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March 31, 2006
Exactly Why We Need To Strengthen The Border
Via Insta, here's a great argument for stronger borders:
Members and supporters of the Mexica Movement building the posters that would help educate our people as to the background behind all of this racism.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:42 AM | Comments (1)
I Can Not Hide From The Truth
(updated because Crusader in Comments made me realize I'd answered a question incorrectly. And my score went from 60% to 68%. Ouch)
We are an Internet addicted family in my house...
Update: (Crusader)
Ha! I can tell the CAG that I have no problem, and have proof!
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:54 AM | Comments (17)
Well, This Is A Relief
Liza Minnelli says "I'm sick of sex!
She explains, "Look at my track record - I have good taste in friends and lousy taste in husbands."
Which just once again shows the genius of Parker and Stone:
SATAN: What's it like up on earth, Saddam? Tell me about it again.SADDAM: Aw, let's not talk. Let's get busy!
SATAN: Do you remember when you first got here? We used to talk all night long, until the sun came up. We would just lie in bed and...talk.
SADDAM: Well, yeah, 'cause I was still waitin' to get you in bed, dummy!
SATAN: How come you always want to make love to me from behind? Is it because you want to pretend I'm somebody else?
SADDAM: Satan, your ass is gigantic and red. Who'm I gonna pretend you are, Liza Minelli?
SATAN: [walking away]
SADDAM: Aw, don't get all pissy.
SATAN: [sighing]
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:25 AM
March 30, 2006
Yeah. Exactly.
The first time Rep. Tom Tancredo got really angry about immigration, the year was 1975, and he was a junior high school social studies teacher in Denver. The state had recently passed the nation's first bilingual education law, and Hispanic kids were taken from his class to study in Spanish.That idea made zero sense to Tancredo, the grandson of Italian immigrants. He believed that newcomers should be assimilated into the country, as they had for generations. The image of America as a beacon for people from all over the world uniting under one flag and one language was threatened, he contended, if the country started adapting to immigrants, instead of the other way around.
This is THE spot on the face of the earth people head for, people dream about. It needs to stay that way. Join us and go forth from here as Americans.
We are not assimilating our immigrants patriotically now. We are assimilating them culturally. Within a generation their children speak Valley Girl on cell phones. "So I'm like 'no," and he's all 'yeah,' and I'm like, 'In your dreams.' " Whether their parents are from Trinidad, Bosnia, Lebanon or Chile, their children, once Americans, know the same music, the same references, watch the same shows. And to a degree and in a way it will hold them together. But not forever and not in a crunch.So far we are assimilating our immigrants economically, too. They come here and work. Good.
But we are not communicating love of country. We are not giving them the great legend of our country. We are losing that great legend.
What is the legend, the myth? That God made this a special place. That they're joining something special.
Oh yeah. He did.
More facts 'n figures reading via our good friend, the Gateway Pundit.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:32 PM | Comments (16)
Who The Hell Does She Think She Is?
I am so sick and tired of these 'Representatives' placing themselves above the law:
According to sources on Capitol Hill, U.S. Representative Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) punched a Capitol police officer on Wednesday afternoon after he mistakenly pursued her for failing to pass through a metal detector....An unconfirmed statement attributed to McKinney has been released on the Internet, where she allegedly claims to have been harassed by Capitol Hill Police.
The statement's writer says that she has been harassed by white police officers she says do not recognize her due to her recently changed hairstyle.
"Do I have to contact the police every time I change my hairstyle? How do we account for the fact that when I wore my braids every day for 11 years, I still faced this problem, primarily from certain white police officers," the statement says.
The writer details the incident, saying, "I was rushing to my meeting when a white police officer yelled to me. He approached me, bodyblocked me, physically touching me. I used my arm to get him off of me. I told him not to touch me several times. He asked for my ID and I showed it to him. He then let me go and I proceeded to my meeting and I assume that the Police Officer resumed his duties. I have counseled with the Sergeant-at-Arms and Acting Assistant Chief Thompson several times before and counseled with them again on today's incident. I offered also to counsel with the offending police officer."
Supposedly it's all on tape. I hope so.
I don't think that the officer, you know, the guy who risks his life to save your sorry ass, is the one who needs 'counseling.'
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:59 AM | Comments (3)
March 29, 2006
Hooters Goes Bust
I couldn't resist saying that.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 04:04 PM | Comments (8)
Upsetting the Apple Cart
The long-running legal tussle between The Beatles' company, Apple Corp, and technology giant Apple Computer returned to London's High Court on Wednesday - this time, focused on the latter's move into music services through its iPod player and iTunes download system.In Penny Lane, the barber shaves another customer and the little children laugh at him behind his back.Apple Corp is accusing the US company of breaching a trademark agreement, by effectively "selling music" through its online music store and using the Apple name and logo in connection with this.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:53 PM | Comments (16)
Five Years and Change in Prison?
...Before the hearing, more than 260 people — including rabbis, military officers and even a professional hockey referee — wrote letters on the men’s behalf asking the federal judge for leniency...."... is a good person, who in his quest to be successful, lost sight of the rules,”...
Pffft. They're talking about Abramoff.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:40 PM
Color Me Shocked! A Parasite?
Ga. Stores Ordered to Stop Selling Puppies
Talk about your "cruelty to animals"...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:24 PM | Comments (4)
I Think Gasoline's Fixin' to Go Through the Roof
The Energy Department has released last week's inventory data. Crude oil supply rose a more than expected 2.03 million barrels; analysts had anticipated a 950,000 barrel build. Meanwhile, gasoline inventory fell 5.34 million barrels -- a drawdown that was much greater than the expected 1.45 million barrel decline. That portion of the data is shifting into focus as the summer driving season approaches, and is bullish for energy markets.Great. And things haven't even begun swirling off the African Coast or in the Caribbean.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:58 AM
Today's Required Reading
...I commend to all those presumptuous senators and congressmen the sardonic and wise words of Edmund Burke in his 1792 letter to Sir Hercules Langrishe: "No man will assert seriously, that when people are of a turbulent spirit, the best way to keep them in order is to furnish them with something substantial to complain of." The senators should remember that they are American senators, not Roman proconsuls. Nor is the chairman of the Judiciary Committee some latter-day Praetor Maximus.Tony Blankley cuts to the meat of the matter.
UPDATE: There were student protests in LA, Dallas and Phoenix yesterday.
“I'm here for my parents,” Juliana Rojo, 14, told the Associated Press. She said her parents are illegal immigrants. “They work hard. I just want them to be treated fairly.”Senator Kyl from AZ has my vote.
The Senate bill would allow the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants now in the USA to become citizens eventually. They would have to prove they have jobs, pass a criminal background check, learn English, and pay fines and back taxes.Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said he cannot support the bill approved Monday by the Senate Judiciary Committee because it offers a chance at citizenship to workers who are needed only temporarily.
Pay back taxes?! Who are they kidding? Of course, that idiot Senator of ours is all for letting them stay. Every time he opens his goofus mouth, he makes me look like a genius for not voting for him. And dear Cardinal Mahoney ~ I think you've missed the point.
Like a number of the Judiciary Committee bill's supporters, Mahony argued that it offers a more workable approach to a difficult problem. “How are you going to pick up and arrest 8 (million) to 11 million people?” he asked. “It's not realistic.”
If they wore turbans and had private pilot licenses, he'd be wondering why we weren't tougher on defending the borders.
Kathleen Parker has a question:
When Illegal Is Right, What Is Wrong?
Who'd a thunk it ~ Lou DOBBS quoting Teddy Roosevelt?? 
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:49 AM
This Would Be Counter Productive
Afghanistan's parliament demanded Wednesday that the government prevent a man who faced the death penalty for abandoning Islam for Christianity from being able to flee the country. Italy granted asylum to Abdul Rahman, 41, and the Foreign Ministry said he would arrive there "soon," maybe within the day.Wonderful bunch there. They'll let the street finish off what they were prevented from doing.
UPDATE: He's made it safely to Italy. My concern is for the next guy or gal. And the next one after that...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:16 AM | Comments (2)
How Did Clarence Darrow (or Atticus Finch, et al) Ever
...muddle through?
Law Professor Bans Laptops in Class
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- A University of Memphis law professor has banned laptop computers from her classroom and her students are passing a petition against it.Professor June Entman says her main concern is that students are so busy keyboarding they can't think and analyze what she's telling them.
...Student Cory Winsett says if he must continue without his laptop, he'll transfer to another school. Winsett says he won't be able to keep up if he has to rely on hand-written notes, which he says are incomplete and less organized.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:05 AM | Comments (2)
March 28, 2006
This Photo of Injured Student Protestors Isn't From Paris
It's from Dallas.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:10 PM | Comments (5)
Like We Need Another Eff'n Poll
...to tell us Bingley's a rude one.
HOW MUCH PROFANITY: About three-fourths of people, 74 percent, said they frequently or occasionally encounter people using profanity or swear words in public. Just over four in 10 of those polled, 42 percent, said they frequently run into such people.Almost nine in 10 people from age 18-29, 86 percent, said they encounter people who use profanity at least occasionally, compared with 56 percent of those 65 and older. The amount of profanity people encounter tends to drop steadily as age increases. People who make more than $50,000 a year were more likely than those in lower income groups to say they encounter profanity at least occasionally, 81 percent, than those who make less than $25,000 a year, 66 percent.
I got yer #*&%*@ poll results
right here.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:00 PM | Comments (3)
Caspar Weinberger has died.
Godspeed, Cap!
Posted by Crusader at 01:36 PM | Comments (1)
In Xenu No One Should Hear You Scream
These people are just too damned weird:
TOM Cruise’s pregnant fiancée Katie Holmes will be reminded to keep her vow of silence during birth — by signs plastered around their home.The couple — following the Scientology tradition of a silent birth — had the posters delivered to their Beverly Hills mansion.
The 6ft placards will be placed so Katie can see them in labour.
One reads: “Be silent and make all physical movements slow and understandable.”
Wtf? During labor you have to play friggin' charades? If that doesn't sum up this cult nothing does. Wackoswackoswackos.
Followers believe it is traumatic for babies to hear their mother scream or groan when giving birth. They think it can cause “psychic” damage, which takes years of therapy to overcome.
I think that applies more to Scientology than childbirth, frankly. What a bunch of misogynistic bullshit.
The doctrine stresses newborns cannot be poked or prodded for medical tests or spoken to for seven days.
Sounds like child abuse to me. Somebody call DYFS.
Update: I couldn't resist imagining delivery room charades in the comments at Sheila's.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:00 AM | Comments (13)
My Sympathy Meter is Pegged
...as well.
...House Insurance Committee Chairman Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, said he is drafting legislation that would require Citizens to phase out its 6,024 million-dollar policies in the next two years. Also, a top lawmaker from Tampa said Monday he might call for an investigation into Citizens' rates.These developments come after The Tampa Tribune reported Sunday that Citizens' premiums for million-dollar homes are often lower than those charged by private companies.
Ross wants to make it much harder for millionaire homeowners to get coverage from consumer-backed Citizens until the policies are phased out. Under his plan, homeowners seeking coverage from Citizens for more than $1 million must prove they can't get a policy in the private market, even the unregulated surplus lines market. Surplus lines carriers generally offer custom policies for expensive homes at a premium price.
To millionaires worried about paying more for insurance, Ross said: "You're not going to generate a lot of sympathy."
...Citizens' low rates are partly to blame for the company's $2.2 billion deficit after eight hurricanes pounded the state in the past two storm seasons.
Now all Florida property owners with insurance are bailing out the insurer.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:45 AM | Comments (1)
March 27, 2006
“Death to Bush!” “Death to Christians!”
If this is what we can look forward to in the 'Stan, why did we go in there again?
Posted by Crusader at 08:35 PM | Comments (3)
I Woulda Bought It
Happy 20th Birthday, Shoebox.
And the drawing of a couple cuddling on a living room couch with a friendly bearded man, wearing a robe, sandals and a turban. The woman blurts: "Honey, this Afghan your mom gave us is really warm!"
Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:30 PM | Comments (1)
Oh, I'll Bet
...it was in 'protest'. Amazing how many converts to a cause you can find if they get to walk out of class to do it.
At least 14,000 mostly Hispanic students stormed out of school classes across Los Angeles in a snowballing protest against Washington's plans for a draconian crackdown on illegal immigration.Local news reports said that "tens of thousands of students" were taking part in the protest that was spreading through schools across the country's second largest city ahead of a US Senate debate on a divisive immigration reform bill.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:10 PM | Comments (5)
A Big Win For Bloggers
This is good news:
The Federal Election Commission decided Monday that the nation's new campaign finance law will not apply to most political activity on the Internet.In a 6-0 vote, the commission decided to regulate only paid political ads placed on another person's Web site.
The decision means that bloggers and online publications will not be covered by provisions of the new election law. Internet bloggers and individuals will therefore be able to use the Internet to attack or support federal candidates without running afoul of campaign spending and contribution limits.
...Bloggers would be entitled to the same exemption from the campaign finance law that newspapers and other traditional forms of media receive.
"There will be no second class citizens among members of the media," Toner said.
I'm glad it was unanimous.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:34 PM | Comments (8)
An Email Arrived Forwarding This
...column by Ralph Peters to friends and family. Shortly afterward a "reply all" came back with the following:
"Yeah, its amazing how 2 or 3 thousand journalists have all gotten together in a conspiracy in Iraq to report only the bad stuff and none of the good. Man, those lousy journalists, can seem to get the story straight in Iraq but are really, really good at getting together and pulling the wool over the entire world's eyes.
