Chicken Sandwiches, MSM, And Mayors

There's been an ongoing ruckus over a remark Chick-fil-A's CEO Dan Cathy made in a recent interview. I was going to let it pass, especially since Stilton Jarlsberg and The Whited Sepulchre put up truly outstanding posts on the topic.

Then I read Harper's comment on my last post, and her post yesterday, both of which pointed out the mainstream media's hypocrisy on the coverage of obama vs. Romney. At about the same time I read the original interview with Dan Cathy. After all that reading fermented in my brain for a while, a connection between the Chick-fil-A posts and the media hypocrisy posts was born.

Here's the original interview:

Some have opposed the company's support of the traditional family. "Well, guilty as charged," said Cathy when asked about the company's position.

"We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.

Here's how CNN reported Cathy's comment:

“Guilty as charged,”, Cathy said when asked about his company’s support of the traditional family unit as opposed to gay marriage.

Nowhere in the original interview do the words "gay" or "anti-gay" or "gay marriage" appear. CNN inserted the phrase "as opposed to gay marriage" that kicked off the ensuing firestorm. If the U.S. military tortured terrorists to the extent that CNN and the rest of the mainstream media torture the truth, there'd be Hell to pay.

After CNN's distorted version of the interview appeared, the fit hit the shan. A typical example of the left's tolerance for people with differing views came from Roseanne Barr:

 "anyone who eats S--t Fil-A deserves to get the cancer that is sure to come from eating antibiotic filled tortured chickens 4Christ".

And then we have democrat mayors in Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, and even our nation's capitol, declaring Chick-fil-A franchises persona non grata (for you Latin speakers, that would be pullus non grata).

For comparison purposes, in 2008 barack hussein obama said "I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. I am not in favor of gay marriage."

The response from Roseanne Barr, democrat mayors, and other gay marriage supporters?

*crickets*

But let a conservative Christian say that he supports traditional marriage and the leftist mob is mobilized, complete with torches and pitchforks. So much for civility, tolerance, and the 1st Amendment.

There are three takeaways here. The first is that tolerance is reserved by the left only for those who mouth the politically correct chorus, and that hypocrisy is alive and well in America. Nothing new there.

The second is that the remnants of the legacy media have now sunk up to their necks in muck and mud. There is no semblance of objective reporting left today.

The third is the most potentially chilling of all. Mayors of major American cities -- elected office holders -- have taken it upon themselves to decide what companies can do business in their cities, based on the religious and political convictions of the firms' owners.

You'd think all these Democratic mayors would have better things to do than get themselves worked up about a businessman expressing his personal opinion about gay marriage.

Their schools are a disgrace, the crime rate is appalling, there is corruption a-plenty, they can't manage their own budgets -- but they can pander to gays and liberals by refusing to allow the expansion of a business that would give jobs to some of their citizens and pay taxes that would help ease their budget problems.

Just to be clear, I don't have a dog in this fight. I don't care who does what with who - or is it whom? Anyway, I'm not a big fan of Dan Cathy's evangelistic style of religion. But he has every right to worship as he pleases, and to say what he wants. As far as I know he doesn't ban gays from his restaurants, either as customers or as employees.


FWIW, I prefer the traditional one-man one-woman form of marriage. But that's just my personal preference. I also prefer Butter Pecan ice cream to Mint Chocolate Chip, but I don't care if other people eat Mint Chocolate Chip. I don't want to ban Mint Chocolate Chip, and I damn sure don't think the government has any business telling me what flavor of ice cream I can or can't eat.

This country has enough serious problems that we can't afford to get sidetracked on nonsense like this. You'd think the media and the politicians would realize that.

Yeah, right...

Olympics Wardrobe Malfunction

Remember Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" back at the 2004 Super Bowl? Well, something similar happened during the opening ceremony of this year's Olympics.

During his performance, Paul McCartney bent over to pick up something he dropped and revealed his Depends...

FOD 2012.07.30

There's a nice story on Breitbart discussing the kerfuffle over Romney's remarks about the London Olympics. The story makes two points: one, that Romney's opinion was based on his experience running the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics; and two, that the media is frothing at the mouth to turn anything Romney says into a gaffe while at the same time ignoring the long list of obamaisms. Re: the first point:

As a reporter, I covered the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City that Mitt Romney saved. I challenge ABC and the other networks to do extensive research on what Romney did to save those Games that were facing financial ruin and were held at a time following 9/11, when security questions in this country were at their highest level. The Games were virtually flawless. Mitt Romney knows of what he speaks. The international negotiations that Romney had to go through to change Olympic protocol by allowing the American flag found in the ruins of the World Trade Center to be displayed at the Salt Lake Olympics was nothing short of historic. Flags of any individual nation are not to be "singled out" during the Games, but Romney went through intense international negotiations to make one of the great moment in our lifetimes happen. Watch the video and tell me it doesn't give you chills to see this again and be reminded of this moment in time.

Also ignored is Barack Obama's Olympic experience. Does the media remember the trip he made to Europe to try to win the Games for his hometown, Chicago, as president in 2009? How did that turn out? What is Obama's history with the Olympics? Like with so many things in his administration, it is a history of failure. Obama boldly proclaimed he was going to Copenhagen to bring the Games to Chicago, and the International Olympic Committee laughed at him. Chicago didn't make it out of the First Round. "I urge you to choose Chicago," Obama told the IOC. Wow, quite a pitch there, Barack. Let's see how often the media mentions Obama's Olympic experience.

Re: the second point - here's a partial list (go here for the full list):

"When I meet with world leaders, what's striking -- whether it's in Europe or here in Asia..." -mistakenly referring to Hawaii as Asia while holding a press conference outside Honolulu, Nov. 16, 2011

"We're the country that built the Intercontinental Railroad." —Cincinnati, OH, Sept. 22, 2011

"We're not trying to push financial reform because we begrudge success that's fairly earned. I mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money. But, you know, part of the American way is, you know, you can just keep on making it if you're providing a good product or providing good service. We don’t want people to stop, ah, fulfilling the core responsibilities of the financial system to help grow our economy." —on Wall Street reform, Quincy, Ill., April 29, 2010

"One such translator was an American of Haitian descent, representative of the extraordinary work that our men and women in uniform do all around the world -- Navy Corpse-Man Christian Brossard." –mispronouncing "Corpsman" (the "ps" is silent) during a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, Washington, D.C., Feb. 5, 2010 (The Corpsman's name is also Christopher, not Christian)

