE**

U.S. Government Bans Vista, Office 2007

Microsoft (MSFT) has run into trouble with a major customer over Vista: The U.S. Department of Transportation has banned Windows Vista, Office 2007, and Internet Explorer 2007, InformationWeek reports. The newly revealed policy forbidding installation of Microsoft's latest software has been in place since mid-January.

Finally, someone's taking my advice from last fall: Punish Microsoft for delivering a buggy, bloated operating system by simply not buying it. In the DOT's case, the ban was imposed because certain applications essential to the agency's function won't run on Vista. For these Microsoft customers, Vista doesn't just fail to deliver more value; it actively detracts from their jobs.

Source

It's the only word you can apply to the Employee Free Choice Act introduced by Nancy and Co. and sure to be vetoed by President Bush.

The House of Representatives has scheduled a vote as early as today on a bill that strips 140 million U.S. workers of the right to decide in private whether to unionize. Naturally, it's called the Employee Free Choice Act.

Big Labor has been agitating to ease union-formation requirements for more than a decade. And prior to last year's election, the AFL-CIO, AFSCME and their allies made it clear to Democrats that this vote would be the most important return they expected on their investment in a Nancy Pelosi Speakership. This is payback day.

Source

Labels: democrats

...so says Hillary Clinton in her speech this weekend at the First Baptist Church of Selma, Alabama.

Hillary Clinton addressed the First Baptist Church of Selma, Alabama yesterday, to mark the 42nd anniversary of the famous march from Selma to Montgomery. Her speeches have been getting better lately, and her style more easy and less stiff. But this speech was definitely an exception—it would be best described as a bizarre and embarrassing extended imitation of her husband, complete with a (fake, in her case) southern accent. But perhaps the most peculiar point she made was actually in a passing reference to global warming, as one of a number of issues demanding action today. Global warming, she said, was dangerous because it was an instance of “tinkering with God’s creation.” This is really the epitome of environmentalism as religion. And you have to wonder what it means for her opinion of, say, human cloning for research.

Source

Labels: clintons, democrats, global warming

Anytime I read the words non-partisan think tank I roll my eyes. I'm still perplexed by the unsolved mystery in my own backyard. The left is exceptionally adept at organizing and I sense a renewed push in this direction. This morning on the Wall Street Journal Report (XM Radio) Gordon Deal interviewed Tamara Draut about her new book Strapped. In the interview, her prescriptions for alleviating the "financial plight" of twenty and thirtysomethings seemed like a :30 second spot for some version of national education (HILLCARE).

Tamara is the Director of Demos: A Network for Ideas & Action. The summary offered in the about section on the Demos site is a bit ambiguous.

Demos: A Network for Ideas & Action is a non-partisan public policy research and advocacy organization committed to building an America that achieves its highest democratic ideals. We believe this requires a democracy that is robust and inclusive, with high levels of electoral participation and civic engagement; an economy where prosperity and opportunity are broadly shared and disparity is reduced; and a strong and effective public sector with the capacity to plan for the future and provide for the common good. Founded in 2000, Demos' work combines research with advocacy- melding the commitment to ideas of a think tank with the organizing strategies of an advocacy group.

The non-partisan label is a load of malarkey. And where have I heard the words "common good" before? I think it was Hillary when she said: "We're Going to Take Things Away From You on Behalf of the Common Good".

I've always considered non-profit groups benign (naivete) until I saw a link from the Demos site to the Building Movement Project. The BMP is dedicated to helping nonprofit organizations work towards social change by integrating movement building strategies (?). I had to read it twice, but it sounds like a roadmap for using your non-profit to push a certain agenda. What a perfect vehicle for spreading proaganda, imposing a specific worldview and, in their own words, "supporting the vision and mission of progressive social change organizations".