And its also amazing that the people in charge of this war, the ones that have access to the US airwaves whenever they want (think Presidential speeches, news releases carried by every major news outlet, news conferences etc) don't have ANY opportunity to release their side of the story, poor souls. And finally, isn't it amazing how EASY it is to blame the news media instead of accepting ANY blame for misguided policies and mistakes (think Nixon and Watergate, I won't go into this administration - except maybe Katrina).
Sorry, but when people tell me that the MEDIA is to blame, then I'm almost CERTAIN that its not. There many be LOTS of good things happening in Iraq, but that doesn't mean there aren't a LOT of bad things happening there either. Weak minds and weak hearts seek to blame others - looks like it's happening again!"
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:13 AM | Comments (6)
So They're Only "Cold Blooded Murderers"
...if they hit a member of your family?
Bomber comparison gets Arab nixed from county ballot....The Lebanese-born Merhi made the comments at a September 2002 Democratic fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, where he condemned the September 11 terrorists "as cold-blooded murders" and "crazy fanatics."
When asked whether he would apply the same label to Palestinian suicide bombers who target Israelis, Merhi said, "I can't see the comparison."
He lost his godson in the WTC attack.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:50 AM | Comments (3)
Where's the Balance?
Developer Mitch Kass, of Fort-Lauderdale-based Glenn Wright Homes, defends the construction. He is building a dozen houses, some nearly 4,000 square feet, in a neighborhood next to one of Delray Beach's historic neighborhoods."We're doing a regentrification of the housing stock. We're not destroying the Everglades here," Kass said. "We're regentrifying what's outdated."
'Outdated'. Frank Lloyd Wright is 'outdated'. Victorian is 'outdated'. Arts and Crafts is 'outdated', as well as Georgian, Federal and Queen Anne. History is outdated by it's very nature. What would you rather have?
Historic homes make way for McMansions. The ones I passed outside of Dallas were creepy enough ~ huge houses built to within 3 feet of the property line, hundreds walled into little Stepford Wives communities piled one on top of the other that belch out their commuter residents onto one four lane road through the middle, all wreathed in that damn brown air. And they were built on open prairie.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:01 AM | Comments (4)
I Feel Safer
...already.
FEMA to Prep Gulf Coast for Hurricanes
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:29 AM | Comments (1)
Just When You Think Texa$$ is the Last Bastion of Frontier Manliness
...they go and f*ck it up royally. The Dalla$$ POH-leese are now conducting drunk driving sweeps IN the local bars, before the drunk staggers out to his car. OR his designated driver. OR back up the stairs to his or her hotel room. Or just sits there and sobers up on his own.
Be very grateful, citizens of the Big D ~ you're being protected from yourself, before you even do anything.
"Anybody out there who is drinking needs to be aware that you have to drink responsibly, even if you're not driving," criminal defense attorney Barry Sorrels said. "If you're inside a bar, you could be arrested."Texas law states that anyone who is drunk in public and poses a danger to themselves or others can be arrested regardless of whether they were inside a restaurant or bar, or on a city street.
Sorrels said the key to the law lies in the potential danger. He said it is not illegal to be intoxicated in public. The gray area comes in determining the degree of risk, Sorrels said.
"If (the) TABC is going to adopt this as a get-tough policy, they have to be fair on who they arrest," Sorrels said.
Three people caught in the recent sweep were arrested at a bar inside a hotel at which they were registered guests. All three said they had no intention of driving.
"It's no defense if you're staying at a hotel where you were publicly intoxicated at a bar," Sorrels said.
(NoBrainer's confused, too.) Isn't this the same state where an open container is okay ~ as in 'legal'? I sense a disturbance in the force...
Via the Sunday night NBC news report "Did crackdown on drunken driving go too far?"
Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:08 AM | Comments (5)
March 25, 2006
Be A Bollywood Star!
Your stardom begins here.
Here's an example.
(h/t ROTA)
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:44 PM | Comments (13)
Pensacola Lost a Legend Last Night
Admiral Jack Fetterman was a dynamic, incredible, wonderfully accessible individual. Bless his heart, Pensacola was so lucky to have him. All our sympathies to his precious, gracious wife Nancy and their family. We going to miss him terribly.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:30 AM | Comments (1)
March 24, 2006
Somehow I Don't Think That Kids In Daycare In Berkeley...
...are indicative of the general population:
Remember the whiny, insecure kid in nursery school, the one who always thought everyone was out to get him, and was always running to the teacher with complaints? Chances are he grew up to be a conservative.At least, he did if he was one of 95 kids from the Berkeley area that social scientists have been tracking for the last 20 years. The confident, resilient, self-reliant kids mostly grew up to be liberals.
I would imagine that, in fact, everyone in Berkeley was out to get the conservative kid...
Whenever I read stuff like this I'm reminded more and more of the old Soviet Science Academies and the 'facts' they would churn out.
But maybe I should just quit whining...
Update: I see Ken was up whining even earlier than I was.
Update and bump: Michele Malkin has a scoop on this center that was studied:
Well, the Harold E. Jones Child Study Center is only open to children of U.C. Berkeley faculty and staff:The University Preschool offers full-day developmental child care for preschool-aged children of UCB faculty and staff.
(The "Preschool" is a subset of the "Child Study Center.")
In other words, ALL of the children in that study were the offspring of U.C. Berkeley professors, lecturers, and staff members.
Gee, ya think that might have some effect on the 'study'?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:52 AM | Comments (16)
Russia Gave Saddam Our War Plans
Really, this ABC series on the documents is fascinating stuff, and ABC deserves a lot of credit for the work they are putting into it. Look at this latest beaut:
Document written sometime before March 5, 2003The first document (CMPC-2003-001950) is a handwritten account of a meeting with the Russian ambassador that details his description of the composition, size, location and type of U.S. military forces arrayed in the Gulf and Jordan. The document includes the exact numbers of tanks, armored vehicles, different types of aircraft, missiles, helicopters, aircraft carriers, and other forces, and also includes their exact locations. The ambassador also described the positions of two Special Forces units.
Document dated March 25, 2003
The second document (CMPC-2004-001117) is a typed account, signed by Deputy Foreign Minister Hammam Abdel Khaleq, that states that the Russian ambassador has told the Iraqis that the United States was planning to deploy its force into Iraq from Basra in the South and up the Euphrates, and would avoid entering major cities on the way to Baghdad, which is, in fact what happened. The documents also state "Americans are also planning on taking control of the oil fields in Kirkuk." The information was obtained by the Russians from "sources at U.S. Central Command in Doha, Qatar," according to the document.
Sadly, I don't think anyone is too shocked by this, given how far the Russians, and especially this ambassador, were up Saddams tail pipe:
(Editor's Note: The Russian ambassador in March 2003 was Vladimir Teterenko. Teterenko appears in documents released by the Volker Commission, which investigated the Oil for Food scandal, as receiving allocations of 3 million barrels of oil — worth roughly $1.5 million. )
I really hope an effort is made to find these moles. I guess the real surprise is that the info didn't come from the French.
The rest of the ABC article has documents concerning interaction between Iraq and some guy named Osama Biin Laden. Nothing of interest to the MSM there...
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:45 AM | Comments (8)
March 23, 2006
GREG GUTFELD'S 29 AMAZING REASONS WHY AMERICA SUCKS!
Heh.
28. Native Americans getting rich off casinos instead of staying dirt-poor does nothing to prove how bad colonialism was.
Posted by Crusader at 04:08 PM | Comments (7)
Imagine The Ocean Level 20 Feet Higher
Due to warming of the Earth, undisputable warming, factual warming; what would the naysayers say? Nay, no? Will the Bushes and Cheneys of the world be rolling in their graves in shame over all these coastal areas being inundated by the savage seas?
Well, no, actually, because it happened 130,000 years ago:
At the current rate of rising temperatures, by the year 2100 Arctic summers could be as warm as they were 130,000 years ago. Back then, in a time known as the last interglacial, the oceans were 20 feet higher than they are now.
Perhaps my education was sorely lacking, but I don't seem to recall there being cars or factories or even that source of all things globally-warming the good 'ol U S of A 130,000 years ago; hell, Dick Clark wasn't even born yet. So, it would seem to me that a possible answer to global warming, one that we have uncontested scientific proof, is that Mother Gaia has hot flashes every couple hundred thousand years. Think that'll get much press?
Be prepared for the shock of the most honest headline you will ever see on CNN about global warming:
Earth's past points to future melting
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:17 PM | Comments (10)
Reporting This
...has GOT to be killing ABCNews. At least they did.
UPDATE: Yup! Musta REALLY killed them.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:59 PM | Comments (6)
The Leaders of the "Religion of Peace " Speak Out
Senior Muslim clerics said Thursday that an Afghan man on trial for converting from Islam to Christianity should be killed regardless of whether a court decides to free him.Wonderful bunch there. I think maybe we should have gone in to save Rahman instead of the Christian Peace types.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:25 AM | Comments (4)
It ALMOST Makes You Want to Send the F*ckers Back
...to the snake pit hell they pulled them out of, along with the ingrates at their organization. I didn't see a simple, grudging "thank you" anywhere in the text.
..."We believe that the illegal occupation of Iraq by Multinational Forces is the root cause of the insecurity which led to this kidnapping and so much pain and suffering in Iraq. The occupation must end.“Today, in the face of this joyful news, our faith compels us to love our enemies even when they have committed acts which caused great hardship to our friends and sorrow to their families.
...“We pray that Christians throughout the world will, in the same spirit, call for justice and for respect for the human rights of the thousands of Iraqis who are being detained illegally by the U.S. and British forces occupying Iraq.
Bravo to whoever it was in uniform who risked their lives going in to get them.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:42 AM | Comments (3)
Why, Oh WHY Can't We Just Want High School Seniors
...who can READ, WRITE and MAKE THE CORRECT CHANGE at Mac Donalds? HUH? (I'd ask for "be pleasant", too, but don't want to push it.) What kind of frickin' gobbledee GOOK is this pig poopie?
Lila and Andrew Zoghbi are bored five days a week in classes at Chiles High School.It's not that they are slackers. They are honor students: Lila, 15, plans to be an engineer, and her brother, 17, wants to design video games.
The problem, they say, is that school is not giving them the career preparation they want.
"It's just stuff I don't think I'm really going to need for the job I want," Lila said. "I'd probably like it if I had more things to help me in the future."
Students like the Zoghbis would get an education more tailored to their career plans under a proposal from Gov. Jeb Bush that education experts say would make Florida the first state to require incoming high school freshmen to declare a major, just like college students.
Oh God, oh God, oh God. The heartburn and brain freeze pain at this moment is overwhelming.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:23 AM | Comments (10)
I Hope Mbube Sleeps Tonight
Decades later, but justice triumphs. How sweet is that?
Three impoverished South African women whose father wrote the song known as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" have won a six-year battle for royalties in a case that could affect other musicians.The story surrounding the song that never seems to go out of date amounts to a rags-to-riches tale, replete with racial overtones.
...Linda composed his now-famous song in 1939 in one of the squalid hostels that housed black migrant workers in Johannesburg. According to family lore, he wrote the song in minutes, inspired by his childhood tasks of chasing prowling lions from the cattle he herded. He called the song Mbube, Zulu for lion.
It was sung, in true Zulu tradition, a cappella. Linda's innovation was to add his falsetto voice, an overlay of haunting "eeeeeees," to the baritone and bass main line. To this day, this style is called Mbube in South Africa.
The song sold more than 100,000 copies over a decade, probably making it Africa's first big pop hit.
In the 1950s, at a time when apartheid laws robbed blacks of negotiating rights, Linda sold worldwide copyright to Gallo Records of South Africa for 10 shillings - less than $1.70.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:13 AM
Awwwww...She's Back
And I really do think for the last time. Gut feeling.
She breaks my heart.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:07 AM | Comments (4)
Conducting Whiny Child Stereotype Research
First question: If you were presented with this photo 
of a significant political personage, would you guess him to be a "confident, resilient, self-reliant kid" who grew up to own a man-purse and vote LIBERAL 
?
Or would he be the whiny kid who nows votes CONSERVATIVE and whose backpack 
has jets?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:43 AM | Comments (3)
March 22, 2006
Let's Hope This Means
...these sorts of amendments're on a roll.
New Hampshire lawmakers gave preliminary approval Wednesday to a constitutional amendment that would limit government's ability to seize private property....The amendment would prohibit the taking of private property for use by private developers.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:45 PM | Comments (3)
Why hold up traffic hunting...
like this person, when there are more fun ways to do away with the nasty creatures.
Posted by Crusader at 04:15 PM | Comments (4)
Some Numbers to Crunch
...if you can't be AT ~ and in support OF ~ the RALLY FOR ABDUL RAHMAN in D.C. on Friday.
Friday March 24
Noon to 1pm
Outside the Afghan Embassy
2341 Wyoming Ave NW.
Washington DC
Michelle Malkin has more.
If you can't be in D.C.,
BE on the PHONE !!
For the Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington and Contacting the White House in the extended section.
Embassy of Afghanistan in WashingtonUNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Ambassador name: Said Tayeb Jawad
Address: 2341 Wyoming Avenue, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20008
Telephone number: (+1-202) 483 6414Fax number: (+1-202) 483 9523
Email address: info@embassyofafghanistan.org
Website: www.embassyofafghanistan.org
Contacting the White HouseMailing Address
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Phone NumbersComments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
Please send your comments to comments@whitehouse.gov.
