Sunday, November 30, 2008

Sunday Essay: "Bastardizing Chivalry"


(Every Sunday will include a little essay that is off the beaten track a bit. It's not meant to be serious. It's not meant to invoke any deep thinking. It's just for fun...and more than a few will be a bit warped. Just like the other six days entries.)
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"Bastardizing Chivalry"

The origins of chivalry, for the most part, can be traced back to the 12th Century. Amusingly, the word, itself, comes from the word ‘cheval.’ That means "horse.” The tin man sitting on the cheval would be the ‘chevalier.’ He became the emissary of ‘chevalerie.’ So, by default, the truly chivalrous one must eat out of a bucket, sleep standing up, and jump the occasional fence.

French Literary figure of the 1800’s , Honore de Balzac tells us “the motto of chivalry is also the motto of wisdom; to serve all, but love only one." That quote finds de Balzac early in this life. Years later he was to provide comment that could, possibly, be considered a recant.

A good marriage would be between a blind wife and a deaf husband."

Weighty words from one considered an intellectual. Unfortunately, I was reminded of a Seinfeld episode and immediately regressed into the belief that a blind wife would be an annoyance. Blind wives, as they say, would be a little messier around the house. There’s no way she would get all the crumbs. However, I’d relish the opportunity to let the house go a bit. In addition, you could let yourself go. A blind wife would never know if you are good looking or not. She would never know if you’re good enough for her (shameless rip offs of Seinfeld Episode 114).

Tough call.

Modern day chivalry seems to have a varying mileage. Somehow, the concept has always been considered interaction between those of the opposite of sex. As a result, some arbitrary actions are perceived to be an emphasis on dominance; male over female. Those folks need to lighten up a tad. It’s not like I hold the door for unattractive women.

I’m kidding.

Respected author, Albert Geurard, seems to think less of chivalry. He went so far as to call it “the most delicate form of contempt." Well, that’s just not true. Winona Ryder with pockets is the most delicate form of contempt. What people fail to realize is that there are some droll historical truths attached to our, everyday, acts of chivalry.

For example, we are all familiar with the most recognized progeny of the “Code la Chevalries,” door holding. We do it for those with their hands full. Perhaps we do it for the opposite sex. Most of us do so as a courtesy to all making an entrance without consideration of gender. It’s just a civil gesture. However, back in the 1200’s a knight might hold wide the entry for m’lady simply out of the consideration that an adversary with raised sword or battle axe lay wait out of sight just beyond the frame. Really, it’s true. That is the clear origin of such an act.

(Feel free to insert your own “battle axe” pun here)

There is, also, the act of holding the lady’s coat behind her so that she can gain easier access. A wonderful and thoughtful gesture to be sure. It can, in duplicity, be an act of irritation as well; at least in my family. For as long as I can remember, my father would always hold my mother’s coat for her. Every single time, he would pinch shut one of the sleeves and watch with sophomoric delight as she searched in vain for that elusive opening. I tried that once (ONCE) with my girlfriend. It didn’t go over well, but I’m healing.

There are times when chivalry gets in the way of safety. The act must be fluid, subtle, and in good sense I’m afraid. Fraser Marlton-Thomas knows well that lesson.

Christmas Day 2005, the young man in royal service to the Queen of England noticed her majesty stand up during the dinner at Sandringham. Responding immediately, he pulled the chair back from the table assuming that she was about to visit the buffet. Unfortunately, the Queen had planned on sitting back down straight away. Her Highness ended up on her “hindness.”

We have a multitude of chivalrous, idiosyncratic behaviors that can be deployed in the name of consideration and courtesy. In fact, we have some efforts that are outdated, but we still do them. For instance, it is considered proper for the man to walk closest to the street when escorting a woman down the avenue. This action predates macadam. When you perform this thoughtful gesture, my friend, you are shielding your main squeeze from the perils of fast passing carriages, and rut accumulated mud puddles. If you still employ this ritual of civility I salute you. Mud puddles and carriages have given way to drive by’s and souped-up Toyotas.

Chivalry, evolved from a horse; acheval, really holds no hard and fast rules. Courtesy seems to be the guiding principle. I think there is something to be said for acting in moderation. Take Mark Twain’s advice in that regard. He said, “I can always tell which is the front end of a horse, but beyond that, my art is not above the ordinary.” I would, only, add that ignoring chivalry altogether can hold the same menace attributed to not recognizing the south end of that same horse.

Holding the sleeve shut packs a perfidious kick.

Note to self...



Hottie?...or Nottie?

Never say, do, or imply anything negative towards Mark Steyn. (This is a proper Fisking).

Indian Eye opener...


Terrorism suddenly gets personal for many Indians

"Welcome to the party, pal."


Deck the Halls with...atheistic billboards


The Capitol has had a holiday tree, provided by the Association of Washington Business, for 19 years.

In 2006, it was joined by a menorah sponsored by a Seattle Jewish group. A menorah is a candelabrum that recognizes Hanukkah.

That prompted a lawmaker from Spokane to stage a protest at the Capitol, demanding the holiday tree be called a "Christmas tree." It also led a local real estate agent to sue the state to allow the nativity display depicting the birth of Jesus.

There have been no requests for a menorah display this year.

But a new addition will be a sign sponsored by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, The Olympian reported. The sign reads, "Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."

Cracks me up. Not just the "Freedom from Religion Foundation," but the 'what about me?' hijinks from all of these folks.

I prefer motivational posters such as one depicting the Pyramids of Giza followed by the phrase... "Anything is possible with cheap labor."

Racism disguised as diversity...


Some may be tempted to say this is unnecessary, that the qualified naturally rise to the top. But study after study shows that's not the case.

This isn't just some feel good exercise. Studies have linked leadership diversity to better corporate performance and more creative thinking, not to mention improved social cohesion. As David Pecaut, chair of the city summit alliance, puts it: "You get away from group think – from people coming to the table with the same ideas, the same vision, having gone to the same places in their lives."

Many businesses and organizations already know this but have struggled to find people from diverse backgrounds, and many who would serve well on these boards don't know where to apply. Now, with DiverseCity in the middle, those connections can be made.


Two things to consider on this Toronto Star editorial whining that there isn't enough diversity in Canadian "board rooms."

1. These magical studies mentioned in the first paragraph that "link leadership diversity to better corporate performance"...what studies?...note them...dissect them...at least cite them so I can...read them.

2. It might just be me...but I don't want anyone near a board room that doesn't know where to go in order to apply for that position.

Nice job with the blantant racism of filling a quota number of "board room" positions with ethnic diversity, Canada. CHARGE!!!!....FULL SPEED AHEAD TO PROGRESSIVE ENLIGHTENMENT.

Feel better?...and is it too much to ask that the cretin that wrote this garbage be required to sign his/her name to the byline so that we can properly categorize their ignorance?

Saturday, November 29, 2008

LET THEM ROT!!!


Here are some of the well known names of CRIMINALS lobbying for a Presidential Pardon:

Michael Milken: In todays financial climate, it would be absolutely insane to provide clemency to the tax evading, insider trading, false filing, price inflating, law breaker.

John Walker Lindh (aka-Sulayman al-Faris): Any idiot who is swayed to a so-called religion by a Spike Lee film deserves to be kept away from the rest of us.

Randy "Duke" Cunningham: "Cunningham pled guilty to tax evasion, conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, and wire fraud in federal court in San Diego. Among the many bribes Cunningham admitted receiving were the house sale at an inflated price, the free use of the yacht, a used Rolls-Royce, antique furniture, Persian rugs, jewelry, and a $2,000 contribution for his daughter's college graduation party." Of course, we should give him Christopher Dodd (Mr. Countrywide) for company as a compromise.

Louisiana Gov. Edwin W. Edwards: Let's see...racketeering, extortion, money laundering, mail fraud, and wire fraud; Well, at least he was thorough. I'm guessing he is probably one of only a handful of Democrat politicians that actually had to face the music. He should be joined by William Jefferson.

Defending their so-called religion...again.

In a statement posted Thursday on the Islamist rebel web site Kavkazcenter.com, a group called the Kataib al-Khoul, also known as the Ossetian Jamaat, said one of its senior leaders shot and killed Karayev as he stepped into his silver Mercedes at about 9 a.m. Wednesday. The statement said Karayev was killed because he ordered a crackdown in Vladikavkaz on women wearing traditional Muslim garb in the wake of the Nov. 6 attack by a female suicide bomber in the city that left 12 people dead.
With all the activity and Islamic butchery in Bombay, this Islamic assassination of the mayor of the North Ossetian capital, Vladikavkaz, didn't get much play. North Ossetia is a republic that is mostly Christian found in the North Caucasus (which is predominately Muslim).