"The Middle East is obviously an issue that has plagued the region for centuries." --Tampa, Fla., Jan. 28, 2010

"UPS and FedEx are doing just fine, right? It's the Post Office that's always having problems." –attempting to make the case for government-run healthcare, while simultaneously undercutting his own argument, Portsmouth, N.H., Aug. 11, 2009

"The reforms we seek would bring greater competition, choice, savings and inefficiencies to our health care system." --in remarks after a health care roundtable with physicians, nurses and health care providers, Washington, D.C., July 20, 2009

"It was also interesting to see that political interaction in Europe is not that different from the United States Senate. There's a lot of -- I don't know what the term is in Austrian, wheeling and dealing." --confusing German for "Austrian," a language which does not exist, Strasbourg, France, April 6, 2009

"I'm here with the Girardo family here in St. Louis." --speaking via satellite to the Democratic National Convention, while in Kansas City, Missouri, Aug. 25, 2008

"Just this past week, we passed out of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee -- which is my committee -- a bill to call for divestment from Iran as way of ratcheting up the pressure to ensure that they don't obtain a nuclear weapon." --referring to a committee he is not on, Sderot, Israel, July 23, 2008

"Let me be absolutely clear. Israel is a strong friend of Israel's. It will be a strong friend of Israel's under a McCain...administration. It will be a strong friend of Israel's under an Obama administration. So that policy is not going to change." --Amman, Jordan, July 22, 2008

"How's it going, Sunshine?" --campaigning in Sunrise, Florida

"On this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes -- and I see many of them in the audience here today -- our sense of patriotism is particularly strong."

"Hold on one second, sweetie, we're going to do -- we'll do a press avail." --to a female reporter for ABC's Detroit affiliate who asked about his plan to help American autoworkers

"I've now been in 57 states -- I think one left to go." --at a campaign event in Beaverton, Oregon

"It's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." --explaining his troubles winning over some working-class voters

"Come on! I just answered, like, eight questions." --exasperated by reporters after a news conference

"In case you missed it, this week, there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died -- an entire town destroyed." --on a Kansas tornado that killed 12 people

obama is singlehandedly making Joe Biden look intelligent...

When It Rains It Pours.

The bills from our recent vacation are starting to materialize in the mailbox. Even though the accommodations were free, we still had to pony up for airfare, meals, and other incidentals (read: rum). I don't expect a whole lot of sympathy, but the trip was an unplanned expense - albeit one that was too good to pass up.

However, this week we've also been hit was a flurry of other unexpected items. First, the submersible pump in our well called it quits. Cost to repair - $1600.

Then we noticed that one of our mutts was limping. The diagnosis: the doggie equivalent of a torn ACL. The fix: surgery. The cost: $2500.

Finally, our son chipped his tooth. He now looks like some inbred Arkansas hillbilly when he grins. Details about the incident are sketchy - something about a water bottle falling on his head. I'm sure there's a heck of a good story out there somewhere, but so far that's all we've been able to get out of him. He needs either a cap or a crown, depending on further examination. Insurance will cover some, but not all, of the cost.

We're fortunate enough to have sufficient cash in our emergency fund to get us through this rough spot (thank you, Dave Ramsey), but it did put a dent in our reserves. So it's beans and rice for a few months until we've built it back up to where it needs to be.

But we've got a roof over our heads and food on the table, so I'm not complaining.

Much...

Friday Follies Happy Hour 2012.07.27

Sally Ride, the first U.S. female astronaut to enter orbit and the youngest American astronaut ever, died this week. A phrase often used in association with her was "ride, Sally, ride." That phrase came from the R&B song "Mustang Sally", made famous by Wilson Pickett in 1966. I remember crusin' the old Austin Highway strip in San Antonio back then in my muscle car with the wicked Mr. Pickett blaring from my Muntz 8-track.

In tribute to Sally Ride, here's the wicked Mr. Pickett singing Mustang Sally. The video is worth watching just to see a collection of icons from those days, not the least of which is the old 45 rpm jukebox playing the record.

Banning Pickup Trucks Will Prevent Needless Deaths - Right?

There was a recent event here in South Texas that resulted in a high death toll. It hasn't received the national attention that the Colorado movie theater shooting has, but is nonetheless tragic and horrific.

The death toll rose to 15 on Tuesday from Sunday's crash in southern Texas of a pickup truck packed with 23 suspected illegal immigrants...

I haven't heard any calls for banning pickup trucks in response to this tragedy. Or illegal immigrants. But according to the 'logic' of those opposed to the 2nd Amendment, if we did away with pickups -- or illegal immigrants -- then tragedies like this could be prevented.

Eight people remained hospitalized following the horrific single-vehicle wreck - the second multiple-fatality accident in the region in the past three months that involved smuggling people in overloaded vehicles.

In April, nine of 17 illegal immigrants in a packed minivan were killed when the vehicle rolled over while being pursued by U.S. Border Patrol agents near the border with Mexico in Palmview. The suspected driver, a 15-year-old boy, and six others were charged in that crash.

And just a couple of days after the most recent crash, we have this:

Two pickup trucks stolen in Harris County (Texas) filled with suspected immigrants were involved in a chase in Matagorda and Wharton counties on Tuesday, deputies said.

Deputies, state troopers and Bay City police chased both pickup trucks north on Highway 60.

The Ford crashed about a mile north of Chalmers Road on Highway 60, detectives said.

Sixteen people were inside the Ford, investigators said. Four of them were injured and taken to a hospital.

After the Ford crashed, deputies kept pursuing the Dodge. It traveled into Wharton County, where it crashed just north of County Road 114, detectives said.

Investigators said 12 people were inside the Dodge...

It must be a trend! All the more reason to ban pickups and illegal immigrants.

What's that you say? Illegal immigrants are, by definition, already illegal and banned? And yet they still exist? But there's a law against them.

Now substitute "guns" for "illegal immigrants". Does that mean if we make guns illegal they won't disappear?

Not according to the left, who evidently believe that people who ignore laws against shooting other people will obey gun control laws.

Trying to follow that sort of twisted thinking makes my head hurt.

I don't mean to make light of a terrible tragedy. I'm just trying to point out the fallacy of expecting a new law to control the behavior of people who have already demonstrated that they have no inclination to obey existing ones. My thoughts and prayers are with the injured and dead in South Texas, who were only trying to make a better live for themselves and their families.

