What's on Your Playlist?

A great New York Times editorial and the changes in the music industry Apple Computer has wrought. I whole heartedly agree, and with the new iTunes 4.5 and the ability to create and publish playlists, the experience is even better.

Think of it as a musical blogger . . . .

The iTunes Music Store already sells celebrity playlists — like a clutch of songs chosen, say, by Tom Petty or Sheryl Crow. And the new version of the iTunes software introduced this week offers users the chance to publish their own playlists seamlessly. We are entering a world of collective eclecticism, in which music lovers can guide one another into the hidden recesses of the library of recorded music.

Collective eclecticism. How true. How prophetic.
I wonder if the Times realizes the same also holds true to the relationship of bloggers and the mainstream news and information industry. The lines keep blurring and the people keep reclaiming their rightful power.

World War II Memorial

You could not ask for a greater day to celebrate the greatest generation.

The new World War II memorial opened today under beautiful sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 70s.

It's the best day of the year so far.

Free WiFI

Free WiFi Free WiFi

Nice.

Imagine, complete photo blogging right from the marches.

How incredible.

Greg Staple, a director of the group, said free Internet access for anyone using a wireless-equipped laptop would enhance the traditions of free expression and democracy embodied in the public buildings and monuments that line the two-mile grassy strip.

"All of these folks are likely to benefit from free access," Staple said, gesturing to tourists, protesters and reporters on the front steps of the Supreme Court.

An Arsenal?

CNN is reporting that an Arsenal was found in Staten Island home.

According to Officer Jannara Everleth, the NYPD Drug Enforcement Task Force on Wednesday entered the single-family home and discovered the stash of munitions, including seven homemade bombs, 10,000 rounds of ammunition and 13 guns.

Not sure bout the bombs . . . . but 13 guns and 10,000 rounds sounds more like a lazy saturday morning (before 9) to me.
Geesh, what would these people think of my closet??????

Heroic Michigan Women, (Not Gov. Granholm)

Ted Nugent must be proud. Barbara Holland took advantage of superior accuracy to send six well placed bits of 9mm lead into the face of a scumbag gobblin and sent him packing on a one way trip to the firey depths of hell.

Her simple response - I Had No Choice.

Their eyes locked.

Then Barbara Holland saw the barrel of the gun.

She lay on the floorin her house after an intruder had knocked her down while pushing through her side door. While on her back, she drew a 9mm handgun from a holster on her waist.

Her assailant's glare suddenly changed.

"He looked surprised," Holland said.

Then she pulled the trigger.

Holland, a 38-year-old Detroit business owner and mother, remembers firing three shots. Detroit police told her she fired six.

Either way, she killed the 42-year-old man, NAME REMOVED - HE DOESN'T DESERVE THE PRIVILEDGE -- who had shoved intoher home on Troester, near Hayes, on Detroit's east Dide at 8:10 p.m. April 13.

He was an ex-con with five children and was armed with a loaded, nickel-plated semiautomatic handgun that was not registered to him. Autopsy reports indicate he was shot in the head multiple times. He never fired his weapon.

Good Job Barbara!!

Light Blogging

I know, I know. There haven't been any updates here in a couple of days. Well, thats cause I am working. Earning a living. Raising a child. Something Democrat's don't seem to understand.

Gore Wars

With Earth Day behind us and the doomsday environmental scaremongering industry set to unleash its latest money making scheme scheme upon the sheeple, its worth reminding ourselves of the big myths these folks keep propogating (pay special attention to the financial ones) and re-reading Judge Kozinski's classic science fiction tome The Gore Wars.

Here's a bit of the intro, to whet your appetite.

Unless you’ve been frozen in carbonite or are hopelessly gullible, it must have occurred to you at some point during the last three decades that environmental activists are exaggerating just a bit when they claim that, unless we dramatically change our way of life, we’ll soon see the end of civilization as we know it. I’m not sure when these doomsday predictions got started — probably they go back to Malthus and beyond — but I first became aware of environmental Jeremiadism in college in the early 1970s, when tout-le-monde were reading a little book called The Limits to Growth. 1 Authored by a group of scientists going by the pretentious name “The Club of Rome,” the book was designed as a shrill wake-up call to a complacent humanity headed for environmental disaster. 2 Filled with charts, tables and diagrams, and supported by computer-generated predictions (a new-fangled tool at the time), The Limits of Growth made some very concrete and highly alarming predictions: “there will . . . be a desperate [arable] land shortage before the year 2000”; 3 we would run short of gold by 1979, of silver and mercury by 1983, of petroleum by 1990, of zinc by 1988, of tin by 1985 and of natural gas by 1992. 4 The book’s forceful message was that we were headed for a world-wide calamity, and must fundamentally — and immediately — change the way we live. Nor was this merely a question of physical survival; at stake was humanity’s very soul: “The crux of the matter is not only whether the human species will survive, but even more whether it can survive without falling into a state of worthless existence.” 5

“Wow! Heavy!,” as we used to say in those days. The book definitely made you feel guilty about taking a trip in your gas-guzzling, airpolluting, resource-wasting Millennium Falcon to go hiking in the Great Outdoors. It was almost enough to make you walk the twelve parsecs to the Forest of Endor and back.

With the benefit of hindsight, we know that The Limits to Growth was a bunch of hooey; virtually nothing the Club of Rome predicted with such alarm has come to pass. Of course, its members did not then come out with a big press release: “Oh what fools we were! We apologize for worrying the world unnecessarily.” 6 Instead, doomsday predictions proven wrong by the passage of time are quietly forgotten, denying the public the important lesson that one ought to be wary of predictive models because they often reflect, not reality, but the preconceptions of the model’s creators.

Since The Limits to Growth, there have been many doomsday predictions, the one about global warming being only the latest. We have been warned in the most urgent terms against global cooling (yes, cooling); 7 massive loss of species;8 acid rain;9 destruction of forests; 10 overpopulation;11 depletion of petroleum and other natural re-sources; running out of space to store garbage; cancer and other maladies caused by pesticides and toxic wastes; 14 depletion of food resources and drinking water; 15 and a variety of other hazards too numerous to mention. While some of these may well be issues we should worry about in building a better world for ourselves and future generations, they have turned out to be manageable — rather than cataclysmic — problems. Some turned out to be nothing but hype. 16 Others had some substance, but were nowhere near as threatening as the alarmists claimed. 17 The press dutifully reported each of these supposed crises, largely without skepticism. In turn, prominent politicians called for measures preventing environmental disaster as centerplanks of their platforms. No less a figure than Al Gore declared, in his acceptance speech for the Vice Presidential nomination, that “[t]he task of saving the Earth’s environment must and will become the central organizing principle of the post Cold-War world.” 18 The result of this Jedi mind trick was frequent, costly and disruptive changes in our laws that are difficult or impossible to undo. 19

By the time it becomes clear that the problem doesn’t really exist — or is not nearly as serious as portrayed in the alarmist reports — public attention has shifted away from the issue and few people bother to revise their views, if they hear about the recantation at all. Even for those who have grown skeptical over time — or are just skeptical by nature — it’s quite difficult to assess whether a particular environmental scare story is really anything to worry about. After all, they all come swaddled in dire pronouncements from the usual suspects and carry the imprimatur of some scientific-sounding group ready to vouch that this crisis will cause as much damage to Earth as the Death Star did to the planet Alderaan. I have often wondered whether anyone would write a book thoroughly analyzing the great environmental scares of the recent past and explaining how much was legitimate and how much was hype.

Of course, his footnotes are as much fun as the actual prose

* Our readers are far too savvy to need explaining who Judge Kozinski is. He gratefully acknowledges the valuable help of his law clerk, Igor “Skywalker” Timofeyev. — Ed.

1. DONELLA H. MEADOWS ET AL., THE LIMITS TO GROWTH (1972).

2. The Club’s main undertaking — and the subject of the book — was a so-called “Project on the Predicament of Mankind.” Id. at x. Its aim was as humble as its title: “[T]o examine the complex of problems troubling men of all nations: poverty in the midst of plenty; degradation of the environment; loss of faith in institutions; uncontrolled urban spread; insecurity of employment; alienation of youth; rejection of traditional values; and inflation and other monetary and economic disruptions.” Id.

3.Id. at 60.

4.Id. at 64-67 tbl.4; see also id. at 71.

5.Id. at 200.

6. In fact, when the authors published a revised and updated version of the book twenty years later, not only did they fail to acknowledge they had been wrong, but they claimed that the world had already overshot many of its limits to physical growth, and a drastic scaling back was even more urgent than in 1972: “Human use of many essential resources and generations of many kinds of pollutants have already surpassed rates that are physically sustainable. Without significant reductions in material and energy flows, there will be in the coming decades an uncontrolled decline in per capita food output, energy use, and industrial production.” DONELLA H. MEADOWS ET AL., BEYOND THE LIMITS, at xv (1992). Are we living in the same galactic sector, or what?

7. PAUL R. EHRLICH & ANNE H. EHRLICH, THE END OF AFFLUENCE: A BLUEPRINT FOR YOUR FUTURE 28-30 (1974), cited at p. 30. You can bet good money that anything Paul Ehrlich predicts will never happen. See infra text accompanying note 40.