I can't be there, but I'll BE on the phone.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:31 PM
I found what Ken mentioned about the poor guy facing death for converting to Christianity...
here.
"For 30 years, we have fought religious wars in this country and there is no way we are going to allow an Afghan to insult us by becoming Christian," said Mohammed Jan, 38, who lives opposite Rahman's father, Abdul Manan, in Kabul. "This has brought so much shame."Rahman is believed to have converted from Islam to Christianity while working as a medical aid worker for an international Christian group helping Afghan refugees in the Pakistani city of Peshawar.
He then moved to Germany for nine years before returning to Kabul in 2002, after the ouster of the hard-line Taliban regime.
Police arrested him last month after discovering him in possession of a Bible during questioning over a dispute for custody of his two daughters. Prosecutors have offered to drop the charges if Rahman converts back to Islam, but he has refused.
This is unacceptable.
Posted by Crusader at 11:51 AM | Comments (7)
The Way We Were
Cold War-era survival supplies found at Brooklyn BridgeIn 17 years of working in the darkened nooks and crannies of the city's bridges, Joe Vaccaro has made some unusual finds: a 100-year-old copy of a newspaper, sepia-toned photographs. But none of them matched the level of intrigue generated by another discovery he and his co-workers made in the Brooklyn Bridge.
As they made their way through the musty, dusty and dark structural foundations on the bridge's Manhattan side last week, they discovered a Cold War-era cache of provisions to have been used in the wake of a nuclear attack: some 350,000 packaged crackers, paper blankets, metal drums for water and medical supplies.
Cool.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:31 AM | Comments (7)
Except the Guy Running the Place, You Mean
...right?
North Korea has no people with physical disabilities because they are killed almost as soon as they are born, a physician who defected from the communist state said on Wednesday.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:04 AM | Comments (2)
Why Do I Find 'Raised the Case' So Damn Disgusting?
Probably because I want to hear DEMANDED his release in the name of FREEDOM. The FREEDOM paid for WITH, protected and MAINTAINED by, American lives.
Afghanistan said on Wednesday the judiciary would rule on a man facing death for converting to Christianity after the United States and three NATO allies with troops in Afghanistan urged respect for religious freedom.... The United States, which counts Karzai as a key ally in the region, raised the case with visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah on Tuesday, calling on Kabul to uphold Afghan citizens’ constitutional right to choose their faith.
“We hope that the Afghan constitution is going to be upheld and in our view, if it’s upheld, then of course he’ll be found to be innocent,” said Nicholas Burns, the U.S. State Department’s third-ranked diplomat.
And if it's not upheld, he's dead, Mr. Burns. This administration has talked a fine line about freedom, democracy and tolerance, but when it comes down to crunch time, they fold like a three dollar bill.
Michelle Malkin has more on the current effort to declare him a loon, as Mr. Summers pointed out in comments below. But that's a bullsh*t, easy way out for everyone, including the President ~ gilding the poop lily so everyone saves face. What happens when the next Muslim finds God on a different path or decides she/he's a secular being', but no one hears he's been arrested? What happens to that guy? (If it's a woman, I'm sure she'll be hustled off and hung with little fanfare from her American feminist sisters in arms.)
God, they make me SICK. You can call the Afghan embassy, but I think the White House and all those cushie tushies up there need to be flooded with pissed off emails and calls before anyone else. They TOLD the Afghan people they were FREE from the Taliban, from the horrors of Sharia. Just because Karzai is more visually appealing than Mullah Omar doesn't mean he gets a pass.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:26 AM
The UN Attacks Denmark
Via RWDB comes this excellent post at Agora on a UN report from Human Rights Jedi Master Mace Windu
oops I mean UN special rapporteur Doudou Diéne
that tells us quite plainly who is at fault here:
“Finally, the Danish government’s first reaction - rejecting to take an official position on the nature and publication of the cartoons while referring to Freedom of Speech as well as rejecting to meet with the ambassadors from the Moslem countries - is symptomatic not only for the political trivialisation of Islamophobia but also, due to its consequences, to the central role those politically responsible have for the national extent and the international consequences in the shape of demonstrations and expressions of Islamophobia.”“Judicially, the Danish government ought therefore, especially considering its international obligations, to have, respecting Freedom of Speech, taken a position not only on the consequnces of the caricatures for its community of 200.000 Moslems but also for the protection of peace and order.”
“Their uncompromising defense of a Freedom of Speech without limits or restrictions is not in accordance with the international rules which are based on a necessary balance between Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion, especially to combat calls for racial and religious hatred, and which all the member countries of UN have decided are the basic rules for Human Rights. This attitude shows an alarming lack of sensitivity and understanding of the religious conviction and deep emotions of the groups of society in question. Thus the newspapers strengthen the connection between Islam and Terrorism which arose after September 11th and which is the most important reason for Islamophobia being on the rise in the world at large and in their own countries.”
Which means, in English (which is seemingly the one language that the UN hasn't printed this in, btw. Go figure), that it's the Dane's fault and they should throw the cartoonists in jail, as it is the newspapers and cartoons that are strengthening the link between Islam and Terrorism, not, oh, say the Islamic Terrorists that silly befuddled folk like me might be inclined to think are maybe, dare I assess, to blame.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:34 AM | Comments (6)
Speechless
It doesn't happen often (certainly not as often as some might wish) but sometimes I read something that someone has said and I am left speechless:
"Wearing a headscarf is of course culturally determined. And that’s the way these women experience that, because that’s how they experience their religion. In addition, the headscarf offers opportunities for women is some Islamic countries, because without one they won’t be able to leave home."
Barcepundit replies perfectly to this...this...toad.
(h/t to Vodkapundit, whose trackbacks keep giving me a 404)
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:55 AM | Comments (3)
March 21, 2006
What Would Hillary and Babs and Susan Say
...to this twelve year old?
"I didn't expect anyone would help me but God. I was really surprised that there were also nice people: the neighbor, the rickshaw driver, the police," she says. "I pray for those who helped release me."
Would they still try to tell her that we're the monsters?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:41 PM | Comments (10)
We Will Not Stop Folks From Living On The Railroad Tracks...
...Just 'cos a train may come through:
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- All New Orleans residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina should be allowed to rebuild if they choose, and the city will not stand in the way of reconstruction in areas considered vulnerable to flooding in future storms, Mayor Ray Nagin announced Monday.
Now, I have to say I agree with this. If people want to take the risk and spend their own money, fine. But I really don't want a lot of federal money going towards insuring them and billions going towards stopping a couple of square miles of swamp that are below sea level from getting flooded.
There's also this little gem at the end of the story:
Nagin, who is black, has drawn 23 opponents in the April 22 municipal election. Many of his major challengers are white, reflecting the changed demographics of the city, which was two-thirds black before Katrina struck in August.
Oh really? Let's look at the 2002 election: From what I can find, there were several white challengers then, too. Maybe there are more now because Nagin has shown himself to be not-quite-ready for prime time, not because of skin tone. Heck, maybe there are more vibrant candidates because they smell all that Federal money; what political wannabe can resist that?
But to blandly state that it reflects "changed demographics" when no one has any idea what the hell the demographics are seems a little silly.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:51 AM | Comments (2)
Yup, That's Mine and Right Where I Left It, Too!
Thank you very much.
Trista Wright was spending her spring break cleaning out hurricane-damaged homes when she discovered some unusual papers among the moldy plaster board and debris."I started raking it out of the air conditioner vent. I thought it was garbage and I was going to shovel it up, but I bent down to pick it up, and it was a stack of $100 bills, and then more and more kept coming," the 19-year-old said Tuesday on CNN.
By an unofficial count, it was more than $30,000.
And just the right amount, give or take a dollar.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:04 AM | Comments (3)
March 20, 2006
Free the Grapes Update
FLORIDA BILLS INTRODUCED
Floridians are now able to receive wine shipments based on a court order and a subsequent determination by state regulators. But three bills are in the legislature, which began its 3-month session last week. The bills, in general, intend to replace the existing structure with additional provisions for tax collection, reporting, etc. The wine industry is supporting Senate Bill 282 (Dockery) which tracks the model direct shipping bill working successfully in many other states.Florida consumers will hear from us again soon.
Other state updates in the extended post.
ILLINOIS HOUSE CONSIDERING PERMIT BILL Senate Bill 2180 passed the Senate and is being taken up in the House. Senate Bill 2180 was significantly modified from its original version, which was strongly supported by the Associated Beer Distributors. The original version limited direct shipping to in-state and out-of-state wineries producing less than 100,000 gallons, included a low case limit, and required consumers to visit a winery before direct purchases could be made. SB2180 no longer includes these provisions and more closely follows the provisions of the model direct shipping bill (but currently does not include retailers). House Bill 4350 has been amended and contains the same language as SB 2180, and both are in the House Rules Committee.
INDIANA SESSION ENDS MARCH 14 WITH POOR BILL In the closing two days of its 2006 session, the Indiana legislature passed House Bill 1016, which is on its way to the Governor. The bill prevents out-of-state wineries with an Indiana wholesaler, or any winery selling 500,000 gallons in the state, from direct shipping to Indiana consumers. For all other wineries, the bill allows them to ship up to 3,000 cases to the state per year, and no more than 24 cases to one individual. The penalties imposed on the winery that ships the 25th case are not defined. Therefore, because wineries have no means of determining how many total cases have been shipped by all wineries to an individual consumer, the bill will continue to prevent wineries from participating and consumers from choice in wine.
ARIZONA BILLS ACTIVE, BUT LIMIT CHOICE The two bills that are active in Arizona are opposed because they place an arbitrary cap on who can ship. The bills prohibit all wineries producing more than 50,000 gallons (about 20,000 cases) from shipping wine to Arizona consumers unless the wine is purchased while the consumer is at the winery. The bills are protectionist, unfairly discriminatory and limit the choices available to Arizona consumers. HB 2500 is in the Committee of the Whole, which in Arizona means the entire House. The bill will be debated there prior to a third reading vote. Senate Bill 1276 passed the Senate and is waiting for Committee assignment in the House.
KANSAS FAUX SHIPPING BILL MOVES TO HOUSE Senate Bill 370 passed the Senate and is in the House. The bill includes anti-consumer, poison pill requirements that will continue to make the state off limits for wineries. Provisions include a retailer pass-through requirement, shipment only of wines not in distribution, onerous reporting, and vintner background checks. ACTION: Kansas wine lovers should visit the following website link and personalize a message to state legislators: http://www.capwiz.com/freegrapes/issues/alert/?alertid=115967
MAINE DIRECT SHIPPING BILL STALLS IN COMMITTEE LD 1900, which tracked the model direct shipping bill, was voted out of the Joint Standing Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs by a minority of members supporting an amended version of the bill. The bill, as amended, next heads to the House for debate. The February 13 public hearing brought out wineries and consumers (wearing “Free the Grapes!” T-shirts and hats) but their compelling arguments failed to move a majority of the Committee. Thanks for all your support!
MARYLAND MODEL BILL INTRODUCED House Bill 625 tracks the model direct shipping bill, which would allow a winery to purchase a direct shipper’s permit from MD, ship up to two cases per month per consumer, pay sales and excise taxes, etc. The bill is in the House Committee on Economic Matters. ACTION: Maryland wine lovers should visit the following website link and personalize a message to state legislators: http://www.capwiz.com/freegrapes/issues/alert/?alertid=115967
MASSACHUSETTS PASSES UNWORKABLE BILL The state legislature overrode Governor Romney’s veto of legislation passed last session. The net effect is that MA now has a faux shipping bill that will continue to prevent consumers from purchasing wines from out-of-state wineries. The mechanics of the bill have not yet been written and there is no estimate on their availability.
PENNSYLVANIA CONSIDERING OPTIONS Although out-of-state shipments are technically allowed to PA consumers, the mechanics that would allow for such shipments have not been established by the PA Liquor Control Board, and the legislature has yet to act on a specific bill. Wineries are awaiting finalization of these rules prior to shipping. (The common carriers also have not yet approved Pennsylvania for direct-to-consumer shipments.)As background, on September 30, 2005 the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board issued an Advisory Notice removing in-state wineries’ ability to direct ship to consumers. There was a hearing in October on the topic. Later, a state court granted a stay, allowing in-state wineries to continue shipping in-state. A federal court in Philadelphia then issued a ruling to “level up,” granting shipping privileges to out-of-state wineries pending state legislation.
WASHINGTON GOVERNOR SIGNS PERMIT BILL Governor Gregoire signed a favorable direct-to-consumer shipment bill on March 14, transitioning Washington from a reciprocal state to a permit state. This was done to ensure that shipping privileges can be maintained without any Constitutional challenges. With a wine shipper’s permit, wineries will be able to ship an unlimited amount of wine directly to Washington consumers (an increase from the current two case annual limit). The bill will take effect on or about June 7, 2006.
IDAHO GOVERNOR SIGNS PERMIT BILL Governor Kempthorne signed House Bill 454 on March 13, which transitions Idaho from a reciprocal state to a permit state. With a wine shipper's permit, wineries will be able to ship up to 24 cases annually to Idaho consumers. Wineries must collect and remit sales taxes, pay excise taxes on all wine shipped directly, etc.