I'm curious...since it appears that it is acceptable for Muslims to "defend" their religion by any means necessary...does that mean that they wouldn't be upset should Christians take on the same Modus Operandi?

Incidentally, the "Islamist rebel" website mentioned above is hosted in lovely and picturesque Sweden.

Irony


A wealthy butcher's wife who police said was the most pie-eyed drink-driver they had ever seen downed two bottles of wine after getting frustrated when she couldn't find her way to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.


Doesn't mean a thing...


A southern African regional court in Namibia ruled Friday that 78 white Zimbabweans could keep their farms, saying the government’s land reallocation policy was racially motivated.

As the article points out in the follow-up...President Robert Mugabe will merely take these farms anyway. That's what racist thugs do in the aftermath of an unfavorable ruling by something called the "Court."

Friday, November 28, 2008

Alaskan SEALS...the nasty kind...

KODIAK - Everyone in town knows about the Navy SEAL base on Spruce Cape. Walk along the beach on the cape's north side and soon you'll hit a fence. On the fence, you see a sign saying do not enter and an ominous cutout of a human figure.

Ensign Ron Rector, officer in charge at the base, sat down for an interview to clarify what does and does not go on behind those fences.

Stalin wasn't such a bad guy...


The Kremlin in the Putin era has often sought to maintain as much sway over the portrayal of history as over the governance of the country. In seeking to restore Russia's standing, Putin and other officials have stoked a nationalism that glorifies Soviet triumphs while playing down or even whitewashing the system's horrors.

As a result, throughout Russia, many archives detailing killings, persecution and other such acts committed by the Soviet authorities have become increasingly off-limits. The role of the security services seems especially delicate, perhaps because Putin is a former KGB agent who headed the agency's successor, the FSB, in the late 1990s.
I was shocked to see the New York Times (via the International Herald Tribune) pointing out that Russia has been whitewashing their past and purging Stalin's little daliances. Perhaps they think that Stalin is getting shortchanged here. An interesting read none-the-less.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Muslims did this...



AND THIS...

AND MUCH, MUCH MORE...

Oh...but you can't attribute the acts of a comparative handful of radicals to that of an entire religion...
Can't I?
Watch me....

MUSLIMS DID THIS...


It's time to drop the pretense that the entire Muslim religion is not rife with enablers, sympathizers and outright supporters of this butchery.

Incidentally:
(Pew Research Center)
One in four younger U.S. Muslims say suicide bombings to defend their religion are acceptable at least in some circumstances...

That's 25% of young Muslims who say that suicide bombings are just A-OK with them. Well, that makes atleast 25% of young US Muslims lower than the mud caked into the tread of a boot. By association, the justification they use to accommodate this troglodytical position is the fact that they are Muslim. They "defend" their religion against cartoons. They "defend" their religion against film makers. They "defend" their religion against publishers.

MUSLIMS DID THIS...


In my opinion...that so-called religion sucks...



Related: Muslim Terrorists, Enablers, and Apologists

Happy Thanksgiving!!!



Another Rockwell...what can I say? This one is entitled "Cousin Reginald Catches the Thanksgiving Turkey." It should be entitled..."Cousin Reginald Catches the Thanksgiving Turkey in a Bad Mood." It appeared on the cover of Country Gentleman in 1917.

Bask, my friends, in the politically incorrectness of it all. Taunting friends (and dog), the implication of an axe on a turkey neck, and running with a sharp implement. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Place your bets on a safe return...

On November 25th, 2008, Daniel Belanger, a New York-based social entrepreneur, digital designer and accomplished outdoorsman, will set out on a solo expedition to photograph the Earth’s most remote wildlife. Dubbed “The Wild Image Project,” the carefully-planned journey will produce over 100,000 photographic images that will be shared with the public through books, multimedia projects and speaking engagements promoting the preservation of endangered species and natural settings.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and state that I don't think we'll ever see this gentleman again. The first leg is a 350 mile open-ocean crossing from Argentina to the Falkland Islands by kayak.

The goal of the Wild Image Project is to educate the public on the existence of exotic and endangered species that play an essential role in complex ecosystems that are outside the general populations’ consciousness,” said Belanger.
.
"I wonder what that guy in the flowered shirt sitting on that floating shiney thing would taste like?" queried the curious great white shark.

Planned Obsolescence...

So far, Biden has not been given a defined portfolio, the way Al Gore was given the environment and technology in 1992. And Obama's aides say they do not expect Biden to assume the kind of muscular role that Vice President Dick Cheney has played over the last eight years, although he is expected to put out a number of fires.

"I'm sure that there will be discrete assignments over time," said David Axelrod, a senior adviser to the president-elect. "But I think his fundamental role is as a trusted counselor. I think that when Obama selected him, he selected him to be a counselor and an adviser on a broad range of issues."
Psssst...hey, Joe. You've served 'The One's' purpose. Now, find some place to stand that isn't in the way. We'd ask you to exercise a bit, and eat better, but to be honest, we're not sure we're going to need you in 2012. It depends on what we need to feed to the voters...you understand...right? That's a good boy. Hey...HEY...Joe...what did we tell out about pouting? Mouth shut, pardner...zip it.

Madonna...dumber than a box retarded rocks...

Madonna, Sienna Miller and Leonardo DiCaprio will battle it out to be named the ultimate green celebrity.

Playhouse Disney's Playing for the Planet Awards has announced a shortlist of 10 stars who have been nominated for the Greenest Star prize for using their fame to promote environmental issues.
Let's see how Madonna is doing...

11/26/08: The 50-year-old pop diva and the 33-year-old Yankee were spotted exiting a private jet in Miami early Tuesday morning, along with their manager Guy Oseary. Madge then got into A-Rod's waiting Maybach and the two drove off into the sunrise.

So...let's summarize...a private jet...a Maybach (which gets about 12 miles to the gallon)...not to mention the ten pounds of cosmetic products to cover up what's left of the 50 year old's face. That's enough petroleum based product right there to heat a small country for a year. Madonna is a tool.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Who's the short hairy guy?


That's right when you order a beer at the Kayabuki Tavern your waiter is in a monkey suit. A real one as a matter of fact.

Five-year-old Fuchan and 12-year-old Yatchan work the tables, give you hand towels, hand out ashtrays. They also take your money and give you your change back.
VIDEO

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Top Ten reasons not to use monkeys as bartenders.

10. Full body hairnets destroy the relaxed atmosphere.
9. Alcohol and lower primates never ends well.
8. Too much confusion over the whole ‘monkey bars’ thing.
7. Excrement wars.
6. The mystery of the disappearing banana liqueur.
5. PETA protesting for better wages.
4. Too many old guys with accordions hanging around.
3. No more sports on the televisions; all Animal Planet all the time.
2. Work stoppage if someone inadvertently says, “no more monkeybusiness.”
1. And the #1 reason not to use monkeys as bartenders…Planet of the Apes…nuff said.

This will be good...



From Andrew Bolt of the Herald Sun (Down Under). This is priceless...I hadn't known that it was Václav Klaus's turn at the wheel.

He has blamed what he calls the misguided fight against global warming for contributing to the international financial crisis, branded Al Gore an “apostle of arrogance” for his role in that fight, and accused the European Union of acting like a Communist state.

UPDATE:

During a Nov. 10–12 official visit to Ireland, Klaus sat down to a friendly dinner with another notorious anti-EU-campaigner, Declan Ganley. While addressing journalists after the private soiree, Klaus reportedly voiced his support for Ganley — whose organization Libertas is held responsible for the Irish “No” vote on the Lisbon Treaty in a June referendum — during the upcoming European parliamentary elections and criticized the Irish government for its pro-EU stand.

Klaus later provided a bizarre defense of his actions in the face of criticism by local and European observers. “I see no reason why I should not meet with him,” he said, pointing out that his predecessor, Václav Havel, used to meet with international dissidents on official trips. “I, too, am now meeting one EU dissident. I consider myself to be another one.”
Holy smokes...this is going to be REALLY good.

Imagine the opening ceremony...Dancing Dead Voters


You may...or may not...know that Chicago is making a bid to host the Summer Olypiad in 2016. As expected, they are using Barack Obama to woo the election committee before the October 2, 2009 vote.

