COMensarations
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Fish Need Bicycles!
Contrary to popular feminist philosophy....
...women DO need MEN....
I’m not sure if this is accurate. I would like to see peer-review and corroborating research. However....
....it does go far in explaining the abhorrant behavior of the more militant feminists. Not enough ‘joy juice’ in their life.
Friday, May 25, 2007
I’m No Longer Surprised
...but I am disgusted and outraged.
This article In yesterday’s Chieftain details how official representatives of the Mexican government advised Mexican citizens in Pueblo on their rights if they’re picked up for illegal activities, like being in the country illegally.
Then,
Local immigration lawyer Guillermo Garibay offered additional advice: “No abra la puerta,” or don’t open the door when la migra, or immigration officials, come to your home. Garibay said, “Once you answer (the door), they can ask anybody for IDs.”
Since when does an officer of the court advise people who are not actually his clients on how to circumvent the law? (lawyer, n. one skilled in circumvention of the law. —Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary)
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Now They Decide to be Cautious
Editors and reporters are advising caution in publishing the DC Madam’s list of clients. Why the caution now?
This story in a trade publication polls editors at various newspapers on whether or not they will publish the list of clients of the DC Madam, Jeane Palfrey.
According to the story,
Washington-area editors say they are following the story, but remain reluctant to print such a list, were it available, without serious scrutiny.
Why do I suspect this translates to “We want to see how many Republicans are on the list, and check to see if any of our local politicians are on it before we publish?” If it’s an assignation with an intern, even one who’s technically an adult, it’s all over the front page, if the official is a Republican. But if an official is a client of a clearly illegal activity, they have to be cautious.
One editor said
“If one of the names is wrong and you print it, how do you unring that bell for that person?”
Good heavens! Do you suppose the Duke Lacrosse team experience actually taught these people something? Or is it a case where white, male college students are presumed guilty, but when they’ve matured and become white, male public figures they’re presumed innocent? What’s the difference? Except that public figures can include or exclude selected members of the press from important announcements and stories.
I’d like to think the press were being careful for the right reasons, but unfortunately, their willingness to run with untested and unproven information in the past makes their current attitudes suspect.
Listen to the Imam (Part 2)
Another ‘county’ heard from.
This time it’s a sheik who is the top legislator of the Hamas Party in the Palestinian government.
Sheik Ahmad Bahr, acting Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, declared during a Friday sermon at a Sudan mosque that America and Israel will be annihilated and called upon Allah to kill Jews and Americans “to the very Last One.” Following are excerpts from the sermon that took place last month, courtesy of MEMRI.
Ahmad Bahr began: “‘You will be victorious’ on the face of this planet. You are the masters of the world on the face of this planet. Yes, [the Koran says that] ‘you will be victorious,’ but only ‘if you are believers.’ Allah willing, ‘you will be victorious,’ while America and Israel will be annihilated. I guarantee you that the power of belief and faith is greater than the power of America and Israel. They are cowards who are eager for life, while we are eager for death for the sake of Allah. That is why America’s nose was rubbed in the mud in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Somalia, and everywhere.”
Read the whole thing....
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Listen to the Imam….
...and ‘learn’ the Truth.
For those of US who still do not think that there is a serious problem inside of Islam, I offer you the words of the Imam. This is a tape of Abu Izzadeen talking inside London’s Regent Park Mosque before he was arrested.
I’m reminded of that scene with Cary Grant from Gunga Din, where the maniacal guru [played by Eduardo Ciannelli] is saying to his followers, “Kill. Kill for the sake of killing. Kill for the sake of Kali! Kill. Kill! KILL!”
Enjoy....
Friday, April 27, 2007
Connections: Gun Control and Leaving Iraq
What is the connection?
What is the connection between more demands for gun control and the cut-and-run-from-Iraq vote in Congress?
We should all become victims.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, and especially ladies, we should give up our attempts to defend ourselves, give up on demonstrations of strength, and give up the means to defend ourselves.
Why did I say “and especially ladies?” Because back in my day the women’s lib movement preached empowerment to women. We should no longer think like victims, taking second place to men, we were to be equal, strong, and assertive. We were to demand justice if we were abused and our children harmed. We were to mentor others and defend the weak. Men were to “get in touch with their feminine side,” be sensitive and caring.