ADDITIONAL STATES GRADUATING TO PERMIT BILL Several other states are in the process of replacing “reciprocal” language – which allowed their wineries to ship to other states with similar reciprocal provisions – with the updated model direct shipping bill. This bodes well for consumers since the model bill addresses specific regulatory requirements, was cited by the U.S. Supreme Court, and has a proven track record.
Colorado: House Bill 1120 passed that chamber on February 8, and seeks to introduce model bill provisions including a $50 permit fee, excise tax payments, and the removal of Colorado’s existing on-site purchase requirement, among others. The bill moves to the Senate.
Hawaii: Hawaii wine lovers may have greater choice if either House Bill 1968 or Senate Bill 2109 passes the Legislature. If they become law, HI wine lovers will be able to purchase wines from wineries in all 50 states—rather than just 13—who are licensed to ship directly to HI consumers. Additionally, lobbyists are working to increase the current case limit from three cases annually to a higher number.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:32 PM
Quotes of the Weekend
Vice President Cheney on Face the Nation Sunday, in response to Bob Sheiffer's, "Let me read to you what Senator Kennedy, a liberal Democrat from Massachusetts and a long-time opponent of the war, said on the third anniversary. "
CHENEY: Well, I would not look to Ted Kennedy for guidance and leadership on how we ought to manage national security, Bob....And I think we are going to succeed in Iraq. I think the evidence is overwhelming. I think Ted Kennedy has been wrong from the very beginning. He's the last man I'd go to for guidance in terms of how we should conduct U.S. national security policy.
I about spit out my Danish.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:04 PM | Comments (2)
Doesn't It Just Suck
...to have to deal with people you so thoroughly despise?
...The Democrats need to go after the group with whom they have not been connecting - the white middle class.No Democratic presidential candidate since Lyndon Johnson has won a majority of white voters. Yet even in an increasingly diverse America, and despite increasing voting participation by minorities, whites were still 77 percent of 2004 voters.
Democrats, who see themselves as looking out for the little guy, have sought a way around that problem without directly addressing the reality that "Jill and Joe Six-pack" have moved to the suburbs and become middle class.
Oh, I can't wait 'til they come knocking...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:10 PM
Don't Try This at Home
...or at the county fair.
Tiger Bites Man at County Fair in FloridaA trucker who transported a tiger to the Putnam County Fair was bit in the arm after he apparently stuck his arm in the big cat's cage, officials said.
The man was drunk when he was bit Sunday, his sister, Heather Bass said.
This brings up another question ~ the trucker was DRUNK? Did the 'drunk' happen before or after the tiger delivery?
Anyways, thank God Fish and Wildlife have their heads about them.
"This was strictly human error and poor judgment," she said. "These are wild animals, and no matter how tame they are, they're still animals."
Normally there'd be screaming to put the tiger down. (You know ~ destroy the animal instead of the jack-a$$ who offered the a la carte munchie.)
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:03 AM | Comments (1)
March 19, 2006
Wicked Good
Ho My God was this show phenomenal!
The number right before the intermission was one of the finest numbers I've ever seen on stage.
Simply awesome.
Update below the fold
Whew. Ookay, where to begin? The set is very cool; the walls are all covered with interlocking wooden gears and cogs and then to the outside of that is this wild growth of vines and ivy. Centered above all of it is this large dragon that moves. Very neat.
The show starts with the announced death of the Wicked Witch of the West and the munchkins asking Glinda where she came from, and Glinda has to uncomfortably admit that they where friends at one point. So the whole "Wizard of Oz" tale that we are familiar with is intertwined through this show, but viewed in a different way. It's very well done and often very humorous (and based on a question my bride had I checked this morning and found that all of the works of L Frank Baum are in the public domain now) in a twisted way. I won't give any more of the plot away, other than to say it is focused on the development Elphaba (the Wicked Witch) and Glinda.
And boy does the show appeal to its target demographic: the audience was packed with teenage girls, 11 to 18.
Eden Espinosa (Elphaba) is great. She has a fantastic voice with a lot of oomph in the lower end and can really belt out some of the songs with out noticeable strain, and despite being, well, green, she is able to convey a lot of emotion and thought. And does she have Margaret Hamilton down cold. I tell you, when she cackled I wanted to buy some Maxwell House...
My only complaint, and my daughter noticed this too, so it's not just me, ok?, is that when she sings she has a very unattractive mouth. The way she forms her lips is is just unpleasant and distracting at times frankly. A great voice, a great actress. Fix the mouth.
Megan Hilty (Glinda) is great as well. Fantastic voice, and plays the blond part to a 't.' She develops her character very well during the show, and even though she's set up as the character to dislike you end up liking her alot. She plays the slapstick aspects of her role perfectly.
Carol Kane and Ben Vereen were frankly disappointing. Kane seemed to be trying to play Maggie Smith, and she just doesn't pull it off. Oh she's not awful, just..bland, really. Ben's problem partially stems from his part, as there's not a lot of depth to his character, but he too is just sort of ...eh. Neither of them detract at all from the show, but you don't come away with any special memories of their performances either.
But I would go see it again in a flash. A very enjoyable show, and the sets and effects are wonderful.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:18 PM | Comments (5)
Keep Australia In Your Prayers
They are going to get pounded by Cyclone Larry:
The Bureau of Meteorology last night warned that it was likely to intensify into a category-five cyclone before hitting the coast south of Innisfail between 7.30am and 8.00am today.If it is upgraded, the storm could unleash greater fury than Cyclone Tracy, the category-four storm that killed 64 people and destroyed most of Darwin in 1974.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:54 AM | Comments (1)
March 18, 2006
As Far As the Iraq War Protests in Pensacola
...they must have had a glimmer of the participation ennui, since they decided to combine it with a group protesting local police brutality.
Movement for Change and Veterans for Peace are combining for the demonstration because "violence is happening in Iraq, but it's also happening in our community," Satterwhite said.
So mortars are falling and IED's are rampant in Bangla-cola. I hadn't heard that, but I also don't get out much. Major Dad and I went past their earnest but meager gathering just as it was breaking up. I didn't have my camera...but there wasn't much to snap.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:15 PM | Comments (4)
Far Be It From Us
...not to note his passing.
Tens of thousands of mourners packed a square in front of Belgrade's federal parliament Saturday to bid a final farewell to Slobodan Milosevic, who died while on U.N. trial for war crimes."Today we are bidding farewell to the best man among us," Milorad Vucelic, a senior official from Milosevic's Socialist party, told the crowd estimated by police at around 80,000, Reuters reported.
In memory of that murdering, heartless bastard we offer...an old favorite.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:58 AM | Comments (3)
Good Job, Tom!
The question at hand is, did Tom threaten to derail his own movie in order to have a Scientology spoof taken off the air?...The episode first aired in November and was scheduled to re-air on Wednesday night, March 15. But Comedy Central (which is owned by Viacom), abruptly pulled a repeat of the episode.
But why?
Reportedly, because Tom objected, threatening not to promote the Paramount film “Mission: Impossible III” if the episode wasn't pulled.
The connection between the two? Paramount is owned by Viacom.
...In true “South Park” form, show creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker issued the following statement:
“So, Scientology, you may have won THIS battle, but the million-year war for earth has just begun! Temporarily anozinizing our episode will NOT stop us from keeping Thetans forever trapped in your pitiful man-bodies.”
Pitiful man body, indeed. And what a dope.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:56 AM | Comments (9)
March 17, 2006
Dennys: It's Californian For...
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - A gunman opened fire early Friday morning at a Denny's restaurant and one man was killed and another seriously wounded, police said. It was the third fatal shooting to occur at the restaurant chain in Southern California this week.
Geesh.
Oh, and nice editorial work on the headline, there, AP: "Anaheim shooting is third at a SoCal Dennis"
Goobers.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:02 PM | Comments (1)
Ummm, Lunch Was Good
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:00 PM | Comments (6)
Oh, God Bless Him
...and his brave heart.
As a homeless man opened fire in a Denny's restaurant, a patron's decision to try to stop the gunman cost him his life, but allowed others to flee to safety, authorities said Thursday.According to police, a surveillance video showed Harold Hatley, 73, leaving his seat at the counter and getting in the line of fire, which enabled others to flee.
"Like many brave soldiers and peace officers, Mr. Hatley was walking toward trouble rather than away from it," Police Chief Joe Cortez said.
Damn. Makes me cry.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:49 AM | Comments (5)
You Waited Too Long To Act Too Quickly
I guess that sums up this latest scandal in how contracts were awarded on the chaos after Katrina hit. Of course, we mustn't forget that this is all GWB's fault, as the throw-away line at the end of the article helpfully reminds us:
Some of the firms, including Gulf Stream Coach and Bechtel, have close ties to the Bush administration or have contributed significantly to the GOP.
Update: Great minds think alike! When I saw this story, I spent some time trying to follow this contribution angle. Well, our good friend Gateway Pundit does the work so I don't have to! Go read!
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:54 AM
They Announced This Last Night
...and it is SOOOO cool!
It's an unexpected find that is keeping archeaologists busy at Naval Air Station Pensacola.
Construction on a building was stopped today after the remains of what is believed to be a historic ship were found.
...Number one: could this ship be part of the fleet lead by Don Tristan De Luna as he lead the first group to settle pensacola?... the answer is... maybe.
Winter: "Could it possibly be the de luna ship? Yes."
Holy schamoly, makes goosebumps break out! Why is a Tristan De Luna ship a big deal? Well, first and foremost, the year of his landing ~ 1559 ~ which gives Pensacola it's place in the history books as America's First Settlement. But, in typical Pensacola fashion, we're not America's oldest city by virtue of some...ahem... unfortunate weather.
The party anchored in Pensacola Bay, called by them "Ochuse", and set up the encampment of Puerto de Santa Maria during the summer of 1559 at the site of the modern Naval Air Station Pensacola. With much of the stores still on the ships, Luna sent several exploring parties inland to scout the area; they returned after three weeks having found only one Indian town. Before they could unload the vessels, a hurricane swept through and destroyed most of the ships and cargo. The colony in serious danger, most of the men traveled up the Alabama River to the village of Nanipacana (Nanipacna or Ninicapua), which they found abandoned; they renamed the town Santa Cruz and moved in for several months. Back in Mexico, the Viceroy sent two relief ships in November, promising additional aid in the spring.The relief got the colony through the winter, but the supplies expected in the spring had not arrived by September. Luna ordered the remainder of his force to march to the large native town of Coca, but the men mutinied. Bloodshed was averted by the settlement's missionaries, but soon after Ángel de Villafañe arrived in Pensacola Bay and offered to take all who wished to leave on an expedition to Cuba and Santa Elena. Luna relented and agreed to leave, eventually moving back to Mexico, where he died in 1571. The Pensacola colony was inhabited for several more months by a detachment of 50 men Villafañe had left in case further orders arrived from Viceroy Velasco; when they left the area was not populated again by Europeans until 1698, when the Spanish founded the city of Pensacola.
But 'twould seem we have the hurricane to thank for this wreck, if it indeed turns out to be a De Luna ship. It's sitting about 300 yards from the present day bay front and under 20 odd feet of white sand ~ just as if it'd blown up onshore during the gale. Can't wait to hear the rest!
A side note: Speaking of wrecks, Oriskany has finally left Beaumont, Texass on her way here. Play it again, Sam.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:10 AM | Comments (5)
Why I Like Tiger, Part 97
He's got a sense of humor:
Woods never looked comfortable, especially on the 18th hole (his ninth of the first round). His approach was just over the green in the first cut, and he stubbed a chip that went 4 feet and led to bogey."I had a hard time making a decision what I was going to do," Woods said. "Am I going to throw it up in the air? No, I'll let it roll. No, I'll throw it up. No, I'll let it roll. Decided to go with the flub, instead."
Heh. I use that shot a lot.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:01 AM
World Baseball Thingy
Sorry. I just can't care. Much like Olympic hockey or basketball, it's a bunch of pros who are just wearing different uniforms. Yawn.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:58 AM | Comments (6)
Word of the Day
doch-an-dorris \dahkh-un-DOR-is\ nounScottish & Irish : a parting drink : stirrup cup
We'll raise a glass and ask you to join us, on this most festive of days.
Dum dum, dum dum, dum dum, doodle oodle...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:45 AM | Comments (2)
March 16, 2006
It's Boiling Down to "Poop
...or get off the lot".
State officials walked away from negotiations with the World Trade Center site developer Wednesday after failing to agree on who should build the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower and how to split billions of dollars in rebuilding money.The dispute threatens to hold up the entire project.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:18 PM | Comments (4)
Them and Us
The French, I mean.
Dominique de Villepin, France's prime minister, faced a deepening crisis on Thursday as thousands of students stepped up protests over his labour reform plans.
The student are fixin' to rumble ~ some have already started with the de rigueur smashed windows, setting fire to kiosks and cars, blahblahblah. Pencil in a geriatric beating for two thirty, Francois and Abdullah, in the name of your disenfranchisement. So, the frenzy's all about what? A new national employment contract,
The proposed contract allows employers to dismiss staff under the age of 26 more easily during a two-year trial period. Mr de Villepin has argued that it wouldcut France's crippling unemployment. But students say it will bring instability, making them "the Kleenex generation", used and then discarded. The battle over the new contract has dragged the prime minister's popularity to record lows.
