The Coalition of the Swilling

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May 31, 2006

You Say You Want a Revolution?

It sounds like you might get one.

Bolivia's largest agribusiness group said Wednesday it would form "self-defense" units to defend land it fears the country's new leftist government will confiscate to give to the poor.

The National Farming Confederation said in a statement that it rejected President Evo Morales' land reform policy and said he "was trying to destroy the country's productive apparatus."

The Morales administration rejected the idea.

"The government cannot accept their announcement because these groups are illegal and border on being criminal," said Alfredo Rada, a deputy minister in charge of coordinating between the government and the country's civil organizations.

Land reclamation has worked so well for Mugabe Inc., hasn't it? I'm sure that's who the NFC had in mind when they decided to organize before it starts.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:09 PM | Comments (2)

Indeed It Is

The Homeland Security Department is studying whether legal immigrants seeking citizenship and other benefits should pay higher application fees.

..."American citizenship is priceless," said Gonzalez, a naturalized citizen. "I think people will pay."

...priceless. Which is exactly why it shouldn't be 'FOR SALE'.

The Senate passed a bill last week that would offer a chance at citizenship for many of the 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants already in the country. It would require the immigrants to pay at least $3,200 in fees to get on the path to citizenship.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:28 PM | Comments (3)

The Tube Provides a Blast From the Past

This man was Alabama's State Treasurer and is now an Alabama Public Service Commissioner. He's now campaigning to be Lt. Governor.

His name is George Wallace, Jr.

I thought I'd misheard the name on the campaign commercial.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:54 PM | Comments (1)

Even Thinking About This Is NOT ALLOWED

...until tomorrow, right? RIGHT??

...TROPICAL WAVES...
TROPICAL WAVE IS ALONG 44W/45W S OF 14N MOVING W NEAR 10 KT. THE
WAVE IS NOT AS WELL DEFINED AS YESTERDAY BUT THERE IS STILL SOME
CYCLONIC TURNING EVIDENT ON SATELLITE IMAGERY. THIS FEATURE IS
ENHANCING CONVECTION NEAR THE WAVE AXIS WITHIN THE ITCZ.

A TROPICAL WAVE IS ALONG THE W COAST OF COLOMBIA ALONG 77W S OF
12N. WAVE PLACEMENT IS ONCE AGAIN BASED UPON CONTINUITY OF THE
MOVEMENT OVER THE PAST 24 HOURS AS LITTLE CURVATURE IS EVIDENT.
ASSOCIATED CONVECTION IS MAINLY WITHIN 180 NM OF THE WAVE AXIS.
THIS WAVE WILL ENTER THE EPAC LATER TODAY.

Pffft

Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:21 PM

Relaxing After a Large Helping of Eskimo Pie

...polar bears gossip about global warming...

...and contemplate their ice pack.

The WWF report, "Polar Bears At Risk," cites studies that show reductions in both areal coverage and thickness of Arctic sea ice during the past several decades as evidence that model forecasts of coming events are correct. WWF disregards a study by Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans that examines the relationship between sea ice and temperature and concludes, "Overall the possible impact of global warming appears to play a minor role in changes to Arctic sea ice." The Canadians* find that changes in wind patterns lead to reshuffling of the ice in the Arctic ocean rather than to a large overall decline.

The answer was blowing in the wind ~ a run of lousy timing* explained the huge discrepencies.

Thus, in the case of submarine sampling used by Rothrock et al., we see that when the submarines returned in 1993, 1996 and 1997, winds had largely expelled ice from the central Arctic and especially had driven ice into the Canadian sector from which U.S.submarines were politically excluded. Inferred rapid loss of ice volume was a result of undersampling, an unlucky combination of ever-varying winds and politics.

But polar bears DROWNING! Awwww.... That tugs at the heartstrings...

...if it's true. Look at the little fellow helpless in the water there...

But the most interesting aspect of the [2002] WWF report is what it omits entirely: the relationship between current climate trends and polar bear population.

Figure 1 [below], which is taken from the WWF report, details the location of polar bear populations and their current status. We’ve depicted their status using shading, which was not a part of WWF’s original figure. Figure 2 shows the temperature trends from 1950 to 1995 for Arctic subregions as defined in a recent paper by Rajmund Przybylak and examining Arctic temperature histories.

Notice how in the Baffin Bay region (the area between North America and Greenland), the temperature has been decreasing and the polar bear populations there have been in decline. In the region with the greatest temperature increase – the Pacific region between Siberia and Alaska – nearby bear populations in the North and South Beaufort Sea (just north of Alaska) have risen. Bear population and temperature have been relatively stable throughout the remaining areas. In other words, the observed relationship between temperature and bear population is the opposite of what the WWF report would lead you to believe is to come.

Figure 1. Polar bear population trends (yellow = unknown; green = stable; blue = decreasing; red = increasing), according to information in the World Wildlife Fund report.

Figure 2. Temperature trend, 1950 to 1995, for sub-regions of the Arctic (outlined in pink) as determined in a recent study of Arctic temperature trends by Rajmund Przybylak (blue = cooling; red = warming; yellow = no data; green = no significant change).

...or not.

And I didn't know the ice cap on Mars has been melting for six years!! I guess they're pissed at us, too. Shoulda signed Kyoto, guys. We coulda saved the world.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:24 PM | Comments (8)

Ted Nugent Interview

From LGF, here's one of the best interviews you will ever read:

"What do these deer think when they see you coming?" I ask him. "Here comes the nice guy who puts out our dinner? Or, there's the man that shot my brother?"

"I don't think they're capable of either of those thoughts, you Limey asshole. They're only interested in three things: the best place to eat, having sex and how quickly they can run away. Much like the French."

The guy is insane...but hilarious.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:24 PM | Comments (11)

Words Fail

...at times like these.

The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday reversed the death penalty for a man who strangled and stomped a 76-year-old man during a robbery, saying the killer's chaotic childhood with abusive parents outweighed the brutality of the crime.

The 4-3 opinion noted that Troy Tenace, 44, expressed remorse when he confessed to police in 1994 and that if he receives the maximum sentence, he won't be eligible for parole until age 96.

The justices were unanimous in upholding Tenace's conviction for robbing and killing Chester Kozlowski on Jan. 28, 1994, in his Toledo home. Tenace robbed Kozlowski because the older man paid him in cash earlier for chimney repairs. The man had been gagged and strangled, and had extensive facial injuries from being stomped with heavy boots.

Well, sh*t, he was an old man anyway, right? How old them judges?

Just curious when your life crosses the line into "not as worthy".

Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:14 PM | Comments (1)

Brakes Weren't the Only Things That Failed

Afghan Parliament Passes Motion to Prosecute U.S. Soldiers for Deadly Road Crash
Afghanistan's parliament has approved a motion calling for the government to prosecute the U.S. soldiers responsible for a deadly road crash that sparked the worst riot in Kabul in years, officials said Wednesday.

...Rioters stoned the U.S. convoy, then headed to the city center, ransacking offices of international aid groups and searching for foreigners while chanting "Death to America!" It was the deadliest unrest in Kabul since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, and hundreds of armed Afghan security forces were deployed to contain it.

Any excuse for a good stone chucking. No word yet on how the Afghan government plans to handle those who instigated and killed during the riot.

UPDATE: As for that very riot: Michelle Malkin has a report from Bill Roggio in Kabul.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:56 PM | Comments (1)

Beware the Thief

...who comes in the light.

In spite of some pretty torrid scandals in recent years, the United Nations (U.N.) is far from finished. In fact, Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the U.N., is leading the gambit for perhaps its biggest power-grab yet – independent tax-raising powers or globo-taxation.

Just overheard on FoxNews, an ugly idea rears it's head again.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:49 PM | Comments (2)

Since They Can't Go After Og the Caveman

...I guess Max Mayfield is a suitable substitute.

Hundreds of concerned citizens and leaders from across the nation will join Hurricane Katrina survivors Wednesday to call for the resignation of the heads of the National Hurricane Center (NHC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at the NOAA Headquarters just outside of Washington, D.C. During an 11 a.m. demonstration, advocates will demand that NOAA stop covering up the growing scientific link between severe hurricanes and global warming while insisting on real solutions to the problem of global warming.

A cranky, obnoxious guy named Joe Bastardi used a chart (and a pretty convincing argument for "hold on there!") during a FoxNews blurb the other day that I just had to track down.

Those red protusions aren't a Clearacil ad ~ they're warm periods that have been occurring pretty regularly for the past ten thousand years or so. You'll notice our wee red blotch is allll the way to the right and just beginning to scale up to the temps that have surfaced at least five times before.

After ignoring the past, some analysts then use computer projections to predict temperatures for the next 100 years or more. It is astounding to see people put so much faith in these man-made computer models, yet ignore the actual facts of the past. As someone who has made a living at pointing out the folly of worshipping the false idol of atmospheric models, I find these projections to be a classic case of being blinded by the lure of the latest technological fad. Perhaps this is the most telling difference between those who are accepting of the "global warming hypothesis" and those of us who are skeptical. The former tend to base their conclusions on the guesses of computer models. We skeptics focus on actual climate history and conclude that nothing out of the ordinary is occurring.

His article has a link to a hugely interesting paper called "Breaking the 'Hockey Stick': Global Warming's Latest Brawl" by the timeline's author, Arizona State University climatologist Dr. Robert C. Balling. In it, he notices something unusual about the Swampies' version of climatological history:

Evidence from throughout the world shows that the planet was relatively warm 1,000 years ago during the Medieval Warm Period and relatively cold 500 years ago during the Little Ice Age. When the 1°C (1.8°F) of global warming of the past 100 years is considered in the context of climate variability of the last 1,000 years, the recent warming looks quite natural and nothing out of the ordinary. In 2001, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change prominently featured an important graph of northern hemispheric temperatures over the past 1,000 years, and the plot resembled a hockey stick. This same graph was recently highlighted in testimony to the North Carolina Legislative Commission on Climate Change. In this graph, the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age disappeared, and after 900 years of nearly steady temperatures, warming dominates the most recent 100 years. The new “hockey stick” depiction makes the recent warming look highly unnatural, thereby lending credence to the argument that human activities are the driving force behind global warming.

Looks bad, eh? How lovely to just do away with 1000 years of documented research when it messes up those computer models. Except for the GEICO cavemen (who are corporate whores anyway),
no one's left to point out the omission during these orchestrated hysteria gatherings.

That's pretty convenient, too.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:27 PM

I Dinna Get Bingley's Celluloid

..tae thae contest organizers in time frae his inclusion.

Date a Hot Scot

Ma sweet sister-in-law'll nae be speakin' tae me, as she thought she'd be well rid o' him nigh summer tae the winner.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:52 AM | Comments (1)

Alligator Dreams

Crocodile smiles.

Alligator Interrupts Mermaid Show

This community's famous mermaids got an unwelcome swimming partner when an alligator found its way Saturday into Buccaneer Bay.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:39 AM | Comments (3)

Attention Sex-Crazed Geriatrics at the Villages

Let's pause the rompings for a moment to remember when your 80's still had some dignity to them.

Before he died, Billy [Wilder] talked with Groucho Marx, who said, "I'd pay a million dollars for an erection."

Billy answered, "Wish I had one to sell you."

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:14 AM

Tiger Confirms...

That Bill Clinton is really Joe Isuzu:

Woods described a hole on the back nine.

"President Clinton rolls one in the bushes, then hits another one off the tee ... right in the middle of the fairway, hits a nice little wedge shot up there to about, I don't know, 6-7 feet.

"I hit a bad pitch, I blasted it by about 12 feet. ... Then all of the sudden, he does one of these," Woods said, gesturing like a player picking up his ball.

"It was 6-7 feet and he walked off the green. ... So I'm sitting in the cart. He's writing down the numbers, I happen to kind of ..." Woods said, leaning back as if reading a scorecard over someone's shoulder.

"Woods 4, Clinton 3."

"Hmmm...Birdie!"

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:38 AM | Comments (1)

Make Of This CNN Headline What You Will...

...but I think our boy JeffS has some 'splaining to do:

On tape, JeffS preaches virtues of polygamy

Hmmmm....

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:23 AM | Comments (4)

Sorry, But I Can't Get Too Worked Up About Heroin Deaths

It seems there's a rash of folks dying in Michigan from either 'bad' heroin or od-ing from mixing it with another drug; the article isn't that clear:

Another person died from a probable drug overdose, Wayne County health officials reported Monday, bringing the toll to 48 people who have died since May 19.

Even though the number was dropping from the multiple deaths per day, health officials aren't ready to say the deadly overdose spurt is tapering off.

Toxicology results won't be available for several weeks, but health officials say they believe the deaths have been caused by a dangerous combination of heroin or cocaine and the painkiller fentanyl.

Whatever. My pitymeter is pegged pretty low for people who are doing that stuff. What the hell do you expect to happen, idjits?

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:02 AM | Comments (2)

She's Paid To Make Obscene Gestures

So it's really no shock she performs for the cameras in court, now is it?

DURHAM, N.C. -- A second exotic dancer who performed at a March 13 Duke University lacrosse team party where a woman says she was raped and assaulted by three athletes made an obscene gesture at a television camera during court proceedings on Tuesday.

When Kim Roberts noticed WRAL's camera in the courtroom, she made the gesture and then stuck out her tongue. [No word on whether the cameraman then slipped her a $20 bill]

Roberts, 31, was in court for a probation hearing on a previous embezzlement charge. She was arrested on March 22 -- eight days after the lacrosse party -- on a probation violation from a 2001 conviction for embezzling $25,000 from a photo-finishing company in Durham where she was a payroll specialist, according to court documents.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:45 AM

In "Florida News Briefs"

A vigilante with a flare for fashion.

A man wearing a purple women's bathing suit and carrying a flare gun was arrested after he told a bartender he was going to "get rid of all the dirt bags in Key West," authorities said.

Jeffrey C. Anderson, 55, was charged with carrying a concealed firearm Monday after he brandished the flare gun, which was under a skirt he was wearing, Key West police spokeswoman Christie Phillips said.

..."She [the bartender] reported she had seen a man, later identified as Anderson, dancing in the street showing tourists his private parts, and asking people for money when they took his picture," the news release said.

Hey, a guy's got to make a living. That's why he picked a lycra suit with a saucy skirt.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:15 AM | Comments (5)

May 30, 2006

Positive Proof Of Global Warming

I'm not convinced that this is a bad thing, mind you...

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:12 PM | Comments (4)

Sacre Bleu!! Zees French Wine

...she eez Swill! (As opposed to "swell", which is JUST what the American wines turned out to be.)

Wine competition pits France v US
The US has emerged victorious in a blind tasting by experts in London and California pitting US and French wine against each other.

...Nine judges there sampled ten unlabelled glasses of decades-old wines.

The combined scores from both panels gave victory to wines from California's Napa Valley. A 1971 Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet from Napa received the highest praise.

"I'm very impressed," said Christian Vanneque, a French judge who was at the original tasting in 1976.

"I don't know if I will be able to go back to France," he added. "After a second time, they will kill me."

A Swill Salute (of something American and yummy) to Professor Bainbridge and Radio Blogger for bringing this to our attention.
UPDATE: Well, they can always use the corked bottles for nightlights.

The Champagne vineyards of France could face a nuclear disaster, according to Greenpeace which on Tuesday said radioactive underground water had been found just 10 kms from the country's most prestigious wine producing region.

... The report, by Acro, a private laboratory specialising in radioactivity analysis, said significant levels of tritium, radioacive hydrogen, had leaked into the environment. Samples of underground water taken near the Normandy site at La Hague last week showed levels some 90 times higher than European safety limits.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:33 PM | Comments (8)

Mexico's Safety Valve

That would be the Rio Grande. It releases all those unhappy peons from the grinding poverty on their side of the border and then keeps them busy earning a living to send back. That inflow of money helps subdue the resident part of the population, who might otherwise be asking questions a fat and happy Mexican bureacracy would rather not answer. "Let my people go" works for Fox and Co., as long as we also keep them here.

"Show me a politician who is poor and I will show you a poor politician"
— Carlos Hank González *

*A quote from an eye opening paper by George W. Grayson, Class of 1938 Professor of Government at the College of William & Mary. (Noted in a San Diego Union-Tribune article.)

UPDATE: A "do as I say, not as I do" look at how Mexico treats it's illegals.

As tough as the United States can be for workers who slip in from south of the border, Mexico is in a poor position to criticize. The problem goes far beyond the predatory gantlet of thugs and crooked cops facing defenseless transients like Moisés. There's ample precedent in Mexico for just about everything the United States is—or isn't—doing. Calling out the military? Mexicans may hate the new U.S. plan to deploy 6,000 National Guard troops on the border, but five years ago they cheered President Vicente Fox for sending thousands of Mexican soldiers to crack down on their southern frontier. Tougher laws? Hispanic-rights groups are enraged over U.S. efforts to criminalize undocumented aliens—yet since 1974, sneaking into Mexico has been punishable by up to two years in prison. Foot-dragging on amnesty? Fox has spent the past five years urging the United States to upgrade the status of millions of illegals from Mexico. Meanwhile, his own government has given legal status to only 15,000 foreigners without papers.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:50 PM | Comments (1)

I Think the Last Sentence

...has a typo.

Five robbers picked the wrong victim in Midtown Atlanta last night and one of them paid with her life.