8. Lester Brown, Worldwatch Institute, The Future of Growth, in STATE OF THE WORLD 4 (Linda Stark ed., 1998), cited at p. 13.

9. LONG-TERM EXPERIMENTS WITH ACID RAIN IN NORWEGIAN FOREST ECOSYSTEMS 298 (Gunnar Abrahamsen et al. eds., 1994), cited at p. 37.

10. JANET M. ABRAMOVITZ, WORLDWATCH INSTITUTE, Sustaining the World’s Forests, in STATE OF THE WORLD 1998, supra note 8, at 21, cited at p. 13; Press Release, World Wildlife Fund for Nature, Two-Thirds of The World’s Forests Lost Forever (1997), at http://www.panda.org/forests4life/news/081097_lostfor.cfm, cited at p. 16.

11. PAUL R. EHRLICH, THE POPULATION BOMB (1968), cited at p. 48; see also Paul R. Ehrlich, Looking Back from 2000 A.D., PROGRESSIVE, Apr. 1970, at 23, cited at p. 30.

12. Jim Motavalli, Running on EMPTY, 11 E MAG. 34 (2000), cited at p. 118; see also p. 118 n.848.

13. SENATOR AL GORE, EARTH IN THE BALANCE: ECOLOGY AND THE HUMAN SPIRIT 145 (1992) (“[T]he floodtide of garbage [is] spilling out of our cities and factories”; we are “running out of ways to dispose of our waste in a manner that keeps it out of either sight or mind.”), cited at p. 206.

14. David Pimentel et al., Ecology of Increasing Disease: Population Growth and Environmental Degradation, 48 BIOSCIENCE 817, 818 (1998), cited at p. 23; see also Environmental Pollution and Degradation Causes 40 percent of Deaths Worldwide, CORNELL NEWS, Oct. 12, 1998, available at http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Sept98/ecodisease.hrs.html, cited at p. 23 n.173.

15. EHRLICH & EHRLICH, THE END OF AFFLUENCE, supra note 7, at 28, 30, cited at p. 30.

16. An example of an issue that has absolutely no foundation is the fear that swept the country a decade and a half ago that we were running out of space to dump garbage and would soon be trapped in a global equivalent of the Death Star’s trash compactor. This fear originated in a series of press reports in 1987 about a barge named the Mobro 4000, which wandered thousands of miles trying to unload its cargo of Long Islanders’ trash. Believing this to be a signal that the nation was running out of the landfill space, many concluded that recycling was the only solution. As was soon discovered, the fear was totally unfounded and was, in fact, based on a misunderstanding and poor reporting — driven by the usual environmental zealots. The national obsession with proper garbage disposal and the environmental myths surrounding the recycling program are well described in John Tierney, Recycling Is Garbage, N.Y. TIMES MAG., June 30, 1996, at 24.

17. Acid rain falls into this category. While it damaged lakes, it had no effect on forests, contrary to the claims of many environmentalists that acid rain would turn our planet into desert-like Tatooine. See pp. 37, 179-81.

18. Senator Al Gore, Remarks on Vice-presidential Nomination at the Democratic National Convention (July 16, 1992), quoted in America Is Ready To Be Inspired and Lifted Again, WASH. POST, July 17, 1992, at A28. Nor was this an excitement-induced isolated utterance on Vice President Gore’s part; it was, rather, a considered element of his political vision. See GORE, supra note 13, at 269 (“[W]e must make the rescue of the environment the central organizing principle for civilization.”).

19. As a result of the Mobro misunderstanding, states and communities across the country have adopted recycling laws that serve no legitimate purpose at all. To the contrary, they impose costs on consumers, not to mention the sheer inconvenience and unpleasantness in having to muck around with garbage. If any of it were at all justified, one might hold one’s nose and put up with it, but the measures turn out to have absolutely no justification; we are quite simply the slaves of a bad idea that no one in public life dares to recognize as a silly waste of time and money. See Tierney, supra note 16.

A far more dangerous idea is the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (“CAFE”) standards, setting ever-tightening requirements for fleet fuel economy for automobile manufacturers. One way to save fuel is by making cars lighter and smaller, which renders their passengers more prone to injuries in accidents. A recent study by the National Research Council has concluded that “the downweighting and downsizing that occurred in the late 1970s and early 1980s, some of which was due to CAFE standards, probably resulted in an additional 1,300 to 2,600 traffic fatalities in 1993.” COMMITTEE ON THE EFFECTIVENESS AND IMPACT OF CORPORATE AVERAGE FUEL ECONOMY, EFFECTIVENESS AND IMPACT OF CORPORATE AVERAGE FUEL ECONOMY (CAFE) STANDARDS 3 (2002). Fortunately, SUVs, light trucks and minivans are subject to a more lenient standard (although there are efforts to change that), which explains in great part why consumers have been abandoning automobiles in droves in favor of these larger vehicles. See Paul E. Godek, The Regulation of Fuel Economy and the Demand for “Light Trucks,” 40 J. LAW & ECON. 495, 506 (1997) (“[C]onsumers have responded to [the CAFE standard] by switching from large cars to light trucks, a less-regulated class of vehicles. The switch to light trucks has mitigated — but not eliminated — the adverse safety consequences of CAFE.”). A recent poll conducted by the Competitive Enterprise Institute found that the second most important reason in consumers’ decision to buy an SUV was their greater safety and reliability. CAFE and Safety (Feb. 25, 2002), at http://www.cei.org/pdf/2405.pdf. Ironically, some of CAFE’s proponents now use the popularity of the SUVs as an argument for higher fuel economy standards, claiming that smaller SUVs would lead to “fewer fatal mismatches in which subcompacts are demolished by invulnerable road monsters.” Sam Kazman, A Crashing Future: The Stupid Tragedy of CAFE, N’R. O, Sept. 17, 2001, at http://cei.org/utils/printer.cfm?AID=2156.

Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is

I write this listening to Sweet Home Alabama on my iPod, which you should know by now is Lynyrd Skynyrd's musical response to Neil Young's Southern Man.

Anyway, another Southern Man, Fletch at A Smoky Mountain Journal has been doing a wonderful job of documenting the splendor that is the Southern Appalchian mountains. His site is chock full of big, beautiful, exquisit images of those mountains and is well worth a visit. Apparantly, the bandwidth cost for maintaining the web page and keeping such large images available is begining to creep up and Fletch is looking for some donations.

While I have questioned his politics in the past (especially the environmental ones) Fletch has always been eager to defend himself and begging for further information (which I ought to put together for him) and he has pointed out to me he is an ardent supporter of the right to keep and bear arms and understands the true value of the 2nd amendment.

I'd highly recommend you toss a few coins (or bills) his way. As soon as I get my main computer up and running I'll do my best as well.

Another Hero - Fabrizio Quattrocchi

Witness Fabrizio Quattrocchi, 36, a baker from Italy who went to Iraq to work as a security guard for a contracting firm. He and three other Italians were taken hostage by al-Katibat al-Khadra, the Green Battalion, who demanded that Italy release some of the Muslim extremists they are holding, and that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi apologize for statements he made that allegedly insulted Islam. They showed the hostages on video, and threatened to kill them if their demands were not met. To demonstrate they were serious, they took Quattrocchi to a field, and had him dig a large hole. They then put a hood over his head and forced him to kneel by the grave, preparing to murder him. But Fabrizio did not cooperate. He stood and tried to pull off the hood, shouting, "Now I'll show you how an Italian dies!" The terrorists shot him in the back of the neck. Al Jazeera, which obtained the videotape of the killing, chose not to air it, saying it was "too gruesome." Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said, Fabrizio "died a hero."

Enough said.

Pat Tillman and the NFL

Geoffrey Norman relays most of my thoughts concerning Pat Tillman at National Review Online.

In the hours when Pat Tillman was preparing for his last patrol, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was considering the case of one Maurice Clarett, running back, formerly with Ohio State University. Clarett had sought legal redress when the National Football League declared him ineligible for its annual draft of college football players, which was held last Saturday. Clarett had been out of high school only two years, one less than the league's rules require. Millions were at stake and not just for Clarett but also for lawyers and agents who had latched on to a meal ticket. There are all sorts of professions with minimum-age requirements. Airline pilots, for example.

Still, the case was treated as some sort of civil-rights battle. Clarett was given his day in court and a claim on the time and attention of one of the nine justices of the United States Supreme Court. He lost.

The draft went on without him and Mississippi quarterback Eli Manning was chosen as the first pick in the first round by the San Diego Chargers. Manning and his father, Archie — a former star quarterback in the NFL — had let it be known that he would not play for the Chargers if they drafted him. So after negotiations, Eli was duly traded to the New York Giants. If he succeeds there, the endorsement opportunities will be lavish and he will probably make even more money than his brother, Peyton, who is quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts.

I won't bother with saying much else but to thank all the men in uniform for protecting the rights of Americans to live our lives with relative peace and liberty.


And to add one little remark . . . I hope both Eli and Peyton Mannings careers come to a quick and abrupt halt (from turing into abject greedy failures on the field, I'm not wishing them any personal harm) and the entire family slinks away never to be heard from again. As for Maurice Clarett, he will face his own devils. The spite there really must rest with the con men who took advantage of him and the educational system that failed to prepare him for the realities of life.

