Behold, the monster killer and nightmare slayer

Alabama Boy That Killed Monster Hog Speaks Out About Slay

This story has yet to die, and like a good fishing story, seems to be growing with every telling. To be a girl and become famous you can just look good in tight clothes and maybe do something athletic. To be a guy and become famous you can just kill or capture something big, ugly or unusual.  And unlike the reluctant blog babe and pole vaulter of the month, this kid wants to capitalize on his new found fame as much as possible.  And remarkably, it was even bigger than the legendary Hogzilla (whose myth is currently being made into a movie in which our young hog slayer will now make an appearance).

Did I mention that Alabama boy is only 11 years old, and had to shoot the monster hog nine times with a .50 caliber pistol to finally kill it? He’s officially a stud.

I guess its the whole testosterone, primitive thing. Using a gun to kill a dangerous beast, the thrill of the hunt, the bragging rights of the kill, a grand trophy to show off to the grandkids when you’re old and grey, getting your fifteen minutes of fame, and a perpetually good story to tell at every boring gathering you ever attend. You just can’t ask for much more than that. This kids not even old enough to shave and he’s already peaked.

For some reason I keep getting flashbacks from Lord of the Flies.  Well, minus the savage children, disturbing imagery, murder and regression to the primeval state, but other than that it’s similar. There was a dead pig in both. See also Boy Bags Wild Hog Bigger Than ‘Hogzilla’

Iraq, S. Korea, and the modern Left

 I continue to be amazed at the Left’s defiant refusal to offer ideas, policies, or solutions for world affairs in general, and Iraq/the Middle East in particular. Does Josh Marshall have a plan? We know Andre doesn’t, because every time I respond to his drive-bys on Iraq, he squeals the tires and speeds off.

He shouldn’t feel bad, though. John Kerry somehow managed to run an entire presidential campaign and never offer a position, and the new crop of Democratic contenders appears determined to try to go back-to-back on that score.

The idea of a Korea-like, long, low-grade US presence in Iraq is not new, despite the apparent shock the news has cause Messrs. Downer and Marshall. Indeed, along with Dave, I and many others have said from the start that this would be one of the benefits to the whole operation.

And this is a key point that those in western capitals throughout the world understand, and one that precisely zero of the lefty bloggers gets: There needs to be American forces in the Middle East. It is not that America needs them, specifically, nor certainly that the Republicans/neocons/insert-scary-group-here wants them there. Rather, it is Europe and much of Asia, and Australia and Japan, and …well, basically the entire West.

Profiles in Manhood

=

Oooooo, yeah, feel that sweet Joementum.  Maybe Dave’s last post was right!  I feel happier already!

Semen now a happiness drug for women

 The cure for your woes.

We merely report, you decide.

I feel like a walking pharmacist. A newly empowered healer, if you will,  capable of curing all those downcast, dejected, and depressed that may need a bit of a ‘lift’ to get them through the day.

This may also explain all the unhappiness, bitterness and anger that we have witnessed over at Pandagon. Just a theory.

The finding that women who do not use condoms during sex are less depressed and less likely to attempt suicide than are women who have sex with condoms and women who are not sexually active, one researcher to conclude that semen contains powerful-and potentially addictive-mood-altering chemicals. Full story:http://psychologytoday.com/articles/p… 

In all seriousness though, this is actually another good example that monogamy, and not promiscuity, is a better choice. With a committed and faithful partner one can enjoy the benefits of your ‘interaction’  instead of having to protect oneself from the many diseases present in the population and therefore missing out on the many benefits of ’the happy elixir of life’.  

Maybe Giving Billie Joe and Eminem the Reigns Wasn’t Such a Bad Idea

President George W. Bush would like to see a lengthy U.S. troop presence in Iraq like the one in South Korea to provide stability but not in a frontline combat role, the White House said on Wednesday.The United States has had thousands of U.S. troops in South Korea to guard against a North Korean invasion for 50 years.

Democrats in control of the U.S. Congress have been pressing Bush to agree to a timetable for pulling troops from Iraq, an idea firmly opposed by the president.

White House spokesman Tony Snow said Bush would like to see a U.S. role in Iraq ultimately similar to that in South Korea.

“The Korean model is one in which the United States provides a security presence, but you’ve had the development of a successful democracy in South Korea over a period of years, and, therefore, the United States is there as a force of stability,” Snow told reporters.

These are the people running not only our foreign policy, but the GWOT?  Seriously? 

As Dave pointed out, this site has plenty of historians.  Hopefully they see the little flaw in our beloved President’s thinking here.  If not, Josh Marshall explains.

The True Nature of Modern “Conservatism”

You have got to be kidding me.

The Bush administration said Tuesday it will fight to keep meatpackers from testing all their animals for mad cow disease.

A beef producer in the western state of Kansas, Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, wants to test all of its cows.

Larger meat companies feared that move because, if Creekstone should test its meat and advertised it as safe, they might have to perform the expensive tests on their larger herds as well.

The Agriculture Department regulates the test and argued that widespread testing could lead to a false positive that would harm the meat industry.

So now the GOP is the party of nation building, warrant-less wiretaps, regulation of individuals’ personal lives, AND tinkering with the free market in order to protect the interests of the greater good.

Barry Goldwater would be so proud.

The Sad Saga of Allison Stokke

Some people don’t want to be famous, and some people definitely don’t know how to turn their fifteen minutes of fame into fortune.

How a vaulting ambition catapulted an athlete to unwanted internet fame

This could also be titled: You always run the risk of internet fame if you post yourself on youtube.