The victim, Thomas Autry, fought back; killing one robber and wounding another. Three other suspects are in jail.

...Thomas Autry, who is a former U.S. Marine, will not be charged since police say he was acting in self defense. Officials say Autry is extremely remorseful.

I'm sure they said Autry was "extremely resourceful".
Thanks to Florida Cracker* for posting the Miracle Whipping. OO-rah!!

Thanks to a heads up from Mike! The AJC has video of the local news report.

*Cracker, your trackback pingees aren't working for moi.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:53 PM | Comments (2)

At Least There's One Sane Person

...left running a South American country. It's Uribe, thank God, in a landslide.

Mr Uribe won 62.2 per cent of the vote on Sunday, making him the first Colombian president in a century to enter office for a consecutive term, a ringing endorsement by voters of his tough security policies.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:38 AM | Comments (3)

Friends Who Ended Up In The Filter

Svetlana Bourgeois (a hard working russina bride)
Impinge A. Tillage
Crime M. Tighten
Pretense U. Dazzling
Lupe Q. Steamiest (that latin hottie)
Homophobic H. Divan (what about the couch instead?)
Intrusted V. Beamed (Mr. Scott...)
Irksome E. Scarfs (just wear a hat then)
Bilking V. Unfrocked (another embezzling priest?)
Succored R. Analgesia (it works!)
Mandates S. Stripper (well, if you insists...)
Quenching F. Neighing (Willlllbur...)

Update: Yuck...
"Dysentery P. Ashtray"

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:38 AM

May 28, 2006

On This Bittersweet Day, We Remember

...that you bravely gave your all for all of us.

And we thank you.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:37 PM | Comments (1)

In Response to This

...unbelievable development...

Kerry Pressing Swift Boat Case Long After Loss

John Kerry starts by showing the entry in a log he kept from 1969: "Feb 12: 0800 run to Cambodia."

...I'm dusting off this fun and educational Swilling exercise. Comments are open, as we may be adding chapters. To recap and refresh...

Now, for My Proposal and it's rules of engagement:

1) We are writing a draft screenplay called 'Smoke on the Water:A Cambodian Christmas'. (His life being so full of epic moments, I felt the prudent move is to limit it to just this one.)

2) Please keep your narrative/yarn to at most short paragraph. Pick up the action where the previous poster left off and contribute your own flights of fancy for this riveting saga.

3) Use all of your imagination. And as little foul language as possible, a challenge considering the subject matter. Decorative and artful cursing in the course of conversation between players is not expressly prohibited.

Pencils and legal pads at the ready? Grand!
Now have at it and remember, it's a (Cambodian) jungle out there.

To get you in the mood, I'm including a link to John Kerry's Bad Rap at no additional charge.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:07 PM | Comments (3)

Killed For Wearing Shorts

You know, just when you thought those idiots couldn't get stupider, you read something like , ahref="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/tennis/05/27/iraq.killings.ap/index.html">this:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- An Iraqi tennis coach and two of his players were killed because they were wearing shorts, apparently in violation of a warning by Islamic extremists.

Gunmen stopped the car in which the athletes were riding and asked them to step out before shooting them Wednesday, Manham Kubba, secretary general of the Iraqi Tennis Union, said Saturday. The coach, Hussein Ahmed Rashid, was Sunni, and the two players were Shiite, Kubba said.

What a bunch of barbaric animals.

What's in store for MPs who wear cat suits?

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:27 AM | Comments (1)

May 27, 2006

Sodom and Gonorrhea

How do you tell the kids Granny's a tramp and Pappy is an old horndog?

R-E-T-I-R-E-M-E-N-T ain't what it used to be.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:24 PM | Comments (9)

May 26, 2006

I Have An Explanation For This

Robertson Says He Leg-Pressed 2,000 Pounds

...According to the CBN Web site, [Pat] Robertson worked his way up to lifting a ton with the help of his physician, who is not named. The posting does not say when the lift occurred, but a CBN spokeswoman released photos to The Associated Press that she said showed Robertson lifting 2,000 pounds in 2003, when Robertson was 73. He is now 76.

...but I'm sure most won't be interested as it has to do with a$$holes, clenching and jaw strength and not righteous, 'God given' anythings like long hair or babes at wells.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:44 PM | Comments (3)

Scottie Blogging

Ozzie has apparently forgiven Mom and Dad for plopping him in puppy prison.

Aunt Kcruella sent him this beautiful new Polo to wear and he forgot all about being trapped in a cell with his sister for 6 days.

If only world peace was so easy.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:30 PM | Comments (9)

This

...is beautiful. Amen.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:54 PM | Comments (5)

When You Think of All the Conniving B$ They Pull on the Show...

...why is it news when they turn out to be weasels in real life?

A former winner on “Survivor” lied to get time off from his job as a state highway worker to join a promotional tour for the reality TV show in Europe last year, an investigation found.

...After his requests for time off were denied, he submitted a false doctor’s excuse saying he was suffering from anxiety and depression and needed a month of medical leave, ODOT’s investigation found.

ODOT said Daugherty’s initial requests were refused because he had already used all but 29 hours of his vacation days, sick leave and personal time. Officials said he even submitted a request for military leave — despite never being in the armed services — because the “Survivor” tour was scheduled to visit a military base in Germany.

Yeah and they'd walk past your gasping a$$ to summit Everest, too, but they're big ratings winners!

Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:38 PM

The New 7 WTC

The first new building at the WTC site, 7, has opened.

The 1.7 million-square-foot, $700 million building stands out downtown largely because it does not stand out. Its glass curtain facade is made of ultra-clear, low-iron glass, making it appear much lighter in color than any of the area’s surrounding buildings. Behind the glass, curved stainless-steel spandrels reflect sky-like blue light back onto the windows.

It's pretty neat looking. I took this on Tuesday:

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:18 PM | Comments (6)

So Will He Practice What He...Practiced?

So poor old Dr. Death is dying in prison.

May 26, 2006 — Today, on his 78th birthday, Jack Kevorkian, the man known as "Dr. Death," is slowly dying in prison.

And, according to his lawyer, Kevorkian seems to have second thoughts about helping people die.

For years, Kevorkian was the center of a national debate around the highly controversial questions surrounding physician-assisted suicide or "mercy killing:" Do the terminally ill have the right to choose when and how they die? Do doctors have the ability, even an obligation, to help them die as they choose?

Now, as he sits in jail, Kevorkian may have had a change of heart — not about his dedication to the "death with dignity" movement, but on how he went about promoting it.

I'm not really concerned about his change of heart on his tactics, but rather, since

Less than a week ago, Morganroth publicly stated that doctors had told Kevorkian he had less than a year to live.

Kevorkian suffers from Hepatitis C, which he contracted during service in Vietnam. Morganroth said Kevorkian's liver enzyme levels were three to four times above normal — a clear signal his liver was failing.

In light of his failing health, Kevorkian has requested a commutation of his sentence, a pardon that would get him released from prison.

will he choose the path he chose for so many others?

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:28 PM | Comments (1)

BREAKING NEWS

UPDATE and BUMP: So far it's "Move along, nothing to see here." That's a good thing if it turns out to be the case.

UPDATE REDUX: 'Twould seem it was a construction hammer of some sort. The whole exercise might have been a "this is just a test" pain, but it's always a plus to make sure things work as planned in real time, n'est pas? I'm sure things were learned and glitches noted regardless of the outcome.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shots fired around the Capitol building. Drudge has it as being in a House office building nearby. MSNBC TV says it's the Rayburn building. They're saying most of the House members have wrapped up and left, but there are still a few members left in D.C.

Robert Byrd is still on the Senate floor.

Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., conducting a House Intelligence Committee hearing, interrupted a witness to request those attending the meeting to remain in the room and said the doors must be closed.

“It’s a little unsettling to get a Blackberry message put in front of you that says there’s gunfire in the building,” he said.

Oh, I'll bet! The place is teeming with tourists and the 'gunfire' is yet to be confirmed.

There'll be a briefing in a few minutes. The latest AP update.

Latest from MSNBC broadcast: They're putting yellow police tape up around the Rayburn building garage, but they're letting the press within 40 feet of the opening. Four ambulances on scene, but no one seems to be in a panic so they're figuring it's probably precautionary. The MSNBC fellow there says it just feels as if they're following protocols.

UPDATE: The press briefing from the Capitol Police rep went like this: "We responded to reports of shots fired and we're investigating." That's the gist of it.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:10 AM

"This Is Not Resolved!"

I guess the point of this whole long (and subtitled) video (taped by cell phone) is never, EVER tap a fellow on the shoulder no matter how loud his cell phone conversation gets.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:42 AM | Comments (4)

"...so they will stop asking tough questions."

Blood money is pouring into Beslan. Some are spending the largesse in better fashion than others.

...Former hostage Valiko Margiyev, 57, lost his 12-year-old daughter in the tragedy. He said neighbors who received no compensation accused victims of allowing themselves to be bought - and he and his wife Svetlana adopted a child from an orphanage to spend their compensation money on.

There is a survivor of the terrorists who stormed the school ~ "the sole survivor among the 32 alleged attackers, Nur-Pashi Kulayev, who was sentenced to life in prison on Friday." I love that "alleged" thing. Makes it all sound like a big misunderstanding. And there has been no death penalty in Russia for ten years ~ something to do with joining the Council of Europe.

The villagers want Russian officials put on trial, too, ostensively to determine who actually set the charges that did the bulk of the killing.

"Putin never answered the main question: Did most of the hostages die at the hands of the attackers or of the Russian military?"

They don't have 9-11 style commissions there to poke and prod, grandstand and fact find. And I didn't know until I read this that they had those questions. Being Russia, I'm not sure that they could believe the answers if they ever got them.

UPDATE: Per Lisa's note in the comments, I challenge you to find "Muslim" anywhere in this report.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:27 AM | Comments (3)

Armed And Dangerous...Not

I hope at least he had the soundtrack to "Footloose" blasting when they pulled him over:

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- An armless man stopped for speeding was driving with one foot on the steering wheel and another on the pedals, a policeman testified in court.

Colin Smith, who was born without arms and has never held a driver's license, appeared in court Thursday charged with driving in a manner likely to be dangerous to the public.

Um, "likely" to be dangerous?

How did they cuff him?

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:53 AM | Comments (3)

Whoever Runs Against Mel "the Mushroom" Martinez This Time Around?

I'm voting for him. (I don't care if it's Scott the Hutt from Travelodge or a Broward County Wexlar type. But I AM looking like a genius, since I didn't vote for the moron to begin with. ) Michelle Malkin has the last straw nicely covered.

S.Amdt.4188 - Specter: Managers' amendment, a collection of amendments, including Dodd's S.Amdt.4089 that requires local, state and federal governments to consult with Mexican counterpart authorities before commencing new construction, was PASSED on a 56 - 41 vote.

Republicans who voted for the Mexican consultation requirement:

Bennett, Bond, Brownback, Chafee, Coleman, Collins, Craig, Graham, Hagel, Lugar, Feingold, Collins, McCain, Specter, Stevens, Warner, Martinez, Murkowski, Snowe and Voinovich

Consult with Mexican authorities for what? Where to put the holes? And what happens if, say, Sheriff Jose Frijole in Yuma, who also has to get re-elected by voters who WANT A FENCE ~ and a big, high one ~ says "bite me" to the Feds y Federales?

As for El Presidente Fox in the Hen House, major dad heard John Gibson ask a few pertinent questions I thought I'd share (In the extended entry). They make sense to me. Don't hold your breath for the answers. Apparently Sr. Fox doesn't choose to provide any. Ever.

Time to flood the House of Representatives with firm language. Help me, Obi Wan Ke Miller! You're my only hope.

UPDATE: All the more reason to be pi$$ed about this vote...

Mexico's Fox Praises U.S. Immigration Vote
...Instead, he praised the Senate's action, which would tighten border security and create a path to citizenship for many of the estimated 11 to 12 million immigrants in the country illegally.

Fox's visit has stirred passions among the fiercest partisans in the immigration debate. Some Republican lawmakers boycotted his speech, while others attended wearing yellow buttons that said, "No mas," which they said meant no more illegal immigration.

"Mexico has much more strict immigration laws than we do, yet they criticize us, said [CA] Assembly Republican leader George Plescia. "I don't think that's right."

But Democrats embraced Fox, as did Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is trying to regain the trust of Hispanic voters in time for the fall election.

I like that Plescia guy.

Exactly.

First: Don't you feel a little moronic that one in ten Mexicans are forced to leave their home country and live in a foreign country, the USA?

Second: Why is your country so corrupt it cannot support your own people? After all, Mexico is the second largest importer of oil to the United States, outranking even Saudi Arabia.

Third: President Fox, have you noticed how Saudis live? Why can't Mexicans live like that if you've got so much oil? Why are they beating down the doors to get out of their oil-rich country? Do you see Saudis trying to sneak into Yemen?

Fourth: Aren't you embarrassed that the so-called remittances from expatriate Mexicans — illegal aliens living in America — actually dwarf income derived from selling oil to the U.S.? How can $6, $8, $10 an hour Mexicans send more dollars home each month than your country sells in oil? Isn't this a huge embarrassment to you and your country?

Fifth: Don't you want Mexicans living in Mexico? Why does 40 percent of your country want to leave? Why is 20 percent willing to leave illegally?

Sixth: How much money is in your bank account as you leave office? Have you been ripping off the country like virtually every presidente before you?

Seventh: Drug lords beheaded two of your federal police recently and the decapitated heads stuck on a fence outside a government building as a warning to your government. Why isn't your government winning a war with simple drug dealers?

Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:54 AM | Comments (7)

Galloway Says Blair's Murder Justified

This guy is really too much:

In an interview with GQ magazine, the reporter asked him: "Would the assassination of, say, Tony Blair by a suicide bomber - if there were no other casualties - be justified as revenge for the war on Iraq?"

Mr Galloway replied: "Yes, it would be morally justified. I am not calling for it - but if it happened it would be of a wholly different moral order to the events of 7/7. It would be entirely logical and explicable. And morally equivalent to ordering the deaths of thousands of innocent people in Iraq - as Blair did."

Yes, we all remember the memo signed "Tony" that said "Karl says kill as many innocent people as possible. Take care of it, will you, luv?"

And this statesmenesque pronouncement is from the man who ate cat food from a bowl held by Rula Lenska...

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:35 AM

May 25, 2006

"Honey...What Is This Bug in the New Roll of Toilet Paper?"

Subtitle: Never have sister make your Orlando hotel reservations.

They'll suck but you'll have stories to tell for years.
Let's turn back the time machine to February 2, 2006. Expediadotcom spits out a reasonably priced king/non-smoking hotel reservation for major dad and myself, at a venue only 1/4 mile from Lake Eola and the weekend art fair. Who cares if it's a pretty room, I think, since we'll be gone all day long. Then I PAY IN FULL for said reservation at this...place.

Orlando Centroplex Travelodge
409 N Magnolia Ave
Orlando, FL 32801

Fast forward four months.

The night before we leave Banglacola, I phone the hotel's desk clerk to let them know we'll be a late arrival. "Noted" says Michelle, "In the computer. Have a safe trip." Nice girl. Rental mini-van packed, Scotties in puppy prison and off we go the whole long 450+ miles, arriving at the hotel to claim our PRE-PAID reservations at 9:30 p.m.

"Reservations for ths and major dad?" I ask.

"Oh, I see you're prepaid," Michael the night clerk says. "So just fill out these two lines. And we don't have a non-smoking king available, only a smoking double."

"You've had my money for FOUR MONTHS, I phoned to let you know we'd be a late arrival and you DON'T HAVE THE ROOM I PAID FOR MONTHS ago?"

"Only a smoking double, sorry. But it does have a balcony! The non-smoking rooms don't have that. I'll leave a note for the manager and you'll be a priority tomorrow. Room 238."
Blahblahblah. Sorry, nuthin' I can do.

Well, f*ck me to tears. "This whole situation is completely unsat!" Blahblahblah. Sorry, nuthin' I can do.

Up we schlep to our balcony room, slide the keycard, throw open the door and are immediately assaulted by the most maloderous, vile reek imaginable, made even more nauseating by the heavy, warm wetness spewing from the crusty air conditioning unit.

"That's what you get for going cheap," major dad waxed philosophically.

"I am going to be ill," I said and made a beeline to the door leading outside to fresh air from our balcony. "Oh, f*ck me to tears." The carpet was sticking to my feet and squishing with every step to the door. Which, once opened, was just as quickly slammed shut. The 'balcony' consisted of a small, once-white, plastic chair and table set, maimed and burned through with cigarette scars, glazed in black goo and something suspiciously vomitous. Ditto the 'carpet' lining the 'balcony' floor.

So we turn the wretched, belching A/C unit down to it's coldest setting. We're hoping to have all the noxious odors in frozen suspension by the time we return from finding a place that'll serve food after ten p.m. When we got back, sleep was possible if we breathed through open mouths. Dangerous, but possible.

Bright and early I'm down those stairs like a shot and into the office to meet the manager, Scott the Hutt.

"We should be able to get you into a non-smoking king by this afternoon."

"SHOULD?!! You've had my money for FOUR MONTHS!"

Blahblahblah. "Room 226 is a non-smoking king and he's just checked out. But it's not clean. So take your bags with you and come back this afternoon and it might be ready by then."