Top Ten List

My Uncle Bob sent me this great Top 10 list.

Always good to be reminded that not everyone in New York is a gun banning nut. .

Top 10 Reasons Why Some Men Favor Handguns Over Women

#10 - You Can Trade An Old 44 For A New 22.
#9 - You Can Keep One Handgun At Home,
And Have Another For When You're On The Road.
#8 - If You Admire A Friend's Handgun, And Tell Him So,
He Will Probably Let You Try It Out A Few Times.
#7 - Your Primary Handgun Doesn't Mind If You Keep
Another Handgun For A Back Up.
#6 - Your Handgun Will Stay With You Even If You Run
Out Of Ammo.
#5 - A Handgun Doesn't Take Up A Lot Of Closet Space.
#4 - Handguns Function Normally Every Day Of The
Month.
#3 - A Handgun Doesn't Ask, "Do These New Grips Make
Me Look Fat?"
#2 - A Handgun Doesn't Mind If You Go To Sleep After
You Use It.

And, The Number One Reason A Handgun Is Favored Over A Woman

#1 - YOU CAN BY A SILENCER FOR A HANDGUN!!!!!

Dirty Rotten Smelly Protestors

I took my lunch trip down to see the IMF protesters (about 50, not inlcuding the usual homeless people camped out) and low and behold, Mr. Krokus was there. I got a couple of minutes of video of him jumping and chanting and stuff.

Best segment I have (about 15 seconds) is of a women wearing a Fasting For Peace (or justice or something) shirt. I asked her how long she was fasting and she said . . . a couple of hours.

I'm gonna be filiming more tonite and this weekend, and want to get it posted soon, but my Macintosh is down so it won't be going up before next week. If someone in D.C. wants it to post, just email me.

Reliably Hip Hippies

Yesterdays Reliable Source column in the Washington Post was interesting for the first time since Lloyd Grove left town fo the bright lights and tall buildings of New York City. While also including the hilarious story of Max Baucuses wife's fisticuffs at a local gardening store it was the focus on hippies that struck my fancy.

The first report involves pot smokers and Ron Paul.

A Different Kind of Joint Session

• Last week the Capitol Police busted a young intern working for Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) for toting a baggie of pot and a bong into the Cannon House Office Building, but they'll have to look the other way when stockbroker Irvin Rosenfeld brings his stash onto their territory today. For more than 20 years, the federal government has supplied Rosenfeld with marijuana cigarettes, which he smokes under doctor's orders to ease symptoms of a rare bone disorder.

Before arriving from Florida to lobby in Congress for medical use of marijuana with the pro-pot group NORML, Rosenfeld made sure to inform authorities of his dispensation to smoke 12 joints a day -- he's one of seven people who get Uncle Sam-grown reefer under a program that began in the Carter era. (It was shut down in 1992, but some patients were grandfathered in.)

The other item invovled Bob Dylan's recent commercialsfor Victoria's Secret. Mr. Dylan, in years past, has been very protective of his intellectual property and steadfastly refused to "compromise" his art for purely commercial purposes (as if the millions he has made performing his music isn't a purely commercial interest - but thats a comment for another day).

Anyway, it turns out that long ago Mr. Dylan agreed to "sell out" to only one type of industry . . . "Ladies Garments" of which Victoria's Secret sell some of the nicest looking (and on nice looking ladies taboot). You can watch the 1965 press conference here.

As my brother would say . . . . NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

John "Waffler" Kerry

Looking for some Waffles?

I did before I didn't

Looks like John Kerry is as confused as ever . . .

``I don't own an SUV,'' said Kerry, who supports increasing existing fuel economy standards to 36 miles per gallon by 2015 in order to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil supplies.

Kerry thought for a second when asked whether his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, had a Suburban at their Ketchum, Idaho, home. Kerry said he owns and drives a Dodge 600 and recently bought a Chrysler 300M. He said his wife owns the Chevrolet SUV.

``The family has it. I don't have it,'' he said.

Uh, yeah right.

Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

This caused me to exhibit a mighty large HUH?!?!?! Its got to be the most foolish thing I've heard in awhile, on a number of levels.

North Miami police say they are dropping the requirement for a year. They say few departments require swimming and their officers rarely save people in water.

Officials also believe the requirement discourages African-Americans and Haitian Americans from applying. The issue surfaced a year ago when a Haitian-American city councilman asked police to drop the requirement because he said blacks historically can't swim.

OK, leaving aside how ludicrous it is to suggest that blacks don't know how to swim (or that blacks from an Island nation surrounded by water don't know how to swim), I find it incredulous that the police in a city know as much for activities taking place on the water as on land don't think there is a need for police officers to swim. Certainly these guys never saw an episode of Miami Vice.

NY TImes On The Kerry's

Wise words from an often time unwise The New York Times >NY Times

Rapid and full disclosure, especially on this topic, should be a political no-brainer for Mr. Kerry. The documents released so far back up his campaign narrative depicting a war hero who was decorated three times for wounds and cited for "great personal courage under fire." But a presidential campaign is ever a learning experience tucked inside a cauldron. Mr. Kerry was slow to disclose his operation for prostate cancer, and he has still not fully released his medical records.

We hope the senator realizes that there cannot be too much disclosure by a candidate seeking the trust of the public for the nation's highest office.

With this high standard in mind, we urge that the candidate's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, release her tax returns. Limited financial records of Mrs. Heinz Kerry, a millionaire heiress, are available as part of the Senate's disclosure requirements. Beyond that, Mrs. Heinz Kerry points out that she is not the candidate and deserves some privacy.

Gun Porn

Thanks to He Who Shall Not Be Named for this one.

FN P90 TACTICAL, 5.7 x 28 mm

It doesn't look like a gun and lacks one of them dangerous pistol grips. Plus, it shoots a weeny round. Should be OK with the the Gun Grabbers, don't you think????

Of yeah, I forgot, it unloads 900 rounds a minute in full auto and is eminently controlable.

Islamic Terrorist Scum . . . . meet your new maker.

So, Your Against Profiling

This is a chilling interview in London's evening standard. It really makes me shudder and should silence any foes of racial (or religious profilling) in this country. Its an interview with "Four young British Muslims in their twenties - a social worker, an IT specialist, a security guard and a financial adviser"

"As far as I'm concerned, when they bomb London, the bigger the better," says Abdul Haq, the social worker. "I know it's going to happen because Sheikh bin Laden said so. Like Bali, like Turkey, like Madrid - I pray for it, I look forward to the day."

"Pass the brown sauce, brother," says Abu Malaahim, the IT specialist, devouring his chicken and chips.
"I agree with you, brother," says Abu Yusuf, the earnest-looking financial adviser sitting opposite. "I would like to see the Mujahideen coming into London and killing thousands, whether with nuclear weapons or germ warfare. And if they need a safehouse, they can stay in mine - and if they need some fertiliser [for a bomb], I'll tell them where to get it."

His friend, Abu Musa, the security guard, smiles radiantly. "It will be a day of joy for me," he adds, speaking with a slight lisp.

An F'ing security guard.

WAKE UP ENGLAND!!!!!!!!!!!

These guys should be boiled alive in pig fat.

Liars and Criminals

Thats what the environmental movement is.

Senator Inhofe is accusing Moveon.org and the Natural Resource Defense Council of lying and violating campaign finance laws.

“We take this very seriously in Oklahoma, and at least 40 other states have just as strict statutes against soliciting contributions by misleading advertising. Arguably this ad by NRDC may be unlawful in as many as forty other states that also have charitable solicitation statutes. This advertisement explicitly states that the President is weakening mercury controls - which is factually untrue -- while they are trying to swindle contributions from people all across the country that may see this advertisement. I don=t know what else this ad represents but specifically NRDC, which describes itself as a charitable organization on its website, soliciting contributions by making knowingly false statements to cheat people out of contributions”

NRDC of course, is by and large one of the least credible (though most heavily financed) environmental groups. They, along with Fenton Communications changed the face of environmental fundraising with their Alar scare and showed how deceit and outright lies can successfully raise hundreds of millions of dollars. If it wasn't for them, James Carville and Bill Clinton would never have adopted their the truth doesn't matter, just repeated what you want the truth to be over and over strategy so successfully.

Another Blogging Superstar

John Tant of The-Crease.org has hit the big time with an impresive feature story in the New York Times. Who would have believed it . . . and its obvious that they didn't read some of his posts before allowing him space in their pages.

Good Show John!!!! And yes, thats a great picture!

The 'Ol Double Standard

The Smallest Minority is writting about the double standard in media reporting on firearms issues. Namely, how the latest Violence Policy Center press releases (ie: outright lie) is treated as late breaking news while any information from the NRA or GOA is wholly ignored by the national media.

Of course, the same thing is true about the environmental movement. The latest NRDC or Greenpeace screed is treated as the Gospel while any reasonable response from industry, the White House, or just simply citizens with eyes wide open is ignored or ridiculed.

Inject Him

with tainted blood and then soak him in pig fat. Perhaps the booty bandit can pay a visit to this scumbag.

Yikes!!!!

Everyday I am more and more concerned that Bush is going to blow it and let John Fonda Kerry win the election.

Law and Order

65,000 people gathered in front of the Capitol and committed a felony and not a single person was arrested.