“But then she made the “mistake” of posting a three-minute interview about her technique on the internet video site YouTube. Within days, pictures of her, innocently taken at a track-and-field event, were on the internet and being leered at by tens of thousands of men all over the world on websites that have nothing to do with sport. The attention has become so great that Miss Stokke, 18, now locks the doors and avoids leaving her house alone. Her father, a lawyer, checks the internet every night for potential stalkers. She has even had to enlist the services of a media adviser to fend off hundreds of requests for photographs and interviews. “

Here is a link to a typical Allison Stokke is smoking hot thread that seems to be the cause of so much anguish for Allison and paranoia for her father.

Allison Stokke interview and from what I can tell, the video that started it all.

Allison Stokke: Nuova star di internet

Just Don’t Call Them Un-Patriotic!

Vandals burned dozens of small American flags that decorated veterans’ graves for Memorial Day and replaced many of them with hand-drawn swastikas, authorities said Monday.

Forty-six flag standards were found empty and another 33 flags were in charred tatters Sunday in the cemetery, authorities said. Swastikas drawn on paper appeared where 14 of the flags had been.

Hillary’s War

                Hillary’s War

“…This was Clinton’s latest and boldest attempt to distance herself from her own vote for the Iraq war in October 2002 — a vote she has described as “probably the hardest decision I have ever had to make.” At the time she cast that vote, she was among the Senate’s most outspoken Democrats warning of Saddam Hussein’s dangerous arsenal. Unlike nearly all of her fellow Democrats, she even went so far as to argue that Saddam Hussein gave assistance to Al Qaeda members. Now she speaks with equal fervor about the need to bring the war to an end. In addition to calling for the deauthorization of the war, she has also voiced support for cutting off financing to many combat troops in Iraq by March 2008….”

Be sure to read the whole thing…

Chavez Silences Opposition, Left Yawns

“We’re not perfect but we do have democracy”  -  Hugo Chavez

And no matter what the greatest tyrant in the world, the greatest terrorist in the world, George W. Bush says we’re here to tell you that not hundreds, not thousands, but millions of the American people, millions support your revolution, support your ideas and are expressing our solidarity with you.   -  Harry Belafonte

If any American President were to pull the plug on CBS or CNN or Fox News, they would set off a firestorm of debate and riots for their bellicose actions.   And yet these gestapo tactics are just what the government of Hugo Chavez engaged in yesterday:

 The new public channel, TVES, launched its transmissions early Monday with artists singing pro-Chavez music, then carried an exercise program and a talk show, interspersed with government ads proclaiming, “Now Venezuela belongs to everyone.”

Thousands of government supporters reveled in the streets as they watched the midnight changeover on large TV screens, seeing RCTV’s signal go black and then be replaced by a TVES logo. Others launched fireworks and danced in the streets.

It is easy to understand why Chavez supporters might dance in the streets.  Now that the opposition has been silenced they don’t have to deal with the pesky counterpoints.  It is clear to anyone with the most rudimentary knowledge of history that those supporters are only cheering the reincarnation of the socialist utopias of yesteryear.  Those governments had their supporters too.  They had their loony leftists who were drunk with utopian ideals but only served to usher in genocide and oppression.  Silencing the opposition is the tried and true method of people like Mao, Castro, Pol Pot, Peron, Stalin and most recently, Mugabe.  The results were catastophic for every country.

Most egregious is that Chavez’s American mouthpieces will say nothing about the blatant censorship while decrying supposed American imperialism and oppression.  Glover begins his week in San Francisco at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity.

Immigration. Undocumented college students and the Dream Act. Anti-affirmative action. White privilege. Human rights and torture. More than 2,200 participants from all corners of the country and world will gather May 29 - June 2 in San Francisco to discuss these pressing social issues and suggest solutions during the 20th annual National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education (NCORE).

Actor and activist Danny Glover will present a session on human rights and torture. Christine Chavez, granddaughter of Cesar Chavez, has a made a lifetime commitment to public service, civil rights and the labor movement. She will lead a session covering a number of topics stemming from labor relations and her political involvement in the fight to protect civil rights.

I wonder if there will be a workshop on how to cozy up to future totalitarians while condemning the country that made you rich. 

More brilliance from Hitch

Christopher Hitchens has a typically brilliant lede to a typically brilliant column on the new French foreign minister. ConClub has previously written about the election of Nicholas Sarkozy as president of France, and how pro-American and conservative he is. By naming  Bernard Kouchner as foreign minister, Sarkozy is making clear that his vision for France is one of moral leadership in the world, which necessarily means a close relationship with the United States.

Herewith, essential Hitch:

During the early debates over the Iraq war, one was constantly being challenged to contrast the “unilateralism” of the Bush administration with the more mature and “European” approach of Jacques Chirac, Gerhard Schröder and Vladimir Putin, the gleesome threesome who (along with the Chinese dictatorship) protected Saddam Hussein at the United Nations. What a difference a couple of years has made. Tony Blair may be stepping down as prime minister of the United Kingdom, but for the first time in a very long time, the heads of state in Paris and Berlin are both “Atlanticist” in their outlook. One might add that Chirac quit the Élysée Palace looking and sounding like a stroke victim who had long ceased to have anything relevant to say and that Schröder disgraced the German Social Democrats by barely waiting to leave office before signing up as a lobbyist for a Russian-based energy cartel. And is it necessary to add that Putin has revived the worst traditions of Great Russian chauvinism, crushing all domestic opposition at home while bullying Ukraine, Georgia, and most recently Estonia, and flaunting his connection to the ultra-reactionary Russian Orthodox Church. What a crew they were and are! The fourth member of the anti-Bush coalition of the willful, the cold-eyed Chinese post-Stalinists, are still engaged in a blood-for-oil scandal whereby Beijing provides the sinews of war to the genocidal regime that cleanses Darfur, while paying to buy most of Sudan’s petroleum.