Back up the stairs to the dragon's den, passing the maid on the way. I notice she's standing in front of...226. I let her know we're changing rooms, please clean 238 since we won't be in it anymore and she asks what room we're moving to. "226! Right here," I said. She says she'll be glad to clean that room first and, true to her word, we get to leave our bags there, instead of dragging them all over Orlando for the day. (My gentlemanly major dad rewards her handsomely for her kindness to us.) Before I get into the van, I pop back in to see Mr. Hutt, tell him what we've accomplished on our own and get the key codes changed to our lovely, fresh room. Bliss.

Orlando was hot, the Downtown Art and Living Expo was pretty much a bust (and a whole 'nuther post) and we were glad to have the tent, art, glasses and racks packed up early Sunday. Back at our lovely, fresh room, we were scraping the leavings of a 98°, 12 hour day off and looking forward to dinner before 9 p.m. The roll of toilet paper was about finished, so I unwrapped a new one and...there was a bug. Burrowed into the roll and visible only after a few layers of sheets had come off.

"Honey? What kind of bug lives in toilet paper?"

"I don't know. Bring it here."

"I can't. I flushed it. But I'll show you the hole he made." And dutifully I did, presenting the roll for inspection.

"Hmmm."

Back to the bathroom with the curious roll, shut the bathroom door to take a shower and...

"Honey?"

"What?"

"Is this a termite?"

No. Actually it was hundreds of them, pouring forth from the quarter to half dollar sized hole eaten through the base of the door jamb. In that short two minute period enough had emerged to be in the sink, cover the floor and march their winged way up the sides of the toilet. major dad smashed and wiped with toilet paper, then flushed. I'd get paper towels damp and wipe the miserable bug schmushes clean from the floor. And the whole time there's a slow, inexorable, one-by-one drip of termites from the jagged, woody chasm, like entomological water torture. Man of action major dad calls the desk.

"Michael? This is major dad in 226. You've got this bug problem. Do you have any Raid?" Of course he didn't, but he did offer to PUT US IN A DIFFERENT ROOM.

"No thanks," said major dad.

So we went out to dinner, came home with a can of Raid and nuked the whole site. It was the only way to be sure.

Checking out the next morning, I turned the keys over to Scott the Hutt and mentioned the termites.

"If they've eaten through a second floor structure, you have bigger problems than just our room."

"Oh, I am sorry...blahblahblah...bug guy just here Thursday."

I'll bet he was. Him and his seeing eye dog. So back to the van.

"That's what you get for going cheap," major dad waxed philosophically.

We left the Raid on the nightstand for the next guys.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:55 PM | Comments (22)

Long Time Ago When We Were Fab

Florida Cracker has found some absolutely stunning color photographs from Imperial Russia.

This photo was taken in 1909.

Old photos like this, especially of children, always give me a bit of the willies because I know that in all likelihood all these children are dead of old age.

These pictures are just gorgeous.

Update: Could this be the first color photo of a sunset? Ever?

How friggin' cool is that?

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:57 PM | Comments (7)

Fleet Week '06

A hearty welcome and Thank You to the service folks here in NY:

NEW YORK - Flying a huge American flag from its mast, the guided missile cruiser USS Anzio led nearly a dozen Navy ships and Coast Guard craft up New York Harbor on Wednesday to open the city's 19th annual Fleet Week observance. Some 4,000 sailors and Marines were expected to spend time — and money — taking in Gotham's sights and sounds over the next week.

Well, as always, they won't be spending any money if I'm around. I'll hit what bars I can and buy as many drinks as I can as a "thank you" to these wonderful Americans.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:58 AM | Comments (12)

Possible Marine Court Martials

The system is working, and the investigation is going forward:

“If the allegations are substantiated, the Marine Corps will pursue appropriate legal and administrative actions against those responsible,” said Col. David Lapan, a spokesman at Marine Corps headquarters.

“The investigations are ongoing, therefore any comment at this time would be inappropriate and could undermine the investigatory and possible legal process,” he said. “As soon as the facts are known and decisions on future actions are made, we will make that information available to the public to the fullest extent allowable.” Murtha, an outspoken war critic and retired Marine colonel, has maintained for several weeks that the reality of the Hadithah incident was far more violent than the original reports suggested.

Maybe Murtha should just STFU and let the facts be researched?

Of course, since he's already made up his mind to score his political points, I doubt that will happen

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:48 AM | Comments (13)

May 24, 2006

And Why Is It When One Searches Google Images

...for Mr. Bingley, one finds this?

Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:16 PM | Comments (7)

Dear Florida Cracker

I'm back.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:13 PM | Comments (2)

"So Why Did You Get Detention, Billy?"

"I used the word "America" to refer to the United States":

The [Michigan] Department of Education asserts that "Americans" includes Mexicans, Canadians and others in the Western Hemisphere, so referring to U.S. residents as Americans is inappropriate. In the department's view, "America" happens to include South, Central and North America. Accordingly, when referring to the colonial period, the state bureaucracy requires teachers to refer to "the colonies of North America" or "North Americans." After the American Revolution, the nation is called the United States (not of America).

It is simply amazing:

What a state social studies consultant is telling educators in e-mails about using "America" and "Americans" in tests and courses:

"I have promised teachers that we would delete the use of American [when we are really ONLY referring to the United States] from the GLCEs (grade level content expectations) so that everything is consistent and correct as soon as it was feasible."

"It is ethnocentric for the United States to claim the entire hemisphere."
-- Karen Todorov, Michigan Department of Education

I hope this department gets a major smackdown.

Update: Our Bud Gunslinger posts this link in the comments:

The Michigan Department of Education is not taking the word “America” or “American” out of the classrooms of Michigan...No such edict has gone out to school teachers across Michigan, nor will one, said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan...

“These are advisory groups,” Flanagan said. “The conversations and internal communications between members of an independent association have been misconstrued as Department of Education policy. This is not a Department of Education policy, nor will it ever be our policy while I’m here. I would never approve the removal of ‘America’ or ‘American’ from our classrooms. Not on my watch.”

Thank you, Mr. Flanagan (and thank you, Guns!)

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:31 PM | Comments (10)

The More Things Change...

You just have to laugh, or cry if you live there:

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- A mock evacuation that was supposed to be part of a two-day statewide hurricane preparedness drill was canceled after a misunderstanding about who had jurisdiction over a Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer park.

The two-day statewide drill that began Tuesday was aimed at avoiding the chaos that followed last year's deadly Hurricane Katrina...

Tell me again that we can trust that all the billions being given to these incompetent fools is not going to be flushed away?

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:14 AM | Comments (42)

Was The Raid On "Freezer Bill" Unconstitutional?

So now we have Hastert saying the raid by the FBI on "Freezer Bill" Jefferson's office was "unconstitutional"

House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) told President Bush yesterday that he is concerned the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) raid on Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-La.) congressional office over the weekend was a direct violation of the Constitution.

Hastert raised concerns that the FBI’s unannounced seizure of congressional documents during a raid of Jefferson’s Rayburn office Saturday night violated the separation of powers between the two branches of government as they are defined by the Constitution...

...In the Speaker’s lengthy statement, Hastert complained that the seizure of legislative papers, no matter how innocuous, was a violation of the “the principles of Separation of Powers, the independence of the Legislative Branch, and the protections afforded by the Speech and Debate clause of the Constitution.”

Well, I'm no lawyer, which sadly means I take words to mean what they actually say. Here's the relevant clause of the Constitution:

Article 1, Section 6:

Section 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other place.

He wasn't arrested on the floor or on his way to the floor. His office and house were searched as part of an investigation that has absolutely nothing to do with any "speech or debate" but rather an ongoing criminal case. Sorry, but all these false protests from lawmakers about how this is some 'gross violation' of the Constitution makes me want to search more offices. If he had been arrested or bodily searched right after or before giving some fiery anti-Chimpy speech from the House floor, then fine, I would agree that that would be clearly prohibited.

But scummy little bastards on the take need this wake up call.

Update: Michelle Malkin found his brand of bag.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:38 AM | Comments (10)

May 23, 2006

They're Lucky He Kept The Light Saber Off

Or Orlando would be missing a few cops today:

Police first saw David McCann, 30, standing in front of a bar Saturday at 2 a.m., shirt unbuttoned and yelling he was "Luke Skywalker" at passers-by, according to the incident report. An officer asked him to leave after McCann allegedly got into a verbal confrontation with two women over a bantha dating service.

McCann then allegedly charged the officer, who sprayed him in the face with an irritant. Two officers tried unsuccessfully to handcuff him as McCann wildly swung his fists, the report says.

The incident further escalated, with McCann continuing to allegedly attack officers after he was repeatedly kicked and struck with a baton. Officers also used a stun gun to attempt to subdue him.

"He continued to attack with super human strength and made no attempt to escape," according to the report. "The Force is strong in this one," said another officer.

Looks like he's out of work, though:

The Orange County Jedi Academy said McCann had worked there for two years, but the district already decided before the arrest not to renew his annual contract for next year.

Homeless Jedi are becoming a real problem in some parts of Florida.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:38 PM | Comments (5)

Insta's Best Idea Ever!

This is brilliant:

At any rate, members of Congress who are offended by an unannounced late-night raid on an office might profitably be asked what they think about late-night unannounced raids on private homes, which happen all the time as part of the Congressionally-mandated War on Drugs.

I think if you searched 435 randomly selected American homes, and 435 Congressional offices, you just might find more evidence of crime in the latter. . . .

I want this done! Search them now!

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:20 AM | Comments (2)

Justify My Ticket Price

So Madonna has herself crucified during her latest tour, "Confessions." Yawn. My, how bold and daring, taking on those beastly Christians! Why, take care, my dear, because you know what will happen if you anger them! Yes! They might, um, I don't know...deny you Communion or something...you are so brave! Such an inspiration to women who are fighting christo-facist oppression everywhere, as they drive to work and walk in public unescorted with their heads uncovered and vote and run businesses and govern and...stuff. Unbearable, really. I can't wait for her next tour, which I'm sure will continue her brave crusade for women as she takes on that other major religion and how it treats women...

And people are paying up to $375 a pop to see...her in various S&M outfits, wielding a riding crop on her dancers.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:58 AM | Comments (7)

Network Security And Dopes In The Office

Our friend Dave E takes issue with the InstaMan regarding some aspects of his surfing-from-work stance, and rightly so from DaveE's security-minded point of view. And I've another: idiots at offices who listen to mildly-to-extremely obscene 'comedy' site with the speakers turned up. Sound travels too easily in offices, you morons. Use some discretion before you get us all screwed via a lawsuit.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:44 AM | Comments (6)

May 22, 2006

It's All About You, Isn't It, Jim?

McGreevey shows yet again how little he cares for his wife and family:

May 22, 2006 -- Jim McGreevey shockingly admits that before he became governor of New Jersey, he'd have anonymous gay sex at Garden State highway rest stops. "All I knew was that my behavior was getting crazier and crazier," McGreevey says of his torrid truck-stop trysts in an upcoming book that details his tortured life of lies and sexual repression.

It seems he has at least one moment of honesty:

"I knew I would have to lie for the rest of my life - and I knew I was capable of it. The knowledge gave me a feeling of terrible power," he writes.

But he still can't resist turning it into a pity-poor-me sleaze fest:

"The closet starves a man, and when he gets a chance he gorges till it sickens him," he writes in his book, titled "The Confession."

Puh-lease. Go away you sick little bastard. I pity your wife and two children; they are stuck with a father who is a self-absorbed scumbag. I hope they change their last name and blot you from their lives.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:52 AM | Comments (3)

Sobering Numbers On The Illegals

If this is accurate it's insane:

Roughly 10 percent of Mexico's population of about 107 million is now living in the United States, estimates show. About 15 percent of Mexico's labor force is working in the United States. One in every 7 Mexican workers migrates to the United States.

Secure the border.

Now.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:36 AM | Comments (4)

May 20, 2006

We Saw "United 93" Last Night

I'm probably still not in any shape to speak coherently about it, but I want to completely encourage any of you who might be unsure to go see it, for a few reasons.

First, it is simply a spectacular movie, one that keeps you completely tied up in knots with the realistic portrayal of the tension and drama. Oh sure, you know how the story ends, but my God: you know how the story ends. The script and acting are both superb and completely realistic; you know that that is exactly how the people may have acted and progressed in their thoughts as that day unfolded. And there's no swelling music or other such stupid-assed 'audience cue cards' (like "dramatic close up on beautiful blonde in seat 23d") as it develops, either; the score is so non-existant and thereby completely effective that I can't even recall hearing it, and the actors all look like regular people, you and me, which drives home the point that it could have been any one of us* on that flight, and enhances the glory of what they did.

The second reason I want to encourage you to go see the movie is that I want to reward them for making it. The folks who wrote iit and made it deserve our support for this movie, to encourage Hollywood to make more ovies like this. Let's face it, money talks, and no matter how much we complain about the piles of crap they put out we vote with the ticket sales.

*Obviously, working in Lower Manhattan I have a lot of emotional memories about September 11th, but I also have a United 93 story: Another close business associate of mine from Brazil was also in town that week, and he was in our office on the 10th and went out to dinner with some of my colleagues that night. The next morning he went to Newark to catch the flight he was booked on to san Francisco: United 93. Except he, much like how I am, got to the airport very early, and United bumped him up to the earlier flight. When the FAA grounded all the flights his was put down in Milwaukee, and he spent four very drunken days there. When he got back to Brazil finally (a week or so later) his company gave him a birthday party, because they told him he'd been born again.

It could have been and it could still be any of us. Will we answer the call and honor their memory?

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:05 AM | Comments (3)

May 19, 2006

She's A Yank-Your-Doodle Dandy

Oh my. I mean...ouch:

The 52-year-old Tioga-Nicetown man, who we are identifying only by his first name of Howard, arrived home late Wednesday, hours after his wife allegedly tore off two parts of his genitalia with her bare hands. Surgeons at Einstein successfully managed to repair the damage.

Is this the fate of the vile non-believers?

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:43 PM | Comments (6)

The CAG'd kill me...

but I'd love to see them live. To bad ole Layne screwed his life away......

They were always my favs of the grunge bands.

Posted by Crusader at 01:31 PM | Comments (2)

And You Thought The Yellow River Was In China

Yum-yum! Makes me want to go out and buy some Sunny D:

Around 8,000 litres of concentrate used to make the drink leaked into a watercourse on Wednesday morning, turning the river bright yellow.

Dozens of fish were found floating on the surface, poisoned by the lurid mixture.

Bottoms up!

Well, in this case it was their bellies...

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:03 PM | Comments (6)

Let's Compare Theocracies

First, here in Chimpy McHitlerstan, the bastards who are responsible for the extinction of the Dodo are suggesting that women get more folic acid. My god, who do they think they are?

Next, in the peace-loving earthly Islamic paradise of Iran, the Parliament has passed a law that

require(s) the country's Jews and Christians to wear coloured badges to identify them and other religious minorities as non-Muslims.

Let's give them nuclear technology!

Update: Allahpundit investigates the story, which may be bogus.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:49 AM | Comments (8)

Attack Of The Christo-Folic-Fascists

So I get home from choir practice last night (well, to be honest, I got home from having a bluecheese burger and a couple of pints after choir) and I see my bride sitting in the family room with her iBook, reading a site with a look of stunned disbelief. And man, was the Bride a'sputterin' at what she was reading. You see, the government thought that since something on the order of 50% of all pregancies are 'surprises,' (by which I guess they mean people forgot they had sex) and, as Donnah says:

If you remember last year's March of Dimes TV ad that had a stork dropping by bringing a woman the surprising news of a pregnancy, you know they're on a campaign to teach women the importance of always having folic acid in their systems. A mother's having folic acid in her system at the time of her baby's conception will prevent 50-70% of all neural tube defects. That means life-long and extreme impairments like spina bifida and anencephaly can be prevented with a little spinach salad. The point the March of Dimes stressed is that because half of all pregnancies are surprises, and because the brain and spinal cord are forming in that large gap of time between when a woman becomes pregnant and when she actually finds out that she's pregnant, women of childbearing age should have folic acid in their system just in case. Concurring with them is the CDC, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention's Division of Reproductive Health and the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.

It all seems perfectly reasonable, no? This is the sort of thing that government health agencies are supposed to advise, right? Like, maybe possibly preventing some birth defects in a relatively easy fashion might maybe sort of be an okay kind of idea f you are thinking of possibly maybe sort of perhaps getting pregnant?

Welllll, that might have been the case before we became a Theocracy, you see, because now everything is a part of The Agenda Of Karl. Now everything must be viewed through the prism of Insane-O-Matic Twitchometer:

Uterii Unite!

Basically, federal guidelines are to happen that will ask that any woman able to have a baby should act as if she's going to, "pre-pregnant," whether or not she ever plans to do it. So no smoking, alcohol, be healthy, take folic acid supplements. Because women are only uteruses. Not that men have to worry about this or be healthy. Just us uteruses.

New guidelines show what the federal government really thinks of women.

Ladies of America: It's time to learn about your importance in the the national healthcare debate. Do we as a country care what's going on with your body because you're a person? Hell, no! It's actually because you're an incubator.