Of course, a couple of miles away, 1 block from the White House in front of the Faragaut West metro station two asian guys were hawking the lastest CDs from Usher, Janet Jackson, DMX, Mary J. Blige, Brittany Spears and the fat guy from American Idol burned from a PC computer and no one said anything to them.


What is this world coming to?

More Oil For Food

Well, ABC seems to be the first of the mainstream broadcast media to pick up on this story. Of course, as to be expected from the Disney Channel, they point out Benon Sevan the U.N. Undersecretary of the program as the most prominent of those accused and pretty much give the ringleader, Kofi Annan, a free ride despite the intimate involvement of his family in the scandal (Wall Street Journal Editorial of March 18, 2004 - requires a subscription).

Andrew Sullivan seems to have just learned about the scandal, and is shocked. As usual, he has some thoughtful comments

In fact, I'm shocked that more hasn't come out yet. Saddam had a lot of people on the take in the West and the U.N. But this story is about more than a simple U.N. scandal. What it shows is what the alternatives to war against Saddam actually were: a slowly disintegrating regime, becoming ever-more Islamist in tone as it tried to cling to power; sanctions that were in effect starving kids, destroying Iraqi civil society and enriching corrupt U.N. officials and Saddam's family; and the potential of those sanctions being lifted at some point, leading to a resurgence of WMD development. We were so right to intervene. The alternatives were far, far worse.

Of course, I have been on the case for awhile, calling for Kofi Annan and his cronies to be tried as war criminals by the same tribunal that will handle Saddam's trial. April 20, 2004; March 26, 2004; March 18, 2004; March 17, 2004; January 30, 2004.

More on Hostettler

The discredited USA Today has more on the Rep. Hostettler story. Considering the source, I am not at all surprised by statements such as this:

Hostettler said he had placed the Glock 9mm semiautomatic handgun in his briefcase early in Congress' two-week spring recess, then forgot about it. He said the gun had a cartridge containing 14 bullets, but the chamber was empty and the safety was on.

Regardless of the accuracy of the statement (I know I don't have to point out the glaring problem with it) its great to see a member of Congress who supports the right to keep and bear arms, is willing to go through the same pains as other citizens by applying for a CCW permit (instead of using political connections to speed the process) and chooses the reliability of combat tupperware.

Monday Song Lyric (slight delay) - Whole Lotta Lead

Angela Logomasini's op-ed on the brewing D.C. lead problem, This Should Go over Like a Lead Balloon, has motivated me to brew my first batch of beer in some time. I'm gonna call it Tony William's Leaded Zeppelin. It will be an Extra Special Bitter, based upon the special recipe I developed while working at a brewery in law school, but instead of being brewed with tasty mountain spring water, it will be filled with high octane, extra leaded D.C. water.

Its gonna be some potent stuff, with an Original Gravity in the 1055 range and its sure to leave you Dazed and Confused - unlike the D.C. Water which is generally harmless.

Dazed and Confused
Jimmy Page

Been Dazed and Confused for so long it's not true.
Wanted a woman, never bargained for you.
Lots of people talk and few of them know,
soul of a woman was created below.

You hurt and abuse tellin' all of your lies.
Run around sweet baby, Lord how they hypnotize.
Sweet little baby, I don't know where you've been.
Gonna love you baby, here I come again.

Every day I work so hard, bringin' home my hard earned pay
Try to love you baby, but you push me away.
Don't know where you're goin', only know just where you've been,
Sweet little baby, I want you again.

Been dazed and confused for so long, it's not true.
Wanted a woman, never bargained for you.
Take it easy baby, let them say what they will.
Will your tongue wag so much when I send you the bill?

50 Worst Songs

LIke with every other list out there, I both agree and disagree with the selections on Blender Magazine and HV1's List of 50 Worst Songs Ever.

Sure, Starship's We Built This City deserves a special place in the shit pile of popular music (as does Ebony and Ivory and everything by Celine Dion and Jon Bon Jovi) but Everybody Have Fun Tonite, Don't Worry Be Happy and Simon and Garfuunkles Sounds of Silence? Please.

How can they include Wang Chung and completely miss Mr. Mister's Take These Broken Wings which will always remind me of Ricky Schroeder on Silver Spoons for some reason (when I get around to it, and my computer is back up and running, I'll post pics of Ricky and his wife at GW's Inauguration). What about all the horrid Falco Songs (Rock Me Amadeus anyone??) or that Corey Hart I Wear My Sunglasses At Night . . . or Do It For The Boy . . . . in fact, just pull out a video tape of either Solid Gold or Friday Night Videos from the first half of the 80s and your bound to find something more worthy of inclusion on this list.

One Of The Good Guys

Congressman John Hostettler of Indiana deserves your vote and a place on my list of honor. The Republican Congressman from southwestern Indiana was detained at an airport for carrying a handgun in his luggage.

"Apparently the congressman had left a handgun in his briefcase and forgot it was in there and took it to the security checkpoint, where it was detected and they detained him briefly to make sure he had no ill intent as they should do," Jahr said.


Jahr said Hostettler is an avid sportsman and has a permit for the weapon, but he was not sure what type of handgun the congressman had and whether it was loaded.

Thats too bad I always like to hear what others are carrying. I'm going to make a point of finding out what he was carrying this week and will announce it when I find out.

Chattanooga

Fletch at the Smoky Mountain Journal is posting some great pics of Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain. I suggest you check them (and his wonderful site) out. If you've been wondering why I like to spend so much of my time away from D.C. there, this should provide you with a clear answer.

About Fletch generally ... his politics are well to the left of most of my normal readers, and while I find his views on environmental matters to be woefully ill informed and shaped almost entirely by biased editorials and the deliberately misleading press releases of the environmental doomsday scare industry, his photography is truly amazing.

Buy A Gun Day

Well, I ought to post that I still haven't picked up my gun yet. . .Its coming, but because of some things I discovered last week and noted in the post below, and that I have been working day and night on, I haven't had a chance to get down to the local firearms seller. Soon. Very Soon.

Blogging

Well, my computer is still not fixed. I thought the tech guys here had a great solution, but it doesn't seem to work. Looks like I'm gonna have to lug it to the Apple Store in Tyson's Corner tonight.

In other news, look for a continued slowdown in blogging activity over the next couple of weeks. I'll have a post or two a day still (and will try to make up for the missed Monday Song Lyric necessitated by the technical problem) but I am working on a fairly major project that is taking up all my time.
Great Fun!!!!

Look for it soon.

Oil For Food

Pete duPont is exploring the Oil for Food program at OpinionJournal.com

The House International Relations Committee is scheduled to hold hearings on all these matters. Chairman Henry Hyde feels much more strongly about U.N. corruption than his Senate colleagues do: he believes the Oil-for-Food program "represents a scandal without precedent in U.N. history," and so Mr. Annan's response "must be equally unprecedented."

Since the House appropriates the money that the U.S. contributes to the U.N.--about a quarter of its annual $1.5 billion base budget--Mr. Hyde might place the next quarterly U.N. check on his desk, to be exchanged for a full and accurate report on Oil-for-Food from Kofi Annan.

And then, depending on what we learn about the integrity of U.N. operations, we can decide what might be an appropriate role for the United Nations in Iraq and how we might be sure the international body fulfills it honestly.

As I've said before, the only appropriate response is to charge Mr. Annan with crimes against humanity and turn him over to the forthcoming Iraqi Government for sentencing.

Michael Eisner Sucks

I know I have been conspicuoulsly absent from blogging the last couple of days. I'm going to chalk that up to a serious hardware problem with my macintosh (its decided not to recognize me as a legitimate user of the machine - have no fear, it was caused by human error and not something wrong with Apple products. I think I figured out how to correct the problem and get back online which I will try to do tonight.

Anyway, I decided to blog real quick to bring you some great, late breaking news. Blowhard, liberal, anti free speach asshole Michael Eisner just recieved a 72.5% vote of no confidence from Disney's 401k stockholders. Yippeee ... his demise is near and soon the mighty mouse will be free again!!!!!!!!

Traveling

I'm away for the weekend. Back on Monday!!!!

Great NY Times Iraq Story

The New York Times has an excellent and important multimedia report about an attack on marines that occurred last nite outside Falluja.

Lynsey Addario, the freelance photographer who provided made the report has been covering the War from the Iraqi side since it started. She was just embedded with this marine troop and calls the marines capable and professional. She ends the report by stating that she now knows that the U.S. Marines do not fire indiscriminantly at people, nor do they fire first. The marines, according to Addario, knew attacks were imminent and saw vehicles driving up to their convoy to scout out the best point for an attack, but the marines did not fire back until fired upon.

She seems relieved to have lived through the attack and very impressed with our military. Perhaps we should embed the New York Times editorial board with the Marines in Falluja.

Go Mrs. D Go

She who shall not be named is ticked about her expereince at the IRS office.

That's funny. They didn't have THAT publication. You mean she was acting without authority? Making demands on the public she is sworn to serve out of a power trip, and not legal authority? Wow, I wouldn't have expected that.

My parting remark, to the mother terrified she was going to be thrown out, "They cannot throw you out of here for your child touching the blinds. They have no legal authority to do that."