As the big boys say, read the whole thing!

A simple test

Screw Loose Change

Since we’ve now decided to actually address the ‘9-11 conspiracy’ buffs, I have added the excellent website Screw Loose Change to the blogroll. Screw Loose Change is a site entirely devoted to debunking those who seek to debunk the accepted history of what happened on 9-11 (Islamic Arab terrorists flew some airplanes into some buildings). It is quite good and the definitive website for those who actually are sick enough to get sucked into the argument/counter-argument world of the 9-11 ‘truth’ movement. I applaud them for taking the blubonnet’s of the world to task and for helping those who need to address the outright lies, manipulation and ignorance of those who believe that we somehow self castrated ourselves on that fateful day.

I believe the ‘truthers’ do a great disservice to our nation in a time of war and to the families of those who perished in a surprise attack on this nation by a foreign enemy. Islamic fundamentalists have waged war on this nation for decades and for some Americans to choose to go through life ignorant to this historical fact is not cause for celebration, but of criticism.

These are the type of people who have chosen to believe their own spewed vitriol and propaganda. If you tell everyone long enough and forceful enough that Bush is a murdering Nazi, then you actually begin to convince yourself that maybe Bush is a Nazi, and maybe he does just like to kill people just for the heck of it.

Re: Down Goes Rosie!

Well, I guess her latest feud is simmering down. In an apparent olive branch, Rosie has suggested that she may never speak to Hassleback again.

I thought that was a nice gesture.

Charles Nelson Reilly, RIP

 

(You’ve got to click through to see it)

Business as usual

Silvestre Reyes, David Obey, Jack Murtha, William Jefferson, Alan Mollohan.

All are powerfull Democrats, and all have been exposed as frauds or criminals. We already know about Murtha’s profanity-laced temper tantrum on the House floor over earmarks, but you might be surprised to the extent others in the Democratic Party have gone to protect Murtha’s grubby prerogetives and to skirt the ethics laws they so ostentatiously touted last fall. Or you might not be.

Now it turns out that Murtha’s legislative largess is something of a quid pro quo; merely the latter half of a transanction between the powerful approriator and wealthy campaign contributors. No wonder he fought so hard to keep the spigot flowing — it was payment due on a bill he owed.

Jack Murtha would be a humorous character if he were in a comic book. The barrel-chested war veteran swaggering around Capital Hill, terrifying young whippersnappers with his finger-wagging threats. But since this is real life, he just comes across as shabby. An old school crook, more accustomed to the days when reporters and congressmen would swap stories over late night gin, Murtha doesn’t know how to play the game anymore.

Subtler in their graft, but no less complicit in the larger scandal of earmarks, are the other powerful Democrats.

[Except for William Jefferson, but he doesn't count. Being in the Congressional Black Caucus means that you can be an out and out criminal who openly takes bribes for votes, and you're still untouchable by the Most Ethical Congress in History.]

Last year, so many on the Left seemed to sincerely believe the propoganda of their websites. You could tell in reading them that they truly believed that Republicans were spooky bad guys, and Democrats were white-hatted heroes, spurred only by love of God and Country. How dissapointing it must be to have their own naivity reflected back at them.

Popular Mechanics- Debunking the 9/11 Myths

PM examines the evidence and consults the experts to refute the most persistent conspiracy theories of September 11.

Take a few thousand half-truths, misunderstandings, amateur analysis, hunches, suspicions, mistakes, historical quotes, incompetencies, guesses, and a lot of extra time; add a dash of Bush hatred and a pinch of ignorance of Islamic fundamentalism and world affairs; stir in the blogosphere for a couple of years and what you get is the “9-11 truth movement”.

The only thing that outrivals a feminist zealot is a 9/11 truther. Crusaders for mistaken causes out to convince the world of the enlightened truth that has opened their eyes and made them the most dangerous of converts.

Conclub has looked into the arguments of the blame the victim crowd and has (wisely) concluded that an administration that has waged the war in Iraq as incompetently as it has and was apparently unable to manufacture a few small piles of ‘WMD’s’ to placate the home grown opposition cannot be expected to have managed to plan and execute what would have been one of the most elaborate, difficult and malicious conspiracies in the history of mankind.

And if you attempt to lose your sanity by wading into the google blackhole of “9-11 conspiracy”, the one thing you’ll find is that the 9-11 truthers basically cannot agree on any one theory at all. It is a strange amalgamation of hundreds of pet theories, rumors, suppositions and self-important revelations. The only thing they can agree on is that it somehow, someway, must be Bush’s fault and absolutely not the followers of the Religion of Peace seeking to blacken the eye of the Great Satan and usher in the age of a new worldwide caliphate.

I suppose that would be too much of a ‘conspiracy’ for even them to swallow.

In the end the ‘9-11 truth movement’ earns only a ‘nice try’.  It simply fails the smell test. The facts don’t support it and blind hatred of a president should not spawn the origin of entire political ideologies. Bush will soon be gone and one has to wonder what will become of the fervent foot-soldiers of the latest conspiracy theory. Perhaps they can take up coin collecting to pass the time.