By the time Chicago made the third of five such presentations to the European Olympic Committees on Friday, there was a sense of irony in delivering that message because it was followed for the first time by a video featuring the man who has introduced much of the world to Chicago in recent weeks.

Barack Obama’s aura is such that it has led to a further irony in the Summer Games bid campaign: Rio de Janeiro, one of Chicago’s three rivals along with Madrid and Tokyo, has appropriated Obama’s campaign theme.
Heh heh...

"It is the right time for Rio, for Brazil and for South America," Sergio Cabral, governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro, said during the Rio presentation. "We are ready. We are committed. . . . Yes, we can."

(shrugs)...I smirk every time I see that vacuous, empty, vague, non-committal, and highly aloof phrase 'Yes, we can'...then I shake my head and wonder how such a formless haze can actually influence anyone. Then...I glance to my television and note that most commercials are geared towards a demographic that clearly thinks on the level of an obtuse third grader and it all makes sense. (shrugs again).

Taxing the Rich


This is how they tax the rich in China:

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Mystery surrounded the whereabouts of Huang Guangyu, one of China's wealthiest individuals, a day after reports surfaced that he was recently detained by the Beijing police for questioning over alleged financial wrongdoing.

This article places his worth at about $2.7 Billion. It's probably closer to $6 Billion...and Guangyu is, arguably, the richest man in China...or was.

Monday, November 24, 2008

H.L. Mencken --"Sage of Baltimore"


Tait Trussel of the Saturday Evening Post takes an inside look at the late H. L. Mencken...one of my favorites.

Henry Louis Mencken was a libertarian before that term came into use. The frequent targets of his writing were New Deal politics, social reformers, "boobs and quacks," and "gaudy sham." But he was not all negativity. He loved the music of Beethoven, Brahms, and Bach, and the writings of Mark Twain and other famed writers.
My favorite quote attributed to Mencken? That's simple:

"I believe in only one thing: liberty; but I do not believe in liberty enough to want to force it upon anyone."

Do I look fat in this dress? YES!!!! YOU'RE HUGE!!!!


If you have been following the escapades up in Canada concerning the application of selective censorship via the Human Rights Commissions (Canadian Inquisition), this particular post by Ezra Levant will stir your irony bone. There’s an unwritten rule of the Court room adhered to by most competent attorneys. You never ask a question of a witness to which you, yourself, do not know the answer.

Similarly, you don’t ask someone if the dress makes your butt look big, if you aren’t willing to accept the truth.

From the Captain Obvious Chronicles...


BEIJING: China reacted angrily Monday to a United Nations report that says the government tortures political and criminal prisoners, calling its authors biased and driven by a political agenda.

The report, issued Friday by the UN Committee Against Torture, documents widespread abuse in the Chinese legal system, one that often gains convictions through forced confessions.

The report recounts Chinese use of "secret prisons" and the widespread harassment of lawyers who take on human rights cases. It also criticizes the government's extralegal system of punishment, known as re-education through labor, that metes out prison terms to dissidents without judicial review.

It's my assumption that China is going to turn into a powder keg in the next decade. Just last year I remember reading that the Chinese Government hired over 300,000 new riot police. Every day there are more tales of unrest in the outer Provinces. China seems to be just reaching what the United States went through in the early 50's through the 60's...but in a more explosive manner. There is already evidence of various industrial workers forming group protests, and like the age of Jimmy Hoffa and the Teamsters, there is no shortage of organized crime on the Chinese mainland that would allow black market organizing.

The reason I believe it to be a powder keg deals mainly with the fact that a Communist Government (make no mistake...their application is brutal)...and a rights hungering populace cannot co-exist. One will have to fully dominate the other. There will not be compromise, and there will not be mercy.

Democracy has always been an experiment in motion. Limited Democracy is just darn dangerous.

What's that have to do with the UN slapping China's wrist with a strongly worded report? Nothing...the UN is a bunch of anti-semitic and corrupt pansies. I just wanted to vent. Perhaps the love affair with China (read: indirect chastising of the United States through said bond) by the UN and the European Union has reached its tipping point.

Premptive Strike...


As the Bush Administration winds down, it is a given that the media will take their last swings. So, before any of the lefty columnists has the opportunity to claim that charitable donations are suffering as a result of the politically correct, non-accountable lending practices failure, I thought I'd link to this:

The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University reports contributions to American charities have increased in 39 of the past 40 years in today's dollars. The drop that one year -- 1987 -- is blamed on a change in the tax laws rather than the stock market crash.

Research shows that giving drops less than one percent for every 100 point drop in the Standard -- Poor's 500 stock index. The stock market overall has a relatively small impact on individual charitable giving nationally.

There...I'm sure that will stop them.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Help...a prostitute is trying to seduce me!!!


That's my unsolicited comment to the idiot, Marc Halperin, and every other media hack right now. They sold their souls for an Obama presidency. The market share(s) across the board for each and every one of these media outlets took a corresponding nose dive as a result of the obvious bias. Their numbers were abysmal during one of the most exciting political contests in recent memory.

How do I know, without reservation, that Halperin's comments were nothing more than a half-assed attempted to gain back readers by taking the lead in wooing disgruntled and disgusted consumers? He can say stuff like this:

"It was extreme bias, extreme pro-Obama coverage."

When we know the "whore" actually means stuff like this:

Friday (10/10/04),internal memo at ABC News by Marc Halperin:
"[T]he current Bush attacks on Kerry involve distortions and taking things out of context in a way that goes beyond what Kerry has done.

Kerry distorts, takes out of context, and mistakes all the time, but these are not central to his efforts to win ... I'm sure many of you have this week felt the stepped up Bush efforts to complain about our coverage. This is all part of their efforts to get away with as much as possible with the stepped up, renewed efforts to win the election by destroying Senator Kerry at least partly through distortions.

It's up to Kerry to defend himself, of course. But as one of the few news organizations with the skill and strength to help voters evaluate what the candidates are saying to serve the public interest. Now is the time for all of us to step up and do that right."

Marc Halperin is a souless whore who is, only now, more concerned about how a piss poor circulation figure effects a piss poor advertising rate which effects the career dissipation light blinking just off stage right. These water carriers don't seem to understand that credibility is not built in an afternoon. It is earned over time. The print (and network) media have run out of time. He can shove it up his posterior; which I believe costs extra in Halperin's world.

(h/t American Thinker)

Sunday essay: "Our Ancestors Ate Dirt"


(Every Sunday will include a little essay that is off the beaten track a bit. It's not meant to be serious. It's not meant to invoke any deep thinking. It's just for fun...and more than a few will be a bit warped. Just like the other six days entries.)

___________________

"OUR ANCESTORS ATE DIRT"


I'm on the fence.

While I have significant respect for our ancestors, I'm beginning to think they might have been a little touched. Our generation has the distinction of inventions and enhancements related to computers, televisions, sporting equipment and the like. Our ancestors had a much more down to earth search to achieve innovation.

Somewhere along the way, in the very basic sense of the word, our ancestors determined various types of items could be subjected to oral consumption. In other words, they set the trend on what we eat. How they came up with some of this stuff can only suggest that a considerable number of inhabitants of our previous centuries were traipsing around sticking things in their mouths at every opportunity. What’s worse is that most of these culinary treasures first required a prerequisite digging around in the dirt. Perhaps it was instinctual.

If you have a toddler at home, try this little experiment. Place the little dickens in the middle of a freshly prepared garden patch. I’ll wager you have to wait all of two minutes before hand goes to a wad of topsoil, and rebounds right up to the mouth for a little sample. It’s instinctual, and our ancient ancestors were more in touch with those internal impulses. Simply put, the earlier the date, the more likely they were to eat dirt.

Take marshmallows as an example. Someone in ancient Egypt had the revelation to dig up the root of a Marsh Mallow bush. Now, these bushes grew to about six feet tall and could only be located in the salt marshes where salt water and fresh water met. They weren’t something you’d stumble across while going for a walk. What I’d like to know is who was the first one to stick it in his mouth. If it were up to Freud, he would deduce that a majority of man’s greatest culinary discoveries were motivated by an oral fixation. Then again, Freud probably giggled like a school girl every time he saw a train enter a mountain tunnel.