Womb of ones own

Since we're talking about a mandate by the federal government, I can't help but think that there is something else behind this "recommendation." Should I expect an agent from the Department of Womb Health to show up at my home and steal my cats away? According to federal guidelines, I should "avoid contact with cat feces." I guess that's one way to get out of cleaning the litter box.

Theocrats!

That's right! Giving women's rights the "shaft" was introduced today in the form of "guidelines" to insure that a fertilized egg has a head start. Sure! Great! By all means let's take better care of ourselves. However when you are telling me what to do with my body THAT raises my hackles a wee bit. The religious right will no doubt use this as cannon fodder to ensure that their agenda to outlaw abortion is met with an iron fist. The basis of the Roe v. Wade argument will be no doubt tested, and tried. It comes down to life beginning at conception. They will no doubt try to protect that life with these very guidelines.
In that protection I look for an overview and complete overhaul of birth control period. Their (theocratic) argument for doing so is obvious. In order to protect the child that a woman "may" be carrying.
The age old argument is proven once again. The theocrats care so very much about an unborn child. When you get here however, you're on your own.

Someone sees The Agenda

first, the senate decides to build a fence and militarize the US-Mexico border.
then, democrats are labeled the party of death, because we're clearly godless baby-killers.
THEN, the US marines are executing innocent iraqis because they have rage issues.
THEN, i find out that i am only as valuable as the number of healthy babies i can produce.

and now, the republicans get to use gay marriage as a political tool again.

all of that has surfaced in two days. seriously, for a president who's so completely alienated from the american people, he sure as hell manages to push his agenda through.

Just go and randomly look at links here and be amazed.

But wear a lobster bib to help deflect the spittle.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:21 AM | Comments (18)

May 18, 2006

The Report's In On My Old Buddy Ward

And it ain't pretty:

Based on the foregoing, the Committee finds by a preponderance of the evidence that: (a) Professor Churchill has engaged in research misconduct with respect to Allegation A regarding the General Allotment Act of 1887; and (b) that such research misconduct was not and could not have been inadvertent and therefore was deliberate. Specifically, the Committee finds by a preponderance of the evidence that...

And believe me there's a lot of evidence that ensues.

But in sadly typical fashion, in spite of all the evidence showing his completely fraudulent nature as a 'scholar,' they can't bring themselves to say "fire the bastard." No, the committee splits and splinters on this and can not resist saying that "the only reason we're investigating him is because of the bruhaha about his WTC remark. Damn you Bushhitler for attacking free speech. And don't question our patriotism." Disgusting. Here's yet another example where people bloviate about respect and integrity yet refuse to enforce any sort of standards that give such terms any meaning or worth.

(h/t to No Brainer)

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:17 PM | Comments (8)

Yes, This Is THE Pressing Issue Of The Day

I am so tired of these idiots in Washington:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Senate committee approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage Thursday, after a shouting match that ended when one Democrat strode out and the Republican chairman bid him "good riddance."

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'd much rather the State allow gays to marry and enter into a legal arrangement with eachother, with all the obligations and responsibilities therein, than allow unmarried couples who have made no such binding agreement access to spousal survival benefits, tax breaks, etc.

Yes, it's so comforting to see these titans of our Republic eloquently debating these matters. Oh golly? We're at war? Oh golly, our borders have more holes in them than Bonnie and Clyde? Better add a definition of marriage to the Constitution!

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:42 PM | Comments (5)

Jimmy Durante Reincarnated

"Look for da big 'W'."

But he still speaks the same:

Pyow pyow pyow . . . hack hack hack hack! Let's get out of here (in monkey talk)

...British scientists have discovered that the putty-nosed monkey in Nigeria pictured above sometimes communicates by combining sounds into a sequence that has a different meaning from any of its component calls, an ability that was thought to be uniquely human.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:20 PM | Comments (2)

Ah! Memories Of College!

70,000 beer cans found in townhouse.

But geesh, Coors Light?

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:54 AM | Comments (6)

He's Ours, Dagnabbit!

Michigan is trying to steal Hoffa from Jersey!

(CNN) -- FBI agents and local police were searching a Michigan horse farm Wednesday for the remains of former Teamsters union leader Jimmy Hoffa after receiving a tip about his disappearance, the agency said.

...A federal law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity said the search is for Hoffa's body.

Really? There's some key information from that brave anonymous tipster.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:57 AM | Comments (4)

Hey Murtha

Blow me:

A US lawmaker and former Marine colonel accused US Marines of killing innocent Iraqi civilians after a Marine comrade had been killed by a roadside bomb.

"Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood," John Murtha told reporters. The November 19 incident occurred in Haditha, Iraq.

Yeah, you "support the troops" so much you'll say shit like this before the investigations are finished and put them at further risk. Asshole.

Sorry. We return you now to our normal PG-13 environment.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:54 AM | Comments (6)

May 17, 2006

She's Slipped Under the Waves

Even keel the whole way until the Gulf flooded the hangar bays. Then her bow shot up and she was gone.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:06 PM | Comments (2)

Mexico To File Lawsuits

This is beautiful:

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - Mexico said Tuesday that it would file lawsuits in U.S. courts if National Guard troops on the border become directly involved in detaining migrants.

..."If there is a real wave of rights abuses, if we see the National Guard starting to directly participate in detaining people ... we would immediately start filing lawsuits through our consulates," Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez told a Mexico City radio station. He did not offer further details.

First off, they are not "migrants" they are illegal immigrants who are breaking the law and we damn well will seal up our border. I really hope they do file some of these suits, because that will piss off enough people to maybe kick our government in the butt and get them to build a wall. This is pushing me over the edge. Seal the border and force the corrupt bastards in Mexico to deal with their horrendous internal problems instead of having everyone of us subsidising them.

And hopefully in the next few elections we can start dealing with the corrupt bastards on both sides of the aisle in DC.

Mexican officials worry the crackdown will lead to more deaths. Since Washington toughened security in Texas and California in 1994, migrants have flooded Arizona's hard-to-patrol desert and deaths have spiked. Migrant groups estimate 500 people died trying to cross the border in 2005. The Border Patrol reported 473 deaths in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.

You know, if they are so 'worried' about deaths maybe they should improve their own country so the people aren't fleeing it like a bunch of rats.

I want no 'guest worker' plan at all. Seal the border NOW. Go through the illegals that are here, deport any that have committed crimes here, and make the rest pay taxes and work under a microscope and learning English for, say, 10 years; any problems and they get booted, no problems and they can become citizens. No 'amnesty' and no future illegals.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:44 AM | Comments (18)

May 16, 2006

The Europeans Are Brilliant

Their incredibly clever plan to stop the Iranians from developing nukes...is to give them a working reactor!

Key European nations are considering offering Iran a light-water nuclear reactor as part of incentives meant to persuade Tehran to give up its uranium enrichment program, a senior diplomat said Tuesday.

I'm sure that will stop all Iranian efforts. Heck, a blow like that will set their program ahead 10 years...

What complete a$$hats.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:38 PM | Comments (7)

Now, Thash the Ticket!! ::hic::

The still - standard equipment of any moonshiner - has a shot at becoming the must-have accessory of penny-pinching motorists.

An upstart Tennessee business is marketing stills that can be set up as private distilleries making ethanol - 190 proof grain alcohol - out of fermented starchy crops such as corn, apples or sugar cane. The company claims the still's output can reduce fuel costs by nearly a third from the pump price of gasoline.

I wash born here, an I wash raished here, and dad gum it, I am gonna die here, an no sidewindin bushwackin, hornswaglin, A-rab Venshwellins cracker croaker is gonna rouin me bishen cutter.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:21 AM | Comments (6)

I've Just Seen A Face, I Can't Forget

Her visage my desire did whet:

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) -- Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, under pressure from Islamists to curb reforms, has warned local media against showing pictures of Saudi women, local newspapers reported on Tuesday.... Newspapers have broken with tradition and have more frequently begun printing photographs of Saudi women beside stories, usually with hair covered but faces showing, which many Wahhabi Islamists consider morally wrong.

They have also printed debate about other issues concerning women, such as whether bans on women driving and working in some retail stores could be reversed, issues which have raised the ire of many religious conservatives.

"There are photographs published in some newspapers ... and one needs to think if he would want his daughter, sister or wife to appear like that. Of course, no one would," the king was quoted as saying at a meeting with newspaper editors late on Monday.

"Young people are driven by emotion and the spirit, but the spirit can go astray. So I ask you to go easy on these things."

Yes, we can't have any photos of women's faces driving those good Saudi boys wild with insane lust, now can we?

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:10 AM | Comments (9)

May 15, 2006

She's Out in the Open Gulf Waters, Now

Clear of Pensacola Pass and moving under crystal blue skies, with fair winds and following seas.

As it should be. A fitting day for a valiant lady's last sea voyage.

The fellow with his hands in his pockets was on Oriskany ~ as a ten year old. He said they were living in San Francisco when the ship came in. His uncle was a crew member and brought them all out to the boat for a tour. It was magical for a young boy, he said, climbing all over her.

"There's not much I remember from being ten, but I remember that day."

And now he was here for her day.
The fellow to his right will be watching from a boat Wednesday, as Oriskany goes down.

It was surreal on the beach. About a hundred or so folks, most staying in their cars, watching her progress. Quietly. Reverently. The light so bright it hurt your eyes, but it made the turquoise and emerald in the water pop. Oriskany under tow, moving imperceptively along. Sometimes the smoke from the tugs looked like it was rising from the carrier itself, while the base helo worked it's way back and forth. It was a snapshot moment of a vibrant past. A flash of memories, of had beens. Then the tug smoke would dissipate, the angle would change, the tow cable would reappear and her escort ships would move closer. I couldn't decide if it felt like a funeral procession or witnessing a dead man walking. To my right, the Blue Angels came overhead, lining up to land at Sherman Field ~ just getting home from a weekend airshow. The past and the present together there in that crystalline instant. As it should be.

I'm glad I went.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:10 PM | Comments (9)

Amazing Accuracy

Get Your Drunk Personality at LiquidGeneration.com!

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:46 PM | Comments (12)

This Sounds Like A Monty Python Skit

Sometimes life is just too weird:

A transsexual whose 17-year marriage to an heiress was nullified when the wife discovered her husband was a woman is not legally a "parent" of her 14-year-old daughter born from donor sperm, the Court of Appeal ruled today.

The female-to-male transsexual, referred to in court as Mr J, is now in law a man under the 2004 Gender Recognition Act and can lawfully marry a woman if he wishes.

But three appeal judges held that, because at the time of his "marriage" to Mrs C in 1977 he was still a woman, he had no parental rights.

17 years of marriage. Then she discovers he is, er, a her? Somehow I think she (the Party of the 1st Part) is a few sandwiches short of a picnic, no? And upon further review maybe 'Party of the 1st Part' is not the best phrase either:

Mr J, born with gender dysmorphia, underwent hormone treatment and had breasts removed before, at the age of 30, he met and married Mrs C, then aged 20 and from a wealthy background.

He concealed his true gender from her for 17 years, using a home-made part of the anatomy for sex. At a Court of Appeal hearing in 1996, Mr J failed in a bid for a share of the marriage wealth, including a £400,000 home.

I really don't want to know.

Well, ok, I do just a little, I admit it. What is up with this?

At that hearing, Lord Justice Ward described the marriage as a "travesty" and said that many people would find it quite astonishing that in 17 years of life together Mrs C did not realise she was living with a woman.

Gee, ya' think?

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:16 AM | Comments (1)

Funny...I Always Thought So, Too

Unsurprisingly, Ebola tests out as Boba the Fett.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:13 AM | Comments (13)

Today's Gaia Molester

How'd you like a V-10 with 500 horses at the touch of a button?

For a speed racer looking to fly beneath the radar, it was the perfect car. Which, of course, is why BMW decided to change it, most notably by adding a magical button that, when pushed, adds yet another 100 horses to the engine. Simply depress and, voila, you've hit the 500-horsepower threshold, and can now smoke a Ferrari Scaglietti.

The root of all this temptation is a 5.0-liter V-10 evolved from BMW's Formula One vehicles, a power plant that won the highly coveted (seriously) International Engine of the Year award. It is indeed a technological wonder, carved from lightweight alloys and boasting individual throttle butterflies that let the fourth-generation M5 zip around in slightly harnessed mode - allowing for better gas mileage and civilized comportment - before some button-pushing fool unleashes its uberdemons, which can rocket the M5 past 190 mph. I, of course, am one such fool.

All this can be yours for $85,000 and you get 10 mpg! Woo-hoo!

Let the Gaia Games begin!

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:54 AM | Comments (1)

The Mighty O

All good things come to an end. Today they're supposed to start nudging Oriskany away from Allegheny Pier at 10 a.m., tow her at 2 mph into Pensacola Bay and out to 22 miles offshore. I hope to get pictures in an hour or so of her last passage through Pensacola Pass. If the weather holds Wednesday, our Swilling special correspondant (the Squid Terrorist) will be on a boat nearby with his camera as they scuttle her.

Man.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:50 AM

Overheard During Darlington Race Coverage

...Saturday night. Midway through an interim caution lap recap, as a race car is careening off the pit lane concrete barriers:

"That kinda looks Representative Patrick Kennedy's driving..."

Me to major dad: "Did he really just say that?!"
It was FOX.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:49 AM | Comments (1)

Gang Violence In Brazil

Some 60 people have been killed over the weekend in coordinated attacks on police and riots in prisons in Sao Paulo:

Violence has continued in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo where a wave of co-ordinated attacks over the weekend left more than 60 people dead. Gangs hit police stations and patrols with machine guns and machetes, and prisoners rioted in dozens of jails...

...Authorities say the unrest is being directed from inside jail by a criminal gang after hundreds of its members were sent to maximum security prisons.

They're also burning buses and banks, and holding several hundred hostages. These prison gangs are incredibly well organised, in large part due to the rampant corruption in the police forces in Brazil. The police are very badly paid and led, and very amenable to bribes. Most of my friends in Brazil tell me that when you are robbed you don't call the police, because they'll rob you a second time...

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:50 AM | Comments (3)

Millions

My goodness, what a great movie. When daughter first told us about it, it was in the context of "we watched this really weird movie on the bus back from the ski trip,' which really isn't such a ringing endorsement. But somehow it ended up in our Netflix que and we watched it last night. Now, perhaps some of it had to do with it being Mother's Day and all that yesterday, but it has a wonderful plot. It starts off a little slowly, and you're sitting there thinking, hmm, here's one of these strange european movies, but after about fifteen minutes it hooks you. I was sobbing like a blubbering baby at the end. The two boys who play brothers are fantastic. The premise is two boys, whose mom has died, move with their dad to a new town a few days before England is switching from the pound to the euro, and one of the boys 'finds' several hundred thousand pounds. What do they do?

Really, a great movie, and Nightfly you especially will like it.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:28 AM | Comments (3)

I Can Tell You Why

‘Poseidon’ can’t overtake ‘Mission’ at box office Disaster remake pulls in $20.3 million, debuts at No. 2

Star or story, they're both watery disasters ~ it's like choosing between Nagin and Landrieu, so WTF? Might as well stay home and dry.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:29 AM

May 14, 2006

My Gift For My Bride

Despite the false and scurrilous rumors that some people to spread, I am quite the romantic.

To prove it, I had a lovely present sitting in the garage waiting for my beloved bride when she came back from an errand today, with a nice little red bow on top...

An electric power washer!

It just broke my heart to see her scraping the deck last year...

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:21 PM | Comments (15)

A Note to the Palestinian Government Worker

...on the NBC Nightly news. The reporter said he hadn't been paid his $500/mth salary in three months and then the man said:

"The United States needs to send money! This isn't hurting the government, it's hurting the people!"

He seems to have had a brain freeze. Last I heard, the votes of the Palestinian PEOPLE are the reason they have that government. Since it was a pretty clear Hamas victory, if he didn't vote for them personally, he needs to thank his neighbors.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:00 PM | Comments (2)

Inclusiveness Is What Makes This Country

...It clarified policies regarding disabled passengers on airplanes, stating for the first time that animals used to aid people with emotional ailments like depression or anxiety should be given the same access and privileges as animals helping people with physical disabilities like blindness or deafness.

The following year appellate courts in New York State for the first time accepted tenants' arguments in two cases that emotional support was a viable reason to keep a pet despite a building's no-pets policy. Word of the cases and of the Transportation Department's ruling spread, aided by television and the Internet. Now airlines are grappling with how to accommodate 200-pound dogs in the passenger cabin and even emotional-support goats.

...great.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:58 PM | Comments (4)

Happy Mother's Day

...to all our Swiller's and their wives, their mums, their mums' mums and anyone who's ever been a 'mum' to someone!!!

The inspiring true story of two great friends, a baby hippo named Owen and a 130-yr-old giant tortoise named Mzee (Mm-ZAY). When Owen was stranded after the Dec 2004 tsunami, villagers in Kenya worked tirelessly to rescue him. Then, to everyone's amazement, the orphan hippo and the elderly tortoise adopted each other. Now they are inseparable, swimming, eating, and playing together. Adorable photos e-mailed from friend to friend quickly made them worldwide celebrities. Here is a joyous reminder that in times of trouble, friendship is stronger than the differences that too often pull us apart.

Now, back to the dishes.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:48 PM

May 12, 2006

Hey! Did You Happen to See

...The Fastest Man on EARTH?