Our Congressman will be getting a letter—with names and dates.

Only an answer of: "She has been fired" will suffice.

Dilbert Moments

I just had a Dilbert moment at work today.

I am putting together a large set of comments. Our original document was over 30 pages long, with 15 discussing the legal background behind the action and 15 on the scientific basis. After handing it in last week, I was told to cut it in half and remove large sections of the discussion, which my immediate supervisor found unneccessary. I did so.

Today, he hands the revised draft back to me and asks me why I do not discuss the issues he wanted me to remove and said don't worry about the length and that the document should be twice as long as it is.

I'm tempted to give him back the original draft.

Questionable Reporting

NEWS.com.au, self proclaimed to be Australia's No.1 news and information site is reporting that an Iraqi was 'beaten to death' by US troops. Of course, the allegations are somewhat sketchy, and the reporting leaves, errr, alot of questions unanswered

After the man refused to remove Sadr's picture from his car, the soldiers forced him out of the vehicle and started beating him with truncheons, he said.

Environmental Prostitution

U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan is going to allow Greenpeace terrorists to be charged under a 19th century pimps and whores law. As I stated previously, in only my third blog entry its been pretty clear to me that the major environmental groups no longer care about the earth and have simply prostituted themselves out to left wing and other lunatic socialist and Anti Freedom groups in exchange for cash and power.

Greenpeace is very upset about this decision because it may expose, once and for all, how much money greenpeace is taking in and where it is coming from.

Each count carries a possible $10,000 fine plus probation, a chilling prospect for an organization that is afraid it could be forced to open its records to government inspection.

Suffice it to say, both Greenpeace, the global green movement, and the Democratic Party are going to be really embarrassed when the public has access to the money trail.

Teresa Heinz Kerry

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting article today Teresa Heinz Kerry. If it was in the New York Times I would wholly dismiss it as a placed political story. That might still be the case with this one in the Journal, but in any case, it does paint her in what I see as a positive light.

The Big Time

I've hit it. In the last month I've been Instalanched and Volokhized but today I approached what heretofore has only been a dream . . .Aaron The Liberal Slayer has blogrolled me immediately above the wisened Say Uncle and the witty democrats give conservatives indigestion and just below the new to me Backroad Blog and directly adjacent to my hero, the one and only originial internet tough guy, the esteemed He Who Shall Not Be Names.

I'm not Worthy I'm Not Worthy

The only thing better that can happen is if I some how landed myself a blogopoly piece. . .aaah, but we can dream . . . .

Buy A Gun Day

Tax Day is come and going but Aaron the Liberal Slayer is still manning the fort.

I didn't get a chance to pick up my gun today ... but do not fear, it will be in my hands this weekend!!!!!!!!!!! I'll post pics when I get a new camera.

Actually, though, what I need now more than a Bushmaster is a new lever action cowboy shooting fun type of gun. So, if I end up bailing on the Bushmaster for a Marlin or one of them new Henry Big Boys, you were warned. But, have no fear, the Bushmaster will reappear.

Zell Miller For President

Zell Miller is truly cut from a different cloth than the rest of Washinton. He has delivered a blistering critique of the futile 9/11 commission and the harm it and Richard Clark have done to America. It deserves to be read in its entirety.

March 30. 2004
U.S. Senator Zell Miller
Floor Statement: 'A House Divided Cannot Stand'
Remarks as Delivered on the Senate Floor

After watching the harsh acrimony generated by the September 11 Commission – which, let me say at the outset, is made up of good and able members – I’ve come to seriously question this panel’s usefulness.

I believe it will ultimately play a role in doing great harm to this country, for its unintended consequences, I fear, will be to energize our enemies and demoralize our troops.

After being drowned in a tidal wave of all who didn’t do enough before 9/11, I have come to believe that the Commission should issue a report that says: “No one did enough in the past. No one did near enough.”

Then thank everyone for serving, send them home and let’s get on with the job of protecting this country in the future.

Tragically, these hearings have proved to be a very divisive diversion for this country. Tragically, they have devoured valuable time, looking backwards when we should be looking forward.

Can you imagine handling the attack on Pearl Harbor this way? Can you imagine Congress, the media and the public standing for this kind of political gamesmanship and finger pointing after that “day of infamy” in 1941?

Some partisans tried that ploy, but they were soon quieted by the patriots who understood how important it was to get on with the war and take the battle to America’s enemies, and not dwell on what FDR knew when.

You see, back then the highest priority was to win a war, not win an election. That’s what made them “The Greatest Generation.”

I realize that many well-meaning Americans see the hearings as “democracy in action.” Years ago, when I was teaching political science, I probably would have had my class watching it live on television and using that very phrase with them.

There are also the not-so-well-meaning political operatives who see these hearings as an opportunity to “score cheap points.”

Then, there are the Media Meddlers who see this as “great theater” that can be played out on the evening news and on endless talk shows for a week or more.

Congressional hearings have long been one of Washington’s most entertaining pastimes. Joe McCarthy. Watergate. Iran Contra. They all kept us glued to the TV, and made for conversation around the water coolers and arguments over a beer at the corner pub.

A Congressional hearing in Washington, D.C. is the ultimate aphrodisiac for political groupies and partisan punks.

But, it’s not the groupies, punks and television-sotted American public that I’m worried about. This latter crowd can get excited and divided over just about anything. Whether it’s some off-key wanna-be dreaming of being the American Idol, or what brainless bimbo The Bachelor or Average Joe will choose or who will Donald Trump fire next week.

No, it is the real enemies of America that I’m concerned about.

These evil killers who right now, right now are gleefully watching the shrill partisan finger pointing of these hearings and grinning like a mule eating briars.

They see this as a major split within the Great Satan America. They see anger, they see division, instability, bickering, peevishness and dissension.

They see the President of the United States hammered unmercifully. They see all this and they are greatly, greatly encouraged.

We should not be doing anything to encourage our enemies in this battle between good and evil. Yet, these hearings, in my opinion, are doing just that.

We are playing with fire. We’re playing directly into the hands of our enemy by allowing these hearings to become the great divider they have become.

Dick Clarke’s book and its release coinciding with these hearings have done this country a tremendous disservice, and someday we will reap its whirlwind.

Long ago, Sir Walter Scott observed that revenge is “the sweetest morsel that ever was cooked in hell.”

The vindictive Clarke has now had his revenge, but what kind of hell has he, his CBS publisher and his axe-to-grind advocates unleashed?

These hearings, coming on the heels of the election the terrorists influenced in Spain, bolster and energize our evil enemies as they have not been energized since 9/11.

Chances are very good that these evil enemies of America will attempt to influence our 2004 election in a similar dramatic way as they did Spain’s. And to think that could never be in this country is to stick your head in the sand.

That is why the sooner we stop this endless bickering over the past and join together to prepare for the future, the better off this country will be. There are some things - whether this city believes it or not - that are just more important than political campaigns.

The recent past is so ripe for political second-guessing “gotcha” and Monday morning quarter-backing. And it is so tempting in an election year. We should not allow ourselves to indulge that temptation. We should put our country first.

Every administration from Jimmy Carter to George W. Bush bears some of the blame. Dick Clarke bears a big heap of it because it was he who was in the catbird’s seat to do something about it for more than a decade. Tragically, it was the decade in which we did the least.

We did nothing after terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in 1993, killing six and injuring more than 1,000 Americans.

We did nothing in 1996 when sixteen U.S. servicemen were killed in the bombing of the Khobar Towers.

When our embassies were attacked in 1998, killing 263 people, our only response was to fire a few missiles on an empty tent.

Is it any wonder? Is it any wonder that after that decade of weak-willed responses to that murderous terror, our enemies thought we would never fight back?

In the 1990's is when Dick Clarke should have resigned. In the 1990's is when he should have apologized. That is when he should have written his book. That is, if he really had America’s best interest at heart.

Some will say, “We owe it to the families” to get more information about what happened in the past and I can understand that. But no amount of finger-pointing will bring our victims back.

So, now we owe it to future families and all of America now in jeopardy not to encourage more terrorists, resulting in even more grieving families, perhaps many more over the ones of 9/11.

It’s obvious to me that this country is rapidly dividing itself into two camps: the wimps and the warriors.

The ones who want to argue and assess and appease, and the ones who want to carry this fight to our enemies and kill him them before they kill us. And, in case you haven’t figured it out, I proudly belong to the latter.

This is a time like no other in the history of this country, and this country is being crippled with petty partisan politics of the worst possible kind. In time of war, it is not just unpatriotic; it is stupid, and it is criminal.

So, I pray that all this time, all this energy, all this talk and all this attention could be focused on the future instead of the past.

I pray we would stop pointing fingers, assigning blame and wringing our hands about what happened on that day David McCullogh has called “the worst day in our history” more than two years ago.

And instead, pour all of our energy into how we can kill these terrorists before they kill us - again.

For make no mistake about it. They watch these hearings. They are scheming and smiling about the distraction and the divisiveness they see in America. And while they may not know who said it years ago in America, they know instinctively that a house divided cannot stand.

There is one other group that we should remember is listening to all of this - our troops.
I was in Iraq in January and one day when I was meeting with the 1st Armored Division, a unit with a proud history known as Old Ironsides, we were discussing troop morale, and the Commanding General said it was top notch.