What a whacko system ~ I wouldn't want it changed either, but they're gonna be mighty surprised when it implodes. Grow up, France. I never got a trial period for any job I ever had. I did it until one of us decided I was gone. Free enterprise, capitalism, supply and demand, maybe a little worker productivity thrown in for the hell of it.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:05 PM
I.......Did NOT......DO THIS
...so help me, God. They were sent to us.
Yup. Pointed in the right direction.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:50 PM
I Can't Find Anything About This
...on MSNBC or CNN, but it could be just me. RadioBlogger's transcript of Hugh Hewitt's show yesterday.
HH: Now John Eastman, this is fortuitous. About an hour ago, a release was made in Washington, D.C., announcing the formation of something called the Iraq Study Group, which will consist of James A. Baker and Lee Hamilton, former CIA director Robert Gates, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Clinton advisor Vernon Jordan, Clinton chief of staff Leon Panetta, Clinton Defense Secretary William Perry, Democratic Senator Chuck Robb, retired, Alan Simpson, a Republican, and allegedly, Sandra Day O'Connor is rumored to be about to join this as well. It has been put together under the auspices of the Congressional Institute of Peace, it will be funded by federal dollars. John Eastman, as a Constitutional scholar, what do you think of this, which smacks, I think, of the Committee of Reconstruction from the Civil War, and the Church Committee, and the 9/11 Commission?
UPDATE: Major Dad says he noticed something yesterday, so I came to it a smidge late, 'twould seem. If the administration once again plays the
UPDATE Mark Steyn on Hugh Hewitt, courtesy of the RadioBlogger.
HH:...What's your reaction to the formation of this group?MS: Well, the 9/11 Commission is the...I mean, you know me. I'm a foreigner, but I'm pro-American. And yet I must say, the 9/11 Commission is everything I loathe about the United States, in that its legalistic, retrospective, showboating blowhards, pompous people going on TV round the clock. And in effect, it becomes something in and of itself. It's not just commenting on something like a play by play guy is, but it actually changes the course of the something its commenting on. And that's what's bad about this. You know, Iraq isn't a Broadway play in previews. The show has opened, and it's on now. So it's too late to have arguments about this little weak spot in the first act, and we should get it re-written. The show has opened, and the responsibility of these people involved in this, James Baker, Lee Hamilton, Rudy Giuliani, all these people, is that they should now be saying let's win it, and then have the arguments.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:18 PM | Comments (6)
Quite a Lady, That Liberian President
I hope she gets a chance to straighten things out.
"Mismanagement, corruption, bad governance, massive looting of public treasury and assets," she said. "Unlike the tsunami in Asia, and Katrina here in your own country, where the destruction and human casualty were caused by nature, we participated in, or stood silently by, in our own self destruction."
Swill Salute to The Gateway Pundit.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:47 AM | Comments (1)
They Better Not Pause For Any BULLSHIT "NEGOTIATING"
...this time.
U.S., Iraq Launch Major Air Assault
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- The American military said Thursday that U.S. and Iraqi forces had launched the largest air assault since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, attacking insurgents north of Baghdad.
Take them ALL out. There shouldn't be a cessation of hostilities until all the hostiles are deceased.
UPDATE: MSNBC has more.
A military statement said the operation involving more than 50 aircraft and 1,500 Iraqi and U.S. troops as well as 200 tactical vehicles targeted suspected insurgents operating in Salahuddin, a province that includes Samarra, a town located 60 miles north of Baghdad.“Initial reports from the objective area indicate that a number of enemy weapons caches have been captured, containing artillery shells, explosives, IED-making materials, and military uniforms,” the military said in a statement. IEDs are improvised explosive devices.
UPDATE: I didn't see Helen Thomas do her thing like Mike did, but I DID see David Gregory ask if this operation had anything to do with Bush's slumping poll numbers.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:44 AM | Comments (11)
Oh
...yeah.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:00 AM | Comments (9)
Now That's a Send-Off
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) -- Before the nearly 4,100 soldiers in the 34th Brigade Combat Team leave for Iraq, family and friends wanted to make sure they were sent off in style - and with a little taste of home.At Camp Shelby Wednesday, there were 8,000 home-cooked steaks, a band and plenty of kegs of beer. Lines of cars with out-of-state license plates snaked through the roads to the base to arrive at the party.
The soldiers hail from Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska and New Jersey, but about 2,600 are from Minnesota. Those soldiers are the largest contingent of Minnesota's National Guard to see combat since World War II.
A popular St. Paul restaurant, Mancini's, served up the same steaks that customers get back in Minnesota. Ted Marti, whose son is part of the brigade expected to be gone for a year, brought dozens of kegs of beer and root beer from his family's Minnesota brewery.
Like other National Guard units to deploy in recent years, the brigade represented a cross-section of people from soldiers in their 50s to those who were too young to drink the free beer.
"We've got a lot of emotions with our son going," he said. "So we wanted to throw them a party. This is New Ulm (Minn.) style."
God speed, ya'll.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:57 AM | Comments (3)
Wanna Stretch?
Then it's gonna cost you or quit whining and put your knees up.
For an extra $15, Northwest Airlines Corp. will sell coach passengers a few more inches of legroom.Starting Tuesday, Northwest will ask passengers on most domestic flights if they're interested in paying extra for certain prime seats in coach exit-row seats or aisle seats near the front of the cabin.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:24 AM | Comments (9)
I Hate to Break It to the Big Guy
...but we've been talking about it for months DAMN near the whole year we've been around. (Maybe if he spent a little time among the teeming underclasses instead of hobnobbing with toady book publishers and academic glitterati, he'd already know, huh?)
Anyways, toDAY'S news on the economic front, brought to you courtesy of the McChimps at Hitler, Halliburton & Rove:
U.S. consumer prices rose a modest 0.1 percent last month, both overall and excluding food and energy, the government said on Thursday in a report showing even less inflation pressure than Wall Street expected.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:05 AM
Word of the Day
nugatory \NOO-guh-tor-ee\ adjective
1 : of little or no consequence : trifling, inconsequential
2 : having no force : inoperative
- NOU-gat : see:BINGLEY
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:57 AM | Comments (7)
March 15, 2006
Please Give A Warm Swill Welcome
To the latest member of our blogroll: Careful Thought.
Poor guy is under assault by the Unschooling Army. "Unschooling" is homeschooling without the school, I think. Go look at the FAQ Section and see if you can figure it out. Look, I'm not a big fan of homeschooling, but I think it can succeed with the proper support network and recognition by the parents that it is a heck of a lot of work.
One thing that is clear from reading the comments is that the first thing that is unschooled is manners.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 04:48 PM | Comments (26)
Oh Please Please Please...
Let them sell it to Halliburton!
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Seeking to ease Congress' trepidation about a controversial ports deal, a company owned by the United Arab Emirates said Wednesday it would sell the management rights to six American facilities to an unrelated U.S. buyer within six months.
Then our Master Rove's plans will be fulfilled!
Buwhahahahahahaha!
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:55 PM
And An Xbox360 In Every Living Room...
I wasn't aware that broadband access was a 'right' that the government needed to address:
America lags behind other countries that have universal broadband deployment, Pelosi said; but the Democrats' agenda "guarantees" that every American will have affordable access to broadband within five years."We also believe that the nationwide deployment of high speed, always-on broadband and Internet and mobile communications will fuel the development of millions of new jobs in the United States," Pelosi said.
"Mr. President, we've got a broad...band gap with the commies!"
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:40 AM | Comments (7)
King of the Musher People!
This makes Iditarod victory number four for Gentleman Jeff and his pugnacious pack. 
Bravo, team!
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:00 AM
If the End's Nigh, You're Supposed to Bend Over and Kiss
...Djibouti good-bye...right? According to this article, it could be time to pucker up.
...In north-eastern Africa's Afar Triangle, though, recent months have seen hundreds of crevices splitting the desert floor and the ground has slumped by as much as 100 meters (328 feet). At the same time, scientists have observed magma rising from deep below as it begins to form what will eventually become a basalt ocean floor. Geologically speaking, it won't be long until the Red Sea floods the region. The ocean that will then be born will split Africa apart.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:54 AM | Comments (2)
A HUGE HUZZAH!! HUZZAH!! HUZZAH!!!!
...for sweet Sister NJSue's college team!!
Monmouth Lets Its Play Justify Its Place in Final 64
Joy on the faces of the Monmouth Hawks on Tuesday belied the atmosphere of debate and rancor that has cloaked the N.C.A.A. tournament since its field was selected and seeded Sunday.Monmouth provided a respite from the rhetoric with a simple reminder of what makes this postseason event enthralling.
The Hawks basked in the glow of winning an N.C.A.A. tournament game for the first time since its founding in West Long Branch, N.J., in 1933.
"To this date, this is Monmouth's finest moment," Hawks Coach Dave Calloway said.
Monmouth, 19-14 and champion of the Northeast Conference, officially became a No. 16-seeded team by defeating Hampton University, 71-49, in the opening-round game at the University of Dayton Arena.
Ahhhh...the little team that could. She'll be high-fiving and trash talkin' with all her students this morning ~ if anyone made it to class after last night. (Bingley was positively giddy when he called with the news last night and he hasn't posted yet...)
Now, about that game on Friday. Don't sweat it Monmouth ~ I've already got a close friend workin' it for ya...
+
+
=
Don't worry about a thing.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:45 AM | Comments (5)
March 14, 2006
Well, That's Just Great
We're been annointed the duty experts all of a sudden. (Yeesh. Maybe Diptera was right to worry about us and our eeeee-ville influence.) But no matter. It's a burden and so we carry it.
It is beyond our control.
UPDATE: Martha Stewart, being the obliging sort of gal she is, has just sent me a lovely salmon recipe for St. Paddy's Day. Salmon is as Irish as potatoes bah-DAY-does, so celebrate and keep Lent at the same time.
See? We are the resident experts. Google knows what it's doing.
UPDATE: So does MSN Search. I guess.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:02 PM | Comments (7)
Weeellll, If Bugs Has to Go
...I guess you need a way to take him.
Maybe I should caption this "Easter Bunny in CHAINS!".
Nah.
Don't want to upset Ebola.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:32 PM | Comments (9)
Right, Left ~ I Think He Got the Horse Angle
...completely wrong.
Hugo Chavez wanted to make a political statement with
his new Venezuelan Chavista Coat of Arms, but the joke turns out to be on Hugo."...'A Coat of Arms' because they are derived from the front painting of a shield are always read from the point of view of the bearer of the shield.
In other words, previously the horse pointed to the left and looked back at the right opposition left behind. Now, the horse is not only pointing to the right, it is galloping frantically away from the left (where Chavez stands politically)."
I say scrap the whole thing, Hugo. Instead, to make it right, may I suggest...
...? It works.
A warm Swill Salute to The Gateway Pundit and Venezuela News and Views.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:38 PM | Comments (2)
This Is Interesting
I bet she's got an interesting tale to tell:
(CNN) -- Brazilian police said they have arrested a woman wanted for questioning in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.The arrest of Rana Abdel Rahim Qoleilat, a Lebanese woman, was made in Sao Paulo, authorities said. Qoleilat also is wanted in Lebanon for bank fraud, according to Joseph Sayah, the Lebanese consul in Sao Paulo.
...The Associated Press reported that Qoleilat was carrying a British passport identifying her as Rana Klailat of Northern Ireland. She allegedly offered police up to $200,000 (euro168,035) to release her and was arrested for attempted bribery, AP reports said. It was not clear if the passport was valid, according to the AP.
Qoleilat's passport showed she had been in China, Iraq and Egypt, reported the AP, citing Sao Paulo police inspector Nicanor Nogueira Branco. Interpol asked Brazilian police on December 3 to try to find her, but no arrest warrant was issued, Branco told the AP.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:24 PM | Comments (3)
Never Let Facts Get In The Way...
Via Tim Worstall, yet another blogging Tim shows that George Clooney is as good as his word:
Syriana is a film largely about the workings of the oil and gas industry, in particular the Middle East oil and gas industry, and as I know a thing or two about this subject, I was interested in watching it. Having now done so, I think Clooney was understating the fact.
A good primer on how business in the ME really works.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:55 PM
I Guess She Has to Spend Her Money on Something
...since she gave up drugs last week.
Moss bought a limited-edition, Jimmyjane "Little Something" vibrator in 24K gold for $350. The buzz-worthy bauble comes inscribed with choice of endearment ("Sugar," "Be Mine," "Sweetie" or "Flirt") and is guaranteed not to get you in trouble with the law.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:40 PM | Comments (2)
Fight! FIGHT !!
In THIS corner, the challenger...
N.Y. Times' Iraq Detainee Story ChallengedThe New York Times is investigating questions raised about the identity of a man who said in a Page 1 profile that he is the Abu Ghraib prisoner whose hooded image became an icon of abuse by American captors.
The online magazine Salon.com challenged the man's identity, based on an examination of 280 Abu Ghraib pictures it has been studying for weeks and on an interview with an official of the Army's Criminal Investigation Command. The official says the man the Times profiled Saturday, Ali Shalal Qaissi, is not the detainee in the photograph.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:41 AM
Whew, Dog!
As if being a senior wasn't stressful enough. I mean, if you have any ambition at all...which I never have. (Pisces ~ we sorta float through life.)
1,600 More SAT Scoring Problems FoundThe College Board disclosed Tuesday that an additional 1,600 SAT scores have not been rechecked from an exam in October that had scoring problems.
