Conservatives, or lack thereof

"If you won't defend your own champions, conservatives, then don't sit back and wonder why so few people want to be your champions."

- Ann Coulter

Biden spins "clean"

Biden told reporters that he'd used the word "clean" to describe Obama as "fresh and new," and that the choice of words was not meant to disparage other black candidates who'd run for president in the past, such as civil rights leaders Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.

- AP story

Really? Heh. Biden is going to be a lot of fun, and he is going to spend a lot of time spinning his off-the-cuff remarks.

Biden unloads on rivals

“I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”

- Biden, referring to Obama

The other African-Americans were not clean?

“I don’t think John Edwards knows what the heck he is talking about."

- Biden

I agree with Biden on this one.

Obama holds a grudge

"I'm still in the freezer," one Fox journalist said, noting that the people at Fox "suffering the most did nothing wrong."

- Mary Ann Akers

Reality begins to collide with Obama's carefully crafted image.

The Plagiarizer

Sen. Joe Biden officially joined an increasingly crowded field for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination Wednesday, as he has been promising for months.

- AP story

Some of us recall when Biden withdrew from the 1988 race amid accusations of plagiarism.

More special privileges for Muslims

"Muslim students have exclusive access to male and female washrooms on campus, sparking claims of bias and discrimination."

- Herald Sun story

Right Wing News covers the story here.

Obama's perception vs. reality

“The arguments of liberals are more often grounded in reason and fact.”

- Barack Hussein

“His record is liberal, and his rhetoric is moderate.”

- Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, referring to Obama

“How you come across is more important than how you vote. If voters perceive you as moderate, then your voting record isn’t terribly relevant. Perception is more important than reality.”

- Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report

NY Times is a loser

Somewhat ironic that the NY Times is so good at telling the rest of us how to run our lives, but they cannot even run their own.

Typical liberals.

Wolves lose federal protection

"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Commission announced Monday that it was removing the gray wolf from the federal list of threatened and endangered species for the western Great Lakes region, including Wisconsin."

- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

I am inclined to lets the states handle it.

Yes, I know, you can make an effective argument that the state government in Wisconsin is totally inept. The answer to that problem is for the voters to elect better people, not to go running to the federal government for solutions.

Electronic voting security flaw

"But the discovery exposed a flaw in the security of electronic voting, which is already under fire over fears of hacking."

- AJC story

It would be naive to think that electronic voting is not going to be subject to some amount of fraud.

Clintonesque

"Though we will continue to see abundant evidence apparently to the contrary between now and November 2008, Hillary knows exactly who she is and what she wants. The open question is: How many naive or uninformed voters can she fool without permanently estranging herself from her natural soulmates on the far left?"

- David Limbaugh

My answer = She can fool a lot of uninformed voters. It is incumbent on the swiftboaters to make sure the voters are informed, because the leftmost media is not going to make any effort to inform the voters about any subject dealing with the Clantons.

Will America and Israel survive?

"There are those of us who know it's a dangerous world and that we should take fanatics at their word when they say they want to kill us."

- Newt Gingrich

Q: Will America and Israel survive?

My own answer: Probably not. Both will be betrayed by American liberals.

The Clantons pander to unions

"White House hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton met privately Monday with the board of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, a 1.3 million-member labor group whose support will be critical to any Democratic candidate."

- AP story

"We are millions 'n' millions,
We're coming to get you
We're protected by unions
So don't let it upset you"

- Flakes by Frank Zappa

"... there's no risk
There's no call for any action at all
When you have unions on your side"

- A New Argentina from the Evita soundtrack

Al Franken cuts and runs

Al Franken abandons Air America and runs for Minnesota Senate seat?

Or.

Like The Great White Buffalo, AL Franken is coming to save our asses! (with apologies to Ted Nugent)

Obama background

"He comes from a father who was a Muslim. I mean, I think that given we're at war with Muslim extremists, that presents a problem."

- Juan Williams, NPR commentator

Ice totals car

A fifty pound block of ice fell from the sky and crushed a car in Tampa, Florida.

My guess = it was caused by global warming.

Iran ready to move into Iraq

Those pesky Persians, getting ready to export chaotic vegetable prices, among other things.

Chess quotes

"The mistakes are all there, waiting to be made."

- Savielly Tartakower

"Help your pieces so that they can help you."

- Paul Morphy

"I see one move ahead. The best one."

- Jose Capablanca

"The older I grow, the more I value pawns."

- Paul Keres

"The pawn is the soul of chess."

- Philidor

Barbaro bit the big one

"... Barbaro always will be remembered for his brave fight for survival."

- AP story

Ten Chess Mistakes

The 10 Most Common Chess Mistakes (1998) by Larry Evans

... and how to avoid them!

218 Examples of Typical Blunders

The ten are:

1. Bad development
2. Neglecting the king
3. Misjudging threats
4. Ignoring pins
5. Premature aggression
6. Miscalculation
7. Impulsiveness
8. Snatching pawns
9. Creating weaknesses
10. Inattention

Definitely worth reading, and probably worth buying.

Coin shortage

A penny saved is worth five cents?

Berlin

Pleasure Victim by Berlin

Original release 1982

Audio CD 1996

8 tracks, Early 80s New Wave

My favorite cut is "Masquerade"

Slamming on the economic brakes

"Congress needs to pass stiff new carbon taxes on all industries and products that emit carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases in any significant quantities. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi should push for a much stiffer version of the Kyoto Protocol, the carbon-reducing treaty that Bush scrapped after virtually all advanced nations had ratified it.

And they should ramrod through enabling legislation that allows local cities and counties to impose stiff penalties on individuals who despoil the environment. It's high time to put polar bears -- and all other living things, for that matter -- above corporate profits."

- Wayne Madsen

Global warming threatens polar bears?

'Let's hope some science -- facts and accuracy -- make an appearance before this goes too far. The rush to place polar bears on the endangered species list smacks of truthiness rather than truthfulness.

Many Americans may view this polar bear gambit as just another backdoor attempt by dedicated greens to restrict energy use in the United States.

They might well be right."

- H. Sterling Burnett

Global warming pounds Alaska

"The snow is already piled so high that drivers cannot see around corners. Homeowners are getting worried their roofs can't handle the load. And snow-removal crews are running up the overtime hours.

Even by Alaska's prodigious, myth-making standards, this is a remarkably snowy winter on the Last Frontier."

- AP story

Barack Hussein

“What your grandfather respected was strength. Discipline. This is also why he rejected the Christian religion, I think.

- Obama, quoting his grandmother on why his grandfather was a Muslim

Cosmetic surgery

"For legal reasons, the final stage – cosmetic surgery to remove the male genitalia – cannot take place until Kim is 18."

- Telegraph story

Moscow opposes Satanic parade

“Last year, Moscow came under unprecedented pressure to sanction the gay parade, which can be described in no other way than as Satanic."

- Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov

Not black enough

"It will be a challenge because (Obama) will be competing against people who have relationships in the black community."

- Rev. Jesse Jackson

"I think he (Obama) will get substantial support from blacks, but not all blacks. Some black voters are going to find him - what? Too white."

- David Bositis of the Joint Center for Political Studies

Another liberal lie

"People opposed to this wretched war in Iraq love their country as much as anyone ever has."

- Bob Herbert, NY Times columnist

This is another bald-faced liberal lie.

Jeb Bush

"It's important for us to realize we lost, and there are significant reasons that happened, but it isn't because conservatives were rejected. But it's because we rejected the conservative philosophy in this country."

"If the promise of pork and more programs is the way Republicans think they'll regain the majority, then they've got a problem."

- Jeb Bush

Dealing with bad men

"What in my background equips me to deal with evil and bad men?"

- Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY)

The Chicago Tribune describes this as a rhetorical question.

Muslims want Islamic Superstate

“If two people are united and a third person comes along and tries to incite disunity . . . kill him."

- Palestinian Sheik Issam Amera

The Religion of Peace, at it again.

Maalox moment

"Let’s cut to the chase: The Hillary campaign is held back by one man. Divorce him."

"If Britney Spears is smart enough to dump K-Fed, surely the valedictorian of the Wellesley Class of ‘69 can figure this out."

- Don Surber

Another bloodthirsty Muslim holiday

Sweetness & Light documents another bloodthirsty Muslim holiday.

The 10-day Ashura mourning period culminates on Tuesday with processions and ceremonies at the city’s sacred shrine, the burial ground of Hussein. His death in 680 AD, during a battle in Karbala for leadership of the Islamic faith, was a key historical event in the ongoing sectarian rift between Sunnis and Shias in Iraq.

We need energy

"I also encourage my Democratic colleagues to move beyond their rhetoric and embrace the energy that has made this country great -- unfortunately, I am not too optimistic that will happen, as long as the anti-growth forces hold such sway in the Democrat Party."

- Senator James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma)

Not going to happen because Democrats are committed to making the U.S. a third-world country.

Osama Obama's family

"Secrets of Obama family unlocked" is the title of this timesonline story.

However, a quick perusal of the story shows that there are more questions raised than answered.

Hopefully, the swiftboaters will reveal the truth eventually.

Fraud on eBay

"CUSTOMERS of the internet auction site eBay are being defrauded by unscrupulous dealers who secretly bid up the price of items on sale to boost profits.

An investigation by The Sunday Times has indicated that the practice of artificially driving up prices — known as shill bidding — is widespread across the site."

- timesonline story

Clantons advocate "cut and run"

The Clantons engage in cheap partisan attacks that undermine U.S. troops.

I still blame the Earps.

Hairy Reed

A deal in the desert for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)?

Democrats have no right to talk about corruption unless they are referring to themselves.

Traitor slams America

John "Botox" Kerry, traitor and darling of liberals, slams the U.S. again.

Top Ten Microbrews

1. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
2. Prima Pils
3. Ommegang Abbey Ale
4. Boont Amber Ale
5. Sierra Nevada Porter
6. Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
7. Tröegenator Double Bock
8. Samuel Adams Utopias
9. Alaskan Smoked Porter
10. Mirror Pond Pale Ale

My favorites seem to be absent from this list.

Where is the Bitter Woman from Hell IPA by Tyranena?

Global warming threatens wines

Doom & gloom from a wine and grape symposium.

Personally, I prefer beer anyway.

Huckabee

"One of the reasons that I'm running for president is because I think that America needs folks who understand what it is to start at the bottom of the ladder and climb their way to the top."

- former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee

Independent Joe

"I am genuinely an independent. I agree more often than not with Democrats on domestic policy. I agree more often than not with Republicans on foreign and defense policy."

- Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman

Tortilla crisis

"Mexico is in the grip of the worst tortilla crisis in its modern history."

- Washington Post story

Hanoi Jane update

"Now we know our leaders either lied to us or hid the truth. Because of our actions, the rest of the world sees us as a bully and a liar."

- Moriah Arnold, 12 years old

Twelve years old, and already brainwashed by liberals.

Two inches of feces in Michigan

"The Allegan County Health Department ordered the home's condemnation, after sheriff's investigators say there was at least two inches of feces covering the interior of the home, which had no running water."

- woodtv story

My guess is that there are quite a few houses just like this in Michigan.

Infinite Spaces

"The silence of those infinite spaces terrifies me."

- Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

Me too. I know exactly how he felt.

The Clantons get tough

"When you are attacked, you have to deck your opponent. I have been through the political wars longer than some of you have been alive. We've got to be prepared to hold our ground and fight back."

- Hillary Clinton

This is Hillary Clinton pretending to be Margaret Thatcher?

Jimmy Carter apologizes

Carter apologizes for his book.

Now maybe he should apologize for his entire tenure as president and former-president.

Global warming hits NY

Record low at Kennedy, no doubt caused by global warming.

Miracle Cures

"This is the first time we’ve shown anything like this, that damage to a specific brain area could remove the problem of addiction entirely. It’s absolutely mind-boggling."

- Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, on evidence that injuries to an area of the brain can instantly break a smoking habit.

Yeah, now if we could just find that area of the brain that would cure liberals of their mental disorder....

House Republican whiners

"So again I will say to the House Republicans - quit whining about process - which the voters care little about - and start taking them on with new and better ideas that will convince voters that your party is the better alternative."

- Ankle Biting Pundits

Giuliani is a tough sell

"Giuliani is going to have to convince people that he's more conservative than his record otherwise would suggest."

- Peverill Squire, who teaches politics at the University of Iowa

Democrats collide with reality

"It seems that the much ballyhooed Democratic tsunami-like wave, has just dashed and crashed upon the breakwater of reality."

- Granite Grok, covering the story about the Democrats' minimum wage hike

Outlaw the N-word

Rev. Dr. Melvin L. Johnson, pastor of the Heart of Christ Community Church, believes it's just a Band-Aid approach to a larger problem.

"This particular focus on this one word does not really address the issues, because we can't regulate people's thoughts," said the pastor, who is black. "A person has a constitutional right to be stupid. We can't make a law against people who may have feelings that we don't approve of."

- ABC News story

Taste of Hendrix

"To see his image and the beautiful feelings it has created during my lifetime cheapened by base advertising ... is very disappointing to me."

- bassist Michael Balzary, better known as Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, commenting the new energy drinks known as "Liquid Experience" which feature the image of Jimi Hendrix

Osama Obama's church

Sweetness & Light debunks the myth that Barack Hussein is just a regular Christian.

John Kerry is a crybaby

"Yesterday saw the sorry spectacle of John Kerry tearing up on the floor of the Senate as he announced he would not seek the presidency in 2008. As Roger Simon pointed out, it’s worth asking who the tears were for. Certainly Kerry wasn’t crying about the death of a Kerry agenda. Beyond his personal ambitions, there has never been a Kerry agenda.

John Kerry was crying for himself and the dashing of those ambitions. What a pathetic display. As this sad man ended his national political career, he wallowed in self-pity because he wasn’t going to get what he wanted."

- Dean Barnett

John Kerry has always been and will always be a liberal.

His behavior typifies liberals.

MLK party

"Authorities at Tarleton State University said they plan to investigate a Martin Luther King Jr. Day party that mocked black stereotypes by featuring fried chicken, malt liquor and faux gang apparel."

- AP story

I wish I could have attended the MLK party.

I love fried chicken.

Global warming causes suicide

By the time liberals are done, anything bad will be blamed on global warming.

UFOs were weapon tests

Again, I am in favor of thoroughly tested weapons.

Ellison and Minnesota (again)

I see why Minnesota wanted Ellison.

He supported the St. Paul terrorist.

Minnesota liberals admire terrorists and the people who support them.

Nifong has not yet learned his lesson

"He's devastated. It's very upsetting to be attacked. … It's like he's public enemy No. 1," said David Freedman, Nifong's attorney.

- ABC News story

Yeah, Nifong thinks he is the victim.

This ABC News story documents how Nifong has not learned anything from the Duke case. As unbelievable as it sounds, he would do it all over again knowing what he does now.

Nifong needs to be disciplined in a manner that sends a message that this kind of behavior is not going to be tolerated.

Gravestone exacts revenge

"Police had arrested Ezekiel Dejesus-Rodriguez, 24, early Saturday morning shortly after pulling him out from under a granite gravestone."

- Atlanta Journal-Constitution story

I fully expect liberals to rally to the defense of the suspect. They will probably sue the graveyard for infringing on his right to desecrate graves.

Giuliani is a conservative?

"These are impressive conservative credentials. And if social and religious conservatives fret about Giuliani’s more liberal social views, nevertheless, in the general election such views might make this experience-tested conservative even more electable."

- Steven Malanga

Blogs Against Hillary

Tons of good anti-Hillary material.

Democrats can be beaten

"By their obvious timidity at admitting who they truly are, the Democrats are telling their would-be opponents where and how they can be beaten. Democrats could not hope to carry off their current ruse during the ’08 contest for the White House if they find themselves contrasted against a truly conservative, pro-America and pro-family Republican whom the voters know they can trust as an unwavering advocate of such principles.

Now it only remains for that individual to announce a Republican candidacy and persuade America that he is in the race until the end."

- Christopher G. Adamo

Bill Richardson

Incredibly gushy story about what a great guy Bill Richardson is.

Most liberals will cry when they read this.

Handcrafted message to bring out the Hispanic vote for Bill Richardson.

Hanoi Jane

Hanoi Jane and the enemies of America plan a protest.

And patriots plan a counter-protest.

Narcolepsy

According to the famed "polls" -- or, as I call them, "surveys of uninformed people who think it's possible to get the answer wrong" -- Hillary is the current front-runner for the Democrats. Other than the massive case of narcolepsy her name inspires, this would cause me not the slightest distress -- except for the fact that the Republicans' current front-runners are John McCain and Rudy Giuliani.

- Ann Coulter

Persian Eschatology

The program describes in glowing terms the messianic age to be inaugurated by the Mahdi. He is to begin his uprising in Mecca, and then march on Iraq, where he will establish his "seat of world government" in the city of Kufa and subjugate the current world powers. This will be an age of unparalleled happiness; there will be completely new technologies at mankind’s disposal, and "corruption, war, and rebellion will no longer exist." Neither will "liberal democratic civilization."

- Sweetness & Light

Heh. Those pesky Persians just never give up.

This Mahdi is sort of like The Great White Buffalo?

Heat beam weapon

"The U.S. Defense Department on Wednesday unveiled what it called a revolutionary heat-beaming weapon that could be used to control mobs or repel foes in conflicts like Iraq and Afghanistan."

- Reuters story

Excellent, we need more weapons.

The Clantons

"She is about as spontaneous as the old Soviet Politburo."

- Tony Blankley, referring to Hillary Clinton

Obama versus Fox News

"Obama will not be swiftboated. Period."

- hotline blog

Heh. That remains to be seen.

******************************

"To be clear, Senator Obama has never been a Muslim, was not raised a Muslim, and is a committed Christian who attends the United Church of Christ in Chicago. Furthermore, the Indonesian school Obama attended in Jakarta is a public school that is not and never has been a Madrassa. These malicious, irresponsible charges are precisely the kind of politics the American people have grown tired of, and that Senator Obama is trying to change by focusing on bringing people together to solve our common problems."

- Obama's staff

Another version of the Obama fights back story here.

Secession!

Atlanta suburbs want to secede.

Ethnic intimidation

Another Duke case or is there a real crime this time?

Botox John bows out

"I've concluded this isn't the time for me to mount a presidential campaign."

- John Kerry

Yeah, but last time was not the right time either, and it did not stop him then, so what is different now?

There is another version of the story here.

Boston Globe story here, which suggests that Kerry's botched joke might have been the final nail in the coffin.

Rare shark

Very weird looking eel-like shark.

How does it swim efficiently with no back fin?

New ethics charges against Nifong

Maybe there should be criminal charges against Nifong.

Almandine predicts end of U.S.

Almandine cannot even get vegetable prices under control.

My own prediction = The U.S. will outlast Almandine.

In the good old days, Almandine might have gotten a visit from a couple of guys named Victor. (with apologies to Dave Barry)

Asking Muslims to do their job

To stand shivering in a Minneapolis winter waiting on a color-coded taxi would prove ''tolerance'' only of religious extremists who think the world must accommodate itself to their beliefs.

You want a ''perfect solution?'' Fine, here it is: Muslim cabbies should do their jobs. Period.

- Leonard Pitts, Jr.

Caliban Landing

Isaac Asimov presents Caliban Landing (1987) by Steven Popkes

A science fiction novel of first contact between humans and an alien race on a planet called Caliban (named after Shakespeare's The Tempest).

The story alternates between the viewpoints of the humans and the aliens.

Each of the humans is tragically flawed. The story is a slow mover with frequent flashbacks to show how each member of the crew came to be so tragically flawed.

Borders on the noir, with themes of treason, betrayal, and attempted murder.

In some ways a cautionary tale regarding the perils of miscommunication.

There are so many better novels out there that I am reluctant to recommend it.

Blasphemy

Tom Cruise is the new Jesus Christ?

Where is the Inquisition when you need it the most?

Mordred Soulis

L.G. Burbank presents Lords of Darkness Vol. 1: The Soulless (2004)

Illustrated by Adam Mock

This novel is the chronicles of Mordred Soulis, a mercenary in the employ of King Conrad during the Second Crusade.

The story begins in 1147 AD.

The author uses actual historical events as a basis for the story. For example, there is the disaster at Dorylaeum, where the incompetent Conrad gets almost his entire army wiped out.

Mordred is one of the few survivors of the debacle. For Mordred, it gets worse from there when he is bitten by an unnatural creature, and becomes a weird sort of half-vampire himself.

He then meets Templars who nurse him back to health and send him on his way to confront evil.

In this story, the Templars are the good guys, and elements of the Roman Catholic Church are the villains (sort of like real life?). The chief villain is an ancient evil pseudo-vampire named Vlad who was resurrected by Catholics in a misguided search for immortality.

Saladin has a cameo.

It is an entertaining story, but ends in mid-story after Mordred teams up with a werewolf from Scotland and an ancient vampire who lives beneath The Great Pyramid in Egypt.