In the end, we were able to debunk each of these assertions with hard evidence and a healthy dose of common sense. We learned that a few theories are based on something as innocent as a reporting error on that chaotic day. Others are the byproducts of cynical imaginations that aim to inject suspicion and animosity into public debate. Only by confronting such poisonous claims with irrefutable facts can we understand what really happened on a day that is forever seared into world history.–the editors of PM

For Blubonnet

The exhaustive debate on 9/11 truth down the page at ‘Down Goes Rosie’ has inspired me to post this anthem for our beloved Blubonnet (Jennie).  I wish I could give you more info about this elusive lady but alas, all we know about her is her moniker, her first name, and her passion.  But we might know her phone number courtesy of Tommy Tutone. . .  Jennie, this long distance dedication goes out to you!

For all things Fred Thompson

The definitive Fred Thompson Quick-Reference compilation is exactly what it bills itself to be. This should keep you busy for a while. At this moment, if Thompson were to enter the presidential race he would have my endorsement and my vote for what little it is worth. 

In Memory of our Honored Dead

Memorial Day Weekend - 2007

 

…We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let no wanton foot tread rudely on such hallowed grounds. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.

If other eyes grow dull, other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain to us.

Let us, then, at the time appointed gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with the choicest flowers of spring-time; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from his honor; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us a sacred charge upon a nation’s gratitude, the soldier’s and sailor’s widow and orphan. ..

- from General Orders No. 11, May 5, 1868 by General John A. Logan - National Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic.

The History of Memorial Day

The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation. As Moment of Remembrance founder Carmella LaSpada states: “It’s a way we can all help put the memorial back in Memorial Day.”

These heroes are dead.  They died for liberty - they died for us.  They are at rest.  They sleep in the land they made free, under the flag they rendered stainless, under the solemn pines, the sad hemlocks, the tearful willows, and the embracing vines.  They sleep beneath the shadows of the clouds, careless alike of sunshine or of storm, each in the windowless Place of Rest.  Earth may run red with other wars - they are at peace.  In the midst of battle, in the roar of conflict, they found the serenity of death.  I have one sentiment for soldiers living and dead:  cheers for the living; tears for the dead.  ~Robert G. Ingersoll

We come, not to mourn our dead soldiers, but to praise them.  ~Francis A. Walker

More Memorial Day Quotes

Decoration Day in the USA

One of my fantasies…

One of my fantasies is to be seated at a debate between Green Day lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong and Eminem – apparently two of Andre’s favorite philosophers and political raconteurs.

“Mr. Armstrong,” I would begin. “In the larger battle of the Middle East, should the US support the Saudi- Egypt- and Jordanian-backed Sunnis, or the Iranian/Syrian/Iraqi Shia? Since US foreign policy will continue to be a major force in the region, how best should we balance the often competing requests from our Arab allies?”

Billie Joe would then most likely vomit something about Bush wanting to bomb the Eiffel Tower. I would politely smile, then shift to face the other side.

“Mr. Mathers. I wonder, good sir, if you could sketch out the role you see for US power in the Middle East over the next two decades. Is it your position that the clerical/tribal nature of middle eastern Islam precludes democracy? And if that’s the case, should US policy over the next generation be to further democratic progress in the region, or to stifle it? Also, for you personally, Marshall—can I call you Marshall?—what would be the criteria we should apply the next time European capitals call Washington seeking military power to protect oil fields in the Middle East, as they did in 1991?”

In response, Eminem would probably begin to flail his arms and break into verse, something about the army he wishes to form… “assemble our own army / To disarm this Weapon of Mass Destruction / That we call our President.”

Timewaster

This is fun. But not as fun as that French game where you have to balance the ball on the bar. I can’t find that anywhere. Any help would be appreciated.

UPDATE: I found it. It’s every bit as deliciously maddening as I remembered it.

HBII

Apocalyptica is a group of 4 cellists who  have covered many Metallica songs.  Here is their cover of the song ONE.

Saturday Night: Headbangers Ball

 Metallica:  ONE

Saturday Night Souse

A new feature — Dedicated to the Demon Rum and all her acquaintances

         I drink, therefore I am

“Beer is proof God loves us, and wants us to be happy”                   

Benjamin Franklin

Wino Wisdom (brazenly stolen from Modern Drunkard Magazine) “Gin is a morose widow. Tequila is the supple mistress with the cojones to attend the funeral. Pour me some mistress.”

This week’s hangover remedy:  GATORADE. It helps replenish the water and electrolytes lost due to dehydration.

Second Class Citizen

It’s always nice to be put back in your place.

FDA Reiterates Ban On Gay Men Donating Blood, Despite Red Cross Objections

I’m not naive enough to not realize that the policy made sense in 1983, when AIDS was barely understood, and no real tests existed, but in 2007?  Can Dave or E provide me a logical explanation for this, because it seems to me as rational as discharging Arabic translators from the army because they happen to have a boyfriend, instead of a wife.

FNP II- I Guess They Got it Before the Rest of Us

Apparently my misplaced faith will be restored in “September”, when Gen Petraeus will give his report, and all of the GOP stalwarts will come to their senses.

Sometimes I just wish I could stop caring… Still, I mourn the 91 dead so far this month.   Must be partisan selfishness.

Happy Memorial Day.

Never, EVER, Bet Against the Great ZOD!

An aside from politics, for a moment.