Don’t misinterpret me here. I think it’s great that Egypt had their dirt eaters. Marsh Mallow root was used in Ancient Greece as a medicine for such things as sore throats, toothaches and more. Apparently, the original medicine was added to a sugar mixture, and the eventual transformation is what want-to-be pyromaniacs stick in campfires present day.

Root Beer is another one of those curious discoveries. Today, the name is so common place that few ponder the fact that genuine root beer, actually, involved a whole mess of stuff that you and I would spend most of our Saturday afternoon raking off our pristine lawns.

Charles Hires’ parents likely had to resort to tying the poor kid’s hands behind his back when he was a scrapper. For in his adulthood he’d stick anything in his mouth. The Hires version of “root beer” evolved from an herbal tea he used to brew in the mid 1800’s. He took his inspiration from “small beers” developed in colonial times. Such things as allspice, birch bark, coriander, juniper, ginger, wintergreen, hops, burdock root, dandelion root, spikenard, pipsissewa, guaiacum chips, sarsaparilla, spicewood, wild cherry bark, yellow dock, prickly ash bark, sassafras root*, vanilla beans, hops, dog grass, molasses and licorice fit the bill. My dog eats grass periodically. I don’t see her getting a patent application anytime soon, however.

There are plenty of interesting examples of our ancestors eating dirt. The origins are steeped in medicinal qualities, spiritual enlightenment, vitality, and just plain curiosity. I'm sure more than a few were the result of a dare. While a number of these risk takers were pioneers in a multitude of evolved products that we eat today, one has to contemplate the thought of the first person who stuck it in his mouth.

There aren’t a lot of noteworthy new culinary delights discovered in present times. You might think that’s because most of the basic finds occurred many years in the past. I tend to think that Mothers are to blame. In fact, there is a simple phrase that has, no doubt, stunted the entire food discovery movement altogether. There’s nothing really documenting the exact date that the phrase was first instituted. However, I’ll go out on a limb and hypothesize that somewhere in the early twentieth century someone’s maternal instincts overcame a child’s internal impulses with the, now, coined phrase….

“Don’t stick that in your mouth…you have no idea where that’s been.”

Now, about that five second rule…

America's Jihad...payback time...

"In the past decade, top U.S. law firms like Jones Day, based in Cleveland, went from six foreign offices to 18. Weil, Gotshal & Manges, based in New York, went from three to nine, and Latham & Watkins, based in Los Angeles, from five to 14.

Much of this expansion has occurred in the past five years, and even more recently than that for the Middle East and Asia, according to statistics compiled by the National Law Journal, a trade publication. In Hong Kong, there was a 48 percent increase in the number of lawyers from the 250 biggest American law firms from 2007 to 2008, based on data from the journal. In Abu Dhabi, their ranks grew 144 percent."


So Muslim immigrants come to the West, and immediately initiate a "soft Jihad" by way of the Courts, Human Rights Commissions, and required segregationism. Sharia law is pushed to "police their own." All the while, the West sleeps in their own apathy.

Well, friends, it's payback time. The worst we have to offer has begun the counter attack. We're sending out our lawyers. The rest of the world is doomed. In no time at all, there will be medicinal Khat dens all over the Middle East run by topless Muslim women wearing only sheer bikini bottoms. Kalashnikov Arms will be sued out of existence. And, humus stands will require signs listing contents and calories.

Good bye Middle East...


The decline of America...


*snort*

"Some fools are trying to turn the arrests of Dianne Wilkerson and Chuck Turner into a racial issue. But this scandal is yet another example of the decline in American standards - in this case, the standard of stealing.

An effective leader must learn to delegate authority. This includes having someone else pick up the cash you have extorted."


Saturday, November 22, 2008

One cheek per seat...



"The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld a regulatory ruling requiring airlines to offer a free extra seat to certain disabled and obese people.

In a decision released without comment Thursday, Canada's top court rejected an application by Air Canada and WestJet for permission to appeal a Canadian Transportation Agency ruling issued earlier this year."
_____
I've never bought the whole "obesity is a disability" schtick. I'm tall, but I don't file suit to have the seat taken out in front of me on a flight. I don't require my neighbors to trim the tree limbs a little higher. I don't require car companies to assure that all vehicles accommodate 6'6"...and believe me...they don't.

Short of cutting my legs off below the knees...I have no control over my height. The obese? Do they have recourse besides, you know, requiring the privately owned businesses to adjust to their idiosyncratic behavior flaws?

This appears to be another such situation where the "victim" needs to practice abstinence.


Wrong Ideology...correct approach...



Martine Aubry, who had challenged Sarkozy in the French Presidential election last year has just (narrowly) won the leadership slot in the Socialist Party. She didn't waste everyone's time by planting a false look of concern in order to tell all those looking on that she would make a special effort to reach across the aisle in the spirit of cooperation. Instead, she bared her teeth.

"Aubry has called for the Socialist Party to be "anchored on the left," dismissing Royal's idea of a possible alliance with the centrist Democratic Movement. Vowing to present Sarkozy with a revived political opposition, Aubry wants to create a shadow cabinet of politicians who would systematically challenge their counterparts in the Sarkozy government."

I hate to admit it, but I respect this French Socialist more than John McCain when it comes to politics. I respect her more than most representing the Republican party these days. You don't compromise ideology or values. Anything less is dishonesty, pandering, and insulting to the constituent. Your philosophy and ideology may suck...but it's yours.

Friday, November 21, 2008

French do something right.

French prisons are dirty, overcrowded and run-down, the leading European human rights organization said in a scathing report issued Thursday...

"Living conditions are still unacceptable for numerous detainees, who have to cope with overcrowding, lack of privacy, dilapidated facilities and substandard hygiene," said Hammarberg, a former head of the Save the Children charity.

His report also raised an alarm about prison suicides, saying almost 100 French inmates had taken their own lives this year. "The high level of suicides in French prisons is a symptom of structural deficiencies in the penitentiary system," he said.


That sort of sounds like a place I'd not like to see in person. It's almost like...punishment. As for the substandard hygiene issue...I doubt they really notice. Come on...it's France.

Muslim Terrorists, Enablers, and Apologists


The Muslim News:
Muslims like other communities want equal and fair treatment rather than treatment which is discriminatory or highly prejudicial. A recent arrest of fire bombers of a publisher under terror laws is another case in point. They were held under anti terror laws for almost a week and then charged under normal armed offences, which they could have used at the time of arrest. But because they were Muslims, anti terror laws were misused to collect information. What was also disturbing about this incidence was that the police allowed the perpetrators to carry out the bombing (they were under police surveillance). Luckily no one was injured. The police told The Muslim News the reason they were allowed to carry out the bombing was that they could be caught “red-handed”.
UNFAIR!!! UNFAIR!!! They allowed them to carry out the bombing because they could, then, be caught "red-handed."

I don't buy that. But, it's plausible...because anything short of surveillance monitored proof of the crime would have resulted in these same mouth-breathing cretins at the Muslim News claiming that the three morons holding the bottle of petrol were looking for their lost moped.

Not a word from the Muslim News as to why the Gibson Square publishing company was fire bombed.

Apparently, towards the end of September, there were a bunch of gelatinous-brained Muslims who didn’t like the fact that Gibson Square published a fiction novel (Jewel of Medina) by US author and journalist, Sherry Jones that gives a fictionalized account of the Prophet Muhammad’s relationship with a child bride named Aisha. In their minds, that was sufficient cause to burn down the publishing house, which doubled as a residence.

Three Muslims were arrested for the act.

Random House had, actually, been scheduled to publish the book, but cancelled under public outrage by the same caliber of sphincters who firebombed Gibson, and write for Muslim News. Ironically, the whole ‘up in arms’ attitude against the book was likely propagated by the possible hysterics of Denise Spellberg, a professor of Middle Eastern studies at the University of Texas. She seems to be a real piece of excrement in her own right.

It was a freakin' book of fiction for Pete's sake. GET A GRIP YOU OVER-SENSITIVE, THIN SKINNED, WHINING TROGLODYTES!!!! And, yes, Muhammad was indeed a pedophile by the standards of a civilized world. So says the quran (lower case q on purpose).

The silver lining in it all, of course, is the owner of Gibson Publishing, Martin Rynja. The man believes in free speech and has chosen not to be deterred by ‘book burning’ half-wit assholes like those launching fire bombs, ignorance of those Muslims filling their compatriots with over-propagandized tripe like the Muslim News, or self-proclaimed pseudo-scholars without the least bit of common sense or decency like Denise Spellman. He’s going full speed ahead.