The previously overlooked batch of answer sheets came from among those being scored separately for a variety of reasons, including security concerns. Some of those scores were on hold and had not been reported, but others may have been reported incorrectly, according to an e-mail sent to college admissions officers and guidance counselors early Tuesday. The statement also was posted on the College Board's Web site.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:36 AM
A THS Public Service Announcement
I've found an excellent primer for all my wanna-be organic treehuggers. And I know you all wanna be one. If Bingley and Kcruella can turn slowly to the dark side, now you all can too! (It even tells what not to waste your 'organic' dollars on.)
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:19 AM | Comments (9)
A Tidbit More on General Shinseki
...and the PhD's post. He was every bit the professional military officer and, for his honesty born of combat experience, treated abomidably by the 'civilians' he was sworn to protect. Whatever their disagreement, for the arrogant BASTARDS to do THIS was INEXCUSABLE.
There were a few empty chairs at General Eric Shinseki's June 2003 retirement ceremony. U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld didn't make it to the event, which honored Shinseki's 4 years as U.S. Army chief of staff and 38-year military career. Neither did Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, nor any of Rumsfeld's other close associates. For a four-star general concluding a brilliant career, it was a major breach of protocol.It was also no surprise, given Shinseki's simple answer to a simple question a few months earlier. On February 25, 2003, as the general testified before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the looming war in Iraq, Senator Carl Levin asked him what kind of manpower he believed it would take to keep the peace in postwar Iraq. "Something on the order of several hundred thousand soldiers are probably, you know, a figure that would be required," he said. It was the reasoned estimate of a lifelong military man who had lost most of a foot in Vietnam, had led NATO's Peace Stabilization Force in Bosnia, and had commanded both NATO's land forces and the U.S. Army in Europe.
But it was not the answer his civilian boss was looking for. Rumsfeld was then in the process of convincing Congress that the war would require relatively few ground forces. Shinseki could have parroted the party line, or hedged his answer to appear more neutral, but he didn't. As Bill Clinton recently put it, Shinseki committed candor. "He was a darn good military leader but not a very good politician," says Les Cotton, the sheriff of Navarro County, Texas, who served as a soldier with Shinseki in Vietnam.
Amen to that, Les. Where and how is the Neo-Cons' dismissive arrogance toward a general officer's intelligence and experience any less disgusting than the Clintonites' loathing of the uniform itself?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:20 AM | Comments (44)
It Was "Sickle Cell Trait Complications"
...like the torso found on the beach was a 'boating accident' in Jaws.
“I think he made a mistake.”That’s what forensic pathologist Michael Baden said Tuesday morning about the Bay County medical examiner who performed the first autopsy on Martin Anderson, a 14-year-old boy who died after a confrontation with guards at a panhandle boot camp.
“He [Anderson] did not die of natural causes,” Baden said.
UPDATE: Since this might be largely unfamiliar to non-Florida types, MSNBC has more on the story and the report, plus the video of the beating. I can't stand to watch it.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:43 AM
On March 12th
...a certain young man turned 5...
...for the 55th time.
He had a belated birthday cake in our comic section today, complete with Dennis saying "It seems like only yesterday I was just FIVE YEARS OLD!" Happy Birthday, Dennis.
Now that the congrats are out of the way, I have to admit to an immediate sense of the creeps when I saw the cartoon this morning, as would any Harlan Ellison fan. Jeffty is Five, too.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:52 AM
When It's A Slow News Day...
Thanks god we have Pat to liven things up:
Television evangelist Pat Robertson said Monday on his live news-and- talk program "The 700 Club" that Islam is not a religion of peace, and that radical Muslims are "satanic."He remarked that the outpouring of rage elicited by cartoons "just shows the kind of people we're dealing with. These people are crazed fanatics, and I want to say it now: I believe it's motivated by demonic power. It is satanic and it's time we recognize what we're dealing with."
Can you say "satan", Pat?
Satan and Jesus go toe-to-toe!
Who, aside from news reporters looking for easy copy, actually watches the 700 Club?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:04 AM | Comments (15)
I'd Think About Rehiring the Officers You Laid Off
...and maybe filling in the gaps with hired guns.
If the Federal Emergency Management Agency approves the sheriff's department's proposal, which would cost $70 million over three years, up to 100 DynCorp employees would be deputized to be make arrests, carry weapons, and dress in the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Department khaki and black uniforms.
$70 million can go along way and you won't have the police/community issues you will with a hired paramilitary outfit. What worked for them in Kabul won't fly here.
And another thing I noticed ~ is this WaPo code-speak for "Mexican construction labor"?
Besides being nearly broke, the department has a host of new challenges. The FBI has warned that gangs such as Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, could come attached to construction crews and establish operations, prompting the department to establish a strike team that has already arrested eight alleged members, police officials said.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:53 AM
March 13, 2006
Show Them True Colors, Chef
According to Isaac it's ok to pick on jews and christians and blacks and mohammed...but don't fug with xenu!
Isaac Hayes has quit "South Park," where he voices Chef, saying he can no longer stomach its take on religion...."Religious beliefs are sacred to people, and at all times should be respected and honored," he continued. "As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years, I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices."
..."South Park" co-creator Matt Stone responded sharply in an interview with The Associated Press Monday, saying, "This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology... He has no problem - and he's cashed plenty of checks - with our show making fun of Christians."
Last November, "South Park" targeted the Church of Scientology and its celebrity followers, including actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta, in a top-rated episode called "Trapped in the Closet." In the episode, Stan, one of the show's four mischievous fourth graders, is hailed as a reluctant savior by Scientology leaders, while a cartoon Cruise locks himself in a closet and won't come out.
Stone told The AP he and co-creator Trey Parker "never heard a peep out of Isaac in any way until we did Scientology. He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin."
Yeah, yeah, I know I copied almost the entire article, but the comments by Stone are just so perfect.
"Come out of the closet, Tom."
You won't see this no more...
(h/t With Cheese)
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:43 PM | Comments (5)
Cobra II
The war was barely a week old when Gen. Tommy R. Franks threatened to fire the Army's field commander.From the first days of the invasion in March 2003, American forces had tangled with fanatical Saddam Fedayeen paramilitary fighters. Lt. Gen. William S. Wallace, who was leading the Army's V Corps toward Baghdad, had told two reporters that his soldiers needed to delay their advance on the Iraqi capital to suppress the Fedayeen threat in the rear.
Soon after, General Franks phoned Lt. Gen. David D. McKiernan, the commander of allied land forces, to warn that he might relieve General Wallace.
The firing was averted after General McKiernan flew to meet General Franks. But the episode revealed the deep disagreements within the United States high command about the Iraqi military threat and what would be required to defeat it.
The dispute, related by military officers in interviews, had lasting consequences. The unexpected tenacity of the Fedayeen in the battles for Nasiriya, Samawa, Najaf and other towns on the road to Baghdad was an early indication that the adversary was not merely Saddam Hussein's vaunted Republican Guard.
The paramilitary Fedayeen were numerous, well-armed, dispersed throughout the country, and seemingly determined to fight to the death. But while many officers in the field assessed the Fedayeen as a dogged foe, General Franks and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld saw them as little more than speed bumps on the way to Baghdad. Three years later, Iraq has yet to be subdued. Many of the issues that have haunted the Bush administration about the war — the failure to foresee a potential insurgency and to send sufficient troops to stabilize the country after Saddam Hussein's government was toppled — were foreshadowed early in the conflict. How some of the crucial decisions were made, the behind-the-scenes debate about them and early cautions about a sustained threat have not been previously known.
¶A United States Marines intelligence officer warned after the bloody battle at Nasiriya, the first major fight of the war, that the Fedayeen would continue to mount attacks after the fall of Baghdad since many of the enemy fighters were being bypassed in the race to the capital.
A NYT snippet from the new book by Michael Gordon and Lt. Gen Bernard Trainor, USMC(R), which promises to be a barn burner. Major Dad's copy should be in the mail. It sounds like it's going to dovetail nicely with "The Assassin's Gate" he's reading and thoroughly engrossed in now (about, he says, "a bunch of Phd's who think they're smarter than anybody else and who were incapable of digesting any point of view that was remotely different than anything they'd already decided upon" ~ he recommends it highly). Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:35 PM | Comments (7)
Today in 1781
...they found Uranus.
No Klingons were sighted.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:30 AM | Comments (4)
"V For Vendetta"
I think I'll pass on this one.
It sounds like a much more interesting movie could be made about the producers:
The Wachowskis no longer talk to the press, and their personal lives are the subject of considerable speculation. Larry, the older of the two, is a transvestite in a relationship with a Los Angeles dominatrix.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:55 AM | Comments (2)
March 12, 2006
Sounds Like a Singer Warming Up
...that "me -me-me" stuff.
"...But my subject is Clinton's political prospects. This episode — which combines buckraking with pandering — brings back the Clinton years at their worst: the me-me-me selfishness, the occasional presumption that humanity exists to serve Team Clinton."
David Brooks on the NYT Opinion page today.
Email me if the link's not working ~ it's a damn 'Times Select' thingee.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:14 PM
March 11, 2006
Oops
Slobo's with the fishes:
Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has been found dead in his cell in The Hague, Netherlands where he was being tried on war cimes charges, according to the United Nations war crimes tribunal. He was 64.
No, not in Gitmo, but the Hague. You know, Abu Ghraib with windmills.
As my bride just said "Gee, but we should try Saddam there because of course he won't get a free trial under the American puppets in Iraq."
Sure seems somebody didn't want him to start talking...
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:32 AM | Comments (1)
May They Rot in the Veriest Pits of Whatever They Call Hell
The f*ckers who did this. Who could do this. Who have been doing this.
An American who was among four Christian activists kidnapped last year in Iraq has been killed, a State Department spokesman said.
And no, I'm not sorry I don't 'get them'. I want the Marines or the Army or a big fat Air Force bomb or, best of all, someone with an instrument guaranteed to cause terror, hideous pain, crying for your whore of a mother, forget the 72 virgins and a torturous death to get them.
Yeah.
That would be good.
Bingley update: Seems they tortured him before they shot him in the head:
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- American hostage Tom Fox -- who was kidnapped with three other Christian peace activists in November -- has been found shot in the head with his body showing signs of torture, Iraqi emergency police told CNN Saturday.
Because, of course, "Christian Peace Activists" have got all types of secret military knowledge.
Pop quiz: what word is missing from this article describing this act by the "Swords of Righteousness Brigade"?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:47 AM | Comments (5)
March 10, 2006
And He Came!
Sheila* reminds us that on this day the fateful words "Watson, come here" were spoken 130 years ago. The cool thing is she's got pics of Bell's diary and notes of the event. Go read them!
*corrected link. I am a moron.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:54 AM | Comments (17)
Jarheads Are Real Pieces of Work
In late 2004, Cpl. Jason Watrous spent several weeks of his military hitch in a city west of Baghdad.The work was hard. The hours were long. And that was only the start of it.
Watrous left the service in July to work in a mill in upstate New York. By Christmas, though, the square-jawed 24-year-old had re-enlisted in the Marine Corps.
"I like deployments," Watrous said he realized.
He wanted to get back to what he discovered in that teeming city, Fallujah.
...and thank goodness.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:43 AM | Comments (4)
March 09, 2006
A Wee Bit 'O Guidance Concernin' St. Paddy's
...and Lent.
A St. Patrick's Day tradition is up in the air as the holiday conflicts with the strict observance of Catholic Lent....The Omaha Archdiocese said that although the archbishop isn't granting a general dispensation this year, any person or group within the church is welcome to write the archbishop and ask for an individual dispensation. The Archdiocese said it is not asking for anything out of the ordinary this year. It would just like to see all the faithful abstain from red meat, including corned beef, on St. Patrick's Day
"In this day and age, there's precious little the church asks of us," said the Rev. Ryan Lewis.
...In the Midwest, the bishop of the Des Moines Diocese granted a dispensation to parishioners, allowing them to eat meat on March 17, but he asked that those who chose to do so to perform an act of penance as an alternative sacrifice.
See what happens when the Pope's a German? No nasty corned beef ~ more's the pity. Try the colcannon instead ~ I'll be thinking bacon doesn't count as "meat" and eatin' cabbage of a Friday ev'n is sacrifice enough for ten men. But it'll be a cold St. Paddy's before I turn loose of my pint!
Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:00 PM | Comments (19)
Thought We'd Forgotten Our Favorite Pin-Up?
Nope. He's bbaaaaccckkkkkk...!
Wife accuses Hasselhoff of domestic violence
Former ‘Baywatch’ star also pleads no contest to drunk driving charge
And he's been busy, knocking back a few brewskies and the little woman while he was at it.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:00 PM | Comments (14)
The Potato Liberation Front in Co-operation With TOWACA PRESENTS...
POTATOES ARE A PRODUCT OF NATURE
The tragic story unfolds to the plaintive and authentic strains of real cowpierogie ballads, sung by generations of cowpierogies standing their lonely range vigils.
(music cue)
"Whoop-ee ti-yi-yo git along little pierogies...
It's your misfortune and none of my own."Share the heartbreak...share the TaterTot tent...share the spud.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:38 PM | Comments (23)
Born to Run
...for office, from the law: you name it, Corzine's done it. Lucky you guys.
In his first political firestorm since taking office in January, Gov. Jon S. Corzine said Wednesday that he provided $5,000 in bail money to a lobbyist accused of stalking a state assemblyman."I reacted as a human being responding to someone in need," the multimillionaire Democrat said. "However, in light of my position as governor, I realize this was a mistake."