Less than two weeks ago a few friends and I were sitting at the bar, lamenting the lack of hitting ability of our beloved Padres.   We complained about the Brothers Giles, the disappointment that is Mike Cameron, and Khalil Greene’s hot and cold tendencies.  But then came the topic of Kevin Kouzmanoff.

At this point he was batting a miserable 115, and the general consensus was that he should be sent back to the minors to build up his talents.  A lone voice said that the kid has talent, and to send him down would be mistake.  Of course that voice was the great Zod, and everyone mocked him.  Then two of the mockers proceeded to bet Zod one hundred dollars each that not only would he be sent down soon, but that there was no way he would even break 220 before the end of the season.

Two days later he would begin an eight game hitting streak, and came into tonight batting 207.  He then went two for three, including a double and the Padre’s first grand slam of the season.  That should put him around 215.

The Great Zod is (almost) never wrong!

Friday Night Punk- The Pogues

“Body of an American” 

Traditional Irish music (complete with accordion and tin whistle), brilliant lyrics, and a lead singer, with the worst teeth on the British Isles, who has never been seen sober in public (even on SNL- notice the cup to his right, which he repeatedly stares at, and picks up at the end of the song)!

How can you go wrong?

Because I think they are even more necessary than usual, the lyrics are after the fold.

Down Goes Rosie!

You can almost hear Howard Cossell saying it.  Rosie O’Donnell, the blowhard of the View, was brought down by the timid, sweet Elizabeth Hasselbeck.  DOWN GOES ROSIE!  DOWN GOES ROSIE! DOWN GOES ROSIE! 

If you didn’t see the entire exchange, watch it here.  It’s awesome to see someone finally challenge Cruella DeVille on her own turf.

On a side note, just how pathetic is the red headed Joy?  She is so used to Rosie calling the shots that when there is finally some confrontation, she panics and begs for a commercial.  What a coward!  She sure can dish it out when the anti-Republican love fest is in full bloom.  But the fact that Hasselbeck finally got the better of Rosie in a verbal spar is only part of the story.  Today, Rosie decided to take her ball and go home.  Like a bully, once she got popped in the face she decided to take her act elsewhere.  Yet in all fairness I suppose it is possible that ABC pushed her out.  There are some reports that Rosie went to her dressing room and trashed the place.  And People magazine includes this small but telling tidbit:

The latest: The New York Post’s Page Six column is reporting that a Rosie O’Donnell staffer was escorted out of the ABC building on Thursday after she was caught drawing moustaches on pictures of Hasselbeck that hang in the View studios.

Both the Infidel Sage and I have often described the tactics of the left as “school yard” antics.  The name calling and bullying would be laughable if it weren’t perpetrated by grown adults.  The entire saga of Rosie O’Donnell illustrates this point quite well.

Memorial Day ACLU Style

On May 11, Art Downs over at Common Sense Political Thought wrote a piece entitled The ACLU hates America.  His beef against them was their nefarious choice of who they choose to defend.  He wrote:

The trickle-up theory holds that protecting the ‘rights’ of a monster, the average person will be made more free.  The average person does not kidnap mentally-retarded teens and rape them.  Poster-punk Miranda did and they made a test case that created a new loophole for depraved and vicious criminals.  They can go to bat for NAMBLA but ignore the new censorship of political correctness.

While I tend to agree in principle with Mr. Downs, I understand the need for even those accused of some of the most heinous crimes to be allowed a vigorous defense.  But if criminal defense were their only affronts to the American way of life, I think I could live with them.  Its all of the other garbage that they churn up that makes me sick.

Case in point: The ACLU is leading the charge to have crosses removed from public memorials for fear that they may offend.  In San Diego, the Mt. Soledad Veterans memorial has a large cross that has stood on the mountain in one form or another since 1913.  The original cross was erected by private citizens.  In the Mojave desert, a WWI memorial has a large cross atop a hill.  The ACLU sued to have the cross removed from the public land and is now fighting a land transfer to a private party.  The result of the Mojave desert lawsuit is that the symbol has been covered:

 

So what can we make of such non-issues?  After all, one certainly expects to encounter crosses and stars of David when they enter American cemetaries!  The bottom line is that the ACLU is a liberal organization of secular progressives that despises any expression of religion, be it large or small.  Their arrogant disregard for the millions of veterans and soldiers that stood in the gap for freedom is disheartening.

In the famous poem In Flanders Field, the first line says “In flanders fields the poppies blow between the crosses row by row.”  If the ACLU had their way, there would be no rows of crosses in our public cemetaries.  It might offend a select two or three who visit each year.  Happy Memorial Day.

Patriotism at it’s finest

“Patriotism is all about what you’re going to do for defense of your rights and your liberty,” he concludes. “It’s not about what someone else is going to do.”

We all must stand up to defend our rights.  Steve Horner has found his cause…fighting against ladies’ nights at local drinking establishments because they discriminate against men.   His crusade for men’s rights began in the early 90’s and has taken his fight to a number of American cities over the years.  What a noble cause! 

 In January,  after the Colorado Division of Civil rights sided with his complaint against the nightclub Proof,  he remarked:

“This is now a violation of law. I will now make it a point to visit as many ladies nights as I can every week. I’ll have my rights violated, then I’ll sue them in county court and collect my $500 (the maximum penalty in county court for each incident of discrimination),” Horner said.

“I feel it could net me $3,000 to $4,000 a week easy, and I’m going to do it,” he added. “It takes me five minutes to be discriminated against.”

 On May 18, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission issued a letter concluding that  ladies’ night pricing was a violation of public accommodations law.  However, it found that the violation at Proof warranted no monetary damages. 