Gibson Publishing has previously published Londonistan by Melanie Phillips and Blowing Up Russia by the late Alexander Litvinenko. You'll find the link to Melanie Phillips' fine blog in the 'Worm List' on the left side of the page.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Another year older for the Exalted Cyclops



Happy Birthday to you;
Happy Birthday to you;
Happy Birthday you...you bigoted, older than dirt, earmark loving, filibusterer of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, opposition to the Voter Rights Act of 1965, Iraq defeatest...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUUUUUU....



In honor of Robert Carlyle Byrd's 91st birthday...all white sheets in West Virginia are half-price.

Really?

No...not really.

Julius Caesar knew how to deal with pirates...


"In 75 BC, Caesar left Rome to study in Rhodes under the great teacher Apollonius Molon. While en route, however, he was waylaid by Cilician pirates and taken hostage. A Roman patrician was a good prize to catch and the pirates demanded for 20 talents (nearly 5,000 gold coins) for his release. Caesar, showing his arrogance, mocked the pirates by insisting that a rising patrician such as himself was worth no less than 50 talents (12,000 gold coins). In all he was held for 38 days and used the time to write speeches and practice his rhetoric on his captors. Though apparently treated quite well, Caesar vowed, and told them often, that when he was released he would come back to capture and crucify the lot of them. After his release, he did just that, mustering his own small fleet to accomplish the task. Good to his word, the pirates were hunted down and crucified. Though as a sign of his apparent aversion to cruelty, it's been suggested that the men were killed quickly to prevent the horrible death of crucifixion."

Sandy Berger & Dan Rather...call your office


"Recently uncovered documents in the British archives reveal dark secrets from World War II. One problem: they are forgeries."

This is an interesting read from "Smithsonian Magazine." The article, indirectly, tells whom 'allegedly' placed forged documents into the British Archives...and the motive seems to have been financial gain on resulting literary works that used those documents to introduce new revelations to the world.

However, the same process could be applied to promote a more nefarious and political motive due to the lack of security and selective prosecution. I would only use the Holocaust as an example and let you fill in the blanks as to who could benefit from such revisionism.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

I know that name...


Via NRO...Byron York:

The focus of the Policy Working Groups will be to develop the priority policy proposals and plans from the Obama Campaign for action during the Obama-Biden Administration. The Policy Working Groups will focus on the following areas: Economy, Education, Energy and Environment, Health Care, Immigration, National Security, and Technology, Innovation and Government Reform.

The list of Policy Working Group Leaders and their biographies are below:

Economic: Daniel K. Tarullo
Education: Linda Darling-Hammond
Energy and Environment: Carol M. Browner
Health Care: Senator Tom Daschle
Immigration: T. Alexander Aleinikoff, Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuéllar
National Security: James B. Steinberg, Dr. Susan E. Rice
Technology, Innovation and Government Reform: Sonal Shah, Julius
Genachowski, Blair Levin

Carol Browner...Carol Browner...I know that name....OH YEAH!!! THAT CAROL BROWNER...the one accused of actually lobbying against the Congress on policy and budget negotiations while still holding her position at the EPA.

FDA Roadshow...



I suppose that this is a good idea.

I do have an issue with the caption that accompanies the photograph of a consumer in a Beijing Wal-Mart inspecting some eggs, however.

The caption states:

A customer inspecting a carton of eggs at a Wal-Mart in Beijing. The new FDA offices, which are the first outside of the United States, hope to increase effectiveness in protecting American and Chinese consumers. (Elizabeth Dalziel/The Associated Press)
My concern is that the Food & Drug Administration, per that caption, is inspecting products to protect the Chinese consumer as well. I’m hoping that is just the patented and incessant Associated Press sloppiness at work. I couldn’t imagine thirteen FDA employees inspecting anything other than exports to the United States. However, it does point out, in the article, that the FDA representatives are certifying third party inspectors. I'm hoping that this is only for inspection of US bought goods.

So, you never know. If you know how bureaucracy works in Washington with the Federal Agencies…then you know that their relevance is defined by the size of their budget. And, you also know that their future budgets are based on how much they can spend this year. Of course, I’m sure the Chinese Communist Government doesn’t want us sticking our noses in their domestic cow pie…so it’s probably just the Associated Press being the Associated Press.

Barney needs a Thesaurus...and a frontal lobotomy


Heh...Matthew Hoy (HoyStory) makes a valid point concerning Barney Frank's understanding of the word 'viable."

"If they give Detroit $25 billion dollars, and it turns out that that isn’t enough to save them, how excactly is Frank going to get that money returned?"
For some reason, this reminds me of an embezzler sitting on the witness stand while the prosecutor levies questions in an effort to recover the money. Who remembers Jawad Hashim?

Jawad Hashim raises his chin slightly, looking directly into the video camera recording his statement. Droves of lawyers hover. They all want to know just what Hashim did with several tens of millions of Arab dollars that disappeared more than a decade ago.
...

"Where did the $20,000 go?" Gaffney asks.

"On what I spent it, I really have to figure out," Hashim, who has master's and doctorate degrees from the London School of Economics, replies. "Because I don't know. I can't remember."

Gaffney rephrases the question.

"Did you buy anything?"

Hashim pauses, casts a glance toward his attorney, and replies: "Probably. I bought two shirts. Yes. Some socks. Shampoo."

And so it goes.

Hour after hour. Day after day. Gaffney presses Hashim for details. Slowly, very slowly, information starts to emerge. Sometimes, information that Hashim failed to disclose on his sworn bankruptcy filing. Sometimes, information that catches the attention of a federal bankruptcy fraud task force.

A bank account here. A few hundred thousand dollars over there. A mysterious offshore company. Complex real estate deals. Cash spirited out of Canada in suitcases. Bundles of checks, endorsed by other people, given to Hashim to cash whenever he wishes.
I can only imagine how the big three are going to answer similar questions next year. Oh,...wait...that's right, the United Auto Workers (UAW) have a knife to the neck of the auto industry. In short, a filed Chapter 11 restructuring would result in renegotiated UAW contracts and loss of UAW workers (hence, loss of UAW member fees that eventually find their use politically on that left side of the aisle). So, the necessity to pump up the industry...even solidify a "nationalization" of sorts is instrumental to the propogation of the Americ...Amer...of the...uh...hmmmm...Democratic party.

Nevermind...Detroit will pay off the $25 Billion with a portion of the $75 Billion they get next year. THAT'S SHOWING A PROFIT...RIGHT BARNEY!!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

My oh my, Sasha, aren't you getting tall?



What many children in a densely populated eastern Moscow suburb used to think of as a good little hill to play and toboggan on has turned out to be a radioactive waste dump — one that local residents and ecologists say could spill over and contaminate a larger area.
This is a good example of how the Soviets of the 50's pushed the nuclear programs to such an extent that they didn't give a flying fig about the civilians in the way. Interestingly, Soviet Moscow had at least eleven (11) nuclear based projects/ programs/ entities running within the confines of the city at the height of the Cold War.

Apparently, there are still victims, and the current "enlightened" government still doesn't give a flying fig.

Long live Queen Sofia...The journalist?...not so much



Queen Sofia granted a Spanish journalist (Pilar Urbano) a series of interviews resulting in…well…honesty and something far worse…Conservative values. But, the real story is how the journalist for the International Herald Tribune throws in her own little agenda driven opinions to the story.


Victoria Burnett (International Herald Tribune):
In the most notorious gaffe in the book, the queen said that she respected people's different sexual tendencies but did not understand why "they should feel proud to be gay."

"That they get up on floats and parade in the streets? If all of us who are not gay were to parade in the streets, we'd halt the traffic in every city," she said. She then added that while gay people had a right to unions, they should not be permitted to call them marriages.
I’ll help Queen Sofia out here to make the point in third grade terms so that Victoria of the Tribune can get a grip. Just about every leader of the Homosexual lobby spouts out the mantra of “just wanting to be treated equally…just like everyone else.” Then, in the next breath the gay community, led by these same lightning rods make demands for “gay rights,” “parade permits,” and the like so that they can highlight their differences. It’s hypocrisy pure and simple. Queen Sofia presented it for what it was, and somehow that’s a gaffe?

Incidentally…her Majesty is no demure and fragile flower:

Born Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark in November 1938, the queen converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Catholicism when she married Juan Carlos, then the future king, in 1962. Elegant, circumspect and fluent in several languages, she became popular in part because of her role in helping to steer Spain toward democracy after the death of Franco in 1975.