In 2001 the Building Movement Project held five regional meetings to explore the intersection between building movement towards social change and building social change organizations. These discussions, which took place in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Knoxville, New York, and Oakland were designed to deepen our understanding of how to enhance and support the vision and mission of progressive social change organizations -- those interested in changing the distribution of resources and power for disenfranchised groups -- through their structures and practices.

Conservatives should try to emmulate this orgaizational discipline because lost in all those acronyms and ambiguous doublespeak is a message that seems to be resonating.

Labels: democrats

Mrs. Clinton cited Sen. Byron Dorgan’s bill, which would trigger some kind of punitive action if our trade deficit exceeds 5 percent of GDP, and if foreign bond ownership exceeds 25 percent of GDP. Well here’s a news flash: Our trade gap today is already 7 percent of GDP and the economy has been prosperous for years.

Foreign owned Treasury bonds are only 16 ½ percent of GDP. Who really cares? Foreigners own $2.2 trillion of our bonds. Compare that to $54 trillion of family wealth.

And what’s more, OPEC and China only own 20 percent ($450 billion) of total foreign ownership. The lion’s share is actually owned by Britain, Japan, and other clear U.S. allies. These countries own the other 80 percent ($1.8 trillion).

So where’s the great threat?

All this bluster from Mrs. Clinton reeks of trade protectionism and capital controls. It belongs in a third world statist economy like Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela. It’s Pat Buchanan/Lou Dobbs stuff that would be devastating to the U.S. and world economy.

Mrs. Clinton has positioned herself substantially to the left of her husband on these issues. She will be laughed out of the ballpark by the left liberal academic community. In fact, moderate Democrats of the Jason Furman ilk, don’t even agree with this extremist nonsense.

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Labels: clintons, economics

I took a break from my otherwise busy schedule yesterday to watch Hillary and Barack Obama deliver addresses from churches in Selma to commemorate Bloody Sunday. Obama performed much as we’ve come to expect – splendidly.

Hillary, on the other hand, accomplished what I previously considered impossible. She made me feel bad for her. Really, you’ve got to find the video of this speech. Every now and again, she would lapse into a phony southern accent and begin talking like I guess how she figures an African American southern preacher speaks. It was jarring. It was as if every two minutes, the spirit of Butterfly McQueen possessed her.

Hillary is an unappealing grey figure. There’s no getting around that. Her attempts to obscure that obvious fact inevitably ring hollow. Not that the Hillary Juggernaut has asked for my advice, but I’m going to offer some anyway: People with unappealing personalities can go far in politics. Gore won the popular vote. John Kerry almost did the same. Bob Dole was by many accounts a wonderful person, but his political persona fell way short of cuddly. Howard Dean!

Hillary should be true to herself. Be a bore. Be a scold. At least it will be honest. And it won’t be painful for either her or her audience.

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Keep tabs on her highness over at The Hillary Spot.

BONUS
Here is Hillary being true to herself in a speech to the HRC.

Labels: clintons

You can't complain about high energy costs while simultaneously waging war against the phantom menace (global warming).

On Monday morning, TXU Corporation, the Texas-based electric power utility, announced it would be taken private in a record-breaking $45 billion deal. Normally that kind of blockbuster would be bullish -- it demonstrates that stocks are cheap and that money to buy them is plentiful.

But by the end of the day the happy news flow about TXU had started to focus on an inconvenient truth. The company announced it was scrapping plans to build eleven coal-fired power generating plants, to head off lawsuits from environmental groups that would interfere with the $45 billion deal getting completed.

One such group, the National Resources Defense Council, bragged that TXU's decision proved "the business community…can't simply ignore global warming and come up with sound business strategies."

Yes, God forbid that business should come up with sound strategies. Better to come up with unsound ones, such as scrapping eleven coal plants. Never mind that those coal plants could actually have been run as cleanly as any other kind, and a lot more cheaply.

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Labels: democrats, global warming

On the corner of main street
Just tryin' to keep it in line
You say you wanna move on and
You say I'm falling behind

Can you read my mind?
Can you read my mind?