Well, WE did!!

Gatlin sets world mark with ‘perfect race’
Olympic champ runs 100 in 9.76 seconds to take record away from Powell

Congratulations to Pensacola's own Justin Gatlin!!

Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:37 PM | Comments (1)

It's Safe To Go Swimming Now, Florida Cracker

This big boy has been caught:

A potential world record hammerhead shark was caught on Wednesday in Boca Grande Pass.

Capt. Andy Whitbread of Fort Myers captured a 13 foot, 4 inch, 750-pound hammerhead. Whitbread used an estimated 12- to 15-pound live crevalle jack as bait and caught the fish on 80-pound class tackle for the potential line-class world record.

I would say he had a boca grande.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:53 PM

Pensive, Deep Thinking Twins

...separated at birth.

Wondering how to make the world a better prLace.

(Be vewee vewee quiet! Al's picture stolen from Florida Cracker.)

Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:36 PM | Comments (12)

I'm Shocked! Shocked, I Tell You!

Weapons-grade uranium found in Iran?

The U.N. atomic agency found traces of highly enriched uranium at an Iranian site linked to the country's defense ministry, diplomats said Friday, adding to concerns that Tehran was hiding activities aimed at making nuclear arms.

Heh-row? How friggin' stupid are you, UN? And France, and Russia, and China...

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:23 PM | Comments (3)

I Have Issued

...a fatwa.

My Fatwa
I, tree hugging sister, demand an immediate end to Bingley BASTARD.
No good Muslim shall rest until Bingley embraces trees and life and is very much kinder to me. God will Bingley's gin bottle exploding if my wishes are not done immediately.
BY ALL THAT IS GOAT LADEN, BIN LADEN AND UNHOLY!

UPDATE and BUMP: Michelle Malkin has linked to a rip roaring cartoon fatwa I just had to share.

'Muslims avenge your prophet .... We deeply desire that the small state of Denmark, Norway and France ... are struck hard and destroyed,' declared Libyan Mohammed Hassan, who escaped from US custody at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan last July.

'Destroy their buildings, make their ground shake and transform them into a sea of blood,' said Hassan, dressed in military fatigues and a black turban, and holding an assault rifle.

Woof! That's a mouthful! Back to the generator for me.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:22 AM | Comments (23)

Drivel

On Feminism: Well, that’s sort of a gimme, being that I’m doing posts on a feminist blog, most likely about issues that would be considered pro-feminist in angle. So am I a feminist? Absolutely - socialist feminist to be more specific.

On Parenting:
My husband and I are pro- breastfeeding, attachment parenting, co-sleeping, non-cry-it-out types of parents. We are extremely committed to the welfare of our children and our marriage, and have found that despite what conservatives might try to say, you can be a very liberal, progressive family and still function. In fact, we consider our well-functioning and loving family one of our biggest successes in life, thus far. With Sydney we’ve attempted to go easy on the gender roles, and instead offer her as much choice and encouragement in her choices as possible. She’s got girl toys, boy toys and gender neutral toys - though truth be told, the toys she likes best are not even toys at all. We named our daughters Sydney Quinn and Maddox (undecided, perhaps I should blog for advice?) after reading about gender neutral names having a positive impact on girl children in particular, but also because we thought they were cool names.

On Politics:
Socialist for the most part, but registered Democrat. The socialism is due to spending time in Danmark for a while and becoming heavily influenced by the socialist model of living standards, and progressive attitudes of the people.

UPDATE: Bingley has scolded me for not linking to the source of these cheerful paragraphs, but I wanted them to sink in on their own first. Now, I'll explain how I came across such sentiments, as painfully irritating as they (and the explanation) may be.
The above "about" comes from a blog run by this fellow. He saw our latest Duke post linked from La Shawn Barber's site. He picked it (and the others) up en masse, in a cheesy little shot called "Predictably, a legion of right-wing bloggers have jumped on this as proof that Mary Doe, the (alleged) rape victim, is lying."

I'm always checking Technorati, etc., for links to us and he popped up, so I went for a visit. Not my cup o'tea, but hey! It's a free world. Then I notice that he's lifted La Shawn's links wholesale and never BOTHERED to read what I'd written. (If he had, he might have noticed I specifically mention NOT mentioning the victim and add that we hammer what appears to be prosecutorial misconduct/arrogance impinging the rights of the accused.) I emailed Bingley (and Miss Emily later that evening), who comes up with a very civil correction for the fellow's comment section (which is a reading trip in it's own right) and submits it as this:

"Thanks for the link, but if you read the post you linked to no where in it does Tree Hugging Sister say that this 'proves' the accuser is a 'liar.' In fact no where does she state that this women is a liar; she merely points out, correctly, that this report casts somewhat of a pall on the accuser's credibility. Further, if you look here you'll see that she hammers what appears to be prosecutorial misconduct/arrogance impinging the rights of the accused. I'm not sure why politics enter into this, but if this makes us 'right-winged' then I suppose we're guilty as charged.

With regard to the pdf report you linked to, you are correct in that it appears Officer Day never heard the lady make these charges; however, now that I've got the crick out of my neck from trying to read it (it took me several minutes to think to print it out) it does reference a "Lt. Best" who "stayed at the Emergency Department to gather information from the victim." I believe it's reasonable to assume that this is the source for "The victim changed her story several times..." and I look forward to hearing his/her testimony if and when this case moves to a trial."

Only it never shows up. Thinking it was a spam filter, neither of us gives it a second thought until I check again to see if it's on there. It's not. But this little fascist gem IS:

****PLEASE NOTE****
The comments on this post are for feminist and pro-feminist posters only. If you’re not a feminist and you want to leave a comment, please use the identical post on Creative Destruction instead.

Don't you just love them? They all live in a happy socialist basement together like a demented Bob Ross painting. In their world, I guess one is free to mischaracterize posts at will and, while they have a comment section, it's only for drivel-driven, fatuous v-word examinations of the most delusional, self important, "how-do-I-live-with-how-clever-I-am" congratulatory ilk. Like I said, drivel. But it is, for whatever reason, a pretty popular site that feels it's okay to hose someone and not be held accountable, or allow a rebuttal, all the while selling poppies in the square for the ACLU and Darfur relief. Pretentious twits.

And I'm pissed.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:14 AM | Comments (14)

Praise Xenu!

For in addition to making MI3 tank he works other miracles:

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A wheelchair-bound Los Angeles woman, who has repeatedly filed lawsuits over access for the disabled, got up and ran after police arrested her for fraud, authorities said on Thursday.

Laura Lee Medley, 35, had sued in at least four California cities over injuries she claimed she sustained while trying to navigate her wheelchair before she was suspected of fraud.

It's a miracle!

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:14 AM | Comments (1)

Why I Love Being Married To An Academic, Part LCMXVIII

Me (in 5:28 am getting ready for work mode): shuffle-shuffle
Bride (in classes-are-over-and-I'm-all-done-with-grading-exams-sleepyhead mode): "H-h-honey, why are you getting up so early? Oh yeah, it's Friday" (smiles and retreats under the covers)

sigh.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:37 AM | Comments (9)

May 11, 2006

Breaking News

Our crack investigative reporting has discovered this photo of 'Grizzly' Summers in action:

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:18 PM | Comments (7)

That's Just Great

China and US may establish military hotline
Beijing and Washington are moving towards establishing a hotline between their defence ministries and have agreed to step up military exchanges, Chinese state media said on Thursday.

I can hear the conversation now...

Rumsfeld: "F*ck you and the rickshaw you rode in on!"

Gen Cao: "Oh yeah?! Well, fr*ck you, too!"

Rumsfeld: "Very good then. Same time?"

Gen Cao: "Same Peeper's Repubric Station!"

Rumsfeld: "Oh God, you kill me when you do that!"

Both: "Hah haha haha haha!"
Click

Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:50 AM | Comments (2)

NOW This Stinks

...like a SEVEN DAY OLD mullet and I mean reeks.

A Durham police detective investigating the Duke University lacrosse case arrested an alibi witness Wednesday on a 2 1/2-year-old misdemeanor warrant.
Taxi driver Moezeldin Elmostafa said Investigator R.D. Clayton and another officer asked whether he had anything new to tell them about the rape case before driving him to the Durham County jail. He said no and was held for five hours, until a friend posted his bail on a shoplifting charge.

Ernest Conner, a Greenville lawyer who represents defendant Reade Seligmann, said the cabbie's arrest amounted to intimidation. "It appears to me they are trying to pressure a witness who supports our defendant's rock-solid alibi," Conner said.

This is gonna make one hell of a Law and Order episode.

All I can add is "don't get yerself arrested for speeding in Durham." It's like the Hotel California there.
NOTE: Our earlier post notes Mr. Elmostafa's evolving story.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:08 AM

To Save Russia, Putin Declares the People Must...

Get Laid!

Well, okay. More "be fruitful and multiply", but that takes 'getting laid', right? So, really, that's what the man meant.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:38 AM | Comments (13)

Hey! Did You happen to See...

...the CRANKIEST effin' bear in the WORLD?! Well, they found him.

DNA Tests Confirm Bear Was a Hybrid
Northern hunters, scientists and people with vivid imaginations have discussed the possibility for years.

But Roger Kuptana, an Inuvialuit guide from Sachs Harbour, Northwest Territories, was the first to suspect it had actually happened when he proposed that a strange-looking bear shot last month by an American sports hunter might be half polar bear, half grizzly.

Territorial officials seized the creature after noticing its white fur was scattered with brown patches and that it had the long claws and humped back of a grizzly. Now a DNA test has confirmed that it is indeed a hybrid - possibly the first documented in the wild.

I'm curious who met who where for the rendezvous that created this fellow. I don't blame her for fallin' for him, though ~ the big, bad bears among us are often the most seductive.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:13 AM | Comments (11)

This Seems an Odd Rule to Me

People buying wine or whiskey will not face the same requirement. Beer sales are traditionally regulated locally in Tennessee, while liquor sales are regulated by the state. Beer cannot be sold in the same stores that sell wine and liquor.

It's usually wine/beer "sold here". With liquor, it's stricter.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:03 AM | Comments (7)

Lord Xenu Is Not Amused With You, My Young

Fruitcake.

USA Today reported that Cruise's popularity decline with women was especially sharp, slipping from a 56 percent favorable rating in 2005 to 35 percent now.

The poll prompted a concerted defense by Cruise's supporters, who insisted the actor's popularity and standing as one of Hollywood's most bankable stars was undiminished.

"Tom Cruise is one of the most important stars ever in the motion picture business," Universal Studios President Ron Meyer, a close friend and former agent, told Reuters. "I don't know anybody who has had the consistent success rate that Tom has. And nobody should be counting him out."

Barf.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:37 AM | Comments (9)

Pudgy Old Infidels Play Xbox; Pudgy Jihadi Wanna-Bees Play...

"Waddle After The Crusader"

(h/t to our buddy Gunslinger for the video)

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:33 AM | Comments (6)

May 10, 2006

Mullahs Don't Wait For Urban Renewal

So is Giza a goner?

A religious ruling condemning the display of statues has angered Egyptian liberals and intellectuals who fear it could encourage religious zealots to attack the country's pharaonic heritage.

The ruling was issued by the Mufti, the most senior religious scholar in Egypt.

...It was a member of the public who asked the Mufti about Islam's position on statues.

"This reflects the rising religiosity in Egyptian society," said Mohamed al-Sayed Said of the al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.

He says the European models of progress which guided Egyptian society in the 19th and 20th Centuries have now been eclipsed by the rise of religion.

"There's been really a big retreat to the distant past," he said.

"What we are having at this point is an increasing gulf between secular and religious cultures."

Right now they're worried about fanatics trying to disfigure, deface and destroy the the treasures on their own, but the alternative is terrifying.

"Egypt's future will not be determined by religious or cultural factors. But if the country continues to fail economically and politically, political Islam will become the prevalent ideology," said Mr Said.

"But I'm inclined to think that we still have a chance to evade the prospects of an Islamist takeover if we achieve better in the economy and certainly in relation to political and civic liberties."

"We still have a chance". How awful is that?

And "But they've been here since the time of the Pharoahs!" doesn't carry any weight, either. Just ask the ancient Buddhas Mullah Omar and his hairy henchmen leveled.

A warm Swill Salute to All Things Conservative.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:08 PM | Comments (9)

They're Rockin' the Town Again

...in another fondly remembered snake pit.

96 Somalis die as Islamic, secular gangs battle
Sides fight for control of capital; Muslim group might have al-Qaida ties

...Most of the victims were civilians caught in the crossfire.

Of course they were. Spray and slay boys never hit jack that they mean to.

UPDATE: Speaking of snake pits that just never seem to go away, things will be turning ugly in short order, I fear.

Israeli fuel firm halts Palestinian gas supply

Palestinian gas stations began shutting down and motorists lined up at pumps after an Israeli fuel company cut off deliveries Wednesday, deepening the humanitarian crisis in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that has followed Hamas’ rise to power.

...Dor Energy, the Israeli company that has been the sole fuel provider to the Palestinians since interim peace agreements were signed in the mid-1990s, cited growing debts for its decision, Palestinian officials said. Dor officials declined comment, but the company had threatened to cut off supplies twice before this year — only to be paid at the last minute by the Palestinians.

It'll be a good deal harder to put together a Molotov cocktail.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:31 PM | Comments (3)

I Think This Could Be Wise

Allan Bense is not running for the U.S. Senate.

The popular speaker of the Florida House wants to spend more time with his family and pursue business interests instead.

Republicans from Tallahassee to Washington had been looking on Bense as a potential rescuer in their quest to unseat Democrat Bill Nelson. The news ricocheted through both capitals Wednesday morning.

“He would have made an excellent U.S. senator,” said former Florida Republican Party chairman Al Cardenas, among those who had staked their hopes on Bense. “This was strictly a personal call, since the opportunity to run for the U.S. Senate comes, at best, once in a lifetime.”

I would hold that statement true for Katharine Harris, as she's squandered what ever good will/name value she had in an ill-advised political move on her part to begin with. I think Bense knows that and the face of the campaign against Bill Nelson was now always going to be Harris's, even if he ran. Wasn't worth him running damage control for issues over which he had no control. Nope. Better to sit back, let her continue to implode against a very charismatic, popular U.S.Senator ~ an astronaut, for God's sake ~ and take his shot when he can start out fresh. On his own.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:25 PM | Comments (1)

Don't You Just Hate It When A Plan Goes to Pooh?

I know I do. Walmart v. Kelo, in a delightful episode of "reversal of fortune".

The Hercules City Council will consider whether to use eminent domain to wrest a 17-acre property from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. after the nation's largest retailer rejected a city offer to buy the site with views of San Pablo Bay, city officials said Thursday.

...Wal-Mart bought the property overlooking central Hercules in November after another developer received city approvals for a neighborhood shopping center.

In February, city planners recommended denying Wal-Mart's proposal for a big-box store on its property, saying the plan was not in keeping with what had been approved for the location, which commands a view of one of the Bay Area's most vaunted New Urbanist communities, with pedestrian-oriented streets and large open-space set-asides, as well as sweeping views of the bay.

I live vicariously through this...

The same day the company submitted its revised proposal, Councilwoman Charleen Raines was hardly welcoming, although she said she had not read it.

"What the council has said is that we want to buy the property,'' she said, describing the tussle with Wal-Mart as a "David and Goliath'' struggle. "At this point, we're concerned about moving ahead on this property. It's been hanging over us for a long time.''

...as Casa de Major Dad is plopped in the middle of "Walmart Central". (And make that count 12 stores, as they're throwing one up between number 1 and number 4 as I write.) Pensacola/Escambia County never met a Walmart they didn't like. (Although they'll fight Publix tooth and nail. I guess they don't pay off as well as other chains.) Of course, Walmart is playing the aggrieved party, somberly intoning such drivel as:

"We're disappointed that the city is really playing politics with the future of Hercules rather than looking at the big picture,'' company spokesman Kevin Loscotoff said.

"Many residents of the city who we've talked to are frustrated and anxious for this much-needed retail project to move forward.''

Now, I can't speak for the residents who are anxious (as the folks I could find are NOT...), but I can read a store-finder map to address the 'much-needed'. There are two Walmarts already within 10 miles of Hercules and, as any Californian will tell you, a ten mile drive is a walk in the park/no distance at all/hardly registers/do-it-in-my-sleep. 'Much needed' applies more to Walmart Corp. than the community, in my unscientific assessment.

Keno seems to have the council covered if they play hardball. Batter up!

UPDATE and BUMP: I meant to post on THIS Sunday, but I forgot. It complements the tenor of this post (and my reply to Life's Fifth String in the comments) beautifully.

Wal-Mart Vies for Right to Put On a Happy Face

For decades, this feel-good symbol ☺ has encouraged millions to smile.

The happy face and "Have a Nice Day ☺" helped to define the '70s. With two dots and a pencil stroke, schoolchildren have brightened handwritten messages by filling in their O's with mini-smileys. These days, nary a cheery e-mail is complete without a typographical smile.

But now a bitter legal battle over smiley could be enough to make the happy little symbol :-(.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which uses a yellow happy face to try to put its shoppers in a carefree mood, is saying — with a straight face — that it has exclusive rights to the familiar image*, at least among retail department stores.