Long considered a paragon of royal reserve, the queen emerges from the book as the 70-year-old observant Catholic that she is, rather than the sweet, demure figure that the Spanish public apparently wants her to be, people who follow the monarchy said.
The Palace later apologized for the comments...but that seems to be reflective of the standing tradition of the Spanish Monarchy not commenting on social or political issues of the day.

I'm a Cynic...



1. OPEC head: oil production cuts unlikely this month (Associated Press)

2. Hijacked Supertanker Anchors Off Somalia (New York Times)

3. World crude prices up as pirates hijack oil supertanker (National Post)

_______________

A supertanker (Sirius Star) commissioned in March of this year falls into the hands of the Somali pirates fully loaded with $100 Million worth of crude...and the US immediately issues a statement indicating that the US Navy would not take steps to recover the goods. Meanwhile, the price of oil spikes on the news. Keep in mind that most oil carrying sea going vessels practice "unarmed assistance." That, basically, means that they have more people on watch and more hoses to water down the sides and make boarding more difficult.

Additionally, the seizure took place 100 nautical miles further out to sea than ever before by the Somalis...not to mention that they have NEVER done anything on this scale before.

But, alas. Oil stablized and remained at the current low. Well, on to plan B...look for OPEC production cuts over the holidays.

COLLUSION: Function: noun
--Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin collusion-, collusio, from colludere
--Date: 14th century
: secret agreement or cooperation especially for an illegal or deceitful purpose


Monday, November 17, 2008

RINSE LATHER REPEAT


Kathy Shaidle (Five Feet of Fury) is at it again...thank God. She pasted a portion of Ta-Nehisi Coates' post at "The Atlantic." He is taking Will Satelan to task over a re-evaluation of the numbers of blacks voting against Prop. 8 in California. The basis for this interest is to ram home the opinion that, contrary to Satelan's opinion, the black community is not a cabal of pinko commies.

Here's the blurb that Kathy put up...and I shall too for it serves my point:

"Any writer who's spent significant time in the suburbs of Atlanta, on the South-Side of Chicago, or here in Harlem, knows that black people aren't "left-leaning"--they just think the GOP is racist. Surveys may show blacks leaning-left on certain issues (minimum wage? ending the war?) but take it from an actual black leftist, there is a conservative streak running through black America wider than the Mississippi. Don't confuse "enemy of my enemy"-ism, with actual sympathy."

That's snort worthy.

Now...watch as I do a trick. With one hand I am covering my eyes. With the other I am typing in the following keywords to "Google." (Keywords: Clarence Thomas, Uncle Tom).

WHOA....HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!!!! 94,800 posts to choose from.

1. How about this one from Spike Lee (celebrated black director)... "a handkerchief-head, chicken-and-biscuit eating Uncle Tom."

2. Or maybe this one from respected black Former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders publicly called Justice Thomas an “Uncle Tom” (Washington Post, May 2, 1995);

3. Maybe this one: Black radio talk show host Amos Brown calls Justice Thomas "Uncle Tom."

(click stopwatch....ohhhhh, only 17 seconds and three examples)

___________________________________

Now, tell me exactly how blacks chastising other blacks with the Holy Grail of put downs has anything to do with blacks thinking the GOP is racist. These aren't just any blacks off the street corner. These are the "leaders"...the ones others use as a barometer on public opinion. As I see it, the black leadership is a whole bunch of W.E.B. DuBois' and not enough Booker T. Washington's. Too many Jesse Jackson's and not enough Jesse Lee Peterson's.

Why does the black community continue to vote overwhelmingly for the democratic party? I don't know...and neither does Ta-Nehisi Coates, apparently. Because, his conclusions are certainly easily disproved.

Oh...screw it...I do know...and it serves no purpose to keep it to myself. I'm not here to make friends.

Gullibility...victimization as a rule because it's the easier path, intellectual laziness, structured disinformation from leaders finanicially enhanced by the previous, stuctured disinformation from leaders politically enhanced by the previous, ignorance (it ain't just a white thing), prejudice (yes...black prejudice), racism (yes, on white racism)... RINSE LATHER REPEAT..

Disenfranchised my Alibaster ASS!!!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Sunday Essay: "The Great Pierre Bruneseau"


(Every Sunday will include a little essay that is off the beaten track a bit. It's not meant to be serious. It's not meant to invoke any deep thinking. It's just for fun...and more than a few will be a bit warped. Just like the other six days entries.)
_____________________________


"The Great Pierre Bruneseau"

Some of the world’s most accomplished explorers never really received the acclaim that they deserved. Despite the intricate mapping and intense dedication to their exploratory task, you wouldn’t know their undertakings. You wouldn’t even know their names.

Such is the case with Pierre Bruneseau.

Bruneseau had an astonishing gift for direction. His ability to transfer the experience to mapping paper was unprecedented. His efforts were pieced together under the most adversarial of circumstances. Yet, he succeeded in his endeavor. He achieved his arduous charge against obstacles that would have made the most seasoned peers cringe in aversion.

His task was a land that had been known for nearly 400 years. However, no one had risen to the challenge of making it more familiar. Napoleon, a man basked in self-importance, was truly impressed that Bruneseau had the persistence and fortitude to, not only, take on the endeavor, but complete it with such brilliance. The area explored was considerably more ample in comparison to, say, Rhode Island. That miniscule State is about 40 miles long and 30 miles wide. Bruneseau covered nearly 1,300 miles in his intricate set of maps. It was a marvel. Bruneseau was a phenomenon. And, still, you have never heard of him.

Pierre Bruneseau had a very good friend who was well known at the time. His friend is described for posterity as a genius of sorts. He had a true gift for capturing the moment on paper. He applied his art intertwined in the steep history of his homeland. His accomplishments are lauded in the present as he was in the past if not more so. I could tell you his name and you would know it in a second. You can see the influence of his greatest accomplishments in some of the largest (and smallest) cities all over the world. I know you’ve seen his work in one form or another. You might not have read anything by this writer, but I hope you do some day. He was quite wonderful.

The friend of Pierre Bruneseau was a writer, a novelist, a poet, a dramatist and one of the best French Romantic authors of all time. His works include Hernani, Marion de Lorme, and The King Takes his Amusement. You might not know any of those. Perhaps you have read Han of Iceland, or maybe Bug Jargal.

No?

Well, have you ever had the opportunity to witness a little show called Les Miserables?

Per chance, have you had the pleasure of turning the pages of The Hunchback of Notre Dame?

If so, then you know this author. You know Victor Marie Hugo. More importantly, you are familiar with one of Pierre Bruneseau’s close friends. In fact, provided that you are familiar with Les Miserables, you have intimate knowledge of Pierre Bruneseau’s most extraordinary accomplishment for it is soundly and profoundly represented within that superb tale.

Hugo, even, described his friend's undiscovered land as "tortuous, fissured,...interrupted by quagmires, rising and falling illogically, fetid, savage, wild."

Hugo had the gift of tempting your imagination in the way he brings poignant scene after poignant scene from Les Miserables to life with extraordinary detail. The rebels on the barricade fighting against all odds had you there in the rubble. The description of Javert invokes memories of comparable contempt. The setting of, protagonist, Jean Valjean stumbling through the underground of Paris with a wounded rebel draped over his shoulder transfers the pain.

It, also, transfers something else.

Hugo provided incredible detail of the underground sewers of Paris known as the cloaca. Pierre Bruneseau was, no doubt, his consultant in that regard. For you see, Pierre Bruneseau knew those sewers better than most Parisians knew the streets above. He mapped them for posterity. He mapped all 1,300 miles of those labyrinths. Upon completion of this voluminous task in 1812, he was lauded all throughout France as "The Christopher Columbus of the cloaca."

Sometimes the most undiscovered of all lands is right under our feet.

Gosh...I wonder what the Democrat Talking points are?


The Great Depression, Not So Far Away---Washington Post

Depression 2009: What would it look like?---Boston Globe

Depression recollections---Chicago Tribune

Bonds priced for Great Depression defaults -Citi ---Reuters

Depression Economics Returns---New York Times

_____________

Wow...you'd think we were in a "D"epression or something. Except, we're not. Of course, come January 20th, any reference to a "Great Depression" will disappear into thin air as "The One" works his wonderful magic.