Now we have strong, assertive women like Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton, bolstered by sensitive, caring men like John Kerry and Al Gore, telling us we should cut-and-run from Iraq. We should stop mentoring the Iraqis, abused for years by the Husseins, and leave them to heal on their own, if they can. We should give up our personal means to defend ourselves, and allow ourselves to be abused and murdered by criminals and unrestrained nutjobs.
Why this seeming disparity between the messages of my youth and the reality of today? The only way it is explained is Thomas Sowell’s oft-repeated observation that the “elites” (liberals) believe that they have all the answers and that no one else is capable of rational thought. They cannot abide any threat to their illogical conclusions and refuse to admit they are based on emotion and not reason. They must have the power to impose their will and the only way they can do that is to make sure everyone is a victim, even many of their supporters. Because if I’m a victim and they’re not, then they must be stronger, smarter, more worthy of power.
Everyone must be a victim. Even our military. How dare those people succeed, using guns yet! They must be stopped!
Garbage.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
A Contentious Continuation….
...of a discussion of honor, valor, home, hearth, country and life.
There’s been an interesting discussion going on over at Little Green Footballs, relating to the comportment of 15 Royal Marines and swabbies.
At this point, it has boiled down to two camps. Those who think these people reacted and behaved badly and those who say, “We should not judge them.”
Oddly enough, it seems that the most vehement of the latter camp seem to be Viet Nam veterans.
I’m not sure WHY that is the case, but I’m (1) curious and (2) confounded by why these gentlemen think that it’s okay to either ‘give up’ in a fight or do a Monty Python ‘Run Away!’.
So I’ve invited them to come here and discuss it.
We’ll see if they’ve got what it takes to do anything as reprehensible as face the ‘enemy’ on their own ‘turf’. However, anyone is welcome to join in here. So, as my sensei would put it, “Fight!”
Indoor Gardeners Beware!
How to have a visit from your local SWAT team.
An interesting visit by your friendly neighborhood horticulture police.
I’d better warn my garden club! Not to forget the Master Gardeners Program.....
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Post-Kelo Colorado
Don’t believe everything the politicans are telling you.
There’s an interesting report over at the Volokh Conspiracy regarding the state of the world after Kelo v. New London and an election.
I tend to agree with Ilya Somin; things are not as ‘bright’—for property owners, e.g., homes and small businesses—as politicians would like us to believe.
As part of Susan’s run for the Colorado legislature, we looked into what that august body had accomplished in the wake of Kelo v. New London. We were not impressed.
For all the fanfare regarding the multiple bills submitted to the Colorado legislature—bills written to protect the rights of home and small business owners against government seizure of their property in order to improve tax revenue by bringing in more business—there was little accomplished, save a more organized approach of how governments can seize homes and small businesses in order to move in bigger and more taxable business. Or so we understood what was written and enacted into law in Colorado.
So, if you’re sitting fat-dumb-and-happy in your home, you might want to keep an eye on your City Fathers and County Commissars.
Personally....
....I’ve kept a close watch on the 8-million pound gorilla that resides a block away from my home. And I’ve seen their ‘vision’ for the future, being on the city Zoning Board of Appeals. And seeing such, I’m obviously going to have to recuse myself when they come before the board, as I am certain that my neighborhood is going to be VERY upset, when THEY see that ‘vision’. [Note: I had been sworn to secrecy. However, thank goodness, someone else let the cat out of the proverbial bag. Now things are going to get ‘interesting’.]
Monday, April 02, 2007
Here There Be Monsters
What is it with Denverites and their parochial attitudes?
People from the Denver Metro area say I’m unfair when I accuse them of thinking Denver is the State of Colorado (possibly including the ski areas), but we have an outstanding example of that mind set in today’s Pueblo Chieftain.
It seems the Western Dairy Council has figured out how to color milk orange and blue, so they thought a tie-in to the Denver Broncos would be a good idea, and they thought the tie-in should appeal to children, who are notorious imbibers of milk and brightly colored foods. And wow, if it could be educational, wouldn’t that just make it all too, too perfect?
So they had a book written with Miles, the Broncos’ bronco mascot, as the protagonist, and sent a copy to elementary school libraries, where there are hordes of those imbibers of milk and brightly colored foods. Miles goes throughout the state visiting places. Except he doesn’t visit any place south of Colorado Springs or east of Westcliffe. In fact, no place names are given in that area of the book’s map, whether or not Miles visited.