"At least among retail department stores", right. They'll be petitioning freakin' Congress and the Supreme Court for your email records like Metallica looking for downloads before you know it.
*My outraged emphasis
Take THAT ...you corporate fascist BASTARDS!!!
BHUUUUWAhahahahaha!!

Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:12 PM | Comments (18)

Spam Filter Part III

Okay, okay, I'll stop after this, but I thought these were too funny:

Geometrical T. Pythagorean
Tarnishing V. Blowguns
Thrush U. Covetously

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:34 AM | Comments (1)

Bird Flu Questions?

We got answers.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:38 AM | Comments (5)

May 09, 2006

Sir Rob and Lady Patsy of Crabbe Lane, Appleton

Celebrate 25 Years.

Huzzah!

Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:55 PM | Comments (7)

They Don't Seem to Have a Problem

...putting their hand out.

Hamas signaled on Wednesday it still had problems accepting Western demands to recognize Israel and renounce violence, hours after international peace brokers agreed to temporarily send direct aid to the Palestinians.

...The so-called Quartet of international mediators -- the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations -- decided on Tuesday to send direct aid for a three-month trial period but the method of payment still had to be sorted out.

..."The Quartet have conditions. They aim to push the Palestinian government to make concessions that harm (Palestinian) rights and red lines and give the (Israeli) occupation legitimacy," [Prime Minister] Haniyeh told reporters in Gaza.

If you can't stand the heat, get out of the dole line.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:57 PM | Comments (1)

Well, It Was a NAVY Jet

A tail section from a U.S. Navy fighter jet that crashed 3 1/2 years ago off Key West, Fla., has turned up 4,900 miles away on a beach in Ireland.

A retired commercial airline captain, identified by the Irish Examiner newspaper as Charlie Coughlan, discovered the tail piece Friday. The Navy confirmed Tuesday that markings on the section, including squadron insignia and a serial number, pointed to the downed F-14 Tomcat.

Currents from the Gulf of Mexico near the tip of Florida might have floated the nearly 10-foot-long triangular piece of vertical stabilizer, one of two on the plane, to the beach in West Cork on Ireland's southern shore.

Shades of thousands of Nike sneakers blazing a path across the Pacific, huh?

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:45 PM | Comments (2)

You Know What Else I Find Truly Irritating?

Trying to understand the concept of this:

...with "Scrubs" on and tornado warnings going off.

I've read the damn paragraph eight times and still have no clue.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:47 PM | Comments (14)

And They're Dumping This Guy?

The CBS EVENING NEWS WITH BOB SCHIEFFER finished the week of May 1 only 310,000 viewers behind ABC’s “World News Tonight,” narrowing the gap with ABC by 1.64 million viewers and with NBC’s “Nightly News” by 1.03 million viewers compared to the same week last year.

And for who? They've gone mad, MAD I tell you! See my post on the New Coke McDonald's for more on the "younger/hipper" syndrome that causes these calamitous tangents.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:29 PM

Design Sure Has Come a Long Way

...since the 60's, hasn't it?
Then. Now.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:38 PM | Comments (7)

Job Opening, Anyone?

Bridezilla gonna need her a new gig.

JONES GETTING ' VIEW' VAMOOSE

STAR Jones Reynolds has been told to hitch up her hefty wagonload of freebies and waddle off into the sunset, sources say.

And oh yeah I got a personal beef with this side o' beef. She was down here stumping and stomping for Kerry (Strike 1), sashayed into our local primo dining spot before it opened (celebrity privilege...) and made off with ALL (ALL !!!) the macaroni and bleu cheese crocks (Strike Two). "For her entourage", she said. (Who you shucking, sister? We KNOW who they were all for.) Consequently, when th sister and major dad get there for a special dinner an hour later ~ as the doors open, mind you ~ and ths says "macaroni, please" with childlike anticipation...she is crushed like a bug. (Strike OUT.)

Oh yeah, I'm a grudge carrying fool. I suggest she checks in with MONSTER.com.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:26 PM | Comments (5)

At Least He Didn't Say "Drive Less"

...or "sugarcane". Jim Jubak offers an out of the box, four point plan for easing the energy crisis.

Raise gasoline prices to $4 a gallon
To discourage demand for gasoline, slap enough federal taxes on gasoline to raise the price to $4 a gallon. It sure looks like $3 gas isn't enough to produce a very big change in consumers' behavior. Sales of older-model SUVs have indeed plunged, but that seems to have more to do with the age of the design than with the price of gas. Sales of General Motors' (GM, news, msgs) new Tahoe SUV, on the other hand, climbed nearly 35% in April; sales of the GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade jumped 36% and 127%, respectively.

Average daily demand for gasoline for April was 9.127 million gallons, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. That’s roughly the same as the 9.125 million gallons used in April 2005. Holding demand steady when the economy is growing at better than 4% isn't nothing, but it's not enough. Looking at the sensitivity of demand for gasoline to its price, many economists see $4 a gallon as the point at which higher prices really begin to bite.

Neat read. AND he's looking for more ideas.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:28 AM | Comments (21)

The Duke "Victim" Accuser Has Serious Credibility Problems

...that just keep coming.

Duke accuser initially said 20 men raped her
Police thought woman was 'not credible,' leading school to move slowly

Duke’s response to rape allegations involving members of the men’s lacrosse team was too slow and relied too heavily on secondhand information, a report commissioned by the university has found.

That included assertions by Durham police that the accuser “kept changing her story and was not credible,” the report released Monday said. Relying on such opinion, the report said, was a mistake.

The day after the March 13 team party where a 27-year-old black woman claimed she was raped, Durham police told campus officers that “this will blow over,” the report said. The woman initially told police she was raped by 20 white men, then said she was attacked by three, the report said.

In the school's defense, if relying on the police report was a "mistake", what is one supposed to rely on? So let's recap. First it's 20. Then it's 3. None of which is mentioned initially as the convenience store security guard and then police officers, attempt to rouse the accuser (I'm gonna lay off the "victim" label.) snockered in a parked vehicle. Of all the mug shots in all the city, the only ones the prosecuter could poop for a line-up happen to be...ALL the white members of the lacrosse team. And the two wealthiest kids get tagged as perps (Addresses and pictures of their homes along with Mom and Dad's net worth released to Newsweek, if anyone's interested in that aspect of 'innocent 'til proven guilty'.) Not a spot of DNA anywhere, which makes sense as one of the accused has reams of paperwork and a (black!) witness to prove he wasn't there at the time (and who now seems to be responding to pressure from the community:"Mostafa, cited as an alibi witness for the accused lacrosse players, told Time magazine that he didn't want to be seen "on the side of the defense only. I want to look like I’m an honest person." ") The other female at the scene first said nothing happened but has since regained memories of being aware of something amiss and firmly supports the story of the accuser. Of course, the favorable intervention of the DA in a separate court case had no bearing on the miraculous retuning of her recollections. A milagro, indeed.

All of this without even questioning the accuser's veracity, lifestyle, mental stability or previously filed complaints for the same thing. You don't have to. It stinks like a five day old mullet on it's own.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:20 AM | Comments (2)

This Headline Writer

...is also having a rough day. The headline:

Judge Withholds $5M Award for LAPD Officers

And the story:

A federal judge refused Monday to overturn awards of $5 million each to three police officers who claimed the city of Los Angeles made them scapegoats for a corruption scandal.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney upheld a February jury decision. Carney also said he would not grant a new trial, finding there was enough evidence for the jury's conclusion that the LAPD "ruined the lives of three highly skilled" policemen and the department "had no probable cause" to arrest the men.

So I'm thinking he meant to say UPholds? Schmaybe?

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:58 AM | Comments (3)

Bring Me the Head of...

...Geronimo?

A Yale University historian has uncovered a 1918 letter that seems to lend validity to the lore that Yale University's ultra-secret Skull and Bones society swiped the skull of American Indian leader Geronimo.

The letter, written by one member of Skull and Bones to another, purports that the skull and some of the Indian leader's remains were spirited from his burial plot in Fort Sill, Okla., to a stone tomb in New Haven that serves as the club's headquarters.

According to Skull and Bones legend, members - including President Bush's grandfather, Prescott Bush - dug up Geronimo's grave when a group of Army volunteers from Yale were stationed at the fort during World War I. Geronimo died in 1909.

"The skull of the worthy Geronimo the Terrible, exhumed from its tomb at Fort Sill by your club... is now safe inside the (Tomb) together with his well worn femurs, bit & saddle horn," according to the letter, written by Winter Mead.

If it is him, at least he's inside somewhere warm. The amazing thing to me is the article itself. It must have been written by a Bushie, because nowhere does it scream...

"the SECRET rich boy, Ivy League society that PRESIDENT BUSH is a member of!!!!"

Talks about his grampa Prescott making off with the skull and an abbreviated members list, including a certain Senator John "You Don't Know Jefferson" Kerry, President Taft, etc. But no "W" cheap shot. How weird is that? Must be an off day.

I'm doing a screen shot just in case someone realizes they f*cked up.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:50 AM | Comments (5)

May 08, 2006

Oh, This is Getting Fugly

Talk about gasbags!

...Tax increases on the Orinoco projects had been rumoured, but the speed with which they look set to be implemented mirrors the suddenness with which Bolivia last week announced the nationalisation of its natural gas fields.

President Hugo Chávez, who has offered full backing to Bolivian President Evo Morales for his nationalisation plans, announced only last Sunday he wanted to increase income tax on the Orinoco projects from 34 per cent to 50 per cent, and double the royalty rate from 16.7 per cent to 33.3 per cent.

Mr Chávez enjoys practically full and unalloyed support in the legislature, or National Assembly, and the measure's prompt approval is virtually guaranteed.

The multinationals working in the belt don't play, Hugo no pay. In fact, he might just call the game off...

Humberto Calderón Berti, a former energy minister, warned that Venezuela might also seek conversion of the Orinoco projects into state-majority joint ventures.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:11 PM

But It Doesn't Hurt

...to gauge how the wind blows ~ dip your toe in the Big Muddy, so to speak ~ float the thought.

“From a pure business model, if I was just a cold-hearted businessman the decision would be pretty easy but I’ve got to make the decision based on my head and my heart. I really do. I think it’s very important to use good judgment. And if the state’s willing to protect us, make sure we don’t get hit hard, I’ll ride it out.”

However, Shinn said he doesn’t think that Louisiana should offer to write the Hornets a check to ensure their financial success.

He's talking about how he'd say yes, like, if Louisiana wants to bail out his sucky basketball team.

“I don’t think they should do that because to me there are more important things to get done than having a basketball team. I think they’ve got to get the families back first and then worry about a basketball team,” Shinn said. “That’s my opinion, but I’m not one of the politicians in Louisiana.”

Oh, but you as smooth as any of 'em, cher.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:46 PM

And You Know What I REALLY Hate?

Plastic toilet seat bolts. They never stay snug. Forget to keep them tightened and one absent-minded second later? You're on the floor or in the tub.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:20 PM | Comments (9)

A Kinder, Gentler Website

...to explain stereotypes to those of you who live and die by them.

..."I hope it causes people to pause, and question stereotypes."

The two are working on a series of short films for the site designed to do just that.

In one, a Hispanic man is mowing the lawn of a giant home in an affluent neighborhood. A blonde pulls up in a BMW and asks the man how much he charges to landscape the home.

He replies, "Why would I charge to landscape my own yard?" An on-screen message appears: "I am an American."

You should be ashamed of yourselves. Group hug, group hug.
Now, go be better people...

Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:33 PM | Comments (2)

THIS

...is GREAT news!!

Trapped Australian miners freed
Two men had been buried in Australian mine for two weeks

Woo hoo and hurray!

Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:29 PM | Comments (2)

Absolutely NO GIRLY MEN in Short Shorts

...need apply.

Iran says no to girly sportsmen

Iran's hardline Islamic regime has had enough of footballers with long hair and plucked eyebrows.

"I will ban athletes with an effeminate look," the head of the country's Physical Education Organisation, Mohammad Ali-Abadi said...

Oh, well, poop. That's just so wrong.

UPDATE: AND NO GIRLS watching girly men! Ya got that? Are we clear here?

Iranian women barred from soccer games
Supreme leader Ayatollah overrules president's earlier decision

UPDATE, Part DEUX: The research keeps pouring in. I'm beginning to extrapolate that only girly men play soccer...

Bush says he’s learning fast about World Cup
'A lot of us grew up without any connection to soccer — me, for example'

Where's Margaret Meade when you need her?

Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:16 PM | Comments (7)

I Told You to Come Alone! So Who Are These Guys?!

"My Network."

Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:33 PM | Comments (8)

Another French Cover-Up

This is beyond cool...

Deep beneath pavement pounded by tourists on Paris’ Left Bank lies an ancient path — a 2,000-year-old Roman road recently excavated during construction work.

Remnants of private houses rigged with baths and ingeniously heated floors were among the findings, now on view in a stunning dig.
-Michel Euler / AP file
A 2,000-year-old Roman road, recently excavated during construction work on the Pierre and Marie Curie University campus, is located in Paris' Left Bank.

...right up to THIS part.

Over the next few weeks, however, archaeologists will rip up the ruins to make way for a research center.

Cripes! We stumble over a 1700's shipwreck on NAS Pensacola and completely realign the multimillion dollar project whose digging uncovered it. But find...

Archaeologists said it was the first such site discovered in the city — known as Lutetia in pre-Roman and Roman Gaul — from the reign of Roman emperor Augustus (63 B.C.-14 A.D.).

...and you'd still better be done by June 30th, 'cause we've got a building to throw up. Cherish your past, n'est pas?
Well, in their defense, the Romans weren't French.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:22 AM | Comments (11)

The "New Coke"?

It sure is sounding like it.

A comfortable armchair. Cool hanging lights. Funky graphics and photos on the walls. Wi-Fi access. Premium coffee. Isn't Starbucks great? Except...this is McDonald's. McDonald's (MCD)? That's right. After 30 years without a major design overhaul, the 51-year-old fast-food giant is adopting a hip new look. The world's largest hamburger chain is redesigning its 30,000 eateries around the globe in a 21st century makeover of unprecedented scale.

...What will the new McDonald's look like? "Think iPod: clean lines, simplicity," says Miologos. The signature mansard roof? History. "The big red roof looks too dated today," says John Bricker, creative director at design firm Gensler's brand-strategy arm, Studio 585. It's being replaced by a flat roof topped by a newly designed, contemporary, golden sloping curve. Ronald McDonald appears safe: The mascot was given a leaner, sportier look just last year. And the iconic twin golden arches will still play a big role in the branding.

... The traditional McDonald's yellow and red colors will remain, but the red will be muted to terra cotta and olive and sage green will be added to the mix. To warm up their look, the restaurants will have less plastic and more brick and wood, with modern hanging lights to produce a softer glow. Contemporary art or framed photographs will hang on the walls. Bob Dixon, a private school fund-raiser in Chicago, says of an Oak Brook [Ill.] restaurant that sports the new design: "It's bright, it's lively, it's clean. It stunned me how beautiful it was."

You can put poop in a gift box, but it's still poop. They lost me when two visits to separate MickeyD's produced two completely whacked out Big Macs. As in all the patties piled on one side and all the bread, condiments and cheese piled on the other. If you can't make your simple, signature sandwich correctly (especially for those of us who consider it a once a year treat), you are losers.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:57 AM | Comments (8)

Today's Spam Filter Friends

"Imprinted R. Swallowed"
"Inseminating O. Fetish"
"Beach Q. Fetuses"
"Modestest K. Waistband"
"Fiddlesticks E. Inexperience"
"Unobserved M. Shading"

I love being popular.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:19 AM | Comments (1)

One Would Think

Better luck next time? Perhaps it was the comment from Apple Computer's lawyer Geoffrey Vos in March that "even a moron in a hurry" could distinguish between the logo of the computer giant he was defending and that of the 38-year-old record label set up by the Beatles. Or maybe it was Vos' demonstration of downloading Chic's thumping 1978 disco hit Le Freak in the courtroom to show how many times Apple Computer's logo came up on iTunes, that did the trick.

I won't even make any cheesy Beatles' lyrics cracks.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:17 AM | Comments (9)

Milk Maids

Words fail me.

3,738 Mothers Set Breast-Feeding Record

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- Nearly 4,000 mothers set a world record this week for the largest number of women simultaneously breast-feeding their babies in the same place, organizers said.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:15 AM | Comments (7)

Hooray For Bleacher Speech

I love these guys:

As Bonds walked out to left field before the bottom of the first, fans in the front row of the bleachers unfurled a huge sign that read: "Ruth did it on hot dogs and beer. Aaron did it with class. How did YOU do it?" In addition, one `i' and the question mark were dotted with asterisks.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:02 AM | Comments (4)

Lord Xenu Is Not Amused With Your Antics

The wires are all a-buzz with the hoped-for Cruise Crash and Burn:

"Mission: Impossible 3" had a tough weekend: The total take, according to boxofficemojo.com, came to $48 million. And this was a wide, wide release: More than 4,000 theaters unreeled Tom Cruise and company’s latest adventure if you wanted to see it. The problem, it seems, is that a lot of people didn’t.

How to measure the "M:I:3" opening weekend? Last year, "War of the Worlds," Cruise’s last movie, earned $64.8 million on its opening. The number of theaters was comparable.