Here's the prediction:

The citizens of this great country are going to get fleeced with lots and lots of specialized taxes on everything from snack foods to beverages to travel. More taxes are going to be proposed on vehicles reflective of make, use and mileage. They won't be called taxes, however. It will be some nice harmless euphemism for "taxes." These "Fees" will be in addition to increased income taxes not in line with the campaign promises, but dipping deep into the pockets of the middle class with the attached excuse that we are in a crisis.

This is a blatant effort by the media to shape perceptions so as to provide cover for the "sure to come" open palm of the Federal Government. It's a Win/Win situation for "The One." The media has already run cover for the entire DNC (Barney Frank and Chris Dodd in particular) on the failures of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. So, any reference to a "Depression" gets tacked onto the ever innovative and exponentially growing list of "Bush Failures." Any improvement (not in reality, but in print) after January 20th gets put in "The One's" book of accomplishments.

Finally, "The One" will eventually use the press to take credit for the dipping petroleum prices, a wonderfully opportunistic housing market for those looking to buy, take credit for the stonger dollar, and suggest that he was instrumental in making today's stocks so affordable (buy low/ sell high).

Of course, that latter one is primarily the responsibility of the Democrats since they were the ones who supported sub prime loans and continued to do so even with the obvious repercussions looming in the immediate future. So, I have no problem with "The One" taking credit for the lower stock price opportunities. Nice Job, Pal!!!

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Global Warming and property value...


Pirate's Cove slapped up a nice post/ observation(s) reflecting on a University of California, Berkeley, report released Thursday that suggests:

"Real estate and insurance represent the largest sectors at risk from climate change in the state, according to the report..."

Personally, it's my humble opinion that anything other than a taste test comparison on Tofu ice cream or comfort ratings for Birkenstocks is out of their league. I'm with William Teach (Pirate's Cove)concerning what should be on the Zantax addled minds of the alarmists these days...

"Californians should worry instead about environmental policies that increase the severity of the wildfires, because they aren’t allowed to manage the brush, aren’t allowed to clear the dead wood, aren’t allowed to create fire breaks, and aren’t allowed to do proscribed burns, among others."

"They should worry about the massive amounts of illegal aliens, quite a few who are criminals. They should worry about the policies that create rolling blackouts. They should worry about the policies that create sky high prices. All liberal policies."

On a side note...I would suggest to those Californians fed up with Berkeley's inane dabbling that they may wish to consider an almighty Class Action suit that addresses how Berkeley's necessity to shoot out such irrelevance actually effects property values in this tumultuous market...I would refer them to a little collective of property owners in La Manga del Mar Menor, Spain. They are in the process of filing a civil complaint against Greenpeace for doing exactly what Berkeley is doing in California. Berkeley is shouting 'fire' in a crowded movie house without having seen the flame. La Manga del Mar is asking for an out of Court settlement of nearly (EUR) 30 million in damages to accommodate the lowered property values when Greenpeace shouted 'FIRE'.

Me?...I wouldn't sue for money, however. I would merely sue for the right to cut down some of their trees. They seem to have an unhealthy attachment to the things.

Oh mein Gott !!



Heh...(snort)

The international appendage of the New York Times (International Herald Tribune) dug out an old photo of Hillary to announce the potential for a Secretary of State in a pantsuit. I think it's fair to say that the editor on the "Americas" fold of the IHT isn't a fan. Keep in mind that the IHT (while regurgitated in France) is sold across the European Union...including Germany.

By the way...



What ever happened to Winkle Paw?

Thursday, November 13, 2008

"FAT ASS MIKE"


TORONTO — An obese inmate who goes by the nickname "Big Mike" has been granted early parole because a Canadian prison could not accommodate his 430-pound frame.
If you could see me, you would note that my head is sort of tilted in contemplation, my eyes are a bit squinted in consideration, and one eyebrow is raised in confusion.

"A former chef, Lapointe was arrested on drug-related charges in 2006. In February 2008, he pleaded guilty to all of his charges. At the time of his arrest, Lapointe weighed 375 pounds.

Defense lawyer Clemente Monterosso said the prison's poor diet caused his client to gain more than 50 pounds."

Ohhhhhh...OK...I get it. "Sort of Big Mike" got pinched for drugs. He went to prison and became "BIGGER MIKE." A couple broken toilet seats later, the parole board gives him a "get out of jail free card" because the plumbing, food, and folding chair fund was suffering drastically. Either that, or a fat guy was complaining because they were giving him a lot of food to eat (which is hard to...ahem...swallow).

Patience...here's the kicker:

The two-officer board stressed that Lapointe was not violent and did not pose a risk to society.
Lapointe will have to follow a series of conditions, such as finding a job and staying away from bars. He will also have to meet with a parole officer on a regular basis over the next three months.

Nope...not a risk to society, unless you come between him and a cheeseburger. Who wants to bet that "BIG ASS MIKE" reads the conditions of the parole to include staying away from salad bars? Who thinks that "VOLUMINOUS MIKE" will lose weight now that he is out of the clink? Who thinks that "TUBBY MIKE" slapped on all that extra fat on purpose so that he could use the self-imposed unhealthy condition to secure release, then stay indoors on the couch eating Funions with the knowledge that, should he choose to, he could actually go outside instead of just staring with a sugar-glazed gape to the uncut grass outside his mom's flat?

Who thinks the Toronto Parole Board should have required two push-ups from "MASSIVE MIKE THE COLOSSAL SLOTH" as a final condition of parole.

AP's time machine...

Asif Ali Zardari made the appeal in a speech to a U.N. interfaith conference initiated by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah and designed to bridge differences between religions and cultures.

President Bush, who spoke just before Zardari in what was likely to be his last address to the world body, echoed the call for moderation.
How, exactly, do you echo something that hasn't been said yet? The conference, itself, strikes me as the usual United Nations circle-jerk. Although, Zardari gets points for painting a bull's eye on his chest.

On a related note, I happened to be coming back from lunch on Water Street and watched President Bush fly by in one of the two Presidential Limos along with about a 40 cycle/ vehicle escort. He was having a rather animated conversation with whomever was tagging along. I couldn't see the other guy's face too well. A couple minutes later, Marine One shot out of the heliport (usual depature).

I think Garrison Keillor might be gay (as well as obtuse)


KEILLOR: "Be happy, dear hearts, and allow yourselves a few more weeks of quiet exultation.

It isn't gloating, it's satisfaction at a job well done. He was a superb candidate, serious, professorial but with a flashing grin and a buoyancy that comes from working out in the gym every morning.

He spoke in a genuine voice, not senatorial at all. He relished campaigning. He accepted adulation gracefully. He brandished his sword against his opponents without mocking or belittling them. He was elegant, unaffected, utterly American, and now (Wow) suddenly America is cool. Chicago is cool."
YES!!! I BEEN SAYING THIS ALL ALONG!!!! Obama looks great…has fantastic mannerisms and a great smile. He didn’t flinch when the great unwashed kissed his ring, and only gave the finger twice on camera to his opponents (without being mocking or belittling…that ain’t easy). He’s just what we need as the leader of the whole free freakin’ world…someone who looks good doing it. Damn…Captain Wobegon is in a zone!!!!

KEILLOR: "The French junior minister for human rights said, "On this morning, we all want to be American so we can take a bite of this dream unfolding before our eyes." When was the last time you heard someone from France say they wanted to be American and take a bite of something of ours? Ponder that for a moment.

The world expects us to elect pompous yahoos and instead we have us a 47-year-old prince from the prairie who cheerfully ran the race, and when his opponents threw sand at him, he just smiled back."
THE FRENCH LIKE US…THE FRENCH LIKE US!!! Oh…crap...

And...for the record...one of the statements that the French junior minister for human rights made was, "This is the fall of the Berlin Wall times ten."

Spoken like a true luminary who understands the gravity of historical events. Shall we delve into the icky insinuations of a junior grade rights "progressor" who happens to be a Muslim in a country where car burning by Muslim youths is more popular than sliced bread? Nah...let's just consider that she's French...and therefore we seek her approval.

KEILLOR: "He'll be the first president in history to look really good making a jump shot. He loves his classy wife and his sweet little daughters. He looks good in the kitchen. He can cook Indian or Chinese but for his girls he will do mac and cheese. At the same time, he knows pop music, American lit and constitutional law.

I just can't imagine anybody cooler. Look at a photo of the latest pooh-bah conference - the hausfrau Merkel, the big glum Scotsman, that goofball Berlusconi, Putin with his B-movie bad-boy scowl, and Sarkozy, who looks like a district manager for Avis - you put Barack in that bunch and he will shine."