And I turned to the Division’s Sergeant Major, the top enlisted man in the division, a big, burly, 6-foot-3, 240 pound African American and I said, “That’s good, but how do you sustain that kind of morale?”

Without hesitation he narrowed his eyes, and he looked at me and said “The morale will stay high just as long as these troops know the people back home support us.”

Just as long as the people back home support us. What kind of message are these hearings and the outrageously political speeches on the floor of the Senate yesterday sending to those marvelous young Americans in the uniform of our country?

I say Unite America! Before it is too late! Put aside these petty partisan differences when it comes to the protection of our people.

Argue and argue and argue and debate and debate and debate over all the other things – jobs and education and the deficit and the environment – but please, please do not use the lives of Americans and the security of this country as a cheap-shot political talking point.

Jack

Bill Simmons remembers the Golden Bear on a sports day that became legendary.

I've never been one of those things-were-better-in-the-old-days guys. I like things now. Even wrote an entire column about it last year. And yet those highlights of Nicklaus rising from the dead and capturing that sixth green jacket ... I can't describe what happens to me. It's like Rip Taylor just threw a bag of goose bumps on me. Sometimes I even make the same face that Tom Cruise makes after Goose dies.

What's more amazing; that the whole thing happened or that somebody hasn't made a crappy sports movie about it yet?

. . . . .

There's nobody left. Jack wins.

Here's the best way I can describe it. Imagine Dad winning the Masters. And since that can't happen, imagine the next-best thing. Like Ali and McEnroe, Jack belonged to another era, a time when individual athletes resonated with people.

Yep, I was a punk kid at the time, more interested in playing heavy metal guitar and tormenting my parents about getting a drivers license and a car. Never thought about playing golf till I watched this happen at a friends. Still brings chills to me (even if my golf scores don't always seem much better than they were in 1986).

Read the whole thing. Its very good.

Gorelick

The New York Post comes down hard on Jamie Gorelick. In addition to the conflict of interest over the now infamous chinese wall memo, they also disclose this bit of information:

As it turns out, the memo is just the tip of the iceberg concerning Gorelick's questionable fitness as a member of the panel.

That's because she's a litigation partner in one of Washington's most high-powered Democratic law firms - Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering.

And that firm represents Prince Mohammed al-Faisal al-Saud, a member of the Saudi royal family and director of a key Saudi financial agency, against a lawsuit filed by a coalition of 600 Sept. 11 families.

The lawsuit, filed by Families United to Bankrupt Terrorism, seeks "to cut off the pipeline that fueled the al Qaeda terrorists" - a pipeline in which the high-paying client represented by Gorelick's law firm reportedly played a central part.

The prince is chairman of Dar al-Maal al-Islami (DMI), which boasts $1 billion in assets.

I was unaware that she was an attorney at Wilmer Cutler, but thats not surprising. It does create a HUGE conflict of interst for her though. Lloyd Cutler, probably the most powerful Democrat in the city, has been paid fortunes by the Saudi Royal family to shop them around D.C. and highlight their good deeds. Its nauseating, but he's not the only one. In fact, I would be surprised to learn of any large or powerful (some small firms in this town are VERY powerful and some large firms have little to no actual political power) firm that wasn't on the Saudi payroll.

Its one of the most disturbing legacies to arise form 9/11. The Saudi's have created massive professional conflicts of interests throughout Washington. However, as an interesting aside, Cutler was trying VERY hard for a couple of years to get Prince al-Saud into the tony Metropolitan Club and encountered quite a bit of resistance, which is at least heartening.

Jews Against Israel

Well, I managed to get the pics off the camera. Sadly, the pics of the family did not make it through. Looks like I am still goign to need to take the memory card to Mr. Tech at work to get the pics off it.

Beyond that, I have no comment on these gys other than what I already stated. They just seem a bit out of touch.

BTW, if you can't read the yellow sign, the Black Speaker is from the Muslim American Society.
Never thought of them as friends of jews.

Jews Against Israel

I just saw the strangest sight I may have ever laid my eyes on.

Right now, there is a protest going on in LaFayette Park, in front of the White House. There is a large group of Orthodox Jews (Hassidics??) protesting against Israel's existance.

Yep, you heard that right, these are Jews Against Israel.

I'll post pictures tonite from home, but based upon the snippet of diatribe I heard, they are demanding the removal of the jewish state and the return of palestinians to Israel.

Their signs stated, among other items:

Judaism Rejects Zionism and the State of Israel

Authentic Rabbis Always Opposed Zionism and the State of Israel

Zionism and Judasim Are Extreme Opposites

Israel Does Not Represent World Jewry

Torah Forbids Any Jewish State

Solution: Peaceful Dismantling of the Zionist State

True Jews Will Never Recognize Israel

According to their statement they say that "'Sharon' and the State of 'Israel' [are] The Nemesis Of A Jewish Representation"

Of course, as can be expected, this demonstration attracted almost as many TV cameras and reports as Jewish protesters. There are also a small contingent of Palenstinian Protesters and the usual Bush is evil types.

Truly a strange sight to behold. Like I said, Pics go up tonite.
UPDATE - Sorry. It doesn't look like I will get the pictures up tonite. I still need to purchase a new camera and was using my Kodak DX3900 (which had miraculously repaired itself). Well, after taking the pics of the protesters today and then going to dinner with some relatives from out of town and getting some nice family pics, I made it home and it looks like the camera doesn't want to work. It won't turn on (but the lens is out and the green light on the side keeps blinking - whether its on or off) and it won't download to my computer. I'm gonna take the memory disk in to work tomorrrow and have the techie guys pull the pics and I'll try to post them at that point.

Inject Her

with tainted blood. Its about what she deserves.

The Degneration of the Democratic Party

Powerful Stuff

Cheap Safari's

Cool. I've always wanted to go on an Elephant Hunting Safari. Looks like I might be able to do that on the cheap.

African elephant still is endangered across most of the continent, but conservation efforts in South Africa have been so successful game reserves there soon may be faced with killing thousands of the animals to keep the herds from overpopulating.

Although the African elephant population numbered 5 million to 10 million in 1930, there now are less than 500,000 of the animals. South Africa, however, has seen rapid increases in recent years in the elephant herds found throughout the country on more than 20 national parks and private reserves.

The populations are growing so large Addo Elephant National Park is expanding and private game reserves are using contraceptive vaccines to keep their populations from growing beyond capacity

. . . .

Currently, killing elephants in South Africa is banned because of international pressures but Joubert and Padayachee said it would be wise to reverse the ban because if the growing elephant population is not addressed soon, the reserves will have to kill even more animals.

Teddy Roosevelt never had it so good. Anyone know if these guys taste good? And no, I don't want to hear any dumb republican jokes, though a big 'ol elephant head hanging on the wall over my desk will certainly put me in the major leagues here in D.C. as far as Political Memorabilia Collectors go.

Just playing along

Apparantly, this is the latest blogging craze.

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.

Hmm. Ok. you have two choices. The first is

(4)Time Periods
(A) A submission under paragraph (2) or (3) shall be made
(i) in the case of a pesticide containing an active ingrediant listed under subsection (c)(2)(B) of this section, not later than 3 months after the date of publication of the listing of such active ingredient;
(ii) in the case of a pesticide containing an active ingrediant listed under subsection (c)(2)(C) of this section, not later than 3 months after the date of publication of the listing of such active ingredient; and
(iii) in the case of a pesticide containing an active ingredient listed under subsection (c)(2)(D) of this section, not later than 3 months after the date of publication of the listing of such active ingredient.

Thats from West's Selected Environmental Law Statutes, 1997-1998 Educational Edition (Yes, I still use my law school books) and is actual from the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Section 4(d)(4). For those keeping track, this section is also located at 7 U.S.C. 136a-1(d)(4).

The other book, equally near has this to say

Under this procedure, the head of each agency was required to determine at the begining of the regulatory process whether a proposed regulatory venture was "consistent with the goals of the Adminsitration."

Thats from A Guide To Federal Agency Rulemaking, 3rd Ed. by Jefferey S. Lubbers and published by the American Bar Assocaition Government and Public Sectow Lawyers Division and Section of Adminsitrative Law and Regulatory Practice. The sentence cites to President's Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies 21 WEEKLY COMP. PRES. DOC. 13 (1985)

Yes, I know. Booooorrrringg. But hey, thats just me. I'm a bit of a geek.

A Green Mountain John Kerry Joke

A teacher in a small Vermont town asks her class how many of them are John Kerry fans. Not really knowing what a John Kerry fan is, but wanting to be liked by the teacher, all the kids raise their hands except one boy.
The teacher asks Johnny why he has decided to be different.
Johnny says, "I'm not a John Kerry fan."
The teacher says, "Why aren't you a John Kerry fan?"
Johnny says, "I'm a George Bush fan."
The teacher asks why he's a George Bush fan. The boys says, "Well, my Mom's a George Bush fan and my Dad's a George Bush fan, so I'm a George Bush fan!"
The teacher is kind of angry, because this is Vermont, so she asks, "What if your Mom was a moron and your Dad was an idiot, what would that make you?”

Johnny says, "That would make me a John Kerry fan!"