I would very much like to read the second book in the series, but even though there are over a million volumes in the Milwaukee County Federated Library System, the second book (Vol 2: The Ruthless) is not one of them.

No dominion

No dominion (2006) by Charlie Huston

The title is derived from a line of poetry by Dylan Thomas: "And death shall have no dominion." (quoted in the novel on page 186)

This novel is the second in a series, and I did not read the first one.

It is a hybrid hard-boiled detective/vampire horror story with Joe Pitt as the vampire PI.

In this setting, vampirism is caused by a virus. And Joe's girlfriend has HIV. And the plot involves a street drug consisting of infected blood. Mix all that with the blood drinking and blood spilling, blood is a prominent feature of the novel.

Very violent. Graphically violent. At one point, Joe bites the eyeball out of one of his opponents.

Interesting novel, worth reading once, but probably not more than that.

America deserves better

"America deserves better. It's time for everyone -- Republicans and Democrats -- to stop trying to find ways for America to quit. Victory is the only option. We must have the fortitude and the courage to do what it takes. In the words of Winston Churchill, we must deserve victory."

- Liz Cheney, former principal deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs

E-mail to soldier spurs outrage

"We would NEVER ship to Iraq. If you were sensible, you and your troops would pull out of Iraq."

- Bargain Suppliers employee

"If you look at the polls, his opinion is reflected by a majority of Americans now."

- Othman Atta, Islamic Society of Milwaukee

"Military supporters bombard West Allis company with messages; fears for safety arise"

- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"We're monitoring the situation, in case somebody decides to retaliate."

- West Allis Police Captain Tom Kukowski

My own comment = A liberal disrespects soldiers, and there is a backlash. To be expected.

Vick or Moss?

Rumors of a Vick for Moss trade.

Which would you rather have, Mike Vick or Randy Moss?

Both very talented players with a lot of baggage.

Biden & Co.

"Democrat senators Joseph Biden and Carl Levin appeared on "Fox News Sunday" to promote their toothless resolution against the president's troop "surge" in Iraq, but ended up unwittingly reinforcing their party's image as lacking the requisite seriousness to run the war."

- David Limbaugh

The only thing Biden & Co. are serious about is making the U.S. a third-world country.

Clantons deliver death blow to public financing

"Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York became the first candidate since the program began in 1976 to forgo public financing for both the primary and the general election because of the spending limits that come with the federal money."

- NY Times

Somewhat ironic that, after liberals told us that public financing was the answer to all our problems, it was a liberal that delivered the death blow.

Vanishing Alpine Glaciers

"Glaciers have been in a general retreat worldwide since the end of the last Ice Age."

- Michael Zemp, a glacier expert at the University of Zurich

"Scientists say the phenomenon has been occurring for more than a century, suggesting that manmade emissions of carbon dioxide are combining with purely natural factors, such as a shift in jet streams pumping warmer air into traditionally cooler northern climes."

- AP story

Politics in Dearbornistan

"Time alone may favor the Arab-Americans here. Mr. Hammoud cited numbers showing that in 1998, there were 60,000 registered voters in the city, 8,500 of them Arab-Americans. Today, it is 14,500 out of 57,000, and at least 60 percent of high school students are Arab-Americans."

- NY Times story about politics in Dearborn, Michigan

“People look at an Arab now, and the first thing that pops into their head is terrorism. We want to change that. Arab-Americans have to become political figures to change that.

- Tarick Salmaci

Beware the jihad

Historian warns The West of global Muslim jihad.

My comment = But liberals ignore threat in their headlong rush to make the U.S. a third-world country.

Clinton not as historical as advertised

Sweetness & Light points out that Hillary Clinton's run for president is not as historical as the leftmost media would like us to believe.

Life lesson

Granite Grok explains the Democratic version of "fairness" using the example of baseball tickets.

Exposes the intellectual bankruptcy of the liberal position.

The Clantons

"As we have seen with the dirt her people have been digging up on Senator Obama, she, like her husband, will stop at little to destroy their opponents. If she keeps this up, this could backfire and reinforce her negatives."

- Gay Patriot story on Hillary Clinton

Yeah, the Clantons were always complaining about the "politics of personal destruction" which is somewhat ironic considering the Clantons were always the most frequent practitioners of the politics of personal destruction.

Dearbornistan counterfeiter

Debbie Schlussel calls out another Dearbornistan connection.

Counterfeiter with stolen IDs and illegal weapons?

Business as usual in Dearbornistan.

Al Franken smears and deceives

... Pants on Fire: How Al Franken Lies, Smears, and Deceives (2005)

by Alan Skorski

Painstakingly researched book documents how Al Franken is a dishonest hypocrite.

But we all knew that, right?

Conservatives despise Franken because he is a dishonest hypocrite.

And liberals adore Franken because he is a dishonest hypocrite.

The people of Minnesota must have very low esteem to even consider this guy a credible candidate.

Almandine gets slammed again

Oh, those unruly Persians!

Clinton vs. Thatcher

Debunking the myth that Hillary Clinton is anything like Margaret Thatcher.

Clantons beat up on fellow Democrats

Heh. Sweet.

Bi-plane dinosaurs

Nature is weird.

Bi-plane dinosaurs?

The world does not like US

That makes us even, because I think most of the world (outside the U.S.) is not particularly praiseworthy.

Bush poll numbers fall to Nixon levels

Just for the record, I voted for Nixon in 1972.

And I would do it again, too, if the choice was between Nixon and a liberal.

Charlotte's Web

Charlotte's Web (2006)

Movie based on the E.B. White novel.

Preachy, shamelessly manipulative.

A real tearjerker, not a dry eye in the house.

Most people were crying because Charlotte bit the big one.

A few of us were crying to think of all those sausages going to waste.

Offensive t-shirts

Depending on how far they take this, they might just have to ban all t-shirts.

When Democrats are not liberal enough

"Looking to instill discipline among Democrats, a coalition of labor, trial lawyers and liberal groups are launching lobbying and campaign organizations this week to keep Democratic lawmakers from straying on populist issues.

Democrats who don't hew to this agenda could find themselves facing well-funded primary opponents - an aggressive strategy to counter moderate and conservative blocs within the party."

- AP story

Bring the right gloves

"You don’t walk into a knife fight without adequate gloves.”

- Terry McAuliffe, Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman

I have no idea what this quote means.

The New Thatcher

"Hillary Clinton is to be presented as America’s Margaret Thatcher as she tries to become the first woman to win the White House. As she entered the 2008 presidential race yesterday, a senior adviser said that her campaign would emphasise security, defence and personal strengths reminiscent of the Iron Lady."

- Sarah Baxter

Dick Morris

"If you liked how the Swift Boat Veterans turned the tide against John Kerry, you understand how a top Clinton aide can turn the tables and stop a Clinton-style liberal from becoming the next president of the United States."

- Dick Morris

Not ready to lead

Is it unfair to accuse Democrats of being all about surrender and petty political gain?

My answer = No, it is a fair characterization of Democrats.

Terror Free Oil

Terror-Free Oil Initiative is dedicated to encouraging Americans to buy gasoline that originated from countries that do not export or finance terrorism.

Liberal cancer hits The Weather Channel

Liberals seek to politicize the weather.

Certified weatherman strikes back.

Of course liberals are intolerant. If they were not intolerant, they would not be liberals.

Bill Richardson

Bill Richardson wants to be the first Hispanic president.

More details about Bill Richardson here.

Senate bill targets secret holds

"They might even think it's a smack-down wrestling move they've seen on TV" or "some kind of hairspray," he said.

- Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), referring to a secret hold

Chess for children

Chess for People Who Can't Even Play Checkers (1976, 1977)

by Robert Danielsson

Illustrated by Mats Andersson

Designed to explain the rules of chess to children.

Cartoon-like illustrations, very well done.

Pawns are "farmers," knights are "horses," and rooks are "towers."

Cute book.

Mae West

Mae West: "it ain't no sin" (2005)

by Simon Louvish

Biography of Mary Jane West, better known as Mae West.

Born 1893, died 1980.

Star of stage and screen, and a prolific writer of screenplays, movie scripts, and novels.

She was a fascinating person, and I am glad I read the book.

Obama has a past?

Alleged landmines litter the landscape of Obama's past.

I predict the leftmost media gives him a free pass on all of them.

The Clantons get tough on Obama

"Are the American people ready for an elected president who was educated in a Madrassa as a young boy and has not been forthcoming about his Muslim heritage?

This is the question Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's camp is asking about Sen. Barack Obama."

- Insight story

But Allahpundit at HotAir is not buying it. Check his views here.

Democrats want failure

Democrats want the U.S. to fail.

Nothing new here.

China gets serious about space

China shot down its own satellite.

China says the missile was "aimed at peace"

Jesse Jackson's heart

Jesse Jackson's heart leans toward Obama.

Heh. I did not know that he even had a heart.

I wonder which way the other parts of his body lean?

The Anti-War General

Wes Clark, the infamous anti-war general that thrilled liberals before the last presidential election, runs off at the mouth again.

I am a huge supporter of the American military, but I cannot understand why they nurtured this loser for as long as they did.

Was Jimmy Carter a Nazi sympathizer?

Jimmy Carter may or may not have lobbied on behalf of a Nazi.

Regardless, I would not trust Jimmy Carter with anything.

Jimmy Carter has proven to my satisfaction that he is not a trustworthy person.

Updated New York Sun story here.

Pelosi is a liar?

Sweetness & Light calls out Pelosi.

The whole 100 hours thing was a typical Democratic scam from the very start.

Winning in Iraq

Brutal analysis of the war in Iraq.

Painful to read.

Makes some very good points.

Franken's anti-gay past

Nothing new here. You can be disgusted (as I am), but you cannot be surprised.

We all know that Franken is an idiot.

Franken is not only a liberal, he is a Minnesota liberal. That means he gets complete lifetime immunity from the leftmost media.

Republicans panic over Obama

In the "mild panic" camp, one veteran Republican campaign manager currently unaffiliated with any 2008 contenders lamented, "If Obama gets the nomination, the Republicans are totally [expletive]d… If it comes down to McCain vs. Obama, I'm voting for Obama. He's unbeatable. He's the next RFK."

- NY Sun story

Stuff like this makes me really skeptical of citing anonymous sources.

By the Waters of Babylon

By the Waters of Babylon

by Stephen Vincent Benet

I first read this story decades ago, and it has haunted me ever since.

I have always misquoted the story as "I prayed to Ashing."

The actual quote is "I thought it wise to pray to Ashing...."