I never really gave up on
Breakin' out of this two-star town
I got the green light
I got a little fight
I'm gonna turn this thing around

Can you read my mind?
Can you read my mind?

The good old days, the honest man
The restless heart, the Promised Land
A subtle kiss that no one sees
A broken wrist and a big trapeze

Oh well I don't mind, you don't mind
'Cause I don't shine if you don't shine
Before you go, can you read my mind?

It’s funny how you just break down
Waiting on some sign
I pull up to the front of your driveway
With magic soaking my spine

Can you read my mind?
Can you read my mind?

The teenage queen, the loaded gun
The drop dead dream, the Chosen One
A southern drawl, the world unseen
A city wall and a trampoline

Oh well I don't mind, you don't mind
'Cause I don't shine if you don't shine
Before you jump,
Tell me what you find..
When you read my mind

Slipping in my faith until I fall
He never returned that call
Woman, open the door, don't let it sting
I wanna breathe that fire again

She said I don't mind, you don't mind
'Cause I don't shine if you don't shine
Put your back on me
Put your back on me
Put your back on me

The stars are blazing like rebel diamonds, cut out of the sun
can you please read my mind.

Labels: weekend

I'm reading Redcoats: The British Soldier and War in the Americas, 1755-1763 by Stephen Brumwell. I also have a copy of The French-Indian War, 1754-1760 by Daniel Marston. This companion book is part of the Essential Histories series by Osprey Publishing and provides (among other things) maps of British campaigns in the Americas.

Some of this interest started after I read 1776 by David McCullough, and while I'd like to attribute it to such bookish activity I'd be fibbing if I wrote that. The impetus behind this recent re-interest(1) is really all the hours I've spent with my brother playing AOE III. Playing as the British, I developed an affinity for the digital infantry skirmishing with the white-coated Bourbon regulars.

I think this is the pen-ultimate expression in post-modernism. It took a simulation war game to spark my interest in something that really happened. And yes, if you're wondering, I did name some of soldiers serving in my digital army.

Labels: weekend

But the worst o' your foes is the sun over'ead:
You must wear your 'elmet for all that is said:
If 'e finds you uncovered 'e'll knock you down dead,
An' you'll die like a fool of a soldier.
Fool, fool, fool of a soldier...

When first under fire an' you're wishful to duck,
Don't look nor take 'eed at the man that is struck,
Be thankful you're livin', and trust to your luck
And march to your front like a soldier.
Front, front, front like a soldier...

When 'arf of your bullets fly wide in the ditch,
Don't call your Martini a cross-eyed old bitch;
She's human as you are -- you treat her as sich,
An' she'll fight for the young British soldier.
Fight, fight, fight for the soldier...

If your officer's dead and the sergeants look white,
Remember it's ruin to run from a fight:
So take open order, lie down, and sit tight,
And wait for supports like a soldier.
Wait, wait, wait like a soldier...

When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
So-oldier of the Queen!

1) Why were a handful of rebel fighters able to penetrate the defenses of a battle station that had the capability of destroying an entire planet and the defenses to ward off several fleets of battle ships?

2) Why did Grand Moff Tarkin refuse to deploy the station’s large fleet of TIE Fighters until it was too late? Was he acting on orders from somebody to not shoot down the rebel attack force? If so, who, and why?

3) Why was the rebel pilot who supposedly destroyed the Death Star reported to be on the Death Star days, maybe hours, prior to its destruction? Why was he allowed to escape, and why were several individuals dressed in Stormtrooper uniforms seen helping him?

4) Why has there not been an investigation into allegations that Darth Vader, the second-ranking member of the Imperial Government, is in fact the father of the pilot who allegedly destroyed the Death Star?

Source

After we get answers on this...a panel must be assembled to investigate the two-hour Star Wars Holiday Special.

Disclaimer: Viewing the Star Wars Holiday Special may make you feel uncomfortable. The routine by Beatrice Arthur gave me hives.

Labels: weekend