The driver, who was killed, apparently was smuggling illegal immigrants to Houston, where they hoped to find jobs, said Trooper Gerald Bryant of the Texas Department of Public Safety. The dead included 12 males and three females, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said. Two children died.

 What's left of the truck after the crash.

Romney 1, NBC 0

Yesterday Mitt Romney subjected himself to an interview by obama tool and NBC anchor Brian Williams. At one point Williams started prodding Romney to reveal information about his (Romney's) choices for a running mate. In response, Romney landed a metaphorical knee to his (Williams') groin.

When Williams tried to hector Romney and paint him exactly the way the Democrats would want, asking him if he was looking to choose “an incredibly boring white guy” as VP, he was in for a surprise. For a guy who has a reputation as a boring robot, Romney showed a facile, sharp sense of humor, swiftly eviscerating Williams: “You told me you were not available.”

(H/T Breitbart)

Why I Hate Lawyers - And The People Who Hire Them

In the wake of one of the worst mass murders in U.S. history, it was inevitable that sooner rather than later the lawsuits would begin. Sure enough, yesterday the first one was filed - by someone who wasn't even injured.

Torrence Brown Jr., one of the Aurora movie shooting survivors, is planning on suing the theater, confirmed his family's publicist on Wednesday. "We're going to make sure whoever is accountable is going to take responsibility for this tragedy," Cassandra Williams of Wet PR said ... She added that Brown, 18, is seeking therapy and is emotionally distraught after the shooting.

Just to be clear, Torrence Brown wasn't physically injured. His claim is based on 'mental trauma.'

What's not clear to me is why his family needs a publicist. Are they famous? Or do they plan on becoming famous as a result of this lawsuit? And how are they paying her? Are they rich? (If so, they didn't build it by themselves...) Or is the publicist working on a contingency basis, like the low-life blood-sucking scum lawyers?

Brown has hired attorney Donald Karpel to represent him.  Karpel ... is targeting 3 defendants.

1.  The theater.  Karpel claims it was negligent for the theater to have an emergency door in the front that was not alarmed or guarded.  It's widely believed Holmes entered the theater with a ticket,  propped the emergency door open from inside, went to his car and returned with guns.

2.  Holmes' doctors.  Karpel says it appears Holmes was on several medications -- prescribed by one or more doctors --  at the time of the shooting and he believes the docs did not properly monitor Holmes.

3.  Warner Bros.  Karpel says "Dark Knight Rises" was particularly violent and Holmes mimicked some of the action.  The attorney says theater goers were helpless because they thought the shooter was part of the movie.  Karpel tells TMZ, "Somebody has to be responsible for the rampant violence that is shown today."

Taking the three defendants in order:

1.  If anything, the theater should be sued for being a gun-free zone. If there had been one or more legally armed customers present it's quite likely that the number of dead and wounded would have been much lower.

J.H. Verkerke, director of the University of Virginia Law School's Program for Employment and Labor Law, told Yahoo News that in general, it would be difficult to win a claim against a theater in this type of situation unless you could prove that the theater should have known about the threat and that its safety standards are below average compared to most movie theaters.

2.  How are the doctors expected to monitor Holmes' condition? Spy on him? Forcibly draw blood from him? I suppose that if there were warning signs that indicated Holmes presented a danger there might be some liability, but that seems like it would be very difficult to prove.

3.  Every time a conservative speaks out against violence in movies or video games, the left erupts in ridicule. I'm not holding my breath waiting for the same reaction against Torrence and his low-life blood-sucking scum lawyer.

It is painfully obvious that this is nothing more than bald-faced extortion. Brown and his low-life blood-sucking scum lawyer are hoping that the defendants settle out of court to avoid the expense and publicity of a public trial. I understand the cost-benefit tradeoff of settling, but I wish the defendants had the balls and money to just say "Bring it on, assholes."

This sad case is just one example of why the U.S. needs sweeping tort reform.

Today, America's $246 billion civil justice system is the most expensive in the industrialized world. Aggressive personal injury lawyers target certain professions, industries, and individual companies as profit centers. They systematically recruit clients who may never have suffered a real illness or injury and use scare tactics, combined with the promise of awards, to bring these people into massive class action suits. They effectively tap the media to rally sentiment for multi-million-dollar punitive damage awards. This leads many companies to settle questionable lawsuits just to stay out of court.

These lawsuits are bad for business; they are also bad for society. They compromise access to affordable health care, punish consumers by raising the cost of goods and services, chill innovation, and undermine the notion of personal responsibility. The personal injury lawyers who benefit from the status quo use their fees to perpetuate the cycle of lawsuit abuse. They have reinvested millions of dollars into the political process and in more litigation that acts as a drag on our economy. Some have compared the political and judicial influence of the personal injury bar to a fourth branch of government.

Trail lawyers are just another democrat obstacle to business growth, job creation, and social justice.

John Edwards is the best example of a trial lawyer that I can think of...

Turning Lemons Into Lemonade

At last - a good use for a burka.

Liquor Stores Serve Underage Boy Wearing A Burka

Three liquor stores in the GTA recently sold booze to a 14-year-old boy whose identity was hidden because he was wearing a full-length burka and face veil at the time.

The teenager, clad in an Islamic female’s traditional garb of a burka, headscarf and facial covering, shopped in three different LCBO stores north of Toronto last Wednesday.

In each location, the Grade 8 student paid cash for a bottle of Sambuca liqueur.

Video report below.

I predict a wave of copycat crimes...

I Didn't Build This Post

Every time barack obama strays from the words on his teleprompter and ad libs, he puts his foot in his mouth and gives a gift to Mitt Romney. The latest example:

Mr. Obama is trying for the second straight week to clarify his comments that self-made entrepreneurs aren’t entirely responsible for their own success.

"...If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.”

Seems pretty self-explanatory to me. obama is woefully ignorant of how the economy and the market work. I mean, I thought Biden was the dumb one, but barry is making Ol' Joe look downright intelligent by comparison.

The best thing about obama's idiotic statement, however, is the avalanche of Internet humor it has spawned. Examples abound. Here's a few of my favorites.

(The last one came from here.)

There's even a website dedicated to images mocking the "you didn't build that" gaffe.

And of course, no collection of Internet humor would be complete without Hitler's comments on the subject. Take 3 minutes out of your busy schedule and enjoy.

Thoughts On The Colorado Shootings

I haven't commented on the tragedy in Aurora for several reasons, not the least of which is that others have already done so more comprehensively and thoughtfully than I can. OldNFO, for example, posted his thoughts here, along with links to other bloggers commenting on the subject. Brigid gave us her usual insightful perspective here. Stilton Jarlsberg and his readers offer some comments worth reading here.