In 2000, "Mission: Impossible 2," in 400 fewer theaters, did $58 million. The first "Mission: Impossible," back in 1996, took in $45 million, but in a thousand fewer theaters.

It took in less money while showing in more theaters and with higher ticket prices too. Woo-hoo!

See-ya, Psycho-Nut!

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:57 AM | Comments (8)

Counting Chickens Before They're Elected

So now ol' Goggle Eyes is planning what she's going to do when she's elected Speaker:

Democratic leaders, increasingly confident they will seize control of the House in November, are laying plans for a legislative blitz during their first week in power that would raise the minimum wage, roll back parts of the Republican prescription drug law, implement homeland security measures and reinstate lapsed budget deficit controls.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) said in an interview last week that a Democratic House would launch a series of investigations of the Bush administration, beginning with the White House's first-term energy task force and probably including the use of intelligence in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. Pelosi denied Republican allegations that a Democratic House would move quickly to impeach President Bush. But, she said of the planned investigations, "You never know where it leads to."

And who knows, she may actually have a chance:

Democrats need to pick up 15, a task that many analysts still believe is a long shot. Democratic leaders do not.

I'm certainly no great fan of these supposed "Republicans" who are running things these days. For the most part they are indistinguishable from the folks on the other side of the aisle. The complete lack of spending control is disgusting, as is the lack of any real effort to secure our border with Mexico.

But it seems to me the best thing they could hope for is for Pelosi to keep talking like this, as if her only concern will be vengence on the Republicans, as opposed to, oh, something silly like budget restraint and security. Oh, sure, she'll make noise about those things, but it's clear from the deranged look in her eye and the spittle on her lips what she's really interested in.

Okay, she's always got that deranged look, but you know what I mean.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:41 AM | Comments (2)

May 07, 2006

They Are Disgusting, Perverted ANIMALS

I am in tears and all I did was read it.

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin has linked to an update in The Mudville Gazette from the Jawa Report (There was a WARNING ~ GRAPHIC on this post, so I didn't scroll down.) that the video of the killing is of a Nepalese hostage in 2004. Through MY eyes, it's TWICE as despicable. Another person has been filmed dying a horrible death and a grieving family will know the truth in living color.

Damn them to hell.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:01 AM | Comments (4)

"River of Nettles"

Translated from the Oneida Indian word :

Oriskany

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:17 AM

May 05, 2006

Man, If You Can Duck Into a Ritzy Treatment Center

...you can get away with almost anything.

Rep. Patrick Kennedy said Friday he was entering treatment for addiction to prescription pain medication, a decision made after a highly publicized car crash near the Capitol that the congressman said he cannot recall.

Same thing happened here in our big drug ring bust in Bangla-cola. All the lily white drug dealer/cocaine snorters got probation after treatment or went off to Camp Snoopy for 18 months. Doesn't work like that for Tameka or Ontuwan in the projects, though.

And they'll re-elect his loser butt, I have no doubt.
UPDATE: Jeez, it's like an Oprah episode.

The congressman was treated at a drug rehabilitation clinic before he went to Providence College and has been praised in the past for his openness.

I'm a loser, so you must love me. It's not my fault, it's yours if you don't love me. Group hug, group hug.

GACK.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:43 PM | Comments (14)

I'm Sorry

...but that's just obscene.

Memorial Cost at Ground Zero Nears $1 Billion

They've raised $130 million in private donations. Seems like you could build a helluva reflecting pool with some trees around it for that. Leave off the gaudy bullsh*t and get something built.

Enough already.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:29 PM | Comments (4)

They GOT the Miserable Son of a Bitch!

Now he needs to go away for a very, VERY long time.

Pensacola man charged in fatal shootings of 8 horses, 5 dogs

A Crime Stoppers tip helped connect a man being held in the Escambia County jail with the fatal shootings of eight horses and five dogs in Beulah last month, authorities said Thursday.

Craig M. Smith, 24, of Pensacola, was charged with five felony counts of cruelty to animals resulting in a cruel death and eight felony counts of killing or abusing horses, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office said. He was also charged with one count of firearm use during a felony and two felony counts of armed trespassing.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:14 PM | Comments (5)

Land Shark!!!!!!!

Pretty dang neat:

It's jutting up from one of seven lobes of fresh volcanic rock that have been pushing their way through the surface of the crater since October 2004.

The fin-shaped mass is about 300 feet tall and growing 4 feet to 5 feet a day, said Dan Dzurisin, a geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:23 AM | Comments (8)

Interesting report.....

from Gen Barry McCaffery. Good read on what is happening in Iraq.

The morale, fighting effectiveness, and confidence of U.S. combat forces continue to be simply awe-inspiring. In every sensing session and interaction - I probed for weakness and found courage, belief in the mission, enormous confidence in their sergeants and company grade officers, an understanding of the larger mission, a commitment to creating an effective Iraqi Army and Police, unabashed patriotism, and a sense of humor. All of these soldiers, NCOs and young officers were volunteers for combat. Many were on their second combat tour - several were on the third or fourth combat tour. Many had re-enlisted to stay with their unit on its return to a second Iraq deployment. Many planned to re-enlist regardless of how long the war went on.

He gives a pretty honest view from the ground.

Swill salute to QandO

Posted by Crusader at 08:17 AM | Comments (1)

South Park: The New Sibyl

I'm serious, the predictive powers of Stone and Parker are amazing. First they called our war with Saddam years ago in their first movie. Now, after correctly identifying our foes, that have actually predicted the words terrorists are using on their websites:

"I was just a boy when the infidels came to my village in Blackhawk helicopters," a narrator's voice said as the screen flashed between images of street-level gunfights, explosions and helicopter assaults.

Sure sounds a lot like Team America:

Gary: [recalls the incident that killed his brother] I was just a boy when the infidels came into my village in their Black Hawk helicopters. The infidels fired at the oil fields and they lit up like the eyes of Allah. Burning oil rained down from the sky and cooked everything it touched. I could only hide myself and cry as my goats were consumed by the fire of black liquid death. In the midst of the chaos, I could swear that I heard my goats... screaming for help. As quickly as they'd come the infidels were gone. It was on that day... I put a jihad on them. [one of his captors grins wide] And if you don't believe it, then you'd better kill me now, because I'll put a jihad on you too.

Now where's Hans Brix?

Update: I see Bill has found a positive aspect of this I'd overlooked.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:57 AM | Comments (1)

Mayor Too Drunk For Breathalyzer

And his name isn't Kennedy!

(Although the Powers That Be in Hyannis Port are reportedly trying to free up a daughter for him)

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:47 AM | Comments (2)

May 04, 2006

What a Relief

I thought some "working" girls had won a competition or something...

Concerns Arise Over World Cup Prostitution

Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:26 PM | Comments (3)

By God

...I honestly didn't know!

Honoring the 200th Birthday of the Cocktail

I could have been pimping my 'tinis for the past year, but no.
A day late, several dollars short and still a big break bridesmaid.
Oh well. Raise a glass anyway.
I wonder if Bingley has room in that barrel...

Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:18 PM | Comments (5)

Bingley Unleashed!!

At least he went happy.

Hungarian builders who drank their way to the bottom of a huge barrel of rum while renovating a house got a nasty surprise when a pickled corpse tumbled out of the empty barrel, a police magazine Web site reported.

According to online magazine www.zsaru.hu, workers in Szeged in the south of Hungary tried to move the barrel after they had drained it, only to find it was surprisingly heavy and were shocked when the body of a naked man fell out.

And some people bitch about a worm at the bottom of the tequila bottle. (He always had a problem keeping his clothes on, even as a child...)

Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:15 PM | Comments (5)

For Sir Rob of Crabbe, Appleton

Football drama.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:44 PM | Comments (5)

Fly the Friendlier Skies

US government officials are to brief the European Commission next week in Brussels on Washington's revised proposals for easing foreign investment in US airlines.

The original proposals put forward in November by the US Department of Transportation have run into fierce criticism in Congress.

...British Airways said it was "disappointing the proposal has been neutered, as US investors can revoke any decision made by foreign investors without constraint. This is a snub to the EU and they need to go back to the negotiating table for further talks with the US."

Everybody's snubbing everybody lately, so 'twould seem. I kinda like this snub, tho. But that's just me. I didn't want China buying an oil company either. Then there was this on the same page.

The White House is facing serious obstacles in its bid to secure legislation approving its landmark civilian nuclear energy agreement with India.

Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state, this week met members of the Senate India caucus to boost support for the deal, which would allow India to receive nuclear technology and fuel for its civilian nuclear reactors. In exchange, India would place some facilities under international safeguards, and separate its civilian and military programmes.

Decisions, decisions.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:58 PM

"For My Brown Brothers"

I glanced through Michelle Malkin's this afternoon and noticed her post on gang bangers in the military. I thought "dang, that's old news" because of something that happened in 1996 that shocked the sh*t out of us. It was even more appalling to major dad and Kcruella because they had served with ~ and very much liked ~ the victim, LtCol Dan Kidd.

A Marine officer was fatally shot and another was critically wounded this afternoon when a sergeant opened fire at Camp Pendleton, a Marine Corps base, the authorities said.

The sergeant, Jessie A. Quintanilla, was arrested in the shooting. Lieut. Col. Daniel W. Kidd, the executive officer of the unit, was pronounced dead at 3:28 P.M. A motive was not known.

We were pretty stunned, thinking "dang, the Sgt. go whacko or what?" It turned out to be far worse than that.

In March of 1996, the appellant was assigned to Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 39 at Camp Pendleton, California. He worked on the night crew at the squadron, meaning that he routinely reported for work in mid-afternoon. The squadron CO was Lieutenant Colonel (LtCol) Thomas A. Heffner, United States Marine Corps (USMC). The XO was LtCol Daniel W. Kidd, USMC.

On the morning of 5 March 1996, the appellant consumed an undetermined quantity of alcohol, then left his home to drive to work. When he left his car parked in the squadron parking lot, he had a .45 caliber pistol tucked into his clothing. The appellant entered the squadron spaces, walked upstairs to the command office suite, then waited outside the XO’s office until other Marines left.

A uniform inspection was scheduled for the night crew at 1500. In preparation for the inspection, LtCol Heffner was changing into his dress uniform, in a changing room located next to LtCol Kidd’s office, where LtCol Kidd was working at his desk.

The appellant walked into LtCol Kidd’s office, pulled out his pistol, asked him, “Remember me, f---er?” and then shot the XO as he tried to exit the office through the door into the changing room. The bullet entered the right side of his lower back, exited the right front side of his abdomen, and then amputated his right ring finger. LtCol Kidd managed to stagger into the changing room, with the appellant close behind him.

LtCol Heffner was changing uniforms when the door to the changing room burst open and LtCol Kidd rushed in. LtCol Heffner first glanced at his XO, and then noticed the appellant in the doorway. The appellant raised his pistol and shot LtCol Heffner in the chest, at which point LtCol Heffner ran out of the office suite. The appellant then shot LtCol Kidd again, the bullet entering his upper back. LtCol Kidd collapsed to the floor and bled to death within a matter of minutes.

After the third and fatal shot was fired, the appellant left the office suite and followed the bloody trail left by LtCol Heffner. As he moved down the passageway, he confronted Gunnery Sergeant (GySgt) W.J. Till and Staff Sergeant (SSgt) A.L. Karr. The appellant pointed the pistol at both Marines but did not fire.

By this time, LtCol Heffner was lying just outside one of the ground floor entrances to the building. Various Marines were providing first aid to their CO. GySgt W.E. Tiller was there and heard someone ask where the XO was. He then went up to the second floor to find the XO. As he proceeded down the passageway toward the command office suite, he saw the appellant a few feet away. GySgt Tiller stepped toward the appellant and reached for the gun. The appellant raised the gun toward GySgt Tiller and fired. GySgt Tiller avoided the shot and struggled with the appellant, eventually disarming him.

The appellant broke away from GySgt Tiller and went down the stairs to the ground floor to the Production Control Office. A number of senior enlisted Marines were in the office at the time. When the appellant entered the office, none of them knew what had just happened. The appellant said, “Gunnery Sergeant, apprehend me, I just shot the CO and XO,” or words to that effect. GySgt P.T. Sullivan asked the appellant to sit down, and he did so.

Soon other Marines entered the office. The appellant talked about why he shot the CO and XO, complaining that he wasn’t treated well in the squadron and that he did it for his “brown brothers,” or words to that effect. At one point, the appellant stood up, pulled down his coveralls, took off his undershirt, and displayed the tattoos that covered his upper body. One of the large tattoos read “Sureno,” which the Government argued was a reference to Southern California gangs. Shortly thereafter, a military policeman arrived and took the appellant into custody.

That dry dissertation of the events is from the U.S. NAVY-MARINE CORPS COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS decision concerning the death sentence Sgt. Quintanilla received at his 1996 court martial. In one of those odd, maddening twists of fate, a reserve Marine Corps Colonel who just happened to work for the ACLU got called up in 2003 and handed the case. The death sentence was set aside due to numerous errors of both judgement and protocol.

One argument for retrial: A military prosecutor kept the murder weapon after the trial and had it mounted on a plaque as a trophy. While that was not the specific legal claim that carried the day, the court set aside Quintanilla's death sentence.

The bastard deserves the death penalty and the prosecution f*cked their slam dunk case up badly. (It's not a shame there was an ACLU lawyer called to war around that day. It's a criminal shame the prosecution left holes a truck could drive through nine years before.)

But the gang bangers are, will be and have been in uniform for some time. What makes it different/worse now? Maybe they have a bigger agenda or a plan. I don't know ~ in chaos there is opportunity, they say. But it's not 'new'.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:52 PM | Comments (8)

So Much For the Protectors of Democracy

No room at the inn for you, bubba.

Taiwan has accused Washington of snubbing Chen Shui-bian, the island's president, after he was refused more than a brief stopover en route to and from a visit to South America.

A Taiwanese official said on Wednesday Taiwan's president had decided to cancel his stop in the US and fly by another route.

...Washington has previously refused official visits to avoid offending China, which claims sovereignty.

This time, however, Washington did not allow him even to stay overnight, representing the least prestigious treatment of a Taiwanese leader on an American visit for more than a decade.

Washington appears to be trying to balance its delicate ties with China and Taiwan, and to avoidupsetting Beijing when it needs China's co-operation in global security matters.

How soon 'til we just hand them on over in a deal to straighten out the yuan or Iran?

Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:10 PM | Comments (6)

I Love Alliteration!

It's so sexy, snappy and succinct!

A new book about the Katrina catastrophe paints a portrait of New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin as a clueless, collapsing coward who hid out after the hurricane in a high-rise hotel - and had to be rousted out of Air Force One's bathroom.

GAH-rrrowlllll! Brings my blood to a bawdy burble.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:14 AM | Comments (2)

Never, EVER Do

...THIS.

Ronald Bergeron wanted to put on a show when he came across a nearly 8-foot alligator while giving guests a tour of his private nature preserve. The alligator had another idea.

Bergeron, a South Florida real estate tycoon, was bit on the hand while trying to wrestle the animal and dragged into water 15-feet deep Sunday.

Those who witnessed the event spent the weekend at the 5,000-plus-acres by donating $10,000 to the Boys and Girls Club.

"Couples donate a lot of money to charities for the weekend and I always tell them I'm going to wrestle an alligator," Bergeron, 62, said Wednesday. "It's part of my Florida cracker culture. My grandfather was a game warden in the Everglades and I grew up around alligators."

The "Florida Cracker" line explains quite a bit.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:22 AM | Comments (13)

Gosh

...the stuff he says? He's strange.

[...Howard]Dean took a swipe at the Republican Party, saying the Democratic Party is one of inclusion and religious freedom.

"I was recently asked about the difference between the Democratic and Republican parties," Dean said. "When it comes right down to it, the essential difference is that the Democrats fundamentally believe it is important to make sure that American Jews feel comfortable being American Jews."

Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman, who is Jewish, addressed the group on Tuesday.

UPDATE: I guess Mr. Dean's happy to have the Jooz, but he seems to have a bit of a problem with staffer's significant others questioning him.

Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean on May 2 fired the party's gay outreach advisor Donald Hitchcock less than a week after Hitchcock's domestic partner, Paul Yandura, a longtime party activist, accused Dean of failing to take stronger action to defend gays.

... "This is retaliation, plain and simple," said Yandura. "This shows what they think about domestic partners."

Yandura said Tuesday night that Dean was using Hitchcock as a "scapegoat" for problems of Dean's own making.

"All I did was ask questions about what the party and Dean are doing about its GLBT constituency, Yandura said. "I have yet to see any answers."

Yeesh. I can feel the love. Old Tah-rayzah Heinz Kerry shot her mouth AND her foot off for months, but it's hard to sh*tcan the bankroll, huh?

Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:18 AM | Comments (8)

May 03, 2006

Breaking News

Tsunami warnings issued for Fiji and New Zealand after 8.0 quake in Tonga Islands

I would think Eastern Australia should be included, but no confirmation yet.

update: looking at a map I can see that it shouldn't really affect Oz too badly, as the wave will be much more dispersed by then.

update: warnings cancelled. go back to your regularly scheduled sunbathing.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:28 PM | Comments (4)

Spam Filters

I have to admit that I get a kick out of going through our company's spam filter. I mean, I have to do it of course to get the emails Ken sends, naturally, but I find the names that these people use to be quite funny. They must be generated by some bot that slaps random words together out of the dictionary. Here are a few from today's spam:

Carpetbag S. Frailer
Retrieval P. Citronella
Whey H. Reprise
Tigress V. Apprenticing (Hmm, potential as a new hire, I think)
Disgorged K. Ditto
Flowing I. Autos
Vicki S. Conflagration (We'll make sure to keep her away from Tigress)
Esthetics H. Theatre (Sounds like a pen name Sheila might use)
Dates P. Wrenches (I knew a girl like that in High School)
Jumper H. Deflates (obviously 'splats' as well)
Resistor S. Deferment
Weaponry V. Drones (I've often wondered that myself)
Applause T. Selflessness
Tone I. Busting (could be a rap mogul)
Nylon M. Estonian (sounds like an old drinking buddy of John's)

Man, these things are a hoot.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:05 AM | Comments (9)

Fish and Chips, Puddings

...plus pints make pasty pussed Nigel a healthy boy.

White, middle-aged Americans — even those who are rich — are far less healthy than their peers in England, according to stunning new research that erases misconceptions and has experts scratching their heads.

...The English have a higher rate of heavy drinking.

I'll go along with the heavy drinking ~ I can adapt to that (And it's no wonder considering the average English menu). But eat an English diet? Oh, good God, no. I starved the 2 weeks I was over there. Unhealthy and happy sounds good to me. With some heavy drinking thrown in for a nod to our strapping cousins across the pond.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:30 AM | Comments (2)

Sometimes A Girl

...can only stand so much.

A Pakistani woman beheaded her husband, chopped up his body and dumped the dismembered parts in a sewerage drain after he announced plans to take a fourth wife, police said on Wednesday.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:15 AM | Comments (30)

Small Towns Are Good for One Thing, Though

Jacka$$es tell the local paper how they really feel. (In civilization, they might be forced to practice some sort of control.) For instance, the Florida legislature is finally on it's way to removing the Panhandle's exemption from wetlands and environmental controls. ALL kudos to JEB ~for President! ~ Bush and House Speaker Allan ~ for U.S. Senator! ~ Bense for jamming this down the collective throat. Our local governments have also won the right to enforce their stricter regulations where they bump up against the state's weaker ones. (There aren't many of them, thus the impetus for legislative action.) Of course, local builders are pissed and expressing themselves.

"It's absolutely absurd. What they're going to do is shut down growth," said Pensacola home builder Dan Gilmore, who is a past president of the state Home Builders Association. "We're a $48 billion industry in this state, and they're treating us like a red-headed stepchild."

Oh, well, there you go! 'We spend so damn much money here, how dare you people question us?' Jacka$$. That's precisely why we do. His other objection?

Gilmore said local governments in the Panhandle had no experience enforcing the stricter standards.

And if it was up to him and his bricky bungalow buddies, they never would.
I think they're going about this the right way, with the exception of not implementing the rules until 2008. But that'll give them local rube officials 'nuff time to hit and comprehend the regulations, bein' so stupid and backwoods and not beholden to them what pays the bills, right, Jethro?

(I can't wait 'til the rumble starts over expanding South Florida's tougher wind damage construction mandates to the Panhandle ~ the builders are against that as well. What's gonna happen if we finally get a hurricane?)

Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:07 AM

Michael Moore Sighted In Mexico?

Famine ensues.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:37 AM | Comments (2)

Mayor Noggin's New Ad Men

To help the public understand this daring and bold new concept, the Mayor has enlisted, at great expense, these experts:

Run Away!

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:50 AM | Comments (4)

Gaia Heretic Identified

Appropriate authorities have been informed about stuff like this

I am no climatologist but the alarmism of the scientific establishment, including the Government's chief scientific adviser Sir David King who is on record as saying the only habitable continent will be Antarctica by the end of the century if climate change is not controlled, does strike me as slightly excessive.

And she will be dealt with shortly. Oh yes, she will.

Off to the AshKKKroft Gulag for you!

(Thanks to Gaia Guardian Tim Blair for the heads up)

Update: John gives good link in the comments.

Also Florida Cracker is schmaxzing some weathermen this morning, too.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:29 AM | Comments (6)

May 02, 2006

You Know, Sometimes When You Lie Down With Snakes...

You get bit:

LA PAZ, Bolivia (Reuters) -- Bolivian President Evo Morales ordered the military to occupy nation's natural gas fields Monday after nationalizing the industry and threatening to expel foreign companies that do not recognize state control.

...Top investors in Bolivia's gas industry include Petrobras (the Brazilian National Oil Company) -- which controls more than 45 percent of Bolivia's gas fields -- Spain's Repsol YPF, France's Total and British gas and oil producer BG Group. YPFB alone has no way of financing the development of gas fields.

Kind of a black eye for my old pal Lula. Why, was it he who said back in December

Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Argentina's Nestor Kirchner praised Wednesday, November 30, Bolivian Indian leader Evo Morales whom opinion polls identify as the front-runner for the December 18 general election in his country.

Meeting in the border town of Puerto Iguazu, President Lula da Silva said that "At no moment in history have we enjoyed the opportunity of having a South America completely devoted to its people."

The Brazilian President went on to say: "Imagine what Chavez's election meant for Venezuela. Imagine what it would mean if Evo Morales won Bolivia's election."

...Brazil is land locked Bolivia's main foreign investor and yields great influence in business and politics.

Be careful what you wish for, my friend, because sometimes it comes true.

Here's his friend Morales in January:

At the joint press conference following his meeting with Lula, Morales denied that his government would expropriate the properties of private companies, saying: "Bolivia will protect private enterprise. Bolivia has nailed down a lot of public and private investment."

Morales said his future government will seek partners in line with new legislation covering the energy sector, but the state would exercise its property rights over the country's natural resources.

Did I just use the People's Daily Online (as in Red China) as a source?

What is with me today?

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:58 PM | Comments (2)

Mayor Noggin's Brilliant New Plan

Get The F@$# Out

NEW ORLEANS - Mayor Ray Nagin unveiled a new evacuation strategy for New Orleans on Tuesday that relies more on buses and trains and eliminates the Superdome and Convention Center as shelters.*

“There will be no shelter of last resort,” Nagin declared.

*Our inside sources indicate that Katrina eliminated the Superdome and Convention Center as shelters, but we quibble.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:23 PM | Comments (4)

The Circle Of Knives

An interesting article in The Chronicle of Higher Education on the infighting and theological purging going on in the Academy:

...Instead, in a time-honored ritual of the left, a number of academic polemicists choose this moment to pump up rites of purification. At a time when liberals hold next to no sway in any leading institution of national government, when the prime liberal institution of the last centuryorganized labor wobbles helplessly, when most national media tilt so far to the right as to parody themselves, the guardians of purity rise to a high pitch of sanctimoniousness aimed at ... heretics. Liberals, that is.

I remember reading somewhere a long time ago that the reason Archduke Ferdinand had to die was that he was a reformer, and reformers are the most dangerous people in the world to a political organization. So here you see the most polemic wings in Academe turn on each other to root out the heretics, the cursed "baby-boomer liberals" who are "a powerful force of accommodation."

Funny, I seem to recall that accommodation and compromise were once powerful elements in our society, honored by the high and the low as tools of reason that made our Republic what it is. But that was in a time when our Republic was honored and respected by the Academy; now they quite clearly despise it for being built on "the atrocities launched by liberal capitalism" (as opposed to the Happy Rivers Of Chocolate and Gum Drop Smiles that the marxists have delivered everytime they've had the chance). And so we are subject to this seemingly unending stream of political tracts from petulant academics, frustrated at both the impotence of their political ideas and their low standing in the court of public esteem (ranking somewhere between Tonya Harding Videos and New Coke, I'd reckon), lashing out at those who would be the most American, those who would dare to compromise the Purity of Essence to make our society a better place. It's ironic how the the pendulum has shifted on this, no? Now it seems to be the ones on the left who so crave the attention and adoration of the middle classes while expressing nothing but contempt for them and all they value.

So where does that leave our polity? You have the Academic hard left slashing away at eachother, the Democratic Party hard left splintering into various bickering factions, the ruling Republican Party spending like drunken sailors (no offense meant to the Navy) and no one generating any enthusiasm, and a great mass of the populace in between who really aren't thrilled by any of the potential choices out there. I know I'm sure not. We may be at as prime a time for a serious third party run as we've ever seen, which makes it all the more important that the Evan Bayhs don't get to put their ideas on the Electoral College in play.

Well, that's enough of that ramble.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:17 PM | Comments (3)

Diary Of A Train Wreck

My goodness, John Daly is just a mess:

John Daly says he has lost between $50 million and $60 million during 12 years of heavy gambling, and that it has become a problem that could "flat-out ruin me" if he doesn't bring it under control.

Ouch. But don't worry folks! Like that other John, he has a plan:

He said he plans to start at the $25 slots in the casinos and set a "walkout loss number," which would tell him it's time to leave.

"If I make a little bit, then maybe I move up to the $100 slots or the $500 slots, or maybe I take it to the blackjack table," he wrote. "It's their money. Why not give it a shot, try to double it? And if I make a lot, I can ...

"Well, that's my plan."

Sooo, his plan to control his gambling is to use his famous self control to control his gambling. Brilliant!

And to assure us of his success, he offers this validation of what a master of self-discipline he has become:

"I'm off those ... medications. I don't drink JD [Jack Daniels] anymore. I don't beat up on hotel rooms and cars as much. Only gambling remains a problem," he wrote.

See? He doesn't beat up on cars and hotel rooms as much.

I'm convinced.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:27 AM | Comments (15)

Don't Deny The Allmans Their Due

Or Florida Cracker is gonna be all over your butt.

Members of The Allman Brothers Band and Cheap Trick have filed a class action lawsuit against Sony BMG, alleging the company has underpaid its artists royalties associated with digital music sales.

Songs downloaded from the iTunes Music Store and other commercial music download services routinely cost 99 cents each. Billboard reports that the plaintiffs in the case say they’re receiving a scant 4.5 cents for each digital download of their music, but they claim they’re owed 30 cents per track instead.

And you don't want her after you.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:57 AM

May 01, 2006

I Know There's Gonna Be Some Serious Attaboys Comin'

...about this list in Newsweek...

The Complete List: 1,000 Top U.S. Schools

...and old number 38.

38 Pensacola** Pensacola Fla.
**Gave both IB and AP tests. AP and IB participation are indicators of a school’s efforts to get students to excel and prepare for college.

Sounds great, huh? Pensacola has a world class high school smack in the middle of a county of functional illiterates. I mean, that's what you'd think, right? Not so fast. That's not really Pensacola High School on that page. That's the International Baccalaureate program tucked into a corner of big, sprawling, inner city Pensacola High School. The one with these statistics:

School grade "D": This school was given a grade of "D" by the Florida Department of Education in 2004-2005. In 2003-2004, this school received a "D".

The one where 32% of the sophomores read at or above grade level. THIRTY TWO PERCENT.

Am I worried about someone finding this disclaimer and being pissed off? No, not at all. Chances are they couldn't read it. (Unless they came from the affluent schools in the next county. You can tell which ones they are...by the scores.)

Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:31 PM | Comments (7)

When We Grow Up

...me 'n major dad want to build things on base. It pays pretty well, it would seem.

I'd knock a million off just for the red, white and blue, being the patriot I am. One can afford to be generous if this is the going rate.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:41 PM | Comments (8)

As For the Seething, Angry Crowds in Bangla-Cola

...they were...um...thin.

And angry, oppressed, seething Hispanics...

...were damn near impossible to find. Yup. Hiding behind the crepe myrtles ~ all eight of them.
(That picture spans the park from sidewalk to sidewalk, just so you know I did'nt crop the real crowds out of the frame.)

And three out of five of the Mexican restaurants I passed on my cub reporter's trek were OPEN.
UPDATE: The local news says there were a couple hundred protestors earlier. Guess I missed them. But from the video I saw, they were as enthusiastic as this bunch.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:40 PM | Comments (3)

Lou Dobbs Weighs In On "Immigrants" and the Radicals

...and pretty bluntly.

We all awoke to headlines in our nation's most important newspapers reminding us that this is "A Day Without Immigrants." Not illegal immigrants, mind you, but immigrants.

USA Today headlined today's demonstrations and boycott "On Immigration's Front Lines." The New York Times headlines its story "With Calls for Boycott by Immigrants, Employers Gird for Unknown." The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times are both calling its coverage "The Immigration Debate."

These major newspapers obviously don't want to disturb their readers with the information that today's demonstrations and boycott are about illegal immigration and amnesty for illegal aliens.

But only one newspaper, to its credit, reported that illegal aliens and their supporters' boycott of the national economy on the First of May is clear evidence that radical elements have seized control of the movement. The Washington Post, alone among national papers, reported that ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) has become an active promoter of the national boycott.

..."The meat packers are confirming what we know," says University of Maryland economics professor Peter Morici, "and that is that this large group of illegal aliens in the United States is lowering the wage rate of semiskilled workers, people who are high school dropouts or high school graduates with minimal training."

In fact, a meat-packing job paid $19 an hour in 1980, but today that same job pays closer to $9 an hour, according to the Labor Department. That's entirely consistent with what we've been reporting -- that illegal aliens depress wages for U.S. workers by as much as $200 billion a year in addition to placing a tremendous burden on hospitals, schools and other social services.

A good, GOOD read. (A Warm Swill Salute to the eagle eyed Kcruella for the heads up!)

Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:13 PM | Comments (1)

Puerto Rico Is Broke

Can they fix it?

Two things sort of leap out at you when you read the article:

1) "The island currently has no sales tax."

2) "The government is Puerto Rico's largest employer, with some 200,000 workers. Salaries make up about 80 percent of the government's operational costs."

Not surprising they're broke, is it?

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:45 PM | Comments (5)

Hmm, I'll Have The Steak, Please

Q: How did the sick chicken sign his name?

A: With a Nyquil.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Authorities have discovered a mild form of avian influenza at a live bird market in New Jersey, but it is not the deadly H5N1 strain governments around the world are trying to contain, the state's agriculture department said.

"The strain was found in a live bird market in Camden County. None of the birds in the market died from this virus, which is an indicator that the virus was low pathogenic and not harmful to humans," said a statement by New Jersey's Agriculture Secretary Charles Kuperus which was posted on Friday.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:04 PM

Oh.

Good.

God.

An aquatic theme park in Australia has renamed a species of penguins on exhibit lest the birds' real name, fairy penguins, cause offense to people in the local gay community, reports the Sunday Mail.

Managers at Sea World are now calling the species "little penguins."

There were fairies long before the name was applied elsewhere and educated people know that. Which is why the local gay community is as baffled by this as the penguins are.
(God, they're frickin' adorable!)

Even local gay rights activists called the move barmy.

"I don't think our community is that sensitive about those things. If the penguins were called poofter penguins or something more direct then it might be a problem, but I don't see the name fairy penguin as a mickey-take at all," said Kamahl Fox, chairman of gay support group the Gold Coast Breakers.

"Poofter penguins", sheesh! That's great good humor. What a bunch of goobers at the zoobers. And they're toast if the real fairies find out. Cranky fairies, elves and their relatives can be pretty nasty.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:54 PM | Comments (1)

The Swilling

World wide, acknowledged experts standing by 24/7. You ask, WE answer.

DIY Network ~ bite us.

Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:26 AM | Comments (3)

Madonna And The Other White Meat

Gosh, you would have thought she had to give this up for Kaballah:

During an energetic rendition of her song I Love New York, Madonna roared, "Just go to Texas and suck George Bush's d**k."

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:10 AM | Comments (8)

BREAKING NEWS

Speaking of...the effects on the male anatomy of pesticide and...age...

Supreme Court backs Anna Nicole Smith in dispute over husband's fortune.

Justice(s) ain't BLIND, baby...

Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:15 AM | Comments (14)

Buy Gringo, Compadre

So Gateway Pundit is all over the story of the boycott of 'gringo' goods by the illegal lawbreakers oops happy work fairy elves.

So, like Florida Cracker, I'm going all-gringo, all the time today. My initial plan is McDonalds for lunch, swilling some coke and Budweiser.

Anybody have any other ideas for Gringo Support Day?

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:28 AM | Comments (12)

Well, At Least It Won't Have Any Bugs

I guess John Holmes wasn't from New Jersey:

A renowned U.S. scientist who has documented fertility and sex changes -- including decreasing penis size -- due to environmental contamination says he wouldn't apply pesticides on his own lawn...Penis size of the animals from the polluted lake was smaller than animals from the less-polluted lake.

Remember, girls don't care how big your yard is but rather how well it's mown.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:35 AM | Comments (5)

Well, Let's See What Goes On Today

I'm not sure if I'll be able to pop out at lunchtime and take a look at all the iilegals saying that their situation is my fault. Hey, maybe those of us who've gotten speeding tickets should march and get the laws rewritten? It's the same thing, right? Anyhow, I'm not sure if my boss will let us legals go take the rest of the day off, but if I do I'll have my canera.

Update: Florida Cracker has the right idea.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:08 AM | Comments (6)

Happy Birthday, Baby!

You carry 75 years...

...like it was nuthin"!!

Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:19 AM