Karen Golding, a government relations manager for insurance giant Prudential Financial, is accused of breaking into the government-issued car of Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, a Democrat, and of writing threatening letters and making threatening calls to Cryan and others. Authorities have not discussed a motive.
Being a good Samaritan only gets ya kicked in the teeth, eh John?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:31 AM
On This Day in 1862, the Monitor and the Virginia (formerly the Merrimack)
...posed for this picture.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:59 AM | Comments (3)
That's Getting to Be My General Impression, Too
As the war in Iraq grinds into its fourth year, a growing proportion of Americans are expressing unfavorable views of Islam, and a majority now say that Muslims are disproportionately prone to violence, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Put your frickin' guns and stones down, quit killing yourselves and us over stoopid sh*t and prove me wrong.
I would love to be wrong.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:51 AM | Comments (3)
March 08, 2006
If the Truth Hurts
...don't cash it.
After motorist T. Allen Morgan got a speeding ticket in Coopertown — a town known for its heavy-handed traffic enforcement — he tried to pay his ticket like a good citizen.But he added a little note on his check that angered Mayor Danny Crosby. The mayor refused to accept the check, sparking the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to launch an investigation Monday.
Crosby told Morgan that he had to either write another check that didn't have the words "for speed trap" written in bold letters or face the charges in traffic court.
..."As mayor of this city, if I accept that check from that gentleman, I'm admitting we run a speed trap, and that's a bald-faced lie," Crosby said Tuesday.
Coopertown lies about 20 miles northwest of Nashville on a state highway used by motorists to travel between interstates 24 and 65. The town generates nearly 30 percent of its revenue from traffic tickets.
It's a free country ~ he can write whatever he wants in that "For" section of his check, as long as it's not threatening or obscene. The truth must be painfully obscene in the Mayor's eyes, since it sure sounds like they've been cashin' in to me.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:10 PM | Comments (13)
First: Why Does This Sound Like the Palestinians?
Secondly: Is anyone truly surprised? The place is a snake pit and we've let all the little viperous wrigglers loose.
The US State Department on Wednesday released a damning report on the state of human rights and the security situation in Iraq, describing a weak and corrupt government with little control over its own murderous security forces in the face of a powerful insurgency.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:15 PM | Comments (7)
Between Taliban at Yale, the UNC Traffic Terrorist
...and now these A$$holes...
Two college students arrested Wednesday in a string of nine rural Alabama church arsons told authorities that the first fires were set as “a joke” and later blazes were intended as a diversion, federal agents said. A third college student was being sought in the serial arsons.Benjamin Nathan Moseley and Russell Lee Debusk Jr., both students at Birmingham-Southern College, appeared in federal court Wednesday and were ordered held on church arson charges pending a hearing Friday.
Authorities said they were seeking Matthew Lee Cloyd*, who reportedly is a student at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.
...campus life seems to be seriously lacking moral direction.
*MSNBC is reporting they've arrested him.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:29 PM | Comments (1)
Lego Fun
Via the ever fun Ken.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:47 PM
"Harm And Pain"
I mean, I know the Chinese and the Russians and the various European schmutzes are playing their suave game of political nuance to counter any position the US takes, but I wish someone would ask them to unequivably state that they think letting Iran have nukes is a good idea.
"The United States has the power to cause harm and pain," said a statement delivered by the Iranian delegation. "But the United States is also susceptible to harm and pain. So if that is the path that the U.S. wishes to choose, let the ball roll."
There comes a time when you simply have to say 'no'. Iran can not be allowed to have nuclear weapons. It's that simple. I don't want to hear any crap about other nations that have weapons, or why haven't we stopped nation 'x' from getting them; that's all irrelevant. If Iran gets nukes they will use them first.
And that can not be allowed.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:36 AM | Comments (7)
Dancing With Himself
Channeling Billy Idol at 7500 feet beneath the sea.
Divers have discovered a new crustacean in the South Pacific that resembles a lobster and is covered with what looks like silky, blond fur, French researchers said Tuesday.
Of course French researchers could find a blonde anywhere...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:46 AM | Comments (4)
The Spud Lobby
...has their eyes on the prize. Tempers reached a boiling point before the hopes of Walla Walla onion crowd were mashed.
Resistance came from the state's spud growers, who weren't happy with an official endorsement of another crop.As Finkbeiner put it, the fight with "Big Potato" was on.
Another Senate committee changed the bill to designate Walla Wallas the state's "edible bulb," while naming the russet potato the "official tuber."
The students were taken aback by the resistance.
"At first, I was like, `Nobody will oppose it,'" said Katey Callegari, 15, who made three trips to Olympia to testify for and monitor the bill. "But then, there were all these potato people."
Newspaper editorials blasted the Washington Potato Commission over the legislation's compromised status.
"I think it just kind of hurt our growers' feelings when the bill first surfaced," said commission director Chris Voigt. "It's funny how we just got portrayed as these big monsters, beating up on these ninth-graders, and that wasn't the case at all."
Oh YEAH you were, you big, buttery, baked potato head palooka, you.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:38 AM | Comments (25)
Oh?
"The car was bought without knowing who previously owned it," the seller said on the site.Oh, right. And when you get done, I have this bridge...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:32 AM | Comments (3)
Eatin' Good in the Neighborhood
The dynamo Dick Durban GITMO Gulag, that is.
Is America the only country in the world that could run a prison camp where prisoners gain weight? Between April 2002 and March 2003, the Joint Task Force returned to Afghanistan 19 of the approximately 664 men (from 42 countries) who have been held in the detention camps at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay. Upon leaving, it has been reported, each man received two parting gifts: a brand new copy of the Koran as well as a new pair of jeans. Not the act of generosity that it might first appear, the jeans, at least, turned out to be a necessity. During their stay (14-months on average), the detainees (nearly all of them) had gained an average of 13 pounds.
A warm Swill Salute to the the Gateway Pundit and his post about having a hard time getting some of the detainees to go home!
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:01 AM
Sounds Like a Pile of Elephant Dung to Me!
So maybe the Loch Ness monster was actually a circus elephant.Neil Clark, curator of paleontology at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow, sees striking similarities between descriptions of Nessie and what an Indian elephant looks like while swimming. And perhaps not coincidentally a traveling circus featuring elephants passed by the misty lake in the 1930s at the height of the monster sightings.
While an elephant is verra large beast indeed, there nae way it's greater in size than Urqhuart, as ye can clearly see Nessie is!
The daft dolts. Leave the monster huntin' tae them's that's the stomach fer it, ye pasty white haggis hamsters.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:48 AM
In The Year Of "Brokeback Mountain"...
You just knew that Oral Roberts would make the NCAA tourney...
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:59 AM | Comments (2)
If it wasn't bad enough that we were losing the F-14s....
as THS mentioned yesterday, the Fleet Air Arm is losing the last of its Sea Harriers. Truly a sad year.
Posted by Crusader at 06:15 AM
March 07, 2006
"We Have Not Seen a Single Jew
...blow himself up in a German restaurant."
Wow. Wafa Sultan lets fly.
From Kokonut Pundits via the always wired in Gateway Pundit.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:14 PM | Comments (3)
It Is Time
...for him...
...to go.
And take his phoney, juiced up, bullsh*t records with him.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:23 PM | Comments (6)
If the Leader's Comments Don't Represent the Movement
...then whose do?
A Nation of Islam official who serves on a state hate crimes commission said Tuesday it's ridiculous that she has been condemned for remarks made by the religious movement's leader, Minister Louis Farrakhan.Sister Claudette Marie Muhammad's comments were her first since four members of the Governor's Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes resigned last week rather than serve with her.
"For those who try to condemn me because of the honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan's remarks," she said on WVON-AM, "it's ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous."
..."Please know I am not the victimizer here, OK, but instead I am the victim," she said. She refused to repudiate Farrakhan and recommended that people who disagree with him, speak with him.
-AP Photo/BRIAN KERSEYI'm sorry, sweet cheeks, but plenty of Christians have called Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell 'crackheads'. I was with you right up to where you didn't condemn his hatefulness. You don't belong in that chair if you can't.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:59 PM | Comments (2)
It Would Be Asking Too Much
“I rage that a human being could choose to take another human being’s life,” she told a regional BBC program. “I rage that someone should do this in the name of a God. I find that utterly offensive.“Can I forgive them for what they did? No, I cannot. And I don’t wish to. I believe that there are some things in life which are unforgivable by the human spirit.”
The good vicar lost her 24 year old daughter in the London Underground bombings and has hung up her vestments. I can't imagine the pain.
And she is so very right.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:45 PM | Comments (65)
Does Anyone Sell on eBay Anymore?
I mean, besides businesses, corporations and Powersellers. I used to do a handy bit of art selling before they pissed me off years ago. I couldn't keep up with the fee changes and the copycats/copyright infringement was so horrific, rampant and unregulated, I've never been back since. I'd see all these little person listing's in those stores and wonder "how the hell do they afford these listings when NOTHING sells month after month?"
Sounds like nothing's ever changing for the better. As far as the mom and pop seller is concerned, they can stuff...
...where the sun don't shine.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:04 AM | Comments (3)
It's All Over
...except for the singing.
'Top Gun' Fighter Jets End Final Mission
The Navy's last two squadrons of F-14 Tomcats are heading home, ending the final combat deployment of the Cold War-era fighter jet that flew into the danger zone with Tom Cruise in "Top Gun."
Damn.
Headin' into twilightSpreadin' out her wings tonight
She got you jumpin' off the deck
And shovin' into overdrive
Highway to the Danger Zone
I'll take you
Right into the Danger Zone...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:25 AM | Comments (5)
Yanni Faces Domestic Battery Charges
Surprisingly not for his music.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:46 AM | Comments (8)
Freedom Of Speech Under Attack In NJ
This disgusting bill introduced by Rep. Peter Biondi would restrict speech online:
Makes certain operators of interactive computer services and Internet service providers liable to persons injured by false or defamatory messages posted on public forum websites.
What kind of crap is this? What next? Will they require names from people in crowds, in case they shout something nasty as well?
I'm writing my Reps about this piece of poo.
UPDATE (JInx! Jinx!) ths adds:
Maybe the politicians of New Jersey ARE all wise and all-powerful...
Update the Second: Jon Swift has some backround on Biondi and the Bill.
Update the Third: NJ has a great site where you can find your Representative and easily contact all of them with one click. Neat. I sent an email to them. I urge you to do the same.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:29 AM | Comments (13)
March 06, 2006
Only 44
...and gone, bless his heart. Damn. Now that's a tragedy.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:25 PM | Comments (3)
Did The Valkyrie Have A Child?
An interesting story in Aviation Week & Space Technology:
U.S. intelligence agencies may have quietly mothballed a highly classified two-stage-to-orbit spaceplane system designed in the 1980s for reconnaissance, satellite-insertion and, possibly, weapons delivery. It could be a victim of shrinking federal budgets strained by war costs, or it may not have met performance or operational goals.This two-vehicle "Blackstar" carrier/orbiter system may have been declared operational during the 1990s.
A large "mothership," closely resembling the U.S. Air Force's historic XB-70 supersonic bomber, carries the orbital component conformally under its fuselage, accelerating to supersonic speeds at high altitude before dropping the spaceplane. The orbiter's engines fire and boost the vehicle into space. If mission requirements dictate, the spaceplane can either reach low Earth orbit or remain suborbital.
Neat, neat stuff.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:02 PM | Comments (7)
A Bummer
Our good friend Wunderkraut is going on hiatus for awhile. Please stop by and thank him for his efforts and encourage him to return!
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:04 AM
Happy Birthday THS!!!
You've reached the legendary Birthday of Aaauugh...
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:15 AM | Comments (21)
March 03, 2006
I Know It's A Little Early For Father's Day Stories...
But here's my vote for scumbag Dad of* the Year:
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (CNN) -- A Kentucky prisoner who duped authorities and his family into believing he intended to donate a kidney to his ailing son may have escaped to Mexico with his girlfriend, federal authorities said....In January, a judge allowed Perkins to leave jail, where he'd been awaiting sentencing for a gun and drug conviction, for medical tests before his son's surgery. Perkins' conviction carries a minimum jail term of 25 years.
Izgarjan, who was in the courtroom when Perkins asked to be released, said he had convinced everyone of his sincerity.
"He was crying. He was just literally begging the judge," Izgarjan said. "He told the judge, 'My son is going to die if I don't give him this kidney. He's so sick right now.' "
I hope they catch this guy.
"Hello. "Perkins", isn't it? Right. We've come for your kidney."
*Argh.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:11 PM | Comments (6)
Texa$$ Tea Reality Check
...Very few new refineries are being built in the Western oil-consuming countries. In the United States, in fact, while oil refiners have added capacity at existing plants, no new refineries have been built for more than 20 years. We have used imports of refined petroleum products from the Caribbean and Latin America to meet growth in domestic demand for gasoline, heating oil and other refined products....But the oil-producing countries of the Middle East are about to go on a refinery-building boom that, according to energy consultants Wood Mackenzie, will boost refining capacity in the region by 60% over the next 10 years. OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) members alone would increase their refining capacity by 50%.
That's great news for the companies that engineer, supply and build refineries throughout the world: The International Energy Agency puts refinery spending in the Middle East at $89 billion between 2004 and 2030.