Nevertheless, I would like to make a couple of points. The first relates to the media vultures and political opportunists who, as OldNFO said, are dancing in the blood of the victims. The second point touches on the fallacy lunacy of gun-free zones.

In their disgraceful yet sadly predictable rush to judgement the political opportunists and their media lapdogs were already casting blame before the blood on the movie theater floor was dry. Brian Ross of ABC wins First Prize in the misinformed reporting category for falsely (and quite likely maliciously) linking the shooter to the Tea Party. Way to go, Brian. You're carrying on a long tradition of biased and inaccurate 'journalism.'

How bad was Ross' 'reporting?' It was bad that even Jon Stewart found it appalling: “What Story Does a Guy Have to Blow to Get in Trouble at ABC?"

Honorable mention goes to NBC correspondent Michael Isikoff, who is now blaming Bush for the killings. According to Isikoff, the AR-15 used in the Aurora shootings would have been illegal if it wasn't for Bush's lifting of the assault rifle ban back in 2004.

I'm sure someone intent on mass murder would have obeyed the law and not used an illegal weapon...

Once the left's attempt to blame conservative people and organizations failed, they turned their guns on ... guns. If it's not the right's fault then it must be the gun's fault, right?

"We have to face the reality that these types of tragedies will continue to occur unless we do something about our nation's lax gun laws," according to democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey.

Based on what I know of my readers, I realize I'm preaching to the choir here, but stricter gun control legislation won't prevent tragedies like this. One thing that might have prevented, or at least mitigated, the loss of life in that Colorado theater would have been the presence of a legally armed patron or two. Of course, the very notion of private citizens being allowed to carry firearms is anathema to the left. For one thing, they contend that concealed carry laws are ineffective at best in a deranged shooter scenario.

"...film critic Roger Ebert rushed to decry America's "insane" gun laws in a New York Times op-ed. Within the piece, he pooh-poohed concealed carry laws by noting that no one in the theater shot back at the gunman.

Ebert is correct: no one shot back. What Ebert didn't bother to mention -- and probably didn't even know -- is that the Cinemark theater chain has a "gun-free zone" policy.

And who obeys rules and regulations? Law-abiding citizens; the type that get concealed carry licenses.

Who doesn't obey them? Criminals and lunatics.

Who's left defenseless against criminals and lunatics? The law-abiding citizens.

I guess that chain of logic is too difficult for liberals to follow.

I just wish we as a nation would put as much passion into remembering the victims, helping the survivors, and comforting their families and friends as we do pointing fingers and assigning blame.

UPDATE: Here's a link to an eerily similar situation in Colorado back in 2007. The difference? The shooter "encountered a law-abiding citizen who was armed:"

Jeanne Assam … said she “did not think for a minute to run away” when a gunman entered the New Life Church in Colorado Springs and started shooting.

“I saw him coming through the doors” and took cover, Assam said. “I came out of cover and identified myself and engaged him and took him down.” …

Murray was carrying two handguns, an assault rifle and over 1,000 rounds of ammunition, said Sgt. Jeff Johnson of the Colorado Springs Police Department. …

...Assam’s actions saved the lives of 50 to 100 people.

In the words of Peter, Paul, and Mary, "When will they ever learn?"

Or Are You Just Happy To See Me?

We had very few issues clearing TSA security on our recent vacation. Based on the following story, I don't know whether to be happy or insulted.

TSA Flags Man With World’s Largest Penis For Additional Screening

Jonah Falcon of New York City is an actor and hosts a public-access show about the Yankees, but he isn't famous for that. He's famous for a quirk of nature: he has the largest recorded penis in the world. He's appeared on lots of talk shows and even in a documentary, but evidently his fame hasn't reached the TSA workers at San Francisco International Airport. There, the large bulge in his pants caught the notice of a guard, who presumed it was some kind of weapon. He was subjected to a (brisk and professional) extra patdown and tested for explosive residue.

"I'm just gonna wear bike shorts from now on," he told the Huffington Post. "That way, they'll know. You'd think the San Francisco TSA would have had experience with hung guys before, but I guess not."

And the answer to your question is nine inches flaccid, twelve and a half inches erect.

Damn! I was so close to winning. I guess I'll just have to settle for second place...

FOD 2012.07.23 Late Night Version

The liberals are asking us to give Obama time.
We agree...and think 25 to life would be appropriate.
--Jay Leno


America needs Obama-care like Nancy Pelosi needs a Halloween mask.
--Jay Leno


Q: Have you heard about McDonald's' new Obama Value Meal?
A: Order anything you like and the guy behind you has to pay for it.
--Conan O'Brien


Q: What does Barack Obama call lunch with a convicted felon?
A: A fund raiser.
 --Jay Leno


Q: What's the difference between Obama's cabinet and a penitentiary?
A: One is filled with tax evaders, blackmailers, and threats to society. The other is for housing prisoners.
 --David Letterman


Q: If Nancy Pelosi and Obama were on a boat in the middle of the ocean and it started to sink, who would be saved?
A: America !
--Jimmy Fallon


Q: What's the difference between Obama and his dog, Bo?
A: Bo has papers.
 --Jimmy Kimmel


Q: What was the most positive result of the "Cash for Clunkers" program?
A: It took 95% of the Obama bumper stickers off the road.
--David Letterman


Solution to the problem in Egypt:
They want a new Muslim president. Give them ours.

More FOD 2012.07.23

I would love to see this happen, but I doubt if Mitt or his handlers have the cojones to do so.

I've excerpted some of the best parts below, but follow the link for the full effect.

It's definitely worth it...

Screw Business as Usual…A Fire and Brimstone Strategy

By Craig Andresen

* * * * * 

It’s going to be an ugly campaign. We all know it and we’re ready for it but it’s going to the ugliest and nastiest and dirtiest campaign in history.

If the GOP Nominee takes this advice, it will send a clear message to the Republican establishment that conservatives aren’t going to do business as usual any more. It would shake the establishment and pull together conservative voters.

Here is a little something else this would do…It would shake the Obama campaign to its core.

As soon as the 1,144 delegates are in hand, WHOEVER garners them either at the convention or before…put this into motion.

Rather than a leisurely march toward a VP nominee or a surprise VP announcement like we got in 2008, vet the possible VPs NOW and stand ready to announce the running mate in a nationally televised press conference the day after the delegates are in hand.