So the next logical step for Horner was to file a complaint against Westword magazine for $15,000 , as the magazine ran ladies’ night ads from January 2007 to May 2007 and each of the approximately 30 ads discriminated against him.  Read more here.

Of course, his real motivation may be his hatred for the band Kool and the Gang.

Maybe his wife was a big fan of the band or could never curb her appetite for Ladies’ night.

What Real Torture Looks Like

To the dolts at Amnesty International and their defenders, here is a look at real torture:

In a recent raid on an al-Qaeda safe house in Iraq, U.S. military officials recovered an assortment of crude drawings depicting torture methods like “blowtorch to the skin” and “eye removal.” Along with the images, which you’ll find on the following pages, soldiers seized various torture implements, like meat cleavers, whips, and wire cutters. Photos of those items can be seen here. The images, which were just declassified by the Department of Defense, also include a picture of a ramshackle Baghdad safe house described as an “al-Qaeda torture chamber.” It was there, during an April 24 raid, that soldiers found a man suspended from the ceiling by a chain. According to the military, he had been abducted from his job and was being beaten daily by his captors. In a raid earlier this week, Coalition Forces freed five Iraqis who were found in a padlocked room in Karmah. The group, which included a boy, were reportedly beaten with chains, cables, and hoses. Photos showing injuries sustained by those captives can be found here. (12 pages)

Please spare me the crap about Abu Ghraib and Gitmo.  These guys make those places look like Club Med.  The injustices at Abu Ghraib have been righted and the people involved have been properly convicted of their crimes.  And at Gitmo, I would hardly call the U.S. giving Muslims prayer mats and Islamic-sensitive meals “torture.”  Moreover, we know that much of the information coming from Gitmo was fabricated.  To believe that the U.S. and its military turned into some hotbed of torture suddenly in 2001 is to believe in Santa Claus.

Ugh

The House Dem Leadership (L to R, Hoyer, Pelosi, and Clayburn) explain why they bent over and screamed for more when it came to the Iraq Supplemental Bill.

I changed parties for a reason.  This wasn’t it.

A.I. Does Not Support or Oppose Any Political System

From Amnesty International’s own site:  

Who’s got the worst human rights record?

		Vote for Darth Vader Torture, enslavement of Wookiees, decimation of the Alderaanian civilization.
		Vote for Hobgoblin Attacks on Spiderman, gassing civilian populations, using innocents as human shields.
		Vote for Dick Cheney Torture, black sites, “disappearances,” kangaroo courts, indefinite detention, and more!

The last paragraph of Amnesty International’s mission says this:

AI is independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion. It does not support or oppose any government or political system, nor does it support or oppose the views of the victims whose rights it seeks to protect. It is concerned solely with the impartial protection of human rights.

If you believe that nonsense, have I got a site for you!

GOTTA SEE THIS

For quite some time a figure known as Diogenesis has provided the FreeRepublic community with high quality images from the world’s hotspots and war zones in his posts entitled GOTTA SEE THIS. His latest entries found here and here document the fighting currently taking place in Lebanon and are definitely worth the visit.

Another warrior for the Religion of Peace

Hillary needs your advice

Ok boys and girls, Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton needs your help in picking a theme song for her campaign. She has made a direct appeal to you, the American people, to help her with this agonizing decision. Hillary even attempts to be ‘funny’ in asking for your help.

Luckily, Hugh Hewitt has risen to the occasion to help the former First Lady find something appropriate to appeal to all people regardless of race, religion, preferred sexual fetish or current undocumented status in the United States.  Something that will help us overlook our differences, bring us all together and help us emphasize our common bonds as a people. To help this noble cause I encourage you to join the discussion at Pick Her Theme Song and lend your voice to the chorus that will help sweep Mrs. Clinton into the oval office. 

So without further delay here is my humble contribution to the cause:

Barbie’s fake.  Hillary’s fake.  I think it works well and would add an air of honesty and originality to the campaign that is sorely lacking. Plus Barbie has better ideas, a better personality and a better sense of humor than Hillary does. It can only help. The song is kind of catchy as well. Watch the vid and tell me what you end up humming to yourself as you drive to work in the morning…

10 Minutes I Will Never Get Back

WordPress sometimes has some interesting stuff on their hot blogs or hot posts pages.   Occasionally I find some useful tidbits that are related to blogging or are just general interest stuff.  Then occasionally I find the creepy stuff that only a 9/11 truther can provide.   And like a curious child, I sometimes click the links and waste 10 minutes of my life reading the entries.  To these guys, everything about 9/11 is a coverup and we just don’t know it yet.  They are the saviors exposing the madness of a government gone bad.  Their blogrolls are akin to Wendy discovering Jack’s “book” in The Shining.   The shock of seeing it reminds me of seeing the words, “all work and no play make Jack a dull boy” over and over and over.   These are the same type of clowns that used to point to Alien Autopsey as an authoritative video on the government coverup of UFO’s.  Here is what one post on the above site said about the truthers:

Before you go throwing around “wackos, wingbats, nutjobs and conspiracy theorists, etc…” or listening to those who are, learn a little about the people who call themselves the 9/11 truth movement:

1. The 9/11 truth movement is diverse, democratic, and non-partisan. This is not a far right-wing or far left-wing movement. There are Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hispanics, Whites, African Americans, rich, poor, PhD professors, college students, truck drivers, teachers, lawyers, doctors, architects, Reverends,atheists, democrats, republicans, and independents. There is no “type” of truther, because the truth knows neither religious, ethnic, social nor secular boundaries.