But it's not good news for oil-consuming countries striving for energy independence. If Part Two of the oil-producing countries' energy strategy works, the countries of the Middle East -- which really means Saudi Arabia, since that country has the cash flow to build the most refineries -- will dominate the supply of refined-petroleum products at the margin, just as they do with oil. And that will give the oil producers control over the global price of gasoline, heating oil, jet fuel, feed stock for plastics, etc.
Today's "Jubak's Journal". Read the whole thing.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:15 AM
Support Denmark Rally Today in NYC
I've been remiss and should have posted this sooner:
Friday March 3rd
12:00 to 1:00 PM
outside the Danish Consulate at One dag Hammarskjold Plaza
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:00 AM | Comments (2)
March 02, 2006
Video Killed the Radio Star
...and it works both ways.
"We keep getting reports in some places that maybe water is coming over the levees," Gov. Kathleen Blanco said shortly after noon on Aug. 29, according to the video that was obtained Thursday night. "We heard a report unconfirmed, I think, we have not breached the levee. I think we have not breached the levee at this time."In fact, the National Weather Service received a report of a levee breach and issued a flash-flood warning as early as 9:12 a.m. that day, according to the White House's formal recounting of events the day Katrina struck.
Karma. It's a bitch. And...
Reality check: Who said what about Katrina?
New video contradicts former FEMA head’s recent statements
NBC News has now obtained the videotape of a key private meeting between federal and state officials on Monday Aug. 29, the day Hurricane Katrina hit. Though Michael Brown has been critical of President Bush, the tape shows Brown praising the president that day, saying they'd already talked twice....We now know that an hour before Blanco's assessment, a FEMA official alerted superiors to reports that at least one levee had failed — information that didn’t reach the White House until almost midnight.
Well, that sure s*cks for your book deal, eh Brownie? Loser. Now, for something completely different...
(Editor's Notes)...Whatever the failings of the government's response, it is hard to imagine any rescue effort reaching victims scattered across perhaps 1000 square miles as quickly as critics demanded.(Debunking Katrina's Myths)...Bumbling by top disaster management officials fueled a perception of general inaction, one that was compounded by impassioned news anchors. In fact, the response to Hurricane Katrina was by far the largest - and the fastest -rescue effort in U.S. history, with nearly 100,000 emergency personnel arriving on the scene within three days of the storm's landfall.
Dozens of National Guard and Coast guard helicopters flew rescue operations that first day - some just 2 hours after Katrina hit the coast.
From "Debunking Katrina's Myths" in Popular Mechanics' March 2006 issue. If you don't have it yet, buy one. They take on the insurance angles, the levee breaches, death and destruction at the Superdome ~ wonderful information in a most dispassionate fashion. Buy it.
UPDATE: According to a Drudge link, the AP has clarified that the "breach" they reported did not accurately reflect the "overrun" the president had been briefed on. Depends what your definition of...oh...never mind.
WASHINGTON (AP) _ In a March 1 story, The Associated Press reported that federal disaster officials warned President Bush and his homeland security chief before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could breach levees in New Orleans, citing confidential video footage of an Aug. 28 briefing among U.S. officials.The Army Corps of Engineers considers a breach a hole developing in a levee rather than an overrun. The story should have made clear that Bush was warned about floodwaters overrunning the levees, rather than the levees breaking.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:45 PM | Comments (1)
'Nuff Said
'BROKEBACK ABUSED SHEEP'I don't even want to know what that's about.
Fixed the link ~ I hope you don't have to register if you absolutely, positively have to know more...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:21 PM | Comments (3)
Someone Needs to Pay More Attention to the Swilling
...since we see it as our public duty to warn everybody about everything.
SANTA ANA, Calif. - A renowned psychiatrist lost up to $3 million over 10 years to a Nigerian Internet scam, his son alleges in a lawsuit.
Dummy.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:44 PM | Comments (10)
And Since Crusader HAD to Bring Up the Oriskany
...I'm blaming Bush for this one, too...
Oriskany sinking set for May 17
If all goes according to plan, the Oriskany will sink to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico on May 17, and scuba divers could be allowed on the decommissioned aircraft carrier as soon as two days later, local and Navy officials said Wednesday.
...when it doesn't happen AHgain.
The only thing sinking in the Gulf these days are oxygen levels and tax dollars.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:10 AM | Comments (1)
Another idea to prevent a repeat of Katrina....
From Varifrank:
What I learned from Katrina and the half a dozen other Hurricanes last year is that there is nothing that FEMA can do that if FEMA's funding and mission were given instead to the US Coast Guard, that the Coast Guard could instead deliver, faster, better, cheaper and with more accountability than FEMA ever hoped it could.So in that spirit, let's consider this idea.
Let's give the US Coast Guard:
The USS Constellation,
The USS Kitty Hawk
and the USS John F. Kennedy( all non nuclear Carriers, that are either mothballed or soon to be ) and create three maritime "Emergency Response Task Forces" with the current Navy hospital ships as their core. Place one task force on each coast - Pacific - Atlantic and Gulf.
Or maybe the Oriskany? Heh
Posted by Crusader at 10:54 AM | Comments (1)
Since Bingley Had to Bring Up Katrina
...I thought I'd add a Mardi Gras pop quiz.
One of These Things is Not Like the Other
One of these knows what a PARADE deck is and
the other was a fool in a PARADE.
Guesses?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:14 AM | Comments (6)
You Know, I Did the Same Thing Once
...with a pound puppy.
Meg Ryan, who adopted a Chinese baby less than a year ago, has already changed the name of the tot. “I already had to change her name,” Ryan told Oprah Winfrey. “I thought she was Charlotte and she’s just not…she’s a Daisy.”
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:08 AM | Comments (4)
If yesterday and today are what global warming looks like....
I say:
Bring.
It.
On.
12:30 this morning, I was sitting in my garage, working on a model car, in shorts and a t-shirt. After having played about 3 hours worth of Doom3 on the Xbox, with the window next to me open. Gotta love Norf Cackalackie.
Posted by Crusader at 09:06 AM | Comments (10)
So I'm Driving To The Ferry This Morning
Listening to the radio, as they run down the list of school closings ahead of the snow storm we're supposed to get. And they announce on the radio that the "Manhattan School For The Deaf" is closed...
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:58 AM | Comments (21)
Katrina Part 58
Ok, so now we've got a video showing how Chimpy McHitler KNEW the levees would fail and did, of course, nothing because, hey, it would only be poor minorities getting flooded.
Yep, right there in the transcript it says
"The Superdome is about 12 feet below sea level.... I don't know whether the roof is designed to stand, withstand a Category Five hurricane," he said.
Pretty damning. Here are these specific warnings about what would happen if a CAT 5 storm hits NOLA, and they were seemingly ignored. I'm sure the MSM will have an orgy with this...and conveniently forget these other minor details:
1) Katrina was only CAT 3 at landfall.
2) Katrina made landfall east of NOLA, and if you've got to be near where a hurricane comes ashore, you definately want to be on the western side of it, as the winds are weaker there and the surge is much less.
Now, if I went to bed fearing a CAT 5 landing on top of me, and woke to find a CAT3 coming ashore east of me, I would relax a bit too.
Were there mistakes made? Sure. But this continual blaming of the Federal government for all the problems is ridiculous. It is clear that the State and local governments dropped the ball, but politicians with a (D) next to their names seem to get a pass.
Can you imagine the outcry had Emperor McChimpatine actually unfurled his Invincible Shield of Halliburtine Armor and redirected the storm away from New Orleans, which he clearly could have done?
Geesh.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:49 AM | Comments (7)
March 01, 2006
Shamelessly Stolen From Sir Rob
...of Crab Appleton. A jelly donut to you, sir!
bingley -- [noun]: A brand of soylent green breakfast cereal 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com |
Unnerving. (The quiz's accuracy, not Bingley.) (Well, okay. Bingley too.)
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:42 PM | Comments (7)
Sorry, Science
These...
Tyrannosaurus rex
Length: 40-50 feet
Weight: 6 tons
Fear factor: teeth up to 13 inches long
Lived: 65 million years ago Where: North AmericaGiganotosaurus
Length: 47 feet
Weight: 8 tons
Fear factor: 8-inch-long serrated teeth
Lived: 95 million years ago Where: ArgentinaSpinosaurus
Length: 55 feet
Weight: 8 tons
Fear factor: long, crocodile-like jaws
Lived: 100 million years ago Where: Argentina, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria scale)
...all pale in significance next to the dreaded
Ebolasaurus Wrecks
Length: here to there
Weight: 8 tons (of filched food and gasoline a week)
Fear Factor: long, crocodile-like jaws in a gaping maw announcing "Hey Mom, I'm home!"
Lived: in dark, dank, foul smelling, goo-encrusted, cave-like...wait. Where: That's his room.
Lisa? Cindermutha? CRUSADER??? Take heed. And be afraid...be very afraid...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:00 PM | Comments (4)
There's Two Sides to Every Story
Thank God the Clintons have both sides of the fence covered for us.
Bill Clinton, former US president, advised top officials from Dubai two weeks ago on how to address growing US concerns over the acquisition of five US container terminals by DP World.
It came even as his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton, was leading efforts to derail the deal.
Who's your buddy, who's your pal(s)? We're so lucky to have them
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:36 PM | Comments (1)
First, You Swill a Wee Dram
The first taste affects all the members of the body," a 1695 description of the elixir reads. "Two spoonfuls of this last liquor is a sufficient dose -- if any man should exceed this, it would presently stop his breath, and endanger his life."...then you say the distillery name three times fast...
Bruichladdich...before you fall into a coma, whilst the mourners around ye sing...
May the best ye've ever seenWhen we can stand again, we offer the second dram as a Swill salute to our dear friend Beer Brains for alertin' us to the danger.
Be the worst ye'll ever see
May a moose ne'er leave yer girnal
Wi' a tear drap in his e'e
May ye aye keep hale an' he'rty
Till ye're auld eneuch tae dee
May ye aye be jist as happy
As we wish ye aye tae be
UPDATE: Holy CRAP!! Maybe we can score some for free, since it's a MacEwan at the helm, praise be ta Jesus!
Variety - Our Spice of Life
Master Distiller Jim McEwan innovatively designs a variety of different Bruichladdich's inspired by our maturing stocks which date back to 1964.
What IS it with this family and alchohol?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:38 PM | Comments (8)
Parents Who Don't Parent
Some kid and his parents are due a good whuppin':
DETROIT, Michigan (AP) -- Apparently, one 12-year-old visitor to the Detroit Institute of Arts doesn't think much of abstract art.The boy stuck a wad of gum to a $1.5 million painting called "The Bay" by Helen Frankenthaler, leaving a stain the size of a quarter, officials said.
What the heck is he doing chewing the gum there in the first place. He was on a school trip, fer criminy's sake!
Holly Academy director Julie Kildee said the boy had been suspended from the charter school and says his parents also have disciplined him.
Probably for the first time ever, it sounds like.
"He is only 12, and I don't think he understood the ramifications of what he did before it happened, but he certainly understands the severity of it now," said Kildee.
Excuse me? By 12 one should damn well know that chewing gum in a museum, let alone taking out of one's pestilence-hatchery of a mouth and affixing it to an exhibit, is not something one should do. What did his whimpy-a$$ed parents say?
"Now snookums, you know that you're supposed to stick your gum to the frame, and not the picture."
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:07 PM | Comments (7)
Whatever It Is
...it ain't the 'bird flu'.
Flamingo Deaths Spark Bird Flu Probe in Bahamas
And we all know it. We've seen this sort of thing before...
The bastard. Hiding behind a pandemic like the wussy little squid boy he is.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:26 PM | Comments (3)
Rumble, Bumble, Stutter, Boo
Tell me, tell me, tell me do.
Magic mirror tell me today,
Has Chimpy done pissed this country away?
Um...not this month.
The Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity rose to 56.7 in February from 54.8 in January, beating economists' forecasts for a rise to 55.6.A reading above 50 indicates growth in the factory sector, and the ISM index has held above this level for about three years in a row.
The new orders component, a gauge of future growth, rose to 61.9 from 58.0 in January, while the employment index rose to 55.0 from 51.3.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:44 AM
Ya Don't Say...
High school reading linked to college successWhy is it no one ever asks if a 'study' is needed in the first place? The 'study' professionals must have a tighter grip than the teamsters.
Study: Complex reading material is key to readiness
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:46 AM | Comments (2)
Chuckie Schumer is a Weasel
We all know that, but it's cleansing to come right out and say it ~ brings a Zen-like tranquility to the day.
Schumer and Reid, the guys who said my country needs me, had a change of heart. There was never any explanation given. Schumer, in particular, actively sought to undermine my insurgent campaign, in part by calling up my donors and telling them not to raise money for me, which is like a doctor cutting off oxygen to a patient. He also worked through others to get state and local politicians to publicly urge me to quit.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:56 AM | Comments (2)
UC Irvine Starts Trouble
...or has it. I'm not quite sure which.
A student panel discussion that included a display of the Prophet Muhammad cartoons descended into chaos, with one speaker calling Islam an "evil religion" and audience members nearly coming to blows.Organizers of Tuesday night's forum at the University of California, Irvine said they showed the cartoons as part of a larger debate on Islamic extremism.
But several hundred protesters, including members of the Muslim Student Union, argued the event was the equivalent of hate speech disguised as freedom of expression.
Why is any display and discussion of Islamofascist repression considered "hate speech'? (And do all these guys write the same, or is there a protest sign factory they order this sh*t from?)
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:07 AM | Comments (2)
Sage Advice From Lisa
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:59 AM