Make the VP choice…Allen West.

Having Congressman West in the VP slot makes him a TRIPLE THREAT and a VP who WILL redefine the role. Triple threat? As the Vice President he would attend to the regular duties and be a heartbeat away from the presidency. A Vice President West would also act as a second Secretary of State in difficult diplomatic negotiations. AND…A Vice President West would work in concert with the Secretary of Defense to realign our military and redefine its role.

Triple threat.

Oh but this is just the START of the strategy!!!

As soon as the nominee has introduced West as the running mate…THE NOMINEE WOULD THEN INTRODUCE HIS SECRETARY OF STATE NOMINEE…

John Bolton. As a former Ambassador to the United Nations there is nobody with a better handle on the world’s issues or more familiar with the players. John Bolton is tough, straight forward and not likely to appease ANYONE.

Now, you have the nominee on stage, the VP choice and the Secretary of State nominee…Let’s not stop there.

Next to walk onto the stage…

Sarah Palin…Nominee for Secretary of Energy.

Palin’s directive…Set us on the path toward energy independent in 10 years. Can you think of a better choice? Anyone more invested in that goal? Anyone who is more knowledgeable or adept?

I don’t.

Can you feel the ground starting to shake?

Next out of the wings and onto the stage…

The nominee for Secretary of Defense. Enter…General David Petraeus.

As great as he was fighting a PC war…Imagine what he’ll be like once he and West have pressed the reset button on our rules of engagement. In Petraeus we will have a Secretary of Defense whose mission will be to win. PERIOD.

Oh…I’m not done yet…..

Next up…The nominee for Attorney General…Pam Bondi.

Bondi is a no nonsense fighter who has taken on the current administration over Obamacare and WILL clean out the corruption rampant in that office today.

Okay, where are we? Who is now standing on the stage? The nominee…Allen West…John Bolton…Sarah Palin…General Petreaus and Pam Bondi.

How about a Secretary of the Treasury? We would need someone who has worked for YEARS in the tax field who understands the overwhelming burden of tax codes and who has, for years fought to restructure those codes.

Welcome Michele Bachmann to the stage…The nominee for Secretary of the Treasury.

By now, fissures should be opening in the ground, rumbling coming from the sky and the faint odor of brimstone should be in the air.

We will need someone new…someone with new ideas to head up the Fed.

Please welcome Ron Paul. Yes, I realize this, under Paul, will be a temporary position; but somehow, I doubt Ron Paul wants to make a career of running the Fed.

Secretary of the Interior? Governor Bobby Jindal…COME ON DOWN!!!!!

And finally…We need someone to head up the Department of Homeland Security. We must have someone who understands the issues we face. Someone who has worked in federal law enforcement. Someone who won’t take any crap from anybody.

Please…a round of applause for…Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Feel free to substitute names…add your own choices, but these are mine. The picks are only a part of the whole picture however. The impact is as important as the names.

Were the GOP nominee to do this…call a press conference and make such an announcement…It would be unprecedented. Never before has a presidential nominee entered the full on campaign with a fully assembled team.

Can you even IMAGINE the shock-and-awe wave which would be sent through the Obama campaign were the GOP nominee to do this?

Think about it.

From the word GO it would be unlike any previous presidential campaign.

Instead of simply nominee X against Obama we would have Nominee X vs Obama…Congressman Allen West vs Joe Biden…John Bolton vs Hillary Clinton…Sarah Palin vs Stephen Chu…General Petreaus vs Leon Panetta…Pam Bondi vs Eric Holder…Michele Bachmann vs Tim Geitner…Ron Paul vs Ben Bernake…Bobby Jindal vs Ken Salazar and Sheriff Joe Arpaio vs Janet Napolitano.

Think about that…Let that sink in…All campaigning at once. There would be no way out for Obama as each and every key player on his team would be exposed and held to account from the word GO. It would be a full on frontal assault and Obama would have no place to hide.

By adopting this proposal, Obama would be forced into a pot of boiling water or into the fire. If he tried to rid himself of baggage he would be exposed of running from his own record and that of the very people he’s been standing behind for political expediency. If he stays with them, he would be forced to defend them. Boiling water or a raging fire…his choice.

It’s bold, brash and completely against the establishment business as usual strategy.

It’s earth shaking.

An entire assembled team of key cabinet positions…Each one a pitbull on a T-Bone…hammering their liberal counterparts on every issue, every day, from the word GO until November 6th, 2012.

 * * * * *

Can you imagine obama's response?

FOD 2012.07.23

We're still recovering and catching up from our vacation, so today I'm taking the easy way out and posting pictures instead of composing something.

In other words, I'm being lazy today.

But the underlying sentiment is the same - we've got to depose the liar-in-chief come this November...

More Words Of Wisdom

Go green.

Recycle Congress 

and the White House

 in 2012

Caribbean Vacation After Action Report

We're back home safe and sound. Our luggage, however, is still on vacation. More on that later.

We enjoyed a leisurely, tranquil series of days down there - until the very last one. It started off with a bang. Literally.

Without venturing into the realm of TMI, let's just say my wife woke up that morning feeling frisky. Since I try to be a good husband, I did my best to accommodate her.

Evidently my best was more than adequate (*modest cough*), because in the midst of her enthusiastic response there was a loud CRASH and the bed collapsed in the middle, ending up in a V-shaped pile.

It was a king-sized bed, supported by a metal frame upon which rest the box springs. The frame looked like two twin bed frames joined together, with a horizontal brace in the middle running from head to foot.

The middle brace was supported by two metal legs inserted into plastic pegs. In this case, the plastic pegs had split, causing the frame to fall a few inches to the ground. This happened at a particularly crucial time during our morning activities, but my wife certainly seemed to appreciate the extra impetus. Anyway…

We contacted the property manager (a woman) to report the damage. She came over to take a look. We didn't explain how it had happened, but she seemed sort of embarrassed nonetheless. She called someone else (a man) to come over and check it out. His reaction was predictably male – he laughed.

Apparently he was the project manager, because he immediately summoned two more people to participate. There was much discussion in rapid Spanish, accompanied by knowing grins and chuckles. One of them even turned and gave me a big smile, along with a wink and a nod. Needless to say, my wife by this time was nowhere around.

If this had happened to our bed at home, I would have just cut a couple of blocks from a 2x4 and slid them under the metal legs. These guys, however, must have been paid by the hour, because they turned it into a full-blown woodworking project.