Traitors In Our Midst

The Republican Controlled Virginia House of Delegates has voted 52-46 to increase our taxes.

The Following Traitors voted in support of a tax hike here in Virginia.
(I'm ignoring the D's cause thats the platform they ran on, and hence aren't traitors to their cause, even if they show outright contmept to the American way of life)

Please make sure you campaign against each of these, regardless of how bad their opponent might be. Better to face a known evil than have to worry about internal sabotage.

Bryant, Lynchburg (23)
Callahan, Fairfax (34)
Carrico, Grayson (5)
Dillard, Fairfax (41)
Fralin, Roanoke City (17)
Hurt, Pittsylvania (16)
Ingram, Hopewell (62)
Jones, S.C., Suffolk (76)
Marshall, D.W., Danville (14)
Morgan, Gloucester (98)
Nutter, Montgomery (7)
Oder, Newport News (94)
Parrish, Manassas (50)
Reese, Fairfax (67)
Rust, Fairfax (86)
Scott, E.T., Culpeper (30)
Tata, Virginia Beach (85)

Also deserving of a special boot in the balls (and the end of his political career) is perenial fence sitter and now tax supporter, U.S. Congressman Tom Davis. Davis, as head of the Republican National Congressional Committee controls the Republican Party's election finances and decides who gets how much money. As a result, he is one of the most powerful members of Congress. He has decided to use this power, and money, to ensure all 17 of the above mentioned traitors have enough campaign resources to survive their expected loss in donations and primary and general election challenges. Send Tom a note and let him know what you think.

Wictory Wednsday

I though Bush's press conference was inspirational. Isn't it great to have a president who doesn't care what the poll numbers are and sticks to his decision. After 8 years of Clinton's games, the Country still doesn't seem to believe Bush is the real man we all know he is. But have no fear, when he stays the course without backing down over the summer and kills a few more of Sadr's men (while the economy rebounds), you will see his poll numbers jumping through the roof and nothing the liberal media says will have an effect. In the meantime though, you too can do your part ...

Yes, You Too Can Work For The Cause and Together We Can Stop John Kerry.

Today is Wictory Wednesday. Every Wednesday from now till election day, I will ask my readers to volunteer and/or donate to the Bush campaign if they haven't done so already. And if you have volunteered and donated, then get a friend to join you. It's the only way to defeat the lying liberal media and their special interest pandering whores in Congress and in the Kerry Campaign.

If you're a blogger, you can join Wictory Wednesday simply by putting up a post like this every Wednesday, asking your readers to volunteer and/or donate to the president's re-election campaign.

BAG Day

Buy A Gun To Piss Off The Liberal Left Day is almost here. Make sure you take a portion of that healthy tax refund you recieved to stick it to liberals like Chuck Schumer, Dianne Feinstein, John "War Criminal" Kerry, Ted Kennedy, and scum bag hollywood types like the sexy Minnie Driver. Mmm Mmm Mmm. She might look good, but please babe, we had to fight a war to avoid foolish british policies. W e certainly don't need you speading anymore.

The Left - Wrong On Taxes Again

Liberal high tax advocate Mathew Miller trys to paint tax opponents as liars and misrepresenters in his not very witty L.A. Times Op-Ed today

Conservatives love to cite facts like these: The top 5% of taxpayers pay more than half of federal income taxes; the top 1% pay more than a third all by themselves; and the bottom 80% of earners pay less than 20%.

. . . . .

But this is not the full picture. Any fair-minded person should want to know two other things: What percent of total income do these different slices of earners actually earn; and what share of total federal taxes, not just income taxes, do they pay?

. . . . .

The conservative worldview inexplicably ignores the payroll tax — predominantly the FICA deductions for Social Security and Medicare — as well as excise taxes on things like liquor, gasoline and tobacco. Those taxes take their biggest bite, proportionally, from lower-income Americans.

. . . . . .

The top 1% of American taxpayers earn 17% of the income and pay 23% of total federal taxes; the top 5% earn 31% of the income and pay 40% of the taxes; the bottom 80% of the earners make 41% of the income and pay 31% of the taxes. These numbers are from 2001, the most recent available data; Bush's tax cuts have since made the burden on top earners lower. In other words, for all the conservative whining, we have a modestly progressive federal tax system.

Uh, except that he completely forgets a couple of important points.

First, he ignores the double taxation on corporate profits. Rich Americans, who's wealth is usually tied up in stocks or other investment holdings, are invariably taxed at a higher corporate level as well as a personal level when they liquefy those investments.

Second, Payroll taxes are higher on those who earn more. For some reason, Mr. Miller thinks that most wealthy Americans just found their wealth growing on trees. Sorry, but that doesn't happen. These Americans earned a substantially higher salary than those in lower tax brackets and therefore contribute a substantially higher share of the payroll taxes as well.

Finally, I would imagine that the wealthy also pay a disproportionate share of sales and excise taxes as well. They like to drive $100k Mercedes and $65k Hummers. Don't you think the sales tax on those is just a wee bit higher than on a $5k used 10 year old Honda? Plus, those bigger cars invariably consume far more fuel ... hence the wealthy pay more in fuel taxes.

How about other consumer goods? Hmm, $5,000 plasma TV or $250 20" Sony. Want to take a guess which costs significantly more in taxes. The rich drink more expensive booze and hence pay more in taxes. $75 bottles of Johnnie Walker Black vs. $2.50 bottles of Mad Dog 20/20. Guess which includes more taxes. $20 Montecristo Cigars vs. $2.50 packs of generic cigarettes. Guess who pays more in taxes. The rich also eat more expensive food ... and pay more in taxes.

Of course the same holds true across the board. In any category imaginable, the rich will pay more in taxes because they choose to purchase items that cost disproportionately more. Heck, the Sharper Image Store is really nothing but a devious plot to pry more money out of rich peoples hands. There is nothing the store sells that anyone REALLY needs. But the rich spend a fortune there, and their state budgets are all the better for it.

Sorry, the tired old liberal "tax the rich" argument still doesn't hold water.

Which brings us to the obvious question, one that could be posed to the president at his press conference tonight: Why do leading conservatives stress only part of the picture? Either they're not that smart, or they think the rest of us — especially in the media — aren't that smart.

I'll let you make the call. But the conservatives I know tend to be very smart people.

Well, most conservatives I know are pretty smart too. But almost everyone I know thinks the media is filled with a bunch of ignorant fools and based upon Mr. Miller's reasoning, they are well justified to do so. Either that, or Miller was deliberately misleading the L.A. Times readers.

UPDATE - John from The Crease (who's an accountant, btw) emails in with some excellent points. Wish I had thought of them

First, there's his paragraph:
 
"The top 1% of American taxpayers earn 17% of the income and pay 23% of total federal taxes; the top 5% earn 31% of the income and pay 40% of the taxes; the bottom 80% of the earners make 41% of the income and pay 31% of the taxes. These numbers are from 2001, the most recent available data; Bush's tax cuts have since made the burden on top earners lower. In other words, for all the conservative whining, we have a modestly progressive federal tax system. "
 
OK, so let's look at what he's really saying.  He's saying basically that taxes, to be "fair," should be a function of the income slice that group earns.  OK, by his own numbers then the top 5% of wage earners, who earn 31% of all income in the US, are overtaxed as they pay 40% of all taxes.  Likewise, the bottom 80% (He's conveniently missing 15% of wage earners in his "analysis," by the way) earn 41% of all income and pay 31% of all taxes.
 
OK, so to be "fair," is Mr. Miller saying that taxes should be lowered by 9% for the top 5% of wage earners, and increased by 10% for the lower 80%?  BY HIS OWN ANALYSIS the "rich" are overtaxed.
 
Second, income tax is the debate here.  Payroll taxes like FICA and Medicare are distractions at best, mainly because of two very good reasons:
 
1)  Theoretically, at least, money paid into FICA is paid back at a later date.  Therefore, it's fraudulent to include that in this study.
 
2)  The rich make little or no use of Medicare.  They don't have to.  Therefore, the poor are getting a disproportionate benefit from Medicare when compared to what they're paying in, because the rich are footing the bill.  So properly, the added benefit should either be factored in as income, or more honestly, the Medicare tax (as all payroll taxes) should be ignored as irrelevant.

He also reminded me that the rich are hit with two additional taxes that the poor have no experience with, the Luxury tax on things simply because they are expensive and the death tax.

Ouch!

Mickey Kaus makes a great observation on the quality of the New York Time's reporting.

Does NYT editor Bill Keller realize that Brownstein is cleaning his man Adam Nagourney's clock in this campaign? ... Don't believe me? Think of it this way: If they switched employers, and Brownstein wrote for the New York Times while Nagourney wrote for the Los Angeles Times, would anybody have paid attention to anything Nagourney's written this year? Nagourney's important because of his position. Brownstein's important because he's good.

Ouch!!

BREAKING NEWS ALERTStop The Presses!!!!

Ohio State Troopers have found pot on American Idol Ruben Studdard's tour bus.

Can you believe that!?!?!?!?
Twenty something year old musicians smoking a little reefer. The end must truly be near.

Dennis Hopper's a Republican????????????????

That's what Liz Smith is reporting

DENNIS HOPPER is the "Easy Rider" star-director who grew up surrounded by Democrats. In the '60 he marched with Martin Luther King and protested the Vietnam War.