America's axis of idiots

Sgt. Major J.D. Pendry (ret.) calls out American idiots like Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, John Kerry, John Murtha, Ted Kennedy, and many others.

Well worth reading.

MPS bans cell phones (again)

The title link leads to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial supporting the Milwaukee Public Schools ban on cell phones.

There is an accompanying news story about the ban here.

Out of more than 200 comments posted on the jsonline web site, the article quoted three.

One of the quotes was:

"Is the ban going to be enforced? My prediction is 'No,' and therefore the ban is meaningless," wrote one adult. "It is yet another case of blaming an inanimate object (in this case, the phone) for misbehavior."

Thank God they did not include my name.

Reporters swarm

"I always care about my kids."

- Barack Hussein Obama

Reporters swarm around Obama. A swarm of reporters? Is that like a murder of crows?

Also, note that Biden snubs Botox John. Heh.

Summit Springs, Colorado

July 11 1869

Buffalo Bill Cody was the chief scout for the U.S. 5th Cavalry.

The decline of the Clantons?

"The most talked about subject among Democratic strategists here is Sen. Hillary Clinton's decline in the 2008 presidential preference polls in the face of growing support for her two chief rivals."

- Washington Times story

Any talk of the decline of the Clantons is premature and exaggerated.

The Earps underestimated the Clantons. You know what they say about those who ignore history.

They Should Have Named Him "Al"

"Al" Obama is poised to steamroll over Republicans.

"Reporters will write stories implying that an Obama victory is an essential step on the road to racial equality."

- D. R. Tucker

Northwest caves in

News from Dearbornistan: Northwest Airlines immediately caves in to passengers arriving late while Muslim.

"This was not our mistake."

- Andrea Newman, Northwest Airlines senior vice-president for government relations

I guess that explains why Northwest Airlines grants special privileges to Muslims.

Debbie Schlussel covers the story here.

Falling Ice

A chunk of ice fell from the sky and crashed into a home.

It was probably caused by global warming.

Russian health care

"...a shocking medical malpractice case where a baby girl suffering whooping cough ended up having her right arm amputated."

- Breitbart.com

This is the kind of health care the Clantons want to impose upon America.

Mike Vick, secret agent

The NFL's top quarterback*** might be in a lot of trouble for his secret agent style behavior.

Smuggling dope in his water bottle? Fiendishly clever.



*** OK, maybe not.

Franken seeks advice

My first bit of advice to Al Franken would be to stop drinking the water in Minnesota.

It would not cure him, but it might prevent his condition from worsening.

Cow emissions

There is no question that cow emissions are dangerous.

This is one of those science facts.

Cow emissions have prevented the brains of climate alarmists from developing properly.

Sad but true.

Climate alarmists

This excellent article exposes the thuggish tactics of the climate alarmists.

These are the same type of alarmists that warned us about global cooling just a few decades ago.

Global warming brings snow to Malibu

The last snowfall recorded at Los Angeles International Airport was in January 1962, according to the National Weather Service. Trace amounts -- less than 0.5 inches -- were reported, according to the NWS.

- NBC-LA story

Global warming grinds slow, but it surely does grind.

Out-of-control prosecutors

If Bush were choosing the most hack, unprincipled, out-of-control Republican Party operatives for these temporary U.S. attorney positions, they could not match the partisan witch-hunts of the prosecutors and policemen the Times lies to defend.

- Ann Coulter, referring to the NY Times editorial oddities

Journal Sentinel attacks Kagen

The behavior, odd beyond question, calls into question both Kagen's judgment and maturity.

- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial attacking Rep. Kagen (D-WI)

Translation: Kagen is to politicians as the Journal Sentinel is to newspapers.

Also notice how the Journal Sentinel always waits until after the election to voice these kinds of remarks?

Before the election, Kagen was their fair-haired boy.

8 Arab states

Eight Arab countries voiced support Tuesday for President Bush's new strategy of boosting U.S. troop strength in Iraq as part of an effort to secure Baghdad and provide an opportunity for the fragile Iraqi government to establish legitimacy.

- USA Today story

Almandine in trouble

Oh, those troublesome Persians.

Vegetable prices have tripled!!!

Infoquake

Infoquake (2006) by David Louis Edelman

This is an outstanding novel.

In some ways similar to Neuromancer by William Gibson and Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, but it is not a copycat of either of those fine novels.

A post-apocalyptic future of software hackers and nanotechnology.

Well worth reading, more than once.

Eragon (the movie)

Eragon (2006)

They really cut a lot out of the novel to get the movie down to 104 minutes.

I still liked the movie, but it was not nearly as good as the book.

Eragon (the book)

Eragon (2003) by Christopher Paolini

A very good fantasy novel.

Lots of interesting characters.

Three of my favorite characters are Arya (the elf), Angela (the witch) and Solembum (the werecat).

The naysayers who criticized the novel for being excessively derivative are either speaking from jealousy or are themselves ignorant of the roots of all fantasy literature.

Well worth reading, more than once.

I have not yet read the next book in the series, but I am looking forward to it.

Osama Obama

"Senator Obama has yet to prove he can take a political punch, and, inevitably, he will experience a serious media downdraft at some point. These perilous times certainly call for a more experienced politician than Obama, and his utterly orthodox liberalism — whatever the seductions of its disarming presentation — is not the answer to the nation’s challenges. But voters have turned once before to a newcomer with thin experience in the midst of a dangerous international environment. His name was Jimmy Carter."

- NRO editorial

Maybe Barack Hussein is more similar to Jimmy Carter than to Abraham Lincoln?

Pelosi is a menace

Pelosi continues her attacks against free speech.

Remember Lincoln

Allies of Osama Obama compare Barack Hussein to Abraham Lincoln.

John "Botox" Kerry

Despite enormous name recognition; despite the kind of sympathetic coverage that only alleged victims of the “Republican attack machine” get; despite constant efforts to stay in the news, a stockpile of cash from his wife, and his last campaign; and despite enormously impressive hair; he is near the bottom in all the important rankings of serious candidates.

And when I say near the bottom, I mean if he claws his way up a bit, he’ll be at the bottom.

- Jonah Goldberg, beating up on John Kerry

Obama's dad

I doubt we’ll see him making campaign stops with dear old dad, you know the dad that abandoned him and his mother. What a wonderful role model …

- jcarl4283, commenting on Obama

Does he mean campaigning with a dried-out carcass?

Or does he mean with his dad alive?

This would take some serious amount of necromancy, considering how long the guy has been dead.

Heh. Either way would be interesting.

They Should Have Named Him "Al"

The Ankle Biters go after Barack Hussein for his lack of qualifications.

I see their point, but were either of the Clantons qualified to be president?

It is not desirable to have an unqualified president, but there is a precedent.

Lawsuit lottery

Suspicious passenger hits the lawsuit lottery for $400,000!

Muslims threaten another boycott

But do look for Northwest to give in to the whining "showing up way too late at the Airport while Muslim" Muslims. They'll get money, free tickets, a well-paid Northwest-wide sensitivity training consultation contract, an apology, and a whole lot of other stuff.

- Debbie Schlussel

It pays to be Muslim, I guess.

Thomas Jefferson

Still one thing more, fellow citizens: a wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government...

- Thomas Jefferson

GraniteGrok covers the quote here.

Back from Baghdad

"I left Iraq with unexpected hope and resolve.

The everyday bravery and consummate professionalism of the troops I embedded with has strengthened my faith in the U.S. military."

- Michelle Malkin

You are not going to hear this from the left-wing, terrorist-sympathizing media and anti-war bloggers.

Duke professors

The "Group of 88" has been portrayed as politically correct, left-wing professors who rushed to assume lacrosse players were guilty of rape.

- News & Observer story

That sounds like a fair characterization to me.

Russian terror alert

"Russia cooperates against terrorism with countries around the world, including the United States."

- AP story

This is a typical AP misrepresentation of the facts.

Iran shoots down drone

"Iranian troops have shot down a U.S. pilotless spy plane recently, an Iranian lawmaker announced on Tuesday as the Islamic Republic was facing increasing military pressure from its arch rival -- the United States."

- Xinhuanet story

The story did not mention if the Persians used a Russian-made missile.

The anti-Hillary?

"In fact, some are calling Obama the anti-Hillary."

- CBS-NY story

Obama vs. the Clantons. Will he have any better luck than the Earps did?

American liberals

"Americans are selfish, mean, spoiled, self-absorbed, incompetent, and treat others horribly when they're on vacation."

- Debbie Schlussel, complaining about the negative way that Americans are portrayed in the film Babel. She is not saying this about Americans, she is saying that this is how they are portrayed in the film.

My own comment = Accurately describes many American liberals.

Climate policy

The Bush administration has consistently stressed technological solutions, rather than formal treaties such as the Kyoto accord. [White House spokesman] Mr Snow said: “What the president has talked about all along is the importance of innovation,” adding there was a need to focus on change “consistent with economic growth”.

- Financial Times story

I am in favor of innovation.

Storms inflict terrible damage

"A wave of arctic air trailed the storm, dropping temperatures into the single digits as far south as Kansas and Missouri. The 7 a.m. temperature Tuesday at Kansas City, Mo., was just 2 degrees, while Bismarck, N.D., had a reading of 16 below zero, with a wind chill of 31 below, the National Weather Service reported."

- AP story

People died, severe power outages, and all due to global warming?

Eugene Kane

"I think I know what I'm doing."

- Eugene Kane, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist

I find it somewhat ironic that Mr. Kane's good friend Joel McNally made a similar statement shortly before being shown the door.

On the Elusive Nature of Truth

"The truth is usually pretty simple, but as I'm sure you would agree, finding it in the mainstream media is next to impossible."

- Ann Coulter

Muslim Flat Earth Society

"If the earth is rotating, as they claim, the countries, the mountains, the trees, the rivers, and the oceans will have no bottom."

- Sheik Abdul Aziz Ben Baz

Saudis might ban letter "x"

"The letter "X" soon may be banned in Saudi Arabia because it resembles the mother of all banned religious symbols in the oil kingdom: the cross."

- NY Sun story

It is scary to think that these people are our allies.

We need another candidate?

Betsy claims we need a Libertarian/Republican in the mix.

Wikipedia Ron Paul

Chess Starts Here

Chess Starts Here (1996)

This video provides 60 minutes of chess lessons from Josh Waitzkin and Bruce Pandolfini.

Very basic, yet informative and entertaining.

Well worth watching.

Doyle

"This is about making sure a lot of talented lives are going in the right direction where we can use those talents rather than sitting in prisons and jails."

- Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, announcing a commission to reduce the incarceration rate of African-American males

My prediction = The solution will involve Indian gaming. Doyle's proposed solutions to any problem always involve Indian gaming.

Evangelicals are also going to save us

"Leading scientists and evangelical Christian leaders have agreed to put aside passionate differences over the origin of life and work together to curb alarming levels of global warming that threaten the survival of life on Earth."

- AP story

Warning label

"Do not put any person in this washer."

- label on front-loading commercial washing machine

This label won a Wackiest Warning Label Contest sponsored by Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch.

Saddam & Fidel

"The Butcher of Baghdad's beginning to smell
But, word is, he's lonely way down in hell
But he'll have some company for all eternity
If you'll just hurry and join him, Fidel"

- Mallard Fillmore

US sells gear to Iran

"The U.S. military has sold forbidden equipment at least a half-dozen times to middlemen for countries - including Iran and China - who exploited security flaws in the Defense Department's surplus auctions. The sales include fighter jet parts and missile components."

- AP story

If this is correct (it is an AP story, so it might not be), this is incredibly stupid.

Russia sells missiles to Iran

"Russia has delivered new anti-aircraft missile systems to Iran and will consider further requests by Tehran for defensive weapons, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Tuesday."

- Reuters

We can only hope that Iran will deliver the missiles to Islamic terrorists "defending themselves" against Russian attacks.

GraniteGrok covers the story here.

Global warming destroys California citrus

"Three nights of freezing temperatures have destroyed up to three-quarters of California's $1 billion citrus crop, according to an estimate issued Monday as forecasters warned the weather could continue."

- AP story

Osama Obama

"America's faced big problems before. But today, our leaders in Washington seem incapable of working together in a practical, commonsense way. Politics has become so bitter and partisan, so gummed up by money and influence, that we can't tackle the big problems that demand solutions."

- Barack Hussein

In some ways, he is like The Great White Buffalo.

He is coming to save our asses! (with apologies to Ted Nugent)

Tell Hamoukar

The story of a city destroyed in 3500 BC in what is now northeastern Syria.

Nunataks

"There is no consensus on how much Greenland’s ice will melt in the near future, Dr. Alley said, and no computer model that can accurately predict the future of the ice sheet."

- NY Times story

Yes, but liberals will continue to make dire predictions anyway.

I am always fascinated by how forecasters can barely predict the weather for a few days, but liberals can see the effects of global warming decades into the future with perfect clarity.

These are the same liberals who, a few short decades ago, predicted global cooling.

The Enemy at Home

"Conservatives must recognize that the left is now allied with the Islamic radicals in a combined effort to defeat Bush's war on terror."

- CBC description of The Enemy at Home by Dinesh D'Souza

I agree with this, but it is a bizarre alliance. The only thing that liberals and Islamic radicals have in common is a hatred for America.

Queen of Containerboards

This story shows that it is possible to succeed with hard work and perseverance.

Sort of a Horace Greeley type of story.

"Late last year, Forbes magazine named Ms. Zhang the wealthiest woman in China. She may even be the richest self-made woman in the world..."

- NY TImes story

Rude liberals

"Senator Barbara Boxer has mastered the art of rudeness much better than she has cultivated wisdom on weighty matters of state."

- David Limbaugh

This statement applies to a lot of liberals.

Adultery could mean life

"In a ruling sure to make philandering spouses squirm, Michigan's second-highest court says that anyone involved in an extramarital fling can be prosecuted for first-degree criminal sexual conduct, a felony punishable by up to life in prison."

- Brian Dickerson

Murtha

"Rep. John P. Murtha, Pennsylvania Democrat, yesterday announced plans to introduce legislation that would cut off funding for President Bush's proposed surge of American troops into Baghdad."

- Washington Times story

"There's no question about my support of the military."

- John Murtha

Skewering in a fair & balanced way

"The other side hasn't been skewered in a fair and balanced way."

- Joel Surnow

Iraq progress report

This is a very different status report than what you hear from the leftwing media and the antiwar bloggers.

Mitt Romney's problems

Abortion, gay marriage, gun control.

Is Mitt Romney a flip-flopper?

Is Mitt Romney just shooting blanks?

Loose lips sink ships

"I remember about 25 years ago an operative from another unnamed country told me, “We have spies to find out what you are doing, but we don’t need them. We only have to read your newspapers”."

- Macranger at macsmind.com

More hangings

"Saddam Hussein's half brother and the former head of Iraq's Revolutionary Court were both hanged before dawn Monday, Prosecutor Munqith al-Faroon said, two weeks and two days after the former Iraqi dictator was executed in a chaotic scene that has drawn worldwide criticism."

- AP story

Chocolate New Orleans

Sweetness & Light exposes the double standard on racism.

The Hawk's Quagmire

"Those who believe that the battle against Islamic fundamentalism is the most important calling of our time must once again choose between a president who agrees but won't dedicate adequate resources to the daunting task of defeating this pernicious enemy, and an opposition party that does not take the threat seriously."

- Philip Klein

Unwanted

Rejected by 72 countries. Is that some kind of record?

Maybe I should feel sorry for the deported imam, but I do not.

I guess that makes me a cold-hearted conservative.

Anti-war blog

"The U.S. Army will dominate all the fights, but the war is lost for us before the first shot is fired."

- blogger who is anti-war in Iraq, anti-war on terrorism, and anti-Bush

He claims to be a retired special forces officer, and maybe he is, but there is no way for me to independently confirm that.

Snake Hunters

Snake Hunters: An Informative Weblog

This is an interesting blog that dares to tell the truth about Iran, John Kerry, and other topics.

Romney

Is Mitt Romney un-presidential?

These seem like very minor points to me.

The Evil One

The Evil One has his own blog right here on blogspot.com.

Get the chant right from the horse's mouth, or in this case, maybe the other end of the anatomy.

An Unholy Alliance

Iran and Venezuela.

I wonder when they will start referring to themselves as The Axis.

Marty ball

The Patriots beat the Chargers 24-21. I was wrong on this one.

The pundits were right. They said that Schottenheimer would find a way to lose, and he did. It was a team effort, though.

According to Don Banks at SI.com, Marty is gone.

Sen. Clanton tours Baghdad

One of the Clantons tours, wears body armor, and talks about heartbreak.

I still blame the Earps.

Eritrea warns U.S.

"Eritrea warned the United States on Friday that its involvement in Somalia would "incur dangerous consequences" following a U.S. air strike in the Horn of Africa nation targeting al Qaeda suspects."

- Reuters story

Black activists cool towards Osama Obama

Barack Hussein is having some trouble convincing people like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.

Freezing in southern California

Cold weather has hit southern California, threatening the citrus crop.

I am sure that liberals will blame the cold on global warming.

Rush was right

The Colts beat the Ravens 15-6.

A lot of pundits picked the Ravens in this one.

And once again, the media inflated the importance of a black quarterback, in this case Steve McNair.

Head coaches and quarterbacks, regardless of race, get too much credit when a team wins and too much blame when a team loses.

Ralph bites the big one

Ralph the whale shark dies.

Appliantology

Germans are worried about the Church of Scientology.

It could be worse. It could be the First Church of Appliantology with L. Ron Hoover.

And that would inevitably lead to people snorting laundry detergent and plooking each other.

Jamil Redacted

More analysis on the alleged AP source, if he ever existed, and if he did, whatever his name was.

The old X-files quote applies all too well here: I do not know which lie to believe.

Fossil forests

"Forty-five million years ago, for example, the Arctic was much warmer and wetter than it is now."

- Science News article

Imagine that. Without any human activity, the Arctic was warmer than it is now. Did Al Gore mention that in his movie "An Implausible Truth?"

Invasion of the shrimps

Shrimps are the latest in a series of Great Lakes invaders.

Liberals are never ashamed

Barbara Boxer should be ashamed of herself, but liberals are never ashamed of anything.

Tsunami alert

I fully expect some liberals to claim that the earthquake and tsunami were caused by global warming.

Fatter, drunker troops?

Is this a news story or an opinion piece by Reuters?

"The Pentagon cautioned that the figures were not definitive because they came from a voluntary survey."

- Reuters

Little Green Footballs covers the story here.

Noonan summarizes Democrats

"But there are two vacuums in the Iraq story. The first is the vacuum that would be filled in Iraq if America withdrew tomorrow. The second is the power vacuum that will be created in Washington if the administration is, indeed, collapsing. The Democrats of Capitol Hill will fill that one. And they seem--and seemed in their statements after the president's speech--wholly unprepared to fill it, wholly unserious in their thoughts and approach. They seem locked into habits that no longer pertain, and absorbed by the small picture of partisan advancement at the expense of the big picture, which is that the nation is in trouble and needs their help. They are sunk in the superficial."

- Peggy Noonan

I think she fairly summarizes Democrats: not serious, superficial, and always willing to put partisan politics ahead of what is good for the country.

Friday Night Fights

A couple of interesting fights in Tacoma, Washington tonight.

Two Contender alums, Walter "Two Guns" Wright and Cornelius "K9" Bundrage won their fights.

Wright TKOed undefeated Dan Wallace. Wallace had never fought outside Michigan. Wallace's lack of experience against quality competition really showed.

Bundrage won a split decision against Chris "The Mechanic" Smith in what I thought was a very close fight.

As always, I really enjoyed the analysis by Teddy Atlas.

Rangel vs. Pelosi

It might be a contentious session of Congress if this is any indication.

FBI version of The Peter Principle

Debbie Schlussel unloads on an ineffective FBI agent who got promoted.

Ouch. Painful to read this.

Cindy Sheehan

Cindy Sheehan buddies up with terrorist sympathizers.

No real surprise there.

Amazing how much she can disrespect the memory of her own son.

Nifong might be in a lot of trouble

This is an entire blog devoted to the Duke/Nifong case.

There is concern that DA Nifong may have violated criminal statutes.

If this is indeed the case, we can only hope that he faces the full penalties that the laws allow.

Why we still owe a debt to the Hmong

(quotes from a column by Karl Garson in the 1-12-07 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

"In 1966, I was a naval aviator in Vietnam. The blood chit was my introduction to the Hmong, who lived in the mountainous regions straddling Vietnam's borders with Cambodia and Laos. A blood chit was a square of silk with a message in many languages, including Hmong, that stated if the person carrying it was returned to the Americans or South Vietnamese, a reward would be paid in gold."

"We carried the chits in our survival gear. But we also knew that the Hmong were so loyal to Americans that reward or no reward they would protect any of us. The Hmong helped many downed aviators. When we left Vietnam in April 1975, we thanked them by abandoning them."