They decided to use a 1x6 cut to fit under the horizontal brace. This necessitated much measuring and discussion in rapid-fire Spanish. After a couple of false starts (evidently accurate measuring was not their strong suit), they finally got two pieces of wood cut to the right size. They then proceeded to try and screw them to the frame. I say "try" because they had a little trouble getting the screws started into the wood. Their solution was to hold the block of wood against one guy's thigh while the other drilled into it with a power drill. It led to me wonder where the nearest ER was, but they pulled it off without injury.

We finally got the frame repaired and the bed reassembled. Everyone left with more chatter and chuckles, and my wife came out of hiding. By now it was time for lunch.

The rest of the day was uneventful. After another wonderful dinner (pollo guisado dominicano con arroz y frijoles – delicioso!), everyone wandered off to bed. About 15 minutes later we heard blood-curdling screams coming from the bedroom where the two 16-year old girls (our daughter and our friends' daughter) were staying. We rushed into their room, expecting to see some machete-wielding crazed killer chasing them around the room.

Instead, we found them both standing on one bed clinging to each other and jumping up and down yelling OhMyGodOhMyGodOhMyGod over and over again. When we finally got them calmed down enough to speak coherently, they told us there was a crab in their room.

A crab…

The crab that caused all the ruckus.

So four adults got down on their hands and knees to search a bedroom shared by two 16-year old females (clothes scattered everywhere, suitcases strewn about, shoes and other debris all over the floor…). We finally found the culprit – a little thing, about the size of a deck of cards. I scooped it up and carried it outside, where I set it free.

Hysterical females … sigh…

Things finally settled down and we all wandered off to bed – again.

The next morning we loaded up the car to head for the airport, only to discover that it wouldn't start. Dead battery.

Fortunately there was a crew working on the house across the street. After some broken Spanish and sound effects, along with much pantomiming and arm-waving (and a $10 bill) we convinced them to give us a jump (apparently jumper cables are standard issue equipment with Dominican cars). Once the car roared to life we merrily trundled off to the airport.

We got on the first flight without any problems (God Bless the informal boarding procedures down there – the person checking our passports was wearing a Jack Daniels gimme cap).

However, we were a little late arriving in Charlotte to catch our connecting flight – and we had a tight connection to begin with. We cleared immigration and customs in record time (customs was a joke – all they did was take our little form without saying a word – no questions or bag inspections, thankfully) and rechecked our bags with no problem. But then we had to go through TSA security to get on the connecting flight.

When we got to the TSA checkpoint my heart sank. The line looked like one of those amusement park queues that wind back and forth on itself several times.

We had less than 15 minutes to catch our flight. There was no way we were going to get through the line in time. Then we caught a break. TSA opened another line on the other side of the concourse. Since we were at the end of the first line we were in prime position to move to the front of the new line, which we promptly did.

After clearing security we were now down to 10 minutes until flight time. Of course, our gate was at the extreme opposite end of the airport. It was time to recreate that old O. J. Simpson airport dash commercial.



I didn't even stop to retie my shoes. I was carrying my belt in one hand and our boarding passes in the other. I hollered "Follow me!" to my wife and daughter and took off running.

I was merciless. I shoved little old ladies out of the way and knocked small children to the ground. We left a trail of sprawling and cursing bodies in our wake, but we made it to the gate just as they were boarding the last group. We collapsed into our seats, breathless and sweaty, but on board. All was well…

… until we landed in San Antonio and discovered that, while we may have made the flight, our luggage hadn't.

But I would rather that we made the flight without our bags than the other way around.

We got home with no further incident and gratefully spent the night in our own beds. It was a wonderful trip and we had a great time, but it's always good to get back home.

We don't even have to spend today doing laundry, because our bags haven't shown up yet…

Words Of Wisdom

Friday Follies Happy Hour 2012.07.20

Life's a beach...

Caribbean Vacation Day 5

A few random observations as we wrap up our last day here.

In addition to having Oscar de la Renta as a neighbor, we're also staying close to Julio Iglesia's place, along with a whole bunch of filthy rich Europeans who I've never heard of but who are obviously not too worried about whatever's going on with the Euro.


Speaking of the Euro, one of the things I miss down here is my morning ritual of reading the newspaper with my morning cup of coffee. I don't miss the news; just the ritual.

I've deliberately not kept up with events in the real world. I took a quick look at CNN this morning and not much has changed. The dems and repubs are still spewing venom at each other without offering real solutions. There's still fighting in Syria. The market is still fluctuating. IMO the biggest benefit of a trip like this is regaining perspective. Life goes on, sometimes better, sometimes worse, but we endure. The important things are family and friends. As long as you are blessed with those, you can survive whatever life throws at you.


And speaking of family, whatever happened to my little girl? Sometime over the last couple of years she's morphed from a sweet innocent child into a young woman. Her usual attire is a baggy t-shirt and a pair of gym shorts. Unbeknownst to me, however, under those clothes she's developed quite a set of curves. On our first day here she came trotting out in a bikini that damn near gave me apoplexy. My wife saw the warning signs -- red face and incoherent sputtering -- and gave me a look that said "If you know what's good for you keep your mouth shut." Of course, I ignored her and came out with the same line that millions of fathers before me have said: "You're not going anywhere dressed like that!"

And I got the same response that millions of fathers before me have gotten: "Oh, Da-aad" accompanied with a long-suffering sigh and a rolling of the eyes.

Needless to say, she went out dressed like that and I went into DEFCON 1. We were on two different missions with conflicting objectives. Hers was to mingle and chat with worthless lowlife scum that have only one thing on their tiny evil little minds boys, while mine was to interpose myself between her and them. Once again her mother intervened (doesn't that woman care anything about her daughter?). We settled on a state of uneasy but (relatively) peaceful coexistence where I loiter out of earshot but within eyeshot. They can make me keep my distance, but they can't prevent me from shooting daggers from my eyes at the little shits, and making throat-slitting motions every time one of them glances my way.


Other than that, it's been a very low-stress trip. We had a squall line blow through yesterday afternoon that wiped out the dive trip, but it also dropped the temperature and blew out the humidity, so it was a good trade-off. One more dive is planned for today, then a good night's sleep followed by a long day of travel tomorrow. This week has just flown by.

Like most vacations, we'll be sorry to see it end but be glad to get back home...

Caribbean Vacation Days 3 and 4

It's easy to fall into a tropical languor down here. The days are long, hot, and sunny, which results in a slow-motion pace. It's so much easier to sit in the shade and have another cool drink than to get up and do things. But we're on vacation, so get up and do things we must (at least according to my wife).