What, did the author not know there are football fans in this part of the state? Broncos fans? Or did he just assume none of us know how to read? As Dolores Gersick, librarian at Desert Sage School put it, “Do they think our kids are stupid, or we just don’t matter?”
Saturday, March 31, 2007
An Interesting Perspective
How Modern ‘Liberals’ Think.....
...an interesting observation on the root cause of modern ‘Liberal’ thinking and how it is applied to (1) politics, (2) the media and (3) education.
It’s a 30 minute video of a speech by Mr. Evan Sayet; comedian, columnist and speech writer. The speech is given to The Heritage Foundation. It is followed by 15 minutes of Q&A.
It’s from YouTube and requires Flash Player, which you can download form the link under the
I found it fascinating. Once you’ve watched the first 5 minutes you’ll be hooked on watching the rest of it.
[Know your enemny....—Sun Tzu, The Art of War]
Friday, March 30, 2007
I Hate This S----! [That’s Stuff, Buckie]
You’d hate it to, if it happened to you.
Cripes! Now I can empathize with Christ at the crucifixion. It felt like someone suddenly drove a spike through the right foot, just at the knuckle behind the big toe. It was a birthday gift from my Dad. And now I have probably passed it on to my grandsons, should I have any, via my daughters. Sakes.....
This sort of thing was happening, mostly in the evening and WAY too early in the morning. It’s been going of since 27 January. But now it is finally subsiding.
Modern medicine shoots you full of things to deal with the pain, but, based on what I’ve seen, can’t do much else about it except advise you to stay away from beans and don’t walk around so much on it.
The AMA is going to hate me for this, but....
Monday, February 12, 2007
Be Prepared!
...because you can’t turn back the clock.
Far be it from me to question anyone’s theology, let alone someone who actually attended a seminary (although he didn’t finish)*, but isn’t blaming global warming on man’s activities just a little...well...prideful? Isn’t it saying that Man is the king-all-high-muckety-muck of the universe, the instigator of climate change, and therefore capable of reversing that change if he so wills? And that there is no one or no thing greater than Man?
But isn’t it true that man has yet to develop a bomb capable of the devastation of one really big volcanic eruption? That you could set off every nuclear weapon in existence today and the destruction wouldn’t be as bad as a major meteor strike, like the one in the Yucatan?
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Is Politics Only to be for the Rich? Part Two
The Cheiftain thinks we pay too much for our legislators already.
Another piece of legislation that would make elective office only available to the rich involves raising the per diem for state legislators who do not live in the Denver Metro area. It is currently $99 per day, and it would be increased by $50. The Pueblo Chieftain’s Editorial Board has come out against the increase, saying it is an end-run around Amendment 41, which prohibits gifts, like meals, from lobbyists.
I don’t know when the Editors of the Chieftain last stayed in downtown Denver, but they need to back up their assertions that $99 a day is more than adequate with hard, current figures on housing, meals, transportation and other expenses in Denver. The last time I had business in Denver, I stayed to the south in an extended stay place that was the cheapest decent place I could find. (There are cheaper places, but the bed springs are coming out of the mattress and the carpet seems to move.) Cost: $83 plus tax. That would leave $16 for other expenses. A round-trip on the Light Rail downtown would run about $6. (It’s either that, or drive and arrive frazzled and grumpy and unable to catch up on reading.) We’ve got $10 left. Lunch out in Denver, even a simple sandwich, chips and beverage, will run $12-15 with tax and tip. If you brownbag it, you will probably buy more expensive ingredients for the sake of convenience than you would if you ate at home, so figure $3.
Is Politics Only to be for the Rich? Part One
We want Everyman to be able to run for office, but we keep supporting efforts to ensure only the rich are able to.
A piece of national legislation has recently been introduced which more than ever will make politics a rich man’s game if it passes. It has free speech implications as well.
Representative Udall (D) of Colorado is sponsoring a bill lin Congress to prohibit members of a candidate’s immediate family from receiving a salary that comes from campaign funds. An example is a spouse who seves as a campaign manager, publicist, etc., for a candidate, and is paid. The perception is that this is just a way for the candidate to skim money into his own pocket. The perception is that an immediate family member does not actually perform any work in return for the money. This may or may not be true. Note, it MAY NOT be true. Should it not, however, be up to the donors to decide whether they are unhappy about a candidate putting a relative on the payroll, and withhold donations accordingly? Isn’t this the subset of free speech called “Put your money where your mouth is?” Which is the same type of free speech restricted by campaign finance laws.