Tom Kelley's Ghost

Tom Kelley's Ghost by Steven Popkes

(from the July 2001 issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction)

This is a spooky little ghost story about a man who tries to rescue a girl who could have been his daughter.

Tom Kelley is both aided and opposed by supernatural beings.

The deciding battle occurs in the Mechanic's Club in the subway tunnels far beneath Boston.

An odd story, and one well worth reading.

Fast food

"In the coming year, three of every four meals will be fast food."

- Washington Post story published in the 1-10-07 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

I am amazed bordering on stupification by this prediction. I routinely go entire weeks without eating a single meal of fast food. How can anyone eat that much fast food?

Torture at Gitmo

"in the interrogation room it's the Americans who may have to suffer long hours in straight-back chairs, while the detainees -- I kid you not -- get a La-Z-Boy. I was shown a Syrian under interrogation via closed circuit television. His questioners were two pleasant-looking young women. He was smiling. . . ."

- quoted by Debbie Schlussel from The Gitmo High Life by Robert Pollock

Manhart stripped

"An Air Force staff sergeant who posed nude for Playboy magazine has been relieved of her duties while the military investigates."

- AP story

More on greenhouse gases

"The United States is the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, one of several greenhouse gases blamed for melting glaciers and rising sea levels."

- Reuters story

Six senators propose limits on greenhouse gases. The six include McCain, Lieberman, and Obama. Note the political aspirations here. One might be inclined to accuse them of pandering.

Also note that melting glaciers and rising sea levels are part of a natural cycle that has occurred throughout earth's history, including numerous times when there were no significant human activities to affect the cycle (assuming that you believe the current interpretation of the fossil record, which is one of those "science facts" that seems to periodically change based on new evidence and analysis).

Gore's film restricted

(quoted from AP story)

"I am shocked that a school district would come to this decision," the movie's co-producer, Laurie David, said in a prepared statement. "There is no opposing view to science, which is fact, and the facts are clear that global warming is here, now."

*****************************

My own comments:

Not everyone is buying into "An Implausible Truth."

I wonder if Ms. Laurie David actually knows how science works.

Greek anarchists?

"We all know from history that there are a number of these anarchist groups in Greece, and that they are sometimes violent. I can't tell you if one of those is responsible for this particular attack."

- State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, referring to the attack on the American embassy in Greece

Pelosi is a hypocrite

(quoted from a Washington Times story)

"I am shocked," said Rep. Eric Cantor, Virginia Republican and his party's chief deputy whip, noting that Mrs. Pelosi campaigned heavily on promises of honest government. "Now we find out that she is exempting hometown companies from minimum wage. This is exactly the hypocrisy and double talk that we have come to expect from the Democrats."

*******************************

My own comment = Pelosi is a hypocrite, but we already knew that.

US forces storm Iranian consulate

And now the Persians are whining that we were mean to them.

Chemical terrorists

Muslim terrorists claim to have fired missiles loaded with chemicals.

If true, you can be sure that the liberal media will ignore it.

Barack Hussein is no baby-sitter

(quoted from AP story)

"We're not going to baby sit a civil war," Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., told NBC's "Today" Show. He said the Democratic-controlled Congress would not undercut troops already in Iraq but would explore ways to restrict the president from expanding the mission.

Carter fails again

Failed President Jimmy Carter fails again.

What took these people so long to figure out that Carter has always used errors and omissions to serve his own personal agenda?

Ankle Biting Pundits cover the story here.

Sen. Dodd (D-CT) announces for 2008

"Dodd has forged strong ties with labor unions, advocated fiscal accountability for corporations and championed education and other children’s issues."

- AP story

I'll bet corporations really appreciate his help with fiscal accountability given the history of Senate Democrats on that subject.

Surge Suppressors

"I don't know what is worse, the use of the word "surge" by the Bush administration to describe its plans for Iraq or that so many people in the news media have taken to parroting the word, as if it's a perfectly legitimate description of what the president has in mind. C'mon. Let's lose the euphemisms. This is an escalation of the war, plain and simple; let's call it that. Unless, of course, we're going to allow opponents of the escalation to describe themselves as surge suppressors.

- Jerry Resler, editorial writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Heh. These liberals might be weak on the issues, but they are clever with words.

Our real enemy

"Our real enemy in Iraq is the lunatic fringe of radical Islamic fundamentalism. There are a lot of them, and their goal is to kill all Jews and Christians."

- Jim Brown, community columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

If there are a lot of them, is it fair to describe them as a fringe?

Duncan Hunter

"We are a nation at war. To fracture the U.S. government at this critical time will demoralize our troops and allies, and embolden our enemies. I support the Commander-in-Chief in this operation."

- Duncan Hunter

Communists & Islamists

"And isn’t it also peculiar how just about every trouble spot in the world involves Islamists or Communists?"

- Sweetness & Light

That is odd.

Norm Coleman

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) opposes the troop surge in Iraq.

Spy coins

Beware the coins in your pocket. You never know who might be using them to keep track of you.

Meteorite strike

You never know when a rock from space might fall on you.

Hugo Chavez

"I swear by Christ — the greatest socialist in history."

- Hugo Chavez

A lot of people would like to have Jesus on their side. Apparently, Hugo Chavez is one of them.

Why doesn't he swear by Mohammed? I am sure there is a perfectly good reason why he does not.

Arafat

This article contains a nice picture of Arafat smooching "Botox John" Kerry.

For some reason, Blogger will not let me post it here.

Yale singers get beat up

This is a confusing story.

Did they get beat up because they sang the Star Spangled Banner?

Or did they get beat up because they sang it badly?

Ali

Cassius Clay was a great fighter, but as this article points out all too well, the rest of his life was not something that I could admire.

Infamous Ali quotes:

"War is against the teachings of the Holy Qur'an. I'm not trying to dodge the draft. We are not supposed to take part in no wars unless declared by Allah or The Messenger. We don't take part in Christian wars or wars of any unbelievers."

"A black man should be killed if he's messing with a white woman." When asked if a black woman dated whites: "Then she dies. Kill her, too."

Voting for the crook

A somewhat plausible explanation for how "Most Corrupt" Jefferson was re-elected in Louisiana.

I can see how some voters might just throw up their hands in disgust over the mess.

Australia recruits more spies

"Arabic speakers were needed to monitor the Muslim community, which has complained of unfair targeting by Australian authorities.

Australia has never suffered a major terrorist attack on home soil, although 92 Australians have been killed in bombings blamed on Islamic militants in neighboring Indonesia since 2002."

- Reuters news story

Minnesota (again)

Kids get kicked off bus for speaking English.

T-shirts

I saw some interesting t-shirts today.

I'd rather hunt with Dick Cheney
Than drink and drive with Ted Kennedy

I'd rather fight than switch
To the "Religion of Peace"

He's over there so they won't
Cut your head off over here

The Resistance

"We must never give up our constitutional freedoms out of fear of Islamist thought-terrorism."

- Bavarian state premier Edmund Stoiber

"A handful of fanatics brandishes alleged religious laws to jeopardise our most basic freedoms. To which threats are now added the murmurings audible across Europe about the 'provocations' we must avoid in order not to antagonise these supposed foreign sensibilities. Times are getting tough in Europe. Now is not the moment for cowardice."

- French philosophers, including Bernard-Henri Levy, Alain Finkielkraut and Andre Glucksmann

Exit strategies

"In war, there are two exit strategies. One is called victory. The other is called defeat."

- Sen. Joe Lieberman

Beginner

"A man ceases to be a beginner in chess and becomes a master when he has learned that he is going to be a beginner all his life."

- R. G. Collingwood (1889-1943), British philosopher. The New Leviathan (1942).

University of Borg caves in to Muslim pressure

(quoted from report by Mary Katharine Ham)

"Hillel had planned to screen "Obsession" during Judaism Awareness Week in November. The school stepped in after receiving complaints from Muslim students that the film negatively portrayed Islam."

My own comment = Now if the film had been anti-Christian, no problem at all. If the film had been anti-American, no problem at all. But Borg administrators cannot deal with a film that negatively portrays Islam.

Islamic hatefest crashes & burns in Australia

“The decision taken today by Bankstown City Council speaks volumes of the empty rhetoric surrounding the supposed noble epitomes of western liberal democracy.”

"The council has publicly declared that constructive political discourse is only acceptable when Islam is removed from the national conversation.”

- Muslim spokesperson

Translation: Moderate Muslims do not like it when someone defies Islamic bullying.

NBC evangelizes global warming

Some people at NBC are in love with junk science.

The self-reliant people of Denver

(quoted from Gay Patriot)

Up here, in the "Mile-Hi City", we just recovered from a Historic event--- may I even say a "Weather Event" of "Biblical Proportions" --- with a historic blizzard of up to 44" inches of snow and winds to 90 MPH that broke trees in half, knocked down utility poles, stranded hundreds of motorists in lethal snow banks, closed ALL roads, isolated scores of communities and cut power to tens of thousands.

FYI:

George Bush did not come. FEMA did nothing. No one howled for the government. No one blamed the government. No one even uttered an expletive on TV.

Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton did not visit. Our Mayor did not blame Bush or anyone else. Our Governor did not blame Bush or anyone else, either.

CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX or NBC did not visit - or report on this Category 5 snowstorm as they did Katrina. No Larry King, No Bill O'Reilly, No Oprah, No Chris Mathews and No Geraldo Rivera. No Shaun Penn, No Barbara Striesand, No Hollywood types to be found.

Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards. No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House. No one looted. Nobody - I mean Nobody demanded the government do something. Nobody expected the government to do anything, either.

Nope, we just melted the snow for water. Sent out caravans of SUV's to pluck people out of snow engulfed cars. The truck drivers pulled people out of snow banks and didn't ask for a penny.

Local restaurants made food and the police and fire departments delivered it to the snowbound families. Families took in the stranded people - total strangers. We fired up wood stoves, broke out coal oil lanterns or Coleman lanterns. We put on extra layers of clothes because up here it is "Work or Die". We did not wait for some affirmative action government to get us out of a mess created by being immobilized by a welfare program that trades votes for 'sittin at home' checks.

Even though a Category "5" blizzard of this scale has never fallen this early, we know it can happen and how to deal with it ourselves.

Maybe SOME people (Like New Orleans and Wash. DC freeloaders) will get the message. The world does not owe you a living. The Government and Tax dollars are not your insurance company.

Dearbornistan?

Debbie Schlussel reports on the Dearbornistan connection of three men who now claim they were disrespected.