This is an interesting place. It's called Punta Cana. It's a large master-planned resort development on the easternmost tip of the Dominican Republic.

We're staying in an upscale villa - 5 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, swimming pool and spa, large screen TVs everywhere ... all the amenities, including a housekeeper and a cook chef. My wife is already scheming about how she can take them back with her. (As I've mentioned before, this is most definitely not our normal lifestyle. We're here as the guests of a friend who is connected to the real estate investment firm that owns the villa.) To give you some idea of the types of estates around here, our down-the-street neighbor is a married couple -- he's Iranian, she's Venezuelan, so they're not real fond of Americans -- that owns a vacation 'home' here. It consists of the main house, a separate guest house, and servants quarters. The servants quarters alone is 12,000 square feet, so you can imagine how huge the other two houses are.

Another resident here is Oscar de la Renta.

We feel like the Beverly Hillbillies...

Anyway, the resort developers have tried to do the right things. The resort is 15,000 acres, but they've preserved a  couple of thousand of those acres as a nature and ecological preserve.

We toured the preserve yesterday. It's a typical tropical jungle; dense overhead canopy, dense foliage, extremely humid. There's a series of trails which take you through the preserve. I've had my fill of tropical jungle trails, thank you very much, but the kids found it interesting. Very different from Central Texas.

The preserve is also dotted with fresh-water lagoons of various sizes. The water is as clear as a bottle of gin and as cold as my ex-wife's heart. It made for a very refreshing dip. We were forewarned, so we took our dive masks and got an excellent view of the underwater rock grotto walls and bottoms, along with various fish and a multitude of turtles of all sizes and colors (no snappers, thank goodness).

We went diving one day, but the trip was cut short when the wind picked up. Today's dive trip was also cancelled due to high winds. I'm a casual diver, so it's no big deal to me. I'll just doze under a palm tree while the kids race golf carts (did I mention that our villa comes with two golf carts?).

Golf carts are the preferred means of transportation around here. It makes sense - most places aren't more than a 5 or 10 minute drive from here, and since this is an island everything has to be shipped in, which makes it more expensive. This is one place where electric cars can be economically justified.

Another interesting aspect of life down here is that American beers are considered imported. In the local mercardo a six-pack of Budweiser is priced the same as a six-pack of Stella Artois. Sorry, Bud, but that's no contest.

The people are wonderful. Very warm and friendly, and they seem quite happy with life. Our housekeeper sings as she works (and she's got a pretty good voice). They're also industrious and hard-working, although as previously mentioned the pace is on the slow side. Island life, I guess...

The food has been great. Lots of fresh seafood and fresh fruit. I've convinced myself that since fish and fruit are healthy foods it's okay to eat all I want. And since I'm eating so healthy it's also okay to have a little more beer and wine than usual. My wife, however, fails to see the logic of this.

We've got the rest of today and one more full day tomorrow, then it's back to reality. So I guess I'll close up the laptop and wander back outside ... and maybe snag a beer or two on the way...

Caribbean Vacation Day 2

The trip getting here was a royal pain in the rump, but once we landed and the doors of the plane opened things radically improved. I'll explain the details later, but the short version is that because of who is hosting us we received the VIP treatment - literally.

The airport is a little old-fashioned. Instead of a jetway they roll a set of stairs up to the plane, just like in the old days. Interestingly, the door was opened and we began to disembark much quicker than with a jetway. Progress...

Anyway, at the very foot of the stairs -- on the tarmac, no less -- was a young lady dressed in some sort of uniform holding a sign with our name on it. She led us past the lines (long, long lines) waiting to clear customs and immigration. We went down a side passage, handed over our passports and entry forms, got them back in about 30 seconds, and were whisked away to our luggage. From there we hopped into our waiting shuttle and sped off (and I do mean sped) to our destination. No muss, no fuss - delightfully informal. I could really get used to being treated like a VIP.

After unpacking and freshening up we took a quick walk on the beach, then went back and freshened up again. Hey, it's the tropics - warm, humid, and sea breezes equals hot, sweaty, and sandy.

We had dinner at a very nice restaurant - fresh lobster and shrimp, grilled and served with coconut rice and fresh fruit (papayas and mangoes, locally grown) ... yum.

But the highlight of the meal was the after-dinner drink. I had the local specialty: cafe carajillo. It's thick, strong coffee (like Cuban coffee) served with what has to be the closest thing to nectar of the gods here on earth - Brogal 1888 rum.

The rum came in a small glass, like a miniature champagne flute (I think the cultured folks call it an aperitif glass). I didn't know whether to drink it from the glass or add it to the coffee so I took a small sip. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.

It was warm, smooth, and fiery. It seemed to linger on the lips and tongue forever, while at the same time ending all too soon - like a lover's kiss.

I'm not a big rum drinker, and I'd never heard of this particular brand, but it was far superior to any cognac or brandy I've ever had. This is not a rum for drinking. It's a rum for sipping, savoring, enjoying ... experiencing.

I'm going to take back as many bottles as I can, and then hope I can find it in the states. It is, as the saying goes, so good it'll make you slap yo' mama.

The local beers are okay, but IMO don't quite match up to Shiner. The two main brands, Presidente and Bohemia, remind me of American domestic beer - somewhere between Bud and Miller. Drinkable, but nothing to get really excited about. Still, on a hot day lounging on the beach, they go down good. Since I owe some of my readers a few beers I'll take care of them today.

In fact, I'm off to do that right now.

More later...

Caribbean Vacation Day 1

Made it here okay, but I swear if I could drive here instead of having to fly I would in a heartbeat. TSA crap, airport and airlines crap, people who belong on a subway instead of a plane ... sigh...

But we're here and life is good. Hot sun, warm water, and cold beer. I say again, life is good!

The internet connection is iffy so posts might be sporadic (well, that and the beach...).

Oops, it's starting to act up now ... there it goes ... more later...

Hey fellows, grab a beer for me...

FOD 2012.07.16

Shamelessly borrowed from BMEWS:

As we get older we sometimes begin to doubt our ability to “make a difference” in the world.

It is at these times that our hopes are boosted by the remarkable achievements of other “seniors” who have found the courage to take on challenges that would make many of us wither.

Ted is such a person.

How does Ted make a difference, and make his world a better place?

“I’ve often been asked, ‘What do you old folks do now that you’re retired?