But did you know that he is now a political conservative and has been since Ronald Reagan? He says, "I liked [Bill] Clinton, but I voted for Bush Sr. And I'm definitely voting for [George W.] Bush again."

Mr. Hopper's wife Victoria is a passionate Democrat who has raised money for John Edwards and John Kerry. Of her Democratic passions, Hopper says to the London Times: "I support Bush and I support my wife and what my wife's involved in. That's all. We don't talk politics. I respect her things, and you know, whether she respects mine doesn't really matter to me."

The Apocalypse must really be coming.

Good Grief, Their Actually Going To F'ing Do It.

Well, its almost official. The Republican Party in Virgina is about to hand over its testicles to Democratic Governor Mark Warner.

Sure, not all Republics will go to sleep tonite as Geldings. State Sen. Ken Cuccinelli is still fighting the good fight.

Those who vote for the tax package will doubtless win the (temporary) favor of Mr. Warner, liberal-leaning big business types, and the New York Times and Washington Post editorial boards. But, in doing so, these politicians will alienate many conservative- and libertarian-leaning voters, who have proven indispensable to the rise of the Virginia Republican Party over the past decade.
The tax-increase package is bad politics and bad public policy. The House Republican leadership supports an alternative tax package — one that increases spending by more than 11 percent over the next two years, but without increases in general sales or income taxes. But that was not enough to satisfy Mr. Warner and Senate Finance Committee Chairman John Chichester, a Republican. While the package passed the Senate by a wide margin, today's House vote is expected to be much closer.

Time will tell, and by this time tomorrow, we will be naming names and making predictions.

One thing is for certain, Republican Congressman Tom Davis does not deserve re-election. The perenial, alcoholic, fence sitter (who handed over his balls a long time ago) has finally taken a hard stand on one issue. By offering seemingly unlimited financial support for any Republican who votes for the tax increase, Davis (the head of the Republican National Congressional Committee) has just applied for a position with the incoming Kerry Campaign. Bastard!!

14, errr, 15 posts

Considering how bad I've been about posting the last two weeks, 15 posts in a day ain't too shabby. Heck, its downright Reynoldsian.

Vietnam Veterans Against John Fonda Kerry

My father in law and his army buddies over in the 69th Armor Association (another great site is here. As a funny aside, he used to have a license plate on his Porsche that read 69 Armor that everyone read as 69 Amour) really hate John Kerry. Whether a democrat or republican, these military veterans agree whole heartedly that John Kerry is as close to being a traitor, without actually being Jane Fonda, that a public figure can actually achieve.

In that honor, they have printed up lots of these great stickers

Vietnam Veteran or not, if you are interested in getting one for your car, email me and I can arrange it. Anyway, they are begining to show up all over Washington, D.C. and the Southeastern U.S. We would love to spread them nationwide.

Dodd, BTTT

Just so no one forgets, Christopher Dodd, the blathering idiot rascist Democrat Senator from Connecticut who thinks Robert Byrd's (the rascist Democrat Senator from West Virginia) tenur as Grand Keagle of the Klu Klux Klan was a good thing has neither apologized nor resigned from his post. In fact, I have yet to hear of call of either from the rascist democratic party. Wonder what John "Elitist Snob" Kerry thinks about that?

In any case, Betsy has the pics of Byrd dressed up as a Confederate soldier during the making of Gods and Generals. Wonder what the hypocrite Democrats wold have said if this was Trent Lott and not their Grand Keagle, Robert Byrd.

What If????

Gregg Easterbrook, in his usual elegant style, asks what if Bush had reacted to the memo?

A hush fell over the city as George W. Bush today became the first president of the United States ever to be removed from office by impeachment. Meeting late into the night, the Senate unanimously voted to convict Bush following a trial on his bill of impeachment from the House.

Moments after being sworn in as the 44th president, Dick Cheney said that disgraced former national security adviser Condoleezza Rice would be turned over to the Hague for trial in the International Court of Justice as a war criminal. Cheney said Washington would "firmly resist" international demands that Bush be extradited for prosecution as well.

On August 7, 2001, Bush had ordered the United States military to stage an all-out attack on alleged terrorist camps in Afghanistan. Thousands of U.S. special forces units parachuted into this neutral country, while air strikes targeted the Afghan government and its supporting military. Pentagon units seized abandoned Soviet air bases throughout Afghanistan, while establishing support bases in nearby nations such as Uzbekistan. Simultaneously, FBI agents throughout the United States staged raids in which dozens of men accused of terrorism were taken prisoner.

As Glenn Reynolds would say, read the whole thing. . . .then write your local democrat politician and tell them where they can stick it.

Kerry & Gun Control

I've discussed this before, but Sportsmen For Kerry? is a great resource of facts about, and lies uttered by, John "Sportsman My Ass" Kerry.

Tarazet's Banner

Check out the new banner at Tarazet!!! Me dog appears twice and my son and heir appears once. Yippeeee!!!!!!!!! We are all famous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Passionate About His Displacement

Is Michael Eisner through??

Some analysts said the box office defeat of "Alamo," which depicts the battle at the San Antonio outpost in 1836, might pave the way for high-level management changes and maybe even for Comcast Corp. (CMCSA.O: Quote, Profile, Research) to take over Disney.

"Depending on the size of the write-off and the pressure it places on earnings, the board could consider changes to management and the board itself, or invite Comcast in for productive two-way negotiations," said Richard Greenfield, an analyst at Fulcrum Global Partners.

. . . .

Some analysts predict Disney (DIS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) will take a write-off of at least 1 cent per share for the second quarter ended in March -- a bad sign for Eisner, who is fighting of a shareholder revolt.

Disney's studio division has led the company in recent quarters but has had tepid showings with animated Western comedy "Home on the Range" and horse adventure "Hidalgo," two films which cost almost as much as "Alamo."

"You put that with all the other things going on, it's got to be putting pressure on Eisner and the board to do something," said independent analyst Dennis McAlpine.

Here's to wishful thinking.

The Bitch Has A Point

As always, the Bitches are right on target with their recommendation that Eddie Eagle visit Flint Michigan and teach Michael Moore's hometown about real gun safety.

Clinton Lied, 3,000 People Died

Clinton lied to the 9/11 commission about his efforts to nab Bin Laden. Asshole.



Both of them.

Monday Song Lyric

Sorry bout last week, but apparantly amidst all the excitment here in D.C. (what excitment you ask?????? I'll blog about it later, at a more appropriate time) I forgot to do a Monday song lyric. Well, thats ok, as Joe Jackson once said, you can read about it in the Monday Papers.

Monday Papers
I don't want to go out any more
I read the news, I can't believe my eyes
I push the table against the door
You know I've had it with the world outside

If you want to know about the murderers and junkies
If you want to know about the Lower East Side
Now they got a map shows you where to get your monkey
You can read it in the Monday papers, Monday papers

Some people like a little gore
Some people always at the scenes of crimes
Now they can watch the TV more
Now they can get it in the Sunday Times

If you find it hard to handle what you see on Page One
You can pull the funnies out and have some laughs
Take a drink and maybe you can laugh at Ronald Reagan
You can read it in the Monday papers, read it in the Monday papers

Monday papers don't ask no questions
Monday papers don't get no lies
Monday papers don't raise objection
Monday papers don't got no eyes

Brother's heading that way now I guess
He just read something made his face turn blue
Well I got nothing against the press
They wouldn't print it if it wasn't true

If you want to know about the gay politician
If you want to know how to be a star
Ladies - if you want to know about the new sex position
You can read it in the Monday papers, read it in the Monday papers

Monday papers don't ask no questions
Monday papers don't get no lies
Monday papers don't raise objection
Monday papers don't got no eyes

Monday papers don't ask no questions
Monday papers don't get no lies
Monday papers don't raise objection
Monday papers don't got no eyes

Read all about it, Monday papers

P.S. I ought to add here that over at the original song lyric blog, Juan Non-Volokh's Sunday Song Lyric has spent the last couple of weeks looking at songs popularized by someone other than the composor. As I said when I started this tiny blog feature, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. He started this latest kick on March 28 with the inimitable Prelude to a Kiss, popularized by Duke Ellington but written by Irving Gordon and Irving Mills. I just want to point out that the week before (March 22) I started the trend by highlighting Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac classic Black Magic Woman, made famous, as you know, by Carlos Santana.

Passionate about Italy

The small town of Matera in Italy's Basilicata region is hoping its association with the Passion of the Christ (the movie was shot on location here) will result in increased tourism.

"We are off the beaten path, I don't have too many illusions," said Rosalia Giura Longo, who runs the Italia hotel and whose photo with Gibson hangs in the lobby alongside a thank-you note he wrote her. "But this year it looks like things are moving."

My suggestion, tourists should ALWAYS seek out unique towns such as this ... that are off the beaten path. You will invariably find the most unique experience, with locals willing to give you epecially insightful views on the local culture and top ofthe line service at local restaurants excited about your presence and the opportunity to conect with the outside world. Its true where ever you go, be it Italy, Romania, Sweden, or simply Quincy, Illinois.

I haven't been to Matera, but based upon the pictures I have seen, it looks simply fascinating. I hope to visit soon.