YES!!!!! He looks good…I mean…he looks good.

Hey…anyone remember that slab of meat that used to grace the covers of all those romance novels that polluted the line at the grocery check-out register?….Fabio was/is his name. About the most substantive thing Fabio ever accomplished was ridding Busch Gardens Williamsburg of a careless goose.

Shine, Obama, shine. Stand next to Putin…you’re taller. Do a profile photo-op with Merkel…you’re thinner. And Sarkozy…do the close-up discussion with serious expression shot with him. HIS NOSE IS HUGE!!!

KEILLOR: "Our hero who galloped to victory has inherited a gigantic mess. The country is sunk in debt. The Treasury announced it must borrow $550 billion to get the government through the fourth quarter, more than the entire deficit for 2008, so he will have to raise taxes and not only on bankers and lumber barons.

His promise never to raise the retirement age is not a good idea. Whatever he promised the Iowa farmers about subsidizing ethanol is best forgotten at this point. We may not be getting our National Health Service cards anytime soon. And so on and so on."
Huh? You mean…wait…what? BUT HE LOOKS SO FREAKIN’ GOOD!!!!

Might I suggest using less material?



(Groucho eyebrow thing)
A steep fall in commodity prices and the global credit crunch are affecting much of Latin America. At the Innocenza factory in Buenos Aires, orders for bikinis are down by more than 15 percent..
(cigar wiggle)

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Yemen's most prominent export?


I'm beginning to think it is her people.

I scan through the Yemen Times every once in a while for kicks. There is always something interesting going on in a country that has been reported to have three times as many guns as people (disclaimer: UN recently downgraded that number...but it could have been an effort to make the US look more...well...armed).

Regardless...I came across this little section of their online news media that allowed those living abroad to enter in a little blurb to their compatriots.


Name : Ali Aljubani
Currently residing in: USA
E-Mail : (redacted)
Homepage :
Describing him/herself and his/her activites Ali Aljubani Says:
I am a student and business owner in the United States. When I am not working or in school I employ most of my time in the rememberence of the Yemeni motherland. I hope to return permenantly in the future, but I am saddened by the course Yemen is taking. I so wish for Yemen to cleanse itself of its dominating Indian, African, and European minorities who have exploited the country once revered as the pinnacle of arab nobility. I long to return to a Yemen with a distinct arab identity rather than that of an impoverished east African state. Any yemenis who share my sentiment are welcomed to contact me through email to further discuss this topic. I thank yementimes.com for providing yemenis abroad with an effective medium to discuss our love and concern for the motherland.
Submitted On Friday, March 19, 2004 at 08:32:20 (CST) by Ali Aljubani

__________________________________
Name : Saeed Al-Amoudi
Currently residing in: uk
E-Mail : (redacted)
Homepage :
Describing him/herself and his/her activites Saeed Al-Amoudi Says:
Well done Yemen Times for this outstanding opportunity to give all yemenies around the world a chance to send their greeting and keep in touch with others as well and at the same time keep the pace with whats happening around us.
I am yemeni living in the uk, of course proud of Yemeni but so embarassed and upset with the current situation in Yemen. Especially how our government falling to the American trap in return of cash awards.

what people are not realising this is actually creating a big conflict between moderate yemenies and their fellow brothers of religious minded counterpart, I will not call them terrorists or extremists as they are not, everyone has a path and right to say no and yes, isnt that what democracy is all about.?
Lets wake up fellas .


Peace
Submitted On Thursday, December 11, 2003 at 01:46:47 (CST) by Saeed Al-Amoudi


Whoa!!! Didn't see that coming... GENTLEMEN...PLEASE TAKE A STEP BACK FROM THE QURAN...THAT'S IT...TAKE A STEP...BACK...FROM THE QURAN.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Veterans Day from the eyes of Rockwell



This Norman Rockwell oil painting graced the cover of the Saturday Evening Post in 1944. 'The Fighting Gillises' has always been associated with Veteran's Day, as well it should. However, it is a favorite of mine after reading a biography of Samuel Clemens ("Mark Twain") some years ago. One of the ancesters pictured above is Steve Gillis. Steve and Sam were, apparently, good friends.

“Steve weighed only ninety-five pounds,” Mark Twain once wrote of him, “but it was well known throughout the Territory that with his fists he could whip anybody that walked on two legs, let his weight and science be what they might.”
Veterans...THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE THEN, NOW AND ALWAYS...You can whip anybody that walks on two legs...if you have to.

I've got a catch phrase




"Not too many years ago, Mr. Bostic would have been lynched," the lawyer said during opening arguments in the murder case, as the jury listened and prosecutors screamed. "He would have been arrested, taken to the nearest tree. No jury, No proof."


Ohhhh...well done Mr. Defense attorney. Let's throw that racism card out there to justify the cold-blooded murder of one of New York's finest...and newest.

Now...here comes the prosecution's opening argument (and my new catch phrase).

THE PRESIDENT-ELECT FOR THIS COUNTRY IS B-L-A-C-K!!! (include optional expletive of your choice)

Wait!!!!.....WHAT?????



Oops.

A Manhattan lawyer who sued his estranged wife for allegedly giving him herpes didn't get it from her, court papers say.

White-shoe attorney Frederick Tanne, 47, filed suit against his wife of 22 years, Amy Tanne, 46, earlier this year, charging her straying had left him with Herpes Simplex Virus 2, an STD that caused him to suffer "pain, suffering, emotional, mental, psychological and physical injuries and loss of enjoyment of life."

In court papers filed yesterday, Amy's lawyer, Thomas Mullaney, said his client had a blood test last month and "presented as 'negative' for HSV-2, more commonly known as genital herpes, with which Mr. Tanne is allegedly infected."

Reps for Tanne, a senior partner at Kirkland & Ellis, could not be reached for comment.

I'll comment for them... It's a lawyer who specializes in domestic and international mergers, acquisitions, leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations...YUK IT UP.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Mmmmmmm, Obama Cake




At 7:30 a.m. on Inauguration Day, Obama Cake will be served at the downtown McDonald's, and a celebration is scheduled for 8 p.m. to midnight Jan. 20 at the Ramada Hotel and Convention Center, 420 S.E. 6th.
(h/t American Thinker)



Obama Cake, for those of you not privy to the “Doctrine,” will be provided to 95% of those showing up. Those 5% of you who show up and don’t receive any cake…fear not. Your presence is not only welcome, but you will have the honor of paying for the Obama Cake. In addition, you will have the added gratification of watching the others eat your ‘gift.’ Plates and forks will be available at an extra cost…to the latter 5%.

Dueling Banjos


Kate (Small Dead Animals) points us to a Washington Post mea culpa on media bias. Of course, it fails to address the ommissions, the distortions and the selective implications of semantics. She's quite right that it is indeed a suicide note...for the writer.

In the theme of the 1972 feel-good romp "Deliverance"...it's time for a dueling banjo.

If the Washington Post has just issued a suicide note...Reuters has issued the last act of defiance (picture a lowly little mouse with nowhere to run giving the finger to a talon leading swoop of a Bald Eagle). Jim Treacher did the pointing on that Reuters garbage.

Did I just see the Bat Signal?



A Bronx woman jammed an umbrella through her boyfriend's eye and into his brain, nearly killing him, as they fought over her looking at other men, police said yesterday.


____________________

Commissioner Gordon issued a press release stating, “There is no need to panic. Our investigation to date does not suggest that The Penguin is involved in this unfortunate occurrence.”

Mayor Bloomberg used the opportunity to suggest a new statute that would call for rounded edges on all umbrellas carried in New York with stiff fines for violators. An unidentified source at City Hall indicated that class action civil suits are being explored against Totes, London Fog, and Burberry Limited.

A spokesperson for the Presidential Security Group (PSG) in the Philippines was informed of the incident. The reply was, “NICE!!!”

Totes public relations office issued the following statement: "The umbrella didn't just jump up and poke Mr. Ali on its own. We have no plans to put safety locks on our umbrella stock. I mean, come on, some times those rain squalls pop up out of no-where. Easy accessibility is one of the staples of Tote umbrellas. And, as for the 2 week waiting period suggested by Senator Schumer of New York...we will fight that legistation as well as the one suggesting a ban on the sale of our executive full-sized, wind resistant lines."