Heeeeeres Johnny!!!!!  

Update:  I made a comment at the above “truth” site only to have it disappear in moderation.  I guess they aren’t really interested in truth after all.  They would rather sit around and masturbate to Ron Paul and supposed injustices of the Bush administration.

The Office Fans May Like ‘Chalk’

I like the mockumentary style seen in NBC’s The Office.  And although this is sort of an Office ripoff, it still looks amusing (particularly to us teachers).  Chalk lets you see the journey of three novice teachers as they go through their first year.  It looks funny, but I have absolutely no clue if it will ever be run nationally.  The site wasn’t very helpful.  But see the trailer anyway.

Just say no to amnesty

Fool us once, shame on you. Fool us twice…

Is it really that hard to have a nation that actually has borders? Is it too much to ask that those who come here do it in small, needed and monitored groups? Is it too much to say that with already 1/8th of the Mexican population living in the US that maybe we should discuss some security measures and examine the vast impact that they are having on our culture, as well as the political, health care, educational and correctional systems before we give a green light for the rest to come on over? And in the end, is it really too much to ask that the Republicans not sell America out for cheap labor and for the Democrats to not sell America out for cheap votes?

 I think not.
 
The Corner has some thoughts on The Amnesty Bill that are interesting as well.

The chief cause of misunderstanding is the issue of trust. The White House thought that that if they had all sorts of conservative mechanisms in the bill that conservatives would be placated. What they didn’t understand is that the anti-”amnesty” wing of the Republican party simply doesn’t believe any of these enforcement measures will implemented until they in fact are implemented. “Trust but verify” has simply become “verify.” And until there is real enforcement — both in terms of current law and new laws — the base simply doesn’t care about any other bells and whistles. “Been there done that” is the de facto official policy of the base when it comes to promises of enforcement, i.e. “No more promises, just enforcement. Then we’ll talk”

What tangled webs we weave…

Surrendering our Sovereignty

“It occurred to me at this conference, after examining the literature provided to me and hearing the various experts on the panels, that a process has been well underway to merge not only the legal but economic, political, and social systems of the U.S., Canada and Mexico. I wondered how this was all set in motion and what justification there was legally, legislatively or constitutionally, for it to proceed. “

Updated: The ‘move along, nothing to see here’ crowd would like to believe that there is no connection between the various hemispheric trade agreements, the open borders policy and the gradual hemispheric integration that is in the works (think EU).  I sincerely hope they are correct but fear that they simply refuse to acknowledge the evergrowing signs that show we are headed in that direction. Too often whre there is smoke there is fire.  Now would probably be a good place to throw in a ‘the love of money is the root of all evil’ quotation but I will bravely resist the temptation.

Canada.com has a good article relating the story of a meeting held by Canadian, US and Mexican officials on integration.

Canadian, U.S. and Mexican politicians discussed using “stealth” to overcome public resistance to the integration of the three countries at a confidential meeting last year, according to documents just released under U.S. Freedom of Information laws….

…Presentation outlines for the forum acknowledge that the concept of North American integration - which some call a “North American Union” - is unpopular, and note that it might be tough to sell as a concept.

“While a vision is appealing, working on the infrastructure might yield more benefit and bring more people on board (’evolution by stealth’),” the notes said.

For more info, here is the link to the 2005 Council on Foreign Relations report, Building a North American Community.

 

Carter

I’m waiting for a serious liberal to finally admit that Jimmy Carter is a festering embarrassment. Each interview he gives is more vicious than the next, and he is full of so much hate that he can’t describe anyone he disagrees with without using the harshest, most acidic adjectives his mind can still conjure up. It’s like talking to a teenager for whom everything is either the best thing in the world, or the absolute worst of all time. As coherent adults, we smile when we hear the kids say such things, but with Carter we just wince.

Carter has had nothing but kind words for Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Yasser Arafat, Marshal Josef Tito, Nicolae Ceaucescu, and Daniel Ortega. He’s offered nothing but invective for George Bush, Tony Blair, Arial Sharon, Bibi Netanyahu, and Ronald Reagan.

When he has been asked to represent the United States, he has double-crossed us instead. In Haiti, when the Clinton administration was threatening to intervene in the country to thwart the military regime that had overthrown Aristide, Bill Clinton dispatched Carter to try to get the point across that military action was coming. Instead, Carter told the brutal dictator Raoul Cédras that he was “ashamed of what my country has done to your country,” and delayed the invasion. Only when Clinton ordered the attack planes airborne did Carter finally agree to leave.

And never forget that Jimmy Carter has committed what is almost certainly the most treasonous action by an American president, and the most treasonous action by a former president. In 1976 and 1980, he offered to grant secret benefits to the Soviet Union if they would help him win the presidential election. That act defines treachery and corruption. In 1990, he contacted members of the UN Security Council to urge them to block US policy in the Gulf.

That today’s leftist squawkers continue to prattle on about how Bush is the worst President ever, shows just how ignorant of history they are. It’s no wonder they - like Carter - sound so shrill and hyperbolic in their judgements. Like the teenager, they can’t put today in perspective, because they haven’t the foggiest idea what has happened before. For Carter’s reputation, though, it’s too bad that everyone is not so clueless.

The Disgrace that is Jimmy Carter

I’m waiting for a serious liberal to finally admit that Jimmy Carter is a festering embarrassment. Each interview he gives is more vicious than the last, and he is full of so much hate that he can’t describe anyone he disagrees with without using the harshest, most acidic adjectives his mind can still conjure up. It’s like talking to a teenager for whom everything is either the best thing in the world, or the absolute worst of all time. As coherent adults, we smile when we hear the kids say such things, but with Carter we just wince.