Well, I’m fortunate to have a chemical engineering background and one of the things I enjoy most is converting beer, wine and Jack Daniel’s into urine.

Then I piss on a photo of Obama; I do it every day and I really enjoy it.”

Ted is an inspiration to us all.

. . .

Q:  How do you tell a Romney supporter from an obama voter?

A.  Romney supporters sign their checks on the front.
     obama supporters sign them on the back.
. . . 

On a more serious note (and also from BMEWS):

Simon Heffer is a columnist for the British online newspaper The Mail. Here's a snippet he had to say about the U.S. presidential race.

The U.S. Presidential election is heating up again, as the conventions near and the final push for votes begins. The American Press, which is almost uniformly Democrat, is muck-raking frantically about Republican Mitt Romney — their ‘muck’ consisting mainly of Mr Romney being rich, successful and understanding how business works.

Given the mess America’s economy is in under a President who knows less about economics than I do about brain surgery, it is lucky to have Mr Romney in the wings. And I suspect that the American public has a rather different view of these matters from the American media.

I certainly hope so...

Sunday Funnies 2012.07.15

Banks have been in the news this week ... again. LIBOR rate manipulations, JPMorgan Chase losses higher than expected ... and with interest rates so low, keeping our money under the mattress is starting to look better and better.

Bankers never die...They just lose interest.

If bankers can count, how come they have eight windows and only four tellers?

Banks are in some much trouble that their CEO's are now playing miniature golf.

Q: What's the difference between a guy who bets everything he owns on a roll of the dice in Las Vegas and an investment banker?
A: The dice.

Texas Kicks Ass - Again

... but you won't hear about it from the mainstream lamestream media.

Texas is suing the U.S. 'Justice' Department over the DOJ's blocking implementation of the Texas Voter ID law.

In a nutshell, the Texas state legislature passed a law requiring voters to show a valid government ID (driver's license, passport, military ID, etc.) in order to vote. obama's Department of (In)Justice halted enactment of the law, claiming it would violate the 1965 voting rights law by discriminating against minorities, students, and the elderly.

Final arguments in the case were heard today by a federal court in Washington D.C.

What you won't here form the mainstream media is how thoroughly Texas demolished the DOJ's case.

The key piece of evidence presented by the feds was a list of 1.5 million Texans who don't have the government issued photo i.d. required to vote. The list was prepared by  Stephen Ansolabehere, a Harvard professor (that should tell you something right there).

The Justice Department presented what it said was evidence that as many as 1.5 million Texans don't have the government issued photo i.d. required to vote, but Attorney General Greg Abbott says of the people on that roll, 50,000 are dead, 330,000 are over the age of 65 and can vote by mail, where a photo i.d. is not required, and more than 800,000 are on the list improperly.

Among the people who the DOJ listed as 'lacking the required documentation needed to vote' are Former President George W. Bush and at least two members of the state legislature.

Close to one-third of the people on the DOJ list are dead or not impacted by the law? The former President of the United States and state legislators don't have photo id's? Kind of makes you wonder about the list's validity.

"George Walker Bush," Adam Mortara, a lawyer for Texas, read from the list of supposedly ineligible voters in the study. "The former president."

Testifying as an expert witness during the trial, Ansolabehere acknowledged Bush was on the list but could not explain why he might be ineligible.

D'oh.

In fact, University of Texas students conducted a telephone survey of random people on the DOJ's list of people who allegedly don't have the documents required to vote, and found that more than 90% of them, including 93% of African Americans and 92% of Hispanics on the list, actually have a photo i.d.

Which brings us to Victoria Rodriguez.  The San Antonio teenager was the only individual in a flurry of 'experts' the Department of Justice called to the stand to represent the 1.5 million allegedly set to be disenfranchised under the Texas law.  Rodriguez testified that she not only lacks a photo i.d., but lacks the documentation need to obtain one, and State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer said requiring her to pay to obtain those documents would amount to an illegal 'poll tax.'  Under cross examination, Rodriguez admitted that she has a birth certificate, a voter registration card, and a Social Security Card, and only two of those three forms of i.d. are required to obtain a free voter i.d. card offered by the DPS.  Rodriguez testified that she 'doesn't have time' to go the DPS office to obtain the voter i.d. card, but she testified she had plenty of time to fly more than 1500 miles to Baltimore, catch a train to Washington DC, and sit for hours in a federal courtroom to testify about how unfair the Texas voter i.d. law is.

If you think that's bad, keep reading (emphasis added).

Another Department of Justice 'expert' testified that the Legislature 'intended' to discriminate against minorities when it passed the Voter I.D. bill.  But J. Morgan Kousser's comments under cross examination show he knows little to nothing about the Texas Legislature ... (and) said the U.S. Supreme Court ruling which upheld a similar voter i.d. law in Indiana ... was written so the (Justices) could 'promote white supremacy.'

Kousser also claimed in a book that Republicans are 'not legitimate representatives' of minority communities, and that any African American or Hispanic who supports voter i.d. 'has been manipulated and misled by Republicans.

In fact, Kousser admitted that he got many of the 'facts' used to buttress these bizarre claims from Wikipedia...

This is the best the feds can do? An ignorant, racist, 'expert' witness? In any reasonable and impartial court the feds case would be laughed out of the room.

The three judge federal appeals court panel, which includes two Democrats and one Republican, will issue its ruling on the case in the coming weeks, and the ruling will certainly be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Read the above paragraph again. It shows the problem with the U.S. judicial system. Rather than appoint the most qualified people available as judges, we instead choose them on the basis of whether they are democrats or republicans. That's not rule of law: it's rule of political party.

I have little faith in the judicial system. After the obamacare ruling debacle, I have no faith in the ability of the Supreme Court to reach a reasonable decision based on both the facts and the law. But who knows, they just might get this one right.

Even a blind dog finds a bone every once in a while...

More Than You Ever Wanted To Know

There's a lot of things about Islamic fanatics I don't understand. Here's a prime example.

Not only did the original "underwear bomber" Abdullah Hassan al-Asiri hide explosives in his rectum ... but al-Asiri apparently had fellow jihadis repeatedly sodomize him to "widen" his anus in order to accommodate the explosives - all in accordance with the fatwas [religious edicts] of Islamic clerics.

If you really want to you can read more about it at the link.

Now that I think about it, Islamic fanatics and liberals have at least one thing in common. They both go through a series of mental gymnastics to convince themselves that even the most extreme behavior can be justified according to their beliefs.

Whack jobs, all of 'em...