Dearbornistan?

ACU warning

Dear Fellow Conservative:

In the first bill being rushed through the 110th Congress, liberal House Democrats are attempting to surrender a key aspect of our homeland security to the United Nations.

H.R. 1, Mrs. Pelosi and her ultra-liberal pal’s first attempt to draft legislation to make America safe since 9/11, contains language that would subject our country's most effective counter proliferation initiative to limitations imposed by the UN Security Council.

The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) is a four year-old program, created and led by the United States that allows America and our allies to interdict the transfer of banned weapons and technology. The program consists of 14 core partner countries and dozens of additional supporting nations, all of whom share a mutual interest in preventing the spread of WMD.

Incredibly, H.R. 1 would express the Sense of Congress that this program needs to be authorized by the UN. Talk about surrendering our national security to UN bureaucrats!

It should be obvious that the PSI functions precisely because the UN is not directly involved. Allowing the Security Council to govern the program would instantly jeopardize the intelligence, routes, and methods used by American and allied forces as they try and keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of terrorists and rogue regimes.

Even more ominously, the Democrat proposal would essentially hand over our efforts to stop nuclear proliferation to a global body that has counted among its membership in recent years both Pakistan and Syria. It is already a goal of the Bush Administration to broaden international participation in the PSI. It should not be a goal to expand that membership to the proliferators themselves.

If this effort is part of a broader agenda by Democrat leaders to globalize America's foreign policy and national security, it must stop now. This afternoon, Republicans will offer a motion to commit the bill H.R. 1 to committee with instructions to remove this language and ensure that America's homeland security efforts are not controlled by the United Nations.

Our national security depends on you calling your House Representative right now and urging him or her to vote YES on the Republican Motion to Commit on H.R. 1 to committee with instructions to remove this language that would jeopardize America.

Sincerely,

J. William Lauderback
Executive Vice President
The American Conservative Union

Naked liberal parties

"But the naked parties are now fixtures among liberal students being primed to become the nation's elite. "

Naked elite liberals as the nation's leaders?

This is a scary thought.

Picture the next John Kerry and the next Hillary Clinton running around naked.

That is a disturbing image.

The ICE Princess

Debbie Schlussel unloads on Julie Myers.

Ouch. This is painful to read.

What would you rather have on the taxpayers' dime, hard partying or oil changes?

Style over substance

"Style over substance" almost always describes anything the Democrats do.

Illegal criminals

Inspector General Glenn A. Fine said that the volume of available files "was too great to search manually and quantify the results" ....

This is another case where information technology matters. If the volume of files is too large to search manually, then search them electronically.

Do the files consist of hand-scribbled notes on coffee-stained napkins? Whatever happened to that promise of the paperless office?

Also, can we dispense with the liberal myth that illegal aliens are paragons of virtue that never commit crimes?

John Kerry is trying (again) to save us

"Whatever he chooses to do, he is going to have a tremendous impact on public policy," said Smith. "Whether on Iraq or domestic policy, Sen. Kerry bring tremendous political assets to the table and the party benefits when he takes a leadership role."

Those statements would be humorous if they were not so pathetic.

Right Wing Blog Hooligans

Duke Professor Davidson complains that right-wing blog hooligans [I plead guilty to that one] aim to make liberals look ridiculous.

I would point out that the only people who can make liberals look ridiculous are the liberals themselves, and they do a masterful job of it.

Hitting the Islamofascists

President Abdullahi Yusuf told journalists in the capital, Mogadishu, that the U.S. "has a right to bombard terrorist suspects who attacked its embassies."

I have to agree with him on that one.

Impeach on the Beach

Liberals wearing weird headgear stage a beach protest.

Here is what John Hawkins at Right Wing News had to say about it:

"People always wonder why liberals do so many protests and conservatives don't bother. Well, let me tell you, you go try to convince a conservative to put tinfoil on his head, go down to the beach, and be part of a group of people spelling out something like, "Kennedy's Drunk," and he'll look at you like you need to be sent away to an asylum. On the other hand, liberals hear basically the same spiel and they think, "That's the greatest idea since Al Gore invented the lightbulb!" It's just one of the many fundamental differences between conservatives and liberals."

Barackwater

As the article points out, Osama/Obama might talk tough on ethics, but Barack Hussein's own lack of ethics might be a problem for all of us.

Sharpton for President

"If we're talking about the urban agenda, can you tell me anybody else in the field who's representing that right now?" Sharpton asked. "We clearly have a reason to run, and whether we do it or not we'll see over the next couple of months."

- AP story (since it is AP, it is probably not accurate)

Yeah, plus we need a race-card player in the mix. I am in favor of it. Lots of potential entertainment value.

Whizzing by the off-ramp

"And remember that Saddam could have prevented the Iraq war altogether by taking the safe passage into exile offered by President Bush immediately prior to the 2003 U.S. invasion. Instead, he whizzed by every possible off-ramp en route to his meeting with his maker last week."

- Rachel Marsden

Spreading the Misery

"The very idea that upper income producers are undertaxed is ludicrous on its face. Democrats can't possibly believe that the rich don't pay their fair share of the revenues when the top one percent of income producers -- according to 2004 tax data cited by economist Larry Kudlow -- pays some 37 percent of federal income taxes and the lowest 40 percent pays virtually no taxes and is even subsidized."

- David Limbaugh

Californian socialism

Gov. Schwarzenegger returns to his socialist roots, and seeks to destroy the Californian economy.

Blue Origin

"Our first objective is developing New Shepard, a vertical take-off, vertical-landing vehicle designed to take a small number of astronauts on a sub-orbital journey into space."

- Blue Origin website

Once again, we see private enterprise seeking to do what bloated, inefficient government programs fail to do (a similar government project was canceled after spending huge amounts of tax money).

Bloomberg and the gas problem

"We are waiting for the gas to pass," the mayor said.

China vs. Muslim terrorists

This story documents how China has its own problems with Muslim terrorists.

Moderate Muslims preaching hate

No surprise here.

Hypothetical candidate

Gregg Jackson describes the ideal conservative candidate.

I would definitely vote for the person he describes.

A top NH Dem might have porn troubles

"He’s a liberal Democrat, and that’s all one needs to obtain immunity from criminal persecution."

- Ed Naile

Did he mean "prosecution?"

NFL wildcard games

None of the wildcard underdogs won. I was wrong, I predicted that one would win.

Of course, if Tony Romo had not fumbled the hold on the field goal attempt, Dallas might have won.

What do you suppose Romo was thinking about? Instead of concentrating on the ball, he was thinking about his golf game? Carrie Underwood?

Botnets

Attack of zombie computers is a growing threat.

Most Bees Live Alone

Fascinating article on solitary bees.

Political quiz

This quiz claims to determine if you are a liberal or a conservative.

My score was 40, which means that I tied with Ronald Reagan.

But I am still left of God.

Lonely John Kerry

My brother is an Air Force Col. serving on Gen. Casey's staff in Baghdad. I emailed him yesterday to ask if he had seen the picture of "Mr. Lonely." He had seen the pix and the following is what he wrote back: "The picture on the website of the Senator is from the same chow hall I use. We call it the DEFAC (Dining facility). The night prior I was in the chow hall with the Senator, he came in just behind me and sat a few tables over. Everybody avoided him like the plague."

- letter to Michelle Malkin, posted on her blog, referring to Senator John Kerry

Virtual campaigns

"I have never been into politics actively, but if big Al would run again, oh, I would do anything," writes Josh Paskowitz on a Gore site. "I would march. I would rally. I would DIE to make him win."

Now that is left-wing dedication. Maybe the guy watched "An Implausible Truth" too many times.

Fear in Spain

"Spain's bishops are alarmed by ambitious plans to recreate the city of Cordoba - once the heart of the ancient Islamic kingdom of al-Andalus - as a pilgrimage site for Muslims throughout Europe."

- Elizabeth Nash

If the Persians get Nuked

"Israel has drawn up secret plans to destroy Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities with tactical nuclear weapons."

Muslims vs. Democrats

"The executive director of the Sacramento chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said he believes a death threat against him was fueled by Senator Barbara Boxer’s actions."

- KCBS news story

Michigan Money Launderers

Debbie Schlussel calls out money launderers, murderers, tax cheats, and other low-lifes.

Army asks dead to re-enlist

Another REMF foulup.

My Alcoholoroscope

SCORPIO (Oct 24 - Nov 21)

Drinking style: Don't ever tell Scorpios they've had enough, for they'll smirk at you and quietly but intentionally keep tippling till they're hog-whimpering drunk, out of 100-proof spite. Scorpios like to drink, and screw you if you have a problem with that. Most of them see the sauce as something to savor in itself, and not as a personality-altering tool - though if depressed, self-loathing Scorps seek total obliteration. But generally, they're fascinating drinking pals, brilliant conversationalists and dizzying flirts. They also remember everything -- especially what you did when you were blitzed. Only drink with a Scorpio who likes you.

The Martyr

“No one will ever forget the way in which Saddam was executed. They turned him into a martyr.”

- President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt

And now a lot of Sunni Arabs want to be just like Saddam Hussein?

Is a Surge the best idea?

Oliver North explains why sending more U.S. troops to Iraq is a bad idea.

He makes some interesting points.

Blokus

Blokus is a fun, challenging game. It is sort of like a strategic cross between Tetris and Go.

The AI opponents at the web site can be very tough.

Online chess

Free, easy to use, online AI chess opponent.

Kerry campaign was incompetent

"I thought the decision of the Kerry campaign to back off any real criticism of Bush was one of the biggest acts of political malpractice in the history of American politics."

- Terry McAuliffe

Ancient global warming

Trying to make a connection across 300 million years is fraught with uncertainty, none of which is addressed in this article.

I sure hope Yale geochemist Berner was misrepresented, because he would know that what they attributed to him was not true.

Assuming that the geologic record is what scientists think it is, there is no way that in 4.5 billion years of earth history there were only two such events.

T-shirt blogger

By this standard, I am a t-shirt blogger.

CBC cheers for corruption

Business as usual from the Congressional Black Caucus.

Beware the stealthy gun grabbers

(quoted from Human Events article)

Gun rights spokesmen are aware of these attempts to weaken our defenses. In fact, Rep. Ron Paul (R.-Tex.), a stalwart supporter of 2nd Amendment rights for many years, wrote last November wrote that, “Gun control may have faded as a political issue, but the mentality that Washington knows best—and that certain constitutional rights are anachronisms—is alive and well. Look for gun control advocates to bide their time and look for new ways to resurrect the issue in 2008 and beyond.”