Carter has had nothing but kind words for Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Yasser Arafat, Marshal Josef Tito, Nicolae Ceaucescu, and Daniel Ortega. He’s offered nothing but invective for George Bush, Tony Blair, Arial Sharon, Bibi Netanyahu, and Ronald Reagan.

When he has been asked to represent the United States, he has double-crossed us instead. In Haiti, when the Clinton administration was threatening to intervene in the country to thwart the military regime that had overthrown Aristide, Bill Clinton dispatched Carter to try to get the point across that military action was coming. Instead, Carter told the brutal dictator Raoul Cédras that he was “ashamed of what my country has done to your country,” and delayed the invasion. Only when Clinton ordered the attack planes airborne did Carter finally agree to leave.

And never forget that Jimmy Carter has committed what is almost certainly the most treasonous action by an American president, and the most treasonous action by a former president. In 1976 and 1980, he offered to grant secret benefits to the Soviet Union if they would help him win the presidential election. That act defines treachery and corruption. In 1990, he contacted members of the UN Security Council to urge them to block US policy in the Gulf.

That today’s leftist squawkers continue to prattle on about how Bush is the worst President ever, shows just how ignorant of history they are. It’s no wonder they - like Carter - sound so shrill and hyperbolic in their judgements. Like the teenager, they can’t put today in perspective, because they haven’t the foggiest idea what has happened before. For Carter’s reputation, though, it’s too bad that everyone is not so clueless.

Garthwaite Details Heritage Foundation Opposition to Immigration Bill

Our old friend Jonathan Garthwaite at Townhall seems to believe that the Heritage Foundation is going to put its considerable influence strongly against the immigration bill.  He writes:

I spent 11 years working in the Heritage Foundation building and I can’t recall Heritage speaking so strongly against illegal immigration and amnesty proposals before.

Read the entire article by Brian Darling entitled, GOP Sellout: A Senseless Giveaway on Immigration. 

Now we just have to get Jon to revisit the hallowed halls of Conclub.

Shut Up, Already! Part II

Just for the record, I think Jimmy Carter is a senile, bitter, deranged individual that has placed himself among the likes of Cindy Sheehan for his utter stupidity and subversiveness.  So imagine the most incompetent President to ever darken the doorway of the Oval Office calling the foreign and domestic policies of the sitting president into question:

“We now have endorsed the concept of pre-emptive war where we go to war with another nation militarily, even though our own security is not directly threatened, if we want to change the regime there or if we fear that some time in the future our security might be endangered,” he said. “But that’s been a radical departure from all previous administration policies.”

Carter, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, criticized Bush for having “zero peace talks” in Israel. Carter also said the administration “abandoned or directly refuted” every negotiated nuclear arms agreement, as well as environmental efforts by other presidents.

Carter also offered a harsh assessment for the White House’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, which helped religious charities receive $2.15 billion in federal grants in fiscal year 2005 alone.

Carter’s denunciations prompted this reply from Scrappleface:

“I know that President Carter and I have had our differences,” said Mr. Bush, “But I think most Americans will agree with me that he’s a terrific ex-president. Things have never been better since Jimmy Carter left office.”

Mr. Bush pointed to an array of improvements, including a stable growing economy, lower taxes, reduced inflation and unemployment and increased American strength and preparedness — all of which he associated with Mr. Carter’s years as a former president.

“I think history will judge President Carter’s post-White House tenure favorably,” said Mr. Bush, “As a former president, Mr. Carter has overseen the nation’s longest period of expansion and growth in opportunity.”

 

Immortal Dominion

Here is one of the mellower songs from my brother’s metal band (he’s a better drummer than me) that someone put to a Samuri X video. I used to rodie quite often back in ‘the old days’ just so I’d get in for free, get to run around backstage and hang out in the ‘band room’ afterwards. Lots of fun.

Saturday Night: Headbangers Ball

From the band Trivium comes the song Anthem (We are fire), which to me sounds like a mash up of many metal songs from the late 80’s.  Brings back some great memories…if only I could find that box of cassettes.

Companies Fight Over Jenny’s Number

Its always interesting when pop culture collides with business interests:

One-hit wonder Tommy Tutone made the phone number 867-5309 famous in the band’s 1982 hit single, which uses the digits over and over in its catchy refrain.

Now, a Rhode Island company and a national firm are battling over the right to use the number, which doesn’t reach the “Jenny” that Tutone sings about, but could find callers a decent plumber.

Michael Vick’s dark side

UPDATE: July 18, 2007 — Vick indicted on federal charges, and prosecutors detail horrifying details about the alleged fights on his property. 

 

SI has a good profile of Michael Vick, showing what a complete and utter scumbag he is. Jim Mora was right: Vick’s a coach-killer, and Bobby Petrino probably made a huge mistake in leaving Louisville to deal with that gang banger bum.

Ugh- FNP, Xian Edition

If you want to find a reason to shoot yourself in the head, try typing “Christian Punk” on YouTube and then sit through what you find.

This is my peace offering to Dave, and after a full hour of banging my head on the table, this was the best I could find.  I swear… And DAMN, it sucks!  Maybe I should have gone with some good old “Petra”!

I can’t even tell if this is really Christian, but the whole “this world” and “through grace” thing makes me think so.  But it’s the thought that counts.