Muslim cleric bites the big one

"The cleric's shooting in central Gaza came hours after Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas said he and President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah had agreed to keep rival gunmen off Gaza's streets after clashes in which eight were killed. "

- Nidal al-Mughrabi

Terrorist deported

"Before that, Damra was convicted by a federal jury in Cleveland, of lying about his membership in a terrorist group, Islamic Jihad, and was stripped of his U.S. citizenship. Damra was a crony and partner with fellow Islamic terrorist Sami Al-Arian, currently in prison and also ultimately to be deported."

- Debbie Schlussel

Good question

"For example, when given a choice between, on the one hand, a pro-abortion, protectionist, pro-civil liberties, race-baiting surrender monkey in favor of subsidized gay marriage for illegal alien pedophiles, and on the other hand, an anti-abortion, pro-free trade, tough-on-terror, donor-kissing corporate sycophant in favor of outsourcing all children to more competitive child rearing farms in Pakodeshindia … for whom does the gun-owning Irish Catholic union member from New York vote to advance his overall values in Washington?"

- Mac Johnson

Zal moves to UN

President Bush wants to move Zalmay Khalilzad from Iraq to the UN.

One of the reasons cited is to show that we are taking the UN seriously.

Since when does the UN deserve to be taken seriously?

Minnesota Muslim cab drivers

"Officials at Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport are proposing stiffer penalties - including suspension of an airport taxi license - to Muslim cab drivers who refuse service to passengers toting alcohol or service dogs. "

"But Hassan Mohamud, imam at Al-Taqwa Mosque of St. Paul and director of the Islamic Law Institute at the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, one of the largest Islamic organizations in the state, said asking Muslims to transport alcohol "is a violation of their faith. Muslims do not consume, carry, sell or buy alcohol, and Islam also considers the saliva of dogs to be unclean," he said."

The Right Minimum Wage

"But the minimum wage should be the same everywhere: $0. Labor is a commodity; governments make messes when they decree commodities' prices. Washington, which has its hands full delivering the mail and defending the shores, should let the market do well what Washington does poorly. But that is a good idea whose time will never come again."

- George Will

I agree with George Will on this one, let the markets decide. We routinely see employers paying more than the minimum wage. And why is that? Because they have to in order to get the employees they want.

Home intruders shot dead

"Hopefully this is going to send a message to people who are breaking into homes," Albuquerque police spokeswoman Trish Hoffman told the Albuquerque Tribune.

Another Ayatollah bites the big one

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, dead at 67.

Maybe.

He might just be mostly dead.

Obama gets ethical

I am a cynic on this one. Or a skeptic. Or maybe septic.

I do not believe that the Democrats have any intention of cleaning up Congress.

It's all smoke and mirrors.

Chess quote

“Why must I lose to this idiot?”

- Aron Nimzowitsch

One of the all-time great quotes, and not just in the context of chess.

Leftwing Christmas Haters

This is really pathetic.

Space Junk

I think Devo had a song about this.

The Edwards Doctrine

"Edwards thinks we can stop genocide without committing troops and merely by 'showing leadership.'”

- Patrick Hynes

Instead, maybe Edwards could sue foreign governments.

Extremists

Consider Dearborn, Michigan.

Home to Muslim extremists.

"Proving the old adage wrong. The enemy of my enemy is not always my friend.

Sometimes, he's just our enemy. And, unfortunately, he's living on American soil with permanent citizenship. And a lot of easily-incited followers."

- Debbie Schlussel

AP misrepresents news

The AP misrepresents the news again. Same old same old.

Now if the AP did not misrepresent the news, then that would be news.

Addendum: The link provided works for me, but here is another link to the same story.

Pork soup is not racist

Interesting things happen in France.

A French court has ruled that pork soup is not racist.

Democrats having trouble already

Cindy Sheehan got a hug from Crooked John and disrupted a Democratic press conference.

These people deserve each other.

Saban burns his bridges

Nick Saban abandons the NFL, and takes over at Alabama.

It is going to be very interesting to watch this shake out. Saban has had a lot of success, but expectations at Alabama are out in orbit somewhere.

Millen and the problems remain

Detroit Lions coaches and players come and go, but Millen and the problems remain.

A Vast Sleeper Cell

"Liberals spent the Vietnam War rooting for the enemy and clamoring for America's defeat, a tradition they have brought back for the Iraq war."

- Ann Coulter

Obama & Cocaine

But if he and his friends had been snorting laundry detergent and plooking each other, then I would be concerned.

Habanero powder

From the label:

"This powder is the hottest of the hot! Behind the heat is a fruity flavor that makes these chiles a wonderful way to spark up a dish - but can be used sparingly. You might want to open a window before opening the packet."

When they say this is the hottest of the hot, they are not kidding.

Hangover cures

Obviously, the best method is to avoid one in the first place.

Alcohol's Official Weblog

Days That End in Y is a very interesting blog.

The ramblings of an only slightly inebriated American?

I learned a new word: "veisalgia."

I will now use the word "veisalgia" in my everyday conversation as often as possible.

Herbs & Spices

Eat more herbs and spices.

They cure just about everything.

Crooked John

John Conyers is further proof that the Democrats are not serious about ethics reform.

And most of us never thought they were serious in the first place.

Another 20

Lists the 20 most annoying people on the right.

Ouch. It was painful reading this.

Little Miss Attila did not even get an honorable mention. I guess that proves that she is not really on the right at all.

Addendum: The list is now 21. They added Michael Savage.

Ongoing AP scandal

"Until this matter is resolved, the AP's credibility will suffer."

- Eason Jordan

The AP has credibility? With whom?

Liberals read the AP because they admire left-wing liars.

Conservatives read the AP to keep track of what the enemies of America are lying about.

A different Oz

Review of an online fishing game called Oz.

Free download and no subscription fee.

I have not tried it, but it sounds interesting.

A hero named Autrey

Navy veteran Wesley Autrey leaped onto the train tracks in front of an oncoming train to save a man in trouble. Both men survived.

There was no mention if Autrey was related to legendary cowboy hero Gene Autrey (often spelled Autry).

Recipes from the future

These are the bbq/crock recipes that we will be using in 2008.

20 Most Annoying Liberals

The twenty most annoying liberals of 2006.

There are so many annoying liberals that people like Ted Kennedy and The Clantons only got honorable mentions.

Ancient Fishhook

"Joe Harl, of the Archaeological Research Center of St. Louis, said the size of the hook suggests the fisherman who used it was after a larger fish. "

Imam Ellison

"While Ellison is teaching us benighted Islamaphobes about justice and tolerance, perhaps he could save a few lessons for his co-religionists in the Muslim world (like the headhunters of Indonesia )—where such concepts are non-existent. "

Minnesota Ellison

Q: Is Keith Ellison lying to the infidels?

New York Times intercepted

"Accuracy and fairness were not pursued with the vigor Times readers have a right to expect."

- Byron Calame

Yeah, but I expect the New York Times to be inaccurate and unfair.

Osama Obama

Gotta love those liberals, always entertaining.

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters

"Dr. Meeker demonstrates that the most important factor for girls growing up into confident, well-adjusted women is a strong father with conservative values."

Sounds right to me.

Sharia in Minnesota

OK, maybe it is more than just the water.

Maybe I should not breathe the air in Minnesota either.

Another Minnesota connection

"I wouldn't want to create the impression that I wouldn't like the government of the United States to be Islamic sometime in the future."

- Doug Hooper

This reinforces my conviction that I should not drink the water in Minnesota.

Getting cozier with CAIR

The Bush administration fumbles the ball again.

Turnovers are killing us.

Hitler was a Jew

More interesting history lessons from the Persians.

Religion of violence

"While non-Muslim leaders and Islamic apologists in the U.S. and Europe continue to insist that Islam is a religion of peace, every day Muslims commit more violence in the name of Islam. "

Sweetness & Light

Ironic name for an interesting effort.

Exposes bloodthirsty Muslims, a treasonous Kennedy, a corrupt Murtha, a lowlife impersonating a Ranger, and other fascinating bits of news.

Cthulhu 500

Cthulhu 500 card game from Atlas Games.

Fun card game, sort of a Nascar meets Lovecraft.

To win, you need a fast car, a good pit crew, and a little human sacrifice does not hurt either.

The design is unbalanced for two-person play.

3+ players gives a more balanced game, because the other players will gang up on the leader.

Saddam's fan club plots revenge

"The Persians killed him."

- Anonymous Sunni Arab

O'Hare UFO

It was an unexplained weather phenomenon?

Falcons fire Mora

The Atlanta Falcons fired Jim Mora, Jr.

Does this confirm the statement by his dad (better known as Jim Moron) that Vick is a "coach killer?"

Dennis Green fired

The Arizona Cardinals fired Dennis Green.

Who are they going to get that is any better?

Coaches come and go, players come and go, the problems remain.

Another Viking criminal

A Minnesota Viking player was arrested.

After being Tasered.

If Vick was fined for giving his fans the finger, what should the NFL do to Taylor for interfering with an ambulance?

My prediction = They will not do anything.

The Games Journal

Web site for the canceled monthly magazine.

Not totally dead, just mostly dead.

Reptilian Agenda

Exposing the Reptilian Agenda.

And taking conspiracy theories to a whole new level.

We can only hope that The Great White Buffalo returns in time to save us.

Junk Science

Top 10 Junk Science of 2006

Al Gore's "Implausible Truth" was #1. No surprise there.

Liberals attack free speech

“Right now, grassroots groups don’t have to report at all if they are communicating with the public,” said Dick Dingman of the Free Speech Coalition, Inc. “This is an effort that would become a major attack on the 1st Amendment.”

Like the Second Coming of Kerry

"He's like the Mother Teresa of wealthy malpractice lawyers."

- lauraw

Defending our liberties

"Christianity played a crucial role in the establishment of the civil liberties we enjoy. And Christians are on the front lines defending those liberties today."

- Dr. Elizabeth Kantor

Stinking Israel

Israel might smell bad, but compared to Wisconsin?

I doubt it.

Unhappy Bronco fans?

Bronco fans were so unhappy about Denver's choke/failure to make the playoffs that one of them gunned down cornerback Darrent Williams?

Deep Snow

Snowdrifts 15 feet high in Kansas.

Blog "A" List, or lack thereof

"There is no A List. There is only your list."

Desperately Seeking

Searching for better search engines.

Powerset
hakia
ChaCha
Snap
A9

Blokus

Blokus is a fun game, easy to learn, hard to master.

A beer and pretzels game.

Challenging, either against AI or human opponents.